(Faye)

Faye lounged on the couch as he huffed, annoyed with all the fanfare around him. Despite not being able to have the human on his arm tonight, Adrian had made Faye to arrive with him, forcing the human to sit on the couch and wait. It wasn’t uncommon for servants to arrive before their vampiric masters, so there was often a ‘waiting area’ where a human waited to be claimed. Faye knew Adrian was making a point to both Rasvan and Addis by forcing Faye to wait and the human huffed as he crossed his arms. 

The outfit Rasvan had provided was also uncomfortable and Faye found himself pulling at the vest to adjust it. It had come without a shirt and the train on the jacket was hard to avoid sitting on, forcing the human to constantly have to move it first before he could adjust on the seat. The hairpin was at least nice, and Faye pursed his lips as he caught his reflection in the nearby mirror. 

“They got the prettiest piece of candy out here? What gives?” Faye looked up in shock as another person fell onto the couch beside him, not bothering to try and sit correctly. Noemi grinned brightly as she laid her head in his lap, chuckling at his surprise. “Who the fuck are you waiting on?”

“That’s what I should be asking,” Faye scoffed, pushing the woman from his lap as she laughed. He took a moment to realize she was actually somewhat dressed up, or at least as dressed up as she knew how to be. She was wearing a revealing dress that was far too short and her usual ripped tights to match her scratched boots. It also seemed she had tried to tame her wild orange hair into an updo, but it was more like a lopsided ponytail. “You don’t usually come to events like these. It's supposed to be humans only.”

“Well, I got myself a date, so I’m here,” Noemi shrugged and Faye didn’t try to hide his disbelief. 

“Date? Noemi, this is–”

“Yeah, I’m Soulbound or whatever the fuck it’s called and she insisted I come with her tonight,” she interrupted, somewhat trying to pull her dress down a bit more as she finally attempted to sit on the couch properly. Her expression was somewhat pensive and she leaned on the armrest as she stared into the rest of the gathering. “Don’t know much, other than I guess she’s a high vampire if she’s invited to this King shit and gets to break the rules.”

“Huh,” was all Faye could muster as a response, staring at his friend as he tried to read her emotions. He quickly noticed she was chewing on her lower lip, which was something she only did when she was nervous. Her yellow eyes were darting around the room, and Faye couldn’t help his frown at seeing her worry and distress. 

Noemi was a turned vampire, but she refused to drink blood, even the synthetic that was offered to all vampires. Like Faye, she had gotten wrapped up with a high vampire without knowing the consequences and had allowed him to turn her. He abandoned her shortly after, annoyed and frustrated by her lack of promise and leaving Noemi a mess. She hid her vampiric nature as best she could, masquerading as a human and refusing to use any of her powers. Faye was one of the few who never judged her for her past; after all, he easily could have been in her shoes and it led to them becoming close friends.

“Hey, it’s easy,” Faye finally smiled, nudging his friend to get her attention. She gave him a snarky smirk as he chuckled, tossing his hair to emphasize his point. “All ya gotta do is look appealing and pretty. Most vampires won’t actually drink in public since it’s frowned upon, so just be her arm candy and you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, but I’m like the candy you found washed up in the sewers after some kid spat it out, you’re the real deal,” Noemi laughed and Faye did his best not to lose his smile at her comparison. Noemi really had a strange way with words. “Can’t clean up nice when finding a place to sleep is a daily chore.”

“You can come to the shelter, Mimi,” Faye offered, not surprised by the glare his friend gave him. “I’m sure if I talk to Lena, she’ll even let you stay with me.”

“Thought humans and turned were separated.”

“They are, but I’m sure I could convince her,” Faye insisted, doing his best to seem confident. He still wasn’t sure what Lena’s goals with the shelter really were, but he couldn’t deny the safety it gave him and others like him. Living on the streets was always dangerous, especially for humans, and with Noemi refusing blood, the danger to her was magnitudes higher. All it would take was one bad night, and Faye would be left all alone. “At least let me ask her. I can’t stay with you anymore, and I don’t want to wake up one day and find you’re gone.”

“Fucking fine. Do whatever ya want,” Noemi finally spat and Faye couldn’t help his relief. “ But hey, don’t think you can get out of answering me. Why are you over here? Shouldn’t you be on that Adrian asshole’s arm?”

“That’s–” Faye found himself interrupted as he heard a commotion on the other side of the room, and all the vampires around him turned to face the disturbance. A door separated them from whatever was going on but Faye felt his heart sink as he heard that all too familiar laugh. What had he ever done to deserve this?

“My, my Rasvan, I didn’t know your servants were so lippy,” Faye was shocked to see and hear as a woman stepped through the door first, her dark pink dress perfectly fitting her shape as she stepped into the room. Her black eyes looked like voids in comparison to her pale skin and blond hair and Faye caught his breath as Addis stepped into the room behind her, tossing a body onto the floor. The poor human groaned as he slid and the vampiress laughed as she continued. “I’d almost say I’m impressed! I haven’t been called a doxie in hundreds of years!”

“My apologies, Rosie dear,” Faye turned to the other side of the room as Rasvan rose from his seat, stepping down toward the offending servant. It always amazed Faye how much Lena looked like her father, even if she acted nothing like him. She had her mother's eyes, but right down to the way their blonde hair framed their faces, she was Rasvan's child. The king tapped his foot against the floor and the man began to scream as a blood-red puddle formed underneath him, pulling him into the depths as it bubbled and hissed. Faye fought to swallow the rising bile in his throat as he turned his attention to the king, hating that he smiled just like Addis did. “I’ll be sure to deal with him properly once we’re done tonight.”

“You are a doll as always Rasvan,” Rosie laughed, turning to look at the couch. Her eyes seemed to shine brightly as she stared at Noemi and Faye, and she motioned at the pair. Faye looked at his friend with surprise as she stared at him, and they both rose slowly as they made their way to the high vampires. He knew he was Addis’s arm candy tonight, but Noemi had said the vampire she was with was Soulbound to her. She was Soulbound to one of the most powerful vampires in Dephus, and also one of the richest!

Faye groaned as he stood in front of Addis, noticing the tight smile on the vampire’s face. Addis was wearing a dark red suit rather than his usual black, and the collar was also higher on the jacket than Faye was used to seeing on him. His red eyes glared despite the smile and Faye couldn’t help his own tight lips as he bowed, doing his best to keep up appearance. Even if he wasn’t on Adrian’s arm, he knew the vampire was watching him, and would take any slight as a personal attack on him.

“Pleased to serve,” Faye almost spat, surprised when he stood to see Addis offering his arm. Addis’s expression hadn’t changed and Faye scowled quietly as he took it. Rosie seemed much more pleased to have Noemi on her arm, her smile bright and cheery despite Noemi’s hesitant one. He walked in time with Addis as the gathering seemed to lose interest and Faye took the chance to whisper to the vampire he clung to. “I hate you.”

“The feeling is mutual, Faye dear,” Addis hissed back and Faye smiled brightly as another high vampire came up to them. Addis also seemed to adopt his weirdly theatrical persona, seeming chipper and in high spirits despite the human on his arm. Faye did his usual of smiling politely and trying to look happy, even as he felt Adrian’s eyes on the pair.

At least if they had to deal with each other, they were both going to be miserable.