Hey guys! Long time no see! I'm actually really sorry about the (very) long delay on this chapter. This past year has been a very busy one for me so I haven't been able to update anything. Sad days.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this update! Not exactly sure how I'm going to end it anymore, but I'll work it out.
o0o
"Crow!" Kurai turned to see a blond Wolf running toward her. She stopped walking and smiled at the taller boy fondly. Once he caught up to her, he was having a small problem with breathing, but still gave her a huge smile.
"Prince Hiro, deep breaths, in, out," she said, concerned. He waved her off as if to ignore her advice, but he followed it. She watched the Prince with concern. He was the offspring of the Wolf King, Robert, and his mate who died in battle a year or two after Hiro's birth. He was their only child and the only heir to the throne. However, he wasn't the strongest Wolf in the world.
Once he finally caught his breath, he hugged Kurai. "Welcome back Crow! Tell me all about the Vampire Kingdom!" he exclaimed.
Kurai smiled at the teenager as she peeled him off of her. "Prince, I will tell you all about the Kingdom tomorrow," she promised.
He looked behind Kurai and then behind himself before leaning in to whisper, "And don't forget to mention all of the cute girls and boys."
Kurai nodded, agreeing to tell him all about the cute people. "You still haven't told His Majesty?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Hiro made a pouty face and looked away. "Of course not! He'd never understand." Hiro paused. "Though, I did tell mom and she didn't seem to mind much."
It took Kurai a minute to realize that he was talking about Arachne, whom had practically raised the Prince. Although he knew she wasn't his real mom, he still called her his mother. "I'm glad to hear that. Speaking of your mother, where is she?"
"She's in father's room," he said, "I think she's waiting to talk to him."
Kurai nodded. "Thank you. I need to go speak to her, so if you'd excuse me, Prince Hiro," she said, bowing.
Hiro gave her a charming smile. "Of course. Don't forget your promise, Crow," he said before leaving.
Kurai watched the young Prince turn the corner before she began to walk towards the King's room. She wondered why Arachne was in Robert's room instead of her own, or why she didn't go see Robert instead of waiting for him, but her thoughts quickly moved on to her bigger worries.
She wondered if Hikari was still mad at her; he seemed the most appalled by her lies. Crona's probably upset too, Kurai thought with a long sigh. She didn't enjoy the thought of her two closest friends upset with her. She wondered how she could make it up to them. Would just an apology be enough?
Her thoughts slipped from her friends to Black*star. He suddenly popped into her head and she was so surprised that she stopped walking. She blinked a few times, furrowing her brows before she continued to walk.
Why'd he pop up? She wondered as he began to consume her thoughts. She thought of their first meeting, how she let him live, how he smiled at her, how he kissed her. Her fingers touched her lips as she remembered his kiss.
When she realized what she was doing, her face burned and she quickened her steps.
Why am I thinking about that?
Step, step, step.
He is just some guy, nothing more.
Step, step, step.
He was drunk; he probably mistook me for someone else.
Step, step, step.
And why'd he call himself God?
Step, step, step.
He's strange—
Before she realized it, Kurai walked straight into the door that lead to the Kings chambers. She quickly backed away from it, rubbing her nose.
The door opened slowly, Arachne's head popping out cautiously. When she saw it was just Kurai, she smiled softly. "Crow, how nice to see you again. I'm glad you made it back safely." Arachne opened the door and motioned for Kurai to enter the room.
Kurai smiled back at her as she entered the room. "It's great to be back. I don't know how long I'll be here, so I decided I should come and visit as soon as I could." Kurai turned back to Arachne as she closed the door. "But maybe right now isn't a good time?" she questioned.
"No, it's a perfect time. Please keep me company until His Majesty comes," she requested with a smile. "Now, let's sit down and why don't you tell me what happened out there on the battlefield."
Vamps: Black*star
Black*star watched Maka as she tried to get in contact with her father through the mirror; although, it seemed to be pointless. "Maka, they must be too far out already," Soul stated, stretching his legs over the couch. "I mean it's been over a week since they left."
She shot him a death glare. "Your commenting doesn't make it any better," she hissed.
"You're just mad because he didn't leave you a letter," Soul snapped at her. Black*star watched as the two stressed each other out even more. The two had nonstop tried to contact her father, Spirit, to no avail.
"They're going to the Wolf Kingdom, right?" Black*star asked suddenly, gaining the two Vamps attention. Maka nodded. "So why don't we ask one of our Wolf friends to bring Spirit some mail?" he suggested. "After all, didn't Hikari say he was going to head to the Wolf Kingdom to find Kurai?"
Maka and Soul looked at each other, both realizing that they could in fact do that. Soul let a smirk spread across his face. "Why didn't you think of that?" he asked teasingly. Maka responded with a glare and her bottom lip sticking out in a pout.
She then opened her mouth, probably to insult Soul, when the door slammed opened. The three Vamps turned around to see Kid at the doorway, clutching onto a letter. He looked up, eyeing his three friends, before tossing the piece of paper to Maka. "Kid?" she questioned as she caught the paper.
"Read it," he ordered, huffing; he must've run all the way here.
Maka looked down at the paper and began to smooth it out before skimming it. Black*star and Soul shared a mutually confused look as they waited for Maka to be done. Once she was, she just stared at the letter, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Soul nudged her, giving her a confused look.
"It says that Shinigami-sama is requesting his eldest son to come to the Wolf Kingdom along with the two third in-commands," she said, paragraphing the letter. "Kid, why would he only want your brother? Aren't you in line for the throne, not your brother?"
"I'm not sure what Father is planning, but I'm going to find out." He paused, offering a small smile at his friends. "I'm going to go with my brother and figure out what's going on."
Kurai, Black*star thought. Without much thought, Black*star spoke up. "Take me with you."
His friends turned and stared at him, surprised. "It's dangerous enough with me going alongside my brother. If I bring you and you cause a scene then—"
Black*star cut Kid off. "I won't do anything to get us in trouble. I'll be low key. No one will even know I'm with you," he said quickly. Kid gave Maka and Soul a questioning gaze before looking back to Black*star. "There's just unfinished business with Kurai, that's all," he said quickly and sheepishly. "I doubt me seeing Kurai will be that big of a deal."
Kid thought about it for a moment before sighing. "Alright, I'll take you. But promise me that you'll stay out of trouble."
Black*star grinned. "Of course."
Wolfs: Kurai
"…and that's it," Kurai said, finishing up the outline of what occurred during the duration of the battle.
Arachne smiled at Kurai, nodding her head. "That's quite the story there. Looks like it's a good thing His Majesty left when he did." Kurai nodded and silence ensued.
After a moment, Kurai spoke up. "Arachne, may I ask why you aren't out there with His Majesty to see the peace treaty being made?"
Arachne's gaze fell as she sighed. "I'm afraid I can't do that. Not until that retched Vamp is gone."
Kurai let the confusion show on her face. "The Vamp King?" she questioned. The disgusted look on Arachne's face confirmed the answer. "Why would he—"
Arachne cut her off. "I would like to wait for His Majesty on my own now," she snapped, ending the conversation.
Kurai stood up, bowing deeply. "Of course. I'm sorry for overstaying my welcome." Arachne didn't look up as Kurai left.
As Kurai walked through the hallways of the mansion, going to her room, she realized that she never once questioned why Arachne never left the mansion; why she never once attempted to go back to the Vamp Kingdom.
Even being the second in-command for a long time, Kurai couldn't remember when Arachne moved in here. All she could remember was that Arachne wasn't there one day and was there the next. Kurai's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember if she ever questioned why Arachne was there, but no memory came up.
Then she reached her room and saw the Prince outside her door, humming a tune as he waited for her. Her thoughts of Arachne disappeared as she greeted the Prince.
He smiled at her. "May we talk about the people now, Crow?" he asked hopeful. Kurai just nodded, opening up the door to her room.
Peace Treaty
"I believe we have enough of the details worked out to call it a night," The Wolf King declared, standing up. The others did the same. Everyone looked too tired to complain.
"While I'd like to get it all done tonight, I'll settle for us finishing it tomorrow," the Vamp King said. Smirking, he added, "bright and early too."
Robert let out a groan, but didn't object; he knew he'd be in for a lecture from both Crow and Excalibur if he did. "That'll have to do." He paused. "Now, about your sleeping arrangements—"
Excalibur cut him off. "I already made their arrangements." He gestured to a servant that was standing in the corner, waiting to be of some use. "Will you be kind enough to show them to their rooms?"
The servant nodded and led the two Vamps out of the room. Robert gave a nod to Excalibur and was about to head to his room to retire when Excalibur called out his name, "Robert, we need to talk."
The King turned back to his old friend, his eyebrows raised. "What is it?"
Excalibur scanned the room quickly making sure no one was listening. "It's about her."
Robert narrowed his gaze at him. "What about her?" he hissed.
Excalibur returned the gaze and hissed, "You know what about. You're going to have to do something about it."
Robert huffed and turned away. "Do I? I never realized I took orders from you." He paused and his gaze turned back to Excalibur. "I don't have to do anything because nothing will happen. They won't find out," he explained in a low voice.
"It doesn't matter if they find out tonight or in a hundred years!" Excalibur hissed, waving his cane around. "Once it's discovered that you've been the one hiding her, it'll break the treaty right away!"
"It won't break," he hissed. "We'd work it out, the Vamp King and I. And if she must face their damned trials, then I'll do it in her place."
Excalibur whacked the King with his cane and then shoved it into his face. "Don't behave like an imbecile. If you died in those trials, then Hiro becomes the ruler. He's not ready to face that kind of challenge yet."
The King growled at Excalibur but didn't retort. He knew he was right, in some sense. "Then what should I do?" he hissed.
Excalibur put his cane down, putting both hands on it. "You tell them. You tell the Vamp King that Arachne is here."
Wolf: Kurai
The Prince had just left and Kurai closed the door, staring at her room. It was the same as before, years ago when she had last used it. She never understood why His Majesty ever gave her a room when she was content with just sleeping on the ground for however long she needed to. Actually, it was the Prince who gave me the room, she thought, recalling the memory. He didn't like finding Kurai asleep on the ground in the mornings, so he forced her to pick a room.
She began to explore the room, seeing that everything was still in place. She did notice that there were new books on her desk, which caused her to smile; the Prince must've thought she'd enjoy them so he must've left them there.
She picked one up and stared at its cover. "Beauty and the Beast," she read out loud, intrigued. She flipped it open and started on the first line when her door slammed opened. She stared in wonder at who entered. "Your Majesty…?" she questioned, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
"Crow," he panted, breathing heavily, "I need your help."
Her confusion disappeared as she put the book down. She then walked to the King and knelt down, bowing her head. "Whatever you need," was her response.
The King stood straighter, taking the stance a proud King would. "When the time comes, I need you to take Arachne's place."
"Of course," she responded, not moving from her position. She didn't attempt to question His Majesties request. She knew to just follow orders, much to the Kings liking.
"Even if it means you might die?" he questioned.
Kurai lifted her head and met the King's gaze. "I'll gladly die if you tell me to."
The King grinned. "That's my Crow." He turned and left the room, leaving Kurai alone. She got up and shut her door once more, softly. She glanced at Beauty and the Beast before going to bed. She figured there was no point in reading something if she was to die soon.