Nyais left half an hour ago, telling [Y/n] to wait for him to come back. Of course, that's exactly what she would've done anyway, but she appreciated the sentiment. Nyais had told her he didn't want her moving anywhere after he'd stitched her wounds up yesterday so the girl was still in bed, boredom leading her to twiddle her thumbs, hoping he'd come back soon.

After thinking and waiting for another five minutes, she heard the click of a lock and the slam of a door. Then, voices.

"You pull any more of the psycho shit you pulled yesterday and I'll skin you alive," Nyais' voice sounded lowly, just harsh enough for [Y/n] to make out the words. There was no reply, simply an 'mhm' which had a certain pitchy tone that [Y/n] could recognise from a mile away. She hung her head; Rayne really wasn't someone she wanted to see today. Hell, Rayne wasn't someone she wanted to see any day.

"[Y/n]," Nyais' soft voice called through the now opened door. [Y/n] smiled at him. He walked over to her with a slightly sad expression. "I'm so sorry I had to bring him here again... it's just, you need to drink the elixir. Olli warned me when I went to get some new solvents for your wounds last night that if I missed the deadline you wouldn't be able to stay with us anymore."

"Wow, he really doesn't like me," [Y/n] laughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"You changed the antiseptics?" Rayne said disappointedly from the other side of the room. Nyais nodded. "Ugh, you're so dull. It would've been funny."

"I hate you."

"Yeah, I know," Rayne sighed, walking over to [Y/n] and giving her the best smile he could manage without looking like he was about to break a kitten. "I've got a little present for you," he grinned, "call me what you want - Santa, O' Great One, God... I don't mind~" he sang giddily.

"Would you allow 'creep'?" [Y/n] responded sarcastically, one eyebrow raising slightly. Rayne frowned at this and pulled a vial of pinkish-brown liquid out of his pocket.

"Drink," he said abruptly, pushing it into her arms. [Y/n] picked it up and stared at it, a bit of concern in her eyes. "Drink it," Rayne reiterated (as if he hadn't made himself clear the first time). [Y/n] continued to stare at it, clearly lost, before turning to look at Nyais. Nyais' eyes had averted as he clearly tried to pretend Rayne didn't exist and wasn't anywhere near [Y/n].

"I-it doesn't look safe... what's in here...?" [Y/n] asked quietly.

"Blood," Rayne began, "his blood," he said, pointing at Nyais. [Y/n]'s eyes widened at this. Nyais only hung his head more, not meeting [Y/n]'s confusion-riddled gaze. "There's also rosewater, a series of human preservatives that I managed to scavenge and some secret ingredients that I can't tell you about," he smiled darkly - very much a 'shut up and do as I say before I hurt you' sort of smile.

"W-why? What...? What does it do? Why do I need to drink this?"

"You're getting on my nerves, [Y/n]," Rayne growled out with a slightly forced smile. "This elixir will make it so you're a bit more like us, but not like us at all—"

"No, I-I'm sorry, I really don't want to be a vampire—"

"You're not going to be a vampire you fucking idiot," Rayne snapped, "you're going to drink this, do as you're told and keep smiling like the stupid human you are. Okay?" At this, Nyais cleared his throat and stared at Rayne with a threatening glare. Rayne met his eyes for a moment before sighing and trying to compose himself once more. "This elixir is called the elixir of life. I'll give you a few guesses as to what it—"

Nyais cleared his throat, sparking a small startle from Rayne. Understanding what it meant, Rayne shook his head and huffed.

"Fine, fine, no guesses," he sighed. "The elixir of life makes it so you can't ever age. Simultaneously I've made it so you'll also never have periods again - you'll be infertile, saving you from any tragedies in the future under King Olli's request. You can still die of injury and so on but you'll also have a vampire's resilience to illnesses, meaning you'll likely never have a cold or the flu again. Illnesses such as cancer can't be prevented but, as your body won't age or deteriorate, your chances of such illnesses are much lower. Plagues and superbugs can still probably get to you, however. Oh, but your blood will still be exactly the same so don't think you can get out of any of your other little rules Olli's set you."

If [Y/n] had just listened to the perks on illness and periods, she would've been over the moon about this elixir and downed it in an instant. This wasn't the case however.

She'd never age. It sounded great, but at the same time... it sounded horrible.

She wouldn't be properly human ever again.

Is that really what she wanted?

"You alive in there?" Rayne huffed, fishing a flashlight from his pocket and shining it in the thoughtful girl's eyes. Her pupils contacted and he put the flashlight away. "Well?"

"I don't think it's—"

"Tough, you don't have a choice," Rayne butted in with a grin, taking the elixir back and suddenly grabbing [Y/n] by the wrist. Nyais spooked, quickly startled as he realised what the raven haired doctor was going to do, taking a few hasty steps forwards before freezing when a thin scalpel pressed against [Y/n]'s throat.

"Don't do anything rash, Nyais," Rayne grinned, "I'd hate to hurt her." Nyais opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. "Take a few steps back. In fact, if you want me to put the scalpel away, leave this room. I'll sort this out my own way. I don't need you interfering."

"I'm not leaving," Nyais spat, "I won't let you hurt her."

"Seriously? Look, let me get things straight." He took the scalpel away from [Y/n]'s neck and pointed it at Nyais. Though it seemed like an opportunity for Nyais to act and free [Y/n], Rayne had made it quite obvious that his nails were very close to [Y/n]'s wrist. Nyais stayed where he was. "I hate this girl."

"But you love... people, things... experiments—?" Nyais choked out in confusion.

"I do, you know me so well," Rayne grinned. "But this thing soon won't be entirely human, nor will she be vampire; in fact, some might say she's already been robbed of her humanity. She's a thing, sure, but I'm not so fond of things without use. She may be a useful companion to you, but that negates her use as an experiment. She's pointless. She's like a porcelain doll - intriguing to look at for a while but sooner or later you'll get sick and tired of polishing her." A sick grin crossed Rayne's face, his eyes wide and crazed. "You'll hate yourself for it, but I know you so well. I know what will happen. I know what you'll do, and we both know the only one here who'll accept you for it."

"No, shut up," Nyais growled, "I'll never hurt [Y/n]. Get out. Leave. I don't want you here."

The scalpel pressed itself against [Y/n]'s neck again.

"I get no pleasure from hurting this thing because I hate her," Rayne said coldly. "I'll do it if I have to, but I don't want to waste my time. I don't want to hear her voice; smell her blood; see her face. I want her out of my sight, but I like being alive so I can't exactly kill her, can I? So, knowing this, will you leave me to do my job?"

[Y/n] and Nyais exchanged an uncertain glance. It was clear neither of them knew whether Rayne was telling the truth. [Y/n] was quite unnerved at his drastic change from yesterday, but at the same time she'd kind of expected it. She paused, before giving Nyais the smallest of nods. Hesitantly, he left the room.

Rayne let out a long exhale and pocketed the scalpel again, looking at [Y/n] with a glare.

"You really make me sick, you know?" he sighed, staring at the elixir for a moment.

"I'm sorry," [Y/n] said quietly, "I don't know what I've done to you but I'm sorry you're so hateful."

"Oh?" Rayne's demeanour changed once again as a grin returned to his face. "Maybe you do have some use. That was an interesting thing you just said. Were you trying to win a battle of morals with me? You apologised passive aggressively. Owned up to something you didn't even do, some might say." Rayne leant a little closer, his eyes manic once more.

"Are you trying to be the hero, [Y/n]?" he giggled.

It was in one swift movement that his hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. [Y/n], who'd realised what was going on, clenched her teeth in a desperate attempt to keep her mouth shut. The doctor simply frowned and shoved her down on the bed, pushing her hair under his knee to keep her head in place before using his now-free hand to cover her nose.

The girl held her breath for what felt like an eternity.

An eternity was apparently not long enough.

The moment of her anticipated gasp of breath, Rayne used the opportunity with no hesitation.

The elixir tasted strange. It wasn't sweet, nor was it bitter. It wasn't flavourless like water, but it wasn't flavoursome like a sherry or red wine. No, instead it was watery and rather neutral. It tasted of iron and the aftertaste oddly reminded her of freshly cut grass.

"You're going to experience excruciating pain in a few minutes," Rayne said dully once the vial was empty, releasing her hair and getting off the bed, brushing down his white lab coat. "This pain will last for about three hours, but you'll likely pass out after around a minute or so of it based on what I've seen of how you've dealt with pain in the past."

"...What?"

"You're disgusting," Rayne spat, ignoring her. With that, he turned abruptly and exited the room.

It was one of those moments when the main villain turns and his tailcoat dramatically follows him, enveloping him in mystery and everything exaggeratedly evil. [Y/n] would've found Rayne's self-righteousness comical if it wasn't for the fear that still left her shaking slightly.

Moments after he left, Nyais rushed in, sitting beside [Y/n] on the bed.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Y-yeah, but a-apparently I'm going to be in pain soon..." she said quietly.

"Mhm, he warned me about that," Nyais frowned. "He didn't do anything, did he? You're definitely unharmed?"

"Y-yeah," [Y/n] stuttered. "Just scared me a little. That's all." Nyais nodded and wrapped his arms around [Y/n], pulling her close to him in a comforting manner. [Y/n] thought back to their conversation the day before.

"Nyais," [Y/n] began quietly, looking down at her hands as she subconsciously tugged on each finger. He hummed, encouraging her to continue. "I... I meant to ask - a-and this is probably a stupid question b-but - what am I to you?"

Nyais paused in thought, placing his hand on hers. "What do you want me to be?" Someone who can answer my questions without asking questions, [Y/n] thought with a mental sigh.

"I..." she looked over at the door, "I... uh... I don't know."

Though [Y/n] could tell clear as day that Nyais' feelings towards her were romantic, she viewed Nyais as a brotherly figure more than anything. Sure, there were moments when she did view him in that way, but they were few and far between. She was scared to admit it in case he reacted badly, but she also felt it unfair to keep deceiving him with the thought that she might love him in the same way.

"Nyais, a-about what I said yesterday," [Y/n] began quietly. Nyais tilted his head, a 'hm?' sounding close to her ear, gesturing for her to continue. "I... I don't want—"

The girl's eyes widened, her lips parting slightly, paralysed.

Nothing made sense around her. Everything swayed. Her vision split in two. She didn't understand. She couldn't understand.

Then, the pain set in.

It was worse than Kori's shurikens. It was worse than Seishin's knives. It was everywhere. It felt like she was being stretched and torn through. If felt like she was being burnt and frozen at the same time. Suffocated and drowned. Crushed and stretched, split and sewn.

She couldn't scream. She couldn't even cry.

She could do nothing but think.

...

...

"Hey, [Y/n]!" a friendly voice called out to her. The girl turned around and suddenly recognised her school. Tara stood next to Sally, waving frantically. "You've been gone for nearly a month! Where were you?"

"Gone...?" [Y/n] echoed.

"Yeah. Everyone thought you'd been kidnapped or something. There's been police investigators and everything! So, like, when we heard you were coming back we all cried and celebrated and ate lots of food and now you're here!"

"I'm... here?"

"Honey, you alright?" Sally asked softly, her head tilting to the side slightly. [Y/n] placed her hand on her head. She was back? She was home?

When Sally began to change shape, [Y/n]'s questions were answered. A different woman stood in her place, the surroundings - Tara, the school, the students she could hardly make out - fading away. The woman had long blonde hair down to her ankles and blue eyes. She mouthed something but it made no sense to [Y/n].

[Y/n] stared emptily for a while, trying to process things.

"I've seen you before," she said quietly.

"In a dream," the woman responded. Her voice was identical to [Y/n]'s - [Y/n] presumed this was because she didn't know this girl's voice, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

"What is your name?" [Y/n] asked.

"Leya."

"You're...?" [Y/n] stumbled back a few paces, her dreams from before making more sense now. Were they prophetic? Warnings, maybe? Hell, did someone know what was going to happen before it happened?

And as soon as it began, the image faded away.

I'm so sorry :) Happy New Year! <3