Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Legends. The world was full of them. From the infamous Dracula, to the Bermuda Triangle. For a while it was through word of mouth, only to later transition to books. 

People loved their legends. And the legends told varied from culture to culture. 

But one legend was universal, and spoke of a creature known only as the Snatcher. A monster, a demon , of unknown species, it sought souls to snatch and eat. And it was only seen on new moon nights. 

While prevalent in earlier centuries, when the creature supposedly ran rampant, its attacks had ended long ago. But nobody ever forgot.

And one day, the legend... would begin anew…

It was around six years after a child, a young boy, was born into the Hildin family. He was a strange sort, as far as boys went, for he was gentle and loved warm hugs. He was more interested in what his mother did around the home than what his father did for work. 

And this confused and irked the parents. 

Messy, orange hair, bright blue wide eyes, and a gentle smile on that young, freckled face stood proud against the weathered, more cynical faces of his parents in every photo. 

His name was Vincent. 

The boy sat in the kitchen, admiring the way his mother cooked and cleaned. Every few minutes, she'd ask, tiredly and a bit condescendingly, "Vincent, why don't you go play with your toys?"

And every time he'd comply with a gentle "Okay", running to play with his toy trucks and dinosaurs, only to walk right back down to watch her again. She'd sigh. 

"Can I help?" he asked, tilting his head and letting his rather lengthy orange locks flow with the motion. 

"Absolutely not," his mother shot back with no hesitation. "Go play with your toys and roughhouse like a good boy."

He didn't want to. But he didn't want to disobey. So up the stairs he went to play. Vincent lay down on the tattered carpeted rug, absentmindedly using a finger to move his trucks. 

He wanted a doll, a stuffed animal. Something he could pretend to care for and dress up. He'd told his dad and the man practically flipped. "Boys aren't supposed to do that, son!" he told him once, gripping him by the suspenders he used to wear, "you play rough and tough, you are rough and tough!"

Vincent remembered crying that day. Not right then and there of course. He recalled the last times he cried in front of his parents. There wasn't any comfort, only cold discipline and harsh words. 

He sighed, and looked up and around his messy, barely put-together  room. It was almost as if they didn't want him here. But they loved him. Right?

He sure did love them. 

The boy eyed a blanket he used to cover a giant hole in the wall, and headed over, pulling it aside like a curtain. Inside were books he'd taken from his parents' room to read, one by one. They never noticed they were gone. 

A few of them were books on law; many others contained information about art and literature. Things he wondered how he understood at such an age. Things his parents would never really teach him. 

Vincent read them again and again every night, and he never got tired of them. Smiling, he pulled the blanket back over them, and headed back downstairs to the kitchen, sitting on the floor to watch again. 

"How can you be so quiet, boy?" his mom asked of him harshly once she took notice of him. 

His reply was a shrug. He didn't quite know why he was the way he was. He just.. was . 

"Answer me with words, Vincent."

"I dunno."

She ignored him after that, letting the silence stew in the stained kitchen as well as the brothy dinner she was making. Vincent kept watching, at least until his father got home. The man huffed, tossing his coat on the hanger and slamming the door, creating yet another crack in the wall. 

"I've had enough!" he shouted, blue eyes narrowed. Vincent was almost a spitting image of him. But the chin and harsh wrinkles around those icy eyes were what separated them. "This colleague drives me crazy!"

Vincent stood up, backing away as his father entered the room. "Son, go to your room right now."

The boy didn't protest, running to his room. Father was scary. His mother turned off the stove, since dinner was done, eyebrows crinkling upwards. "What happened, Danny?" all of her harsh condescension faded.

"We got into a shouting match, Kim. He just bugs the ever-loving hell out of me," he sighed, placing a hand on his brow. "I can't explain it. But something's off about him."

"I know what you mean, honey," Kim frowned, glancing upstairs with disinterest. "Something's off about our son too."

Vincent stayed hidden, frowning and shaking. 

"I never really blow up like that."

A lie. 

"I know, Danny."

Also a lie.

Vincent slid away from the door. He didn't want to hear anymore. He'd just wait till dinner was called.

Dinner was never called. When his parents went to bed, Vincent was unsure whether he should come down for dinner, even though he started starving hours ago. And then a thud echoed up into his room from downstairs. 

The little boy gasped quietly, blue eyes wide. It could be a burglar. He should stay hidden. 

And at the worst possible moment his dad's words of being rough and tough entered his mind. Dad wouldn't hide. He'd investigate, and fight. So that's what he'd do. 

He grabbed a bat from the corner of the room, his eyes hardening as he steeled himself. Vincent stepped downstairs quietly, only to stop cold.

The intruder was big and burly, and had hair almost all over. The front door had been torn off its hinges. The boy, skinny and not nearly as burly, began to think he hardly had a chance. His calculations proved that the odds were against him. Before he could slink back into the safety of his room, the man saw him, yellow eyes gleaming as he foamed at the mouth. 

The burly guy figured this boy was related to the person who angered him at work, and started towards Vincent, bringing out a strange vial. The redhead gulped and held out the bat to try and defend himself. 

"S..stay back!" he warned feebly. 

The creature simply swatted it away like nothing, and he blocked the only way out. So Vincent ran back into his room, backed into a corner. He called for his mom and dad. He called for help. 

Nobody came. 

He looked out the window as the creature drew closer. He wasn't dying today. The hungry boy threw open the window and climbed out just as the creature charged for him.

It was a two story fall, but he escaped that too with minor cuts and bruises. He looked around the village from the bushes decorating the side of the Hildin home, and clambered out, running. But the burly thing was faster than an injured six year old. He lunged from the building, catching Vincent on the way down, and popped open the vial. 

"Mom, dad! help!" he cried out, trying to fight against the clutches of this animal. "Please! don't do this, mister.. I'll be good! I've been good!"

"The son will pay for the sins of the father," was the only response Vincent got, before he shoved the contents of the vial down the kid's throat. 

Vincent immediately felt sick, coughing a few times. He groaned, as the elixir began to work its magic. The burly man carried the boy back to the house and tossed him unceremoniously onto his bed before departing. 

The boy continued to cry out for his parents, weakly. And he wondered why they never came…

The next morning, Vincent woke with a jolt and pangs of hunger. He'd forgotten to eat last night. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed at his forehead, still in the tattered undershirt and boxers from the night before. 

It was only the sting he felt from his cuts and bruises that reminded him that last night wasn't a dream at all.

He sighed, looking tired and wanting nothing more than to eat and go back to bed. So he headed downstairs with a bit of a limp, grabbing a bowl of broth. Vincent almost didn't notice his dad sitting at the table reading the newspaper. 

Forcing a smile, he waved, starting to shake. The man lowered the newspaper, and seemed almost disappointed. "Oh. It's you. Don't you know how to speak, son?"

The boy nodded. "I called for you last night.."

"Is that so? well, maybe you should have been a little louder," Danny replied, with a sneer. "Hadn't I always told you that?" 

Vincent held back tears. He wanted a hug, but he knew his father would never give them. Neither would his mother actually. "I got hurt."

The man raised an eyebrow, and looked the boy over from his seat. "Ah. Some cuts and bruises. That'll heal on its own, son. How does it feel to finally roughhouse like I taught you?" And he actually smiled. 

Vincent.. didn't smile back. He felt.. a little bitter actually. And he didn't answer either, shaking his head and heading back upstairs with the broth. Danny didn't stop him. 

The broth was the only warmth he'd ever have.

Sure enough, the injuries did heal as he lay in bed, empty bowl off to the side. A little too quickly, but who was he to complain? Vincent did wonder about it all though. That guy last night must have been the colleague his father angered. 

He would never understand why most people resorted to such dastard deeds when angry. 

The boy huffed a bit, crossing his arms. Thinking some more. His mind was his best weapon. And he was going to use it. 

According to the books he'd read, that vial wasn't poison. Or he'd have been dead a while ago. He couldn't understand. He just felt sick. And unusually tired. 

And if he looked in a mirror, he'd find that he looked awfully pale too. Vincent groaned, tired of thinking all of a sudden. His head ached something bad, and his throat and lips were dry.

It only got worse as the day started to fade away. His bones developed a waxing pain inside them, and his entire body got sweaty, as if he was getting warmer and warmer. His breathing became harsh and shallow. 

And then night was falling; searing pain shot through his entire little body. Vincent choked, getting up and stumbling off the bed. His legs felt so weak, like jelly. He found that he could hardly move them, so he just started to drag himself around, writhing on the floor. Splotches of a very dark purple began forming on his face, arms and legs, and he whined softly, the pain far too much for a six year old. 

His bones snapped and rearranged, prompting screams of utmost pain; his ten fingers sharpened into claws that melded together into two fingers on each hand, and his legs fused to make a tail. All the while he screamed like no tomorrow, definitely waking his parents. 

The transformation didn't stop there. His lips formed two large fangs, his eyes and maw starting to glow eternally blue with powerful heat, and he progressively grew fluffier. In the process, his clothes tore up, and as his maw changed so did his screams. Much less human. Much more monstrous. 

What was once a child, was now a small purple noodle-like creature. He growled, claws clutching at the floor and nearly scoring it too. Vincent opened his glowing eyes again, mind completely shut down and in a monster's claw. All he could feel and think about was hunger. 

And he sensed two souls in this very house.

Chapter Text

Danny and Kim were woken up by the fierce, agonized screams, soon to be replaced by monstrous, hungry howls. The brunette clung to her redhead husband, terrified out of her wits. The man, however, seemed to show no fear. His eyes were almost like steel. "Let go, hon. I'm gonna go see what this is." 

"Danny, why not hide this time?" she asked, brown eyes shimmering from tears. She still didn't let go.

"I'm a man," was his simple response. He reached under the bed and grabbed a metal bat. "I'll be fine."

She finally let go with a sigh, and down he went while she went to hide in the nearby closet. It wasn't spacious but it'd do. 

Danny snuck down the stairs, narrowing his eyes as he then walked into the kitchen. All Kim could hear at this point were footsteps, and then a thump as the creature unceremoniously leapt down the other set of stairs. 

The man let out a strangled cry upon seeing it. It was smaller than that of legend, much smaller, and rather than gold had blue, oval-shaped eyes and a blue, drooling maw. And it wore a torn up undershirt…

It growled at the man, fur raised, eyes wild, claws itching to kill. But the redhead didn't back down, clenching the bat tighter. It circled the man the best it could in such an enclosed space, ready to pounce at any moment. 

Danny backed up a bit, watching its every move, not connecting the dots. This was a beast that had somehow gotten into their house. And as a man, he had to get rid of it. 

But how?

The demon roared and finally lunged, the man just barely preventing it from biting his face off with the bat. He held the bat against the creature, who chomped and clawed at it repeatedly, but despite how small it was, Danny could hear the metal bat starting to crack. 

And, stupidly, he snatched the bat away, almost creating an opening, and smacked the creature with it hard, sending it flying into the wall. It whined, clutching at where it hurt for a bit, but it seemed to recover quickly. In mere minutes it was back up, tail lashing and knocking over various items as it charged again. 

Danny was ready and swung the bat right at its face, and it connected with a loud crack, sending the monster through the wall this time. It shrieked in pain, landing outside a couple ways away, tears trailing down from its eyes as it lay there, pawing at its face. It could sense more souls out here. In every building. And it was so very hungry…

Danny snuck to the hole in the wall, glancing out at the writhing purple demon. Watching it soon get up and leave. That didn't bode well. He had to stop this creature before it killed anyone. 

After he told his wife what he was going to do, he headed out onto the path with his bat, but he'd brought a gun along this time too.

The small demon rumbled along, sniffing every now and then. It licked its lips, eyes glaring hungrily around. It wanted to ease the pain the hunger caused. The external pain barely bothered it anymore. 

A gunshot rang out, the ensuing bullet planting itself in the ground beside the creature, alerting it to a closer soul. It whipped around, and narrowed its blue eyes, lips curling into a snarl. That dark soul became enticing yet again. 

"That was a warning shot. Next one won't be," the soul stated, though the beast only heard a garbled mess. 

It soon approached the man, fire billowing in its maw and spilling out. Danny leapt out of the way as the creature lunged, flaming jaw catching only ground. The man then aimed and fired his second shot, nailing the monster right in the shoulder. 

It howled in pain, probably waking everyone else up, and started wildly charging through the ground with a limp, growling. Danny's eyes widened, before he proceeded to shoot at it again. And again. And again. 

Nailing it in the cheek, arm and tail. 

But the beast was not slowing down. It snarled as it followed the sounds of the gunshots and sensation of the soul, heading straight for Danny. That was when he readied his bat, and swung, landing a home run. The creature was sent flying once more, right into…

...their house. 

Oh no. 

Horror dawned on Danny, and he proceeded to rush back to the home.

The purple noodle-like beast crashed right through the roof into Danny's and Kim's room, and the woman started to shake upon hearing pained whines and growls. Blue blood leaked onto the floor, as it got up once more, heaving and swaying. It sensed another soul nearby. Different. But still dark as coal.

It hissed, tongue slithering out of its maw, starting to approach the closet. Kim gripped her mouth in order not to scream, eyes wide. Slowly, due to the pain, it reached for the door, pulling it open. She immediately got to her feet and booked it out of there, heading down the stairs with the creature nearly at her heels. 

It chomped at her as it limply chased, fire licking out of its mouth again. Danny opened the door just in time for Kim to rush out and slam it. The creature bonked into the door, not yet strong enough and too in pain to tear through it. It hissed, starting to claw at the door, trying to get at the souls behind it.

Kim and Danny sighed. At least it was trapped in there. But where would they go? neither of them realized they were missing something. Or rather, some one . Or did they just not care?

"We have to figure out how to kill it," Danny spoke up after he regained his breath. Kim only nodded, too shocked to speak. But it was too late to visit the library. They'd have to wait till morning, the man realized. 

He stomped his foot, swearing under his breath, and sat down, gun at the ready. The brunette followed his motions. They could still hear claws scratching at the door, leaving deeper and deeper scores into it.

And it lasted all night. 

The demon was almost through when the sun started peeking through, and froze. It choked on a whine as it started to shrink, its fur beginning to recede. Its tail dragged across the floor before splitting into legs, bones snapping and rearranging. It howled painfully, convulsing; the claws separated into ten fingers and the blue of its mouth and eyes faded away. 

Danny, out of complete curiosity, opened the door, only to find a young boy who simultaneously looked like the beast, what with the fangs still present and receding and purple blotches along his skin. The mane disappeared and dissipated, revealing long orange hair. Snarling howls became human screams, and soon the itchy-looking blotches faded away, revealing pale skin.

Danny continued to stare, as did Kim, with utter shock. That was their son. 

"Ugh…" Vincent groaned. He felt sick, and he felt like he'd been shot several times and like he'd busted his aching head. He coughed, moaning some more in sheer agony. "What.. happened last night..?" he asked no one in particular feebly.

And then he finally looked up, and saw his parents looking frazzled. He slowly sat up, only to heave and vomit up his breakfast, and four bullets. Danny's eyes soon hardened. "You were the beast…" he whispered.

Vincent looked up at his dad, squinting. The sun shone through the open door and it was killing his eyes. But moreso he did it out of confusion. "Wh.. what..?"

"You were the beast!" Danny yelled, angrily. "You… scum !" 

The boy recoiled, but it only made his head hurt more, as well as the wounds he was now harshly aware of. "Daddy, I don't know what you're talking about..!"

And suddenly he felt the cold barrel of his dad's gun against his forehead. Suddenly, a couple memories from last night resurfaced past the blur. 

He.. was the beast...

Tears welled up in his big blue eyes, and he shook as he stared at his father. "D..daddy, please.. I'm sorry.. don't kill me…" 

Kim shouted just then. "Danny Hildin! put the gun down!"

"He nearly tried to kill us, honey!" his father exclaimed. 

"I don't care. He's not our problem anymore," the woman narrowed her eyes. 

Danny bit his lip, before he lowered the gun. Vincent lowered his head, sniffling as he hugged himself. He was in so much pain. Physically. And emotionally too. 

"Get up," his mother ordered. 

Vincent complied, dizzied by how fast he did so. He shook some more, his legs jelly, not exactly in any state to move. But it didn't look like his parents cared. 

"Cover yourself, and leave," she finished, pointing out the door.

The boy felt his heart break. Were they.. disowning him? after several seconds - what felt like minutes to him - he nodded, stowing his tears. "Okay…"

He made his way back through the kitchen and upstairs with a limp, as his parents followed him inside. He could hear them talking again.

"We'll have another son. A good little boy this time."

The six-year-old let out a choked sob, before he shakily put on a pair of boxers and got dressed against his bed. He stared at the other pair of boxers, torn up beyond repair, lying at the foot of his bed. This was so much to take in. 

Becoming a beast. Attacking his parents. 

His parents. Disowning him.

But he probably deserved it, right?

He threw on his favorite patchy cloak from his littler days. Better dress up properly. Vincent then headed over to his impromptu bookcase, took a couple of his favorite books and stuffed them into his cloak's pocket. 

They'd have a better little boy who actually does what they want. 

They'd forget all about him. 

But despite everything, he still wished them the best. 

Still loved them. 

Sighing, Vincent glanced at his toys. His little brother can have them. And then he put on his boots and walked downstairs. 

Out the door. 

Out of town. 

Into the jaws of nature. 

Ignoring how much he wanted to rest, ignoring how sick he was. And out here, in the depths of the forest, was when he allowed himself to sob his heart out.

Chapter Text

Little Vincent found himself in a world much larger than the world he used to know. With nothing but his cloak and the clothes he wore, he marveled at such wondrous nature. He'd only seen half of this in the books he read. 

His sickness and still healing bullet wounds forced him to stop and rest, so he chose a nearby tree to sit against, blue eyes shimmering still with tears. Heaving dryly, Vincent wondered why he was so sickly. The night before was still blurry and dark despite what he could remember. 

All he knew was that he was a monster. 

The boy sniffled as he cried some more, burying his face into his knees. And a few minutes later, he felt fur against his leg. Vincent nearly freaked out, thinking he was transforming again, but he calmed when he saw that it was just a tiny bush cat curled up against him. His eyes sparkled as he stared, and he smiled, reaching to pet it.

The bush cat wasn't expecting its resting place to move though, and gazed up at the boy. It purred as the boy pet it, rubbing against his hand. 

"Aww.. you're really cute.." Vincent cooed, eyes half-lidded. He was tired. And hurt. And inexplicably sick. But this bush cat seemed to make him forget all that. 

...

Until it didn't. He bit his lip, accidentally hurting himself. Blood seeped from his lip, and his eyes widened as he felt his teeth while wiping away the fluid. Turned out his canines had sharpened. 

But that was beside the point. He was a monster. This innocent, kind creature shouldn't be anywhere near him. 

And yet he couldn't make himself shoo it away. The boy gulped, and stayed where he was, withdrawing his hand. The bush cat looked up at him, mewing softly and pawing at his leg. 

"You're.. really kind," Vincent met its golden eyes again, and it mewed again. He doubted that this creature knew his dark side, since it was so close to him now. But the books he'd read…

All animals had a peculiar sense of otherworldly beings. Particularly dark and dangerous ones. And their go-to was to attack or stay away. 

And yet… 

The boy sadly sighed. Why didn't it stay away?

The bush cat pawed at his leg more, mewing repeatedly. Vincent didn't know what to do. He was scared. Scared he'd hurt it like the monster he was. "Mm…"

Soon he got up, on shaky legs, and started limping away. The little animal followed, meowing with confusion. 

Vincent tried walking faster, only to fall flat on his face. He coughed, and groaned, shaking his head, and the bush cat was soon right by his side, licking his cheek. The boy couldn't help chuckling and smiling, turning his head to face it. "Y..you just can't stay away, huh..?" he asked softly, and sadly. 

The bush cat stared back, mewing. The redhead thought for a moment. Surely its parents were nearby? they had to be. He got up slowly, pushing himself to his feet and steadying himself. Once sure he wouldn’t fall again, he started to walk, grunting with each step he took. The small animal loyally followed.

Very soon, subconsciously following his nose, he found a den. His blue eyes scanned the circumference of the hole, hope shining within. This must be it! so he knelt and gestured to it, watching the tiny bush cat. “Go on, buddy. Your parents must be worried sick..” Vincent Hildin pursed his lips, tearing up slightly. No doubt he was thinking of his own parents. The bush cat seemed to sense this, and padded up to the boy, nuzzling his knee. 

Vincent watched this, puzzled and concerned. He soon smiled and took a hand to gently push the bush cat away and towards the den. “I’ll be okay, buddy. You belong here, at least.” 

The tiny animal turned its head to look back at the boy, meowing sadly. But it soon faced the den again, and crawled in. The redhead stayed there until the cat disappeared fully inside, and sighed as he got up and started walking away, still limping. He gulped down a sob, gripping his arm. He was a monster; he couldn’t let it stay with him…

A screech from behind him tore through his thoughts, and he stopped in his tracks, blue eyes widening. He looked and saw adult bush cats growling. Their hackles were raised, too. But what caught his attention the most was the tiny bush cat a few feet away. It looked absolutely terrified, crying out. Vincent gasped and rushed back the best he could, scooping up the little animal and holding it close. 

“What’s with you guys?!” he yelled at them, largely confused, pinning them with a glare. “Isn’t this your kid?!” 

The other bush cats promptly stopped growling, their expressions shifting from angry to scared as they started to shake upon seeing Vincent. They could all feel the great darkness within him. The adults started backing up, hackles still raised, but with fear this time. The boy continued to glare, biting his lip and accidentally drawing blood. One of them seemed to come to its senses, claws appearing in a flash as it leapt to attack the six year old. 

He immediately set the tiny bush cat behind him and held up his arm to block, the claws tearing into that instead. He yelped as it continued to scratch him fiercely, but he didn’t dare call for help this time - no matter how much he wanted to. Vincent knew he was on his own, and as soon as he gathered the spoons, he defended himself, grabbing the ferocious bush cat with his other hand and pulling it off him so he could toss it away from them. It flew into the others, crying out, and the boy immediately felt bad, flinching with remorse and pain. 

That said, he didn’t wait for them to recover, scooping the tiny one up and limping away hurriedly. At least his leg felt better, if only slightly. The adults didn’t bother chasing after them, heading back into their den. The one that attacked though, watched them for a while before it too returned.

It started to rain, the drops of water coming down like torrents. Vincent sat in an abandoned tree hole, still holding the little bush cat close. His head was bowed and his eyes downcast, the boy feeling much like the dark and cloudy sky. The kitten purred and nuzzled against him, hoping to offer more comfort. As she - he later found out - licked his cheek once, he sighed, lifting his head to look at her gloomily. “Guess we’re both outcasts, huh..?” 

She mewed at him in response. The redhead stared out into the rainy forest then from the safety of the tree, and muttered to himself, “I have no choice but to keep you now.. after a rough patch like that..” 

Inhaling, and coughing because of the high amount of dew in the air, he adjusted himself in the hole, yawning. The bush cat somehow ended up on his head. “Good night, Rough Patch..” he mumbled, tiredly assigning the name to her and barely thinking much of it. Sleep took him minutes later, and Rough Patch made herself comfortable before lying down and falling asleep too…

The dream he had was.. strange, to say the least. He was on a hunt on a dark night, cloak wrapped around his waist, tearing through the woods and eating anything he could get his claws on. There were a few brawls between him and various animals, but he won every time, snatching their souls and devouring them. But one animal was different. 

This animal wore clothes and stood on two legs. But this didn’t matter to him. Blood spilled and splattered against him, and its soul was snatched and eaten. And he let out a victorious howl. 

However…

…he was still hungry…

Chapter Text

Vincent woke up soon enough, his back slightly sore from how he lay and where he rested his head. He grunted as he stretched the best he could with such limited space, and that’s when he found that his wounds from that night had healed, seeing as he barely felt any pain from those areas. And while it severely confused him that he was able to heal that fast from gunshot wounds , he was grateful for the reprieve. The gashes from that bush cat, though, needed a bit more time. 

The boy took a breath and sighed, and looked out. No longer was it raining, but the grassy surroundings glistened with moisture. He could still feel the bush cat sleeping on his head. And try as he might, he couldn’t ignore that dream. She shouldn’t stay with him, but what else could he do? she had nowhere to go, just like him. 

…that dream was unlike any other. And it unsettled him. But for some reason it wasn’t.. alarming. It didn’t make him jolt awake in a cold sweat. It felt like.. it was a part of him. 

Vincent paled, and thus chose not to think about this anymore. It hurt his head, and the mere thought that he enjoyed killing was.. atrocious. He loved people and animals too much to hurt them…

Even if they had no qualms about hurting him. 

The boy’s throat tightened a little, and he reached to scoop the little bush cat into his arms again. She let out a cute yawn, not waking up thankfully, but they’d have to move on soon. 

He wasn’t quite sure what to do though. Books may have taught him much, but putting it into practice was.. tough. Vincent didn’t even think this would happen to him at such a young age. He sighed, and then began to think—his favorite pastime. 

Food. Okay, food was important of course. And trees often had apples. Climbing trees was something he wasn’t interested in doing, despite it being something his dad often talked about, but it seemed like he had to now. 

What else was important..? sleep. But he’d already slept. And he wasn’t too keen on experiencing that dream again so soon. 

And.. shelter. Well, he already had that, but he couldn’t stay. He was scum . And he might hurt people if he stayed. 

Gulping soundlessly, he climbed out of the hole, keeping a gentle but firm hold on the kitten, and started walking and scanning for apples. As he did, he stretched, popping bones and relaxing. The bush cat in his arms was beginning to wake, mewing quietly. Vincent tiredly looked down at her and smiled. “Hey, Rough Patch..”

He got a soft mew in return, and grinned, accidentally exposing his fangs. And then he glanced up at the trees again. It shouldn’t be too late into the spring. Wait, did apples even grow now? he couldn’t quite recall, or say. And he couldn’t trust berries—his knowledge didn’t go that far. Last thing he needed was to die from poison.

He kept searching, finding tons of berries. But no apples yet. 

Maybe they just didn’t grow in this part of the forest? he was content with that, but he still needed to find some kind of food. What else was food? thinking long and hard about this question, he managed to stumble upon a patch of ripe tomatoes. 

Thankfully, not literally. 

His blue eyes shone with relief and delight, and he was about to pick a few before he realized. 

They probably belong to someone… I can’t take them…

Vincent Hildin licked his lips though, his stomach growling angrily. He was already a monster. He didn’t want to add “thief” to his title. But they looked juicy and tempting, and, looking around and seeing no one, he sighed with defeat and began to pick three and only three. One and a half for him and one and a half for the bush cat. And then he rushed away without a hitch. 

The boy panted as he stopped in a clearing a bit far away, holding the tomatoes and the bush cat with care. And then he set the kitten down and sat down himself, putting two red veggies in his lap and staring at the last one. He’d watched his mom cook a lot so maybe this would be easy. 

Except he didn’t have a knife or anything sharp to cut it with. 

He sighed with defeat once more, still eyeing the tomato in his hand. Maybe he could just eat half and leave the rest for Rough Patch, who was currently watching him curiously. Vincent nodded to himself, and gave her one of the tomatoes. She sniffed at it and soon began to nibble. But the boy just bit into it, finding the tomato much softer than usual. He figured out soon enough that it was because of his long and sharp canines.

However, as he savored the taste, he found that the tomato didn’t quite sate him as much as it would before. And these veggies were very hearty and filling even on their own. At least it still tasted good, but what good was that when it didn’t even fill him up at least more than a bit?

Vincent stopped eating when he reached half of the tomato and gave that to Rough Patch as well, and then he picked up and looked at the other. Might as well eat it, the energy would help him. And so he did. The little kitten was still nibbling, but with more fervor. At least she was enjoying it. Though he was sure bush cats were primarily carnivores…

With a shrug, he stood up and waited for her to finish the goods before he picked her up and carried her along. 

Together, they soon left the town’s outskirts behind, heading deeper and deeper into the woods. He was fully prepared to face unknown creatures and plants and traverse unknown locations, so long as he had Rough Patch by his side. 

Because, as far as he was aware, this was his home now.

Chapter Text

A couple weeks passed by—weeks of rain, of warmth, of tired feet and of dirty hands. The inexplicable sickness had gone, replaced by a certain wellness and energy Vincent wasn’t sure he’d felt before. The boy felt stronger and like he could do much more. Like he’d grown.

And the bush cat traveling alongside him had grown too, becoming a bit too big for his arms to properly hold. Rough Patch was no longer a kitten, but she would always be one in his eyes. And she still didn’t seem to see the darkness dwelling deep inside him. Maybe, just maybe, she sensed there was a light alongside such dark, a light that attracted her to him. 

But he wasn’t aware. He thought himself too scummy and monstrous to ever see his shining kindness and compassion. A much too weary outlook for a six year old. 

Vincent eventually stopped walking. He’d known about his sense of smell already, as well as his hearing and eyesight. But what he could sense right now was a little strange. It was unlike anything he’d ever sensed. Almost magical. 

And a thought slammed into his head just then, and he nearly recoiled. Souls. 

It was very faint, but it was there, a slight thudding in his brain. 

He gulped, not knowing what this meant, and the bush cat mewed softly, pawing at his leg. Vincent startled out of his thoughts and looked down at Rough Patch, puzzled. “R..Rough Patch? do you hear anything..?”

She tilted her head. Nothing but the regular sounds of the forest. 

This was so weird.. if only someone was traveling with him for just a moment so he could be sure it wasn’t just him—

No, you’re a monster, Vincent… no one can travel with you.. nothing should..

And yet Rough Patch was here. And he hadn’t hurt her.

Yet. 

He shook the repulsive thought from his mind, tears bubbling in his eyes. But the truth was still clawing at it. He was a monster. He was a monster he was a monster hE WAS A—

Crumpling to the ground, hands over his ears, he cried out. And once again, he felt fur on his leg. Shaking, he sniffled and hiccuped and lifted his head, looking down to see Rough Patch comforting him. He hugged her close.

He may have felt strong, but inside he was broken as all hell. But that was fine, because he had Rough Patch now. His eyes wet, he lay there for quite some time cuddled with her before he stood up and began moving again. And Rough Patch followed.

Another week passed, and Vincent found himself struggling again. He was a touch pale, shaky, and the beats of souls only increased in volume a tad. Rough Patch became concerned quickly, but was sure to stay with him every step of the way. 

They were never really able to find a tree like the one they stayed in all those weeks ago. But they did manage to find apples. Vincent found that even fruit didn’t sate him fully, but didn’t complain. It was fitting for him. A monster. 

Burying the cores, they moved on. 

The two reached another point of rest before dark, tucking themselves into the root of a tree. And the dream where he was a beast was worse…

A couple more days passed, and the boy was nearly heating up and even shakier. He couldn’t explain why, didn’t know why, but he’d taken off his shirt and cloak to help. 

It didn’t. 

The heat stayed, and pain surged through him every now and then. But he kept moving. Rough Patch meowed with concern, feeling that darkness start to grow now, and she received pats of consolation. His speech was slightly slurred and broken up as he shakily said, “R..Rough Patch.. thanks.. I’ll.. I’ll be fine..”

She didn’t believe that. And neither did he.

Hunger…

Subsisting on apples and occasional tomatoes wasn’t helping, and he had no idea how long it’d been now. Vincent’s stomach ached for food, but he didn’t know what else he could get out here. It wasn’t like bread grew on trees. 

And on top of the hunger, he’d been feeling ill once more, the trembles and soul beats having increased exponentially. He could even pinpoint where they came from, and one of which was Rough Patch. Such a tender beat, and light on its feet. Offhand, he wondered how it’d taste…

Ripping himself away from that thought, Vincent recoiled. “..no,” he whispered breathily. 

Time to focus on literally anything else, even the recent past. He noted how the moon was gradually getting slimmer, how the sun made everything shine. He remembered how fresh the water tasted out here. He remembered meeting Rough Patch. He.. didn’t feel like thinking anymore…

Settling under a tree as the sun was beginning to set, Vincent whined. The heat was too much, so he stripped down to his boxers. The soul beats were pounding at this point, and he slammed his hands onto his head, nearly convulsing. He was beyond tired, and Rough Patch nuzzled into him trying to calm him down and help him, whatever she could do. 

His breathing was harsh and shallow, but he focused on Rough Patch and attempted to control it the best he could. This.. felt familiar somehow..

It took him a bit, but his eyes widened as he realized. “Oh.. oh no.. R..Rough Patch..” he breathed out, in so much pain. “P..please.. run away..”

The cat heard, tilting her head and mewing at Vincent. 

“Y..you h..have t..to.. r..run.. pl..please..!” 

Rough Patch soon realized the urgency of it all, and slipped away from the writhing boy as fast as she could. Right after though, the sunset was over and night was beginning to fall. Vincent had enough sense to remove his boxers too before the throes of pain utterly dug into him. 

He screamed a horrible tone, as a dark purple faded onto his chest and started to spread all over, his hands liquifying and sticking and his legs stretching out slightly and merging into a tail. Vincent writhed and flailed, the pain too much for his small body to take, but it didn’t stop. It never stopped. 

His upper canines forced themselves forward, attaching painfully to his lips, and his screams gradually changed to the growls of a monster. 

And eventually, all went black…

When he awoke the next morning, Vincent found himself in a much different place from before. It smelled different. He groaned, feeling sickly and largely in pain. He tried to get up, but fell back promptly, wincing. 

The boy would also eventually find that he had cuts across his arm again. And that, unlike last time, his sickness wasn’t as bad. He rubbed at his aching head, this time trying to sit up at least, and licked his lips, only to stop cold. 

There was a bit of an iron taste… and there was only one thing it could be. 

Blood. 

And he looked down at himself, finding he had splotches of it on him. He gasped, blue eyes wide, brain freezing too for just a moment, and he pushed himself up fully onto his feet. Fearing the worst, he called for his buddy. “R..Rough Patch..?” 

There wasn’t a response. Though, he did sorta remember that he told her to run away. He looked around, sniffing for her, though it was hard with all the blood. He’d have to find a river to wash it off but he had to find her first. The boy rushed around, nearly forgetting he was naked until he came across his clothes. Tying the cloak around his waist and carrying the others, he continued to call for Rough Patch, eyes wide and wild with fear.

Vincent must have looked like quite a sight, with blood splotches on him and running around frantically. But he didn’t care. He had to find Rough Patch. 

He found a few torn carcasses along the way too, and he almost puked. Retching, he stopped to rest near a tree. And that’s when he realized. 

He wasn’t quite that hungry anymore. 

Horror settled in, and more trembles suddenly racked his body. By all accounts, it all made sense that meat would be the thing to sate him, but.. he choked on a sob. Vincent soon stood up again and looked around. He had to find her. He just had to. 

He soon entered a clearing with no other way out but the way he came in. “Rough Patch?” he called carefully and shakily, walking deeper in. Eventually, he found her, but something was wrong…

“R..Rough Patch..?” his voice faltered, and he approached more closely. Blood leaked from wounds untold, and she looked like she was.. 

He spewed up his lunch right then and there, and dropped his clothes and clutched his chest. Hyperventilating, he clutched even harder as he backed away, quaking. “No no no no no no no no no—” he kept muttering between breaths over and over again. “This.. no no no it can’t be real I..”

He tripped over a vine, and that’s when the tears broke free. He kept hyperventilating as he sobbed, half shrieks piercing the air. “Only a monster would do this! and it’s me ! I’m the monster! ..I'm a monster!” he cried. “Rough Patch, I’m so sorry! I should’ve let you go sooner, you weren’t supposed to travel with me!”

Stumbling up onto his feet, Vincent’s voice fell to mutters as he searched for something. Soon, he found berries. The poor boy grabbed some and, staring listlessly at them, he ate them one by one. “…I don’t wanna be here anymore…”

He approached the corpse once more, falling to his knees. And eventually, he collapsed. 

And everything went black…

Chapter Text

It had been a couple days, both bodies resting in the clearing, and though Rough Patch was beginning to rot away, Vincent Hildin woke up. He woke with a gasp, eyes unfocused, and wondered for a moment why he was face first on the ground. And then he caught one glimpse of her, and he knew why. 

The boy was sure he’d died too. Why now was he alive? …he didn’t know. 

But he shouldn’t be. He should be with Rough Patch right now—

No. He didn’t deserve that. 

He was a monster, after all. Scum.

He got up then, listless, and found his clothes. He should find a river and wash up, and then maybe he could try again. With that settled, he set off in search of running water, not even humming to himself. The boy’s eyes didn’t glimmer or shine; though they did seem to reflect that he was dead inside. After all, it wasn’t every day that you’d be the one responsible for killing your buddy, and it wasn’t every day that you would get disowned and kicked out by your parents. 

Vincent eventually found a river and washed his hands first. And then he removed his cloak and washed up fully. After having shaken off the water, he then pulled on his clothes and moved on, a trudge to his step. 

The boy searched for more berries he could eat, nowhere near caring about staying alive now. Though if the berries didn’t kill him, maybe he should try something bigger? 

Nodding to himself, he found a tall tree and started to climb it. Effortlessly, might I add. And once he was at the tippy top, he threw himself off and fell, eventually landing with a resounding crash. It hurt so bad, but he didn’t care. And eventually, he blacked out.

When the sun was setting, he’d wake up, the pain he felt before having faded away. That fall should’ve killed him why was he alive?!

…maybe it was a sign. Maybe he should stay.. maybe he.. just had to try once more. Third time's a charm, right? 

He found more berries, ate them and then hurriedly climbed to the top of the tree again. He let himself fall, and the berries took effect before he hit the ground. 

Still, later on, he woke up, and he started to cry. Why couldn’t he just die..?

He was an awful, horrible monster, why? why couldn’t he die? 

Why couldn’t he just finish what his dad started?

…he lay there in contemplation for a long while. And, as he did, he came to conclusions he would never have made before falling from great heights twice…

His parents.. never liked him that much. They never loved him. So why should he want to finish what his dad started? Rough Patch wouldn’t want him dead like they apparently did…

She would want him to live on and experience all the things she didn’t get to try. Sniffling, he started to cry. “I’m sorry, Rough Patch.. I’m sorry for wanting to die.. I just..” he hiccuped, and then tried to stop crying. He could, regardless of his epiphany, still hear his dad's words. “..I don’t know..”

There wasn’t an answer. But he’d be highly concerned if there was an answer. Vincent soon continued, gulping down more tears. “I’m.. I’m gonna keep going.. for you , buddy..” he sighed, getting up and stretching out; he could picture her in his mind. “I love you, Rough Patch..”

The atmosphere got a bit warmer at that, and the boy blinked as he looked around. But as quickly as it grew warm, it was gone. Strange. He would note that, and eventually, he left the tree behind. While the sparkle in his eyes didn’t return to their former brilliance, there was a small glint of what used to be there. And while his heart was utterly broken, he now knew what he had to do...

Chapter Text

A few years had passed. Seasons and untold and uncelebrated birthdays came and went, until it was spring again. Vincent wasn’t quite sure how he managed to survive all those winters underprepared, but then he’d remembered. He radiated a lot of heat. And that heat saved him. 

But on that note, he wasn’t quite sure how he managed to survive the summers and wild animals either. His clothes were utter rags at this point, both because of his curse and the sheer elements. But his cloak was the only survivor, and he wore that around his waist to cover his tattered boxers. 

Vincent came to rest against a tree, leaning against it and attempting to relax. It was hard to do though, since he’d essentially trained himself to be hyper aware of his surroundings and times. He had come to the conclusion that he only turned on new moon nights, and thus trained himself to look out for that too so he wouldn’t ruin his clothes further.

Sighing, he brushed his ragged hair from in front of his eyes, only for it to fall slightly back in front of them. Weary and wired, he shifted to get more comfortable against the tree, licking his lips and pursing them. 

..it was quiet. But he could hear someone coming. He pushed himself to his feet, and shuffled away. He didn’t want to hurt them like he hurt Rough Patch and all those animals…

Eventually, Vincent reached a lake of some kind, gently shimmering with the sun shining upon it so nicely. And it was here that he sat and leaned against a nearby tree. But now it was clear how awfully tired and depressed he was. Losing Rough Patch, having to go through a lot for a kid.. it was taking its toll on him.

Tears shimmered in his eyes, and he weakly wiped them away, remembering what his father said. Don’t cry. Boys aren’t supposed to cry. It wasn’t fair nor was it particularly healthy, but he choked back the tears anyway. He was at the moment so distracted that he didn’t notice someone tall approaching…

A tall lady with sleek black hair wearing a beautiful purple gown and a bedazzled crown strolled along the path. It was always nice to walk through the forest every now and then, rather than stay in the manor all the time 24/7. 

Her purple eyes gazed everywhere, and at one point she brushed her hand against the leaves of a passing tree. It was then, out of the corner of her eye, that she saw someone small in the near distance move away. 

How curious…

The woman brought her hand down and started to trail this person. However, she lost sight of them rather quickly. They moved incredibly fast for someone so small. But she didn’t let this deter her. She simply kept walking along, hoping to see them again. 

And eventually, she did. A little, unhealthily skinny ragged boy resting by the lake, with filthy orange shaggy hair long enough to act as a blanket cascading down his back. Purple eyes widened with concern, especially when she saw the beginnings of tears. His clothes.. utterly destroyed. His skin beholding patches of dirt. And his blue eyes.. filled with trauma and fear and caked with dark circles of unrest. 

She couldn’t let this boy alone. So she gently called to him, “Little one..?”

Vincent started, shocked out of his thoughts, and looked over with big blue eyes. He had to blink a lot for a moment, for he seemed to have found himself face to face with royalty . She was a beautiful and tall older woman, long and sleek black hair framing her face and purple eyes gazing with concern at him. Her dress, matching her eyes, flowed softly along her heels. And most importantly, there was the bejeweled gold crown she wore proudly atop her head. 

He gulped, scooting back slightly as she knelt to get down to his level. “U..uh..” he stammered, slightly quivering. The boy seemed to have forgotten how to speak. And a small bit of fear choked his tongue. What was she going to do? …nothing good came to mind. 

So it surprised him when she spoke in gentle, sad tones. “What are you doing here, in such poor shape?” 

His eyes widened even more, for he wasn’t expecting such dulcet behavior and it stilled his desire to get up and walk away again. Vincent took a breath and attempted to speak once more to answer her in some way. “I.. I..” he still couldn’t say much, still afraid. 

The lady was patient with the boy, her fingers softly cupping her mouth. Maybe such a question was loaded. She should start with an easier question. To confirm or deny her fears, she soon asked, “If I may, how old are you, little one?”

Vincent bit his lip carefully, looking down and thinking back on the seasons that passed. Three winters.. four springs.. ah. He looked back up at her, and replied, “T..ten.. I.. I think..”

“Oh dear..” this confirmed her fears. She looked away for a moment, then breathed in, a hand on her chest. “I’m sorry, darling..”

“..you didn’t do anything wrong..?” the little boy scrunched up his dirty face a bit. Other than a few chance glances under and behind him, he never stopped staring at the royalty. Almost as if he was expecting something.. 

After reeling over this revelation, she cleared her throat quietly and began, “But where are my manners? I am Queen Victoria, ruler of Subcon. But you may call me Victoria. And you are?”

…he never thought he’d gone that far from his old village. It was a neighboring kingdom, but still. His brain stopped outright when he heard that he could call her by simply Victoria. Had he also traversed to a different world? it seemed so.

Vincent barely caught her question towards him, and he soon replied, “V..Vincent.. my name.. is Vincent Hildin..”

Victoria then smiled gently, nodding. “It’s a pleasure to have your acquaintance, Vincent. I’m sorry for startling you earlier.”

Vincent simply shrugged tiredly and weakly. “It’s okay..” 

The boy seemed to be steadily finding his voice again, which was a good thing. However, she could see that he was extremely tired. And she could see how bony he was too. She feared that if he went to sleep one more time without eating, he’d die.

She simply could not let that happen, now could she?

“Vincent.. I need you to stay awake for me, okay?” she stood, and reached for his hand. “I’m going to take you to the village with me, and figure out some soups for you to eat.”

Vincent, though he flinched, looked at her hand, big blue eyes widening. He bit his lip, almost enough for it to bleed. Should he trust her..? should he come..?

Victoria stayed patient with him, smiling still. And the boy sensed no lies in that smile. He stood up slowly, shaking on his feet, and reached for and grabbed her hand with his own tiny and bony one. Her heart broke, but at least he decided to trust her. She started to lead him back along the path, feeling how he quivered every now and then. 

The queen and the little boy soon crossed a stone bridge flanked with gorgeous statues. They passed house after house, and the town was so lively as well, several masked kids playing in the green square and adults watching from their porches. Queen Victoria waved and exchanged greetings with each and every one, while Vincent just stared at them all. A few adults stared back, wondering why he was half naked and ragged. But the kids didn’t seem to mind, waving at them both and even wanting Vincent to play with them.

Queen Victoria had to explain in apologetic tones that Vincent wasn’t able to play right now, but they understood. 

Very soon, they reached a turn, and it was another few yards before they came upon a grand clearing, and a beautiful, huge manor stood before them. It seemed to welcome them with open arms, and Vincent found himself staring at it with wonder, his breath absolutely taken away. 

As they approached, he soon saw another royalty standing on the porch, arms draped over the banister, this one a girl wearing a green dress. Her blonde hair fell across her shoulders, and her green eyes stared boredly around. She didn’t seem to light up when she saw her mother return with.. a boy?

She blinked and leaned over more, trying to see better, but Queen Victoria quickly held up a hand. “Be careful, darling Vanessa. You’ll fall..” she warned sweetly.

Vanessa crossed her arms with a grunt, but did as told. Victoria, still leading little Vincent along, scaled up the steps to this grand manor. Vincent still remained silent, not wanting to overstep. And Vanessa finally got a good look at him. Her brow furrowed slightly with a bit of distaste. “What is this, mother..?”

Vincent didn’t like the vibes Vanessa was starting to give off, so he attempted to hide behind the queen. Victoria let him, and smiled at her daughter. “My apologies for not speaking to you first, sweetie, but he needs urgent care.”

Vincent peeked out at the princess, quivering.

“What about me?” the princess looked offended, eyebrows furrowed even more.

“You’ll help me take care of him,” Victoria replied, still smiling, either missing the point or getting it completely. And just before Vanessa rebutted with another question, she stated, “Royalty should always care for their subjects, darling.”

Her green eyes widened, and she stamped the floor slightly. “Fine..” and she looked at the boy again, sizing him up. Once she realized how thin, unkempt and tired he was, concern faded into her face as well. Only slightly. 

“Come now. I’ll make some soup, and you take him and start the bath,” Victoria opened the door and led him inside, Vanessa following inside shortly after.

The queen had gone into the kitchen to fire up everything in order to make the best stew ever tasted, while the princess led Vincent up the stairs to the third floor, where the bath was. 

Vincent wasn’t quite sure what was happening. He thought he’d come for food, but now he was getting a bath too? 

He surely needed it though. Bathing in rivers wasn’t enough. 

They soon reached the bathroom, and Vanessa wordlessly and with a huff turned on the warm water and threw in a bath bomb. The boy watched it fill up slowly, and the princess stepped back and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms.

Vincent looked at himself, then at Vanessa. He decided to speak to pass the time. “Um..”

She merely looked at him out of the corner of her eye. 

“Thank you..” he finally said, gazing at her. Looking at her more, and accidentally reading her soul, she seemed to be no later than thirteen.

Vanessa glanced over at him fully, blinking softly. She smiled soon enough, only slightly washing away the annoyed look from her face. “Don’t thank me. Thank mother.”

“..as soon as I see her again..” he nodded. 

Silence. Before she spoke again, somewhat haughtily, “I’m Princess Vanessa, soon to be the divine ruler of Subcon Kingdom.”

“Oh. Okay,” Vincent blinked. “I’m, uh.. Vincent Hildin.. uhh..” he tried to think of a title, “um.. soon to be back homeless..?”

A very unprincess-like snort sounded from her just then, before she shrugged. “We’ll see what mother says.” 

The boy nodded, and watched the water once again. Halfway. He put his hands on his cloak, still wrapped around his waist, and Vanessa noticed. She quickly retreated out of the room, “Enjoy your bath!” and slammed the door.

He blushed at that, and carefully he started to undress. Once done, he slipped in, sighing with relief the moment the water lapped at his body. It was the perfect amount of heat, and already he could feel the dirt wash away.

But he had to help it. So, getting a sponge and wetting it with soap, he scrubbed at his skin. He even started washing his hair the best he could, watching all sorts of naps and filth slide into the water. But he made sure his hair didn’t clog the drain. 

Try though he might, he couldn’t wash away his worries. Queen Victoria would have to decide whether he stays or goes. And.. if he stays.. he’d have to figure out how to keep from hurting them and the townspeople every new moon. 

He just had to..

Chapter Text

Thirty or so minutes had passed. Or so it seemed. Vincent lost all sense of time in this relaxing water. He had even almost fallen asleep a few times in the tub, but shook himself awake every time. It’d be bad if he did—that and Queen Victoria had explicitly said not to fall asleep. He pursed his lips, still very much in thought. About everything that happened today.

A queen was generous enough to take care of him, even if only for a bit. He should be grateful, and he was, but he felt like he didn’t deserve it. He was a monster. Monsters didn’t deserve nice things. He sighed. Suddenly drowning seemed like a good idea…

But.. Rough Patch wouldn’t want that. 

Choking back tears, he yanked himself from those thoughts and focused on the royal family. They seemed like good people. Though.. Princess Vanessa seemed like she didn’t care much, only for herself. However, she started the bath for him even though she could’ve just left it up to him. So maybe she did care a lot more about others than she showed. 

Hopefully. 

He hummed. And that’s when the door opened slightly, and a servant came in holding newly sewn clothes. Vincent turned his head to watch, big blue eyes staring at them. They frowned slightly, even when he offered a smile, and hurriedly set the new clothes down and grabbed the dirty, raggedy cloak and torn boxers with only their fingers. 

“Erm.. be careful with that, mister or miss..” he spoke softly. “It’s my only cloak..”

“Of course, sir,” they bowed. Vincent had the distinct feeling they didn’t want their hands too dirty. Slowly and carefully, they took the cloak and left.

Sir.. that’s a new one.. he blinked, starting to drain the dirty water to replace it with fresh water for what seemed like the hundredth time already. But at least this one didn’t seem so bad. Just one more wash would do it.

And then he looked at the new clothes. He couldn’t quite make them out since they were folded, but they were blue and fit the current spring weather. He smiled, and soon started washing up again. Hopefully he could be finished before lunch.

“Lunch is ready, darlings!” Queen Victoria called out thirty minutes later, turning off the fire on the stove. She got out bowls and filled it up with meat-filled soup, putting a little more meat in for Vincent. 

Princess Vanessa walked in soon after, taking a seat at the table. “Finally! I was starving, mother!” she huffed.

She nodded. “Of course. But you must know cooking takes time.” She placed the bowls on the table, and blinked. Where was Vincent? she looked up towards the ceiling. Victoria thought she heard small footsteps up there. But that could have been her careful servants. “Wait on eating a bit, dear,” she said, heading for the door.

“But, mother, I. Am. Starving,” thirteen-year-old Vanessa stamped the floor. “Why should I have to wait?”

Victoria bit her lip. How did her daughter turn out such a way? she couldn't figure it out to save her life. “Food has to cool off, I have something important to share during lunch, you’re not starving particularly, and I have to wait to eat too,” she replied.

“..fine,” Vanessa growled, rolling her eyes. She wasn’t really starving, since they had breakfast a couple hours ago. Just hungry. Victoria watched her for a moment before she left, a pep in her step.

Victoria soon made it to the bathroom and knocked. “Vincent? are you okay in there?”

Vincent was currently attempting to dry himself off, having heard her call for lunch. But the water seemed to drain too slowly and he had to wait so he could wash the tub. He called back, “Um, yeah! I just.. just drying myself off.”

“Oh that shouldn’t take long at all. You had me worried..” the queen smiled. 

“Sorry.. I didn’t want to leave the tub dirty..” the boy bit his lip carefully. Victoria’s eyes widened, before the smile grew sad.

“Aww, Vincent.. thank you but you shouldn’t worry about that.. not now at least..” 

“It’s okay. I can do it,” he replied, soon finishing up and then picking up his clothes to put them on. 

She waited for the boy to be decent before she came in and got him, leading him downstairs by the hand to the dining room table. His hand felt soft now, not rough and dirty like before. And his hair seemed naturally styled to be poofed up like that. But he desperately needed a haircut. She’d take care of that later.

Vanessa was waiting by the table, pacing. She glared over and sat back down. “Finally.” The food in her bowl wasn’t touched, and was still warm enough to eat. “What took so long?”

“Darlin was just drying off,” she replied, but didn’t mention that he was cleaning the tub. Vincent had his head bowed slightly. He didn’t know Vanessa had to wait. 

“‘m sorry,” he bit his lip. 

Vanessa simply shrugged, and soon Vincent and Victoria took a seat too and they all began to eat. The boy, as soon as he had a spoonful, started devouring the soup rather messily, forgetting his manners and his eyes becoming wild. It had been so long since he had cooked food, and cooked meat in general. Vanessa groaned, while Victoria looked.. a mixture of concerned and grossed out.

She somewhat expected he would react to this like that, since of course he hadn’t eaten good in a while, but it wasn’t very nice to see either. Vincent, having felt a change in the atmosphere, slowed down a bit and looked up. Thankfully he hadn’t gotten food on his clothes, just around his mouth. He glanced at Vanessa, who was glaring at him so hard, and then at Victoria, who was smiling but with concern and slight disgust. The wilderness soon left his eyes, to be replaced with apologetic sadness. 

“O..oh! sorry. I lost, um.. I lost myself for a moment..” he looked down, pursing his lips and taking a napkin and wiping off the juice and bits from his cheeks. 

..had he really become such an animal outside of new moon nights too?

“That’s okay, darling,” Victoria chuckled. Vanessa just whipped her head the other way and harrumphed. The queen narrowed her eyes. “Vanessa, please. Be nice.”

“Fine,” the princess began eating again. 

The boy sighed and started eating again, having to mentally restrain himself from doing that again. The urge to devour was still there, just like the monster he’d become.. 

A single tear fell, but no one at the table noticed.

A few minutes passed, when they were all almost done eating, and Queen Victoria cleared her throat. “So..”

Vincent and Vanessa looked up at her, the latter losing all attitude. This was her mother’s Royal voice. 

“I have reached a decision,” she looked squarely at Vincent, not smiling at all. She looked neutral by all accounts. And it kinda scared him. He gulped and started shaking with nervosity. “Vincent. Welcome to the manor.” And then she smiled. 

The boy let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding. And then he started crying. Vanessa’s eyes widened and Victoria’s did too. The latter reached out to him, “Oh, Vincent it’s okay! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so dramatic and make you cry, darling!”

Stop crying like a wuss. Answer her. His dad’s voice cut through his mind, and he hurriedly wiped the tears away, sniffling. “N..no I’m sorry I just.. I got nervous.” He sniffled again, looking up at her. “Y..you mean it, right? I.. I can stay?”

“Of course. My word is law,” the queen smiled. Vanessa nodded, furrowing her brow. She couldn’t wait for the day her word would be law. 

“T..thank you,” the boy smiled, wet blue eyes shimmering. 

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Chapter Text

The family finished lunch soon enough. Bowls were washed and put away, and Vincent was currently being shown around the manor. Queen Victoria’s dress flowed as she walked, and the little boy attempted to keep up. Princess Vanessa trailed behind them, wearing a slight frown. 

The queen soon opened these grand double doors and stepped inside, and the ten-year-old followed shortly after. Vanessa stayed outside, but listened.

“And here is the attic. We don’t really use it..” Victoria grinned sheepishly, heading off to the side and letting Vincent scan everything. 

It was nice and spacious, but there were crates and chests nearly everywhere, complete with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. The window let the sunlight in and revealed the beauty of spring to this lonely room. 

Vincent nodded. He could barricade the doors here and transform, but that would risk putting Vanessa and Victoria in harm’s way. He had to figure out a route back to the forest later today. Until then, he glanced up at Victoria’s patient face, and smiled. “I like your home.”

“Thank you, darling,” she bowed slightly, and looked at Vanessa, prompting her to speak. 

“Oh. Well, thank you,” the princess gave a halfhearted bow, which Victoria excused. 

“I’m glad you’re letting me stay here..” the boy twiddled his thumbs, still smiling softly. “I really really appreciate it..”

Victoria nodded. And Vanessa cut in, rolling her green eyes, “It’s not that big of a deal,” and sighed. “Mother would take in a lost puppy too.”

“Darling!” Victoria spouted, frowning a bit. But her expression soon grew a tad amused. “She’s right. I would. But it isn’t right for a child to be without a home.” 

Vincent agreed with that. He bit his lip slightly, wondering what month and day it was, but found himself nodding off. Victoria noticed and placed a careful hand on his shoulder. “Ah. You’re tired. Vanessa, darling, mind if he takes the room next to yours?”

“What? but that’s my space,” Vanessa frowned, sticking her head in. The bad vibes Vanessa had given off returned and Vincent backed up. 

“Vanessa, I’d rather not have him up here by himself,” the queen stated matter-of-factly. 

“Why not?!” the girl furrowed her brow. “He seems capable enough!”

“He is only ten!” Victoria was trying not to yell, but was starting to fail. And even still it didn’t come from a place of anger. But of shock. “Vanessa, dear, what has gotten into you these days?”

Vincent bit his lip, wanting to slip away, but Vanessa was blocking the door. The princess blinked. “Nothing has, I just want my space that’s all.”

“You huffed at lunch. You huffed when I explained about little Vincent here…” Victoria seemed to come to a realization, but Vincent interrupted the argument. 

“Is it me..?” the boy whimpered, looking a lot like a kicked puppy. 

The vibes went away as quickly as they arrived, and Vanessa stared wide-eyed at him. For once, she had no idea what to say. 

“I..if you don’t want me around, I.. I can go..” Vincent kicked at the floor with bare feet, bowing his head. He was.. expecting this. But boy did it hurt like wrought iron stabbed into his heart. 

“Vincent..” Victoria bit her lip. 

Vanessa backed up, almost shaking. She’d been behaving rather horribly, hadn’t she? and towards a little boy? who didn’t deserve this treatment? it was enough to crack her heart. Soon she yelled, “FINE! he can take the room next to mine. I’m sorry!”

And then she ran off. Victoria soon followed, and Vincent did too, for a moment. He sighed, and looked to the window in the attic. Eyes still wet, he closed the doors and started his search for a calendar.

May 24th, 1815 stood before him on the old flip calendar he found in the parlor. And he flipped it till he saw the next new moon, June 7th. Only two weeks to prepare, and if he didn’t know any better he’d say those two weeks wouldn’t go by so fast. But he did know better. 

Vincent could hear Vanessa apologizing over and over again to her mother, who was consoling her, in the kitchen. He wanted to apologize too, for he knew he inconvenienced them both. But with a small yawn, he knew he had to at least nap first. Better to do it when they were both calm.

So upstairs he went, to Vanessa’s room and the room beside hers. Crawling into the bed, he offhandedly wondered where Queen Victoria was going to lay her head, before he, eyes fluttering closed, promptly fell asleep.

A monster ravaged his dreams, killing and eating the souls of everything it came across. And everyone as well. Even Victoria and Vanessa fell prey to the purple beast. And their souls were the best of all…

Vincent woke up, not feeling very well-rested. He grunted as he sat up to rub at his eyes, and sighed as he slid out of bed. He saw the windows and noticed it was past midday. Maybe he should see if he could apologize. 

The boy headed out of the room and tried to find his caretakers, defaulting to the senses of smell and of hearing automatically. He sniffed for them, closing his eyes every now and then to hear for them. The queen he could smell and hear in the living room and the princess was.. he sniffed again.. also in the living room. 

Perfect. He could apologize to them both at the same time. Vincent went downstairs, following the layout to the living room, and, well, walked on in. “Hi..” 

Vanessa and Victoria looked up at him, and while Victoria smiled, Vanessa still looked sad. “Hello, Vincent. Did you have a nice sleep?”

Vincent nodded. Best not to worry her. “I did. But I wanna apologize to you guys..”

“Whatever for?” Victoria tilted her head, looking concerned.

“For being an inconvenience..” he played with his fingers, glancing away from them. And being a monster … he bowed his head slightly.

Vanessa bit her lip, knowing she contributed to such a feeling. Much to his surprise, she was the one to speak up. “Nonsense. You are not an inconvenience to us, and I should be apologizing to you for acting as though you were.” She took a breath. “It’s.. not easy being an only child. So perhaps this,” she swallowed, “will be a nice change of pace.”

The boy pinned her with a shocked stare, and he wanted to say something but his mouth wouldn’t work quite right. This wasn’t what he expected, at all, and suddenly the princess strode up to him and hugged him. His breath hitched for a second, and tears welled up in his still wide eyes and started cascading down his cheeks. Eventually, he hugged back, and Victoria soon joined them, smiling gratefully, her arms long enough to wrap around them both. 

His brain was overloading at this point. What was this? he wasn’t expecting this at all. How could Vanessa suddenly go from essentially hating him to this? it wasn’t something he could comprehend. He shook, sniffled and hiccuped, sobbing somewhat quietly. Vincent just couldn’t understand.

Victoria patted his head, causing him to look up at her out of the corner of his eyes. “Are you alright, darling?”

It took him a while to answer, but he did, “N..no.. I..” he sniffled again, “I don’t understand. Y..you.. you only knew me for a few hours.. I..” he kept sobbing, and for once his father’s voice didn’t accost him for such a thing. “I can’t understand.. why are you..?”

Queen Victoria’s heart broke as she realized what this meant. His home must have been awful and lacked love and care. Of course he’d have no idea what’s going on. Or, rather, have no idea why it’s happening to him . Princess Vanessa, not wise enough, didn’t quite catch on, but she parted slightly and looked into his eyes, and then up into her mother’s face. Victoria gave a small nod. She would explain this, or let Vincent do the explaining when he felt ready. 

But for now, she ruffled his hair, and a strange rumbling sound came from Vincent just then. And for now, she elected to ignore that, but if it happened again she would question it. She took a breath. “Because, dear Vincent, you deserve plenty of love and care. You’re only a child, and they need such to thrive. And as your new caretakers, we should do right by you.” 

Vanessa nodded vigorously. Vincent felt a feeling rise within his heart. It made him feel warm and cozy. And it made his tears fall even faster. He nuzzled into them. “Th..thank you..”

Happiness. It was happiness. Absolute joy.

“If you ever need anything at all, darling, you need only come to me,” Victoria said, a smile on her lips. “I will grant you what you wish.” 

And a question then almost tumbled out of his mouth—one that he could never ask, ever . No matter how much he trusted them now, he could never. 

If I told you I was a monster, would you still accept me..? 

And because of that, he could already feel himself slightly withdrawing. Vanessa stopped hugging him, feeling something was wrong, terribly wrong, and Victoria seemed none the wiser. 

“And if you ever need me , I’ll be around,” the princess smirked a bit to cover her previous concern, and walked away, towards the kitchen. But Vincent could still smell that. That concern. That fear. Maybe it was just at how he reacted to his thought, but his paranoia ran laps around his brain. 

He swallowed, wiping the slowing tears from his eyes and cheeks. Maybe he shouldn’t ask what he wanted to before such a thought kicked it out of the way. He should find a route by himself. But again, that would mean threatening everyone in the village with a beast of his own reluctant making if he couldn’t find one in time. Taking a breath, he looked up at her. “Um.. Victoria.. what’s the fastest route to the forest?”

“You can make it to the forest the usual way, I’m afraid,” the queen replied. “There’s a ravine separating our town from it and only one bridge.” She sighed with distaste, and then curiously tilted her head, a hand on her chin now. “Why? whatever would you need with that information?” 

“I just like going to the forest..” he lied, but it sounded so sincere..

Of course, he loved nature and all that resided in it, but his current priority was the beast he became every new moon night. He had to keep it from hurting anyone. And while that answer disappointed him, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

The queen soon nodded. “Fair enough. I like going to it myself.” And she smiled.

The boy smiled back. “Thank you..” 

And he started away, but Victoria called him back. “Wait, darling. How would you feel about a haircut?”

Vincent blinked. Once. Twice. He reached for a strand of hair to stare at it, and then grabbed his whole hair, feeling how long it was. He.. wasn’t aware of how long it grew apparently. Or how long it was. It currently reached his ankles, which provided quite the tripping hazard. He bit his lip, glancing down at the floor and then back up at the queen, who had her hand over her mouth as if hiding a chuckle. He couldn’t help chuckling too, and nodded. “I’d like one. To my.. shoulders maybe?” 

“That can certainly be arranged, darlin. And I suppose you want your bangs trimmed too?”

“Yes,” no hesitation at all. He didn’t quite like his bangs getting in his eyes or otherwise in his field of vision. And they were very prone to doing so as of now. 

The tall lady laughed, a most delightful sound, and gestured for him to follow as she walked the halls to the stairs. And he bounded after her, grinning and unintentionally exposing his large upper canines. 

It was haircut time!

Chapter Text

It was a grueling process of combing and brushing till it was less nappy and then cutting and trimming, but soon the haircut was finished. 

Sitting on the stool in the bathroom, Vincent had waited and followed instructions perfectly in order to achieve the perfect haircut. And Queen Victoria found that he could sit still amazingly well. Too well. 

She still smiled at the results, and allowed the boy to turn and see himself in the mirror. And, despite himself, he grinned, again exposing those large fangs. Victoria noticed but didn’t say anything, and proceeded to get a broom to sweep up the hair. She knew from that grin that he absolutely loved it. 

“I absolutely love it!” he laughed. He looked less like a wild animal and more like a human being now, save for the heavy dark circles under his eyes. But of course, now that he saw his teeth in the mirror, he faltered slightly. It was worse than he thought…

Queen Victoria didn’t exactly notice this though at first, too busy sweeping, but she looked up at him after a moment. “Darling? what’s wrong?”

“It..” he swallowed, closing his mouth so his fangs could be hidden, “it’s nothing.. thanks for the haircut..” 

“It’s not a problem at all, dear,” the queen set a hand on Vincent’s shoulder and gave it a rub before she withdrew and continued sweeping. There was so much hair. “But if there is something wrong, you’ll tell me, right?”

There was a small hesitation, before he nodded. “Sure.” 

It was obvious, however, that his heart wasn’t quite in it. As soon as Victoria finished sweeping up, the boy turned and hopped off the stool, rubbing his jaw. He soon smiled at her, mood slightly chipper again. “Thanks..! for everything..”

“It’s not a problem, darling!” Queen Victoria returned the smile and then left the bathroom to fix up the hair to be donated, as they’d talked about that while cutting it. Vincent was right behind her, only to do something different. He was going to time how long it took to get to the forest through the village from here. 

Wait. Wouldn’t he be stopped? ..perhaps it’d be better to go at night. But he shouldn't be wasting time. He'd just have to be extra careful. 

And so, following the layout of the manor once more, "slipping" past Vanessa in the hallway, he stepped into the outdoors, standing on the porch for a moment. 

Then, Vincent Hildin noted his inner clock. It was around two in the afternoon, one fifty-five to be exact. Should be when most people were working or doing other things. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t be spotted.

And so, he started his journey to the forest as quietly and as quickly as he could. In about two minutes, he made it to the village, where a few masked children were playing and a few adults were watching. While still on the move, he scanned the surroundings swiftly. Perhaps he could use the back of the buildings to shield himself from view?

It was worth a try. 

So Vincent veered off the path, running towards the back of the buildings. He reached it in a few seconds, but he became slightly out of breath; he needed a bit of a break. He leaned against the wall to catch himself up, hand clutching his chest. But, unbeknownst to him, a child wearing a fox mask had seen him. The small boy caught his sister’s attention, and together they ran behind the building too. None of the adults seemed to mind; their children would always be safe here. 

The boy peered around the bend, closely followed by his sister, and smiles grew upon their faces when they saw Vincent, who didn’t notice them yet. They almost didn’t recognize him as the boy Queen Victoria had brought in, but that changed when they saw his face and eyes. Maybe he was ready to play now?

Vincent soon caught his breath again, taking a deep breath. Okay that cut into his time too much.. he should get moving again. So he stood up, looked around and froze, eyes wide. Shoot, two children spotted him. But it would be rude to ignore them and continue on his way. So, after pursing his lips, he worked up a closed smile and greeted them softly. “H..hi!”

“Hi!” the boy greeted back, finally walking closer. “Wan pway?”

Vincent blinked. He couldn’t quite understand why the boy spoke like that. He looked to be about his age, if a bit pudgier. But then he thought. Perhaps.. he wasn’t mentally mature yet? he didn’t know. “Uhhhm.. I’m a bit busy at the moment..”

“Oh! sorry,” the blonde girl spoke up this time, getting closer too and grabbing her brother’s arm. Her black eyes peered sadly from her white mask. “Later then..?”

“No! pway now, pway now!” the brunet boy grinned behind his mask, green eyes sparkly with impatient eagerness as he hopped up and down repeatedly, though he minded his sister holding his arm. 

Vincent just watched the other boy hop from foot to foot now, barely restrained by the girl. He shook his head eventually, staring with his sad and big blue eyes at them. “Later..”

“Aw, okay..” the boy deflated, green eyes downcast now. 

“Um.. can we at least have names..?” the girl didn’t let go just yet. Vincent thought on it and decided perhaps it’d be okay, so he nodded. “My name is Sally. And this is my brother, Xavier.”

The boy smiled again, noting their names. “My name’s Vincent..” he replied, not telling his last name since they didn’t. He was wondering if he’d have to start over with this self-imposed timer. 

“Okay, Vincent, we’ll see you later!” Sally grinned and started pulling a waving Xavier along back to the square. Vincent waved back, and then looked towards where he was going, the forest. That only took a few minutes. So he could dock that off the timer. He kept moving, with no other interruptions thankfully, and soon he made it across the bridge to the forest. 

About ten minutes, it seemed. He didn’t go all the way in since he was only timing getting here, and he’d give himself more time, give the others a wide berth. He stood there for a moment, wringing his hands and looking around. Everything should work out just fine.

And then he started to head back to the village, hoping to fulfill his promise in playing with Sally and Xavier. Thankfully, they were still playing in the square, and he joined in somewhat seamlessly. There were a few things he didn’t know about, but Sally was patient enough to explain said things while Xavier was practically vibrating each time. They played almost like they were dancing, coordinating with each other in everything they did. And Vincent, while he enjoyed it, felt like a fish out of water. Someone who didn’t exactly belong. 

And he didn’t like it. 

Would he voice this concern, however?

No.

Because he didn’t belong anyway. And that was all there was to it.

Chapter Text

Vincent returned to the manor later that day, the sun setting behind the trees. He hoped Victoria and Vanessa weren’t too worried about him. He did leave without a word. Pushing the door open, he headed inside, taking a breath. All that playing tuckered him out a bit. “I’m.. I’m back..” he soon said. 

“Oh!” the queen called out from the kitchen. “I was worried you’d miss dinner. Feel free to help yourself, darling.”

Vincent headed into the kitchen then, following his nose. It smelled absolutely delicious. All sorts of foods were splayed on the counter. And Victoria and one of her servants were there too, cleaning up. The boy.. ignored the food for now and started helping them clean, grabbing a sponge from the sink. 

“Oh, Vincent dear, you don’t have to do that,” Victoria smiled sadly, wiping the stove. “Get something to eat. We can handle it.”

“Are you sure..?” he swallowed. He really wanted to help them..

“Yes, darling,” she nodded. “We’re almost done anyway. And I bet you’re hungry now too.”

He wanted to deny it. He really did. But all of a sudden his stomach growled, eliminating that possibility. He sighed, replacing the sponge, and took a plate, a napkin, and some food, particularly the meaty ones, and carried it to the dining table to eat. 

After a moment, he looked up from his food and towards Victoria and her servant. Someone was missing. “Where’s Vanessa..?” 

“Oh, she went to bed shortly after dinner,” Queen Victoria soon began to rinse everything with her sponge, and her servant did so shortly after. “Did you need her for something?”

“No, just wondering..” Vincent resumed eating, refraining from stuffing his face like earlier. “Mmh, this is delicious..”

“I’m glad you think so,” the tall lady smiled. “Vanessa cooked all these delicious treats, mostly as a further apology to you.” 

The boy’s eyes widened, and he smiled tearfully. “I’ll be sure to thank her tomorrow..”

He wondered if that was why Victoria and her servant were cleaning up. He hadn’t seen them clean up after Victoria’s cooking. He hummed, continuing to eat until the food had completely vanished from his plate. Vincent yawned then, and got up relatively quickly before he could fall asleep on the chair, bringing the plate to the sink and washing it. 

Victoria gently plucked it from his hands before he could finish and continued in his stead, smiling wryly. But the boy didn’t quite fuss, only watching. It somewhat reminded him of his mother, but at least the queen was a lot nicer about it and had her reasons. 

Thinking about them.. it made him feel.. sad. That feeling choked him up a bit, but he refused to cry this time. Because boys don’t cry. He sighed. Queen Victoria looked at him, while the servant continued to clean one last drop. “Are you alright there, darling?”

The boy sniffled. “J..just thinking about.. mom and dad..”

Oh.. the lady stopped what she was doing to hug him close. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get some sleep?” she said carefully. “It might help you.”

Vincent swallowed, and nodded. “Okay, Miss Victoria..”

She let go then, resuming the washing of the dish, and then smiled widely when she realized he finally said her name. The boy backed away and slowly but surely exited the kitchen. Vincent soon headed upstairs, humming quietly, and entered the room next to Vanessa’s. Lying down on the bed, he curled up, wishing that his parents were here and better.

But they weren’t. And never would.

Chapter Text

A week had passed by, full of pretty much the same things as usual. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Reading, drawing, studying—since Victoria had talked about perchance homeschooling him one day. Except Vincent felt himself getting sickly again. And he must have looked like it too, since he was brought aside by the queen and princess multiple times later that week to ask him if he was okay. 

Every time, he’d say he was. Because that’s what he was used to. He’d get sick and more sick, then he’d change. And then he’d be sick again. And then he’d get better. Just a very long, repeating cycle. A cycle he was sure at this point would never end.

Vincent let his legs dangle off the porch, studying there. Queen Victoria had said maybe the sunlight would help instead of staying inside all day, seemingly forgetting that for the past four years all he’d been was outside. But at the same time, she had a point. It just wouldn’t help his particular condition. 

But here he was, studying hard, pouring himself over this thick law book he’d found. He’d found it interesting, and was sure Victoria wouldn’t mind if he, ahem , borrowed it for a while. 

Along the road to the mansion, the same two kids hopped and skipped, unseen once more. He was so into the book that he didn’t notice. But soon, he did manage to hear the giggles. Looking up, Vincent saw them and waved. 

“Hi!” the boy, Xavier, spoke up, grinning as he stopped just before the stairs. “Wan pway?”

Sally simply smiled, the eagerness to play shining in her black eyes. Vincent bit his lip, and looked down at his book. “Can’t right now. Studying.”

The girl hopped up the stairs, glancing over the book with puckered lips of slight disdain. “Law? that sounds really boring..”

“What’s law?” the boy blinked confusedly, tilting his head. His sister simply shrugged. 

Vincent smiled sadly at them. “It’s.. hard to explain.. law is..” he thought to himself how he could best explain it without making them even more confused. “Law is a set of serious rules people must follow.”

“Oh, like.. school?” Sally made a face. She didn’t seem to like the idea.

“More serious..” the boy told them, taking a slight breath. “Like.. killing. Killing is against the law. Meaning it’s not lawful to take a life.”

“Who would even do that? killing sounds dumb,” Sally retorted, still making the face. 

Vincent looked a bit worse now, paler even, remorse nearly freezing his veins. “Yeah.. who would..?”

Xavier had been staring, and noticed the slight change. And then realized he noticed that Vincent looked a lot paler than when they saw him a week ago. “You okay?”

The boy bit his lip hard, almost enough to make it bleed. “I’m fine.”

Which was a lie, but a lie he was used to telling. Sally’s attention was now on his face. “Are you sure? you seem.. a tad pale.”

“Yeah. I’m sure,” he smiled then, happy they seemed to care about him. “Sorry I can’t play right now though. Miss Victoria talked with me about starting homeschooling soon, and I wanna be ready for it.”

“Aww, but we came all this way,” the blonde made a gesture displaying how large the distance was. She was distracted from the paleness. Good. “Not even for ten minutes tops?”

Xavier’s green eyes lowered slightly to the ground, as though he was thinking. 

..well if they came all this way just to play with him, who was he to turn that down? setting the book aside, he stood up. “Okay, I’ll play. For ten minutes.”

The brunet yelled happily, and then ran around the grounds. Sally poked Vincent, grinning. “You’re it!”

And then she took off down the stairs towards the grounds. A different style of play, huh? well.. it wasn’t like he knew it. Vincent stood there, confused, before he sauntered down the stairs. And then just watched them. Sally and Xavier looked back at him, both wondering why he wasn’t chasing them. Before they realized. 

They came back then, looking sheepish. “You, uh, don’t know this game, do you?”

Vincent shook his head. They then proceeded to explain it to him eagerly, and the boy nodded with understanding. He then poked Sally, grinning and exposing his fangs. “You’re it!”

And then ran away, laughing. Sally was a bit creeped out, but soon ran after him. “No fair!”

Xavier just giggled and rushed away from Sally. 

The game of tag had commenced. And lasted exactly ten minutes. Neither Sally nor Xavier could ever catch Vincent. Despite how sickly he seemed, he easily left them both in the dust. 

Xavier huffed and puffed, hands on his knees. “Kay, you win. Time up!” 

Sally took a few breaths, staring with awe. “You’re.. really good at.. this game..”

Vincent was sheepish. He didn’t mean to tire them out like that. But now, bleh, he was tired himself. “S..sorry..”

“No apologize!” the brunet cried out. “Win, fair and square.”

The boy nodded, but was still sheepish and worried. Sally grinned, giving Vincent a pat on the shoulder. “Yeah, this was fun!”

He smiled then. “Glad it was. I.. I had fun too..”

Sally and Xavier, after saying their goodbyes, left the manor’s grounds for home. Vincent waved until he saw them disappear beyond the gates, and then walked onto the porch and picked up the book again. 

And on the balcony, the queen herself had been watching. Ah, childhood. How she missed it sometimes, a sentiment shared by all her royal friends. But at least, she got to essentially watch Vincent grow. And how impeccable he was already. He was already making friends, already smart. 

She just wished she’d found him sooner, taken him away from his loveless home before it kicked him out. But at least she could rest well knowing Vincent was under her and Vanessa’s care. That was something she was happy about.

“Darling!” the queen called out, and the boy looked up at her. “Lunch will be soon. Wash up and join us.”

“Okay!” Vincent nodded and entered the manor, book in hand. Setting the book on the table in the hallway, he set off to do just that. He could rest after lunch.

Chapter Text

The boy headed upstairs to the bathroom once more, stripping down and hopping into the tub. Thankfully, he wasn’t as dirty as last time, so it only took a few minutes to shower. Drying and wrapping himself in a towel, he soon heard someone approach the door. He looked at it and smiled a bit. “Come in!”

Whoever it was seemed startled, since they didn’t open the door right away. Eventually though, the same servant as a few other times would open it and walk in. This time, Vincent got a better look at them. Dark brown eyes set upon a pale face, which was framed by hair the same color as their eyes. They wore attire fit for a butler, and seemed a touch frail. And they were holding a set of clean clothes out for him. 

“Oh, thank you!” Vincent smiled and grabbed his clothes, making sure his slightly shaky hands didn’t drop them or the towel wrapped around himself. The servant simply nodded, heading to take the other dirty clothes down to the wash.

“But of course, sir,” they bowed slightly, a little bewildered still, and then left. 

A bit confused, but jovial despite that, Vincent set the clothes on the nearby counter and dried himself off some more before picking them up and putting them on. He’d almost collapsed trying to do so, but eventually he was decent. 

The boy heaved out a breath, becoming even more tired. He had to.. to rest a bit. Catch his breath again. A few more seconds of that, and he exited the room, walking swiftly down the stairs to join the royal family for lunch.

Very soon, lunch was served—delightful toasted sandwiches brushed lightly with relish. Vanessa, Victoria and Vincent sat at the table to eat, the latter trying his best not to lose it again. It tasted delicious, and the relish only made the meat inside all the sweeter. Resisting only heightened his trembles. 

Princess Vanessa and Queen Victoria stared at him for a moment, and then exchanged glances. They had no idea what was wrong. But perhaps the boy should see a doctor. Or, rather, a doctor should see him. The queen didn’t know why she didn’t immediately take him to the village doctor when she found him, but she figured cleaning and feeding him were important at the time. 

Still..

She sighed, and Vincent perked up at her, frowning softly. “What’s wrong, Miss Victoria?” 

"I'm sorry if this is unprecedented.." the queen began, chewing her lip. "But perhaps you should see a doctor." 

Vincent blinked. He looked a bit confused. "But I.. I'm fine.."

"Clearly," Vanessa frowned, crossing her arms, "you're not. You're displaying symptoms of an illness."

"Paleness, trembles, rising body heat, shortness of breath.." Victoria listed off what she'd seen of Vincent, in a much kinder way, brow knit closely with concern. "We're worried for you, Vincent.."

Vincent gazed at them for a while before he looked down at the table. Thankfully he hadn't lost his appetite, but he came very close. He already knew what it was. And he was fine. It wasn't like he was dying. He couldn't , after all.

However, his caretakers had no idea of that. For all they knew, he could very well be dying. He pursed his lips, and took a shaky breath. "O..okay.. I'll see a doctor.."

The lady smiled with relief. "Good. The sooner we can figure out what's wrong, the better we can treat it."

Vincent nodded solemnly, and finished eating his sandwich. Standing up, he picked up the plate and placed it in the sink, ignoring the urge to wash it as he walked to the door. Victoria wanted him to focus more on being a kid, after all. But that was hard to do.

A waiting servant headed in and started washing the dishes, and Victoria, having finished eating, helped while she was able. Vanessa followed Vincent after finishing her lunch, and soon Victoria came out of the kitchen as well.

They soon reached the front door and headed out, the lady in the purple dress holding the boy's hand. The girl in green walked ahead of them, arms crossed.

Following the path, they exited the gates and found themselves in town. And, thankfully, the village doctor's home wasn't too far.

Vincent swallowed, nervous. He could hear so many soul beats here, fleeting and dull though they were. It made him tremble even more, a rogue thought or two of wanting to eat them flitting through his mind. Horrified, he yelped and almost yanked his hand out of Victoria's, almost falling to the ground. 

Victoria almost fell with the boy, stumbling, but managed to hold onto him firmly, keeping them both on their feet. "Darling? you're not getting worse, are you?"

Her purple eyes were wide and full of alarm, her other hand held up to her mouth.

"N..no! I'm.. I'm fine," Vincent swallowed again.

"Would you stop saying you're fine?" Vanessa snapped, almost to the door. "Please?"

Vincent pursed his lips, blue eyes wide, and looked down. "Sorry.."

He then decided to keep quiet unless spoken to now, at least until they saw the doctor. Vanessa looked back at him, and frowned, immediately feeling awful for snapping. But didn't apologize. 

Victoria squeezed his hand, and Vincent appreciated it. Soon, though, they arrived at the village doctor's home, and Vanessa rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" a muffled voice called, and it wasn't long before a relatively young man, seeming to be in his twenties at this point, answered the door. He had big light brown eyes and a Caucasian face framed by darker brown and short hair. What was most interesting were the white bandages wrapped around his nose and mouth. He wore a light grey cloak and grey pants, and a bear mask to the side of his head. His big eyes gazed at them, belying the smile he was wearing underneath that strange mask. "My, if it isn't the royal family! does Vanessa need a check-up again?"

Vanessa shook her head, and Victoria chuckled. "No, sir, but we have a new addition to the family we'd like you to check on."

"Oh?" the man blinked, and Vanessa moved aside, allowing him to see Vincent, who'd had his free hand on his head and who promptly shut his eyes. That soul was so bright. He almost squeezed his head a bit too tight, trying to distract himself from that.

Victoria swallowed, gazing her saddened purple eyes at the doctor. "Can you help him, sir?"

"I can try," the doctor then stepped aside, allowing them passage into his home. He led them to his office—a room with two hospital beds and some chairs and a desk. 

He let Vincent sit on one of the beds, and Victoria and Vanessa sat on the comfy chairs. 

"Hello, young one," he fixed the bear mask onto his face. "You may call me Louis. And what's your name?"

Vincent looked up at him, chewing his lip and gently swinging his legs. "Vincent.. Vincent Hildin.."

The royal family watched this occur, staying silent.

Louis proceeded to write his name down, and nodded. "What seems to be the problem?"

Vincent didn't speak again for a moment, before he swallowed and said, "I.. I think they would be able to tell you better, Mister Louis.."

With a small amount of hesitation, Louis turned to the queen and princess of Subcon, waiting for them to speak.

"Over the course of a week, the little darling has turned paler. He exhibits shortness of breath, rising temperatures, and a lot of shakiness nowadays."

Louis would write this down too, nodding. 

"But he keeps saying he's fine," the princess frowned. 

"Hmm.." the doctor hummed to himself, tapping the pen against his clipboard. He got up and headed to Vincent, taking the boy's temperature first of all.

He got out his thermometer, and instructed Vincent to open wide so he could slide the tool into his mouth under his tongue. A few moments passed and Louis's already big eyes widened upon seeing the temperature. "Mm.. one hundred and two degrees.. and slowly rising.. that's.. unusual.."

Louis wrote that down before taking the thermometer, wiping it down and putting it away. He reached for a sort of flat popsicle stick and asked Vincent to open wide again. He checked his teeth and tonsils. "Oh dear, your canines are huge .. and very sharp.. but your tonsils are very healthy thankfully."

Vincent stared at Louis, closing his mouth after the doctor was done with that. "How long have they been like that? can you close your mouth okay?"

"S..since I was six.." the boy replied, taking a deep breath. And then he nodded to the second question. "It's not a big deal.."

Louis nodded, threw the stick away and reached for his stethoscope, putting it on and feeling for the boy's heartbeat with the other end, under the shirt. Vincent kept breathing, staying still. His ability to stay still was absolutely impressive, the doctor noted. Too impressive. 

"Heart beats are normal, if a bit faster than usual."

And, after writing down his latest findings, he instructed the boy to roll up his sleeve so he could measure his blood pressure. Vincent stayed still as the machine did its work, tightening and tightening and tightening until it was squeezing his arm. Just a flinch, but nothing more.

Louis watched the monitor, humming. "Blood pressure is slightly off. Have you been eating a lot of meat, Vincent?"

He nodded. "Yes, Mister Louis.."

"Any fruits and veggies in your life?"

Vincent hesitated. "Yes. I don't eat as much as I should.."

The doctor looked over at the boy with worry. And then to Victoria, who shrugged. She had made such, but Vincent would only eat a little nowadays. He'd eat all the meat, however.

"He eats some, and I cook a variety of things. But he eats all the meat I give him," Victoria supplemented.

Louis trusted her word. The queen would regularly host feasts on her grounds, and when he'd go, as rare as that was, there would be a variety indeed. 

"Right then.." he would then instruct the boy to take off his shoes and stand on the weight indicator. 

Louis pursed his lips as soon as the machine leveled out. "Slightly underweight.. and you said he eats a lot?"

Victoria nodded. "Mhm."

"Must be some very high metabolism at play, hmm," the doctor wrote this down. "It's a bit normal for a boy his age, however."

"So.. what's the verdict?" Vanessa asked, green eyes narrow. 

"I will need more time to research," Louis looked over his notes for the kid, who was sitting again and putting his shoes back on. "But so far, with these superficial tools, he seems to be balanced between healthy and not. I don't know what's wrong yet, but I'll call you.."

And then he thought some more. "Actually, I do need one thing. I'll need to take some blood so I can do some proper tests." He looked up at them. "Would that be fine, Queen Victoria?"

Victoria nodded without hesitation. And then he looked to Vincent. "And you?"

Vincent thought for a moment, surprised that he was included. And soon he also nodded. 

Louis smiled behind those masks, and began to prep the boy for a blood test. He took a swab of alcohol and wiped the injection site at his inner elbow, and prepped the needle too. 

Vincent watched this occur, not fazed at all as the needle gently punctured his skin, took some blood, and then it was over. The blood flowed into a vial and Louis placed a bandaid on the site.

"You did a great job, Vin," Louis cleaned and disinfected the needle and reached into a drawer for a strawberry banana lollipop. Kids seemed to love them.

"Thank you, Mister Louis.." the boy took the lollipop with gratitude, opened it and slid it into his mouth, promptly cracking it accidentally with his canines. He grew a tad sheepish once more, as he, the princess and queen stood up.

Victoria bowed. "Thank you, sir."

"I told you I was fine," Vincent quietly mumbled around the lollipop. 

"The doctor still has to do some more tests, so no, you can't really say that until it's done," Vanessa huffed softly. She was worried though. Despite her attempts to hide it, Vincent knew. 

Doctor Louis then stood and led them back to the door. "Stay safe, you three."

"You too!" they waved as they exited his home.

And then off they went back to the manor, Victoria holding the boy's hand again. Vincent had long since finished his lollipop, and felt relieved now that the huge cluster of soul beats were a lot quieter and duller since they were at a distance, only to be replaced by a few closer ones.

He'd take a few over many, anyway.

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since the visit to the doctor. The new moon was closer now—tomorrow, in fact. That much was certain, and he’d been counting down the days. 

A shaky, pale Vincent lay in his bed, hugging himself quietly. Rest didn’t come easy at all, despite how tired he felt. Souls kept beating in his head, and it didn’t stop. Some shifted around as their owners moved about in the manor, others still as though asleep. 

How he envied those who were asleep.

The incredible heat he felt inside and radiating off him at this point didn’t help either. All in all, he felt horrible. But this was only temporary, he knew. If only he could tell his caretakers..

There soon came a few knocks on the door. Vincent swallowed, glancing at the door. “Come in..” god he sounded awful, almost like a croaking frog. 

The door opened and in stepped the tall queen. She gazed at him with compassion and sorrow, and was holding a fruit basket and a canteen of ice cold water. “The doctor called, darling..” she began. “He’s still looking into the blood sample, but he recommended lots of fruit and water.”

The boy stared at the fruit basket and slightly turned up his nose for a moment. It wasn’t that he hated fruit, far from it, but it just wouldn’t sate him. He didn’t know how to say this, but soon he nodded anyway. “Thank you, Miss Victoria..”

Victoria had seen the look anyway, tilting her head as she set the basket and canteen on his nightstand. “Fruit is good for you, darling. At least try to eat some of them.”

Vincent bit his lip slightly. He couldn’t argue with that. So he reached down and plucked out a large apple, starting to eat. It tasted great, and he eventually finished, but his stomach still rumbled rather loudly. And he was still burning up. 

The queen wandered around, wondering whatever could be wrong with her child, and placed the back of her hand on Vincent’s forehead, only to pull back near immediately due to how hot he was—he felt like an oven. “Oh dear. Drink some of this water, darling..”

She grabbed the canteen and held it out for him, and he took it and sat up to drink some. The cold water soothed his dry throat and he couldn’t help himself—draining the entire canteen in less than a minute and ignoring Victoria’s warning. It helped just a tad, but the extreme heat still lingered. It was a miracle he hadn’t choked. Queen Victoria pursed her lips as she again placed her hand on his forehead. 

It felt like there wasn’t much of a difference, but at the very least she could hold her hand there for more than a split second. “I’ll go get a cold, damp towel and more water for you, darling.”

“Okay, thank you..” he smiled a bit, and then attempted to clear his throat, to get rid of the strange croak. 

She fluffed up his pillow, grabbed the canteen from him and then left the room, leaving the basket of fruit there. Vincent stared at the door, and then at the fruit basket. Picking up another apple, he bit into it, fangs making short work of it. At least the fruit was cold. 

The queen soon came back with a cold, damp towel and some more ice cold water in the canteen. She gave Vincent the water first, watching him drink that up in seconds. And then she placed the cold towel on his forehead. He looked up at her with droopy blue eyes. “Thank you..”

“You’re welcome, darling,” she lingered around once more, trying to figure things out. Vincent watched her out of the corner of his eye, yawning eventually. With the cool, damp towel assuaging the heat, he felt like he could finally drift off to sleep. But he had to be careful not to sleep too long. The new moon was tomorrow night, after all. And he had to be ready. 

“I think I can sleep now..” the boy said, snuggling into the pillow in a way that the towel wouldn’t fall off his head. “Have a nice night, Miss Victoria..”

“And you have a nice nap, darlin,” she bowed to him and then, picking up the nearly empty fruit basket and canteen, she left the room quietly. 

His eyes soon fluttered closed and he drifted away. 

His new moon dreams returned to him, as they always had whenever he fell asleep. He’d spend the night hunting for souls to eat, ripping and tearing into those he found without a care who they were and how much they meant to him. 

The siblings ran—oh how they ran—for dear life, but he was always faster. Blood spilled and he took their souls. The royal family were a touch challenging, for the daughter had ice powers to use against him. But all it did was slow him down. Eventually, however, he emerged victorious and took their souls too. And he celebrated with the most vicious howling screech..

Vincent woke up, eyes snapping open. He bolted upright, and the towel slipped off his head. He clutched at his chest, and started sobbing uncontrollably. However, he quickly sniffled, breathed in and out, and slowly made himself stop. Boys don’t cry, you wuss. They’re rough and they’re tough. Be a good boy and act like one.

He gathered his bearings the best he could with how he felt, sniffling and stowing that dream deep into the recesses of his mind with the rest of them, and he looked out the window. It was midday once more, close to sunset. Meaning he seemed to sleep a whole day. The boy’s breath hitched as he was painfully aware that it was fast approaching. He was burning up so much now, shaking so much now, and he bet he looked as pale as a vampire. 

Vincent threw himself off the bed, and then picked himself up off the floor. He saw his patched up cloak hanging up on a coat hanger and grabbed that, wrapping it around his waist. And then he staggered out the door and into the hall, dragging himself down the stairs. He was careful around the kitchen, where his caretakers were, and soon he pushed open the door to the outside and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him. He was so lucky no one saw him.

He swallowed pure heat, making his way to the forest. Kids were playing in the town, and adults were outside watching, but thankfully no one stopped him. Though he was sure some adults had squinted at him. 

He crossed the stone bridge and almost collapsed at the entrance to the woods. But he had to keep going. He couldn’t stop now. 

Vincent grunted, and once he was in the forest, he made a mad dash through it the best he could. He had to get as far away from town as possible. Far enough that the beast wouldn’t think to go there. He measured it by the soul beats in his head. And very soon, the soul beats of humans faded, to be replaced by animals that ruled the night. To be extra sure, he traveled a bit more, but his legs eventually gave out. 

“O..okay, Vincent.. gotta.. gotta stop there..” he huffed, licking his dry lips as he sat there on the forest floor. The sun at this point was setting. He painfully stripped down to nothing, placing the clothes down beside him, and then wrapped his cloak around his waist loosely, so it wouldn’t tear again in the process. And then he waited, hugging himself and shaking. 

Oh he hoped no one would come around. For both their sake and his. 

To pass the time, he attempted to think. He thought about his caretakers. Wondering if they thought he was still sleeping. He thought about Xavier and Sally. Wondering if they attempted to come to play with him today. Eventually, though, it hurt to think. 

The sun beamed its last rays over the forest, turning the sky all kinds of colors. Looking down at his shaky hands, he saw the slightest purple blotches on them, and when the sun completely disappeared, Vincent lurched forward with a grunt, pain clutching at his chest. 

He grappled the grass, purple blotches beginning to spread all over him. Bones snapped and began to vanish as the heat inside him started to turn into something like lava. He shut his eyes, fingers melting and melding together into two claws on each hand. He tried not to scream, clamping his still melting hands around his mouth. 

Vincent’s legs lengthened slightly and twisted themselves into a tail, and he let out whimpers and whines. His fangs pushed forward into his lips which stretched somewhat, distorting said whimpers into still pained growls and snarls. His eyes became solid blue swirls and his hair melded into his skin, forming fluff around the neck. The purple blotches overcame his body as the last human part of him was snuffed out, replaced by a monster’s mind. 

Night settled throughout the kingdom, and the beast let out a most hungry howl, hackles raised. It growled as it sniffed around, immediately on the hunt to soothe its insatiable hunger. The Snatcher would sense so many nocturnal souls and lick its lips as it slowly slithered along, thankfully in the opposite direction of the village.

Very soon, a large boar would enter its sights. All it could see was the scrumptious soul it held. Crouching low, it snuck up to it, its dark body hiding itself well in the night. Once close enough, it pounced and bit into the boar’s neck, prompting the boar to squeal and buck and scream. But the demon never let go of its meal. 

It clamped its claws into the boar, gnawing at it and drooling, wanting that sweet soul for itself. Unfortunately for the Snatcher, it was too small to subdue the boar and was ultimately kicked off. Bloody fangs and claws, but no soul to show for it. 

The beast grappled onto the ground again and looked up at the boar, growling viciously. The boar scraped the dirt with its hoof repeatedly, getting ready for a charge despite bleeding. 

Tail lashing about, the Snatcher charged first without warning, maw wide open. The boar charged then too, and upon contact it turned into a brawl. Blue and red spilled onto the field, squeals and roars filling the atmosphere. The beast clawed and the boar bashed, each tearing holes into the other.

It didn’t seem like it’d end, but the demon’s blue maw eventually burned bright and let loose a fireball. The boar squealed as the fireball hit it right in the face, scorching its eyes and snout. It squealed even louder, and the Snatcher flinched before tackling it again and wrapping its tail around the boar’s legs, beginning to squeeze.

The boar cried out, but it couldn’t do anything because its legs were starting to break due to the pressure. The Snatcher kept at it, not stopping even as loud cracks echoed through the forest. Legs broken, the boar was at the beast’s mercy, and the beast licked its lips again and proceeded to eat the large boar almost entirely whole, digesting it rather quickly. 

Just like in the dreams, the Snatcher was victorious. But it was still hungry, so the moment it finished it was on the hunt once more. The serpentine creature slithered through, licking its lips to get at the blood on them. It came across a burrow soon enough, and sensed some souls inside. It poked its malleable head in, hissing softly and ignoring the pain from the brawl earlier. 

The demon pushed inside some more, trying to get at the animals burrowed here. As soon as it did, it pulled itself out, tossed the mother squirrel and its babes attached into the air and snapped them up, swallowing and licking its lips. It backed up, seeming to sigh, but no matter how tired it felt, it could not sleep. 

Such was the curse. 

But unfortunately for every animal here, it had no intention of sleeping…

Chapter Text

It was a long night, but all nights eventually end. As the smallish beast feasted on a deer, tearing off and scarfing down its meat, the sky slowly changed colors. The Snatcher, in the middle of ripping off more, suddenly froze. It lurched a few times, dropping its meal and backing away. Pain untold seared through it and twisted its face, and forced it to bend. 

It clawed at the ground, making a loud and strange mewling sound as its lava-like insides started evaporating into mere heat and bones, some of which cracked to adjust themselves again. The demon roared in agony, its lashing tail shortening and splitting into legs and claws melting into hands. Its shadowy fur receded into blotches, which in turn disappeared, revealing skin. And it grunted as its mouth morphed painfully, fangs pushing backwards into their rightful place. The mind of a little human boy very slowly resurfaced from the blur, and the mind of a monster was forced back into the far recesses. 

Growls and snarls and roars of pain gradually changed into very human pained screams, and the last stretch of the transformation, while no less painful, left him lying there in a heap of exhaustion. Vincent groaned, the warmth of the sun beaming down on him not helping at all. He felt so hot and awful. 

He lay there for a while, face first in the cool dirt, even as the dirt stung the inexplicable wounds he had now. The boy groaned again, finally lifting up his head at the very least. And he regretted it, almost puking when he saw the torn up carcass just a few feet away. He shook, looking away the best he could and finally getting up, reaching down and grabbing his cloak to pull it a bit over himself. 

Gathering his bearings, he looked around, rubbing his aching head and trying his best to avoid seeing the carcass again. He had to find his clothes and then wash up. And then return home before anyone woke up. 

So he slowly stood, and set off to where he’d left his clothes, unwillingly dragging his feet despite wanting to hurry. His body couldn’t hurry, too much in pain; he needed rest, but he had to get back there before people noticed he was gone. Not being hungry helped, though he felt bad for the animals he’d.. yeah..

Very soon though, he’d found his clothes, and thankfully nothing bothered them. Picking them up, he headed to a nearby river and washed up, cleaning the dirt and blood off himself and his cloak. And then cleaning out his wounds the best he could, ignoring how they stung. The moderately cool water felt great, as a bonus. 

Vincent then got dressed, tying the cloak around his waist once more, and followed the trail back to Subcon Village. And, while he hated lying, he started thinking about what lie he’d tell Queen Victoria and Princess Vanessa should he be caught and questioned..

It didn’t take him long to reach the bridge, and it took much less time to cross it and head through town. Already, he could feel his wounds start to heal. 

The entire town was sleeping, fortunately for him. He could sense the still souls in every building. And, despite having all his bearings, he thought they all looked very delicious..

Realizing he'd been staring vacantly, and hungrily, at a home, the doctor's home to be precise, he shook his head of the disturbing errant thought and continued to walk the path back to the manor, looking just as pitiful and as horrified as he felt. Vincent reached the doors and pulled them open quietly. Once he entered, he closed them the quietest he could. 

And then he listened and sensed for a moment. Nearly everyone seemed to be in their rooms and in bed. Including his caretakers. The few souls moving about were servants who’d gotten up earlier to attend to the manor. Sighing with relief, the boy staggered to the stairs and headed up them. 

The same brown-haired servant who tended to the bathroom wandered the second floor halls, cleaning up. They looked up and saw the boy, even though he tried his best to blend in. “Sir Vincent?” they asked in a hushed voice. “What are you doing up and out of bed at this hour?”

Vincent bit his lip, pressing his index fingers together. “Um.. I was.. visiting the forest..” which technically wasn’t a lie. He hated saying it though. 

They got a bit closer, holding the broom to themself. The moment they saw slight wounds, their eyes went wide. “And you’re hurt? however did that happen?”

Vincent frowned for a split second. One memory surfaced from the blur just then, and, resisting the urge to flinch, he soon replied, “I got.. attacked by a boar..”

The servant tilted their head. “A boar..? they usually aren’t so vicious..”

This made the boy even sicker to his thankfully not hungry stomach. He tried not to show it but his eyebrow couldn’t help twitching downwards. They pursed their lips and then placed a hand on Vincent’s shoulder, only to pull away. “Gah!” thankfully this was hushed too, “you’re burning up! ..follow me then.”

They headed for the bathroom, and Vincent followed weakly and somewhat slowly. Once there, the servant opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out painkillers, bandages, salves and ointment. The boy entered soon after, and sat in the corner, the exhaustion catching up to him. 

Following the instructions given, Vincent tiredly held out his arm and whatever other body part had wounds, staying completely still as they applied the salve, ointment and bandages. And then he was given a pill after it all was done, with some water to wash it down. 

“Ugh.. thank you..” he looked up at them with grateful blue eyes. “I.. don’t think I ever got your name..”

“Ah..” the servant tapped their chin. “Call me Mx Misair.” 

“Mx.. Misair..” the boy yawned, looking about ready to pass out, especially since the pill was slowly working to relieve the pain he felt. “That’s.. that’s a nice name..”

And then he fell forward from his seat, out cold before his face hit the floor. Mx Misair frowned, and knelt. Feeling the boy’s shoulder, they found that he was still too hot to carry. But they couldn’t let him sleep here. He was going back to his room, into his bed, where he belonged.

When Vincent woke up later, he could feel he was lying someplace very soft, and that his wounds were completely healed. The boy sat up and yawned, still tired, still sickly. But he knew it was temporary. And hey, at least he felt slightly better than earlier. 

Vincent patted his bed, smiling slightly. Mx Misair must’ve brought him here. He should find and thank them, but for now, it was time to face the royalty over breakfast. No doubt the servant had told them about his escapade last night, as limited as it was. 

He slid out of bed, and headed downstairs to the dining room / kitchen, nearly collapsing when he got there, and sitting at the table was Princess Vanessa and standing by the stove, preparing pancakes stuffed with meat was her mom. “G..good morning, Miss Victoria.. good morning, Miss Vanessa..”

“Oh, lovely morning to you as well, darling!” Queen Victoria smiled, just as chipper as almost ever. “Rest well?”

Vincent nodded slightly. The new moon dreams weren’t as bad this time. 

“Good, good..” and then her tone turned a bit serious. “I’ve heard from Mx Misair.. they reported that you were out of bed a while after sunrise..” 

“And you visited the forest last night?” Princess Vanessa furrowed her brow. “Aren’t you supposed to be sick?”

Vincent pursed his lips hard, taking a breath. He couldn’t tell them the truth. So he just nodded. “I did it to get some fresh night air.. Miss Victoria had said it was good for colds..”

This earned a wry smirk from the queen. “Nearly any type of air is good. But they’d also told me you’d gotten attacked by a boar..”

“I ran away before anything too horrible happened..” he replied, ignoring how he seemed to go monotone for a bit. Ignoring how his stare wavered for just a moment. 

Thankfully, Victoria didn’t seem to notice. But Vanessa narrowed her eyes slightly. Something was up.

“That’s good, darling..” the tall lady sighed with relief. The thought of her children getting hurt was awful to her. “I’m certainly also glad Mx Misair treated your wounds.. how are you now?”

Vincent stretched and yawned, before he hugged himself. “I’m okay, I think.. still a bit shaky and hot though..”

Victoria nodded to his words, and flipped the meaty pancakes over. They were ready to be served now. She smiled and called, “Breakfast is ready!”

“Finally..” Vanessa quipped, and the lady came over and served the hearty food onto individual plates. Vincent got a bit more, because of his sickness, and he licked his lips. And then she sat down and they all dug in.

Breakfast was quiet. But all he could think about was this entire fiasco—lying in particular. It didn’t sit right, and he had a feeling Vanessa didn’t quite believe him. But he was lying to protect them.. as well as himself. If he told them.. as nice as they were.. they’d probably disown him too.. or worse.. and he couldn’t take that again..

Suddenly, his meaty pancakes tasted more like salt than anything. But he kept eating until nothing was left on his plate. And he’d gotten done before Vanessa and Victoria had, so he excused himself, pulling himself from the chair to stand. “Thank you for the breakfast, Miss Victoria..”

“You’re very welcome, darling,” she smiled, and then side hugged him. It was only then did a single tear drop from his eye. 

Letting go, she returned to eating. And then Vincent silently headed upstairs, moping. But if he could find and thank Mx Misair before he took another nap, that would be pretty nice. 

Chapter Text

The boy yawned as he searched for Mx Misair, and it took several once-overs and nearly collapsing a few times before he finally found them. They were sweeping and dusting his room clean, humming a small tune. Vincent grinned tiredly, almost exposing his canines, and spoke, “Mx Misair..!”

The servant looked over, almost startled, for the small child made absolutely no footsteps to signify his arrival. “Oh.. Sir Vincent.. it’ll take a while before your room is clean. Apologies for not notifying you.”

Vincent smiled. “It’s okay.. I.. want to thank you for helping me..”

Mx Misair chuckled softly, returning to sweeping and dusting. “No need to thank me, Sir Vincent. It’s my job to help people.”

Vincent was still not quite used to being called sir. It felt strange to him. But he was too polite to ask Mx Misair to stop. So he simply nodded and settled for watching Mx Misair clean his room in silence. The servant found this, among other things, a bit weird. But Vincent never got in the way like little Vanessa had.. 

The sudden memory made them smile wistfully. Oh how children grew up fast. 

But Mx Misair had a feeling that little Vincent had already grown up. By force. Why, they could tell by those beautiful blue eyes full of tired, traumatized wisdom that could only be found in the most distinguished elder scholars. They looked at him a moment, slightly saddened by this fact, but still sweeping and dusting. 

“What’s wrong?” the boy tilted his head. “Do.. do you need any help?”

Mx Misair caught themself, biting their lip. They shook their head eventually. “No, sir. Just thinking about older days.”

Vincent slowly nodded, backing up to the corner and sitting down against the wall. His shaky legs couldn’t handle standing anymore. And the brown-haired servant attempted to speed things up, but couldn’t help finishing thirty minutes later. The boy was still sleepy, tremors still coursing through him, but was fighting to stay awake. 

Mx Misair wondered why Vincent was so sickly, but figured the queen and princess were already figuring that out. So they didn’t ask, hoisting Vincent up and into bed. The boy muttered gratefully, nuzzling the cool blankets, and then he fell asleep. 

“Sweet dreams, sir,” the servant smiled, before they left the room with their cleaning supplies. Unfortunately, the boy never had sweet dreams.

The two royals had finished breakfast and were now cleaning up after themselves, the princess mumbling as she did. Victoria idly listened, even though many of those mumbles were, indeed, unintelligible. But some were about Vincent, as she angrily wondered why he insisted he was okay. But the loudest mumbles were her questioning why they were cleaning up if they were royalty and had servants to do so for them. 

The queen couldn’t help laughing softly at this. She always did try her best to alleviate the duties of her servants since cleaning the manor was a tough and big job. If she could do those duties herself, she always would. Hopefully her daughter would understand sooner rather than later. 

As soon as they finished cleaning, the phone rang, and Queen Victoria washed her hands before she headed to the parlor to answer it.

“Hello, this is Queen Victoria, how may I help you?” she defaulted to her casually business voice—friendly but firm.

“Ah, Queen Victoria, this is Doctor Louis,” the voice on the other end replied, and Victoria tensed up slightly. This was it. She could tell this was going to be about Vincent and whether he was healthy, sick or dying. Oh she hoped he wasn’t dying. 

“Oh,” she put the phone on speaker and cleared her throat to rid her voice of potential sadness. “Am I right to assume this is about Vincent?”

“Yes, ma’am. Is he there with you?”

“He’s upstairs sleeping,” Victoria replied, chewing her lip. At this point, her daughter had joined her, looking a little miffed.

“Oh, well, you can just tell him later, or I can call back when he’s awake,” Louis stated, and upon hearing his voice, Princess Vanessa perked up worriedly. Was this going to be good news or bad news? he seemed impassioned either way right now, so she was even more worried.

“You could call back later if you wi—”

“Why not right now?” the princess frowned as she interrupted her mother. “I wanna hear Vincent’s fate now!”

“Now now, darling..” she grimaced at what Vanessa said. “As much as I’d like to hear about it now, Vincent has every right to hear it too. It is about him, after all.”

Vanessa crossed her arms and huffed, “Fine.”

There was a soft chuckle on the other line, before Louis spoke up again, “Alright. Call me back when he wakes up.”

“Thank you, Doctor Louis,” the queen smiled. “Have a good day.”

“You do the same,” and then he hung up. 

Victoria would write the number down before she placed the phone back on the line, and turned to her daughter, who was in the process of heading upstairs. “What are you doing, dear?”

“Going to wake him up,” Vanessa looked back at her mother, who crossed her arms and looked disapproving. She frowned. “Don’t you wanna know sooner too? I know he’s sick but come on.”

“He needs his rest, exactly because he’s sick,” Victoria explained, taking a deep breath. “You can’t just go around waking people up, darling. It’s rude.”

Vanessa sighed, but walked down from the stairs, and nodded, mumbling that he’s said he was okay. The queen laughed a little. “So now you believe him?” she asked, not mocking but amused.

The girl in the green dress mumbled a “No”. Victoria ruffled her hair, smiling. “I thought so. Come along now, it’s time to do a little work. As an upcoming queen, you’ll need to learn.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever,” she fixed back her hair and followed her mother to the living room. Time for piano lessons.

Chapter Text

Vincent wound up sleeping almost the whole day away. It was only when he heard the bell chime for supper that he woke up. But he was slightly groggy still. He groaned as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. The boy slid out of bed onto his feet, and then stumbled out of his room and eventually down the stairs. 

He found himself in the dining room soon enough, waving absentmindedly and sitting down at the table. He felt out of it. He didn’t even notice Vanessa was talking. 

“Oh you’re finally awake! took you long enough,” she huffed, crossing her arms as her mother served the food. It was tender sirloin steak with broccoli on the side, and Vincent’s was medium rare and more so in quantity. 

Vincent didn’t say anything, just stared at the food, particularly the meat, beginning to drool. Victoria watched as she sat down, concerned. “Darling, are you alright?”

Suddenly, the boy grabbed the steak with his bare hands and proceeded to tear into it with his teeth, prompting a gasp from Victoria and a loud huff from Vanessa. “This again?!”

He didn’t seem to heed them, growling as he devoured his meal messily. He couldn’t even hear Vanessa complain or Victoria calling his name. He didn’t see Victoria get up and walk his way. But he did feel the ensuing gentle but firm touch on his shoulder, which brought him back to earth. “Darling!”

Vincent gasped, eyes becoming focused again. He panted, dropping the half-eaten steak back onto the plate, and looked around, seeing where he was. He.. was in the kitchen and dining area.. not.. oh Cod.. 

“‘m sorry..” he bowed his head, sniffling. “I.. I don’t know what.. got into me..”

But he did know. Vanessa scoffed. “My word, that was disgusting. If I wasn’t so hungry I would’ve lost my appetite!”

Victoria picked up a nearby napkin and proceeded to clean Vincent’s solemn face and hands. “Vanessa, dear, don’t be so hard on him..”

“Bu—” this was met with a firm stare, and Vanessa stood down, sighing. “Fine.” She began to eat her share.

“..‘m sorry..” he sank into his chair a little bit, feeling extremely remorseful. 

“It’s okay, darling..” and soon she was finished cleaning him up. After patting him on the head, she returned to her seat. There was another small purr, and the boy picked up his fork and began to eat properly.

After a moment of eating, Queen Victoria finally spoke up again. “Doctor Louis called earlier today.”

“Really?” Vincent looked up at her, tilting his head. “What did he say?”

“We wanted to wait until you were up,” she replied with a smile. Though there was a tinge of worry in it. 

The boy blinked. “You.. you didn’t have to wait for me..” he was confused by this, tilting his head the other way. Why did they wait?

“Ha!” Vanessa piped in, smugly. “We could’ve heard it without him!”

“Like I said, dear, it wouldn’t have been fair to Vincent,” and Victoria was ever patient with her daughter. Vincent just listened and watched, still confused. She looked at him. “We’ll call him back after supper’s finished.”

“Uh, okay, Miss Victoria,” he nodded, and eventually smiled too.

It was only several minutes before they all finished supper and Victoria cleaned up after them. Vanessa left for the parlor, leaving Vincent lingering in the kitchen. He wanted to help clean up, but Victoria would just say no anyway. It left him feeling a little hollow.

The queen looked back at him as she washed the dishes, and stopped upon seeing the look on his pale face. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Darling? what’s wrong?”

Vincent mumbled, looking down at the table he was standing near. He took a breath, stilling his trembling lips, and looked up at her finally. “C..can I please help you clean up?”

The queen felt shattered just then. She didn’t show it, but there was turmoil inside. She realized then, that the time Vincent had in being a kid had long since passed. Perhaps he was always like this? and she’d just caused more pain not letting him help? perhaps his parents.. she shook her head slightly, not wanting to delve into that. 

Smiling eventually, she soon replied, “Of course, darling. Thank you.”

Vincent blinked, once again shocked. But he shuffled up to the sink and began helping Victoria clean. With Victoria washing and Vincent drying, they were done in little to no time at all. And then they left for the parlor, where Vanessa was waiting grumpily.

“Sorry for the wait, darling,” the queen bowed slightly as soon as she entered, and her daughter shrugged. The boy entered after her, staring at the phone, and Victoria walked up to it and pulled it off the hook, inputting the number and putting it on speaker.

“Hello, this is Doctor Louis,” his voice soon permeated the room. 

“Hello, Doctor Louis, this is Queen Victoria, calling you back about earlier.”

Vincent Hildin looked up at her, walking closer from the entrance. 

“Ah, I assume Vincent’s awake now.”

“He is!” Victoria smiled, but it was slightly grim. “Say hello, darling.”

Vincent jolted a bit, walking even closer to her. “Oh.. uh.. hello, Mister Louis..” he tried his best to put a smile to his tone but it fell a little flat. He was worried too. Vanessa stayed silent, sitting on one of the stools in the parlor.

“And Vanessa?” 

“She’s here too,” Victoria nodded, putting the telephone on the counter. 

Vanessa leaned over and spoke into it, “Hi.”

“Excellent,” there was a little ahem and shuffling of paper, before the doctor continued, “now then.. I was studying the blood sample last night, and.. it suddenly turned a bright blue.”

Vincent’s blood ran cold, and he swallowed. Victoria didn’t seem to notice, too busy wondering about this, but Vanessa did, narrowing her eyes. “Blue? isn’t it always supposed to be red?”

“Well, it also turns brown upon drying, but that’s beside the point,” Victoria bit her lip as she replied. 

“Correct,” Louis couldn’t help answering. “It turned back red the following morning. I’ve tried researching this phenomenon but I didn’t turn up any leads. Perhaps you could..?”

“I’ll try my best, Doctor Louis, and I’ll call you if I find anything,” the queen tried to keep all sense of sadness from her tone. She failed slightly. 

“Good.. other than that, the blood oddly and fortunately seems healthy,” his tone had brightened.

Her purple eyes lit up and her smile grew genuine. “Oh, that’s wonderful news!” 

“Indeed.”

“So he’s really fine?” Vanessa frowned, not quite believing it. “All the paleness, trembles, sickly behavior? is that just nothing?”

“Hm.. it might be something, but as far as the blood sample is concerned, it has no bearing on his overall health,” he explained. “I still do recommend plenty of water and fruits and vegetables.”

Vincent stuck out his tongue briefly and somewhat uncontrollably. Like before, it wasn’t that he didn’t like them. But they wouldn’t satisfy him at all. He wished he could tell them. But he knew it was beyond bizarre and he had a feeling Vanessa would latch onto and argue about it. 

Victoria nodded. “Yes, sir, I’ll get right on that. Thank you.”

“Thank you, I guess,” Vanessa shrugged.

“Th..thank you, Mister Louis,” Vincent smiled softly, though the doctor wouldn’t be able to see it. However, he was worried now.

“You’re welcome,” they could feel the smile. “Have a good evening.”

“You too,” and then they both hung up.

There was some silence, before Victoria smiled down at Vincent. “Well, you were right after all, darling!”

“Yeah,” Vincent chuckled awkwardly, and looked to Vanessa, knowing she didn’t quite believe it.

Vanessa glared slightly, crossing her arms. “Hmph. So you’re okay. But what about the blood?”

There was obviously something, she thought, because Vincent had a strange reaction to being told this information. Queen Victoria nodded. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.”

“Who on earth has bright blue blood?” Vanessa’s eyebrow rose incredulously. “It’s preposterous I say.”

“Very well might be,” Victoria sighed. “But I trust Doctor Louis’s judgment.”

“Then?” 

“I said I’d see what I find out,” she smiled. “But, whether or not I find anything, at least we can find relief in that Vincent is okay.”

Vanessa thought on this, and soon nodded. “Alright.”

Victoria clasped her hands together happily. “Good. Vincent, darling, it’s time to study before bed.” She would look to him, only to find that he had vanished. “Vincent?”

“Oh, that’s just great,” Vanessa huffed and looked around.

Some time during the talk, Vincent had left the room to the second floor, as the door to the stairwell was slightly ajar. The boy sighed as he entered his room again. 

It felt.. weird being fussed over. It felt.. weird being cared for. And it felt weird that he was being loved. Vanessa had an odd way of showing it though. 

He plopped into bed, and grabbed a book from underneath. 

It was all very strange. Very weird. But he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Chapter Text

A few birthdays passed and Vincent had become a teenager at thirteen years of age. He was a little taller now, as tall as the princess in fact, much to Vanessa’s dismay. But thankfully, he didn’t become unruly or rebellious like almost every other teenager. The boy remained as sweet and helpful as could be. 

However, unbeknownst to him now, the village had been growing wary. Ever since Queen Victoria took in a young boy, there had been far-away sightings and telltale howls of the beast of legend roaming the forest in search of souls every month. Some didn’t want to believe it. Others refused to believe it. And yet more were on the fence. But it seemed too on the nose to deny much further.. 

Vincent Hildin had to be the Snatcher.

The redheaded teenager hummed as he left the manor with a basket to run a few errands for the queen. Stuff like buying some new flowers for the house and hanging up or giving away flyers for the upcoming banquet. 

He walked down the path to the village, swinging the basket to and fro. He took a flyer from the basket and stapled it to the first post he saw on the path, smiling. And then he looked to the square. Children were playing and adults were outside watching. But something seemed a little off. 

Vincent didn’t notice and looked around for his friends—and he’d finally accepted that’s what they were to him—and soon saw the two siblings kicking a ball around. He grinned and began to approach, beautiful blue eyes sparkling happily. The adults standing on their porches watched him, narrowing their eyes. A few called their children back inside, and there came a chorus of groans before they complied.

The teen’s smile slightly wavered, but he figured maybe it was time for them to stop playing. He reached Sally and Xavier soon enough, waving. “Hi, Sally! hi, Xavier!”

Xavier waved back, smiling, though there was something off about it, but Sally backed away slightly. Vincent couldn’t help noticing that; he bit his lip carefully, looking concerned. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t speak. Xavier looked at her, sadly. “Sister?”

“Sorry,” the girl replied, clutching at her arm. 

Vincent tilted his head, his orange hair swaying with the motion. “What’s up? the queen is going to host a banquet later this week.”

Sally simply nodded while Xavier grinned, excited. “Ooh, food always good!”

“Yep,” she remained terse. 

The boy swallowed. He approached Sally, concerned, but she kept backing away. Eventually Xavier got in between them, and he stopped, extremely perplexed. “Huh? Xavier? what’s going on?”

Neither of them would answer, and he found himself becoming a little frustrated, but his patience won out. He was heavily concerned now, above all else. But their parents called them soon enough, having had enough of that. 

“Sally! Xavier! time to come inside!”

“Okay, mom and dad,” they said simultaneously, and began to walk to their home. 

Vincent became desperate. He grabbed for Xavier, catching his shirt. “Please.. why are you acting this way?”

Xavier turned his head and pinned Vincent with a stare similar to how one would look at a dead rat, and the redhead lost heart soon enough. He let go, feeling like his heart had shattered into a million pieces. Sally finally looked back at him and replied, “We don’t wanna play anymore. Sorry.”

Vincent watched as they resumed walking into their house, and took a deep, shaky breath. He tried not to cry, but it happened anyway, tears welling up and falling from his eyes. “..okay.”

He wondered why. Why did his friends suddenly turn their backs on him?

..scratch that. Why did they turn their backs at all?

Sally and Xavier and their parents watched from the window, and the two almost teenagers frowned and exchanged glances. Was it concern? was it fear? were they right in doing that?

Their parents assured them that they were. But there was still a lingering concern. What was done was done though, and they watched the redhead dry his tears and walk away. 

These errands weren’t going to finish themselves, after all.

Vincent sighed as he walked to the florist’s home, watching everyone avoid him, subtly or not. He now had a sneaking suspicion, but he didn’t want to believe that. Sniffling, he approached the home, connected to a greenhouse, and rang the doorbell. 

“Just a minute!” he heard soon enough, and he waited patiently. A young, freckled lady answered the door, and she smiled at him. “Why, hello! what can I do for you?”

The kindness shocked him speechless. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Eventually, “Uhhh..”

“Take your time,” she giggled. 

“Flowers,” he finally found the word, and soon he found all his words. “Miss Victoria wants new flowers for her home. Please.”

“Oh, sure!” the florist nodded. “I’ve got just the thing!” 

She headed inside, and Vincent awkwardly waited on the porch, keeping the now empty basket close to his chest. The redheaded lady chuckled and gestured for him to enter. “It’s okay. You can wait on the couch.”

“Oh, thanks..” he wiped his shoes on the welcome mat and entered, closing the door and heading to the couch to sit. She giggled again and then headed to the connected greenhouse. 

And just like that, Vincent was alone with his thoughts again, and they focused on Sally and Xavier. He thought of all the times they spent together, having fun and learning. Almost growing up together. But now.. he sniffled, tears welling up again. 

The lady soon came back with bundles of roses and chrysanthemums. “Here we g—oh my!” she nearly dropped them, flying to the sobbing Vincent’s side. “Are you okay?!”

Vincent wasn’t okay. He hiccuped a few times as he cried, bringing his hands to his face. The girl frowned. “Okay, silly question. I’m sorry. I..” 

“N..no.. ‘m sorry..” he managed to regain his composure, if only slightly, sniffling and looking at her with bloodshot eyes. “I barely know you and here I am crying..”

“It’s okay to cry, mister..” she placed the flowers on the table and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

Then why did it always feel wrong..?

He shook his head and wiped the tears away. “Thanks..”

“No problem,” she smiled at him. “I have hot chocolate if you want it.”

Vincent thought on this, and eventually nodded. She headed into the kitchen, as the teenager gathered the flowers carefully and placed them in the large basket Queen Victoria lent to him.

Very soon, the lady came back with a large cup of hot chocolate, and handed it to him with a concerned smile. “Here you go, mister.”

“Thank you, miss..” he sniffled once more, and sipped the hot chocolate with seemingly no ill effects, like a burnt tongue. 

“Wait don’t drink it now!” the lady’s eyes were wide as she watched. Vincent looked up at her, tilting his head. “Huh? you’re okay?”

He blinked, and then nodded. The drink felt nice. It was already working to help him feel better. She blinked, and soon chuckled. “Glad you like it. Now, introductions. My name is Lilly.”

Vincent finally pulled away from the hot chocolate. “Like the flower?”

“Well, yes. Two l’s though,” she smiled. 

“Ah, cool. My name’s Vincent,” the boy bowed as much as he could while sitting, and resumed drinking the hot chocolate. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Lilly.”

“Likewise, Mister Vincent.”

He soon sighed, the hot chocolate finished, and then he jolted, standing up. “Oh! here..” he fished inside his pocket for some pons the queen had given him for this occasion. “For the flowers and all.”

He finally got them out and handed them to her, and Lilly pursed her lips. “You know what, Mister Vincent? it’s on the house. Don’t worry about it.”

The young man’s blue eyes widened. He tilted his head. “Uh.. you sure?”

She took the cup from him though, and nodded. “I’m sure!”

He smiled and then sighed. “Thank you..” he pocketed the pons and began to leave. He couldn’t burden her with his thoughts. It was just something he’d have to ask mo—Victoria about. He waved when he got to the door. “See ya around, Miss Lilly.”

The lady waved back. “Take care, mister.”

And soon he left, back to the manor. And unfortunately, he had to take the path through town once more. He spotted children playing outside again, the adults watching, and Sally and Xavier were playing too, only to stop when Vincent approached. 

The two looked at him, but Vincent didn’t appear to spare them a glance; he kept walking, closing his eyes and beginning to hum even. And while it tore him up again on the inside, he had to admit it wasn’t as bad. 

Chapter Text

Vincent entered his home with the basket of flowers, sniffing for Queen Victoria. She always had this perfume on that was pleasant and not too harsh. Almost like brown sugar cinnamon. Contrasting Vanessa, who always wore slightly louder ones. It helped, though, and he couldn’t complain considering the alternative was soul sight. 

He eventually located her in the kitchen, bringing out the ingredients to cook for lunch. Vincent walked up to her, and hearing his footsteps she turned around and smiled down at him, clasping her hands. “Ah, I see you’re back with the flowers, darling. Thank you.”

“It’s.. not a problem, Miss Victoria,” the young man did his best to smile back, but it fell short of reaching his eyes. He placed the basket on the other counter and bowed his head.

“Darling?” the queen placed a hand on his shoulder. “Is everything alright?”

Vincent didn’t say anything for a moment, swaying sadly. He sniffled. “Wh..what do you do.. when two friends you’ve known for three years suddenly abandon you and.. turn you away..?”

Victoria paused for a moment, eyes wide. “Pardon me for asking, darling.. but are these two friends.. yours?”

The teenager nodded, and she winced. She never thought she’d see this day. Sally and Xavier seemed like the perfect pair of friends for him. Victoria sighed and pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry that happened, darling..”

Vincent sighed. “I’m sorry too.. I don’t even know what I did wrong..”

But he had an idea. And it wasn’t even in his control. This just made him feel even worse. Tears welled in his eyes again. 

It wasn’t fair..

After a few more minutes, Victoria pulled away, wiping away the tears, and focused on cooking again after washing her hands. Eventually, an idea came to her. “Vincent, dear..”

“Yes’m?” the young man looked up at her, still sorrowful and bogged down. 

“If you’d like.. I could teach you how to cook,” she smiled down at him. He wasn’t nearly as tall as she was, but instead of coming to just above her knee, he was now at her waist. And he still had much more room to grow. 

He seemed to brighten up at the thought of knowing how to cook various dishes and meals, beautiful blue eyes widening and regaining their sparkly light. “Really, Miss Victoria?” 

It seemed as if all his troubles of today and of his past were forgotten at that moment. Victoria nodded without hesitation, her smile widening. “Good, good. You are now an apprentice chef.”

Vincent Hildin couldn’t help bouncing on his heels with sheer joy, and so she started the process. She would start small, of course, letting him fetch the ingredients and measure them. Over time, she would let him take the lead and cook according to recipes. But that was getting ahead of herself. 

And once the lunch of meaty sandwiches lightly brushed with relish was done—and perfectly if she did say so herself—Queen Victoria turned to him and smiled. “Thank you, darling.”

The boy beamed and nodded. “You’re welcome, Miss Victoria.”

Victoria served these on the table and called for her daughter, who had been in the living room practicing, or not, her piano lessons, and then she reached inside a cabinet and pulled out a seemingly ancient tome. Vincent watched her and that book she brought out with awe. 

“This book was my mother’s. She absolutely adored making new recipes and following them to the letter. But she also loved collecting them as well.” She paused a moment, pursing her lips, before she nodded and continued on with a resolute, kind tone. “I.. would like you to have it, darling. You can study it to your heart's content. Maybe even create new recipes to put inside it.”

“R..really?” the teenager could hardly believe this, tears welling up in his eyes. But it wasn’t like he didn’t think Victoria would, after all this time living with her. She let him keep the law book he “borrowed” after all. But there was always this nagging feeling that he didn’t deserve such kindness. Victoria held the book out to him regardless, and he carefully took it, staring at it, and then held it to his chest. “Th..thank you..”

“You deserve it, darling,” the queen bowed. Some time during this conversation, Vanessa had leaned against the wall outside the kitchen and dining area, listening. 

Vincent took one arm from the book and rubbed at his tearful eyes fervently. As he did, these words stumbled from his mouth: “Love you, mom..”

Both Victoria and Vanessa felt like their worlds stopped, but for different reasons. Vanessa couldn’t help feeling a little jealous, her brow furrowing slightly as she stayed glued to the wall outside the room. But Victoria.. why, she felt very proud. Her hands flew to her chest, and one then flew to her mouth as she gradually smiled. Vincent soon realized what he said and blinked, very soon blushing humbly and sheepishly. 

“Oh! um.. I.. I’m sorry, Miss Victoria. I..” he hastily attempted to backpedal, but it was already done. He now felt like he was suddenly trapped, and, fearing bad things would come to pass, he began hyperventilating, arms holding the book to his chest and hands squeezing his sides. 

Her eyes widened, and she gently gripped his shoulder, which prompted a flinch. “It’s quite alright, darling..” Victoria rushed to stop this spiral. “I love you too.”

Vincent shook, wide blue eyes staring into hers as if looking for a lie or perhaps anchoring himself back to reality. His breathing slowed down to manageable levels again, and he looked down. “I.. okay..”

She pulled him into a hug soon enough, but he didn’t seem to smile, still staring vacantly at the floor. “It’ll all be alright, darling,” he heard her say. But why couldn’t he truly believe her? he wanted to though. So he held onto this firmly. He didn’t want to forget..

Vanessa soon walked in, having heard enough, and sat down. She mumbled a good afternoon and impatiently waited for them to sit down so they could eat. Vincent soon withdrew from the hug and headed for the table to sit. Victoria looked worried as she sat down too. 

He lay the book on the table and started eating the meaty sandwich. The meal was spent mostly silent. Vanessa didn’t seem to want to talk, and neither did Vincent. And afterwards, the teenager got up, picked up the tome and left the room. As soon as Vanessa thought he was out of ear shot, she turned to her mother. “I heard mostly everything.”

“So you did,” the queen chewed her lip slightly. “I’m worried about him.”

“Mm,” Vanessa narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “He’ll be fine. Remember when we thought he was sick? ..he’s fine.”

“That’s different, darling,” she sighed. “I’m afraid he’s emotionally sick as well. I found him in the forest, remember?”

“So?” Vanessa raised an eyebrow. She remembered it well. 

“A child should not have been in such a state. And he was out there for four years. That’s bound to do something to your psyche.”

Vanessa sighed. She got her there. It almost made her jealousy vanish. Her expression softened. “What do you suppose we should do? Louis isn’t even that type of doctor. Is he?”

“No,” the queen pursed her lips. “But I’ll do as I always have. Care for him, show him kindness and love. And hope that will make up for the years he had no such things..”

Vincent stood by the stairs, listening. He swallowed. Vanessa had bad vibes again for a few moments. But the knowledge that the love Queen Victoria was giving him was totally unconditional.. made him feel a certain type of way. It wasn’t a bad feeling. But it made him feel worse all the same. 

“How do you know he didn’t have any love growing up?” Vanessa asked quietly, looking sympathetic and almost saddened.

Queen Victoria looked down at the table. “Just a mother’s intuition..”

Vanessa reached out for her mother, intending to pat her on the shoulder. But she thought better of it and withdrew her hand.

Vincent stayed there for a few minutes more, but he heard nothing else happening. So he walked up the stairs, to his room. Maybe later on would be better. If not, tomorrow was another day.

Chapter Text

It had been two years since Sally and Xavier cut ties with Vincent, since the village started to fear him. It was increasingly becoming a hostile place for the poor boy. Eventually the rumors had reached the manor, and Queen Victoria and Princess Vanessa fiercely rebutted against them, at times publicly protesting that these rumors were not true. A few feasts were held in these two years, with the royal family offering speeches on Vincent’s behalf. 

Few were swayed, save for Lilly and Doctor Louis—who never believed said rumors anyway—and Sally’s and Xavier’s parents still had their children’s minds in their clutches ever more. So much so that the two had started believing the rumors themselves. It had become less avoiding and more actively shunning the now fifteen year old, even resorting to harmful jeers whenever they could. 

Vincent was becoming worn down, more emotionally than physically. With everything that was happening now, he was more prone to breaking apart into unwilling sobs than ever, and that was saying quite a lot. He started to withdraw from the village, from going outside in general unless he had to, and eventually he stopped even wanting to leave his room. 

Princess Vanessa tried her best to stop being mean to him, and to involve him more in her activities, like playing piano. And Doctor Louis took it upon himself to come to the manor for the boy’s checkups, and Lilly sometimes paid a visit to give him flowers to cheer him up. 

Mx Misair had organized a secret brunch with their fellow butlers and maids, and urged them to take these rumors with a pound of salt. Whether true or not, their tasks were ultimately to take care of the family, and Vincent was a part of that family. 

Queen Victoria continued to teach the boy the ways of cooking, continued to homeschool him, continued to care for him and love him. She hoped that their efforts wouldn’t be in vain..

One late afternoon, fifteen year old Vincent lay in bed, the sparkle in his beautiful blue eyes barely there anymore. Sometimes, he wondered what the point was in staying alive when it felt like everyone hated his guts, when it felt like no one would miss him. But he had to remember that Rough Patch wouldn’t want him to die. And now he had more people who wouldn’t want him to die. He had Queen Victoria, Princess Vanessa, Mx Misair, Doctor Louis and Lilly now. 

He wouldn’t let them down, even though he knew he couldn’t exactly die anyway. It wouldn’t do for them to find his body. Vincent sniffled and huffed out a sigh, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair. He wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed, but he had to start the day eventually. 

So he slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the bed and setting his feet on the floor. His hands clutched the bed, as if forcing himself to stay put. He stayed like that for a few minutes, before he stood. Vincent solemnly got dressed, as he was currently in his undershirt and boxers, and then finally left his room, shuffling down the hall tiredly.

It wasn’t even near the new moon yet. But he guessed depression just did that. Great, he’d have to deal with double exhaustion later. He sighed again, frowning softly. Soon, he reached the stairs and headed down to the kitchen. Once there, he utilized what he learned from his mom— Victoria —to cook himself some sausage and eggs. Humming softly, he halfheartedly stirred and scrambled the eggs, then chopped the sausage into the eggs and let it simmer. 

Princess Vanessa soon poked her head into the kitchen, watching her brother cook. It smelled good too; the lessons were really paying off. She waltzed into the room, making nary a sound. She hoped to spook the teenager, get him to show some other emotion than sadness, so when Vincent greeted her without even turning around, she grew flabbergasted. 

“WH—!” Vanessa stared at him, eyes wide. “H..how did you do that?!” 

Vincent looked back at her, and allowed a small but shaky smile to cross his lips for a second when he saw the look on her face. “Intuition, I guess..”

“Yeah right, only mother has that,” she rebutted teasingly. But she didn’t press and tilted her head. “What are you making? couldn’t wait for brunch?”

“Mm, it’s probably a bit too late for that one,” Vincent responded, dumping the sausage and egg mix into a plate and turning off the fire. “I made sausage and eggs and mixed them together.”

He took his meal to the table and sat down with it, beginning to eat. Vanessa soon joined him. “It looks nice,” and then she pouted, “I bet you didn’t even make one for me.”

“Vanny!” Vincent playfully whined, “didn’t you already eat earlier?”

“That was then. I’m a growing girl, Vinny,” she continued to pout, though the smile pulling at her lips was making it progressively harder. 

That was true. Vanessa was eighteen now, about to turn nineteen in a few months. And despite that, she viewed Vincent as an older brother. Perhaps it was the vibes he gave off. 

“And I’m a growing boy,” Vincent replied. He sighed when she groaned, and relented. “Okay. I’ll make you one.”

“Thank you, bro,” Vanessa giggled. 

He shook his head, and continued to eat. Once he finished eating, he got up to make his sister a plate. It wasn’t as if this was the first time this happened either. Almost any time Vanessa caught him cooking, she’d ask for something. He didn’t mind though.

As soon as he served the meal, the doorbell rang, and Vincent looked towards the entrance, blinking softly. It.. appeared to be two souls at the door. Fear struck his heart. What if that were Sally and Xavier—come to jeer at him in his own home?

But that couldn’t be possible. He took a deep breath, unwittingly ignoring Vanessa calling for him. It took five times before.. “Vinny? anybody home?”

He finally heard her, and blinked away tears as he looked at her. “Oh.. sorry..”

Vanessa shrugged, continuing to eat. A servant soon answered the door, and Vincent could hear the creaks. He sat down, tapping his foot against the floor nervously.

When the servant opened the door, he was greeted by Louis and Lilly, the former holding medical instruments and the latter a bouquet of lovely flowers.

“Do you happen to know where Vincent is?” Lilly asked, tilting her head.

“He’s in the kitchen, last I saw,” the butler replied, moving out of their way. The two stepped in, and the servant closed the door. 

“Thank you, sir,” Doctor Louis smiled, while Lilly curtseyed as much as she could while holding the bouquet.

Thankfully, by now they knew the lay of the manor quite well. Or at least, Lilly did. Louis had been checking here since Vanessa was little, so he’d already known. The two had met up on their way here, and talked. Most of the topics were about Vincent, but the rest were about their lives and their ways of trade and jobs. By the time they got to the manor, they seemed to have become fast friends.

Vincent calmed down. It was nice to know these two had come to visit rather than his former friends. Vanessa finished eating by the time Louis and Lilly came to the kitchen. She looked up and waved at them.

“Hello, Princess Vanessa,” Lilly smiled, but then her smile grew wider as she turned to greet Vincent. “Hi, Vincent!”

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, and looked at the teenager sitting across from her; Vincent looked like a deer in headlights once more as he stared at the florist. Louis grinned. “It’s nice to see you again, both of you.”

“Likewise,” the princess grinned as well, still staring at Vincent, who nodded slightly. 

Lilly was the first to approach, while Louis set his instruments down and got them set up. She handed the boy the bouquet of flowers. “Here you go. Free of charge. How’ve you been feeling?”

Vincent took the bouquet with care, slowly smiling a little. “Um.. alive, I guess..” 

“Well, I hope the flowers help you become much more than alive,” the florist smiled. “They’re said to have a calming effect.”

“Thank you..” he sniffed the flowers. He.. somewhat felt calm and at ease now. But trauma was something that was very hard to heal. Lilly blushed a little as he smelled the flowers, caught in a bubble, but Vanessa was quick to pop that bubble when she leaned over towards Lilly with a cheeky grin.

“Oh!” the florist blinked, the blush growing due to embarrassment. Vincent looked up at her, tilting his head, and by now her face was so red.. “Well, I’m off. Flowers can’t take care of themselves, you know? bye!”

And then she rushed out of the manor, leaving a very confused Vincent, a knowing Louis, and a cheeky Vanessa behind. The boy blinked, still holding the flowers, and Louis chuckled. “She’s right, ya know.”

“Y..yeah..” the young man furrowed his brow, wondering.. a lot of things. Vanessa began laughing. 

“Looks like someone’s got an itsy bitsy crush on you, bro!”

Vincent set the flowers on the table, and glanced confusedly at his sister, fidgeting in his seat. “A crush..? why.. I don’t know..”

He was nothing but scum, a monster. He couldn’t understand. Vanessa clapped a hand onto his shoulder, causing him to flinch heavily. She pretended he didn’t. “Would you rather I called her your girlfriend? because I surely would!”

“She.. she’s not.. I..” he chewed his inner lip carefully, minding his large and sharp canines. It was slowly getting harder and harder to speak. “I..”

Louis butted in then, gazing with sorrowful eyes at her. “Easy now, Vanessa. You should be well aware he’s not used to this..”

She removed her hand from his shoulder, and pouted. “I thought that was how siblings were supposed to behave..”

“Well..” Louis frowned, as Vincent grabbed a few shaky, deep breaths. 

“It’s.. okay, Mister Louis..” he replied as soon as he could catch his breath. He clutched at his head. “I.. I never had anyone crush on me before..”

“Oh, plenty have crushed on me, so I’d know what it looks like,” Vanessa ran a finger through her hair, smiling. “Granted, I can’t return the favor, but it’s still a crush.”

Right.. royalty and commoners didn’t often marry.. he frowned a bit. “Um.. what do I do? I.. I don’t think I feel the same..”

“I’d advise you tell her then,” Louis spoke up again, almost done setting up his equipment. “Before the crush develops further. Then again, emotions are.. very unpredictable.”

“But he said he doesn’t think he feels the same,” Princess Vanessa offered. “It could very well change later.”

“True..”

Vincent had his head on the table now, next to the bouquet, as Vanessa and Louis continued to talk. He didn’t think he was well-suited to handle this. Especially not right now. And especially not with his curse.. he sighed softly. He wouldn’t be safe. He.. wasn’t safe. And he’d never forgive himself if Lilly got hurt or died because of him..

The flowers didn’t help him there. How could he be calm when so much was stacked against him? and so.. right then and there, he cried silent tears, hiding his face with his arms. The only evidence he cried was the wetness of the table when he got up to get his checkup done.

Chapter Text

The checkup went well, and thankfully no one noticed his drying tears on the table. After a few standard questions, Louis left, and Vincent.. had quite a lot to think about. Mostly about Lilly. 

He wondered what to do. Both Vanessa and Louis had given mixed messages about it. He frowned, tiredly leaning back against his seat and thumbing his chin. Vanessa sighed, getting up and crossing the room to the exit. “I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, about this all.. but I don’t think mom or I can help you..”

Vincent looked over at Vanessa, frowning softly. “Is it because you’re royalty?”

“Exactly.. we’ve both had to let people down. But you’re both commoners. So maybe you should speak to Louis more about it,” the princess in green offered.

Vincent shuddered, narrowing his eyes a bit. The thought of going outside to town didn’t sit well with him. But this couldn’t wait until the next checkup, he realized. And he’d have to go out to the forest anyway for.. new moon things. He blew out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Right..”

“You’ll be fine. You’re a very tough cookie,” Vanessa smiled with the hopes of cheering him up. And though he didn’t think of himself as a very tough cookie, he smiled back to be polite and to show her he appreciated it. 

“Thanks, Vanny..” the boy stood up. And soon Vanessa left, leaving him with the flowers on the table. He picked them up, staring at them, and left for his room to put them up.

He found himself at the front door soon enough, chewing his lip carefully. This was the first time he ever left the house in so long.. and he stared at the door knob, both debating with and psyching himself up. Nervosity didn’t come close to how he felt now. 

He felt fear. He was so afraid of going out there now. But somehow he also felt.. a bit numb? it was so hard to explain. So many emotions swirled and were caught in a messy web inside him that he couldn’t pick them apart, and thus often created a sense of numbness. Of depression. 

This wasn’t new to him. 

He remembered feeling the same way years ago, particularly after.. Rough Patch passed away. Vincent Hildin still stared at the door knob. He had to go out some time. His body reached for it, twisted it, opened the door. But he didn’t seem to register doing it. 

Eyes widening, he frowned. And then he took a deep breath, and walked out, closing the door behind him and not looking back. Because if he did, he’d only want to return..

Vincent, hands in his pockets, trudged slowly to the doctor’s house. He didn’t seem fully there, like something else was piloting him down the path. But he soon became very aware of the many souls he felt in this place. And as usual, he tried to ignore them; thankfully, the new moon was far enough away that ignoring the soul beats was easy enough. 

The young man sighed as he kept walking. Why did Louis’s house seem so far now..?

Very soon, he bumped into someone, and he could’ve sworn they weren’t there before. He looked up, and saw two faces he very much wished he would never see again. Sally and Xavier. Color drained from his face. 

“Watch where you’re going, beast!” Sally frowned, waving a fist at him.

“Yeah, watch!” Xavier glared.

“Sorry..” Vincent bowed his head, his hair shadowing his eyes. He attempted to go around, but the once friendly boy shoved him back. The young man looked shocked, glancing up at them again. 

“We said watch !” 

“Yeah, are you braindead or something, beasty?” 

The teenager trembled with unknown emotion, clutching his arm. 

“It certainly would fit a monster like you,” Sally continued to say, black eyes cold as they glared at him. 

Vincent just stared at them, tears filling his eyes.

“Well? say something! or are you just going to stare like a filthy animal?” she narrowed her eyes. 

“Stop..” he muttered, other hand clutching his head. “Please just.. stop..”

Sally huffed. “The monster stops for no one. You should know, you are it.”

“No.. just stop..!” Vincent kept trembling, and he continued at a louder volume, almost glaring at them. He had enough. “D..did our friendship just mean.. nothing to you?”

This made her stop in her tracks, eyes widening. Xavier’s eyes widened as well, and he bit his lip. “Sister..?”

“I..” Sally pursed her lips. She backed up a bit from Vincent. 

“We were friends once!” he shouted, still crying. “We were friends once.. what happened?”

The siblings exchanged glances, and Sally sighed, the glare softening slightly—but still there. “We found out the truth. And we just don’t want to get hurt.”

“But I’d never..” Vincent muttered as he looked at them, eyes wavering as he reached for her again. Only for Xavier to block him with a harsh smack to the hand.

“Can’t take the chance, beast ,” the glare came back with a vengeance, seemingly destroying what little sympathy her eyes held before. Vincent backed up with a whine, looking pitiful as he held his hand. But all of a sudden the sorrow was snuffed out, replaced with a very dull look in his eyes. 

“Okay. Can I go now?” he flatly asked.

Sally exchanged glances with Xavier again, both shocked once more, and then moved aside. But not without a reminder: “Remember, watch your steps, cretin!”

He shrugged. “Whatever,” and walked on by. He wondered why he even tried to appeal to them. But when he was far enough away, the siblings seemed to deflate.

Vincent had to remember why he came out, as he stood by the door to the doctor’s house. And when he finally did remember, he briefly wondered why he cared. He sighed. This numbness was messing with his brain. 

So he finally knocked, and waited for an answer from the kindly doctor. It took a moment, but Louis finally answered the door, smiling in his eyes. “Oh, hello, Vin!” and then he noticed how down the boy looked, and he furrowed his brow. “Are you okay?”

Vincent quickly plastered a weak smile on his face just then. “That’s not important, Mister Louis.. I uh.. came to talk to you.”

Louis scratched at his face slightly. It wasn’t often that his patients came to his house to simply talk. “Just a reminder that your feelings do matter, Vincent,”—the young man refrained from scowling—“but what is it you wish to talk about?”

Louis had let him in, and led him to the living room. Vincent slumped down on a chair, gazing at the doctor. “It’s about Lilly.. I don’t know what to do..”

Louis stayed standing for a moment, before he sat down across from the young man. “Ah.. did you consider what Vanessa and I said?”

Vincent nodded. “Yeah, but.. Vanessa ultimately told me to come talk to you, since she and her mom are royalty.”

“Makes sense..” he hummed, rubbing his chin. “Well, give it some time, but not too much time. You’ve gotta factor in your feelings about her too. Let them marinate on this.”

The young man looked tired. More than usual. But he understood. “Alright.. and if I end up not feeling the same? I just.. tell her?”

Louis nodded. “Lots of people make it more complicated than it needs to be..”

That.. wasn’t surprising in the least. He swallowed, and eventually he smiled at the doctor. It didn’t seem to reach his eyes though. “Thanks, Mister Louis..”

“No problem, Vin,” Louis smiled back, though he noticed the fake smile. He.. really wished he could help. But mental health wasn’t quite his forte. Maybe it was time he learned.

Chapter Text

And let his feelings for her marinate, he did. Vincent spent several days in his room thinking about them, with Victoria occasionally bringing him snacks, goodies and cold water. He sat in his bed, lay in his bed, all kinds of ways, just thinking. 

Thinking was always his favorite pastime. It never steered him wrong. 

The young man sighed, hanging upside down from his bed with his arms crossed and letting his ginger hair spill out over the floor. And then he groaned as he repositioned himself to be more upright, since blood rushing to your head didn’t feel that great. 

Vincent tapped on the bed frame. Well, he felt like he thought plenty, and he didn’t hold any feelings for the teenaged florist at all. He’d hate to let her down, but he figured leading her on would be way worse than just ripping the bandaid off right then and there. 

He grunted, flipping himself over so he was staring at the ceiling. And he wondered whether and how much his lack of feelings could be attributed to the numbness he felt nowadays and the encroaching feeling that he didn’t deserve love at all.

And then he sat up and gazed over at the door, a half-glazed look in his eyes. He was well aware he’d have to leave his room, leave the manor and go through town to get to her place. But he also felt a touch tired and achy—such was the curse. 

But he knew it couldn’t wait till the new moon passed either. He had to do this now. But first, perhaps he’d give Louis a call to talk things over with him. So, getting up, he walked to the slightly open door, squeezed through it and started heading down to the parlor. 

Once there, Vincent gazed at the telephone hanging flush against the wall. And he realized, sadly, that he didn’t have Louis’s daytime number. However, he knew who did. 

Queen Victoria, dressed in purple robes now, soon entered the parlor as well, and seeing Vincent there gave her pause. She smiled nonetheless. “Why, hello, darling! it’s pretty rare that I see you in the parlor.”

“Oh!” the teenager blinked, looking over at her with a genuine smile. “Hi, Miss Victoria. I just wanted to use the phone for a moment.”

The queen nodded, bringing a hand to her chin. “Ah, I see. Whatever for?”

“Wanted to talk to Mister Louis,” he replied with little hesitation. “It’s important.”

She chuckled softly, like little chimes swaying in the wind. How he loved that sound. “Ohh. I understand now,” she winked, and dug into a pocket, eventually pulling out the doctor’s number on the same piece of paper she’d written it on years ago and handing it to her beloved son. “Good luck with your call, darling. And do tell the florist I said hello.”

Vincent took the slip of paper, blushing slightly. “Thank you, Miss Victoria.” He bit his lip, sighed, and decided he’d tell. “But I don’t actually have any feelings for her.. I’m calling Mister Louis for advice on what to do to let her down gently.”

Victoria hummed with understanding, smiling still. “Ah.. it’s always good to ask for advice indeed. Especially with something so delicate as this.” She knelt and placed a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “I just know you’ll say the right words, darling.”

The boy smiled slightly. “Thanks, Miss Victoria..” He hoped Lilly would understand as well. Victoria pulled him into a brief hug, patting him on the back, and then left the room for the upstairs. For a moment, Vincent wished the hug lasted longer. But he had stuff to do.

He headed to the telephone, picked it up and dialed Louis’s number, humming and waiting for the call to go through. Eventually, the man picked up. “This is Doctor Louis, how may I help you?”

“Mister Louis?” Vincent chewed his inner lip. “It’s Vincent again.”

“Oh, why hello, Vin! how are you?” the boy could hear the smile on his voice and it made him smile a little too.

“I’m.. okay,” he replied, and took a breath. “Thanks for asking. I’m calling about Lilly..”

“Oh? have you reached a decision?”

“Mhm.. I don’t have feelings for her at all..” he fiddled with the phone cord, chewing his lip carefully. “I’m just wondering how to say it without hurting her..”

Louis gave a hum of thought, before he sighed. “Sadly, no matter how you say it, there’ll be some hurt involved. What you want to do is make sure there’s as little as possible.”

The boy nodded, though he was saddened that there was nothing he could do to prevent the pain. It didn’t do well on his psyche. “R..right.. so.. should I just.. say.. uhh..” he grunted, gripping his head. “Should I just say that I don’t see her the way she sees me?”

The doctor paused, humming himself. “Sounds good, Vin. You may want to expand a little, but so far that’s a good start.”

Vincent sighed softly. He wished for a moment that he didn’t have to deal with this, but could he ever say that aloud? “Thanks, Mister Louis..”

“You’re quite welcome, Vin!” the doctor’s smile could be heard over the phone once again. “But.. are you okay? you sound a little down..”

The young man thought about that. Truth be told, he wasn’t okay in the slightest. But he couldn’t speak on how he felt. He felt like he couldn’t say anything about what happened or was happening to him. He felt like he deserved it. “It’s.. nothing. I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure? I may not be that type of doctor, but I can at least listen..”

Vincent swallowed heavily, fighting back tears. “I’m fine.”

There was a small pause. “Alright, Vin,” he could tell Vincent was lying or otherwise hiding something, and Vincent could tell he knew just by the tone. “Have a good day, alright?”

“You too,” the boy hung up, and slumped over slightly. Some tears fell from his eyes, but he fiercely wiped them away. He could hear his father shouting at him for crying. 

Regardless of how he felt right now, he had to do this. He had to get to the florist’s house and tell her how he felt about her. Or, rather, how he didn’t feel about her. So he exited the parlor, heading for the entrance.

Vincent then opened the door and stepped into the outside, looking around as he closed it behind him. He walked down the steps, across the grounds, through the gate. He felt even more numb as he walked closer to town, seeing kids playing outside with adults watching as usual. He frowned. 

Two familiar kids spotted him, and began walking his way. His frown deepened. Sally and Xavier. He wondered what they’d bully him for this time. And he didn’t seem to care that they looked sad either.

“Vincent!” Xavier called out, sad green eyes gazing at him. 

“What,” was his flat response, his beautiful blue eyes dull as he almost glared at them.

Sally sighed. “We thought about what you said.. and we’re really sorry,” she replied sorrowfully, bowing her head. Xavier nodded vigorously.

“Very sorry! very sorry!” he grabbed and wrung his wrists, his mask hiding the tears in his eyes.

Vincent raised his eyebrows, looking a little shocked. It was almost like Vanessa, but at least she didn’t verbally torture and bully him for existing. His expression numbed, and he looked at them almost blankly. 

“We.. would like to go back..” Sally continued, looking up at him again and noticing the expression, “to how things used to be..”

“Yeah..” the boy kept wringing his wrists. “We sorry..”

The redhead just kept staring. Their souls seemed genuine now, after a few years of darkness, but.. he couldn’t go back. So he shook his head. “You hurt me. For years. We can’t go back to how we used to be.”

Sally and Xavier closed their eyes. They couldn’t argue with this logic. The latter nodded as the former sighed. “Of course. Again, we’re sorry..”

“Uh-huh..” Vincent brusquely nodded, and then shoved on past them, trudging through the path. They could only watch pitifully and sadly, until he disappeared.

And finally, after what seemed like hours, Vincent reached the florist’s home. He wiped his shoes on the welcome mat and then knocked, clearing his throat quietly and putting on a small smile. Only to keep up the pretense that he was okay. 

“Coming!” Lilly’s voice called, and it didn’t take long before the door opened. “Oh!” she blushed. “It’s you, Vincent! please come in and make yourself at home!”

“Thank you.. but I don’t think I will,” the boy rubbed the back of his neck. “I just came to tell you something important..”

“Oh.. well, what is it?” she smiled at him, awaiting his reply and leaning a little closer.

Vincent leaned back to counteract what she just did. “Well, I don’t see you the way you see me.. like.. I just wanna be friends, Miss Lilly..”

Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip. “Ah.. heh.. of course..” and then she mumbled, looking away, “Was I really that obvious?”

The boy had heard anyway, but he refrained from answering. She took a shaky breath and gazed back at him, trying to fight back tears. “Well, it’s fine. If anything, I’m glad you spoke up before it got out of hand..”

“Yeah.. so uh..” he bit his lip. He could tell she wanted to cry. And he felt just awful . “Just so you know, it’s not you by any means.. I just.. I’m not ready..”

And he didn’t think he’d ever be ready. Not with the curse still infecting him. And maybe not even then, for he still held very messy webs of emotion inside. She set a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he tried very hard not to flinch. “It’s alright. Thank you..”

And then she paused, staring into his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes. She couldn’t help it—she gave him a little smooch on the cheek, mostly for appreciation. And it was slow, but he gradually blushed, eyes widening. “M..Miss Lilly?! I.. I thought I said I—”

Lilly, eyes wide, interrupted quickly, withdrawing her hand from his shoulder. “I know.. sorry,” she took a breath. “I’m still processing and all.”

Vincent blinked a few times, and looked away, stepping back off the doormat with his hands now in his pockets. “Right.. I guess I’ll leave you to it then..”

Lilly nodded, pressing a hand to her chest. “See you later, Vincent.”

“See you,” and soon he left. The florist watched until he disappeared around the bend, and sighed. It was then that she knew that she really loved him,—all because he was honest with her—and would keep loving him till the day she died. But it would likely keep being unrequited, till the day she died.

Meanwhile, Vincent held his hand where she kissed him as he walked through the village. Ignoring Sally and Xavier gazing sadly at him now. 

He sighed, thinking about Lilly and what she said. Love was.. truly complicated, wasn’t it? but at least she still understood, and they were still friends. That was all that mattered to him.

Chapter Text

Once again, as it would every month, the morning of the new moon rolled around, and an extremely pale and sickly Vincent shakily lay in bed, anxiously watching the time pass by on the overhead clock. He fiddled with his fingers, breathing quickly and harshly. The teenager groaned, moving his hot hands to his increasingly hot forehead. Cod, how he hated this part. 

He soon heard footsteps just outside the door, felt a soul get closer and closer, and he slowly sat up when they knocked. He cleared his throat, but couldn’t stop the sickly croak from cracking his voice. “C..come in..”

The door opened and Mx Misair walked in, carrying a few canteens of ice cold water and some cold, damp towels. He smiled weakly at them, lying back down and lifting his head slightly so he could see them properly. Regardless of the weakness, he really was happy to see Mx Misair. “H..hi, Mx Misair..”

“Good morning, sir Vincent,” they bowed, and then approached the bed. They handed Vincent a canteen and set the rest on the bedside table. “The queen is busy as of now, so I’ll be taking care of you for the time being.”

The boy nodded and slowly sat up again to drink the delicious, cold water. It really helped cool down his systems, but he still felt hot nonetheless. He drained the canteen in seconds, and Mx Misair could only watch helplessly as Vincent did so. And then he shakily reached for another canteen almost mindlessly, chugging it down as well. He sighed when he finished, and the frail-looking servant took both canteens and rested a cool, damp towel on Vincent’s forehead. 

“Th..thank you..” Vincent nearly slurred his words as he lay back down, shutting his eyes tightly and still breathing harshly. Mx Misair really wanted, as they stared down at the poor teenager, to take the boy to the village doctor once more, or call him up to see, but they were well aware that Queen Victoria had already done that for this exact situation with rather inconclusive results. And that wouldn’t change. 

They remembered helping her with research a few years back, and neither of them found an ounce of information they could use to figure out Vincent’s condition, nor did they find anything on how to help him. This was the best they could do. And a then frustrated Princess Vanessa had gone behind them, trying to see if she could perhaps dig up some information that they might have missed. 

She didn’t find anything either. 

So to say the situation was rather hopeless was an understatement. Vincent stared out into space but at Mx Misair’s face, and when he snapped out of it he noticed their expression. He tilted his head and asked, “What’s wrong, Mx Misair?”

“Oh, I am just..” they sighed, taking the dried towel from Vincent’s forehead and replacing it with another damp towel, “concerned that there’s nothing we can do to help you.”

Vincent bit his lip slightly and carefully, his blue eyes a bit droopy with a tired sadness. He wished he could tell his caretakers, all of them, about his condition. But he was so afraid.. so afraid that they would shun and abandon him like everyone else. He swallowed, and slowly smiled. “It’s okay.. this.. helps a lot..”

The butler remained silent, unable to find the right words to say for once. They placed the rest of the towels on the bedside table and excused themself from the room, but Vincent could still hear the quiet sniffles that would ensue after. He didn’t know how to feel about that, but it made him feel worse nonetheless. Vincent hadn’t asked for this at all. He didn’t want to put everyone through his hell. 

The messy web of emotions was becoming more and more complex inside of him, and he reached up to clutch his chest. Pain, both from his upcoming transformation and his own feelings, wracked his heart and body. He hiccupped and began sobbing, first quietly and then it escalated into a rather loud cry, prompting the butler to return and comfort the teenager, despite currently wiping their bloodshot eyes. “Sir Vincent? it’s going to be alright. I’m sorry I wasn’t here..”

The teenager felt Mx Misair’s arms drape over his shoulders, and he tried his best to stop crying, wiping his tears away and hiccupping more. “I..it’s okay.. I’m sorry too.. I.. I don’t know why.. I’m just.. so sorry..”

But he did know why. He was sorry he couldn’t tell them. He was sorry for everything. In that moment, he wished he could go back and convince that coworker of his father’s to kill him instead. That way, he wouldn’t go through such a curse, he wouldn’t have hurt Rough Patch, he wouldn’t have to keep such a terrible secret, and they all wouldn’t have to deal with him. 

Vincent sniffled, tears finally slowing down as Mx Misair kept hugging him. And it was like that for the remainder of the morning.

It was now the afternoon, a few hours before the sun would set, when Queen Victoria became free to visit Vincent in his room. She brought him lunch—gourmet stuffed meat to be precise—and watched worriedly as he shakily sat up and very politely ate. She had heard from her butler what happened this morning, and became concerned with both them and Vincent. It wasn’t like Mx Misair to cry. 

And Vincent looked even worse now, somehow even paler than this morning, making those extreme dark circles even more so. Victoria had wanted to get to the bottom of that, as well as the blue blood, but had found nothing. Despite knowing he was okay, she was worried still. 

The teenager finished eating eventually, and gave Victoria a small, very weak smile and the basket back. “Th..thanks..” he croaked, and he desperately cleared his throat to get rid of it. 

It barely worked. 

“It’s no problem, darling,” the queen smiled back, though it was heavily tainted by worry. She swallowed a little. It would be wrong to ask how he was faring, wouldn’t it? he obviously wasn’t doing well. 

Vincent caught on, and pursed his lips, trying to think of what to say. “H..how was.. was work..? or.. wh..whatever it is you do..?” 

What Victoria did escaped his exhausted mind, and he couldn’t think of it to save his life. The purple-garbed lady couldn’t help chuckling at this, her smile becoming more genuine. “It was nice. The other kingdoms’ royal families and my own got together and had a meeting about our kingdoms’ welfare. Vanessa even did fairly well despite her obvious boredom.” 

“Ah..” he smiled again, nodding. “That’s good.. I’m.. I’m glad..” 

It was nice talking to her again leisurely, despite the circumstances. For some reason lately, he felt as if she was becoming too busy to talk like this with him. And he didn’t fault her at all, for she was the queen after all. And queens were busy. He was grateful she even took time out to care for him, to teach him how to cook and to homeschool him. But talking leisurely like this had almost become a thing of the past.

Vincent swallowed increasingly hot saliva, and then continued to talk, “N..no wars in danger of breaking out..?”

“Oh, heavens no, darling,” Victoria shook her head, smiling at him and patting his head. “We thankfully hadn’t had a war in decades.”

He purred, leaning into her hand. “Th..thank goodness..” 

The lady pulled away then, and gave Vincent one of the still filled canteens from this morning,—still very cold—watching him drink with fervor. He sighed when he finished, and lay back down, holding the cold canteen in his hands still. He knew that in a few hours he’d have to leave for the forest, and he dreaded it with every fiber of his being. Even now he could feel it claw at his insides sometimes, but it thankfully still slept. 

He took a deep, shaky breath, trembling, and Victoria watched with heavy concern. The teenager kept thinking of what to say, but kept drawing a blank. He just.. wanted to talk to her, but his mind kept betraying him. “I’m sorry..”

The queen leaned in to hug him, not seeming to mind the heat. “Whatever for, darling..?”

Vincent sniffled, but tried really hard not to cry this time. “I just.. I.. I can’t.. I don’t know.. I’m just really sorry..”

The heat got too much for Victoria and she slightly pulled back, smiling softly at him. While she didn’t have much to say to his apology, she did say, “You’re fine, Vincent. You’ll be okay.. I promise..”

Why didn’t he believe that? he wanted to believe. But everything seemed against him right now. Even his own body. He sniffled again, leaning into her, but everything felt so hot it seemed to suffocate him, and he started breathing harder and faster. The queen noticed and let go, extremely concerned. He looked up at her blankly, feeling too much and thinking too much.

“Th..thanks, Miss Victoria..” he finally said. “I.. I’m so tired..”

“I’ll let you rest then, darling..” she stood up, lingering for a few moments. Vincent didn’t want her to leave. But let her anyway. He’d nod, closing his eyes. 

And when he opened his eyes again, it was time for him to leave for the forest. He could tell by how the souls surrounding him were beating constantly and extremely loudly in his head, and by how sickly he felt. Vincent got up, clutching his chest and collapsing to the floor. He grunted, getting back up quickly, but not too quickly since it felt like his nerves exploded, and made his way to the door. 

Thankfully, it was already ajar, so he only had to push it. Too out of his mind to close it, he stumbled across the floor, down the stairs and out the door. However, a purple glitter became known to him just then, as did a soul as bright as the sun. He held back a hiss, and focused. And then he blinked. “M..Miss Victoria..?”

There she was, dressed in a lavish purple dress and holding a now unlit lantern, sitting on the stairs, watching the sky for the upcoming sunset. She turned to face him, confused and worried. “Darling..? what on earth are you doing up?”

She wasn’t angry at all, thankfully, which calmed his nerves for just a moment.

“I.. I was heading.. f..for the forest..” he stammered, his chest tightening. He felt as if it was clawing at it from the inside. Vincent had trouble standing and she stood up and helped him keep standing. “W..wanted to get.. some air..”

“Vincent, dear..” she sighed, thinking back to the rumors and the village growing increasingly hostile towards him. “I’m sorry, but with the village behaving as it is, you can’t..”

This was something slightly unprecedented, and his eyes widened. His breathing sharpened and grew harsher and faster. But ultimately, he was concerned about his family and the village. How could he keep them safe now?

“Darling? are you alright?” she hugged him, ignoring the sheer heat burning her arms. 

“N..no.. I.. please.. I need to go..” he was crying again, tears cascading down his cheeks. The pain was becoming nearly unbearable now. And the sun was beginning to sink slowly across the sky. 

“I’m afraid you might be attacked, if you do go..” Victoria wasn’t backing down on this. “I know how much you love visiting the forest though. I could perhaps arrange for a chaperone, or I myself could—”

“No!” he rebuffed fiercely, causing Victoria to let go and stare with shock. It wasn’t safe for her or anyone. He wasn’t safe. It was a good thing the purple blotches started at the chest, or she would’ve seen; he could feel it crawling on and seeping up from underneath his skin. He took a shaky breath, blue eyes apologetic, and shook his head. “S..sorry, I.. I can’t..”

Victoria didn’t know what to do or what to say. She could only utter one word. “Vincent..”

And then a thought hit. The attic! he had thought about using it before, but was afraid that he’d put his family in danger. But now, he had no choice. He just had to hope beyond hope that it would hold him. He looked at her, swallowing, and nodded. “I.. I understand.. I’ll st..stay inside then..”

He turned around and walked back inside, and then made a mad dash through the home and up two flights of stairs. Vincent gasped for air, but he couldn’t stop, or else. And then he reached the attic, pushing open its doors and practically flinging himself inside. Closing the doors with his feet, he then crawled to and locked them. 

The teenager took deep, shaky breaths as he dragged himself to and lay there in the center of the room. He was so tired. All that running took a lot out of him, and he had to rest. No.. he had to prepare for the change. He only had some minutes left.

So he forced himself to his feet and shuffled around, looking for things to barricade the doors. He would find some boards, and he sniffled as he used those to lock himself even more inside the attic. And hopefully, it’d keep his caretakers out too. Vincent groaned, walking back to the center, and then sat down, taking off his clothes shakily and hurriedly. The blotches spread to his arms, he found, and he swallowed, prepared to restrain his screaming. 

It wouldn’t do to wake everyone. It wouldn’t do for them to follow the noise to the attic. It wouldn’t do for them to be subsequently ripped to shreds or traumatized. And his last thoughts before pain would inevitably begin were if he just made a huge mistake, and that the furniture here might not survive this.

Vincent lurched forward with a quiet grunt, and he slammed his hands over his mouth, trembling and starting to cry as the blotches started to grow fur, as his insides melted due to the lava the liquids turned into, as his body stretched painfully, as his hands slowly liquified, melded together and became two-fingered claws. He whimpered, his legs twisting and becoming a tail and his mouth morphing as his fangs pushed their way forward into his lips, distorting his whimpers. It hurt so much and he couldn’t even scream. 

His eyes swirled and became a solid, hungry blue, and his hair became the same color as his fur and wildly became one with it. The beast eventually took over, growling and snarling, drooling as it became aware. And when the change finally finished, it howled viciously. The Snatcher then looked around, sniffing, not really realizing the change in environment. But it could sense so many souls around, and it headed straight for the doors, trying to escape. 

First by ramming itself into them a few times, which hurt a little. And eventually it tried scratching and biting the doors and the barricades. But it found it couldn’t break free. Maybe there were a few souls in this room. It sniffed again, looking around and smacking into chairs and crates. It hissed, snake-like tongue poking in and out. 

There weren’t any souls in this room. But there were many souls outside of it. But the beast couldn’t escape the room. It growled, angry at this predicament, and started to target the furniture, breaking, clawing, tearing them to shreds and eating a few pieces. It even tried going for the chandelier, but luckily missed that by a mile each time it tried. 

And once every piece of furniture was broken, every crate trashed, the Snatcher started to target itself. Biting and clawing its body and licking at the nasty wounds it created, lapping up the blue blood that leaked from them and that got on its claws. It was so hungry, so in pain due to its vastly empty gullet, but nothing satisfied it. It whined and hissed, biting and scratching in various places. And it couldn’t stop.

Chapter Text

It was still early morning, right before the sunrise. The few people still roaming the manor, and the few who were light sleepers, heard these strange sounds and noises. But they were either too afraid to investigate or they brushed it off as unimportant. How fortunate for the boy currently buried beneath the beast’s clutches. But as with all things, there comes an end. The sun began to rise, and the demon froze up in the midst of its powerful jaw clamping down on its arm. It mewled and cried out, letting go of its arm. Underneath it was a small puddle of glowing blue blood, and yet more dripped from its wounds nearly all over its body. 

It writhed in the puddle, growling and howling with pain, as its fangs ripped from its lips and returned to inside the mouth, its tail shrinking and splitting apart into legs, organs and bones emerging from the diminishing lava inside. Its fur receded, leaving extremely pale skin, and the wounds decorating it still remained. The blood was slowly turning red and diminishing its glow throughout the process, and the mind of a young unusual teenager was soon relinquished from the beast’s claws. Animalistic growls and roars changed and became pained screams. And still, no one was about to investigate.

Lucky Vincent. 

Soon, the throes of pain and suffering ended, only to be replaced by a duller one, and the boy lay unmoving and face down in the puddle of blood. He groaned eventually, shutting his already closed eyes more tightly. Everything hurt so much. And he felt.. sick. And no, it wasn’t entirely because of the pungent smell. Vincent whined, unable to really get up; it wasn’t for lack of trying. Unimaginable pain shot through his shaky arms whenever he tried. He barely knew why right now, but he couldn’t seem to think, what with how sluggish and muddy his mind was now. 

He sniffled, making the smell go up his nostrils. It made him even sicker, and he even dry-heaved, but he didn’t care. This was what he felt he deserved. If only he could actually die. It would certainly be a way to go. Bleeding out on a floor in an attic. Seen by no one. Remembered.. by no one..

And then his eyes promptly snapped open. In the attic. He was in the attic. He remembered now. Vincent finally lifted his head, blue eyes still wide. He took in the carnage, broken crates and furniture ripped apart. Thankfully though, the chandelier remained untouched in this mess. The teenager groaned again, closing his eyes. How would he explain.. how would he lie ..

Vincent didn’t think there was a way to get out of this situation. He was stuck. But.. he couldn’t tell them the truth.. they would disown him, make him wander the forest. Maybe beat him senseless before that, or.. try and kill him. His chest heaved, and he stifled his tears. And then he tried to get up again. Soon, he succeeded in sitting up, but he still felt very sick, even feeling woozy with the motion. The only time he felt this sick was after his very first transformation. 

The teenager tried his best to think again, despite feeling dizzy. And the answer, wading through mud, came to him eventually. Both then and now, he didn’t eat anything while he was that beast. That must be it. He nodded carefully, but the motion still gave him a fierce headache and more dizziness. He groaned, waiting for the dizziness and headache to leave him before he looked around again and slowly stood to his feet. 

His wounds, he could feel, were slowly healing up. He could feel the nerves and cells underneath his skin begin to sew them back together, seamlessly and without scars like before. But they seemed to struggle this time. They couldn’t quite weave them closed correctly. Perhaps it was due to the nature of the wounds, but he knew somehow that they would leave nasty scars because of how erratically the healing process behaved now. 

Vincent sighed, and slightly dragged his feet as he trudged around the attic, looking dizzily for his clothes and something with which to clean up the blood. Minding his step lest he trip over the destroyed furniture and crates. And along the way, he noticed a cracked mirror leaning against the wall, as well as his reflection upon it. The teen had to suppress a scream, eyes frightfully widening at the sight. 

Scratch and bite wounds, which were slowly closing up, presented themselves on his cheek, neck and shoulders. And there were a few on his arms and legs. He didn’t dare turn around to see what wounds littered along his back, but he knew there were a few more back there. And he was also bloody, like he’d survived some kind of massacre. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes. 

Apparently he was a monster even to himself..

And it wasn’t like his self-esteem was healthy to begin with..

The boy sniffled, and dry-heaved again due to the smell. He blinked the tears away and backed away from the cracked mirror, continuing in his search for rags and his clothes. He found the rags in a nearby chest that somehow survived the night, and patted himself down and let the rags soak up the blood. And then he woozily cleaned the floor up. As the morning went on, he found himself feeling not as awful as when he woke up. But still awful.

Eventually, the rags were completely soaked with blood, and the floor was moderately clean. He couldn’t do much about the destroyed furniture. He just hoped no one visited the attic. Vincent coughed quietly, tossing the rags in a toppled wastebasket and continuing to try and find his clothes. It was a while after sunrise when he finally did, and his skin now sported unsightly scars in place of those wounds. They still hurt when touched, as they were still rather raw, but that would soon alleviate.

His clothes, sadly, weren’t left alone by the beast. They were ripped in a few places, but he didn’t care. Now, they looked a lot like he did, inside and out. With a sigh, he donned his clothes, and then looked to the entrance of the attic. At least he could be thankful that the beast couldn’t bypass the hasty barricades he put up. 

The young man headed for the barricade and slowly, quietly, removed it from the double doors. And then he opened the door and trudged into the hall, closing it behind him. He sighed, sliding down and then sitting up against the wall beside the doors, gathering his energy back. He expended quite a lot of it trying to fight against the wounds and his sickness to do what needed to be done. After a while of that though, he got up again and headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower. 

He felt disgusting.

Around eight in the morning, Queen Victoria got up from bed, not feeling that well-rested. She yawned, covering her mouth as she did, and got dressed in her regal robes before she left the room and headed down into the kitchen. Mx Misair was already there, and they bowed before her highness. Victoria shook her head with a soft chuckle.

“No need for formalities, Mx Misair,” the tall lady smiled. “You may rise.”

Mx Misair did so, and nodded. “As you wish, madam.”

They both noticed how tired the other seemed, and the lady garbed in purple was the first to ask, “Didn’t sleep well last night, darling?”

“I’m afraid not..” the butler replied, covering their mouth right before they yawned. “Vincent has me worried.”

The queen sympathized with this notion, and she sighed and nodded. “Yes.. I’m worried too. But we found nothing in regards to his symptoms. I don’t suppose that would change any time soon..”

Mx Misair nodded, looking away for a moment. “It’s.. not just his physicality I’m worried about..” 

Victoria bowed her head in agreement. “Of course.. I’m really hoping we all eventually get through to him, that we love and care for him, but mental issues are hard to heal, I’m afraid, and the village is making it no better..”

Her lips trembled as she said that, and she tried her best to keep from crying. Mx Misair stepped closer, looking into her purple eyes. “Madam?”

“My apologies..” the queen rubbed at her eyes. “I just want him safe and sound.. I want him to know he’s loved. But I’m afraid his depression is spiraling more than I can be there for him..”

Mx Misair sighed, looking down at the floor for a moment. “It’s difficult.. being queen. Isn’t it?”

“Sometimes, yes..” she admitted, and then took a deep breath, heading for the sink to wash her hands so she could begin cooking. Mx Misair did the same, prepared to help her highness. “There are times I loathe being royalty, and yearn for the simpler things. But I can’t just stop being queen.”

“Have you ever tried, madam?” the butler suggested, as Victoria got out eggs, bacon and toast. 

“Oh, heavens no.. every kingdom tied to this one would fall to disarray if I did,” she replied softly, showing she wasn’t mad. Mx Misair got out the pans and lit up the eyes on the oven. “But.. I have thought about it..”

She cracked the eggs on the skillet and chopped the raw bacon into it so they’d cook together, and prepared the toast in a separate skillet. Mx Misair hummed, watching the eggs and bacon cook. “Seems we’re all somewhat stuck in a predicament..”

“Indeed we are..”

It took a few minutes, but the breakfast was done for herself, Mx Misair, Princess Vanessa, and Vincent, and she called for the ones not present in the room. Mx Misair looked at her, raising an eyebrow at the fourth plate. And Victoria looked over at them, and smiled. “Join us for breakfast, won’t you?”

“I.. suppose I could,” the butler nodded, and walked over to the table to sit. Vanessa soon entered the room, yawning and looking almost as tired as the others. 

“Good morning, darling!” the queen greeted her daughter with a slightly exhausted smile. The girl in green mumbled a greeting right back, sitting at the table. “Didn’t sleep well either?”

“Mmph..” Vanessa grunted, shaking her head. “Kept hearing odd noises..”

“Strange..” the queen furrowed her brow a bit. She didn’t seem to hear any, but was tired nonetheless. Of course she was tired for the reasons she already listed, but perhaps it was also something more?

Vincent took a while, having gotten dressed in fresh new clothes that covered his arms and legs, but he soon came in with a hood on, head bowed so they wouldn’t see. “G..good morning, M..Miss Victoria.. Mx Misair.. Vanny..”

“Hello, darling!” Victoria smiled at him, though it faded just a tad. She noted the hood with worry. Mx Misair looked at him and nodded a wordless greeting, also incredibly worried. And Vanessa had her head down; she grumbled out a “g’morning.”

Vincent sat at the table as well, keeping his head bowed and his hood tied tight. Mx Misair and Victoria exchanged glances. “Are you quite alright, darling?”

Vincent nodded. “Yeah.. I’m good.. j..just hungry..”

“Well we have just the thing,” Victoria grabbed plates of their breakfast and placed them on the table, giving her daughter a little nudge so she’d wake up and eat. “Toast and bacon omelet!”

They wouldn’t be able to see it, but a small smile appeared on his face then. “Thank you..”

“It’s not a problem, darling!” the queen tried her best to liven up the mood. “Mx Misair helped.”

The butler looked up from their eating, and nodded slightly. They didn’t seem to say much now. Perhaps it was a “don’t speak unless spoken to” sorta deal? or a form of respect? or maybe they just didn’t feel like talking at the table. Vincent didn’t know. But he soon ignored that, picked up a fork and started to eat. 

“You.. you both did good..” the teenager complimented them after a moment. Vanessa stared at Vincent, her brow furrowed. Why did he have a hood on? 

“Why, thank you, sir,” Mx Misair bowed slightly.

“Vinny,” the princess caught his attention, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not cold in here. Why are you wearing a hood?”

Vincent froze slightly, and soon shrugged. “I.. just felt like it, I guess..”

“Well, do you maybe feel like taking that hood off?” Vanessa asked. 

He shook his head. “I’m.. more comfortable with it on this time around..”

She frowned, and clicked her tongue. “Fair enough.. but I can feel your body heat from here. That can’t be good.”

“I’m fine..” the young man insisted, squirming around in his seat slightly. 

“You keep saying that, but I don’t believe it, Vincent,” she kept on.

“Vanessa, please..”

Queen Victoria soon entered the fray, and sighed, setting her fork down. “What she’s trying to say is, we’re all worried about you, darling.”

“Why..?” Vincent swallowed, shaking. 

“Because we love you,” she replied without hesitation, and Vincent just about broke. His next words came out stilted and weak.

“Love you too.. b..but I’m fine..” he took a shaky breath. “I..I swear.. I’m fine.. I’m fine..” 

The more he repeated himself, the more it was apparent that he was more telling himself that he was fine than everyone else sitting at the table. Princess Vanessa’s expression softened, and she looked at her mother, who stayed looking at her adopted son, worry filling her face. Mx Misair had a slight grimace on their face for a second. 

“I’m sorry..” the trembling teenager bowed his head. “I just.. I can’t..”

Queen Victoria stood up and walked around the table to Vincent, giving him a much-needed hug. He melted into it, and despite him wearing a hoodie, she could still feel his heat. He was almost like a furnace. They stayed like that for several minutes, what felt like an hour to poor Vincent, before she withdrew from the hug to allow him to finish eating. Unfortunately, the hood seemed to catch onto some part of her robes, and her efforts to fix that made the hood come off, allowing them to see what was underneath. Queen Victoria gasped, hand flying to her mouth.

Two very nasty scars lined his cheek, and another pair his neck. Vincent could feel and see that his hood had been doffed, and he closed his eyes, preparing for judgment. The lady headed back to her seat, unknowingly allowing Vanessa and Mx Misair to see. They both recoiled. But the judgment he was waiting for never came, and he was instead pelted by extremely worried questions and remarks. 

“What happened?!” Vanessa shouted, and Vincent flinched as his eyes opened again to look at them all. Eventually, he took a breath, exhaled, and began to explain.

“I.. I had a horrible nightmare.. and must’ve scratched myself in my sleep..” he replied sullenly, looking down at his food. It was a lie. And he hated lying. He’d almost lost his appetite, but he continued to eat nonetheless. 

“Those are pretty nasty scratches..” Queen Victoria placed a hand on her cheek, mirroring where the scars were and eating with her other hand. 

“Too nasty for a human to have made them..” the princess mumbled, but Vincent heard regardless and sank into his seat. 

“Sir, if I may, why didn’t you come to me to get them treated..?” Mx Misair finally spoke up, almost done with their food. 

“I didn’t wanna bother you..”

“Sir.. my job is to take care of the royal family.. and you are a part of that,” the butler replied, keeping a straight face. “You’ll never bother me.”

“Oh..” the teenager muttered. “Alright then..”

“Vincent, if there’s anything we can do to help,” Queen Victoria proffered, worry still staining her face, “anything at all..”

Vincent looked absolutely broken. He wanted to tell them. He really did. But he couldn’t. For fear of what would happen if he did. He wanted to tell them the truth. He wanted to tell them everything that ailed him. He wanted to be free from his own shackles. But it would never come. He knew. He couldn’t say a word. Except.. 

“I’m fine..” he replied. “But.. thanks.. for everything..”

“But—!” Vanessa started, not allowing this to be buried, but a quick clear of the throat from Victoria interrupted her, and she ended up sighing, playing with her food. “Fine..” 

“We’re here if you ever need us, Sir Vincent,” the butler bowed. 

“Yeah.. thank you..” the young man nodded, looking down at the toast and omelet, of which he’d only taken a few large bites. He finished that up, and then excused himself from the table and the dining room in general. He felt ill. Too ill to even think about helping them wash the dishes.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Vanessa was quick to round on her mother. “Mother! why didn’t you keep going? we were almost at a breakthrough!”

“He seemed uncomfortable as it was,” Victoria answered. “I don’t want to pile on more suffering. I don’t want to be the cause of pain.”

“But the more he keeps burying this, the more he’ll be in pain,” the young lady in green frowned, jabbing a finger into the palm of her other hand to accentuate her words. “He needs to talk about it with someone !”

Her mother sighed. “You’re right.. but who?”

Vanessa didn’t have an answer. She doubted he’d want to air out his problems with her, considering how she used to treat him. Mx Misair cared for him, but still seemed a bit too standoffish to truly make that connection. And then there was Victoria. She cared for him so much, but eventually hardly had enough time. And not to mention, Louis and Lilly, the latter of whom had a crush on the young man, and the former who had taken it upon himself to see Vincent in the manor. 

But the rest of the village? that would be nigh impossible. 

She was at a loss. 

“I don’t know..” Vanessa sighed.

Vincent found himself in the bathroom, sitting against the wall next to the toilet and just staring out into space. He gripped his arm, so much that it hurt, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t care. He felt like he was out of his mind, out of his own body even. He’d read about dissociation in books, but never thought it would happen to him. 

The fingers in his free hand twitched, but still he stared. He didn’t feel good at all. He didn’t feel anything. But slowly, he came to again, slowly blinking, and then he clutched at his head as he shook it. He looked around, wondering why he’d chosen the bathroom of all places. 

He.. probably came to take a bath. He still felt blood on him, still felt blood around him. Still felt crumbs from the destroyed furniture and crates on him. He needed to wash it off. So he started the water, and paced as the tub filled up. Once the water was high enough, he took off his clothes, exposing his other scars, and dipped himself into the water. 

It felt nice, even though it was cool, and perhaps because it was cool. He sighed, relaxing there for a moment, before he began to wash up, grabbing a sponge and soap. After one wash, he washed again. And again. It was now three washes. But he still felt blood, still felt the destruction he wreaked last night. But he couldn’t stay in the tub forever, lest he become a raisin. And what if someone saw him? his scars? he couldn’t take that chance. 

So he began to drain the last instance of water, and got out, taking a towel to dry himself off. He looked down at the clothes lying on the floor. The clothes he chose to wear for breakfast. He blinked, and decided he’d put them on. They were clean, after all. 

Vincent rubbed at his temples once he was done. Trying to stay focused, trying to stay in the present, trying to wake up, trying to get rid of the headache. He still felt sick and shaky, but that’d soon be behind him. 

At least, so he hoped. 

He left the room soon enough, heading downstairs to his room. After that fiasco in the dining room, he didn’t feel up to facing them again. At least, not now. He needed to sort out his feelings and emotions and shove down his traumas and ailments first. And what better way to do that than sleeping?

Forgetting that he had new moon dreams, he decided this was a good idea, and went straight to bed, plopping face first into it and promptly going out like a light. Hopefully he’d be up for lunch.