Chapter 1
"Lord Karlheinz," Ruki addressed his creator. "Your next ball is coming up. Why not use your second courtyard as the setting? Many have talked about it, and with the Founders finally deciding to arrive, using it may prove to be beneficiary for relations."
"As much as I agree with you," The vampire king said. "My sons have demanded that courtyard remain unused. For personal reasons."
"With all due respect Lord Karlheinz, your sons' opinion does not matter. They have never contributed to planning for a ball, and so their demands should be ignored."
"I keep forgetting that you and your brothers did not see how much they fought to keep that area off limits." Karlheinz said. "Those six rarely agree on anything, I suppose I agreed to see how long they would work together."
"Is another of your 'tests', Lord Karlheinz?"
"I suppose so." The vampire king waved his hand dismissively. "You may leave now, Ruki. I will handle preparations by myself."
Ruki gave one last bow and left the room. The vampire king waited for the large doors to close behind him before letting out a low chuckle. No doubt those four would investigate to see what was so important it took precedence over improving relations with the founders.
The chuckling continued, never changing its volume. On a balcony that was above the throne room a blonde vampire stood to leave, bothered by the implications of his father's laughter.
"You really couldn't change his opinion, Ruki?"
The black haired vampire wordlessly shook his head in response. The brunette that asked muttered something about how spoiled Karlheinz's sons were and looked away. The blonde on Ruki's left seemed to agree with him while the vampire on Ruki's right looked at him with a curious expression.
"What...do we do now...Ruki?"
"I want to investigate this courtyard." Ruki answered. "What makes it so important to those Sakamaki brothers that they are willing to risk relations with the founders?"
"Childhood memories?"
Ruki scoffed. There was no way that could be the reason. He left the three behind walking down the long hallways until he came to a stop at the doors that opened into the courtyard. His heightened senses alerted him to at least two familiars in the hallway. They were nearby, but didn't seem to have noticed him. Strange, but it worked in his favor.
The doors didn't make a sound as he entered into the beautiful courtyard.
A crystal blue river flowed into a clear blue lake that had water lilies dancing on its surface. There was a small octagonal gazebo on the left overlooking the pond. A few steps in front of the gazebo's staircase were stepping stones that had a thin veil of water over them. The grass was a healthy shade of green and even though the courtyard wasn't completely outside it felt like it was. There was an absence of wind, nothing moved at all. It was almost as though everything in the courtyard was sleeping.
Ruki continued to study the area. It was visually beautiful, but there was nothing to suggest a personal attachment to the area. Nothing to even hint at a reason as to why the Sakamakis were united in their desire to keep this place hidden away. While he looked at everything, his eyes rested on a wall that was also opposite of the gazebo.
There was a white wall that had a silver shape resembling an omega symbol touching the ground. If Ruki hadn't been studying the area as closely as he was, he might have missed it. Now, with his curiosity peaked, he walked over to the large symbol and traced it with his finger. Now that he was closer, the symbol looked less like an omega and more like a circular door. Maybe it was curiosity but he pushed on the center of the circle and watched the circle open revealing a secret room.
His curiosity had been pushed to new levels. Karlheinz had been secretive with the four of them. The Mukamis were adopted children, putting them on a need to know basis. It was annoying, but it made sense. Seeing this secret room had caused Ruki to lose interest in his original reason for coming to the courtyard and instead develop an interest in discovering the secret of this room.
He walked in, taking care to close the doors behind him. The room seemed to be lived in, there was a table, chairs, pictures, things that looked like they were placed there in an attempt to make the place look more homely. As Ruki rounded a corner he entered a room that was divided by a curtain. He pulled the curtain back and found himself staring down at a human girl sleeping in a large bed.
Strange...There were millions of questions going through Ruki's mind. But none came to mind when the girl's eyes flew open and she gasped reaching for something that wasn't there. Her eyes were wide revealing pink eyes that flew around the room looking for something. She noticed Ruki who had been too stunned by the girl's awakening to react appropriately.
"Rei...ji..?" The girl's voice was raspy as though it hadn't been used in years. With the uncertain question, Ruki found his voice.
"I am not Reiji Sakamaki." He said. "I am Ruki Mukami."
"Ruki...Mukami..." The girl repeated his name slowly. "They've told me a lot about you. How arrogant you are..." The light in the girl's eyes seemed to fade. She fell back onto the bed, her eyes closed.
There was a lot of ways Ruki could have responded. He could have grabbed the girl and tried to wake her back up. He could have gone back out and investigated everything that was in the room. The girl was clearly in no condition to stop him. But instead, Ruki left. His mind was preoccupied with how she knew about him. She looked like she never left that room. Who had told her about him?
A/N: Yes this story was reposted. I'm really sorry for the inconvience, I did not notice all of the remnants of the story that "Repose" had written over. That story was "Blood Moon Falls" which is going through its own re-write. If you are interested, please look and maybe leave a comment. I love to know what you all think of my stories.
Thanks for Reading!
~Mirai
