Auction
Inspired by Chap. 72 of the manga, Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video, a public broadcasting 'Secrets of the Dead' episode about Mount. Vesuvius, and a conversation with the lovely and often dirty Lovelessrapture.
Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective owners. I own only this writing.
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Chapter 1
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The continent had been divided for so long, with a rivalry deeply rooted in blood.
Thousands of years the Vampires and the Hunters had been warring. Hundreds of generations of Hunter children raised to hate the other race… Dozens of Vampire families based on the idea of superiority.
The stalemate had held strong for all this time, but there had been a new victory – one that would tip the scales – and now the end was just around the corner.
The sun was now setting over the region's temperate hills, sparse olive trees dotting the landscape which was otherwise densely covered in white, stuccoed buildings. People went about their business; those that had been working or shopping during the day finished closing up and made their way back to their respective homes. Sandals padded against the narrow stone roads as humans hurried to get to their family's quarters before curfew, else by caught by the evening guards and then surely punished by their owners.
As the blue-purple hue of twilight descended upon the city, Military Capital City of the land's Vampire-ruled province, a group of prisoners was being marched into the town's center. These were the newest prisoners of war, elite Hunters and their families, taken captive after the bloody battle in days passed. The vampires had emerged from this battle victorious, though with heavy losses, and hundreds of the opposing side's strongest had been captured and were now property of the state.
Heads hung low as the tired prisoners in their tattered robes, many torn and stained with dried blood, were marched forward. They were harnessed together in twos as if no better than oxen and led in a group by their rope-bound hands by a vampire on horseback. Many were sick and feverish from the nonstop walk that had lasted no less than two days, others had been bitten during the fight, and all had been forced to watch loved ones die.
As was custom for prisoners of war, they were to be sold into slavery; and as was expected for those of such a delicious and despised lineage, they were to fetch a hefty price. A rowdy crowd had already begun to gather around the auction house, something which the night guards had seen to dispersing immediately. For it had been expected that Vampires would come from far and wide to jeer at the most hated Hunters – nosily encouraging their future owners to see to the suffering that they deserved. Thus, the Vampire Council had seen that this was taken into consideration when setting up the auction of course, and for this reason, only those few in the surrounding land expected to be able to afford the auction – and to remain tactically civil – had been invited.
One such person stood by a large wooden desk in the room he had rented in the nearby inn. Slim, pale fingers moved to pick-up the elegant invitation he had been sent that lay on the desk's surface where it had fluttered to a stop after his bored re-reading of it the night before.
Kuran Kaname stowed the gold-embossed leaflet in the pocket of his loose-fitting top before moving gracefully towards the room's exit. His dark, elegant garments complemented nicely his head of thick, chestnut locks; truly giving him the appearance of a king. As he descended the inn's limestone steps to the foyer and exited onto the city street, passersby did not fail to notice this either.
"Is that the pureblooded head of the Kuran family?" One night guard asked another, thinking mistakenly that he was out of earshot of the pureblooded prince.
"That is!" The other burly man returned in a low tone that did not hide his incredulity. "The unit guard leader said there would be some important guests comin' to the city," he continued, still awed. "Royalty like that usually keeps to their own regions when not meeting as the council in the Governing Center City though…"
Hearing this whispered conversation from down the street, Kaname turned and gave the two men a diplomatic smile which sent the two vampires into shocked and humbled bows in his direction. Hiding a small smirk as he continued on, Kaname turned to walk the opposite direction down the narrow, stone street towards the lavish auction house. Warm yellow lights in the surrounding white-plastered buildings were slowly coming on as vampires opened up their establishments for a eventful night of business in the densely-populated city. As he passed by the city's tightly-packed shops lining the road, he overheard many such conversations of surprise at his presence in the city and heard the names of other nobles and purebloods that had been spotted in the area, but public relations was not why he was in this city, he reminded himself. No, that was not why…
Once the news that the Hunter side was falling and that the war was coming to an end, the land's most powerful vampires, three steps ahead in the game as always, had already been contemplating their next move. Rumors of plots to overthrow, murder and defraud those who had once been called allies had swept across the continent overnight, as the ever blood-thirsty purebloods and nobles turned to bigger and better pray.
Sobering to this thought, Kaname finally reached the auction house door and, once he had shown his invitation to the abashed guard at the entrance, he took a seat in the Great room. The room was decorated with red velvet curtains that covered the marble walls and surrounded a large wooden stage where a bed-sized stone dais lay at its center. His table was at the room's edge, shadowed from the lights that hung casually above to cast the middle of the room in a soft glow and hidden from ambient illumination by the stage's glairing spotlights.
Regarding the tables around him, Kaname noticed that, of the few that had arrived, many nobles had sent proxies to conduct their purchases. Disappointed to see how much longer it would have to be for a substantial number of people to have arrived, but glad to see that he would not be forced to play the social game tonight, he reposed in the small table's padded chair; again going over the criteria he had set for his purchase as he waited for the auction house to fill and the sale to start.
Meanwhile, another pureblood vampire reposed similarly while sipping tea outside a café on the street behind the auction house. This street was much less busy than the one to the front of the auction house. Perhaps because of her presence there, or perhaps because this narrow road was somehow cooler and darker, not lit by the shop's streetlamps that flooded the other street with such a warm yellow light. Or perhaps because of both.
This dark blue hue of night suited Hiou Shizuka, though. Her long silver hair cascaded over her loosely-fitted, wheat-colored top, down to the narrow, brown leather belt she wore at the top of her elegant, flowing skirt. The olive branch clip she wore at the back of her hair barely glittered in the faint moonlight that shined in between the rows of buildings on either side of the road, complementing the patina on the small, iron wrought table where she sat. She was the only one to sit outside the quiet café, and she relished in the quiet as she moved her slim, white fingers over the intricate rose design of the table's surface thoughtfully. As she casually raised the small, white teacup to her lips she thought over what she had done.
Having come to this town just today for the auction, she did not feel the need to get too deeply embroiled in the cannibalistic rumors sweeping the country… No need to draw particular attention to herself just yet. Let the foolish devour and defeat themselves before she came waltzing out of the woodwork to assess what further needed to be taken care of. So, having found that no one of her household- servant or otherwise- had even close to the mental wherewithal she needed, she had taken no one with her on the long carriage ride here. Having also found that there were indeed a few people of stature here that she would have to acknowledge if she herself where to attend the auction, she had needed to find a proxy. So she had found one, surely this would not come back to bite her. She would get rid of him once he returned, she reasoned.
He hadn't smelled like anyone important anyway…
As dusk fell and humans scurried back to their owner's households, a jumpy looking man no older than twenty-five had hastily walked down the street where she had just exited her carriage. He could not have been anyone important, because he had not even had a collar resting around his neck at the top of his tunic. She watched him approach her part of the street and as she stepped out of the shadows he stopped dead, still panting from his little sprint. Her elegant, brown leather sandals barely whispered across the cobblestones as she walked up to the young man, who looked more nervous than ever. His pale neck easily yielded to her fangs as she wasted no time with introductions, biting the human; who had been frozen with fear the her sudden sight of her. After selfishly drinking a good bit from the man she released his neck, not savoring in the taste of his commoner's blood. She then proceeded to instruct the new servant on how it was that he was to do her bidding. She, unlike Kaname, had seen the prisoners being marched into town and thusly, she told the blank-eyed man the criteria on which of the new prisoners to select.
She began her short walk to the nearby café without a backwards glance after sending the man on his way, her gold-embossed invitation in hand.
Zero and Ichiru Kiryuu had reached the auction house by this time, along with the other Hunters that had been sent to this province for sale. Their parents and teacher had been killed in the battle, a fate that the few remaining hunters marching alongside the boys had said was better than any of them could wish for now.
"Ichiru, are you still holding up alright?" Zero turned to his younger twin and asked seriously; though the older boy had suffered the worst injuries of the two. The younger twin was obviously febrile, pale cheeks flushed, and often stumbled as the two walked bound together over the uneven stone pavers.
"Fine." Ichiru responded, irked by his brother's unyielding concern and the fact that he no longer could collect the breath for a more eloquent reply.
The boys quieted as the vampire that lead the group reached the auction house entry, dismounted and waved them all inside the establishment's large wooden door.
It was almost time for the Auction to begin…
Forgive me, I have a setting fetish I guess… more dialog next chap.
I also see that I have a Kaname-standing-by-his-desk fetish, so expect more of that I guess… :]
Did you know assess is not spelled a-s-s-e-s?
Please review, I can't post more unless you do
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