An: Written for the 2015 Pandora Hearts Secret Santa.
Abomination is such an ugly word, wouldn't you agree? Even at a young age, I had come to the conclusion that it was a repulsive word. Humans declare anything that could potentially harm them as an abomination, but that is utter hypocrisy. To an animal, humans would be considered an abomination. An abomination can only be a creature full of toxic hypocrisy and bigotry, and from what I had seen at the age of 6, the whole world fit into that narrow category.
"Vincent?" a small voice called out to me.
My elder brother, Gilbert, was not an abomination. Gilbert was kind, too kind, and unable to take actions that would yield him the most bliss. My brother, even today, is weak in a sense because his nature treats selfishness as a poison to himself. I loved my brother and I still love my brother. Of all to be the siblings in the world, I was given the best of them.
"I caught a rabbit. I know you don't like rabbit… it's been too long since… but if we were…" Gilbert had drifted off into a muddle of words.
I shook my head in response, giving a weak smile as I hugged my legs closer to my knees, trying to stay out of any sunlight. Gilbert was covered in scratches, as he always was, and I knew it was my fault, as it always was.
Extending my arms out, Gilbert handed me the rabbit. I brush a few strands of my long blond fringe out of my red wine and sun gold eyes. The rabbit struggled in my arms, recognizing me as predator. It's been so long… I need it.
I open my mouth, my fangs barred, and sunk them into the rabbit. This blood is so vile. It tasted like rubber. Human blood, human blood is much sweater.
No, this won't work. A fire spits up my throat, and I laps into a fit of violent coughs, the horrendous rabbit blood traveling back up. Through squinted eyes, I can see Gilbert's frown.
I am sorry.
"I… a-am sor-r" I try to sputter out as blood escapes my mouth through coughs.
Gilbert does not say a word as he moves next to me, sliding his back along the ally wall I am leaning against until he is beside me, rubbing my back gently. My brother has never blamed me, but I can see what my existence is doing to him. Gilbert is too gentle to admit that I am causing him pain. I am awful.
"Vince, it isn't your fault. I-I don't know what to do," Gilbert pleaded.
When my coughing died down, I can still remember my words at that moment. "I need it again. Brother, if I don't… it's already happening again. You need it too, don't you?"
Gilbert bit his lip, "Yes, yes I do, but I can hang on."
I hated my life. At that moment, I got up and ran, forgetting about the sunlight. I had yelped when my skin began to burn, my dirty hood falling off as Gilbert ran and pulled me back into the darkness where I belong.
It was not fair. "Hey, what does sunlight feel like?" I blankly question once I was blanketed by familiar darkness once more.
Gilbert had looked as though he were about to answer, when his golden eyes fell blank, and his body slipped like a limp doll. In my eyes it happened in slow motion, I lunged out to catch him, my arms barely reaching his clothing in time to pull him from hitting the wall. The force of Gilbert's body moving towards my pull caused me to stumbled back, into the sunlight.
A scream had left my mouth with such force that I felt my throat begin to bleed.
Perhaps that was the moment when I thought I saw an angel? My body was weak with hunger and from the sun, when a man with hair as blond as fine sand and eyes green as emeralds had pushed my brother and I into the shade.
He caught and set us down before leaning against the narrow ally wall with his face turned to the sunlight. My body curled in on itself, every inch howling in agony, but I managed to turn my face up.
"Who are you?" I had rasped. The man looked down on me, his face angelic and serene. This man could be here to hurt us like any other... He had seen my eyes, I was certain, thus, he could only have one intention. Gilbert was too weak to protect me and I was too weak to protect myself. This was the end, I had thought.
The man's smile held no malice, "My name is Jack Vessalius. I know you and your brother are both vampires, but I am not here to harm you. I am only here to help."
By his scent, I knew this man was human. A voice inside my head kept a consent chant, "blood…blood…blood," and it grew louder in Jack's presence.
Pulling out a knife, the older male drew blood from his wrist, spilling it like a waterfall. My eyes widened. It's was blood! I remember the way my heart had raced at the sight, and I remember the smile the odd human gave me while telling me to drink.
I remember catching the blissful blood on my tongue when Gilbert had begun to awaken.
"Vincent!" He had called in alarm, before turning his golden eyes to the calm green-eyed man in confusion.
"I am sorry little one, I do not have enough for you too, but come with me and I will show you a place in which you are allowed to be yourself," the angelic man promised.
I wiped my mouth with my brown sleeve. Blood had been smeared all over it. Gilbert looked to me with eyes indicating that we had no choice, but to come along with the man. We would have not been able to survive like this any longer if we were not to go.
That was the day my brother and I were taken into the Baskerville family, brought in by Jack Vessalius.
The Baskerville family was an ancient family of vampires. Their clan leader, Glen, led them. The current Glen, Oswald, (Jack had called him), explained to me what I am.
Vampires are born by mutation. If a baby has mutated to be a vampire, it can take a number of years to show. The stronger the mutation, the stronger chances of having it pass to other unborn members of the family. Normally, the mutation is constant between all vampires, but occasionally there are ones with stronger mutations. My brother Gilbert is one of those cases. Vampires of the like are to be the next Glen.
For reasons that can only be speculated, the siblings of stronger blooded vampires tend to be anomalies, and that is what I was.
Vampires like Gilbert and the Baskervilles have a human form and a vampire form. When in human form, they are able to act just as a human; they are able to eat human food and bask in the sunlight. Although, human form consumes more energy, and eventually human food will become insufficient. As vampires, they can live off animal blood, but eventually, that too will become insufficient.
Anomalies like me, we work a little differently. To start, unlike others, we do not have a human form. We can live off of animal blood until our body requires human blood, but we cannot eat human food at all. Due to us always being in our vampire form, we require blood more often as we consume more vamperic energy. Another thing that sets us apart is that we cannot go in the sun because we don't have a human form that can do so.
This biggest difference is that… when our hunger gets to a certain point, we cannot control our power. For an unknown reason vampires like me have the ability to… feel the emotions of humans. When our hunger grows out of control, that instinct takes over and we are able to manipulate humans, allowing us to feed.
The final thing that any vampire can do is summoning a familiar without the familiar eventually killing the contractor as it does to humans.
I found it slightly ridiculous, but I did not care.
All vampires bear red eyes to some degree, but it a natural instinct for the ones who can hide it to hide it. Vampire eyes are shunned in society. To someone like me, that did not come as a surprise. My eye has been red since birth, and I cannot hide it. Society did not take kindly to my eye.
When traveling while covered head to toe with my brother, anyone who saw my eye knew what I was. Gilbert was always taking beatings for me when they came to expel us from this world. My brother, who is able to shift into a human, should not have to baby sit a liability such as myself.
Despite my negative thoughts, the next few years were happy for me. Jack was a friend of the Baskervilles, and the Baskervilles taught Gilbert and I how to live properly as vampires. Jack was almost like a father to me. Gilbert and I's father threw us out when he realized what my eyes meant, before Gilbert had awakened his vampire side. That was another disadvantage of being an anomaly; your vampire blood never knows the meaning of dormant. Jack was human, but Jack did not care about what I was. He did not consider me evil, or ill fated in the slightest. Glen dotted on Gilbert in his own way, and I could see how Gilbert looked up to him.
We were happy, until the tragedy occurred.
That day the world was painted a shade of crimson red, just like the colour of my accursed eye! Incinerating flames danced across what had become my beloved home. My dear family members all turned into crisp husks of what they had been. I remember it clearly, I wish I did not, but I will never forget. I will never forget because…I was the one who played a part in causing it. It was not my fault! I was a child! I do not even know what exactly I did. I was told that Glen would kill my brother when transferring his strongest familiar… I was told how to stop it… when I did… everything turned red. Red! Red! Red! The colour of love! The colour of passion! The colour of sweet death! Isn't it pretty?!
But, the tale of the day when the world I loved went up in flames is for another day.
My brother and I were, through a series of events, cast a hundred years in the future, and that brings me to today. For an odd reason, my brother remembers nothing of our history from a hundred years ago. I am thinking he has suppressed his own memories. I do not find that too hard to believe. My brother was always too soft to handle such hardships. What I find odd is that he seems to be stuck in his human form. Gilbert is weaker than before, living off only human food, but I do not know how he will keep it up, or how his body is even keeping up now for that matter.
Then there is Oz Vessalius. Gilbert is so attached to his master Oz. I am not jealous because as much as I adore my brother… I don't mind that my brother doesn't remember me. Gilbert is better off without me. Oz can allow him to shine in that world of sunlight that I can never be with him in. Gilbert deserves it…all I brought in his life was misery.
Ah, everything I do hurts people! I am not a man of the sun. The darkness invites me along with my eye of never changing blood red. Gilbert does not need me in his life. No, after all he has done for me, I want him to be happy. Gilbert has never been happy with me.
If I were never born, his life would have been so much better. Gilbert is not an anomaly, so he would have been able to manage living as a vampire without me blowing his cover easily. Father and mother would not have sold us to the circus…the Baskervilles would not have turned to ash.
I should have never been born. I am vile.
These hands of mine carry bloodstains from my kin. My eyes carry the sight of my beaten brother. I am filthy. Dirty. I should die.
A smile spreads itself on my face. These abnormal powers of mine to manipulate, why should I suppress them? Humans are toxic, hypocritical beings. If it is for my brother's happiness, I will manipulate them.
Yet… it still hurts when he looks at me with his golden eyes that show no sign of recognition. Little does Gilbert know that his eyes are not golden with black pupils, but are golden with red pupils. Gilbert doesn't know…but I do…it should stay that way… but it hurts.
I wonder, which is more fascinating, humans of hypocrisy, or vampires of manipulation?