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The king may have thought he was tricking the country, but anyone with half a brain could tell that something was strange with the royal family. Although that would be the perfect explanation as to why no one had noticed something was strange about them. Luckily for Dio though, he wasn’t no one.
There were too many discrepancies surrounding the crown prince, Jonathan Joestar, and Dio aimed to figure out just what this secret was that was being kept from the people of England so carefully. It had to be something big otherwise they wouldn’t be trying to hide it. An illegitimate child that Jonathan had? Some kind of mental instability he had that the king couldn’t risk getting out? Whatever it was, Dio was going to figure it out.
And now was the time.
If there was one thing his bastard of a father did right, it was helping the king all those years ago. Without that, then he would be struggling to get a way into the castle. Now though, now he was rising in the world, from a lowly peasant to a servant in the castle, and now after so many years: a servant with privileges. He had access to places the regular staff weren’t allowed to enter and he was treated with respect.
What he needed to do now was to find out just what was wrong with Jonathan. He’d met the other boy plenty of times, and the king had even arranged for them to be more than just servant and prince, more like a confidant. A friend, even. But vigilant in his search, Dio had never been the nicest to Jonathan; he needed to figure out the mystery surrounding him and being closer to the prince meant a more difficult job in doing that. Attachments like friendship only slowed things down and blinded people to the truth.
Of course, even with Dio’s cold personality towards Jonathan, he could appreciate the man. He was built like a fucking god, which was surprising since he didn’t leave the castle often, or at all now that Dio really thought about it, and there wasn’t exactly the perfect facilities for building muscle around there so that was in and of itself another mystery, but one that Dio found himself not minding not knowing the answer to. His smile was always present, but it was one that was refined and soft, just like his personality. Jonathan chose to smile with his eyes rather than his mouth, and if he wasn’t already ethereally pretty then he certainly was whenever he smiled, and that was just an undeniable fact.
But enough about Jonathan and how beautiful he was. That was besides the point. The point being that something was off about him. It was the way he carried himself, the way he never opened the curtains in his room, the way he would occasionally disappear in the night only to return early the next morning to sleep it away.
Dio was going to do a stake out.
He would wait out the nights, sleep during the day much like the prince, and catch him in the act. A plan easier created than done. Dio may have been trusted more than so than the regular worker at the castle but that didn’t mean he was allowed to just linger about so he had to be careful. Situate himself in a place where he would not be seen and wait. He would have to hide his hand knife somewhere secure otherwise that would be a whole other story to tell to the king if he somehow got caught too.
Living in the slums for his childhood had shaped him as a person, and it had never left him, so while it took some time to figure out just how he was going to carry out his plan, the actual carrying out of it was simple. Thought Dio knew that was only because he was who he was that it was so simple. Any other plebeian from the castle that attempted to do what he was doing would get caught before they even tried.
Jonathan left his room, on the fourth night Dio tried to catch him. He could tell from the noise of the curtains moving and the clicking of the window opening, and after waiting a few minutes Dio deemed it safe enough to enter the prince’s room. It would be the best place to have a confrontation with the man and he would be safe from any eyes that might have seen him hiding in the shadows.
The prince’s room was excessively fancy, as expected of royalty, and it still surprised Dio just how lavish it was despite him having visited many times before. Something about the night made it more intimate though. Something about the night made it seem as though he was waiting to be struck by the surprise of his life.
And what a surprise it was.
He had made himself comfortable on the bed. He was the one who held the power here after all since it wouldn’t be long until he held the information that was being hidden.
Jonathan re-entered the room through the window. The sun still hadn’t come out yet and he hadn’t been gone for longer than two hours – just what had he done in such a short amount of time? That question answered itself when Dio saw Jonathan’s face.
Blood.
Clear as day, there was blood over his face, on his lips, and clothes.
“What are you?” Dio said out loud without thinking. He had been planning to wait for the prince to notice him himself, but he couldn’t help it. Was the prince of England a murderer? Was that the secret? Jonathan yelped in surprise, covering his mouth quickly and quietening himself as he remembered it was still night time, and suddenly it started piecing together in Dio’s mind.
Why he left at night. Why he never smiled with his teeth. The blood all over him at that moment of time.
“D-Dio! You’re not supposed to be here!” Jonathan’s eyes went wide as he spluttered for something to say.
“What… Are you?” Dio asked again, fiercer this time. He wanted a clear answer. If he ran off with this knowledge he could take down the Joestar family with one fell swoop, but only if he was right. He could have… Oh. Now there was an idea.
“Dio, it’s not what you think.” Jonathan tried, holding up his hands, his mouth opening just enough for Dio to see the fangs and confirm his suspicions. He pulled out his knife and stood up from the bed, holding it out as a threat.
“I won’t hesitate. Now answer my question.”
“I… You wouldn’t… Dio, we’re friends, aren’t we?” The pleading look in his eyes just made Dio want to tease him all that more.
“Not once have I considered you a friend, you vampire scum.” He scoffed, walking closer to Jonathan, the fear in the man’s eyes definite and so… delightful to see. Something about having prince Jonathan Joestar under his control was so delightful. It gave Dio the power he desperately searched for in all aspects of life. He held the knife to Jonathan’s chest, moving closer to leer in his face. “But… Scum seems harsh now that I say it. You’re better than that, JoJo.” Dio knew how the nickname made Jonathan weak, since he would refuse to ever say it despite the prince’s requests.
“You know that can’t kill me.” Jonathan said, a powerful statement but not when his voice trembled as it did.
“And are you going to kill me?” Dio laughed in response. He didn’t need to look at Jonathan’s face to know that he was pouting oh so childishly like he always did. Knowing Jonathan, the meek, mild thing he was, he probably struggled feeding from his victims and wouldn’t willingly kill the one person that was closest thing to a friend to him. “I’m teasing, dearest JoJo, but surely, you can’t expect me to keep quiet about this?”
He lowered his weapon and walked a few steps backwards, looking out the window with a smile, knowing exactly how to alter his plan to favour all the best interests of his heart.
“Imagine if the people found out, what would they say? Would they hunt you down with pitchforks and fire and make you repent for all the souls you stole blood from?” He glanced back at Jonathan to see his response.
“I do repent! I go to the church with every kill!” The fire in his eyes as he defended himself. Ah, this was glorious for Dio. “I don’t want to die, Dio. No one does…” That was a touching scene to watch, for a being without a beating heart, he really put emotion into that one. He was so easy to trick.
“Then what on earth shall I do about this, JoJo, hmm? What are you willing to give me to keep this our secret?”
“Anything. Please, don’t let my father find out you know.” There it was. The answer Dio wanted and knew he’d get. He smiled and put his knife away.
“Just let me stay, my prince, and let me know all of you.” Maybe it was his libido talking but he could see himself enjoying this arrangement quite thoroughly. And when Jonathan nodded in agreement, he knew he would be enjoying this arrangement more than thoroughly.
As the moon rises above us your secret will be kept.
I promise not to tell if you promise to let me stay,
I won't let anyone know, it's our secret from now on
From each day to night, and from each night to day.
There's no need to worry about all those tears you wept;
The scars will fade until they're completely gone
But I will be here forever by your side with your heart.
I shall cherish, you shall obey, and we shall not part.