"Done." The heavy textbook was removed from your lap, and you set it down on the table in front of you with a small sigh of relief. That should be your last assignment for the day. You couldn't believe you still had homework while you were stuck here in the vampire capital. When you looked up, crimson eyes peered at you from over the edge of a children's book of fairy tales.

"You know, (Nickname)-chan, you may just be the strangest child that I've ever met," Ferid commented as he also closed the book he was reading.

You stared directly into Ferid's eyes, which glittered with the glee of some insider's joke that only he knew about. Right now, Ferid was showing you that you had his full attention, so what was he getting at? Ferid chuckled in the face of your neutral and yet calculating stare.

Eventually, you broke the staring contest and let out a small, "Heh." Taking Ferid's bait would be quicker than trying to get inside his head. "That's funny, especially coming from the vampire who's reading, what, Little Red Riding Hood?" You put your index finger to your chin and tilted your head up thoughtfully. "You know, if we replace the wolf with a vampire, that story might as well be about you."

Ferid slowly clapped his hands together, leaning back in his chair as melodic chuckles filled the room. "Your wit truly makes up for your tasteless scent." He stopped clapping and propped his head up on his fist. "You know, more and more kids have been reading about fairy tales and myths and legends lately."

"And...?" You rose a brow, where was Ferid going with this?

"Have you heard the one about the (E/C)-Eyed Demon? Sanguinem's very own urban legend." Ferid smirked as he set the book on the table and then leaned back in his chair.

You narrowed your eyes, (E/C) eyes. It couldn't just be a coincidence if Ferid was telling you about it.

Ferid continued, "She's said to walk around Sanguinem just like anyone would, but dressed in normal clothes and with a sword strapped to her side. No one knows what she is. Some say she's a vengeful spirit, taking revenge on the older livestock for raping and killing her. Other times, she's a vampire-gone-wrong who punishes livestock for misbehaving." He hugged himself, rubbing up and down his forearms like he was trying to comfort himself. "It's just enough to send chills down your spine, don't you think, (Nickname)?"

It was obvious he was talking about you since you were the only person in Sanguinem that didn't wear either uniform—not quite a livestock, and not quite a vampire. You couldn't even compare yourself to the livestock that were close to your age. Either way, Ferid wouldn't just tell you this so-called legend without a reason.

"Not particularly," you said dismissively, trying to feign disinterest.  

"Oh?"

'Oh no. Not that oh. Not that, I'm about to tell you that I killed your dog, oh.'

Ferid smirked, and leaned forwards towards you. "But I heard that she's even killed a few."

'Is that what this is about? No... No, it can't just be about that...'

With a scoff, you crossed your arms over your chest. "So that's it? That's why you made up this phony legend? What, did you want to see me break down crying about the blood on my hands?"

Ferid broke into laughter. "I didn't make it up, I'm just the messenger. And as much as I would love to see you break down crying, I think we both know that's not going to happen." That wry smirk was permanently carved into Ferid's lips, his ruby eyes glinting with unsuppressed glee. "After all, you don't feel any guilt for what you've done, do you?"

'He's not done. This is just building up to his grand finale...'

"What's with the redundant question? If you're so sure you know the answer, then just come out and say what you're really trying to get at for once in your life." That's right. Put on some bravado, pretend that you both can't hear your frantic heartbeat. You thought you were used to Ferid and all his mind-games. Truth is, he hasn't put a real challenge in front of you for a long time. Just when you were getting comfortable, he needed to rip it all away from you and remind you who you were dealing with.

"(Nickname)'s scary~" Ferid singsonged playfully. "I suppose there was one thing that I wanted to ask you about, something I haven't quite figured out yet." He stopped, staring at you as if waiting for some signal from you before he asked. You stared back at him.

'Is there really something he hasn't figured out or is he just testing me?'

Everything always went according to Ferid's twisted game. It was a game that Ferid had mastered, a game where the other person was bound to taste bitter defeat, each and every time. The trick was, Ferid had nothing he truly cared about, so had nothing to lose. 

But you still had to play along. If you wanted to get anywhere with him, you'd just have to play along, and hope that the consequences of losing wouldn't be too overwhelming.

"Well, aren't you going to ask?" You challenged, though the sickening churning in your stomach swore that you would regret this. Just like you regretted ever taking Hachi in.

"It's simple, (Nickname). I was just wondering why?"

It was such an innocent question. But it was the same question that you'd been asking yourself since the very first time you ever interfered in the affairs of the livestock.

Why?

A million different excuses came to mind—answers and words that were just pretty enough to make you sound like a hero, like some sort of vigilante. You wanted to save the kids that no one else would help, to reassure them that even in this cold, scary world, there was still hope. But you weren't some saint and this wasn't some crusade. Why did you save some kids from violent teenagers when you didn't even try to save them from a monster like Ferid? Were you trying to alleviate some sort of pent-up guilt? Or was there something else? Something you would be ashamed to ever admit to yourself?

'No. Not right now. Not here. Not on Ferid's terms.'

"I don't know," you said quietly before pulling your eyes away from Ferid, down to the tightly clenched fists in your lap. "I don't know," you repeated to yourself. The sour aftertaste of a lie settled on your tongue, mocking you, promising to stay with you until the day you finally had the nerve to replace it with the bitter truth.

"I see~" He didn't have to say it.

Ferid had his answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ღ✎Authoress's Noteღ✎: Finally, we're at chapter 3, sorry for taking so long, I'm trying out a new way of writing my stories! The next chapter is actually done save for some editing, but I'm going to wait to post it so I can get more writing done in between, I'm thinking weekly on Friday? She says hopefully.

Either way, we learn a bit more about what Rea-tan's been up to in Sanguinem, but it's just a taste. This chapter was short, mainly just because I felt like this scene was important enough to merit a standalone chapter. I'm not going to stress too much about length from here on out. If a chapter feels complete, then it feels complete, aha.

I might be cutting back on these notes at the end of a chapter too, just to let the story flow smoother and not drown you guys with my babbles, like reading a normal book. So next time I do have these, it'll be with an important announcement or something!

Let me know how you guys liked it! In particular, let me know what you think about the writing style, I'd like to think that it changed over a year aha. (And if you find any typos or grammatical errors, please let me know!) See you guys next update! ^^