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. This is an AU story. So, many things will change but not too drastically. I'll try to depict an accuarate illustration of the character's personality as well as I can. Please bear with me in the meantime. Some ideas were derived from the Squaresoft videogame 'Saga Frontier'. It's their baby. The idea of the Charm Lord and maybe some other elements as well were borrowed for the sake of the story. So...please...don't...sue...me! Oh! And as always reviews are appreciated!


The room was dark and a bit dreary looking. Candlelight flickered on and off in the slight breeze that filtered in through the massive windows on both sides of the hall. The interior was decked out in the most elaborate of silks and velvets, all of which was nothing short of elegance. All about the walls were thorned vines of roses entwined with each other. From each rose came a faint glow, which only seemed to give the room an ethereal look. Overall, the place was quite remincient of the inside of some gothic castle from medieval times. It was really quite timeless. And the occupants themselves were just as elegant as their environment. The princes stood proudly along the length of the room leading up to the throne itself where the lord of the city sat…

Kaname Kuran was bored. He had been sitting on the throne for the past four hours, while listening to the endless droning of his advisors and he desperately sought to find some sense of refuge elsewhere. As the advisor started on a new topic, Kaname found his thoughts drifting. For the past 1,000 years he had reigned as the Lord of this city and he had seen many things. In the beginning, the day dwellers, humans from the upper world, had occupied the city but as the world became increasingly uninhabitable the night dwellers, vampires, also began to seek refuge in this town. However, this was not a good combination as the night dwellers, whose sustenance was derived from blood began to prey on their human counterparts. In retaliation, the humans began to fight back but they were badly outnumbered as well as disadvantaged. For the night people had always been bestowed with awesome powers and had no qualms in using that power to protect themselves.

For 1,000 years, blood had been spilt on both sides. Kaname and his brethren fought valiantly for the right to survive and in the process had found themselves at the height of their power. He remembered that day quite vividly, as it had been the day before his whole life had changed. They were fighting members from an anti-night group, whose name he could not recall. As he stood over their leader, poised and ready to deliver the final blow, a small part of him wondered if this was the right thing to do. Here stood his very last adversary, the proverbial obstacle in his way, to the top. Once this one was dead, he'd have the power to change world and yet…as he stared into the eyes of the man - whose hair he had gripped tightly in his fist – he could not help but feel a slight twinge of pity for the mortal. Yet, the feeling had been slight and the anger in his heart grew increasingly overwhelming for him. The next thing he knew, he had pierced the man's heart with his clawed hand, ultimately ending the source of his doubt.

As he entered the great hall of the once-human stronghold, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest and shoulders. The blood within his veins pulsed as he looked upon the glory of the castle. The object was unlike any other that he had seen. It shone brilliantly and emitted an eerie green like glow. From behind him, he could hear his knights shift uneasily as they, too, became overwhelmed with the sensations that assaulted them upon the discovery of this illustrious crystal. He hadn't realized it at the time but something within him had urged him to touch the sparkling object. And so after having that thought, all he could remember was placing his hand on the cold, hard surface of the crystal and having a bright light engulf him.

From then on things had remained relatively peaceful. They've established their rule of the humans and had gained prestige throughout the years. The anti-night groups had more or less diminished over night and many of the humans had given up their rebellion. Yes, things had become a lot better…he had no reason to doubt himself anymore. He was after all, the King of these people.

Just as he was about to return his attention to his advisors, an interruption at the door caught his interest. "My Lord, there is a man here who seeks an audience with you," announced an attendant, who had entered the hall.

He waved his hand in approval and watched as the attendant left the room to bring the man in. With another wave, the advisors took their leave as well and Kaname waited expectantly for his visitor to arrive. He was quite surprised however when the one to enter the hall was none other than Kaien Cross, the former governor ousted from office just a few years ago. In the past three years since his departure from office, the governor had gotten gangly and his face had become more drawn. He looked like a man that hadn't gotten any sleep for a long time.

"Excuse my intrusion, Lord Kaname. But I have an appeal for you." He solemnly said as he bowed low to the ground as a sign of respect.

Immediately after he had made the gesture, he was hauled up by the scruff of his neck by one of Kaname's princes, Hanabusa Aido. The other man had always been quite particular on how his lord should be addressed and became absolutely livid when the governor had used Kaname's name informally. "You will address his lordship in the correct manner," he whispered menacingly. As if suddenly coming alive, the princes began to shout out one by one:

"King of the Blood Rose Throne!"

"Pursuer of Beauty"

"Supreme Judge"

"Lord of Darkness!"

"God of Death!"

"Charm Lord, Kaname-sama!" they all said at once.

Kaname raised his hand to silence them. Afterwards, their voices became hushed but each and every one of their faces expressed a look of utter devotion. Kaname could not help but bask in their adoration and yet as he took the time to give each prince a look of gratitude he became a bit irritated when he realized his 'Shield' was missing from his usual spot in line. By shield, he of course meant Zero Kiryuu…his aunt's lovely little underling or rather 'his' underling. Afterall, there was absolutely nothing in this castle which did not belong to Kaname. Especially, beautiful things…and Zero Kiryuu was really quite beautiful. He was interrupted from his daydream by Cross' obnoxious voice stuttering on and on about 'peace' and 'unity'. The irritation he had felt at Zero's absence only seem to increase and he could feel his patience wear thin.

"Please, your majesty. I beg of you, please reinstate the domestic relation's bureau within our government! The people have a right to be involved in what goes on within this city. You cannot simply-" Kaien froze when he felt the air around him grow heavy and cold – immediately he had shut his mouth, for he knew to say just a word more would be suicide.

Kaname had risen from his chair; eyes set ablaze in anger, and with his hands clenched tightly at his sides. If he hadn't looked so crazed, Kaien would have taken a moment to admire what such an emotion did for the other man. He was always stunning to look at but to see him angry was a whole different story. He felt mesmerized but at the same time, fear had started to crawl its way up his spine.

"Who gives you the right to designate what I can and cannot do? I don't remember giving you humans the right to question me or my methods!" he snarled as he looked upon the fear stricken man, "The last time someone questioned me, I ran them through. How would you like to be the next one to feel such pain? Hmmm, Cross?"

Cross felt his knees began to waver and sweat had begun to drip slowly down the back of his neck. He knew then that he was dead. Even if they let him out of the room, one of Kaname's crazed companions would put him out of his misery and then he would never be able to walk the earth again. He backed up in fear and nearly let out a cry of fright, when the sound of thundering footfalls filtered into the room. Abruptly the door was thrown open and in between them stood a harried attendant. Kaname looked absolutely livid for being interrupted and seemed about ready to maim the poor creature, when the other let out a frantic announcement.

"Your lordship! Zero Kiryuu has left the castle! And he has taken his Bloody Rose gun…!"

A hush fell over the hall and all eyes turned to where his lordship, Kaname, stood. His face was unreadable but everyone knew that he was feeling conflicted. Inside his mind, Kaname felt anger; impatience and an irrational sense of concern take hold. He made eye contact with Ichijou and watched as the man nodded and then began making announcements. As everyone scrambled to follow his orders, Kaname began to make his way out of the room. He briefly made eye contact with Cross and could sense the other's trepidation but he chose to ignore the human for now, seeing as how he had pressing matters to attend to. If Zero had left the castle and with a weapon in hand, there was no doubt in Kaname's mind that he would try to do the unthinkable. He would kill himself. He would tear himself apart and desecrate his beautiful body and all because of Kaname. The man in question hissed in irritation as he briskly walked through the halls. The boy knew how much he loved his body and for him to go and do as he pleased with it was….

"Zero, your body is mine. For you to go off and do unthinkable things to yourself, just to spite me, is a foolish and idiotic thing to do. When I find you, I will show you your place! You are nothing without me."

Flashback!

From the moment that they looked into each other eyes, Kaname had known that this was a person that he would like to spend the rest (or at least) the majority of his life with. The boy had spunk and there was an undying fire in his eyes, which suggested that he was not the type to simply take things lightly and give up. If there was one thing Kaname loved, it was a challenge or pretty toys that didn't break easily. Zero fulfilled both requirements. At the time, he had been weak. Shizuka had done quite a number on him, as she had not only taken her fill once but twice. The boy was currently on his knees, but his eyes remained steady never wavering from Kaname's, and even as he began to descend the carpeted steps of his throne – did they waver.

"Your eyes…I've never seen this color before. They're like amethysts except their too light to be labeled as such. Lavender? Yes, maybe….and your hair it's so white! Like the purest of snow," mused the Lord as he circled the kneeling figure, all the while appraising each and every part of the other man's body.

Zero snarled and seemed about ready to lunge at the cocky bastard but kept his place, he knew he was too weak to make any sudden moves and not only that but the King's henchmen were nearby – they would be on him in a second if he tried anything. "Huh! Listen to you…the way you talk, you sound like some kind of pansy. Heck, I didn't know a guy like you took it up the ass." Immediately, after the words left his mouth he had found himself knocked quite a ways across the room. When he landed, he found that everyone around him looked like they were going to pounce on him and rip him apart. Especially Kuran. Vaguely, he felt some blood drip from the side of his mouth and he quickly wiped at it. His actions were disrupted, however, when suddenly he found himself being hauled up by his tattered shirt. In his whole life, he had never been afraid of anything and yet as he looked into the other man's dark red eyes – he felt as if his soul was being sucked out of his body. Any resistance he had put up to that point had been pointless and now it seemed to leave him entirely. As he let himself get lost in Kaname's gaze; he felt a part of him cringe and writhe in fear. Something bad was happening but he couldn't fight the alure that the man was giving off. Was this the fabled 'Charm' that the vampires had? A power, so, powerful that it could make even the strongest and most manliest man turn into a blubbering mess?

"Zero Kiryuu…I will tame that soul of yours and I will make it so that you will not be able to live without me. Yes, that is a very suitable punishment for you. To suffer humiliation at the hand's of your enemy…why, it's the perfect plan don't you think?" Kaname leaned forward to whisper the last part of his speech into Zero's ear then slowly he brought his lips to the boy's neck. He smiled when he felt the body against him convulse in protest but slacken when he increased his hold on the other's psyche. "Don't resist, Zero. If you make me mad, I'll make it so much more worse for you."

With that said, the man opened his mouth and gave the pale column of Zero's neck a long lick before attaching his lips securely over the jugular. Around them, the aristocrats murmured in morbid fascination at what was taking place before their eyes and collectively they all let out a sigh when they caught the scent of blood being spilt upon the air. Zero's body jerked in Kaname's grip but other than that he made no attempts to move away from the man. He was bewitched…seduced by the other man's 'charm' and would not come out of his stupor unless comanded to. Vaguely, he recalled his Master telling him that a hunter's worse fear was to be placed under a vampire's charm spell because to be subjected to it – would spell automatic d-o-o-m. He winced as Kaname's lips moved more roughly upon the wound he had made and groaned as the blood seeped into his shirt. He felt lightheaded and after awhile he was unable to hold himself up much longer as his knees became weak, his body fell but Kaname had had a tight hold on him. As Zero swooned, Kaname wrapped his arms more securely around his victim to keep him from collapsing onto the floor.

Even though the boy was no longer conscious, Kaname had not removed his lips from the wound. He took long leisurely sips and had upon his face a look of something akin to bliss. For a long time, he had not tasted anything like this and the only event from which he could recall having a similar experience had been …god know's when. In Zero's blood he tasted fear, anger, desperation and desire all mixed into a fine vintage. It left him almost craving for more. However, he had gone too far in his activities and even though his tongue was still working vigorously at the wound to receive more of its delicious sustenance into his mouth, he knew he had to stop. To continue would result in an irreversible consequence that even he could not undo and he had great expectations for the boy. Afterall, he was now under his spell and for him to resist Kaname's allure – would belike letting himself starve to death. He'd go crazy.

As he sat pondering what he should do next, he felt another presence at his side. Shizuka had wandered over to where they were and was now peering intensely at the boy's still bleeding neck. Hunger was plainly evident on her face as well as all the other faces around them and suddenly Kaname felt strangely possessive. The very idea of someone other than himself partaking of Zero's blood, made him angry, irrationally so. Because Kaname did not grow attached to things….well, he did but he would never go thru such lengths to keep something away from others, especially if it was an enemy. He vaguely heard Shizuka say something off to his side, but chose to ignore it, instead he bit swiftly into his wrist.

"My lord?! What are you doing?!" cried several voices but he ignored them all.

"I can't have him dying so soon, now can I?" he placed the bleeding wrist over the boy's half open mouth, "And with this are bond will be complete. Zero Kiryuu's soul will be mine to keep for all eternity. He will do as I say and he will not disobey me."

End Flashback!

Kaname snapped out of his daydream when he realized that he had walked all the way to where the carriages were being kept. Word must have been sent ahead by Ichijou because a ride had been prepped and made ready for him upon his arrival. Nodding briskly to the driver, he pulled himself up into the carriage and took a seat.

"Driver, take us to the city!" he ordered. The other man nodded and jumped onto his seat as well, once he got a hold of the reigns - he smacked them against the horses. They neighed in protest but prepared to run anyway and like the speed of light, they were taking off into the night. Sitting back, Kaname took the time to glance casually out the window and as he did so his mind wandered once again. When he found Zero, he would make the other man understand what it meant to disobey his orders. Yes, the other vampire would pay dearly for his transgression. Nobody messed with Kaname and survived unscathed. Nobody. Zero had made a big mistake this time…


Author's Note: Zero will be introduced in the next chapter and he will have a fateful encounter with Yuuki. Kaname and Yuuki will meet as well!! OH NOES! DRRRRRAAAAAMMMMAAAA! I'll update soooooon! So, gimme reviews! Please? (P.S.) I apologize if the KxZ scene did not come off as erotic...it kinda sorta was supposed to...but I can't write scenes like that all so well. (TT.TT)