Results of the Second Challenge

"Who do you think will win?" A beautifully dressed vampire asked her friend, as she took note of the entrance by both Yori and Aido. "I think, the main question is, what is the judging criteria for the winning party? Are the 3 judges going to give the results like that or what?" Her friend replied, looking at the other direction where Yuki, Lady Souen and Lady Aido were seated.

"If that is the case, it is going to be a biased result, don't you think? Lady Aido would definitely side with her daughter while her Majesty would side with Wakaba-san. It will then be up to Grand Dame to decide the winning factor. However, it's interesting that she called for a delay of results earlier. The party was supposed to end one hour ago." The first vampire replied, as she took another sip of champagne, one that was taken from Yori's ballroom. Her companion simply shrugged.

As all the present vampires gathered in the central hall, where it was the midpoint for both ballrooms, Yuki looked on impassively with Kaname seated next to her. Leaning close to his wife, Kaname said "I heard someone was in a rage tonight, so much so that the balcony suffered some damages from her wrath." It was a statement and not so much of a question. Nodding in confirmation, Yuki claimed credit for it. "It's me." Although Kaname was interested in the details, Yuki revealed nothing, saying "It will be known in a while." With that statement between them, Yuki nodded to Lady Aido who stood and addressed the crowd.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is now time for us to announce the results of the second challenge. This is how we will be proceeding – on the table situated in front of me now are 2 crystal vases. Everyone will be given 2 stalks of flower, a jeweled and a fresh rose. The jeweled one represents my daughter, Hana, while the fresh rose will be the representation for Wakaba-san. Please place the rose into the respective vases, to show your choice for the ball tonight. For example, I choose Hana as my choice and thus, I will place my fresh rose into this vase. Should you not be able to make a choice, you may keep the 2 roses. The vase with the most number of roses tonight will win." Putting her words into actions, Lady Aido dropped her choice into the vase set aside for Hana and stood back.

Voices rose immediately at the end of her speech as all those who were present discussed this method of selection. In a way, it ensures fairness on both participants as the results will not be biased by the judges from the previous round. On the other hand, should one make a wrong selection; it can be a politically wrong move. No one wishes to offend either the Kuran or Aido family! What a challenge indeed, for the crowd side!

Seeing the discussion in front of her, Yuki smiled thinly as she stood up this time. Silence prevailed immediately as everyone turned to address the youngest Pureblood Queen. Raising her chin a trifle, she ordered "Bring her in." The doors at the end of the central hall were opened by 2 servants and Kain walked in with Ayame beside him, dragging her feet, head bowed. Shocked whispers rose immediately "That's Sohma-sama! What happened to her?" "Why did the Queen call her for her?" "What happened?"

Bringing Ayame and himself to a standstill in front of the table, Kain bowed to Yuki before walking away, leaving Ayame all by herself. Looking down at the girl, Yuki spoke softly, though all who were present could hear her perfectly, as well as the ice and anger behind her tone. "Sohma Ayame. You are brought forward at this moment for your judgment and punishment by all those who are present here today. I stated earlier, at the beginning of the Challenge, that everything must be fair so as to give the proper respect to the participants. However, on this night, you attempted to do away Wakaba-san, by locking her up in a garden shed and causing her intentional injuries. In doing so, you have violated the Peace Treaty signed by both the Hunters Association and the Kuran family. What have you to say for yourself?!" Her voice rose at the last word.

Silence.

The Grand Dame crackled once at the sight of the poor girl before saying aloud "Say something at least, gel, before you are condemned to eternity! After all, thanks to you, I have to extend this ball for another hour! After mistreating one of the hosts for a period of time, that hour is meant as a payback for Wakaba-san when she was not around at all to see the fate of this ball!"

"She was not around?! Yet the ball progressed as per normal?!"

"I didn't even detect her absence!"

"Everything went smoothly! Amazing!"

"Still…to think that Sohma-sama did something like that! I wonder how will the Queen take to this?"

"It will be better if we distance ourselves from the Sohma family for a while, dear."

Hearing this, Ayame snarled, head whipping to confront the couple that said the last sentence. "Judge me if you will, but leave my family alone!" Turning back to face Yuki who is still looking down at her coldly, Ayame retorted "What I did today to Wakaba-san may be wrong but I will not regret it! Punish me if you will, but only I will answer to the charges brought forward. My family is not involved at all! Will you honor your promise to me, your Majesty?" Only after Yuki nodded her consent did Ayame turned to Lady Aido, and once again, repeated her words "I will not regret my actions for today as I am truly in love with Aido-sama, Lady Aido! To see him fall from grace, my lady, is worse than anything than I can bear! Should my actions lead me to my death tonight, so be it!" With that, she lifted her chin defiantly back to Yuki who looked at her coldly.

"Very well. As the first daughter of the Sohma family, you had known nothing but wealth and comfort since you were born. Therefore, this is my verdict – you shall give away 80% of your personal wealth to a charity organization of Yori-chan's choice and be one of the instructors there as well. While you are there, you will not be treated like a royalty, instead, you will be like any commoner. Should you lose your temper and take out on the people or vampires over there, you will answer to me directly." Yuki ordered. With a wave of her hand, Ayame was taken away, so as to return home immediately.

Looking over the crowd who is feverishly discussing about the latest developments, Yuki smiled grimly and said "Let that serve as an example as to how serious I am with regards to this challenge. No matter how high ranking anyone is, should anyone engage in foul play, he or she will be dealt with accordingly. Coming back to the challenge, it seems like most of you all are uneasy over voting as the judges are present. If that is the case, both the judges and participants shall go for a walk first before coming back in 10 minutes. Ladies?" With Kain offering an arm to Lady Souen, Yuki, Kaname, Yori, Hana and Lady Aido walked off in the direction of the gardens.

**10 MINUTES LATER**

" Congratulations, gel! You won the second round! 24 fresh roses to Hana's 20!" Lady Souen crackled. "In reality, it should be 25 to 20, as I have not cast my vote yet! After all, the ball ran smoothly without you! That is one feat that most hostesses can dream of! With that, I declare the ball to be over!"

"Arigato, Lady Souen." Yori bowed. Facing the crowd, she smiled and bowed as well. "Thank you for your support, ladies and gentlemen. I am truly grateful. I have ordered your cars to be brought around and thus, please allow me to see you all off for tonight." With Hanabusa next to her, both of them lead the way to the front doors, with most of the crowd trailing behind them.

While walking next to Yori, Ruka said softly "Congratulations, Yori, Your ball is certainly a success. May I steal away your caterer the next time I throw a ball? The food is perfectly balanced." "Of course, Ruka-sempai. I will give you the contact the next time we meet." Yori replied with a tiny smile. Hearing it, Aido teased "What, our great Ruka have to steal Yori-chan's caterer? What happened to your many contacts? None of them is of standard?"

"Shut up, Hanabusa!" Ruka snapped, as she blushed a little. Lifting her fan, she checked for the presence of her grandmother before she swing it with a 'thud!', hitting Aido on the head. "Ouch!" Aido yelped, while glaring at her. Looking at his cousin, he asked "Can you please control her? Jeez!"

Thus, the second challenge comes to an end. What can the final challenge be and will Aido and Yori have a happy ending together?

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Another chapter done! I guess the next chapter will be the last one if everything goes according to plan. After overcoming 2 challenges, abet with difficulty, the challenge is about to draw to a close. Stay tuned to find out what the final challenge will be! In the meanwhile, ideas are welcome!

Please review!!