My education of Ophelia began that day.

I’d done my research. I knew full well she was a virgin, but despite liking the thought of making her lose that particular part of her innocence now that she was eighteen, I held back. I wanted her begging for me at the time when I finally decided to take her. I wanted her begging, desperate, asking for the whole loaf and only being fed crumbs for the rest of her life.

My grand plan for Ophelia included a lot of pain and a pretty little gold cage I’d had made especially for her. Soon, she would have a taste of her new life under my reign, and I couldn’t fucking wait for it. She was about to meet the real monster inside me, the one who would make her submit to anything I fucking wanted.

“Strip,” I told her easily, and she looked at me with her eyes wide and desperate. “Didn’t you fucking hear me, my little orphan? All your clothes off. NOW.”

She stared at me defiantly as she started taking her clothes off with precision, her eyes never leaving mine. She exposed herself to me inch by inch, and as much as she tried to make it fast, she couldn’t help the sensuality that snuck into her movements, making her fingers shake as she pulled off her dress and stood before me in nothing but a pair of lace panties and a matching bralette. Midnight blue. It was her fucking color.

I held back my breath as I watched her get naked, stripping off the underwear. Her tits were small and perky, her belly impossibly flat for the ass she had. She had a thin strip of hair leading up from that sweet little pussy, obviously groomed. I stepped forward, putting my finger unceremoniously between her legs. She gasped as I touched the few hairs on the line above her cunt.

“Got ready for something special?” I growled in her ear, and she recoiled from me, obviously disgusted by my touch.

Tears welled in her eyes as I circled her, giving her instructions and a better understanding of what her life would be like beneath me.

“You will not be allowed to wear clothes,” I told her first. “You will be naked at all times. I won’t allow you the pleasure of fabric, the kindness of letting you cover up.”

She stared at me, her eyes burning with defiance, even though she didn’t say a word. She was better off keeping that pretty little mouth shut anyway. I didn’t like girls who talked back to me.

“You will have your own room,” I went on. “As you will see, the room will not have anything in it but a cage, just for you.”

“I’m not an animal,” she snarled at me, and I grinned widely at her.

“I know you’re not, little orphan,” I told her. “But you are my pretty little bird, aren’t you? And I’m going to make you sing.”

She growled at me, and I could tell she’d gathered all her strength when she launched herself at me, naked and furious. I didn’t let her get far, grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her firmly against me, her lithe body writhing and trembling against my harsh touch.

“Be good,” I warned her. “You don’t want to get punished on your first day. The pain will be unbearable already.”

She seemed to crumple in my arms, almost needing my support to hold her up. Faced with the option of letting her go, I held her in my arms instead, making sure she stayed upright with her scared little heart beating frantically against my chest.

“See?” I asked her. “You can be so good when you try hard for me.”

She went limp in my arms, and I touched my nose to her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent. She was vanilla and lemon, a fucking addictive combination that made my mouth water and made me want to bite into her skin. But I’d made myself a promise, and I intended on sticking to it. I wasn’t allowed a touch or a taste of sweet little Ophelia, not just yet. Not until she was ripe for me.

“You,” I went on, speaking in the shell of her ear, “are going to spend a long, long time with me. Not days, or weeks, or months. You’re going to spend years here, Ophelia. Do you understand? Do you understand that you’re my fucking prisoner here?”

She whimpered, her eyes looking genuinely frightened as they followed my movements. I smirked at her, satisfied with her response.

“Oh yes,” I told her gently, my voice like a dark caress. “You’re going to go through so many things at my hands, you poor little girl. And you’re going to love it. Every second of it. I’m going to groom you into the perfect little slut. I’m not going to stop until you’re completely, utterly broken. And then I’ll make it all better so I can destroy you again.”

“Why are you doing this?” she whispered, and I gave her a kind smile.

“Because of who you are, of course,” I told her darkly. “Because of what you fucking Sokolovs did to me. They’re all gone now, little orphan. It’s time for you to pay.”