23 A Son of the Rosario

8 Years Later

Continuation of Lyle's POV:

I was shoved out of bed and heard a small growl from Silas as he took up the whole bed, the sun just having gone down. I groaned and felt my head throb with pain. I sat up and rubbed it then started for my feet, slowly going towards our closet. I tried my best to not wake him, wanting to get out of the room before he woke up. He's the worst at waking up. "Where. Are. You. Going?" I heard him mumbling from the bed then heard him sit up. He looked towards me and rubbed his eyes then got out of bed and started for me tiredly.

"I uh- have to uh- use the restroom," I told him and changed my direction for the bathroom. He ran after me and then tackled me, pushing me up against the wall before he bit into my neck hungrily. He purred softly to me and then licked me, wrapping me in his arms.

"I love you brother," he purred softly to me and relaxed as he caught my scent. "Don't be afraid of me...." He pulled back to look at me and licked his lips clean. He purred and then leaned his forehead against mine, watching me. "You're my sweet brother. There is no reason to be afraid of me." He gave a playful growl then and let me go, rubbing my cheek before he went into the closet, starting to strip. "I'm going to go change. Everest wants to practice ballroom dancing later today. I think mom would be happy if we did that with him.... Oh, and Esther wants to play tea party too. We have a lot to do today with our younger siblings.... Sylar might want to play with us later as well... or watch a show with him. After that, we should go see dad and see if he needs us for anything. The council has been after him for a little while. We should do what we can to help him and keep some of the stress away....."

"Tea party!?" I whined. Ball room dancing too? No not shows with Sylar! I was going to be with dad all day today and learn princely things. "I- I can't. I'm going to see dad today and learn princely stuff from him." Silas frowned and poked his head out from the closet.

"What's more important than family? We're going to go see him later together, so we can learn stuff from him together if you want," he told me then walked out as he was buttoning up a dress shirt. "We need to make sure that we can take care of our family first. We're royals, but if we can't take care of family, then we definitely can't take care of our people... or councils.... We want father to believe we can handle that stuff... especially me if I'm going to get the throne someday, and I want you to be my right hand man, Lyle." I frowned as I watched him then gave him a nod and ducked into our closet, looking for something to wear.

"Okay Silas," I mumbled and grabbed a black and white suit and black cloak and changed into them then walked out and started for the door to get out of our bedroom. He knows better than to bite me... Dad and mom aren't going to like it if they find out about him biting me. He followed me and walked up, taking my hand in his then smiled.

"What's the matter Lyle? You really don't want to spend time with our siblings?" He asked softly and rubbed my hand. "We can go to dad instead if you really don't want to see them.... I can take them to town tomorrow for something fun to make up for today."

"No, you were right about spending time with them.. I just was wanting to see dad all night... but I know it's not fair on our siblings. You really should watch biting though," I mumbled. "If you want to be king you can't go biting people like that."

"Why not?" He asked and frowned.

"Mommy and dad said we can't," I whispered. "We don't disobey them... right?" He watched me for a few seconds and then raised an eyebrow like he was going to say something but stopped himself.

"Suuuuure," he told me and smiled. "Yeah, obey mom and dad." He laughed and ruffled my hair. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Besides, who said you was going to be king?" I teased. He laughed.

"Lyle, it's my birthright," he told me softly and kissed my cheek. "I'll have you rule beside me, don't worry."

"Your birthright?" I asked and shook my head. "I'm older though."

"Yeah, but you're my sweet adopted brother," he told me and laughed. "I love you though.... You're my brother even if you aren't exactly blood.... I'm picking you over Everest~ I want you to rule with me.... We'll be a team." I blushed and shook my head.

"Okay," I mumbled and rubbed my wrists. I'm not going to talk about his birthright anymore. He frowned slightly as he saw me becoming a little resigned and then gently took my hands in his.

"Did I show you what I made for you?" He asked me softly and pulled me closer, biting his lower lip. "It's in the maze.... I don't think I did.... It's the day father brought you to me.... I wanted to celebrate it with a gift for you... a special place." He purred and then started to lead me towards a door. "I think you'll like it...." He smiled sweetly at me and laughed.

"In the maze?" I asked. "That's where the wolves are..." I stopped following him quickly. He frowned and looked at me.

"But... they don't go to this part of the maze," he promised me then gave me a hurt look.

"Okay," I whispered and gripped his hand tightly, still not walking. He frowned and then turned to look at me completely.

"Lyle," he murmured and then looked towards our hands then at me. "Do you really not want to see it?"

"I'm not sure," I mumbled and then nodded. "Okay, I will. You promise to protect me?"

"Of course I would," he told me and then purred, pulling me close. "I would never let anything happen to you. You're my brother," he told me and then kissed my cheek. "If someone touched you, I'd kill them." He purred and then picked me up, laughing. "Come on. We'll make this quick. I don't want you to be too afraid. I won't put another one of your gifts in the maze again though.... I don't want you to not use it." He kissed my cheek and then started to carry me towards a door. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He purred happily towards me and gave me a loving look before he took me outside and into the maze, carrying me through it easily. He held me close, cradling me as he took me to a small place in the maze that opened up into a small garden filled with silver roses and a small koi fish pond in the middle. A few flowering trees hung over the garden, creating a canopy of flowers as the moon reflected off the pond's surface. He gently sat me down and rubbed my shoulders before he purred to me. "This is all yours. The werewolves have been instructed not to set foot here to make this a peaceful garden for you. I hope you like it." I looked around and blushed before I looked towards him.

"You done all of this for me?" I whispered. He nodded and smiled encouragingly at me.

"Yeah, I planted every single one and grew them myself. The koi fish are even pretty big too. They love swimming around in their pond. They'll swim up to you too if you go over there," he purred to me and then gently started to pull me up to the pond where a black and white, white and gold, and orange and white fish swam together. A few smaller ones that looked like babies were swimming around, but they all seemed to notice us and swam a little closer. Silas pulled out some food for them and fed them, watching as they ate it up quickly. I smiled and looked the fish over with joy filling up inside of me.

"I love it," I said quickly. He smiled at me and then laughed.

"I knew you would if you got out here," he told me and then rubbed my back. "I'll take you out here when you want to come here," he promised me and then leaned down and gently placed his hand in the water, watching as the fish swam against it then swam off. He laughed and then shook his hand when he pulled it back and then looked towards me as he got up. "I'm going to have to come up with something even better next year."

"Next year? You don't have to do anything for me." I walked up and wrapped my arms around him. "Just be my brother." He purred towards me then swept me off my feet, kissing my cheek.

"I know, but I like seeing you happy," he told me. "We could play a round of chase next year if you want~" He teased and then glanced around the garden before he started to carry me out. "I love you Lyle~"

"I love you too," I purred. "I'm getting too old for chase though. How about we play chess?" He nodded and then held me close as he took me towards the exit of the maze and carried me back inside. He sat me down on the floor when he reached the inside and then frowned as his phone started to ring. He looked towards it and then at me.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I'm going to go take this. You can go ahead and go to dad if you want," he told me and smiled before he pulled out his phone and answered it. "Hello?... Yeah... Yeah, this is Silas Rosario," he said and then walked a little ways away. I watched him walking away then slowly went inside, wondering who could be calling him. I didn't know he got phone calls... He's growing up on me. I started for dad's study.

"Lyle!" Everest suddenly appeared by me and grabbed my hand, grinning. "Great! You escaped him! Let's hang out today. Me and you. You don't need your shadow tonight."

"I was going to go see dad though," I whispered. He pouted at me and then glanced around before he teleported me into dad's study. He ran up to the desk with a huge smile.

"Can I have Lyle for the night dad? Please?"

"Lyle?" He asked and looked up from his desk then at me. "I don't see why not. Don't get too carried away though boys and be careful." He warned. Everest smirked and looked towards me.

"See, dad said so," he purred and then walked up to me. I frowned and then nodded.

"Okay, fine. We can go for a hour or two." Everest smirked and then grabbed my hand, kissing my cheek.

"Great, let's go party," he told me and then we were suddenly standing in front of a nightclub. I looked it over and sighed before pulling him in and past the bouncers. It was really hard to manage since Everest was only eleven.

"Two hours," I warned.

"Uh huuuuh," he said and laughed, pulling me in deeper to the dance floor....

~Five Hours Later~

Everest leaned against me and purred as we sat at the bar, drinking sodas together as the party still raged around us. He looked towards me happily and then at everything else with excitement. "This is the best time I've had in a long time~" I looked around, starting to realize I haven't thought about check the time.

"What's the time?" I asked. He frowned and looked towards his phone.

"Late.... I think it's been about five hours...."

"Five hours!? I said two! We're going home," I told him sternly. He whined and leaned against me more.

"But Lyyyyle," he whined to me and then pulled me close. "Please?"

"Everest, we should go home. We spent enough time together here. You're eleven. We can go out all night to someplace like this when you're eighteen, okay?" He looked me over and then sighed.

"Alright Lyle," he whispered and we were suddenly standing outside of our dad's study. He gave me a smile and then hugged me before he disappeared, leaving me alone. I slipped into the door and looked around, finding my dad still at his desk. Silas was sitting near him, looking over some papers with a bored expression. I walked up and sat down by him and looked over his shoulder at the papers. He glanced at me and smiled softly before he looked towards our dad before he looked back towards the papers and hummed a little under his breath. I heard my dad scooping up the piles then and tucking them into drawers.

"I think that's enough work tonight. How about we go find your brothers, sister, and mother?" Dad asked. Silas looked towards him and smiled.

"Okay dad," he said sweetly and got to his feet, handing him back the papers. He kissed his cheek then walked towards the door ahead of us, smiling. Our dad got to his feet after putting the papers away and followed Silas out the door. I followed them quickly, not wanting to get left alone. As soon as we stepped out Silas was tumbled into by a little eight year old Sylar. Silas yelped and stumbled then looked down at Sylar with wide eyes before he smirked. "Sylar," he purred then scooped him up. "Hey kiddo, whatcha up to?" He laughed and then kissed Sylar's cheek. "Are you hunting me?"

"Uh-huh! I followed your scent here." Sylar purred and wrapped his arms around his neck. "I wanted you to play with me." Silas smirked at Sylar and then nodded.

"Sure," he told him. "We can play if you want," he purred and then started to carry him off, abandoning us. "Let's go play some video games... or tag.... Do you want to play tag?"

"I wanna play tag! You're it though okay? You've got to give me a head start too." Silas nodded and then smirked, setting him down.

"You've got ten seconds," he teased him then started to count as Sylar took off then took off after him after ten seconds. I heard Sylar squeal with delight as he ran from our brother. I laughed and decided to watch the chase play out, amused by it. I followed after them. Silas scooped him up after chasing him down then smirked at him, showering his face in kisses. "Gotcha!" He teased him then started to tickle him in his arms. Sylar giggled and squirmed in his arms and tried to get down.

"No no no! Tickle monster!" Silas laughed and then held him up then smirked, starting to hold him higher up.

"What was that?" He teased him then smirked, blowing on his belly to make weird noises and mess with him. Sylar giggled and tried to get away.

"Silas! Silas~!" He squealed with delight. "Stop!" He purred towards Sylar and then pulled him back to him.

"Want a cookie?" He asked him then started to carry him towards the kitchen as he gave Sylar a loving look.

"I want some blood," Sylar told him. "I'm hungry." He tugged on Silas's shirt. I followed them and purred lightly.

"I want a cookie," I purred. Silas looked back towards me and smirked.

"Okay, cookie for you, and blood for my little sweet Sylar," he purred then looked towards Sylar before he took him into the kitchen and then sat him down on the counter. He got out a bottle of blood from the refrigerator and then poured it into a glass and started to heat it up before he got me a cookie down and held it out towards me. I took the cookie and ate it, watching Sylar kick his feet against the counter. Silas got the blood for him then brought it over to Sylar, handing it to him then ran his fingers through his hair before he kissed his forehead. "There we go. Drink up cutie." Sylar downed the glass of blood quickly and gave the empty glass back to Silas.

"I want to sleep with you tonight, okay?" Sylar asked. Silas blushed and looked at Sylar then towards me before he bit his bottom lip.

"You better ask Lyle too, okay?" He whispered to Sylar. "Lyle sleeps in my bed already.... He might not want you in it too...." He looked Sylar over and then gently picked him up, cradling him in his arms.

"But I want to sleep with you, make Lyle sleep somewhere else if he doesn't like it." I laughed as I watched them. Silas purred to him and then kissed his head.

"Alright... we'll squeeze you in kiddo. I'm not going to kick Lyle out though," he told him and then nuzzled his head against him.

"I don't mind anyways," I purred. If he sleeps with us then I won't get bit. I smirked. "No late night snacks tonight, Silas." Silas frowned my way and then widened his eyes as he got what I meant then frowned. He sighed softly and then looked Sylar over before he gently kissed his cheek.

"Sylar," he purred happily and then held him closer before he started to take him towards the door. "Let's go pick you out a book to read to you."

"I want you to read me that book about the big bad wolf," Sylar begged. I followed them and rubbed Sylar on top of his head.

"Okay, we can read that one to you," he told him and then took him to the library, getting it down and then took us back to our room. He laid Sylar down on the bed and smirked at him, starting the story for him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Sylar giggled as he listened to Silas tell him the story. He started to doze off about two chapter in, his eyes shutting slowly. Silas watched him then stopped, closing the book and then got into the bed beside him, pulling him close and kissed his cheek. He looked towards me and smirked, watching me before he tucked the two of them in and closed his eyes, nuzzling against our little brother. I watched them then crawled into bed and got under the covers, putting Sylar between us.

"Sylar is going to end up being your shadow," I teased. Silas laughed a little and looked towards me then looked at Sylar.

"I wouldn't mind. He's so cute.... He really likes me too," he mumbled and purred at him. "He's so sweet too...."

"He was in momma's tummy when we first met," I whispered. He looked towards me and smiled.

"Yeah... he was, wasn't he?" He asked me softly then reached over and grabbed my hand, kissing my cheek. "Love you brother~"

"Love you too," I purred and closed my eyes, starting to fall asleep.

~~~

I woke up as the alarm system went off in the house. I could hear the werewolves break out into a cry. I opened my eyes, feeling the hot sun was still out, making my instincts kick in for my dark cloak. I slipped up under the covers and grabbed Silas, shaking him. "Silas wake up," I begged and felt around for Sylar, finding him gone. "Silas," I said quickly. Silas jolted awake and then looked around then looked towards where Sylar had been in a panic.

"SYLAR!" He sat up quickly and started to look around worriedly. "SYLAR! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shrieked, quickly getting out of the bed and looking around and under the bed. Sylar walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his eyes and started for the bed, sleep walking. I let out a sigh then started for the door.

"I'm going to go see what's wrong," I told them.

"O-okay," Silas said softly. "Be careful. I'll get Sylar to safety," he told me and then gently picked up Sylar, covering him with a blanket to hide him from the sun. I pulled my cloak over my head to hide under as I traveled down the hall towards my parent's bedroom to check on them. I suddenly heard gunfire going off downstairs, sending a shiver up my spine in panic. I took off for the bedroom with Silas again and shut the door behind me. Silas looked towards me as he was hiding Sylar in the closet among our clothes, disguising him quickly. "Lock the door," he told me quickly, glancing at me as he tossed a few shirts on him and then put some noise cancelling headphones on him to keep him sleeping. I locked the door and walked over, grabbing a cloak for Silas and put it on him.

"We need to go find mom and dad and find out what's going on," I told him. He looked towards me then looked at Sylar worriedly but nodded.

"Okay," he whispered and then walked up to me, pulling the hood over his head to protect himself. "Let's go see what we can find out... but we lock the door behind us. I don't want Sylar to be hurt."

"I don't think he'll get hurt if he stays hidden in the dark right here. He'll be fine, let's go find our parents. We can't take him with us Silas. He's safer here. We don't have his cloak in here." Silas nodded and then looked at me.

"Okay," he mumbled and then gently took my hand, starting to take me towards the door as he shut the closet door behind him, shutting in Sylar. I lead him down the hall, searching for our parents. I could hear the gun firing picking up downstairs. He bit his bottom lip and then glanced towards the stairs. "M-maybe we should sneak down there... and check," he whispered, sounding a little scared. He looked towards me then at the stairs before he started for them.

"It's dangerous," I told him quickly and grabbed his hand to stop him. He looked towards me and then nodded quickly, looking relieved as he hurried into my arms and then glanced back at the stairs in slight fear.

"L-let's check our sibling's rooms.... They might be trying to rescue them," he suggested.

"Either way we need to make sure they're in good hiding," I told him then lead him towards Everest's bedroom since it was closer. He opened the door slowly and was suddenly tackled, Everest snarling over him as he went to rip out Silas's throat on instinct, looking like a hunted animal. Silas shrieked and shoved him off quickly, scrambling to his feet. I grabbed Everest quickly and tried to calm him.

"Easy, it's us! Your brothers. Let's go find your sister and get you two in a good hiding spot." I calmed him and rubbed his head. Everest relaxed a little and looked towards me then at Silas with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he said quickly, looking freaked out. Silas sighed.

"It's alright," he told Everest. "At least you wouldn't have been killed easily," he told him and smiled, kissing his cheek. "Let's go get Esther. We need to get you all to a safe spot." Everest nodded and glanced around in fear then started to walk with us towards Esther's room. Silas opened it a bit more cautiously and relaxed when he saw Esther sitting in the corner of her room, curled up in the darkness. "Esther," he whispered to her. "Come here sweetie. We're getting you all to a safe spot." She looked towards us then ran to us, barreling into us quickly and hiding against us as she started to cry.

"Is mommy alright?" She asked quickly.

"We don't know. We're making sure you're okay first. We're taking you back to our room to hide with Sylar. Don't wake him up unless you know you have to move out of your hiding hole." I told her. "We're going to go downstairs in a minute to see what's going on." Silas nodded and then started to lead them, rubbing Esther's arm to help her calm down as he led us quickly.

"Let's hurry. We don't want to be caught moving you two," he whispered, glancing around worriedly. I looked around and helped hide the two, using my cloak.

"Lock the door and don't let anyone in for the rest of the day. We'll come get you when it's dark and safer to move about." They looked at us thankfully and nodded then slipped inside our room, shutting the door as they handed back my cloak and went to go hide in there. Silas relaxed a little as he looked towards me and smiled a little.

"Thank goodness they're safe," he told me softly and then grabbed my hand. "Let's go look for mom and dad." I nodded and pulled him down to the stairs and snuck down them, hearing gunshots towards my father's study. I pulled Silas with me down the stairs and towards the hall with the study, trying to be sneaky about it. He kept quiet, his senses on high alert as his eyes flicked from side to side, looking for danger as he sharpened his fangs defensively. He gripped my hand tightly as we managed to near his study. I caught a few men firing into the study, people I couldn't recognize. I heard a few growls coming from outside the castle.

"They can't get in," I mumbled. "Otherwise they'd be here. We need to let them in- the wolves so they can take down the rest of these intruders." Silas nodded.

"Okay, I'll go let them in," he told me and then kissed my cheek. "Stay safe," he whispered and then disappeared into the shadows, racing for the doors to let the wolves in. I heard my mom let out a groan of pain like she had been shot. I widened my eyes in fear. I heard the wolves starting down the hall, Silas having gotten to the doors quickly. The men stormed into the room then as they rushed to finish my parents. I ran for the door then to try to distract them from getting to my parents, hearing gun fire go off quickly before the glass of the windows inside the study break. I managed to get to the door, seeing light shinning into the room. The guys rushed out the window as quickly as they entered. I could smell my parents burning as well as their blood. I slipped into the comfort of my cloak and rushed for my parents, knocking their bodies into a shadow in the room. Silas rushed in then and yelped, quickly pulling his hood over his head then rushed over to the windows, doing his best to stay out of the light as he tried to shut the curtains the best he could, reducing the amount of sunlight in the room. He rushed over to us and then put a hand over his mouth as he saw our parents and bit back a sob. "Mommy, daddy," he whimpered and fell to his knees, reaching for them with a heartbroken look. I broke out into tears as my mom's skin burst into flames. I tried to pat them out the best I could.

"Mommy," I panicked. Her wounds were bleeding out fast. Silas quickly took his cloak off and tried to smother the flames on them with it.

"We need to find them some blood," he cried out and started to cry. "Hold on mommy and daddy," he whimpered softly. I yelped as I pulled my cloak back, seeing my mother starting to break down at my cloak's touch.

"Silas, stop patting them!" I grabbed his hands. He stopped and then started to cry, burying his face into me as he dropped his cloak and cried, gripping my shirt tightly as he couldn't keep himself together anymore. Our father fell down onto his back, reaching out to us with a shaky hand.

"Come here boys," he told us. "We're dying-" He pulled out a bullet from his side then that was leaking a silver liquid. Silas looked towards him and quickly fell to his knees beside him, whimpering as he crawled closer to him and gripped our father's hand.

"Daddy," he whimpered softly and then nuzzled his head against his hand. "You can't die.... You can't." Our mother pulled out a bullet like our father's then.

"I am," he wheezed, I could hear his lungs giving out. "Your mother too." Silas quickly shook his head and looked towards our mother then buried his face against our father's chest.

"Can't you drink from me? Daddy, I need you... I need momma too," he cried softly and gripped him.

"No, this poison is eating away inside. We're both badly hurt. My will is inside my desk Silas." Silas whimpered and looked at our father then quickly kissed his cheek.

"Y-yes daddy," he whimpered to him and then held his hand as he rubbed our mother's wrist to comfort them as he bit back tears. "I-I'll get it out, don't worry...."

"Silas, don't be mad about the will...." Our father warned. "One day you'll understand." Silas looked a little confused but he nodded.

"O-okay daddy," he told him softly. "I love you...."

"We love you too," my mom purred softly. I felt their crystals sending us loving pulses that were weak. Silas broke down and started to cry, curling up to them as he held onto them up to the very end.

~Time Skip~

Silas weakly got up, a blank look in his eyes as he slowly shuffled towards the desk and then opened the drawer inside, pulling out our father's will then sat it down on the desk. "Lyle," he mumbled, waving me over to read it over with him. "Let's... let's get this over," he whispered, looking broken inside. I looked towards him and shook my head. I looked towards him and slowly got to my feet, starting for the door. There's no way I'll be in the same room as him while he reads it. "Lyle," he whimpered out, looking towards me. "Please, Lyle.... We need to do this. Dad told us to," he said and started to cry. "I can't do this without you. Please, you're my brother Lyle." I sniffled and walked back, sitting down in front of the desk and hid in the comfort of my cloak. He looked towards me and then wiped at his tears as he quickly started to read through it, clenching his shirt as he did his best to not cry. He got to the end then tensed up, his eyes going wide. I suddenly saw another tear slip from him and he was up quickly. He backed away and looked towards me then looked towards the will before he put a hand over his mouth. "Y-you..." he whimpered and then ran out of the room quickly, leaving me behind. I pulled my knees to my chest and started to cry. He hates me now. He hates me... I started to tremble and got to my feet slowly before walking out of the study. I started for the kitchen to get something to drink to clinch my thirst. Everest slowly walked in and then stopped as he saw me.

"I-is..." he trailed off as he saw the look on my face then looked down at the ground, sniffling. "I'm sorry Lyle.... You shouldn't have seen that," he whispered then walked up to me, pulling me into a hug. "They're really gone," he whimpered softly and then hid his face into my neck.

"Yeah.... I'm king now," I mumbled softly. Everest wouldn't understand my true pain. I just took something from Silas. Something he wanted but didn't deserve. Everest nodded and then kissed my cheek, holding onto me tightly.

"We'll get through this together as a family," he told me softly. "That's what we're here for.... We'll get revenge on the ones that killed our parents some day...."

"Silas...." I mumbled. "He's going to hate me forever...." He frowned a little.

"Why?" He asked me softly and then pulled away a little to look at me. "Silas loves you.... He's always with you... isn't he?"

"Not anymore... He wanted to be king.... he'll hate me because I'm king now." He frowned and then kissed my cheek again.

"A crown isn't everything though.... Family is. I'm sure he'll come around and see that," he told me and rubbed my cheek. "He would be insane to keep that against you in a time like this...." I sniffled and started to search for Silas then to see if Everest was right. I found him outside, staring at a silver rose bush as he clenched his hands. He looked like he had been crying.... I ran up to him and tackled him into a hug, burying my face into his neck.

"Silas," I whimpered out. He tensed up and looked towards me then clenched his jaw a little. He didn't shove me away though.... I kissed his cheek and brought him closer to me. "I love you," I whispered to him. He relaxed a little and then sighed.

"I love you too," he mumbled. "Just... can you let me have a little space though? I'm still shocked," he whispered to me. "No offence...."

"Silas," I mumbled. "I don't want to give you space. I need you." He sighed and then started to lead me back to the house.

"Come on... let's get you back inside," he whispered to me. "It's cold out here." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. I pulled him back into the castle and towards the night room. He let me, watching me before he looked away with a small hurt expression. I looked his expression over and felt my chest swell up. No... I stopped walking and made him look at me. He tensed up as he looked at me and went to pull away, letting out a soft whimper. I let him go as I watched him.

"Silas," I whispered. "You'll always love me right?" He looked at me and gave me a hurt look over the question.

"W-why wouldn't I love you?" He asked me and then grabbed my hand tightly. "You're my brother...."

"I'm worried you'll hate me," I whispered. He tightened his grip on my hand and then pulled me closer.

"I don't... hate you.... I'm just upset," he told me softly and then let go of my hand and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back and nodded.

"I know you are," I mumbled. He nodded and then buried his face into my neck.

"I'm hungry," he mumbled to me. "Please?"

"Okay," I whispered and exposed my neck to him. He bit into me quickly and started to drink from me, holding me close. I let him and rubbed his sides. "Don't take too much," I warned. He nodded and then kept feeding from me. He pulled away when I started to feel a little weak then licked my neck clean. He looked me in the eyes and examined me for a few seconds then relaxed. I leaned up against him and ran my fingers through his hair. He let me and purred softly before he pulled away and let me take him to the night room.

A few hours into watching movies with Silas to get our mind off of what just happened to us, a maid walked in and up to me. "Sir? Can we see you for a minute in your father's study?" I looked towards her and tensed up. I didn't want to go back in there... I looked towards Silas but let out a small sigh. I need to start being more strong. I'm going to be king now, that's what our father wanted. I'm going to be a strong king for Silas too so I won't disappoint him even more. He's already upset I was given the crown and he wasn't- his birthright- stolen from him by me... I shook my head to clear my bad thoughts.

"Of course," I whispered. They probably wanted to know what to do with the ashes... It's only proper for them to come ask me about it. This is my castle now, I'll be crowned properly in front of the others in a few days time. I stood up and followed the maid down the hall and towards my father's study- my study. Who could have wanted to murder my parents? They were wonderful royals. They respected the other royals... they never questioned the Nero family. They shared the same beliefs as Jonas Nero and his wife, Loura. Those are the same beliefs the children of the Nero family have. It couldn't have been the Nero family. Those bullets though in my parents... They were hunter bullets. Only hunters have those kinds of bullets around here. The Nero family is head of the hunters in these parts. Why would the Nero family give orders to murder my parents?

When I stepped into the study, two butlers closed the doors behind me quickly. I felt a hand sneak around my head and suddenly my mouth was covered and my back was pulled up against someone's firm chest. I let out a scream of panic. They've come back for us! I felt a needle strike my neck and something was injected into my body, paralyzing me quickly. My heart pounded in panic. When my whole body went limp I thought it was the end of me until I caught two butlers hovering over me and lifting me up. Why are the servants doing this? "Don't worry young master, we were ordered to do this if something was to happen to master Enoch." They started to carry me somewhere, it was hard for me to make out my surroundings until I was laid down on a metal table. I felt them start to strap me down to it. They suddenly gagged me with a cloth to replace one of their hands. The curtains opened in the study to let the moonlight into the room, shinning down on me. What're they doing? What did dad order them to do to me!? I caught a shinny object in one of their hands and screamed out in pain as they cut me with it- the metal stung my skin. I could smell my blood then in the air and pain erupted through me. They're going to kill me! Another sharp pain entered me as they cut at my wrists. One of the butlers lingered over my chest then and lifted up my shirt to reveal my chest. They're truly going to kill me! I can't move! Silas save me! I began to feel weak as the butler started to carve away at my chest, digging into my body. My blood gushed out everywhere. I could hear maids starting to clean as I slowly was dying on the table. I felt something grip around my crystal then and I fell a little unconscious, it was hard to describe what I felt then. Warmth flooded around me, like I wasn't in pain anymore, I was okay in darkness. Suddenly something jabbed into me, breaking my very being and sending a horror of pain through me. Panic rose fast in me. I wasn't safe anymore in this warmth! The pain started to slow down though as a magical relief flooded over me, an ensuring liquid that I wasn't going to die. I knew this well, it was blood.

I started to become conscious after a few minutes. The warmth disappeared and I could open my eyes again. The butlers were lingering over my body and I spotted a tube running out of my chest. What's that tube doing there? I spotted blood flowing through it and pumping into me. I could catch my father's scent from it. I felt a hand caress my cheek from one of the maids as she pulled the cloth out of my mouth. "Young master, you should get some rest. When you wake up this will all be over. You'll never be questioned about who your parents are either. Your blood will tell them you're a son of the Rosario family." I felt her stick me with a needle then and my eyes began to fall heavy.

A son of the Rosario family...

~Time Skip~

I heard a shriek in the middle of the night from on the other side of the castle, sounding like one of the maids. My eyes opened and I was in bed, the bed I shared with Silas. Was it a dream? No it was too real for it not to be a dream. I really did get attacked by the servants and my blood altered. There really was a scream that woke me up from my nap. I got to my feet quickly and looked around then started for where I heard the shriek. What if it was the Nero family coming for the others!? I finally found a maid pinned up against the wall by a shadowy figure, the smell of her blood heavy in the air like she was being drained. Monster! I tackled the shadowed figure quickly to save the maid, pinning the figure on the ground. I heard a sudden familiar growl but it was more vicious than what I've heard from him before. Silas glared up at me and struggled to get away from me, hissing. I widened my eyes. "Silas?" I asked and let his arms go, sitting up on him. He stopped struggling and looked up towards me as the maid slumped against the wall. He glanced her way and then looked up at me, licking his lips clean.

"What?" He asked me innocently.

"I thought-" I shook my head and let him up. "You asked the maid right?" I asked him. He looked at her and then at me as he stood up then smiled.

"Yeah, sure," he told me.

"Did he?" I asked the maid to make sure. She looked towards me weakly and then at Silas in slight fear, starting to tremble. She looked back at me and started to stumble down the hallway quickly, getting away from us as she put her hand over her neck and leaned against the walls for support. "Silas," I whispered. "You lied to me didn't you?" He looked at me and frowned then sighed.

"No, I didn't ask for permission," he whispered softly and looked down at the ground. "I couldn't help it."

"That's horrible. I didn't mind you not asking me but when you start to act like that on the maids.... our servants that trust us...." I shook my head. He looked up at me with a hurt expression.

"She smelled so good, and I couldn't think straight. It's like I'm starving," he confessed and then reached out for my hand. "Please Lyle.... I really didn't mean to...."

"You promise?" I asked and took his hand. He nodded to me and kissed my cheek.

"I promise," he told me softly.

"Let's go get you a bottle of blood then," I suggested. I pulled him towards the kitchen, humming our lullaby softly to him. I stopped us outside of the kitchen and turned to him, deciding to get serious with him and address what happened earlier. "Silas," I mumbled. "I think it was hunters that murdered mom and dad.... those bullets were only types the hunters use. Remember when dad taught us that last week? He said the Nero family was the ones that gave orders to the hunters. I think mom and dad might have been murdered by them.... Maybe they meant to take us all out...." I trailed off and shook my head. "Why would they do that? Dad has always shared the same beliefs as them. He's never once got on their bad side. They were almost like friends."

I looked down at what I was wearing then to see if they changed me from my bloody mess. My skin was a glossy pale color but I was in red silk pajamas to match my red eyes. What if I smell funny now? I sniffed my pajamas to see if I could catch my scent. I don't want to smell different! I caught a small lingering scent of my fathers- a sweet cinnamon and a dash of my own scent that mixed with Silas's since we spend so many years joined at hip almost. Silas looked towards me and frowned slightly at me.

"Hunters?" He asked me and then gave a growl. "Then we'll kill them. They killed our parents. It's a declaration of war to us. We have to avenge them Lyle," he told me then grabbed my wrist. "We can't let them get away with what they've done to our family. They've torn it apart and stolen our parents. They betrayed them. We won't let them betray us too," he hissed and I saw a flash of hatred and anger in his eyes as he started to direct his pain at them. "They're responsible, and they'll pay the price!" He frowned suddenly and then leaned in, smelling me before he widened his eyes and looked me over. "Why do you smell different?" He asked me and squeezed my wrist slightly. "You smell like father." He gave me a suspicious look, moving a little closer as he took a deeper smell. "What did you do?" He growled softly, tensing up. I sniffled as the pain of what happened to me came back.

"The- the servants..." I mumbled and rubbed at my chest. "I'm not sure what they done but they said that I'm now a son...." I whispered. "They said they was ordered to do it if anything happened to dad." He frowned and looked me over then widened his eyes.

"Oh my lord... they took my father's blood and put it in you... so the Nero family wouldn't question you becoming king too much.... He planned it all out. He knew they were coming for him...." He looked at me in shock then slowly started to back up. "He wanted you to be king all along...." I rubbed my chest and backed away from Silas, starting to cry. He's upset again. I felt my back hit a wall and I slid down it. He watched me and then looked towards my tears slipping down my cheeks then at me. "Did you know?" He whispered softly. I froze up at the question and nodded slowly.

"He told me I was going to be king because he noticed how different your beliefs were. He knew about you biting the maids.... That's why I tried so many times to stop you.... I didn't want to hurt your feeling about why I was telling you to stop though because I knew you'd hate me for it..." I shook my head. "You can't have the throne until your beliefs are different Silas.... Plus you're sixteen... there's no way they'd let you take the throne at your age now... But I didn't know dad knew his days were numbered...." I gripped my hair and tugged on it. He started to tremble as he watched me then quickly began to walk off, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep them from me. I lowered my head between my knees and let out a shaky breath.

"I'll kill them," I vowed softly. "Every one of them."

"You better," he hissed my way. "I'll kill them if you don't. You should've said something to me sooner instead of letting my hopes get up." He glared at me over his shoulder then stalked away, going towards our bedroom. "You might as well move into father's old room since how you were so close to him."

"Silas," I mumbled. Is he kicking me out of our room? I got to my feet and started for him. "You can't kick me out of our room."

"Oh yes I can," he hissed at me then stopped, turning to face me. "It was mine before you came here! Since how you were his damn favorite over his actual first born, you should go live in his room," he snarled, exposing his fangs towards me. "The brother who rescued me from a tree would've told me that father was disappointed in me, but you didn't tell me and you let me keep doing what I was doing! You would've supported me instead of letting him do what he did! So get out of my room," he hissed. I sniffled and ran up to him anyways and knocked him down to the ground and got on top of him then laid my head on his chest.

"Silas, I thought I had more time to help you...." I whispered. "Don't be upset... you're right, I should have told you!"

"Yeah, you should've," he hissed in my ear. "Why didn't you defend me in the beginning?" He pushed me off him then sat up. I grabbed his wrist and looked him in the eyes.

"I wanted to help you and not by threatening you that dad was going to take the crown from you. That wouldn't have helped. You would have just played being a good boy until you got it. I wanted this to be your decision to make on your own." He glared me down then and got to his feet, yanking his wrist back from me.

"Don't touch me," he hissed. "I thought you were my brother Lyle. Why couldn't you just have accepted me? If you and dad really believed I was that much of a monster, then maybe I am," he snarled at me then gripped my hair, making me look him in the eyes. "Then maybe I should prove I am," he hissed softly. "I don't want to disappoint you, now do I brother? If you really think I'm a monster that needs help, then I'll be one," he told me then shoved me back. "And I'll start by kicking you out of my room."

"You're not a monster," I mumbled. "You just forget to ask sometimes and you don't understand how bad that looks in our parent's eyes...." I trailed off and grabbed his foot and yanked him back to me. He yelped as he hit the floor then groaned, curling up as he cradled his head he hit.

"Ow," he groaned and then winced, looking towards me with anger. "Don't yank on my foot!" I crawled over his body and kissed his neck.

"I thought you said you'd love me forever, you promised me." I wrapped my arms around him. "You're only sixteen right now, you wouldn't get the crown anyways Silas, even if this didn't happen to me. They would have passed it to someone else- our uncle perhaps." He groaned and then tried to push me off.

"Who says a sixteen year old can't be king?!" He asked me then whimpered. "Get off me! What more do you want from me?! You stole my birthright, my father's love, and my place in the family! I'm not letting you steal the few things I have left!" He started to cry then. I widened my eyes as I watched him.

"I didn't steal it Silas! Your father gave me it. Love can't be stolen either. It's shareable. If you want to be king someday then you need to promise me you'll get better about your habits- your bad ones. One day I might give it to you. I have the power to do that now. I'm not going to though if you're going to act like this to me." I kissed his cheek and got to my feet. "Until you're fit to be king, I'll be king like daddy wanted." He whimpered and curled up on the floor, hugging himself. "I'm not moving out of your room, it's mine too. I love you too much and it'll be lonely in my own room. I want you with me to help me sleep through the day." He glanced towards me and then gave a small nod, trying to calm down.

"O-okay," he whispered then reached for me. "Lyle," he whimpered, looking a little upset that he wasn't right next to me. I scooped him up into my arms and nuzzled my face against him. I don't ever want to fight with him. I'll give him the crown if he ever proves himself to me... I swear I will. He relaxed a little and slowly started to fall asleep against me.

~A few months later~

"What the hell?! I've been good!" Silas told me and then threw a pillow at me. "I haven't bitten any maids! I haven't bitten my siblings! I definitely haven't bit you either!" He glared at me angrily after I mentioned something about his behavior lately. He has been good... but some of the maids still are afraid of him. He hasn't been trying to get back on good terms with them either which Everest pointed out to me. "You know what, no. Out," he told me and glared me down, crawling over the bed and grabbing my arm then started to yank me to the door. He threw me out before I could protest and slammed the door behind me, locking it. "Telling me that I haven't been on better behavior," he hissed under his breath then started to stomp away from the door. "He can go sleep in a damn guest room tomorrow then." I looked towards the door in anger. He just kicked me out!

"SILAS! THIS IS MY ROOM TOO! EVEN IF YOU SAY YOUR ON GOOD BEHAVIOR YOU'RE STILL SIXTEEN. I'M THE MAN OF THIS HOUSE NOW LET ME BACK IN!" I threw my fist up against the door. "You said you loved me!" I heard him growling at me on the other side.

"No!" He said defiantly. "I'm sick of you looking down on me just because you're man of this house!" He shouted at me and then I heard the bed rustle like he got in it.

"Fine." I snapped. "I'll get the maids to transfer my things over to a new room on a different hall so I'll never have to deal with your sass." I stomped off down the hall, fuming.

"FINE THEN! I DIDN'T WANT YOU IN HERE ANYWAYS! Bastard, leaving me like that," he said from in the room. I turned on my heels.

"YOU THREW ME OUT!" I snapped. "I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU!" I balled up my fist and turned around, growling.

"YEAH RIGHT!" He snarled after me. "IF YOU REALLY WANTED TO STAY IN HERE, YOU WOULD'VE GOTTEN THE DAMN KEY FROM THE MAIDS! YOU WANTED OUT!" I turned around and ran back to the door then kicked it in and started for him on the bed.

"Silas," I hissed. "I'm not your dad. I shouldn't have to punish you for you giving me back sass so shut up." I crawled into bed, going for him. "You want to see what a monster is?" I asked. He yelped and was quickly up, scrambling to get away from me. I smirked and started after him. "Where ya going?" I asked and reached out for him. "Get back here and get your punishment." He shrieked and ran for the bathroom, probably planning on hiding in it. I chased after him until the door was shut in my face then went into my closet calmly and grabbed a change of clothes and started out of the room casually.

"BASTARD!" He shouted after me.

"I'LL WHOOP YOUR ASS," I warned him. He got a little quiet, but I could tell he was probably angry with me.... Everest appeared in front of me and gave me a worried look.

"What's going on?" He asked me softly and ran up, gently grabbing my hand. "Why are you two fighting?"

"We're just having small issues," I explained. "I told him I needed my own room finally and he got upset." I kissed the top of his head. He nodded and smiled sweetly.

"Oh, okay," he purred and then nuzzled his head against my hand. "I hope you two don't fight for too long. It sounded scary.... Esther was worried too," he mumbled to me. "I love you big brother," he purred and then smiled up at me sweetly, giving me a loving, adoring look.

"I love you too," I purred. "We won't always be fighting. He's just a hormonal teenager," I explained. He nodded and then started to walk with me, keeping my hand in his as he led me down the hall to my new life..... I didn't know at the time that my room would become my permanent room... and that today marked the day when Silas stopped forgiving me or trying to at least....