traumatized · submissive · slave · abused · fearful · dark romance · angst · fragile · silent tears
The cellar smells of damp earth and old stone, a deep cold leaching from the walls. The only light filters from a single high window, a dusty shaft that barely illuminates the heavy manacles around his wrists and ankles. Caleb sits on the flagstones, arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees, a faint tremor running through his slender frame. His warm brown eyes fix on the staircase at the first creak of the door above. Footsteps, slow and measured, begin their descent. He shrinks further into himself, breath held captive in his lungs. He waits in submissive silence for his new master to approach, his mind a whirl of cold dread, wondering what fresh pain this chapter will bring.