Kanae watched Kyoko struggle to snap the cuffs around her wrists. She had the already tried setting them on fire which resulted in her setting the curtains and a chair on fire instead. Then she had tried smashing the chain in the middle under her dresser with Kanae's help.
"How am I supposed to get dressed in these things?" Kyoko asked lying on her back and pushing on the center chain with her feet.
"Don't ask us. Go to your husband and tell him you're done playing whatever perverted game this is." Kanae said looking away from Kyoko.
"He is not my husband, and I'm not playing any game. That pervert did this all on his own. Please Moko-san can't you show me how to turn the cuffs into a necklace." Kyoko replied as she tried to yank her wrists apart.
"Mo, why are you asking for my help? Just go to him, bat your pretty eyes and say please. All you upyr love being flirted with and fawned over." Kanae said irritably.
"But Moko-san you're a strigoi and strigoi specialize in matter manipulation." Kyoko said looking up at her bodyguard confidently.
"Why are calling me that?" Kanae asked taken aback by the nickname and Kyoko's bright golden eyes shining up at her. "Moko-san. Moko-san! Don't just give me a nonsense nickname all of the sudden."
"It's not nonsense you say Mo! Mo! all the time. Moko-san." Kyoko said as if it made perfect sense.
"So, it is nonsense. Who gave you permission to give me a nickname like we're friends or something?" Pain flashed through Kyoko's eyes at the question and Kanae regretted asking. She didn't like upyr, but she hadn't been trying to hurt Kyoko. "Whatever, look I have no idea how to turn cuffs into a necklace. I can barely change my own eye color under Tsuruga-san's and Kijima-san's instruction. Find a different strigoi to help you with this."
"But the only other strigoi I know of is Nakazawa-san and he won't listen to me over the king." Kyoko said.
"All I know is that you have to concentrate on the object and imagine it as what you want it to turn into." Kanae said taking pity on the forlorn queen. "I've never actually successfully changed anything into anything else before."
"But you turned yourself into a wolf." Kyoko said confused.
"No that was the person in my head who did that. I didn't even know I had powers before that. I was forbidden to even attempt using magic. The Koenji coven had forbidden it when they stripped us of our rank and title." Kanae said shivering at the memory of the other vampire using her like a puppet. "I didn't have a choice but to become a wolf. It was like my body wasn't mine."
"I remember. That voice held so much power in it that I almost coward before it, but they were just a bully." Kyoko said making a fist. "Bullies are all cowards deep down."
"Ok?" Kanae said motioning towards Kyoko's wrists. "That isn't going to help your situation though. You need to get ready for lunch with a noble. Ruriko-san may only be a gaki vampire, but she holds a lot of sway with the other nobles."
"I know." Kyoko said staring down at the crest dangling between her wrists. Cocking her head to the side she asked curiously. "How does a vampire coven get a crest?"
Kanae shrugged. "They were all made up millennia ago I suppose. All the great vampire covens have them."
"And no two crests would be exactly alike?" Kyoko asked scrutinizing the crest.
"No, they all have to be unique." Kanae said referring to the covens. "Why?"
"No reason. I just thought the king's crest looked very familiar now that I'm looking at it up close. But I must be mistaken." Kyoko said shaking her head.
Kanae quirked her brow wondering why Kyoko would never have looked at it up close.
"Here I'll try. If that will get me out of this conversation sooner." Kanae said holding her hands out to take Kyoko's wrists.
Kyoko gratefully placed her wrists in Kanae's hands. The two girls concentrated on the chain willing it to reform into a necklace. There was a moment in which the chain glowed and shook making them think they had done something. Then the glowing fizzled out and the chain fell still and the two thought they must have imagined it had moved at all.
"It's no use." Kanae said dropping Kyoko's hands. "You'll just have to go to lunch dressed like that. Just tell everyone that the bondage is yours and the king's business."
"What? I can't tell people that. They'll think that I'm some sort of pervert like him." Kyoko said struggling with renewed vigor to break Ren's necklace.
"Stop it you're hurting yourself." Kanae said as Kyoko slammed the center against the edge of her nightstand. "Look at your wrists stupid. You've nearly sliced them open."
"I want this stupid thing off of me." Kyoko growled. "The king is such a bully!"
"Do not worry Kyoko-san." Honami said in a saccharine voice. Her and Yuka came over with a black and violet corset gown. It was too heavy for just one of them to carry and Kyoko almost swooned at how much it would suit a dark fairy princess. If not for the chains, she would have gushed over it.
"We cannot help you remove the chains, but Honami can form the dress onto you." Yuka said with a sloppy bow.
"You can?" Kanae asked suspicious. "You're algul, any kind of ability is super rare."
"My father is a strigoi. Low level and weak but we do have some abilities. I cannot shapeshift but I can manipulate objects with some skill." Honami admitted
"Then you could turn this back into a necklace and get it off of me." Kyoko said happily holding her hands out to Honami.
Honami took her hands and Kyoko felt the shirt and sweatpants she had been wearing melt away and the soft material of a shift and stiff material of multiple undergarments to their place on her body. The laces of the corset bodice tightened, and the soft velvet dress formed around her curves. Kanae rolled her eyes at the lavish ballgown that Kyoko was going to wear just to have lunch with Ruriko.
Kyoko looked down at herself and pouted.
"You didn't do anything to the cuffs." She said bitterly as she watched Honami carrying her shirt and sweatpants away.
"The king forbade us from helping you with the cuffs. He frightens us more than you do." Yuka said but she flinched back as Kyoko's expression darkened.
"Aright Yuka-san, Honami-san I think it's time you two went to train. I will escort Kyoko-san to Ruriko's quarters." Kanae said shooing the two away.
"This is ridiculous!" Kyoko shouted slamming the center chain on the edge of her dresser. There were no dents or scratches on the metal and that pissed her off more.
"I will tell you that transfiguration of metal is a lot more difficult than cloth. But the same method is applied. You need to be touching the object and concentrate on what it should look like. Do not see it as it is but how it should be." Honami said surprising herself by how helpful she was being.
Kyoko had already tried that, but she sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the offending cuffs around her wrists. In her mind's eye she recalled what it had looked like around Ren's neck. She remembered how long the delicate chain was and how many links were in it. Not that she had spent a long time examining his clothes and accessories.
"It's no use." She sighed after a moment of the cuffs doing little more that trembling.
"You're never going to beat me at that rate. Everyone will say that you are my little pet and that I've put you on a leash. They'll all think it's some sort of kinky game you like to play." Ren's voice grated on her nerves as he casually walked into her room. "You'll be reduced to a perverted kitten in the eyes of all those Upyr. Alas I suppose I should free you from such a disgraceful public image. But let's not forget that I will never take you seriously if you cannot manage to free yourself."
He came closer but stopped in his tracks when the cuffs began to glow as though they were on fire. She glared at him with determination setting her eyes ablaze.
"You burnt your pretty dress." Ren said turning away from her as her clothes melted off her body.
"Kyoko-san!" Honami gasped as her and Yuka rushed to put out the fire on the bed.
Kyoko stepped away from the bed and stretched her arms out happy that they were now separated. He had irritated her so much that her entire body felt like she had been dunked in molten lava, but she was free. She wanted to dance around and jump for joy, but a heavy piece of fabric draped around her shoulders clued her into the damage she had done. Embarrassed by her state of nudity she clung to the jacket grateful that Ren was not a completely shameless pervert and the only male in the room.
"You melted my chain." Ren said bending down to pick up his crest. "I should punish you for that."
She paled wide eyed and afraid. Ren sighed reaching for her and she backed away looking to the other women in the room. Not one of them lifted a finger to help her. Not even Kanae who was meant to be her bodyguard, made a move to protect her from the king. Kyoko fell to the floor rambling pleas of mercy as Ren placed a hand on her back. She felt the fabric of his heavy jacket begin to morph on her body. The dark material became a formfitting gown. Its deep violet color lightened to a lilac as it wrapped around her delicate curves. It was simple but elegant and matched the king's own plain yet expensive attire. She peeked up at him when he removed his hand only to see that he had his hand extended to help her up.
His pendant dangled from a choker around her neck. She ran her finger along the velveteen fabric of it to find that there was no clasp. It was one solid strip holding his claim over her against her throat. He smirked at the irritated scowl adorning her face as he took her hand and pulled her to the door. If he had to be close to her then he was going to have some fun teasing her, he had decided. There was no point in pretending to himself that her reactions didn't bring him great amusement.
As they entered Ruriko's sitting room the eyes of all the occupants turned to stare at their joined hands. Ruriko and Erika were perched on their chairs with teacups midair and eyes wide as they took in the sight. Kimiko glared daggers at the pendant on Kyoko's neck announcing loudly that Ren indeed belonged to the upyr fledgling. A beat passed before Kimiko managed to gather her wits and replaced the rage written on her face with a pleasant inviting smile. Kana was seemingly unfazed by the by the couple entering the room whilst Chiori happily gushed to Kimiko how great it was that their new queen had convinced the king to come.
"He's never accepted an invitation to eat with any of us before." Chiori said pretending she didn't notice how irked Erika and Ruriko were that Ren had joined them for lunch.
Normally they would embrace the chance speak to him and flirt shamelessly, but they had been hoping to corner Kyoko at lunch. They had wanted the chance to give her some back handed compliments and possibly shame her into ending the engagement.
"Please stay seated." Ren said bringing attention to their rudeness.
He couldn't care less about the pageantry and formalities of the nobles, but it was awkward to have them sitting there gawking at him and Kyoko. He'd much rather have lunch in his study, if he had to have it, and Kyoko could be in her normal attire. The nobles insisted that the ladies dress in Victorian inspired ballgowns for their meals. The men usually dressed accordingly though Ren noted that it was not a requirement. Kijima often showed up in a simple outfit of slacks and a button-down shirt while Ren himself wore a modern suit without all the extra fineries the other men had adorning their costumes. Though he supposed both he and Kijima were too high ranked for anyone to comment on their lack of proper dress.
"My king!" Ruriko shouted standing suddenly to go into a deep bow. She didn't even notice her tea spilling on her pink gown.
Erika followed suit then Kimiko and Chiori much more elegantly than Ruriko. Kana stayed seated sipping her tea with her long legs crossed. She wore a blue floor length dress with a high slit looking out of place amongst the younger girls in their princess gowns.
Kyoko was instantly enthralled by the beautiful women in their equally gorgeous gowns. They all looked like fairytale princesses, except Kana who to Kyoko seemed the most fit to be a queen. She swooned over the delicate slinky fabric hugging Kana's curves. Then her eyes fell to the square neckline of her lilac dress. There was little there to show off so she couldn't blame Ren for not designing it to emphasize her breasts. The dress her ladies' maids had chosen for her had pushed up her less than ample bosom giving her the illusion that she had something. The dress Ren had made for her from his suit jacket did no such thing, so she was left looking plain, and flat in the room of much more well-endowed women.
"Thank you Tsuruga-Heika, ah, I mean Tsuruga-san, for joining us for lunch." Ruriko said stuttering when Ren glared at her for using the wrong honorific.
"It is a pleasure to be joined by our most gracious king." Kimiko said batting her lashes at him as she playfully curtsied.
"I'm sure." Ren said dully as he glanced at Kyoko amused by her look of awe.
"Welcome my queen." Chiori said with a bow, taking note of the way Ren looked at Kyoko.
Kyoko was still too busy scrutinizing their gowns to notice Chiori speaking to her. Erika's pretty yellow gown had little pink flower embroidered into the bodice. Kyoko wished her dress had some sort of delicate little details. Something to make it less plain. Kimiko had lace along the edge of her neckline and Ruriko had small pearls sewn in intricate patterns along her bodice.
"Lunch isn't quite ready yet." Ruriko said then motioned to the tea on the table. "Would you care for some refreshments? We have tea and finger sandwiches. There is also blood of course."
"Takarada-sama?" Kimiko called sweetly to Kyoko who was concentrating on her gown.
Ren squeezed Kyoko's hand drawing her attention to him. He raised a brow at her and she flushed furious that he had dressed her so plainly. Kimiko was wearing black brocade with a gold damask pattern.
"Please take a seat." Erika said as her servants brought an additional chair out for Ren.
It was fancier with a thicker cushion than what the ladies were seated on. He made a show of pulling Kyoko over to it and telling her to sit. It pleased him to see Erika struggle to hide her discontent.
"Please pretend that I am not here. I am after all crashing your lunch. I believe you intended to get to know my betrothed." He said gallantly and Erika blushed.
"Not at all my king, I did send you an invite as well." Erika replied though it was merely a formality. She had never expected either of them to accept so easily.
"I will still insist that you all act as though I am not here. Pretend that I am another of your queen's bodyguards. Like Kotonami-san back there whom you have not bothered to address despite her being higher ranked than some of you. Particularly you Koenji-san." Ren said drawing unwanted attention to Kanae standing behind them by the door.
"The Kotonami coven was stripped of their rank and title. They also have no fortune to speak and no claim to any great abilities." Erika said holding her head high.
"Kotonami-san was granted the title of royal bodyguard. She is your queen's personal aide and commands the same respect you give to Ruto-san and Yashiro-san. In essence she is ranked higher in my court then all five of you." Ren said schooling his features as he saw a vein throb in Erika's forehead. She didn't want to be ranked lower than anybody, but she hated Kanae most of all and wouldn't stand for being placed beneath her.
"Of course, she is." Kimiko said knowing that Erika was about to blow up. "Kotonami-san is a strigoi and our beloved queen's shield. We should all humble ourselves before her."
Kanae rolled her eyes. Why did the king have to bring her into their pointless conversation? She wanted nothing to do with their ranks and titles and she didn't want to be a part of his court. If he had not commanded her to stay close to Kyoko, she would have taken off already.
Erika's mouth twitched up into an awkward smile as she nodded and said, "You are right. Kanae-san it is an honor to have you joining us for lunch. Please do take a seat."
Kanae glared at her feet. She couldn't think of anything she would hate more than sitting with this gaggle of gossiping nobles. Feeling their eyes on her she strode over to the only available seat left, next to Chiori and sat down.
"Thank you." She said while refusing to look at any of them.
Ren smirked. At least being engaged would be amusing. He could get back at the nobles for talking his ear off and generally making nuisances of themselves.
"So, tell us Takarada-sama, how did you meet the king?" Chiori asked with a sickly-sweet smile painted onto her angelic face. Erika and Ruriko perked up at the question not even bothering to feign indifference.
Kyoko smiled faintly and said, "Takar, ah, I mean my father introduced us. A long time ago."
"But you weren't a vampire then?" Chiori asked finding the tidbit mundane. Anyone would have assumed that Lory had thrust his conveniently age-appropriate daughter at the king. That is anyone who hadn't heard the rumors that said daughter had been half crazed and possessed and had needed to be detained by hunters.
"No. Though my parents were Upyr, I was born without any vampiric traits. No fangs or special abilities of any kind." Kyoko gave the explanation she had rehearsed during training.
"So, you were hidden away somewhere without any contact with your family? That's awful. It sounds so lonely." Kimiko said dabbing at her eyes.
Erika and Ruriko rolled their eyes. Kana continued to watch Kyoko with a discerning gaze.
"I wasn't alone." Kyoko said before clamping her mouth shut.
"Really? Were you with Kouki-denka in the states?" Chiori asked thinking she might have finally found a juicy tidbit.
"No, I was here in Japan. With Maria-chan." She told the lie Maria had told her to tell. "I wasn't made part of your vampire society, but they didn't keep me separated from my family. That was how I got to know Tsuruga-san and how we," she swallowed hard not wanting to speak the lie. It was embarrassing to repeat the words he had made her recite. "How we fell in love."
Ren coughed to hide his chuckle as she spoke their lies.
"Oh, then your powers suddenly flourishing must have been a huge relief to the both of you?" Chiori asked not buying it for one second.
"A giant relief to you at least, I bet." Ruriko said. "It must have been so difficult watching your young Maria-chan throwing herself at the king."
"Maria-chan is only a child, Ruri-chan. I'm sure the king was never serious about marrying her. I am even more certain now that I know he has always been so deeply in love with our dear Kyoko-chan." Kimiko said.
Erika snorted and her servants chimed in again.
"The king couldn't have been in love with her for quite so long. Not too long ago he shamelessly flirted with Erika-sama." The ruby servant whispered to his companions.
"I dare say he was going to propose to her, but Takarada-sama got in the way." The emerald one said.
"Yes, he set our mistress on that pointless mission to retrieve Kurosaki-san. When we returned to LME it was only to find that Kurosaki-san had been here the entire time." The sapphire servant said.
"Me too!" Ruriko said pouting cutely. Kanae rolled her eyes and stared at some flowers in a nearby vase dreading her existence. "Takarada-sama had requested me himself to go on a mission with Tsuruga-sama but when I got there he was nowhere to be seen. I found out later that Takarada-sama had called him away on business." The five noble women stared at Kyoko. "Were you that urgent business?"
"I…" Kyoko stared into their eyes seeing the unconcealed rage and hunger. They were eyes that said she was too far beneath them to be with their king. Except Kana's eyes which showed only intrigue.
Setting her face in a grim expression and holding her head high she said, "Yes, he comes whenever I call. He is mine after all." Ren held back a laugh and nodded as though he agreed with her statement.
"It's true I must confess that I am made weak by her voice and am compelled to obey her every whim." He said dramatically.
Kyoko smiled grateful that he was willing to play along. He had warned her about how the nobles were. She had hoped that they would be her friends but the look in their eyes revealed what they tried to conceal with their pretty smiles.
"Oh, how sweet." Kana chirped eying the two with a bit of longing.
"Erika-sama," a maid said coming into the room. "Lunch is ready."
"About time." Erika sneered before turning her smile back towards Ren. "Please follow me Tsuruga-sama." She paused for a beat before adding, "And Kyoko-chan."
Kyoko allowed Ren to take her arm and lead her into the dining area where Erika's men pulled out a chair each for Kyoko, Erika, and Ren. Kanae followed them and took the seat on the other side of Kyoko though she would rather have stayed in the other room. The table was decorated with tiny cakes on tiered trays and finger sandwiches. Goblets of blood were placed in front of each of them along with a plate of mashed potatoes with blood gravy and a lightly seared steak. Kyoko wondered what the point of pretending to cook it was if they were going to serve it in a pool of blood anyway. She scrunched up her nose at the extra rare steak and inadvertently looked at Ren. She could hear his veins pumping and in made her salivate with hunger. The monster in her stomach grumbled at the thought of having to consume raw meat. Her eyes travelled over his neck and up to his face. She stared at his defined jaw and marveled at his long lashes. The man was like a god, like one of the portraits of the powerful regal kings she had been reading about.
"Is there something on my face?" Ren asked teasingly without turning to catch her gaze.
"No, I was just going to tell you that you have to eat your food. Don't take a tiny bite then lie about being full." She said in a biting tone.
"Yes, princess." He said and only Kyoko could hear the mocking in his tone.
Kanae rolled her eyes thinking they were being mushy. Ruriko, Erika, and Kimiko scowled also believing they were acting smitten with each other. Chiori looked on intrigued by their besotted gazing and snippy tones. Kana turned away not wanting to be jealous of the brazen way Ren could flaunt his love for the fledgling.
"Tell us dearest Kyoko-chan who will be designing your wedding dress?" Kimiko said in a haughty voice as she gave a critical look at the dress Kyoko was wearing. "Will it be the brilliant Armandy, who designs all of the king's more lavish clothes he wears to important functions? I mean it was nice of you to allow yourself to where the dress your servants designed for you. I must admit that I wish I had put less effort into my outfit today as well. This silly little luncheon is hardly a grand ball or political function. I don't know why we all dressed in our more elegant dresses. We should have pulled on whatever was comfortable like you."
Kyoko clenched her jaw and bit her tongue. She was used to being bullied and insulted but somehow it irked her that Kimiko would insult Ren while he was sitting right there. He didn't seem to notice or care.
"Chiori-san is in a rather simple gown as well, don't you think? There isn't even a heel on her shoes." Ruriko pointed out as she bit into her bloody steak.
Kyoko gritted her teeth and sliced into her own steak.
"I'm afraid that the simple garb is my fault. Perhaps if we had been given more time to prepare, I would have had a much more elegant dress designed for your lunch Erika-san. As we only received the invite today all I had was this simple suit and as my queen Kyoko is expected to match me." Ren said eyeing Kyoko as she dripped blood onto her dress.
The other vampires in the room stared at her made nervous by the violent way she tore into the meat. Waves of power rolled off of her as she consumed the steak in a manner that clearly showed she didn't care if her dress got blood on it.
"Of course, there is something to be said for a lady who can look gorgeous in any dress. As opposed to one who needs to don their most elaborate garb to command attention." He said smirking as she realized everyone was staring.
She blushed looking down at her soiled dress. Feeling like the worst bully of them all, yet unable to resist teasing her, Ren leaned down and licked a trickle of blood from her chin.
Even Kanae blushed at the display of affection as Kyoko froze in horror. She couldn't shove him away or scream at him about being inappropriate when they were all watching. Her hands clenched into fists, and she managed a bashful blush.
"Forgive me for being such a mess." She said lifting her napkin to her face.
"It's quite alright." Ren said his eyes following the trails of blood down her neck.
He lifted his hand to her neck, and she stiffened at his warm touch. The blood disappeared from her skin and the dress. He didn't remove his hand and she was caught in his gaze as the room faded away.
"If you're going to make out, may I suggest going to your rooms?" Kanae interrupted them just as Ren leaned in. There was no way she could eat when they were acting so sickeningly in love. It made her want to puke and she suspected the other occupants in the room felt similar for different reasons though.
Kyoko jumped up red as a tomato and hurriedly bowed as she excused herself. Ren sat back for a moment confused by his own actions. He had only meant to help her clean up the mess she had made but her skin had felt so warm, and her mouth had looked so inviting.
He shook his head and turned to Kanae, "Kotonami-san don't you have orders to stay with your queen at all times?"
"Yes, Tsuruga-san." She said through gritted teeth as she stood up and rolled her eyes at the ladies who were looking scandalized. She didn't bow to them before leaving or utter a word to excuse herself.
"I shall take my leave of you as well." Ren said pleased that he wouldn't have to eat the large steak at least. "Thank you for the invitation. We look forward to being invited to more meals in the future." He left trying to shake the feeling that he needed to go after Kyoko.
"Nice going Erika-san now you've upset the king and queen." Ruriko remarked snidely.
"Me? How was that my fault? Kimiko-sama, you insulted their clothes. You made them mad. I bet Kyoko-chan will have the king punish your whole coven." Erika said.
"What do you mean? I didn't insult them. I clearly said that I wished I had dressed more like the queen. You don't think she took it as an insult, do you? oh, no will she hate me now?"
"Cut the bullshit act Kimiko. No one here believes you're as innocent as you pretend to be. I always had my suspicions and then you confirmed them by trying to have me killed." Erika said then she turned to Kana, "I wonder why did you even come Kusunoki-sama? You made it very clear that you weren't going to help us break down the queen."
"Chiori-san as well. I'm surprised you showed your face today." Ruriko said touching the back of her neck. "Your coven has become almost as lowly as poor Kotonami-san's. Isn't it just you and your mother with that one servant of yours? My how the mighty have fallen."
Chiori flashed them a sad smile and the three normally vain vampires felt a twinge of pity for her. Not enough to help her out but they gave her politely apologetic smiles.
A/N: The most embarrassing thing happened and I was too embarrassed to open my stories for a while. I have three emails, one for personal stuff, one for junk, and one for work. Basically I accidentally saved this story into my google drive of my work email, into a shared folder which my boss, the four managers from her other salons and her husband all have access to. I mean the whole story which contains future mature content. I freaked out and deleted in and panicked and didn't want to think about my stories because now I'm paranoid that my boss can read every word I write. I know that's not possible but my brain makes up scenarios and doesn't want to believe that I'm safe now. It's highly likely my boss and them never saw it but my brain doesn't believe that. Anyway I finally found out why I lose scenes and chapters for stories sometimes. They were being saved into my junk google instead of being backed up onto my actual google.
