Author Note: Alright, chapter numero dos is done! Thanks for the follows, likes, and reviews that I received. I have found that this anime is so easy for me to write about. I certainly hope it stays that way. Ferid is a pretty complex character. I hope I capture him in a way that does justice to his creator, but that also encompasses my interpretation of him as well. Also, I will not follow the exact vampire guidelines that are set out by this particular creator.
SuperWolf1967: Thank you for your kind words. I am glad you have enjoyed the story thus far.
As always, I do not own Owari No Seraph, nor it's wonderful characters. I only own my OC and those to be. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: Serenity
The one thing that both the vampires and the humans have in common is that they rarely see each other as individuals. The vampires see humans as livestock, and rarely notice the fine details that make each human different from one another and fairly unique as individuals. The humans view vampires as bloodsucking monsters and also fail to bother with any details of each individual. For example, one of the main features of the vampire species as defined by the humans are the red eyes. All vampires have red eyes. Well I'm here to tell you that is simply not exactly true. Red is a single color and while all vampires do have some form of red eyes, each one is unique in some way or another, whether it be shade, size, depth, etc. You get my point.
For example, I am currently being entranced by a pair of bright burning red eyes that are holding a good deal of disdain, and even a bit of disbelief, to the current owners' situation in which he finds himself. Ferid Bathory has a set of irises on him that closely resemble the color of maraschino cherries that the humans at one time were so fond of eating with their frozen treats. What were those things called? Ice creams or something like that? Eh, well anyways, his eyes are very intense and I find myself losing confidence in my decision to approach such a powerful vampire. At first, I thought he would somehow recognize what I was and be a bit more accepting. When I first started speaking he had regarded me with cold but curious eyes. I hadn't even gotten to my name before I found myself dodging blows that would knock a human out fairly quickly. If he was surprised at my quick reflexes, he certainly didn't show it. He had wasted no time in drawing his sword and trying to cut me down. I continued to dodge his blows and decided I needed to defuse the situation as quickly as possible, especially when he managed to graze my cheek with his blade. So here I am, trying to maintain balance on his sword with my daggers pressed against his throat. I could feel my old human clumsiness starting to affect my balance and knew if I didn't do something, I would end up on my ass and maybe even graced with a sword through the stomach so I let out a shaky sigh and a quick string of words.
"Please, I don't want to kill you Lord Ferid," I breathed out. My Japanese was a little rusty and I am sure my western accent was clearly heard. "I just wanted to talk to you," I mumbled while giving him my best pouty face. Immediately after I spoke his face became a blank canvas, I couldn't even read the emotion in his eyes.
"Remove yourself from my sword, you trite little brat," he spat at me. Judging by his words, I felt it safe to assume he was still irritated with me, but I no longer felt killing intent rolling off of him, so I complied, although not as gracefully as I would have liked. It was no easy task, landing on a sword in a manner that one could balance on it, and to dismount was even more difficult. When my feet hit the ground, I stumbled backwards and ended up on my butt, as I feared would happen. My eyes immediately snapped to his in fear that he would take advantage of my vulnerable position, but he was once again regarding me with curious eyes. I stood up and brushed myself off, more out of nerves than necessity. If I was human, I would feel like my heart was about to beat out of my chest. When I glanced back up at him through my dark, long lashes, he had a friendly smile on his face and his eyes had brightened considerably. He looked quite cheerful when he spoke.
"What is your name, dear child?" His voice was smooth and pleasant, full of mirth and laughter. I shivered, and my hackles raised. This man may appear to be friendly, but he is very dangerous. Regardless, I decided it would be in my best interest to keep his sudden change of mood going.
I bowed my head to him and spoke softly, "My name is Serenity, my lord." I clenched my jaw in sudden annoyance. I am not used to speaking to others as if they are superior to me, but I am desperate for some kind of connection with these people. To make things a bit easier on myself, I lengthened my canines and allowed them to poke into my bottom lip slightly so that he may see them. I knew I was going to be receiving the third degree, so anything that would aid me in letting him know we are one in the same, despite my outward appearance, would help me to gain his trust. Luckily, my previous clumsiness seems to have somehow endeared him to me. I am sure he now assumes that I am not as threatening as he previously believed. He will come to regret the assumption one day. Ferid was rather suddenly in front of me, damn my wondering mind, and I felt his finger under my chin and thumb at my bottom lip. He guided my face upwards from its bowed position and with his other hand twirled a piece of my long wavy cerulean locks around his fingers. He was looking down at me, eyes sliding lazily over my features as he studied me, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. As he so kindly referred to me earlier, I must look quite childlike in the face. Despite being 19 years young when I stopped aging, I have always been rather short, coming in at a whopping 5'2". I have large expressive eyes that are heavily framed by dark lashes. My lips are rather round and pouty, often used against my father when I wanted something. My cerulean hair falls messily around my face in gentle beach curls, which I keep parted at the side. The only thing that proves I am far from a child is the shape of my body. I am petite, with a delicate bone structure and a small waist, but I have annoyingly shapely hips. My father's female servants would often tell me my hips were perfect for childbearing. I would have made a wonderful mother. My breasts are nothing special, but nothing to scoff at. Anything much more than a handful is waste, as I was always told, and I have just a little extra to spare.
The feeling of a thumb traveling across my lower lip startled me back into reality and my eyes met Ferids. He had moved his face closer in his observation of me, and I could feel the tickle of his breath across my face. His thumb grazed the tip of one my fangs. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and naturally, he smirked.
"Well, aren't you quite the enigma, my darling," he laughed, "you have the appearance of a human, yet possess a pair of teeth that would allow you to consume blood. Your eyes are violet, and your scent is…. strange." Ferid proceeded to take the hand that was tangled in my hair and brush the strands behind my ear. He cocked an eyebrow up at his discovery. I have pointed ears, but not nearly as dramatic as his, or other vampires for that matter. He took a step back and his eyes swept over the rest of me slowly as he took in my attire. He cocked his head to the side in thought. I am not wearing the clothes of livestock nor the bright white clothes of a noble. Instead, I have on a simple black lace romper that has a plummeting vneck front and semi translucent long sleeves. The romper is accented with purple lace at the bottoms and edges. With it I wear a simple pair of thigh high boots. Being so short, there is only a flash of skin on my legs between the top of my boots and the bottoms of my romper. I frowned as he continued to observe me. When a man is prettier than you, it does a number to your self-esteem, I thought sourly as I took in Ferids appearance. He had beautiful long hair; it was an odd mix of silver and white, tied up with a black ribbon. He was tall, almost a foot taller than myself, and slender. His clothing screamed power and royalty. A finger tapping gently against my nose brought my attention back to the present and I looked up to see him grinning down kindly at me. I really need to work on paying better attention, as he had started speaking and I missed the first half of what he had said.
"I-I'm sorry?" I stammered out. He simply laughed at me again.
"I was just inquiring of what exactly you are?" he asked patiently. I stared at him for a moment, gathering my thoughts. For some reason, I felt the need to play dumb, and hide my true self from him. He did not need to know that I was a hybrid. Not yet anyways.
"Well my lord, I am a vampire. At least, that is what I have always believed. You see, I am not from here. I travelled from over the seas. I have been by myself for quite some time and I was hoping to find others like me. When I found this place, I found you, and the others," was my soft reply. Good thinking Serenity, play stupid and let him take the reins, I thought to myself. For good measure I stuck my bottom lip out slightly and put on my best pouty face again. Ferid kept a smile on his face, and thought for a few moments about what I had just told him.
"How intriguing. It is not often that other vampires can back me into a corner, you must be quite powerful. That or you got lucky. Who is your sire, dear girl?" Ferid asked rather enthusiastically. Dammit! I didn't think this far ahead when I decided to do this! I was at a loss for what to say so I decided to continue to play stupid.
"I'm sorry Lord Ferid, but I am unsure of the answer to that. I came here to learn about what I am. As I told you before, I have been alone for a long time, and there are many things that I do not remember." There. Please stop asking me questions now, I grumbled in my head. If Ferid thought that I was lying, he did not show it. Instead he patted me on the head and took my hand in his.
"Come, I will take you to my queen, Krul Tepes. Perhaps she will be able to shed some light on your situation," he said and started pulling me along. Relieved that he was done asking me questions, I gladly followed. During the trip there, Ferid spent the time explaining the area to me. I was glancing around at things curiously, particularly the children that were walking in groups to a designated area in which they donated blood. They were not treated very kindly by the other vampires that were floating about.
It was obvious just how expendable humans were to some vampires when we came to a scuffle as we got further into the underground City. A vampire was dangling a young, dark haired, human child by his throat over a fairly large drop off. My first reaction was to immediately rescue this boy and kill that cruel vampire, but before I could launch myself forward, Ferids voice stopped me.
"What's going on here?" he called out, sounding bored. I was grateful for his interruption. I would have to learn better self-control if I was going to fit in here. As we approached, the vampire thrust the boy away from him, and he hit the ground. Another young boy came rushing over to us. He was a beautiful little thing, with messy blonde locks and brilliant blue eyes.
"Lord Ferid!" He exclaimed. I took a step back as I watched this exchange.
"Ah, young Mika," Ferid drawled, "what's all the fuss about?" The young boy did not seem to fear Ferid in the least. He actually seemed quite comfortable with him. I found this intriguing. Perhaps not all vampires hated humans.
"Oh nothing, just one of my family members causing trouble again," the blonde boy said. Was this a regular occurrence? How odd. Ferid sighed.
"That must be so stressful. Poor Mika. I know," Ferid leaned forward to cup the boys face in his hand, "why don't you come by my mansion again tonight." I had to maintain some serious control over my facial features. My jaw almost dropped. What is the absolute hell is this?! Is Ferid gay? More importantly why in the heavens would he want a little boy?! My mind was a whirlwind of beyond pissed off, but I kept me features schooled.
"I would like that," the boy smiled up at him as he spoke. No little boy, NO! What is wrong with you? I was appalled.
"As would I dear boy. You have such sweet blood. You're always welcome." Oh, duh, I thought to myself. That's right, full blooded vampires needed human blood quite frequently. Ferid stood straight and leaned his head in the direction of the dark haired boy. "And will the trouble maker be joining us?" I glanced over at the young boy Ferid was referring to. He looked absolutely disgusted that anyone would even consider such a thing, and his bright green eyes were shining with anger.
"Huh?! Like hel-!" he was promptly cut off from speaking by a determined Mika who hugged the boy close to him.
"Oh, I don't know if that's a good idea. He's shy!" Mika quickly inserted. Ferid looked fairly disappointed.
"What a shame. Maybe next time," he responded. As the boys walked off, he chuckled to himself.
"My lord?" I inquired. I am curious to know what he found so amusing. He simply brushed off my questioning with a change of subject.
"Perhaps once you are done meeting with our queen, you could come by my mansion and keep me company," he said and smiled over at me. With a reminder of where we were headed, my nerves rose to the surface once again, and our run in with those two little boys was quickly forgotten.