WARNING : this story contains rape,  violence and non-consensual elements 

Chapter Three,  Part One

After he unpacked most of his things, Kyou opened the door of his now aired out bedroom, and followed the sound of clinking cutlery and plates.

When he got to the kitchen he saw that the two brats from the night before were there as well. Just wonderful.

There were dishes being set on the counter to be brought to the table, and Aloys was staking a few more before the two kids took them and to set the table.

He hadn't acknowledged Kyousuke yet, but his voice carried across the room.

"Choose what you want for lunch tomorrow, Sera. Kain will help you get it ready before he goes to bed. And don't forget to be ready before Kier gets here to take you for your sleep over," he ordered Sera gently while giving a pointed look at Kain, who had started to help himself to the meat from the plates in the center of the table.

The girl nodded with a hum from her throat. "I want just meat. No vegetables," she said and wrinkled her nose at Aloys as the vampire got her her food.

"One of each, or no ice cream." he stated flatly.

Sera's eyes widened for a moment, clearly thinking if refusing a second time was worth no desert.

"...Ok," she pouted in defeat before Aloys grinned, and finally turned to Kyou.

"Ah! Your tea is still hot, would you like me to pour you a cup?"

The purpelette sat at the far side of the table, and nodded with a grunt. He looked every where but at the people at the table, until finally the stares were too much.

"What are you brats looking at?" he snapped with a glare.

Kain mainly focused on his food, having met Kyou earlier by barging so unscrupulously into the bathroom, but Sera blinked.

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly as Aloys came back with a freshly poured cup of tea that he set in front of Kyou.

Kyou 'hmph'ed in refusal to answer, and sipped his tea after stirring the dissolved sugar.

He couldn't help but smile as he drank the tea though, it's taste making him happy. It had just the right amount of cream and sugar in it… His eye caught Aloys' gaze almost daring Kyou to ignore the question.

"The name is Kyousuke, brat," he replied grudgingly with an eye roll and took another large swallow of the tea.

"I'm Sera, " she replied and stuck her tongue out at him before practically inhaling her food as Kain finished his and stood. "Kain! Lunch, now!" she demanded loudly. She scampered off to get her stuff as the teen sighed before he followed her to fix her lunchbox.

A knock at the door coming soon after they were both back and packing the girl's school bag. "And there's Kier. Go on, get your stuff and go," Aloys tells Sera before turning to Kain, "and you need to actually go to school tonight instead of skipping."

"What a beastly little girl," Kyou said with an indignant sniff. Then he grabbed a plate and piled it with veggies and greens and sprinkled it with dressing.

The purplette didn't realize how ravenous he had become, but once he started eating, he hummed in appreciation.

Aloys chuckled as he began to clear the table with Kain. "She's only that way to strangers."

Kain decidedly ignored Kyou and started to go to his room without saying anything. He was stopped by Aloys' gaze until he promised that he would go to school.

Kyou munched on his salad in response and briefly watched Kain leave before turning his gaze back to his food.

A silence filled the room with just the two of them after Sera bidded the two of the goodbye and left with a squeal and a door slamming shut.

Aloys took the last of the used dishes to the kitchen and came back to sit at the far end of the table.

Kyou refused to look at the vampire and meet his heavy gaze.

Finally the awkward silence and lack of food that occupied Kyousuke's mouth forced him to speak.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked through slightly clenched teeth.

"I was wondering, Kyousuke,"  Aloys said like he hadn't heard the purplette speak, "What do you plan on doing from now on? It seems like you have no job, no family, and no money-"

"How fucking blunt of you," Kyou interrupted, but Aloys continued on.

"To be blunt, yes," he said. "But I want you to know that you are safe here, and until I do what I promised, then you are free to stay here as long as you want."

Kyou sat back in his chair, his posture anything but relaxed. "I plan on finding another job, thank you." he said with a scowl. As tempting as the idea of eating Aloys out of house and home sounded, he doubted it would phase the man. "I don't want to be indebted to you anymore then I am, and I can't stand you."

"How blunt," He mocked lightly as the sides of his mouth curled into a faint smirk.

Kyou let out a sharp breath of disdain and stood. He automatically brought his plate to sink filled with hot water and put in his things. He rolled up his sleeves and got work washing his dishes.

As he scrubbed, elbows deep in soapy water, he felt arms wrap around his waist. He stiffened as he felt Aloys' cold mouth ghost over his skin and heard him inhale deeply through his nose.

Kyou stilled. "What are you doing?" he asked. He felt his heart rate increase as he felt Aloys shift behind him.

Aloys hummed softly. "You just smell so good~" he said and sniffed slowly again.

Kyou growled in irritation. "What did I say about touching me?" he asked flatly, his hands starting to come out of the hot, soapy water to turn around and push Aloys away.

But the other man was faster. He slide his wide palms over Kyou's forearms and down into the water. He laced their hands together, and pressed him against the edge of the sink.

"I don't think that you don't like this, love," he breathed, his smile heavy in his tone.

A shiver raced down Kyou's spine as the vampire's cool breath tickled his ear, hyper aware of the other man's movements as he rocked into Kyou's back gently.

" And I can't help that you smell so damn good, either," he added in a purr.

Kyou pulled his hands out of Aloys' grip with more hesitation then he liked and turned around.

"Just stay out of my way, and I will stay out of yours," he said cooly and put his wet, sudsy hands to Aloys' chest.

He pushed the other man away and left the kitchen quickly. He was sure Aloys smirked as he watched him go, and it only added to the adrenaline that made his legs shake.

Whether that shaking was good or bad, right now, he couldn't tell.

*******

That night Kyou had another dream. He couldn't always remember them, but knew this one was a little more noisy than usual, and vivid.

He was suddenly awake, and altho the specifics of the dream dissipated within minutes, the strong feeling of happiness and sense of belonging remained heavily in his heart and on his mind. He wiped his face and found it wet with tears. He sat up and scrubbed his cheeks and eyes with a sniff.

His heart ached so much that he tried to uselessly clutch at it through his shirt, and he seemed to curl into himself as he brought the back of his hand to his face again as he wiped it a final time. After that, he swung his feet sharply to the floor and rushed to the nearest bathroom and threw up in the toilet.

He clutched the toilet bowl, his dry heaves and sobs filling the bathroom. After about ten minutes he calmed down enough to shakily stand and wash out his mouth before pulling on a sweatshirt and heading to the kitchen.

Kyou filled up the coffee pot with water and waited silently against the counter for it to boil. He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the door shut behind him. He whirled his head around and saw Kain.

The teen dropped his bag on the floor before he kicked off his shoes and hung up his coat. He looked at Kyou with tired eyes and he nodded slightly in greeting before trudging off to his room.

Kyou watched him go in silence as he faintly remembered Aloys mentioning something about night school. He turned back with mental shrug and waited once again for his water.

Happily enough he was soon sitting at the table, Citrus Lavender tea in hand. He had some toast with too and munched on it quietly. After a while, Kyou got up and decided to explore the house.

He tiptoed across the floor and up the stairs and knew that with his luck Aloys would wake up and annoy him with his undead attitude. He grasped the handle and opened the first door with a small amount of dread and excitement. It was...just a closet…. The next door was a spare room, along with the next.

By the fourth door, he was starting to get bored. All this vampire had was fucking spare rooms and broom closets! Kyousuke had half been expecting to find some kind of torture chamber or maybe a room where he kept his prisoners locked up, but so far there was nothing.

He opened the last door and was surprised to find a library. It was covered, floor to ceiling with shelves of books.

The shelves were packed full of books; many ancient scripts and newer stories were carefully organized in their own sections. One, in particular, caught his eye. He pulled out a small, leather-bound book. It was wrapped in leather twine and had "1" etched into the cover.

And he could tell that it was old by the faded pages and the worn leather around the sides like it had been read many times before.

Deciding he'd read this, Kyou looked around for a place to sit. The room itself was very impressive with its old, yet comfortable looking furnishings, as well as its huge, curtain covered windows that blocked the light from changing the dim atmosphere.

He picked a chair, yanking open the curtain beside it. He coughed and sneezed at the cloud of dust it produced with the sharp movement.

Then he plopped down into the squishy leather and pulled his knees up to his chest. There was just enough light to start reading.

Kyousuke carefully unwrapped the book and opened it slowly. The spine crackled as it was forced open. There was chunky scrawl inside. Oh god, it was a journal.

He stifled a groan- and a yawn- and began to try to read the writing:

'So, although I don't know what to write about, I realize that most of these pages are going to be filled with my very mundane life. I guess I should start this off properly. I am Keiko, a servant of the Keiran household. The year is 1XXX and the month is May.'

Kyou was not very impressed. Of course, this guy would have books and memoirs of his family. He continued:

'Today I woke up a little before dawn, and helped out Father in the fields; then at noon I went to the castle to help mother tend the king and his children. I helped the prince and princess with applying their lessons and am encouraged graciously by the king himself to participate in lessons from time to time when I am able.

I received this journal on a birthday many months ago, but am just now putting it to use. I'm only 13, and am just a boy but i hope that someday I can be useful to king and the crown prince and princess just as much as my father and mother are to them…

Kyou snorted. This was freaking ridiculous. He turned the page.

'Late May, 1XXX

Today I had to help the crown prince. He was rough per usual, and I am positive that swordplay is not something I enjoy…

He has been kind to me all my life, probably because we have been raised together since i was born, but lately i have been noticing something is off. My lord prince has become much more hostile the last few months then usual. I am a little worried, but is it my place to say anything to him?

I am just a lowly, second class servant, and we have not talked to each other with familiarity since we were children, but i feel like he is suffering from some ailment of the heart-'

Kyou almost choked on his spit. Oh man. Ailment of the heart? He shook his head but kept on reading.

'Anyway, he spoke harshly to Miss Ebony, and although it didn't seem to affect her, I still cringed inwardly. She is a kind person, even if she is a little misguided, and she and i have spent many late nights in the library after hours reading quietly to each other. It hurt to see her talked to that way.

When I asked her about it later in the evening, she just laughed and patted my head. She told me not to worry about it, and that I should be worried myself rather than her.

I never can tell what she is thinking.'

Despite his initial mockery, Kyou read through the small journal, and started on the second one. It was full of the 'Prince' and the work Keiko did on at the castle. The second one started off no different.

'Mid November, 1XXX

The prince is as sour as ever. I do not know what I have done to annoy him so. So like a coward, I have been avoiding lessons and helping Father out in the fields. I hate that it has come to this, but I can't stand to be hated by the prince. I would rather save him from looking at my sorry self even if it hurts to not see him myself.

"Jesus, just talk to him!" Kyou frowned.

This kid was making things way too fucking complicated. Servant or not, he could just ask what the fuck was wrong.

'Late December, 1XXX

It is the day after Christmas. Well, really the early morning of the 26th, actually. I wish that I could say Christmas Day was something like out of one of the fairytales in Miss Ebony's books, but I am afraid that i may have hurt the prince's and my relationship beyond the point of fixing.

He was being rude to Miss Ebony, and even his majesty the king. I couldn't bite my tongue. I said some truly horrible things to him. I want to bang my head against the wall just thinking about it. I know I will face the consequences of my actions today, and this could very well be my last entry.

I should get an hour or two of sleep before facing the day. Good night.

New Year Day, 1XXX

I guess that since I am writing in this again, I am alive and well. I truly thought it was the end of me that day. The prince has mocked me many times since the 'incident' on Christmas, but nothing other a stern talking to from my parents has been given in punishment.

I partly wish that something had happened, because this tension between us is killing me. When I see how he can laugh and joke with the others like there is nothing wrong, but the moment I am in his sights he turns cold and apathetic, cuts me deeply. More than I can convey.

I wish we could go back to when we were kids and we could talk and laugh without worry. Well, I should get back to the others. They are serving cake and things to snack on in celebration of the new year.

Early January, 1XXX

Today a lot of things happened. For one, it is my birthday. I turned fourteen, and it has been a year since I got my first journal from my father. I am about halfway through the second one. I am growing quite fond of writing in this, and plan on doing so until I cannot anymore.

The second thing that happened is that the prince confessed to me what has been ailing him."