[Y/n] didn't dress in her training clothes this morning. She'd had her blood extracted by Hetti first thing after waking up, though Olli wasn't around. [Y/n] knew why, despite having tried to ignore the upcoming event like it didn't exist.

Today was the day of the challenge. Today, Olli would fight Draka in the kingdom's 'colosseum'.

[Y/n] looked at herself in the mirror, inspecting the clothes she wore. Most days the girl wore dresses - not by her own choice as Hetti chose her clothing for her. [Y/n] had felt slightly uncomfortable in the fancy gowns at first but now she was getting used to it. The corsets were definitely something she was still adjusting to, however. Today she wore a red silk a-line dress with a brown belt around her waist. Hetti marvelled in the look, though departed shortly after finishing her duties with [Y/n] claiming that 'someone had asked her to be gone for a specific time', though not clarifying who.

Soon after Hetti left, a knock sounded on [Y/n]'s bedroom door. The girl stood up and walked over to it, opening it and tilting her head curiously. That look of curiosity was instantly replaced by something entirely indecipherable when she realised who stood at her door. The brunette's head was hung, though he slowly raised his gaze to face [Y/n] when he heard the door open.

"Nyais," [Y/n] said quietly, "good morning." There was an element of formality in her tone that made Nyais almost... angry. It was like she'd decided to cut him off. To pretend they had nothing. She knew how he felt about her, even if he'd never said it in so many words. It was painfully obvious that he loved her. And, for a while, he'd thought she loved him too. Had she turned against him?

"Do you hate me, [Y/n]?" Nyais asked, his gaze searching hers for an answer. This wasn't the first time Nyais had asked that question. It felt... unsettling. She looked away.

"Of course I don't hate you, Nyais," she whispered, "but I'm confused. I..." she turned her gaze back to him. "I realise now that I clung to the kindness you showed me like it was a lifeline... I guess it was. And I'm so grateful to you for the opportunity you gave me. I thank you for allowing me to live." She paused. "I just... I don't know who you are. I don't know anything about you, and the few things I've learned while I've been here—"

"What did he tell you?" Nyais cut her off, his gaze suddenly dark. [Y/n] looked a little panicked at his sudden change. He noticed this and softened his gaze a little. "Sorry," he muttered quietly, "carry on."

"I... I was just going to say, the few things I've learned about you only tell me of things that happened. Not who you are." Nyais was relieved that she didn't bring up any of those things in particular. Even he knew how fragile his mental state was right now. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally turn on her. But despite knowing he had to be so careful, he looked past her and into her room.

"May I come in?"

[Y/n] turned and looked back into her room, her gaze unsure. She then turned back to him. It hurt to see her hesitate and feel the need to decide what the best course of action would be, but Nyais understood.

"W-why don't we talk in the library? My room is a bit messy..." she whispered. Right, the library, where there are plenty of entrances and exits so she could escape if need be. Nyais was a little surprised, but he knew he shouldn't be. She'd been subjected to a world of hell by the boys and she was probably worried that he'd end up like them. Though it wasn't like she could escape him if he were to try anything, maybe the security of feeling like she could would make her more at ease around him. So, of course, Nyais nodded his head.

"The west library, right?" There were two libraries - the centre library, which was a small library at the - you guessed it - centre of Olli's abode, and the west library - a huge library on the west of the mansion; aka the one with all the exit routes. [Y/n] nodded her head. Nyais definitely seemed to know his way around the place. And so, the two of them took a silent journey to the west library, [Y/n] walking a distance behind him. She rarely went to the library so she realised she was simply following Nyais in this maze of a building, hoping he knew the way. And surely he did. They arrived at the colossal double doors to their destination. Nyais pushed them open, holding them for [Y/n]. Slinking inside, [Y/n] found a plush chair to sit on. Nyais left one of the doors open for [Y/n]'s reassurance, before taking a seat opposite her.

"What do you want to know?" Nyais questioned upon sitting down. "I'll tell you everything." [Y/n] looked down. There were so many questions she had to ask.

"Were you and Leya happy?" [Y/n] asked quietly. Nyais rubbed the back of his neck.

"We'd started off happy. We'd stayed happy for over fifty years." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was when we moved out of Perion and into Dimirov. Rayne had lived with us in Perion but couldn't afford the place on his own, so he moved into Dimirov with us, even though it was further to commute for work." He sighed. "The place had a large basement so Rayne moved his work to our home, shutting the surgery in the Central and turning our basement into his new place of work. We didn't mind, of course."

"Was he doing his experiments back then?" [Y/n] questioned. Nyais shook his head.

"No. Well... not to begin with. Dimirov was where it started. Rayne... seriously hated humans. He hated them with a passion. He'd only drink blood once a week because he hated them so much, hence why he's so weak and frail now. In fact, because of our bodies being so efficient, his simply rejects blood if he drinks more than once a week. He couldn't get stronger if he tried." [Y/n] nodded her head slowly. That was... oddly reassuring. She didn't have to worry about Rayne suddenly becoming OP and overthrowing Olli.

"Is his hatred for humans why he experiments on them?" Nyais shook his head.

"No. Somehow, Rayne did a full 180. He went from starving himself of human blood just so he wouldn't have to think about them to going back to human society every day just to see what they did and how they acted."

"Going back?" [Y/n] pressed. Nyais dipped his head once more.

"Rayne had spent 14 years in human society - this was before I was born," Nyais hummed. "Leya and I assumed his hatred for them came from that time. Someone must've done something to him, though I'm not quite sure what. All in all he seemed pretty sane, aside from his hatred - and then sudden inexplicable fascination - with humans."

"And how did this impact you and Leya?" [Y/n] pressed.

"When learning about humans, he did a lot of research into the human mind and human emotions. He got hung-up on the idea of love, attachment, companionship and what not. I assume he wanted to know what it felt like, and living with Leya and I allowed him to see it for himself. He could witness first hand what a relationship was and how it worked. But he wanted more than that. He wanted to be part of it. And the only way to do that was to destroy everything we had." [Y/n] looked down. "So he took Leya," Nyais continued, a bitter glare on his face. "He corrupted her mind and body. He killed her."

Nyais noticed [Y/n] glancing to the door as she watched his knuckles turn white from gripping the arm of the chair he sat on. He sagged his shoulders and relaxed himself, not wanting her to be scared of him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," [Y/n] whispered. Nyais shrugged.

"It's in the past. The things I did after still haunt me to this day, but what's done is done." [Y/n] was about to press for him to continue, however Nyais' rigid posture was putting her off. She took a moment to think about how to word the thing she wanted to know about the most.

"A-and their child...?" she asked quietly. Even though he'd known it was coming, he still couldn't keep the pained look from his expression.

"I..." he paused, biting his lip. Images of the things he'd done flashed through his mind. The atrocities he'd committed.

Bloodstained, staggering, he fell forwards on his bed, dying the bedsheets in crimson. He heard his door creak open. It couldn't be Rayne, the traitor was downstairs, unconscious. Slowly, Nyais turned his head, his lifeless eyes meeting the red ones of his king. He didn't have it in him to bow to his superior. He didn't have it in him to speak. The things he'd just done... they replayed in his mind, over and over and over...

"Nyais," Olli said, his voice null of emotion. He took a few steps over to the shaking man who clung to and stared at his bedsheets like they were the only thing keeping him together. Clearly, they'd failed at their job. "Nyais, look at me," Olli pressed, and Nyais' violet gaze slowly turned to meet Olli's.

"Are you going to kill me?" Nyais asked, trembling. It wasn't that he was scared of death... he was scared of himself.

"No." Olli placed a set of papers down on Nyais' bedside table. "Those are for you." Nyais turned his head to stare at them. A warrant for his eternal incarceration, he guessed. People had been locked up forever for much, much less.

"Thanks," Nyais said dryly.

"I expect to see you in your new office tomorrow morning," Olli continued. Nyais' brow furrowed. A drop of blood dripped from his hair into his eye, clouding half his vision under a red hue. He let out a bitter laugh.

"You can really make jokes right now?" he hissed. Olli sat back a little.

"If I were to be righteous, I would have you tortured for eternity in the old dungeons with the rest of the treacherous fools that dared destroy order and take the lives of innocents. You wiped out a whole young generation. You may be the most deserving of that damned place," Olli muttered, before lowering his head, his silver hair falling in front of his face. "Instead, I'm making you my new King Regent. Jay is stepping down."

Nyais lethargically turned to look at Olli.

"Sure he is," he rolled his eyes, "of all things to wave in my face and taunt me with, you choose power? You know I never cared for it," Nyais muttered.

"Exactly." Olli ran his hand through his hair. "You don't care for power. You're now possibly the most hated man in the kingdom, maybe after Rayne." Nyais yet again furrowed his brow. Olli sounded... serious. "Of course, the King Regent's Quarters are off limits. You're never to move out of the apartment you're in right now. I want it to remind you of what you did," Olli said darkly, "and you'll be King Regent in name only. Your new job will be control of the childcare system." Nyais' eyes widened and he felt bile rising in his throat.

Children...

He could hardly bring himself to think about them. Never mind actually... work with them. But... did he have a right to complain? He was going to become the damn King Regent.

"And if you were to die of an unknown cause?" Nyais questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"No one will want to kill me if they know you'd succeed me," Olli laughed bitterly, now standing up, "but I suppose you would become the next king if that truly was the case. I wouldn't have to live through the fallout," he shrugged. Nyais watched him with a dark glare.

"Why are you doing this?" Olli looked over at the door.

"Because you're my friend."

[Y/n] blinked in shock. Somehow, perhaps purposefully or perhaps unknowingly, Nyais had streamed that whole memory into her conscience. She felt sick. All that blood... she covered her mouth and stood up.

"I need to leave," she said quickly. Nyais stared up at her, suddenly realising his mistake.

"Wait, [Y/n]!" he called after her, standing as he watched her run out of the library. His first instinct was to chase after her, but after all she'd been through... he knew it would be cruel of him. Plus, she needed to say goodbye to Olli. If he kept her waiting too long, she might never see him again.

Part of him wanted to stop her seeing the man he despised so much, but that might give him away.

Sighing, he left the library and - noting the guards following him from a distance - he exited Olli's quarters.

* * *

[Y/n] sat in one of the grand living rooms of Olli's home, hugging her knees to her chest. The images of the memory Nyais had accidentally broadcasted to her replayed over and over, and guilt ate away at her - she hadn't managed to see Olli before he left to fight Draka. She wanted to at least wish him good luck... she'd have to apologise when he returned.

In the room with her were two guards. A tall man with dark grey hair and greenish-grey eyes named Jay, and a slightly shorter (yet more lithe) man with misty blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair braided down to his lower back named Ren. Judging by their fanciful and pristine attire, she assumed both of them held quite high status. There was a thick awkward silence in the room that [Y/n] thought might suffocate her. She had a book sat beside her but she couldn't read it - all of the books in the living room were in that strange language. Maybe that could be a conversation starter...

"How come you speak English?" [Y/n] asked casually. "I mean... do you never speak your own language?" she questioned. Jay glanced over at her but looked hesitant to answer. Maybe they'd been given orders to stay quiet? Though Ren walked over to her and peered at the book that had encouraged her question.

"We do speak our language. It just so happens that you can't hear it." [Y/n] furrowed her brow. Ren continued staring at the book, a ponderous expression on his face. "I'm not quite sure how it works. We're only taught our language, though we can write a select few languages, English being one of them. To you, my words are in English, however if I spoke to say, a Spaniard, they would hear Spanish. Same with every other language."

"So... I can't hear your language?" she questioned. Ren shrugged.

"You can if I deliberately try to speak it and you deliberately try to hear it." [Y/n] tilted her head.

"Can we try?" she asked. Ren looked a little amused, before nodding his head. [Y/n] tried to think about the strange squiggles she didn't understand, focusing her attention on the language she couldn't comprehend, and Ren did the same.

"Iteuqkin milinato," he smirked. [Y/n] tilted her head. It sounded so strange.

"What does that mean?" she questioned. Ren shrugged. A small pout on her lips, she turned to look at the other guard in the room - Jay - with a small smile that said 'please tell me or I'll go cry in the corner and assume you're bullying me.'

"He said you're stupid," Jay explained curtly. [Y/n] groaned.

"Are all vampires misogynistic assholes?" she sighed, leaning back on the sofa with a groan. Ren laughed blandly.

"Are all humans impertinent ingrates?" Ren responded, raising a brow at [Y/n].

"Shut up and do your job," [Y/n] had the audacity to respond as she groaned once more and shut her eyes, curling up on the sofa, the protection of the king making her bold. Ren looked like he was about to throw something at the girl but Jay clearing his throat made him stop, deciding to just listen to her for now and do his job. Hetti, making herself scarce in the corner of the room, had to keep in a small giggle.