A.N. – (Fanfare) TADAA! I'm back! I'm back from snowing Japan where I freezed my oversize bum off, gained a few kilos, and stalked a few hot guys – to boiling hot stuffy sweaty sticky stinky Aussieland. And Fanficnet. I am back. I'm so sorry for leaving this fic for about 2 months – our trip turned out longer than we had expected.

I thank those people who have been faithfully awaiting my new chapter – and I apologise to those people who I have not reviewed their stories, I will do that as soon as I get a hold of my schoolwork (Yes, I'm now in last year of highschool so I won't be able to review or update as often). Maybe to show my gratitude to everyone I'll draw another VanezKurda picture. If anyone wants me to.

OH HOW I MISSED ALL OF YOU!!! Anyway, people are probably throwing tomatoes at their computer screen and yelling at me to shut up and start writing, so I will. To anyone who forgot, we continue on from just before the second trial, where Kurda had a jealous tantrum, dislocated Vanez's jaw, and is refusing to come out of his room.

Taste of Love

VI : Lose Control

'Kurda!! Kurda!!'

Bang, bang, bang. I can feel Vanez's fists thumping the door. I leaned hard against it, determined to keep my silence for as long as I can. Vanez shouted again –

'I know you're in here, Kurda!!'

'...........'

'Alright, alright, I'm sorry okay!? Now will you please open the door!?'

....Apologies aren't what I want, Vanez Blane. I just want you to disappear so I won't ever have to hear your despicable voice again! I glared at the ground, biting my lip.

'Kurda!! There's only five more hours till your next trial!! Do you know how stupid you are, locking yourself up!? You'll get no practice – you'll be clueless in the trial! If you swallow your pride for the moment and let me teach you now, you'll at least get some practice.'

'..........'

'Do you want to die!!!???'

'.........I'd rather die than see your disgusting face again.'

I spat – Vanez seemed to hear it clearly, for his fists stopped banging on the door. There was a long silence, and then a quiet, disappointed voice.

'..........Alright. If that's what you want, then go ahead and kill yourself. Just remember, though, that whether you like it or not, I'm coming with you.'

With that, he sighed deeply, and walked away. He was talking about his oath to kill himself if any of his students die in a trial. Great. So if I die in my trial, I'll die for the good of the vampire race. Everyone will be happy. No more unhappy, cheated-on, jealous vampires if Vanez is gone. I'll be happy in Paradise – and Vanez is certainly not "coming with me", he'll be right where he should be – in the roaring dark flames of hell, probably chatting up some good-looking devils.

Those thoughts brought a smile to my lips – my lips that I will never let that bastard have advantage of again. Anger washed over me again – I drew my knees up and banged my forehead onto them. I closed my eyes, and let my thoughts drift off to anything but Vanez.

Knock, knock! ....Not again... I opened my sleepy eyes – it must be Vanez again, begging me to open the door – but when I heard a friendly rough voice from behind the door, I grinned.

'Kurda! Kurda, it's me, Gavner! Are you there?'

I stood up, dragged my coffin away from the entrance, and opened the door. Gavner stood there, worry in his eyes –

'What happened? Vanez told me you'd locked yourself up in your room, but he wouldn't tell me why. Did you have a fight with him again or somethin'?'

Gavner asked, cocking his messy head sideways. I bit my lip bitterly.

'.......I don't want to talk about it, Gavner.'

Gavner sighed, smiling slightly. He patted my head, then said reassuringly;

'You don't have to. I've come to give you tips on the trial – I doubt I'd be of much use, though, I've never actually done it. So for the last two hours I've been runnin' around the mountain talking to vampires who have.'

He left a pause, grinned uneasily when I said nothing, and added;

'Well – it's better than knowing nothing, innit?'

Gavner cackled dryly, his tired face smiling broadly. I didn't know why, but just seeing him made me so relieved inside that the tears I'd been holding back so desperately formed in my eyes – I jumped at Gavner, swung my arms around his neck and buried my wet eyes into his rough, prickly neck. Gavner staggered, taken aback for a second, but started patting my back awkwardly.

'It's alright, Kurda. We'll work through this together. If it's Vanez that's bothering you, then I won't let him touch you again. So cheer up, okay?'

Gavner whispered and continued to pat my back comfortingly. All I could see was his slightly-blushing neck – but I smiled and nodded.

'Thankyou, Gavner.'

So there I stood. At the entrance of the tunnel, not exactly "ready" but defiant nonetheless. Gavner stood right next to me – and when I looked at him, he nodded reassuringly (though not able to entirely hide his worry).

There was a crowd of vampires behind me, willing to witness the trial, now that word had gone around about me (many were past assistants of my sire, wanting to see their sire's latest assistant's skills). At the front of that crowd stood an emotionless Vanez – and next to him, Seyle. I cringed at the sight of him – he looked at me worriedly with a sort of saddened expression in his clear green eyes – I looked away quickly, and locked gazes with Mika Ver Leth. I smiled nervously – but the Prince did not return the smile – he just kept on staring. Paris turned up next to him, holding a whistle, and called out to me.

'Kurda Smahlt, you may start your trial when I blow this whistle. You know what you must do, I presume?'

'Yes, sire. I am to enter the tunnel and bring back the golden serpent at the end of it, safely to this place.'

'Exactly. You are not allowed weapons or light of any sort. We will presume that you have failed and perished if you do not come back within 3 hours after entering the tunnel. Are you ready?'

'.....Yes.'

I said, extremely unsure whether I really was. Gavner did his best to help me, explaining how the tunnel works, how to avoid the blades, how to slow the circulation of snake poison, and how I can use the golden statue as a weapon after getting it. I bit my lip nervously as Paris blew the whistle – and took a step into the dark, musty atmosphere of the tunnel.

The problem with this trial is that I can't see. No lights or fire allowed – all I can use are my senses and luck. The tunnel is very straight and just a little higher than my height – no curves, no ups and downs – 100m exactly, and then the room where the statue rests. I stopped after taking two steps into the tunnel – Paris lowered some cloth over the entrance, blocking completely any light coming into the tunnel.

I see nothing. It is so dark, that I see only darkness – It makes no difference whether I close my eyes or open them. Instead, I felt my other senses sharpen – I can hear the occasional drip not too far away, probably leaking from a crack near some waterway above. I could even hear the running water a few meters above. I frowned as I realised that the musty smell in the air came from the stench of old, dried blood.

I took a step forward – silence. I was careful not to touch the wall (Gavner told me that switches are hidden not only in the ground, but in the walls and the ceiling as well).

Another step – nothing.

Another – silence.

Another - ......CLICK. I ducked instantly as a loud swish was heard just above my head. Something soft and light fell onto my arm – it was my own hair! I gulped.

I slowly pulled myself up, and took a step. Silence. My breathing seems painfully loud. I could even hear my rapid heartbeat.

Another step. CLICK. I heard a woosh from behind and jumped forward. CLICK. I fell flat on the ground as I heard two swords clash above me. I stumbled to my feet, lost my balance, and slapped the wall to regain it – CLICK, CLICK. I sprinted forwards as swinging axe-like sounds echoed behind.

I couldn't stand it any more. I ran and ran – every step I took seemed to make a click and trigger a blade – but I couldn't hear anything clearly because my footsteps echoed and I was breathing extremely fast and loud. I tripped and fell forwards – CLICK – a blade scraped my back lightly, and I gritted my teeth.

I moved my arm a little to get up – CLICK! A sharp sword emerged from the ground, speared right through my left shoulder, and disappeared into the ground again. I choked and screamed with pain – the scream echoing through the tunnel, multiplying in volume and piercing my own ears. I grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it tightly for a few minutes to stop the bleeding – then stood up. The ground was sticky with my own blood.

I glared into the darkness in front of me. 100m can't be that long. I'd ran it in ten seconds flat even as a human! The room can't be that far off.

I took another step. Silence. Another. CLINK. I braced myself quickly – but it wasn't a switch. It was my shoes hitting a metal floor. I had reached the room!!

My glee was quickly vanished with the sound of hissing from every corner of the room. The room is full of poisonous snakes – and I have to find a snake-shaped statue somewhere in here! I swore in my mind, and took a deep breath. Gavner had told me that the statue would be somewhere on the ground, but the snakes will attack if I crouch low to search for it.

I kept my head up high as if to threaten the invisible snakes – and slid my right foot across the floor in hope of coming across the statue. My foot hit something. Something soft. Immediately I felt a sharp pain in my ankle – two razor-sharp fangs digging in – my ankle felt numb and non-existent, as if it had just disappeared. Instantly, I did as Gavner had told me – I ripped some of my shirt off, and tied the strip as tightly as I could around my ankle, slowing the circulation of poison. The poison itself, Gavner had said, is not that strong. But if I get bitten many times, it could kill me.

I continued to use the numb ankle to search the ground, getting bitten on my knee and toe, my shoulder still throbbing painfully. I slipped on a paddle of my own blood, and fell onto the floor. I felt a large snake squash beneath me – its head swung around in pain, and I felt two huge fangs dig into my side. I gasped, and spread my arm out to get up off of the floor – but a snake bit that arm, numbing it.

Now that I was on the ground, the snakes slithered and gathered around me, ready to attack. I screamed a voiceless scream, and managed to somehow sit up, waving my arms around defensively as if to fight off the snakes.

Just then, something hard hit my arm – I grabbed it, flicked off the small snakes that surrounded it, and felt it with my not-numb hand. It was a cold, heavy, metallic statue in the shape of a serpent!!

I used it to smash the head of the huge snake which was still digging its fangs into my side, then swung it around myself, warding off the swarming snakes. Waving the statue around continuously, I dragged myself towards the entrance of the room, back in the direction of the tunnel.

Now all I have to do is get through the tunnel and back to the entrance where Vanez waits. ...Wait a second. Did I just say Vanez!? Oh my God, why now of all times do I have to think about him!? I shook my head – but I couldn't chase away his face from my mind. And Seyle's. His innocent-looking dimpled smile, his green marble-like eyes – come to think of it, he'd be Vanez's ideal prey. Even I, as a male, would have to admit that he is cute-looking. Why would Vanez still want me when he has a new toy to drown himself in?

I realised that I had bit my lip so hard that it was bleeding. I shook my head again. It's not like I care who Vanez is with, is it? I huffed and strode into the tunnel, immediately stepping on a switch and getting speared through my already-numb ankle. I lost my balance and fell forward – luckily no switches went off, and I sighed in relief.

I heard noises of hissing from behind – the snakes were following me!! I shuffled forwards, crawling on my hands and knees – CLICK – I jumped forwards – A blade swished behind me, and I heard a few snakes splatter onto the ground. I dragged myself up, but fell to the ground again immediately. My feet wouldn't move. I felt dizzy. My hands shook, and I felt extremely sick. It must be the poison, finally working its way around my body.

I dragged myself forwards with my hardly useful arms, touching another switch and getting cut deeply on my left thigh.

More hissing from behind.

Or is it my own gasping?

The tunnel seems to be rotating. Spinning.

I threw up on the ground.

I feel fangs piercing me.

I hear laughter. Is it Vanez? Vanez? Where are you? Where...

Why aren't you here with me – aren't you my tutor? Vanez, Vanez..... Vanez......! Don't leave me here, Vanez.....

It's dark – terribly dark – and I'm..... falling....

I thought I saw someone – Vanez – Vanez!? I yelled his name out, and reached my right arm forward to grab him – but he disappeared – I felt the statue escape from my grip and roll down the tunnel. There goes my only hope.

I took a deep breath – probably one of my last ones – and made the death sign in my mind. Kurda Smahlt – even in death, may you be triumphant.....

I just wish......

just wish I could have.....

seen him...again....

just one...

more.....

time...........

'It's good you got there in time, Vanez. He would've been dead if you were a minute late.'

'Well....you know how worried I was, Gavner – I'd never been that anxious in my whole life – I mean, he didn't come out for two whole hours! No one who succeeded ever took that long.'

'Mika nearly killed you when you tried to run into the tunnel, before the statue came rolling down.'

'Yeah. But I...I heard Kurda call my name, Gavner.'

'I didn't.'

'Well, I did.'

'I'd say it's just your imagination, mate, but you can always ask Kurda when he wakes up.'

'......He wouldn't talk to me. He hates me.'

'Oh? I thought you said you heard him desperately calling out your name?'

'........Piss off, Gavner. Go and get some more hot water so I can clean Kurda's wounds.'

'Since when did a General have to listen to a Gamesmaster?'

'Everyone listens to me, Gavner Purl, because if you don't do as I tell you, I can ban you from the Games Hall FOREVER.'

'Alright, alright! Just don't do anything to Kurda, okay? I promised him that I won't let you harm him.'

'I promise not to while he's unconscious. Now, go.'

Gavner's laughter. Vanez's laughter. Footsteps walking away. Door closes. Blink, blink. Blurred colours. Red. Blood? No, it's someone's hair. Vanez....? Vanez!!

'......ne...zz!!'

I hissed. I can't get sounds out of my mouth. I frowned. Vanez has not noticed me. He lowered his head, and started sucking at my thigh. I gasped – I was completely naked, with only a thin blanket to cover me – Vanez took his mouth off my thigh, then spat some reddish-black liquid into the container next to him (probably snake poison and blood). He grinned to see me awake – and opened his mouth to say something – but bit his lip instantly and stared at the ground instead. I took a deep breath in, and managed to hiss out;

'I'm......sorry.'

'........No, I should be, Kurda.'

Our eyes met – and we stared at each other for a while – then suddenly we cracked up laughing at the same time. Vanez, a deep, hearty laughter – me, a croaky hissing one. After that, we just smiled at each other. Vanez opened his mouth happily.

'........You passed your trial.'

'I......I did!!!??'

I croaked, and jumped up from bed – but my whole body screamed with pain, and I fell back down.

'Don't move yet, kid. We still have to stitch you up a little. And yes, you did pass the trial.'

'How....? I.....I fell over, and I....passed out, and.....'

'Yes, you didn't make it to the exit. But the statue did. It rolled out from your hand and out the exit. The point of this trial is to bring back the statue to the exit. In the rules it says nothing about you having to have to come with it. So when the statue reached the exit, I ran into the tunnel and carried you out.'

'........Thankyou.'

'I guess our love-death has been postponed, then.'

Vanez said – I laughed – but fell silent when Vanez reached out and touched my cheek with a hand – his mouth close to mine, face serious as he whispered;

'.....You know I would have died with you....'

I gulped – I couldn't breathe – Vanez's lips were getting closer – I could feel his breath tickling my lips – I closed my eyes, and......creak.

'Vanez! This is all the hot water I could fi....'

Gavner entered the room spiritedly with a jug of hot water which he dropped on the floor immediately when he saw us. I opened my mouth to explain, but....there was no excuse when Vanez was leaning over me, his lips a millimetre from mine, and me – naked, blushing and spluttering . Gavner looked at me, then at Vanez, then me again, then the steam rising off the floor from the spilled hot water.

'Er....Uh.....Sorry for disturbing. I....think I'll go get.....another jug. Of hot water. Yes. Jug. Um. So. Here I go!'

Gavner grabbed the empty jug and ran outside, slamming the door closed behind him. Vanez chuckled and sat up straight. I laughed uneasily and asked;

'What was the hot water for?'

Vanez shrugged;

'Just an excuse to get him out of the room, really. I told him it was for cleaning your wounds, but my tongue can easily do that.'

He winked, and looked at my terribly scarred and bitten chest. He licked his lips, then said playfully;

'Now, where should I start?'

I gasped and pushed him back as he tried to lean into my chest – Vanez laughed and ruffled my hair.

'I'm just joking, kid. Go to sleep for now. Gavner and I will clean and bandage your wounds.'

He smiled, then turned his back on me to walk off, probably to look for some bandages.

'......Wait!'

I said, and pulled on the back of his shirt. He turned around and raised an eyebrow. God, what am I about to do!? I cleared my throat nervously, then croaked;

'I think.....I think my lips are bleeding.'

Oh my god. Did I just say that out loud? Am I going crazy!? I'm not lying, though. My lips are still bleeding badly from biting on them so hard during the trial. Vanez seemed surprised for a second – but his lips curled into a mischievous smirk as he realised what I meant. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned into my face, his long, thin fingers reaching out and tracing my lips.

'So they are...'

He whispered with a smile – I closed my eyes tightly – I felt Vanez lightly kiss my lower lip – then lick it slowly to heal it. His hand cupped the back of my neck, and he leaned closer to get more comfortable. He did the same to my upper lip as he did to my lower – I can feel all my nerves tingle with pleasure – and my heart beating hard and fast against my chest. I couldn't even remember now why I hated this man a few hours ago – but I didn't even care. Out of the corner of my mind I worried about the possibility of Gavner or someone walking in on us – but Vanez didn't stop, and neither did I want him to.

He climbed onto me now, and kissed both of my lips at the same time – he flickered his tongue between them as if to seek permission into my mouth – which I shyly but instantly granted, erasing all thoughts from my mind, to drown entirely in the sweetest moment...

A.N. – The answer is NO. No, they did not have sex. Kurda is not ready for that yet. They did not go any further after that last sentence, so you have not missed anything. Anyway, I know this chapter was a little hard to read – I hadn't written for so long, so I'm just getting back into writing. I'm sorry if you didn't like it, but next chapter, I promise, will be very pervy and will have lots of Seyle in it for people who like Seyle. And lots of VanezKurda of course.

clam theif

Oh how I missed you and your stories! I'm so sorry I haven't been reviewing – as you know, I didn't have access to the internet for two months. I'll read the rest of your story and review as soon as I can, so please don't kill me!! So you started at a new school, eh? How is it? Are you having fun? I hope you're doing well! I'm not worried about you making friends, though – who could dislike a wonderful girl like you? I'm sure you'll do fine. I will answer your question on when Vanez and Kurda will have sex. In chapter 13. So not anywhere soon, I'm sorry. But there'll be plenty of touching and kissing beforehand, so don't give your hopes up!! You're doing a Darren/Kurda? Well, I'm not really a big fan of Darren, as you know. I like planning out his death. BUT, if you're writing a D/K, then I'm all for it. I'd LOVE to read it, dude! I love paedophile fics (wow that sounded really sick), so I won't really mind if Kurda's a paedophile. Not at all. I was once in love with a 35 year old when I was 15, so it's not like I'm not used to paedophiles, lol. Anyway, I'll talk to you again when I review your stories, okay?

Inyx

(hugs Inyx really really really hard) I MISSED YOU, soul sister!! Yes. I'm back on the same piece of land as Steve Irwin. Poor, poor, me. My PE teacher looks just like him, too. And I accidentally saw him naked the other day. And I am still feeling sick. SO sick that I actually had spew rising in my throat. This is not a nice subject, so I will change it. Oh no, don't worry about the evil flamers. I rather enjoyed them. They're so naïve. I love tormenting naïve little people by describing male-male scenes in front of them. Oh the evilness. Yes, you can keep Seyle. Seyle will probably disappear after the next chapter, and if you still like him then, then you can keep him forever, locked up in your closet so you can torment him with sticks and carrots any time you like. He used to be straight, you know. Maybe you can convert him into a bi-sexual so you can have him too. I almost turned this into a GavKur this chapter. When Kurda jumped into Gavner's arms, I seriously considered taking them all the way through. But as it was like two hours before Kurda's trial, I thought he should get some training apart from the sexual sort. Poor poor Gavner. He thought he had a chance with Kurda, and he walks in on Vanez sprawling all over a naked Kurda. Poor Gavnie. I think he needs some carrot therapy. Can you give it to him? Oh, I did use your hint about Kurda getting bitten at his thigh – but I didn't make Evra snog Kurda. I think Kurda has too many to cope with already. Gavnie, Vannie, Mikkie (Err...Mika. Yes.). And yes, Kurda did take his underwear off (or Vanez or Gavner took it off for him). But he had a blanket on. Oh well. (coughs in a fit of laughter) Eleven inches! Of course! Oh Seyle, please don't torment Kurda so. Arrgh! Not Dragon Ball Z! I don't like that anime, for the sole reason that I CANNOT COME UP WITH ANY HOT SLASHES!! AGH! I didn't lose any eyes while in Japan, Inyx. Are you proud of me? I'll try getting a sex change, then growing scales. Is that okay?

Fear The Walls Of Jericho

Yes. I'll dispose of Seyle in the next chapter. Your advice is always worth taking, I know only too well, Jerri. I want to make a Vanez c2 but there's not many Vanez stories, you know. Will you write one for me? And yup, Gavner did sort of find out. As you suggested. I hope there weren't too many faults in this chapter??

Countess Verona Dracula

Verona! I missed you so much! Wow – it's so long since I talked to you last. Do you still remember me? I'm glad you liked the angstiness – You're like the only person who does, because all my friends are like "GET ON WITH THE LOVEMAKING!!". Oh well. I guess you and I are the only ones who enjoy angst romance here, lol. Well, I hope to talk to you again soon!

S-A

How are you doing? I'm very worried about you, you know. Are you getting any better? Did you get some rest over the holidays? I'm glad you like Seyle – I'm sorry but he belongs to Inyx now. You'll have to ask her if you want to touch him, okay? I do that too – write swap-fics with friends. It's great fun, isn't it? It gets so crazy sometimes, though. Maybe we should do one about ants? Lol. I hope you're feeling better – and say hello to the ants over there. My ants told me to say hi to you, their sole leader and god. They pray for your health as well.

Showjumper916

Of course he has more than one guy! Mika's drooling all over him, and Gavner secretly wants him, and Vanez is openly and continuously sexually harassing him. He's practically drowning in love. I think Kurda is very very happy. Do you still want me to sign up for you? If you do, you have to tell me your e-mail, or send an e-mail to me with the details you want me to fill in. Oh well – I'll talk to you later!

Moose

Yay! Moose! I feel really happy that someone else has a name like my old one. I used to be Donkey. Donkey, moose. I think we'll do well together, lol. Anyway, I'm glad you like this fic – thanks so much for reviewing!!

cold-night09

Oh. Um. I don't think I want to explain the joke about the sticks – I'll give you a hint, though. Some thing to do with sticking it up Kurda's.....er.....let's stop there. YOU DEDICATED A STORY TO ME!? Ohmygod thank you so much! And I'm so sorry I didn't realise! I'll fly over and read it right now! Thankyou! I love Gavner so I'm really happy! Yup, Gavner's the good guy. I'll put as much of him as possible in for you – I hope you enjoy it. I'll talk to you later!

Kirin the Vampiress

LMAO. Yeah. Not a lot of people think I'm a slash writer. Maybe I should have created another author to start writing slash? I seem to have shocked a lot of my friends on fanficnet, including you. Silentlycrying's writing a story about Vanez in LasVegas!? That sounds totally crazy! Is it on fanficnet? I SO MUST READ IT!!! Does he go to a gay bar there?

Silver Sky Magician

Cat! I missed you! I can never find you these days. Of course I remember you! You are my shinichi-pal! And MaiK-pal! Nononono. I refuse to write a Conan fic. There's so many fantastic writers like you around – I'd feel too scared of flamers. Awww! Thanks for your compliments on the drawing. I was actually really worried about what people would think. I'm glad you like it! Maybe I'll draw you a shinichi-you picture if I knew what you looked like?

venca blane

I can tell from your penname that you're a fan of Vanez? I'm sorry I'm depicting him as a sick-ass in this fic. I love Vanez too – I mean no harm, believe me! I hope I didn't scar your mind too much?

dark-skies-angel

Ack! I'm sorry! Yes, poor poor Kurda, but he's happy at the end of the chapter, isn't he? I won't make him unhappy too often, I promise.