1 Kylan Laframboise

Kylan Laframboise realized that he truly had no one to rely on.

The world seemed to be entirely against him. It showed him one hint of kindness and then cruelly stole it away.

The 14 year old had been beaten by some random group for a reason he couldn't even remember at this point. He had always been bad at getting along with others as he was awkward, defensive, and never seemed to fit in anywhere. It was now dark, the light drizzling rain that came after the sun fully set and dim flickering streetlights were what he woke up to. He had sat up and felt his entire body hurting, he coughed in discomfort and felt his chapped lips crack. Some lady had heard the noise and saw how young he was and couldn't help but to approach him cautiously, offering a bottle of water from her bag and some loose change to use the payphone with.

The woman scurried away quickly after, not even bothering to wait for him to thank her. She was probably thinking that he might be part of some sort of sick scam. Something that wasn't uncommon in Grey City. Regardless, Kylan gulped the water down quickly and made his way to the phone despite his pain. He started calling his friends, some fellow outcasts and delinquents like him, people he thought had finally accepted him...But each call was met with some variation of "It's too late", "I'm too busy", "We're not that close", and even one extremely painful, "Kylan? Who is that?".

The coins slowly ran out as Kylan realized he had no one to rely on.

Except for his sister.

Olivia was the last person he wanted to talk to right now.

After the crazy bullshit she had told him yesterday he truly wanted nothing to do with her. He was filled with self-loathing for being so useless that he still needed to call for her help after staying out for a day to vent his frustrations. He hated that he felt like everything was his fault.

Kylan was convinced that if he didn't exist his sister wouldn't have become the mistress of a vampire noble. She wouldn't have become so desperate for money and status. She wouldn't give up her body and humanity. She wouldn't shamelessly involve herself with a married man and somehow convince him to divorce his wife and marry her. She would have never become so shallow and stupid if she didn't have to sacrifice everything to raise him.

Giving up her own education to work and get money to feed him. Giving him all the best of what little they had. Always dragging him with her whenever she found something to benefit them. He would be nowhere without her but as he got older she spent more and more time in clubs, realizing where the men with money were. His sister became more and more neglectful.

She did her best to provide for him but Kylan couldn't help but feel more depressed and incredibly guilty as he watched her change and become distant and unfamiliar to him. The way her clothes looked now and the way she smelled like expensive perfumes when she went out... It only got worse.

Yesterday, arguably one of the worst days of his life, he came home and she seemed more stifled than usual. Her usually peppy voice was forced to sound very serious as she explained to him that she had met a vampire and the man was wealthy beyond their imagination and she would be marrying him in a matter of weeks after he divorced his current wife.

Naturally, Kylan thought she had lost her mind. That was, until she got upset with him and her eyes turned red.

"I worked so hard to get this opportunity and tell you myself and you want to call me crazy?! Who took care of you all these years Kylan??"

She raised her voice and the unnatural colour her eyes shifted to was unmistakable and impossible for a human to imitate.

Somehow, Kylan accepted the existence of vampires very easily.

Kylan very quickly accepted it, and just as quickly developed a hatred towards the creatures.

So he pretended to listen to what his sister had said. 'Calming down' and waiting until she went out to run away. Not that he had anywhere to run away to. He just wanted to go far away from everything....

Kylan thought about all of those things as he slowly pushed a coin into the machine and pressed out his sister's number.

"....Hello? Who is this? I'm busy right now so-"

"Olivia...can you come pick me up..."

"Kylan!! Where are you!? Why does your voice sound like that?? Do you know how difficult this was to explain to them!? I'll send someone to pick you up don't you dare move!!"

The boy sighed, frustrated but understanding her good intentions.

"....I won't go anywhere."

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Kylan had passed out. He woke up in a car that was far too fancy for him to be in. The seats felt like leather and it had so much space it had to be a luxury vehicle. He sat up quickly and his head spun.

"There is water in the fridge." With zero emotion the driver spoke suddenly, glancing in the mirror at the boy who's left eye was starting to swell shut.

After drinking some water Kylan didn't know what to do. He had expected his sister to come get him but she definitely wasn't in this car.

"...Where are we going..."

"Tsk-" the driver's glare reflected in the mirror and Kylan couldn't bear it, immediately turning to look out the tinted windows instead of making eye contact with this person who clearly didn't want to be around him. "Your whore sister has told Count Vericus to bring you to his residence and-"

Kylan's demeanour shifted in an instant. The boy sneered, his defiancy stronger than his embarrassment as he defended his sister's dignity, "DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THA-"

The words didn't get the chance to leave his mouth as he watched the eyes in the mirror turn red,

"You will not have a good time here, boy! Learn your place!" The man hissed.

Kylan's face was ugly. He didn't know what he could do. There wasn't anything he could do. He huffed and turned away in silence, unsure of what the vampiric driver was capable of and not wanting to find out.

Clearly the feeling was mutual as the man never continued with what he was going to say earlier. The car fell into silence.

The boy was very badly beaten. He passed out again and woke up to his arm being grabbed roughly as he was yanked out of the car and shoved towards what seemed to be an actual castle. As in, the kind straight out of fairytales. Everything about it screamed real wealth and Kylan had no choice but to go inside as the driver stepped behind him and guided (shoved) him into a hall with multiple people speaking to each other. One man in particular stood out from the rest, he turned to look towards Kylan and his expression lightened,

"Hello Kylan! This wasn't how I wanted to meet you brother in law but Olivia insisted we bring you home right now and you know how she is haha, would you like to speak to her?"

It was never a good thing to have an open bleeding wound when you were in a room full of vampires. Kylan was lucky that every person in there had completely lost interest in him the second they saw him. They had hung around with expectations when they heard that the boy would be arriving unexpectedly. Perhaps the brother of the controversial new wife of the Count would be interesting, or at the very least attractive.... They were all sorely disappointed when this mangled wet mutt was dragged in. As they were all either the servants or the family of a very noble and respected lineage-

They had much higher standards than a dirty and battered little boy.

Immediately their gazes became cold and disinterested, glancing away as if he was so far beneath them that they couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to whatever would happen next.

Kylan hung his head, desperate to avoid their gazes.

The Count's eyes on him were the worst.

A mature and handsome man with an appearance of being in his mid 40s, though he was probably centuries older, as a nearly immortal being. Sophisticated in every sense of the word. His suit clearly tailored to his model like body. Elegant posture kept his back straight and his head held high in a very natural way. Intense defined features, a hairless but harsh and masculine jawline, strong aquiline nose, black eyes that seemed to look into Kylan's soul. The man's hair was the typical perfectly quaffed style that had remained popular amongst men for the last century. The black strands had a few greys scattered throughout. Kylan had been told that the man was some sort of law enforcer. The role would completely suit his appearance if it wasn't for his expression.

...it was so warm.

Count Vericus smiled, thin pale lips spoke at him with a smile that reached the black eyes, making them reflect him. It seemed genuine. Too genuine. Kylan fought back tears as he gritted his teeth and averted his eyes. That vampire bastard must really be a good actor. He had to be. If the man that had corrupted his already changing sister was genuinely good to him then there would be nowhere for his anger and frustration to go.

"Doesn't matter. Who cares." He blurted out with an angry look. Teeth bared and brows tightly furrowed.

The boy's face was pitiful. Dirty, swollen, bleeding, and he even had a rather fresh looking black eye. The crime rate was higher in Grey City than in other areas but who would beat up such an unremarkable child for no reason?

....The logical conclusion that Kristoph Vericus came to was that the child was simply a rude delinquent.

First impressions were everything. It would always affect the way you view someone as many assumptions were made the instant you met them. The Count could have simply asked about the situation but the boy was being aggressive and dismissive. Not only towards him but also towards the kid's own sister.... As a high nobility vampire with an important enough position, the Count would not degrade himself by playing nice with a brat.

The man's patient expression went away, the warm smile turning perfunctory.

"That servant will show you your room, attend to your wounds, and guide you to the hall for dinner in a few hours."

He looked towards a grey haired older woman in a maid outfit who stood with perfect posture. She bowed in respect, quietly saying "Yes master..." before scanning up and down Kylan.

The Count immediately walked away after hearing her response. Either not caring, or simply not seeing, the way she looked at the boy with clear disgust in her eyes. Or the way the boy's fist clenched and he looked down at the ground with even more intensity than before.

In the presence of the Count, Kylan truly felt disgusting.

The man was everything Kylan couldn't be and the contrast made him feel disgusted by himself. The servant woman's eyes made him feel so small and worthless but at least she could see him. It was as if the Count couldn't even be bothered to spare him a glance after meeting him once.

Kylan held animosity towards all people with wealth because they never did anything besides look down on him. Kylan held even more animosity towards this particular wealthy man who had decided to turn his sister into a monster, both literally and figuratively, by making her not human and also having her be the reason for the man's divorce.

In all honesty, he had thought he would be thrown out immediately, he didn't expect a servant to do anything for him. He didn't even expect his existence to be acknowledged but he also didn't want to be treated this way. So, as any angst filled young teen would, he lashed out first.

The Count was welcoming enough, or at the very least he was pretending to be. But that didn't matter.

Kylan was too filled with embarrassment and self loathing to accept even a lukewarm welcome. His strong pride combined with his intense inferiority complex had left him with nothing but a shattered ego as he stood on the ornate carpet. Muddy shoeprints underneath him, messy, unwashed shaggy brown hair hanging in front of his lowered head. He had no choice but to listen to the words of a man that was simultaneously everything he wanted to have and everything he hated.