WARNING: Boyxboy, blood, vampires, Shaw (he's an ass), poor German/English

PAIRINGS: Erik/Charles, Raven/Hank

Don't own X-Men, but I own this story and the random OCs. Thieves will be bitten to death – no bargaining for your life (unless you can transport me into a X-Men movie...).

A blood squire, that's what I've been brought up to be, what my whole life lead towards. For whom? I wouldn't know until today, until tonight at the handing over ceremony. I've known nothing but this, learnt nothing but how to be perfect for this day.

My hands trembled with nerves, my stomach roiled in anticipation. Today my destiny would be decided and my future would finally begin.

I'd be presented before the court, showcased to those attending – a prize to bid over, a luxury to claim. I was excited, if not terrified as well. If tonight did not go well, I would have nothing.

Already I had been prepped and cleaned for the evening, my hair cut, my nails polished. I looked better than I ever had before, like a majestic piece of art simply waiting for someone to place their bid on. My body had been scrubbed so thoroughly that they must have removed a layer of skin, which was probably why my limbs looked so terribly flushed.

I ran tentative fingers over my neck, my skin clean of perfumes and creams. I needed to be pure tonight, I could not have scents marring my natural allure…if I had any, I hope I had some, even just a little bit. It would be tragic to not be chosen tonight. I knew that many squires went years before they were chosen, but I waited and wished to be chosen now. It wasn't necessarily frowned upon to be unchosen at your first presentation, yet it left a lingering sense of bereavement.

I knew a few unchosen squires, men and women better than I, more beautiful and alluring, with better training than I had the fortune to have. How could I compare beside them? How would my dull appearance shine above those so perfect that it scared me they were unchosen? If my friends – although they could hardly be called so – heard my inner fear they might have laughed at me. The choosing was based solely on blood.

I knew my line was strong; my parents had blessed me in that way – their union a match of two brilliant blood squires with unique taste. I was rare, my blood like 'toasted walnuts in candied sugar' – or so Dr McCoy had said earlier this year. In some way the good doctor's words warmed me and in others it chilled me to the bone. Although specified blood was rare and exclusive, it posed a harder time to find someone interested in the precise scent and taste. I heard even vampires could have allergic reactions to a specific blood type.

A shudder rushed down my spine and I clutch the arms of the chair precariously. There were so many reasons why I wouldn't be chosen, yet I was giddy and hopeful that tonight would be the night.

"Charles!"

I turn my head, my lips parting in a small sigh of relief. "Raven, you took long enough," I scold softly. My sister looks rather marvellous in her black sheath dress, her golden curls tumbling softly around her un-makeuped face – she might have been an angel if I didn't know all her pesky traits.

Her lips twisted into a malicious grin and she carefully turned in a circle, hands clutching at the hem of the ridiculously short outfit. "I look lovely, don't I?" She asked, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

I purse my lips and force down the habit of rolling my eyes. "Rather splendid," I answer candidly. Raven had pretty much secured herself to be chosen tonight, more than a few blood-drinkers have approached us seeking her as their own. It was customary to decline before the Hand Over ceremony, after all before tonight all squires were considered too young to be chosen.

I on the other hand have received no such offers. Raven was a beauty, I admit, and although I doubt I was terribly ugly I still felt like a wilted flower in her presence. The vampires didn't care much for gender when choosing a squire; it was merely a blood bargain after all. So in theory I might have had some offers if I weren't so 'dully absorbed in books and philosophy' as Raven so prettily put it. The truth behind the matter was I didn't appeal to the creatures I had been so carefully crafted to please.

Despite my sister's lack of true seriousness, she was still the young girl that had teased me mercilessly and comforted me through nightmares. She paused in her showing off and gently came to cup my cheek, her lips falling into a twist of genuine concern. "You'll be fine, Charles, they'll love you. Everyone always does,"

My head bobs in a slight nod, but inside I shake it in denial; Raven was the one everyone was drawn to. She was spontaneous and sweet, mischievous and flirtatious. She could play three instruments wonderfully had had the loveliest of singing voices, she enraptured people mercilessly. "And you," I say mildly.

"Suck up," Raven rolls her eyes and gives my cheek an affectionate pat before standing back to give me a once over. "You clean up well," She taps her chin and gestures for me to stand, I comply docile, I know better than to try her patience. "Ah!" she suddenly exclaims and launches herself forward to loosen my tie and undo the top two buttons of my crisply pressed shirt.

Groaning in protest I don't make the move to stop her actions.

"Oh, hush!" she fusses and steps away to admire her work. "What good would it do to hide your assets?"

"They can drink from the wrist, you know?" I tease with an air of aloofness.

Raven lets out a short burst of laughter that really isn't as attractive as her normal chuckling is, "You smart ass, who wants to be that boring?"

This time I allow myself the pleasure of rolling my eyes, "You never know, maybe you'll be so lucky as to find out."

She sends me a playful glare, "I'll do no such thing!" Raven sashays over and hooks her arm in mine. "Enough chatting, we have a Handing Over ceremony to attend."

A nervous bubble blocks my throat and makes it difficult to breathe. It's finally time.

Three years later

"Charles~" Raven whines pitifully and yanks on my arm, momentarily dissuading me from eating a rather scrumptious looking bite of French toast dripping in maple syrup.

I scowl and shake her lose, determined in my quest to enjoy breakfast for once.

"Charles~" she continues, pressing her golden head against my shoulder and nudging me until I'm forced to place my fork down in favour of dropping it on the floor. "You shouldn't ignore me!" she groans and sticks her lip out, looking at me with pleading eyes.

With a glance across the table and seeing no forthcoming assistance from Dr McCoy, I sigh and give in to Raven's pleas. "I've already told you that I have no intention of attending this year's Handing Over ceremony, Raven." I glare as she whimpers clutching at my dress shirt without decorum. "And no amount of coercion will change that fact. You went behind my back to write my name in for the event and despite how this will effect both our designations, I still refuse to attend."

"But, Charles," she snivels tugging again and again at my sleeve, "You have to go! This is going to be the year! I know it is!"

Once again I cast my eyes to Hank and the good doctor offers me an apologetic smile, he can control his blood squire as much as I can. Raven wouldn't listen to either of us and Hank wasn't going to jeopardise himself in her good graces in order to defend me this morning. And I can't really blame him. "Raven," I start as firmly as I can manage with sleep still clinging to the edges of my mind and my sister clinging to my arm. "You know no such thing and my answer is final. I will not be attending and you better make sure to inform Moira before the ceremony starts."

She groans pathetically and graciously loosens her grip on my arm; I reach for my cutlery once more.

"It's not fair!" she wails suddenly and my hand jumps, thankfully the toast remains fixed to the metal prongs and I quickly grab it with my teeth to continue with breakfast. "You can't do this to me!"

I roll my eyes and focus my attention wholly on the delectably sweet taste on my tongue.

"Hank!" she cries and my eyes shoot up just in time to see horror flash across the man's face. "Hank, make him see reason. He'll listen to you,"

My eyes widen comically and my brows shoot up, but I go back to my breakfast with avid devotion. This was one conversation I had truly no need to be involved in, the sooner I finished my breakfast the sooner I'd be able to escape the storm that would tear this room to pieces. I truly felt bad for Hank; he had inherited my problem by choice. Why he would bring this on himself, I had no clue.

"I-I don't think he will," Hank mumbles and reaches to push up his glasses, which are a rather strange feature for a vampire. "Your brother is stubborn," he grumbles but I can hear the silent apology wiggled into the words.

"I am," I agree, taking pity on the doctor, although I keep to my food.

Raven huffs and pushes to her feet. "You'll go, Charles! I swear on every book you possess, I will set fire to your room if you don't do this for me."

My brows hike up and suddenly I lose my appetite. I turn to my sister, "You'll what?"

"You heard me!" she says smugly and plants her fists on her hips. "You go to the ceremony tonight or I'll burn all your precious paperbacks."

I have hardcovers as well, but decide against saying so. There was no doubt in my mind that Raven would burn my books, she was cruel like that, yet I was reluctant to accept. As painful as losing my books would be, I had no wish to experience the humiliation of the Handing Over ceremony for the third time. The first one had been terrible, but the second? That one sealed the deal. It seemed obvious to me after a round of degradation that I was not suited there, I had pride and I certainly had a level of sanity to keep to.

Having been stripped down to be examined in a room full of vampires was pretty bad, but if you added the mortification of Head Organiser Shaw gagging his morning blood supply over your naked chest…no, I didn't want to relive it. Not a single vampire came close to me for the rest of the night, not that Raven's persistent snide comments made it any better. She was a viper when it came to her brother and I felt the niggling feeling she'd be able to chase them all away without being present by now.

My reputation looked bad, not only because of Shaw and Raven, but that damn idiot Moira who found it entertaining to bring up my misfortune at every turn.

Thankfully, for me, Hank had chosen Raven on our first year. The man was kind enough to take me in as well, despite not having chosen me. I acted more as a helping hand in the doctor's room than anything else. I gave Hank my psychological knowledge and expertise on biology and he repaid me with a place to stay and food to eat. He was the closest thing to a friend I had. Although it wasn't unheard of for a vampire to have two blood squires, Hank wanted exclusivity and Raven didn't share all too well.

I bit my lip in thought, books or humiliation? As much as I hated to admit it, my books were worth more than my stupid pride. The worst that could happen was someone brought up the previous incident and the best was that everyone would remember without someone bringing it up and everyone would simply ignore me. I scowled and forced a glacial glare at Raven. "I'll go, but then you may not."

The blonde's mouth fell open, somewhere between pleased and fury. "Why not?"

"Because those are my terms," I state stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest in a show of defiance.

For a moment she seethes, her gaze flickering to Hank as if the doctor would somehow make me change my mind. Eventually she snarls and throws her hands in the air. "Fine! But if it ends horribly then don't blame me for not being there."

My eyes roll at her tirade, "I assure you that nothing terrible could happen without you there."

Her mouth opens and closes, I can see she's not sure whether to take my words as an insult or reassurance so she storms off in a flurry of grumbling.

"You live dangerously," Hanks states.

"I'll have no comment from you," I glare at him, simply because I can, and he flinches. There are times when even I am surprised by the power I wield…although it's silly, unchosen me over a mere fledgling vampire in his hundreds.

I haven't been this dressed up since the last Handing Over ceremony and can't help buy despair a little that I couldn't do so every day. Granted I wore my suit and casual shirt most days, it was simply how I was, but this…this was nice, better than nice actually. The tuxedo was soft and smart, the fabric deeper than any colour I'd ever come across in my life. And the shirt was crisp and fresh, it moved over my skin like a lovers caress.

I looked fetching and, no, I wasn't conceited. The suit simply worked wonders on my strangely vampire-pale skin and rather boring features.

"Ah!" Raven crowed excitedly and tugged on a lock of my hair, fluttering around me like a flustered mother. "You look simply beautiful, Charles!"

Chocking on the air in my lungs, I spin to pin my sister with a scowl. "Raven!"

"What?" she flashes me an unassuming grin and pats my hair, "You are beautiful,"

I growl low and jerk away from her touch to give the mirror one last look; Raven had undone the top buttons and loosened the tie again. I sigh. "Really? Is that supposed to help me?"

She cocks her head and gave a painfully strained smile, she looks unbearably silly and I can't help but chuckle. "Okay, so you look handsome, but don't tell anyone I said that. I don't want you getting a large ego and it's supposed to be reserved for Hank."

The chuckle escalates in to laughter and I trap Raven in a rare and spontaneous hug, I place a kiss to the top of her head and rest my chin on the same spot when she returns the gesture. "I promise not to say anything."

"Good," she grouses and pats my butt suddenly, making me yelp. "You have a party to get to, Charles, now stop smothering me and get this sexy butt out my sight before I change my mind and go with you."

"I'm going! I'm going!" I state pulling away and grinning to myself, Raven clutches my hand and gives it a small squeeze.

"Behave yourself,"

I wink at her and return the squeeze before slipping from the room, still warm from the embrace despite the chilly night air.

It's colder than I expect it to be, colder than I ever remember it being, at the Handing Over venue – which is quite conveniently an old manor next to a frozen lake and aptly named Frozen Soul Manor. I hardly contain the urge to snicker and have to bite my bottom lip from making an unwanted comment. Moira already had enough ammunition on me for my liking.

The years previous had been elsewhere, I think one might have been a simple ballroom in a central hotel. Wherever the event took place hardly mattered, the outcome was justly the same. Moria hosted an extravagant, lavish affair with more spending than sense and Shaw put on a show, with his usual twisted idea of entertainment, and the squires stood in frozen fear of being chosen for his sick games.

This year, I vowed, I would stay clear of the mad old vampire. He'd taken more blood squires than most could find something to do with and I feared that was mostly because he treated them with the same enthusiasm as his games. Squires didn't last very long under Shaw's care.

I'd fallen prey to his games on my second year, but it hadn't gone too far to put me in real danger. In some way I was glad Shaw chose that moment to be ill. Lord knows what would have happened if he continued to spend his time on me. I shuddered at the mere thought.

The ballroom was rather like I remembered it being before, Moira's doing I'm sure. Drapes hug along the walls and the roof; creating semi-private nooks for the vampires to try their chosen wares. Tables dotted the dance floor, no one would be dancing this evening anyway, scattered with crystal glasses and jugs brimming with crimson liquid. Off to the side was a separate table with boxes of cranberry juice and neatly stacked baskets of fruit and breads. I headed there first, the most likely place to find another squire to talk to.

I approached the table with caution, keeping my eyes down and skirting some distance around any vampire that happened across my path. I reached the table in one piece and let out a sigh of relief, instantly moving for a glass of juice and searching for the perfect apple to occupy myself. As I waited I meticulously nibbled at my apple, my eyes roaming the room.

Everyone dressed up for tonight –suit, tie and the lot – although I saw no reason for the vampires to do so. The squires were on display not the blood-drinkers, yet I assume having to convince a squire to be yours could be a difficult task if you looked like you just crawled out a hole in the ground. Blood squires relied on the vampires that chose them to provide them with a place to stay and food to eat and in return squires served the vampires however they wished. It was a good system, a system we knew from the moment we could talk.

Raven's parents had given her to the Academy when she was five – a little later than was necessary – but thankfully I had been there from the age of three and she had no trouble following in my footsteps. We might have had different mother's, but the bond we shared through our father was enough.

That was another thing tonight was useful for – mating. It was at a choosing ceremony that mother had conceived me, and later the same evening Raven too. Now that I thought about it, my father was a terrible player. But then again, it was only natural for the squires to continue the squire line – mother and father's union was one of convenience and creating someone to join their world, there wasn't love between squires when they shared different vampire hosts. Love was something difficult in our world, not that that stopped Raven and Hank from keeping me awake at night.

I sipped at the juice and stowed away the apple core, I never developed Raven's ability to eat the whole. The liquid was naturally sweet and made me cringe, although it grew bitter on the back of my tongue.

"Oh, what a pretty thing you are,"

Slowly I lower my glass and turn around, stifling my irritation at the compliment. "Emma Frost," I say quietly and incline my head, there's a certain aura around vampires that makes you feel small and inferior, but Frost is known for enforcing it on others.

A Cheshire grin slips across her face and she extends her hand, "That's my name, darling, what's yours?"

I take her hand and place a feather-light kiss on the back of it, knowing just what she wants. When I look back up at her she looks smug beyond comprehension. "Charles Xavier," I pause and allow my eyes to do roam over her, the way I was taught, "Miss," I add softly and finally release her hand.

"Oh my, you're an interesting one, darling," Her freed fingers curl around the crystal glass in her other hand; she tilts her head and leans forward. "What lovely eyes, they remind me of a vampire I know."

"A charming vampire, I hope," I mutter without flinching, pleased with my ability to talk without making a complete fool of myself, I smile. "I've heard their my best feature,"

"They look simply delectable, darling," Frost states and that Cheshire grins returns full force, "You look simply delectable,"

"Thank you," it was the best compliment I could think to come from a vampire after all.

"I wonder," she pauses and steps forward, her head leaning in to ghost her nose across my jaw, "Hmm, you smell mouth-watering as well,"

A shiver races across my spine, it was the first time a vampire had truly taken an interest in me, it was a giddy feeling, to be wanted.

"My," she giggles and straightens, "Don't get too excited yet, darling, the evening's barely started."

I flush at my stupid bodily reactions to the whole situation and incline my head. "Of course,"

"Oh pooh!" she grumbles and releases one hand to curl her arm into mine, "Don't look so embarrassed, darling," she presses into my side and I can't help but notice that she is taller than I. "You really are a pretty thing, it would be a shame to chase you off. Stay by my side so I can show you off,"

She doesn't give me time to answer, simply drags me away from the table into the growing mass of vampires and squires.

"I hate these dreary functions," she sighs and waves at another vampire, "But it's nice to find such appealing company, by the end of the night I plan to have every vampire drooling over my good fortune." She squeezes my arm tightly, "I must introduce you to my bullet brained cousin; he'll be purely enthralled with you. He likes your type, the soft, pleasant looking ones with some spunk to them." She chuckles lightly, "Oh, he'll hate me for stealing right from under his nose, I'm sure."

I nod readily, even though I'm still trying to remember exactly who her cousin is. I was pretty well versed on our vampire society and should have known who Emma's cousin was, but I had the strangest sense of loss. I recalled Emma being the last in her line. "Well, let's make him green with envy then, Miss,"

"Call me 'Emma', darling, you have a delightful little accent and I'm sure my name would sound like unadulterated sex on your lips."

My brows hike up and I chuckle even though I'm shocked by her words, "If that's what you want, Emma,"

"It is," she croons cuddling my arm, "I do! Say it again."

"Emma," I state and laugh, she reminds me of Raven; a taller, more explicit Raven.

"So delightful, I might not wait for the Handing Over before staking you as my own." We fall into a comfortable silence and she continues to lead me through the throng. "Is this your first Handing Over ceremony, darling?"

I shake my head, "No, this is my third,"

"And you remain unchosen?" I nod and she gives an exaggerated gasp, "It must be my good fortune! I knew you looked familiar, but I would never have guessed. You seem rather young,"

"My genes, I fear,"

"Oh? Who were your lucky sires?"

I don't comment on her use of the vampire term and offer a small smile, "Saraten, Lord Robert's squire, and Kent, Miss Hillary's squire,"

"Lovely, simply lovely," her eyes sparkle, "A wonderful combination; you are the lucky one, darling,"

I agree with her whole heartedly.

"There he is!" She suddenly crows and straightens, a grin tugging at her lips. "Do put on a show for me, dear, I want Erik starved for some of you." She drags me past a few mulling squires and all but jumps at, who I can only assume to be, Erik without releasing her hold on me. "Sweetheart! You came!"

"Emma," the man groans and peels the vampire from himself. "Let go," reluctantly Frost does just that and she cuddles back to my side.

"I'm happy to see you here, sweetheart," Emma says to Erik even though her hands roam unbidden over my chest before moving to stroke the side of my neck.

I fight to keep my eyes from popping from my head; I'm most certainly not used to such treatment.

"This darling is Charles Xavier, do be nice to him, sweetheart." Emma insists. "Charles, darling, this is Erik Lehnshirr,"

I clear my throat and incline my head, "Good evening, Sir,"

"Really, darling," Emma laughs and takes hold of my chin to force my head up, "Call him Erik, I'm sure he doesn't mind."

I see her wink in my peripheral vision and swallow the lump in my throat. She seems adamant for me to do this. I blink up at the man, no taller than Emma, his eyes a shocking blue. He's handsome, in a rough I-do-whatever-the-fuck-I-want way and I feel somewhat better about the ensuing flirtation. "Hello, Erik, thank you for joining us this evening,"

The vampire's eyes instantly narrow and he flashes Frost a chilly glare before his eyes settle back on me, "Hello, Charles, was it?"

"It is," I mutter quietly, a plot to make him lean closer. Vampires had good hearing, but in such a noisy place he'd be forced to comply. I see the annoyance flash in his eyes and a tick form at the corner of his lips, but he does lean closer. Emma is practically vibrating in excitement next to me.

"He is rather mouth-watering, sweetheart," Emma starts lowering her voice too to join in on the fun, her eyes glowing in the dim lighting, "You should take a whiff," she presses a hand to my back and pushes me a little closer. "Go ahead,"

I turn my head, exposing my neck in the way I've seen Raven do for Hank. My heart is hammering in my throat and I'm pretty sure he can see my veins throbbing against my skin. I would never admit it, but this was thrilling, like taunting a hungry lion.

Emma must be enjoying herself as well, her fingers turn claw-like on my arm and I gasp at the harsh hold.

The next moment I'm holding my breath as I feel Erik's cool nose in the crook of my neck. Truly exhilarating. His fingers reach up and tilt my head further, my face flushes. I can feel his lips part, his breath on my skin. He pulls away and my eyes snap open, when did I close them?

"Not bad," Erik says.

As I right my head I find his eyes glued to me even though Emma is once again dangling on my arm like a glorified chimp. Emma huffs, but I hear the undercurrents of pleasure in the sound. She runs her hands against my chest again, unbuttoning my shirt further and I withhold the urge to slap a palm against my face. She's exactly like Raven.

I flush further and try not to squirm under her touch. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it wasn't entirely enjoyable either. If anything it was ticklish. I'm on the verge of asking Emma to stop her dawdling when I realise that her gaze is firmly on Erik. The male has his gaze firmly on Emma's roaming hand…the hand that is currently sneaking under my shirt. My face lights up like a damn fire engine.

Could this be any worse? Yes, yes it could, if Raven were here. I let out a sigh, the tension draining from my body. It could be so much worse.

I take the moment of clarity to assess the situation and collect my bearings. Emma is enraptured by her game of tormenting Erik, which oddly seems to be working, and the male is deeply drawn into her game. I simply happened to be the game. It's not so bad, I tell myself and nod slightly. I was used to Raven's nosy, over-protective sister act and Hank's strange devotion; this was different and although change could be shocking it could be beneficial as well.

This could be beneficial, strange as it may seem. If other vampires saw Emma and Erik's interest in me it would spark further curiosity and ultimately I'd have a decent chance of being chosen by the night's end. Which was the goal, as much as I hated the idea of leaving Hank alone with Raven – heaven knows what torture would befall the poor man in my absence. But this was my life duty, the reason I was born, what I spent my whole life training to be. Raven and Hank would have to get on fine without me.

I catch Emma's hand as it strays a little lower and draw it away from my skin. I place a gentle kiss on the back of the appendage and Emma's eyes turn away from Erik for a brief moment to focus on my kind smile. "I think that's more than enough, Emma,"

The blonde pouts and draws her hand away just so she can pat my cheek, "But it was only starting to get fun,"

I chuckle, "I know, maybe you can play more later?"

Although I purposely made it a suggestion I firmed my voice and Emma's eyes sparkled with something different, something I could not decipher. "Oh, all right, then, I guess it can't be helped."

Her clutches loosen and I can honestly say I'm grateful for the space she gives me. But when she throws Erik a cheeky grin and flips her hair, I know her game isn't over just yet. "Do keep an eye on Charles for me, sweetheart, I don't want any thirsty critters snatching him up when I turn my back."

Frost flounces away without waiting for Erik to refuse and I stare after her with slight annoyance building in my stomach. She was way too much like Raven. I turn toward Erik and offer an apologetic smile before trying to scamper off into the filled room.

I don't move more than two steps before I'm forced to stop. There is a hand around my forearm and a rush of breath close to my ear. My eyes bug in astonishment. I know without having to turn around that the breath belongs to Erik, and I cannot fathom why I don't fight against his hold.

I'm curious. What does he want?

Despite the sound around us, I feel like we're in a bubble of silence and when Erik's mouth descends on the skin under my ear I nearly suffer an apoplectic fit. As it is, I yelp a most undignified sound and I feel the vampire's chest rumble behind me. It takes me a moment to register, but when it does I jerk away from Erik as fast as the small space around us allows. I press a hand to my neck and spin to pin the vampire with a frigid glare, he's laughing at me. I'm sure of it, even though his face is cautiously blank.

I straighten my spine and drop my hand, quickly doing up one of the buttons Emma had undone. "That was unnecessary,"

"Was it?" One of his brows rise and it only draws my attention to his wonderful bone structure.

I glower, gritting my teeth; the man had come damn near to giving me a bloody hickey. "Yes," I snap. "Completely and extremely needless,"

His lips twist into a mirror of Emma's Cheshire grin, "I don't think so,"

A loud tapping fills the air and the vampires and squires around us fall quiet, I twist and attempt my escape once again. This time when Erik grabs at me I shake his hold off as quickly as I can.

"Where are you going?" he snarls.

I lift a hand and point at the front of the room where most of the squires had already migrated to. "I've been summoned," I stomp off with my chin high, my heart beating a little too fast.

No regrets! Part 2 will be up next week :)