7 Party

<p>Jack was perfect. He stood when Antonio entered a room he was in and almost spoke freely around the vampire, although he was still quite polite. The boy had taken to exercising when he wanted a break from books without prompting from Antonio. As all humans were, he was kept on a healthy diet. The combination left his body better looking than when he was bought from a life of exhaustive labor. Antonio could tell from the slight shift when they were walking to his home that Jack was going to grow into the perfect companion. Antonio taught him all he had learned about gay sex before the Revolution, making Jack skilled far beyond his years.<br/>Upon the completion of the queen's training, the king threw a party where all vampires invited were required to bring an escort. Some vampires had harems and simply had to choose a lover while others got theirs from special slave schools that trained humans to please various appetites and species. Antonio took Jack to have clothes tailor made in his house colors, red and gold.<br/>A gold colored collar with red lettering was made, the collar read: Grand Duke Antonio's Jack. In traditional fashion, the human consort's name was printed after their master's. If Jack were not human, the word consort would separate the names with a symbol denoting his species in front of it. The inside of the collar was soft to the touch and red in color, making it infinitely more comfortable than the standard metal collars most humans got stuck with. His pretty boy returned his smile as the collar went on. Wearing a golden color button up shirt and blood red dress pants with matching red shoes, Jack looked amazing. Each wrist was wrapped in a leather bracelet, one was blood red and the other golden yellow, one hid the bite mark and the other smooth skin. Antonio himself was wearing a blood red suit with real gold accessories and a golden color tie. He had trimmed Jack's hair and his own before dressing and now he looked them both over. The sleeves of his own shirt went down to his wrists, cufflinks shining in low light. On one wrist he wore a gold watch and the other a vambrace with the royal house crest, the contrast pleasing to his eyes as they combined to show how old he was. Jack's sleeves went down to his elbows, leaving his forearms almost totally exposed which had the effect of showing the toned muscle his human maintained all on his own. Although Antonio was technically a Grand Duke, using old human royal titles, he was actually more like a crown prince in that the king was his sire/father figure and were something to happen to King Drake then Antonio would be king. No matter how many times Antonio told him he would pass on the throne, Drake never changed the order of succession to allow a willing heir to claim it and if Antonio did so in order to abdicate, the world would wind up divided into factions that would go to war like the human nations from before the Revolution.<br/>Noting the time on his watch, Antonio gestured for Jack to stand and accompany him. Given the gifts of the various non-human factions, vehicles like billions of humans once drove were now rarely seen. They could usually make humans handle deliveries and other menial jobs without even realizing that there were once machines to make these tasks easier. Humans who knew of the Revolution were usually taught that their ancestors started it. To Antonio, who lived through many eras before the Revolution, this was not wholly true or false. The fact of the matter is that over a thousand years of on/off war between various factions, including several orders of human 'monster' hunters, escalated into a world war which decimated the human population as the various non-human factions sought to grow their numbers quickly, which involved turning humans who showed even slight promise or decent loyalty. The newly turned were taught the basics and then used as pawns, further decimating their numbers by necessitating a lot of hurried turning. Several humans had gone from neutral to enemies due to those they care about being callously turned and sacrificed. This boosted the hunters numbers but caused a problem in that training to be a hunter took years, sometimes orders only took the offspring of their members and trained them throughout childhood. Just as the 'monsters' had no time to properly train, the hunters were doing similar rush jobs but unlike the non-human factions, the human hunters were themselves endangered by taking those without sufficient training into battle. Although things happened fast, the Revolution was an era in itself for the war(s) took a long time. Now there were few survivors, most of them vampires, who still lived and Antonio realized, as he was walking alongside his human lover, that King Drake refused to choose a more willing heir because none of them would be able to keep the world united as he could. Since the Revolution, vampires used their status the same way the queen did, they flaunted it and expected people from all walks to bow down to them. The cleverness that was common before the Revolution, when vampires often had to dupe humans in order to feed their hunger, was all but gone.<br/>Nearing the king's home, Antonio stopped Jack to tell him. "Stay close to me and keep your mouth shut unless spoken to directly. A lot of vampires view human escorts as pretty furniture. Remember that." He kissed Jack's cheek and chuckled as the human nearly collapsed against him from that brief bit of pseudo-intimate contact. "Be a good boy." Antonio cut the line and just swiped his ID card at a locked gate, taking a shortcut into the house and walking directly up to the king and queen. "King Drake." Having fallen a step behind him in an attempt to mimic his peers, Jack was basically flanking him when the human straightened and froze at the vampire's title.<br/>"Duke Antonio," was his sire's response, voice just as happy as his heir. "May I introduce you to my queen, Mina?" The queen stood to curtsy while stating Antonio's full name then sat down and apologized.<br/>Antonio accepted with a mute nod, "My consort, Jack." The human mimicked his nod and the king beckoned him forward, Antonio gesturing for him to step forward.<br/>Studying him, King Drake muttered "Beautiful." Sharp eyes locked on the hidden bite mark, "Consort and feeder, you are truly blessed, Antonio." King Drake smiled, the man managing to be welcoming and intimidating at the same time, "Enjoy the party and you are welcome to stay through tomorrow if you wish." Antonio nodded at the dismissal and grabbed his human's wrist, grasping the unmarked one by chance, leading him away. As heir, Antonio would likely assist in managing the guests. He found a seat and had Jack in his lap, promising the human "We'll have our fun after the party."<br/>Unlike human parties from before the Revolution, vampire parties had no music due to the species' sensitive hearing nor did they serve food as invitations usually had some note that amounted to: bring your own. Antonio noticed a young looking man shifting nervously and concentrated on him until he caught sight of an invitation sticking out of his pocket. All invitations to the king had a hidden symbol denoting the recipient's species. This one showed it was for a vampire and the light was just right to see the invitee's name. Speaking softly, he called the man over. "No feeder?"<br/>"Uh-" Vampires couldn't starve in this new world order but they could struggle with hunger as humans in the old world did.<br/>Antonio looked at his lover's collar and noted how the other vampire's fangs extend in anticipation, "Read it." He saw the younger man try to swallow, which explained why he was there. King Drake always invited the survivors of the war to his parties and this man was turned back when humans ruled. The vampire finally tore his gaze away from the potential meal to see the writing on the collar and looked away in disappointment. Antonio raised his hand high, snapped his fingers and pointed at the other vampire. Within minutes, a lower caste vampire brought a full grown human over. Antonio waved them over and tapped his vambrace under which his ID card rested to the other's wristwatch and gave it a few seconds before dismissing him. Pointing to the remaining vampire, he pointed to a nearby chair then gestured between the vampire and the laborer, they took his cue to sit in the chair. Antonio raised Jack's wrist slightly and the vampire stopped leaning towards his human's neck to feed from the wrist. It was easier to drink a human dry when feeding from a main artery, such as the two located in the neck.<br/>After feeding, the vampire approached Antonio and studied his face before recognition dawned on him "Captain?" Antonio extended the arm used to pay and the vampire admitted "I cannot repay you." Receiving a gesture for him to show his ID, the vampire did so and the servant was summoned forth to facilitate the transaction that placed the poor vampire in the Duke's service. Jack began to relax against his master. Antonio looked around and saw how different the people around were. Among the humans, there were those who were terrified and those who had given in, making them the proverbial walking dead. There were vampires who were trying to put on a front, projecting false confidence, and those with true confidence. Another difference between vampire parties of the present and human parties of the past was the enjoyment. Vampire parties were so tense that people rarely displayed genuine smiles, much less laughed.<br/>When King Drake ordered the doors opened, people subtly streamed out. Daybreak was a few hours away but the king never held people too long. He could remember the jovial festivities from before. Antonio gave the king a nod as he passed, taking Jack home. The vampire had a servant place his new subordinate in the servant quarters for the day, telling the other bloodsucker "Your feeder will be considered your property. You only have to serve in my house until your debt is paid. You will be charged for your human's food and both of your living expenses but you will still have a chance to pay off your debt with time."<br/>Antonio took Jack to his room, removing the collar first. "Do you want this?"<br/>"Yes."<br/>"Undress." Antonio's clothes were gone in an instant and he reclined on the bed to observe his lover. He waited for Jack to join him before taking the lead "Relax. This isn't training." Jack could get worn out when his master took the lead. Antonio's room had no windows, enabling him to enjoy his days. His lover passing out didn't affect his passion and Jack didn't know any better, which was why he trained his own lovers.</p>