Hi everyone^^! It has been, once again, such a long time since I last updated. I apologize again for the delay of this chapter! University has been such a pain as usual, so I haven't gotten much time to write … but luckily, I managed to produce this super long chapter—the longest I've ever written! Originally, I was planning to split this chapter into two chapters, but then I thought, since you readers have been waiting so long (which I appreciate it a lot!), I'll just merge it into one chapter. I hope you readers will like it as much as I'd fun writing it…even though there's a corny scene or two (I don't think I can ever write good romantic scenes *sighs*).
Also, I would like to make two shout-out(s). First one is to the wonderful VampireMaddy for giving me helpful pointers even though she couldn't help me beta this chapter. I just want to say thank you so much for your hard work on my previous chapters! I've enjoyed reading your little notes and I'm going to miss them so much~! Second shout-out is thank you to kawaii hime-sama for beta-ing this chapter (you're very awesome^^!).
Oh yeah, if you happen to spot an error or two or more, feel free to tell me as you have probably noticed this-but I always manage to make some sort of error despite how many times I re-read or have lovely beta-readers to look over them (I somehow mess it up). I really don't know why...
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight... If I did, then why am I typing this?
Chapter 11: Loves Me Not
.
.
Spending time with the Cavendish siblings was the only time that Yuuki could unwind herself from the stress and pressure that everybody else was giving her. Almost everyday when the sun settled on the horizon, Michiru and the maids would come greet the sleeping Yuuki. They would tell her how many days were left until her soiree and gently yanked the sleepy Yuuki out of bed. They then would go through the daily routine of dancing, playing various instruments, having tea time with Michiru to work on her social skills, and reviewing the names along with general background information of famous people that would attend at the soiree. So roughly estimating and accumulating those tiny breaks in between, Yuuki would only get an hour or two for herself—and see another person other than Michiru.
I can't wait until this is all over, Yuuki thought. She was currently standing on the balcony and observing the scenery beneath her, the water fountain spilling glistening cool water onto its stones and the wind blew blandly over the grass. The serenity of the scene was supposed to help her relax and perhaps meditate, but all she felt were uneasiness with the soiree, and uncertainty with her fiancé.
"How was your day, Yuuki?" Madeleine asked, inhaling the fresh air as she stepped next to the youngest Kuran.
"It was...okay," Yuuki managed to say and tried to smile as her mind wandered to the distasteful flashbacks of what happened few hours ago. To be frank, she had quite a bad day as she accidentally broke the violin's strings, spilled tea on Michiru's antique dress, messed up in remembering the names of important people, and fell on atop of Hanabusa when they were dancing. Some okay day that was. "And quite boring too with the preparations... So what about you? How are you doing?"
"The same as usual, I read a couple of books and worked on some projects," Madeleine said, "by the way, have you seen my brother? For some odd reason he's been missing in action for the past couple of days. I rarely see him anymore."
"Not yet," Yuuki responded expeditiously and scolded herself mentally for doing so. The answer she gave was indirectly hinting that she saw him every day, but she did not want to cause a misunderstanding that William was ignoring Madeleine—wait, did that mean she cares about him?
"I see," Madeleine attempted to not sound interested, "I just hope he isn't getting into trouble or bothering other people. He's quite notorious of meddling into others' affairs... Anyways, would you care to walk with me around the garden? Show me around?" She then smiled as if nothing was wrong and gestured her hand to the many paths in the exquisite garden.
"Sure!" Yuuki answered happily and was glad they were changing subjects in their chat, "there's this section where it has all these types of roses, and the sight is very breathtaking. Come, I'll show you."
The two maidens' short journey in the garden soon got interrupted when a smiling William approached them.
"Yuuki, I have been looking for you!" William exclaimed.
"Oh?" Yuuki was a bit surprised to see him as Madeleine and she were just talking about him. "How can I assist you, Will-san?"
"I would like to show you something," he said, not paying any attention to his own sister. "By the way, it's chilly and damp out here." He eyed between the two ladies before him and observed their outfits. "Yuuki, your dress is sleeveless and quite thin. Since Madeleine has her coat on... here, you should take mine." He took off his coat and placed it over Yuuki's shoulders.
"Thank you," Yuuki said softly. Even though she knew that this was all a pretense act, she felt her cheeks warming up in embarrassment and wondered if this had to do anything with Madeleine's gaze on them.
.
.
Art Room
"You know, she was staring at you the whole time," Yuuki commented, taking a paintbrush from the table.
"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything," William said, as he handed a wooden palette to her.
Yuuki displayed a frown on her face.
"Anyways, we're going to paint!" William had a cheerful expression on.
"Paint, why?" she asked curiously. "Is this for someone? Someone special? Perhaps, your sister's birthday?" She smiled as she was able to get Madeleine back into their conversation. She was about to nudge William's shoulder but changed her mind as she saw him shrug.
"Nope, we are going to paint for fun." He turned towards his blank portrait and was figuring out how he wanted to angle his brush.
"For fun?" she asked innocently, quirking an eyebrow at him. "So there won't be any object displayed for us to paint?"
"Free-style painting; you can paint anything that comes into your mind. This exercise will help you relax a bit as I've noticed you've had a foul day," he explained.
"How did you know?"
"I have my ways." He grinned. "So let's start painting. First, empty your mind of all troubled thoughts and take a deep breath. Then, paint whatever comes to your mind or think of something nice and paint that instead."
Yuuki listened to his instructions and started painting random things on her canvas. At first, it was kind of hard to think of something to paint, but then as each time she created a new stroke with her paintbrush; she loosened up her mind and let her imagination run free which made it a lot easier.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it," she said excitedly. Eager to show William her masterpiece, she hastily turned around to face him and she accidentally hit him with her palette and made a mess. Apparently, William was behind her the whole time and she didn't know as she was too absorbed into painting.
"I'm so sorry!" she said immediately, eyes widening.
"It's okay," he was about to say that it was not her fault, but she interrupted him with her speech of "no-it-isn't". She went on and on about how she should have been more careful. Then, in the process of explaining, she accidentally swiped her paintbrush across his face.
She almost shrieked at the huge purple stripe she painted across his face. She stared at him and he stared back. She expected that he would be upset with her, but instead, he suddenly laughed and somehow she started to laugh too.
"My lady, I don't think it's fair that I'm the only one being painted on in this room," he said rationally. As much as he wanted to seek revenge and splatter some paint on her, it would not be a very chivalrous thing to do.
"True, but its very fun." Yuuki gathered all of her confidence and bravely dabbed her brush on his nose. After it was done, she couldn't believe what she had did and wondered when was the last time she had this much fun.
"Oh, my lady, you've made a terrible, very terrible mistake in doing that," he used a serious tone in his voice, "however, since you did it on purpose this time, I assume it's an invitation that you want to play paint war. So let it commence!" He reached for his brush and Yuuki began to run away from him.
At the end of the day, paint had gotten over most of their clothes and faces. When the servants came into the room to clean up, they were shocked to see the two purebloods in such a state.
"Yuuki, we are needed for a portrait. Angelo just arrived and we are expected to-" Kaname got speechless when he came into the room. He took in the appearance of Yuuki and William, wondering what had happened.
"We had a painting accident," William said and cleared his throat, "and don't worry, no one got hurt." He grinned, hoping that would ease the awkwardness in their surrounding.
Kaname only nodded his head and fixed his gaze at Yuuki, who was averting her eyes, waiting for her explanation.
"Also, it wasn't her fault either, I can be clumsy sometimes and I was the one who pushed her into this," William continued his explanation.
Yuuki then decided it was her turn to join the conversation and explain what really happened. "No, that isn't true, Oniisama, I was the one who accidentally started this, so I'm the one to take the blame."
"Well." Kaname didn't know how to respond to this as he was surprised that Yuuki was worried who was going to get blame. "Okay, now that's cleared up, Yuuki, please go clean up yourself and meet me at the blue drawing room in one hour."
.
.
Yuuki and Kaname smiled at the brown-headed artist as he diligently worked on a portrait of them. Patiently waiting while sitting down on the sofa, Yuuki still didn't understand why they needed a portrait as the concept of 'capture-the-moment' did not apply to them; they would never age. Apparently, Michiru had said they should try it out as it would be a memorable experience and they could hang the portrait back at their home.
Since the young couple couldn't quite move or talk to each other physically, they had been communicating through telepathy for the past few minutes.
[*Note: In this section only, bold text is Kaname's thoughts while italicized text is Yuuki's thoughts]
How was your day?
Nothing special happened … just getting ready for the soiree.
What about the painting incident? Would you like to tell me more about it?
Oh...um...Yes, about that, well, like I have said previously, I was the one who inadvertently got paint on William's face and then we kind of started a paint war...
Expecting him to reprimand her for behaving in such a childish manner, she mentally braced herself and tightened her grip on her dress to ease her anticipation.
I see...
Was he not going to scold her?
Well... I would like to advise you that please don't let it happen again, because this could cause a misunderstanding.
How so?
My dear girl, don't take this the wrong way, but there are already rumors circulating in this building about that incident and it's not good for your reputation. I'm not saying this is a scandal because that's practically disgrace—
Scandal?
Yuuki shot up from her seat and narrowed her eyebrows at her brother, who was still calmly sitting down. She knew that she would instantly regret what she was about to say to him, but her small bottle of emotion inside her was beginning to violently overflow. Usually, she was able to control her temper, but not today, she was clearly overstressed and felt drained out of energy as the soiree was the night after tomorrow.
What do you mean, Oniisama? So is it not right for me to be with my friend, alone in a room, painting? Because the servants will think that something else more interesting is happening? Well, let me clarify, nothing extraordinary happened in that room and William was only helping me to relax through painting. He had noticed that I've been really stressed and nervous for the past couple of days to the point that it's affecting my rehearsals. He cared for me and showed his support during those darkest hours for me. So I don't care what others say about us, but I'm not going to stop being friends with him. He's a dear person to me. I'm not going to be ashamed of being seen with him, despite what others say, because I know the truth of what is actually happening and so do you.
She then turned her head to Angelo and said, "I'm very sorry, but you have to excuse me as I'm not feeling very well at the moment."
.
.
The Next Night, Yuuki's Room
"She should definitely go with the red-wine-colored dress." Ruka shoved the said-dress to Yuuki and patted her own chest. "Trust me, Yuuki-sama. It brings out the color of your eyes! Also, not to mention that red is the color of blood, which symbolize life and vitality. Without blood, we will perish and this emphasizes how essential Yuuki-sama is in our lives." She then whispered into Yuuki's left ear, "Besides, this dress is way better than that white dress Michiru-san wants to get you into."
"I heard that, Ruka." Michiru impatiently drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her. There was no way that she was going to give up on persuading Yuuki to wear the white dress for tomorrow's night.
"I still think she should wear a black dress to her soiree," Touya Rima said with an apathetic expression. She then munched on her chocolate-coated pocky as if everything was fine and that everybody in the room was not looking at her.
"Anyways," Michiru was prepared to win in the debate, "I think Yuuki should wear the white dress because the color white symbolizes purity, virtue, and innocence. Also, this dress offers more coverage than that." She pointed at the red spaghetti strapless dress and then at the elegant white laced dress. "We shouldn't expose her skin too much ... besides even Queen Elizabeth I wore a pristine white majestic gown in the Ditchley portrait."
Ruka raised an eyebrow at the random fact that Michiru just threw at her and said, "Well, if we are going to use historical facts in this debate, then did you know that in China, red is the color of prosperity and joy? When the Chinese marry, the brides always wear red and everything in the house gets decorated in red."
"And in the Western cultures, the brides wear white," Michiru argued, not bothering to accentuate that Yuuki wasn't getting marrying yet.
"Hmm..." Ruka said and placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, I think it's time for Yuuki-sama to choose now." She smiled and turned to Yuuki.
"Sure, but clearly she's going to choose my dress as I always knew which dress suits her best. In addition, I was the one who picked all those dresses in her wardrobe," Michiru said confidently, pride sparkling in her eyes.
"Well, Yuuki, which one are you going to choose?" they both asked the tormented princess.
Hesitating, Yuuki moderately observed the dresses and didn't know which one to choose. The red dress with a black bow around the waist area looked simple yet classy while the white dress looked (too) lacy yet beautiful. Both lengths of the dresses were around the same and Michiru had a point that the white dress offered more coverage as it had this bell-styled sleeve with pink ribbons tied to them that would cover most of her arms.
"Um...both dresses are equally lovely and ethereal. Can't I wear both of them?" Yuuki suggested sheepishly.
"I believe that's not an option, you can only wear one dress unless you get your dress dirty," Michiru paused and waved a dismissing hand, "and please disregard that thought. Your dress should remain spotless at all times."
"Can I have some more time to decide?" Yuuki compensated.
"We are running a tight schedule, the soiree is tomorrow." Michiru glanced at her watch. "So it's best if you can make a decision right here, right now. But, since you've been good today with your rehearsals, you can give us an answer tomorrow when we help you dress, so you can be indecisive until then."
Yuuki only nodded, grateful that she was spared to make a decision that would eventually hurt one of them.
"And now, we have to work on your hair," Ruka placed a hand on her chin. "Should we tie up her hair into a bun to give her a sophisticated look? Or leave it down for a natural and wavy look?"
"I think she should leave it down, it gives her more of an innocent and sweet look—like the one she has now," Michiru spoke out her opinion, pointing at the clueless Yuuki.
"Nah, I think she should tie it up because she will look more mature—which is important if we want people to take her seriously and not as a child."
Yuuki began to zone out as Ruka and Michiru got into another debate of how they should style her hair. Her mind was occupied as she thought back to the outburst she had with Kaname earlier. She was finding herself submerged in guilt as each time she replayed the scene over and over again in her mind.
Her conscience was telling her that she shouldn't have vented out her stress on Kaname. He was only trying to warn her that she shouldn't be too attached to William. For all she knew, William could not be the person he portrayed himself as. How could she not trust Kaname and his better judgment? She inwardly sighed as she realized she had made a mistake and should apologize to him.
.
.
Around Five o'clock in the Morning
Frustrated at not being able to meet Kaname, Yuuki shifted restlessly on her bed and told herself that she would have to find him first thing tomorrow night. Nothing was going to stop her, or well, maybe Michiru and Ruka, as they would probably be the first people she would see when the next time she opened her eyes—that was if she could fall asleep.
Shutting her eyes tightly, Yuuki started counting sheep like she did when she was a child. White and fluffy, she imagined. With the sheep's image created in her mind, she then visualized them jumping over a small brown fence in a pasture of green field with a sunny background and the birds chirping happily. Wait, she shouldn't think of birds or the sun, she should make the scenery more sleep-appropriate. She focused harder and changed the setting of the illusion in her mind.
After many failed attempts of counting the sheep, Yuuki decided to walk around in the manor against staying in bed and doing nothing. She thought the walk could help to loosen her perturbation, so she slipped out of her bed and into her dressing robe.
Sneaking out of her bedroom was easy for Yuuki, but being careful not to be caught by Michiru or her minions—the servants that worked for her and her children—would be challenging as they could be secretly patrolling the manor and making sure that Yuuki doesn't run away.
Paranoid much, Yuuki thought to herself and shook her head. She then proceeded to meander down the corridor and noticed that it was probably pretty early in the morning as the curtains couldn't hide the bright sunbeams that were coming from outside. This caused Yuuki to wonder when she would ever be adjusted to seeing sunlight.
Out of nowhere, Yuuki heard a faint, dark melody from a piano. Yuuki felt a slight shiver down her spine as she continued to listen to this haunting tune. Who could be playing piano at this hour?
So-Do-Mi. So-Do-Mi. So-Do-Mi
Those were the triplet notes that the pianist was playing with his or her right hand followed by some chords. The melody had given her a melancholic yet soothing feeling and she felt lured to it as she was curious to see who the pianist was.
Her feet stopped at the music room. She was relieved that the door was opened or else she would have knocked and interrupted the pianist. Poking her head into the room to get a better view of the shadowy figure behind the piano, Yuuki gripped her hands on the door for support.
She almost fell to the ground when she finally got a glimpse of the talented pianist—the person whom she was looking for the entire day, it was none other than her brother. At that moment, she knew she only had two options: one, go back to her own room before he sees her or two, go inside and apologize so she could finally sleep in the remaining hours before her big event starts.
No more procrastination, she deliberated that she had to be mature and face her problems instead of avoiding them. Aside from the apology, she wanted to mend their strained relationship. She had missed their old times together and speculated what had gone wrong. To be honest, she was very tired of being angry at him.
Taking a deep breath, Yuuki quietly emerged into the room and sat down next to him on the piano bench when he ended the song.
"Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, eh?" she said timidly.
"Yes, you recognized it?" he asked smilingly.
She nodded her head before replying, "I only heard of it, Hanabusa was supposed to teach me, but he never got the time."
"I can teach you the first movement of this piece right now, it's pretty easy." He then instructed: "Here, place your hands on the piano."
Within a few minutes, Yuuki had succeeded in learning the first couple of notes and Kaname asked her if she knew the meaning of the song.
"Not really, do I get a hint?"
"It's a little similar to Für Elise."
She pouted as she thought back to what Hanabusa told her and said, "According to the rumors, Beethoven wrote Für Elise to a lady who turned down his proposal. So are you implying that he wrote Moonlight Sonata for his lover and got rejected... again?"
"Not exactly," he answered and grinned, "this time, rumor has it that the lady accepted his proposal, but her parents forbade the marriage."
"Oh... that's a shame," she commented, "if all those rumors are true, then I feel quite sorry for Beethoven."
Sorry.
Yuuki almost gasped as that word reminded her that she was supposed to be apologizing to Kaname instead of learning piano lessons from him.
"Oniisama?" her voice was as soft as a mouse.
"Hmm?" He began to play some notes on the piano.
"I'm ... sorry."
The notes soon came into a halt as he gave her a sideway glance. "For...?"
"For earlier, I shouldn't have said those words to you," she said sadly, "I'm sorry that I made such an outburst. I—"
"It's okay, I understand." His gaze went back to the piano's keyboard. "And I was at fault too."
"No, you weren't."
"Yes, I was, Yuuki. I should have paid more attention to you. You were unhappy and weary." He turned to face her and tucked a falling strand of her hair behind her ear. "Yet I didn't do anything, so you should be angry at me. You have every reason to do so."
She shook her head and was astonished by his words. She couldn't believe that he was telling her that it was okay to be angry at him. She then said, "That's not the real reason why I was angry." She shifted in her seat. "I was still angry at the fact that you didn't contact me in those three years," she said softly, "I knew you had a reason to be away and I shouldn't be angry, but I don't know, I just can't help but feel this way." She shyly fidgeted with her fingers and looked down at her lap.
"Did you really think that you were really alone all this time?"
She haltingly lifted her gaze to meet his eye level and narrowed her eyebrows. Her confuse expression told him that he had to elaborate.
He only smiled at her and continued, "Did you not notice anything odd about the animals you saw when you were upset? The black cat and the raven?"
Flashbacks of those memories gradually faded into her mind and she remembered those animals. The black cat that constantly cuddled against her and accompanied her when she felt lonely in her bedroom. At each visit the cat gave her, she was mused on where did it come from and why was it being so friendly with her instead of being arrogant like most cats do. What got her suspicious the most was the red-colored eyes that it had, but she didn't give much of a thought as she didn't see cats often. As for the raven, it appeared without fail, whenever she felt very down at the garden. The raven would perch on a nearby tree and listen attentively to her rants about how horrible her day went.
"So... it was you, the whole time?" she asked, processing the new information she received in her mind. Heat flustered to her cheeks as she remembered she'd told some secrets to the animals such as drinking Hanabusa's blood and her feelings towards her brother.
"Yes, I was watching over you and making sure you were safe."
"But how come you didn't appear in person?"
"Because I wanted you to learn how to be independent and take care of yourself."
"And how did I do? Barely passing?" she joked lightly.
"Well, truthfully speaking, I was extremely worried when you stopped taking your daily dose of blood. You were really vulnerable and other people could have taken advantage of you." He caressed her face tenderly with his hand.
"I'm sorry, it won't ever happen again, I promise." She closed her eyes and covered his hand with hers.
He pulled her into his arms and rested his head on her head. She welcomed the warmness of his skin as their bodies collided. She sighed in relief as she was glad that they could be together again. The moment was ruined when she stifled a yawn and he reluctantly released her.
"Looks like someone's sleepy, you better go to bed or else you won't have enough energy for tomorrow." He pressed his lips on her forehead when he saw she was going to protest. "Now off you go, straight to bed. We can talk more tomorrow."
"Alright," she gave in and smiled as she had one request: "But only on one condition; you carry me."
.
.
Few Hours Later . . .
"Rise and shine, Yuuki-sama." Michiru cheerfully greeted the sleepy Yuuki as the doors of her room flung open. "It's your big day, so we need all the time we can get."
The only respond Yuuki gave was pulling her blanket over her head and turning her back towards Michiru. "Five more minutes please," she mumbled under her blanket.
"Sorry, not today, Yuuki-sama, we really have a tight schedule." Michiru walked over to Yuuki's bed. "Now, don't make me get Kaname-sama to wake you up."
"I'm awake!" her voice was suddenly filled with enthusiasm. "There's no need to bother him." She didn't want her brother to see her in such a state as she promised him that she would be more responsible in handling her affairs.
The preparations did not take long as Michiru thought it would with Yuuki co-operating. Michiru had noticed that Yuuki was in a rather happy mood today and ruminated what had caused her to be in such a mood, but now wasn't the time to discuss that matter as she needed to help her finish getting her hair done.
In the end, Yuuki had chosen the red dress because she remembered that Kaname once told her that she looked beautiful in red. As for the hair, Yuuki managed to appease Ruka and Michiru by combining both suggested options. She had let her hair down and let Ruka curl her hair a little with the ironer.
"All set and we have some extra time," Michiru said contently.
"You look gorgeous," Ruka said in awe. "And those curls look perfect." She folded her arms and admired her work.
"Thank you everybody for your hard work." Yuuki stood up and smiled at her friends. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to have some alone time." She then raised a hand at the suspicious Michiru. "Don't worry; I'm not planning to run away or anything like that. I just would like some alone time to calm the butterflies in my stomach."
"Alright, we will see you downstairs soon." Michiru placed a hand on Yuuki's shoulder. "I wish you best of luck."
After everybody exited the room, Yuuki walked over to the mirror and stared at her own reflection. The person in the mirror looked very elegant and noble. Like Ruka had said, the red dress bought out her eyes' color and matched her ivory skin. She was pleased to see that her hair was no longer straight and dull because she never liked it. Ever since she was little, Yuuki had envied her mother's long and natural curls, so it was nice for a change that she had a different hairstyle, even just for one day
"Are you ready?"
Yuuki swiftly turned her head to greet the person at the door. Her heart skipped two beats when she saw it was Kaname. He was dressed in a black tuxedo that fitted him perfectly at every angle.
"Wow, you look amazing," Kaname complimented.
"So are you saying that I don't look amazing on other days?" she asked, humor in her voice.
The response amused Kaname a little as he never thought she would say something so playful and teasing.
"I'm kidding, Oniisama. Thank you for the comment, you look very handsome too." This time she blushed.
The two of them managed to have a small discussion before Kaname was needed downstairs. He reminded her that he would be with her all the time during the soiree.
"I'll see you downstairs." Kaname grudgingly let go of her and went on his way. As he walked out of the room, he took in notice that William was heading towards him. He could sense the radiating cheery aura around William and knew instantly that he was looking for Yuuki rather than him.
They exchanged a quick greeting as they past each other.
"Yuuki, I have something urgent to tell you—wow, you look dazzling!"
Kaname stopped amid in the hallway when he had heard William's exclamation and decided to linger to see what William was up to. Even though he had known William for quite some years, Kaname still didn't trust him completely as it was not surprising that a pureblood could be deceitful.
"Thanks. Do I really look that bad normally?"
"Well ... kind of, as the dresses that you wear everyday are so plain and boring—joking, really. You look ravishing everyday, but today, you look extraordinarily stunning."
Kaname had almost cringed when he heard those sugary-coated words.
"Anyways, I'm here with a present, it's a necklace and I hope you will wear it tonight-"
"Ah, there you are, Kaname-sama, we need to go downstairs to get ready." Takuma had interrupted Kaname's eavesdropping on Yuuki and William. "Come." He gestured his hand down the staircase and gave his usual trademark smile.
Kaname only nodded and resumed his walking while pondering what was happening in Yuuki's room. So far, he hadn't heard any screaming or felt Yuuki's presence missing which meant she was safe. There was no scent of her blood in the air and he had asked his assistant, Seiren, to look over and protect Yuuki when he was not around-so why did Kaname feel so unease?
.
.
Yuuki hesitantly gripped the staircase's rail as she felt her stomach doing another somersault. She thought she had gotten rid of her nervousness an hour ago when her brother visited, but apparently it had made a comeback. She tried to take deep breaths and exhale them protractedly, but it was fatal, she felt so nervous that her legs were slightly shaking.
"I can do this," she reassured herself, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Any minute now, Oniisama is going to give me the cue and I have to walk down this staircase." Without falling that is, she thought.
She then shook head from left to right and said, "No, no. No negative thoughts. I must stay positive, optimistic."
Meanwhile, downstairs from where Yuuki was standing, a large crowd of noble vampires were heedfully listening to Kaname's speech as they were still ignorant of Yuuki's existence.
"...so my parents thought it was for her best that she stay hidden until she reached a certain age, and tonight is her sixteenth birthday," Kaname announced, looking at everybody in the room.
"Yes, my parents, Otousama and Okaasama..." Yuuki thought of her parents and the memories she shared with them, especially their last day together.
She remembered that her mother would always tease her father and make him wash the dishes after supper. She remembered that she felt bad for her father, so she volunteered to help him and ended up getting tons of bubbles on her face. She remembered then that her father chuckled at her and she laughed while her mother scolded her father for letting their daughter help him before hugging both of them as she thought they were pretty cute covered in suds.
A smile formed on her lips and her heartbeat was no longer racing at a rapid rate. Those memories were the only things she had left from her parents and she would always treasure them forever. She missed them so much and wished that they could be with her at this very moment, then she would feel more comfortable and self-assured, but they were gone.
A sigh escaped her lips and she suddenly felt overwhelmed by those happy memories that reminded her of the fact that her parents had died. She no longer was in the mood for her soiree and turned her body around to go back to her room.
"...she is betrothed to me and I promised my parents that I would take good care of her..."
She stopped in her tracks as she heard that sentence and told herself, "I'm not alone... Oniisama is downstairs and I can't run away." She paused. "They want me to do this."
"Without further ado, I would like to present you my dearest sister and fiancée, Kuran Yuuki."
"Yes, I'm Kuran Yuuki and I can do this!" she whispered to herself.
Taking one step at a time, she straightened her posture and held her head high as she came into the view with the staircase and the crowd. As her right foot was lowered to the first step of the staircase, she was abruptly aware that everybody's attention was on her. When her left foot came in contact with the second step, she displayed a kind smile on her lips to appear friendly.
After the first couple of steps, everything then went naturally on its own accord. Before Yuuki knew it, she was standing next to Kaname. Her eyes roamed among the crowd and were relieved to see her friends beaming at her.
"Good evening everybody, I'm Kuran Yuuki and it's a pleasure to meet you all." Yuuki spreadanother smile across her face and inclined her head.
It took the crowd a while to recover from the gawking as they couldn't believe that the girl standing in front of them was Juuri and Haruka's daughter. Their doubt dissolved when they felt the strong and powerful presence that was emitting from her, it was very similar to Kaname's. Right away, the nobles bowed their heads to welcome the new pureblood.
The atmosphere then lightened up as the party continued its well-planned agenda. People went back to chatting with one another about either their plans for autumn or the very recent hot topic, Yuuki. Many people were eager to talk and socialize with Yuuki as they wanted to get to know her and find out what she was like. Much to her surprise, Yuuki managed to keep herself very calm and comfortable as she mingled with other vampires. She appeared intrigued when people shared short stories or jokes with her and laughed even when the jokes were not funny at all. She carefully spoke out of her thoughts of certain issues when it was appropriate.
"It was nice talking with you, Yuuki-sama. I'll be going now." The nobleman bowed and left to find his wife.
"Yuuki-sama!" Takuma called out, holding a hand up to signal where he was.
Yuuki turned her head to the balcony and grinned when she saw her group of friends waiting for her. She briskly approached them and asked were they enjoying the party.
"I'm good, by the way I'm looking forward to dancing with you later on," Takuma said, winking one eye at her.
"But you know, Yuuki-sama has to dance with Kaname-sama first, right?" Rima reminded, folding her arms and closing her eyes for a minute.
"Of course I know that. I can wait." Takuma didn't see any problem.
"And you know, after that, she has to dance with other important people in our society, like your grandpa," Shiki Senri mimicked Rima's actions by crossing his arms and leaned against the wall.
"Oh yeah..." Takuma frowned and turned towards the gloomy couple. "Why do you guys have to be so pessimistic all the time?"
Senri and Rima simply shrugged their shoulders.
"Ah, don't worry, I'm sure I'll get to dance with you tonight or maybe next time when we have another party," Yuuki said. "I'm pretty sure that Michiru-san will be hosting a couple more parties, so I can continue to meet new people in our society."
"Hey, isn't that Sara-sama?" Ruka inquired, tilting her head towards an elegant lady with blonde tresses at the entrance of the ball room.
Everybody in the group looked at Sara's direction and watched as she was greeted by Kaname.
"I think you have to go, Yuuki-sama, Kaname-sama is looking at our way," Takuma said.
Yuuki nodded her head and excused herself. As she approached Sara and Kaname, she couldn't help but admire the grace and charm Sara possessed—the way that she glided on the floor and the way that she laughed with her eyes closed and one hand covering her mouth to appear ladylike. Was Yuuki inferior? She didn't know, but she knew that she felt very uncomfortable when she saw Kaname took Sara's hand and placed a kiss on it.
"You must be Yuuki," Sara said.
"Yes, and you must be Sara-san." Yuuki bowed her head.
"We are some of the few remaining purebloods." Sara grinned and tipped her head to one side. "I hope we can become great friends and stick together."
Even though Sara's statement sounded benevolent, Yuuki felt ill at ease when they shook hands.
.
.
Back at Yuuki's room
"Once again, thank you and good night," Yuuki said to her maids and closed the doors. "What an exhausting day." She stretched herself and let out a yawn. All she wanted to do now was to hop into her cozy bed and go to sleep. She strode towards the bed and let herself fall onto it.
Indeed, she felt relieved that she had survived the night without making a fool out of herself, but she knew that this was her first step to society. There would be more nights similar to this one, and from now on, people will be looking up to her.
"Is that why you didn't want me to be involved with other vampires, Okaa-sama and Otou-sama?" she asked silently, closing her eyes as if she could see them there. Her breathing slowed down as she started to drift off to sleep but was soon pulled back to reality when she heard a knock on her door.
She knew who was the knocker and sat up on the bed as she told him to come in.
"Still awake?"
"Not for long, I'm a bit tired, is there something you need to…?" her voice trailed off as she looked up at him with sleepy eyes.
"No, not really."
"Oh?"
"I was just wondering how you were doing."
"I'm fine, Oniisama, thank you for your concern."
"Did you enjoy the party then?"
"It was good." She continued to keep her replies short to hint that she wanted to go to bed. Normally, sleep would be the last thing she would want to do when she was around Kaname, but not this time as she couldn't believe how indifferently he'd treated her earlier at the party. For some peculiar reason, his attitude towards her seemed to be listless and distant ever since they talked in her room before the soiree. She couldn't comprehend why there was a sudden shift in his behavior and dreaded that they were going through another awkward phrase.
"So…" He paused for a moment and took the opportunity to loosen the tight collar of his dress shirt. "The Cavendish siblings are leaving tomorrow."
"Yes, Will-san has told me about that." She rose from the bed and walked to her vanity desk in hope that the little walk could make her more awake.
"Speaking of William, he seemed to be next to you throughout the whole night." His tone of voice had become unexpectedly cold and Yuuki picked up her hair brush to avoid eye contact.
She knew where this was heading and she didn't want to highlight again that there was nothing romantic going on between her and William. She opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it when she thought of another way to approach the issue.
"So was Sara-san with you," she said calmly, secretly hoping that he did not catch her being jealous. "She was with you the whole night and did not leave your side."
"That was because we were discussing about business matters," he said plainly, not noticing how defensive that sounded to Yuuki's ears. He suddenly felt he was accused of being unfaithful, but didn't notice that was what Yuuki was trying to do.
"Same with Will-san and me." Yuuki stood up again and glimpsed at Kaname before retreating back to her bed.
"Do you like him?"
The question was very simple and straightforward, but Yuuki knew that her definition of like was disparate than his. So she stood there, pondering how to explain the only person that she liked was nobody but him; Kuran Kaname.
"No, I don't like William in that kind of way," she tarried for a while before continuing, "I'm actually in love with someone else."
There was an absence of sound and speech in the room as those words left her mouth.
"Who?" It took him a tremendous amount of effort to say that word. He never thought that another man was going to take Yuuki from him—except Rido, but that was another case, Rido wanted Yuuki for a different purpose than love. He stared at her, stiffened his shoulders and asked, "Does he treat you well?" The images of a smiling Takuma and an embarrassed Hanabusa appeared in his head. "Does he love you?"
"He treats me well, he has always been kind to me…but I don't know if he loves me. I never really know what goes through his head," she sighed.
"Oh… Do I know him then?" He wanted to know who this amazing person was. The person who had stolen Yuuki's heart. He clandestinely made a mental note that he needed to get his secretary, Seiren, to perform a background check on this person.
"Yes. In fact, he's very close to you."
"I see…"
"He's about your height too and around your age." She twirled around and placed her index finger on the corner of her mouth, hoping he would get the subtle hint.
"Oh?" he tried to feign interest and hoped she wouldn't give him the details of that guy's personality or how she fell in love with him. Knowing the fact that he had lost to this man was enough for him to digest today.
"But I think I'm such a fool to love him…" She slumped her shoulders down and pouted while looking down at the ground.
"And why is that?"
She now felt her heart pounding hard against her rib cage and knew that this was her chance to confess. She tightened her fists and her eyes unhurriedly met his as she said, "Because, I'm helplessly in love with my brother."
Their eyes locked in gaze as she plastered a light-hearted smile upo n her face. Seeing the usual stoical expression on his face, doubt began to enter in Yuuki's mind that her love will be returned. She was expecting him to smile back or at least say something, but he didn't and so she turned away.
Had she got it wrong all this time? That he only saw her as his little sister and nothing more? Could it be that he was simply willing to marry her because of their parents?
"Just go," her voice almost choked those words as she felt tears forming in her eyes. She had to stop thinking about how her love will be permanently one sided. In the back of her mind, she wondered if this was how Hanabusa thought and felt when she rejected him.
To express how physically and mentally tired she was, she pulled the covers of her bed and reached for a pillow. Just as she was about to climb into the bed, two arms circled around her waist and hot breath ticked her neck.
He then turned her around to face him and lifted her chin with his fingers to face him. "Then I must be a bigger fool because I'm in love with a fool." He drew her closer to him and leaned down to kiss her.
She hesitated to respond as she didn't know if this was all an act to make her feel better. He soon pulled away from her but didn't manage to increase the distance between them as she gave a hesitant kiss back, wanting to test whether he had meant those sentiments.
He reassured her by drawing her closer to him, deepening the kiss. She let out a small giggle as they fell unto the bed with him on top. He looked at her as he was amused by her giggle and brushed some strands of hair away from her face.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You, for being in love with a fool," she said, caressing his right cheek.
"It's not foolish when you love that person very deeply." He took her hand and kissed it.
"Really?" she asked, looking into his eyes and searching for an answer. They both knew that she was questioning about their relationship and what kind of love they had for each other.
"Really," he assured her and kissed the tip of her nose before reclaiming her mouth again with his.
The kiss lingered for more than a few seconds and neither of them wanted to take a break. Typically, Yuuki would had been embarrassed by this long kiss and pushed him away, yet both her heart and body refused to stop as she felt the desire of having him close to her. So she wrapped her arms around his neck to have him closer, making their bodies pressed against each other. Excitement was coursing through her body and she wondered if this was due to the fact that they had never been so intimate with one another. Had they been longing for each other for so long that they couldn't control themselves anymore?
His kisses soon trailed all the way down to her collar bone and went back up to her neck. He couldn't help but loiter there because the beast within of him wanted to get a taste of her sweet, delicious blood. Obliviously, his fangs appeared and lightly brushed them against her pale neck, sending a shiver down her spine as they felt very cold.
A gasp escaped from her mouth as his fangs almost pierced into her skin and he immediately became conscious what he was doing. He stopped and pulled away before he could lose control again.
"I'm sorry," he managed to say. "I just need to—"
"Drink blood," she answered for him and then hesitated before saying the next couple of words, "I understand and you can drink it."
Drink it.
Did she mean that she was giving him permission to drink her blood? He looked back at her and found her tilting her head at him with her all of her hair pushed to her right shoulder—exposing her defenseless neck.
"Yuuki…" he started and was ready to explain to her that she didn't have to do this.
"It's alright. I always drink blood from you…so it's only fair that you drink from me too." She lowered her gaze as she felt a blush creeping unto her cheeks. "I insist. I want to experience the pain, share it with you."
"The pain lessens each time you do it, so it doesn't bother me," he tried to persuade her to change her mind.
"But it bothers me," she stubbornly said. "It makes me feel selfish."
"Are you sure?" he asked, caught between the desires of satisfying his hunger and making her happy. He wanted to make sure that was what she really wants.
"Positive, unless you want me to ask William…" She purposefully teased and in a blink of an eye, she found herself trapped between him and the bed.
"There's no necessary to do that," he said solemnly.
"I was just kidding, Oniisama. I remember what you taught me, it would be a taboo." She reminded him.
"Would it be a taboo between us?" He thought back to the night when she was only twelve years old and asked him that question.
"Never," she said determinedly, shaking her head slightly from left to right. "A vampire once told me that the most effective way to satisfy his quench is to drink his true love's blood."
He felt touched to hear that for the second time, not surprised at all that she still has the same answer, but he was in awe that she was so devoted to him and kept his words close to her heart. He only smiled and nuzzled into her neck affectionately. He then licked her neck to prepare for the bite and noticed her body flinched a little when his fangs made contact with her skin.
So this is how it feels, having your blood slowly taken from you, Yuuki thought. Her eyes dully looking at the ceiling as she didn't feel much pain at all except the initial bite. She tried not to have too many thoughts in her mind as she didn't want him to read them. However, her mind wandered off to the memory of the day that her parents died and…Rido.
In the reminiscence, she saw herself running up the staircase while falling down occasionally as she was too anxious to see her parents. She had smelled her parents' blood in the air and felt their auras were very faint. In a matter of minutes, she reached to the front door of their manor and yanked it open to witness a disturbing scene.
Her throat was all dried up as she saw her parents lying down on the ground and she would have assumed that they were dead until she saw them turned their faces towards her. They had blood all over their clothes, faces, and bodies. Despite how awful their appearances were, they still managed to plant beautiful smiles on their lips.
She then saw her parents mouthing some words as their bodies began dissolving into thin air. The whole scene then darkened as she shouted to her brother.
Yuuki was snapped back to reality when she felt her whole body was becoming weaker and weaker by the moment. She loosened the grip on his shirt—without even realizing she'd been gripping so tightly—before closing her eyes.
"Oniisama…" She muttered, feeling light-headed and placing one hand on her forehead.
Hearing how feeble her voice had become, he instantaneously pulled his fangs out and realized that he had taken more blood than he intended because he was so thirsty. He saw how her face was slightly paler than usually and regret panged in his chest. He took her hand away from her face and kissed it.
As he was about to tell her that he shouldn't have done it and bring self-pity upon himself, Yuuki peeked a glance at him and said softly, "I'm fine, I just want to rest." She then exhaled as she closed her eyes again. "Just hold me."
.
.
Sneak Peek of Next Chapter:
Staring at the silver gun with the writing Bloody Rose engraved to the side that was pointing right at her heart, Yuuki never thought she would be caught in such a threatened situation.
"What are you doing here, vampire?" the silver headed guy asked acidly.
"I was just…looking around," Yuuki replied. She wanted to say more but found herself lost in words as she felt captivated by the man's mauve-colored eyes.
"Really? Or were you looking for a mid-night snack?" The guy was evidently not convinced. "After all, this is an academy and it's really late at night. What could a girl, or correction, vampire like you, be wandering on this territory with a black cloak?"
Yuuki felt her cheeks burning up as he continued to rant on she was going harm the students at the academy. "I'm not here to cause—" Her elucidation got interrupted when a shadowy figure jumped out of a nearby tree and landed behind the man.
With fast reflex, the man aimed at that figure and fired his gun. Yuuki flinched a little as the gun shot was very loud and couldn't believe her eyes to see a slender hand clutched to the man's throat. It was . . .
Authoress' Note: Hmm … so who do you think that mysterious person is in the sneak preview? And will he/she get hurt?
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. So finally! This story's setting will be shifting to Cross Academy—where Yuuki has to deal with Zero, meet the humans aka Day Class, be involved in school activities, learn about blood pills, and maybe, have a pillow fight with the Night Class (Takuma sure will be happy)^^.
Lastly, it will be lovely if I can get some feedback on this chapter. I'd spent a lot of time on this chapter, so I'm very excited to hear your opinions about it^^! Comments and constructive criticism are warmly welcomed~. As for the next update, I'm happy to say that I got some scenes down, but I have midterms coming up next week and the week after that…so I don't know when I'll be updating… However, I'll try my very best to not take that long while balancing time with school.