The joyous cry of a newborn babe filled the night as a man pushed past servants and midwives to reach the room of his beloved and their newborn child. When he finally got to see her, his eyes widened in joy as he looked at her and the small newborn boy she held in her arms. The babe looked just like his father with his curly dark hair and wide hazel eyes and the man couldn't have been prouder.

"Father? Can we see him now?"

A young man popped his head into the room, dark wisps of hair falling over his wide green eyes and asked. The man nodded warmly at the seventeen year old as he led in his younger brothers and sister. Soon all six of the baby's siblings were in the room, they all stared t the babe in awe and with wide smiles on their pale faces.

"Dragomir, Ivan, Afina, Emil, Dimitri, Mihai, meet your little brother, Vladimir."

Their father announced proudly as he nodded to Afina who had stretched out a hand to stroke the little one's creamy white skin.

"Afina, would you like to do the honors?"

Father asked and Afina smiled brightly as she raised her pale hand to her lips and buried her fangs into the skin, drawing dark blood. Blood that she held towards the babe's lips. The child refused to drink for a moment, just looking at the hand in confusion. But their father prompted him by speaking to him in a calm voice.

"The first blood you taste must be that of another Child of the Night, little one. You may drink human blood after that."

Father explained as the small babe put his tiny round lips to the wound on his sister's hand and sucked innocently.

-100 years later-

"Vlad! You will drink, now!"

Dragomir growled, thrusting a cup of swishing red liquid into the hands of the pale ten year old child. The boy was sweaty and shaky, his dark hair contrasting sharply against his colorless skin as he leaned heavily against his older brother's shoulder.

"But Dragomir...I don't want to hurt people."

Vlad rasped and Dragomir sighed fondly and he pressed his lips to the boy's quivering forehead. Vlad had always been smaller and weaker than the rest of them and now refusing human blood? He would die before his teen years.

"Oh, puisor. I don't understand you, I really don't. But please drink, for me."

Dragomir sighed and Vlad consented, nodding weakly, so Dragomir placed the cup against his little brother's lips and let their life substance trickle inside. Vlad began to regain his color the moment his lips touched the blood so Dragomir was instantly relieved and he tucked the child into his bed. Then the Crown Prince left Vlad's room to meet their father in the throne room.

-TimeSkip-

Vlad was smart, way too smart for a boy of his age. He'd always been smart even though he was illiterate, nobody had ever taught him how to read. He knew that it made his older brother Emil, jealous that he was smarter than him, so the older boy would make up for it by belittling him every chance he got.

The things he said, started out small but grew larger. Whenever both princes would have to stand in court, side by side, Emil would pinch him and make him cry out. Which ended with Vlad getting punished by their father. Vlad grew to hate his brother, just as Emil despised him. But then, things took a deadly turn and Emil began trying to kill Vlad.

The first time, Vlad didn't realize what had happened. He just thought he'd drunk tainted blood, not that Emil had poisoned it deliberately. The second time, he grew more suspicious but had no reason to suspect Emil, he could've fallen down the stairs on accident. But the third time, when the loose roofing tiles had hit the ground and shattered almost on top of him. That was when he knew, he'd looked up and saw Emil looking down at him. He had looked for concern and worry in his older brother's face but all he saw was anger and spite.

That night, Dragomir bandaged the cuts on his legs and looked at Vlad with concern.

"Puisor, you're usually not this clumsy. What's wrong?"

The Crown Prince asked, running his fingers through Vlad's messy dark curls that hung over his face. Vlad bit his lip, tears welling in guilt as he stared at Dragomir's genuinely concerned face. He just gulped and buried his face into his older brother's jerkin.

"Nothing's wrong. I-I just...don't think I'm strong enough to be a warrior like you."

He lied softly, he couldn't tell him about Emil. What if Dragomir turned on him too?! What if they all did?! Dragomir just smiled at his little brother's lie and ruffled his hair gently.

"Don't worry, you'll be big and strong when you get older. I promise, little puisor."

Dragomir crooned and Vlad nodded at the fake comfort. Wishing with all his heart that he wasn't so weak.

Then there came the fourth time that Emil tried to kill him, by setting fire to his bedroom. The drapes burned first, but they led to the bed and it soon caught on fire. Vlad woken up to the heavy feeling of smoke in his chest and the feeling of agony pouring from his arm. The physically ten year old screeched and leapt from his bed, only to scorch the bottoms of his feet as he ran to the window and flung it open. He threw himself out of the widow and into a bush below. As soon as he could, he pulled himself to his feet and ran as fast he could.

He knew he couldn't go back, he knew with all his heart and it hurt more than the flames themselves.

-TimeSkip-

"Bruce! Hey Bruce!"

Bruce Banner leapt up from his dream at the sound of Tony's voice and ended up toppling backwards off of his stool and hitting the floor of the lab, hard. He bit his lip and pushed himself off of the ground, taking the hand that Tony had offered him. The genius pulled the physicist to his feet and held Bruce brush himself off.

That's when Tony caught sight of something hidden by Bruce's left shirt sleeve, Tony quickly took hold of it and ripped it upwards, only to expose several burn scars going up the whole of the physicist's left arm. Tony eyes widened and met Bruce' surprised ones.

"What the fuck is this, Bruce?!"

Tony growled and Bruce snatched his arm back.

"Nothing important, just a memento from something that happened long ago."