Her eyes were watering, and her mouth was set in a line, the bottom lip trembling as I came to her.

I dropped to my knees in front of her. My queen, my goddess, my Rose.

She would truly do it. She didn't even need time to think about it. She was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for me.

I wanted to hate myself for making her do it. The need to punish her for something I knew she was going to do all along. Since the moment I brought her home with me, I knew she was going to run. It was in her nature, in her young blood. She had hopes and inspirations, and she hadn't spent a year obsessing over me as I had about her. I knew I was a fucking goner a long time ago, but she had yet to make the realization.

"Rose," I said gently, and her tear-filled eyes turned down to meet mine. "I don't want to force you."

"You don't need to," she said fiercely. "It's my own decision and one that I am making willingly. I will give it up. Whatever you ask of me. Now, will you do it?"

Her hand was shaking as she placed it on my shoulder, her eyes dancing with shadows of fear. 

"Will you do it, please Master?" she muttered, and I felt my fucking heart sink.

"I will," I promised her.

She was shaking as I took her ankles in my fingers and kissed her calves, the silk of her dress soft against my skin. I moved my lips up her skin, under her dress, kissing a line up her thighs until I reached her sweet cunt. I kissed the top of it, the skin just as silky as her dress. I could smell my own jizz inside her and it drove me wild. It told me whom she belonged to, and it was exactly the answer I needed to hear.

"Master," she breathed, her legs quaking between my arms. "Please, don't make me wait."

I held her tightly as I pulled a pocket knife from my pocket. It was the one I'd used before to cut her lingerie, and she gasped when she saw it. I thought she would start to sob, maybe change her mind and beg me not to do it. But she stayed fucking strong for me. I knew I was a sick, crazy bastard for doing it. Yet I couldn't stop myself. I needed this. I needed to take it away from her, lock it away, so she would be mine forever.

I touched the blade to her ankle and she stood up straight, her eyes going to mine.

"Do it," she whispered. "Fucking do it."

There were so many reasons not to go through with it, and my mind resisted, screeching as the blade rested against her skin. I felt her body sagging against mine, and I looked up to find her looking almost delirious. 

"It's okay," I whispered, and she mewled before falling to her knees before me.

The knife clattered from my hands as I held onto her. The reasons not to do this were filling my head with worry. But she had agreed, she wanted me to do it. She was willing to make the sacrifice for me. And a sick, demented part of me wanted to go through with it. Take her dancing away from her just because I could.

Instead, I held onto her tightly, holding her like she was the most precious cargo in the world.

"It's okay," I repeated, over and over again until she finally stopped sobbing. 

She was a pretty little mess in my hands, and she raised her eyes to meet mine. Her gaze was filled with so much fear it surprised me. She was willing to go through with this, but it didn't mean she wasn't scared.

"Won't you do it?" she asked shakily, and I kissed the top of her head, holding her close.

"Not now," I told her, my voice heavy with emotion. "It needs to be somewhere sterile, I don't want to hurt you."

Her body sagged more, and I wasn't sure whether it was relief or fear of when I'd actually go through with it. I didn't question it either. Just held her and laid her body out on the blanket, covering it with mine. My lips reached down to hers, kissing what was mine as gently as I knew she needed it.

"You need to do it," she murmured weakly against my lips. "Have you changed your mind?"

I thought about it. It was a cruel thing to do, but the evil man who lived inside my head was still going to go through with it. I just wanted it done in a safe environment so she wouldn't get hurt more than I needed her to.

"I will," I promised her again, raining kisses on her sweet skin. "I'll hurt you, Rose. I'll hurt you more than I've ever hurt anyone before. I promise."

She whimpered beneath me and I held her close, feeling like I was the one holding her together. Maybe she would have fallen apart without me, but maybe this would make her stronger. I was hoping for the latter, though I had to admit there was something delicious about it when she let go of herself completely.

We lay together under the stars and I waited for her breathing to slow down, the panic to leak out of her pores and for my girl to be returned to my arms.

As I looked deep into her eyes, I felt, for the very first time since I'd had her, that she truly belonged to me. She had accepted her fate willingly, falling into my waiting embrace and forgoing any other dreams that she may have had.

I watched those beautiful eyes turn upwards to the sky, watching the stars dazzle and dance across the moonlit night. She stared up with her eyes wide open and wondering, but for me, there was nothing to look for in the sky. My whole universe was lying right next to me, and she was the only thing I wanted to see.

My fingers touched her skin, gently exploring her collarbone, dipping into her dress and searching her for the marks I'd left on her.

She got up a second later, putting her weight on her elbow and staring at me with hope in her gaze. I knew she had something to say, and a few moments later, she spoke up, just like I'd known she would.

I knew there would be some doubts about her decision, but I didn't expect her to shatter me as fiercely as she did in the next few minutes.

"There's something I want," she admitted, and I looked up into her dazzling blue eyes.

"What is it?" I asked her gently.

"I... There's one last thing I want to do before I stop... being able to dance," she managed to get out, nervously chewing on her bottom lip as she gave me a frightened look. "If that's okay."

"What might that be?" I asked, but right away, my guard was up.

I wasn't sure what she would ask for, but I had a feeling I wouldn't fucking like it. I was a selfish bastard, intent on keeping her close to me always, and I didn't want her requesting something I wasn't willing to give her. It would only end up hurting her in the end when I had to turn her down.

"I've always wanted to..." she started, her words drifting off to nothing as she bit her lip, and I comforted her by stroking her hand. "I want to dance as Odette and Odile, in Swan Lake."

"Oh?" I said, my eyebrows going up as I waited for her to clarify.

"The ballet by Tchaikovsky," she said, and I hated the apologetic tone in her voice.

"Don't worry," I said softly. "You can tell me anything. I won't judge you, and I'll listen until you explain. Okay?"

"Okay," she nodded gratefully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Sitting in the moonlight, she looked fucking breathtaking. Her hair was so light it looked silver and gold under the stars, and her eyes shone just like the moon. She was a beauty alright, and a savage, selfish need to call her my own took over me. I didn't want anyone else touching her. I could barely bear the thought of another man seeing what I saw, knowing how fucking fast I fell for her and how damn easy it would be for someone else to do the same.

"It's always been a dream of mine," she finally went on. "My mom... She took me to see Swan Lake when I was a little girl. And it's always been a dream to dance in the role of Odette and Odile. It's a double role - the white swan and the black swan. It's one of the hardest routines and takes a big toll on the dancer, but... I really want to do it."

"Before..." I started, but she didn't let me finish, motioning for me to stop with her hand.

"I will go through with it," she whispered. "For you."

"You don't have to," I reminded her, and we stared at one another with fire in our eyes.

She didn't have to say a word. I had given her a choice indeed, do it, or leave me, but it wasn't really a choice. She wouldn't leave me willingly... or would she?

I knew deep down that even if she tried, I would capture her again and keep her for myself.

"I wanted to ask," she said, swallowing thickly and showing me how hard this was for her. "If it would be possible... Before I go through with it..."

"Yes?" I asked encouragingly. 

"To train harder," she asked. "To be at my peak when I go out. To dance one last time, only for you if that's what you choose. But I want to dance as Odette and Odile. One last time. For your eyes only."

I pondered her question while she squirmed uncomfortably on the blanket. I could tell she was nervous, the toll asking me had taken on her. I wanted to say yes, but a selfish part of me wanted to take it all from her, and made me wonder if I had lost the very last vestige of humanity inside me. Finally, I nodded and she smiled wider than I'd ever seen her.

"You may train and dance," I told her. "You will have a year to prepare for the role. A year by my side."

"Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around my shoulders. "I'm so grateful..."

I held her close, inhaling her sweet scent and cherishing every moment I got to spend in her company.

But as she pulled away, the far-away look I had noticed in her eyes before was firmly set into place again.

I'd only seen it gone once, and it was when she'd accepted that her tendons would be cut, that she'd never dance again professionally. And as soon as that hope, that dream, was back in her life, so was the look in her eyes that told me she was day-dreaming once again. Hoping for things she would never have. Lusting for a career path I'd never let her take. The competition between me and her love for dancing was fierce, and it was getting heated.

"You're welcome, Rose," I muttered as she smiled sweetly and kissed my lips.

She tasted of sugar and dreams I could never fulfill, and I hated myself for giving her false hope. Would I actually be able to watch her train? Love something else when my fucked up, selfish mind demanded that attention only for myself?

"Thank you, she repeated over and over again, her lips soft on top of mine.

I smiled rigidly, but deep down, I was already regretting my decision.