Harry awoke to the feel of a warm body against his. Harry didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay in Benoit’s embrace longer, but he knew it must be time to get up and he didn’t want Dru to find out he hadn’t slept in his room. Harry sighed. Benoit’s arms were still around him, hugging him loosely in his sleep. Harry wished he could stay like that forever.
“Benoit?” He whispered. The vampire didn’t move. “Benoit?” Harry thought maybe he felt Benoit’s arms tighten around him. He tried to look at Benoit’s face in the dark, but he couldn’t see anything. No outside light was able to penetrate the coffin. Harry assumed that was why Vampires slept in them. The sun couldn’t burn you while you slept if you were in a tightly sealed box.
Harry moved out of Benoit’s embrace and slowly opened the lid. Benoit just continued to sleep. Harry carefully got out of the coffin.
Harry looked down at the man. He could see Benoit’s face now. Benoit looked so peaceful. His long black lashes rested against his boney cheeks. His hair was a mess around his face. Benoit didn’t exactly look angelic in sleep, his features weren’t very cherubic, but he looked more relaxed than Harry had ever seen him.
Harry leaned over and moved a strand of hair away from Benoit’s face. He had the urge to kiss the butler, but Harry knew the man wouldn’t be happy with him. Harry needed ‘consent’. But he supposed a kiss on the forehead should be okay. The boy leaned further and placed a butterfly kiss to the vampire’s forehead. He heard a short hum as the man exhaled. Benoit was still deeply asleep. Harry quietly closed the coffin lid and walked to his room.
♦ ♦ ♦
Benoit spent most of his free time in Mikael’s study. He needed to find a way to get into the school and quick. The school year was only a week away. He’d decided that a disguise wasn’t going to cut it. The wards would know he was inhuman. Would it know he was a vampire if he crossed into the wards in his bat form? Benoit wasn’t willing to test that theory. He was pretty sure the magic humans would have thought of that.
The vampire sighed. Was there even a way? The wards wouldn’t let him in unless he was a corpse, Benoit thought. Then Benoit startled. Was that the answer? The wards would only look for living threats. If he were dead…if he were practically dead…dead enough to fool the wards…then he’d be able to pass through. And once he was through, the wards would recognize him. He should be able to come and go as he pleased.
So that was the answer. Benoit needed to be on the brink of death. But how? Should he starve himself? Vampires could die from lack of blood consumption, but that would take longer than Benoit had. Was there some kind of curse that could slow one’s heart enough to pass for dead?
Benoit put the book he’d been reading back on the shelf and took down six others. There had to be a charm, a spell, a potion…something that could do this. Magic humans would have come up with something. Their magic was limitless.
Only five days before Harry would leave for school, Benoit finally found what he’d been looking for. The Drought of Living Death. A potion that would make him appear dead. A potion that would slow his heart so much so that he would basically be dead. It would be Benoit’s miracle potion.
Now he just had to get it. Vampires did not have the magic required to brew potions. Only magic humans could. Benoit had to go to a wizard’s potion shop. The vampire hated shopping in wizarding villages. It was always a big risk. He remembered the first time he’d had to get a potion.
No.
No, he didn’t want to remember. Benoit forced the memory from his mind and planned for his trip into the wizarding village.
♦ ♦ ♦
Mikael was practically fuming. The boy. Was NOT. Pregnant. How was that possible? After the first negative test he’d had the boy take nine more. All came back the same. NEGATIVE. Negative!? How!?
The potion was supposed to make its victim get pregnant. What happened to that 100% conception rate? Had he been swindled? The ingredients for that potion had not come cheap. Had Corin and Aldrick fucked up the potion? Were they completely incompetent?
Mikael had been so angry at the negative test result that he’d punished his slave over and over that night. He’d spanked Helen personally. He’d used a ruler, then a paddle. His little slave begged his forgiveness in both English and French. Mikael didn’t care. He just wanted to hurt the slut. Helen’s body would pay for defying him.
The next day he ordered Corin and Aldrick to whip up another batch. He told him of their failure and how this time they better get it right. His Helen WOULD be pregnant. Mikael would make it happen no matter what.
And then he fucked his slave brutally after feeding him the potion. The next morning he had Helen take another test. Negative. Again. AGAIN!
Every day after, he continued having his two wizards make a new batch and each time it failed to get the boy pregnant. He punished Helen every day. Eventually he took away the boy’s milk; the one thing the man knew Helen cared about more than anything. He knew it wasn’t his precious slave’s fault for not getting pregnant, but it felt good to torture her. He loved hearing a boy of only eleven years beg him for cum. Unfortunately it didn’t diminish Mikael’s anger.
♦ ♦ ♦
Harry had no idea why Papa was so angry with him all the time. The punishments really hurt and Papa wouldn’t stop until he was tired. No amount of crying or begging helped. Harry would cry himself to sleep while Benoit tried to comfort him.
Then Papa took away his milk. Harry had been forced to drink water with his meals. There was no milk soup, no milk jam for his toast. Mikael never even came down his throat anymore. Papa still had sex with him, but the small amount of milk he released in Harry’s bum just wasn’t enough.
Harry felt, more so than ever, that he was starving. Harry was so thirsty all the time. He had no energy to run around the house, to play, to read…and watching the movies Papa had only made him thirstier.
Harry begged and begged and begged. Papa never gave in. Benoit never gave in. Harry thought he might actually die. He tried to tell himself he was being dramatic. So what if he didn’t have his milk? He wasn’t really going to starve. Papa always fed him plenty of food. But then why did Harry feel like this? Like there was a hole inside him and Papa was only feeding him a crumb a day. The hole was so large and empty. Harry’s throat was so dry, his bum was so needy. He needed a drink. He needed sex.
Most days Harry just sat in Benoit’s room and thought about how badly he wanted to suck the man’s penis. He tried asking the man why Papa hated him now. He must have done something very bad. Was it because he wasn’t good at acting like a girl? Was he not being feminine enough? Was he not using his manners enough? Was he not learning enough? Was it because he didn’t like when Papa showed him love?
Harry started telling Papa more and more how much he loved him. He tried to enjoy sex with papa and when he couldn’t, he faked it. He lied and told Papa how good it felt when Papa tore his hole with his penis. He tried being as good and feminine as he could. He studied hard.
Harry still felt that weird pain in his shoulders and lower back. It was happening more and more. And Harry’s dreams were always sexual now. Always about Benoit.
♦ ♦ ♦
Benoit had the potion. It should get him into Beauxbatons’. Had to. It was his only hope of accompanying the boy to school.
The boy. The boy was miserable. Benoit didn’t know what caused Mikael to completely lose his mind, but he was taking it out on Harry. The boy cried himself to sleep every night. He was always in pain from the punishments Mikael gave him…and he looked like he was dying. Benoit knew that couldn’t be. The boy had want for nothing. He was well taken care of…besides the punishments. But a spanking wasn’t going to kill him at least.
Benoit needed to find out the cause of Mikael’s anger so he could eradicate it. He couldn’t let this continue. He feared that he’d revoke his present of sending Harry to school. Odd how something that had caused him so much trouble would burden him further if it were taken away. It was all about Harry’s happiness in the end. Well, not ‘in the end’ so much. In the end the boy would die. But at least for now, with what little time Harry had left…Benoit swore he’d make him happy.
And that meant Mikael had to be somewhat happy as well. Benoit really wished he could just kill the human and be done with it. He sighed. He wondered if Corin and Aldrick knew the cause of Mikael’s ire.
When he asked them, they were secretive. Benoit had to put them into a trance to learn the truth. And the truth was terrifying. Mikael was trying and failing to get the boy pregnant. Good, Benoit thought. Let him fail. The boy didn’t deserve to be a papa at such a young age. And to be forced to carry that monster’s child…revolting. The very thought made him want to rip the testacles right off him.
But abating the man’s anger wouldn’t be simple. If he convinced Mikael that the boy was pregnant, that would lead to hardships down the road. Benoit knew the lie wouldn’t last forever. Eventually Mikael would notice that Harry’s stomach remained flat month after month. What then? And if he did put the man in a trance, would that be going too far? Would this action of his be the final straw? Benoit wasn’t allowed to interfere in the boy’s life. Was this going to change the course of events? Benoit couldn’t see how faking a pregnancy would stop the vampires’ plans, but there was too much stacked against him this time.
No, Benoit couldn’t lie about Harry being pregnant. But maybe he could convince the man that he didn’t want the boy to be pregnant. Why was Mikael so hung up on impregnating the child anyway? It was sick.
Benoit went to Mikael and put him in a trance. He told Mikael that the man actually preferred Harry with a nice, flat stomach. That if the boy were pregnant he wouldn’t be able to fuck him as hard as he liked. And nine months was a long time…for humans. And the baby. What would they do with that? The boy being pregnant was the worst thing that could happen. The man slowly nodded to everything he was told. Benoit sighed in relief.
Then he convinced Mikael of one other thing. That he should send Benoit with Harry to school. He made it so it was all Mikael’s idea. That Mikael had thought to use the Draught of Living Death for him to get past the wards. That Benoit was to pretend to be Harry’s pet bat.
It would all work out.
Somehow.
♦ ♦ ♦
Mikael woke up the next day with the oddest thought. He liked his slave with a flat stomach and he liked fucking her hard. And he didn’t want to take care of a baby. He didn’t want the boy to be pregnant.
But he did. He really did. Just the thought of the boy’s belly getting bigger and bigger made his cock ache.
Helen with a flat stomach. Yes, he did like that. He wanted the boy to have a nice, well-maintained appearance. But the thought of that stomach growing…
And the boy wouldn’t be fat. He’d be pregnant. And there were potions that could bring his little slave’s stomach back to the way it was after Helen gave birth.
He couldn’t fuck her hard? Who the fuck says? Okay, so maybe he couldn’t go overboard like he sometimes did, but once the pregnancy was stable enough, he could still be pretty rough.
But the baby. Yeah, he didn’t want to care for a baby, but wasn’t that what the slave was for? He could always hire a nanny when Helen was at school. Or if worse came to worse he could put it up for adoption. There, problem solved.
Now why exactly shouldn’t he knock up his cute little sissy boy? What reason was left?
None, Mikael answered himself and smiled. Then he looked at the calendar. Only a few days left before the child went to school. He’d wanted to get Helen pregnant before then. He supposed he could still keep trying while she went to school. At least Dru would be with her—wait, why not Benoit? Dru was a very capable soldier, but Benoit…Benoit was a deadly vampire. Surely he’d be much better at looking after his precious slave while she was at school. Benoit hadn’t failed him yet.
But he was a vampire. The school wouldn’t let him in, obviously. Unless he somehow tricked the wards.
The thought came to him so quickly like it had been implanted in his mind. The Draught of Living Death. It was a potion that would allow the one who drank it to appear dead. It would definitely work to get the butler past the wards…
How the fuck had he known that? Mikael was sure he’d never heard of that potion before. He wasn’t one to read up on potions in his spare time. The potion that would get the boy pregnant—that had been an exception. Mikael didn’t know much about potions. He left that to Corin and Aldrick. That is why he hired them, after all. They were mediwizards. They knew about stuff like this.
So where exactly had that knowledge come from? Mikael drummed his fingers on his nightstand. The only conclusion he could come to was that it hadn’t come from him. It was foreign. So then who implanted it into his mind? Mikael knew that some wizards could use mind reading. And some could make you do what they wanted with dark spells. Could vampires? And what exactly was Dru’s backstory again? A soldier. A muggle soldier.
Mikael didn’t trust a one of them. Well, except Harry Potter. The boy was only allowed a wand under strict supervision.
But someone was tampering with his mind. The potion would allow Benoit into the school. So then who wanted the butler gone? The most likely suspect was Corin. That man complained about the butler every chance he got. No matter how many times he told the mediwizard that the butler was bound with magic not to hurt them, the man wouldn’t budge. He always said the same thing. Vampires were evil beings that couldn’t be trusted and it was foolish to allow it into their lives.
Mikael liked having the vampire around. It made him feel smug. He was in control of a dangerous magical creature. A very rare and deadly magical creature. Vampire sightings were rare, well, Mikael supposed the victims usually didn’t live long enough to be able to tell anyone. But still rare. When the creature had come to him asking for lodging and a job a little over three years ago, Mikael did some research. Corin and Aldrick were already in his employ and they urged him to call the vampire hunters to eradicate the beast.
Beast? Mikael didn’t think of the butler as the bloodthirsty beasts he read about. Benoit was dignified, civilized, and prompt. He did his job well and never complained. And there were benefits to having a vampire for a servant. The man was inhumanly quick, and didn’t mind getting his hands dirty when he played security guard. Mikael didn’t care how Benoit took out intruders. Mikael cared about results. And Benoit was good at getting results. The night when his previous day butler tried to run away with his slave, Benoit had resolved the issue quickly and efficiently. He even hid the body. Mikael hadn’t even been aware of the incident until Benoit had off-handedly told him about it the next morning while Mikael was reading the paper.
And having the vampire in his employ was akin to a wealthy muggle owning a tiger, but better. Mikael knew of no one, wizard or otherwise that owned a vampire. Other Life Drinkers, sure. Though rare, succubi were highly sought after. But a vampire? No one dared. No one but Mikael. The man wished he could gloat about it. He couldn’t. Vampires were not supposed to be kept in cages like succubi or enslaved like dementors. They were too dangerous for that. Vampires and inccubi were to be killed on sight. If one got away, the hunters were to be called.
But if his vampire was tampering with his mind, he’d have to put his beast on some kind of leash.
♦ ♦ ♦
Darci paced the small room. It was a real shame that Benny had to live in such a tiny room. She looked over at the coffin. It was plain and cheap; a commoner’s final luxury. It probably cost less than two grand. She sighed. How could a noble vampire like Benny live like this?
She opened his mini-fridge. To her surprise it was well stocked with blood. Almost as if the man knew he wouldn’t have much time to hunt.
Poor thing, she thought. Hunting was so much fun. It was always a thrill. Especially for nobles who only hunted magic humans. There was always a risk. Kill or be killed. It excited her. She loved using her beauty to lure teenage wizards to secluded places. She’d tell them how handsome they were, how horny she was for them. Teenagers were the easiest for her to catch. Their hormones made them stupid; made them easy prey. They followed her places they normally wouldn’t venture. Magic humans saw themselves as invincible. Why should they be afraid of some back alley? Some abandoned warehouse? The middle of the woods? They had a wand. If there were a threat they’d be able to just spell it away. That’s how wizards thought. The arrogance, the naivety. That’s how they were caught.
Benoit liked the blood of the young. But she, Darci liked the teens. Their blood was jam-packed with testosterone and life.
Darci’s favorite drinking method was a bit embarrassing. She’d never told anyone, even Benoit. Most vampires went for the neck. There was a large vein that connected directly to the heart. It was like a straw. Darci had her own straw. A better straw. She performed a taboo. She had sex with the humans. She’d get her victim to a secluded location, get him hard, and suck his cock. She never had penetrative sex with her victims. That was going too far. When the magic human was on the brink of climaxing, she’d bite into his cock. A cock that was engorged with blood. A big, juicy straw. Her victims would scream in pain before being lust-crazed once more as her venom swam in the veins of the human’s cock. She’d drink him dry like that. She never bit females.
It made her wonder how Benoit hunted. She’d always wanted to go hunting with him. She wouldn’t hunt the way she liked with him present though. She didn’t want him to see her that way. It wasn’t like she was really having sex with her victims. It was just a trick. She kind-of gave them blowjobs before she bit them, but that was to get their cocks full of blood. She didn’t see them in a sexual way. Humans would always be just food to her.
It made her reflect on how strange Benoit had been acting recently. He’d been given a mission where he needed to watch a human child. She didn’t know anything besides that. How had Benny grown so attached to…she couldn’t remember the magic human’s name. It didn’t matter anyway. No matter how important it was for him to watch the human, the human was still just that: human. She’d never seen Benoit look so…so gently at anyone before. Well, maybe his mother, but why had she seen him look like that toward the human he was watching?
She was honestly a little jealous. She knew she shouldn’t be. The human was just a little appetizer that wouldn’t live very long. Even if he lived a full human life. A hundred years, two hundred years—that was nothing to a vampire. The human would be out of Benny’s life in no time. He was just a pet that the man was keeping around for his amusement.
Darci thought she might get Benny a real pet. Maybe a bunny or a puppy for his birthday. Then he wouldn’t treat the human so special.
Because that’s all he was. The boy was a pet and nothing more. He had to be.
Darci wondered why Benoit had called her here tonight. It wasn’t like Benoit was actually going to a wizard school. There wasn’t a way past the wards. And it was too dangerous regardless.
Darci watched as the door opened and Benoit stepped through.
“I’m sorry for making you wait. I just left the boy with the day butler.”
“It’s alright,” she said with fake cheer. “How’s my favorite cousin?”
“I’m doing well.” The man paused. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Benny,” she sighed. “Just tell me why I’m here. You look more anxious than a fish in vinegar.”
“That isn’t a saying,” he said.
“Benny.”
“I’ve found a way to get past the wards of the school. I need you to tell my parents that I’ll be accompanying the boy.”
“What?! No!”
“Darci, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
“No, you’re crazy! Why can’t you just let the human butler go with him?”
“I have to watch him.”
“I already told you to convince his guardian to keep him at the house. What’s wrong with that plan?”
“I can’t interfere too much—”
“You already are!” she cut in.
“Darci, I’ve already decided on this. I just need you to tell my parents.”
“Tell them yourself about your suicide mission!”
Benoit looked away. “I can’t.”
She stared at him until Benoit looked back at her. “Benoit, you know what you’re doing is…you know that this isn’t going to work out, right? The humans are being taught to spot vampires. They know how to kill us. You’re dead if you go with that kid.”
Benoit looked down at the floor. “I’ve done this before,” he said so low that Darci had to strain to hear him.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been to the wizard school before. I never told anyone. It was when I was ten.”
Darci didn’t speak. She just looked at him. He looked back at her. “Really?”
He nodded.
Had Benoit always been this brave? No. He had been a shy, scared child. When she’d first met him she’d thought he was a hermit. And now she’s finding out that he ventured to the wizard school when he was only ten years old? Why? Was Benoit an idiot? She’d always seen him as calm, reserved, intelligent, and cautions. The Benoit she knew would never just rush into something. What else didn’t he tell her?
“I didn’t want my parents to find out I went. I didn’t want anyone to know. It was unlike me. It was stupid and dangerous. But father was keeping things from me and my curiosity got the better of me. I know I can accompany the boy.”
Darci stared hard into the ice-blue eyes of her first crush. She had always kept her love a secret. She knew he didn’t love her back. Even as a child Benoit always seemed out of her reach. She supposed that’s why she kept calling him by the silly nickname she gave him. It tied him to her in a way. Only close friends called each other by nicknames.
Part of her wished she could keep him locked away in his parent’s house like when he was a kid. Whenever she visited he’d always be there. He couldn’t leave. It wasn’t safe. She wanted to take him away from this human’s house. She wanted to lock him away from the danger and uncertainty of his stupid mission, whatever it was. She didn’t care about it. She wanted, most of all, to lock him up away from the rest of the world so that she was once again his only real contact. She’d keep him all to herself.
She knew how fucked-up that was. Benoit wasn’t some princess she could keep in the tallest tower. Nobody liked being locked up. Apparently Benoit had seeked some small bit of freedom when he was ten. He’d fled his tower. But he’d come back. Now she didn’t know if he’d come back again.
She left and promised to tell Benoit’s parents. She didn’t know how she’d do that though. Benoit’s mom in particular would be sick with worry.
When she got to the house, she flew down the chimney and shifted in the Bouthillette family’s living room. She left the room and walked down the hall. She couldn’t help herself from walking up the staircase just like when she’d first visited the place with her Papa. She was only four years old (Benoit had been three). She had come with her Papa to meet her uncle and aunt. She ate lunch at their house and after that started to get bored. She left the chatting adults and made her way up the stairs one step at a time. Once at the top she heard a small noise come from a room at the end of the hall.
Darci had always been adventurous so she didn’t hesitate to check it out. When she opened the door she was surprised to find a child’s bedroom. She didn’t know the Bouthillette’s had any kids. She became excited at the prospect of making a new friend. There weren’t a lot of vampire kids around her age so it was hard to meet people.
She looked around the room. There was a very small coffin in the center of the room. She thought it probably wouldn’t fit a child older than five or six. There was a small bookcase filled with picture books by the wall. On another wall there was a treasure chest filled with toys and stuffed animals. And there were no windows. Like her room. Most vampire kids slept in rooms without windows. Adults were paranoid.
Darci looked inside the coffin. There was a baby blue blanket inside and a plush white pillow. She closed the coffin. The room was very neat for a kid’s room. And empty too.
Then she heard a noise again. Like small footsteps scuttling across the floor to her left. But it hadn’t come from inside the room. Draci left the room and tried to go inside the next one, but the only door to the left of the child’s bedroom was all the way down the hall. She opened the door anyway. It was an adult’s bedroom. And no one was in there either.
Darci walked back to the kid’s room and looked around some more. Then she noticed something on the left wall. A very large tapestry that was so long it reached the floor. There was a wrinkle, like it had been messed with recently. She looked behind the tapestry and found a small door. She tried turning the knob, but it wouldn’t open. That’s when she noticed the heavy padlock. At her home Mama always put the key under the mat. She quickly lifted up the rug by the bookshelf and there it was. A big key. She unlocked the door and opened it. There was no light in the small room, but Darci’s vampire eyes adjusted quickly. The first thing she saw were two ice-blue eyes staring back at her. Then as her eyes adjusted she could clearly see a small child holding a teddy bear hiding behind a box.
It was a very small room and Darci knew an adult would have to crawl to enter. It was only a crawl space for storage, though it wasn’t dusty. The boy blinked at her and tried to make himself smaller behind the box.
“I can see you, you know. Come on out.”
She wondered why the child was so afraid of being seen, then it hit her.
“It’s okay. Don’t you see my eyes? I’m a vampire too. You can come out.”
The boy didn’t move from his spot. Darci had to walk into the room. The child’s eyes widened as she got close. The kid tried to run but she grabbed him by the wrist. At first she thought he was a girl. Benoit had the most beautiful silver hair she’d ever seen. He was also dressed in a frilly white nightgown with a bow on the front. It was a time when such dress was common for young children no matter their gender.
Darci pulled the young child by the hand and out of the crawlspace.
“I’m Darci, I’m four years old. What’s your name?”
The child didn’t replay. He kept looking back at where the crawlspace was, looking nervous.
“Okay, how old are you? You look younger than me.”
No answer.
“Are you mute? Are you too young to speak?”
The child shook his head.
“Then tell me. You’re my cousin, right? What’s your name?”
The child looked around the room anxiously, then down at the wooden floor. He said something so low that Darci wouldn’t hear him.
“What? You need to talk louder.”
“…Benoit.” She heard him speak almost as low as the first time.
“Benoit? So you’re a boy?”
The boy nodded.
“How old are you?”
The child held up three fingers. “Free,” though he’d really said the French equivalent. Neither child could speak English.
“I’m a year older than you,” she said proudly. “Can you fly yet?” Darci had learned to fly as a bat a year ago and though she still couldn’t fly as quickly or as well as her parents, she was very proud of her accomplishments.
The boy nodded. She didn’t believe him.
“Show me.”
Benoit shook his head. Darci knew that he probably wasn’t very good at flying. He was only three. He could probably flap his little wings and glide, but fly? She doubted it.
“You want to play?”
The boy shook his head. He said something too low again.
“What?” Talking to Benoit had been like talking to a wild baby bunny. He was just so shy and timid. Darci couldn’t wait to get him out of his shell.
“Not suppose to weave the woom when visitors come.”
It was the most he’d spoken thus far. Darci was proud that she’d gotten him to talk. “How come?”
“Papa says I can’t be seen. Mama says dan…dangor…dangorgross.”
“Dangerous?” The three year old was only a year younger than her but he was so cute!
Benoit nodded.
“But I’m family like your Mama and Papa so it’s okay.”
“Like Mama?”
Darci nodded. “Yup.”
“Come on,” she said, leading the unwilling boy from the room and down the stairs. The boy kept trying to free himself from her grasp.
“Papa, you didn’t tell me I had a cousin. He’s gonna be my new friend!” She said as she walked the boy down the stairs.
Darci watched all three adults stop what they were doing and stare at them. Darci had never seen her father look so shocked in all her life. His eyes looked like they would burst from their sockets. “Papa?”
Her Papa looked from the three year old to the boy’s parents and back again.
“A prince is here?” He asked Benoit’s Papa “I didn’t think King Thierry had another son. Are you looking after him?”
Uncle Sinclair took a shaky breath. “Benoit is my son. He’s not a prince.”
“But his hair…” Papa’s voice trailed off. “But how?”
“A mistake was made. The universe is a bit confused right now.”
Papa still looked shocked. The adults began speaking in whispers. “And you kept him. But the king…if he finds out…”
“He won’t,” Auntie Eulalie spoke up. “We don’t usually let guests see him. Actually you two are the first to know of him besides my father.”
“The boy has never left the grounds,” Uncle Sinclair confirmed.
“You both are keeping a dangerous secret. The king would see this as treason.”
Darci didn’t really understand why the adults were so upset nor did she understand what they were talking about. All she knew was that her relatives were keeping her new cousin a secret from everyone.
“Now that you know,” Benoit’s Papa said, “Please come visit more often. I think a friend would be very good for our son. We worry about him a lot.”
“We want his life to be as normal as possible,” Benoit’s Mama said.
Normal. Darci knew now that Benoit’s childhood had been anything but. Eventually Uncle Sinclair had introduced Benoit to another of their relatives and their son, Jean. Jean had been the one to take Benoit hunting for the first time. Jean had died at the age of eight. He had been Benoit’s only other friend. If you could even count him as a friend. Because he was older than them, Jean didn’t like playing with her and Benoit very often.
Benoit changed after Jean died. Benny had always been quiet and reclusive, but Darci had started getting him out of his shell. Benny liked spending time exploring his family’s grounds with her. He’d smile and get excited when they made a new ‘discovery’. They liked to pretend they were explorers or pirates or vampire warriors. Darci loved hearing Benny’s laugh. And yes, Benny had laughed in those days.
When Jean died Benoit had only been five years old. He became more cautious. He didn’t like playing pretend anymore. He became afraid of humans and afraid of hunting. Darci’s aunt and uncle hadn’t let Benoit hunt for months after the death.
When Darci pretended she was a magic human and held up a stick to pretend it was a wand, Benoit would tell her to stop. Benoit hated wands.
All vampires were afraid of wands to an extent, but Benoit seemed more afraid than was normal. He’d never told her how Jean had died, but she figured it had something to do with wands.
And then, only a year after Jean died, Benoit and his family were punished by the king. By that time she had come to understand that being born with silver hair was a sign of royalty. Silver hair was a sign of a king. She didn’t understand how Benoit could be born with silver hair, but she knew how dangerous it was for him. Later she learned of the royal family’s messed-up history and why the universe thought the Bouthillette’s where the royal line.
Darci never said it out loud, but she agreed with the universe. She didn’t like him much, but Benoit’s grandfather, Louise Vinet, was the rightful king. He always treated his grandson coldly and she cursed him under her breath every time she saw him, but it only made sense for him to be king. Which means his daughter, Auntie Eulalie, as his only child, would be next in line with her husband. And then, her son, Prince Benoit.
Darci liked to think of her cousin as a prince. Benoit looked like a prince, and not just because he had silver hair. Benny had high, regal cheekbones and a strong jaw. His face looked like it was chiseled from stone. And Benoit was gosh-darn handsome.
But she stopped thinking like that the day after his family’s punishment. Benoit had changed again. In more ways than one. The boy who had once looked so cute and childlike, now looked older than her, more serious and mature. He didn’t play much anymore.
She was shocked when she first saw him. The most obvious change had been his hair. His pretty silver locks were now short and black. His hair didn’t even touch his shoulders. Like a commoner.
She doubted a new hairdo was the only punishment he received. Benoit’s Mama had looked really sad when she’d let her in that night. She could barely get the words out to tell her Benoit was playing outside.
Playing. No he wasn’t. Benny had been lying under their favorite tree. She tried to ask him about his punishment, but he wouldn’t talk. It bugged her even to this day.
Her Benny was not Benny any longer. The King had taken that from her. Darci felt like she was being punished too.
And then the King had given Benny a mission. A secretive mission. Benoit had to watch a magic human. A mere child. To do that Benoit had to become the servant of a human…and a young boy’s crush. Darci rolled her eyes. The boy had no idea how stupid he was to fall for a vampire. Darci might not know what the mission entailed, but she knew that no matter what, the child would be eaten someday. He was human, after all. He’d be used and then discarded.
She went inside Benoit’s old bedroom. He didn’t sleep there anymore. His room was in another wing of the house. The room was no longer a bedroom. It was a sewing room. The tapestry was still there though. Darci moved it to reveal a small door. There was no padlock this time. She opened the door. Storage. She saw Benny’s coffin from when he was little. She saw the chest of toys. His picture books. A teddy bear was lying on the floor. She picked it up. It was covered in dust. The bear looked sad. Then she felt something hard inside. She felt around and noticed the bear was haphazardly stitched in the back. Surely the bear hadn’t come that way. She cut the messy stitching with her nails and opened the bear. She didn’t have to feel around for long. She took out a long piece of wood. A wand. Why did Benoit have this? Why did he have to keep everything a secret? She was supposed to be his only friend; his one true confidant.
Had it always been a one-sided friendship? No, she answered herself. There was a time, before his punishment, before Jean’s death, that Benny did see her as a friend. He did trust her. He confided in her. What on earth had happened? What was Benoit hiding? Did she really even know him anymore?
Darci felt tears sting her eyes. She put the wand back in the bear and tried her best to sew it closed again. She put the bear on the floor where she’d found it and left the room.
She had to find her uncle and aunt. She had to tell them that their only son was on a suicide mission. That someday soon he would go to a wizard school and probably lose his life. No wonder Benny didn’t have the balls to tell them himself.
She told herself that she would see her Benny again. Even if it killed her.
Finnian Siog 