I ran through the forest. Farther then I ever had before. Each step sent a shock of pain through my legs, and my exhaustion was slowly creeping up on me. But, honestly, that didn't bother me. Nor did the fact that I was straying farther and farther from my home. Actually, I wanted…no, needed to get away from the place.

So I ran away.

But, now, here's the catch. When you run away from your home, you won't get chased by five hundred people, am I right? And when you run away from home, the whole country doesn't know about it, right? Well, that's where I'm a little bit different from other people. You see, I belong to a royal heritage. In fact, I'm the fabled princess of Cross Kingdom! Yes, Yuuki Cross, right at your doorstep!

…

I know, I know, not the time for jokes. No, but really. I can't just walk up to some unsuspecting commoner, demand to be quartered in their home, and state that 'It's just because I'm a princess'. I mean, who would believe me? And if someone did believe me, wouldn't the news already be out, that I'm missing from the kingdom? And so, wouldn't that person turn me in (not without some kind of incentive, of course)?

I stop abruptly, and stand still. My eyes wander around for sometime, and I soon find what I'm looking for. I saunter over to a rock that looked comfortable enough to sit on and plunk down rather ungracefully (Oh, whose watching?) on top of it. I hoist my elbows on my knees, and pointing my palms upward, and limply drop my head into my hands. My eyes start to water, and I quickly wipe at the tears. But new ones take their place almost immediately, and this time, I don't try to stop it. The first tear slips down my face, and many follow, having a race to the bottom of my bruised and scratched face.

I flip out a compact mirror from my pocket of my jeans, (I never really was fond of dresses. Restricts your movements too much.) and open it. I come face to face with my tattered reflection, and I grimace as I see how battered and bruised I look, crying even harder. My blouse was ripped from every angle, stained with blood and dirt. My jeans were heavily faded, ripped more than my shirt, but less blood and dirt. My long, brown hair was in many knots and snarls, intertwined with leaves and twigs, and my feet were impaled with sticks and rocks, bleeding alarmingly. I rip a bit of material from my blouse, and tie it around each foot, to at least slow the bleeding. I look over myself one more time. What have I done? Is this really a princess I'm staring at? How did I become this?

I sob, and drop the compact mirror on the ground. I drop my head into my hands once more and try to slow down the memories rushing into my head, about the man, the reason I was in this mess. But alas…

Arranged marriages, probably the worst tradition belonging to that of a Royal Family. My father, Kaien Cross, was a good man; he cared about me deeply, maybe a little bit too much, but the country was his first priority. And if I had to marry anyone, it would be to one most beneficial to our…um…his kingdom. So, instead of marrying out of love, I got stuck with Kaname Kuran, an abusive, tyrannical ass who cares about nothing but power and my magic. Oh, and also my body.

Probably might not have caught it, but I did say magic. And not just magic, but my magic, if you catch my drift. Yes, I am a sorcerer. In fact, I'm the most powerful of my kind, tied with only one. Probably as you guessed it, Kaname. Now, I am human, even though a spell caster, but the only reason why Kaname is tied with me in magical aspects is because he's a vampire. Vampires get enhanced, well, everything. Hearing, sight, smell, strength, wisdom, beauty, length of life, etc. But, only one is bestowed the ability to weave spells, and fate has it that the only vampire in centuries whose been chosen, has got to be the one who thinks of all creatures in life as his pawns.

But, I'm strong, I won't back down. My efforts will not go to waste, I know, because when I get the chance, I will beat him. I don't want any of my people to suffer anymore because of me, so I will personally drive Kaname out of the country. But, only when I get powerful enough, as not only does he have great magical abilities (As much as I hate to admit it), he also is very athletically enabled to do, well, anything he wants. Including kicking my butt.

So, that's why I ran away from home. To get stronger, to avoid the horrible fate that awaits me, and to make sure my people don't suffer under that ass of a king-to-be. As long as I run away from him, he will never be king. It may be hard. It is hard, but I have to deal with it. Even though this is not entirely my fault, I have to deal with it…alone. If I let anyone help me, they will get hurt, and they might be killed, and if nothing happens to them in battle, at best, probably wanted for treason. I could never live with that, so, that's how I ended up alone, chased, wanted, and depressed, fighting a force that I know I can't defeat alone.

My sobs now slow to a mere sniffle, and I lift my head up, determined, my spirit now rejuvenated. I will beat him. I know I will…

A thump echoes from the distance, and some muffled voices ring out. I gasp, as whip my head around to search the area. The conclusion that the men aren't close to me doesn't slow down my erratic heartbeat, and I utter softly a Word of Hearing. Even with the enhanced spell, the voices are hard to understand, but I do the best I can.

"Did you…her…waiting…near?"

"Yes…near…we…can't be far."

I let out a groan, and stand up from the seemingly comfortable rock. I start of into a slow jog, but as I hear several 'Hey!'-s and 'Over There!'-s, my slow jog quickly forms into a sprint, forgetting the cuts on my feet. I scream a Word of Adrenaline, the orange glow already starting to form around me, before it gets absorbed into my body. The spell works quickly, fortunately, and I feel my fatigue and pain wash away. I sprint faster, feeling better than ever, until I see that they've gotten closer. A couple of more seconds after, I'm able to see why they are able to move much faster than I am, despite the spell. The answer is simple, but deadly, and I gasp in remorse as the reason is finally showed to me.

Oh crap.

Horses.

I'm royally screwed.

Not enough magic to transport, sadly, but enough to cast some fighting spells, seeing that I can't outrun them with no horse and all. I stop, and turn around to face my pursuers. Around seven of them, and they all slow down once they reach me. They start to slowly circle around me, taunting me, seemingly trapping my means of escape.

"We have come to return you to Prince Kaname, Yuuki Cross." One says sharply. His voice is cold, but that doesn't stop the searing anger burning through my body.

"Return my ass! I never belonged to him in the first place!" I shriek. "And you will use my name with the proper honorific!"

"I call you what ever I please…"Then spits. God. It's like there's a spoiled little child in the body of a man."…and you will come with us, whether we force you, or you go willingly."

"Force me it is! But, you better start digging your own grave, because your gonna be in it in three seconds!" I smirk, and call on some electricity, sending it to my hands, and stretching my arm out, to show them I wasn't going down with out a fight. One by one, they get of their horses, and send them away, so I can't access them. But, I don't think they realized that they sent away their only transportation, so I help them to realize. "Idiots. You just send away your own means of transportation away!"

"I think we can manage to carry one scrawny girl back to the town, even if it's miles away." One scoffs. Soon, I'm surrounded by seven people, all with weapons drawn, with my magic on low, and if I lose, then I get sent back to the our city. But if I win, then I might have to travel miles, with no energy, no magic, and the only humans (vampires, sorcerers, creatures, etc.) are the ones who want to force me to come back. Regardless if I win the battle or not. I'm in a pretty sticky situation, but the only thing to do, is to defeat them, and hope for a rescuer.

"So?" I drawl. "All at once, or one at a time? Doesn't really matter to me, as your going to lose anyway." That sets them off, and they all come charging at me at once. Not even batting an eye, I touch the floor with my electric charged hand, and whisper the word 'spread'. Soon enough electricity spreads through the floor. Most of them jump, but two don't react quick enough, the electricity coursing through their bodies, putting them down for the count. Glancing at their fallen comrades, they start to hesitate, taking a couple of steps away from me. I take their hesitation as an opportunity to pull a small rod from my pocket. I bring the rod close to my mouth, and whisper, " Artemis, be a scythe, please?" I throw the small rod in the air, and watch as it glows blue, before transforming into a beautiful scythe, something that is perfect for killing low lives like these.

The scythe falls, and I catch it gracefully in my hands, twirling it around to show my skill with the weapon.

"Thank you, Artemis."

The goons notice the weapon in my hands, and look at each other, planning whether or not to attack me. I see them quickly conclude that the wrath of their master is far scarier than me (Which may be true…), and charge at me, weapons drawn. When they're about to reach me, I jump in the air, letting them collide with each other. One of them raises a gun, after finding my location, and shoots. The bullet lands in my thigh, and slides through it like a knife through butter. I bite my lip to hold back the scream bursting through my throat, and I fall towards the ground. I land quite painfully on my tattered feet, and groan. The blood loss is making myself getting dizzier and dizzier by the second. I'm losing blood fast, so I rip another shard from my blouse (Poor thing…), and tie it around my thigh to apply pressure to the wound. The blood already soaks through, and I sigh sharply, as I feel my Word of Adrenaline start to fade off. I know I have to defeat them now, so I get ready to attack. I then look up to see the goons fighting with each other, but it's four against one. My hearing is muffled, but I can make out the conversation.

"You idiot! We were supposed to bring her back alive!" One says

"I'm sorry! I only meant for it to be a flesh wound!" Another begs. Hah. Liar…

"Come on. Lets bring her back to the…!"

Their conversation is cut short, as I rush towards them, Artemis held behind my back. I quickly slice at one of them, cutting a deep gash in his chest, and seeing one disappear, I take Artemis, and stab it backwards, hitting another who tried to win with a cheap shot. Three more remain, and my Word of Adrenaline is almost over, I know, because I feel like I'm ready to faint. One pulls out his sword, and slices horizontally, but I take Artemis in both hands, and counterattack vertically. We have a small showdown, with him winning most of the time, when another comes behind my back again (Sheesh, what is up with these people and cowardly attacks?), and prepares to stab with a sword of his own. I let go of Artemis with one hand, and elbow the person behind me, him falling to the floor, then jump up to avoid the attack from the man I was dueling with. I hold Artemis above my head, and slam down and stab the man on the floor, then quickly pull Artemis out of his body, attacking the other man horizontally, cutting his torso pretty badly. The last goon, seeing his comrades taken down easily, flees, but I whisper "Artemis, a gun please?", and feel the scythe transform into a gun. I raise the gun, and shoot. I hit the man straight in the head, and watch as his body falls lifeless onto the ground.

My breathing is heavy, but it doesn't stop me from speaking. "I don't like killing in general, but if it's to rid my country of horrible people like yourself, "I scoff, "I'd gladly do it." A stay silent for a while, then sigh. "Thank you Artemis. You may return to your original form now." The gun glows blue, and when I throw it up into the air, and catch it, it's no longer a gun. It's simply a small rod, ready to be put away into my pocket.

Suddenly, my body receives a shock of pain, and I cough a bit before I fall to the ground. My vision is hazy, everything looks like a dream. I cough out blood, and quickly look down to my thigh, seeing it bleed through my jeans, through the strip of my blouse, and when I touch the area softly, my fingers are soon soaked with blood. I close my eyes, and I'm about to give into my fatigue and exhaustion, but the ruffle of leaves and the sound of footsteps snap me out of my daze. I stand up with haste, but nearly fall back down, and the pain in my thigh and feet is excruciating. I let out a gasp, and start to limp away from the area. I had to find a place to stay and hide, because if I have to fight another battle, I won't make it. With that idea in mind, I start to run, trying my best, but failing miserable, to ignore the pain.

I thought that my situation couldn't get any worse, but if fate has it, when running the fastest I could at the mean time, my foot gets caught in a small gap in the ground, and I get sent flying through the air before roughly landing on the ground. I roll a bit, accumulating more scratches and bruises, and my back hits the trunk of a tree roughly. I groan in pain, as my vision starts to dim. I try to stay conscious, for my life, for my country, but I soon give in to the tendrils of darkness beckoning me into it's vacuum, and the last thing I see before my departure into oblivion, were bright lavender eyes, coming closer to me by the second.

I wake up to the sound of clinking pots and pans, the sizzling of oil, and the smell of food being prepared. I feel enthusiastic, and raise my feet to get out of bed, but when I gain a shock of pain through my thigh for my efforts, I'm quickly snapped back to reality. I was running away from some goons. They caught up to me, and I fought a battle, where I suffered a gunshot in my upper left thigh. I ran away from some one else, but tripped, and after my previous ordeal, ultimately passed out. Now I'm in a room, which makes no sense. I looked around the room. Not exactly fitting for that of a royal heritage, but I room is a room, even with limited furniture…

Then it struck me, a light bolt of realization.

Why am I in a bed? How the hell did I get in a bed? And, the sound and smell of food? I'm not alone…but, this is not my bed. And…I look down to my thigh, where the gunshot had invaded. There was gauze wrapped neatly on my bare leg and…

Bare? My brain starts working a bit more, still a bit drowsy from the whole ordeal before. Then…

"The hell?" I screech "Who undressed me?" I look down at the nightgown I was dressed in. It was pretty plain, just a few lacerations on the bottom, but that was mostly it. The length was moderate, so at least I know that the guy isn't a pervert…ish.

The clanking of pots and pans stop, and I know that I attracted the attention of whoever was cooking with my earlier shriek. I gasp, because I know that he's coming, and for all that I know, he might be the bad guy. Sure enough, some footsteps sound in the distance, coming closer to the room I'm in. Before I panic, I whisper a Word of Power. This time, a red glow spreads around me, then absorbs into my body. I feel my strength soaring, even though I only have magic for two more spells, thanks to the mild sleep I gained. I call on some light magic, and once in my hands, I mold it into a sphere. At that time, the footsteps reach my room. I hold in my breath in nervous anticipation. Nothing happens for a while.

SLAM! The door swings open, banging against the back of the wall. I don't even wait to determine whether he's good or not, before I let the ball fly. Too surprised to react, it hits him dead on target, on his heart. He falls to his knees, and coughs a bit on his hands, then stares at them, now soaked with blood. He stands up, whispers something, and then raises his head. His lavender eyes flash angrily towards me, before he rushes over, and grabs my neck. He slams me on the back wall, knocking the air out of my body, and squeezes my neck harder, leaving air as a problem that I have to solve fast. I thrash against him, clawing at any part I could reach. My eyes hold no fear, but in my mind, I'm panicking. How is he not dead? The spell was made to kill! Plus the boost from the Word of Power…any normal human would be dead! Heck, any human being would be dead! I'm running out of air, so I decide to take a defensive strategy. In my mind, I summon electricity, and send it to my hands. The man doesn't notice, too busy in strangling me. I start to raise my hands slowly, but unfortunately he notices this. He's about to stop my resistance, so I quickly slam my hands on his neck. I feel the electrical charge leave my body, and go into his. His grip slackens, and his hands slide against the wall to keep himself up. I wiggle out of his grasp, and as I see him shape up to go after me, I aim a kick in between his legs. He falls to the floor, groaning, muttering incoherent words, and then I remembered that I was still under the influence of the Word of Power. Despite the fact he was trying to kill me a couple of seconds ago, I offer a soft "Sorry." and run out the open door.

"Oh God. Where the hell am I?" I say. I press my hand against my neck, and hiss in pain. Shoot. Bruises, I think. I search for my compact mirror, so I can see the damage but I remember that I dropped it in the forest before. I sigh.

Anyway, here's my situation. I've been running around the house, trying to find an exit, with no such luck. Though, as I pass some doors, I could hear some soft breathing, wheezing, or obnoxious snoring.

Great. That means there are more people in this building…

I'm now running through the hallways, every step causing pain to build up in my thigh. I know that man will come after me, and that's why I try to pick the most confusing route possible. Though, it's gotten me lost, also.

Oh well.

My run turns into walking, and then I ultimately stop when the pain in my thigh reaches its max. I swear, and press on the wound softly, and even with the gentle touch, it sends ripples of pain through my body. I let out a groan, and try to continue walking again.

Footsteps echo out in the distance, and so does heavy breathing. I know it's him, the man I attacked, probably to get revenge, so I start to walk faster, before setting off into a small jog towards a fork in the hallway. I see him running towards me, though I can't see his eyes. He sees me and starts to sprint towards me, and I quickly choose which direction I go in, left, and start running through it. But as he sees what direction I'm going in, he stops running, and starts walking. I wonder why he had a sudden change of urgency, while looking at him from behind, but as I turn my head forward, I stop, and let out a gasp of surprise. Guess what?

A dead end.

And a deadly guy right behind me.

I'm royally screwed.

I whip my head around to face him, my eyes wide with shock and remorse, as his are quite amused, alight with humor and smugness. He takes a step towards me, and I take one back. The pattern continues, until my back hits the wall. We're about two meters apart, and we stare at each other for quite a while, anticipating a move from the other person. I take this as an opportunity to examine his features.

Tall. Very tall, about two heads higher than me. His body was lean, and he had muscle, but not enough to make him look big. He was wearing a t-shirt, with the first couple of buttons open, exposing his defined collarbone, and a bit of his chest. No hair there. Good. His hair was a nice, silver color, and short, it came up to the bottom of his neck. His bangs covered some of his eyes, and…my lord. His eyes. They were sharp, a nice lavender color, with some silver chips, and I feel like they could burn into my soul. In short, they were absolutely and utterly gorgeous. I couldn't stop staring at them, like I was completely in trance with them.

He smirks, and it brakes me out of my daze. He starts moving forward, and it makes my heart skip a beat. I try to run towards him, and hopefully slip through the gap in-between his body and the wall. Unfortunately, he senses what I'm doing, and moves his arm to catch me, preventing my escape. I recoil sharply, and try a second time, but he tackles me to the floor roughly. He captures both of my wrists in one big hand, oh crap, I can't access Artemis, and puts it over my head, and traps my legs in between his. I gasp, and really start to struggle then, but he puts an end to it, by squeezing my wrists painfully. His eyes roam to my neck, where he had strangled me before, eying the bruises. His finger brushes over it, and I bite my lip to hold back the gasp of pain. He presses on it, and I shut my eyes and hiss. Enjoying this, isn't he, the sadist freak…

I open my eyes, about to give him a taste of my mind, but stop immediately when I see his amethyst orbs thick with concern and remorse. He looks down at me, but I turn my head away to avoid his stare, which could easily break my heart, if it hadn't already. My strategy works; for a while, but I whip my head back, as I feel him lower his head to my neck. He brings his tongue out of his mouth, and softly licks the bruises, one by one. I struggle against his grip, shaking my head wildly, but he uses his free hand to grip my face. He gets more into it now, his head buried in my neck, silver tresses rubbing against my face. He licks a slow, sensual line down each bruise, sending shivers down my spine. When he's licked every bruise on that side, he flips me over, so my stomach is touching the floor, and attacks the other side of my neck. His weigh on my body is slowly pushing me closer to the floor. He licks from my neck, all the way to my ear, and whispers, "All better?" His hot breath on my ear causes me to shiver uncontrollably.

I nod hastily, confused by what he means by 'All better?', but he doesn't let me go just yet. Instead, he flips me over, and puts me into a sitting position. His hands snake out to press the bruises, and my eyes widen in surprise at what I feel.

It doesn't hurt anymore.

We walk down the hallways briskly, no words being exchanged, no glances at each other. I can't wonder why I don't blush, I mean, anyone would. After all, my neck had been sucked and licked by an extremely hot man. Even though it was just to heal my bruises, which was, by the way, quite unbelievable, he still had done it.

What confuses me, is why he did it. The look in his eyes shattered my heart into pieces. He looked so…so guilty. There was even some self-hate and loneliness in his eyes. Automatically, I knew he wasn't bad, I knew I could trust him. So that's why I was walking with him, down these hallways that I don't know, but he does, out of magic, and exhausted. As much as I hate to admit it, I was completely at his mercy.

I sigh, seeing as he won't look at me, and decide to break the pattern.

I glance up at him and smile, as I say softly, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Zero Kiryu." He replies sharply, like he wants nothing to do with this conversation.

My smile falters, but lights right up again, as I try once more to strike conversation with him. "How old are you?"

"18."

"Your job?"

"Vampire Hunter"

"Do you like it?"

"I don't know." Um...

"So, is this your house?"

"Yes."

"Do you like living here?"

"I don't know." Okay, I'm starting to get a bit annoyed.

"Favorite color?"

"Black."

"Favorite, um… food?" Better have a good answer…

"I don't know." Really? Really.

"Favorite…uh…um…" Obviously, I was running out of questions. I was having a hard time keeping my temper under check. He was only making it harder. "You know what, never mind. " I say.

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever."

My temper snaps then, and I can't help but scream at him. "What do you mean, 'Whatever'? You were the one who was practically sucking my neck before!" He looks pretty surprised at my outburst. I continue. "And now you act like I'm not worth your time, that you can't be bothered to get to know me! What the hell is your problem?" I shriek. I turn around and start to walk away.

He grabs my shoulders before I can get away, and slams me against the wall. I look up, simply infuriated that he thinks he can touch me like this, whenever he pleases.

"Don't touch me!" I push him hard, and sprint down the hallway. He catches up to me in four long strides, and grabs my wrist, halting my retreat. I whip my head back, angry tears shining in my eyes. "What?" I spat. I have never been treated like this! I have never been so angry, and no man has ever had such an effect on me. Why is it that he can make me angry, with out doing anything…kind of.

He has that look in his eyes again, the one of loneliness, and sorrow, and I throw my head

"I'm sorry." What? "Um..." I don't think he was much of a social butterfly... "I didn't know that I was annoying you. I just though you wouldn't want to speak with me, after that whole, um," He blushes a bit, "ordeal."

I sigh sharpy. Then, annoyed, I say "Of course not." I smile. "And besides…you're too intriguing not to talk to." A pause. "But can you warn me before you have a childish attitude, and give me the cold shoulder?"

He smiles faintly, a brilliant heart-smashing smile. "Of course."