ZERO

The air was very still and held a slight chill despite the rapid approach of the summer heat. Zero stood at attention, hands loose at his sides and ready for any moment in which he might need to draw his sword to defend his princess. Beside him, Hanabusa hummed under his breath and polished the hilt of his own blade, clearly bored. In light of recent events, the two Bloodguard had decided that they themselves should be stationed outside the doors of the princess' bedchamber itself as an extra precaution. At the advice of the high council, from whom they had requested approval for the additional protection of the princess, they wore only light clothing and their weapons in order to give their movements more speed in the event of an assassin. There were guards in full armor at the outer doors as well, but between the king's death and Kaname Kuran's subtle threats, which had not been revealed to the council, both men felt that the added security from none other than themselves would not be amiss. Although, considering the younger knight's current behavior, there wasn't much advantage to having him there.

The silver guard stared blankly at the elaborately patterned tile floor, losing himself to his thoughts. He remembered Yuki's face at the funeral and how she had barely been able to endure the ceremony. Her cousin had offered his condolences, but a smirk had been lurking there beneath the still waters of that smile, ready to pounce. Zero's fingers clenched into a fist, teeth grinding against one another in his mouth. Yuki's cousin was dangerous, and if his hints were true… He held himself in check, though he was seething with rage.

Picturing Yuki's face, he felt an acute pain impale his heart. She should never have to undergo so much tragedy, so much heartache. He wanted to protect her, shield her from the horrible reality into which she had been thrust. Even now he was forced to remain outside the chambers, unable to utter even a word of support or kindness. He could feel his muscles tensing one by one. All he wanted was to be with her right now, but all that was denied to him was exactly that.

"You look miserable." Hanabusa shot him a penetrating look. "Why not just go in there?"

The silver-haired knight continued to stare at the artfully designed floor. "It's against the rules."

"And?" The blond leaned back against the wall, folding his arms. "Who's going to see you and tell? Me? I'm the one who suggested it in the first place."

Zero remained silent. He resented the temptation that the young lord was offering him now, because he longed for it dreadfully and would never be in a position to have it.

"So let me get this straight. The girl you love has lost her father, is threatened with a marriage she doesn't want, and is in her room crying her eyes out with no one to comfort her, all alone, and you're just going to stand here and let it happen. Even though she's already suffered enough and had to put on a brave face in court every day." He stopped, then added, "She's probably been crying alone every night before this, too."

Now Zero favored his friend with a tempestuous glare, though inwardly he hesitated in his resolve. Imagining Yuki crying alone and helpless made his insides churn sickeningly.

"Do you actually love her or not?" The lord and knight returned his glare passively, issuing a challenge. "If I loved someone I'd never let them cry alone in the dark."

Zero looked away, jaw clenching. Hanabusa knew he wanted to enter, knew he wanted to comfort her. But how could he? He was a knight, a former slave, and she was the princess of the Nine Kingdoms. He wasn't fit to enter that room, and he certainly wasn't worthy to touch her, even if only to console her.

"Seriously, just go. I'll keep watch. If there's ever been a time that she's needed you, it's this very moment."

He truly hesitated now. At least, perhaps, he should enter to make sure she was alright… He needn't do anything else, only tell her that they were there, that he was there, if she needed anything at all…

"If anyone comes, you'll knock." He would only see her for a moment, just to ensure everything was okay.

"Yes, yes, of course," Hanabusa answered impatiently.

"Okay…thanks." He raised a hand to knock.

Zero wavered, still unsure. He should not enter the most inner chamber of the princess of the Nine Kingdoms. It broke down the very rules that defined him. Despite that, despite his training and his duties, he knew that she was alone and crying behind those wooden doors. It was this thought that compelled him to knock lightly against the smooth grain of the cherrywood portal.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Hanabusa muttered, and swiftly pushed open the door before Zero could stop him.

Trapped by the blond knight's hasty action, he had no choice but to step through, shutting the door behind him. Quickly, his eyes sought for her, settling on the wide canopy bed in which she lay. Surprised, Yuki was sitting up, attempting to wipe away her tears. Her chocolate eyes were swollen red and glazed over with the physical proof of her misery. He could see her pain as clearly as if she were shouting it, and he felt his own heart twist dangerously in response. Printed over the sorrow, her expression was guilty and embarrassed; clearly she had not been expecting anyone to intrude on her.

"Zero." In spite of the situation, he could tangibly feel her lips sweetly pronounce his name and his entire being move to the melody of that voice.

He crossed the room in quick, large strides, eating up the space between them, and sat facing her on the edge of the bed. She was still trying to remove the traces of her tear tracks, which seemed seared into her skin by the hot grip of grief. After a moment, she seemed to take hold of herself and scooted closer to him, as if drawing comfort from his proximity.

"You don't have to hide from me…it's okay to cry," he said, chest constricting with the desire to hold her closer and comfort her as he never would be able to.

"I'm stronger than this," she declared, holding her chin high. "I need to prove that I'm stronger than Kaname," she finished, though her bottom lip trembled and he could see tears threatening to break loose behind the screen of her eyes.

"Maybe," he murmured then, still finding her beautiful and unable to waver his gaze despite the rawness of her eyes and obvious desire for him not to see her thus. "But all children cry when they have lost a parent."

A tear slid down her cheek then, unbidden, and her hand moved to tightly clutch the fabric of his shirt at his shoulder. "I miss him," she whispered hoarsely.

Zero swallowed against a dry throat. He dared not move unless he lose his rigid control of himself and break all of the rules of his position as knight and servant.

"No one ever credited him for all the things he did. He held the kingdoms together, he did so much, he raised me when my parents died… Everything was on his shoulders, but I never heard him complain once." Yuki looked away, as if avoiding his eyes would avoid facing her own sorrow.

He nodded slightly. It was true, as a figurehead her adopted father may have had an underwhelming presence, but as a king he had accomplished much to strengthen the ties that held the different regions together in unity and peace. And to Zero, Kaien was far more than a king. He had saved the young Kiryuu from slavery, given his life a purpose, and most importantly of all, introduced him and placed him at the side of this woman who had become the everything to his nothing.

"We never got to go back to the summer house together," she continued in a raspy, drained undertone. "I knew that he was stressed. I saw the signs. I should have told the doctors but I thought it was nothing, that he just needed to rest. And now he's dead, and maybe it could have been prevented and—" her words were choked by a sob, and he felt her fingers strengthen their grip against his shoulder, her tiny frame shaking from the effort of holding in her grief.

Something within him snapped. At that instant, he didn't care any longer about the rules, about responsibility. There was only this, the woman he desperately loved was in pain, and next to that fact everything else was rendered insignificant. Against everything he had been taught, he pulled her against him, arms wrapping around her with all the built up tenderness and affection that he had never presumed to show before.

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Yuki broke down, burying her face in his shirt and letting the tears take her. In the circle of his arms she felt very small and infinitely fragile to him, but he could also feel her warmth spreading through him like an incurable disease, infecting every cell of his body. Not sure what to do, he merely held her, stroking her hair and letting her cry. He ached for her, to see her in so much pain, and at the same time he was overwhelmed with the moment, with this one opportunity to finally hold her. Her hair was very soft under his fingers, strands of silk perfumed with the faint scent of strawberries…

He didn't have many words, but he somehow found enough of them to say, "It's not your fault."

Yuki hiccupped, unable to stop now that she had started crying, and his arms wound around her a little further in response. He would hold her like this as long as she needed, as long as she wanted him there. He would have held her like this forever if he could have.

Time passed slowly. Zero leaned his head against hers, desiring her closer and closer to himself, attempting to convey physically all of the comfort and sympathy that he could not find the words to express. He wasn't sure how long the two of them remained there, but after a while her tears finally slowed and she seemed to relax. He still didn't move, however, until he felt her weight press against him and realized that she was drifting off into unconsciousness.

"You should sleep," he murmured against her hair, though part of him wished for the moment to continue longer.

She nodded against him, sitting up and sniffing to clear away the last of her tears. Her eyes were still watery, but she seemed much calmer. "I'm okay now."

Yuki settled herself back in bed and he stood up, helping her to pull the blanket up around her. It was a bittersweet sensation, the feeling which coursed through him. He was relieved that some of her misery had been eased. His own heart felt lighter now that the chains of worry had been released. But what he truly longed for was to lay down beside her, to feel her warmth and to comfort her through the night. But that was something that a mere knight could never do, not for a princess. He urgently needed to cast away these feelings which had rooted deep into his heart before they destroyed him. They had already proved strong enough to defy the rules which defined his existence and the carefully marked boundaries between himself and this girl.

"Sleep well, my Lady," he whispered, his chest slashed open and raw before her.

She smiled up at him. "Good night, Zero. And, thank you…" She closed her eyes then, exhausted and already fading away into her dreams.

He blew out the candle beside her bed and the room was plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the shimmer of moon beams that danced in through the window to one side and the glass doors of the balcony to the other. His feet were poised to leave, to remove him from the fountain from which all of his complicated emotions sprang, but seeing her there falling away into slumber and remembering her warm frame wrapped in his arms, some external force tugged at him and compelled him to act. Overcome by the sudden uprising of love which washed over him, he bent down to gently press his lips against her forehead.

Before he left, his voice came quietly through the blackness. "Good night."

A/N: o3o now you can't be mad at me for Kaien...riiiiight? -RUNS AWAY- Hehe after all that happened I think we needed a slower...sweeter chapter o3o

LOL out of curiosity... how many of you have read or watched Game of Thrones?