Chapter Text
It was one of those evenings where my parents once again reminded me how much of a disappointment I was to them, how much shame I brought onto our family. The people in church have been talking. Why did you cut your beautiful hair? Girls aren’t meant to have boy haircuts. You should be pious and wear dresses. We are ashamed of you.
…
Oh, dear Lord, save our little girl from the devil’s temptation.
…
Fuck them. I’m not little anymore, nor am I a girl. I couldn’t bear looking at the expression of my mother, the disappointment clear in her eyes, or the disgust in my father’s. So I abruptly stood up from the dinner table and bolted out of the door, ignoring the angered yelling of my father. The food was going to be shit anyway.
I left the village behind me as I made my way towards the ruins up the hill. It was quiet there, the scenery stretching out far into the distance along the rolling hills. I preferred being there over home. Ever since I was little, I had always preferred solitude over my parents… humans in general, really. The ruins had always been my getaway. Now even more so.
Tears burned in my eyes as I turned the corner at one of the collapsed walls and sank down to the ground. I exhaled shakily and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to cry, but no matter how much I had tried to convince myself I couldn’t care less about my parent’s opinion, in reality, I did care. A lot.
I leaned my head against the stone as I felt a few tears start to trickle down my cheeks. I opened my eyes slightly and gazed at the sliver of sun left in the horizon. The sky was a beautiful orange and teal blue as the beginnings of stars began to shine down on this earth. It was comforting, in a way.
I sniffled and wiped the remains of tears off my face with my sleeve. I wrapped my arms around my knees and leaned against the wall as I just stared off into the distance. I didn’t realise I had sunken deep into thought until a sudden voice suddenly startled me back into reality.
“It’s dangerous here at night. You should be careful.”
“I couldn’t care less-” I started, my emotions still running high, but I cut myself off as I saw who had spoken. A noble. A fucking noble. Just my luck.
I quickly scrambled to my feet, panic rising as I tripped over my words trying to apologize, “S-Sorry, I didn’t–”
“It’s alright.” He said and raised a hand.
Oh.
He was a good one.
I fell silent and regarded him curiously. I had never seen him before. His hair was long and looked silky-smooth, and his skin was a beautiful dark brown. My heart skipped a beat. He was extremely handsome.
“I’ve never seen you before,” I couldn’t help but speak my thoughts aloud.
He looked up at the sky, before fixing his cuffs, “I arrived a few days ago to take care of some… business.”
“Mhm.” I sat back down and settled against the wall, “Since you’re a noble, are you staying at the manor?” I glanced up at him, “I heard rumours of vampires staying there. You should be careful.”
He regarded me for a moment, before chuckling, the sound rough, “I appreciate your concern. Yes, there are vampires there, but I am staying at the inn in town.”
My eyes narrowed. Something about him was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly. He motioned to the spot beside me, “Mind some company?”
I shook my head and averted my gaze to the horizon, “Be my guest.”
I felt him sit down beside me. He stretched one of his legs as he settled against the stone wall. A moment of silence passed, before he asked, “What’s a young boy like you doing out here at night?”
Uhh…
What.
My eyes widened as I glanced at him, his green eyes meeting mine calmly, like what he said was the most unnoteworthy thing in the world. I needed a second before I could get my voice to work, “H-How…?”
When he gave me an obviously fake, puzzled look, I added, “How did you know I am… am a boy?”
“Is it not obvious?” He said simply, “Short hair, trousers, sulking in ruins, bad relationship with parents… I’ve seen my fair share of boys like you over the past centuries.”
Wait. What? Huh? Whut?
Boys like me… centuries…
The dude’s a fucking vampire, isn’t he? He’s one of them!
I abruptly got back onto my feet, my heart clambering in my chest as the realisation hit me. He’s a vampire. He’s one of them. However, his sudden hold on my wrist stopped me before I could run away.
He looked up at me, his green eyes intense as he said, “I mean no harm.”
I stared at him, my thoughts fighting a war in my head. He looked sincere, or was that a tactic all vampires used to lure in their prey? The more I looked at him, the more… I realised just how goddamn handsome he was.
I averted my gaze, suddenly feeling a little flustered. I quietly sat back down. If I was gonna get killed, at least it was by a handsome vampire dude who smelled ridiculously good.
I looked at my hands as I asked softly, “Why, uh… are you not going to kill me?
He chuckled, a smooth rumble in his throat, “What, looking to get killed? I fed recently, if you want to know. Not too keen on killing needlessly.”
I nodded quietly, not sure what to say. I had never been so close to a vampire before. It was nerve wracking and… exhilarating at the same time. This was definitely not what I had imagined my night would be like.
I glanced at him, “So, uh… boys like me? What does that mean?”
He averted his gaze to the night sky, recalling memories of the past, “I used to know this boy, back in Mexico. When his body started changing around the age of 13, he said he started feeling less like himself. Looking at his reflection made him feel sick, and he harbored a growing jealousy towards other boys his age.”
I lowered my head. That was pretty much how I had been feeling. Just the thought of my chest was enough to make me want to claw my skin off. It was a horrible feeling.
I didn’t notice when he glanced at me, his gaze calmly resting on my form, studying me. “You know there is nothing wrong with you, right?”
I balled my fist around my shirt, my knuckles turning white. I choked out, quieter than I intended as my voice cracked, “Isn’t there?”
“No. There isn’t.” He said, “The church might want you to believe otherwise, your parents might want you to believe otherwise–”
“My parents don’t know.” I cut him off. “I haven’t told anyone. If I do, they’ll burn me on a stake for being Satan's spawn.”
“The devil holds no such power,” He scoffed, “That book you lot worship is nothing more than hypocritical nonsense formulated to control the masses. Even if there is some truth to it, the bad far outweighs the good. I have never understood it.”
I stayed quiet. My first instinct was to defend it, to defend the church, but… Deep inside, I agreed with him. Wanted to agree with him. That would make life so, so much easier.
“What’s your name?” I asked quietly.
“You can call me Olrox.” He answered and then asked me, “What’s yours?”
I hesitated for a second. Should I give him my given name, or the name that has been floating through my mind? The name that made my stomach twist in a fluttery way. I decided on the latter.
He nodded, “It suits you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered and fiddled with my shirt, “So, uh… you’re from Mexico?”
“Tenochtitlan to be more precise.” He said, but added as he noticed my blank look, “Part of the new Mexican capital has been built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. It used to be one of the greatest, most beautiful cities in the world, but the Spanish conquered it in 1521.” He paused, his jaw tense, “They turned the once thriving city into ruins and ash. They colonized its citizens and claimed possession over the land.”
I looked at my feet, “I’m sorry.”
“It isn’t your fault,” He said. “Besides, it’s been more than 200 years since then– there is nothing that can be done about it.”
“Still…” I murmured, “It’s westerners like me who did that to you and your people. I can’t help but feel partly responsible. We’ve been raised to feel superior, to believe the Christian church is the only correct way of living. We feel like we have the right to bring suffering to the people we deem inferior. It’s wrong. All of it is so wrong.”
Olrox regarded me for a moment, before saying quietly, “That realisation is worth more than apologies. There aren’t nearly enough who think that way yet.”
I chuckled bitterly and buried my face in my arms, “It comes from self-interest, though.”
“Self-interest which is based on being part of a minority. There is nothing wrong with that,” he said. “Turn that realization into action and you’ll do more good than that church of yours will ever do.”
“I can’t fight.” I mumbled dejectedly, “I’m not good at speeches, I’m afraid I’ll be socially exiled if I join the revolutionaries… I’m just a coward dreaming of equality.”
“You’ll get there.” Olrox put a comforting hand on my shoulder, which made me tense for only a second, “There are more ways to fight. You’ll just have to find your own way.”
He stood up, his earrings jingling, “I should return to the inn. You should go back as well. Don’t worry your parents too much.”
I scoffed, “I don’t care. I bolted from the dinner table, I’m sure my father will be waiting with his belt, before making me sleep in that nasty shed again. I’ll just sleep here, or something.”
Olrox’s eyebrows pulled into a frown, “He hits you?”
“Yeah, when he’s mad.” I closed my eyes, my forehead resting against my forearms, “He does the same to my siblings, but I think he hates me the most.”
Olrox stayed quiet in contemplation, before saying, “Come, you can stay with me for the night.”
My eyes widened and I looked up to look at him, “What? Are you sure?”
He nodded and held out his hand for me. I took it after only a second of hesitation and got back onto my feet. I brushed off my trousers, and then followed him away from the ruins, towards the village. I had no doubt my father would be even angrier when I would return the next day, but I didn’t want to think about that at that moment. It was enough to know I didn’t have to sleep at the ruins or in the damp, moldy, rodent infested shed. God, I hated that place.
We passed the cemetery and the bar, the herbalist and the tailor. I followed Olrox into the inn and up the stairs. He fished a key out of his pocket and opened one of the doors, before stepping inside. I closed the door behind me and took in the room. It was decently sized, and furnished with a dresser, sofa and a double bed.
I stood awkwardly at the door as I watched Olrox walk up to the dresser and rummage through one of the drawers. He pulled out a white shirt and held it up for me to see. “You can sleep in this, if you want. It’s clean.”
I gingerly came to stand next to him and took the shirt from him, “Thank you.” Now that I was in the room, I felt slightly uncomfortable. He was kind, that was certain, but he was still a vampire and a stranger, and now I stood in his room, getting handed his spare undershirt.
“I’ll, uh… I’ll sleep on the couch.” I murmured and tightened my hold on the shirt, but Olrox shook his head, “You can sleep on the bed. The couch isn’t comfortable. I still have some matters to tend to, so I won’t be back before sunrise.”
“Oh, okay.” I said softly, “I suppose your day is the night, being a vampire and all.”
He nodded and turned towards the door, “It is. Make yourself comfortable, you’re safe here.”
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
The curtains were closed when I slowly opened my eyes, but the faintest ray of sunshine was visible through a crack. I buried my face back into the pillow. I hadn’t slept so well in literal years. As my mind slowly woke up, I remembered that I was in Olrox’s room at the inn and that since the sun shone, he was probably back.
I rubbed my eyes and slowly sat up, the blouse slipping half off my shoulder. The other side of the bed was empty, so my gaze moved to the couch. Olrox was sitting there, one leg over the other as he flicked through the pages of a book.
He looked up as he heard the rustling of the sheets, “Ah, you’re awake. They’re serving breakfast downstairs.”
“Oh, okay.” I muttered, still slightly disoriented. I ran a hand through my hair and yawned, before sliding out of bed. It felt weird, waking up like this, with a stranger sitting just a few metres away. Did he watch me sleep? I quickly shook the thought from my head.
I picked up my trousers and slid them on, before turning my back towards Olrox and putting on my own shirt, well, my brother’s shirt that I had stolen from his closet. With my back turned towards him, I didn’t notice Olrox’s gaze lingering on my back, taking in the red marks from my father’s belt the other day. His gaze flicked back to the book as I turned back around to fold the white undershirt on the bed.
I studied Olrox for a moment, before asking, “What are you reading?”
“A book.” He answered, but added before I could make a remark, “It’s in Spanish. You wouldn’t understand it.”
I raised an eyebrow, “No, I wouldn’t. But what I meant: what’s it about?”
He closed the book and leaned back into the couch, “It’s about a young man and his lover, discovering the magical cavern of an ancient deity. Turns out, his lover is a direct descendant of this deity, making him a prince.”
I nodded, before frowning, “Wait… Prince?”
“Yes, prince.” He repeated, his eyes amused as he saw the wheels turning in my head.
My heart started racing, and my voice was cautiously soft as I asked, “They’re… two boys? Boys can love each other?”
“Oh, yes.” Olrox caressed the cover of the book, “That’s another thing your Bible likes to portray as an unspeakable sin, whilst in reality, there is nothing purer than love, no matter the gender of the people involved, or the number of people, really.”
I couldn’t quite believe my ears, and this was honestly too much to process anyway, so I decided to ignore the last part for now. I sat down on the edge of the bed, “I… I didn’t know it was possible.”
“My past lover wrote this book,” Olrox said quietly as he gazed at the cover, “He was an incredible man, who fought for his people’s freedom till the end.”
So… he is hot, a vampire, and attracted to men. Wow. Okay. Wow.
“Till the end?” I whispered, feeling the sense of sadness coming from Olrox.
Olrox stayed silent, his eyes fixed on the book, his gaze saddened. “He was murdered by a vampire hunter, just for being a vampire.”
“I’m sorry.” I whispered, though I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt really bad for him. It was clear he was a kind being, vampire or not, and his lover must have been too.
“It’s okay,” He muttered and stood up, shelving the book. With his back turned towards me, he said lowly, his tone malevolent, “Revenge was sweet for the one who took the only person I had ever loved.”
I swallowed, my heart racing. That tone… he was angry, most definitely. Angry at the one who took his beloved. He had every right to be.
“I’m glad you could take your revenge.” I said softly.
“Thank you.” He turned back to face me, his expression calm, “Go eat breakfast now, or else there won’t be anything left.”
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
I didn’t go back to my home after that. After breakfast, I figured Olrox would be sleeping, so I went to the ruins instead. I spend the rest of my day contemplating if I should go back home and face the wrath of my parents. I didn’t want to. Really didn’t want to. Before I knew it, the sun was already starting to set, and I still hadn’t made up my mind. The longer I waited, the more I felt physically unable to go back home.
The sun was inching closer and closer to the horizon, and with the knowledge that there were in fact vampires staying at the manor, I knew I couldn’t stay outside for too long anymore. I didn’t really want to die. I just wanted the peace that came with dying.
I felt like I had no other option left, so I went back to the inn. When I tried the door, to my surprise it was unlocked. I quietly opened it and peaked around the corner, only to be immediately met with the green eyes of Olrox.
“Don’t stand there lurking, come inside.” He said and beckoned me to enter the room. I gingerly closed the door behind me. He wasn’t surprised to see me, at least.
He reached for the side table next to the sofa and picked up a few sheets of paper. He handed them to me. “I translated the first chapter of the book. If you like it, I can translate the rest for you.”
My eyes widened as I stared at the neatly written sentences on the paper. He actually expected me to come back. He went out of his way to translate part of the book for me. Why?
I swallowed, my throat feeling awfully dry. “T-Thank you. I’ll definitely give it a try.”
After that, every night I came back to the room, he was waiting with another chapter for me. I didn’t know what he did during the night, but that was okay. We chatted a lot in the mornings and evenings, and I came to firmly believe that he was not a bad person. He listened attentively, something which no one had done for me before. He told me stories and they made me realise just how normal it was to feel the way that I felt, that I wasn’t alone, and that there was hope for me.
…
“Are you holding it firmly?” He asked, his lips close to my ear, making me shudder. I nodded, “Y-Yeah, I think so.”
Olrox leaned back and gently wrapped the bandage I was holding to my bare chest around my back, tightening it and wrapping it around a few times, making sure it wasn’t too restricting.
“Take a deep breath for me.” He instructed quietly, “Can you expand your lungs all the way?”
I took a deep breath, the bandage tight but not painfully so. “Yeah, I can breathe fine.” I said.
Olrox squeezed my shoulder before retrieving my shirt and helping me pull it over my head. I went over to the mirror, my heart leaping in my chest. It was flat. So much flatter than it had been.
Olrox came to stand behind me in the mirror as I stared at myself, my eyes filled with awe. “I-It’s better than I could’ve hoped,” I whispered hoarsely.
I saw his lips pull into a satisfied smile, “Good.”
I turned from side to side, admiring the flatness. My stomach was fluttering, this intense feeling of euphoria bubbling up. It felt right. So, so right.
Olrox watched as I admired myself, and said, “We should get you better fitting clothes. I’ll take you to the tailor tomorrow.”
I turned to look at him, “I don’t have any money.”
He grinned, his hands moving to my collar to straighten it, his fingers brushing against my neck, “It’s not about money. I have plenty.”
The way he looked at me… that glimmer of amusement in his eyes, the smile on his lips… It made my heart race. I was really attracted to him, wasn’t I?
“Thank you,” I whispered, “For showing me how to do this, for giving me a place to stay.”
…
[to be continued]