Disclaimer: Vampire Knight does not, has not, or will not ever belong to me. I only ask that nobody takes my characters or ideas.

Not my Time
A Vampire Knight Fanfiction

Chapter Nine: Coimirceoir

"Do you remember how you get a horse to respect you, Lily?" my father asked me, not taking his eyes off the bay gelding chewing hay lazily in the pasture.

I hesitated as my four year old mind raced to find the correct answer, but all that came out was a dim-witted, "Uhm.."

Patiently, my father answered, "You make him move his feet."

He opened the gate, then handed me the halter. "You're first lesson in training this gelding is to make him move his feet without letting him make you move yours."

Still not completely certain what my father meant by telling me to 'make him move his feet,' I approached the gelding. The gelding watched me warily, but almost immediately determined that I was no threat, and continued to chomp on his hay.

It turns out getting a horse to step aside from his hay isn't as easy as it seems. I can't remember how long I stood there trying to get the gelding to pay attention to me. I waved my arms, said 'get back!' at least fifteen times, and even tried leaning into his side, but the gelding refused to budge.

Finally, I turned to my father and exclaimed, "What am I doing wrong?"

"You have to mean it, Lily!" my father replied. He tried to hide the fact that he'd been snickering while my back had been turned.

I turned back to the gelding, and ordered him in a bossy, frustrated voice, "Get back!"

The gelding looked up from his hay for a moment, then turned and walked off toward a grassy patch some distance away.

Elated, I turned to my father. "I did it!" I cried happily.

This time my father could not hide his laughter. "No, he did not respect you… He's trying to avoid you!"

Crestfallen, I stared at the ground. For a brief moment I considered throwing the halter into the dirt, and walking away, but instead I slung the halter over my shoulder, and walked confidently over to the gelding.

I raised my hands as I ordered calmly but firmly, "Get back."

As if on cue, the gelding took a few steps back, eyeing me with curiosity rather than apathy. From the sidelines I heard my dad's excited call, "You did it!"

Satisfied, I fit the halter onto the gelding's head, then led him back to the gate.

…

I awoke with a start, and immediately leapt out of bed. Quickly glancing at the clock on my bedside table, I realized that it was only four in the morning; however, I knew that I would not be able to get anymore sleep until I had ensured that my horse was being properly cared for.

I dressed in a spare outfit that the headmaster had bought for me, but as I was about to rush out of my room, I hesitated.

Kaname had told everybody that my parents had been killed in a car accident. If I approached the headmaster about calling my father, he might realize that a mistake had been made. Despite how concerned I was about my beloved horse, I could never permit myself to be sent back to my father. After settling into the peaceful life at Cross Academy, I could never willingly submit myself to my father's abuse.

Settling myself at my desk, I turned my desk lamp on and pulled out my sketchbook from a drawer. As I considered my options, I began sketching the scene from my dream on a blank page.

Kidd the Horse had been a present from my father for my fourth birthday. My father had found him at a horse auction, and knew immediately that Kidd and I would make a perfect team, as well as that Kidd would be the perfect horse to begin horse training lessons with.

At first, my mother had been concerned about allowing me to have Kidd. She had sent my father to the horse auction with instructions to find me a calm pony, but instead my father had returned with a sixteen hand high Quarter Horse who had never been properly trained. In my mother's eyes, the only redeeming quality about Kidd was that he cared too much about his hay to become headstrong.

Unlike my mother, I fell in love with Kidd instantly – in much the same way as my father. Kidd was extremely tall for a four year old rider, he wasn't really much to look at, and he appeared to only have a mind for hay, but he projected such a gentleness that I immediately knew that he was beautiful.

From first sight, I knew that Kidd and I would be partners for life. I never had any intention of replacing him with another horse. Over the years I heard classmates discussing how they had sold their horses in order to purchase horses who performed better at jumping or dressage, but I knew that I could never replace Kidd. Kidd might not be interested in doing much more than eating hay, but he was mine. I could never sell him to someone for fear that they would not be able to see the beautiful horse in Kidd.

How could I have left him? How could I have not spared a single thought for him? Certainly by this time he was beginning to realize that something was horribly wrong. Both of his round bales were probably gone, and his person had not been to see him for months.

I began to sketch so furiously that my pencil snapped in two. Hurriedly I rooted in my pencil box for a replacement, but all of the pencils were worn down and much too small to be used comfortably.

Suddenly an idea occurred to me. I could ask the headmaster if I could go into town and purchase some new art supplies. I could insist that I had to go personally because someone else would buy the wrong materials. While I was in town, I could use a pay-phone and call my father without anyone at Cross Academy realizing.

After taking a careful inventory of the supplies I needed to restock (because I might as well take advantage of going into town), I made my way to the headmaster's office.

"Come in!" the headmaster called in a sing-song voice.

I entered the office.

"Ah! Lily-chan!" the headmaster greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Headmaster, I was wondering if it would be possible to go into town today. I need to purchase some art supplies," I explained, breathless due to the fear of his answer being no.

Sure enough, the headmaster looked slightly surprised, then he grinned. "Trying to get out of classes today, eh, Lily-chan?"

I held up my hands defensively. "No! No! Nothing like that!" I argued hastily.

The headmaster laughed, then quickly pulled out a piece of paper. "As it happens, I was needing to go to town myself, but didn't really feel like going," he explained. He handed the paper to me. "While you're in town, run those errands for me." He dropped a small coin purse in my extended hand. "Here's some money."

"You mean… I can go?" I questioned, wondering how the headmaster could be so nonchalant about me missing possibly a whole day's worth of classes.

"Of course!" the headmaster replied. Then he thought studiously for a moment. "Hmm… But I'll have to send somebody with you. It could be dangerous for you to go into town alone."

Not wanting someone to witness my phone call, I cried, "No! I can handle it!"

The headmaster shook his head. "No, it really isn't safe," he insisted. "I can't send Zero… And Yuuki wouldn't be much help if you were attacked by a vampire…"

"What?" I interrupted, but before the headmaster could reply, the door opened and Ichijou walked in carrying a stack of papers.

He didn't notice that I was in the office already because he was still reviewing one of the papers. Without looking up, he told the headmaster, "Kaname sent me with those papers you wanted, Headmaster."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm interrupting," he apologized when he finally noticed that I was already in the headmaster's office.

"No, actually, it's perfect timing," the headmaster replied. "I was just about to send Lily-chan to town to run some errands for me."

"You're sending her alone?" Ichijou questioned.

"Well… Now that you mention it…" the headmaster answered thoughtfully.

Ichijou sighed. "Oh, I see. You want me to go with her." He released a deep breath, then continued, "I will, but I need to tell Kaname first."

He dropped the papers off, then turned and left the room.

"Have a seat, Lily-chan," the headmaster told me, indicating a chair in front of his desk.

I sat, wondering if I was going to get a lecture, but the headmaster simply glanced through the papers Ichijou had dropped off.

After a moment, I attempted to make the headmaster reconsider sending me into town with an escort. "Headmaster, I really can handle going into town alone," I told him. "I have Coimirceoir, after all."

"Coimirceoir?" the headmaster repeated. "Did you name your staff, Lily-chan?"

To be honest, I hadn't really come up with the name on my own, nor had I realized I'd called my staff Coimirceoir when I'd spoken. "Er… Yes," I answered. "It means 'protector,' I think. In Irish."

The headmaster smiled. "The weapon suits you well, Lily-chan," he replied. "I had a feeling that weapon would match you well; although, I was incredibly frightened when it seemed to bind itself to you."

"It was as if someone were teaching me how to hold it correctly," I admitted. After a moment's hesitation, I asked, "Headmaster, could you tell me how you came by that weapon?"

For a moment the headmaster seemed to be deep in thought. Finally he replied, "Actually, it was a bit odd how I received that anti-vampire weapon. About ten years ago a woman came to my door at midnight. When I first saw her, I had a difficult time believing that she was not a vampire. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen; she had lovely blond hair with perfect curls, and her eyes were brilliant blue. She wore a hooded cloak of cornflower blue with a snow white border."

The headmaster paused and seemed to be daydreaming about the beautiful woman who had visited him ten years before. When the headmaster did not continue with his story for five minutes, I impatiently prompted, "Well? What then?"

The headmaster snapped out of his reverie and hastily continued, "She pulled out the weapon, handed it to me, then left without speaking a word." He paused, looking sad. "I never saw her again."

I recalled that he had said that a legend went with the weapon, and I asked pointedly, "Are you the one behind the legend of the weapon?"

The headmaster shook his head. "I took the weapon to the Vampire Hunters' Association, and I researched its background. Nothing existed on the weapon specifically, but I did find evidence of the woman who I had received it from. Not much was known about her – not even her name. It was suspected that she came from a long-forgotten race of people who at one time ruled over the daily lives of all the other races. In the records, it was noted that she could be more dangerous than vampires at times."

As I turned the headmaster's words over in my head, I found that some of the information wasn't sitting well with me. "How can a race who ruled over the lives of all races become forgotten?" I asked, uncertain whether or not I wanted to know the answer.

At first I was not certain the headmaster would answer me. He appeared to be having serious doubts, but finally he replied, "They were hunted down to near extinction by vampires and humans alike. Even now there are still names of that race placed on the vampire hunters' kill-lists."

I did not want to hear more about the fate of the race above all races, and chose to remain silent until Ichijou's return.

"Ready, Lily-chan?" he asked, smiling. He was holding a katana in one hand; when he saw my glance at it, he told me, "Just in case."

As I picked up my bag, I nodded.

Luckily no students were wandering about the grounds as we headed toward the gates. Most of the student body – especially the girls – had stopped being friendly to me the moment they noticed that I had been placed on the disciplinary committee, and I was certain being seen with one of the Night Class students would not improve matters.

I was surprised by how short the distance between the school and the town was. Somehow I had always imagined that the school was miles away from civilization – probably because my farm had been nearly twenty miles from the downtown of Sleepy Hollow.

"Weather's not bad today," Ichijou commented, looking at the cloud covered sky. "But I think it might rain later."

I nodded without glancing at the sky. Thinking about water only made me more concerned that Kidd didn't have any water left in his troughs, and that he might have escaped in order to find more. How could I have been so thoughtless?

Ichijou must have noticed my troubled expression because he asked, "Is everything okay, Lily-chan?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine," I answered. "Just thinking." I pulled out the list the headmaster had given me, and glanced through it quickly.

Pick up dry-cleaning… Groceries: eggs, noodles, fish fingers, and custard… Some of this list is a bit odd… Oh, well… I did volunteer myself… But I'm still going to get my art supplies first.

"What do you want to get first, Lily-chan?" Ichijou asked, glancing at the list over my shoulder.

"Well, I was going to purchase my art supplies first," I told him.

"All right," he replied. "If you give me the list I can start getting some of those tasks finished while you choose."

I nodded, then handed him the list, as well as the coin purse.

"I'll meet you at the art shop in about fifteen minutes," Ichijou told her. "Don't wander off. It could be dangerous."

"All right," I agreed, glad to have him suggesting that I could be alone.

I quickly found a small art shop, and entered. I glanced over my shoulder, and noticed that Ichijou had remained in the place I'd left him until he'd watched me enter the shop. I waited until he had disappeared from sight, then I began to rifle through the items in the shop.

Some of the items I picked up instinctually: Pens, pencils, charcoal crayons, sheets of paper more suitable for watercolors or charcoal drawings – items constantly in need of replacement. After gathering the basic materials I had needed to replace, I began to browse the more refined supplies the shop offered.

A large tin of colored pencils that cost the equivalent of sixty USD caught my attention, and I considered for a couple of minutes whether or not I should purchase it. I had always had a soft-spot for colored pencils, but I had no colored pencils at Cross Academy due to my abrupt departure from my home in Sleepy Hollow a few months ago. In fact, I was fairly certain I had purchased the same tin of colored pencils previously. Of course, it was difficult to distinguish the brands I had purchased from the brands I hadn't. In the course of events, I had comforted myself by purchasing different brands of colored pencils in order to compare them all.

Finally deciding to go ahead and splurge on the colored pencils, I took it off the rack, then brought all the supplies to the counter for the clerk to ring up.

After paying and placing the contents in my bag, I asked, "Do you have a phone I could use? I need to make an international call, is that all right?"

The clerk nodded politely. "It's in the back," she replied, she pointed to a door. "Go ahead and use it."

"Thank you very much," I answered, bowing slightly.

I walked into the back and quickly noticed the phone on a desk crammed with loose sheets of paper. Picking up the receiver, I began to dial the number for my home in Sleepy Hollow, but I couldn't get myself to place the last four digits. Instead, I replaced the receiver, then rooted in my bag for the number I could reach my brother at.

After dialing in the number, I waited impatiently for the line to be picked up. When the phone was finally answered, I was slightly surprised to hear a woman's voice. "Richter Residenze."

"Hallo, hier ist Lily Waters. Kann ich bitte mit Christopher Waters sprechen?" I asked, surprised that I had managed to remember some of the German my brother had taught me.

"Ja, eine minuten," the woman answered.

I waited impatiently while she went to get my brother for me.

"Hallo, Lily."

I was surprised by how reassured I was to hear my brother's voice. Suddenly I almost couldn't contain my excitement. "Kit! Wie geht es dir?" I exclaimed in German before I could stop myself.

I blushed sheepishly as I heard my brother chuckling on the other end of the line. "You know I still speak English, right?" he asked after he'd managed to contain his laughter.

Still blushing, I replied, "Uh… Of course… I just wasn't certain… It's been a long time since…"

My brother's voice sounded much more serious as he admitted, "Yes, it has been a long time…" After a moment, he continued, "What do you need, Lily? The last I heard was that our parents had been killed in a car accident in Japan?"

"Ah… Yes… There's been some sort of mix-up… I've been taken in by the headmaster of a school outside of Kyoto, Japan," I told him. "I don't really understand how it happened… But I didn't want to argue against the decision because I couldn't possibly have explained what had happened, and also because… I just couldn't have dealt with that situation anymore."

I couldn't help feeling a bit weak as I admitted that I couldn't have brought myself to continue staying with our father. My brother must have known how I felt because he offered some assurance.

"Lily, your sister and I reached our limit far sooner than you did, and we were older," my brother acknowledged. "You could always have come to stay with me. I wouldn't have forced you to be with him if you didn't want to. I considered taking you away many times…"

"No! You couldn't have done that! You wouldn't have been able to go to university in Germany if you had taken me in! You had planned on attending school in Germany since you were ten years old; I couldn't have interfered when your plans were about to…"

"I know, Lily," my brother interrupted. "I also felt guilty for wanting to take you away from the horse-farm. I know how much you loved working with those horses. If I had forced you to leave, I would have broken your heart."

Suddenly I remembered that Ichijou had told me he would be at the art shop in fifteen minutes. I was almost completely certain I had been in the shop for more than fifteen minutes, and I couldn't tell from this vantage point whether Ichijou had already arrived at the shop or not.

Hastily I asked my brother, "Could you check on Kidd for me, Kit?"

"Huh? Lily, I thought you were aware that I am now living in Germany," my brother chastised. "It isn't just a thirty minute drive to the farm anymore."

I sighed. What had I been thinking? I couldn't expect him to check on Kidd… "Could you call Dad? I was going to, but I couldn't…"

My brother sighed, then told me, "Of course I'll call him. And if he doesn't answer, or if I don't think he's capable of taking care of that lazy gelding, I will be out on the soonest flight to take care of him myself."

I smiled in relief. "Thank you! I don't think I've ever loved you this much!"

"I love you, too, Lily," my brother replied. "I'll call you soon to let you know how everything is. Tchüss."

"Tchüss," I answered. After I heard the click of the opposite receiver, I hung up the phone, and headed back to the front of the shop.

Ichijou was browsing the more expensive art supplies being housed in the glass display case at the front of the shop. He glanced up when he saw me approaching. Somehow I felt as if I had been caught red-handed, but Ichijou smiled and didn't mention the phone-call I had made.

"I thought we could take a break and get something to eat, Lily-chan," Ichijou told me, as if we had been shopping for hours. I noticed that the clerk gave me a look of jealousy as she heard Ichijou call me so familiarly.

I nodded my head, and Ichijou led the way to a small café

We sat at a booth in the back of the café, and Ichijou handed me one of the menus.

"I'm paying, Lily-chan. Order anything you like," Ichijou told me.

I glanced through the menu briefly before deciding to order vanilla custard – simple, tasty, and reasonably priced. When I ordered, Ichijou seemed to want to reassure me that he didn't mind buying me a more expensive dessert, but did not say anything.

After the waitress had left with our orders, Ichijou said conversationally, "I didn't know that you were so interested in art. Have you considered entering any of your artwork in competition?"

"I've been entering competitions since I was about five years old," I answered. "I have a few paintings on display in an art gallery in Arlington Heights."

"Impressive," Ichijou replied, and he seemed legitimately interested. "Could I see some of your artwork sometime?"

"I don't normally let people see my personal artwork," I admitted. "I'm about to begin a project for a competition in Chicago. I could show you that one when it's finished."

"I would like that, Lily-chan," Ichijou told me, then asked, "Why don't you show your personal work to others?"

I found the question to be a little lacking. Personally, I would have found it obvious why an artist didn't reveal his personal work, but perhaps that was because I was an artist myself. "Well, my personal artwork is … personal… Most of it's just for practice, so the drawings are mostly incomplete or simply to experiment with a new style."

"I'm certain it's still very good," Ichijou replied. "My own attempts at drawing have been miserable experiences. I don't think I have enough patience for it. It's easy to tell that you have the right temperament needed to be an artist. You're so calm all the time – not to mention observant."

I briefly recalled running through the forest as if I were being pursued by multiple villains, and I wondered if Ichijou would still describe my temperament as 'calm' if he'd seen my initial reaction to discovering that vampires were roaming about the school-grounds. I wondered what he would think of me if he knew I had willingly stayed in an abusive home for ten years, or that I had only left when I'd been placed in an inexplicable situation.

"By the way, Lily-chan, the new girl – Nasrin Gates – mentioned that she'd met you," Ichijou told me.

"Why would she have said that?" I asked, looking up at Ichijou with genuine shock. Although I didn't want to admit it, Nasrin did seem the type to let sensitive information like that slip.

"I don't know," Ichijou answered. "Have you met her before?"

The way Ichijou was looking at me made me feel too uncomfortable to lie, so I admitted, "We met briefly. I didn't realize she was a vampire."

Luckily the waitress arrived with our desserts at that moment, and I had a few moments to gather my thoughts.

As I considered what I could tell Ichijou safely, I half-listened to the waitress hesitantly asking Ichijou if he was in the Cross Academy's Night Class. I was a bit startled to hear Ichijou patiently speaking to her, even though the waitress seemed to be nearly unable to contain her enthusiasm.

I turned to my custard, and waited for the waitress to be asked to return to work.

When Ichijou turned back to me, I expected him to continue pressing me about Nasrin, but he seemed satisfied with my answer, and didn't pursue the topic any further. For a while we ate in silence.

"I saw you riding the other day," Ichijou told me. "I was impressed that you were riding White Lily with ease. She didn't even react when I opened the window. Normally she goes berserk."

"I've been riding since I was two years old, and I've worked with troubled horses since I was seven…" I replied. "My family had a horse training stable in Sleepy Hollow."

"There is a well-known horse training stable in the vampire world," Ichijou informed me. "A few years ago it was shutdown – nobody was quite certain why. I remember that it caused a crisis for the vampire members of the equine community because so few people are capable of training horses into trusting vampires."

"Animals flee when they sense something dangerous approaching," I found myself saying. "Our horses used to let me know if something was wrong."

"You're very perceptive," Ichijou commented. "Most people wouldn't understand the reasons behind an animal's behavior."

I was going to tell him that animal behavior was very easily read once people understood the indicators, but a sudden cry from across the café stopped me.

One of the waitresses had filled a tray with too many dishes, and had slipped on her way back to the kitchen. The dishes were flung upwards briefly before they began to plummet toward the fallen waitress.

Oh, no! She could really get hurt if those dishes hit her! I thought as I watched her helplessly. What if she gets all cut-up from the fragments? Will Ichijou-senpai be able to resist the smell of her blood?

As if reading my mind, Ichijou quickly stood. "Come, Lily-chan," he said, speaking urgently. "We should leave."

He tossed some money on the table, and began walking out of the café. I hesitated a moment before grabbing my bag and following suite. As I was about to walk out, I heard gasps of amazement behind me.

"Amazing! Not one of the dishes hit the waitress, and nothing even broke!"

I whirled around to find that the waitress was indeed unharmed, and she was now getting to her feet, smiling sheepishly. Another waitress came out and ushered her to the back, leaving the mess on the floor for the time-being.

Hastily I ran out of the café, and nearly ran into Ichijou who was waiting for me outside. Quickly I moved to put more space between us.

"Sorry about that, Lily-chan," Ichijou apologized.

I nodded slightly. "It's all right, Ichijou-senpai," I replied. I changed the subject hurriedly, "What is left on the list?"

"Just the groceries," he answered. "We should collect from the market area first."

He led the way toward the center of the town where I could see numerous small stands, each with different merchandise. As Ichijou began selecting pieces of fruit from a nearby stand, I glanced around at all the different items being offered. One stand was displaying clothes, another vegetables, and another novelty items.

From the corner of my eye I noticed something bizarre lurking behind one of the nearby buildings. Even though the figure appeared very human-like, I could sense the foreboding nature of the being. It eyed the people moving about the market hungrily, and I suddenly realized that the creature must be a vampire. However, I had never seen a vampire looking so unreasonably interested in attacking humans indiscriminately.

"Ichijou-senpai," I whispered, but when I turned, I realized that he was about six stands away from me.

Before I could go to him, I realized that the vampire had disappeared down the alleyway. Without thinking, I raced after it. Somehow I understood that this vampire was a danger to society, and that I must not let it get away.

After giving chase, I realized that I had made a terrible mistake. The vampire had disappeared, and even if I had found it, I didn't know how to contain it. A feeling of apprehension filled me from head to toe, and I became overly aware of how far from the market I had come.

Slowly, I came to a halt, and I glanced around to reassure myself that I was alone. However, only moments after I had determined that nobody else was in sight, I heard a malicious chuckle above me and saw a blur descending from above.

Instinctively, I grabbed Coimirceoir from my bag, then expanded it and swung it upward with two hands in order to prevent the vampire from landing on top of me. The vampire clung to the staff, and I stared into the creature's crazed eyes. The anti-vampire weapon didn't seem to be working effectively against this vampire, almost as if the vampire no longer had any ability to reason. All it seemed to care about was that it was about to secure its next victim.

In that moment I found that I had never been so frightened in all my life. My fear of the vampire latched on top of Coimirceoir was so great that I felt my body tense up and simply freeze. I couldn't speak, I couldn't wield Coimirceoir, and I couldn't think of anything except the crazed eyes of the vampire before me.

A hint of golden light drew my attention from the vampire. Golden vines – the same vines that had appeared the day I had received Coimirceoir – had entwined my hands to my staff. Suddenly I found that the vines had forced me to draw my staff upward with such inhuman strength that the vampire flew back several feet before landing heavily upon its back.

Almost immediately the vampire had leapt up, and I became fixated once more on the creature's disfigured face. Its eyes were not simply hungry now; it was clearly outraged by my resistance.

As the vampire lunged at me, I felt my hands bringing the staff down at an angle, then realized that the vampire before me had a diagonal cut clean through its torso. In the next instant the beast had turned into a fury of unsettled dust.

The vines disappeared from my hands, and I dropped weakly to my knees. Still not completely certain what had just happened, I was startled to see two familiar faces when the dust finally settled.

"Aidou-senpai… Kain-senpai…" I whispered, almost to myself.

Both of them looked surprised to see me. "When we saw the vampire being cut into two, we were certain Ichijou had been the one to destroy it," Aidou exclaimed. "How did you manage this?"

Aidou slurred the word 'you,' as if he had really meant to say 'you human.' Although Aidou's implied belief in my inherent weakness stung, I was too much surprised by my accomplishment myself to answer him.

A cry from behind me drew my attention from Aidou and Kain momentarily. "Lily-chan!" Ichijou's voice was tinged in fear, but I detected a hint of anger, as well.

I watched him approach us; his run slowing down to a fast-walk the closer he came to us. He finally stopped beside me, and I suddenly remembered that I was still kneeling on the ground where I'd fallen after defeating the vampire. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable, but I still couldn't bring myself to stand. I was certain that I would only collapse once more.

Ichijou sighed in relief a moment, then thanked Aidou and Kain, "If you hadn't been here… I turned my back for one moment, and she took off…" He looked down at me, and I noticed his eyes had lost their friendly glisten, but that he appeared much more concerned than angry.

"Lily-chan, don't you ever do that again! I was so worried!" Ichijou exclaimed. He knelt down beside me, and asked, "Are you hurt? Were you…" His eyes seemed to be searching for a bite mark.

I shook my head quickly.

"What were you thinking running off like that?" Ichijou asked. "You should have known better than to think you could handle something like that on your own."

"As it happens, Vice-president," Kain spoke up. "She did. We arrived only a few seconds before she'd destroyed the level E."

Ichijou was speechless for a moment. "But how did she manage that? She's had no training in killing vampires… I don't even think she knows what a level E vampire is," he said after a moment. He looked at me thoughtfully for another moment, then offered me his hand. "We should go back to Cross Academy," he told me.

I picked Coimirceoir up once more, returned it to its normal size, and placed it back into my bag before taking Ichijou's hand. He pulled me to my feet easily, and I was relieved when my legs managed to hold me upright.

The four of us walked back together. Although I was interested to know why that vampire had been attacking indiscriminately, I was too busy attempting to understand how I had managed to kill the vampire to consider asking.

It was as if Coimirceoir had a mind of its own… Yet, it wasn't until I had already acted defensively that Coimirceoir took over. It felt as if somebody else had been controlling Coimirceoir because I didn't understand how to use it to fight off that vampire…

"Are you certain you're okay, Lily-chan?" Ichijou asked. "You're being quiet – even for you."

I nodded, which didn't seem to alleviate Ichijou's worries at all.

"She's probably shocked that she managed to kill that vampire. She looked terrified when we arrived," Kain told him.

Aidou seemed to be deep in thought, too. He looked as if he wanted to comment that he could not understand how I had managed to kill that vampire, but he kept quiet.

"I know you're wondering about that vampire, Lily-chan," Ichijou commented. "Even if you aren't asking any questions. That vampire that you killed is known as a level E. Level E vampires used to be human, and have lost all ability to reason because of their thirst for blood."

I was still fixating on Coimirceoir's abilities, but slowly I was beginning to become more concerned over the vampire that had attacked me earlier.

"Level E vampires are classified separately from other vampires. The other four categories of vampire, in order of importance, are purebloods, aristocrats, common vampires, and former humans. Former humans are normally managed by the aristocrats," Ichijou continued. He hesitated before adding, "Former humans aren't treated very well…"

"The Night Class is made up of aristocrat and pureblood vampires," Kain told me. "And the only way for a human to be turned into a vampire is for a pureblood vampire to bite them."

In my mind I visualized the different levels, and automatically came to the conclusion that the two upper-level groups must have the fewest members. "Kuran Kaname is a pureblood, isn't he?" I asked, recalling that girl's words from the first day.

None of them immediately answered. They each appeared to be taken-aback slightly by my question.

"Yes, he is," Ichijou answered, finally. "How did you know?"

"Overheard it my first night," I admitted.

Ichijou nodded, now understanding. "So that's what brought you to the headmaster's that night," he said, seeming to think. "It must have been awful seeing that he was already in the headmaster's office."

I shrugged. I hadn't thought about that nightmarish night for a while now. I was so distracted by school and guarding the Night Class' secret that I could hardly remember being afraid of the Night Class being made up of vampires.

By the time we were walking onto the school-grounds, we had gone back to walking in silence. Kain and Aidou headed back to the Moon Dorm, but Ichijou helped me carry the headmaster's groceries up to the headmaster's office.

"Thanks for helping," I told Ichijou as he set the bags down on the table in the headmaster's kitchen.

"Lily-chan," Ichijou replied, as if he hadn't heard me. He seemed to be deep in his own thoughts. "How did you kill that level E?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It's been bothering me, too. Coimirceoir seemed to take over after I extended it."

"Coimirceoir? Did you name your staff?" Ichijou asked. "Or did it name itself?"

"I'm not certain," I answered. "Does it matter?"

Ichijou didn't answer. He appeared to be deep in thought again. Finally he asked, "Did the headmaster tell you the origin of that weapon?"

"A bit," I replied. "It was given to him by a woman who turned out to be of some long-forgotten race."

"The race-above-all-races," Ichijou confirmed. "Known to most as the Fair Folk. They considered themselves gods. They believed they were born with the right to decide the fates and rules of every other race."

He was silent for a while, and I decided to ask, "Do you think that race was evil?"

Ichijou hesitated, then answered, "I'm not certain. I don't believe they were right to consider themselves gods, and I don't believe they were right to believe they had the right to determine what rules other races should follow. They were hunted to near extinction because most people considered them to be serious threats. I remember hearing stories as a child about how the Fair Folk used to wipe out entire families of vampires, but I was never certain of the stories' validity."

I was almost afraid of asking the next question that had been on my mind since this morning, but finally I forced myself to. "If my weapon was given by one of the Fair Folk, and it turned into a staff when I received it… Do you believe that I am one of the Fair Folk's descendants?"

Ichijou seemed confident of his answer this time. He tried to be courteous and not laugh, but I could tell that he found my question more amusing than troubling. "No. I can tell, Lily-chan, that you are completely human. I'm certain I would know if you were of the Fair Folk," he told me. "I just hope they aren't using you, that's all."

He patted me on the head softly before he left the headmaster's room. I felt slightly reassured by Ichijou's insistence that I was not related to the Fair Folk; although, I was still concerned over Coimirceoir's hidden abilities. However, I could not deny that Coimirceoir had been very useful today.

While I was placing the last of the groceries in their proper places, the headmaster walked in. His expression was anxious, and I already knew that he was here because of my encounter with the level E vampire.

"Are you okay, Lily-chan?" the headmaster asked. His voice was more serious than it usually was.

"Yes," I answered. "I handled it… But I certainly won't be chasing vampires who have gone berserk any-time soon."

The headmaster appeared slightly relieved. "I thought I was going to have to give you a lecture," he replied.

I shook my head. "If you don't mind, Headmaster, I think I'll be going back to my room now," I told him. "I have a headache, and I want to lie down for a while."

"All right, Lily-chan. Feel better," the headmaster replied. A glance over my shoulder revealed that he was much more interested in the fish fingers and custard that I'd bought.

Slowly I headed back to the Sun Dorm, and to my room. Once there, I lay down, and fell into a deep sleep.

Midwinter's night arrived with a fresh layer of snow on the ground. The sky above was the clearest it had been in weeks; the stars in the celestial sky were made out easily, and many townsfolk took the opportunity to locate the constellations they had not noticed before.

As if appearing out of an ancient Christmas scene was a woman dressed in a long, hooded cloak the color of a recently bloomed cornflower, and bordered in silver strands. This cloak hid all the woman's features except her waist-length blonde hair which hung in perfect loose, ribbon-like ringlets.

The woman was very calm, and her steps were slow, deliberate, and unafraid. Yet, she had all the air of a tragedy-bound heroine. After a few minutes, the woman came to a stop in front of a seemingly unparticular house. At her knock, a slightly younger Kaien Cross appeared at the door, momentarily looking over his shoulder before turning to the woman on his doorstep. When he turned back, he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Silently, the woman withdrew an item from beneath her robes, handed it to the man, then turned and walked away without a word.

Kaien Cross, mouth still open, watched the woman disappear into the distance, then studied the item in his hand. After a minute, he had the sense to step back into his house and shut his door. As soon as he had, the scene dimmed then turned to black.

Technically, this chapter is new. I wrote this chapter to replace Shawn's point-of-view. I actually really like this chapter, and I had much fun writing it! I tried to cover the origin of Lily's weapon, as well as the mysteriousness surrounding it.

Notes:
Coimirceoir: pronounciation: kum-ir-kohr: Irish Gaelic for "protector or guardian"
German translations:
Hallo, hier ist Lily Waters. Kann ich bitte mit Christopher Waters sprechen? - Hello, this is Lily Waters. May I speak to Christopher Waters, please?
Wie geht es dir? - How are you? (informal)

Apologies for my poor German... It's been a while since I lived there...

Also, I am not making up the horse training techniques, nor am I transcribing ideas I've gotten from WikiHow articles. I actually work with real wranglers and real horses. :)

Let me know of any errors in this chapter!

Many thanks to anyone reading,
Mango