Author's Note: TADA! More chapters ^_^ Happy universe! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Own Cambrel, Arel, Emalia and Darius.


The Woods, Samiria

Both of them paused in the snow, their horses nickering just behind them as Conrart studied the tracks that peppered the night's worth of fallen whiteness that had been crushed down into icy patches. His gloved fingers traced the edge of one of the prints, checking its depth and size, "I would say at least six bandits, a dozen horses at least. Most heavily loaded down." His gaze swept the tracks with curiosity for a moment before glancing towards Yuuri and catching the glimpse of anger burning in those obsidian depths as he looked down at the prints. "Yuuri?"

"Monsters." He breathed, swallowing hard he reached out to curl a hand into Arel's collar, drawing the large black wolf hound to him, his cheek pressing against the glossy head for a moment, as if drawing comfort from the contact with his companion. "They are still doing it."

Conrart wanted to ask exactly what his companion meant by that, but the haunted shadows that flashed across that beautiful face made his tongue still before another question could escape him. Trust. Conrart knew it was what Yuuri had given to him despite the fact that Conrart could blame Yuuri squarely for the attack on himself. Yuuri had opened up his life to Conrart, letting him in on this instead of sending him on his way. His hands remembered the feel of warm skin beneath them, the caress of the beautiful man's fingers running across parts of him that had welcomed it.

"They must have taken him for the trade." Yuuri whispered the words to Arel, holding the animal close, fingers rubbing behind one ear, wishing that he could shake the suspicions that plagued him. He knew that Griesela Geigen Huber was alive, he was far too much of a prize for someone to out right kill him if they at least saw his clothes or other things. A cold tendril worked its way up from where it had settled into his belly like a blackened stone, leaden… Bile wanted desperately to run up his throat and out.

His pale features turning snowy white, when he caught sight of something glittering in the snow no more than a dozen feet from him. A flash of obsidian black and delicate green set within a circlet of silver.

A despairing cry was torn from him as he lunged forwards, almost stumbling across Arel who yelped at the sudden motion, Yuuri's gloved hands lifted the delicate bracelet from the drift beside the trail. Every inch of Yuuri was suddenly trembling with the force of a hurricane, his obsidian eyes burned with such emotion, the air becoming charged with magic as if someone had just flipped a switch.

"ANIMALS!" Yuuri's bellow echoed off the tree trunks, sending any creature close enough to hear him skittering away in fright. The anger that Conrart had glimpsed several times before was there in each line of Yuuri's body, his body shimmering with the faintest of blue glows, magic rippling off him. The silver bracelet was lifted to his lips, his obsidian eyes closing as two tears trailed down his cheeks, freezing on his skin before they could soak into the lining of his white cloak. "Nika!"

"Yuuri?" Conrart crouched down beside the dark haired beauty, his stomach twisting sharply at hearing a name being torn from his companion's lips. Was…? His heart sank like a stone to the bottom of his ribs and remained there. Could someone already claimed Yuuri's heart? "What is it?" Hands stretching out towards the other man, he was cautious, not wanting to spoke the pale and trembling Yuuri Shibuya.

"He has her."

"Who, Yuuri?"

"My… my brother." He spat the word as if it was the most vile thing on the planet to him. "I wouldn't put it past him to have organised all this."

Now that completely stumped Conrart. Brother? This puzzle was getting larger and he knew he was missing most of the pieces.

"Darius." Yuuri edged closer to Conrart, close enough that his head could finally drop forwards and onto the broad chest, his forehead and knees the only part of him that touched the other man, but it was all the comfort he would allow himself.

Instantly strong arms wrapped loosely around his slender shoulders, holding him there, warm and reassuring but not tugging him forwards, willing to allow him to come those last few inches and enter the safety of Conrart's embrace. Hands gently squeezed his shoulders, supportive and gentle.

It was exactly what Yuuri needed right then and the words came out of him in a rush. "My adopted brother, Darius… he threatened to take her… my… sister, Nika…. Nikola. He swore he would the moment I thought she was finally safe. He already took Cambrel from me… now he's taken Nikola." His hand clenched around the fine silver bracelet that rested in his palm, he lifted it carefully so that Conrart could see the fine letters etched on the inside of the bracelet. Forever Family, Juli. "I have to find her." His chest heaved sharply with pain, a pain that was emotional and speared right through his heart. "Darius… is a Blood Trader."

Conrart jolted hard, his cinnamon eyes widened at the use of a term he had only heard in passing and suddenly it was his turn to feel extremely ill. "Huber…"

"I suspect they have him. They might have only wanted what he carried at first… but he's a pure blooded noble. He's valuable to them as long as they can tame him, otherwise he'll be used as food for the beasts."

"By Shinou's sword." Conrart shook his head slightly, the sickening wave of nausea touched his own belly at the fact that he knew stories of Blood Traders and none of them were good. His father had spoken about them on many an occasion, warning him of what would happen if anyone noticed him in the human lands as being more than just a human. He had made that mistake in the fight in Lelwin, no matter how much use his thin barriers could be against the enemy, their use was definitely not something he would repeat in human territories. Blood Traders were the reason there were so few half-breeds were left in human territories, they had been rejected by the societies that had produced them and been easy pray for the bandits and slavers that made up the Blood Traders who supplied human nations with people for the slaughter.

There was so much more to the story, so much more to the entire tale of what had happened between himself and his three adoptive siblings. A story that left him chilled to the bone and unable to look into Conrart's eyes. He was almost as much of a monster as Darius for what he had almost done, the shame still rested heavily upon his soul.

"We'll get her back." Conrart gently lifted one of Yuuri's gloved hands, curling the fingers together lightly before sliding the bracelet down over them and around the surprisingly slender wrist. Drawing it upwards, he touched his lips to the bared skin between his shirt and glove, hoping desperately that he could keep that promise to Yuuri. "I swear, Yuuri, I will be by your side until she is with you once more. You have my solemn word on that."

Yuuri's dark gaze misted over a little with deep emotions that rose in response to those gentle words and he was reminded a little of his brother Cambrel. The gentle nature and the protective streak that ran through Conrart like a vein of pure gold through quartz, bright and pure despite whatever might cover it.

"That means a lot to me."

Shifting those last few inches in closer, his glove hand lifted upwards to brush against Conrart's cold flushed cheek, sliding the supple leather across the tawny skin. His mouth found that of his companion's, their lips felt cold against one another, their breath mingling in a flutter of white wisps that slipped upwards into the frosty morning air. The cold lingered until Conrart's tongue slipped across his lower lip, burning hot and slipping into his mouth as a hand caught the back of his head, cradling it lightly as he devoured Yuuri's mouth. It was scorching, when their lips parted, the heat flowed between them, a live wire crackling with what was between them, raw and magnificent.

The black wolf hound looked rather amused at the pair as Arel sat silently, tail twitching with amusement, but this time he didn't interfere, just content to see his partner happy, even amidst such sorrow and snow.

"What is it you do to me?" Yuuri breathed softly, their foreheads touching lightly, his chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to draw enough air into his lungs to alleviate the light-headedness he seemed to be suffering from. "Since the moment I met you… I have not been able to shake this feeling."

"Feeling?" Fingertips swept the long wispy tendrils of raven back from the beautiful face, tucking them behind one of Yuuri's ears lightly. "What kind of feeling?" Their lips were brushing, an intimate slide of damp softness.

"You want me to admit it out loud, don't you, Conrart Weller?"

A smile touched the corners of his lips, hearing the sexy little purring growl that ran through Yuuri at the intimacy they shared as if both had been born to it. "I wouldn't mind hearing exactly what it is I do to you."

Suddenly Yuuri's hands curled into the thick silky brown locks, dragging the other man's head down and into a kiss that made the first seem like something tamed. Their lips met and crushed together, branding them both in that moment with something that neither could quite understand, mouths and tongues brushed and tangled, warring each other for dominance. His gloved fingers tightened, their breath shared as that kiss left them both panting with its raw intensity.

"Guess." The raven haired man said with a grin that put the sun to shame with its radiance.


Rheine, The Border City, Sicambria [Thirty Years Earlier]

"Julius!"

Obsidian eyes blazed with emotion, his body spinning around, his long raven locks swaying wildly around his shoulders and framing his beautiful face as he regarded the man who stood before him. His head tipped back slightly, the boy feeling dwarfed by the six and a half foot tall frame of the man before him, staring into the toffee brown eyes that regarded him with concern, he backed up a step.

"Please, listen to me." Cambrel's expression was deeply troubled, the rich fall of chestnut locks fell to his shoulders, expression softening as he reached out a hand for his younger adoptive brother and had it pushed away.

"How could you talk about Darius like that?" Black eyes were wide and almost heart-broken as he backed up a step, his entire body stiffening slightly. "He's our brother! How could you say he's a… a Blood Trader?"

"Juli." The man entreated gently.

Shaking his head furious, he stepped back, his entire body tense. "Darius would never do that, he is helping those men and women. I saw him getting transportation for them… he purchased food and clothing for them with his own coin." Another step, Darius was waiting for him. He had promised his brother he would meet him for noon meal and he was already late because he had returned with the items from the markets for Nicola, his older sister.

"Please, Yuuri." He pleaded massive hands wanting to catch the slender shoulders of the youth who stood before him, the child who both Nicola and himself cherished more than anything. He had been a gift to their grieving mother, a bright little light when their Human father had died of old age, leaving behind his children and ailing Demon Tribe wife.

A soft gasp escaped the boy at the sound of his true name being spoken by his older brother, a name that none of his siblings used unless attempting to convince him of something. He was Julius Reinhardt, youngest of Emalia Reinhardt's four children. It was who he was and who he always wanted to be. "Don't, Cam."

"Yuuri Shibuya." Large hands caught at slender shoulders, holding the boy in place, his expression deeply troubled and clearly hoping to be able to convince the stubborn youth of the truth. "You will listen to me when it comes to Darius. He is in with a bad lot, I might not have physical proof of his guilt of what I suspect he is involved with, but for once, you will obey me in this. You will not assist Darius in his 'rescuing' of people. I am your older brother..."

"As is Darius!" Fighting hard against the powerful grip on his shoulders, he finally managed to escape, his obsidian eyes wide and disbelieving. "I can't believe you would do that…" That his brother would pull 'rank of birth' on him like that, attempt to forbid him from something that he couldn't understand that was going on between Darius and Cambrel. "I love you, Big Brother, but you're wrong! Darius would never do those things… Darius helps people and I want to be like him."

"Yuuri!"

But the boy had already taken off into the crowds of people that were passing by their home.

Cambrel only hoped desperately he wasn't going to be too late to prevent what he knew was going to happen. Darius had always been jealous of the fact that all of them had been intensely protective of the beautiful Yuuri since he had come into their lives. He had been the sunshine in Cambrel, Nicola and Emalia's world for so long, someone that warmed their hearts even when grief over the loss of Emalia's human husband.

Hopefully, Cambrel swallowed. Hopefully he was indeed wrong about what he suspected his brother to be doing and using Yuuri for. Yet, he knew in his heart that he was right and he needed to do something about it.


Cellar, Bandit's Hideout, Samiria

"Please swallow." A soft feminine voice whispered softly against Griesela Geigen Huber's ear.

The cool metal of a spoon lightly touched against his lower lip, something tickling against them, his lips parted and liquid slowly began to slide into his mouth, quenching a little of the dryness that seemed to fill his mouth with sand. Another mouthful was soon being offered to him, he didn't quite know what to do other than to obey the silent whisper of the woman whom knelt beside him.

His shadowed blue eyes slowly began to drift open, blinking a little as the flickering light of a candle filled the darkness around them. Huber's vision swam and dipped dangerously, his breath rasping in and out of his lungs, broken ribs creaking in protest at the movement. Pain radiated from every part of his body, throbbing and tearing at him the inside out, reminding him of the fact that he had been beaten within an inch of his life for trying to escape.

Something abruptly filled his vision, a shadow of white and toffee appeared before him. Slight blinking slowly began to bring into focus the face of an angel. His heart skipped a beat as wide toffee eyes stared up at him with such worry and concern that he felt himself practically want to melt. A part of him idly wondered if he had not died after he had been left in the dank, freezing cellar, because such beauty did not exist in the land of mortals.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something… anything to the beauty before him, but only a rough dry croak escaped him, voice cracking and splintering like dried wood.

Slender white fingers pressed against his lips, silencing the sound that wanted to escape him, her head shaking lightly, wide gaze begging for him to remain silent. "Don't try to speak, save your strength."

That sweet voice was exactly what he had expected from a lovely maiden like her. Though as his eyes studied her face, he noticed the dark bruise that ran the length of one of her pale cheeks, a rage like none he had ever known seared through him at the sight of a mark of violence upon her skin. The anger swelled within him that someone would raise their hand to a woman, especially one as kind as this one.

His hand slowly rose upwards, a fingertip lightly touching against the purplish black mark that ran across such velvety soft skin, his shackles clanked heavily with the movement, his long dark charcoal locks falling into his eyes, the matted strands streaked with blood and grime. He was more than likely nothing to look upon in the state he was in. Huber's slate blue eyes held a questioning glint in them, silently asking who she was.

"Nicola." She whispered softly, her wide toffee eyes taking in his appearance for a long moment, before she swallowed slightly. "Someone will come for us. My brother will come for us."

"I already have." A harsh rasp sounded from the doorway somewhere above them, the wooden stairs creaking beneath the weight of the man who slowly came down them to stand in the dank space with them. The tall figure of a man was silhouetted in the pool of light that filtered down from the room above, his eyes glinting the same toffee brown as Nicola's own. However, the handsome face of the man was marked with vivid scars that ran down across the length of his face and throat and gave reason for why his voice was so husky and raw.

Nicola actually managed to find her feet, her stubborn chin lifting and she stood before the battered and beaten Huber without so much as an ounce of fear, her toffee eyes burned with defiance. She was no kept woman, she was a spitfire who would lie down when pushed by even the monster that lurked in their family tree. "You are not my brother."

"You wound me, Sister." A smirk caught the edge of his lips as he stalked towards her, a hand catching her jaw and yanking it painfully upwards and forcing her to look at exactly what had happened to his face. "You would deny me? You would deny our family bond?"

"I will always deny you." She breathed, not flinching from the powerful slap to her jaw, which drove her to the ground with a soundless cry.

Huber immediately jerked hard at his chains, wanting to go to her defence even though every part of him screamed in raw pain at what had been done to him. A snarl would have escaped his lips, his eyes burned like a lightning lit thunderstorm raging with such fury.

"I've heard of you, Griesela Geigen Huber." Darius Reinhardt stepped over his sister with distain evident on his face before he stopped before the raging man. "I wonder… would you still fight to protect her if you knew she was a half-breed?" Dropping into a crouch before Huber, the man smirked when he saw the flash of reaction in the noble's eyes, the flicker of disgust. "So it is true. You and I are not so different."

Confusion flickered through Huber's features.

"I hate scum like you, Demon Tribe. So superior with your magic… I find it such a delicious thing to know I can both rid myself of your race and also of the half-breeds you so detest and get paid for my efforts."

"You're a half-breed too, Darius." Nicola lifted her head from where it had been resting against her arms, another flare of colour streaking her beautiful skin.

A snarl cut through the space, Darius turning on her with cold murder burning in his eyes. "Do not test me, Little Sister. Do not think that Julius will ever manage to rescue you. I will prove to you I am stronger than either of them, I'll prove…"

"Coward."

And he reached out to strike her again, but she managed to duck just in time, her body trembling with the force of her grief and emotions. "You will learn to hold your tongue, Nicola. It will be the only way you will remain alive. Cambrel and Julius were weak and should never have allowed you too…"

But there was a loud thumping from up the stairs and a bellow of Darius's name and the man snarled another curse before heading up the stairs again and slamming the door, the lock being clicked into place on the other side, leaving Nicola and Huber in the dark together, both uncertain what to expect from the other.


Nicola in this story for the purpose of plot XD and because I wouldn't have the heart for Huber to lose the love of his life, she's a half-breed. 3 I hope you like the plot ^_^