Sweet William

It had been 6 months since that night, and Robert had watched the slow disintegration of the person that William had once been. While it was obvious that they young man had always been quiet, and socially submissive, that part of his psyche had been taken to a complete extreme. He spoke to no one save Alexander, and even then it was with lowered eyes and soft whispers.

After William had become aware enough of himself to see the damage he’d done to poor Michael, he’d gone into a catatonia of sorts, not really able to accept that he had killed the young man. Alexander had taken the opportunity to erase everything that William had been.

William no longer remembered his last name, or his life before he came to the Crematorium. He was now either “Sweet William” or “Will”, depending on Alexander’s mood, and his unlife consisted of nothing but serving Alexander...in any way that Alexander deemed appropriate at the time.

The only things that Alexander let him keep was the way he dressed (Oxford sweaters, khaki pants, polo shirts, etch) and his avid love for music. William could play 6 different instruments and had the voice of an angel--when Alexander allowed him to sing. On nights when Alexander was entertaining guests with less “esoteric” tastes, William was always the prime source of entertainment. Most times he would be playing piano in the background while Alexander and his guests would engage in polite conversation. From what Robert could see, William had become a trophy--a thing to be taken out of it’s case and paraded about for the world to see.

But gods forbid William hit a sour note, or spoke above a whisper. It would be then that he and Alexander would disappear for two or three nights. When they would return, Alexander would seem extremely pleased with himself, and William would be just a bit more broken.

Six months after his Embrace, William was almost completely shattered.

Currently, Alexander was out of town on business, having to go to a meeting of the Invictus Inner Circle in Paris. It had been quiet for about 3 nights, Alexander having forbidden anyone to open the club if he wasn’t present.

One good thing about the whole situation was that Annabelle--Alexander’s protege and Second Childe--had been forbidden to come anywhere near William while he was gone. She had taken an unhealthy interest in him from the start, and Alexander had noticed her tendency of breaking her toys quite frequently. For that reason, she was expressly forbidden from even looking at William the wrong way.

Alexander liked keeping his toys pretty, after all.

William was currently laying on the couch in the living room, listlessly watching TV. The dark brown eyes looked almost glazed, and he didn’t blink nor move when anyone came into or out of the room. It was downright creepy.

What was creepier was that he hadn’t moved since Alexander left. It was almost as though with his sire gone, there was nothing for him to do except wait for more orders. It was almost sad.

Robert and Callidora came into the room, and Robert sighed, kneeling next to the couch that William was laying on. His "brother" looked gaunt, and Robert realized that William hadn't even left this spot to go and feed. Alexander had no idea as to the extent of his "Sweet William's" collapse--he'd probably be ecstatic if he did.

Callidora was the only Childe of Annabelle, and was treated quite badly by her sire. From what Robert could deduce, Calli was to Annabelle what William was to Alexander--nothing more than a pretty toy to pass the time with. Calli, however, was allowed to have a personality, as Annabelle had not learned the ability to completely rape someone's mind the way Alexander had William's.

Robert and Calli had gotten pretty close in the past few years, and when Alexander and Annabelle were preoccupied, they were almost inseparable. Tonight was one of those nights.

"Will," Robert said softly, and as gently as possible. William rarely responded to actual words anymore, mostly reacting to the tone of someone's voice. "Calli and I are going to hunt. I think you should come with us."

William eyes lost their glazed look, and he looked to the both of them. "I'm not hungry, Robert."

Robert wrapped his fingers around William's more slender one's before he spoke. "Come with us anyway. It will be something different for you. It will be better than laying here and watching the bloody telly all night."

William blinked, and for the first time in a long time, Robert and Callidora saw real emotions there. "I want to...but he'll be so angry with me. I don't like when he's angry with me, Robert."

Callidora's eyes narrowed. "Well, if Alexander asks, Robert and I will tell him that we made you go. You are his "Sweet William" after all. He'll believe it if we tell him that. Not that it matters, luv. You need to feed."

"I'm not hungry...."

"You're not telling the truth, Will, and you know it." Callidora stated. "You are completely famished. You look gaunt and I'm sure you'll have trouble standing if Robert and I don't help you."

William's eyes filled with red tears, and he looked so young--almost like the boy he had once been--in that moment. "I'm scared...what if he blames me? He'll hurt me, Robert. You know he will."

"He'll be even more angry if you don't feed, Will." Robert explained, brushing the dark brown strands of hair gently away from William's face. "And he'll hurt Calli and I for not taking care of you. I'll make sure that he doesn't blame you for any of it. I promise."

William still looked skeptical, though he did as he was told, allowing Callidora and himself to lead him out of the living room and into the bedroom. They made sure to dress him the way the both of them usually dressed--completely punk and incredibly unrecognizable--when they went hunting at a club, and Calli was applying an ample amount of eyeliner when Will suddenly realize what he was wearing.

He looked confused. "Why am I dressed this way?"

"Because if we take you to where we go dressed in an Oxford sweater and khaki's, you'll never get fed." Robert stated. "Don't worry, you look fine--and we'll be back before you know it."

In reality, Will looked better than fine. Robert had snagged a pair of Alexander's favorite ghoul's leather pants--the little fucker was too stoned to know any better anyway--and Calli had found one of Alexander's brown silk shirts--one that he didn't wear very often--and had wrapped it around the Will's slight shoulders. It just a bit too big, Alexander being rather fond of wearing his things too tight, and it made Will look downright fuckable.

"I've never hunted on my own before." Will suddenly said, looking for all the world embarrased and ashamed. "Alexander always brings me....food. They are always....sleeping when he brings them."

Robert and Calli looked at each other, a silent communication happening between them before Robert spoke. "Well....that will definitely have to be remedied. You are a vampire, William. You need to know how to hunt."

Callidora nodded, finishing William's make-up before she stood. "Let's get going. It's getting late, luv." she said, offering Will her hand.

Will hesitantly took it, and they were off to feed.