Comfort

"S-Solomon?" my soon to be brother stuttered fearfully, his eyes widening as the beautiful creature known as Diva placed her pale hand on his shirt collar.

"Do not be afraid," I comforted, gazing at the petrified man as I stood alongside Amshel. I remember the pain of having my blood drained, then the transformation process. It was all worth it though, to be standing here today, creating a new breed. A better, cleaner, more sophisticated race. "You are chosen."

His collar was ripped from his neck, and Karl's breaths were loud and shallow. I smiled slightly as I watched my queen open her hungry mouth, her burning sapphire orbs locked onto the pale man's throat. Indeed, he was chosen. If Diva had not liked him, he would have merely been killed. What was about to take place was not death, but birth.

Karl's gasp was loud and shocked as her white fangs pierced his flesh, his blood slowly being drained out of him. The ebony haired man's pupils dilated before widening ten-fold, along with a drawn out moan being torn from his mouth.

"He will make a fine guinea pig." I cringed inwardly at my elder brother's statement. Karl was too far gone to hear anything that was said, but a sting of guilt still slashed at my heart.

"That is true, big brother, but we will at least give him the same treatment as you would me, is that right?" I couldn't look away from the birth happening in front of me, so I couldn't read my brother's expression. Diva was still draining his blood, making sure to get the majority of it. Karl's eyes rolled to the back if his head, his body going limp in Diva's arms.

There was a lingering pause that made the air heavier, and I was tempted to look away to glance at Amshel's face.

"That is correct." a breath of relief breezed through me, and I nodded slightly. I wanted to take care of my new brother, and as I watched my cerulean queen transfer her blood to Karl's ajar mouth, I made a promise to myself that I would help him become an exceptional chevalier and help him embrace his new life with the same epiphany I had.


The screams were what got my attention.

They were echoing, animalistic howls. I didn't have to think hard to guess where they were coming from, or rather, who.

"Amshel," I leaned against the door frame, focusing on a small dent in the metal wall. "what are you doing to Karl?" I tried to keep my voice level, but I think a trickle of sadness or sharpness escaped. I could smell the wretched blood- it was distinctly different from human blood. Chevalier blood smelled of Diva, yes, but it also smelled of straightforward metal and held a sharpness that stung the nose. I scrunched my face slightly at the amount of the liquid that practically flooded out of the room.

"Running a test." he answered formally, as if his fellow brother wasn't panting from the excruciating pain he had to endure.

My eyes glazed over as I crossed my arms, my mind drifting off.

This was wrong.

Karl was being treated more and more like a test subject rather than a chevalier lately, and it was taking a toll on both me and the already slightly crazed man.

An earsplitting tear was accompanied by a roar, the sound of an animal being tortured slowly. I refuse to look. The sound was enough; I didn't need the images haunting my concise.

"What do you need, Solomon?" Amshel quizzed, his deep voice slightly echoing in the room.

I tossed the question around in my head. What did I need? Why had I come here? Was I a masochist, wanting to hear these screams of anguish? I decided to turn my head and look fully inside the room, to see the damage being done. I kept my face as blank as I could before pushing off the doorframe and blurring away calmly, the image of my brother bloody and broken burned into my brain.

Where was the sophistication, the step above humanity I had before? What was happening to that man was barbaric and ugly. I closed my eyes, ashamed of the decision to make Karl a test subject all those years ago.

Another horrific screech down the hall reinforced my thoughts, a sob tearing from his throat.

"Please, forgive me brother," I whispered, opening my eyes and staring dejectedly out the window. "for breaking my promise."