I instantly dropped the knife when the picture in front of me appeared. I didn't even know what I was seeing. The man wasn't even identifiable anymore. What did I do? What did I do… My breathing picked up, and I felt like I was going to go into a panic, another attack, another slip. How could I have… Did I do this…?

I turned away from the sight only to see Caius sitting in the chair where he had sat me earlier. The grin on his face was wide. He had seen everything, and he was satisfied with it. What did I feel? Did I feel satisfied with what I did? It had to be me. He was over there. I had the knife that was now on the ground.

Caius stood, and all I could do was shake. The adrenaline was rushing out of my body just as quickly as it had rushed in, and I felt dizzy. He walked over to me and looked me over. I knew it was the blood he was spotting. I hadn't noticed it before, but on the desk were a couple of bowls and jars. When Caius went over and picked a bowl up before handing it to me, all I could think about was Lavinia and Chiron and Demetrius and Titus from the play. Why did he give me this?

He summoned me to his side, back by the body, and I watched as Caius took another precision instrument and began to cut into the man deeper than I had managed to go, opening the body up to the internal organs. I heard loud cracks, which nearly made me vomit had I eaten anything that morning, as Caius broke the man's ribs. Next thing I knew, he was dropping what looked like the man's heart into the bowl I held.

He told me to sit it on the desk and grab another bowl. This continued until the vital organs were all dissected out of the body. The way he worked was very deliberate, almost like he was a doctor or a scientist. He seemed to carefully weigh the organs as he held them before dropping them in the bowls I held out. As freaked out as I was about what happened and what he was doing, I also could not help but be curious while watching him.

When he was done, he said, "I'll use these to create tissue samples. Help me carry them to the other room." So I did. He deposited the organs into special bags then put them in a cooling unit under the table with all of the science equipment in the main room. It was done quickly, and when he was finished, he looked at me again. "We should clean you up. As much as I enjoy seeing you covered in blood, I'd rather not stain my furnishings."

I swallowed then nodded and followed him into the bathroom. Caius began running bathwater, but unlike Aro, he didn't add any special salts or oils. I stood there, door open, trying not to turn back around and look at the dead body behind me. I was still on edge, still mortified, and probably in shock at what had happened. I also felt numb.

The panic had started earlier, but upon seeing Caius in the chair when I turned around, the numbness began to sit in. Everything became a blur. I went through the motions of doing what I was told, and now… eventually, it would wear off, and I knew I would slip.

Caius turned off the water once the tub was plenty full and stepped over to me. My heart pounded from another fear as he reached over to tug at the blouse I wore. I stepped back, but he was too quick and had my shirt over my head in seconds. I crossed my arms over my chest immediately, a simple sports bra kept me covered, but all I could think was, this is not happening.

He must have realized where my thoughts were going because he took a step back then turned around. "Do it yourself then get in if you're that concerned."

Slowly, I finished undressing, removing the bloody garments and resting them on the floor, before getting into the bath and pulling my knees into my chest, so I was covered. Caius turned around after a moment and grabbed a bottle of soap from a cabinet under the sink. When he knelt by the tub, I immediately went rigid.

"Settle down. I'm just going to wash your hair."

I nodded, trying to stay calm. He wasn't trying anything. He didn't even seem interested, so that was good. He had me tilt my head back, and I felt warm water from the bath being poured over my hair before fingers expertly began massaging my scalp with the soap. It felt good, but I still couldn't relax.

He continued massaging, rubbing his fingers in circles along my head, causing me to close my eyes on more than one occasion before quickly opening them again after realizing what I was doing. Caius muffled a snort at the reaction and then set into rinsing my hair the same way he had wet it down. When he was done, he left the soap on the edge of the tub, then he stood and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

I let out a breath I hadn't been sure that I was holding once he was gone. I couldn't understand him. There was something about Caius that I couldn't place my finger on. I intrigued him, I knew that much, and he was so easy to listen to. In some ways, it felt better with him than with Aro, and I was certain Aro wouldn't be pleased if he knew that.

But Caius understood something, or so I thought. He understood pain the way I did. Sometimes, I just needed it, but then why had I needed to cause it as well? In Titus Andronicus, I said it had been justified. Did I feel justice now, or was it fear?

The water had turned pink, and I didn't like the idea of sitting there in blood that wasn't even mine. I stood and pulled the drain, grabbing a towel I saw in the corner and wrapping it around me after patting off. Caius hadn't brought me anything to wear, and there was no way I was putting back on bloody clothes with the exception of my underwear which I slid on under the towel. At least I was covered, right? And he could have done anything at any time, and he didn't. On the other hand, it was still really cold, and the goosebumps won out as I moved into the office to see the man's body was gone.

Moving into the study, Caius sat there on the sofa, the laptop back on the side table which he had moved again. When he saw me, he stood and went to the wardrobe, where he had gotten his cloak the previous night, and rummaged through it. He eventually pulled out a black button-up shirt and threw it over to me. It was definitely long enough to cover me up, and I stepped back into the office, leaving the door open but to have a little privacy, and slipped it on. It fell down to mid-thigh, which was good enough for now, but I still wasn't the least bit comfortable.

Caius had grabbed his cloak again as well, and he patted the seat next to him where he had sat back down. Once I sat, he laid the cloak over me, and it helped. Not only did it keep out the chill in the air, but the skin of my legs weren't showing anymore. It was easier to hide.

"Felix said you didn't eat earlier," he commented.

I wasn't expecting for him to say anything about earlier, and I shrugged. "I wasn't hungry."

"He said you threw your food across the kitchen."

I glanced up quickly at Caius to see the hint of a smirk on his lips. "I don't really remember doing it. It just sort of happened. It got really loud."

"Loud?"

I nodded. "The tapping. I don't know. I wanted it to stop. It was loud, so I made it stop."

Caius hummed but said nothing else about it. "Shall we watch another play?"

"Maybe something less bloody," I answered quietly. I had seen enough blood for one day.

He chuckled as he clicked through to the video player, which loaded another film, Hamlet. It was one that I at least knew the name of. As we watched, Caius liked to make comments throughout the film, starting with the very first line, who's there? He said that line set the tone for the entire play. Funnily enough, I actually began thinking about what it meant.

With Caius, I was unsure. I knew Aro. I knew his routine and what to expect, but Caius was altogether different. He seemed to loathe me when we first met, questioning whether I was worth it or not, as if being chosen by Aro was some kind of honor or something. Then when we met in the library the day before and even yesterday while I was attempting and failing to read, his attitude was as if I was something in his way, something he despised being around.

Yet now, he acted so differently, almost as if he had taken some sort of interest in me. But could I trust him? He was bringing out a side of me that I didn't know existed, or perhaps I did, but I was too scared to allow it to show itself. Maybe I should ask myself that question. Who's there? Am I insane, or am I not?

Everything Caius would watch would be a tragedy. This I knew. More foul play and an end in death, poison over blood this time around. Caius closed the laptop when it ended and turned to me. Before I could stop myself, I asked, "What happened to him?"

He looked back at me somewhat dumbfounded. "Were you not paying attention?"

I shook my head. "Not the film."

"Ah. I disposed of it. I had all that I needed from him." He paused. "Does it disturb you? Frighten you?" I stayed silent. "Did it feel good to hurt him the way they hurt you? You must have felt something. His skin was cut to shreds in quite a spectacular way."

Caius put his hands on my shoulders, gently beginning to rub them as he continued to speak, his voice now in a hushed whisper. "Seeing you there, raw with your anger, you were stunning. Perhaps, you crave to do more?"

Caius dropped his hands and reached out for my arm where he traced the cut he had made on it only the night previous. It was faded already thanks to the bit of Aro's blood that must have still lingered, but the line was still visible. It got me wondering about Caius's blood. Was Aro the only one whose blood had properties that could heal wounds?

"Is your blood like his?"

"Mine? No. Aro is one of very few with that ability," he replied.

I took my other hand and slowly reached over, pushing up Caius's cuff before touching his wrist and tracing it. He let go of my arm and pulled his sleeve up further to give me a better look at his forearm, which I traced as well. The feeling was different. It wasn't like mine, but it didn't feel out of sorts either.

Caius closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa. I watched him for a moment, my fingers still on his arm. I sighed. It was all very confusing not knowing what he was thinking, what he actually wanted from me, or if he was playing a game as well. My voice shook when I spoke, though I tried to keep it steady, and I asked, "Can I trust you?"

His eyes stayed closed when he replied, his free hand coming up to hold onto mine, and his tone reverberated deep inside of me like the monster I feared they all were, cold and calculated. "You shouldn't."


A/N: If you haven't noticed yet, Hamlet is in every single one of my stories in one way or another. We studied that play word for word for an entire semester in undergrad. (Theater/Dance major). At least I'm making use of it. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!