15 years ago
Wiping the streak of blood that dripped out of his nose, Kain growled at the grinning crimson-eyed lad before him and declared, "I am not weak!" Without waiting for a response, he sprang to his feet and then lunged.
There were whooping, roars, cheers for the vampire of regality and derision for the grimy young slave in tattered loose pants and unkept grown hair.
Lazarus, the taller and older lad, clad in black joggers and sleek hair, effortlessly countered him. He then slammed Kain back on the ground.
Kain rasped as pain shot through his back, but he pushed and was just about to pick himself up when the other boy pinned his weight down on him.
Lazarus gripped his neck so tight that Kain felt like his head would pop off. Then he pulled his other arm back and slightly tilted his head. "Are you?" Lazarus said. And with that smile that did not offer any bit of kindness, he knocked Kain out.
*
At the stroke of seven in the evening, as work finishes every day, the slaves were compiled in the great hall for feeding.
Their feed? Bland stew.
Guards watched at the sideline and above, armed with silver weapons, sharp eyes, and ears for anything out of the ordinary or suspicious activities. One thing that the slaves knew of was if they were to make a noise, then they must not utter louder than a squeak. So despite the cluster, only the sounds of uncountable pairs of feet, clanking chains, and rustling were heard.
At the moment, only the women and the youngsters have arrived. The slaves were divided based on physical attributions; teenagers and children of conscious age separated from their mothers. This is to avoid sentimentality between slaves.
Kain followed behind his brothers. Not that he had a choice. The collared chains around their neck attached them. The neckband stops them from shifting. For if they did, the pressure would set off the silver spikes that would pierce through their throat.
Yusef looked over his shoulder and stared at the withering bruises on his younger twin's face down to the blood-stained roughspun trousers. He and Kain connected gazes. But they remained silent.
Then a woman brushed beside them. They blinked and turned their heads, and their eyes glittered upon sighting Roxana. Grime and sweat covered her skin, which still glistened at times. It was a veil that hid her complexion, a beauty that stood as another one of her weapons. Red hair and sea-green eyes were her ammunition. However, in the state they were in, it was nothing but a vice.
Kain tried to hide his face, but before he could do so, she had already lifted his chin. The boy silently hissed when she brushed her hand on his swollen cheek. Roxana's lips slightly parted, and uneasy creases delved into her expression. Kain pursed his lips and averted his gaze when he noticed it. He didn't want her to worry again.
"... I'm all right, mother," he whispered.
Worry did not leave Roxana's face. She looked at the two other boys that had donned the same eyes as she did, and relief gently washed over her that there was no more than dirt, grime, and sweat to be found. However, she was still pain-stricken. As much as she found consolation that they were not hurt, this was not the life that she had dreamt of giving them.
Their discreet interactions were halted when the west doors clunked opened. And from it, slaves — men of strong profiles, muscles, and tanned skinned — arrived. For in this place, the weak had no spot.
As all the slaves were, earth, and crud did not except the incoming laborers. If ever, they were the ones who had piled more muck than anyone. Their chains were fatter, heavier, darker, one that linked from their neck to their wrists. The vampires thought of them as the most dangerous in their collections, the strongest of their pets, and they served the chains as a hint they do not think of anything unwise.
Kain and his brothers watched them with bright eyes. When these men got closer to where they stood, excitement slowly escaped from the boys' clutches. They low-key glanced up at the people that moved past them. One black-haired man suddenly pinched Kain on his swollen cheek along the way, silently chuckling as the boy hissed before he walked away. It was their Uncle Arkm
When the person they were waiting for came into view, Kain's heart leaped. The man, crowned with jet-black strands as they were, stared back at them. He had long, disheveled hair; his skin kissed by the sun and a body that announced that he was nothing close to a slacker. And with the proud, gentle smile that was on his lips, he lifted his broad and calloused hand and softly patted each of the brothers on their heads. Kain barely contained his happiness. Then when the said man passed after them, Kain saw his and Roxana's fingers twist around each other for a moment before they parted ways again.
It was a simple action, but every day, they treasured the only moment they were blessed with to see and interact with Azrael — the triplet's father.
After the feeding session, all the slaves are then put back and cramped to their resigned dungeons at night.
Sprawled to the floor on the corner, Kain hummed to himself as he twirled the chains around his fingers. His singing was quiet, yet his voice was soulful. Powerful, in a way. You don't really call a guy's voice beautiful, but his was. He got it from Roxana.
Yusef stared down at his brother, who was sitting, legs spread wide, on the floor. "Lazarus messed with you again, huh?"
Kain stopped singing.
"You should stop playing along with his games," Zacharias added, sitting himself down. His palm pricked as it contacted with their bed — the cold cement floor.
"Bah! That fool can't bring me down," retorted Kain.
"That's not the point," Yusef puffed.
"It's better than surrendering to that fucker—"
"Hush!"
"Hmph."
Suddenly, they raised their brows when someone hacked a series of coughs behind the bars that Kain was leaning on. Kain turned around and immediately saw the digits burned long ago onto the nape of a much younger boy. No. 187 was his name. At least that was the title the vampires had subjected him to. But to Kain and his brothers, he was Lucky.
Kain reached his hand out past the bars and to him. "How are you, little brother?"
The boy turned and looked back at him. His eyes were of green and blue. He darted his eyes to Zacharias and Yusef, then led his gaze back on the ground. "My chest just feels a little weird," he replied. Zacharias walked towards him.
"Is it bad this time?" Yusef asked, a worried crease visible in his face.
Lucky paused. "... No. Not really," he then answered.
"Don't worry. You'll get stronger, buddy." Kain patted his head, difficultly running his fingers on the boy's tangled black hair afterward.
Lucky's pain-stricken face stirred away, and he replaced it with a bright smile. Unlike them, the boy was not as blessed as his older brothers when it comes to physical vigor. And that's where his nickname arrived — Lucky — since for a person in his state, he was lucky that the Du Marais had left him alive. And every day, they prayed for his health.
Suddenly, noises echoed towards the direction of their sector. Their brows raised as the main door burst open. A guard dragged a boy older than the triplets who looked no more aged than seventeen.
"You stinkin' brat. Get your ass up! Up!"
Kain, his brothers, and the others on different cellblocks, peeked out of their cramped dungeon, just in time to see the older boy receive two hard dives land on his ribs, before he got lifted and harshly thrown behind bars.
"You should learn better from now on not to disregard past hours, boy," growled the man who was guarding their cell sector. "Pathetic good-for-nothing," he spat before stomping out.
There were cracked cries and silent whimpers against the drags and grinds of chains that echoed throughout the walls. Kain dug his grown nails in his palms. Desperation clung on his insides, yet he couldn't do anything. They couldn't do anything. The air relished the undeniable stink that refused to leave their midst, like a dead rat puffed with a horrible stench of perfume.
But they were used to it. They were all used to this, used to the violent bindings that wrapped their senses day and night for years he gave up keeping track of. Every morning, the sun would be there, just outside the barred window. To greet them with a harsh glare, to remind them they were on another stage of limbo, another day that secluded them from their freedom, their own will, their dignity, morality, potential, and power.
This had turned too close to normal, to close to being all right. And they believed it was, even if it was far from it. However, on some nights, the brothers would savor the gentleness that the moon brought. They would dream of many things outside the barred windows. And they would wonder: would they ever break free from this?
They could only wonder... Until that fateful day arrived.
One day, during work hours, Lucky started having a violent fit of coughs. Without second thoughts, Kain tried to rush to him, but static and whiteness was the one who greeted him when a guard struck him on the head.
"What do you think you're doin'? Get back to work!" snarled the guard.
Yusef rushed to Kain's side and aided him up. He, too, received a beating, but after showing that he was just trying to help, he was left alone. Gulping and reluctant, they turned around. Along the way, Yusef looked over his shoulder, and his chest tightened when he saw Lucky hunched over to the ground. His youngest brother was looking back at him, pain evident in his eyes, almost as if he was begging for help before some guards picked him up.
Yusef took a sharp intake of breath and turned back to him, but then the guard earlier blocked his path and prodded him with his baton.
"Go on. Your brother will be taken care of," said the annoyed man. "Now move. Move!"
The teenager was still reluctant. Something screamed inside of him, clawing through his guts, but a blow on his face swayed him back to reality.
"I said, move!" roared the guard, threatening by lifting his weapon again.
Finally, Yusef resigned. He quickly dragged himself and Kain away. And he decided that he would just wait until night to check on their youngest brother.
However, that night...
Lucky did not return.