The countryside of Mournia was quiet that evening - too quiet.
The sky bled orange as the sun dipped beneath the distant hills, casting its dying glow over the endless fields and crooked power lines. Lex Reaver pedaled his old bicycle along the cracked road, the worn tires humming against the dirt. The city lights behind him were fading, swallowed by the countryside darkness he called home.
A crooked smile tugged at his lips.
For once, life felt... good.
In the small backpack strapped to his shoulders were gifts - a pair of neatly folded dresses for his mother, a flannel shirt for his father, and a small box of desserts he bought with his first paycheck from the mechanic shop in the city. It wasn't much, but to Lex, it felt like the world. He'd never seen his parents wear anything new. Never seen them rest without worry lines carving their faces.
He couldn't wait to see their smiles.
Lex Reaver was seventeen - tall but thin from years of hard work and skipped meals. His short black hair was messy from the wind, framing his pale, sleep-deprived face. His dark brown eyes, though tired, still shimmered with warmth and stubborn hope. His hands were calloused, his clothes worn, but his heart… pure.
He was quiet, introverted, awkward when people talked to him - not that many ever did. Growing up poor in a forgotten countryside didn't give you much of a social life. Still, Lex worked tirelessly beside his parents, helping his father repair tools and collecting firewood, helping his mother at the small market stand when they had produce to sell.
They had nothing. But they had each other.
And for Lex, that was enough.
He turned the corner, seeing the faint outline of his home ahead - the small wooden house perched on a hill, smoke often rising from its chimney.
But tonight, that smoke was different.
At first, Lex thought it was fog.
Then his heart stopped.
The smoke was black. Thick. Heavy.
And the air smelled of burning wood - and something else. Something horribly wrong.
He dropped his bike.
"...Mom?" His voice trembled. "Dad?"
Then he ran.
The warmth of happiness that filled his chest moments ago was gone - replaced by a cold, sickening fear that rooted in his stomach. His footsteps echoed through the dirt road as the glow ahead turned brighter. Flames danced against the night, clawing at the sky, consuming his home in roaring hunger.
"NO!"
Lex screamed as his world burned before his eyes.
The roof collapsed with a thunderous crack. Sparks flew, embers spiraled through the air like dying stars. He tried to rush forward, but a strong arm yanked him back.
"Kid! Stay back!" shouted a firefighter, gripping his shoulders tightly.
"LET ME GO!" Lex struggled, his eyes wide, tears streaming down his face. "My parents! My mom and dad are in there!"
"They can't... the fire's too strong!" the man shouted, sweat and ash streaking down his helmet. "We can't go in!"
Lex didn't hear him. His throat tore as he screamed again, his voice breaking, raw with disbelief. "MOM! DAD! PLEASE! I'M HERE! PLEASE!"
But the flames roared louder, drowning out his cries.
The smell of smoke, melting wood, and burning dreams filled his lungs until he choked on it.
Time blurred after that.
Lex didn't remember being dragged away. He didn't remember sitting by the road, staring at the inferno that used to be his home. He didn't remember the firefighter handing him a blanket, or the neighbors whispering pity behind their hands.
He just sat there - his mind blank, his body trembling, the warmth of the fire reflected in his empty eyes.
Hours later, when the fire was finally put out, the cold replaced the heat.
Lex sat in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a grey blanket, silent.
His lips moved soundlessly - over and over, the same broken words:
It's not real. They're fine. They have to be fine.
The paramedics spoke softly around him, their voices muffled and distant. He didn't look up until he heard something - a metallic clatter. The back doors of another ambulance closing.
Two stretchers.
Two covered shapes.
Two bodies.
Lex's breath caught in his throat. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
He rose, his legs unsteady.
"No… no, that's not... that's not them…"
But as the ambulance doors slammed shut, his voice cracked.
"WAIT! MOM! DAD!"
He stumbled forward, but a medic tried to stop him.
"Kid...."
Lex shoved him aside. "THAT'S MY PARENTS! WAIT!" he screamed, running toward the departing ambulance. His voice shattered into the cold night as the red lights disappeared down the road.
He fell to his knees in the dirt, his tears falling onto the ashes of his life.
The box of desserts spilled from his backpack - crushed and ruined.
And the night went silent again.
Days passed.
Lex didn't speak. Didn't cry anymore. He just… existed.
Like a ghost trapped in his own skin.
He sat in a corner of a crowded adoption center in the city - small, underfunded, and smelling faintly of disinfectant. The world outside went on as if nothing had happened, but inside Lex, time had stopped.
The staff whispered about him sometimes - that poor boy from the countryside, lost his parents in a fire, doesn't talk to anyone.
He didn't look up when footsteps approached.
"Is this him?" a soft, elegant voice asked.
"Yes, Miss," a staff member replied. "This is Lex Reaver."
"...Poor child," another voice murmured - deeper, smoother, like silk brushing against the cold.
Lex blinked and slowly lifted his head.
Two women stood before him.
They were unlike anyone he had ever seen - pale, impossibly beautiful, their features so perfect they looked almost unreal. One had long, silver-blonde hair cascading over her black fur-lined coat, her crimson eyes glowing faintly even under the dull light. The other was taller, with raven-black hair and a faint smile that carried warmth and something… dangerous underneath.
Both of them looked ageless. Mature, yet timeless - like portraits come to life.
Their presence filled the room, elegant and commanding, as if the world naturally gravitated toward them.
The blonde one knelt slightly, her gloved hand reaching toward Lex's cheek. Her touch was cold, almost soothing.
"You must be Lex," she whispered. "You've been through so much… haven't you?"
Lex hesitated, his dry throat struggling for words. "…Who… are you?"
The darker-haired woman smiled - calm, charming, yet unsettlingly sharp.
"We are the Dumitrescus," she said. "We came because we heard about you, dear. And we believe… that you belong with us."
Lex stared - confused, lost, and numb. "With… you?"
"Yes." The blonde woman's crimson eyes softened. "From now on, you'll be part of our family, Lex. You won't be alone anymore."
The staff member smiled nervously, unaware of the faint chill spreading through the room.
"Congratulations, Lex. Welcome… to the Dumitrescu family."