[Y/n] stared at the drawn curtains of her four poster bed. Their pretty crimson colour yesterday morning reminded her of a royal cloak; now - while her tired, disturbed mind played tricks on her - they reminded her of the stomach of a monster that had swallowed her whole, this monster's skin thin enough that small amounts of light could permeate through and into its internal organs. Pulling them back, flinching at the blinding white light as the monster birthed her, and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, [Y/n] walked over to her door which she proceeded to lock. She wanted time alone. She couldn't deal with anyone or anything right now. After locking the door, her back slid against it as she lost herself in memory.

That breathless feeling.

She never wanted to feel that again, yet - for some strange reason, she had a suspicion she would. It made her feel sick. Glancing to the bed, she momentarily considered getting back in and redrawing the curtains, hiding in the embrace of the creature's silken stomach once more. How kind the creature was to give her such a comfortable stay in its body. Though, she looked away again soon enough. She didn't want to just spend her life hiding from things greater than her.

[Y/n] stared at her hands that were wrung together and twisting one another nervously. Perhaps she should eat? Maybe he would appreciate that. Maybe he wouldn't get mad at her again if she just followed his advice. 'What? No... what am I doing? That guy tried to kill me... he kidnapped me for heaven's sake! Why would I then try to make him happy?' She placed her hands against her head, gently gripping her scalp. She quickly let go, however, after the memory of Nyais' hands around her throat flooded her mind once more. No, she didn't want to make him happy, she realised. She wanted to diffuse. She was afraid of him. Fuck.

"No..." she whispered. "No, no, no, no!" Her cries were muffled by her knees as she pulled them close to her chest, but they were still audible enough. Moments later, a knock sounded at her door. [Y/n] sucked in a breath, not responding. She couldn't be afraid of him! He'd know! He could hear her thoughts, what if he decided against saving her?!

"[Y/n]?" came a small voice. She immediately recognised it as Laion's. "May I come in?"

[Y/m] shakily got to her feet with a nod (though she knew he couldn't see it) and unlocked her door, pushing down on the cold bronze handle and opening it. The caramel-brown haired boy stood there with his arms full of sprigs of lavender and rosemary, causing [Y/n] to furrow her brow. The smell of them hit her like she'd walked into a wall instead of opened a door, but it was so very pleasant.

"Seishin gave me a book on herbal medicine," he began quietly, "because of my room and stuff, he said I could 'put myself to use'... I read that rosemary and lavender can help with stress. Why don't we put it around your room?" he tilted his head with a small apologetic smile. [Y/n] managed a smile back, slowly nodding her head. This wouldn't make him mad, would it?

"Y-yes, we can do that... thank you very much, Laion," she said, stepping aside so the small boy could come inside. He placed the lavender and rosemary on her bed. [Y/n] walked over to her bed and sat beside them, taking in the strong aroma. It was relaxing. She could feel her anxiety ebbing away as the two mingling scents enveloped her like a warm blanket. She jumped a little when she felt something touch her face, before realising that Laion was trying to situate a spring of lavender behind her ear. He eventually succeeded and the soft smell of lavender lingered close to her.

"It looks pretty on you," Laion smiled, before taking some rosemary and lavender and travelling around the room, placing it here and there, slowly filling the whole room with the herbal aroma. "The book also recommended roses and sweet peas but I don't have enough of those to put in here, sorry," Laion frowned. [Y/n] smiled distractedly, her hands clasped around some rosemary that eventually scented her palms and wrists.

"How is everyone doing?" [Y/n] asked, though her voice was more a mumble. Laion looked thoughtful.

"Good," he said gently, "though we're all worried about you," he added with yet another apologetic look on his face. [Y/n] looked away, feeling a little helpless. She was supposed to be looking after them, not the other way around. Even still, she greatly appreciated what they were doing for her. "Mitzu actually came out of his room to check on you when you were still asleep and Seishin allowed me in his room so I could find a book that could help you," he added.

"Really?" [Y/n] hummed, though her tone was still quite dull, "that's very lovely of them. Tell them I say thank you."

"Why don't you tell them yourself?" Laion asked with a frown. "I'm sure they'd love to see you." [Y/n] shook her head.

"I really just want to be alone today. But thank you for doing all this, Laion. It's very thoughtful of you," she said softly. Laion didn't miss the tears brimming in the corners of [Y/n]'s eyes. Of course, he didn't really know what to do about them. He eventually concluded he would wrap his arms around her and do the classic 'don't cry, I'm here for you.' Of course, this only made [Y/n] realise what she was bottling up. Tears then began to flow freely down her cheeks as she shook with each choking sob. Laion clearly panicked for a moment thinking he'd done something wrong but [Y/n]'s arms wrapping around him in return reassured him that this was not the case.

"Thank you Laion," she whispered in between shaky breaths, "thank you so much."

"Don't worry, [Y/n]..." Laion tailed off. "I'm here. I'll always be here."

* * *

[Y/n] finally left her room around 2pm, deciding to go get herself something to eat. She could always continue not eating in the hope that it would keep Nyais away but, after last night, she wondered if that would truly be the case. Upon reaching the kitchen, she noticed Mitzu and Seishin working on something. Seishin was holding a cookbook and instructing Mitzu, telling him what was what and what went where. Seishin turned around and saw [Y/n], suddenly looking a little embarrassed.

"What are you two doing?" [Y/n] asked quietly. Mitzu sent her a smile, putting down his cooking utensils and waving a greeting to [Y/n]. This frustrated the female a little as he hadn't answered her question but she didn't mention it.

"It was Mitzu's idea," Seishin said quickly, shutting the cook book (though notably keeping the page they were on with his finger). [Y/n] laughed lightly at this, her frustration from a moment go fading away.

"What do you mean, Seishin?" Mitzu asked, confused, "you were the one who suggested it after reading that book on—" Mitzu was going to continue speaking however Seishin shoved his hand over his mouth. He turned to look at [Y/n] with a cold glare.

"I'll call you when it's ready so go away. You're getting in our way," he huffed. [Y/n] rubbed the back of her neck but nodded, sending them a grateful smile. These two were a strange pair, but [Y/n] didn't mind. For now.

"Thanks guys," she said gently. Judging by the current stage of progress, aka something very hot in a pan spitting everywhere, they were making fudge. She smiled at this before beginning to make her way towards the kitchen door. She shut the door behind her and wandered down the corridor. She decided to go into the living room and see if anyone was there. Draka and Aytsa sat facing one another on the sofa, both with paper and pens drawing the same thing.

"Mine is so much better than yours, Draka!" Aytsa announced as he compared the two. Draka pouted at this, trying to get his drawing back.

"I haven't finished!" he complained, finally obtaining the unfinished drawing. Aytsa then scrutinised it once more.

"Cats don't have straight legs," Aytsa began with a shrug. "On the back legs they should bend back on themselves in the middle. The front ones should bend at the elbow, which is right here," he pointed to a part of Draka's drawing. "You should also pay more attention to the shape of the face. Look," he said, showing him a picture of a cat, "the muzzle is more of a box shape."

"Not all cats have boxy faces," Draka complained, "plus, I'm drawing a cartoon kitty cat. I don't wanna be realistic."

"You can draw cartoons and still stick to basic anatomy," Aytsa responded with a seemingly excruciated eye roll, before turning to face [Y/n] with a bright smile, his frustration immediately being wiped off his face. "Good morning [Y/n]!" he grinned. "How was your sleep?"

"Very good, thank you," [Y/n] said gently. "You should be a bit nicer to Draka, Aytsa. I think his cat looks adorable," she smiled, standing behind the sofa and looking at both of their drawings. She was stunned at how Aytsa's drawing was almost photorealistic, though with an element of a cartoonist style, whilst Draka's drawing was cute and simple



Aytsa frowned. "But it's wrong!" he huffed, shaking his head. [Y/n] gave him a look of disapproval and he shrunk into his shoulders a little. "I was only trying to help him, the legs look like they're falling out of its body and the ears and face are wonky. The tail's the only good part about it," Aytsa added. [Y/n] let out a sigh.

"You can help people without acting like Seishin about it, you know," [Y/n] said gently. Aytsa giggled slightly at the comparison and this caused Draka to laugh too. Glad they were both coming around, [Y/n] took a closer look at the drawings. "How on earth did you learn to draw like that, Aytsa?" [Y/n] asked softly. Aytsa picked up a book with lots of photos of cats in it.

"I looked at these," Aytsa grinned. He found the picture similar to the cat he'd drawn. "It's a cat!" he said, pointing at the pictures. "Apparently humans keep cats as pets. What are they like? Do they really make meow noises? Can't cats talk?" [Y/n] laughed at the overload of questions, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Cats are... particular," [Y/n] explained, "they're not very loving creatures. Unless they're your cat, though. Then they love you a bit too much," she laughed. "My friend Sally had a little Siamese cat called Ilya. Ilya used to scratch everyone who went past. He was so vicious. And then, with me, he used to melt like butter. Sally would come to school absolutely littered in scars but every time I saw this cat he'd curl up on my lap and purr, not leaving me alone until either I left or he got fed," she reminisced.

Aytsa looked at her in awe as she told her story, sitting forwards a little. Draka, too, went totally silent as he seemed to want [Y/n] to carry on.

"Cats do things like chase strings, flies, spiders; all sorts. Most cats are really good hunters too. They eat mice, rats, rabbits, birds; anything small enough. I even remember Ilya catching a snake, once," [Y/n] grinned. The boys - mainly Draka as Aytsa had a fascination with animals - looked a little confused at the mention of all these animals but nodded their heads, having a good idea of what [Y/n] was talking about.

"Do they meow?" Aytsa asked again, tilting his head. "What do cat noises sound like?" [Y/n] rubbed the back of her neck.

"Uhh... well, they sound kinda like the word 'meow', I guess..." [Y/n] trailed off and the boys looked at her expectantly. She sighed, before doing what they clearly were hinting at and making a mrrow noise very similar to the one she'd heard Ilya make so many times. Aytsa clapped excitedly and Draka giggled, tilting his head.

"[Y/n]'s a kitty cat!" Aytsa giggled, causing [Y/n] to embarrassedly blush. A laugh escaped her, too.

"I'm not a cat!" [Y/n] ruffled Aytsa's hair. "I like people too much. Cats think they rule the world and own everyone," [Y/n] joked.

"So Seishin's a kitty cat?" Draka questioned earning a laugh from the [h/c] haired female, but Aytsa quickly shook his head.

"No. Seishin's not cute enough to be a kitty cat. [Y/n]'s cute and hates vampires, so she's the kitty cat. Seishin's a snake," Aytsa decided. Then, he seemed to realise the game he was creating. "And you're a puppy dog, Draka," Aytsa grinned, tilting his head. "Because you're stupid but very happy."

"Don't be mean, Aytsa, or I'll make you a blowfish," [Y/n] said sternly, though her voice was light, trying to pretend Aytsa had never said anything about her hating vampires. Aytsa grinned at this.

"Blowfish are cool! But I don't think I'm one... I think I'm a wolf! Cunning and clever." He put his hands on his hips in a prideful manner and [Y/n] let out a laugh. "Mitzu's a cockatoo. He's always angry," Aytsa explained, "Laion's a stag because he likes plants so much. And... uhh... Kori," he trailed off, "Kori can be a unicorn."

"A unicorn?" [Y/n] spluttered, bursting into hysterics. "Why is he a unicorn?"

"Well, he hardly exists," Aytsa shrugged. This only caused more laughter from [Y/n].

"He does exist, he's just quiet."

"That's what they say about unicorns," Aytsa smiled. [Y/n] facepalmed but decided not to argue anymore, simply smiling. "Anyways... I'm a wolf so you've all got to listen to me," Aytsa declared, "especially you, kitty cat," he laughed, looking at [Y/n]. She defiantly put her hands on her hips.

"I don't have to listen to any of you," she said with a waggle of her finger.

"How old are you?" Aytsa asked, tilting his head.

"19," [Y/n] responded. "Why?"

"We're gonna be older than you soon, then," Aytsa smiled, "so when we are, you're gonna have to listen to us."

"I absolutely won't!" [Y/n] shook her head. Aytsa only shrugged at this with a lopsided smile that had 'we'll see' written all over it. [Y/n]'s relaxed expression began to contort slightly with unease as Aytsa's certainty brought her back to the day before. She sighed and looked down, her hand subconsciously pressing against her neck. "Well, I'm going to go back to my room now boys. Try not to eat anyone, wolfie," she directed at Aytsa, who seemed to pride himself in his new yet transient nickname. He gave her a determined nod.

[Y/n] stood up and stretched her arms out in front of her before letting them drop back down by her sides. She then walked out of the living room and retreated down the corridor, peeking into the kitchen as she went by. Seishin was saying something degrading to Mitzu before noticing [Y/n] at the door. He glared at her, also.

"God, [Y/n], what do you want?" Seishin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The [h/c] haired female shrugged and shut the kitchen door once more, continuing down the corridor and stopping at her room. She hadn't noticed before but a golden plaque on her door read '[Y/n]', the letters engraved into the plaque in a calligraphic style. [Y/n]'s finger absentmindedly traced the curling letters, admiring the fine work for a moment before pushing open her door and shutting it behind her.

She began to pace the room, memories from the day before rolling into her mind once again like thunderclouds.

"Look, Nyais, I'm sorry," she muttered, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She didn't mean her apology at all, but she was terrified. She couldn't make him any madder at her. She couldn't die to this place. "I didn't mean what I said... I was just stressed and tired. I'm so, so sorry..." she trailed off. Feeling restless, she stood up and began to pace the room again. "I hope you can forgive me." She paused. "God, what am I doing? You're probably not listening." She stared at her door as if to prove a point. Then, she walked over to her bed and sat down once more, burying her head in her hands. "God, I'm so stupid!" Her words sounded to the outside ear like she was annoyed at herself for thinking he'd care about her anymore, but truthfully she was mad at herself because she didn't want to be apologising at all.

[Y/n] removed her head from her hands when she heard the click of a lock, followed by a door opening and closing. Then, her door began to creak open. Though he'd only opened it a little bit, [Y/n] could make out Nyais' features on the other side of the door. She went quiet and he eventually pushed the door open fully, stepping into the room. He had a certain scent that [Y/n] could almost taste in the air - damp, slightly, and tart with citrus. There was also always a tang of iron that accompanied him, however it came with the boys as well - their diet made sure of that.

"Don't apologise, [Y/n]," he began carefully, "you did nothing wrong. The fault was mine," he said, looking at his feet. [Y/n] remained silent. Damn right it was, but she tried her hardest not to think this - she didn't want him to hear her breathing patterns and interpret them. "The one who deserves an apology is you. So... I'm sorry." He looked up - [Y/n]'s glassy [e/c] eyes, brimming with tears, stared into his violet ones.

"That's... it's fine, Nyais. I pushed you to such extremes. I took for granted everything you're doing for me. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you but I hope you can forgive me." Her words were spoken faster than any she'd said before - lines she'd fearfully gone over again and again in her head. She couldn't risk getting it wrong. She couldn't risk ruining this and sacrificing her life in the process. Nyais walked over to her and sat beside her, taking her hands in his and enveloping them in warmth.

"You don't have to do anything, [Y/n]," Nyais said softly. [Y/n] subconsciously leaned against him slightly; even if she didn't want to admit it, she was still dependant on him. Nyais responded to this by moving his hands from hers to around her body, ensnaring her in his embrace. Despite him assuring her that she needn't do anything, [Y/n] could tell he was thinking differently. She went tense in his embrace.

In the embrace, Nyais' lips found themselves resting on her nape, and [Y/n] shut her eyes. Her neck was still marked after yesterday, and he could see that. She didn't know why he wanted her forgiveness - she was just a cog in this strange, underground country's greater machine - but this certainly wasn't the way to get it. However, [Y/n] forced herself to let go of her reservations. Surely this was the best possible decision.

"May I?" Nyais asked quietly, his fingers tracing a line along her collarbone. [Y/n] nodded, unable to find a verbal response due to her anxiety. And, with that, Nyais leant forwards and his lips met her neck. He kissed her softly before allowing his teeth to sink into her flesh. [Y/n] had half expected the experience to be a painful one - she was shocked when an overwhelming sense of peace and relaxation washed over her. Perhaps it was the drowsiness from her blood being sucked out of her but she felt like, for a moment, she'd sat atop clouds and reached out to the moon. What a strange side effect for a vampire bite to have. This strange feeling, that could make even a callous warrior surrender peacefully.

Then, he pulled away from her, wiping a little blood off his lip. He kissed her cheek, before getting off her and walking over to the en-suite bathroom to find a flannel he could wash the blood off her with. [Y/n] sat up slowly, her fingers brushing against the bite mark. She winced slightly, the dull pain now beginning to set in.

The smell of sugar met her senses. She looked over at the door and saw a plate of fudge on the floor. The door was ajar.

Next Chapter: Day 11 and An Unexpected Guest random fun fact: I wrote this in an airport / on a plane. So ye, if it's bad that'd be because I was either a) trying to stay alert enough to not miss the plane or b) trying not to think about dying. Whilst I write this I'm currently over Switzerland. When I publish this I'll be back in cold old England :,) Random random fun fact: I wrote this chapter in 2019 on a plane home from Italy. I am editing this chapter in 2022... in Italy. I guess hot weather makes me creative lmaoo