Frank After they left my Keeper lunged at me and grabbed me by my hair. I wanted to whimper in fear and pain, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing what he did to me. He dragged me along towards the door in a forceful grip, his cold hand locked in the roots of my hair. I caught my brother’s eye before I was hauled away. They were watery and filled with tears but there was nothing anyone could do. My Keeper dragged me through empty, silent corridors towards the east wing of the building. I scrunched my eyes closed and tried to keep my breathing quiet and controlled. “I’ll be sad to see you go Frank,” he sneered. “I’ll miss that little ass of yours.” His hand harshly struck me across the face when I met his eyes and he lowered his face to mine, so close his face became blurred. “You know how bad it’ll look for me if you fuck this up, right?” he spat. “If you make one tiny little error, all of this is my fault. Because Keepers are responsible for how our toys turn out. And if you give me a bad reputation, I swear I’ll make sure you end up back here with me Frank. I’ll make every single day hell for you. Understand?” I swallowed heavily and nodded. He leant back a little. “Good. You should be honoured. You do get how important this is, don’t you? You do realise what you’ve got to live up to? This is Royalty we’re talking about Frank. Do you know how damn lucky you are to be chosen by the King?” I just nodded. I couldn’t look at him, knowing his face would be sneering and vicious. “I swear Frank, if you make one tiny little mistake, you’ll be dead meat. You can’t afford to ruin this.” He shoved me into a room and I was sent sprawling to the ground. I lay there and kept my eyes closed. “Have a good day Frank. Training starts tomorrow,” my Keeper smirked. The door slammed shut with a thud and a gush of wind, locking me inside. The room was pitch black and silent, cold seeping in through the walls. I stared at where I thought the door was and felt wet tears sliding down my face. “Are you OK?” a voice whispered from the shadows. I half screamed and gasped, lurching backwards only to collide with something warm and soft and fleshy. I scrambled backwards, panting in fear. “Who are you?” “I’m Ray. Are you alright? Your Keeper threw you in here pretty hard,” the voice answered gently. “I-I’m OK. I’m Frank,” I responded, my eyes making out the fuzzy outline of a man. “Nice to meet you Frank. I wish I could actually see you though,” Ray chuckled. I smiled even though he couldn’t see me. “Why am I here?” “This is where they keep the ones that are going to be sold. We’re separated from our groups when we start training,” Ray answered. “How long have you been here?” “I’ve lost track. Two of three weeks? I’m not sure, but I think I’ll be leaving soon.” “Really? Are you getting sold soon?” “I’m sixteen soon. I’m not sure how long I have left.” It was quiet then and the only sound was our breathing. “Is it hard? The training?” I asked. “You just have to keep your mouth shut and keep your head down. Do as you’re told and don’t try and stop them,” Ray answered quietly. “It only lasts a month so I guess it isn’t too bad.” “What do they make you do?” “Everything that’s expected of you. You’ll be alright as long as you don’t put up a fight. It’s not really much different from everyday life. Your Keeper seemed pretty angry. What was wrong with him?” “He’s always like that. Me and my group get treated just like the standard three humans. We get raped and beaten just as much as them,” I mumbled. “He isn’t allowed to do that,” Ray pointed out. “I mean, you’re standard one right? They’re not allowed to touch a hair on your head.” “I know. It doesn’t mean he follows the rules though. He’s disgusting. He threatened me before. The King came to look at my group and wants to buy me for his son. My Keeper said if I fuck this up, I’m dead.” “The King? Shit, you Keeper must be having a panic attack. Do you reckon they’ll find out he beat you?” “I don’t know. But he’s going crazy, saying if I don’t please the King my life’s going to be hell.” “Did you say the King wanted you for his son?” “Yeah. Prince Gerard.” There was silence. “You do know about Gerard, don’t you?” “What do you mean? What about him?” “Frank, Gerard’s… he’s different,” Ray said. “Apparently. I mean everyone says he’s nice to his pets. He hardly ever has new ones because they live for so long and he doesn’t use them like other vampires do. He treats them like friends.” “Are you sure?” “That’s what everyone says. If I could choose any vampire to buy me, it’d be him.” “Seriously? God, that’s… are you? I mean, he could turn out to be just like my Keeper, he could kill me within the first couple of days, he might be a total bastard and it all might be rumours and-” “Frank, calm down. If, the rumours about him are true, you’re lucky. But his brother, Prince Michael, is meant to be the exact opposite. He goes through pets like there’s no tomorrow. It’d be my worst nightmare to get bought by him.” “So… so do you reckon I’ll be OK?” I asked slowly. “I mean, if Gerard turns out to be… turns out to be nice?” “You should be. I mean, you’re standard one for a start, which is what every humans wants because we get treated the best, and if Gerard’s buying you then I doubt he’ll even treat you like a human.” “I hope so,” I breathed. “I really fucking hope so.”