Servitude [BoyxBoy]

Chapter 1

Soleil, Portrayed by Manu Rios

[Soliel]

My first impression of Silvian Malum had been one of insurmountable distaste. Not only did he come from a family of parasites, he also had the personality of a dead fish. Needless to say, my first few days in his manor did not go too smoothly.

As soon as I arrived at the manor, hands grabbed at me from all directions and a sharp pain formed in my neck. My body fell completely limp as I was forced to sit back and let them treat me like a rag doll.

The servants bathed me in cold water and dressed me in an itchy suit before lying me down in a room until I came back to my senses.

The whole experience had been disgusting. I noticed the hot stares, and the lingering hands. Their accidental brushes and flushed cheeks. Once I could move again, I curled up into a ball in the centre of the bed until I fell asleep.

And then I woke up with a scream as I felt somebody's hand sneak under my clothes. They bolted out of the room, slamming the door before I could catch a glimpse of them.

So I didn't sleep again.

It wasn't ideal, but for a creature like myself, a week without sleep wouldn't kill me. Though it wouldn't be ideal either. Instead I stood in my room and tried to find a way out.

The door to it had been locked that night, and there had been no call for me from the leeches upstairs. There were also no windows, just a low down bed, a wardrobe with uncomfortable clothing and four walls.

Another door led to a tiny bathroom, which only had a toilet and a sink - no windows. I guessed that the baths were somewhere in the servants quarters, but I wasn't being allowed outside.

It felt like I had been moved from one cage to another.

After what seemed to be an eternity, although it was probably only three days, the bell in the corner of my room rang and the door seemed to unlock itself.

Warily, I got up from where I had been sat in the corner of the room and walked into the hallway, feeling my body creak like the floorboards below. The entire corridor seemed completely empty, so I walked the way I came in. I'd seen most of the house in my paralysed state, so navigating back to the main foyer was easy enough, but I had no idea where to go from there.

That was when a young woman walked into the foyer, her flat shoes clicking against the floor as she paced hurriedly and looked down at a notebook in her hand. It wasn't until I cleared my throat that she looked up and noticed me, and I realised that I hadn't seen her before.

Her hair was odd - like nothing I'd ever seen on a woman before. It was cut in a straight line at her chin, and was completely black. A shorter layer of hair covered her forehead, this one was also cut very sharply.

Her face reminded me of the dragon shifters I'd seen in captivity, angular and thin with dark, almond shaped eyes and short lashes.

She smiled at me awkwardly, as if she wasn't sure how to react to my presence.

"Hello, are you here to see Master Silvian?" I quirked a brow at that, but nodded anyway. Her mouth formed a small 'o' shape in understanding and she beckoned for me to follow her.

The silence was almost deafening as she walked with me through the twisting corridors, stopping every so often to turn and flash me a smile - as if making sure that I hadn't gotten lost on the way.

Eventually we reached a large oak door, with a brass handle in the shape of a skull. I smirked at that, for some reason, probably because the decoration seemed almost juvenile.

Her knuckles rapped on the door three times, and it flew open suddenly. The girl stepped out of the way quickly, but I stayed still in front of the open door, taking in the scene in front of me.

Silvian Malum stood in the door frame, his hand on the handle and his silver eyes darting around rapidly. When they set on me, they locked with mine. For a moment, we stared straight at each other, but I pulled away to look at the mess behind him.

In his office, papers were scattered along the floor and along his desk. Some were torn to pieces and others had been scrunched into balls. My brow raised at the sight, and I looked back up at Silvian to see that he was a mess too.

Strands of his blonde hair were sticking out in random directions, as if he had been pulling at it. His face was sickly pale and sweat clung to his skin, giving him a sheen.

I wrinkled my nose up in distaste, he looked terrible. As soon as he noticed my disapproval, his hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me into the room before slamming the door - leaving the strange girl outside.

"Tidy this up." Was all that he said, his hand still gripping my wrist like a vice. I pulled my hand away roughly and he stared at me in shock.

"No. Tidy your own messes." I said, making for the door only to have my arm grabbed once again. Shuddering at the contact, I whipped around to glare at him, but my entire body seemed to cower at the look on his face.

Pure anger lined his features, and it radiated off of him in waves, heating the room until my skin seared. His hand tightened around my arm until I heard something snap, and I gasped out loud at the pain.

Silvian himself seemed a bit shocked at the sound, and his eyes darted straight to my arm as his hand released it. I groaned lowly when he let go, feeling the bones scrape against each other.

He reached out for me once again, brushing his fingertips against my clothed arm - but drew back quickly when the office door swung wide open. We turned to see Celeste standing in all her glory at the doorway, hair braided down her bare back.

The dress she wore was pure white, tightening at the waist before the pleated material flowed down to her ankles - each one bejewelled with silver and diamond encrusted heels. Her pink lips parted in an amused smile, as if we were children who had been caught playing hide and seek.

"Now Silvian, may I remind you how expensive he was?" She spoke slowly, strutting into the room with fluid grace - sickly sweet syrup gliding along the floor. Her hand landed on my arm and before I could protest, she squeezed tight.

My voice caught and I screamed silently as I felt the bones meld back together, cell by painful cell. Silvian's eyes were set on his wife, cold and calculating. Once she was done I collapsed onto my knees, feeling and ache in my arm straight down to the bone.

"It was an accident - his bones are too weak. Like twigs." His voice rumbled, much more monotone and composed than when he had lost his temper earlier. Celeste nodded and looked down at me with puckered lips, scanning my body.

"Malnourishment, I suppose?" She offered, and Silvian looked down at me too. Their prying eyes set off goosebumps along my skin, and I glared up at them again. Once again, I seemed to be stuck in that foul cage, naked and feral.

Breaking his gaze from me, the vampire shook his head and walked towards the office door before turning to his wife, who stuck at his heels like a puppy.

"We have a dinner to attend, no?" He asked whilst holding his arm out to her, which she gratefully took. Celeste nodded and they left the room, not sparing me a second glance as the door slammed shut behind them. Her whiny voice carried through the halls, and I listened to her heels click further away until I was truly alone again.

The pain in my arm had almost subsided, I noticed, when I stretched it out in front of me. So I picked myself up from the floor and looked around the darkened room before eying the swinging chandelier above and rejoicing in the fact that my half demon genetics allowed me to see in the dark. The candles had been lit before, but seemed to put themselves out the moment those leeches left.

Is this room enchanted?

Panicked, I ran to the door and tried the handle. Despite my heaving, it wouldn't budge.

Of course the bloodsucker decided to leave me in here until he gets back.

Brilliant. Wonderful. Fantastic.

I kicked a pile of books over, watching in satisfaction as they toppled to the floor and scuffed my black leather shoes.

One book landed with a thud, sending the discarded pieces of paper around it into a short lived frenzy. A page drifted until it came to rest in front of my shoes, and curiously I bent to pick it up.

Drawings, I realised. No, not artwork. Mathematical drawings.

Ones from several angles, with labelled parts ranging from gears to sails. Equations were scribbled down the side of the page, frantic and messy.

Inventions. Was he an inventor?

I turned back around to stare at the office door Silvian had walked out of, before glancing once again at the paper.

My curiosity grew as I picked up more papers, scanning them with fascination and awe. I unscrewed the scrunched up balls of paper which had been unceremoniously tossed across the room, and studied each failed drawing with mild amusement.

It seemed that even a man like him could make mistakes, and I chuckled at the cursing he had written across the top of one page - something that could give his noble friends heart attacks.

For a while I sat in the middle of the room with crossed legs, flicking through each page and watching as his inventions began to come to life.

They began simply but became more complex, corkscrews that could also be used as letter openers and scissors. Flasks for hot drinks that would never go cold. A thermometer that would ring a bell once bath water had become the right temperature.

Had he actually made any of these? Or were they just ideas, something he did for fun and never followed up.

But then... why would he have spent so long drawing these things.

Flicking through even further into my pile of papers, I saw that maths had also become chemistry. Biology too.

Until I reached the last page, and my fingers trembled slightly as the brushed past the oval drawing, and a shaky breath left my lips.

Artificial Blood Pills

This was odd. Unnatural.

Feeding was part of a vampire's nature, it defined who they were. It wasn't just a survival instinct, it was their way of life.

Was it possible that Silvian didn't enjoy feeding? That he would go this far just to abstain from such an important part of his identity?

I bit my lip, somehow concerned. No part of me had liked this man before - the one who kept me here against my will and treated me less kindly than the dirt he trod on.

But the Elders would kill him for this. They'd see it as treason, a threat to the power that vampires were supposed to hold over other creatures.

As I sat there, I realised that reading these papers had helped me reach an understanding. I'd come to a conclusion about Silvian Malum - full time leech, part time visionary.

He was born into a position that he has grown to hate, he is a prisoner to his own identity and is fighting desperately to break free from it.

Silvian Malum and I... perhaps we are not so different after all.

That day, sat in my master's dark study, I resolved one thing in my mind. It rang in my head throughout my life, like an incantation. To this man who was undoubtedly going to change the world, I would owe my servitude.