Narrator's POV
Patches kept an elated leap in his stride all throughout the rest of the day thinking about his new human acquaintance that he dreamed would soon be turned into his new vampire friend. Better yet, he discovered that she could be the ticket to appease Caius since she was where his interest lay. If he could somehow get on Caius's good side, then maybe he'd stop nitpicking on every little mistake he made when the opportunity came about. That would be nice, he thought to himself as he turned to another page in his book. On the opposite side of his bed, Ethan was completing a word search book, clicking his pen now and then to circle a word. "Why are the smaller words impossible to find?" Ethan sighed, scanning over every line for the word "glib". Patches left his book and leaned over the word search, pointing to the word printed diagonally backwards. That was the fifth time he found a word for his friend without even trying. "How are you so good at these?" Patches shrugged.
"I don't know. A different perspective?"
"It must be. I must have looked this over three times already!" he chuckled in disbelief.
"Would you like to do something else?" Patches asked, book marking his page and setting it down on his side table.
"Yeah," Ethan nodded in agreement. "I think I want to go down to the park and swim in the lake. It's not every day Volterra has an overcast." Patches lowered his gaze to his comforter.
"Please don't tease me, Ethan. You know I'm not allowed to leave the castle grounds." Aro was very adamant about this. He felt that the boy was unprepared for the world from spending so much time in isolation. He'd certainly stick out among the humans which would raise suspicion and possible exposure, and that was the last thing he wanted. Only in the castle would he be safe, accepted, and content to be so.
"I'm sorry. I'm trying to think of a special place we could go to where we could just spend an few hours without any interruptions." Ethan had his arms crossed, his eyes looking at nothing in particular. Patches climbed over the bed and sat next to him.
"B-But we're spending time together right now," he pointed out. "We always talk when we're not busy."
"A couple hours broken up around the day are not enough anymore. I have…something to tell you."
"Wh-What is it, Ethan?" His friend kept avoiding eye contact.
"I won't say it. Not now." He turned his head to the clouds in the window. "I'm still waiting for the right time." Patches didn't know what to make of his hesitancy. For all the years he has known him, Ethan was always upfront about everything: his power, his past, his wisdom. Why was he holding back now?
"Alright. You can tell me when you're ready." He checked the time on his clock—it was nearing six o'clock in the evening, the time most humans in Volterra, Italy would walk outside with their families and go to a place with music and food. A "restaurant" they called it. He thought of Carly and wondered if anyone bothered to feed her yet. "I have to check on…something."
"Of course you do," Ethan muttered. Patches picked up on his disappointment.
"C-Could we finish this later? I won't be long."
"Sure. I have some stuff I needed to get done anyway." With that, he picked up the word-search and left the room to organize his thoughts.
Patches hopped off his bed and straightened everything up before going down to the kitchen to acquire some provisions for his human acquaintance. Feeding humans was much more difficult than feeding vampires. They were pickier about what they ate, and some foods didn't sit too well with their stomachs. Vampires drank fresh human blood; they didn't discriminate on who and where it came from. He took some milk, a carton of eggs, a tomato, and cheddar cheese out of the refrigerator to make an omelet with milk on the side. It was a fairly simple dish, something he could manage without messing up. A pair of heavy boots thudded in the corridor, and soon Felix—the world's unbeaten, incomparable, best combat fighter that ever existed—emerged in the doorway. He stood at six foot seven, his scarlet eyes glaring down at the boy.
"You," he growled in his deep voice. "You're in trouble." Patches froze, baffled at what he could mean. Felix hardly talked to him unless he had something for him to do. "I found this," he continued, brandishing a small bit of parchment he recognized as the note he gave Carly along with her snack. He struggled to speak, but no words successfully made themselves heard. He noticed her scent still lingered over the paper. A small smile formed on his lips at the thought of her holding his note, perhaps reading it a few more times when he left. Felix responded by charging at him, seizing a fistful of his light gray robe and holding it at his broad, pectoral-defined chest. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" He knew, but was too scared stiff to answer. "The female belongs to Caius, meaning that he and he alone is allowed to interact with her."
"S-She w-was hungry," Patches whimpered, squirming against his grip. "S-She n-needed food."
"That is for him to decide," Felix snapped coldly. "He most likely planned to starve her and use hunger to break her stubbornness. Did you ever think of that?" He didn't, though it wasn't above Caius to employ force to get what he wanted. He blamed himself for being curious and shook his head. Felix kneed him right in the gut and dropped him on the kitchen floor, causing Patches to yelp in pain. "Stupid boy," he muttered, and with that, he disappeared into the hallway. The boy groaned weakly in between panting breaths and shakily stood up as the hurt ebbed away. Vampire skin was notorious for healing itself in seconds after a blow. He hastily returned the food and milk to the fridge and took the long way to the library, passing the dungeon along the way. His jaw dropped in surprise when he came the door; it was wide open and Carly was nowhere to be found.
"Looking for something, dear one?" Aro's voice floated to his ears. Patches spun around and curtly bowed to the familiar figure in the black suit.
"I-I'm looking for Carly," he answered, gesturing to the dungeon with his head. "J-Just to see if she's okay." Aro smiled and walked over to him.
"So you're the one that upset my brother. I've spent the last hour calming him down." Patches hung his head.
"Yes, sir. I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to—" Aro held up a hand to cut him off.
"Oh, of course not," he said reassuringly, petting his auburn head in smooth, even strokes. "You were only trying to help." The petting stopped and Patches felt a hand on both forearms. "Though I would strongly suggest doing everything you can to not upset Caius further. I do not want you to touch her, speak to her, or even look her in the eye while she is under his care." It was an order, and one he had to accept. He would never have one chance to get to know her better.
"Yes, Master Aro." Patches dropped his chin to his chest, but Aro picked it back up so that his eyes looked straight up into his own.
"Remember, this is for your own protection." He nodded and Aro let him go. "I believe you are due to be in the library at this time, is that correct?"
"Yes, I was just on my way there." Aro smiled his approval.
"Good boy. Off you go, then." Patches bowed again and squandered no time rushing to the library. He dampened a dusting cloth and began to wipe down the shelves until the fine wood gleamed under the artificial light. Making himself productive took his mind off of everything else, and it felt good to be needed and appreciated. Since he was first brought to the castle, he responded well to kindness and compassion and started to like working again. Only when he was done dusting did he hear a small mew near his boots. He looked down at saw a white kitten rubbing on his ankles and swishing its tail happily.
"Ethan!" he exclaimed with a laugh, scooping up his friend and hugging him to his chest. "I can't find Carly. Do you know where she's gone?" The white, fluffy head slowly nodded and gestured to be put down. Patches did so and Ethan was a teenage vampire once again.
"Still talking about that human girl?" He nodded, his eyes pleading for an answer. "Look, she's Caius's okay? Just forget about her right now." Ethan sounded annoyed, and that didn't happen often. He realized he snapped at him when he saw his friend's hurt expression. "She's in his chamber. He decided that it would be best to change her at midnight instead of a few days."
"Midnight?!" Patches repeated in alarm. "B-But that means—"
"A few hours to live, yes," Ethan finished for him. "She'll be fine," he added reassuringly. "Caius obviously cares a great deal about her, and he would never hurt what's his." This was a partly true and anyone who had been around for a long while knew it. Like a sports coach with a daughter or son on the team, Caius expected much more out of his hand-picked guards and consequently went rougher on them. He did not, however, go to extremes that could lead to their demise if they did not directly break a sacred law, for that would damage his ego. "Patches, remember that thing I wanted to tell you earlier?" Ethan asked, wishing to change the subject. Patches nodded, his curiosity pending. "I'll tell you in the garden. Come on." He followed him outside and they both sat down on the marble bench, looking up at the twinkling stars above them on a cool, clear night. The world around them was silent and peaceful, and for once in a great long while, both of them felt like they were the only two people in the world.
"What is it, Ethan? You know you can tell me anything." His friend smiled appreciatively.
"I know that," he chuckled. "Patches, for all the time we've known each other, wouldn't you say we're…good friends?"
"Of course. Very good friends." Ethan slowly nodded, his expression pensive as if he had a great weight of thought on his mind.
"But have you ever thought—just for a moment—that we could ever become more than friends?" His voice carried an air of hint, but Patches couldn't detect it.
"Yes: great friends. No, best friends!" he corrected, his eyes full of enthusiasm. Ethan's expression blanked to an undetectable stare, much to his confusion.
"Yeah, you're right," Ethan spoke in complete monotone. "We're best friends, forever and ever." Patches didn't consider himself smart by any means, but he did know how to read people, and Ethan was beginning to make him worry.
"Are you okay? Please talk to me." He reached to touch Ethan's shoulder but he stood up to avoid his touch.
"I'm fine, Patches. I just need to…go to my room now. Maybe rest a bit, finish that silly word book," he muttered as he started to walk back to the castle, anger seeping through a forced calm façade.
"C-Can I come with you?"
"No," Ethan growled without turning around or slowing down. "Go polish the instruments or something."
"W-We can at least feed together at mealtime, r-right?" Patches asked hopefully. Ethan didn't answer, already through the door. Now I've got two people mad at me, Patches thought sadly to himself. He looked up at the stars again, reminding himself that God was watching him and that He always listened to prayers. "What's wrong with me?" he asked aloud, his voice cracking as a reminder of all his flaws surfaced to mind. "I try to be a good friend, but now my best friend doesn't want to talk to me anymore." Was there something he was missing? He racked his brain for an answer and recalled that Ethan didn't like him talking about Carly. Humans are beneath you, he reminded himself in Ethan's voice. Was it so wrong for a vampire to care about a human? Some people had pet cows and they'd still enjoy a hamburger. It didn't matter now. She was to be turned into a monster like him, and they wouldn't contact each other anyway. What if she was disgusted by his appearance that was less than perfect? He never did show her his face. He made a promise to himself to stay away from her, for Ethan as well as Aro and his own wellbeing. He would do something extra special for his friend, such as making a bouquet of flowers for his room or letting him have a portion of his meal when they drank in the throne room. He hoped that would be enough to make him smile, or at least tell him why he left without saying goodbye.
