Chapter 1 PROLOGUE

PIETRO GIACOMETTI

I hated the noise. No matter how quiet they tried to be, they could not be quiet enough for me. I didn't just hate the noise, I hated the smiles on their faces and I hated how free they were, running around.

If there was anything I wanted to do right now, I wanted to tie them all to a tree and drench them in fuel and watch them shake in fright while I played with a lighter. The children of the workers in our home. My mother was the reason they were here, she was the only one who thought it was a good idea to have a home built for all our workers, where they could live with their family.

I shaded the drawing I was making. A drawing of a dying man with his toes chopped off. The inspiration for the drawing? Watching my dad chop toes off a pathetic man last night.

"Who are you?" I heard the children ask in one loud voice. I raised my gaze and saw them gathered around a tree. A little girl was sitting under the tree, a drawing book in her hands too. I had never noticed her around before.

"I am Caily, daughter of the gardener. Nice to meet you." She got up on her feet, a smile parting her lips. I hated seeing the other kids smile and I should have hated the smile on her face too but strangely, her smile wasn't annoying.

Weird.

"Well, Caily. It's not so nice meeting you." the son of the cook, Journie said to her and the smile on her face vanished while the other kids laughed, seemingly finding that funny.

"What are you drawing?" Journie guffawed and optimism lit up the face of the girl.

"Oh, it's a drawing of a..."

"Who cares?" She was cut off and a girl pushed her.

"Don't be mean."

"She says we are mean." Journie's voice was loud.

I looked away from them and returned my focus to my drawing. I couldn't care less what childish things they engaged in but it only took a few seconds before running steps approached me.

My fists clenched around the edges of the page I was drawing on and I groaned before raising my gaze, ready to teach whoever it was their place.

"Can you help me please?" A soft voice called as my eyes met with hers. The scowl on my face smoothened away as our gaze fixed.

Her eyes were of a bluish colour, a colour so light that it seemed so easy to get lost in them. She was close to me and I could breathe in her scent, a cheap perfume that smelt like peaches.

"They are being mean to me for no reason." her voice brought me out of the world of her eyes.

I have always had the urge to ruin, to hurt but for the first time, I felt the urge to protect.

Weird. Again.

"And what would you give me in return for helping you?" I asked and saw confusion in her pretty eyes.

"Please get back my drawing for me, I... I will give you anything I have." she said the words thoughtlessly.

"Anything?" I questioned and she nodded repeatedly, very willingly.

"I will give you anything I have."

I have had many ideas in my thirteen years of existence, ideas my mum says I shouldn't have but I had never had the idea of owning a human until right now. I wanted to own her, I wanted her to be mine.

I got up from where I was seated and took her by the wrist. Soft. Her skin was so soft.

I looked at the kids at the other side who had already known better than to come as close to me as this girl had done.

"Hand it over." I ordered and Journie walked towards me slowly, obviously fidgeting

A scar on his arm was how I had taught him not to mess with me.

His shaky hands stretched the drawing book out and the girl beside me stretched her hands out and took the drawing book from him.

Journie turned on his heels, scurrying away and the girl turned to me with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you!" She squealed happily and before I could say a word or react, she had thrown herself on me in a hug, a hug that filled my nostrils with this cheap scent of hers.

That smell of peaches. It was... Quite good. I wanted to breathe this scent in a bit more.

She pulled away and smoothened her dress.

"I am sorry I was too happy and jumped on you. I am the gardener's daughter, Caily." she stretched her hand out to me for a handshake which I didn't take.

"Peaches." was the first word that left my lips.

"Ugh? Is that your name?" She asked, that smile crossing her lips again.

"No. It's yours."

"No, my name is..."

"I will call you Peaches from now on." I cut her off and a small frown appeared on her face before she shook it off with the smile.

"Since you helped me, you can call me whatever you want. What do you want from me in exchange for your help?"

You. I want to own you, Peaches.

But I didn't tell her those words. The words sounded a bit crazy, even to me. It was always the urge to hurt and watch others cry in pain, never this new urge.

"You are the quiet type?" She asked and reached to my drawing book, picking it off my stool.

For the first time ever, I wanted to hide that gory image away from someone but she had seen it already before I could stop her.

Shock filled her face as she stared at the drawing but the shock vanished in a few seconds as she looked up at me.

"You drew this from an horror movie? My dad enjoys horror movies too." she said and I tilted my head lightly. What was the optimism coming from her?

"It's scary but I like it, can I have it? You can take my drawing too." she thrusted her drawing book in my hands and held mine close to her chest.

I looked at her drawing. A shoddy drawing of the sun and rainbows. A bright drawing, a direct opposite of mine.

"Do you like my drawing?" She asked.

"I do." my words were short and I grabbed my pencil, scribbling two words on the drawing of the sun and rainbows.

'Mine, Peaches.'