In the eyes of the people of the 21st century, they only saw the Medieval Era as romantic images of knights in shining armor, royalties and the beauty of warship. But all of those were false images; an illusion evoked by fantasy novels we read today. It has a much more complicated reality, what's more if we mix in a little bit of a haunted fantasy?
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European High Middle Ages, Year 1xxx, Eastbourne.
A man on a nobleman attire went out of his horse carriage and what he saw was the not unfamiliar social diversity of his era. Look to the left and he will saw nobles chattering about politics and wealth. Look to the right and he will saw a group of peasants, commoners and refugees united to play cards and rant about how tough life was for them. While the merchants were busy enough to do their own work. And the royalties, nowhere to be seen amongst this people.
Despite being called as the High Middle Ages --- known for it's active economical development and dynamic culture amongst the three periods of Medieval Era--- the order of social hierarchy was still greatly emphasized. The powerful and wealthy remains powerful and wealthy; the weak and poor remains weak and poor. The people of this era was well aware of their role and strength. Of course, the lower class won't dare to cross the line. As for the upper class, it only depends if one has a good state of mind and on how they see themselves.
That's a cruel fact that we must learn to accept.
Just as the man placed his hat on his head, a piece of newspaper flew by him and he immediately caught it. Written on the newspaper was a scene of an unknown murder. The headline was "Lord Pittsburgh found dead with a bite mark on his neck, Forensics suspect another Vampire case".
The corpse of Lord Pittsburgh was obviously bloodless and pale despite of the photo being black and white. There was a bite mark on his neck and his face had a horrified expression: his eyes were wide and his pupils shrank.
The man clicked his tongue. This was what exactly he was here for.
He simply let go of the piece of paper and it effortlessly sailed the cold wind once more.
A clergy approached him and spoke nervously, "M-my Lord, Sir, a-are you the e-exorcist called by the county palatine?"
The man smiled at him, "Yes, it is I. Sir, you can call me Lord Xie, named Xie Lian. My father is Chinese but we were once refugees in this country but we managed to climb up the ladder." He looked at the clergy's trembling figure and added, "Sir, please relax around me, no need to be so nervous. Uh... and one more thing, I am a hunter specialized for taking down vampires and not an exorcist. An exorcist only kills ghosts and the living dead. My precious vampires are totally different species."
The clergy's tensed back relaxed a bit after hearing Lord Xie's friendly approach. He led him inside the church to meet the county palatine. Lord Xie briefly explained his plans to exterminate the vampire and the two only listened. After that, the clergy assisted him to another carriage and personally went with him.
This was a desolate county with not much glory and name. The further it was to the central county, the less structures there were and the more bumpy the road becomes.
Lord Xie stopped the carriage midway before they left the central county. He said, "Can we stop by a tailor shop? I would like to buy some maid clothes for myself."
The clergy was stunned. He couldn't help but ask, "M-my Lord, why do you need it?"
Lord Xie smiled at him, "I'm going to seduce the vampire."
The clergy was dumbstruck. He was not sure whether the person beside him was only joking or not. If he was, he really did not expect that a well-known vampire hunter like Lord Xie would crossdress only to capture a vampire. His mind went astray and kept on thinking what other methods would this man of reputation use.
He sighed in relief when he heard Lord Xie laugh and clarified, "Sir, I was only joking. Please don't take my words seriously. It's the only way to enter the vampire's manor."
Lord Xie personally went to the tailor shop to buy a maid's clothes. It did not take long before the clergy saw a beautiful maiden in a ragged maid's clothes came out of the shop that Lord Xie went in to. The clergy did not recognize the beautiful maiden not until she waved at him.
The clergy was mesmerized by the "maiden's" beauty that he did not even suspect the other's identity. He had just thought that he wanted to follow the maiden home and pursue him to ask her hand for marriage. But then he realized that his plan would not and cannot be turned into action. The maiden was actually Lord Xie. Disappointedly, he had no choice but to throw that idea on the back of his mind.
How could he not? Lord Xie's face was already beautiful in the first place. His skin was clear and white like a woman's. But his arms were quite muscular so he had to wear a maid dress with long sleeves to hide it. He also did not have to wear a wig as his hair was already quite long, covering his nape. Overall, he really did looked like a normal maid. In addition, Lord Xie actually knew to pitch his voice to the sound of a real woman flawlessly.
The clergy was at lost for words.
They did not speak along the way anymore. Lord Xie watched as the scenery outside the window turn to small buildings then it gradually became trees and bushes.
At last, the horse neighed and the carriage stopped. Lord Xie and the clergy came out and they saw an abandoned manor by the cliff. Across the cliff was a vast blue sea.
The atmosphere was cold and haunting that the clergy shivered visibly. But Lord Xie was indifferent, pretty much used to it.
Lord Xie spoke first,"Sir, you may go first. I'll be back to report after a month."
The clergy was worried about him, "A whole month? Lord Xie, are you sure you will be able to handle it alone? T-this vampire is an S-Class and h-he had k-k-killed 33 vassal lords in the entire Europe, palatine's are not even included in that count. Lord Xie, I'll go with you."
Lord Xie frowned as he got a bit of clue from the clergy's words, "Exactly because this case has a serial killer vampire that I have to finish the job as soon as possible. The clergy won't need to go with me. Bringing another person along to protect would be bothersome."
The clergy was quite offended but he also nodded. Lord Xie has a point. He won't be of much help anyway. So why go with him?
Lord Xie inquired in a flat tone, "May I ask the clergy, are there any reported deaths of merchants and commoners related to the vampire case?"
The clergy thought for a moment then answered, "My Lord, there's none. Why do you ask?"
But Lord Xie only replied, "Nothing, just to make up with time."
The clergy, "....??"
Just then, a sound of a gun shooting sounded and the clergy dropping to the ground followed in just half a second.
The clergy was dead.
Lord Xie was still indifferent, "Oh...he's dead."
Then he carried the clergy's already cold body back to the carriage and tossed it in. He said to the driver of the carriage while still wearing a smile, "He's dead. Tell this to the county palatine and immediately cremate him. No more questions. Off you go."
The driver did not dare to speak anymore and immediately rushed away.
Lord Xie sighed, he was so done acting cool and smart in front of others. But the truth is, he is actually a little dumb.
[Lmao. That's not true dianxia. You're smart.]
He shook off the residual dust on his dress and went to the direction of the abandoned manor. The scenery of the manor looked so depressing. It was already grey and old, full of moss and vines.
Lord Xie unhesistantly knocked on the door. He knocked a few times until a heard a young man's cold voice, "Who is it?"
He immediately answered like a fragile woman, intentionally stuttering, "I-I...Young Sir, I was the one who was hired by his Lord to take care of the manor."
A young man's voice sounded from the other side of the door again but this time it's tone was quite gentle, "Ah, it's you."
Then with a 'clack' the door opened.
What greeted him was a pair of completely identical male twins, looking at around only six or seven years old. They looked quite younger than he had expected earlier. The twins had long jet black hair tied in a low pony tail resting on their shoulders. Their skins was also deathly pale. Both of them had one of their eyes wearing a black eye patch. One has it on the left eye, while the other one has it on the right eye.
They also both wore the same identical nobleman house clothes. They were really difficult to distinguish at a glance.
The twins spoke at the same time, "Please come in."
Lord Xie said a word of gratitude and entered with a smile. He was led to the living room and sat on the dusty sofa. Then one of the twins handed him wine but he refused so he ended up drinking a cup of tasteless tea.
After a moment the one of the twins with an eye patch on his left eye who sounded kind and friendly asked, "Sister, what is your name?"
Lord Xie answered, "Young Sir, this woman is named Xie Lian but the Young Sirs are free to call me whatever they want."
The one with an eye patch on his right eye who tries to act like an adult said, "Then we call you Sister Maid Xie."
Lord Xie nodded in acknowledgement then threw back a question, "May I also know the Young Sirs' names?"
The right eye-patched answered first, "Hua Cheng."
The left eye-patched followed, "San Lang."
Lord Xie only nodded again then drank more tea. But in his mind he concluded:
The kid named Hua Cheng has his eye patch on the right-eye and is cold and is trying to act mature. While the other one named San Lang is the entire opposite.
But then he frowned and ask, "Why are your names Chinese too?"
San Lang explained smiling, "Sister Maid Xie's name is also Chinese. We just want to go along with it."
Hua Cheng also smiled but his smile was not as childish like San Lang yet it was still a sweet smile, he added, "Wouldn't it be more fun, Sister Maid Xie?
Lord Xie smiled too, "Right. San Lang and Hua Cheng is kind and considerate."
After that, he began to clean the entire manor like an ordinary maid. This lasted for a month until he had finally gained the twins' complete trust.
Among these days, he had learned a lot of things from the twins.
Since the first day, he noticed that the twins sleeps during the day and are completely awake at night. At times, they would suddenly disappear by the night without permission and return before the sun rises. Lord Xie had the guts to pretend to be a strict nanny and scold them, but they would just answer, "There's another death case related to the serial killer vampire."
Due to this, Lord Xie also had to adjust his sleeping schedule. He was not much different to how a vampire lives. Give him sharp fangs and he's ready to go and suck blood.
Another is that, Hua Cheng was not really as cold as he thought. He was only just trying to be a brother to San Lang so he had to act mature to protect him. As days pass by, Hua Cheng also started to protect him too. For instance, Lord Xie climbed to the balcony to dust the railings, but he suddenly tripped and was about to fall. Fortunately, Hua Cheng happened to be down below with San Lang and ran as fast as lightning to catch him. He was really carried by a body of a seven-year-old boy as if he was just a toy. Hua Cheng and San Lang even bandaged his non-existent sounds, turning him into a mummy.
Because of this small help and kindness, Lord Xie's heart couldn't help but turn soft to the point that he was already letting his guard down. He even often forgot his mission when he was having a bond with the twins.
Thinking about it, it was just that...the twins do not really differ from the other kids after all. The only thing different from the is that.......they kill people.
Lord Xie believed there was a reason for the twins to kill people. They seem to have a target but the reason was still unknown to him. So Lord Xie needed a month to investigate.
A month passed by, and most of his hypotheses were confirmed. There was only one question left on his mind: Why would the twins kill 'them'?
Until one morning, Lord Xie's last question was coincidentally answered by another encounter with the twins.
At that morning, the sun was already seeping through the window curtains that Lord Xie was cleaning with a duster. He happened to be cleaning right in front of the twin's bedroom. He was still pondering over that matter, when he felt hands tugged on his dress. Lord Xie turned his head and looked down. It was two hands. One belongs to Hua Cheng and one belongs to San Lang.
They were both well hid from the sunlight using Lord Xie's big dress to avoid getting burned by the sun. The two were looking at him with sleepy eyes. Hua Cheng carried a gigantic book in his right hand while San Lang spoke to him softly, "Sister Maid Xie, can you read us a bedtime story?"
Seeing two cute faces, how could he refuse?
He immediately put down the duster and patted the two's heads, "Of course! It's a pleasure to read for the Young Sirs!"
Then the three entered the bedroom that was completely devoid of light.
Hua Cheng and San Lang silently went back to their respective beds then Hua Cheng handed him the book, Lord Xie was confused, "Uh... Young Sirs, how could I read when it's dark?"
Hua Cheng answered, "Sister Maid Xie, please open the book."
He hesitantly opened it and then he was shocked. The words were glowing with white-yellowish light and it was really easy to read in the dark. He read a few contents and already knew that it was about vampires. Not only that, he also knew that this book were especially made for vampires and it was also written by vampires...Young vampires. Obviously, it was written by the ones in front of him.
Lord Xie cleared his throat and started to read for them. But the more he read, the more his heart beat wildly and loudly as if it was about to come out of his rib cage at any moment.
In summary, the story goes like this:
In the den of the vampires, there were newly born twins. When they were born, the Elder of the vampire tribe said: "The twins will bring justice and equality to human kind!" And years later, it was proven true. The twins came out to the urban human world and became silent heroes in the shadows. They were different from the other vampires who unreasonably slaughter and take human lives to their fill. The twins' in the story's mission in life was to seek for justice. In the different eras and transition of time, they saw how cruel the world was. No matter what economic and cultural development the world had, there was still greed for power and thirst for wealth to be seen in the people's eyes. It was an inevitable natural system that the twins cannot subdue. They could only keep on giving justice to the weak and abused.
Lord Xie stopped reading even though he was not even halfway through the story. This was not a bedtime story anyway. He looked at Hua Cheng and San Lang's figure and saw that they were still listening with no intent on sleeping.
He kept repeating, "...giving justice to weak and abused....."
"Lord Xie." Hua Cheng and San Lang said simultaneously.
Lord Xie was still staring at them bewildered, "You...You two...."
Lord Xie finally understood everything. The twins did not kill randomly and indiscriminately. Those were all nobleman and vassal lords who had a dispute with him in the past.
Hua Cheng, "You understand us now, right? I know that you know how it felt to be in the same situation as them. We know your past. We saw it with our own eyes. It pains us to watch you suffer back then. But unfortunately, we can do nothing about it yet. But now...we do. The thirty three vassal lords...I know you knew them. And they were the people who made you into that state. And those people continued to abuse refugees and peasants. And, we did not kill them as you have probably heard from them. We simply forced them to strip off their power themselves and let them have a taste of their own medicine."
San Lang nodded in agreement as if it was a simple matter, "That's right, Lord Xie. So... please don't kill us."
Lord Xie was still at lost for words, after a while he stuttered, "You two....You two took revenge for me? Why...why would you? Out of all people, why did you two had your eyes on me?"
Hua Cheng and San Lang said, "Because we care about you the most."
San Lang, "But we can't come closer to you because of your....profession. We are also afraid, you know."
Hua Cheng, "But gladly, you've finally come to us, Lord Xie." He paused then added, "Lord Xie, now that you know about this....would you like to join us?"
Lord Xie stared at Hua Cheng. He just noticed that Hua Cheng and San Lang's eye patches were removed and beneath the eye patch were crimson red eyes.
"Ah, you would not lose your profession. We can help you deal with the tra-- naughty vampires to provided that you would also not surrender us to 'them'. And of course, even without your command we will protect you even if it costs our life. Do you agree with this?"
Lord Xie was about to cry as all of their words enter his mind and heart. For the first time in his life, he felt safe and protected, and most of all, loved. He nodded, "Yes! I do! Hua Cheng...San Lang...I...you two come here..."
The two obediently came near him and then they were pulled into a very tight hug. They could hear Lord Xie's faint sobs and then he whispered, "Thank you."
It took a long time before he loosened the hug and let the two sat on his lap.
San Lang, "But you won't stay long with us if you're human. Do you mind if we...?"
Lord Xie answered without hesitation, "Go on."
San Lang went first, he lifted Lord Xie's hair and moved his collar for a bit, he said, "Lord Xie, relax. I'm sorry if it would hurt."
Then he bit on Lord Xie's neck. Blood oozed out and Lord Xie supressed the sound in his throat but the hands he used to hold each of the twin's hands tightened a bit.
San Lang removed his fangs and wiped away Lord Xie's blood on his lips.
Then it was Hua Cheng's turn, he did the same actions as San Lang, but he took his time to tease Lord Xie for a bit, "Lord Xie's skin is white and clear, it's a shame to put a mark on it."
Lord Xie did not reply, but his face turned red in embarassment and his lowered eyes blinked a few times.
Hua Cheng only chuckled and bit down too.
San Lang was excited, "Great! Now the deed has been done, Should we celebrate???"
Hua Cheng was more composed, "Lord Xie, you are officially ours now. Don't leave our side anymore."
Lord Xie nodded gratefully, "I promise, I won't and I would never!"
Lord Xie once again pulled them into another tight hug.
-CHAPTER 1 END-
EDITED ON 12/21/21
Kleia answering FAQs:
1. Did Xie Lian turn into a vampire in chapter 1?
K: nope. Xie Lian did not turn into one, and sorry to disappoint, he will not turn into one although i originally wanted to. Xie Lian was merely bitten by the twins. Unlike other vampire tropes wherein a human will turn into a vampire once they are bitten, in this fan fiction, the human has to drink a vampire's blood so that they can turn into a vampire
2. Then what is the purpose of him being bitten by the twins?
K: As briefly mentioned in the first chapter, and is further elaborated in chapter 6, Xie Lian was "marked" by the twins as a sign of ownership. Ownership meant that Xie Lian surrendered to them and volunteered to be the twins' blood reservoir once they needed them. Additionally, this vampire's bite mark would mean that other vampire's cannot snatch away Xie Lian from the twins. Hua Cheng and San Lang also used this as an opportunity for their oath in this chapter. Since Xie Lian was in their possession, then he had to stick with them all the time. However, Xie Lian did not think that he was being manipulated because...hehe, please see the reason on chapter 6:)
(And Xie Lian did not know of this fact since he had not experienced being bitten before, but, the bite mark also meant that he would longer than an average human life span and their immunity to death would be higher. Since the vampires need blood reservoir, their reservoir also had to live long. Unless, the vampire had no need of them anymore and wanted to get rid of them to find a new reservoir. That being said, the reservoir could die anytime the vampire wanted to. But Hua Cheng would definitely not do that to dianxia, dzuh :P )
4. You said that the first chapter is based on starember's art au, Xie Lian's ankles were cuffed by chains. Did you overlook that?
K: Nope, I didn't. That wasthe first detail I noticed on the art, in fact.And, the cuffs were what inspired me to write this. At first, i really thought to make it literal "cuffs". I thought that: "The slaves in that era have their ankles bound by cuffs when they work." But then, that sounds boring and common even though it sounded just fine. But, everyone could think of it that way, right? It's too simple. Even other fanfics have used it that way, so I wanted to be different. The cuffs, I took it metaphorically; reflecting Xie Lian's hardships. The more you read, you will understand Xie Lian's backstory. The cuffs symbolized that Xie Lian was controlled in his entire life, he was not free for he knew that someone was manipulating him.
4. Who's the clergy? Is he dead for real?
You're curiosity will be satisfied the more you read. But obviously, I don't create such useless extra characters. The clergy is also based on a character on the original novel...guess who?
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