Lex

Zeya awoke to the painful discomfort she felt all over her body, laying in a bed that wasn't hers.

The curtains blocked whatever light from coming through the bedroom; a fairly common sight to see in many Roseabelle households whenever the sun was out. She remove the covers to find her entire upper body covered with bandages, covering up her wounds. They were already stained bright red even though the maids had only replaced them on a few hours ago.

A string of ancient curses escaped from Zeya as she abruptly sat up, unintentionally putting pressure on the tightly sealed cuts. Only the sounds of her breathing filled the empty room, the tranquility a welcome one as her mind throbbed with the flashbacks of what happened last night.

Using the bed frame as support she somehow managed to stand up, immediately observing her surroundings for anything to cover herself. She noticed a set of well-ironed and neatly folded clothes placed at the end of the bed, probably prepared by the maids that looked after the residence whenever the owner wasn't home.

Hurriedly, she put them on with care as to not open up her wounds before making her way out the room and into the corridors. She looked down from the mezzanine, overlooking the entirety of the living room. It was empty and well-kept, just like the owner of the home, who she immediately guessed to be Arius judging from the rows of family photos hanged on the walls.

'Only his family would ever take such loving photographs together.' She thought, gazing at the much younger Arius who smiled brightly in almost all of the portraits. Though unfortunately, it was now a rare sight to see ever since his father passed away. 'Well, I suppose it does serve as framed memories to remember the deceased by.'

She then walked down the massive staircase and went into the living room, in search of any living being other than herself. It was hard to believe that Arius was the only person to occupy this house when she saw the spacious ground floor.

The space was decorated in simple yet extravagant, marble white furniture, a clue many would overlook that revealed the minister's vast, unspent wealth. The colors were dull but distinct under the unique bluish lighting emitted by shadow flames, enveloping the room with a mystifying ambience.

As she made her way to a big opening near the staircase, she unknowingly entered the dinner room, where she saw the two men having breakfast as they had a small chat.

"Oh, you're finally awake." Arius said as he noticed her gloomy presence, his voice echoing throughout the massive house. "Come and have breakfast with us, we were just talking about you."

"We're having blood waffles Zeya, your favorite." He coaxed patiently after seeing her hesitate to sit down. "Are you still going to refuse?"

Her stomach growled loudly at the mention of food; it had been almost a week since she's last eaten a proper meal. Although eating was not an important part of her survival like other creatures, the several centuries she had spent with Claire had taken an effect to her innate resistance to hunger, causing her to eat much more than most of her kind normally could.

'Well, that explains everything.' She thought, realizing why she had been feeling so lethargic; all she had been busy doing the past few days was work, not giving herself to rest her mind nor body. She remained silent as she took a seat on the other end of the massive dining table, right across from where Lex sat.

"You woke up earlier than I thought." Lex smiled mockingly. "I figured you'd be unconscious for at least a few more days."

"I wished that was the case too, dear brother." Zeya replied, her expression one of pure indifference and disappointment. "At least then, I wouldn't have had to see your miserable face as soon as I woke up."

"No matter how vexing you can be sometimes, I could never murder my dearest sister." He smiled brightly before devouring what seemed to be a glass of red wine. "So, I did the closest thing possible, which was to beat you up half to death."

"And yet you still got your ass kicked even after devouring all those Dwellers." She rebutted successfully, lightly dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "I'm sure that little wound on your chest is far from healed too, Lex."

"Oh dear, I like where this is going." He said in between his random laughing fits, wiping away his tears of joy. "Now I remember why we fought so damn much in the past."

"Enough with the taunting remarks, both of you, please." Arius warned the two as his focus remained on his plate of half-eaten waffles. "I'll not tolerate any kind of fights in my peaceful residence, especially when I'm right in front of you."

"Oh, come on. We were just having a little friendly quarrel, nothing to be so delicate about." Lex tried to defend his words, rolling his eyes at Arius. "Well, not that an only child would understand, right?"

"Whenever I see the two of you argue, I am glad that I was born an only child." Arius confessed all over a sudden, taking both Lex and Zeya by surprise. "So, take that information however you wish, though, I'm sure it already says a lot about my opinion on having siblings."

The blunt comment made Zeya choke on her food as she struggled to contain her laughter whereas Lex's frown grew deeper.

"Has your wounds healed yet?" He swiftly changed the subject to Zeya now, looking over the table to see her covered abdomen. "I did ask one of my more experienced maids to bandage you but hopefully it has already closed off."

"It's only been a couple of hours." She tried to reason despite knowing that her body was more than capable to heal wounds in mere minutes after she acquired them. "Some rest will help it heal quicker so no need to fret. I can take care of myself."

Just then, a dark cloud engulfed the space whole, indicating the arrival of the shadow creature, Nox.

"What perfect timing, Nox." Arius said as he stood up to greet the massive beast, who waited patiently beside Zeya. "I suppose he can keep you company while I go get Margaret."

"I'll be right back, Your Highness." He announced, getting his coat that was hung on the chair.

"I said I'm fine, Arius." She argued, frustrated by Arius' stubbornness. "Can't you just back down for once and listen to my wishes?"

"The cuts will leave scars if not taken cared for properly, Your Highness." He reasoned, his mind already made up. "Besides, I'm sure Margaret will be thrilled to see you too so please, no more objections."

Silence engulfed the room once the owner of the house left the two siblings alone, with only the clinking and clanking of the utensils occasionally interrupting it.

"... Did you mention anything to Arius?" She struck up a conversation first, not looking up from her plate of food.

"He did ask some questions, but I just feigned ignorance." He replied honestly. "I had a feeling you wanted me to keep my mouth shut so, I did."

"How thoughtful of you." She praised him sarcastically before shoving half of the waffles into her mouth. "Then I suppose I do owe you my thanks for that."

"You two seemed to know each other quite well." Lex questioned Zeya, referring to Varen as he paid close attention to the way she ate her blood waffles. "Is he perhaps your friend that I can't recall?"

"He's the High Emperor of Exousia, the neighboring country." She replied coolly, taking another big bite. "I dislike him however, because of the treaty Father signed between their nation and ours, I have no choice but to try to like him."

"... I suppose that is a just reason to save him." He concluded, picking up his own glass of wine and lazily swirling the contents. "You were never the one to act according to your emotions to begin with."

"Aren't you mad at him for hurting you?" She asked, wondering where her deranged, angry brother from last night had gone. "It strikes fear in me to know that hunger can change a being so much."

"You talk like such an ancient being." He clicked his tongue as he leaned back against the dining chair, clearly displeased. "No wonder the commoners dislike your kind, always acting all high and mighty."'

'I didn't even do anything.' She thought, confused by her brother's sudden insult.

"... You're the one to say." Zeya replied back with equal snark. "Aren't you older than both Kaiden and I combined?"

"We don't need to bring that up. Age is merely a number for immortals, it's the way we act that matters the most." He sighed, frowning yet again. "And besides, this is still Kaiden's body, everything I said about myself is merely what I was before I came here."

"At least you're aware of how old of a living fossil you are then." Zeya mumbled under her breathe before taking another sip of some red wine. "But even despite your age, you still act as foolishly as an adolescent."

"... You're as insolent as the last time I met you." He smirked unnaturally, leaning forward. "Have some respect for your older brother, will you?"

"You say all that like you know me, brother." She frowned at the way he smirked.

"I share almost all of Kaiden's memories, child." He stated light-hearted, downing his drink in one fluid motion. "So strangely enough, I do, technically know you as well as he does."

"... I don't know if I should be glad or worried by that fact." Zeya confessed, finishing up her last piece of waffle.

"Are you going to finish that bottle?" She pointed at the half-empty bottle beside Lex's plate.

"Help yourself, little one." He smiled devilishly, getting up to leave the dinner table as soon as he finished his glass of liquor. "That is, if you enjoy having your wine mixed with blood."