Twist of Fate

"You look good in western dresses too." He said to her, "You would look even better if your expression wasn't scary." He said such praises to her, his enemy, the one destine to chase after in a murderous game of tag. How could he say things to her with such an expression?

"Kayuki..."He began then paused, unsure if he should go on. "Don't force your self." He gently touched the head of the bird. His face that gave her that gentle smile focused on the bird. "Even if your determine, It doesn't mean you can over come the black swan's destiny." He said without looking at her. Kayuki's hands clutched her skirt of her dress tightly.

"Do you have the right to say that?" Her voice was soft but growing louder with each word, her anger coating each word. "When your the one who...killed the black swan's previous host?" Strauss turned to look at her. "I will defiantly.. bring you to justice." She gave him a defiant look, "Defiantly!"

She turned and walked away, leaving the former vampire king alone on the roof. He looked at the sky. The pale orange sun was dipping into the horizon. The moon was out already. As he looked at the moon, Strauss gave a sad smile. He stood there for hours just staring at the moon. "Kayuki..."He whispered to the wind.

Kayuki laid awake for hours on her bed. Her encounter with the once mighty king burned fresh in her mind. No matter how much she tried to push it out it would not yield. The images stayed in her mind. The way he looked in the setting sun. The smile he gave her. The way he looked at her. The way he said her name kept repeating in her mind.

Kayuki knew why this was happening. There was no use denying it, She was in love with the vampire. When she started loving him she did not know. As impossible as it seems she may have been in love for a while and only recently discovered she has.

Kayuki should hate her self for loving him. The GM would be disgusted with her. The dhampires would be disappointed. How can the black swan fall in love with the red rose? It was the worst thing that could happen.

Maybe its not love, she tried to reason, maybe it was admiration. Its not like she of all people knew what exactly what love was. She has never fallen in love and the only person she did love was her grandfather but the two feelings felt so different. No, It was defiantly love. It was such a strong feeling.

Kayuki yawned. She was tired. The duty for someone such as her self did not let her get as much sleep as needed. The problems with her feelings did not help much either. Kayuki closed her eyes and did the one trick that usually helped her sleep. She recited literature.

"My only love

Sprung from my only hate.

Too early seen unknown

And unknown to late.

Prodigious birth of love it is to me,

That i must love a loathed enemy."

Kayuki quoted from Romeo and Juliet. It was rather funny that her favorite quote fit her love situation. The quote did the trick. Kayuki's eyes seemed to become heavy. She closed her eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.

A figure emerged from hiding. The very person she laid awake about stood there in her room. Strauss walked to her bed and sat down. He stroked her face gently. "O, Speak again bright angel." He said. It seemed if the very line was made for him, as if he was the living romeo. How Shakespeare would be overjoyed to hear his words come out of Strauss's mouth.

A fallen teddy bear was picked up and put into its rightful place in Kayuki's arms. She tighten her hold onto it and her usually calm face had a smile on it. Strauss used his finger to trace the curve of her mouth. With one more glance down at her face, he got up and left the room. As gently as possible he closed the door.

"Goodnight, Kayuki."

Strauss sat in front of a window and gazed outside. It was dawn now. He watched the night sky since he came upon this window. As he looked through the window a peace settled in him. His thoughts were clear now and his heavy heart did not seem as heavy as it once was.

Now the sun rose into the sky, casting its brilliant light over the island and the surrounding waters. It was strange that this island seemed so peaceful while the rest of the world was in panic. There was no use worrying about it, there was nothing he could do about the fears people were suffering of.

Strauss was trying to make peace with himself. Though it is unforgivable to even think about doing that, he already did. There was no way of turning back time so the only thing to do was to accept it and move on.

He never thought he would feel this way ever again but he was in love. Though she can never replace Stella, she earned his love with out even meaning to. Strauss was in love with the black swan. It was a cruel twist of fate. To love the one who must kill you or die, the one you must kill or die by hear hands. Lady Fate was a cunning temptress.

He loved her since the beginning. Before she even took off her mask and she already captured his heart. Was he betraying Stella this way? No, he knew all too well what she would would tell him things like how she would want to let him be happy even if it was with another woman. That was the kind of person Stella was.

Strauss made no movement to leave the window. He just gazed out. Dawn turned to orange light of day dimmed. He finally got up. He started walking with out knowing where he was going except to her.

His legs carried him to a small garden. Flowers bloomed in every color imaginable. There she stood in the middle of them. He walked toward her slowly. As if sensing him, she turned around and looked him in the eye. He did not stop till he was an arm's length apart. Neither spoke.

Fireflies came out surrounding them in their little glowing lights as the sky continued to darken. Still none spoke nor moved. It was as if they both were in some sort of trance. Then it was broken.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her in a embrace. She stiffened in shock. Was he really holding her? Her body relaxed after a moment. She understood what he was telling her without words. She gently put her arms around him. I love you too.


This takes place after chapter 25. The first scene does contains the last two pages of chapter 25.