Treat

John carefully bathed the baby while Marianne sobbed. A girl. A little girl, she was quiet, she had her mothers stunning grey eyes, her cheeks were chubby and red, she was looking around at everything curiously. John dried the infant and took her back to Marianne, who for the moment had stopped her tears, though her eyes were red and her cheeks had tear stains.
“Hello my sweet child,” Marianne murmured sniffling, “I’m your mommy, I promise I won’t let them hurt you,” her lip trembled and her body started shaking with the force of the sobs.
John sat on the bed next to his wife his arm around her shoulder, one hand touching the soft peach fuzz black hair, his mind working. The savior, the would be Daylight Guardian to Viktor needed to be male. All of the conditions of their prophecy could happen at any village they went to. If female, John had no doubt Lucid would be angered by his being deceived- even if it was unintentional. Marianne obviously had already thought of all that. If King Vincent were to find out… they would all be dead.
“We will raise her male, teach her to act like a man.” John said his voice showing he was serious, “if they think the prophecy is true, they won’t have any reason to kill any of us.”
“How can we let our daughter go through life like that, always hiding her identity!” Marianne argued tears welling in her eyes.
“Would you rather her have no life at all, to die on the night of her birth!” John argued back as much as he didn’t want to argue with his visibly upset wife. He lowered his voice, “it’s the only way to keep her safe, perhaps one day we will find a better solution, till then…” he trailed off, “what will his name be?”
“Evan, my son,” she whispered, she held the child close to her chest and murmured, “my poor daughter Evanangelique Cross.”
At the next night fall John and Marianne were requested to come to the castle that stood tall in the middle of the high walls, their son was requested as well. They went in their finest, which wasn’t much, for John a pair of black pants, a light white shirt, for Marianne a sunny yellow dress.
Lucid met them at the doors staring down at the child who was wearing a cloth diaper, some light blue pants and a white shirt that one of the people in the neighbouring hut brought over during the night with out a word. Lucid lead them in silently; back to the kings office, the large double doors opened, Viktor was sitting on the ground playing with blocks at his father’s feet, Vincent smiled as they came through the door and Viktor ran over to them reaching his hands out for the infant.
Marianne held Evan close to her looking at John then to Viktor, “I assure you Madam Marianne, your son will be in good hands.” It was an obvious order, Marianne swallowed and carefully placed Evan in Viktor’s arms.
She was surprised at how careful the child was, how strong he was, he touched Evan’s cheek, stroking it carefully. “We will be the very best of friends…um…” he looked up at Marianne, “what is his name?”
“Evan,” she said quietly.
“Evan,” he repeated quietly, “yes we will be great friends won’t we?”
SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER
I sat down heavily on the bench inside the training room, other humans my age were doing the same, exhausted from our training. The difference between them and me? They were all male, while I was just pretending to be. I took off my face mask, I had been teased as a child for having a cherubic face, girly faced even. My long black hair didn’t matter, most of the other men wore ponytails anyways.
I put my helmet on the ground and put my elbows on my knees leaning forward; the other teenagers in training to become Daylight Guardian’s started to undress, pack up, leave to their homes; their families.
My day had only just begun though, the last of night was fading from the sky. I hurried home in my light armor from sword training and took it off quickly at home, I had a quick sponge bath I wiped off my face that had been dripping in sweat. My nails had dirt under them, they were bit down unevenly, nothing like my mothers, so beautiful she has always been.
I continued washing myself in haste, I was lucky to be a late bloomer, my chest had only begun developing the previous year, they weren’t big enough to be noticed under armor, but I wrapped them up when in plain clothing. I stood up the heat of the summer drying my body; a towel was not needed. I got into my plain clothing, a black silk shirt and tanned leather pants. I was pulling on my boots when my mother came to me in her housecoat. “How are you today my dear?”
“Fine,” I replied quickly tying the laces on them quickly.
“You get older everyday, you look more like a woman everyday,” she murmured to me.
I thought of saying something, but anything said would just remind myself of how trapped in this I was. To be a female was to be killed, along with my parents. I couldn’t let that happen, so I would continue the lies. I stood grabbing my belt and shoved my sword in place. “I’ve got to go, love you mom,” I said kissing her on the cheek.
“Love you too Evan,” she called as I walked out the door.
My father had become the Daylight Guardian of King Vincent, Mom was alone during the days, but she had become friends with many, humans and vampires alike. At night we were replaced by the Twilight Guardians, the most fierce fighters of the Vampire kind. In all my years of living inside the walls we had only been attacked by the Moon Children twice, and I had been too young to fight then. Both attacks had been during the day.
The men at the doors opened them for me as they did with all guests and guardians. I walked through the familiar stone corridors, I had grown up in the castle for the most part I stayed at home but came to see Viktor everyday unless I was sick. King Vincent wanted me to be close with Viktor, wanted us to be friends, the King and my father are close, heck the King adores my mother. I want to say if my true gender was to come out we would be spared. It isn’t something any of us are comfortable laying our lives on the line for.
I climbed the spiral of stairs passing by maids and vampires in rich gowns, some nodded in acknowledgment of me a few said hello. I didn’t know many of them, but they all knew I was the Daylight Guardian of their prince, I was to be shown respect at all times. Viktor made that clear when we were children, though sometimes it was he who didn’t respect me. Or at least I felt that way- after all he was almost finished growing into a full vampire, he seen the world differently than I. My family had a beautiful home now, after all I was to save their prince during a hardship. They wanted us to be looked after.
I got to Viktor’s door and I heard moaning, the bed screeching, the wood of the bed smashing against the wall, “oh fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath. I felt sorry for Garrett; the Prince’s Twilight Guardian, one of us were to be with the prince at all times.
I rapped on the door and it opened immediately, Garrett’s bright red eyes looked into my metallic grey ones, his brown hair was messy, he was middle aged but we got along very well, “thank you!” he said hitting my shoulder, I took three steps back to regain balance. Garret laughed and took off down the hallway.
I frowned, it was sickening how often this was the way my day started. I backed into the room and faced the wall, shutting the door behind me. The moans and groans were louder inside the room. As was the smells, sex and blood. Damned vampires and their endless energy, they murmured words low and fast that my human ears couldn’t understand. I shuffled my feet, it took hours for the vampire to wrap a blanket around her and leave, flaunting the fact she had been with the prince. “You are a jerk,” I stated still staring at the wall.
“You are just jealous,” Viktor said with a laugh, I heard the bed squeak and his feet hit the stony floors, I peeked over my shoulder he had a sheet around his waist. “I get all the ladies and you don’t.”
I rolled my eyes coming closer to him, “yes, I’m sure that is the only logical answer,” I replied sarcastically, he laughed again. “Seriously do you really need to do this to Garret and I, honestly we don’t want to see, hear, smell, or even think of the things you’ve put us through.”
Viktor laughed once more, he found it all outrageously hilarious, “you have your morning workout, training. My workout is just more pleasurable,” he said pinching my ass perversely laughing as he walked to his personal bathing area. This didn’t surprise me, Viktor was egotistical, perverse, and hard headed, on the flip side he could be light hearted, loyal and funny. He didn’t see things in the same light as I, but we had always been friends. My mother told me he said we would be best friends when he held me in his arms the night after I was born. Though I've always been three years younger, I was always the one who was to look out for him.
I turned around as he dropped the sheet and dipped into the shallow bathing water, “so what do we have on the agenda today?”
“Nothing,” I responded, “no duties, no meetings, no training.”
I heard the water move around, he was quiet for the moment, not something I expected to last, Viktor was a big talker. “Nothing?” he repeated.
“Nope,” I responded still staring at the wall.
Viktor went quiet again, he typically had something to do, something he had to do. “I have a lot of free time then.”
“Yes you do my liege,” I had called him sir, prince, liege before and he had hated every one of them, I slip into it when I am annoyed with him, especially with his recent… morning routine.
“You don’t forget I forbid you to call me that,” he said as I heard him get out of the water. “It is so… stuffy, old. When I hit five centuries, you can call me that okay.”
I kept my face stony as I looked at him wrapped in a towel, “I’ll be long dead by then.”
Viktor frowned, “way to be a downer,” he said walking back to his room, I followed like a puppy on a leash. I respectfully turned around as he got dressed he tapped my shoulder lightly, he’d been practicing his touch on me, the only human he was close to, to see what hurt a human and what didn’t. I gave a half smile showing that it didn’t hurt. He seemed pretty proud of himself. He was dressed in silky expensive dress clothing as always.
He walked out of his room, the castle was lit with torches, the vampires moved quietly. A few loud mouths of the Blood Brigade (those vampires who take over land and collect humans for blood or daylight defence) were sitting at the bottom of the stairs, speaking loud their clothing still bloodied from the night. They bowed deeply when they saw the prince. “We’ve got you a real treat my Lord,” the one spoke, O’Connell I recognized him, he was the leader of the Blood Brigade, vicious and filled with blood lust. Some humans inside the gate went missing, many believe it is his work. He looked at me and smiled, such a twisted smile. I swallowed, I might fight like a boy, act like a boy, dress like a boy, but deep down my female intuition was scared shitless of O’Connell. He snapped his teeth at me my face kept impassive but my sword was at his throat in less than a second. “Jumpy Cross?”
Viktor looked at me with raised eyebrows and I put my sword back in it’s sheath, I fought the urge to flip O’Connell off, I stood a step in front of Viktor, he was my responsibility.
“Anyways, you want to see your newest treats?” O’Connell asked ignoring my presence and staring at Viktor.
Viktor grinned widely, he knew as I did what the Blood Brigade always brought back for the King and the Prince. The most lovely ladies of the land they had taken over. For a most wonderful feast. They were kept alive for weeks sometimes. Fed until Viktor or Vincent was done with them. 97 percent of humans can’t survive sex with a vampire I learned. Their bodies too hard, their touch to rough. Viktor though happily followed O’Connell to the cells in the basement.
I seen the girls, dirty, frightened, and yet there was nothing I could say. Nothing I could do. Viktor looked through the gates and smiled his fangs showing the girls got closer to each other, some closer to the wall. He snapped his teeth together and a few squealed, “that one, the one with the red hair.” He said pointing to the girl who stood fierce, who only twitched slightly with his snap, “I want someone with a bit of fight.”