Hello! This is the JeannexLyserg chapter! Dedicated to all those JeannexLyserg fans who read stuff like that...if you don't like it, since there's no characters other than Jeanne and Lyserg, you might as well just skip this chapter. The RenxPirika chapter is halfway finished and I've already started on the YohxAnna chapter, so...If this doesn't interest you, wait a day or two...sometime interesting might be updated...(sorry for working so slowly)

Anyway, the story!

A Castle's Hospitality

Not a Fairytale


In the brightness of the light that flooded the dining hall after their meal, Lyserg could not tear his eyes away from Jeanne. Her silvery hair flowed down in subtle waves, accenting the dark, black gown she wore. The gown itself was demure, exposing enough perfect, pristine skin to be tantalizing, but also enough to know that the maiden wearing it was delicate and refined. The bodice was laced up, not with cord, but with lengths of silk ribbon, hinting at black lace. Her sleeves were puffed and smooth as water. Not a wrinkle marred the beauty of her image. But looking into her crimson eyes, Lyserg felt, just a little stronger than before, the aura of a vampire. And yet, the eyes themselves were clouded too…as if by pain…or just caution…

"Please follow me," she said quietly, a small smile playing about her lips. "The library is this way."

Lyserg followed the silent girl, staring at the rustling fabric of her gown. His suspicions were up but there was no point in accusing someone he barely knew. No point…

Jeanne glanced at him surreptitiously as she led the way up a set of stairs, down a hallway, and through a series of gloomily furnished chambers. "These rooms are the ones we use least in the castle, aside from the still unused part," she told him, surprising herself. It wasn't like her to volunteer information. She was the secretive one of the coven…aside from Lady Anna, who could manage to seem all open while keeping everything hidden… Shaking her head lightly, she pushed those thoughts from her head and concentrated on what Lyserg was saying.

"Everything is richly furnished though. Either the previous owners were quite a rich lord and lady, or Lady Anna has a very large inheritance." Lyserg glanced at her and smiled slightly. "Or perhaps I am wrong. It could possibly be the joint inheritance of all four of you."

Jeanne pushed a door open slowly, smiling back at him. "You're very observative Diethyl-san."

"Please, call me Lyserg," he told her as he stepped through the doors into the library. Everything else he might have wanted to say flew out of his mind as he stared at the library. Glittering chandeliers hug from the ceiling, throwing warm, golden light throughout the room. Rows upon rows of book-filled bookshelves beckoned him, and far back, he could barely make out a fireplace and couches. Looking up, he noticed there was a second floor, all of inner balconies. The large windows reflected the storm that raged outside, but most of him concentrated on the books. He didn't even notice that his sandaled feet were walking over thick carpeting as he observed one book, then the next, marveling at their condition.

Behind him, Jeanne lit a lamp with a practiced hand. She let him wander through the bookshelves, back and forth, the number of books he carried slowly increasing each time he passed by the main aisle. He really does love books, she mused to herself as she took the lamp in hand, looking for something to read herself. Settling on a few novels, she glanced down the next aisle to see Lyserg poring over a thick tome with a rather largish pile of books next to him.

"Ano…Lyserg-san?"

"Oh! I'm sorry," he apologized swiftly, returning the bulky book to its place as he laughed softly in an apologetic manner. "I forgot that this isn't a public library. It's just that there were so many good books…" He picked up the pile of books at his feet and walked after her to the couches.

"It's quite alright, Lady Anna and I do that a lot. It's very nice to have someone in the library who appreciates books so much." She started to get a fire going in the fireplace when a hand took her wrist and pulled her up.

"Please, let me. It is not right for a lady to prepare a fire. Especially a lady like yourself," Lyserg told her quietly, his voice steady and even.

"That is very kind of you," Jeanne remarked softly, drawing back from the fireplace and Lyserg got the fire going. "I'll be right back, I'm sure you'd like some tea to have with your book-reading."

Lyserg nodded absentmindedly as he settled down on a chair with the book on the top of the pile. At first he was aware of the rustle of Jeanne's skirts as she left, and a while later, he heard the faint click of the doors to the library close with her departure. There was no noise and his awareness slowly began to fade, when he felt a sudden burst of vampire's aura. Instantly, he was on his guard. There was not a sound, but he closed his book and set it on the low, coffee table piece of furniture by him. Slowly aware that the fire had burned low, leaving him in partial darkness, he strengthened his reading senses, shocked to find that the aura was approaching him faster than he had ever imagined. Flinging himself to the left, he evaded the blur of black cloth and pale skin.

He managed to grab both of the vampire's wrists and pin her to the couch, but it was only when she stopped struggling and he recognized the deep, crimson eyes and silver waves of hair that he realized who it was. "Jeanne!"

Shocked and somewhat breathless from the struggle, Lyserg stared at the vampire girl, who had a determined look on her face, as he straddled her lap to keep her from attacking him again. Her whole manner exuded a persistence and resignation to her capture, though her eyes were filled with pain and, oddly, hunger. Still, he was mostly bewildered by how his senses had failed him most of the evening. When has she last fed? Is that why I could feel her vampire's aura faintly after dinner? "Jeanne, when have you last had a meal?"

She raised her eyes in defiance and answered, "This evening. You saw me."

Lyserg's eyes softened, feeling admiration for the vampire who sat their like a queen instead of a captive. "I meant the last time you've had any blood," he addressed her in a quiet voice.

Though she clenched her teeth to keep from answering, Jeanne couldn't help looking up into his emerald eyes. Seeing the kindness in his eyes surprised her, and the answer spilled from her lips like water. "A month and a half." Jeanne couldn't understand why her heart felt elated by the concern that flooded his eyes.

"A month and a half…" His lips formed the words, surprised and worried at the answer given. "But vampires…even strong vampires, can't go much more than a month without feeding…" he whispered in awed concern.

Jeanne nodded. "I need to feed, but we are so far from civilization…I can't feed regularly. I am used to going for a month and a half without feeding if need be, but I am hungry…" She traced a pattern on the couch cushion beside her, pointedly avoiding Lyserg's eyes. "So if I don't get any blood soon…" her voice trailed off. Taking a deep breath, she looked up, her eyes penetrating his with her gaze. "Do what you have to, vampire hunter. I would rather be killed at your hands than die of starvation."

He could feel his eyes widening at the bold, straightforwardness of the captive vampire. "I don't kill vampires unless necessary, even if they do attack me for a meal. Not since Morphine."

"Morphine?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"The vampire who changed my life," he told her, his voice taking on an endearing quality.

Jeanne nodded, keeping her face void of the sudden jealousy at the tone of his voice. She didn't want to admit it, but there was something in her that wanted to be the one that made his voice soft and loving, make it take on that quality that could be brought out by your heart's desires. "Tell me about Morphine?" she requested, tilting her head upwards to look into his soft, forest-green eyes.


"Morphine actually features much later in this story," he told her as he loosened his hold on her wrists. Pausing, he considered his decision to let her go. "Do you promise not to attack me if I let you go?"

Jeanne shook her head. "I can't promise that…your pulse is too attractive right now…" Her eyes were hungrily fastened on the pulse that beat under the silver chain around his neck.

Lyserg's lips twisted into a saddened smile. "I can't blame your hunger. One cannot help one's nature," he told her softly. Shifting his weight so that Jeanne would be comfortable, he held her wrists in a loose hold, making sure that he wouldn't hurt her. He rolled one shoulder so that his muscles wouldn't cramp up as he leaned over the vampire maiden and missed the surprisingly tender look in her eyes. "When I was younger, as a child of 11, my parents were killed in a fire. The day they died was one of the most confusing I have ever lived in my life. But what confused me the most was why they died. I remember my mother and father filling me with their powers of sensing vampires, and pushing me out of the house before it collapsed. I remember them telling me they loved me…" his voice broke.

On their own accord, her hands reached out to cup his face, but her movement only incited Lyserg to tighten his hold on her wrists a moment before he realized her intention. Her fingers softly traced the contours of his cheek as she tried to soothe the hurt that burned raw at the loss of his parents. "You were lucky," she whispered, letting her voice float up to his ears. "You saw them before they died…you remember them telling you they loved you…my parents never had that chance. I never had the chance to tell them how much they meant to me…" For a quiet moment the two stayed in mutual understanding, realizing that they shared similar hurts.

"Afterwards, I wandered the town, a lost boy. The man who ran a rivaling divination and charm shop to my parents' told me that a vampire, that Morphine had killed them. That Morphine was the one who set fire to our house," Lyserg continued, taking a deep breath, feeling an odd sense of loss as Jeanne's comforting hands left his cheeks to drop back to her sides. "I vowed revenge and searched for her using the power that my parents had left me. It took a whole year to do it, but I managed to find her and confront her. I wanted to know why she would kill my parents. But when I attacked her, though I had a feeling she could hurt me and feed off of me, she never touched me. She evaded all my attacks but she never tried to hurt me, and when I had worn myself out, she told me the truth."

"She wasn't the one who killed my parents," he told Jeanne quietly, lowering his lips nearer to her ears so she could hear him. "She didn't kill him, but the man who ran the shop that rivaled my parents'…he paid assassins to kill them, to set fire to our house, and framed it on her. He figured that I would die trying to kill Morphine…and I would have, if she had tried to hurt me." He shook his head in regret. "Morphine taught me that not all people are right, and that vampires…are sometimes the victims of humans. She taught me that no one is free from manipulation."

Jeanne tugged her right hand lightly from his grasp and laid the warm, slightly callused palm against her smooth, pale cheek. You are right Lyserg-san, she thought sadly, no one is free from manipulation. Knowing she had no right to speak, not while he was so enclosed in his memories, she contented herself with running her fingers lightly over his knuckles, soothed by the fact that she could comfort him, even in a small way. Why am I feeling this way? Why…she wondered. Why do I…find myself attracted…to Lyserg… She couldn't deny the flutter of her heart when she heard his heartbeat slow marginally, a sign that he was calming down, and felt his thumb brush lightly across her cheek.

Lyserg could feel his lips almost curving into a smile, and continued, feeling more confident as he spoke. "I wish I had not spoken about revenge in front of Morphine though. Her nature…was confused, I think. She cared for everything too much, and in the end, it brought about her downfall. She wished to avenge me, and hunted after the people who murdered my family. I should have stopped her," he whispered into Jeanne's hair. "The villagers were so angry…and they killed her when she went out to feed. They cast me out as a traitor to my blood. I couldn't return…I understood their anger…but Morphine was the first person outside of my family who willingly approached me and offered me everything they had in exchange for so little."

"I trained, I learned to fend for myself in the woods, and always honed my skills in detecting vampire's aura. I met Yoh and Ren soon after my 13th birthday, and found Horohoro as we passed through the next forest. That was nearly five years ago," he murmured in a quiet tone of surprise.

He released Jeanne's hands and brought his other up to cup her face. "I trust you. You are not a weak vampire like the ones consumed by bloodlust." He could feel her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him close, running along the length of the chain around his throat, and he didn't pull away. Not even when he felt her subtly questing fingers find the clasp of the chain and strip him of the protection that kept him from being vulnerable to the fangs of a vampire.


Jeanne slowly removed the necklace, but froze when he pulled back a little to look into her eyes. No matter how much she wished to tear her gaze away, she was caught. By what, she didn't have the courage to name. She had not found acceptance since the coven, and she had almost forgotten the ache it could create in one's heart. It's more than acceptance…it is like the look a vampire would give his or her mate… She forced her mind away from the thought, unwilling to encounter whatever hope would lie there. "You aren't stopping me…" she told him quietly, surprised, and yet not, that he didn't restrain her again.

"You need this." It wasn't a question.

But she answered anyway, nodding. "I do."

Her heart constricted at the kind compliance she met in his eyes. Her own eyes felt dark and clouded, and yet she could see so clearly as she lowered her lips to his pulse. But she couldn't bite. Not when she didn't know. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, her lips brushing lightly against his pale skin.

She could feel his shudder under her lips. "Because I care about you. I don't want you hungry and I can handle you taking blood from me." Lyserg pulled away from her and brushed her cheeks lightly with his thumbs as he lowered his lips to her forehead. Jeanne could feel heat radiating from her cheeks, and she noticed vaguely that Lyserg appeared to be blushing faintly as well. "I care about you…even if I've known you for such a short time…because I feel like I've known you longer."

Jeanne could only nod as she lowered her lips to his neck, to the warm pulse point there, and sank her fangs into his flesh.

The small, almost inaudible, groan of pain made her almost pull away, but Lyserg's hands rubbed her back and she soon relaxed into his arms. Slowly, tentatively, she allowed Lyserg's blood to pool into her mouth, trying not to moan in pleasure as the savory, rich taste swept her senses. Careful so as his blood didn't mar the clothing he wore, she swallowed and continued drinking. It was like wine, intoxicating, and she could feel her control slipping. Desperately she tried to keep herself from losing herself in the pull of bloodlust, wanting to save the man who held her so protectively, let her drink his blood without a qualm, and looked at her with deep affection in his eyes.

Her heartbeat was audible in her ears. Lyserg-kun, she thought, the polite -san honorific dropping in her mind, what would make you do this? Does it have to do with the way I feel around you?

Lyserg could feel himself growing weaker, but he trusted Jeanne utterly. Still rubbing her back and caressing her neck so that she wouldn't notice his weakness, he whispered soothing murmurs into her ears. After the initial pain of her fangs, all he felt was a dull throb that matched his heartbeat. But more than that, he could feel the tug of her tongue as it licked up his blood and the softness of her lips as they pressed against his pulse point. He couldn't stop himself from imagining a different reason for why they might be pressed there. Something more intimate than just letting her feed off his blood. His sensitive skin reacted with each flick and swirl of her tongue against his flesh, and he bit his lip against a groan of mingled pain and pleasure.

His world seemed to be drifting away as Jeanne carefully removed her fangs from him and licked up the excess blood from the punctures. The movement was so innocently sensuous that he did moan. Seeing her head glance up to him through his blurry vision, he fought to keep his smile in place as he felt the darkness consume him.

Jeanne jerked in surprise when Lyserg's head fell against her shoulder and shook him lightly. "Lyserg-kun no baka," she whispered quietly as she moved the unconscious boy into a more comfortable position on the couch. "You should have told me I was taking too much…" She brushed her lips against his forehead, though tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over. Thank you Lyserg-kun, she thought to herself. Thank you for the meal…and for the acceptance… Stroking his cheek softly with a cool finger, she smiled. It wasn't just the fact that she was content and full, but that a feeling of…it could be called possessiveness…seemed to wrap her up concerning the unconscious green-haired one in her arms.


Whew...that was quite a chapter...I get the feeling I'm getting more and more angsty...and I don't do angst very well. Ah well...back to the next chapter...

RenxPirika...a good couple...oh and...review? please?

Cobalt Rose