Chapter 13: Benevolence

Almira found herself shifting restlessly in her bed. The Day Class students had not made much noise outside the entire morning, and it was strange not hearing the buzz of activity for once. But the sounds that swarmed her head were of a different kind. It pulsated in her brain and through her veins towards her heart. She felt swollen, lost in the deafening white noise that paralyzed her still. With her eyes tightly closed and her fingers twisting the bed sheets, she saw a burning town; screams of people escaping for their life; screams that echoed into the school hall as a student's carcass lied motionless on the floor; and finally, the eyes that she feared above all else bearing its hungry teeth.

With a pull, she tore herself out of the nightmare once again, drawing in a huge intake of air knowing that her heart had stopped. She got up and immediately went for the vanity mirror. Feeling the skin around her face, she noticed traces of blue veins outlining from the side of her cheeks to her chest. She shivered with dread. It had begun once again.

The beast within her always seemed to become restless when she was alone. The last few days that she spent amongst the vampires– being one of them– had not invited any attacks. The thrill of taking her mind off her problem for some time had made her rejuvenated; she even wondered if that had managed to cure her in the process, whether, even if she dared to believe it, that those who were hunting her would eventually leave her alone because of it. But that was a highly ignorant thought. She knew they were out there; it was always their strategy to make one forget that they were still there. It only took one to let down their guard, even for a second, and that was when they finished the deed. She had seen it. She was expecting it.

And now that the proof of her fatal course lay bounded, she knew it was only a matter of time before she descended into madness for good. It was only a matter of time until all those memories she cherished– and the ones she despised—would fade away into oblivion.

Almira slipped her hand under her nightwear and massaged the part of her shoulder that still bore her scar. The area where they had dug their claws in Zurich was throbbing, and she feared whether it was a sign that they were close when she was sleeping. It made her even more frightened to be alone. Her thoughts then shifted to the wound that Kaname had, the grey-red mark that seeped into his skin, and her face turned warm once again.

She had heard about everyone's lust and desire for him, the god and ultimate ruler of their kind. She had seen the way Yuuki Cross adored him whenever they had passed by to go to class; she had felt, through circumstances wholly unpredictable, the force of his harsh words and fear from his authoritative presence. She was sure that he was going to treat her like filth, a disturbance in the order that he already maintained.

But in that moment when he offered his apology and let her break the cold barrier between them, she saw nothing more than an ageless being who had suffered timelessly, an imperfect being who had a weakness, capable of expressing all emotions granted to a human. In that one fragment of time, Kaname Kuran was not god—he was a mortal man.

"Who are you…" Almira whispered to herself as she fought to return that nostalgic feeling, the one that made her feel the burden of a time long gone. But with a couple of blinks and a shake of her head, she forced it out. This was not the time to think about such things. She had to remind herself that she now had the strength to do what the headmaster told her to do. Time was more fleeting than she anticipated, and to lose any more of it would delay any progress even more.

Almira rushed to her bag and took out her mother's necklace, placing the cyan cross in her palm as she gently pressed against it. A small amount of liquid oozed out, signifying that there was still some content left. She put some of it against her scar, stopping the throbbing instantly. The rest she planned to use for someone else.

Quietly escaping into the darkened hall, she looked around for Kaname's room. There were only few, those being his closest peers, who knew where he slept. Aido and Ichijo were two of them, but it had not crossed her mind of asking them—nor that she wanted to. She peered into the study where more than once she had faced his wrath, but he was nowhere to be found. Blowing a sigh, she turned around to head back to her room. A rustle of a noise suddenly made her jolt back. But it was a familiar face she did not expect to block her path.

"M-miss Ruka!" Almira yelped at her sudden presence. "You are awake?"

"What do you think you're doing here in the middle of the day?" Her harsh words caught Almira off guard. "Snooping out so see your human friends again?"

"No. I am not doing that anymore." She looked down. "I'm just looking for Master Kaname—"

"Kaname-sama?" Ruka's face instantly went hostile. "What do you want with him?"

"I have something for him." Almira spoke more calmly, noticing the uncertainty in the vampire's eyes, as if she was holding back a more vulnerable feeling she could not explain. Almira had noticed it more than once. "Miss Ruka, is there something I have done to make you upset?"

"You're asking me like you don't know?"

"Yes, because I don't."

Ruka leaned in to match her witty mouth. "You upset me with your mere existence here," She pursed her lips. "I know what you have been doing to us and our dorm president. But it's not going to work."

"What do you mean?" Almira whispered. She felt cold chills at her speculative nature and wondered if she already knew. "What in heaven's name would I want with someone like him? "

Ruka became torn at the fact that Almira addressed their dorm president so lowly. "Shame on you for not showing proper respect to Kaname-sama! And not only that, I heard you've been denying his orders too!" She cornered her towards a wall and planted her face near hers. "You continue with this act of yours and I will be the one to punish you personally."

Almira tried to understand her threatening persona. She did not think Ruka was a mean person in general; the vampire always held an air of grace and composure whenever she walked. But whatever sparked her anger did not support a reasonable basis. Almira realized it right away: It was plain jealousy. Ruka was jealous that she had gained Kaname's attention. It was as unintentional as her acceptance within the world of the vampires, and for this, Almira did not want to be blamed. Instead, she chose another diversion.

"I know I have been quite a nuisance to you. Probably to all the Night Class," Almira forced to admit out loud. "But I assure you that I will not be a bother for long after I have found a permanent home somewhere out of town. You see my stay have been temporary here, and after Master Kaname finally locate a proper place for me to live, I shall vacate the academy for good."

The lie was her only choice to prevent suspicion. She was hoping that it would work. After all, jealousy was a destructive emotion, and she wished to play no part in it.

But Ruka gave her a confused look, as if her idea was somewhat stupid. "Kaname-sama has been helping you to find another place to live?"

"That is the plan." Almira nodded. "A Swedish vampire like me doesn't do well in secluded areas. I gave it a chance, I did, but…"

"But what about school?" Ruka impatiently added. "This is the best and only academy where vampires can learn to coexist with humans."

Almira smiled knowing that she thought so highly of the pacifist effort. "I will find a different school. If I can have human friends, I can certainly go to classes with them, can't I?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That's a highly dangerous prospect."

"Are you sure that's not better than having to see my face everyday?" Almira did not look away from the shameful glare that followed on Ruka's face.

"I am not going to jeopardize a human's life for my own sake." She muttered. "In any case, I did not ask you to leave. Just don't burden Kaname-sama all the time, understood?"

Almira nodded. "I will do as you say."

"Good," Ruka said before turning to leave.

"But tell me, Miss Ruka," Almira continued. "If you had not truly loved Master Kaname as you do now, would you have minded if I talked to him or not?"

"What did you say?" Ruka turned to her like a whip.

"If you truly love him, and if he truly loves you back, then you have nothing to be afraid of. I would never even think of taking him from you," Almira spoke without hesitation.

Ruka quickly became outraged. Those were not the words she wanted to hear from a stranger. "How dare you barge into my personal life, you-" she brought her hand up automatically. Just as quickly, Almira grabbed it before it made contact with her face.

"Please forgive me, Miss Ruka. I should not have asked." Almira's fingers were shaking as she held on to her hand. "But hurting me would not be any better. So please let us not fight any longer."

Ruka thrust her arm away from her grasp and turned around without another word. She sensed Almira was beginning to get a little frightened and she refused to continue further.

Alone in the hallway, Almira took deep breaths to calm herself down. She felt the same foreign anger from the time she had yelled at Aido, and the last thing she needed now was to see her dark side resurface again in front of Ruka. But within her effort to control her composure, Almira understood the young vampire's feelings. The girl was in love with Kaname, but it was because he did not return her affection that made her hostile. Yes, he already had another maiden. Yuuki Cross.

The thought brought a weight to her chest as she leaned her back against the wall. Almira realized that Ruka was not the only one with a rejected heart.

"Lady McDellan…" She closed her eyes even when her name was called out so smoothly, not with indifference but with a crisp beckoning chime. "Almira…" She heard his voice again, this time closer, and she looked up to see Kaname observing her curiously. His face, however, looked grey and sickly, and Almira noticed cracks that perpetrated from his wound to his neck.

"You are mighty daring to be here alone at this time." Kaname spoke again. "Or was it…you were looking for someone?"

"Master Kaname." She opened her eyes to face him. "I was. I came to give you something for your wound." Almira unlocked the necklace around her neck and reached out for his shirt, hesitating only slightly when she realized what she was doing. "I'm sorry, em, may I…?"

"You may." Kaname unbuttoned the first two clasps of his shirt, opening up an access to his shoulder, and stepped closer to her. "Be gentle with me."

Almira did not respond as she shakily applied few drops of the tonic on his tainted skin. "If you're wondering…it's extract of werecat—a little something my mother gave me in case I got hurt, craftily contained in this little vial made to look like a cross." She chuckled when he slightly flinched at its touch. "Be careful, it only keeps the poison from seeping to your heart. Very powerful even for you."

"What makes you think that?" He asked curiously.

"A werecat's poison can corrupt a vampire's blood. This extract carefully taken from our blood prevents that." Almira put the necklace around her neck. "That is as much as I know."

Within a few seconds, Kaname's wound began to heal, and his parched skin blended with the pale outline of his body once more. Almira saw him breath in a heavy air of relief, noting that he was in fact in pain earlier from the injury. The pureblood simply had the ability to hide it well, and she wished she could do the same too.

"Better?" She smiled. "It is a good thing I had this."

Kaname chuckled. "I almost thought you would try to get back at me. Your generosity is at most surprising."

"I am not heartless, nor am I a fool enough to go against you." Almira crossed her arms. "What would the others think when their greatest lord suddenly disappeared without a trace?"

Kaname took in with amusement her mockery of his words from earlier. It was not insulting the way she matched his devious mouth at the right times. No, far from it. He actually found it incredibly refreshing, like a game that made him crave for the next challenge.

"Then you have learned your place well in this school. In our domain." Kaname answered before turning around. "Now go to bed. You need to sleep."

"I can't." Almira quickly spoke. "I-I mean I wanted to...em, well I wanted to apologize first." She whispered before looking at the ground. "I have not been a good listener and I foolishly brought others into my problem. I promised you my first day I would not get Yuuki Cross involved, or anyone else. And you had the right to be concerned for your loved ones. To be angry with me." She continued with a deep breath. "I want to respect you. I may not agree with, I guess, everything in your nature, but I do admire you in some shape or form." She slowly tried to look at him. "Can you forgive me?"

Kaname felt the sincerity in her words and almost reacted to it. It took a great power to not bring his hands up and touch her, to lead her very fingers to his chest and feel that fluttering sensation once again. He was worried about the way she was making him feel, to be thinking of someone else other than Yuuki to embrace. But somehow, Almira did not seem like the stranger he knew she was. She did not seem anymore like the nuisance he was trying to ignore or the misguided student he was trying to tame. Those thoughts seemed a bit distant now. When they talked now, it felt like he had known her for a long expanse of time. She, with her knack of pointing out his flaws and being honest to a point, held an air of mystery that perked his interest more and more. A thirst for her secrets suddenly overwhelmed him.

"Your apology is not accepted until you tell me everything that I need to know." He spoke with a straight face. "I have already planned my course, and now it is up to you to meet your end of the bargain."

Almira sighed. "I might as well before you become terrifying again."

"We shall see." Kaname smiled in return. "Alright. Come to my room."

"Ugh, that exam was horrible!" Yuuki whined as she flayed across the courtyard bench. "The class president will punish me again for sure."

"I don't know why you can't just ask Zero-chan's help to study like before. Or those new students." Yori answered. "Speaking of, where has he been lately anyway?"

"He's been hanging around with Raphael-san a lot now." Yuuki pouted. "I wonder if they're talking about Almira-san being that thing…"

"What's that?"

"Oh! Nothing, nothing, Yori-chan!" Yuuki waved her hand dismissively. "I was just thinking about the new student from the Night Class, Caleb-san and Raphael-san's childhood friend. She, em, hasn't come out lately to see them."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Yori said. "Besides I find all three of them really odd."

Yuuki cocked her head. "Eh, what do you mean?"

"The new student you mentioned, Almira-san is it? She looks so lost all the time." Her head moved behind Yuuki's to see three figures approach. "And those Austerlitz brothers have already recruited Zero into their creepy gang."

"Are you sure? You don't think -" Yuuki stopped before turning behind her. "Oh Zero! Caleb-san, Raphael-san." She got up to greet them. "It's about time I see you all again."

"Later Yuuki. I'm going to go have lunch inside." Yori stood up uninterested and left.

"Hello little Miss Prefect," Raphael smiled. "Did the exams treat you well?"

"Er, no…" Yuuki sighed. "Maybe I should have asked one of you two for help. Everyone else did well in my class thanks to your explanations."

"Well that's a shame. We could have been valuable resources if you didn't run off defending vampires all the time." Raphael noticed that Zero and Caleb had not said a word, and Yuuki stood confused at the fact that he was doing all the speaking this time. "Oh and by the way…I hope you didn't mind we were ignoring you for the past few days." He immediately changed the subject. "We've been doing a little, as you say…boy stuff."

"Oh. Okay, uh, I see…" Yuuki hesitantly responded. "Well I'm glad you're here now." She reverted to putting her hands on her hips and speaking with a determined gaze. "I was thinking a lot about it…and since spring break is coming up and all, I've decided that I'm going to do something for Almira-san to help her with her curse."

Zero immediately reacted to her comment with a snarl. "You will do no such thing."

"Will you really?" Raphael raised his brow before turning to Caleb. "Did you hear that, brother? Little Miss Prefect thinks she has a plan."

"We said it before." Caleb sighed. "That's what happens when you open your mouth to outsiders."

"But I'm serious!" Yuuki looked from one to the other. "You two already know what she's going through right? She needs our help! And Zero, if you—"

"Yuuki, you stay away from her," Zero interrupted with a stern voice. "I don't know what she told you or how you know but you're not going near her, understand?"

"But she has no time!" Yuuki blurted out annoyingly. "We have to help her get to the vampire council!"

"Listen to me!" Zero grabbed her shoulders. "She's dangerous! She'll do anything to hurt you if she can."

Yuki flinched at his aggressive nature. But her slight fear quickly turned into irritation. "You say that to every vampire you meet, Zero. But she is not one, okay? I heard her—"

"Just do as I say!" Zero yelled at her, causing some students nearby to ease their chattering and stare at both of them.

Yuki stepped back in surprise. Zero had never yelled at her like that before. She instantly turned red with anger and stomped off without another word. Zero sighed at the result. Yuuki was meant to be stubborn, and she had every intention to get mad at him for going against her determination. But it did not bother him even if she was mad at him forever. Right now, it was her safety that mattered.

"Ouch, harsh." Raphael shook his head as he leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I suppose Almira must have slipped a word of her innocence to Yuuki. We'll have to be careful of your little friend."

"What's your grand strategy this time?" Zero growled.

"Oh a little something…" Raphael turned to Caleb with a smile. But Caleb did not smile back.

"Ah, that felt lovely," Headmaster Cross said as he entered his office carrying groceries and a rolled up newspaper. He had managed to sneak out while the Day Class were still having class, and with much effort, he had sneaked back without anyone's notice.

Putting the groceries aside, he started out on the daily newspaper, the one that presented news from worldwide. As he took his seat in his chair, he flipped through the pages for any exciting news. A vampire attack, an unknown natural disaster, or anything out of the ordinary.

One thing, however, did manage to catch his eye, and as he flipped back to the 3rd page, he saw in the very bottom corner an article about the deaths and sudden disappearances of two teenage boys in Munich. The problem was that the faces portrayed on the article looked surprisingly familiar.

"Oh no…" the headmaster stared at the blank faces of Caleb and Raphael Austerlitz on the paper. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge between his forehead, realizing the worst of his fears to be true.

Almira followed Kaname into his room and took a seat near his desk. Even in the darkness, the elegance of the space did not make her eyes wander. Instead, she fixated them on his chessboard where the white king and queen stood solely in the middle like a couple. Like a royal family.

Without further hesitation, she reiterated everything to him that she told the headmaster; her species, their beliefs, and the areas they dominated. But what she really had to make him understand was the situation behind her own life.

"My mother, Catherine McDellan, was born a pureblood, one of the firsts actually, into the royal family of werecats." She continued softly. "Our species, although different and separate, have all derived from one source millenniums ago…long before the global climate change. You can say we are part of one huge family, yet marriage and a very long family tree have split us apart."

Kaname listened intently. He was not going to admit it, but listening the truth about another kind was like reading one of Yuuki's fairytale books to her in their childhood. It seemed so otherwordly and unapproachable.

Almira continued on. "My mother was special because she was born into the direct line of royalty; the one that leads to the head who has power over all the werecats around the globe. One of those heads is my grandmother. I have never seen her, because if I had, she probably would have killed me," Almira looked down at the floor. "You see relationships with humans are forbidden within our kind, but even knowing this, my mother met my father, a human, during her studies in Switzerland."

"And she bore you after marriage." Kaname stated without questioning it.

"Yes. Father's personality was...unique. Artistic. He was a popular contractor who turned landscapes into a thriving beauty. He built our house and some establishments around it. But mother said he had shown her another side to life, whatever that was, and that was what made her fall in love with him. It is a pathetic, now that I think about it, to use that as a reason to tell him nothing about her true self until they got married. Until they had me." Almira breathed in before continuing. "Of course my father eventually found out. It took... some time for him to understand our species, but well, I think he exposed something to her that changed her view about our clan entirely. And then...he..."

Almira paused to think more. Kaname saw a distinct hesitance in her face, but he was not going to interrupt.

"I-in any case, my mother had to lie to her family all the time, telling them that she had found a job in Zurich and that she had to remain there permanently. She denied visits or gifts from relatives, all to keep my existence a secret. It was a dangerous move, let me tell you, living in close proximity to our kind. I mean, Germany is practically next to Switzerland…but she called it hiding in plain sight. In fact, what gave her a better advantage was the fact that she knew how to hide so well. She knew the tricks for being one of the earliest descendants."

Almira frowned. "But how was that better compared to the sin she committed? For bearing me? My mother wholeheartedly believed that I would not have that demonic side within me. If I had known about this before, I could have stopped her from believing. I could have ended myself there before all this happened."

"But someone had other plans for you." Kaname pointed out. "Continue."

Almira cleared her throat as her eyes narrowed down to a particular section of the board. The creases around her eyelids were apparent - she was trying not to think too hard - and yet the nightmares came flowing back. "I was nine when the problems first began." She spoke huskily. "I started having these attacks, and sometimes my heartbeat would abnormally quicken. I did terrible things at school…but nothing compared to when…when the child…" She shook her head to forget about the incident. "But my mother pulled me away…and kept me under house arrest. I was imprisoned, Master Kaname, and because of that…a lot of bad things happened." Almira covered her face miserably to hold back the emerging tears. "So much that they had to chain me to my bed…when I tried to kill my own father…"

Kaname allowed her to recover from the thought. A part of him wanted to understand the type of monster that flowed in her veins, and how, while she sat there flooded with shame, she looked and behaved like a different person entirely. It was hard to see anyone else than the Almira he saw now, vulnerable and in need of help. But he was not going to squirm in disgust. He knew how it felt to be conflicted above all things.

"Well…then it came to the point when I could not leave the house at all. My parents did not know when my dark side would resurface, even if it was mostly when I became threatened or hurt. But this continued throughout the years, and my mother continued to keep me safe." Almira suddenly paused before continuing. "Eventually, the royal head of our family became suspicious and summoned my mother forcefully back to Germany where they resided." she gazed terrified at the walls. "I don't know what they did to her…but something changed in her when she came back. Because she knew she was at the end of her life…and that's when she told me…s-something...something that brought me here..."

Kaname leaned forward to take in the critical information he was anxious for. "She told me that there is a piece of our ancient laws here...it is supposedly hidden with the high members of the vampire council to keep away from the eyes of our clan. Something in that, she said, is supposed to help me break this beast. To heal me...but with a high cost. That is all I know. She sent me here for that reason...to find something only she and the royal elders knew about. It was something she considered as a last resort before..." Almira merely shrugged.

Kaname found his chance to ask questions. "So this law is supposed to free you from their hands? If that's so, then why did not your family consider using it to release you from your curse?"

"I don't know, Master Kaname," Almira said. "Apparently it is supposed to be dangerous for our kind. For our establishment. That is why the vampires have kept it hidden from us. And that is also why the ones who are after me, my pureblood kin…they want to get rid of me before I reach the council." She squeezed her fists in frustration. "I am so close, Master Kaname…I just need you to tell me what to do and take me there and I can actually finish what I came for."

"And your mother…?" Kaname spoke after noticing that Almira kept mentioning her mother in the past tense. "Where is she now?"

Almira looked at him once again and searched for the right words. "She...my mother and father…they're not alive anymore," her face turned grave. "T-they were...not spared for letting me escape. I...I just brought with me whatever I could take…" she clutched the cross around her neck. "…and my mother's words..."

Almira turned her attention back to the king and queen in the middle of the chessboard. Kaname noticed a glaze of moisture in her eyes, but she fought hard to not break into a cry. "I-I think she...my mother wanted nothing more than for me to live. To fight this beast...because she believes there…there is a way. There is always a way…"

As he watched silently, she picked up a pawn piece and placed it with the king and queen. "There…a h-happy family." Her voice quivered in the silence. Before she could stop, the tears began to stream down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Kaname did not move but watched her spill every emotion in front of him. Her pain seemed too familiar; a pain that he himself could not forget. The night when his parents, or the ones who cared for him, had to sacrifice their lives to keep Yuuki safe. It was Rido Kuran, his wretched descendant and his supposed "uncle", who had killed their firstborn son; who had ultimately won over Juuri and Haruka. The mad pureblood then had forcefully brought Kaname back from his slumber. Even when he did not want to live, to continue struggling in a meaningless world, Kaname was forced out of his peace against his will.

But he had found love after that. If not just in Yuuki but in her mother and father that changed his view on his pureblood family. It was the only time in his long grieving life when he felt protected and safe in the Kuran manor. It was a huge difference from the ancient days, when Kaname was rejected by mankind and could only wander aimlessly looking for others like himself. The days when he felt so alone and forgotten, tarrying on with hurt and pain. The need for affection and a reason to live bore him down like an invisible weight. He felt that he did not deserve them for being what he was. For simply existing.

So why was Almira's pain beginning to affect him? The fragile tears, the timid figure, the lonely girl of unreachable miseries. It irked him to know that she was hunted for simply existing.

"I-I don't know what to do …" Her voice croaked through thick tears. "I-I don't know what will happen to me…"

Slowly, and quite impulsively, Kaname reached forward and gently placed Almira's head on his chest. He trailed a finger through her lavender hair, sniffing its spellbinding scent of alpine azaleas and lavender. Almira did not move even when she knew she had to. That one moment of solace within the arms of protection kept her still and calm. Like a baby, she slowly curled up in his lap, and Kaname welcomed her without hesitation.

Almira blushed when her face made contact with his collarbone. She was never aware of how vampires smelled, but his scent was truly intoxicating. A practical part of her knew that this was not right. She did not come to the academy to steal the heart of another man; a pureblood vampire. Kaname was not hers, and she never planned it to be.

But as her fingers clenched on to the front of his shirt desperately, as if letting him go would send her falling down a deep gorge, she wanted him more than anything. If it was lust or innocent adoration, she did not know. But just the peaceful aura he suddenly invoked made her realize what she was missing. To not necessarily find a cure for herself, but to love and be loved.

Kaname's advances were making it worse. He had not stopped from cradling her near his chest, and after trailing his fingers across her arm, he slowly cupped them with great poise around her chin. Bringing her face up, his eyes flashed a vibrant red color while making contact with her bright cerulean pearls. They were gorgeous, yet lost in perplexity.

"Something will happen…" Kaname whispered before he planted a kiss on both of her eyelids. "You will live." Almira melted into his soft lips making contact with her skin. She did not realize he was slowly bringing them down to her own lips. "I will make sure of that," he finished. It was only then when something sharply stung the rational part of her brain that she quickly moved her face away.

"N-no," Almira shakily spoke. "Please don't go any further. It has become too much, and I appreciate your sympathy but…" she quickly got up from his lap. "…taking my heart so willingly would lead to unwanted consequences. Especially when we are still strangers."

The bell had wrung outside, signaling for the end of classes for the Day Class. Kaname found himself breaking from some kind of trance. He could not fathom what had just happened. But something of this moment had made him more relaxed than he ever felt before. It was like he was floating in endless space, without a care in the world, without a sound or sight to understand. There was nothing else but the girl in front of him. And it made him shiver unexpectedly inside.

"I am glad that you told me." It was all that he could respond.

"I am happy too. I feel much better now." Almira wiped off her tears. "And I thank you for finally trusting me. It took awhile but...we finally have gotten along. I feel relieved now that I spoke to you." She cracked a laugh. "It's strange. I feel as if…as if there is still a chance that I may succeed. That the council may listen."

"They will, because the information you gave me is very worthwhile," Kaname stood up and placed a gently palm on her head. "Meanwhile, it is best that you continue to rear no attention to this matter from the others. As long as you show that there is nothing wrong…there won't be any disruptions." He looked towards the window. "People will forget. And for us, that is when we can make our getaway."

"I understand." Almira followed his gaze and knew what he meant. "I just hope that is soon."

"Believe in me." Kaname leaned forward towards her. "I hope there won't be anymore misunderstandings of that between us?"

Almira stepped back hastily. "There won't be, Master Kaname," She bowed and turned for the door, only pausing to return his smirk. "That is, if you make it to class on time."

Kaname watched her disappear as her lighthearted laugh faded with the cluttering echo of her feet down the hall. He quietly brought his eyes towards the chessboard and swiftly brought the black queen back into the middle of the chessboard with the white king. A slightly shiver violated his skin as he thought about the few seconds that had passed. This was not a normal feeling, nor could he sincerely explain his actions to himself or anyone. But after sniffing his fingers to find the remaining lavender scent, he could not help but find it alluring, and somehow, nostalgic.

"This scent...I have smelled it before..." And for the first time, Kaname felt a sudden wrench in his chest.

At least we got some romance here, you lovesick people! Please leave comments.