A/N: So, I came up with this idea some days ago and I just had to write about it. All of you that are reading my other fanfic, don't worry, I'll keep writing it (in fact I'm almost done with the new chapter) but I just wanted to see if you were fond of the idea of a fantasy AU. This story is roughly based on the "A Court of Thrones and Roses" Series by Sarah J Maas.

Today was the day. I knew we didn't have enough. What I didn't know was what would happen to us when we didn't pay her. I had only heard rumors. Horribly terrifying rumors.

Every year the Queen of Darkness -that's what we common people called her- sent her guards to collect a tax from every family in our kingdom. It was part of the treaty our King had signed when her armies destroyed his, in order to let him keep his lands.

I was helping mother with cooking when they barged in, covered from head to toe in shiny black armor. It was the most terrifying thing I had seen in my eighteen years of life. I must have been shaking, because of my brother, who had been making arrows, placed his hand on my arm.

"Is this Bill's Chapman estate?" One of them asked his voice nothing more than a growl.

I would hardly have called our little cabin an estate, but my father nodded.

"Are you Bill Chapman." The same man asked again.

"Yes." Father said, either being very brave, or great at hiding his terror.

"Do you know how much you owe to her Majesty?"

"Yes."

"What are you waiting for then? Bring us the coins." It was the second man's turn to speak now. And to my disbelief, his voice was harsher than the other one's.

"I c-can't pay you in coins, b-but I'm sure w-we can find something else."

"What do you have to offer?" The first man asked.

Sometimes the queen allowed us to pay our debts by giving her precious things if we didn't have coins. But, we didn't have anything precious left and that meant that father was buying us time.

"Carol, take Piper and go get some strawberries to serve to the gentlemen." Was this an order to run?

My mother grabbed my arm and led me outside towards the three strawberry bushes that were growing near our cabin. "What's going to happen?" I found the courage to ask.

"Nothing." She replied harshly, a tone I had grown to get used to. "Your father will find a solution."

My father had always found a way to save us all those years before. Normally, I shouldn't worry. But, something told me that this year would be the exception to the rule.

When we came into the house, the two guards were gone. "What happened?" I asked, eager to know our future.

"I took care of it." Father said, with the same pain in his eyes as last year. And the years that had come before.

"Father, she-"

"Shut up, Cal." He growled, cutting off my brother.

Cal's behavior made me wonder what thing we were forced to give away to survive. Was it another heirloom that Father had never told us about? Or maybe it was Cal's bow -that would explain his behavior. He loved that thing more than anything. However, I quickly crossed that possibility out. It wasn't worth enough to pay our taxes.

…

The sun had almost set when there was the inevitable knock on our door. The Queen had accepted our offering and her men were here to collect it. I looked around for it but couldn't find anything that wasn't usually there.

My mother opened the door and the same guards walked into our cabin, looking just as terrifying as I had remembered. "We are here to collect what you promised us."

"My offering will take care of the whole tax, right?" My father asked and I knew he was this close to canceling the offer.

"Yes." The man growled. "Have you said your goodbyes?"

Goodbyes? What item could we love that much that we would want to say goodbye to it? Before I knew what was happening, Cal wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry Pipes." He whispered, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"What's happening?" My voice was shaky from fear. No. No. No. It wasn't possible. They wouldn't never…

The guards pushed Cal away from me and they started dragging me out of our cabin, all while my parents just started at me. I was screaming and crying as they led me to a fancy looking carriage.

"Please let me go." I begged, fighting them as best as I could.

"Don't make us hurt you." One of them said in a low voice, making me stop my protests and let them get me into the carriage.

…

The journey was so long I wasn't sure if I had been traveling for hours or days. It didn't help that for some time now the only thing that surrounded us was darkness. But it wasn't one of those types that made you feel calm. No. This one was meant to intimidate.

The carriage finally stopped and one of the men helped me out of it. I was met with a palace, it's walls made out of what seemed like a black, non-transparent glass. It looked gigantic from the outside and was even bigger from the inside. I tried to remember the route we took, but after the seventh turn I gave up. This place was a maze. A maze which's carpet costed more than all of my family's savings. My family… I would never see them again. And all because of this cruel, bitch of a Queen. Why did she need more money? Her palace is evidence that she has more than she will ever need.

We stopped in front of two closed doors. They pushed them open and I was met with a room larger than our entire cabin. A dark blue tapestry covered the walls and I noticed that the window didn't open. Was the Queen afraid I would escape? But then I remembered, the Queen wasn't afraid of anything.

"Where is she?" A woman's voice echoed in the hall, excitement evident in it.

A petite woman entered the room. She had brown short curls, wore no makeup, expect a vibrant red lipstick and her crimson dress left her whole back bare. I hoped I didn't stare too much at her.

"Hello, dear." She said, taking my hands in her surprisingly cold ones. "Are they scaring you?" The woman gestured to the two guards and before I could answer she ordered them to leave the room. "My name is Lorna." She told me sweetly.

"I'm Piper." I managed, my voice croaky.

"Piper… What a nice name." Lorna looked at my dress and gasped. "We can't let you walk around dressed in those rags."

I didn't show that I felt a little insulted from her words. I knew that she didn't mean to hurt me. And to be honest, my clothes did look like rags compared to hers.

The doors opened and a man barged in. "Her Majesty is on her way." He announced and left again.

"What!?" Lorna squeaked. "B-but I have to bathe and dress you first. She can't see you like that."

If she hadn't managed to make me feel self-conscious before, she had certainly succeeded now. "Will she hurt you for not preparing me?" Will she hurt me?

"Oh, no. To be honest, she didn't even ask me to. I just felt like I should make you presentable." Her words made me relax a bit. "When she comes in, you will kneel before her and not rise until she lets you. You will refer to her as her Majesty unless she allows you to use another title. Don't ever talk back to her." With every rule, I felt my heart beat quicken. What if I screwed up?

The doors opened again and she walked in. Her raven hair fell evenly on her shoulders, matching her jet black dress that consisted of some striped covering up her breasts and lady parts. There was no crown on her head but her posture and confidence showed that she was a Queen. That she was the Queen. I almost forgot to fall on my knees in front of her.

"Leave us alone, Lorna." She commanded with her husky voice that sent shivers up my spine. "You may rise."

I slowly got up, my eyes making contact with her icy green ones. Just by looking into them, I felt an enticing darkness surround me. I studied her face and I'm pretty sure I couldn't find one flaw.

"What's your name?" She asked, studying me as well.

"Piper Chapman." I said, my voice embarrassingly shaky.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, your Majesty." I told her, chastising myself for forgetting her title the first time.

"Tell me what you know."

I swallowed. I knew few things and all of them were bad. "You are the Queen of this kingdom."

She laughed. Actually laughed. "Is that all?" I nodded emphatically. "What about the fact that I suck the souls out of people?" I froze, my heart skipping a beat. "Relax, Piper. I'm just kidding."

I don't know exactly why- it may have been because of her voice or because of some small alteration to the pronunciation- but I fell in love with the way she said my name.

"What's your name?" The question slipped from my lips before my mind could stop it. "I'm so sorry, your Majesty I-"

"Alexandra Vause."

"Alexandra." I liked the way her name rolled from my tongue. "It's a very pretty name." I admitted.

"Thank you." She told me with a smile so bright it made me forget that she was the Queen of Darkness. "But, I actually prefer being called Alex." I didn't know what to say, so I simply nodded. It wasn't like I was going to be calling her Alex. "I should let you relax."

"What will you do with me?" Feeling a strange rush of courage, I brought myself to ask her that.

"I'm not sure just yet." She muttered, running a hand through her hair. And then the realization hit me- I was hers. Hers to play with. Hers to torture. And hers to destroy.

"Well, you surely had an idea when you bought me." I spoke with an anger that was totally justifiable. This woman had treated me like an object.

"I didn't buy you. Your father begged me to take you." Her voice was harsh, all previous friendliness gone. "I did your family a favor."

"Should I be thanking you?" I was now shaking. "I had a life. Not a very nice one, but I liked it."

She arched an eyebrow, her eyes cold. "Did you, now?"

"I had a family a-and a best friend." Tears started streaming down my face as I told her about everything I had lost. About everything she had taken from me. "I was promised to a very nice guy." All gone.

"So, you're saying that I should have turned down your father's offer?" Her voice was terrifyingly calm.

"No." I whispered because I knew what she did to those who didn't pay her. "What do you do with all this money? Do you need it, or do you just like watching people struggle to find enough to give to you?"

"You are right, Piper Chapman. I love watching peasants like you do anything to pay my taxes. And I love torturing them when they fail, even more." I swear I could see something like smoke shape around her. "I'm evil. And you are mine." Her words cut through me like a knife. "And there is nothing you can do about it."

I knew she would hurt me for what I wanted to say and I said it nevertheless. "I'll never be yours, Alex. Yes, you own me. But I'm not yours. I can only be yours by choice and trust me, that will never happen." I closed my eyes, expecting the worst my mind could imagine.

Instead of doing something, she simply said, "Never say never, Piper." When I opened my eyes, she was gone and I was standing in the dark room all alone.

I was scared. I was scared from the unfamiliar surroundings, I was scared of the fact that I was pretty much a prisoner in a gilded cage and I was scared about my future. But what scared me the most, was the fact that I couldn't convince myself that Alexandra Vause was bad. Evil. Wicked. Hell, she had even admitted it herself. But all I could think, was how maybe what she had done was showing mercy to my family.

A/N: I hoped you liked the idea and setting. If you want me to continue it, leave a positive review :)