The Hearts Mirror (Twisted Wonderland One-Shots + Requests)

Red (Epel x Reader)

Halloween Special! 🧛‍♂️ 👻 🎃
I decided to go with Epel since unfortunately his birthday was before I started writing~ I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: mentions of death, blood
~~
Go on a trip to an abandoned mansion, they said. The whole group'll go, they said. We'll stick around, drink a little, have a laugh at the rumours, they said.

Well, that was a lie.

You massaged your throbbing ankle, unable to watch the retreating forms of your friends as they hurried away. You weren't sure if the tears pricking in your eyes were from the pain or their betrayal. Maybe both?

"Shedding tears over those lot won't do you any good."

Without many options left, you turned your head up to the source of your fear. The blonde man simply stared down at you with an unimpressed look, one hand on his hip as you looked you up and down, as if assessing you.

There was a part of you that still hoped, prayed this was a prank. A sick joke one of your friends had arranged to scare you all on Halloween. Even if the repulsive stench of iron wafting from your friend's now-cold body by the blonde kept screaming at you it wasn't.

Your eyes darted over to the youngest-looking of the trio, who was standing back, almost as if distancing himself from it all. To your surprise, not only did he look back at you, but he looked as if he was apologising through his eyes. It was a look that neither of you noticed the blondes take in. The taller of the two stood up, and the one in front of you - who you guessed was their leader - spoke again.

"Epel," he addressed the shorter one, "they're yours."

"H-Huh?" 'Epel' replied, sounding as stunned as you felt from those three words. "M-Mine?"

"Yes." The leader nodded, turning away from you and picking up your friend's body. "It'll be good for you to have a human pet sooner rather than later."

"B-But, I don't want, er, need one...!" Epel attempted to deny, quickly changing his words when he saw his leader's expression change at his statement.

The blonde only sighed irritably, as if dealing with an unruly child. "Rook. You carry them, then."

"Yes, Lord Vil." You didn't even have time to turn around when you felt the hand of the second blonde connect with the side of your neck. Then everything faded to black.

~~

It'd been a month since then. You'd awoken in a rather lush room - there was a large poster bed, a large chest of drawers with a vanity, a wide dresser filled to the brim with all kinds of clothes, and even an en-suite bathroom. You'd have been impressed with it all... if you hadn't woken up chained by the ankle to a bed post.

From that moment forward, your life become monotonous. In the morning, Rook and Vil would appear, decide what you would wear and how your face would be painted. Rook would constantly praise your beauty while Vil kept you under a harsh glare, as if blaming you for the fact Epel hadn't been tempted by you yet, or when he finally had been, that it was your fault it took so long.

The first experience had been... painful, to say the least. Thankfully, the trio - who you'd long since come to realise were vampires - had at least provided you with books to read so you didn't have to focus on your situation. You'd been reading the newest one Rook had given you that morning when Epel came bursting in.

That alone had startled you. Even if Epel hadn't been tempted, he'd still visited to talk to you, to apologise for your situation and offer you a shoulder to cry on. You hadn't taken the offer, but it had warmed you to him. You'd thought he was different.