Spoliers for Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty TV.
Via Vincio: The Braided Way
By Gabihime ( gabihime at gmail dot com )
5 - Epistles
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Once upon a time there was a goose-girl who was born a princess but denied her birthright by her maid and traveling companion. She has already been denied twice. When the clock strikes twelve she will lose her enchantments and turn into a goose-girl.
After having dismounted her fine horse twice already to sate the burning thirst that pushed her nearly past reason, the princess again found herself victim to this terrible feeling. When she asked her maid to fetch her a drink one last time, the maid refused haughtily, and struck the goose-girl-princess with a little switch of wood she had been using as a riding crop.
"I won't fetch and carry for someone common like you. Get it yourself."
The princess dismounted and again searched for drink in the dark, black woods. She found something satisfying at last and drank her fill with an almost greedy passion.
"If your mother could but see you," cried the drops of blood, "Her heart would break in two!"
The goose-girl did not know what to think of the drops of blood. She had only done what she needed to do to continue living.
When she found her way back to her maid she found that the maid had dismounted from her old horse and mounted the princess's fine horse.
"Get on my old nag," commanded the maid, who had become a princess, "She suits you well enough."
And so the princess found that she had become a goose-girl.
-
The morning-evening after the snow sculpture tour, Zero's blustery hurricane-force confession, and Kaname's gentle bathtub ministrations, Yuki found that she did not want to get out of bed until long after the sun had set and the moon had risen to prominence. Kaname appeared to be delighted to indulge her whims, so he sent down the commandment that this day should be a day of rest and ordered room service for them. Yuki opened the shutters on the windows so that the evening starlight filtered in. As the night drew on she lay on the bed in her pajamas eating egg salad sandwiches and reading letters until she finished with all of them, and then watched Chinese television until she exhausted herself and fell asleep again with dawn pinkening the horizon. Kaname alternated reading from some dusty and important looking volume of literature and watching television with Yuki. He found it to be a very enlightening and peaceful experience.
-
The first of Yuki's letter came in a pale yellow envelope and bore her name in a familiar and ornate scrawl. It was written on lined stationary with flowers and butterflies around the border and smelled of peonies. The headmaster's script was delicate and spidery, and a little smudged in places, as if he had cried over his letter while writing it, which did not really surprise her.
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My dearest daughter Yuuu~ki,
I hope this letter finds you well, with your eyes wide and bright as you spend your time rushing from one thing to another, anxious to see all the things in the world before they change, and become new things. One thing that I always regretted as I watched you grow was that I could not show you all the things a little girl should see, like rainbows shimmering in the mist of waterfalls, or the fields of snowdrops, when they begin to bloom in the spring. I wanted for us to sit in the warm, summer grass for always, while I taught you how to weave flower garlands and daisy chains. But time is always creeping past us, whether we take notice of the minutes or not, and before I knew it you were no longer a girl who could be contented only by making flower garlands and daisy chains with your father, because you had grown into a young woman who wished to make flower garlands and daisy chains for all the people that you met. I wanted to keep the terrible outside away from you forever, if I could, but no individual person has the right to take choice away from any other person, no matter how much they love that person, and no matter how much they want to protect them. From the beginning, I knew that one day Yuki would want to wake up into herself, and then I would have to do the best I could to protect the person she had become.
She had become a daughter who was brave and courageous, who was always putting herself heedlessly into danger to protect others. Some people would call that idiotic and weak-minded, a result of poor judgment, but I have always loved my idiotic daughter, even when she brought home failing test scores year after year. Honestly, now that you have more free time you should devote at least some of it to studying. I know you are good at many things, but Calculus is also important. Just think what will happen if all the vampires in the world start thinking of you as 'Kuran-princess, beautiful and kind and lovely, but sort of a moron.' I don't want Yuki to change from her wonderful, lovable self, but it would probably be good if you understood about oblique angles.
But even if you aren't any good at maths (or science, or history, or literature) you are still an amazing person. You are very kind, Yuki, and the riches of kindness and love are the greatest treasures, and assets, that any person could wish for, no matter how long their life might be. Always remember your charity and good will, and don't ever be afraid to come between others who are fighting. Often we fight because we do not understand one another, not because we are incapable of understanding, but because understanding is difficult and scary, and because it is easier to fear. I believe that when we truly understand and respect one another, we lose the fear that makes us seek to hurt one another. Try to educate others on this important truth, Yuki, because even if your marks were never very good, you will make a fine teacher of the things that are most important to us as human beings.
Vampires are vampires, but they are also human beings. Peace and love are things we teach by example. Sometimes teaching others is very difficult, but I have faith in you Yuki. You have the will to do anything.
Try to keep your temper mostly, but don't be afraid to let it loose sometimes. To always bottle your emotions will make you sick and tired and old, even if you continue to look the same as always. When you do get angry, forgive and seek forgiveness as soon as it is within your power, and remember that people often hurt themselves as much as they hurt one another. Never let the sun go down on your anger. Turn your hurt into love whenever you can. The one comes in handy much more than the other in a difficult world. Always be willing to forgive yourself of the things that you do. Regret is never anything but a stone around your neck. Never dwell on mistakes that have caused pain, but instead seek to change the world, and yourself, so such mistakes are not repeated.
Remember that you are human and that you have faults, but that these faults make you wonderful. It is the differences that we all have that give us the capacity to love one another. Never bury your heart in the soil, Yuki. You are a beautiful person. Love with an open heart. This will open more doors to you than anything else ever will. Love others. Love yourself.
It is never wrong to love someone. Never regret it. You are you, and I am very proud to be your father. I know in my heart that Juri-san and Haruka-san are proud of you too.
Please try to take care of Zero. He has never been happy away from you. I hope the two of you will be able to work out your differences and both find happiness. I love you both very much. Also, please take care of Kaname-kun. I am afraid he cuts himself off from the world. As you discover all the ways in which the world is beautiful, try and kindle this light in his heart. There are many things worth caring about in this world. I know you will show them to him, one at a time. I have faith that you can be happy, Yuki. Don't ever be afraid of your happiness. The joys of living are often very simple.
Speaking of Zero, he has one of papa's credit cards, so please try and make sure he doesn't spend too too much money, or your family will become poor and destitute. Make him practice restraint, Yuki. Don't let him buy anything too expensive and make sure he's keeping all his receipts! Papa has to collect all of those for book-keeping purposes.
Please try and think of your father sometimes, Yuki. You're always in my heart, and although time and distance may part us for now, I know that our family will be together again in the future. When you think of it, write a letter and send it home, because I want to know in your own words how you are feeling. Ask Kaname-kun to post it for you, as he will double-blind it so you can travel without fear of being tracked by anyone who may bear you ill intent.
I have enclosed some seeds from our garden. When you find a place to settle for a while, plant them and see what grows. It's always love that grows, when you plant a garden.
Please take care of yourself, and remember that I will always remain your loving father,
Kaien Cross
XOXOXXOOXXXOOO
P.S. Everything is going fine-fine! with the rebuilding of the academy, so don't worry about it. Everything will be back to normal before you know it!
XOXOXOXOXOXXXXOOOXXO
KC.
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The second letter came in a blue envelope that was marked with her name in round block print. There was a small bunny in the bottom corner of each page, and Yori's handwriting was both friendly and familiar.
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Dear Yuki,
It's already been nearly three months since we said goodbye and you left Cross Academy. I know in my heart that you're doing well wherever you are, but I can't help but miss you now that you're away. I keep our room tidy and clean, in case you come back, but I understand that our paths may have divided for a while. I go see the headmaster nearly every day after classes have finished. He's doing well, Yuki, so try not to worry about him. I know he misses you very much, but he seems very positive about everything, even when things aren't going smoothly.
Some of the students have withdrawn and gone home during the efforts to rebuild the buildings that were damaged or destroyed, but enough of us have stayed that the headmaster has said that he definitely won't have to close the school. There are a lot of people helping out at school now, people from the Hunter's Association, and even some people from vampire families. We've started having a class once a week to educate us on the history of humans and vampires. Your father has been teaching it. I guess he figured that with all the things that we saw and felt, it was better to tell us the truth than to tell us nothing. Then we'd have just believed whatever rumors and gossip that we heard. The headmaster always talks about a peace that we can build ourselves, between vampires and humans. Sometimes living at the academy, even during the terrible parts, it's hard to believe that humans and vampires were ever at war or that war might begin again. I look over and just see my schoolmates, not monsters. Vampires can be scary, but people can be scary too. I don't think all vampires are the same any more than all people are the same.
Maybe that's the most important reason the headmaster started Cross Academy. Even though I was always afraid of vampires and distrusted the Night Class, when you told me about finding out about your past, I knew I could never be afraid of you. Yuki is my best friend and will always be my best friend. You aren't some strange monster. You're Yuki. So I can't ever listen when anyone talks about "those vampires" and "what they do" anymore. I wish people would realize what they're saying. It makes me so angry to hear people talk like that. Headmaster Cross says that it never helps anything to get angry at those people, and that what we have to do is try and teach them that they're wrong, not just tell them that they're wrong.
I guess in some ways I understand. I wasn't always charitable about the things that I didn't understand. When everything was happening, all I wanted to do was help you, because I could tell you were hurting, and sometimes hurting badly, but I could never think of any way to make it any better. It was hard seeing you suffer and not understanding what was wrong. I want to apologize to you for being so insensitive. I should have understood your pain and worry sooner, and without you having to tell me. I want you to know that I care about you very much, and I just wish I had been able to help you more than I did. I guess sometimes even when we want to help badly, there's nothing we can do as individuals. Since I can't be there with you now and help you with your problems, I'm going to try and do my part here, in place of you. And I'm going to make wishes every night so that I can put my heart into making sure you're doing well. I'll do my best with the power of positive thinking.
Zero has been pretty distant in the time since you've been gone. He was never very friendly to anyone but you, but he's kept to himself more than usual, especially since he isn't a prefect anymore. That's why I was really surprised when he met me one day after class and told me he was leaving school to go and meet you. He asked if I had anything I wanted to send to you, which I thought was really nice of him. I guess even though he seems to be cold and scary, he may be a thoughtful person. Of course, that might also be because it was about Yuki. He is always different when it comes to Yuki. I hope you can help him like you always do. Sometimes I have to wonder how grounded in the real world he is. He seems to never think to do a lot of the things people do, like smile, or be happy, or want to eat ice cream. Maybe you can work on him a little so he stops thinking that vampires are the only things in the world. Well, Vampires and Yuki. I think he probably would have been expelled from a normal school already. I guess that's why he was a student here.
I know you left with Kuran-san and the others, and I hope they've been being nice to you. I mean, I imagine Kuran-san is being nice to you because he was always being nice to you, and I guess Hanabusa-san is... I'm not sure what word to use to describe him. Sparkling? I suppose sparkling is nice, except when you're trying to do anything but pay attention to Hanabusa-san, when it would get distracting and maybe even annoying. He was always like that in public. Is he like that all the time? I would think it would make you tired if you were sparkling all the time. Akatsuki-san seems very serious and dependable, so that's probably better than sparkling. I hope Souen-san is being kind to you. I always thought she was a little scary. She seems like one of those women who might be in a horror movie, the kind who creep slowly toward you, with their eyes rolled up in their head. You know what I'm talking about? I know she's probably really nice in private, but that's always how I picture her. Creeping up after you,
-
At this point Yuki stopped reading the letter because her heart had chilled and the air in the room seemed noticeably cooler. The sounds of the city seemed incredibly distant, and she almost choked on the silence. She trembled and took a deep breath and then slowly turned around and was horrified to discover --
absolutely nothing. Kaname glanced up at her, and seeing her breathe a noticeable sigh of relief smiled, and feeling reassured by his smile, she turned her attention back to Yori's letter.
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but that's probably silly. She's a vampire, so why would she have to be like that anyway? If she wanted to get you, I bet she'd get you in a different way. Maybe with poison. Make sure you take special care of yourself, Yuki. I don't want anything to happen to you. Maybe if Zero is with you get him to taste your food before you eat it. I don't think anything can hurt Zero. Not even poison. Even the kind of poison a vampire might use.
I was just thinking about it because we're reading about l'affaire des poisons in history. Don't let me make you nervous, Yuki. I just worry about you. Remember what we learned in phys. ed. self-defense class: always be aware of your surroundings.
Anyway, I want you to know that I really love you and am always thinking of you. Don't worry about things here, because I'll take care of them, so that when you're ready to come back home, everything will be ready for you. I know you will come back home someday, Yuki, and I know in my heart that we'll meet again. Do the best you can for yourself until then, and don't be afraid to be selfish sometimes. I don't think you're as selfish as you should be. Sometimes you can't just spend your time thinking of everyone else and making everyone else happy. Sometimes you have to think about making yourself happy.
Be happy where you are, Yuki. I'll be happy here.
That way we'll both be happy together.
Your friend for always,
Sayori
-
The third envelope was cream-colored and crisp, as if it had been starched. Yuki did not immediately recognize the handwriting on the face of the envelope and had to open it and scan to the bottom to confirm the sender. The letter was relatively brief.
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Cross-san,
When Wakaba-san told me she was writing a letter to you, I knew that I had to send one as well. From everyone in the Day Class I would like to extend deepest gratitude and most sincere thanks for all the work you did to protect us when you were acting as a prefect. We didn't know what great risks you were always taking to keep us safe, and we never appreciated the trouble we gave you as individuals, and as a group.
I would like to extend my personal thanks to you too. You were never anything but kind to me, and you helped make my job as dorm president more pleasant and more manageable than it would have been otherwise, even though, as I recall, you were always breaking plenty of rules yourself.
Please also extend our thanks to the members of the Night Class who protected us during those most dangerous moments. They have mostly departed from the school now, so I must count on you to pass along our thanks and our good will.
You are a kind person, Yuki Cross. I wish you good luck in your future endeavors, and hope that some day you may consider continuing your education.
With respect and sincere thanks,
Ayako Fujimori
Corona Dorm President
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The final envelope she had to open was lavender and smelled of perfume made from violets. The handwriting on this envelope was very delicate, and although she did not recognize it, process of elimination told her whose letter remained.
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With humility, to her highness the Kuran-princess, Yuki-sama,
Let me be the first to congratulate you on your engagement to Kaname Kuran-sama. It's a rare and blessed occasion when two purebloods wed, a lucky event that will hopefully bring peace and happiness to all of the Night Clan.
At this moment, we could all use some peace and happiness, Yuki-sama. I'm not sure of how closely you've been following politics since you retired from Cross Academy with Kaname-sama, but the Night Clan is facing a loss of stability and unrest as a result of the actions taken by your noble fiancé and others. Immediately before the death of Rido Kuran-sama on school grounds, a decapitation strike was carried out on the Most Honored Elder Council of Vampires, the ruling body of the senate, presumably by forces loyal to your family who perceived of the Elder Council as a threat. This bloody strike deprived the Night Clan of many of its most distinguished elder statesmen, who have been guiding the destiny of the Night Clan for years, preserving peace between humans and vampires, and arbiting disputes between vampire families, so that everything may remain peaceful.
It is not my intention to pretend that the members of the Elder Council were innocents. Although my experience with the world of politics is limited, I am well aware that forces inside the Elder Council did many cruel and sometimes unjust things during their rule. I do not claim that their governance was perfect, but their rule allowed countless massacres of both humans and vampires to be averted. The Elder Council of the senate is the sovereign, ruling body of the Night Clan. We chose to form this sort of government so as to stop the tragedies of the past from repeating themselves. The senate guides the Night Clan through the consensus of many, so that many people have a voice, and that the many peacemakers are heard above the few despotic warmongers.
But now the world has been thrown into chaos again. With the brutal and unexpected execution of all but two of the members of the Most Honored Elder Council, the senate has dissolved, and the senators are too afraid to reconvene it. Everyone is living in fear. The survivors of the Elder Council, whom I believe survived because they were not present at the senate on the night of the attack, have barricaded themselves in their estates and surrounded themselves with their small, private armies. The other senators have followed suit. There is distrust and fear and tensions are running very, very high.
The senators will not reconvene the senate to discuss the murder of many of its most senior members because they are afraid of what will happen to them if they pursue the issue too closely. If they question who perpetrated this bloody act, and for what reason, they fear reprisal violence from Kaname Kuran-sama's allies. They fear their own execution as dissidents. Because the senate will not reconvene, and because everyone has run away to their home estates and surrounded themselves with all the military might they can muster, the land has fallen into small city-states at the brink of war with one another. Everyone distrusts everyone else, and suspects them of being a secret royalist. There is no justice, and the laws of the Night Clan are not being enforced, because there is no one to enforce them. No one is safe outside of their ability to defend themselves individually. The weak are being devoured by those that are stronger, some vampires have been killing others indiscriminately, and the enlightened Vampire Nation seems to have fallen back into the brutal dark ages.
I honor and respect Kaname Kuran-sama as a pureblood and a precious treasure of the Night Clan, and I recognize that he is the legitimate heir to the dynasty that ruled the Night Clan during ancient times, and I know that there are no few vampires who support the Kuran claim to the throne, and who desire another vampiric monarchy to be established. But are these reasons enough to endorse the wholesale murder of countless vampires who have toiled in service to the state, to make sure that peace was safeguarded? Kaname-sama may wish to be a king, and others may wish for him to be a king, but the way to establishing his kingship should not have been through a bloody coup. Now the peace between monarchists and parliamentarians has been broken, and I doubt that it will be easily mended, because everyone has too much fear and hatred, fear and hatred that's still building now, even as we speak.
Yuki-sama, I know you must have some influence over Kaname-sama. Please persuade him to renounce his claim to the throne and to seek to reconcile the warring fragments of our clan. If he were to do this, I believe that the senate could be reconvened and that selections for new members to fill the vacancies in the Most Honored Elder Council of Vampires could begin. It is only in this way that our peaceful future can be safeguarded. I know you believe in your father's dream of peace for everyone. We cannot forge that peace without those that forge it: the senators.
Do not let us fall further into despair and chaos, Yuki-sama. Please convince Kaname-sama to forgo his personal ambitions for the good of all the people of the Night Clan, and for all the people of the world.
Your humble servant,
Maria Kurenai
-
This last letter was very troubling to Yuki, and after she read it through twice, she soberly folded it back into its envelope and put it and the other letters away in her valise. Kaname watched her as she did so, although she could not meet his eyes.
"The letters from home have made you homesick?" he asked her seriously, and gave her a small smile.
She was startled by his immediate read of her unease, so she waved her hands at him and laughed a little awkwardly, "I'll be all right, Kaname. Don't worry. I promise." She gave him a winning smile that covered her confusion and worry and he patted the blanket next to him.
"Then come sit here, and we'll see if we can share anything that might ease your homesickness," he said.
She obediently crawled onto the bed and sat beside him, and he stroked her head as he peaceably read his book.
It was not something she could bring herself to ask him about.
-
The final letter was not one that was addressed to Yuki Cross at all, but instead was intended for her frater-fiancé (husband? when did such things become official for vampires? she didn't know). Zero had delivered it into Kaname Kuran's hands himself, when Kaname had invited himself into Zero's bedroom quite without permission to ascertain the state of his health. It had been as good a time as any, and Zero had relieved himself of his final duty to Headmaster Cross.
It was another pale yellow envelope that smelled of peonies.
To Kaname Kuran
was all it said.
-
Dear Kaname-kun,
I hope that you are enjoying your travels with Yuki, and that you both are in good health and good spirits. I miss both of you very much, and Cross Academy just isn't the same without my precious little Yuki and the serious, scary Dorm President Kuran-san. I hope you'll consider visiting home again in the future, once you are more assured of the political situation. You will always have a home here, Kaname-kun, and I want you to know that I think of you as my own son in the same way that I think of Yuki and Kiryu-kun as my precious children. You three always were the hardest to take care of. Ah~ being a father is so difficult. And yet they say that the seed that is sown on stony, thorny ground is the most rewarding to watch grow, although it needs the most tending.
Forgive me, I am being very sentimental.
In the aftermath of the battle that ended in Rido Kuran's death there have been a few new and somewhat unexpected alliances forming. As you may know the senate has dissolved and none of the senators will agree to meet in groups of more than two of three at a time, and even then they seem to go with massive personal guards. The vampire families who have made a commitment to help rebuild Cross Academy are all families with strong monarchical leanings, as you might expect. The Hunter's Association has also begun to fray and fragment, with many moderates seeking to help forge a more stable peace with the vampires involved in the academy cleanup, while conflicting extremists seek to seize control of the vacant leadership position themselves. Things that have remained the same for ages are now facing rapid and unpredictable change. We are facing a future of conflict, Kaname-san. I can only hope we have the strength and the will to protect the ones we love and come through these difficult times.
Be wary of your friends and your enemies, Kaname-kun. Everyone seems to be working according to a personal agenda these days. Guard those that would never betray you, because I suspect that as time draws on the number of people that you can depend on may become slim. Even now there are those that would use you. You have chosen a difficult path, and this is something I told you long ago. I know I cannot persuade you from it, so the most I can do is offer my counsel and my help when I think you will take it. Protect Yuki and try to tolerate Zero. You may find that you cannot afford to estrange him in the difficult times that will surely come. I believe that he is someone you can trust. He is someone that I trust.
I shouldn't have to tell you this, but please don't act rashly. Your patience is perhaps your greatest asset. Plumb its capacity. I think you will find yourself rewarded in the long run.
I hope that someday you manage to build the world you've been striving for all this time, and that once you arrive at that place that you still have the presence of mind to recognize it for what it is.
Until then, and in the times after, I wish you all the greatest happiness,
Kaien Cross
P.S. Give Yuki my looooo~ve. Be sure to send me a cable if I become a grand~pa! XOXOXXOOXO
KC.
-
After finishing the letter Kaname closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair, which rebelliously fell directly into his face again.
Be wary of your friends and your enemies.
This was a lesson he did not need to be taught.
Don't act rashly. Tolerate Zero.
Kaname looked over at Yuki who had burrowed so far under the blankets that only a slender wrist and delicate hand were showing. A warm square of morning sunlight painted her flesh rosy orange-pink.
I hope that someday you build the world you're striving for.
Yuki. Yuki Kuran. Kuran-princess. Kuran Queen.
He folded the letter and then carefully stowed it in the flat pocket of his suitcase.
-
Author's Note:
Yes, Kaname and Yuki have consummated their relationship, as of chapter four, the Walls of Eden. Yes, this story is Kaname x Zero x Yuki. Kaname x Yuki is an important part of that relationship, but this is not a story about Kaname and Yuki to the exclusion of everyone else (Zero). The story will move at its own pace, and relationships will become more established as the story goes. Also, this whole story is a fabulous high dollar road trip. They won't be going back to Cross Gakuen any time soon, because this is not a story about that. Additional characters will be showing up, but they'll show up in their own good time, so take Headmaster Cross's advice and be patient.
Thanks again for reading and for offering me encouragement!