Alrightyyy folks. Here's the fourteenth chapter of "Intrigue." :)
Disclaimer: Don't own Vampire Knight. Don't sue me. Just don't.
Fortune Cookie of the Day:
Excitement and Intrigue follow you closely
wherever you go.
-My (real) surprising fortune cookie. :)
Yuuki walked along the corridors of a castle that had the appearance of the last-century style. As she walked, the candles dimmed with the promise of darkness, hoping to ensnare her. But Yuuki paid no mind to it, and kept walking the rest of the long hallway, a gallery, she thought, without any fear. In fact, she embraced the darkness, turned to it, shying away from the dim light of candles.
She then came upon two large wooden doors, the type that was now used for the entry of apartments, and relished the fact that the doors were familiar to her. She had been here once before, she just knew it, but could not remember when. Or why.
She walked inside the dark room, her eyes adjusting slightly to the more intense darkness. Surprisingly, it was not all that dark to her. Not one bit. Actually, she felt as though she was seeing very clear, like she normally would when out in plain sunlight.
She looked around the room, making out that it was surely a bedroom. But why would she be in a bedroom? Surely this was not any of the bedrooms in any of her estates. It was too old-fashioned. And it certainly did not look like any of the rooms in the Chinese palace nor Tokyo castle. So why did it all seem so familiar? So close?
Her body seemed to agree with that fact, and began walking once more, this time, in the direction of the large, clerestory-styled windows that was shining the light of the moon into the dark room.
She made her way through the small mess of silken cushions, wondering if a maid had ever organized them, with more grace than she knew she usually had. Over by the window, she lay her hand on the withdrawn curtains.
She stared at the moon for a short while. It calmed and soothed her. The sudden opening and closing of the door did not scare or surprise her, though. And she remembered everything, yet at the same time, she didn't; Her subconscious remembered, but she was still trying to figure out what was going on. Her body did not respond to her. Only to her subconscious. She then knew she was dreaming.
A hand touched the cool skin of her arm, holding on to her. The other hand moved her hair over onto her left shoulder, leaving her right one completely naked. His free hand slipped around her thin waist, pressing her to him. The dress she was in, she just noticed, was also old-fashioned, therefore being more open than her more common ones.
She also noticed that she was not wearing a chemise underneath. The sleeves on this particular dress were also meant to lay at the top of her arms; not her shoulders, and the dress color was a magnificent royal purple.
She felt the touch of cool lips pressed against her neck, and almost instantly, she recognized it as a familiar man. Yet, she could not turn around. She could not turn around to see the face of this man who was touching her so lovingly, so beautifully. She could not turn around to see the face of the man who, deep inside, she knew she probably loved.
All she could do was give a small smile and dip her head to the other side, and gasp in delight at the wondrous feeling his moist tongue made against her pale neck. She loved the feeling of his kisses traveling up her neck, making his way to her lips, she knew, and her heart fluttered with excitement. The next thought that passed through her head was the thought of seeing his face, and finding out who this man with his masculine, musky scent was.
The trail of his kisses were about to come to an end at her lips soon, tugging her out of her reverie. His hand cupped her cheek, and as he turned her face to kiss her full on the lips, her dreams shattered.
She had woken up.
The 2nd Day of February,
In The Year Of Our Lord, 1579.
No luck. It just made her blush more.
Now fully awake, she quietly got up off the bed and padded her way to the windows and opened the curtain slightly. It looked like it was still dawn.
She shrugged and made her way over her clothes chest, and grabbed a new chemise and a burgundy colored gown. As she put on the gown, she kept thinking she was smart enough to buy one of those do-it-yourself button up gowns. Had it been her other tight-laced ones that tie in the back, she would have had to make a ruckus by calling one of the tiring ladies.
She combed her hair and slid on a pearl head-band and necklace. Trying not to look too made-up. She then made her way out of her room and Kumiko's hallways, and cut into the main hallway. It was very empty, which was very strange compared to the usual loudness and crowding. Still, she wasn't complaining.
She'd have this any day rather than almost-tripping everywhere. Imagine how embarrassing it would if she tripped and fell face-flat in front of the king himself? She knew it probably wouldn't happen, since it's never been accomplished before, because her friends would surely hold her up. Right...?
She pressed her lips in a thin line, then shrugged. She wasn't going to worry about that now. What she had to worry about were the guards from yesterday. Not everyone has auburn hair, after all.
Kaname made his way through one of the passageways that led from his room into his study, sighing softly as he did so. His guards were still bothering him about the incident yesterday with the statue and the mysterious person. His council was also flustered with the fact that the possible perpetrator had gotten away. So they called him for a meeting,
He entered the room as the council stood up and bowed. He quickly acknowledged them and sat down in front of them.
"Your majesty, as you well know, we have called you hear to inform you of the latest news. But right now, we're assuming word has already reached you of the tragic incident which happened the night of the grand feast," Ichiou started. Kaname nodded his head 'yes', considering how fast gossip truly gets around his castle.
Though he was still wondering who might have been at the scene to dare to speak of it. Surely not the guards; they barely, if at all, spoke to any of the aristocrats unless it was for entry somewhere....could it be that mysterious spy that his guards had almost caught in the gardens? If so, then was his castle filled with spies? No longer a safe harbor for him and his court?
"Kaname-sama," Ichiou continued, "the main topic of this meeting is not that of the Viets, rather...the question of marriage. Your highness, we do not mean to offend or be rude in any way, but you do realize that, without being wed, you are considered more strongly a prince, than a king, do you not? Of course, king is your honorable title by birth, but in terms of a monarchy, you are just a King without a Queen; a Prince."
Kaname stayed silent for a moment. Did they think he knew not of this? But, he was still young. He'd heard of the Kings, and sometimes even Queens, in Europe still marrying at 50 years old. Were they really so worried...?
"Is this of any dire concern, your graces?" He voiced. The council showed apprehension at first, but decided to keep going with the topic.
"Our concern, sire, are those hot-blooded Viets who are probably plotting to over throw you at any moment. Would it not be safe if you were to wed, and have a child, an heir, if anything ever happens? Whether you marry someone of royal blood, like the lovely Princess Sara, or someone from even your own court is not of the matter. The matter is an heir. Your uncle is dead, your highness, he cannot succeed to the throne."
"So what you're saying is that I can marry anyone of aristocratic blood, as long as she bears me an heir?"
"Correct, highness, you wouldn't happen to have anyone in mind? Of course, if not, the Filipino Princess still desires you to court her. If you wish not, she will be informed and will leave within days notice."
"Actually, I indeed do have someone in mind."
"Yori, please hurry with my hair. I wish to go outside already. It is such a beautiful day out today!" Yuuki exclaimed, looking into her mirror. Yori sighed.
"Yuuki, if you had not gone and slipped in that rose bush again, you would not have your hair knotted up, and so therefore, we would not be so late in going outside. After all, all the other maids and ladies are already finished and waiting for us outside in the hallway. There, I'm done." Yori chided as she put the brush down and pulled her sister's hair into a neat bun underneath a brightly green headdress, trimmed in pearls. The dress matched too, for it was also a brightly green, but in the style of a jacket-and-skirt, with the jacket closed with golden buttons.
They made their way out of their suite and into the hallway where the hoard of ladies were waiting, and then the smallish crowd hurried their way down one of the main stairwells and rushed outside. They were all eager to get to the stables first.
They were to be shooting arrows at the bulls-eye while on horse today. A sport they had not done for about a week or so. Under the care of Kumiko'ssheltered care, this kind of sport would be saved for once a week, maybe even once a month, unlike the King's separate court which did this practically every day.
They grabbed their bows and quivers as the pages and grooms brought out their horses from the larges stables, bringing them to the various mounting blocks. The grooms then helped the ladies to get atop the horse, and brought them out onto the small path that led into the well-guarded forests. The targets had already been set up an hour before, and everything was going along just smoothly.
The seemingly-perfect start for a seemingly-perfect day, in this seemingly-perfect court. Right?
So, who do you think is the mysterious man in Yuuki's dream? And why was Yuuki so willing? A lover from the past? A lover of the future? Or maybe it was just a normal dream? And who does Kaname have in mind for a wife? Find out...in the later chapters of "Intrigue."
Note: Once again, considering the poll on my profile, the original story to Intrigue will not be changed. Some characters will simply be returned to how they normally are in the manga/anime (vampires), but it's not like the whole plot will change and suddenly everyone's a vampire and a huge war breaks out and flying pigs start eating the flying tacos and all of a sudden canadian bacon gets sold out. Lol. Sorry. I exaggerated the last bit. :P
(And, and, sorry for the short chapter. I felt like I needed to post at least something.)
Review! Please & Thank You. :)
~Kagome873