Yui looked down at the dingy room, her eyebrows knotted in confusion. The floor was sloppily wiped with a dirty rag, the window in front of her had doors swinging over its hinges, overlooking the horse stables, and the bed had been covered with a yellowing bedsheet that had a curious red stain at one of its corners.

"I think I can work with it," she enunciated every syllable separately, sounding almost identical to Reiji, who smiled at her, his shoulders raising in a weird gesture of confidence. Vampires… they were still a mystery for her, but she didn't really want to understand them. What she knew was maybe they would come and drink from her a few times a day, and since now she had chosen Ayato, she only had one vampire to deal with.

"I do not remember asking for your opinion." Reiji's voice was cool and unfeeling, as curt as he could be.

She slapped her palm over her forehead. "Oh, yes. Silly me, expecting anything better than a jail cell."

Reiji slit his eyes. "I think you do not quite understand your position here, Komori san." He cupped her chin roughly in his wide hand, forcing her to look at him. She was immediately overtaken with a sense of dread as her body was pushed into the wall, her robes sticking to the greasy wall as he pressed his lips into the curves of her ear. "Do not expect my brother to have any regard for your safety or your comfort. I wasn't the one who raised him, neither was he the offspring of my mother, so he does not inherit the poise and gentlemanly behaviour I possess. His mother was a whore, he himself acknowledges it, and we both know what becomes of a boy that has had a prostitute for a mother."

Yui found it confusing. "What's a prostitute?"

Reiji sighed, and released her. "I do not understand whether you are a girl of high breeding or just a naïve person. Either way, it is even more troublesome now that Ayato would get to abuse you however he wishes."

Yui stared down at the ground. "I do not understand…" her gaze lifted to meet Reiji's magenta eyes. "I want to know what it is. The role I'm going to play in this household."

"You do not have to worry about that." Reiji pushed his glasses back. "You are, specifically, a sacrificial bride. You are supposed to act as a blood donor for the brother whom you have chosen, and nothing more. You can stroll around with permission from me, have limited interaction with the household help, but I suggest you restrict any interaction with other humans and vampires around or in absence of Ayato."

"But why?"

"You'll see." Reiji was being secretive yet again, and she felt a chill run down her smile, the way those words sounded. Was this Ayato too violent? Was he scary?

"Since you will be living with vampires, you will have to adhere to a strict regimen," Reiji said, motioning to call one of the slaves to come and hand over a silky white nightgown to Yui, who stared down at the cloth in confusion. This was way less than what she wore every day, and she was accustomed to wearing new clothes. These also looked richer and a bit more provocative than she was used to.

"I…" Yui started, but was interrupted by Reiji, who cocked his head, his voice grating against her ears. "I was not finished. Refrain from interrupting me from now on, Komori san."

Yui gulped down, hanging her head. "Sorry."

Reiji squared his shoulders. "Sorry what?"

Yui looked up, her wine red eyes now glistening with tears. "Sorry sir."

Reiji had a stern expression on his face. "Know your place, you are nothing but a captive in our castle. Following our rules would ensure your survival in the household."

Yui nodded.

"Every day, you will wake up at four o' clock in the afternoon, and start with tending the garden," Reiji crossed his arms across his chest. "Roy will teach you everything that you need to know. You will water and manure everything and see that the garden is in order. Every plant that dies means twenty lashes of my whip."

Yui shuddered at the thought of punishment. She'd never had a beating in her entire life, only seen the tapaswi monks lash themselves everyday with knotted ropes that absolved their sinful thoughts. Since she was withheld worldly information, she never had to go through that regimen. Now it was probably her time to pay for the lost time.

"Good, your expression is excellent." Reiji grabbed Yui by the elbow, his cold touch making her recoil in fear. "Remain fearful. There is no use talking back to us."

Releasing her, Reiji walked out, slamming the door behind him, turning the lock shut.

Yui slumped into her bed, her hands shaking, clutching the dress tight enough to leave a tear in the fabric. She looked down at the soft cloth, wondering if she would be comfortable enough to wear such scandalous clothing inside even her own room. Since she knew she wasn't going to have the keys to the door, somebody else would, which meant they might come inside and… do things to her just like she had seen the soldiers did to Miro.

Or maybe they'd bite her instead, seeing as that was how they sustained.

She breathed in, and started removing her clothes, stripping the numerous layers of clothes to reach the silk right on top of her skin. She wasn't supposed to reuse her silk rolls, they were intended to be thrown away after every use, but she figured out that she'd never be getting these again anyway. She really needed to take a bath though. She had been drenched in sweat and blood and was stuffed with other people of the city to be transported to this castle. She had to remain clean for the God.

Laito's dungeon was dimly lit by the wavering, flickering wall lights. Apart from the lights, the huge moon door allowed some of the lunar light to illuminate the premises, washing the floor in a pale blue hue. Ayato strolled in, his feet casually treading the hard stone floor, hearing the revolting sighs of the prostitutes behind the parlours, each walled off by a thin wooden plywood, barely containing the grunts and moans. Ayato felt uncomfortable for a bit, then walked along, not paying heed to the mind numbing rhythmic howls of the horny soldiers while they drove their dicks into the harlots.

Laito walked up to Ayato, welcoming his brother into his lair. "Ayato kun! You finally bothered to visit me!"

"Don't touch me, you lecherous beast." Ayato growled. Laito pouted, his furry coat slipping a bit to reveal hickeys from his recent session with one of his maidens. Laito always took the first experience of every girl he recruited into his lair, and since the whole city of Eden was now captive to them, numerous new girls were now under his liege.

"I thought you'd have some more compassion for me, Ayato kun," he drawled. "We are blood brothers, after all."

"You do treat me good sometimes, Laito, I would give you that," Ayato patted his back, bringing him closer for a bit, before pushing him away. "I was supposed to ask you about Eve, since you know so much about Eden."

Laito let out a chuckle. "Why is my dearest Ayato kun finding such newfound interest in the little bitch?" He let out a whistle. "Is Ayato kun in looove?"

Ayato scrunched his face up at that. That little, pesky human? His love? Not at all. He was content with his blade and his army. Nothing else was necessary in his life at the moment. "You pervert."

"It's only a matter of months before she succumbs to her impending death anyway," Laito pouted. "Why not enjoy every bit of her while you're at it."

"Do you have information or her or not?"

"I do, but can I play with little bitch instead of you, if you're not interested in her?"

"You idiot," Ayato pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe his little brother was this weird. "You know why we infiltrated Eden."

"As did everybody else." Laito's eyes turned to slits, as he sat down on a luxurious couch in the middle of the hallway. "You'd have to come up with better ideas if you want to become this masterful little knight."

"I…" Ayato quelled his anger by thinking of the new human assigned to him. Her delicate flesh, her bright blood.

Her virtue.

"I didn't care for the little insult Eden has been for me," Ayato whispered, as an entourage of soldiers passed by them, heading to the private rooms. Must be high rankers, Ayato thought.

"Not everyone thinks like that," Laito hummed a lascivious ballad, and Ayato twirled his thumbs as the answer evaded him. He had to get into the good books of his father.

"Tell me how to turn that around," Ayato said, shaking his head. Despite being his blood brother, Laito wasn't going to help him without expecting anything in return.

"I have that planned." Laito's confidence gave Ayato some relief, but it made him worry as well. "Tell me what I have to do then." He said nevertheless.

Laito licked his lips. "Oh, ancestors are going to miss out on a lot of fun, Ayato kun."

Yui looked at the chambermaid as she laid down the silk linens on her bed, her cell feeling even more claustrophobic than before. Her hands clutched the ends of her dress as she asked, "Can… can I get a change of clothes?"

The chambermaid looked up from her chores, only to give her a puzzled expression. "What for?"

Yui felt stupid explaining it to someone. "My god requires it so that I am always protected from the gaze of outsiders."

The chambermaid looked irritated as she exclaimed, "Your god does not exist."

Yui wasn't accustomed to anger or irritation much. In a defiant yet subtle voice, she answered back, "Yes He does!"

"If he did, then he's dead!"

Yui choked back sobs. "Don't say that."

"Well, Eve, that's how it is," the chambermaid smoothed out the wrinkles on her sheet and pulled the pillow covers taut over the pillows. "None of these luxuries belong to you. These are for the comfort of Lord Ayato, who will do as he wishes with you tonight."

Yui's hands automatically went for her shoulder, where the feeling of his fangs still lingered, even if it didn't leave a scar. "Why are they so mean? Why do they want to hurt me?"

"Ask them, not me," the maid said, and stood up, looking at Yui's dress. She had been dressed in a laced up satin cloth that looked like a little dress, roomy enough to allow her to breathe and exposed ample amount of skin for Ayato to bite into. The maid smoothed her own apron, and reached out to fix Yui's collar.

Yui froze on the spot, trying to choke out a cry.

"You'll get used to it," she said, trying her best to smooth out the mess of Yui's hair into a low bun, while Yui closed her eyes. "But Ayato sama is going to break you everyday. It's what you get for being born human."

Behind them, a commotion of sorts followed, as the maid gasped. "He's coming already!"

"Tell me how to deal with it," Yui asked, wiping her tears as she panicked.

"With him?" The maid hurried, picking up her mop and brush. "Bite down on your tongue, as hard as you can."

"What happens then?"

"You meet your god or whatever."

Yui displayed confusion. "But you said He's dead?"

Before the chambermaid could answer her, Ayato pulled open the door, startling both of them.

For the longest moment, none of them spoke. Everyone sported a bright expression of bewilderment. Yui soaked in the sight of Ayato first, his rather humble choice of clothing, right from his white buttoned down shirt, to his suspenders and to the leather boots that had specks of rusty brown on them.

He was the first to distill the silence. "What are you doing here?"

"A-absolutely nothing, Lord Ayato."

"Do I pay you for doing nothing?" he retorted in a voice that made Yui take a step back. He was a monster. He could just rip both the chambermaid and her to shreds if he wanted to.

"I didn't mean it like that, sir."

Ayato hung his head in frustration, and dismissed the maid with a slight gesture of his hand. "Go tend to Subaru. Tell him I've sent you." Then he added, in a bitten tone, "Don't refuse whatever he demands."

A rush of panic was eminent over the chambermaid's face. "I understand, my lord." She quickly hastened away from Yui's cell, leaving both of them in a soft, faded candle light.

At first, Yui's first instinct was to hold on to the chambermaid, begging her not to leave her with the heathen like him. But she stood frozen as Ayato stalked his way towards Eve, closing space in the cramped up cell.

He stood face to face with her, his fingers lacing into her fine hair, as she kept her vision trained at the toes of his boots, where the rusty specks stood out as bright red. Maybe if she pretended he didn't scare her, he'd leave her alone. She felt odd as only her chest moved with breath, while his entire body was still, as though he were made of marble.

"Well," he said, pressing his cold finger on the underside of her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. "What are you here for?"

Yui felt a lump in her throat. "For you to use as you please." The end of the sentence ended in a higher note, as though posed as a question.

"Good," she watched as a foggy breath escaped his chest, as she was pushed into the bed, the soft linen soothing out a bit of her tingling gooseflesh. "Just imagine that I'm your god."

She closed her eyes as she felt his weight collapse onto her. The man was a giant compared to her. His legs locked her lower body in place, so she couldn't move. Her chest constricted, while she anticipated the piercing bite.

When a few seconds passed and nothing happened, she opened her eyes to look at her perpetrator.

"Say it," his forehead was creased, as his hands traced their way from her wrists to her throat.

Something foriegn ran through her body, and it wasn't fear. "Say what?"

His grip on her neck tightened just a little bit. "I'm your god." She could feel his thumbs massaging the sides of her neck, but his grip never seemed to loosen.

Her chest tightened even further, as her arms tried to grip his wrists in return, her expression shocked. "That's blasphemy, I'm not going to say tha-"

Even before she finished that sentence, without a single straining of his fingers, she felt her windpipe dangerously constrict as his expression turned unpleasant. For a moment, the sensation in her entire body went blank, as if she entirely ceased existing.

Then, all at once, she was awoken with a hacking cough in her chest.

She felt a violent force throw her upon the cold stone floor. She gathered her bearings before Ayato could deal any more blows upon her, but before she could move away, she felt the heel of his boot sticking deep into the small of her back, as he bent down and grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking it so as to make her look into his cruel, heartless eyes.

"N-no," she cried, shivering, and then felt his weight shift away from her, as he rolled her body over, making her lay flat on her back.

Getting on his haunches, he let out a low growl. "I prey upon bastards like you," he said, his left hand grabbing her shoulder hard enough to leave angry red marks on her skin. "The fact that you were someone important to the mortals I slayed means nothing to me. So don't expect me to be courteous and bend at your every whim." He let go of her, only to grab her neck yet again, this time a slight pressure already exerted when his palm encircled her delicate skin. "The only thing I find good about you is that you're unmarked. Makes convenient whenever I claim you."

Yui didn't understand. Why was he talking about her as though she was merely an object, a plaything that he had encountered, and nothing else? She didn't want any special attention. She just wanted him to respect him as a person. The least she had seen people do. Here, in this cramped up jail, she was nothing but a doormat to be stepped on. The grim reality finally dawned upon her.

He finally seemed to calm down his fury, and closed his eyes. "I'd like to mock your god a little bit." His thumb traced circles at the angle of her jaw, making her feel sick. "Sing something you mortals would in the hallowed halls of your almighty."

Yui felt her confidence shatter as she realised that the god she was fighting to honour had already forsaken her. Swallowing as best as she could, she asked in a tender, hurt voice, "What would you like to listen to?"

Ayato smiled as he saw the hint of obedience in her eyes. "Something related to you. I want to hear what they saw you as," he lowered his lashes at her, sporting a horrible, sadistic smile, "and what you've become."

That was what his plan was. To strip her of any dignity she had so as to make her compliant towards him. "There was a ballad they sang for the honour of all Eves."

He let go of her throat, and she inhaled a deep, shaking breath, as tears rolled freely from her eyes, blurring her vision.

Her throat ached as she sang out,

"Pride of our Eden, the Eves have been born

They bestow to our land the glory of our Lord.

They serve the fruit of knowledge, and keep us from all sin

They find the path to salvation and peace that comes within.

They'd nurture us in times of war, impatience and unrest,

Any sinful Adam, they'd find him out and best."

She stopped abruptly as he got up, pulling her with him, her body flush against his chest as he picked her up bridal style and unceremoniously threw her on the hard bed. Her head whiplashed as she collided on the mattress, and found him climbing up on her small frame yet again, unfastening the lace on her dress so as to expose her dainty shoulders. She'd seen disgust and anger on his face so far, but now she saw hatred in his eyes. Pure, unadulterated hatred.

"You were going to hear what they saw me as-" she shrieked as he tilted her head away so as to gain access to her neck, already trying to find a good spot to dig his fangs in. His angered groan made her shiver against him, as he said, "I don't care, I don't want to waste my time anymore."

And with that, he sank his teeth into a wildly throbbing blood vessel on the base of her neck.