Elliot pushed the door open and stepped into the room. He could feel the human tentatively following behind as he gestured around the area.
„This is where I spend most of my time. I’m sorry for the mess but I wasn’t expecting, uh, guests.“
Lukas couldn’t believe his Master even allowed him in the study. Usually pets were prohibited from all the important rooms. Why was he showing him all this? The boy was suspicious, although maybe it did make sense since this room was exceptionally disorganized and someone had to clean it.
They were surrounded by tall bookshelves that were filled to the brim with expensive-looking literature and magazines. The walls were decorated with various paintings, depicting scenes from vampiric history as well as maps from different time periods. In the middle of the room was a big desk on which papers and schoolbooks lay scattered around.
Lukas took a small step back, seemingly overwhelmed by the sheer size of it all. His gaze drifted over the walls as his fingers nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. Elliot began walking through the study, pointing at the different items and lighting candles around the furniture.
„These are all my schoolbooks. Here we have history, geography and English literature. Oh, and over there is the math and physics section, not really my favorite to study but the grades don’t earn themselves, huh?“
He grinned awkwardly and walked behind the desk. Lukas could only glare warily through the room.
„Here I keep all my writing stuff. You know, homework and personal projects. But this right here is my proudest possession.“
He pointed behind another bookshelf, and Lukas realized he was supposed to come closer. The boy carefully approached, fingers still clutching the shirt. Then, he gasped. Behind the shelf was a big globe, mapping out the entire planet with all its various countries and seas. The human stepped closer, eyes fixed on the huge orb. He knew how the human territory was sectioned and which countries and continents existed, yet there was a whole other side to this he never saw before. Big patches of black filled the area behind the great „border“ of the two territories. But they too were separated into what seemed to be countries. His eyes drifted over the surface as he read their strange names.
Senara.
For a moment, curiosity pushed and broke through Lukas’s fear. He had never heard of those countries; he had never seen their forests and mountains mapped out before. Humans didn’t know much about the land behind the border since it was a death sentence to even try and explore the other side of the world. Then, Lukas's gaze traveled up the border, over rivers and small lakes until it stopped on a town in human territory.
The letters hit him like a punch in the face and his chest constricted. Memories of his school suddenly flooded his mind. Memories of his mother, his father, and siblings. Birthdays, festivals, nights outside with friends. What he would give to see Eveline and Kyle just one more time. Oh no, no, no, this wasn’t good. He’d spent so long pushing these memories down, away from the surface, away from these monsters. His breathing quickened. It hurt too much to think about what was lost, what he’d never see again… Lukas was sucking in short breaths and he could feel his hands get clammy. Glassy eyes focused on that damned spot on the globe.
Elliot watched the human worriedly.
„Hey, are you ok?“
Immediately, Lukas was ripped from his trance and seemed to realize where he was. He was no longer a person in Minot and with his family. He was a slave, a slave surrounded by dark forests and bloodthirsty monsters. He couldn’t risk letting his Master find out about his vulnerability.
„Y-yes, excuse me, Master.“ He shot the vampire a scared glance before looking away.
But nothing was ok, Elliot could hear the thundering heartbeat and trembling breaths rushing through the human’s body. What had happened just now? Before Elliot could wonder further, he saw the human's head shoot up in surprise. Something had caught his eye.
In the other corner of the room was a skeleton propped up against the wall. The dim light of the candles just barely grazed the surface of the countless anatomy and psychology books stacked next to it. Elliot froze when he saw the human’s glance land on the small dissection table next to them. A metal surface, equipped with scalpels, tweezers, and scissors. On it laid a dead frog Elliot had found by a nearby pond just a few days prior to his birthday. Shit. The vampire could feel the boy’s energy shift from apprehension to naked terror in seconds.
Lukas tightly wrapped his arms around himself and froze. The frog was cut open and pinned with needles. Right, how could he have been so naive? There was a reason why he was here, and it wasn't to read in those fancy books or find out more about the vampire territory. The reason why that vampire with the golden fang had bought him in the first place. The human swallowed hard and couldn’t move.
„Since we know how much you like your little experiments, your mother and I thought we could reward our son with something special for once."
There were so many books about his kind. Gods, his new master was really fascinated by humans. There were studies on human anatomy, studies on their psychology, the skeleton, and so many notes. Lukas’ head began to spin as his glance fell onto the bloody scalpel. He desperately wanted to take a step back from the terrifying sight but remembered who stood right behind him. His body froze, suddenly hyperaware of the dark shadows in all corners and the fact that he was alone with a vampire who loved studying humans. For a moment, nobody said anything and Lukas felt his body tremble as he desperately tried to keep it together.
Why had the vampire gone quiet all of a sudden? The boy didn’t dare turn around, he didn’t want to see those carmine eyes staring at him, full of bloodlust and sadism. Then, he heard steps approach from behind.
He couldn’t suppress a small yelp when he felt the monster come closer.
Elliot tried to move slowly in order not to scare the frightened boy. God, he was such an idiot, leaving his utensils out like that! Of course the boy would be scared shitless seeing all that! He could feel the human freeze up under his gaze.
„This, this is not what it looks like. I promise.“ He tried, but the human's' breathing didn’t slow down at all.
He looked so small and fragile from behind. The shoulders pulled up to his ears and the skinny arms wrapped protectively around his quivering body.
„H-hey, it’s okay. Can you look at me?“
Lukas immediately obeyed and turned around slowly. Then, watery green met blood red. Elliot saw the human visibly struggling to keep up the eye contact. He took a deep breath.
„Look, I never wanted this. I had no idea my parents would actually go as far as gifting me a person for my birthday, I mean, this whole situation is just bizarre! But I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t want to dissect you or study you or whatever it is you may think.“
The human started at the desperation in the deep voice. Master didn’t want him to be a canvas? Or a specimen? None of this made any sense.
He’d almost sounded genuine, but Lukas knew one couldn’t trust a vampire's words. Was this a test? It had to be and Lukas wouldn’t be so naive as to fall for it. His Master just wanted to see how well he had been trained. He probably wanted to check if Lukas knew his place; younger vampires were known to play tricks on their food. Why else would he have shown him all this?
But then again…what if he really didn’t want to keep a human in his house? Ice-cold goosebumps shivered down Lukas’ back. Vampires who didn’t want their pets usually didn’t bother keeping them around for long. This only meant…
He slowly turned his head back, looking at the bloody scene once more. The animal had been cut open, and his intestines spilled grossly out of the corpse. A cold shiver ran down his spine. This was going to be him.
He could feel the vampire's stare boring into him and suddenly the air felt electric, like something was about to happen. Something bad. He forced himself towards the table.
Elliot frowned and watched the boy head towards the dead animal. Then, he removed his shirt, revealing a skinny and bruised torso, which he immediately tried to cover with his shaking arms. His whole frame was trembling while staring at the scalpels.
„Uh-„ Elliot started but was interrupted by a soft whisper.
„M-Master, p-please allow me to b-be useful. P-please use me as you wish. I know my place, I was t-trained well, you… you won’t have to discipline me.“
The human now pressed his eyes shut, sucking in little gasps of air. His small frame trembled violently as he seemed to wait for…something. It was now that Elliot could see the various scars on the pale skin, along with some bruises and bite marks. His heart fell.
„No, no. I, uhm, I don’t want to use you. Like I said, I never meant for you to be here…“ he tried, but the human’s eyes widened further.
Without warning, the ragged breathing turned into panicked hyperventilation as the small body cowered inward.
Elliot was at a loss for words and could only stare dumbly at the figure in front of him.
Lukas opened his eyes by a fraction, flinching back and letting out a startled yelp when he saw the vampire suddenly standing so close before him. His trembling intensified and he fell to his knees, eyes fixated on the floor. He had to try and give his Master a reason not to kill him. He had to!
„P-please M-Master, I swear I can be of use to you! You don’t h-have to dispose of me. I-if you don’t want me in the house, you can lock me away and f-feed whenever you want. I p-p-promise I taste good!“
Tears were starting to stream down the soft cheeks.
„Y-you can do whatever you want with me but please d-don’t, don’t k-kill me. I can also… I-I c-can, uhm, m-make you feel g-good…“
All of a sudden, strong hands grabbed Lukas's shoulders. The boy shrieked in terror.
„Enough!“ Elliot couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
His own heart hammered in his chest as he felt the human go completely still under his touch. Cold nausea washed over him. The boy really thought Elliot would kill him if he weren't useful.
„Enough. I won’t,“ Gods, „I won’t kill you, okay? I didn’t mean it like that. Take a deep breath for me.“
The human obeyed — or at least he tried to — as he desperately sucked in air through his quivering lungs. Clearly he didn’t trust Elliot one bit and the vampire didn't blame him. He had to say something the human would understand. He had to make him calm down somehow.
„You’re right. You can be useful to me.“
The blonde boy tensed up but seemed to be listening.
„Now that I think about it, I really need someone who can help me clean up around the house. Like uhm, dusting the shelves or watering the plants. What do you say?“
He carefully let go of the thin arms and backed away. Giving him space, since clearly Elliot was the reason why he was so terrified in the first place.
„Of course, Master! I’ll do it, I’ll do anything!“
And there they were again, those beautiful emerald eyes. Still glistening with tears, but now a fraction of hope dared to shimmer through them. Elliot sighed and for a moment, his glance got lost in the humans face. The mortal was still shivering a bit, too afraid to make eye contact but also too scared to turn away. There was dirt on his nose and in his thin eyebrows. His blonde hair would probably be shiny and golden if washed, but right now the greasy mop looked just as miserable and neglected as everything else on that poor creature.
„I haven’t even asked you for your name yet.“ Elliot then said quietly.
The human startled. Why would his master care about his name? Wasn’t he just considered property?
„Y-You can call me whatever you like, S-Sir.“ He whispered.
„I’d like to call you by your real name.“ The vampire countered, making him swallow dryly.
Lukas. A careful smile appeared on Elliot’s lips as he extended a hand to help the boy get to his feet.
„Put your shirt back on, Lukas. I’ll pour you a bath.“
<-Previous
@written-in-the-stars135
@devised-agony
