Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter!
Everyone please stay safe! Let's hope this dark time will pass soon! "
I wish you all happy holidays and a better year!
They first met her when they were seven years old.
Their parents had been invited to the celebrations for mid-summer at the local lord's mansion.
The two noble families had both travelled from afar, meeting by chance on their way to a new life in that region.
It would be the first party they would attend since their arrival last winter; all those months had been spent by preparing their new life there, building and creating a nice environment where they could raise their children.
Since nobody had really seen them since they appeared in town, all the nobles that were planned to attend the party were eager to learn about these newcomers, who they were and where they came from; most importantly, though, they wanted to learn about what had forced them to move there.
Keigo had been preparing for over a week for this day: he had been presented with several pieces of fancy clothing, which he had tried on and afterwards had been adjusted by a servant. He had just finished getting dressed in the one he was going to wear that evening, and he was just about to put on the last accessories when the door was opened by a servant and his dear friend Seiichi entered, a soft smile on his lips as always.
Like most of the time he was wearing clothes in different shades of blue, the colour fitting with his wavy navy hair.
"Are you done yet?" Seiichi asked gently.
Keigo nodded. "Just now, in fact. And you seem to be ready as well."
He then glanced at his personal maid. "Brew some tea for him as well."
That said, he sat on an armchair while the girl bowed and quickly left the room.
Seiichi smiled softly at his friend as he took a seat on a puffy chair. "Thank you, Keigo."
In the meantime, while the two children were chatting lightly, the attendants that had helped Keigo get dressed in his new clothes were gathering the things used before quickly leaving to put them away.
Shortly after the maid returned, and served tea to the two boys.
Seiichi thanked her with a warm smile, while Keigo just waved at her, for this was merely routine for him. He did not notice how the maid hesitated when his gentle friend thanked her, nor how she was torn for a moment on how to respond to it, before bowing and quickly leaving again to attend to other duties.
They had about half an hour of free time, just enjoying each other's company, before Keigo's father Keiichi went to fetch the two boys.
He nodded in greeting at Seiichi, then watched his son from head to toe, judging his appearence.
Yes, the golden rims that contoured the azur and white clothing had been a good idea: his son truly looked like a little prince already.
Both boys then reluctantly stood up and went to join their families.
Seiichi's mother welcomed his son back with his same soft smile, her bump slightly visible by now under her apple green dress. She stroked her boy's hair gently for a long moment before withdrawing.
Seiichi turned to look at his friend, "See you there."
Keigo nodded and joined his parents.
Since they belonged to two different noble families, each of them would ride their own carriage in order to go to the lord's mansion.
As they were sitting relatively comfortably inside their vehicle, both families were through their story once more, repeating what to say about why they had moved there and reminding their children about certain things that they should never mention.
When their lecturers were done, both kids ended up quietly looking out of the window for the rest of the short trip.
Even though Keigo was already liking the city bustling with life, Seiichi missed the partial tranquillity that the previous smaller village had provided for them.
Once they arrived at the venue in the late afternoon, the two noble families were introduced and escorted inside.
Soon enough the parents were chatting with other important people, continuously introducing their children to new faces. Keigo and Seiichi were doing their best to be proper and educated, answering questions when asked while they tried to memorise each noble's name - quite a hard task.
Seiichi glanced around and felt slightly disappointed to see that there were no other children around. He turned to tell Keigo, to check if he too had realised that, but he stopped when he saw his friend's face. He was not talking to anyone in that moment, but rather watching his parents; it had been just an instant, but it had been enough for Seiichi to catch a glimpse of the expression of distaste that had crossed Keigo's features. It had happened when seeing that a man had gently taken his mother's hand and had placed a soft kiss on it before introducing himself.
The problem, Seiichi knew, was not that it was a stranger in itself, but rather the fact that that stranger was, well, human. Keigo, unlike himself, considered them inferior people, and did not like at all that they had to bow their heads to them.
Seiichi remembered how they had once asked their parents about it.
'Why do we have to obey /them/?', Keigo had grumbled, frowning. 'We are superior! And stronger!'
His mother had looked at him strictly. 'Even so, they outnumber us by far. It is not wise to go against them, if we want to live safely.'
She hesitated before adding in a murmur: 'Although, I do not exactly like it either...'
'It is needed for a peaceful coexistence.', Seiichi's mother had explained kindly.
Coexistence. Seiichi had learned this word recently and he really liked it. He also liked the thought of no social differences between Humans and Vampires, and that they could live together, side by side.
"Lord, Lady and little Lady de Aramis, directly from France!"
Both Seiichi and Keigo turned to the entrance at once. Little lady? Another child?
They spotted her at once, the little girl that seemed so nervous and shy, actually trying to hide behind the dress of her mother's skirt. She had dark blonde hair and grey eyes, her fair skin nearly glowing under the big chandeliers' lights.
Her eyes widened slightly when she spotted the two boys, and a hesitant smile appeared on her lips.
It seemed like she, too, had been relieved to see that she was not the only child there.
Keigo and Seiichi exchanged a glance. Both of them felt the urge to go talk to her, however they could not really move from their spots without being disrespectful. Thus, they waited impatiently that the new family neared theirs for a greeting.
As soon as the families introduced themselves, the two boys neared the girl quickly.
"Hello." Seiichi started politely, smiling kindly at the girl. "My name is Seiichi Yukimura, and this here is my friend Keigo Atobe. We're new here."
"O-oh." The girl seemed to nearly panic just at being addressed, but then smiled shyly back and curtsied impeccably. "I'm Fleur de Aramis. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Keigo had kept quiet, watching her. Humans… was it really a good idea to befriend - no, even /talk/ to a Human?
But then again… He was bored. There was nothing interesting to do at this party, and he was starting to get a headache from all the chatter and scents. So, perhaps it was alright, at least in order to kill some time.
Thus, he smirked confident at her. "Hi."
Seiichi's smile widened; he felt relieved that his friend was being nice. "So, let's play?"
A few days passed. The two families were starting to get accustomed to their new life. Much to the kids' delight - especially Seiichi's, at least in the beginning - they found out that the de Aramis family did not live too far from their own mansions.
While their fathers often gathered to discuss boring politics, their mothers happily chatted about trivial things, such as the newest fashion, the weather, or their children; in particular the mothers Hana Yukimura and Marguerite de Aramis seemed to particularly get along with each other.
All the while, when they did not have to attend to this or that lesson, the children played together. Usually outside - not tag, though, since they would be found out... - but rather ball or with other toys.
More often than not, during those visits the families would drink tea while taking a break in the afternoon, always accompanied by some biscuits or pieces of cakes. (Only when the de Aramis' family was not around were those sweets prepared with blood in the batter.)
Once, the kids decided to try and find names for the yet unborn baby that would soon become Seiichi's younger sibling and proposed them to his mother, but they were then told that the parents had been already decided, much to the kids' disappointment.
"Seiko if it's a girl, and Seiji if it's a boy." Hana told them softly while carefully stroking her growing bump.