"That Eden boy was pretty cute. Hmm?" Julius playfully nudges me as I shrink farther into the passenger's side window. Is it just me or are the leaves falling faster from their humble branch abodes?

I shrug nonchalantly, relaxing a bit once I feel the cool glass of the window press against my back. "I'm not into boys."

His words flail about like a fish out of water as he tries to excuse himself. "Oh yes! Of course!" He coughs, awkwardly patting my knee and letting his fingertips play with the torn hole in my jeans."Understandable."

"Why do you live so far out anyway? Isn't it a bit...impractical?"

This time it's his turn to shrug. "I live next to a Magie so it doesn't really matter."

Playfully grunting I ask, "The hell is a Magie?"

He exchanges my look of curiosity with his own raised eyebrow and smirk. "It's French for 'magic'. We use it as the name of our towns that are out of human hands. They know nothing of it and will never be able to see it. I'm surprised you haven't ran into it with all the running away you're doing."

I nod guiltily, turning to gaze out the window to avoid his stare. "Julius, I'm truly sorry for leaving but-"

"Don't apologize just...are you alright?"

I simply huff and pull one end of my lip up, catching a glimpse of my eyes in the review mirror, the animal in them glittering violently. "I'm not that bothered by it, really."

The car pulls to a steady stop on the side of the road, the tires gently dipping into the dew-wetted grass. The trees gather together in gossiping clusters in the distance, a few birds racing and jumping over abandoned twigs. Julius's chill hands jerk at my jawline until I'm facing him. His pupil's seem to of dilated, giving the illusion that his once beautiful features are now demented, mad.

"Moon, that man tried to rape you in the streets. You. Are. Not. Okay."

I try to steady my breath as phantom fingers glided over my waist and tug at my pants, just another sign of how my mind betrays me. "I'm good, Julius."

He wraps his slender yet muscular arms around me in a tight embrace, rubbing and patting my head soothingly. I gag slightly on his overwhelming scent, burying my nose in his neck to dilute the fragrance. "Just cry. No one will judge you if you cry."

A car honks at us as it drives by. "No."

"Moon-"

"No!"

"Just because it's happened before it doesn't give you an excuse to be broken and refuse to see what went on last night."

The sobs shake me, vision blurring with tears as I'm forced to remember. Remember how his breath choked me, hands leaving bruises at the slightest touch, how he felt pushing into me. How he smiled through it all. "No!"

"Moon, just because your father hurt you-"

"Please!" I entangle my fingers in his hair, not sure if I just need something to hold onto or if I want to hurt him. "Be-besides, it was my friend's father...no-not m-my own." I mutter, withdrawing from the man and holding myself close.

"It still hurt." He whispers.

"I just want to g-go home and l-l-lay down." My teeth chatter from my crying, my throat dry and achy.

"He called it home! Moon called my house his home!"

The energy of his excitement and thoughts break through my mind, a small smile playing at the corners of my lips at his happiness. Julius pulls the car back on to the road and continues to drive in peaceful silence.

I break through the doors of our home and immediately head to the familiar violet room. Julius is close behind me, climbing under the covers and holding me in a 'spooning'-like fashion. He gently kisses the back of my head, rubs my hips, kisses my shoulder blades. His lips are cool and leave a tingling sensation behind. The atmosphere is a quiet one with the only movement being the bed springs.

"I didn't like it." I whisper to the wall in the midst of the silence, my voice hoarse.

"What?" He mumbles gingerly into my skin.

"Just because I got it up for him that doesn't me I liked it. I was scared shitless and didn't want to feel that type of pain ever again. And-and" I start to hyperventilate and tears clog my throat, the burning sensation returning as tears well. I press my palm to my forehead and wipe the hairs from my blurry eyes. "how he talked to me and told me that he wasn't fucking raping me because I liked it but I didn't like it! He's a goddamn liar!" I throw my head back as I quickly become hysterical, the small bit of sanity I have left snapping in two. "Oh God. Oh God what if he finds me?" My clawing hands find their way to my eyes, red lines trailing down my cheeks as I scream. "What if no one is there and-and t-they hurt me. Julius!" I beg in a rush as I flip to face him.

"Moon, shh just...just calm down."

Julius's fingers run down my jawline as he delivers a concerned smile. "I know you didn't like it."

We lay in silence, listening to each other's breaths. "I never screamed when Father did it. When he was done he would leave to try and hurt Kaiien so I let him do it as many times as he needed until he was satisfied-even if I bled. I was so afraid of Kai finding out what was going on that I never yelled and just told him that we talked about business together. It still frightens me to this day to make a single noise, or to go out and seek help for what they've done. I've never really told anyone that." I whisper on his nose, his breath making me lightheaded.

"Moon. I...I lo-"

"Boys get up now!" A shrill voice shouts through the bedroom, the noise bouncing off the walls and sinking into the mattress. I jump up, frightened, and clamp my legs tightly shut.

"What is it, Lucy?" Julius does his signature move, his fingers gliding swiftly through his silky brown hair, seeming tired.

"Your brother called while you were out and it seems as though the setting has been tweaked a bit. You may want to teach Master Moon to feed in public. It's to be held at the Magie's finest restaurant. A dress shirt and pants should do fine Master Julius, just see to it that Master Moon doesn't cause a scene."

"What about the after party?" He asks, ignoring the question in my eyes and focusing on her.

"It's still on, Sir."

"Perfect." He growls before falling back into the mattress, slipping back into his previous position of holding me.

I turn back to face him with a small, almost unnoticeable, pout. "I won't cause a scene." He places his thumb between my furrowed brows and smooths out the wrinkles, the iciness making me jump.

"Will you be okay with me biting you or do you want to use the needle?"

"Needle?" I gulp, biting my lip nervously and grinding my teeth against the flesh.

"Imagine taking a syringe, carefully dipping it into a medicine bottle, removing it with the same caution, and drinking from it. The only difference is that you're the medicine bottle."

"Is it painful?" I whisper against his nose once more.

"I've heard that it hurts less than if I were to bite you if that helps you decide."

"Is it scary?"

His small chuckles chime like bells as his shoulders slowly rise and fall. "I don't know, I really don't."

•••

"Do I look alright?" I stare down at the third outfit I've tried on, a simple burgundy button up (Julius said it complimented my skin tone and hair color) and dark, almost black, jeans.

"You look fine, Moon! One more outfit change and we'll be late!" I scoff. Says the guy who changed six times before deciding that his original green button up and khaki pants were perfectly suitable for the occasion.

Julius holds my hand as he leads me through the darkness and between two oak trees. I turn in shock as the used-to-be woods are replaced with houses and shops. A large fountain stands in the center of the cobblestone path, it's water reflecting the twinkling street lights above. My stomach becomes fuzzy as I take a step forward, my shoes clicking on the stone.

"Welcome to the Magie, Moon."

"I love it." I whisper slightly in front of him to no one in particular. Julius rushes me to a large brick building with lit up Roman words I can't understand. As we step inside I take in the aroma of sushi, pasta, and burgers all at once. A petite woman in her mid-twenties greets us and leads us to a table seating about twenty men and women.

As I sit in the mahogany chair I notice that it is about three inches shorter than Julius's. He points and smiles at the decorative fish tank housing a rather large squid and the few tall fruit trees beside it. The velvety curtains remind me all to much of the brothel I barely escaped, forcing me to turn towards the staring crowd.

"Julius," I ask, voice shaky from fear of the many staring eyes of the men. "why is my seat so short?"

He holds back a laugh and leans into my ear to whisper, "Because you're my Blood Servant and it's a symbol of authority and ownership."

A man and woman walk by with the waitress and plop into their seats in front of us. The man stands first to hug Julius across the table and the woman continues the greeting afterwards. I spot Marcus and Victoria a few men down and give a polite smile.

"Gabriel, it's been so long!" Julius shrieks.

The sandy blonde man smiles back at him, his brown eyes wrinkling at the end as he does so. "I've missed you too!"

I stare at the girl seated across me. Human. Her sun-kissed hand reaches across the black tablecloth to pat Julius's. She wears her hair in a messy brown bun atop her head, diamond starfish earrings standing out, and a light pink shimmering lipgloss decorating her smile. "Megan." She whispers with a smile.

"Moon." I return with the same secrecy. The pale woman beside me lifts four fingers, gesturing the waitress over to the table. She giggles something into the small woman's ear, who later returns with a boiled squid.

As the colorful dishes arrive at the table on deep gold silverware, Julius raises his glass and stands to his feet. The entire table is silent in seconds.

"I have an announcement to make. Especially to my brother, Gabriel." He gingerly pulls me up by the forearm and hugs me tightly to his side. "This is Moon-my Blood Servant. Gabriel, I-I'm gay."

The restaurant shakes with gasps and applause, Julius's face turning an unsightly shade and the scent of oranges becoming overwhelmingly tenacious. "Your order, Sir?" The waitress questions through the commotion.

"So," Gabriel turns to me, a twinkle of delight in his eyes. "tell me about yourself, boy."

"My name is Moon." I squeak as his teeth come through sharp as daggers. Without realizing it I find my face buried in Julius's green button up, inhaling his scent like a madman, the aroma calming and soothing in the same way hot milk or lavender may be.

"Gabriel!" Julius scolds.

"I know your name, Moon." The foreign hand-shaped ice sinks into my shirt, my skin, my bones. My blood turns cold as I began to tremble beneath his touch, the vision of incisors slicing my skin like sheets of paper.

"Gabriel, you're scaring the poor boy!" I turn away from Julius in time to see Megan come to my rescue.

"Julius, I'm hungry." I moan as he bites into his meal, the one he ordered happily without artificial blood for the first time.

"I told you to eat before we came." He grumbles while rummaging through his brown leather wallet. My picture from my brothel profile peeking out through the front. I reach for the photo but he simply blushes and extracts a syringe. "Ready?"

"No!" I yell as the syringe plunges into my arm, gathering the entire table's attention.

"Damn Julius! What catalog did you get him from?" A red headed man a few men down asks.

Julius mixes my blood into his pasta, twirling it absentmindedly. "Um.."

"What catalog?" I question the man with the same puzzled glance on my face.

Dumbfounded he searches for an answer. "Well...when a vampire wants a Blood Servant we order catalogs with humans in them. We order the ones that we want...they come trained and everything."

Julius bravely faces the crowd with a smile. "Moon didn't come from a catalog. I saw him one day at a Walmart," he pauses to chuckle to himself. "he was buying a shitload of condoms. I...followed him to a rundown factory and asked the woman inside who he was. She answered quite seriously that he was a 'simple minded prostitute but nice for a good fuck'. So I waited all day in there, asking different women what they thought of him. I would read his profile everyday that I came.

"Then one day I was reading it for the hundredth time, and I saw him for the first time in a month." His eyes switch from his hands to my puzzled expression every so often, taking in my ever changing emotions with the flow of his story. Our story. "There were bags under his eyes but they were full of fear as the woman dragged him to the middle of the room, tied him to the pillar, and whipped him in front of client and worker alike. I guess that was when I first realized I needed to get him out of there but it was another four months before I talked to him."

The admiration in the crowd's eyes shined through. Megan wipes a small tear from her eye as her mascara begins to run. I don't even notice Julius telling the waitress something until she arrives with a small plate and he starts scraping half his pasta on to it.

"I'll let you pick a desert." He grins on my ear and follows with a kiss on the earlobe.

"You shouldn't do that." An older man with graying hair calls to Julius. "You're just making it think it has control when it doesn't! You got to keep it in check!"

"Excuse me? Moon is not an 'it' thank you very much!"

"May I get any of you desert?"

He smiles "What would you like, Moon?"

"Do they have strawberry cheesecake?" I ask, silently praying that they do.

"I'd like a strawberry cheesecake with absolutely no blood whatsoever."

The table stares in astonishment as I devour the cheesecake like an animal. The remaining Blood Servants keep their cool having already eaten before they came- this dinner is only for their masters- the party is for us and them. We will be equals there.

•••

I lay cradled in Julius's lap, my button down strewn open and pants replaced with khaki shorts. Gabriel sits in front of us on the floor, our bodies sinking into the leathery cream couch while Megan parties somewhere in the house. "Truth or Dare?" Marcus leans in for effect at the small group gathered.

"Truth!" A small boy pipes up, a beer can in his glowing hands and his cheeks flushed with alcohol. I should feel uncomfortable around drunks like I always do, but wrapped in Julius's arms, his hands securely around my waist, I feel safe. As if they can't hurt me here.

"Is it true you've been sleeping around with someone other than Angie?" The small boy blushes scarlet, his Adam's apple throbbing in his throat, reminding me of when Julius sucked mine...

Gabriel claps his hands in excitement. "Truth or Dare, Moon?"

"Truth." I grumble groggily between Julius's shoulder, more than ready for sleep to take me.

"When did you first find out you were gay?"

"I'm not-your brother just promised me a shitload of money so I agreed to screw him."

Julius gently begins to rock us on the couch, his arms under my legs and my arms around his neck. He fumbles with the Scooby Doo bandaid from dinner's syringe as my eyes fall shut.

•••

"Tomorrow we have to go school shopping here. Are you fine with that?" Julius asks as we walk back to the house, my eyes still crusted with sleep.

"Absolutely." I smile into his shoulder as I block myself from the cool air blowing into us.

He only giggles as he unlocks the door to let us into our home.