Chapter 7: The time has come

Yuuki risked another look over the barricade of chopped wood she was currently hiding behind. She heard from Zero that he and her brother are going to have a sword fight and there was no way she would miss something like this. She told her chambermaids that she is too tired and wishes to sleep only to sneak out of her chamber the moment door closed behind them.

But was this really just a practice match? At first it looked like fun, when both Zero and Kaname tested each other slowly, carefully, in order to memorize the other one's movement patterns. But things turned out very seriously, very quickly. The fight transformed into series of blurred movements and frequent noise of clashing swords. It went on like this long enough and they both looked very tired but it seemed no one was about to give up any time soon. Surely, if someone was to see this, they would think the king was under attack.

But Yuuki wasn't about to interrupt them, because she witnessed something peculiar, the rare little smile on Kaname's face and the lively spark in his eyes. Her brother was enjoying himself like he didn't for quite a long time. It made her feel slightly at that moment she wasn't sure if it was because in all these years she wasn't able to make Kaname smile like that, or because she felt threatened that her brother was seizing her new friend. He and Yori were the only friends she felt she could trust. Her first ones in her whole life.

"Uhm…" she had to cover her mouth so no one will hear her squeak as Kaname suddenly charged nearly slitting Zero's throat with the sharp end of his sword. But the ex-human dodged skillfully, avoiding the blade by few centimeters, swirling his body around to hit pureblood's side with his elbow trying to hook one of his legs in order to bring the other vampire down. The hunter knew it was a risky move as it made him open for another pureblood's counterattack with his sword, but if he was quick enough he could make it.

But Kaname waited for the moment Zero would let his defenses down. He grabbed the ex-human's elbow using the momentum of his 'would be attack' to swing his body and pin him against the armory's wooden door, the blade held dangerously close to the ex-human's throat. Both of them stayed still for a moment breathing deeply.

"It seems I win" Kaname said finally with a self-assured grin. He assessed the boy in front of him.

"Are you sure about it?" Zero asked with a cockish grin.

In that moment Kaname noticed the cold feeling of blade pressed against his stomach. Sure, from this angle and without the momentum of the swing, the sword wouldn't kill him but it would definitely slice some of his vitals pretty badly and weaken him greatly. The pureblood smirked. The ex-human was good. Very, very good. Much better than any city guard training could ever offer. No, it was more like special royal forces kind of training. Or maybe the boy was just naturally talented fighter. Sure they didn't use any vampire powers but even without them, Kaname shouldn't have such a difficult time to defeat one ex-human. There was something strange about this boy and the pureblood knew he should trust what his instincts were telling him, but somehow he couldn't help but like this boy.

He wasn't afraid of Kaname. In spite of his low blood status Zero wasn't afraid to try to hit him while sparing, he wasn't afraid to say his opinion loud or even show hesitation about certain orders. Those qualities were rare to find and very dangerous to display at court. This rebel streak and any other sign of possible disobedience would be good enough excuse for any king to execute any low level vampire. Did that make Kaname weak? Or was he just bored and kept him close, so the boy can offer him quite a distraction with his fierce attitude?

"You're good." Kaname admitted before releasing the ex-human and stepping away. "And Yuuki, you can come out now, I know you're there."

"Hello." Yuuki stepped out with a sheepish smile, trying to smooth creases on her dress, which wasn't helping her case very much as her skirt was covered in mud all over from kneeling on her knees when she was trying to hide behind the barricade

"Look at you." Kaname stepped closer. "Is this the way princess should look like? You ruined your dress. Does lady Ruka even know you're here?"

But Kaname already knew the answer, even if Yuuki managed to not look so guiltily this time. He pinched her cheek teasingly, but with all the loving tenderness only the brother deeply caring for his sister could have. "You shouldn't do things like that. She must be worried sick right now."

Yuuki swatted at his hand defiantly. "She would be worried only because, if something were to happen to me, it would make her look bad in your eyes. And I don't want another ethics lesson. It's boring." She pouted childishly. Her dear brother still tended to treat her as a child and even though most of the time she tried to prove him she's all grown up now, she wasn't about to not use this to her advantage occasionally. Especially, if she needed his consent for something. "Do you think you can teach me sword fight instead?"

Kaname laughed. Oh, he knew this strategy quite well. "No, Yuuki. You're lady of a court now. You should learn embroidery, ethics, music or painting. Fighting isn't for a lady."

"But I'm strong I can do that." She insisted.

"I know you are." Kaname caressed the same cheek he pinched moment ago. "But you shouldn't need to. I will protect you. Always."

Yuuki looked at her feet dejectedly. They had similar disputations numerous times. But she still didn't know how to convince her brother, that she didn't want to be protected. On the contrary, she wanted to be able to protect him.

But before she could muster any kind of argument, Seiren appeared suddenly in front of them. She looked serious. Well, more serious than her usual stoic face showed and Kaname tensed.

"Forgive me, your majesty, for interrupting but there are some… urgent matters that call for your attention."

Kaname nodded. Seiren didn't want to speak in front of Yuuki, meaning it wasn't anything pleasant. "I understand. I'll go with you right away. Zero, please escort Yuuki to her chambers."

"And Yuuki, don't let anyone see you in those dirty clothes. You're princess, you should behave like one." With those last words he took off in castle's direction. His cheerful mood gone completely replaced with cold mask of the king.

Zero looked from where Kaname disappeared to where Yuuki stood looking quite down. He might regret it but… "You know, I can teach you some basics if you want."

"Really?" Yuuki's bad mood was forgotten in an instant. She looked at Zero as if he announced that Christmas Eve is tomorrow.

"Yes, but first you really should change those clothes, to something more practical." He looked at her. Even if it weren't covered in mud, dress is a very poor choice of clothing for practicing a sword fight.

"No problem" She grinned and before Zero could stop her she tore her skirt off. It was still quite long enough to be somehow decent, but for a lady to show so much of her legs was terribly inappropriate.

"Uh, okay then." Now Zero really hoped no one would walk on them. That would be a very hard to explain. The princess' state or more like lack of clothes and him standing there with a sword. They were well hidden here, behind the armory, but you never know when one of the guards might wander here to hide away from his duty.

Zero looked around and sighed. "Okay, take this sword. This one should be light enough." He handed her the smallest he found on the nearby weapon stand. "First I'll show you basic defensive postures."

"No, no! Don't grip it in both hands; try to hold it only with your right. This way you're more free to move." Zero instructed as he blocked easily another of her attacks. Yuuki already mastered some of the basic techniques and she was a quick learner but still had quite a long journey to become decent enough swordsman.

Zero looked at the brightening sky. They must have practiced at least for two hours. They should really go back to castle before someone notices the princess is still missing and call a search party or something.

"Ok, enough for today." He said finally, knocking the sword from Yuuki's hand for the last time. He picked it up quickly ignoring her protests. She was truly serious about this whole sword fight thing. It made her very good student, but she really shouldn't forget she had certain commitments as a princess, too.

"Allow me to escort you to your castle, my lady." Zero said mockingly as he quickly returned both their swords to weapon stand and offered his arm to her.

Yuuki laughed and punched his shoulder for this little jibe. If someone were to see her in those dirty torn clothes and disheveled hair they would mistake her for some beggar at best.

That was also the reason it took them so long to get back to the castle. They managed most of the journey without being noticed by living soul, but at last turn they almost ran into Seiren, who was standing just behind the corner, leading to royal chambers. She looked grim but not surprised at all. Zero suspected she knew all this time were they were. Maybe that's why no one came looking for Yuuki. If she knew, there was no doubt Kaname wouldn't know either.

"Your grace, allow me to escort you to your chambers." The silver haired vampiress offered, earning a few giggles form Yuuki as she recalled Zero's almost exact words from earlier. But Seiren didn't give any inclination she noticed, instead she turned to Zero. "The king is in royal offices with an important guest. Go to kitchen and bring them some refreshments. Quickly please."

As Zero neared the royal study, he stopped for a brief moment in front of the door listening. The guards threw him a few strange looks but didn't react otherwise, already used to his presence as king's manservant.

"Greetings, my lord." The first voice unmistakably Aido's.

"Ichijou. It's rare that you would grace us with your presence so soon after the last meeting." Of course, the second voice belonged to Kaname. "To whom I owe the honor to be visited by the head of the council himself?"

"Nice to see you, too. Your majesty." The stranger returned mockingly. "As your spies undoubtedly informed you already, there are some state matters that need to be addressed and cannot be staled any longer. " This third voice Zero didn't know. But it sounded so serious and mighty, the owner must be either very important or think of himself very highly to be that confident in the presence of the king himself.

Zero let himself in quietly, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. It wasn't that hard as the occupants of the room all but ignored him. He put the tray with refreshments in front of them and took a stand in the corner. Finally, he was able to have a good view of the visitor. He had short blond hair and was that an earring he had in his ear? His clothes and cane seemed quite expensive not to mention quite extravagant, too. From his demeanor it was obvious he thought himself above the king and from the frown on Kaname's face it was obvious his authority was high enough to actually get away with it.

"My king, I just wanted to make sure this scroll gets into the right hands." Ichijou took out a large scroll from inside of his coat and handed it to Kaname importantly, making sure all the important seals were clearly visible.

"What is it?" The pureblood took the document distrustfully as if the surface itself might be covered in poison. Considering the person handing it to him, he wouldn't be very surprised.

"It's a petition." The other vampire replied, prolonging the moment intentionally, enjoying every minute of this. He wanted to deliver this document himself to see the look on the king's face when he finds out.

"Petition? For what?" Kaname's frown deepened. He knew the moment he found out who his guest was that it meant nothing good. He opened it but before he could read the first sentence Ichijou started talking again, not about to be robbed of his joy from telling the pureblood the news himself.

"This petition's purpose is to make sure that the marriage between Takuma, my grandson, and princess Yuuki does happen." He replied making a short pause to let it sink in. "As you can see, all the important council members are signed under it. I told them there is no need to hurry, that princess Yuuki consented to the wedding herself, if not officially yet, but alas they were quite persistent. But of course, you must understand their concerns. If, God forbid, something were to happen to you, there would be no clear candidate to seize the throne. The kingdom would descent into chaos. Someone needs to make sure this country doesn't fall apart." There, this was the moment for which Ichijou ordered his reinsman to drive the carriage so fast he nearly wore out horses to death. He almost held his breath in anticipation of what the king's reaction would be. But he had to give it to the pureblood. Kaname showed almost none. Almost. Except his knuckles were now white from how tightly he gripped the arms of his chair and Ichijou could swear he could hear glass cracking somewhere behind him. Disappointing, but that will have to do.

Aido fidgeted uncomfortably. He was standing by king's side quietly so far, but now he had to bite his lips till they almost bleed to keep from yelling something very rude and inappropriate. As king's advisor he had to remain professional, but how dare he!

There were a few minutes of silence as Ichijou enjoyed the moment a little longer, before continuing. "Too bad your short marriage ended without any legal descendants. We wouldn't have to deal with it and burden poor Yuuki with such responsibilities." He said with faked concern and sincerity.

"Now that I did what I came for, I must excuse myself. I would love to stay and chat a little longer, but duty calls. Your majesty." The older vampire bowed as a form of saying goodbye before exiting the room with a satisfied smile on his face, not even waiting for the king to give him leave.

No one broke the silence for a few more moments. Kaname stayed emotionless and unmoving as if he had frozen completely and Aido fidgeted more and more until he couldn't hold it anymore.

"He can't mean it! It's obviously all part of Ichiou's hidden agenda, yet the council lets him do as he pleases, even supports him!" The blonde vampire burst out finally. "Your majesty, we have to do something!"

But Kaname didn't answer. He just picked up the bottle of wine from the refreshments tray, downed half of it, before standing up and going to look out of the window. Jaw tensed in silent rage.

Aido got his hint. "I will try to find some way around it, your majesty. Even if it means I have to read every goddam law book in this kingdom." He stated finally, before leaving the room.

Yes, Kaname was furious. He thought he still had some ways to make sure this wedding doesn't happen, but it seems Ichijou wasn't about to give his plans chance. This was exactly why he sent Yuuki all those years ago to live with Cross. He wanted to protect her from this. Now, if she were to marry Takuma and give birth to son, by law Kaname would have to abdicate and she will become the queen and Takuma the new king. No doubt, that was one of the reasons why Ichijou was so eager for this marriage to happen. Kaname would lose his power and Ichijou's would become the new royal lineage. And Yuuki would be their pretty little puppet.

"Damn it all to hell!" Kaname yelled out suddenly, throwing the bottle of wine across the room in anger. The glass broke and a huge red stain now decorated the golden tapestry. But the pureblood didn't even turn around to check if something of value had been wrecked. He returned to window, staying still and unmoving, obviously trying to compose himself.

After a while Zero cleared his throat, reminding the other vampire that he was still in the room. He witnessed the whole ordeal and didn't understand how Kaname can let it go without fight like that. "Forgive me for what I am about to say, but this is bullshit. You're the king, why don't you just do as you want? Screw the council and their petitions."

"Who are you to give me advice, you brat?" Kaname rounded on Zero now, eyes glowing red in silent warning. He had a sudden urge to break something or someone. He started to move slowly gracefully towards Zero, like a predator nearing his prey.

The ex-human tensed but stayed where he was. He wondered shortly if he should have given the king more time to calm down, before speaking, but the dice has been cast and he might as well continue. "You allowed me to act freely in your presence, so I did."

Well, this made Kaname stop, eyebrows rising shortly in surprise.

"Hmph… I supposed I did." He admitted quietly, eyes turning back to their dark color as he visibly composed himself. It wasn't Zreo's fault; there was no reason to vent his frustrations on him. Allowed him to act freely, huh? The pureblood remembered his earlier thoughts about Zero from when they had a sword match. A little sad smile appeared on his weary face.

"That's the problem. Sometimes I have a feeling that as the king I have hands tied more than any other persons' in this damn kingdom. There's not much I can do without the council consent."

Kaname took another bottle of wine from tray, but this time he didn't throw it anywhere pouring two glasses instead. He gulped one in an instant and handed the other to Zero, gesturing him to sit on one of nearby armchairs.

The ex-human hesitated for a moment. He wasn't supposed to drink or eat from the same source as the king, but since it was king himself who offered. Moreover, Kaname looked like he could use someone to drink with right now. He had never before tasted a wine before. Beer he knew quite well, but wine was too expensive. He doubted they even sell it in normal pubs. Zero took a wine and sipped a little. It was slightly bitter, but he could start to understand why it was such a popular drink between higher classes.

Kaname already drank nearly one whole bottle and he started to seem slightly drunk now. "That's politics for you. I guess I could always become tyrant and rule alone. Don't you think that would solve a lot of my problems?" The pureblood asked but didn't give Zero any chance to answer before continuing. It was obvious he needed someone to just listen, rather than offer advice.

"My parents created this peace, they believed in it. They established the council so all those bloodthirsty aristocrats could feel appeased that they have power. Yes, they stopped long period of civil wars, but sometimes it makes me wonder if it was a right thing to do. But I can't imagine doing it any different way. If I became the tyrant, there would be a rebellion and it could only end in two ways. Either they kill me or I kill them and all the male descendants in their families to prevent possible retribution. But what would Yuuki say to that kind of world, the one born on so much bloodshed?"

The pureblood continued with his monologue for quite a long time. Zero listened quietly, offering some opinion here and there but mostly stayed silent. By the third glass the ex-human too was becoming slightly drunk. He started to feel really comfortable sitting here in cosy armchair, listening to Kaname's voice and sound of crackling wood in fireplace. He could almost feel like falling asleep…

The pureblood looked to his right when Zero stayed too quiet for a little too long. He looked at his companion noticing he already dozed off. Kaname contemplated if he should leave him here or carry him to nearest guest room. But he didn't feel like wandering around the castle carrying an ex-human nor did he think Zero would appreciate it.

Instead, Kaname bended down and examined the sleeping face in front of him. The usual frown the ex-human had on his face was gone completely. Looking at him now, the pureblood could see some similarities with her. And those silver hair… He reached out them slightly. The feeling was the same and he found himself wondering what it would feel like to touch that cheek, to taste those lips.

The pureblood straightened quickly. Did he just….? This was unacceptable, no he definitely did not.

In his confused an half drunk state he didn't even notice a little shadow as someone stood behind the slightly opened door, seeing the whole scene before disappearing quickly.

Zero opened one eye only to close it quickly as sharp light hit him. So it was daylight still, good. At least he wasn't late for his manservant duties. When he found enough strength to use eyes for the second time, he finally looked around only to find out that he was still in the office. Someone carried him to the canapé in the corner and put a blanket over him.

Since he had time, he decided to head to his room first to clean himself up before reporting for duty.

When he finally met with the king, there was no talk about the yesterday night. He had just had been instructed about tonight's duties and that was it. Zero felt a little disappointed and wondered why. He shook his head. It wasn't like it was something special. Kaname just needed a sympathetic ear and Zero landed him one. That's all it was.

The day had been quite busy, it seemed that the whole castle started to make preparations for engagement ceremony for Yuuki. For whole night Zero practically ran from one side to the other delivering documents and messages and at the end feeling rightfully exhausted. But he wasn't going to rest yet as today was the day he was supposed to meet Yagari.

So before noon, when most of vampires were deep asleep, the ex-human sneaked out of servants' building. He took the route leading through the gardens where he hadn't such a high chance to run into the overly curious guards. As he wasn't expecting to see anyone here he nearly jumpet out of his skin as a familiar voice stopped him suddenly.

"Zero? What are you doing here?" It was Yuuki. She sat on the edge of a fountain in what appeared to be her night gown. Was she really a pureblood vampire sitting here in direct sunlight looking so comfortable?

"Uh, nothing. Just going for a stroll." The ex-human answered quickly, trying not to look too guiltily for lying to her.

"Oh, ok then. Have a nice walk."

Well, this made Zero stop. Was that it? Just okay? Normally, she would insist for Zero to join her or she would join him, but this wasn't like Yuuki at all. He knew he didn't have time, but he just couldn't leave her like this

"Yuuki are you feeling sick?"

"Huh, no. Why?" Now she looked confused, which didn't add her case much.

"Well, usually you're a little more cheerful, you know?" Against his better judgment he turned around and sat down next to the princess. "Yuuki what's wrong? You can tell me."

"It's about the wedding."

"You don't want to marry that Takuma guy?"

"Yes. No! That's not the problem. I just. I don't know…" She stopped and blushed suddenly.

Now, Zero felt really confused. "If I can help you with something just tell me."

"You?" She looked at Zero and blushed even more. "No, no… this is a very bad idea." Yuuki shook her head vehemently and started pushing Zero away from the garden quickly. "Just go for your walk Zero. This is something I need… uh, I need to think for myself."

"Okay, okay. But if you need someone to talk, you know where to find me, okay?" The ex-human said before heading away. He shrugged. Must be some women troubles. Yagari always warned him to be careful around the opposite sex whenever certain time of month came.

"Zero?" Yuuki called out after him. And he wondered if she changed her mind already.

"Will you be there, on my engagement ceremony?" The princess asked hesitantly.

"Of course, if you want me to."

Yuuki just smiled in reply and waved him goodbye.

Yagari stood under the old willow tree near road between the castle and the city, where he was supposed to meet Zero. He looked at the cloth package in his hands. Thinking. He didn't want to admit it but Kaien's words still played in his head. What if he was right? What if they were about to cause more bloodshed? He knew that with king's death, the civil war will erupt and all nobles will start to fight between themselves for power once again, but that was partly the headhunter's plan, to use all this chaos to attack, overthrow everyone so the humans could become rulers once again.

Sure, there were times when he was still young and naïve, when he could believe the same ideals as Cross. But it all changed after Shizuka. When he saw the destruction she caused, he understood there and then how dangerous these creatures can be. They were abominations that shouldn't exist. For them humans were just food, their little pawns to be played with until they got bored and decided to get rid of their toys in most horrifying ways. Zero didn't know, because he was unconscious most of the time but it wasn't just his family that died that night. The whole village has been leveled to the ground that night. Just on a whim of one pureblood woman.

"Master, are you alright?" The hunter was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice Zero's arrival.

Yagari grunted not happy to be caught unaware. He looked over the boy from head to toes before patting his head fiercely, almost smiling from relief as he confirmed with his own eyes that the boy alright, even looking better than ever.

"That should be my question, boy. How's it going?" The hunter grunted instead of greetings.

Zero smiled. It was month since they saw each other and he was really glad to see his master was alright. He might deny it however he wanted but the truth was, Yagari was like a father to him.

"I managed to get close to the king. I am now working as his ma-… err, servant. So, you can say everything went better than expected. What are our next orders?"

Yagari frowned and looked back at the package in his hand, contemplating for a moment. Was this really a mistake? He frowned.

Zero started to feel a little concerned about his master's hesitation and lack of reply. But before he could ask, Yagari's gaze steeled in determination.

"Yes." The older hunter said, handing him small cloth package.

Zero took it and opened it carefully, revealing a silver dagger. It was a beautiful, graceful weapon. Zero traced with his thumb the patterns engraved on its blade. Bloody rose. It was his father's. In old hunter families the weapons were handed down from generation to generation. For Yagari to give it to him now. It could only mean that he considered Zero a true hunter now. Zero had to admit but he nearly felt like crying, he wanted to say thank you, but the words refused to come out of his mouth.

Yagari patted his shoulder.

"It's time… to kill the king."

A/N:

Don't worry this story is nowhere near the end. A lot has yet to happen...
Once again, thank you for all your reviews they give mi strength when writer's block appears.

Let me know what you thought of the chapter/story. It will make me happy ^^/