AN: I know what you all are thinking, another update two days after the previous one? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?! (also please ignore that where I am it is almost one in the morning. I had a 20 oz cup of coffee at 5:30 PM and the caffeine is still going strong)

I'm ahead on my writing schedule and I figured I'd treat you all with a rapid fire update (don't think this is becoming a habit or anything!)

In regards to my question as to if anyone recognizes the title, Dixie-Filly so far has been the only one to make an attempt! You made a good guess my friend, but no cigar! The answer to this, I know very enthralling question, is it's a quote from John Milton's Paradise Lost. The actual quote is "this horror will grow mild, this darkness light." I know, now you all can sleep at night with this mystery solved.

Thanks wonderful reviewers because you are wonderful: Dixie-Filly, NightlyRowenTree, Juliedoo and lilcutieprincess (you literally just reviewed, like, three minutes before I published this!)

Another random thing, the comments I've received on Aurelius are either neutral (one of you described him as "interest") or outright dislike. Tehe, I can't wait for the mystery to be revealed!

The credit for the chapter title goes to Catullus 85.

Violence does not always take visible form, and not all wounds gush blood. Haruki Murakami

Once Zero decided to live off the grounds of Cross Academy, Elaine relocated to her original living quarters in the Night Faculty building. After the ex-human left, the Druid found herself alone in the Headmaster's house for the majority of her time. If Yagari wasn't dealing with the school, he was at the Hunter's Association and frankly Elaine could not stand to sit alone in Kaien Cross' home while her friend was essentially in political exile despite his official instatement as the Association President. It felt wrong to occupy his home, because it was still Cross' home and he would return eventually to take up the mantle of Headmaster, and she felt like an intruder surrounded by things that were not hers.

However she herself was not at home very often. The renovations and repairs were almost completed, and now they only had to prepare for the Academy to be reopened for classes. Yagari had asked Elaine to handle procuring the school supplies as well as redesigning the curriculum and ensuring there was enough staff for the school to be fully functioning. While the work was exhausting, Elaine preferred it. It distracted her from the fact that Zero refused to be in the same room as her, or that she was officially Yuki Cross-Kuran's guardian, or that Aurelius was watching over her charge.

Fuck, she hadn't even told Yagari about her meeting with Kaname yet.

And they never continued that conversation from the night of Rido's attack. Elaine was too much of a coward to broach it to him.

Seven months, two weeks and five days after chaos descended on the Academy the newly rebuilt gates opened to students. The Druid watched the teens arriving with a pang in her chest, feeling the distinct lack of white clad nocturnal students who she had no right to get attached to. Her eyes, through the crowd, had crossed with the gaze of one Sayori Wakaba. The grave light in the teenage girl's gaze caused Elaine to incline her head in acknowledgement, the shared knowledge tasting bitter like a blood oath rather than a secret. After the welcoming orientation and settling the students in their dorms, Elaine and Yagari stumbled back to her apartment in an exhausted daze.

"Beer…" The hunter groaned, grabbing a six pack from the fridge and collapsing on the couch.

Just as Elaine was preparing herself a very stiff martini, the doorbell rang.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Yagari growled from where his face was half smushed into a cushion.

Barely awake on her feet, Elaine's exhaustion evaporated like water under the blazing sun when she opened the door and her stuttering thought process comprehended just who she was staring at. "Olympias!"

The oracle's lips twitched in arch amusement at the gaping look on the Druid's face. "Ambrosia," Her Greek accented response clipped over her tongue. "It has been a long while."

Olympias, the heir to the oracle of Delphi, was a greatly respected member in the magus community. She was older than Elaine, but her striking beauty from her youth had gracefully deepened as the years passed. Her loosely curled brown hair was threaded regally with grey and her stormy eyes glittered like sea glass. Her heart shaped face was clear and bright with intelligence, the hood of her cloak like coat pushed back on her head.

"C-Come in," Elaine stepped aside to allow the other woman into the apartment.

"Gods another one?" Yagari groaned, not bothering to move. "If that asshole Mathias sent you don't even talk to me!"

Olympias quirked an eyebrow, a wry grin pulling at her full lips. "You have met Mathias then? You poor man,"

Elaine rolled her eyes and lightly kicked the leg of the couch. "Don't be so dramatic." Giving her head a slight shake to clear her thoughts the Druid blinked stupidly at the oracle. "What are you doing here?"

Olympias merely smiled knowingly. "I'd love to see the grounds, Ambrosia. I apologize for coming at such an inopportune time, but would you mind showing them to me?"

Elaine nodded automatically, the oracle was one of the few magi she considered a confidante and friend. Despite her bone deep fatigue, she would not refuse her and the Druid had some semblance of foresight as to why the oracle had appeared on her doorstep. Yagari, judging by the sour expression on his face, did not.

"I'll be back later," Elaine warned from the door. "And don't even think about smoking in here, if you do I'll know!"

"Yeah, yeah, mother," The hunter waved her off weakly as the door shut.

The two women remained silent until they had stepped outside into the crisp night air. As per the rules, the students were all under strict curfew at night, the grounds eerily empty. In the distance Elaine could faintly sense Zero's presence as the ex-human completed his rounds as prefect before returning to his own apartment in town. Olympias's clear eyes scanned the gardens and forestry of the grounds.

"You must know why I am here, Ambrosia." The oracle broke the silence gently.

"Yes," Elaine swallowed her sour tasting saliva.

"What a tragic face you make just now," Olympias teased softly. "I have not seen you look so for many years when you were drowning in a bottle."

The Druid snorted bitterly. "I'm able to tread now,"

"It is not only the Keltoi that are concerned, my friend. The global magi community is quite aware of what occurred at this Academy, and many are afraid. The rumors run rampant and you must put a halt to them."

"I don't see how it is the business of anyone but myself. They are my powers and my life, I have never been indebted to a single creature in my life and I don't intend to begin so now."

The oracle pinned the Druid with such a sharp look that she felt like an impudent child. "Remember yourself Ambrosia; such arrogance is ill-fitting for one such as you."

"You're right," The blonde admitted with a heavy sigh. "Must I answer to the Keltoi?"

The older woman hummed quietly to herself as they entered one of Elaine's personally favorite courtyards. There was a small fountain in the center, the sound of trickling water soothing and the scent of roses refreshing. Halting near the edge of the pool of water, the two stared at the moon's reflection in the crystal water, the image rippling in the slight breeze.

"Whether you wish it or not, the common magi view the Old Ones and the members of the Keltoi as forces of nature. We stand as protectors for our kin, and to see an Old One bowed before the vampires is… frightening. For them to know the truth and your heart will ease their anxiety."

Elaine frowned at the other woman's words. Deep in her heart she knew they were valid, however it was a burden she did not long for. The moment she took the mantle of Merlinus from her dying Uncle Elaine's personal desires became obsolete. Her life was no longer her own, it was her sacred duty to act accordingly as heir and, eventually, produce the next generation to carry on the will of Merlin. A dark, secret part of her heart hated and envied those who had the freedom to act without restraint, to just have control over their own life.

As if she could read the Druid's thoughts, Olympias knelt to trail her fingertips through the velvety water. "You were not aware that the vampire Senate had placed a bounty on your life, were you?"

The question startled Elaine out of her thoughts, eyes wide and unguarded. "What?"

A mirthless smile curved the oracle's lips. "It was not brought to light until after Rido was eliminated and Kaname Kuran destroyed the Senate. The order had been given secretly, only the most trusted dogs of the Senate were even aware of such an assignment."

Not once, ever, had Elaine sensed any type of mortal danger closing in around her. "What stopped them?"

"One who is not bound by our rules,"

An uncomfortable sensation choked the Druid, something like guilt clenching her stomach. "Like a Darach,"

"Yes," The oracle paused. "You have not spoken to Aurelius for almost thirteen years."

"I'm aware," The Druid snapped nastily.

Unruffled by her tone, Olympias smoothly straightened, her ankle length cloak whispering against the cobblestone under their feet. "It must have been very hard on you to exile your older brother."

"I have no brother." Elaine's tone was dead and brittle. "The person I knew as my brother died when I was seventeen. That man just shares his name and wears his face."

Staring at the younger woman for a long moment, Olympias' liquid grey eyes seemed to peel away her skin. "Anyone of us would have taken the same actions as you, Ambrosia. I am merely providing you with the information, what you choose to do with it is your prerogative."

"Why?" Elaine asked in a pained whisper. "He rejected our oaths, I disowned him and expulsed him from the family. Why would he protect my life?"

"Perhaps," Olympias replied after a long moment, her accented voice speaking each word carefully and slowly. "he can see something you cannot. Perhaps he does not wish for the Merlinus line to be ended. Or perhaps he is not so very tainted as you have believed."

Questioning every decision and action she had ever made, Elaine swallowed back a bitter sob. "What should I do?" She desperately asked one of the few whose sight could pierce farther than her own.

Reaching out to run long graceful fingers through her ash blonde hair, brushing the loose strands away from her face, Olympias smiled reassuringly. "You should write a letter explaining just what occurred at this Academy and what happened to you, which I will deliver to the Keltoi to spare you a summoned hearing. Then you will promise me that you will attempt to sleep more. Most important however is that you let that hunter give you some of the peace you desperately seek."

Biting her lip, Elaine allowed her heterochromic gaze to sweep across the exterior of the apartment building. It was nondescript, the deep red brick blending easily with the rustic and Victorian aesthetic of the town. Presently, the building appeared warm and inviting as the sky was darkly overcast, the clouds bruising shades of purple and grey. Behind her people bustled quickly down the sidewalk, the breeze ushering the oncoming storm was chilled and quick to cut to the bone. The Druid, still in her black lace pencil skirt and creamy peplum top she wore to teach in, seemed immune to the chill despite only being shielded by a light jacket. Her red ballroom platform heels clicked anxiously against the pavement as she tapped one foot, still torn in her thoughts.

Finally, nodding once and decisively to herself, Elaine slipped inside the door that led to the lobby of the apartment building. Two plastic shopping bags heavy with items hung from one hand as she jabbed the button near the elevator door. Too soon the doors dinged open and she stepped out into the hall. Scanning the doors as she passed, she raised her hand to knock on one when it flew open.

Zero's perpetual scowl deepened when they locked eyes. "What?"

Swallowing down something that tasted like intimidation Elaine silently flicked her gaze down to her hands. The ex-human followed her look, mouth twisting before he stepped aside to allow her inside the apartment. Unsurprising, the place was bare, it looked unlived in. "Did Master send you?"

"He didn't have to," Elaine responded evenly, depositing the bags onto his counter and placing the perishable food items in his empty fridge. "He worries you'll starve left to your own devices, I'm sorry to say his concerns are valid based on what I'm seeing."

"I'm not a child," Zero retorted.

"Of course you're not," She said in a tone that belied yes, she very much thought in fact he was.

An awkward and tense silence settled between the two. Elaine did not have very much opportunity to see the teen once he vacated the living quarters at the Academy. She would see him briefly during the class changeovers during the school day, but he avoided eye contact with her, much less speaking with her. The Druid was uncharacteristically at a loss on exactly how to cope with Zero. She wanted to help him – to what? Heal? She was no longer sure what she could help him with – but he'd made his opinions on her interference perfectly clear. His almost obstinate refusal rankled her, a petty part of her wanted to merely write the boy off. The Druid had so many concerns and she felt herself being spread thin as it were, much less adding her worry over Zero's wellbeing. However to actually do so was simply out of the question.

"You look tired," Zero observed suddenly, shattering the oppressive quiet.

Elaine, her back still to him as she put away items in the cupboards above his tiny sink, smirked mirthlessly. "Is that your polite way of saying I look like shit?"

"Yes," Zero answered in an annoyed voice.

"I just… have many thoughts on my mind."

The Druid didn't see the small glimmer of something like sympathy in the Kiriyu's eyes. "Does the bite still bother you?"

Humming to herself, Elaine bundled the two plastic bags into a small clump in her hand and tossed them into the recycling bin. "Not so very much anymore… He haunts my sleep sometimes, but not often."

Zero could understand that all too well. Despite being dead for more than a year, Shizuka Hio continued to invade his dreams. In addition for months after everything had happened, with his Master occupied with rebuilding the Academy and his adopted father practically exiled, the ex-human had been the main caregiver to the Druid during her recovery process. He could still clearly recall the painful, hacking coughs that would wrack her and the foul smelling black blood her body continued to reproduce. Face resettling into an icy mask, the teen looked out the window at the blackening sky, a handful of fat raindrops splashing against the glass pane. "You should go, before the storm gets bad."

"Alright," The Druid replied softly, so quiet that only his heightened senses allowed him to hear her. Looking washed out and pathetically hollow, Elaine left his apartment without a word, feeling worse than when she'd arrived.

She definitely knew her night had gone to shit when she opened the door to her apartment to see Yagari waiting for her in cold fury. He was standing in the living room, arms crossed over his chest and visible eye blazing. His look was almost accusatory.

"What the hell is this?" His voice was cold as he practically threw something at her. Catching it uneasily, Elaine felt her heart stutter when she realized who the neat and scripted handwriting belonged to. The return address only confirmed her realization.

"A letter from Kaname Kuran," She answered listlessly, already exhausted, as she stripped out of her slightly damp jacket and hung it on a peg near the front door. The aura in the room tightened and quivered, choking her throat and making her hands gently shake uneasily. When she turned back around the hunter was looking at her guardedly as if she was an enemy he was sizing up.

"What are you doing communicating with him?"

Despite knowing she could clarify the situation by explaining, her eyebrows knitted together at his tone. It was cold and detached but harsh and demanding, as if he were interrogating her. It twisted something uncomfortably inside her, the Druid could not identify the emotion but it raised her hackles. "Don't speak to me as if I'm one of your hunters to be ordered."

Her response made him draw in a breath harshly before his arms dropped to his sides, hands gesturing as he spoke. "Well excuse me for wanting answers! I need to know I can trust you!"

The words made her recoil as if they had physically struck her. Shock clearly slackened her features before anger rumbled and clouded her face. "How can you even say that to me, after everything I've done?"

"Exactly, how can you even stand to breathe the same air as Kuran after what he did!" What he really meant went unsaid, although the Druid knew it as if he had written it across her walls. How could you after what he did to Zero?

Closing her eyes, Elaine took a deep steadying breath. She was being irrational; if she were Yagari she would react the same way. With a burst of clarity she wondered dismally if this is how the story between the two of them would eventually end. Neither were truly capable of being vulnerable, they couldn't lower their defenses. The flaw made it difficult to connect with someone. This realization allowed the words to tumble out, because she wasn't ready for him to walk out of her life yet.

"He summoned me some weeks ago," She began quietly, eyes downcast guiltily. "I told myself I went out of mere curiosity; he knows my feelings toward his actions so why interact? My real desire was to confront him. However the meeting forced me to swallow whatever my personal feelings are on the matter and act as a Druid, as I am always to do."

"What did he want?" Yagari's voice was equally quiet, but far from soft.

"The Kurans left a will, it named me as Yuki's legal guardian should she reawaken as a Pureblood."

The hunter choked out a sound, some statement aborted. Elaine chanced glancing up through her lashes to see uninhibited shock on his face. Hands lax at his sides, he merely stared at her.

"I tried to refuse, but…" The Druid bit her lip, unsure if the man before her could possibly understand her reasons.

"I get it," His voice was rough when she trailed off. His sigh hissing between his teeth, Yagari ran a hand through his wild dark hair and turned to pace a few steps, his back to her. Elaine waited anxiously, voluminous eyes uncertain when he finally turned to look at her. Her gaze raked over him, looking for signs of anger. Shaking his head, the hunter took three long legged strides to close the distance between them and brush some stray hair out of her face. "Don't look at me like you're gonna' cry…"

She bit her lip, arms crossed tightly in front of her. "I thought you'd despise me if I told you…"

Rolling his visible eye the hunter flicked her nose, smirking when she squealed and covered her face protectively. "How old do you think I am? Twelve?"

"Don't you realize it?" She snapped. "This is just another strain between us. I am Yuki's guardian; I am tied to the Purebloods, to the Kurans! You're a hunter!" Once she had begun, Elaine could not stop the carefully guarded fears she kept lock in her own heart from tumbling out. "If anything I should be distancing myself from this conflict, my involvement has already-" Cutting herself off, the Druid ignored the prickle of pain as she bit so hard on her lip her canine may have pierced the skin.

Yagari stared her down, visible eye intense. "That's why that other one came to see you a few days ago. The Keltoi are pissed at you for getting involved." Something like guilt flashed across his face when she nodded, but he smothered it quickly with a scoff and one hand reaching up to run through his hair. "Well damn…"

"I don't particularly care what they believe about the situation." Elaine assured him. "If they bother me again I'm telling them all to go fuck themselves."

An amused grin eased some of the tension along with his chuckle. "I think I'm a bad influence on you…"

The strain broken, the two standing so close that Elaine could feel the hunter's body heat teasing her senses and grinning at one another, the Druid crossed her most feared, deeply gouged line without thinking. "You know I love you, right?"

It was only when Yagari's hand froze from where it was scratching at the back of his skull that she realized what she had said. Breath leaving her lungs suddenly, Elaine could only stare wide eyed up at him. He had seen her naked many times before but only now did she feel completely bare before this man, tossing aside all of her protective armor with such a single statement. The hunter let his hand drop back to his side as his gaze searched her face, expression serious but oddly neutral.

She had no idea that every thought in her mind flashed through her wet eyes. Please don't hurt me. I just gave you the most powerful weapon against me; don't make me regret it…

"I know," He sighed, eye closed and pulling her against him with one arm. She was stiff as stone in his hold for a moment before relaxing and winding her arms around his waist, face buried in his chest. "I love you too, even though you're the biggest pain in my ass."

He paused, frowning down at the crown of her head. "Are you crying?"

"…No."

Yagari grinned, confident she couldn't see it. "Liar,"

Elaine Hex either made wonderful first impressions or she crashed and burned in the social department, there was no in between.

Unfortunately for Kaito Takamiya, this occasion was the latter.

In her office the Druid had finally opened Kaname's letter. She was surprised to see multiple sheets of cream paper folded neatly inside the envelope. The private correspondence informed her that the Pureblood had reached out to the Hunter's Association, attempting to open a dialogue in order to reestablish the relationship between the vampire society and the hunters in order to maintain the peace between the races. In the Druid's opinion the discussion could not have happened sooner, Yagari frequently spoke about the increase of attacks from vampires on mortals after the Senate was decimated singlehandedly by Kaname. The situation had quickly spiraled out of control and the two sides needed to decide on a course of action to contain the violence.

Her frown deepened as she continued through the letter. Apparently there was an arrangement for peace talks to occur in the near future, and the Kuran was personally requesting that the Merlinus family mediate the occasion. Ever the perfect student, Kaname outlined various persuasive points to plead his case. The most successful in swaying Elaine's opinion was his most effective argument that her dual relationship with the hunters and vampires made her ideal. While she was Yuki's guardian, she was also a personal friend of the now fully instated Association President Cross and, in the ways that mattered, romantically linked to the best hunter. Unlike other fully capable magi such Gaheris, Kaname reasoned, she had a personal investment in the success of the peace talks and therefore her mediation would increase its chance of success.

In addition, a soiree was to be held immediately following and it was then that Kaname wished to introduce Yuki to the vampire society. As her Guardian, it was only natural that Elaine should be present and the Kuran suggested both events be hosted by the Merlinus family in order to rid her of the trouble of hosting two gatherings.

The third section of the letter which ultimately caused her furniture to shake in rhythm with her aether informed her that Aurelius had arrived at the Kuran estate.

Practically ripping one of her drawers off the tracks, Elaine roughly smoothed a handful of stationary paper in front of her and began writing her reply. Three pages in and her lower lip severely red from nibbling it, her cell phone blared. With a gusty sigh she answered in a rough voice. "What?"

"Elaine," It was Gaheris, and he sounded strained. The Druid's stomach vaulted, heart stuttering.

"What's happened?"

There was a long, heavy silence over the line that caused a cold sweat to bead on her forehead. Hands shaking, Elaine numbly dropped her pen from her fingers and leaned back in her chair. It was dusk outside, the liquid red and gold from the setting sun bathing her office in color. A curfew no longer needed as there was no Night Class to shield them from, the chatter of students enjoying an early evening walk continued outside her window.

"It's Baba Yaga,"

"What happened to Dmitri?"

"He's dead, Elaine," Gaheris' voice was almost lifeless. "Someone murdered Babs."

The Druid's world shrunk into a tight, black void with only white pinpricks of light spattered through the darkness. A low pitched buzz resounded in her ears, feeling nothing short of desolation. Dmitri Ježibaba – playfully nicknamed Babs – the eldest of the heirs of Old Ones, dead?

When her vision finally cleared, her office was in disarray. Papers and loose items were strewn about, the couches upturned and the coffee tables flipped. The only items to escape the onslaught of ather were her desk, the chair she was seated in, Kaname's letter and her own incomplete response.

"Elaine?" Gaheris' soft, almost childlike, voice called through the phone.

"Murdered?" She whispered, swallowing around the thickness in her throat. The wonderful setting sun whose rays had warmed her deliciously through the window did nothing now to banish the cold settling in her bones.

The notion was almost laughable. Dmitri was – had been – the heir to Baba Yaga, the magical figure in Russian folklore. He was the oldest of them, eccentric as his ancestor had been, and they all adored him. Growing out his blonde hair and beard, they fell nearly down to his knees which he used to let Elaine braid with colorful ribbons when she was a child. It was like having Emrys ripped from her all over again.

"His niece found him, remember that broken down piece of shit cabin he had in the woods? 'To be more like my giver' he used to say. I guess he'd been out there for a while and no one could get a hold of him so she went out there to check and…" Gaheris trailed off, inhaling shakily to stave off a cry. "Elaine, there were bite marks on his neck-"

Just as white, hot rage curled and condensed in the Druid's chest did Yagari turn the knob to her office door and let himself in without preamble. He had his lips already parted to inform her that one of his previous apprentices, the tawny haired young man behind him, was on assignment from the Association at the Academy for the immediate future, but the ruby red gleam in her eye stopped the words before they'd even formed.

If he were a lesser man he would squeaked.

"Get out!" She roared, Merlin's voice threading through her own. "Get out now!"

Thanks to his hunter reflexes, Yagari just managed to slam the door shut as her couch hurled at them. The wood shuddered at the impact, cracks splintering and bits of wood falling to the floor. Dust shook from the surrounding walls to coat the ground like snow. Yagari and Kaito stared silently as the Druid began shrieking in an awkward mixture of Welsh and French into her phone that he had seen clasped in her hand.

Kaito shook his head with a sigh. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Master."