Unlocking the Gates:
Dinner and Confrontations
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did Kaname would actually smile! Brightly Burning is owned by Mercedes Lackey
A/N: I hope people are enjoying reading this fanfic and remember that reviews make an author ecstatic!
This chapter has minor language.
'I wonder what we're having for dinner.' thought Ari curiously as she walked down the stairs towards the dining room. 'It's probably something really tasty. Maybe they'll have cookies for dessert.' She thought with happiness while imagining oatmeal raison cookies fresh from the oven and still hot. Sighing, she terminated that vision since the vampire nobles were used to high class food, not simple things like oatmeal cookies. When she got closer, to what she hoped was the dining room, she heard voices coming from inside. As she walked into the room it became dead silent as everyone stared at her.
'They were talking about me. If they hadn't been talking about me then they wouldn't have gotten so quiet when I came into the room.' thought Ari, careful not to show that she was upset. She kept her expression neutral and eyes blank as she walked into the room. She walked over to an empty chair next to Aido and started to take a seat in it, only to have him stop her.
"That seats taken." he said while his eyes dared her to contradict him.
"Sorry, I'll sit somewhere else then" said Ari emotionlessly.
"A-chan, you can sit next to me!" said Ichijo, trying to break the sudden tension. He pat the chair next to him as he smiled reassuringly towards her.
"Arigato" said Ari as she walked over and took a seat in the chair he had offered. After she sat in the chair conversation resumed and Ari felt it was safe to look around without meeting the hostile stares from her classmates. When she looked around the room she accidently met her brother's eyes which were full of guilt for not speaking up for her against Aido. Ari looked away quickly, not wanting to see the pity in them and still angry that he had brought her to this place.
'He had to have known that this would happen.' thought Ari, slightly angry with her brother for bringing this torment upon her.
Dinner was an awkward affair for Ari since she wasn't used to being forced to talk to others. Ichijo was the only one who talked to her since Shiki-nii was at the other end of the table. Ichijo never gave up on trying to coax her to speak freely with him though. He accepted her short answers without any sign of impatience for her lack of skills in conversing with others. By the time dinner was over (no oatmeal cookies for dessert. Unfortunately, it was some kind of overly sweet chocolate and coconut cake that she could only take a bite from before putting her fork back down in disgust.) Ichijo had managed to get her to speak a few full sentences and ask a few questions about him in return.
"I'll see you tomorrow Ari." said Ichijo while wearing his usual kind smile before he turned around and went up the stairs to his room.
"Hai" said Ari as she turned around to start looking for the library. She felt like reading something to help calm her nerves after such a stressful day.
"Awful friendly with him aren't you" asked a voice nastily from behind Ari. She turned around quickly and spotted Aido coming out of the dining room. While Ari had been saying goodbye to Ichijo everyone had gone back to their rooms or to another part of the dorm, leaving her alone with Aido.
"You think you're so much better than everyone else here, don't you? Refusing to speak to all of us like we're not worth the time it takes to form a single sentence, not showing your emotions like your some kind of crusty old statue." said Aido viciously, making Ari want to back up a few paces and get away from him.
"Iie, I…" Ari said emotionlessly, helpless and unable to stop his onslaught.
"Don't interrupt me!" snarled Aido, his eyes glowing crimson and fangs starting to show. "You don't even show proper respect for Kaname-sama! You haven't gone to give him your allegiance or respect since you've gotten here either!" he said nearly yelling at this point while Ari stood by helplessly.
"Even now you're not showing any kind of fucking emotion! What the hell are you, a robot?" he asked angrily while pulling at his hair in frustration.
"Are you done yet?" Ari asked coolly, while struggling to keep her emotions under control and the uncaring façade in place.
"You b..." Aido began to say but was cut off by a voice from the top of the stairs
"Aido, that's enough" said an imperious voice. Aido whipped his head around and stared at the voice coming from the top of the stairs.
"Kaname-sama! I can explain…" he said with fear evident in his eyes as he saw who had spoken.
"Ari, go to your room and stay there until I come for you." Kaname ordered.
"Hai, Kaname-sama." Ari said and walked past Aido without looking at him, not wanting to see the anger that was surely on his face. It was as she was walking up the stairs that she noticed how cold the room had gotten while Aido had been yelling at her; cold enough that ice crystals had formed on the chandelier and staircase railing. 'His power must be ice' thought Ari, filing the information away for later for future reference.
'So much for finding a book to read in the library.' thought Ari sadly when she had reached her room and had the door closed securely behind her. 'I've had such a horrible day and now I can't even get a new book to read. I guess I can re-read one of my old books.' She thought while looking at the shelves that housed her favorite books and authors. After a minute of searching she found the book she was looking for, Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey. Brightly Burning never failed to make her feel less alone. She was able to relate to the boy in the book and the problems he faced because of his powers. She settled down in a comfortable chair to wait for Kaname while reading her book. It seemed like little time had passed before Kaname knocked on her door. Checking the time she realized that almost an hour had passed since Kaname had ordered her to stay in her room.
"Come in." Ari called quietly, knowing that Kaname would be able to hear her even through the solid oak door. Kaname opened her door and walked in sitting on the armrest of the chair she was currently slouching in.
"Are you all right, Ari?" asked Kaname as he placed his hand on the top of her head in a brotherly fashion.
"…."
"Ari, answer me."
"I'm fine, Kaname-sama." said Ari reluctantly, clearly lying.
"Don't lie to me, Ari. It's rude."
"Then no, I'm not fine. Shiki-nii knew that this was going to happen when he brought me here!" said Ari, her frustration finally getting the better of her, causing her façade to start to crack.
"Calm yourself, you don't want your powers to get out of your control." ordered Kaname.
'You're the one who forced me to tell you in the first place!' thought Ari as her frustration grew further, but outwardly her façade remained the same as always. Only if you looked into her eyes would you be able to see her true emotions.
"Shiki isn't the one who wanted you to come here Ari, I was." said Kaname suddenly causing Ari's eyes to widen in shock as she brought her head up abruptly to look at him.
"Why would you do that Kaname-sama?" asked Ari, hurt by his indifference to her pain and suffering at the hands of his subordinates.
"You need to know what it's like outside of the house you grew up in and you weren't going to take the initiative to find out on your own, so I took matters into my own hands. I also wanted to see how much stress you could handle before you lost control of your emotions in a place where I could contain you if necessary." he coldly without a hint of guilt or any emotion whatsoever on his face.
Shocked and unable to comprehend what she had just been told Ari sat there in silence fighting to keep her crumbling façade in place.
'Shiki-nii wasn't the one who wanted to bring me here, Kaname-sama was.' she thought, her mind rejecting the rest of the information that Kaname had just told her. She didn't want to believe that Kaname was using her like some kind of lab rat. Trying to figure out how much pressure she could withstand before breaking.
"Goodnight Ari. I will see you in the morning." Kaname said stoically as he got up and left her room, closing the door quietly behind him.
'Did he ask the Night Class to be so cruel to me? If he did then why is Ichijo-san being so kind to me? Did Kaname-sama ask Ichijo-san to act kind and gain my trust just so he could betray me later? Does Shiki-nii know about this!? Is it all just some kind of plan to get me to lose control of my emotions and powers?' Ari thought, unable to stop the flow of questions from going through her head.
'I won't fall for it!' Ari thought with sudden determination as she grabbed her book and settled back down into her chair. 'Let them try, I won't break… I hope…'
End Note: Ooohhh… plot twist! I'll give virtual oatmeal raison cookies to everyone who reviews! Mmmm… oatmeal raison cookies (author drooling) I haven't had one of those in a week!