I must say, these rich boys really do know how to throw a party. Looking around at the elegantly decorated ballroom, my eyes came to rest upon a pale blonde head of hair. Slowly letting my eyes wander downwards, I saw icy blue eyes looking out from the young face of a slim 17 year old teen wearing a purple jacket over his dress shirt and tight black shorts, standing next to the wall as he gazed about the room in seeming boredom.

When I saw his eyes rest on me for a moment, I gave a small smile and winked at him playfully. The mild interest that appeared in his eyes for a moment amused me. I could definitely have some fun with this one. Slowly making my way across the floor, I came to a halt in front of the handsome youth.

"You look kind of bored over here, young lord. Feel like having a bit of fun?" Leaning a bit closer to him, I smiled playfully, my eyes glancing to his smirking lips before coming back up to his pale eyes.

I felt the lightest of blushes trying to form when I felt his warm hand slip into one of mine.

--------

After over an hour spent dancing, drinking and talking, I found myself being pushed almost roughly against the wall of one of the rooms upstairs. I let out a soft gasp as I felt fingers tracing their way to my back and along my spine, finding the edge of my clothing and starting to pull if off as lips pressed hot against my neck.

Curses filled the air as his signet ring caught in the fabric, my lips curling into a smirk as I stopped him gently, reaching around behind me to carefully release the material from the jewelry. It was really just too bad. I'd been having so much fun with this one. Palming the small blade in my hand, I reached the other hand forward and caressed his cheek softly as he watched me with lust filled eyes.

"You're really my type, ya know. It's a right shame I have to do this." I whispered into his ear as I made to stab the blade into his stomach, being stopped by a sudden hand grabbing my wrist from the side.

"I'm sorry but I can't allow you to do that." The polite but dark voice shocked me, my head whipping to the side to see a tall butler wearing glasses.

"Where did you come from? The door was locked!" I tried to wrench my hand out of his grasp, but it was like a band of iron around my wrist.

"Who hired you?" The soft whisper came from the blonde in front of me, his hair covering his eyes as he looked down.

"Sorry, but I don't spill my secrets so easily." I gave him a gentle smile, my other hand slipping out from behind me.

As the air filled with heavy smoke, I vanished from the room, leaving behind a coughing young man and a confused butler looking at his empty hand.

--------

I refused to finish the job, stating to the go-between that it was too dangerous for the 'small' fee they were willing to pay me in compensation and they should try someone more gullible to send up against the pair. No matter how much they offered to raise the payment, I told them that I valued my life more than their money.

I knew the truth was that I simply didn't want to see the life drain out of those ice blue eyes. One hour was all it had taken for him to trap me in a web that I wasn't sure I wanted to struggle against.

It was several weeks before I would look into them again and when it happened, I was completely unprepared for it. Let alone for what came next.

--------

"Ahh! There you are! Do you know how long I have been looking for you? Don't run off like that again!" I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, that familiar voice ringing in my ears as I turned to look into a face I had not thought I would see again.

"Lord Trancy? I told you, I won't give you any names... And I gave up that job anyhow, so coming after me at this point is useless." I took a step back, only to bump into another body.

Turning my head slightly to the side, I could just make out the butler from that night standing there. Looking back at the young Trancy lord, I would likely have been fidgeting if not for years of training.

"Oh, I know you did. The ones who came after you were all incompetent fools who barely seemed to know which end of the knife to hold. It was quite laughable that they thought there was even a chance for them to succeed, if even you were stopped. Although you are the only one who made it out alive afterwards." By now, he was close enough I could feel his chest against mine as his breath warmed my ear, the butler holding me in place as the blonde ran one hand slowly down my side.

"Then what do you want? Why were you searching fo-" I almost gasped as I felt lips begin grazing my neck, teeth giving small nips at the tender skin before a warm tongue came out to sooth the lightly bruising flesh.

"Because you caught my interest. And I don't like loosing things that catch my interest. Especially when it turns out to be someone as... fascinating as you. I must admit, you're not my usual type, but I think I can make an exception in your case." I closed my eyes with a soft moan as I felt him press more fully against me, my face growing hot as I felt myself being pressed against the man behind me by the one in front of me.

If I hadn't been trapped between the two I would have tried to move away, but as it was my attempts to get away only ended up causing me to rub against the two, drawing low growls from both throats. The sounds caused me to freeze, my eyes opening to see a crowd of whispering people around us. Feeling my face turn red with embarrassment, I began trying to push against the young lord, still feeling that iron grip on my upper arms.

"Stop it, your drawing a crowd and I don't appreciate being watched like this." I hissed at the two men, releasing a sigh when Trancy finally drew back, although I did not care for the smirk on his face.

"You're right. We should go someplace more private before we continue things. Claude." With those words, he stepped back and turned away, walking towards a carriage that waited down the street nearby.

I couldn't help the soft shout I let out when I felt myself being lifted onto the butler's shoulder.

--------

For the next few months, I was kept at the Trancy Estate, living comfortably as the young Lord Trancy's lover. He'd even told me to start calling him by his first name, Alois. The name was often heard echoing down the halls late at night, some of the servants unable to lift their eyes near us the next morning, pink tinting their cheeks. The others either grinned behind our backs or gave sly smirks to each other as they passed in the halls.

It seemed I was the first person who ever really caught his eye as more than a simple passing fancy. But as time wore on, I realized that did not mean I was the only one who had caught his eye. It took me time to admit it to myself, but I was growing tired of seeing random young men come and go from his rooms. I loved him though, so I did my best to ignore the activities going on behind closed doors, but that did not mean it hurt any less.

The first time he told me he was growing bored with me, I thought it was a joke and laughed. By the 5th time, I could feel my heart clench. When he told me those words on my birthday, after ignoring me the whole day, I felt my heart shatter. Going upstairs in a daze, I ignored the feeling on his cold gaze upon my back and went to my room to pack. When I came back down, he was laying on the couch, his head resting in the lap of a young brunette.

"Goodbye, Lord Trancy. I do not wish to bore you any longer, nor do I wish to have my heart broken any more than it already is. Have your fun with these people. I shall bother you no longer." I held on as long as I could, but I still felt one hot tear roll down my cheek as I turned away, bags in hand as I turned and left the Estate.

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As the weeks passed slowly into months, I attempted to start my life over again. It was painful, far more painful than I would have imagined anything could be once, but I could feel myself begin to heal. I'd moved to a different part of London, hoping that it would bring me the fresh start I needed, and it had.

I began a new life, making friends with the people who visited the small cafe I got a job at. I didn't need the money really, having the savings still left from my previous career, but I needed something to keep me busy and this was it. The job was easy, the customers were friendly and the area was safer than many would think for this part of London.

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As the end of the second month came since leaving the Manor, I was finally ready to really take a step forward. A tall gentleman with dark brown hair, one of the regular customers of the cafe, had been asking me to have dinner with him for weeks now and I had finally said yes. We were to meet up at the entrance of the park near where we would be eating.

Slipping the other shoe onto my foot, I stood up and looked into the mirror. The smooth material of my clothing was cool against my skin as I nodded in satisfaction at my reflection. It might not be too fancy, but I didn't feel like wearing anything that required extra time preparing tonight.

Closing and locking the door behind me as I left my apartment, I turned and began walking down the street to the park a few blocks away. I had been lucky to find a reasonably affordable flat so close to not just my work, but also the nearby park I enjoyed visiting during the days I had off.

A short 5 minute walk was all it took to reach the trees that lined the parks parameter, a large break in the green wall marking the entrance. I could just make out a figure in the shadows sitting on a bench beneath one of the trees and started walking towards it, trying to see if it was Charles, my date for the night.

When I got close enough, I nearly screamed, seeing the familiar visage of Alois sitting there, a smear of red slowly drying on his cheek. Turning to run, I felt a familiar iron grasp around my waist and looked up to see Claude smirking down at me.

"Ah ah. It's not polite to leave before you've even said hello. After all, the young Lord came all this way just to see you. Although he was a bit... upset at finding someone else waiting for you." Claude's cold voice brushed against my cheek as he turned me to face the blonde teen that was slowly walking towards me, his hair shadowing his eyes.

"Dearest~. Do you know, after you left I realized something~." As he came to a stop in front of me, I twisted in Claude's grasp, snarling at the young Trancy.

"What, that you hated me? Is that why you seemed to enjoy hurting me so much during that last month I stayed with you? Is that why you made sure I saw you with all those... people?! Why don't you just kill me then and get it over with?!" I was screaming by the time I finished, my shoulders slumping as I suddenly felt all the energy leave my body.

I barely even flinched when I felt his hand come up to cup my cheek. Lifting my face to look into my eyes, he leaned forward to press his lips against mine before gently nibbling on my lower lip. When he finally pulled back, failing to get the reaction he was hoping for, he gave me a small frown.

"My love, I don't think you understand. Loosing you made me realize how much you meant to me. I shouldn't have gone looking at others to try and ease the boredom I was feeling. After you left, I realized that I was still bloody bored. All those boys didn't keep my interest for more than a day, yet you'd still had my interest after weeks, even months! I should have known then and there that all I needed to do was find a way to spice up our love life again!" As he finished talking, he leaned forward and began trailing kisses along my jaw and down my neck, finally coming to a halt as he began gently nipping at my shoulder.

I felt him flinch as I began laughing, the hallow sound echoing through the empty park. Turning my head to look at the butler behind me, I pulled against his grip again, still unable to break away from him.

"And what? You think I'll go back to you after what you've done to me? Do you realize how broken I was when I left you? Do you even really care?! You come here after all this time, kill the gentleman I was going to have dinner with, and think I'm going to just forgive you and go back with the two of you? What will happen next time you get bored with me? Are you going to turn back to those people again, marching them in front of me so you can see me break again?! Let me go Claude! I'm leaving! I REFUSE TO BE YOUR TOY AGAIN!!" I could feel my body shaking as I screamed at the two that kept me trapped between them once more, this time in a much less welcomed manner.

"I'm sorry love, but I can't let you go. I promise you don't have to worry about all those others this time. They will never step foot in the Manor again, I promise. After all, I had Claude take care of them. You'll never see them again. Unless you go digging about in the gardens, that is! Claude, it's time to go home. Make sure you are gentle with my lover. They are precious to me, after all. So very precious!" I could hear the madness in his voice as he turned to glance at his butler.

I barely even managed to open my mouth before I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and the world turned dark around me.

--------

As the months passed, trapped within the Trancy Estate, I slowly gave up any hope of escaping Alois' insane affection for me. Every time I had attempted to get away, I was brought back and punished for 'making him worry for my safety', usually being locked away in a room for a day by myself. At least, I would have been alone if not for the shadows. The memories alone made me shiver in fear.

I could still feel the non-existent eyes watching me from the shadows of the room when Alois wasn't there, rare though that was. At night while he slept, I lay awake still able to hear the whispers surrounding me if he didn't hold me tight against him. And each day that passed, I followed Alois a little closer, clung a little tighter to his arm. After all, he was the only one that could keep the shadows at bay. He was their Master.

"See? I knew you would come to love me again. I told you we could be happy again. Didn't I Claude?" Alois smiled down at me, ignoring the smirk on his butler's lips as the man nodded his head with a soft "Yes, your Highness."

All I could do was shiver at the voice, the same one I heard whisper to me every night that I wasn't wrapped in his Master's arms, sinking into the darkness in my own mind.