The Beast

5 - Brothers

"Are you sure this is the right building?" Lumiere sighed behind me.

I glanced at him and nodded. "Too dirty for you, Your Highness?" I teased, walking inside to survey the room. It was an old office with a desk, bookshelves and chairs waiting for arriving guests. But everything was covered in dust and cobwebs now. Abandoned by its owner and inhabited by pests.

"Humph, soon that will be your title," he reminded me with a grumpy frown.

"Are you against it?" I asked him with a curious smile on my lips.

"It is not my place to even have opinions on the matter," he replied coldly.

"Not in front of Anthony, but it's just you and me here Lu," I insisted as I searched through cabinets and closets in the abandoned mansion.

All the documents I found were stuffed into my leather bag but I left the valuables, as the prince had instructed. We are not thieves, he had said. Which was the truth, the luxurious lifestyle Luis and Anthony lived was the fruit of hard work in their past. That much I knew.

"I am surprised. That's all," he finally said.

"Why?" I asked, glancing at him across the dusty room.

"That they trust you so soon after your birth," he explained calmly as he walked around, keeping a safe distance from anything dirty.

"Not enough, they ordered you to come with me," I laughed, amused by the face he made as a mouse ran across the floor, frightened by my search of a box that was clearly its home now.

"That's because you are their investment," he pointed out. "They need you alive."

"How romantic," I laughed, but knew he was right.

Lumiere walked closely behind me, studying our surroundings and picking up a document here and there, all seemingly left in a hurry. "It's an arranged marriage, it's not supposed to be romantic," he muttered.

"I know."

"But the young prince seems more than happy. Perhaps romantic feelings can develop?" he said, raising his eyebrow.

"We'll see, I've never had romantic feelings for men," I said, flipping through a few pages. "But who knows, we'll be partners for hundreds of years," I said with a shrug. "Maybe you're right."

"He may not mind if you take a lover."

I finally found some notes that could be of interest and carefully folded them and put them in the inner pocket of my vest. "You think?" I laughed. "He doesn't seem like the sharing type."

My brother nodded with an amused smile on his lips. "Yes, you are right. He won't let anyone get close to you, and if they give the slightest hint of wanting you, they won't live long enough to even try."

"Is that why you turned down the offer?" I asked challengingly, wanting to see if I was right about my suspicions. But he just shrugged and waved my question away.

We left the mansion a few minutes later, hope burning in my heart. For once, I had found something useful. After hours of torture, the spies had given me information about the house and I would reward them for it when we got home. I would give them a painless death, freedom from their tortured state.

"Clocksworth," Lumiere suddenly hissed, grabbing my arm. "I think we are being watched."

I turned to look at him to see where his gaze landed. And he was right, at the entrance to the garden a man, a vampire, was observing us. "Do you recognize him?" I asked my brother, who shook his head, prompting me to ask the next question. "Should I kill him?"