"I've heard rumours that you're currently taking care of [Y/n]," a voice sounded from behind Rayne, stopping the doctor in his tracks. He turned around and bowed to his king, though the look on his face - as always - was one of slight mockery. Olli rolled his eyes at Rayne's antics, continuing to stare at the man with a glare that demanded answers.

"So pushy..." Rayne hummed, straightening himself again. "Yes, she's in my care for some... rehabilitation."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Olli muttered. "Whatever qualms you have with her, keep them to yourself. You and I both know she had no control over Nyais' death. Exerting your anger on her won't help anyone."

"No, really," Rayne laughed, leaning back a little. The nonchalance in which he exuded never failed to cause Olli relative concern. He always had the slight fear that he was being played and, in a fashion, he was. Though not too obviously. Rayne had enough enemies as it was; he didn't fancy making one out of the king. "I haven't been doing anything bad. I value my head and I know how quickly those boys will snatch it from me if I don't do exactly as they wish."

"Oh really?" Olli muttered. "Don't try to make out that you're scared of some kids."

"But I am," Rayne grinned, "and you certainly should be too. For vampires, they work together especially well... and they're terribly strong. I've heard whispers that Kaist and Jay are already struggling to handle them. Trying to give them mundane tasks to slow down their progress in fear of being challenged. Don't you think you should do something about this sort of corruption?" Rayne grinned. "Or, do you condone it? I suppose, when you run a kingdom like ours, corruption is power."

"Enough," Olli snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "Rayne, you may think of me as stupid but I assure you I am not. Do not think you can trample over me like you trample over everyone else. You know why you live how you live; you know why you're here. Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

"Haha, and you think I have the strength to bite?" Rayne raised a brow. "Oh please."

"I'm tired of this trivial nonsense, Rayne. Let the girl go or I will strip you of your title and status rights," Olli growled out.

"Since when did you have any care for that human? You're starting to act like Nyais. You know what happened to him." Rayne cracked his neck and smoothed out his coat, instigating that he wanted to leave, content with having the last word. Or at least what he'd hoped could've been the last word.

"Be careful, Rayne. You and I both know they'll come after you next."

"You think I don't know that already?"

"Of course you do. But sometimes I feel that you miss the obvious."

"I never miss a thing," Rayne cleared his throat, "perhaps you should also be more careful, your highness." Rayne flashed Olli a momentary false smile, turned on his heel and briskly walked away.

* * *

"Good news. Your stay has been cut short," Rayne muttered to the [h/c] haired girl blandly. [Y/n] slowly raised her head (which had been leaning against the cool metal bars of her cramped cell) and stared at Rayne, little emotion in her gaze. He walked over to her cell and unlocked it, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet. [Y/n] didn't really have the strength to stand straight. She slumped against the bars, her brow furrowing in pain. "It's not like I've dehydrated you or anything. What, can't go a few days without any food? Pathetic."

"I want..." [Y/n] whispered, her frail body shaking, "I- I want to... to go home."

"You really think your friends and family will accept a sub-human monster like you? Pathetic wretch." [Y/n] hung her head. "Honestly, you're the weakest thing I've ever dealt with. If I didn't value my own life so much I'd take great pleasure in eradicating you like the pest you are."

"Thanks," [Y/n] hissed under her breath sarcastically. The raven haired doctor raised a brow, a shrill laugh escaping him.

"I figured a few days wouldn't be enough to change your temper. Well, I'll let the boys deal with you from here. I'd be more than glad to never have to touch this... filth... again."

"Do you get off on this or something?" [Y/n] asked quietly. "Putting people down, I mean... do you seriously enjoy this? Is it a vampire thing? Are you all really that up yourselves that you think every other living thing is a useless tool?" She paused. "I don't see humans hiding in a mountain in the middle of nowhere just so they can survive. That's you, not us."

"You mean them. You're no longer human, [Y/n]," Rayne reminded callously.

"You want to dodge the truth. You'll nitpick on things you can answer because you want to avoid the fact that your species is just as shitty as every other - you have nothing special! You have no right to treat everyone else the way you do. Sure, you might be smart and you might be strong. But smarts and strength can only get you so far... from what I've observed, you lack in initiative. You can't love well so you lack in drive. You're not determined to do any more than you've already done... you can't work together, so you work against one another. You're lazy. Selfish. Arrogant. There's a reason you're in this mountain. There's a reason you're where you are and humans are trampling all over you. It's because you're a shitty species, but you're all too busy sucking your own cocks to realise the problems with this mess you call a kingdom." [Y/n] froze after her outburst, suddenly realising what she'd just said and who she'd just said it to. The man before her stayed silent for a while, before an amused grin spread across his countenance.

A slow, sarcastic round of applause greeted her.

"Well done [Y/n]," Rayne smiled condescendingly, "very well done. You've proved how fucking stupid you are. Congratulations." [Y/n] narrowed her eyes. "I don't need to explain to you why you're so stupid, nor do I need to explain to you why you're quite mistaken, but I'll give you a brief overview." He pulled his scalpel from his pocket, staring at it like it was some foreign object that he'd never seen before. "Here's a quick quiz for you. What's a vampire's primary source of nutrition?" he questioned.

[Y/n] hesitated for a while, before looking down. "Human blood." Another sarcastic round of applause.

"Good. Now there are a lot of humans, so exhausting our food supply isn't a worry," he hummed, "but if we were to leave this place and start to repopulate the rest of the planet, what do you think might happen?" [Y/n] furrowed her brow. Rayne rolled his eyes at her lack of response but continued anyway. "Vampires would have no problem replacing humans - we could very easily take their place. And what might happen then?" He waited for an answer, though once again one never came. Instead of letting it slide, he used his forearm to pin [Y/n] against the wall and pressed the scalpel against her throat. "What might happen then, [Y/n]?" he repeated coldly.

"I don't know," [Y/n] spat back boldly. Rayne rolled his eyes.

"So much for human initiative. What I'm trying to get through your thick skull is that we're stuck in this fucking mountain for a reason. If we leave and take the place of humans, we'll quite quickly run out of a food supply and die off ourselves."

"That just shows how bloody lazy you are!" [Y/n] hissed. "There are millions of ways you could get around that problem but you're too obsessed with your own wants and desires to care. You're a stupid species! Get used to it."

"Alright. So we're a stupid species," Rayne hummed darkly, "but who's at the sharp end of this blade? None of this should matter to you right now. Shouldn't you be more focused on getting out with no further injuries?" And with that, Rayne kicked [Y/n]'s shin. The girl bent forwards because of the pain and Rayne used this opportunity to push her head further down, resting his scalpel at the top of her spine. He dug the blade in slightly at [Y/n] let out a groan of agony. The groan turned to a scream as Rayne continued to slice into the muscle around her spine.

After a while of this, he paused. Not because he was done, but because the door to the basement had begun to creak open. White light flooded the room, so the figure in the doorway was silhouetted. [Y/n] squinted to try and work out who it was, her brows furrowing. The figure took a few steps inside the room.

[Y/n]'s eyes widened for a second. Was the pain making her delirious?

"What are you doing to her?" the figure questioned. As soon as her excitement had come, her heart dropped once more. That wasn't the voice she'd been hoping to hear. The dirty-blonde haired male walked over to the two of them, his expression livid.

"Laion, you were fully aware that this was part of her rehabilitation," Rayne rolled his eyes. The figure, revealed to be Laion (though [Y/n] could now hardly see at all; black spots clouded her vision and the pain made her sway from side to side), walked brusquely over to the cell both individuals were beside. [Y/n] knew he was speaking, though everything sounded echoey so she couldn't make out what he was saying. The same for Rayne, who then seemed to be responding.

At last, [Y/n]'s knees buckled. Her consciousness slipped from her. The last thing she noticed was Laion catching her as she began to fall.

* * *

The sound of running water brought [Y/n] to her senses. She ached, but not too badly. She was exhausted, though. Now that she was awake, she knew she should probably sit up, but all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. After all, she really didn't want to face Rayne again.

Wait, since when had Rayne given her a bed?

[Y/n], now alert, sat up properly. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked around. She was in her room again. In her deceptively comfortable bed, with her deceptively thoughtful and beautiful gifts beside her on her bedside tables, as well as a newly placed vase of Chinese peonies and daisies beside her. Tied around the flowers was a small note. [Y/n] leaned towards it to read it, pushing past the terrible aching all through her body.

'Hundreds of years ago, people used to believe peonies had special healing powers. Though it's likely just a myth, I know for a fact that they're very relaxing flowers to be around. I hope they help you feel calmer after what you had to go through. Feel better soon. - Laion.'

[Y/n] didn't have it in her to tear up the note or get mad. She was grateful for his thoughtfulness, despite the fact that she was so deeply upset by the fact that they'd negotiated her stay with Rayne in the first place. Her attention slowly diverted to the running water. She glanced over in the direction the sound was coming from, that being her en-suite bathroom, and let out a small sigh. It sounded like a running bath. She really did want a bath... but she was anxious. Too anxious to relax.

As she was staring at the closed en-suite door, said door began to open. The dirty-blonde haired boy who'd come to her rescue, albeit a little too late, greeted the tired girl with a small nod and a smile.

"[Y/n]. How are you feeling?" he asked gently, walking over to her and sitting down on the side of the bed. He placed his hand over hers — she was too tired to think up a response. She was too tired to even move away. She looked up at him, tired eyed, gave him a small nod - though even she was unsure what she was trying to imply by it - and slipped back into slumber once more.