Author's Note: I was amazed that people are still reading my stories and very flattered that many have left reviews and messages requesting that I finish the story. Personally I hit a rut in my writing and felt that I would not be able to deliver a good enough story worth publishing here online. Due to so many people requesting, I will make one more attempt and see if I can pick up where I left off. Unfortunately, time is never abundant for me, so I'll do what I can and publish if possible when I feel like I have enough material to warrant a chapter. Thank you all for your kind words and support and I always appreciate constructive criticism.
Hanabusa let out a curse as a shelf of books detached and fell upon his unsuspecting head. The ruckus brought Lilith into the quaint library that Aria had frequented; curious to see what had gotten her husband so frustrated, enough to be heard throughout half of the estate. She located the source of mayhem in one of the further corners where Hanabusa knelt hunched over picking up the perpetrating books. Next to him were strewn piles of books that looked to have crisp, freshly printed pages and squeaky leather covers.
"What are you doing?" she said with an amused chuckle as she took in his attempts to unsuccessfully stifle a sneeze from the explosion of dust erupting from an older book he was absently paging through before discarding in another pile off to the side. He glanced at her with annoyance before continuing to clean up the mess he had made.
"I am clearing out these books. Aria has read almost all of them and I thought I would restock with some new ones before she comes back." Lilith's face sobered immediately at the mentioning of her daughter's name and her sudden change of mood settled into the room like a heavy cloud. Apparently, Hanabusa decided to ignore it and return his full attention at alphabetizing and organizing the books. Truly he could have had someone else perform this monotonous task, but he felt by doing this he was somehow closer to Aria even in her absence.
Lilith cleared her throat before breaking the sounds of Hanabusa's mumbles and scrounging.
"My father has sent someone from the clan to the estate." Hanabusa did not look up from his task at hand, but his shoulders tensed ever so slightly. His silence and slight pause in his actions indicated for her to go on. "It's Granger." Hanabusa's hands stopped completely for a moment before continuing. The heightened tone of his voice revealed to any other person as unease, but Lilith knew her husband long enough to know it was excitement. Any other time he would have been jumping up as would a child with bright eyes, but his harrowing adventures as a parent and fighting a war had matured him.
"Granger is here?" He more felt the affirmation than hearing it in Lilith's silent answer. "He is waiting in the main greeting room." Hanabusa tried to stand as slowly as possible so as not to portray his true eagerness usually accompanied by a bout of exorbitant movements and activities followed by a speedy exit towards the aforementioned room. He stalled instead.
"Really? Why is he here?" he said nonchalantly. Lilith raised her eyebrow delicately, surprised by Hanabusa's ever-growing maturity.
"My father heard of the unrest in the area and sent him as a precaution." Hanabusa's eyebrows drew together as his lips moved into a subtle downward slope, not all together pleased with this tidbit of information. Truly, his father-in-law was not socially obligated to take such precautions. It could be interpreted by many as a lack of trust in the Aidou clan's ability to protect its own. Despite this information, it did not mar his excitement for their visitor even as he continued his attempt to look casual and disinterested.
"I guess I should go greet him like a gentleman, one who hasn't seen him for fifty years." Lilith scoffed in the most ladylike manner as possible. Hanabusa took this as an opportunity to make his escape.
"What about the books?" asked Lilith ironically with a smile.
"They can wait." Hanabusa didn't even look over his shoulder as he continued out the door.
The man stood contemplating the shadows that lay outside the darkened windows. It had been a long time since the moon had taken full reign of the sky and he enjoyed its solidarity as he did every full moon. It was only three quarters, but he took what he could get. At least here, the moon showed brighter than anywhere else on the peninsula which was only one more agreeable reason to come here. It was unusual for a vampire to have such a strong attraction to the moon, something his parents tried to deny for many centuries. They could not stand the possibility of him having any werewolf tendencies, a thought that brought an amused smile to his face.
Granger's reminiscent thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt entrance of Aidou the younger and the bittersweet feeling of seeing his longtime charge returned to the forefront of his mind. He watched this married couple grow from youngsters to that of adults and he would never be able to stem the affection he felt for the two, and his particular attention for Lilith. When he had heard of the two's quick marriage he was happy for them but at the same time felt an inward stab of jealousy. He had long known that the ties between the two clans would be secured by the marriage of these two and he vowed to not let that get in the way of his work as the Beron clan's head bodyguard. He would use his own personal emotions to drive him and make him unbeatable. Seeing Hanabusa's bright admiring smile sent another pang through his chest.
Granger knew full well that Hanabusa saw him as much a role model as he saw Lord Aidou and he took that position very seriously. He felt a genuine smile spread across his face as he saw the vibrant young vampire, but he instantly noted the change in the man's face. It had been weathered ever so subtly, so slight that no one would really have noticed. There were a few deep set lines of worry, but there was an invisible weight hanging from him that can only be gained through age and hardship.
"Granger, no one told us you were coming. If we had known we would have prepared something more than this," said Hanabusa as he reached to shake the other man's hand with gusto. Granger hesitated. He was not much into noble formalities whereas Hanabusa took to them like air. He was not entirely sure that Hanabusa was even aware of his natural abilities to mingle so effortlessly with aristocracy of any race. It had always been this way.
Despite growing up knowing Granger all of his life, he acknowledged once again that Granger's dark figure and features were in complete contrast with his own lighter ones. The older vampire was still as youthful as ever and rumored to have even watched over Lilith's mother. Despite the fact that her mother was a full two centuries younger than Lord Beron, the two were well matched and up until the Lord and Lady Beron's wedding, she was in the care of none other than Granger. He was the furthest from the position of a nanny or keeper, but he was the closest companion to his charges as they grew. He was a constant presence whenever Lilith and Hanabusa were brought together to play with one another, which, looking back on it, was quite often.
"It is quite all right. I did not join the Beron guard to be seen as a guest wherever I went," said Granger good-naturedly. Hanabusa also was reminded of the slight distance he had always felt with the guardian. He was jovial at times and certainly engaged with others, but there was always a wall that he kept around him as a shield, one in which no one wished to venture to breech except perhaps Lilith. For her a barrier never existed. Hanabusa was never quite sure how this came about and felt as though it was one of those bonds that formed naturally between few beings, but once formed, is indestructible. Perhaps at one time he spent a great deal of time contemplating the complexity of Granger's relationships with others, but as does time curiosity fades.
"How is your father?" Granger inquired politely. Hanabusa shrugged nonchalantly.
"Up to his usual tricks. Lilith told me the clan had sent you here as a precaution. What did she mean?" The darker man stood a little straighter. Despite all of the cordial and heartfelt greetings, political motives and intrigue were in full-swing and he was not one to judge either when it came to his employer.
"Lord Beron heard of the unrest that is gathering in the north and has sent me here as additional protection for his daughter and granddaughter." Hanabusa stiffened slightly. So the Beron's still did not know. To his knowledge, they would not have had any opportunity to discover Aria's true origins. The Beron's were not particularly close with her as she grew into her own. The physical distance was far too great and they were notorious for their familial isolation with one another. He had half expected Lilith to tell her father, but this was not surprising that she had withheld this information.
"The Aidou estate is well guarded here, Granger. You know that as well as anyone else," Hanabusa said with a smile, slightly irked that Lord Beron would come to such a decision without informing the Aidou's first. It was a central family matter.
"As Lilith may have indicated, I am simply an extra precaution. There is no such thing as being too safe, especially with such volatile times." The young vampire examined the other closely and nodded, accepting the other's logic and allowing the tension to ease only marginally.
"Kaname-sama is very adept at handling these situations and I have volunteered my help should the need arise. I would count on you to keep my family safe while I were gone," he conceded and then hesitated as he continued. "There is another person that I would ask you to watch over as well, assuming I can convince her to stay where she belongs this time." The last was grumbled.
"Sayori Wakaba, I have heard of her." Hanabusa should not have been surprised or felt a slight stab of shame. He was by no means ashamed of Yori, but it was the situation in which he found himself that left him uneasy. Granger was known everywhere for his uncanny ability to scope out information and it was not as if the news was anything but open at this point. This thought then led instantly to Aria and whether or not this vampire knew what no one else outside the family did. He was trustworthy so Hanabusa was not concerned with the possibility of the information leaking out, but he was more concerned about what Granger thought of his family. Anyone else he would tell them all to go to hell, but Granger was different. To make matters even more complicated, Hanabusa knew of his deep loyalty to Lilith. This most certainly could put a damper on their current relationship. Regardless of the situation, Granger, for all intensive purposes, looked unfazed and unaffected by the awkwardness of it all.
Hanabusa plowed on.
"Please take her on as your ward as well. I know that this is a lot of me to ask, but I trust no one else with this task and I am sure that Lilith would agree to this as well." He was interrupted as a frantic servant knocked and entered rather unceremoniously. Hanabusa frowned in consternation as he had yet to gauge Granger's reaction to this bizarre request.
"Sire, it's Lady Wakaba, she's in the stables. She can't be reasoned with and won't allow anyone to talk her out of it."
"What do you mean the stables? Talk her out of what?" Hanabusa demanded, immediately edgy with Yori's name mentioned. He already had a sneaking suspicion of his lover's plans.
"She's leaving, sire. She said she is going after Lady Aria." Hanabusa did not even give a farewell to Granger before stalking out the door, mumbling curses and any other colorful language he could muster in whatever language he could think of. The servant was torn between tending to the guest and following her master. Finally with a hurried bow and an apologetic look, she followed Hanabusa down the hall.
Granger smirked slightly. It looked as though Hanabusa had his hands full. Too many women in the house probably and for that reason he was grateful he never really settled down.
Damn, there was that pang again.
Turning once again to his beloved moon he waited for Lilith's arrival. She would demand an accounting of why her father sent him and he would oblige her with as few details as possible. It was not his responsibility to give her the knowledge that her father was aware of something being amiss with his daughter's marriage. Despite the tight security and control of information it is difficult not to stop the whispers.
Though, he did find it curious that Aria, apparently, was nowhere to be found on the estate. Granger could not see Hanabusa allowing his precious daughter out of his sight unless there were extenuating circumstances that he was not privy to. Something must have happened very recently and this bit of information was immediately stored to be examined later. His hands were already full with the local unrest surrounding the Beron's estates, more fallout thanks to Kaname's rash decision to eliminate the Ancient Council. The thought vexed him every time it appeared in his mind and he did everything within his power to smother his dissatisfaction with the Pure Blood. He was not in any position to question the actions of one such as Kaname-sama.
It did not take long for Lilith to make her great debut; it had been long in waiting for him. He had not seen her since she had just come of age and her engagement was announced to Hanabusa. Granger was reminded once again why he had left. She was still as stunning as ever and if not aged in an undetectable way, just as her husband. Her smile was the same and the innocent way in which she moved to embrace him. No one else would even consider doing such a thing, especially to someone who had questionable blood such as his. The web in which he was catapulted into had engulfed him from the moment he laid eyes on the small child. She grew quickly like her peers and it was entrancing watching her grow into what stood before him at that very moment. All of this seemed to flash through his mind faster than he was able to even acknowledge the thought had appeared. Just as he did in the past, he held her at an arm's length after a heartfelt hug.
No one else but her.
"I am sorry that I wasn't able to come and greet you sooner, Granger. Unfortunately the household has been in an uproar of late and…" He shook his head cutting off any further apologies.
"As I told your husband, I am not here as a guest or of someone deserving of a welcoming ceremony. I am here on business." She nodded stoically, vaguely uncomfortable with the casual reference to Hanabusa as her husband.
"So word has reached my father of the unrest here."
"Yes, and he wishes only for the safety of that of his daughter and granddaughter." A thin veil of anxiety drifted across her eyes, barely even a trace left behind as she turned her head and cleared her throat.
"Then I take it that you have heard of Aria's whereabouts, correct?" Granger hesitated and refused to answer. Lilith was not deterred by the lack of an answer, instead she continued. "I believe at this very moment Yori is convincing Hanabusa to allow her to go after Aria and Hanabusa will cave to her wishes with the condition of him tagging along."
"And you? Doesn't this bother you?" Hanabusa was dear to his heart, but Lilith was dearer. If she gave the word, he would go and drag the young Aidou kicking and wailing back to the estate as he might have done so many cycles ago. She smiled wanly and shrugged.
"He follows his heart. That I have seen grow in him over the last several years and I would never make him choose otherwise." Granger was not satisfied with this answer but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A servant walked in demurely and bowed to the two.
"The preparations for the room you requested are completed, my lady," she said. Lilith nodded approvingly and then turned to leave, glancing expectantly over her shoulder at Granger and raised an eyebrow.
"I will show you to your quarters. I assume you will be staying here at the estate. After you have settled I am sure you will want to assess everything to make sure security is in order." Granger could do nothing but follow her if at a safe distance.