Chapter 21

The festival continued as people socialised and ate food, watching a few displays of Magic here and there on the stage.

Minthe just stood next to Perse, smiling mischievously as the group looked at her like she was insane.

"Is it that time already?" Perse asked her, checking her watch quickly. The smart screen lit up with the time. "Oh, it is nearly midnight. Everyone, this is Minthe Loset. She's gone through the trial and has been confirmed as a Redwater."

They stayed silent, almost like they didn't know if they should be happy or not for that. It made Perse take pity on them.

"It's good news," She said. "While there aren't any Blood Witches, the bloodline Magic isn't gone."

"Okay, great news then."

Perse nodded before asking, "There's a tradition for anyone under the age of twenty one to go swimming in the lake on the Summer Solstice. Gets rid of bad energy for the next half of the year. I was wondering if you'd like to partake?"

"Do we go in our dresses?" Ruka questioned.

"Wouldn't we be wet for the rest of the festival?" Senri asked calmly. "I don't like being wet for hours."

"We have reversal spells that will make it almost like you never went in, fixing makeup, hair and clothes in a flash," Perse checked her watch again. "There's another couple minutes before we go in."

Kaname looked at his friends, watching many of them on the edge of deciding. "It would be an honour, Perse."

Her smile was beautiful and warmed a part of him he had long forgotten.

It wasn't rare for her to be smiling, it was something she did to make others comfortable around her. But for her smile to be genuine and soft and actually true, it was something that happened once in a blue moon.

The first time Kaname had seen the smile was right after he had given her advice on how to deal with the Crowns. He remembered the way her palms were comforting on his jaws as she relieved the ache of thirst before she changed the matter of his drink. The second was right after she told him about how she killed Shizuka Hio, the adrenaline still in her system that just made her Magic lively. The third was when she was in the bath and teased him to get a reaction.

He loved to see her smiling.

"How's this supposed to work?" Hanabusa asked, glancing over to the lake as more and more people began to gather there. Many of the girls were hiking up their skirts and slipping out of their heels, getting ready to run into the lake in a few moments.

The group of teens started to walk towards the lake shore too. They watched as Perse walked forward, the other people seemed to make space for her and her group. Perhaps it had to do with the fact she was a Crown, or that there were Vampires right behind her.

With a countdown to midnight, a good several dozen teenagers and young adults sprinted into the water of the lake, quickly dropping into the water to become completely emerged in the strangely warm.

It was warm but refreshing as they just went deeper into the water until they could stand without their heads above it. Some people swam deeper into the lake, getting to the deepest bits where there was no ground to touch for metres.

Perse was one such individual, being taught to swim well by her father when she was younger. Her dress darkened as water gathered, making the colour a couple shades darker and a bit more sheer as it floated around her.

The triplets quickly joined her as they swam to the deeper parts. Minthe wasn't far behind, loving the fact she got to join in with Witch traditions she didn't get to when she was growing up.

Ruka, Akatsuki, Rima, Senri and Takuma seemed to stay in the more shallow areas as the rest of their group joined the Greylight Witches.

Ichiru and Seiren seemed to stay at the shore, letting their feet get wet but nothing more.

Hanabusa was quick to try and get Cera completely under the water, launching himself at Cera and tackling her into the water. Everyone almost cackled a deep satisfying laugh as they watched the two struggle in the water. Cera tried to drown Hanabusa back in good humour as they both tried to get the other off of them before trying to drown the other too.

The group waited for them to finish the water fight but paused when they both suddenly stopped struggling and turned to them, grinning menacingly.

"Oh, shit," Bereket mumbled, starting to swim away quickly.

Usher just laughed and more or less jumped out of the way as they came for Perse who was left. They wouldn't dare touch Kaname.

Perse screamed, "NOT THE HAIR!"

But it was useless, they grabbed Perse and dragged her deeper into the water, all the while laughing and spitting out water. It was a mess of flailing limbs as Usher and Berket joined them, clothes floating around them as they all suddenly surfaced.

"Shit," Perse swore, touching the top of her head. "My circlet fell."

She gave everyone a quick salute before she dived back down, the strangely warm water encasing her as she allowed her Magic to consume her. Heat filled her bloodstream as her Magic began to change her a little, making her a little less Human.

Tiny gills ripped themselves into the sides of her throat as she blew out the rest of the air in her lungs. Water consumed her. Between her fingers and toes came webbing to help her swim as she tried to get to the bottom of the lake where her circlet sat.

Dark purple scales covered her forearms and legs in areas, changing her to adapt to the new environment. It was a temporary thing, lasting only long enough for her to do what she needed.

Perse loved the silence of the lake.

Even if she knew there was life within the lake, the sereness of the quiet waves brought something out in her. If she ran her tongue against her teeth, the pricks of sharp teeth would bite at her tongue.

Getting to the bottom of the lake took a good solid minute of swimming in her new form. The circlet just sat on the sandy ground, half tangled in a bit of seaweed. Howthere was seaweed in a lake, she had no clue but she pulled at it to get the crown out of there.

Pushing herself from the ground, she kicked away from the floor to get a good distance before she began to swim upwards.

Almost to the top, Perse stopped and pressed her pointer and middle finger to the side of her temple, throwing her hand out a little to show that she thought he was being stupid.

Instead of staying above water, Kaname had sunk down a couple metres, letting his dark shirt and hair float around him as he narrowed his eyes at her. She stuck her tongue at him, laughing when he just shook his head. Her laughing showed off the sharp canines she had in this form.

Kaname pointed upwards before they both began to swim.

They broke the water.

"Where's everyone?" Perse asked, shaking off the transformation quickly. The fangs would be the last to go.

"They went to shore," He said. "You were gone for a good few minutes. The triplets assured us that you would be fine. Something about Dunner blood being resilient in water?"

"Dad taught me to swim before I could walk,"

They began to swim towards the shore, but they had a good minute of swimming before they got there.

Kaname was able to stand out of the water quicker than Perse, her dress weighing her down. She tripped because of the weight, swearing quietly as she just lifted the skirt so it was showing off a lot of leg and thigh. He gave her a hand as they walked onto shore, both of them squelching with water.

Uncle Neptune and Aunt Ops stood with their children, holding a tray of small shot glasses that had bright green fire on the rims. Perse guided Kaname over to them, taking two from the tray and handing one to Kaname.

"Reversal spell woven into the alcohol," Perse said, tipping the glass to the sky an inch before swallowing it whole without cringing.

"Alcohol? Aren't we underage?"

"Technically, this forest is private property so anyone above the age of five can drink," Aunt Ops said, handing Ruka and Akatsuki a shot each. "But we limit it to above sixteen. Anyone younger gets juice with the drying spell. Bottoms up, everyone."

Perse snickered. "Being underage isn't gonna stop me."

"If you're getting drunk, go see your father first," Uncle Neptune said, nodding to an area. "He's speaking to someone at the moment."

"He's here?" Perse turned her head like a meerkat, suddenly alert. "I thought he couldn't come?"

"He was just late," He said. "He's always late. Thank the gods you didn't get that trait of his."

"I got some of his other traits,"

Aunt Ops laughed. "Like his trigger-happiness, temper, and penchant for alcohol and chaos instead."

"Penchant for chaos is correct," Kaname muttered, downing the shot as it sent a warming sensation throughout his body and dried him like he had never even gone into the water.

Perse just took one of the shots that weren't spelled and drowned it, stinking her middle finger at him.

Kaname just grinned at that, pushing her middle finger down so it just made a fist and made her roll her eyes and laugh.

"Sir Aido is calling me, excuse me." Kaname squeezed her elbow before walking away, Seiren following after.

"We're off to the buffet," Senri said, taking the triplets and Rima with him.

Ruka and Akatsuki also excused themselves, going to sit down at one of the tables as Ruka sorted out her hair once again and checked her makeup. Akatsuki just watched her with a soft look, letting her fuss over both of their appearances as Akatsuki had his hair as messy as usual.

As a server walked around, Perse got two glasses off the tray, filling hers up with coke and a Red Stag, a rum that was flavoured with cherries, and filled Takuma's with an advanced blood tablet variety that tasted even more like blood than usual.

Perse sipped her drink as she passed Takuma his.

"So," Uncle Neptune grinned. "When's the wedding?"

Perse almost choked on her drink, swearing as Takuma gently patted her on the back.

Neptune laughed. "She's blushing! It's true!"

"A little bit too soon, I think, 'Tune," Aunt Ops said. "They still have the passive aggressiveness between them."

"Ah, young love and passion," Neptune smirked as Ops just rolled her eyes. He looked at Perse, pointing his finger in her face. "Wrap it before you tap it, missy. I mean it. I don't want to be a great uncle."

"Really?" Perse laughed, a touch of blush on her cheeks. "I hate you. Go bother Cera and Hanabusa about that talk. They need it more than I do."

"You sure about that?" Ops raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow like she didn't believe her niece. "I've already spoken to Cera about it."

"And threatened Hanabusa,"

"Of course," Ops smiled. "It's my duty as Cera's mother to intimidate any of her suitors. Does your father know?"

"Know about what?"

Ops nudged her in the arm lightly. "Don't play coy with me, missy. You Greylights have a strange courtship style. Hate to love someone but so ferociously loyal. And so possessive." She gave her husband the stink eye which he just fake gasped at.

"Yeah," He agreed. "Greylights don't share. Hey, Mr Ichijo, how are Vampires when they date?"

Takuma smiled politely, not at all forced for once in his life at an event. "Call me Takuma, please. Well, Vampires… Vampires are strange with their courtship. We don't like to settle for anything less than the best, so Hanabusa and Cera must be well matched. We crave certain features in our lovers but our Beloveds are our reasons to live."

"Do you have a Beloved, if I may ask?" Ops asked.

"We're courting at the moment but I believe so," Takuma said, sipping his drink. His voice sounded a little sad before he cheered it up with a smile. "Finding a Beloved is difficult and when we find them, we do not give them up. Vampires become possessive of two things, Humans who serve us their blood, though the practise has decreased in the last few years, and our Beloveds. A possessive Vampire is a dangerous Vampire."

"Sounds almost lovely," Ops said. "But in what respect do they become possessive? I don't think our concept of it would be the same."

"A Vampire who has a Beloved starts their courtship by getting rid of any obstacles that could prevent their Beloved from being with them, either getting rid of something or forcing them to face a fear or whatnot," Takuma said. "We want to be the only thing our Beloved thinks of, the only one they go to but it doesn't always work that way so we settle for being near them, making ourselves available if they need us. Providing and protecting is one of our main instincts, wanting to show that we are able. Providing usually means food or other sorts of things, gifts could be an example."

Perse didn't let any expressions besides a neutral one that was listening onto her face. She fiddled with the necklace for a second before forcing her hand away from it.

"We want to be able to provide, to show that we care and that we are there for them," Takuma continued. "We aren't possessive as in we want to know exactly what they are doing or who they are with or whatnot. We're possessive in the way a lover is protective, we don't like other people touching our Beloved until we are secure in knowing they also feel the same thing. If our Beloved is sick or the like, we have the instinct to be near them at any cost, but that is usually due to the fact that our Beloved does not have to be another Vampire."

"So interracial marriages are fine?"

"Yes, though frowned upon sometimes," Takuma continued. "My grandfather is the head of the Council and disapproves of Aristocracy marrying Humans, but both Lord Kaname and Persephone had given their permissions. A Pureblood's permission is a great deal in our world. Like a Crown saying yes when a Clan leader said no, without all the political fuss."

"That's really interesting," Neptune said, sighing as he looked at his watch. "Hey, Ops, let's get some food before all of the kids nick 'em all and leave us scrapes."

Ops nodded. "Pleasure to meet you."

"You too," Takuma said.

While Neptune and Opsa walked away, Perse and Takuma found a table to sit at in the forest. They found one that held only four chairs, sitting down quickly.

"You sounded sad earlier, why?" Perse asked, fiddling with her glass.

"My grandfather is trying to get me to marry an heiress from another family," Takuma said, looking down into his glass like he kinda wanted to just accept it and go. "But, while I like the female form, I have a preference for the male."

"I have a preference for all forms but you're allowed to like who you like," Perse said. "If you don't want to marry, then don't. I'll have to marry someone but that doesn't mean I have to love them. There's an expectation of me having at least one kid, or Cera would have to have a kid later. A firstborn needs to take the Greylight Crown from me when I decide to step down. If I was serious, as in soulmate kinda serious, I'd Bond if they were applicable to it."

"Bond?"

"Soul Bonding. The literal union of two beings and their Magic. It's a beautiful ceremony, I've only witnessed it a couple of times." She smiled in memory. "Vampires become possessive of their Beloved, but Witches become feral at the thought of someone taking our Bonded. There've been wars caused because a Bonded was taken away from their love."

"Vampires have grown rabid with insanity when their Beloved was killed," Takumsa said. "None more so than a Pureblood. There's a reason there are only so many Purebloods left. The Atriscorates try to force Purebloods to marry someone but a spouse is not the same thing as a Beloved, though they can become one."

"You can't force a Beloved onto someone. The same is with a Bonded. It just can't be done."

Takuma glanced at her, watching her as she looked into the dark coloured liquid of her drink. "At the event the Aidos hosted, you said you had your eye on someone. Who is it?"

Perse drank a little more of her drink, needing the liquid courage. "It's complicated."

"Do you like the person?"

"Yeah,"

"Do you see your future with the person?"

"I haven't thought of anything past the Winter Solstice when I take the trial," Perse finished the glass, hating the fact that her body burned off alcohol so easily. It was hard for her to get drunk. "I don't know if I'll even live past it. My trial will be harder than Minthe, I know that. If I live, I might lose my Magic. What am I without my Magic?"

"You are a ruler, a leader, Persephone Greylight," A voice that hadn't been heard in years said, making Perse stand from her chair and bow her head in respect.

"Saint Gaea," Perse greeted, suddenly aware that the whole forest became quiet.

All of the Witches bowed, men dropping into crouched bows while women went down to extremely low curtsies. The Vampires didn't have to bow but they all did small ones to show respect.

Saint Gaea was a beautiful woman with dark skin that didn't show her true age and waist length twists with golden cuffs here and there. She didn't wear much makeup besides for black around her eyes and a tad of gold on her eyelids and a bit on her cheeks for highlight. Hands painted with henna, the designs were beautiful and elaborate, going from the tinted tips of her hands and almost reached her elbows.

Her dress was tight and was a dark bronze colour, accenting her skin as it stopped under her breasts but had two thick straps that went over the breasts to maintain modesty. It fell to her ankles, completely tight but allowed her movement like it was Magic.

She had several pieces of jewelry on; thin golden chains around her neck, going down in different lengths along with several piercings in her ears and two studs in her nostrils. Thick wired cuffs were on her biceps, and another on her wrists to attach a black shawl that moved with her. Bracelets and anklets finished it off with no shoes.

"The Crowns did not realise you were going to attend, Saint Gaea," Persephone stated, finally rising to her true height with the confidence of a ruler. "We would have made a welcome worth your visit."

"Nonsense," Saint Gaea said. "Everyone, stand up. I came here, not to interrupt the festivities, but to partake in them with you. Persephone, I am sad to hear about the death of your mother."

Everyone went back to whatever they were doing, creating space between them and the Saint and Greylight Princess.

Persephone nodded stiffly. "Thank you."

Saint Gaea looked to Persephone's side, just behind her right shoulder. "Kaname."

"Gaea," Kaname's voice appeared from behind Persephone, a hand clasped onto the Witch's shoulder as Perse turned back to him in confusion.

"You know each other?"

Gaea grinned, pulling bronze lips back to reveal white teeth that were a hint too feral. "Somehow. He may choose to disclose how at a later date, but not now. I see you have a Familiar now, Persephone."

"Yes," Persephone said, crouching down to pick up Tsar. "Little basta… Little guy got hurt in a forest and I healed him but I accidentally bonded to him."

"Familiars are no accidents. May I?" Gaea gestured for Tsar, letting the fox choose to either let her touch him or not. He was limp in her grip but he wasn't aggressive. "How adorable. His bow matches your dress. Let us take a walk, shall we? Get away from everyone and their ears."

Persephone couldn't refuse, not when a Saint asked, especially when it was the Ancient Saint. "Of course."

)(LB)(LB)(LB)(

"Oh, I hate the formalities," Gaea admitted, linking arms with Perse like they were old friends as they walked on the other side of the lake where no one was.. "Please drop the formalities, I get enough of them from my own followers. We're not discussing politics so you might as well act as if we are friends. I heard you have the tongue of a sailor on you, just like your father."

"Yeah," Perse said, sighing as she stared off to the lakeside. "I knew more swears than actual words when I was young."

"I spoke to your father easilier," Gaea said. "He said you have been attending a school?"

"Yes, Cross Academy in Japan. I've been going there since my mum died. I left straight after the funeral."

"I'm sad I didn't get to watch her death. It was said that she died a death she was worthy of."

"I wouldn't know."

"You were there, weren't you?"

"I was." Perse sucked her teeth for a moment. "But I don't know if my mother should have had such an easy death. I've been told so many things, and realised so many other things that I don't know what I should believe. I wish I had your knowledge."

"Dear, you do not want my knowledge," She said. "I know things I shouldn't. I know your family's secret. I know Black, White, and Grey Magic. I know what it would take to destroy the earth and what it would take to heal it."

"And the Magic unbalancement?"

Gaea sighed, a sound that rarely came out of the Ancient Saint. "That is why I am here. In the last few months, I have felt how Magic has changed and morphed. It is becoming unbalanced and I know why but I cannot reveal it for I fear if I do, my reign as Saint will end. You understand the fear of your rule ending."

"My rule hasn't even begun and I've been threatened already," Perse said. "I don't know if my mother is the corrupt one, or if the other Crowns are, or if the whole Order is. With a single poisoning, the whole Magic system is being challenged as none of us know what is happening."

"Yes, that poisoning." Gaea muttered. "I'm sad to say that I did it. The scheme needed to be exposed, a change needed to occur."

Perse just gave her a blank look, sighing before rubbing her hand down her face. "I'm too sober for this shit."

Gaea laughed, snapping her fingers and handing the younger Witch a glass which she just gulped down. "The Crowns are the thing that is causing the Magic unbalance. There is too much distrust between you all, and since they refuse to allow you to rule as true Crown, it had upset Magic even moreso."

"Why has it? What have we done?"

"It's what you haven't done," Gaea stated clearly. "You all see Magic as a right, something you have to have to be worth something. But Magic is an entity. Magic is oraganised Chaos, and Chaos is our creator. Trying to control something which is alive is not what should be happening. The chaos you are, Persephone, you try to contain it within such a tight grip and end up failing. You try and control it, thinking that is how it is supposed to be."

"If I let the chaos out, destruction will follow me everywhere,"

"Let it out?" She laughed, a noise that held destruction and creation within a Human form. "You can't let out something you are. These are the things modern Witches have gotten wrong. You don't have Magic, you are Magic. You are chaos in Human form that holds the power to create or destroy. Bloodlines have been polluted and abilities have been lost. The Greylights are one of very few bloodlines that have been able to retain the teachings, that is, until your mother."

Perse scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "What did my mother do this time? Was it because she left me with my father because I was a late bloomer? Or the fact that she dampened my Magic for her own gain? Or when she tried to take over my body right when she died and gave me her Magic?"

"Do you know who gave you your name?" Gaea said, unlinking her arm from Perse as she stood in front of her now. Magic radiated off her, Black, White, Grey, it all came off in waves. Perse didn't flinch as it hit her, sensing her Magic with light touches that tried to coax the Greylight Witch's control to release.

Something told her she should do as asked, releasing her iron hold on her Magic and allowing it to leak into the air around her. Beneath her feet, flowers grew and died where she stepped. The wet land of the lake's shore became alive with flora and fauna as Perse looked around in confusion.

"Daughter of Demeter and Zeus, of spring and lightning," Gaea said. "Other names would be Ceres and Jupiter."

"You're saying my parents are gods?"

Gaea laughed. "No. Their Magic had always been too unstable to handle such power as being a god. They would have crashed and burned long before they could reach their potential. Your father had always been careful, looking after you seemed to keep him in check. Your mother, on the other hand, was a wild hard in the tarot deck. Chaos came to you late because it knew you needed to grow a little before leaving a mark on you."

"A mark?"

"Your Magic, your soul. It is as black and as dark as it can be, as I have ever seen and I've been around for a very long time. I'm older than many civilisations and empires that thought they were immortal. I've never seen a soul as dark as yours."

Perse frowned. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"You don't understand," Gaea laughed, stepping back and spreading her arms out so the moonlight could hit her golden jewellery with such intensity, it was as if the sun came out. "Without darkness, there cannot be light. Without chaos, there cannot be order. Good and Evil are Human concepts that you need to get rid of. Death is not bad and life is not good. Ending suffering is better than prolonging a life full of it."

"I know that good and bad aren't real," Perse said. "Day cannot exist without the night. But I don't understand what this has to do with me? What do you mean when my soul is dark? I'm not good but nor am I bad."

"Darkness has several shades, but even when the brightest light pierces it, there is still darkness," She said. "You're as dark and as light as any Witch can be."

Perse groaned. "Please don't tell me there is gonna be a Chosen One scenario going on?"

"There've been many before you. Every Greylight thought they could be the one, even before the Greylight name came into existence." Gaea smiled. "Why do you think your family name is grey and light? A contradiction in itself. How can a light be grey without a darkness to help it?"

"So it is a Chosen One thing?"

"Less chosen and more self created. You can leave this conversation and never turn back, leave the Witch world behind and live freely, knowing someone after you, eventually, will have the same gifts as you."

"Makes me feel less special and there's less pressure then,"

"You don't have to be this Chosen One you speak of. You've not been chosen, not created, not molded, not changed in any form that you wouldn't have been in already. You are who you are, Persephone."

"I wasn't always Persephone," She said sadly, watching as the flowers around her wilted with her emotions. She picked a dying tiger lily and forced Magic into it, bringing it back to life and beauty once again. "

"You were named Kore, maiden, spring goddess." Gaea placed a hand on Perse's jaw, cupping it with the warmth of a mother. "I and the other Ancient Saints knew what your name was going to be, even if your parents disagreed. We chose your namesake long before you knew. We could feel what you had ever since you were born, I just hope you live up to it."

"Live up to it? How am I supposed to do that when I have no clue what is happening within my own court?"

"Remember your namesake," Saint Gaea said, her hands cupping Perse's jaw. "We knew Persephone would fit you better. Child of spring but god of death. Fitting for one who could bring great change. Destroy those brooches on the Winter Solstice, you'll find what you are looking for. And who you're looking for is the Vampire that doesn't know that eavesdropping is rude, Kaname!"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Kaname?" Perse fumed, turning around to watch him just sheepishly shrug.

"You were gone for a long time," He said as if that explained everything fully. "I was getting worried."

"I don't need a babysitter,"

"Never said you did, only that I was concerned,"

Gaea rolled her eyes. "You both are so dense. Well, one is too stubborn to admit it and the other is too vague. I'm off! Don't be too long." She disappeared within a blink of the eye.

"Vague?" Perse wanted to scream. "You're the one being vague! All this shit about light and darkness and all I know is that I'm grey as grey can be. Good and bad. Gods and goddesses. Argh! Why can't anything be simple in this goddamn world?!"

Kaname laughed, a beautiful sound that made Perse angrier than normal. She just glared at him as he walked over.

"You have this pretty flush when you're frustrated." He smiled down at her, his thumb running down the side of her lower lip.. "How far would it go down, I wonder."

She rolled her eyes, going to bite his thumb as she was tempted.

"Naughty."

"Says the man who wonders how I look when I'm angry,"

"You're very beautiful when you're angry," He said. "The anger does something that releases the stubborn little facade of a Human form you have on."

"Facade?" She laughed. "How do you know if it's a facade or my true self?"

"I heard what Gaea said. You are Magic but you refuse to treat yourself as such when you are truly divinity in Human form." Kaname leaned forward, liking the fact that she didn't step away or lean back as he took one of her hands. He brought it up to his mouth, watching her eyes as he kissed the wrist. "You smell like pomegranates."

Perse couldn't help the huge laugh that came out of her at that. It was so bad that she had to cover her face as she snorted and giggled and made every sound that was undecently not ladylike in her amusement of his words.

"Pomegranates? Of all things, you say pomegranates? Do you realise how many people keep referring to them when they find out my name? It's tacky, Kana…"

He stepped even closer this time, not enough to crowd her and left enough space for her to move away if she wanted but she didn't. She actually leaned forward a touch, just so she was a hair's breadth away from her chest touching his.

His hand was still on hers, now holding it instead of just her wrist. It was warm and comforting, almost familiar in the way her Magic seemed to vibrate in the same frequency as his.

"I heard that you had a drink earlier," He mumbled, breath hot on her ear. "I wonder if you taste like that cherry drink you like…"

Perse just inhaled through her nose, gritting her teeth in slight frustration as she glared at him. Her tongue poked at her lips, wetting them as she thought before she mentally said fuck it and grabbed his tunic.

It wasn't fireworks and knees turning to jelly, but the kiss felt right. Something in them settled as they simply moved their lips against each other's, never taking more than the other gave but it was still a little rough as Kaname's fangs descended of their own accord and nipped Perse's lip. She just smiled into the kiss, tasting her own blood on her lips as they continued.

When they parted, both of their eyes glowed their respective colours.

"You have a little…" He ran his thumb against the tiny wound on her lip, healing it as he gathered a little bit of blood onto his thumb. "Something there."

He contemplated putting the thumb in his mouth but Perse beat him to it, gently suckling it for only half a second before ducking under his arms and stepping away.

"Waste not," She said, turning so she walked backwards a couple steps as she fixed her crown. "As much as I would love to continue, our presence will be missed soon if Saint Gaea returns and we don't. My dad will try and find me and I rather not be walked in on. So, with my refusal to admit anything yet, are you gonna join me for a dance before the night is up?"

She held her hand out as she still took a couple steps back towards the lake. He followed her onto the water, seamlessly walking on water as ripples occur wherever they stepped but they never sank. They walked on water, Perse always a couple steps away to make him chase her.

He would gladly do it forever.

)(LB)(LB)(LB)(

"Finally!" Eros said as he watched the reflection of Perse and Kaname in the large basin.

"Only took several Magic outbursts and Gaea's interference," Tartarus laughed, the sound vibrating as a small earthquake in parts of the earth. "Wouldn't have taken as long if you allowed me to do it sooner."

Gaea didn't agree. "You would have scared the poor boy away!"

"Poor boy?" Tartarus shook his head. "He's over ten thousand years old and Persephone is as old as Chaos!"

"I'm just glad they didn't kill each other this time,"

"Last time was bad enough," Gaea agreed. "At least this time she is a Witch and not an Ancient Vampire."

"This one might actually work to save us."

"Hopefully."

"Are we going down to visit the festival?"

"Of course!"