"Sarah," she says. "Sarah, listen to me. You need to escape, find a way out. It's just a matter of time...one will claim you as his and you'll essentially become his blood slave."

I look at the girl. It's the same one from before, the beautiful blonde girl, and we're in the same vibrant meadow. "Who are you?" I ask, but my voice sounds sluggish and slow.

She seems to understand my question, however, but the second she opens her mouth to answer, she clasps a hand to her chest and cries out, before the vision fades entirely.

I moan quietly as I sit up in the bed. Looking out the window, I see the sun has all but set, casting a glow over the gardens. I can feel phantom pains in my chest from my dream. "What on earth is going on...?" I mumble to myself. I'm alone, which is unexpected, but I can't imagine that will last terribly long. I get up and dressed, inexplicably in the same nightgown as before. Again, I don't remember changing, which makes me feel quite unclean. I go into the bathroom to wash my face and stop when I see myself in the mirror. I've only been here a few days, yet my skin is horribly pale an my eyes have dark bags under them. I take off my shirt and gasp. Dark bruises and bite wounds litter my body. The ones on my neck and chest from Reiji and Ayato, turning around, the possessive trail from Laito down my shoulder and back. Also, I've visibly lost a few pounds. They're literally killing me.

I put my shirt back on and wash my face. I need a decent meal, not BE somebody's meal, and I'm going to be adamant about it. I leave the bathroom and walk down the hall and downstairs, finding the kitchen after a while. I check the fridge and pause. It's surprisingly well stocked, for vampires, but I wonder if there are things I'm not allowed to use. At home, if I used something meant for a dinner, I would never hear the end of it. I then decide that I don't care. If they're going to force me to stay here and literally drain my life away, I'm not going to hesitate on ingredients.

I pull out the things I need and start slicing potatoes and steak. I'm making a curry, my ultimate comfort food. I fry onions and the beef in a pat of butter in a pot, adding the curry powder once it's browned enough.

"Ugh! What's that horrible smell?" I hear from the doorway. I look over, and Kanato is standing there frowning.

"Curry. Sorry, I know it's kind of strong, but it tastes really good," I answer. I'm civil for several reasons. This one hasn't done anything to me, and much as I'm a bitch, I can't fault him for his brothers' actions. Secondly, I don't want to instigate him into doing something, especially before my curry. I'm fucking starving.

"It doesn't smell sweet at all, and I only like sweet things. But then again..." he smiles kind of creepily. "You're sweet, and you're making it, so maybe it won't be awful. What do you think, Teddy?" He turns his bear towards him as if he's actually asking it, and I raise an eyebrow, saying nothing. "Teddy says we should try new things. May I have some of your curry?"

I grin. I love cooking for people. "Yeah, for sure. I always make a huge pot of it so there'll be plenty. Umm...it won't be ready for a little while though. It takes a couple hours in the oven to blend, I was gonna make bread to go with it."

Kanato nods and turns away, and inexplicably, I don't want him to leave. "Uh, wanna help?" I ask, a bit louder than I meant. I clear my throat. "Since you want to try it, if you like it I can show you in case you ever want to make it yourself."

He laughs manically. "Stupid woman, you can just make it for me if I'm hungry," he snickers, but approaches again quite close. I'm suddenly nervous of him. "Do you like me? Is that why you want me to stay?"

I scratch my head awkwardly. This isn't where I was expecting this to go. "I...want to be friends with you," I say slowly. "No offense to you in any way, but your brothers have been assholes. I'm kind of stuck here for a while, so it would be nice to at least have a friend."

He nods, seeming satisfied with my answer. He steps back to a reasonable distance and watches me add the flour, potatoes, water, coconut, and raisins, as well as salt it. I put it in the oven and smile. "Okay, bread." I check the fridge and frown. "Okay never mind. No bread, you guys don't have any yeast. Weird."

Kanato says nothing, just watches me. "You're my friend, right?"

"Sure hun," I say distractedly, rummaging through the fridge. If they have curry powder, surely to god they have yeast.

"So...you wouldn't want me to suffer, right?" suddenly his voice is right next to my ear. And that makes me, very, very worried.

"Of course not," I say slowly, standing up. Even though he isn't exactly tall, he still looms several inches over me. I turn around to face him, and his expression is unreadable.

"I'm very thirsty, Sarah," he whines. I groan inwardly.

"If anyone takes any more blood from me I'll probably die," I say quietly. "I'm sorry." I'm not actually sorry.

"You're lying!" He screams, suddenly grabbing me hard by the arms and slamming me against the wall. I cry out in pain. "You just like my brothers better than me, isn't that right?! I'm right, aren't I?!"

"No, that isn't it!" I say desperately. I don't want to lose any more blood, I have to talk my way out of this.

He calms down very suddenly and smirks. "Stupid woman. You think that by acting cute and batting your eyelashes, you'll get your way. I won't forgive you," he says gently before pressing a kiss to my lips. My eyes widen and I struggle to push him off me, but he parts my lips with his tongue and explores my mouth. After a few minutes, he pulls back with a smile. "I've made you happy, right? So now you're supposed to make me happy."

"I'll give you curry," I say miserably. My first kiss, taken by a psychotic vampire brat.

He bursts out laughing, leaning his head back and everything. "Will you put some of your blood in it? Just slit your wrist and let it flow out, mix it in. It would be delicious."

"I can't do that," I mumble. "I've passed out twice now because you've all taken too much. I will seriously die."

"But that's okay!" He smiles. "I'll just add you to my collection!"

My stomach sinks. There's no getting through to this boy. He leans in, licks my neck. "You smell so sweet. Even better than the last one. Be mine?"

I shake my head, about to be reduced to hysterics of he doesn't stop. "No, Kanato please-"

"She really can't," another voice says. "The kitten is going to be mine, nufufu~"

"Come on, Laito, I would like a taste. You've already had your turn."

"Ahh, but Kanato, this girl is special. She will be mine and I won't ever share her, very sorry, brother," Laito winks, detangling a now pouting Kanato from me and hooking an arm around my waist. "I smelt curry, can I have some?"

"Uh, I guess," I say, confused as hell. "It isn't ready yet, though."

"I'll wait with you. Kanato, if you and Teddy would like, I'll call you when it's ready?" Laito offers, surprisingly nice sounding.

"Very well. We have things to do, anyway," Kanato mopes, leaving the kitchen.

I turn to Laito, trying to guess his motives. "I'm not sure if I should thank you or run away screaming," I admit.

He chuckles. "Relax, Little Bitch, I won't hurt you unless you want me to, nfufu. I just want to chat." He sits down in a chair and motions for me to sit as well. I'm wary, but comply. "You've been having dreams, right?"

I nod. "Yeah, but how did you know?"

He shrugs. "It's pretty normal for the sacrificial bride to get them. Messages from the last bride trying to warn them away, that sort of thing. It's very very important you don't listen to them." He winks, but his voice is quite serious.

I nod. I'll at least pretend to be obedient, for now. "Sure, whatever. The chick in my dream, she said I would have to pick someone?"

He grins widely. "Indeed."