It was an early afternoon, during which the majority of the vampires in the mansion were still sleeping. A window that Marcus conveniently used to supply Lynn with blood, so he wouldn't go crazy. Something he unfortunately didn't have the chance to do since he was too busy catching the remaining members of the rival gang for the past few days. The only thing that stood in his way now was the guards patrolling the corridor, who he easily avoided due to his small frame. To his surprise, there were more of them this time and their numbers grew with each floor he passed.

There were now at least 20 of them, guarding the ladder that led to the attic. The boy thought it best to search for an alternative route, turning his back only to see Ruby staring directly at him. Startled at first, he greeted her while his brain quickly searched for ways to excuse himself.

"Where do you think you're going babyface? I want to have a word with you." She said in a stern voice.

"Of course misters. How may I be of help?" Said Marcus.

"It has come to my attention that you have been smuggling rations from our common supply. Is that true?"

"Yes. You know I don't enjoy feeding in the dining hall with the others. When have you seen me consume blood directly from humans?"

"Never." She gave him her usual smile. A sinister omen of nothing good that was about to come. "But you see, you make a good point there." She turned her head back, yelling orders to one of the vampires walking behind her. "Clare, come here! Bring me one of the young ones!"

Clare went into one of the rooms filled with "livestock" as they called them and not a minute later came back with a small girl, barely at the age of puberty. She had pale blonde hair covering her sunken cheeks. The girl didn't resist or make any sound of protest but simply walked to where she was sent. The red-eyed woman placed her palm over her head, caressing it like a proud parent then nudged her towards the boy.

"Bite her." Said Ruby.

Marcus looked at her with his big yellow eyes, then moved them back to the girl, whose face remained calm. Seemingly because she has already accepted her fate.

"I'm not hungry." The boy said.

"Come on, just a little bite and you can go. I'm not ordering you to kill her." She spoke so casually, though the boy already knew it was obviously an act to test his loyalty. The thought of sinking his teeth into the child's neck made his stomach turn, but he felt as if he had no other choice. "Give it a taste, you might like it."

He didn't want to waste any time and raise suspicion, so he reluctantly obliged. The girl shrieked as she felt the sharp teeth pierce her shoulder, her eyes filling with tears. Marcus moved away quickly, putting his hand on the spot where he bit her to stop the bleeding. The boss found his reaction quite amusing and chuckled as she congratulated him for completing the task.

"May I go now?" He said, wiping his mouth while trying to hold back a sigh of relief.

"Yes, yes sure." Said Ruby, sending the girl away. "Oh, wait. There's just one thing that I mean to ask you. For how long did you think I wouldn't notice that you've been supplying Lynn with human blood?"

"W-what do you mean?" His heart sank to his feet upon hearing those words.

"You've been fucking around for long enough Marcus. I think it's time for you to find out."

***

Elenor stared through the window longingly. The falling snowflakes gave her a feeling of familiarity, but the thoughts and memories in her head were too scattered to form something coherent. She could barely remember Edwin's face anymore and anytime she tried to recall it, it made her chest tighten and fill with pain.

Her attention was shifted away by the snapping of fingers. She didn't need much to get distracted. Every thought that she tried to hold on for longer than a minute, was swiftly erased by the next thing that she as much as focused her eyes on.

"Are you even listening to me?" Said Syd, visibly annoyed. "Let's try again. This is a mirror. Say it with me mi-rror."

"Mi-ra..." the woman barely mustered.

"No, not mira... mi-rror. Come on! We've been practicing for hours. How else are we supposed to communicate?" An answer didn't follow, just her usual blank stare. "Ok, how will you say it in your language?"

"Das Spiegel."

"Alright! That's progress! Let's see..." he searched the room for something else that he could use as an example. "How about this hair brush, how would you call it?"

Elenor once again stared blankly. It was as if her body was here, but her mind was in an entirely different universe. A sigh of despair left Syd's lips as he sat down next to her.

"Ran out of words?" He asked with sarcasm. "I should have thought as much. Look at you, not a single thought lies behind those eyes of yours. Just a blank space ear to ear. At times I wonder what you used to be like before you got your brains all jangled up. "

Elenor jumped from her spot, putting a hand on her chest, and letting out a faint whimper. It was as if she suddenly got stabbed by an invisible force. Syd's eyes widened with concern. He reached his hands to hold her but backed away at the last second in fear that his touch would somehow cause even more pain.

"Der Junge..." she whispered.

"What? What does that mean?"

As usual, an answer didn't follow. She looked at the ceiling, breathing heavily for a few seconds before settling down, resuming her doll-like expression. It appeared that whatever caused her distress disappeared as quickly as it came, like a tear in the rain. She left the room shortly after like a child being told off.

Syd didn't bother going after her. At this point, he had gotten used to her strange behavior and would rather ignore it. With nothing better to do before their shift started, he decided to go upstairs and find a good German-English dictionary in hopes of understanding at least some of the words his partner spouts out, seemingly at random.

He saw Ruby on the way, but the tired expression on her face led him to think it would be better to avoid interaction.

"Where is that moron that you tag along with all the time?" She asked without taking the effort to look at him.

"Ella? I don't know, she is probably sleeping in her room like the others." Said Syd.

"Keep an eye on her for me, will you?"

"Yes, mistress."

"You two seem to be inseparable. What is your relationship with her anyway? Come on now, be honest."

"I don't know..." He said without thinking, even though it was the truth. Her glance filled with contempt made him want to take his words back, knowing that it was not a sufficient answer. "I guess I took a liking to her since she is so pathetic it's cute." His anxiety started to creep in as he noticed the weird look his boos gave him.

"Good enough." She continued walking. "Oh, and by the way, congratulations on your promotion."