Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. That honor goes to the brilliant Matsuri Hino. I am merely writing this fanfiction for enjoyment purposes.

Beginning Note: Thanks for taking some time to check out this story! As a first note, this is an AU fiction. Thus, for plot purposes, I have made minor and major adjustments or added certain details not present in the original story. Also, this post is merely the prologue and I tend to write prologues that do not focus on the major characters (but have key introductions to the plot *hint hint*). Thus, there is mostly OCs but this story is NOT an OC fanfiction.

~ VIVEZ COMME LES CRÉATURES DE NUIT ~
in which the cursed prediction comes true

They took him away. And so I exacted revenge. But how was I supposed to know that I was doing exactly what they wanted? How was I supposed to know that I was being made a pawn?

ss

"C'est très belle, la nuit. J'ai raison, n'est-ce pas?"

The silky tinge of his voice flitted across the wind. It was like music to his companions' ears and they hung onto his every word and breath. The congregation grew silent waiting for him to continue speaking but Géraud Belanger had nothing else to say. Even if he did, he preferred to spite his companions by remaining silent, especially if they were so interested in his thoughts. He merely lifted the wine glass of red fluid to his lips and sipped. He closed his eyes and opened his senses to the world around him.

A gust of wind blew through the air. The trees rustled from the disturbance. The birds chirped a song, a melodious accompaniment to the summer's natural music. The atmosphere spoke peace and happiness. Lifting his eyelids, he flicked his attention towards the city. The beautiful lights of Paris, twinkling like stars, could be seen from the distance. Despite his bored and indifferent manner, it was a beautiful night and even he couldn't deny that he appreciated it very much. His companions seemed to feel the same way. Soft smiles were on their faces. Sighs of content flew out of their mouths. Everybody was relaxed. For a minute, he almost believed he was sitting in the company of humans.

How childish.

Though their demeanor spoke the simplicity of humanity, their soul emanated vampire. Behind those affable grins were fangs ready to bite, ready to destroy. In their blood was a longing for power and control. In their hearts was an infinite thirst for blood. This hunger was concealed with the utmost care and placed under a mask of kindness. A mask of normalcy. All the vampires surrounding him worked from the moment they were born to resemble humans and coexist with them. It was a shame. The vampiric drive was something to not deny. It was something to embrace. Géraud had heard many tales of such vampires – the vampires who fell crazed to their most primal instincts. All of those stories ended death. Géraud much preferred to stay alive despite life's monotony and so did all his companions.

"Well," a bespectacled vampire said in accented English, thus breaking the silence, "I suggest we play charades."

Géraud raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "In my five thousand years of living, I've played charades one too many times, Amand. Is there anything else we can do?"

Amand pushed the rim of his glasses up his nose. He rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe we could tell anecdotes or interesting stories?"

"I presume that is more original."

The vampires whispered among themselves, arguing over who should tell a story first. The bickering was a small hum in Géraud's ear and rather than being irritated by it, he found himself relaxed under the cacophony. A smile danced at the corners of his mouth, ready to burst but unable to overpower his bored expression. Finally, it was settled that the host would be given the honors of telling the first anecdote. The host, who had not even wanted to say anything, was left aghast. He ruffled his golden hair as his ice blue eyes widened in confusion.

"I'm not exactly sure what to say," he explained. "I wasn't prepared for this."

"Nobody was prepared for this, Nagamichi," Amand argued. "Tell us anything." He paused for a minute before his face lit up. "I know. Tell us some stories about Japanese vampires."

At this point in the conversation, Géraud couldn't help but interrupt. "Japanese vampires? How exotic."

Nagamichi chuckled at that. "I'm sorry but Japanese vampires are not that exotic. They're slightly more serious."

"That does make sense," a captivating female with ginger locks said. She rested her head on Amand's shoulder. "What with all the politics they have and the vampire hunters added into the mess. I would hate to be a vampire in Japan."

"That is why your family left for Europe, correct?" a white-haired male asked Nagamichi. "To escape the political turmoil?"

Nagamichi nodded his head. "Yes, well, vampires in Europe are a lot more 'carpe diem' about everything."

"Really?" Géraud raised his other eyebrow and sipped more his drink. "Because I find us to be rather droll."

The other vampires put on expressions of shock and disapproval – all an act to lighten the mood and cause everybody in the group to laugh. Before Nagamichi could answer Géraud's comment, a young boy ran into Géraud's leg. He rubbed his head and pouted.

"You made me get an 'owie,'" the boy complained. His blue eyes watered in a clear display to garner pity.

"It wasn't me who did that," Géraud quipped. "It was my leg."

The boy stomped his feet. "Tată," he said pointing a finger at Géraud, "that man is a meanie."

Nagamichi shook his head in exasperation. "Of course he is. I'll punish him for picking on you but go along and play with the other children."

At that moment in time, a girl with long brown hair ran towards the boy. Every few steps, she would stumble on her own feet and trip. She eventually reached him, however, through a combination of crawling and falling. She then tugged on his shirt. Large brown eyes stared up at him with an entreaty.

"Play, play," she whined. She rocked on her feet and her eyes grew larger. "Play, play."

The young boy sighed and shook his head in a similar manner as his father. "Okay, okay. Don't hurry me."

The girl dragged the boy away by his shirt. The girl would sometimes fall down bringing the boy down with her. The boy would furrow his eyebrows and shout some childish insults at the girl. Still, she ignored his words and kissed his wounds with affection. This got him to grow silent. The image created by the two was pure and adorable. It brought exaltations of awe from the female vampires and grins from the males. Even Géraud felt moved by the display of companionship between the two. He had a feeling they would either grow up to become the best of friends or the most bickering of siblings.

"So those are two of your kids, right?" Amand asked after the two had disappeared from view.

"Well, one of them is my son," Nagamichi answered. "The other is a little girl I'm acting as guardian under until her parents come to take her back."

"Ils sont très, très mignon!" exclaimed a female vampire.

"I guess you could call them cute." Nagamichi shrugged. "But when they're arguing, it feels more like they're the devil incarnates."

The female resting on Amand's shoulder looked wistfully at the spot where the two children last stood. "I wish I had a son or daughter."

"Come now, dear, Adele," Amand said patting the female on the head, "don't be so mellow. We'll have a family one day. We're still young."

Adele shook her head lightly while rolling her eyes at her husband's comment. "You're impossible sometimes, you know."

"All husbands are, Adele," chimed a new voice. A woman stepped from within the house. Strawberry blonde hair cascaded onto her shoulders. She grasped Nagamichi's hands and squeezed it. Releasing her hold on his hand, Nagamichi encircled his arms around her shoulder. A picture perfect coupled was the effect. The woman smiled as she said, "I've been married to my love here for who knows how long, and I still can't reason with him sometimes."

The women giggled lightly and began murmuring phrases like "So even our dear hostess has troubles dealing with her husband?" or "Poor, poor Catina." And as for the men, they were shooting the Nagamichi teasing looks and curious glances. He good-naturedly took everything in and only patted his wife's hand lovingly. Catina smiled at the gesture and hugged her husband. She whispered a few words into his ears, producing a soft smile on his face. He gave her a peck on the cheek.

Small conversations broke out among the group. Géraud leaned further back in his chair and continued wearing his deadpan expression. It was becoming increasingly difficult, however, because the mood was so light and warm. He was inclined to join the camaderie of his companions but it would ruin his reputation and image. Being a pureblood was so tiring.

The energy of his company still surged towards him. Despite all his attempts to keep up his usual countenance, he found himself falling victim to the laughter.

"What a beautiful night," he finally said.

"I believe you've said that already," the white haired vampire noted.

"Yes, a night this beautiful deserves the compliment more than once," he retorted. "Sometimes, on nights like this, I think nothing can possibly go wrong."

"Yes," Catina said laughing, "well – "

She faltered in the middle of her sentence. Her eyes were directed in the direction of Géraud, but it was clear that she was looking at something far past him. Her lower lip began to tremble and her whole body shook with a fierceness that was frightening to behold. She had noticed something and whatever she saw must have been horrible.

Everybody followed Catina's gaze. A thick silence hung in the air as apprehension and fear ran through the vampires' hearts. All of them gasped when they saw the bloodied vampire approaching them.

"Viorel, what happened!" Catina exclaimed.

"Terrible, milady, terrible things," Viorel replied. "It's probably still going on right now. I flew here as quickly as I could and it must be hours now since it begun. They are probably dead."

Viorel looked disheveled with his wrinkled, torn clothes and dirty face. But the most frightening part of his appearance was his dead eyes. His eyes were bland and did not hold the usual light. This only suggested how he had seen great horrors.

"Who?" Catina cried. "Who's dead?"

"Milady," Viorel began, "it's –"

But he was interrupted by a frightening scream that ripped through the night. It came from the direction where Nagamichi's two children had striden off. Anguish filled the scream's tones along with pain and terror. And even worse, the scream was coming from a child.

"That voice…" Nagamichi said growing white. "It can't be…"

"That's your son isn't it?" Géraud asked. The voice was unmistakable. It bore the same quality of the boy who had scolded Géraud.

Nagamichi said nothing. He only grew paler.

The screams continued to destroy the peace in the air.

"What's happening!" the white haired vampire asked. "What's making the boy shout?"

Nagamichi's mouth hung open as he tried to find the right words. "I don't –"

Another scream shot in the air. But it didn't belong to the boy. This time, the scream was of a young girl's. The same brunette who had stunned the company's hearts with her adorability.

"It's her," Catina said with a sniffle. "She's screaming."

She fell onto her knees and began crying into her hands. Her sobs rang through the air. The screaming continued – one from a boy and the other from a girl. The shouts created a horrible melody that contrasted the once beautiful summer tune. The peace Géraud felt from before vanished. What was left was a sense of calamity. A sense that something had just begun, something nobody wanted to get involved in.

"It's happening," Catina muttered. "It's happening just as that woman predicted."

ss

I am so sorry. I am so sorry that things have come to this. I am sorry to force this burden on you. But please, if you forget about all I have asked of you, can you remember one thing?

Please promise to protect her.

A/N: I'm wondering if anybody can guess who Nagamichi, the boy, and the girl are (though since I gave his first name, you'll probably know who Nagamichi is). And also, the italicized section in the beginning and the italicized section in the end are from two different characters from the canon plot line. These two characters will continue to occupy the same italicized position for each chapter. Any guesses yet on who the two are?

Thanks for reading this! Reviews are much appreciated and will be cherished forevermore!