Disclaimer/Notes: Please note that this anime/manga does not belong to me. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino, which I'm sure you all know. Copyright/publishing and all that jazz - has absolutely nothing to do with me. I do not profit from my stories. So, all opinions/thoughts/feelings/pairings relfected within have nothing to do with the original story and is purely a work of fiction. BTW, while this fiction may lean towards KanamexYuuki it's really more ZeroxYuuki. In case, someone wasn't aware this is an elaboration on the side story in Vol. 3 called 'The Warmth That slipped From her Palm. And...' I feel that this is a very important story in that one can clearly see that Yuuki's love for Kaname is more pure than anything else. She has no intention of jumping his bones, rather she loves the fact that he protects her from harm. Like Zero, except Kaname can be abit unreliable at times. The Lady's Knight was the title I chose for this story because I wanted the reader to question who in this story is Yuuki's true knight. The one whom she idolizes or the one who has always been by her side? I think you know the answer as well as I do.

"Ahh….ah…achooo!" sneezed the girl as she huddled more deeply into her nest of blankets. It was the first day of winter and so the house was very cold. Yuuki wasn't quite sure how she acquired her sickness but one thing she was sure of was that it was the winter's fault. That and maybe Yori's...because she did have the sniffles awhile back. Headmaster had been in to see her several times before but his presence did little to aleviate her symptoms - if anything he made her feel a bit worse. Not that she didn't mind his help but he could be so noisy sometimes…no, if anything she liked the quiet. It helped her sleep better.

Oh, and she also liked it when Zero came to visit her. Which was really quite often. He would sit in a chair near her bed, nodding off, while holding a basin filled with water. He had been tending to her throughout the duration of her illness. Never complaining, always patient and ever vigilant. When she had asked him why he did what he did, he simply said 'Because I want to. Do I need a reason to help a person in need?'

She blushed at the memory when she remembered how intensely he had stared at her. The only other person who had given her such a look was…Kaname-sama….

She squirmed within her confines as she felt her face grow even more hotter. It was funny what a mere thought of the older boy made her feel like. Kaname-sama was a very beautiful person. Both physically and personally. He had always been so gentle with her. On that fateful day on which they met, he saved her from sure death from the hands of a bad vampire. Covered in blood but looking impeccably beautiful. Like some sort of dark guardian angel.

She loved him more than anything. Why wouldn't she? Afterall, she was indebted to him. All she really had to give was her love and apparently that was just fine with Kaname-sama.

She drifted off to sleep at some point in which she dreamed of a faraway place, strange looking people and a sea of what looked like blood. Distantly she heard someone call her name and then the sensation of someone stroking her head.

"Headmaster?" she groaned as she shook off the last shreds of sleep.

As her vision cleared, her heart began to race as she realized that the one she loved was standing before her.

"Kaname-sama!"

He smiled wryly as he bent down to feel her temperature. His hands were like ice against her feverishly hot skin. It made her shiver in delight. When his face came closer to hers, she felt herself become slightly rigid and yet she did not protest. She had never been this close to Kaname-sama's face before. When she warned him of the possibility of her transferring her sickness to him, he chuckled sadly to himself. Whispering softly in her ear that 'he did not get sick.'

Of course, she had no time to ponder what he meant because he had made a move to distangle himself from her.

"No…Kaname-sama. Don't go yet, please stay," she pleaded with him.

Now came the difficult part. As much as she loved Kaname she could never understand why he never seemed to be around when she needed him. Sure, he would drop by occasionally and grace her with his elegant presence but lately their meetings had become shorter and shorter. Didn't he care about her any more?

She gripped his hand tightly as he rose from the bed but was disappointed to see him shake his head disapprovingly at her. Somehow he had pulled his hand out of her iron clad grip and he was now slowly moving away towards the direction of the door.

"If you won't sleep, I'll leave." he said.

Panicked she had reached out and snagged the bottom of his coat. Reasoning with him, she was delighted when she was able to get him to sit with her as she slowly begin to fall back into the depths of sleep. But she did so while, clutching the hand of the boy she had hoped would still be there when she awoke.

Sadly, when she did this was not the case. The place where he had been had become cold and her hand felt empty and clammy. Vaguely, she felt what, she surmised, was her heart lurching in pain as she scrambled to get out of bed. She was upset, there was no doubt about that, but in the back of her mind she knew that he wasn't going to stay by her side tonight. He was always so distant, in her opinion, and every time she tried to meet him halfway she'd always come up short. It was the bittersweet reality to their relationship. While she loved him and he loved her back, this she was sure of, he never seemed to understand her true feelings. At this very moment, she needed someone by her side.

Opening the door, she was about to step into the hall, when she heard a familiar groan. She glanced at her side and was surprised to find a body hunched over near the door - as if the person were…holding a vigil.

"Zero? What are you doing here?" she inquired in bewilderment as she took in what she was seeing. "Nothing," was his response as he got up and left without another word.

Yuuki wasn't a stupid girl. She knew exactly what he had been doing outside of her door. As she bent down, to feel the place where he had sat she found herself pleasantly pleased when she realized how warm it was. So, while inside her room it had been cold and lonely, out here in the hall it had become warm and strangely comfortable. The fact that Zero had stayed at her door, like some sort of protector, made her feel unbelievably happy. She just hoped that one day she would be able to pay him back for such loyalty.

It seemed like now she wasn't so lonely anymore…