Chapter Text
His mother was upset. Not obviously, not to any casual observer. However, he was her son and had been learning at her knee since he was able to sit up on his own. He knew her moods, especially whenever his father had done something.
And his father had done something extreme this time.
“Check, checkmate in four.” He called, moving to capture her knight with his pawn and upgrading it to a rook. “Does this grub really have you so upset Mother? You are never this distracted during a game.”
Lillian sent him a bland look, moving her bishop to intercept. “Check, mate in two.”
He sat up, looking over the board again with a frown. “How? No,” he pushed his king over in defeat, “I will figure it out. Again?”
“Reset the board,” She settled back in her chair and wondered, once again, why her son was not enough for her husband.
Alexander was a genius, a pureblood vampire born from a long line of such beings. He was growing into a handsome man with a keen sense for people. If at sixteen he still had that unfinished look about him that most youths had, it simply meant he still had room for growth. At sixteen, he had already proven he knew the business and was willing to learn more. He knew how to speak to sway people to his way of thinking.
Her son was and would be everything the little runt her husband was bringing into the family could never even contemplate being.
As a woman, she could do nothing against her husband. He held the majority of the power merely because he was male. It was infuriating. Especially when he did so many idiotic things.
The man couldn’t even insure that none of his little sidepieces spawned.
Well, Lillian had made certain to clean up after she had found out about this one. If Lionel ever wondered why he never produced another, he would never think to look at himself and his daily nightcap. After all, Alexander did not get even a fraction of his intelligence from his father.
“Mother, if the child bothers you that much, stick it in the nursery with a nanny until you can send it to school and then marry it off.” Lex could understand some of his mother’s annoyance. As far as he understood, one’s mate was not meant to stray. Or at least if they did, they were meant to keep a clean house.
At least the child in question was only a girl. A pawn really, nothing more. She was certainly no threat to his status of heir. Even whatever would come out of the family coffers for her dowry would be nothing in the long run. She was at least, to all the information he had been able to gather, a full vampire child.
Lex truly did believe that Lillian would have arranged the death of anything else.
“That is the plan, even if your father has filed the paperwork to legitimize the creature.” Lillian made the opening move.
On top of everything else, one of her strings was growing stronger. The blue thread darkening and growing thicker the closer her new mentee came. Which most likely meant that someone tied to the child would be worth taking under her wing.
She was loath to give the child or anyone tied to her anything other than disdain and hate. Those emotions had to go somewhere.
Lex opened his mouth to say something else, but snapped it closed as the door was opened.
“Here we are Lena,” Lionel pushed the small four year old into the room. “Your mother Lillian and your brother Alexander.” Child delivered, he turned and left.
Lean stared at them with large, crystal green eyes. Her fear was an almost tangible thing, even without the way she was clinging to the teddy bear in her arms.
“Hello,” she tried to curtsy and tottered, nearly falling except that Lex had gotten up to help steady her.
“Well hello,” he smiled gently at her.
He had often wondered why he had so many green strings. Had thought that they would connect to any number of people he had already met and even grown up with. When they hadn’t, he thought the universe was laughing at him. Or it had made a mistake, not knowing what else to do with him.
When one had begun to darken and thicken, indicating the person it was tied to was close, he had thought it meant someone tied to the child his mother held so much hate for. Instead, it was tied to his little sister.
Lex hadn’t known he was capable of that much instant love for someone other than his mother. Now, staring at his little sister, he was glad to have been wrong. She was tiny, still innocent to their father’s ways. She needed protection.
She needed her big brother.
“String,” Lena whispered, eyes on the braided bracelet of green thread wrapped around her wrist that led directly to the teenager in front of her.
“String,” he agreed. “Do you know what the colors mean?”
Lena nodded. “Yellow for friends, red for love, blue for a teacher, and green for family.”
“Green for family,” He nodded, pleased. “Now, we just began a new game. Have you ever played chess before?” She shook her head. “Then you don’t have any bad habits to unlearn.”
Almost without thinking of it, he stood with her in his arms (She was so tiny! Had no one been feeding her?) and brought her to the table. He settled back into his chair and looked over the board.
“Mother has the white pieces, which means she makes the first move. White always goes first in chess. Mother?” Lex looked up, wondering why Lillian was so quiet. If he had to protect Lena from both their parents, he would.
Lillian fought with herself. The child was tied to her child? Was this Fate’s way of laughing at her more than it already had? It was so rare for blood related siblings to have green threads, even if they were only half-siblings. Those sorts of ties were generally reserved for twins, or even cousins.
Why?
“Your brother is correct,” she said in place of the many things she wanted to say. She named each piece and explained, briefly, how each moved. She expected the girl to get bored, but the child’s focus remained on the board.
Then about midway through the game, to both their surprise, Lena moved a pawn before her brother could move the knight he had been aiming for. Looking at the board, Lex grinned.
“Check.”
Lillian was far to poised to react, but she did raise an eyebrow after looking over the board again. “So it is.” She went to capture the pawn with her bishop.
“Check,” Lena said, causing Lillian to take another look at the board.
The girl was correct. If she moved her bishop as planned, then Lex’s rook would have her king. Lillian paused, then used her king to capture the pawn.
Lena hesitated a moment, then moved Lex’s second knight into position. Lex, wanting to see what his sister was going to do, let her. A tiny bit amused, Lillian allowed it. She moved her own rook to block Lex’s.
So began the first game of what would become many. It was during one move that Lillian spotted the blue thread and had a similar realization to her son.
Well…Fate really had to be laughing at her.
If she was meant to mentor this child…her husband’s bastard daughter…so be it. She would simply try to see the girl as her son’s sister instead. Lillian supposed the girl was pretty enough, if a little thin. She had at least some intelligence if the way she was quickly learning the game was any indication.
“Check,” the girl said again, firmer this time.
“In two ways, clever,” Lillian acknowledged as she surveyed the board. Currently, her king was trapped by both a knight and Lex’s queen. Her own rook and pawn were blocking two avenues of escape. The pawn itself was trapped, and if she moved the rook it opened her king to Lex’s lone remaining bishop.
“Actually Mother, I think it’s a checkmate.” Lex pointed to his remaining rook and the other knight. Both were in a position to where if Lillian moved her king it would be in check by one of them.
It left her with one opening. “Not quite.” She took the move open to her.
“Check.” Lena moved one of the two remaining black pawns.
Lex chuckled. “Checkmate.”
“So it is,” Lillian conceded, a tiny bit impressed that she had been corralled so well. “Tell me Lena, how are your reading skills?”
Lena paled, which given her nature and how pale she already was made her almost translucent in the firelight. “I can read.” She admitted quietly, flinching.
“That is not what I asked. How well can you read?” Not getting an answer, Lillian turned to Lex. “Go and get your old primers.”
“Yes Mother,” Lex tried to send reassurance through their bond. He didn’t think his mother would physically harm his sister, but he had witnessed Lillian tear others down with nothing more than a few words.
He went to retrieve the reading primers he had not touched since he was barely older than Lena. Did his sister struggle with the written word? Or had she been subject to those fools who were so against the education of the fairer sex?
Honestly, the girls who used their time to better their minds were far more fascinating than the ones who sat around all day fluttering fans and twittering over their needlepoint. He would rather have some of those young women than their brothers for classmates. At least they valued what they learned.
He would need to make certain Lena knew her mind was her greatest asset. His sisters was not going to be one of those…those…silly fan wavers! She was a Luthor! Even if she proved not to have his level of intelligence, she would not be some nattering female prone to the vapors or whatever it was.
He returned quickly, setting the books down on the chess board between the reset pieces. Then he took a step back to watch.
“Turn up the lights, that’s what the infernal gas is there for.” Lillian commanded him. She then turned to Lena, taking in the girl’s features again once the light was brighter. There did not look to be much to work with. The girl was such a tiny thing. “Pick up the first volume and read aloud until I tell you to stop.”
With a great deal of hesitation, the girl did as instructed. Lex hovered in a corner, ready to leap to her assistance. (because that’s what good older brothers did, right? He had no idea.) Lena, however, needed none. She read through the first volume and moved onto the second stopping only to sip at the water Lex retrieved for her. Then onto the third. She was well into the slim fifth volume when Lillian told her to stop.
“Child, when did you eat last?”
Lena swallowed. “Father fed me when he picked me up from the orphanage I was in after mama…” she froze and trailed off.
“After your mother died, yes I am well aware of what occurred.” Lillian did her best to keep the sharpness from her tone. “Lex, summon one of the scullery maids. I think Nessa should be sufficient.” She turned to Lena once more. “Luthor’s kill those they feed from only in certain circumstances. All of the human servants here are willing to be fed from, it is part of what they are paid for. Do not feed from the same servant more than twice a week, and never consecutively.”
Lena nodded, she understood what that meant. In her short life she had rarely had human blood. Her Mama had taught her to hunt animals in the forest and fields near their home. There had been the occasional treat, but that had been from a cup. She had never known where her Mama had gotten the human blood from.
Lex lead a rather plump young woman into the small parlor. Nessa curtsied properly, her uniform showing that she was near the end of her shift.
“You summoned me Lady Luthor?” Her accent was thick even as she spoke slowly to pronounce the words properly.
“Yes, this is Lena. The newest Luthor. She needs to feed.”
“Of course Ma’am.” With no hesitation, the woman bared her wrist and knelt beside Lena. She offered her wrist.
Lena had no idea what to do. Lex felt her confusion and went to instruct her. He had cut his fangs on feeding first from his mother and then his nannies.
“Aye, gentle, that’s a good lass.” Nessa told her. “Yer such a wee thing, ye won’t take over much.”
“Well done Lena,” Lex praised her, absently passing a clean cloth to Nessa for her to cover the bite wound. “A little messy, but we can work on that.”
Lena smiled, fangs glinting the light, at the praise her new brother gave her and the pride she felt through their bond.
Watching them, Lillian accepted that she was doomed. Propriety be damned, but she would simply have to take her anger out on her husband. When the little face turned to her, she did her best to smile softly.
“Lex is correct, that was very well done for your first time. Now, I believe it is time for bed. We have much to do come morning.” She turned to her son. “The room beside yours is empty, settle your sister there.”
Lillian was still far from happy about this. She did not want Lionel’s bastard (legitimized or not) around. But perhaps, given time, she could see the girl as something other than that.