Darkness surrounded her as footsteps rose and fell. A door creaked and suddenly, she was flung onto the floor. Though her mouth was gagged, Yori still let out a muffled cry as she hit the floor hard. It was made of rough stone and there is sand as well.
"Is she the one?" A cool voice asked. "Hai, Ayame-sama." Her kidnappers replied. A male's voice, Yori noted. "Good, then you may leave." The cool female said. The door creaked open again and the man was gone. "Remove her blindfold and gag." The female ordered.
Rough hands reached out to yank away at the blindfold and gag as Yori blinked, unused to the strong light. She turned around, trying to get her bearings when a pail of ice cold water was dumped on her! Sputtering, she turned around to see a lady clad in a black gown, staring back at her, as she sat on a chair that is designed like a throne. Three other ladies gathered around her, all dressed in formal clothing as well. All four of them are dead drop gorgeous, with their clothing, jewellery, hair and shoes. Everything about them just screamed of wealth and prestige. Just who are these people? Yori wondered.
Then, the lady sitting on the chair spoke. "Well, well, look who we have here. Or rather, look what we have here! A filthy little rat! A drenched rat, in fact!" Her three companions all laughed at this; as if it is the funniest thing they have ever heard. "Indeed, Ayame-sama! A red rat!" One said.
"So, little rat, why are you here?" Ayame asked, a cruel smile twisting her beautiful features. "Do you know why you are brought here?" Yori shivered but said nothing. "Answer me!" Ayame screamed, just as she slashed the air in front of her with her finger. Instantly, a cut appeared on Yori's exposed arm, bleeding.
Shocked by the cut and the blood, Yori was stupefied for a moment before she could gather her scattered wits to answer "No…no…I have no idea…"Yori replied. "Then, little rat; let me enlighten you, why you are here then." Ayame said, as she leaned forward in her seat, never taking her eyes off Yori, who sank back in fear, dirtying her gown at the same time.
"I am, the most beautiful, wealthy and not to mention, powerful vampire nobles. I am the great Sohma Ayame, the first daughter of the Sohma family. I was intended to be Aido's bride ever since young." Ayame's eyes then narrowed at Yori who then realized what exactly is going on. "However, suddenly, news came that the Aido-sama plans to wed another! A dumb human, no less!" Each word increased in volume as the last few words were uttered with a shriek.
"Do you know how I feel then? To lose out to you? A puny human like you? You are not even pretty or even wealthy!" Ayame screeched, as her companions all nodded. "And today, you even dare to dress up so, and flirt with Aido-sama in front of me! For the sake of my future with Aido-sama, I must get rid of you!"
"Ayame-san….I know what you are feeling now, but by doing this, do you think Hanabusa will come back to you?" Yori asked, her composure in place. She sat upright, though her hands are still tied to the back. Apparently, she must had struck a raw nerve as Ayame flared up, so much so that she stood, and came standing over her.
"Hanabusa?! You dare address Aido-sama by his name? How dare you, you human! You are not even fit to be in the same room as him!" Ayame screamed, as she slashed at Yori, tearing at her gown and leaving long bleeding cuts on her arms and legs. Yori curled into a ball, trying to protect herself, as much as she could, while her hands are bound at the back. Eventually, her fury was spent, and Ayame staggered back into her chair, leaving Yori a bleeding mess on the floor, her gown utterly destroyed beyond repair. Panting her words out "You are going to stay here, little rat, till the ball is over. A ball without its hostess, it's doomed for failure! Then, I will be able to be with Aido-sama and you will be in your proper place!"
VAMPIRE KNIGHT
By now, Aido is frantic. "Where can Yori be??" he asked his cousin, as both of them walked through the two balls that are now in full-swing. Surprisingly, no one had noticed that Yori is missing. In fact, everything is still going on as if she is fully in charge. However, a ball must never be without its hostess!
"Calm down, we will find her." Akatusuki said, as he looked around. Suddenly, he noticed that the curtains flanking the balcony was flapping in the wind that is now blowing in. Narrowing his eyes a little, he asked Aido "I thought all the doors tonight are supposedly closed, as part of the security for the Kurans?" "They are. Why?" Aido replied absent-mindedly, still searching for Yori. "There is one door that seems to defy orders." Akatsuki replied, nodding in the direction of the balcony.
"Huh?" Aido frowned, as he started walking in the direction. "Let's check it out." Unknown to both of them, Ayame followed behind, unnoticed.
VAMPIRE KNIGHT
After Ayame left, Yori sat up slowly and painfully as she assessed the amount of damage that Ayame had done to her. It is certainly not a pretty sight, considering how angry Ayame was earlier. Choking back tears, she drew her legs up and cried softly "Hanabusa…"
Back in the ballroom, standing at the balcony, overlooking the darkened shadows of the gardens, Aido stood alone, glazing out and thinking of Yori. Akatsuki had left earlier, to attend to some family matters. Suddenly, a pair of hands snaked around him, drawing him into an embrace. Spinning around, his first words are "Yori!" Seeing Ayame standing in front of him, he stopped cold and stepped out of her reach. "Ayame-san." He bowed formally.
"Is there a need to be so formal with me, Aido-sama? After all, I am supposed to be your fiancé." Ayame asked, her eyes downcast. "Gomen, Ayame-san. You are a beautiful and charming noble, I am sure there are other nobles who are worthy of your love. For now, I am simply not the one you seek. I am sorry." With that, Aido turned to walk away but froze at Ayame's next words. "If you can never belong to me, the rat of yours can never have you either, Aido-sama! I will make sure of that fa - " her words were suddenly cut off as Aido pinned her against the balcony, caging her on both sides with his arms. Growling, he asked "You kidnapped Yori? Where is she now?"
Throwing back her head, Ayame replied with defiance "You will never find out, Aido-sama! You are the pride of the Aido's, as well as of the vampire society, how far you have fallen! To be with a human too! I am determined to make sure that both of you will never be together!" baring his fangs, Aido took hold of her shoulders and shook her roughly "Out with it, Ayame! Where. Is. Yori?!" Silence.
"Answer the question." A chilling voice sounded, as Yuki suddenly appeared, with Hikari beside her. Yuki's aura swirled dangerously around her, as power crackled in the air. Cold, chilling tendrils reached the couple as Aido stepped back to face the pureblood whose face showed no mercy at all. Ayame fell to the floor in shock, never seeing this side of her Queen before. Her mouth opened but no voice came out at all. Glazing down at Ayame, Yuki reached out and took hold of her chin and asked "Where is Yori, Ayame?" When Ayame maintains her silence, Yuki tightened her hold on Ayame's face, nearly breaking skin at the same time. Hikari then stepped in. "Yuki. Control yourself please."
Glaring down at Ayame, Yuki loosen her hold slightly. "I will give you one final chance, Ayame. If you do not tell me where Yori is, I swear, I will be taking your life here and now. In addition, I will not spare your family. I will make sure that they are utterly disgraced beyond words." At this, Ayame finally bowed in to the pressure. "At…at the garden shed at the back of the house, your majesty…" With this piece of information, Aido was gone.
Bursting through the rose bushes in the garden, Aido sprinted for the shed that is located at the back. As he drew closer, he heard soft weeping, followed by his name "Hanabusa…" Increasing his speed, he tore the door off the hinges, and rushed into the shed, which is stacked high with gardening tools. Smack in the middle of the floor is Yori, tied up, bleeding and crying.
"Yori….." Aido breathed, before he dashed forward to his sweetheart, cutting loose the ropes tying her hands together with a swipe of his fingers. Crushing her to him, he held her for a long while, relived beyond measure. After a while, the couple drew apart and Aido then noticed her wounds. Red hot rage boiled through him as he saw the amount of damage that Ayame had done. "That bitch!" He yelled. "Hanabusa!" Yori chided, still a proper lady, despite the situation that she is currently in. "Mind your language! Now, can you help me back to the ball please? I wonder if everything is alright?"She winced as she attempted to stand. She then gave a surprised gasp as Aido swept her up in his arms, carrying her out of the shed, princess style.
As he walked, he asked "How can you bother about the ball when you are so badly injured, Yori? Learn to take care of yourself before you take care of others!" Closing his eyes, he hugged her so tightly to him that Yori feared that her bones are going to shatter. Then, with all buster going out of him, Aido whispered in her ear "You scared me to hell and back, Yori…"
"Gomen, Hanabusa…" Yori replied, as she reached around to wrap her hands around his neck. "I am fine, really…Can you please bring me back to the ball? I need to check on it. A ball must never do without her hostess. After all, this is the only chance of us being together." Yori smiled painfully as they approached the doors leading to the side of the room. "Screw the ball! I don't give a damn about the results of the ball! Should society still not accept you, I am still going to marry you no matter what! The Vampire Society can go and hang itself!" Aido snarled.
"Watch your language, young man!" Lady Souen snapped, as the couple jumped at the sight of her, seated on the loveseat. Yori gasped in dismay as she said "Lady Souen…I…" "Be quiet, gel. Well, what are you doing, Hanabusa? Set her down so that her wounds can be treated, you stupid boy!" The grand dame of the Vampire Society snorted as she looked on to the couple. "Go and get Ruka for me and make sure you don't alarm the Queen herself though. There will be hell to pay should she know of this."
"It's too late for that, Lady Souen." Yuki's icy tones sliced the room as she stepped into the room with Hikari and Kaname next to her. "Someone already paid hell for her actions tonight." Catching sight of Yori, Yuki's composure broke a little as she accessed the damage. Voice broken on a sob, she was about to flung herself at Yori if not for Hikari holding her back. "Don't! She is hurt already. You will cause her to be in more pain should you touch her now." Turning to a footman, she commanded "Get me basins of hot and cold water, bandages, salve, and cotton pads and be quick about it!"
Turning to Yuki, she asked "Yuki, can you spare Yori one of your gowns that I had designed for you? You are closer to her in size and height as compared to me. The judging is coming to an end soon and she must be present. With her current state, she will be disqualified immediately! Get the gown that has long sleeves so as to cover her wounds." Hearing Lady Souren's snort, she turned and faced the grand dame head on and asked challengingly "Do you disagree with me, my Lady? After all, you are the ones who set the conditions! Now that something unplanned had happened, would you be willing to bend the rules for her? I seriously doubt it!"
She was surprised when Lady Souen nodded with approval at her. "Very good, gel! Someone with a spine! Too bad you are human and not a vampire else you would really make a fitting noble! There are too many spineless girls in society nowadays." As her gaze sharpened on Hikari, she continued "Despite what you think, I can and will make an exception for Wakaba-san as she is badly injured with no fault made on her own. I am not as heartless as you think. However, I will limit it to an additional period of an hour. No more and no less! Make use of it while you can!" So saying, she stood up, leaning heavily on her walking stick, walked to the door where it was opened for her, revealing Ruka on the other side of the door, surprised by the sight of her Grandmother.
"Humph!" Hikari said, as she glared at the sight of Lady Souen. Turning to Yuki so as to continue with her description of the gown that she wanted for Yori, she caught sight of Kaname who was trying to straighten out a smile playing around his lips. Transferring her ire to him instead, Hikari asked crossly "What's so funny, Kaname?"
"You, Hikari-san. It's the first time ever that I see someone standing up to the holy terror of the society. No one dares to cross the Grand Dame herself for fear that they will be sliced to pieces with her words. Even I was terrified of her when I was younger. Yuki was too young and thus, escaped her wrath. " Kaname replied as he slipped his arms around his wife. "Whatever." Hikari shrugged. "Since I am not of the Vampire Society and I am not a vampire, she can't do anything to me. Anyway, back to issue. Yuki-chan, I need the ocean-green gown that I designed for you, with huge sweeping sleeves. Do you remember that one? We need it for Yori." Thinking for a moment, Yuki nodded and moved out of the room, in the direction of her bedroom, so as to get the gown in question.
That settled, Hikari pulled a bell cord, ringing for a maid who popped into room immediately. Commanding her in crisp tones, Hikari ordered "Bring my makeup bag from the ladies room immediately and get a plate of food and cup of hot chocolate as well!" At this, the maid nodded and scampered off. The footman then arrived with the things that Hikari ordered earlier. Placing everything on the table, he bowed and withdrew. Crossing the room to where Yori was seated, with Aido seated protectively around her, Hikari wetted a cotton pad in ice cold water and wringed it out. Shooing Aido away, she said "Go check the status of the ballroom and get back to us with a report, so as to ease Yori's mind. I need to clean up the wounds and get her presentable again." "No." Aido said, snarling a little as he plucked the pad from Hikari's fingers. "I will clean the wounds. I will never leave Yori again."
"Hanabusa." Yori rebuked softly. "Hikari is being kind here. Don't be rude. Can you please go and check for me? It will really put me at ease if I know that everything is still running well." "So far, no one remarked upon your disappearance yet, Yori, and based on what I had seen earlier, everything is running well so far." Kaname replied, as he walked close to the trio. Reaching out, he grabbed Aido by the neck and said "Come, let's go and leave Yori in Hikari-san's capable hands. You and I need to check on things as well as to observe the current status in the ballroom right now." So saying, he dragged him away, while he protested, every step of the way. The maid then returned with the items that Hikari ordered. Settling them down, she bowed too before going out of the room.
Now that everyone has left the room, except for the both of them, silence prevailed for a moment before a small sob escaped Yori's lips. Curling up into a ball on the couch that Aido deposited her in, tears streamed down Yori's face as Hikari sat next to her, hugging her gently and avoiding the places where she was slashed. The brave facade of Yori had broken through at last and the horror of the night is now seeping in. "Hush. It's over. Be strong, Yori. Come, let's get you cleaned up." Dabbing carefully at her wounds, she stopped the bleeding and then applied a layer of salve before bandaging it carefully. Just as she is done with it, the door opened again, with Yuki stepping in, a gown and a jewellery box in her arms. Catching the sight of the freshly bandaged Yori, Yuki flew across the room so as to hug her best friend. "Yori, are you alright?!" Smiling a little, Yori nodded.
Between the assistance by both Yuki and Hikari, as well as the food and drink that Hikari sent for, Yori recovered a trifle. After changing into the new gown and getting nagged and fussed by Hikari over the makeup, Yori is ready to face the crowd again. Drawing a deep breath, she stood, as the door opened to the sight of Aido who caught his breath for the second time that night. Dressed in an ocean green grown with flowing long sleeves and a high neckline, the effect is very Victorian. Paired with the Kuran's family collection of emeralds, she looked every inch the lady-in-waiting to the Queen that she is supposed to be. If one do not peer too closely, no one would had sensed the trauma that fell upon her a few hours ago. Breathing in deep and feeling blessed beyond words that Yori would fight so hard for their future, Aido bowed low and extending out a hand, as he asked gallantly "Your escort for the night, my lady. Shall we go?"
"Is everything okay outside?" Yori whispered as she took hold of the offered hand. Drawing closer to himself, Aido replied softly as well "Marvelous. Nothing went amiss while you were gone. On my way back, many people were giving compliments." At this, a true smile bloomed on Yori's face. It's a tiny one but a true smile from her heart. Murmuring a soft "Good.", she sailed forth from the room, with Aido next to her, so as to face the challenge that still looms in front of them.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I am back!!!!!!!!! I am really sorry about my long absence on this particular story and truth to be told, I really forgot all about it. *sweat drops* that is why, despite publishing a few one-shots, I never updated for this particular story. However I promise I will be updating soon! This is to make up to the readers who had been waiting for over a year. Gomen ne!!!!!
I put in heart and soul into this chapter and phew, it's certainly a lengthy one! 7 pages! The attention given to the details! The emotional heaves! Goodness gracious, I was about to faint when I was done with this chapter. However, more is to come for the next chapter as the results of the second challenge will be announced. Will Yori win despite her absence from the ball? What will happen to Ayame?
Stay tuned and find out!