In the Eyes [Skylar]

It had taken a great many years, but Skylar had finally risen through the ranks of vampire society, at least for this region, enough to be the one to oversee this city and the majority of the supernatural activity that took place here. Once in charge, they had set into place their own sets of rules for the city, as was their right to do, and it had quickly spread that this was a more liberal city in some ways, but much more stringent in others. Skylar favored rules that protected the innocent, that more or less let humans lead their own lives without harassment, and tended to treat both those born and those created as equals, which caused a bit of a stir as well. Skylar was a polarizing figure within their ranks, the sort that they either loved and faithfully backed, or hated and wanted removed as quickly as possible.

They had also quickly appointed Grayson as their eyes, their enforcer within the city, because who else would they trust with such a job? And he dispatched the job just as well as had been expected he would, on top of situations before they could become worse ones, and between the pair, despite anyone else who complained, the city managed to run better than it had in quite some time.

They were in their study, writing out a few letters, when Gray returned with news of the newcomers in town. At the report of what Gray had found their eyes darkened. One of their rules expressly forbid unwilling creation, those that came out the other side of such a thing were never quite right, never the same, and it was an unfortunate situation for all involved.

They frowned at him. "If you are certain of what you have seen...then you know what has to happen next."

Grayson had never expected to stay so close to Skylar, he'd expected there to come a time where he would part from their company, but he liked being around Skylar, and he felt a draw to them that went farther beyond the blood that bound them. Skylar gave Grayson a purpose that he'd never had in his time serving the king, Skylar gave him the role he'd always been meant for, and Grayson settled into the role of the protector comfortably and happily.

He still didn't understand the modern world that they lived in, it made him thankful for Skylar's refusal to conform and welcome in technology, he enjoyed their rather dated old home, devoid of many emneties from the modern world.

He nodded to confirm that he was certain of what he saw, "yes. I would not make such an accusation lightly." He gave a sure nod, holding out a hand to help Skylar up, "would you like to assist me?" He figured they would, they usually carried out these punishments together, it worked much better as a team.

They nodded slowly as they considered the situation. There was always the slight chance this could be redeemed without violence, someone from out of town who had misunderstood, who would be willing to surrender this child. But that was rarely ever the case it seemed, those that did actions like this felt justified in them, and fought to be allowed to continue to do such things, and not lose what they felt was rightfully theirs.

They looked up to Gray again. "No, I know you would not say such things if you were not certain." Sky had come to trust Gray completely, in all their centuries together he had rarely been wrong.

They took the offered hand, rising to their feet with a sound much like a sigh. "I never *like* to assist on these matters. But it is part of my responsibility." They didn't looked pleased or eager for it at all, in fact a bit of darkness had settled into their eyes, this was one of the things they liked least. "Let's go, get it over with, before they decide to leave town again or something of that nature."

It was like coming out of a dream, or perhaps a nightmare, he'd been trailing after that man for what felt like such a long time, trapped in the recess of his mind where his conscious, thinking self had been forced, watching in horror as he was made to commit all manner of sin and horror for this man, it was like being pulled on puppet strings, and he could feel every abuse his master struck him with, but could do nothing in retaliation.

He woke in a bed, not his bed, not even his master's bed, he recognized nothing around himself as he sat up, blinking away the bleariness in his eyes as he suddenly drew his hands and legs to his body and swallowing, "H-hello!?" He frowned and glanced around, eyes widening at the hulking figure in the corner of the room, "Who are you!?" His fear was met with a soft, soothing sound from Grayson as he signaled for Skylar, "He is awake...Please little one...Calm yourself." His heart ached for this boy, who had clearly been through much, "you are safe." The small vampire didn't look convinced, pressing himself back against the headboard as Grayson conceded to returning to where he'd been sitting before, in an armchair off to the side.

At the call Sky appeared in the doorway of the room, cutting a much more sleek and polished, not to mention considerably smaller figure compared to Grayson. They smiled in a manner that they hoped came across as friendly, although they couldn't blame the child if he was still unnerved.

"Don't be afraid. He won't harm you. Neither shall I." They promised, drawing closer but still giving him his space. "You are safe now...he will never harm you again."

They looked between the two in the room. "He is Grayson. You may call me Sky. What is your name?"

Not all could be saved from this, even if the connection was severed. Sometimes their minds were never right again. They very much hoped this would not be the case this time, they wanted to be able to help him, to give him the promise of some sort of better future, instead of this horrific madness that his early days as one of them had been.

Ada pulled the covers up closer to his chin, half hiding under them as he glanced from the hulking figure to the much smaller one, swallowing a hard lump, "I..saw you...What you did to him..." He looked between them with wide eyes, "y-you wont do that t-to me...Right?" He'd been mistreated by too many during his stay with that vampire to expect any less from these two, it was more likely that he would be made to serve them instead, and there was a part of him that was okay with that, he felt empty with this freedom.

He looked up when he realized they'd asked his name, glancing down for a few long moments, as if digging to remember, "he called me pet...I think my name is Adalee..." He looked up at them with a lost expression, "what...What do I do now? What...Do you want to do with me" He felt a yawning empty inside, now in control, but not, like something was scrambling him and leaving him unsure.

"No. No, Adalee, no...we're not." Sky was quick to assure him.

"He met the fate that he did because of what he did to him." They started to explain. "What we are...it is a curse...but it can also be a gift. But as it was done to you...it's abhorrent. No one should have this happen to them as you did, no one should be forced to be someone else's slave like that. And what he did to you...it is expressly forbidden here in my city." A pause. "Do you understand?"

There seemed to be light and intelligence in the boy's eyes again, but for now he still seemed too shaken for Sky to accurately determine his current state.

"What we did was to punish him, but also to free you from that hold. And now, I wish to help you. I want to help you learn how to live this new existence as best you can, and find you a place where you would be useful...but of your own choice, not someone else's."

Adalee seemed to relax a little when Sky assured him that he would not meet a similar fate to the man he'd been under the control of, he swallowed hard and pulled his knees up to his chest, closing his eyes tightly, "I understand..." His voice was soft, and clearly shaking, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes, "H-he took me from my home..." He hid his face in his arms, "I can never go back...Not like this..." Everything seemed like such a far away memory, and he realized he had no idea where he even was, where he'd been, "I don't remember much...Or I do...Just...It's all blurry and unfocused." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "I don't know what to do..."

He looked up at them with a thoughtful expression, realizing that the idea of doing anything else was enough to bring a physical sickness, "I don't know who I am...Or who I should be..." He looked up at them with a lost expression, "who do you think I should be?" He felt like an empty shell, he felt things now, but aside from that he had nothing.

Sky moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed near the young man. "No, you can't go home again...you can't be back in contact with them because of what you are now." They said in gentle sympathy. "I am very sorry that this happened to you."

They let him have a moment, it hurt to watch him so uncertain and afraid, but it was heartening that he seemed to be able to have conversations, to think things through. That was a good sign.

"You do need to find a purpose. Someone you choose to work with or for...otherwise it will be just a hollow ache inside of you that nothing else will help or fill. You need a purpose...but now it's one that you get to choose." They explained.

"What is it you do? What do you like to do, what are you good at?" They asked, continuing to encourage him to talk about himself, to remember who he had been. It might help them figure out where he might fit in.

==a few months later==

The last few months had flown by quickly, what had started as an offer of a place to stay while everything worked itself out had turned into what felt like a more permanent situation for the three, Ada settling nicely with the other two.

Well. Mostly nicely. There had been a few hiccups. Sky and Gray were both from the Old World, comfortable with those things, generally made uneasy with the especially rapid pace of advancement in recent decades, things they did not much understand. As it was they had been brought rather kicking and screaming, as the saying went, to the level of technology they had now. Electric lights. A car, now considered a collector's item, Sky had once been told, a landline phone, an electric record player...advances for these two, unbearably primative to the young man now in their care.

Scarcely an evening passed without Ada making a case for some new thing, once he'd started to regain himself and his confidence, and Sky was sure tonight would be no different, they mused as they started downstairs from their rooms.

He'd fully intended to leave their presence as soon as he got the will of his own to do so, but really the will just never seemed to actually come to him. It was as Skylar had said, living without someone to serve left him incredibly hollow, a gap that he tried to fill in the span of time but couldn't seem to. It had been his decision to stay and serve Skylar and Grayson, and he felt content this way, still in the servitude of someone, but by his own choice, and Skylar treated him well, they took care of him, they treated him like more than a pet or a throw away tool. It was nice to be treated like a person.

However, the pair of vampires were dreadfully behind, and stubbornly insistent on staying that way, everything in this house save for the lights was an antique from some forgotten, dusty old time that was way beyond retro by about 600 years. Ada, were he older, would be okay with this, but he was just reaching his teenage years when he was turned, trapped in a perpetual state of 15, and thus very interested in the technology of the present. This tended to lead to a lot of harmless clashes with Skylar as the headstrong boy insisted that they needed to bring themselves into the present era.

Tonight really was no different, but this time he was sure he had a fool proof plan, holding a catalog in his hand as he approached Skylar, "okay listen, you know that I know that you're sick of hearing about this..." He waved the rolled up add in his hand at Skylar, "but you also know that this'll make things a lot more convenient!" He unrolled the paper to show it to them, "like c'mon...Think of all the business you could get done and stuff!" He gave them his best winning grin as he waited for a response.