A/N: I am sorry for such a delayed update.
As an apology, I give you the longest chapter so far. It's actually a two times longer than most of the other chapters. (And my personal record, just sayin'.)
Thank you for all your reviews, comments and encouragement! They are much appreciated.
Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Both sides of justice
Damn it. Zero cursed as he knocked over a big flask of ink for the second time that day. This time however, he actually managed to catch it, before it could destroy any of important documents. He was currently trying to sort them out to those that required the king's immediate attention from those that can be postponed for a few more days.
Don't get him wrong, Zero preferred this kind of work over serving or cleaning or other mundane task he was usually saddled with, but the hunter was finding it hard to concentrate. Thus he was constantly tipping things over or looking for something he put away only a second ago. Zero was sure the pureblood must have noticed it too, because he could almost physically feel someone's eyes on himself and sure enough when he looked up, his gaze met the king's. Zero almost expected some reprimand but luckily Kaname seemed to be too engaged in discussion to offer any at the moment.
"So what you're saying is that no one's really heard from our messengers?" The king looked up at the sudden noise, but his attention stayed fully focused on his discussion with the captain of the royal guards. "What about Rima and Shiki?"
Kain shifted on his feet, his armor jingling from the movement. He wasn't very happy to be the one delivering bad news. "There is no contact from them either." He shook his head.
"This is not a good sign. Not good at all." Kaname leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands together, thinking. His gaze met Zero's again for a brief moment. "I was hoping it won't come to this."
Zero realized he was caught staring and quickly ducked his head. He should stop eavesdropping and turn back to his own work. This wasn't his concern anyway. He was only the king's manservant or at least he pretended to be one. And his head was full enough with his own problems to be concerned about any state matters right now. The dagger hidden in his boot reminded him of the decision he has to make very soon but even after the whole day thinking about it, he still wasn't able to come to any decision yet. Zero knew he should just do what he came here for in the first place, for what he was paid for - to kill the king. He went over Yagari's plan in his head numerous times already. They weren't that crazy to actually try to attack the pureblood head on. That would be suicide. No, Zero had memorized a recipe that the older hunter taught him at their last meeting. This poison should be able to sedate even the most powerful vampire. Zero just had to wait for the right moment when the pureblood will lower his guard and slip him some. The dagger will do the rest.
The plan was clear enough, yet for some reason the ex-human started to second guess himself. It just didn't feel right. Somehow he found himself really reluctant to go with it. When Zero accepted the job any dead pureblood was good pureblood for him, but right now he couldn't help but wonder. He met Kaname personally. He got to know what kind of person he really was. Can he still kill him just like that? Because right now for Zero it didn't feel like just another mission, no, it felt much closer to murder; betrayal of pureblood's trust. Wouldn't it make Zero just as bad as Shizuka then?
"Zero? ... Zero!" Someone was calling his name.
"Huh," the ex-human realized that he completely spaced out. He must have been staring absent-mindedly for some time, because when he looked over to where Kaname was, he noticed that the captain of the guards already left and the pureblood was in the middle of his own paperwork.
Zero shook his head to clear it quickly from all those troubling thoughts. There was still some time to think about it, the deadline being Yuuki's wedding. At least that's what his and Yagari's orders sounded like. His 'employer' probably wanted the king killed before the princess could become the rightful queen. No doubt, their plan was to get rid of any pureblood that would be able to seize the throne in order to appoint whoever they wanted. Yes, there was still time.
He should really try to act more normal, before the pureblood suspects there's something more serious behind his unusual behavior and starts questioning him to death about it. What was the question again?
"I was asking if you happened to see the financial draft the treasurer left here yesterday. It should be somewhere around on your table. That is, if you didn't manage to destroy it already." The pureblood couldn't help but jibe. "If I didn't know better I would get you arrested for hidden sabotage."
"Uh, yeah I saw it somewhere here." Zero looked through the small column of documents until he found the right one and handed it to the pureblood. But before he could retreat back into his corner the other vampire caught his arm quickly.
"Are you alright, Zero? You seem awfully contra productive today." Kaname's teasing look turned more serious as Zero continued to look restless. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, really." Zero tried to tug his hand free, but of course the pureblood wouldn't let him go so easily. Kaname raised his eyebrows, unconvinced. Well, he better come up with something. "It's just…" he tried to come up with some good excuse quickly.
Fortunately, the ex-human was saved by one of the chambermaids that walked in at that moment announcing the dinner is ready to be served if the lord wishes so. Unfortunately, Kaname still didn't let go of his hand, not even caring if it might cause some weird rumors. The pureblood just thanked the maid instead, eyes never leaving Zero.
"Perhaps you could join me for dinner, Zero?" It might have been worded like an offer, but from pureblood's tone it was clear he wasn't really asking. He watched the ex-human closely, almost challenging him to say no.
"Uhm, I'm not really hungry." Naturally, Zero would be the one to take him up on the challenge, making Kaname smile. The ex-human was itching to be left alone to continue with his brooding. But of course, the king wouldn't let him go that easily.
"Oh, that's ok." Kaname didn't let it discourage him. "You don't have to eat. I'm just craving some company."
"Oh?" The ex-human raised his eyebrows. "I sincerely doubt that the king himself could ever suffer from shortage of potential dining companions." Zero pointed out ironically. He was sure that some people would be willing to sell even their own children if it would grant them the privilege to dine with the king himself.
"Ah, perhaps I expressed myself poorly. Let me word it differently then. I don't want just some company, I want your company." Kaname said with all smugness, watching ex-human's face closely.
Zero rolled his eyes, willing himself not to blush. Really, if the fact that his hand was still being held by the pureblood wasn't enough, this kind of talk would definitely cause some gossip. And Zero really didn't need any unnecessary attention at the moment. He looked over to the maid who was now fidgeting uncomfortably. Great.
But contrary to what the ex-human thought, the poor girl was nervous because of a completely different matter. "Forgive me your majesty, lady Ruka told me to remind you, that you promised to dine together today." She bowed deeply, apologizing in advance that she even dared to suggest anything to the king himself. But if she didn't follow her mistress' order she was quite afraid that the pureblood's wrath would be the least of her worries. Lady Ruka could be downright ruthless if it involved any obstacles that could jeopardize the opportunity to spend time with Kaname Kuran.
Kaname let go of the ex-human's hand, contemplating for a while what the girl said. He had to admit he completely forgot about their little date. He was quite busy, the day Ruka invited him, and he nodded, only half listening. But a promise to the lady is the one that should be kept, he decided.
"All right then." He glanced at the ex-human who seemed ready to use this to his advantage. But Kaname wasn't about to let him escape that easily. So before Zero even got the chance to voice out 'See, no need for me being there then' the pureblood announced:
"Well then, as they say, the more the merrier."
"NO, what are you doing! Do you want to tear all my hairs out?" Ruka scolded the maid, tearing the hairbrush from her hands. Seriously, that girl was useless, where was her main attendant when she needed her? "You're useless. Get out!"
"And call Risa,"she shouted behind the girl's retreating back. Ruka quickly checked the damage in the mirror, trying to style her long wavy hair herself. Today, she needed to look perfect, but it seemed as if fate itself was against her. First her favorite dress was missing two bows and needed to be repaired quickly. And now Risa, her main maid, was nowhere to be found. How was she supposed to look perfect under these circumstances?
"You know if you keep making them cry like that, you'll have no chambermaids left," a voice came from behind her. Ruka sighed. Of course, then there was that little annoyance.
"Hanabusa, what are you doing here in my room again?" She glanced over her shoulder to where the other vampire sat sprawled on the sofa with a large tome in his lap.
"Borrowing one of your books, my sweet cousin," Aido replied absentmindedly, his eyes never leaving the page in front of him. "I'm ashamed to admit this, but you have much better collection of law books than I do." The young vampire said somehow grudgingly.
While he might be the genius of science, he knew that as far as a social studies were concerned, Ruka was far better than him. Not that he would ever voice it out aloud, but it made him wonder sometimes, why she refused her parents' offer to send her to study. Then again, maybe she did find a life in a castle more exciting than secluded one in school for noble ladies.
"Well then borrow it and go and stop bothering me. I don't have time for you right now." She dismissed the other vampire quickly, turning back to the mirror. She loved her cousin, but if he came just to discuss some philosophical problem again, she will throw him out of the room without mercy.
"I love you too, cousin." Aido didn't let her unpleasant attitude get to him. He knew that when Ruka got into one of her moods the best way was to wait it out and try not to provoke her unnecessarily, but something in her tone made him look up. "And what makes you so busy?"
"Nothing less than a dinner with our majesty the king," Ruka announced grandly. She stopped powdering her nose for a minute to watch more closely the other's expression in the mirror. She knew that Aido adored the pureblood almost as much as she did and part of her wanted to make him feel envious. "Just the two of us," she added.
"Wha?" As predicted, the other vampire straightened immediately, making the thick book fall from his lap. He was about to say something when he noticed her triumphant expression. "Hmph." There is no way he will give her the satisfaction of witnessing his jealous reaction. He crossed his arms defensively.
"I see, you'd like to try your chances, but isn't Kaname-sama officially still in mourning period?" Aido mused.
"Anyway, I think you should hurry up before that ex-human steals him from you." He wanted to pay her back but that might have been a mistake for Ruka was on him in a second.
"What do you mean! Do you know something!" She suddenly grabbed his shoulders to make him look right at her and to prevent any possible attempts for escape. Her hand was itching to clutch his collar and shake him hard for a good measure. But that would be very unladylike from her. She was no longer a child; she has to watch her manners.
The young noble squrimed. It seemed he stirred up a hornet's nest. "Nothing really, just some silly rumors, you know how maids can be." He learned long ago not to trust whatever servants whispered behind their backs. Sure, it could prove to be quite a good source of information sometimes, but mostly it was just a pile of twisted half-truths and false accusations nothing more. "They say that the king Kaname spends a lot of time with him and acts unusually relaxed in his presence. It's clear he quite favors him… But I'm sure it's nothing, really." If it wasn't, Aido himself would have quite a problem with that filthy peasant.
"Of course it's nothing. Kaname-sama would never lower himself like that." Ruka assured more for her own benefit than her cousin's.
Aido found himself free again. He pretended to clean the dust of his clothes before picking up the fallen tome. "Geez, you should really check your temper, cousin."
Ruka ignored him and returned back to her vanity table, where she resumed powdering her nose. A picture of perfect calmness. But inwardly, her head was spinning with a million thoughts. That silver haired low blood. She knew he was trouble the moment she first saw him, but whatever it was she won't allow it.
Zero draped his cape more tightly to protect himself from the cold wind. He frowned remembering the events of the last hour. The dinner was nothing short of disaster. Well, for Zero at least. The hunter realized what a mistake was trying to excuse himself by telling the pureblood that he wasn't hungry. The truth was Zero was hungry. He was so busy thinking about everything that he even forgot to eat his lunch that day. But there was no way he would have gone back on his words. And he was sure Kaname was aware of that little fact anyway. The other vampire was throwing amused looks in Zero's direction during the whole dinner, waiting for him to admit it while, Zero quietly willed his stomach not to growl loudly. No doubt, it was the ex-human's punishment for trying to be so evasive. But the hunter wasn't about to give him that satisfaction. So he just sat in the corner quietly, trying to be ignored, which wasn't very easy as Kaname tried to drag him into the conversation whenever it was possible.
It also didn't help that lady Ruka was sending him almost deadly glares the whole time. Well, whenever she wasn't busy swatting her long eyelashes at the king. It was obvious she thought of Zero as an intruder in her little private rendezvous with her dream prince err, king. Her glare turned almost deathly as it became obvious that the king was more interested in conversing with his ex-human servant than her.
But Zero had to admit one thing. Kaname was a real gentleman, when he wanted to be, even kissing lady Ruka's hand when they met. It was quite a contrast from when he was alone with Zero, constantly teasing the ex-human. Or even greater contrast from Zero's first days in the castle, when he was surrounded by pureblood's dangerous aura as he interrogated the ex-human on their first meeting.
When Zero watched Kaname acting all charming and gentleman-like he could understand why every noble lady in vicinity dreamed of becoming his queen. Even peasant girls down in the town got all glazy eyed whenever they started talking about king Kaname and how nice it would be to see him in person even for a second.
As the dinner neared its end and after Kaname went off to escort lady Ruka to her quarters, Zero was more than glad to finally be able to head back to his own room. But a servant stopped him on his way. The boy handed him small note, bowed and disappeared quickly.
'Meet me at northern gardens. Wear something casual.'
That's about all that was written in it. No signature. Even if there was one, this method of sending messages was quite secure enough as most of the serving staff couldn't write or read anyway. At first Zero was really tempted to just ignore the note and go to sleep. It was early hours of the morning and he had quite a long day, eh, night behind him. But in the end, the curiosity got better out of him and so here he was, hidden in the darkest corner of the garden, shivering from cold, because it was still too early for the sun to even raise up.
The sudden rustling of the leaves made Zero turn quickly, expecting to meet the mysterious sender. He was left staring at bright eyes of small feline animal. The cat stared back at him with equally surprised expression. After a while, she must have decided that Zero posed no threat to her as she ran up to him happily, sniffing him before she started rubbing against his leg.
"Hey little one, you scared me there for a second." Zero chuckled silently, as he stroked the feline's head. The cat purred loudly in response.
"I see that you're making friends already." The familiar voice sounded from somewhere behind him. The hunter recognized him in an instant. He should have known. Who else would have written him that note? Zero returned to petting his little friend planning to ignore the newcomer, but the cat had a different idea. She hissed loudly in warning before running away. The ex-human sighed, turning resignedly.
"Oh, it's you." He greeted the pureblood coldly. He was still peeved about that little torture during dinner. This note better not be just another way to tease the ex-human, because he sure as hell was in no mood for this. "What was so important that we couldn't do-" but the ex-human never got to finish, because the moment he finally got a good look at the other vampire he suddenly forgot what he was saying and he had to make a double take on the pureblood's appearance. "Why are you dressed like that?"
"What? Not good? I tried to disguise myself for our trip to city. Is it working? " Kaname asked as he noticed Zero's bewildered expression.
"No, you look good." Zero shook his head. Very good, he added to himself. Those leather trousers and tunic fitted the pureblood perfectly, not to mention that dark cape. But it also made him look strangely young. No longer stood before Zero the proud and mighty king, no, just a young boy remained. Well, to be more precise, a young noble, because even if Kaname wore the commoner clothes, he wasn't able to mask the bearing and aura of someone of higher blood quite completely. But that was okay. No one would find it suspicious. The pureblood now looked more like a son of some rich higher class townsman or nobleman. Zero always hated those types, as they acted like they owned the whole city, only because they were lucky to be born to wealthy family. Needless to say, that the ex-human got himself in strife with them quite too often. "Wait, what did you just say? What trip?" Zero remembered suddenly.
"I am tired with all that paperwork and preparations. These walls," Kaname spread his arms pointing towards the castle, "are starting to feel rather suffocating. I just thought that I could use some time outside." The pureblood explained simply. "We both could." He glanced at Zero meaningfully, implying that his endless questions about the ex-human's strange behavior might not be over yet. But not now, now they were going to have some fun. "Follow me."
Kaname led them further through the garden, towards the northern wall. They followed the wall further ahead until they got to the part where vegetation started to completely overgrow it. The pureblood searched the bushes for a while until he found the right place. Satisfied, he moved a few branches out of the way, revealing small crawlway. "Here it is," he grinned at Zero.
Zero looked at the passage suspiciously, contemplating how uncomfortable it will be to crawl through it. "Isn't this Yuuki's secret tunnel? Didn't you get it buried?"
"Not exactly. As far as everyone else is concerned it no longer exists, but I figured it could still have its uses." The pureblood shrugged. Only he and Seiren knew about it. To have an escape route that even personal royal guards didn't knew about could prove to be very useful in case of the highest emergency. The truth was it had been always there, Kaname just didn't think that Yuuki would find it so easily. Clever girl, but he wouldn't expect anything less from her. She was a Kuran after all.
"After you," Kaname bowed to the ex-human, mocking good manners as if Zero was the noble here.
Zero just raised one eyebrow, but didn't comment. They were back to teasing it seemed. He kind of missed the 'prince charming act' he witnessed earlier during dinner, but this was nice, too. He realized he might be one of a very few people who had the privilege to see this playful side of the king. It was kind of nice. Once again, it made him almost feel like they were friends.
Maria fidgeted trying to find more comfortable position. She was tired and her whole body hurt from the constant shaking of the carriage. This journey turned out to be a rather long one. If she had known it would take so long, she would've prepared better. But they didn't tell her where she was going; only that it was an order from someone very important. As soon as Maria's usually very overprotective parents heard who was asking for their little girl's presence, illness or not, they sent her packing without any further explanation whatsoever.
But it was no use complaining about it now. She sighed and resumed looking out the small window. The land was covered by thicker and thicker layer of snow and she could see the outline of high mountains on the horizon. They must be far in northern lands already. Maria had never been so far from home. Because of her sickness, her parents almost never allowed her to even leave their mansion. Maria leaned closer, her face almost touching the glass. This was kind of exciting… she wanted to see more of the foreign landscapes.
"We're almost there," a young voice reminded her she was not alone in the carriage. Maria quickly corrected her posture and risked a quick glance at the young man sitting across from her. She didn't know what to say to his announcement, so she settled for a nod. But it didn't matter, as the man wasn't even looking at her, his attention was currently focused on the book he was reading. So she used this little chance to have a better look at him. He had a beautiful silver hair. They were quite long and tied in a knot behind his head, but a few strands have escaped almost covering his silver eyes.
Unlike their coachman, this man wasn't a vampire, yet there was something vampire-like about him. Could he be a vampire hunter? Maria swallowed almost panicking. Have her parents finally decided to get rid of their useless sickly child? Was that why they refused to say where she was going? No, she shook her head, not possible. Daddy and mommy loved her and would never do something like that. She slapped herself to get rid of such silly thoughts.
Now, that finally brought the other occupant's attention on her. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow inquisitively. Maria blushed deep red. Oh, great, Maria was sure the boy must now think she was mentally ill or something.
"Uhm, I'm Maria Kurenai." She said nervously in a desperate attempt to salvage the situation. Maybe if she showed him she is able to hold a conversation, he wouldn't think of her as some crazy person, right?
"I know," was the man's only answer, before his gaze returned back to his book, completely dismissing her again.
Maria pouted but looked back outside. Maybe he was naturally antisocial or maybe, there is some trick she has to learn to be able to converse with the opposite gender. She just didn't know it yet. Thanks to her sheltered life Maria didn't know any boy outside her family and she wasn't sure how to talk to them properly. It didn't help that she found the young man quite handsome. She blushed lightly at the thought and quickly turned back to watch the landscape outside.
Suddenly, Maria noticed an outline of some castle directly above them, high up in the hills. The fog around it created a perfect cover making it impossible to notice the building any sooner. The bad visibility and the position so high on a rocky mountain made it a perfect place to build a fortress. She wondered what kind of person lived in such place. And surely, before Maria could start to wonder if that could be their destination, the carriage suddenly started to go steeply up the hill.
The way up didn't take as much time as it seemed it would and very soon the carriage passed the huge steel gates, stopping in the middle of a huge courtyard. One of the guards ran to the carriage, quickly, opening the doors for them.
The silver haired boy got off first, offering his arm to her. Maria blushed again, but took it hesitantly. She used that opportunity to look around quickly. The castle seemed very old. Some of its towers were collapsed, whether from old age or from some siege she couldn't tell, but it must have been at least a good few hundred years old. Nobody built castles from rough-cut stones like that nowadays. They were too cold for living, it was too much work to warm up even one room enough to make them bearable. And they had much better materials now, anyway. Not to mention the fact that most of the nobles preferred more esthetically pleasing places.
There was some kind of decoration over the gates. Maria squinted her eyes trying to see if she could find some insignia that would tell her whom this place belonged to. A sudden sense of dread washed over her. Those weren't crests but freshly cut heads on stakes. Her first instinct was to quickly retreat to the safety of carriage but the man's hand clutched her more tightly and not allowing her to move. Maria looked up at her capturer in panic, but the gaze she met wasn't threatening. On the contrary, it was oddly reassuring. The silver eyes promised that nothing would harm her. Maria gulped, but straightened herself up, deciding to believe him for now. She was not raised a coward, her parent's sent her here for a reason, and so she would face whatever was awaiting her inside.
Once she found herself on the courtyard she couldn't help but shiver from the cold winds. She didn't have very warm clothes. Maybe if someone warned her beforehand that she would be traveling up to the mountains so far in north, she might have at least grabbed hurriedly a warmer cape. But then again, her parents probably didn't know where exactly she was being taken either. If they knew, her mother would have made Maria wear every warmish piece of clothing she could find in the house. She quickened her pace, hoping that the inside of the castle was much warmer.
The man stopped when he noticed her trembling. He quickly took off his coat. "Here, take this it will warm you up," he handed it to her.
"No, you shouldn't," Maria tried to refuse when she noticed he had only a thin shirt underneath the thick coat, but the boy ignored her protests wrapping the coat tightly around her shoulders. "Don't worry about me I'm used to this cold. Just take it." He looked at her sternly daring her to protest again.
So Maria nodded resignedly and wrapped herself in it. The coat was still warm from his body and carried his distinctive scent. Somehow it felt comforting.
"By the way, my name is Ichiru." The man smiled for the first time, offering his arm again.
Maria couldn't help but find that smile very captivating. She took the offered arm and quickly buried her head in cape's fur to hide her blush. Maybe, she wasn't so hopeless with the opposite gender after all.
Once they entered the main gate, they found themselves in a corridor lit by torches. Even though it was quite bright, it still looked eerily. It was nothing like the comfortable mansion Maria had spent most of her life in. All those creepy statues… where those real skulls? She wished to have more time to look around, but too soon, she was ushered through big wooden door leading to big room.
Maria felt a presence on the opposite side of the room but it was so dark in here, that even her vampire eyes needed time to adjust. She moved closer slowly at first, until she saw a familiar shape of someone sitting on the throne. The throne looked oddly, like it was made from human bones. It made the woman sitting on it look like a goddess of death herself. How fitting, Maria thought as she recognized who it was.
"Shizuka-sama!" She cried out and broke into the run. Those lovely long hair and snowy white skin, she looked almost the same as Maria remembered her. She knew those rumors about Mad Cherry being dead weren't true. She just knew it.
Maria stopped herself from spontaneously hugging the pureblood, deciding it might be better idea to offer a polite curtsey instead. After all, she was in presence of former queen of the Northern kingdom herself. "My queen, it's an honour," Maria bowed deeply.
"Raise my child." Shizuka's voice echoed around the empty room. "And come closer."
The pureblood took Maria's face in her hands, observing her face intently. "My sweet child, I have a very special task for you." She whispered, hugging the girl to her chest. Gently, like a mother hugging her dearest child.
Maria suddenly felt so at peace and content, enveloped in Shizuka's warmth. As if she could easily fall asleep right here and now. She closed her eyes, missing the meaningful glance the vampire queen cast at the silver haired boy standing behind her.
Shizuka chuckled when the girl went limp in her arms. She glanced at Ichiru and smiled when she saw a sudden realization in his eyes. Even though she didn't explain him the whole plan in order not to give him a chance to slip in front of Maria, Shizuka knew he would eventually understand her. He always did. He always will.
"I can see some light already." Zero announced happily, glad that he wouldn't have to crawl on his hands and knees much longer. He glanced behind at Kaname. "It seems we're finally reaching the end."
"Finally? And here I was quite enjoying the view." The pureblood looked up at the certain part of Zero that he could see so clearly from this angle just in time to avoid a kick to the head. The ex-human growled when he realized he missed and quickened his crawling pace instead, leaving the amused pureblood behind.
It took just a few more minutes, until Zero was able to stand up, at last. He looked up to where the light was coming from. He could see a part of sky above. "Just where exactly are we?" He asked, watching Kaname crawling out of the tunnel behind him.
"It's old, dried up well." The pureblood answered distractedly. His attention focused on dusting off the mud from his clothes. "How come whenever I'm out with you, I end up covered in dirt all over?"
"Well, I have my talents." Zero smirked, before looking back up. "So, how exactly do we get out?"
"Look closer." The other vampire pointed towards the opposite wall. Some of the stones there were larger than others, protruding from the wall in a way that formed some kind of ladder.
Once they climbed out, they found themselves in a small backyard. It seemed to be no longer used judging by the piles of useless junk and broken old pottery scattered around. The buildings around were dark and quiet as well, their human occupants probably still asleep at this hour. They exited to the one of the side alleys and after a few minutes of zigzagging around, they finally reached the main road.
Zero was starting to get a pretty good idea as to where they were headed, from all the sounds and smells that came from that direction. He looked questioningly at the other vampire. "Kaname, are we, by any chance, going to the marketplace? Isn't that a bit too risky? What if someone recognizes you?"
"Yes, we're heading there. But you don't have to worry about me. I know how to mask my presence." The pureblood shrugged and to stress his point, he pulled the hood up to hide his face and lowered his aura. Even if some vampire or hunter were to ram into him now, he would have no idea he is standing in presence of pureblood.
Zero nodded somehow relieved. He was a little nervous about this whole "trip" idea, because no matter the disguise, every vampire or hunter in vicinity would not miss pureblood's aura even in their sleep. This way, the two of them looked just like another pair of lower level vampires wandering through the city.
The ex-human almost forgot how perfectly purebloods could mask their presence. He was sure, that Kaname could become completely invisible to anyone's senses if he wanted to. That's what made the purebloods such dangerous predators and every hunter's nightmare. If you can't sense your opponent, it's hard to counterattack in time. That, plus their inhuman strength and powers made them complete abominations. Zero frowned. It seemed he was constantly forgetting who he is dealing with. But to his defense, it wasn't so hard since they looked so human. Small part of him felt suddenly reassured by the weight of hidden dagger in his boot.
The hunter pulled his hood up as well, partly to hide his thoughts from his companion and partly to not risk being recognized by one of the hunters. That would be really troublesome.
"So, I don't suppose we're going to the marketplace to make some shopping?" Zero kept in step with the pureblood.
"You didn't think this little trip is just for fun, did you? No, no… this trip has its purpose. I want to see if we can find any clues about Yuuki's attacker." Kaname explained. "Someone must have known about her presence there."
Zero nodded. True, hunters were tipped off by someone too, after all. But who was behind all this? Was this the same person that hired hunters to kill the king? But it didn't make sense, why would they attack Yuuki? That way, they would have compromised the hunter's whole mission. That could only mean that there is more than one person that wanted the Kuran's dead. The ex-human looked sideways at Kaname. The pureblood sure knew how to make enemies.
"Ok, but won't someone miss their king?" Surely someone in the castle would notice if the most important person suddenly went missing.
"I told them I am resting in my chambers and I do not wish to be disturbed. They should know better than that." The pureblood answered with the confidence that can be earned only by, well, by being raised as a king himself. He was completely certain than no one would even dare to go against his orders. "The only one who knows is Seiren."
Of course, Seiren would know about it. No stone would be left unturned if she noticed that her master suddenly went missing. Zero's eyes quickly swept the area, as if expecting to see her standing on some nearby rooftop. He wouldn't put it past her.
Kaname chuckled when he noticed Zero suddenly looking around cautiously. "Don't worry I ordered her to stay in the castle. Though, it took some convincing." He shook his head at the memory. She wasn't happy about a lot of his actions lately, but he was still the one giving orders. Sometimes she could be a bit overprotective, but she was still the best guardian the ruler can hope to have, and completely loyal to him.
As they neared the marketplace, the road seemed more and more crowded. Soon they had to maneuver through the sea of people, some of them carrying a large wicker baskets, the other using mules or carriages to help them with their load. Zero noted it was more crammed than usual. Probably because with the upcoming daylight most of the vampire merchants and customers were leaving, so their places could be taken by humans. It was how most of city worked. With the coming dawn, the night-town was slowly transforming into the day-town. Zero quickly ducked his head when he glimpsed a pair of familiar faces in the corner of his eyes. Of course, this also meant that hunters were finishing their shifts.
Fortunately, these two were easy to spot, since they were dressed as city guards. The ones hiding among people would be much more difficult to notice. A lot of the vampire hunters chose to work as guards nowadays. They could merge those two jobs together and benefit from steady income instead of the one-time rewards for assignments that could be very sporadic sometimes. There were a times when Zero contemplated joining them as well, but Yagari was strictly against it. For him it was the same as selling yourself to the current system under vampires' rule. Yagari wanted revolution not compliance.
They wandered through the market for quite a while, observing people, trying to find some clues but nothing so far. The sun was already up and the air was getting warmer, too. Zero noted with a smile that Kaname was starting to pay more attention to what merchants were offering at their stalls rather than looking out for anything suspicious. Slowly at first, he gazed at various merchandize from time to time, but with growing interest. Soon, his eyes browsed through certain stalls with such a childish glint in his eyes that made Zero chuckle.
Kaname really felt almost like a small kid. As a king he usually didn't mingle with common folk. In certain ways his life could be called sheltered. It wasn't very often he could just go out to observe ordinary people in their daily lives. When he visited officially, he was always surrounded by guards and no peasant was allowed to come even close to him. This was a rare chance for him to observe people. There was a great variety of people, with great number of foreigners among them. Some people just bought what they came for and headed back home, others argued quite loudly about prices, and some just stood around and gossiped.
He had to admit that some of the things that were sold here he hadn't seen before in his life. But judging from what those merchants shouted when offering them, they must be used daily by common folk. Kaname finally decided to swallow a little of his pride and ask Zero about the most peculiar of them. The ex-human laughed but explained patiently the uses of each item.
Kaname noticed that Zero was in a much better mood than before, so he continued with his question and after a few more rounds around market, he had a pretty good idea what use had things like rolling pin, drop hammer, and spatula, among others.
"You know, you should really make a trip to royal kitchen or smithery. It could be quite educational for you." Zero quipped after he explained what the purpose of wooden hand grinder was. He felt almost pleased that for once he knew something the pureblood didn't.
"Well, maybe I will… after the cooks and blacksmiths learn basics of how to deal with delegations, how to lead an army, and other useful stuff like that." The pureblood retorted. " You know, so they can lead this country while I go bake a cake."
Zero had to laugh at that image. "Fair enough."
Suddenly, the pureblood stopped and tilted his head as if listening to something.
"What's wrong?" Zero asked, but soon enough, he heard it, too. Quickly looking around he noticed a crowd of people that started gathering not so far from them, attracted by some commotion.
"No, leave him alone! He didn't do anything. Someone help!" A child's voice cried out.
The pureblood set off immediately in its direction. Zero cursed under his breath, recognizing instantly what it was. He had seen similar scenes a numerous times before. He quickly caught up to Kaname, grabbing his arm in attempt to stop him. "Let it be. It's none of our business."
But the pureblood didn't heed his warning and only shook his hand off. So with a resigned sigh, Zero followed him. They made their way through the whole crowd of people, until they reached the front. Just as the hunter suspected, they saw a merchant and two small kids in dirty ragged clothes. The ex-human recognized them, they were the ones trying to sell him flowers the day he met Yuuki.
The smaller girl held the hem of the merchant's tunic, pleading with him for mercy. "We were just hungry, please sir. We will pay back for that bread."
She was the one they heard calling for help a minute ago. But the old man just kicked her out of the way and continued dragging the boy over to the wooden platform. The place was often used for heralds or… for punishing thieves. Zero gulped, knowing where this was going.
"Let's get out of here." The hunter tried again, but the pureblood refused to bulge, unreadable expression on his face. His aura flared warningly for a moment, too.
"What is going on here?" Kaname asked Zero quietly.
"The boy must have been caught stealing." The ex-human explained. "Guards aren't always around and sometimes merchants take justice to their own hands." He eyed the small leather whip in merchant's other hand. He thanked inwardly for small blessings. "If the boy had stolen something more valuable or was a little bit older they could have cut his arm off. But this way, he'll probably get beaten as a warning and sent home."
"But he is just a kid." No matter the excuse, hurting children was unforgivable in Kaname's eyes. He decided to do something about it and before Zero could even try to stop him, the pureblood stepped forward.
"Leave him alone!" He commanded darkly.
Well, that earned him quite a lot of attention; the crowd started murmuring loudly, as if expecting a fierce fight to break out any minute. The small girl stopped crying and looked up at Kaname with such a hopeful eyes, that Zero didn't find a heart to halt pureblood's actions anymore. Instead, he quickly scanned the area. Glad that he didn't see any guards around yet, and stepped behind the other vampire to let him know he had his back.
The merchant faltered on his way towards the platform, rounding on the pureblood. "And why would I let him go, young lad? I caught him stealing twice already but, being kind-hearted as I am, I let it go with just a warning. But my patience has run off. Someone has to teach this yokel a lesson. And since it was me who they stole from, then that's pretty much my right. So go back to your rich daddy and don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, boy, especially to the business of us hardworking folks." He finished, spatting to the ground near Kaname's boot, before turning back to continue dragging the boy forward.
But it wasn't even a few steps before the pureblood appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Kaname grabbed him and growled menacingly. His aura changed dramatically, making even some people in the crowd step back in fear.
The merchant faltered. He recognized an angry vampire when he saw one and his face lost all colour for a moment. His knees felt weak and they would have probably already given out if the pureblood didn't hold him so tightly by his tunic.
"I said to let the boy go. Do I need to repeat myself here?" Kaname said quietly, face close to his so the man can see clearly the pureblood's crimson eyes and sharp fangs.
But surprisingly, it had quite a different effect. The merchant seemed to suddenly overcome his initial shock and the fear in his eyes slowly transformed into something completely different. Something that Kaname didn't like a bit.
"You're a vampire, huh?" He drawled with a new-found bravery. "What are you going to do in front of all these people, bite me?" The old man laughed in his face. "I wanted to give that filthy little thief what he deserved, but perhaps we can make some deal, young boy." Zero's jaw nearly dropped from surprise. That man was either very brave or very stupid. Either way, he was suddenly afraid that Kaname will soon lose it and kill him.
The pureblood seethed, his hands trembling in anger. The nerve this man had. How dared he. Right now he wanted nothing else than to tear this man's head off and taste his blood. But he knew better than to get provoked by some lowly fool. He refused to fall to his level. He took a few steady breaths to calm himself, deciding that he'll try it the easy way first.
"How much do you want?" He said finally, easing his grip a little to appear less threateningly, but the truth was, he was finding it harder and harder to resist the temptation to crush this man's throat.
The merchant sighed in relief, oblivious to the pureblood's real feelings. It seemed his little stunt had worked. For a moment he was afraid that he would really be killed. But there were a lot of things playing in his favor. Most of all, it was a daytime already, meaning there were quite a lot of guards around and this boy didn't look as stupid as to actually harm him in front of all these witnesses.
The old man looked at the expensive looking clothes the young man was wearing. Perhaps he can get something more out of this situation. He nodded and released his grip on the kid.
Finally free, the child ran up to his crying sister and hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down. Both of them remained on the ground, watching how the situation will develop.
"Give me fifty silver coins, sir," the old man tried, "and I won't tell the guards you attacked a human. After all, you vampires can act all high and mighty however you want, but thanks to the current laws, you can't even look at human in a wrong way. Not when the guards are around. You can thank your useless king Kaname for that." The old man finished. He knew that Kuran was much respected ruler among most local vampires and by saying his name disrespectfully, he wanted to show this bloodsucker who had the more power in this situation. Too bad that he couldn't see the irony of that.
That seemed to be the last straw for the pureblood. "That was a big mistake, you lowlife." He growled low in his throat, his fang flashing dangerously. He tossed the old man to the ground like a rag doll, stepping on his right hand before the man had even a chance to get up and pick up his fallen whip to use it in defense. Kaname's foot squeezed painfully, nearly crushing the merchant's fingers.
The merchant cried out form pain. His attitude made a complete turnaround. "Please, sir. I am sorry. I didn't mean it." The merchant started begging. "It was just a joke, sir. Please don't hurt me, I have a family to feed." It seemed he terribly miscalculated and he was quite afraid he'll pay with his life for that.
The pureblood applied a little more pressure with his boot, until he felt a satisfying pop. The merchant wailed loudly as he felt his fingers broke, but didn't protest any further. He knew better than that now.
"Don't touch these children ever again. Or I'll come and find you." Kaname said finally. He pulled a pouch from his belt and took a few shillings, throwing them at the merchant. "That should be enough for what those children owe you."
If there was a way to do it without exposing himself, the pureblood would have ordered this man to be whipped. And in his eyes that would still be a very light punishment. With a last disgusted look in merchant's direction he turned away, walking over to the kids. Looking at their drity ragged clothes and skinny faces, he decided to hand the rest of the pouch to them.
They looked up at him in fear first. Not sure if they should trust a vampire. But when they saw how many coins were inside, they took it hastily, without hesitation. In their whole life they hadn't seen so much money together. Both children thanked him almost in tears for such generosity. The younger girl fished out a red rosebud somewhere from her pocket, handing it to the pureblood before she quickly ran after her brother. Both children soon disappeared in the crowd.
"We should go, too. And quickly. The guards are heading this way." Zero appeared by Kaname's left side, making the pureblood turn his attention back to him. He quickly pocketed the bud and looked around, once again aware of his surroundings.
He noticed one very agitated crowd. Some of the people were leaving quite hastily, not wanting to have anything to do with this, but others, the more active ones, started calling guards for help. Kaname saw a small group of armed men making their way towards them. Deciding it's highest time to leave, the pureblood quickly followed after Zero.
With a bit of luck and big dose of use of vampire powers, they managed to slip away before those guard could even properly see them. Both vampires wandered through the city aimlessly for a while, no one saying a word. Kaname was deep in thought and Zero wasn't feeling like talking either. The ex-human didn't know what to think about the whole situation. As a hunter he wondered if he should have had put more effort to stop the pureblood, but some part of him, a big one actually, couldn't help but think that man deserved what he got.
They continued in silence. But there was one thing that actually felt like expressing itself. The hunter's stomach suddenly growled quite loudly. The pureblood glanced at him, his face lightening into smile for the first time since that incident. "Really, Zero?"
"What? I am hungry." Zero said in his defense. He almost didn't remember when was the last time he ate.
"I though you said you weren't hungry when I invited you so nicely to dinner this morning." Kaname said smugly.
"Well, now I am. And it's evening already. Aren't you hungry, too?" Zero watched as the pureblood thought about it for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "Well, then I might know a place or two where we can eat." The ex-human stood up, heading back to the center of the city.
Kaname followed him, his eyes wandering to Zero's neck for a moment. The truth was, after all that happened he felt a completely different kind of hunger.
But normal food sounded good, too. For now.