Safe And Sound

ooo

Two tired eyelids blinked, the soft light clouding the pink of the iris. Yui rubbed the skin, her arms heavy as she moved. Yawning and stretching her aching muscles, with slanted eyes she noticed the drawn, raspberry curtains of her entirely pink bedroom, recognising her location with a sigh of relief.

'I'm back...'

She grimaced; why did she feel glad returning to the Sakamakis?

Reluctantly, the girl glanced downwards to discover her rosé nightwear replacing the attire...

What was she wearing last night?

A wave of pain stroke in several areas in her body, causing her to jump and wince. The pain travelled from the crown of her head to the ankles, slithering around her joints, clawing on her spine, sending terrible shivers.

The need to protect herself suddenly engulfed her, as she wrapped her blankets around her body like a cocoon. Still quivering uncontrollably, Yui tucked her head between her knees, hands pressing with force to bury her deeper.

"They won't find me here... They can't find me here..." the words were her new prayer.

The temperature in the room dropped; her breath hitched.

"Arisu? Are you awake?" she flinched with tremor at the eerie voice of the newcomer.

"Why are you hiding, Arisu? We're not going to hurt you." the man cooed.

Her knuckles turned white, the flesh only a thin coat to the bones, as they clinched at the covers.

"Stay away from me... Please stay away from me..." echoed her whimpering plea; the heart within her produced a painful beat that sent electricity to course in her veins, then slowed down.

A silhouette loomed above her, long fingers with longer claws grasping the blanket.

"No, no, no! Please no!"

"It's this how you greet your Master? Open your eyes, Livestock."

Yui peeled her eyes open, pink fright glaring at blue blankness. She stared, the face familiar, but lost in her memories.

Ruki raised an eyebrow as the girl burst down crying, her hands fisting the winter clothing in her chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..."

Suffering under the vampire's calculating gaze, she tried to swallow back her tears, only for the lump in her throat to choke her, the air in her lungs drying and suffocating her.

"Don't worry, you won't be punished for confusing your Master's face to another man's. We have... other matters to concern ourselves with."

The simple statement calmed her laboured breathing and trembling heartbeat.

"M-my head... it hurts."

"I'm surprised it's only that." Gently, he adjusted her pillows, pulling the quilt over her. "You and your friend underwent Atropa-"

"-Belladonna, I know." she hid her nose and tore her eyes away from his questioning ones.

"Whoever did this, they must have been poisoning you for a while. The amount of the nightshade found in you could have caused greater damage."

Hesitantly, Yui looked back at Ruki."My friend... Can I see her?"

"Perhaps later. She's still sleeping. You can ask Reiji when you see him, he's keeping her in his quarters."

"H-how is she?"

She saw the sudden twitch in his narrowing eyes, "Ruki, is she-"

"She's... wounded. Severely. Her condition is no better than yours."

The look on his face was secretive, but surprised; he knew something he supposed she was already aware of.

"I shall leave now, should you don't need anything."

Straying away from the weigh of his eyes, Yui turned to the void, her gaze dull and empty. Numbly, she shook her head, the formidable snaking around her nape, tightening and poisoning the insides. Her throat was dried and burnt, the aching flames spreading to capture her tongue, now seared too.

Ruki stopped at the door, his ears perking up at the sound of her grunts.

The colour in her eyes was revived, the red within the pink blazing. Her nostrils flared like a bull's, her mouth hurting in the gums and the teeth. Her body was hot, the phlegmatic heart increasing the beats, new, refreshing blood warming her veins and arteries.

Her grip on the blanket stiffened.

"Livestock?"

"M-My... throat..." her speaking was meek, strained, the tendons protruding in her neck, "w-water..."

'Blood!' the word ringed in her head, causing another groan to echo in the room.

A/N: Hello! Please comment and review!

ALSO, I published a new DL story, 'Farewell', and I'd like to know your thoughts: should I continue it and turn into a series of oneshots, each chapter based on a different Greek myth or leave it as it is?