Author: AuditoryEden

Rating: T

Warnings: Fairytale AU. I can't believe I'm writing this.

Notes: When the leader of the vampires, Kuran Kaname, is killed, his young sister Yuuki is the one to take the throne. But how can the sheltered princess hold her own against the powerful young leader of the Hunters, Kiriyu Zero?

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Prologue

It was raining. That was all she could remember afterward, it was raining. It was cold and the rain was coming down like bullets as she waited outside for her brother to return. As he returned to her, after long hours, as a pale, bloodless corpse, his body mutilated, carried by those who had gone with him. Muttered condolences, the brief stroke of lightening and the roll of thunder soon after, the icy chill in her heart, all were swept away.

All she could remember was that it was raining. Even now, dressed all in black, by the exit of the hall, shaking hands and accepting apologies muttered softly, sadly, insincerely, all she could remember was the rain, how it wiped away her tears, unwilling to let her dignify his death with weeping. Diluting her sorrow, the value of her sorrow.

Leaving her hollow.

She watched the people passing with detachment. Each with their own story, their own reason to attend, each with their own agenda. That woman had simpered how sorry she was, clearly not meaning a word of it. That man had been near tears, one of her brother's most loyal friends. Some looked strange; at least by "human" standards. Hair colors and eye colors were a bit off, all complexions cadaverously pale.

Vampires, she thought humorously, then sobered. Why laugh about what she was, those her brother led....those she would now have to lead.

She blinked as a man with the strangest coloration she'd yet seen seemed to simply appear before her. He was just as pale as any of the Vampires there, if not paler, although she could he was not one. His hair was silver, not like an old man's, but silver nonetheless. Pale purple eyes, almost a silvery-lavender, stared out of his pale, young face. He scowled.

"My condolences," he ground out, not sounding sorry at all. The men behind him shook their heads. One was blonde, and had an air of deceptive cheer about him, despite his sober behavior and dark clothes. The other wore an eye patch and dressed a bit messily, with a shag of dark hair.

"Kiriyu-kun," the blonde man said, "You shouldn't sound so angry."

The silver-haired young man turned to him, gave him a baleful stare, rolled his eyes, and walked away, leaving the two older men behind.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Yuuki-sama," the blonde man began again, this time addressing the girl. She had watched impassively, with a stirring of amusement, while he told the boy off. Now she met his remarks with a carefully schooled tone.

"I thank you, sir."

The man went on, while she began to frown the tiniest bit she could manage. "I knew your parents quite well, before they died, your mother especially, and Kaname has always been a great friend to me," he rambled.

"Kaien, it's time to go," the darker man spoke, his voice gravelly. Yuuki could detect a faint whisper of cigarette smoke in his clothes, and that seemed to explain his voice.

"Yes, yes," the blonde, Kaien, apparently, replied distractedly. "Well, Yuuki-sama, I look forward to working with you in the near future."

"Working with you?"

Her voice was slightly louder than she had planned on it being, but quickly modulated.

"Well, yes," Kaien replied. "When you take over your brother's position as the leader of Vampires, you will be working alongside the Hunter Council, of which I am a part. The young man over there who was so rude to you just now is our new Head. A very talented and headstrong young man, and an excellent leader, or so he has proved thus far." He grimaced slightly. "He lost most of his family at a young age, and therefor is rather taciturn. We hope manners will come with experience. Well, good day, and once again, I'm very sorry."

As the blonde swept out of the way, the dark haired man also nodded, murmuring, "Condolences," and they made for the exit, where the silver haired man was leaning, apparently asleep. As they passed, however, he opened his strange eyes and fell into step just before them.

Yuuki watched the odd threesome exit the hall, then turned her thoughts inward.

They all believed she would lead her race, and she had known it for some time. Thankfully, no new leader could be crowned until the old one had been properly mourned, which meant no one had pressed the issue.

But how was she supposed to rule this mass of instinct-driven, fanciful creatures? Vampires, she knew from long personal experience, always liked to have their way. And while that usually made a leader properly assertive, it also meant that the people where just as assertive, and everyone was quite belligerent. As a pure blood, the last of her family, the traditional ruling one, she could induce fear or obedience into her subjects with just a word or a glance...in theory.

But Yuuki was too young to know how, or to be able to. Her brother was far older than she—both in mind and body. Yuuki was barely more than a child, seventeen years old. And now she had no one to teach her, no brother, no parent.

And that was just the vampires. The blonde man, Kaien, had said she'd be working with the Hunter Council, whatever that was.

How was she supposed to do all these things, fight all these battles, when this was only her third time seeing the world outside her family home?

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Parting Comments: This should have introduced all the main players. Yagari, Kaien, Zero (w00t!), and Yuuki. I didn't kill Kaname off cause I hate him. I killed him off to further the plot. So no "OMG kaname basher!" reviews please.

This whole thing is going to be like...a miniseries, I guess. Only a few chapters, unless I get bit by a plot bunny. I don't know why I chose to write a fairytale-AU, but I did. God save us all.

Hugs and Kisses,

Eden