Yuuki had originally thought that it would be impossible for her to tell how much time she spent confined in her cell worthy of a five star hotel. Given how she now slept whenever she grew tired, which could be as many as three times a day, she could not use her sleeping and waking powers to keep track of the passing days.

She had wanted to keep track of time for the sole purpose of being lucid during the human's daylight hours. That was when Sara, who despite the millennia of years to her name was very much a pampered Pureblood, would be sleeping. The moment she was struggling to function normally, weakened by the effects of the sun. Sara adhered strictly to the traditional views of a vampire, coming out at twilight and returning just before dawn.

Midday was when Yuuki would have the best chance to escape. The human girls posing as guards in the hall outside were no match for her. Only another Pureblood could be, which was why she had to plan her prison break for a time when Sara would be unable to interfere.

Sara had made what seemed to be a lost cause easier by dropping by personally during the vampire morning, the equivalent of the human world's night.

Mostly she came to tear apart Yuuki's spirit, using carefully picked words and implying that her brother must not care for her as greatly as she believed because he had not come to her rescue yet. The Kuran princess reluctantly acknowledged that the dirty tactic was working.

Yuuki had mixed feelings about Kaname's non-reaction thus far.

Her first response had been, predictably, tears, because she was hormonal and it didn't take much to set off the waterworks. The second had been hurt of the heart wrenching and gut twisting kind. She wasn't the only one in danger. Their child was too.

Yuuki had come to understand how her lover operated during their last few months at Cross Academy; watching, listening and even participating to an extent as he expertly provoked responses and guided decisions like one moved pieces on a chess board. He manipulated without seeming to, knocked over a seemingly innocent and unconnected domino and sent them toppling in every direction. His plans had plans.

So she understood how he might bid his time and lure Sara into thinking she had won, only to turn around and spring a trap on the woman. But not in this case. Not when she was pregnant. She didn't want to believe he was taking unnecessary risks with their unborn child.

Putting together those facts, Yuuki came to the conclusion that Kaname was as trapped as she was. Not in the physical sense, but that Sara had tied his hands somehow so that he could not act without retribution.

That meant it was down to her to free herself.

Yuuki was certain it could be done. Sara, whilst be a Pureblood, was the only vampire she would have to contend with. And the brunette knew how to fight vampires. She still could wield Artemis, her trusty anti-vampire scythe. She would have to relocate it first, as Sara had had one of her pets remove it from its sheathe beneath her skirt, but it would give Yuuki and edge because the other Pureblood would expect it to burn her since it was an anti-vampire weapon.

It had been five days since Sara's first visit. That was also how long it had been since she had laid eyes on Yori, which was good news for her former best friend because Yuuki wanted nothing more than to shake her by the neck for betraying her like this.

Yori consumed most of the vampire's thoughts. Yuuki simply could not understand why the one person who understood her, who never asked questions, who accepted her when Yuuki revealed herself as a vampire, who was helping her plan an opulent wedding-coronation combo, who cried when Yuuki asked her to be the godmother, would drug her, putting her baby at risk, and give her into the hands of the enemy.

Yori had undergone a dramatic change since the end of the school year. Yuuki couldn't recognize the girl who used to be her best friend, always trying to mother her and dressing her wounds, insisting that she didn't get enough sleep, or teasing her about her relationship with Kaname when she was still human. Yuuki had attributed the shift in personality and behavior to Yori learning about the vampire world hidden within her own and having to suddenly adjust to the idea of her best friend being a blood sucking creature of the night.

The brunette blinked when the door swung open, permitting two young women to scuttle in. Almost immediately the scent of the blood they carried in the hand held coolers filled the room. They never once looked at the vampire lying listlessly on her bed. Just restocked the fridge and retreated to the safety of the hallway as quickly as possible.

That was Yuuki's more definitive and accurate way of monitoring the passage of time from day to night. Her blood supply was refilled at noon on the dot. The two humans thought that the safest time to do so, when the sun was at its highest and its strongest. They always assumed that Yuuki was sleeping like their Mistress, and Yuuki let them continue to believe in that notion.

It worked to her advantage if they were unaware she could be awake during the middle of their day. It would be easy to knock them out, slip out the unlocked door, and be back in Kaname's arms before Sara even realized she was missing.

However, Yuuki was waiting to make her move. No doubt Sara had two dozen humans between her and the closest exit, and while Yuuki was strong enough to handle them, she only needed one to alert their Mistress and her plan would go up in smoke. If that happened, Yuuki wouldn't have another chance to escape. So she would bid her time until Sara became lax, convinced in her victory.

Yuuki was confident that she could wait for Sara to make the first mistake. So long as she had a steady supply of blood on hand for when her blood cravings struck, she would be fine.

Almost as if she had jinxed it, Sara informed her that her patience with her eating habits had run thin and that she wasn't going to provide human filth with the amount of fresh blood she had been giving Yuuki any longer.

Yuuki had to bit hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from saying that she need that much blood, that she wasn't wasting it as Sara believed. Unbelievable as it was, the blonde seemed not to know that Yuuki was pregnant.

And while she needed to drink a few liters of blood a day to satisfy her cravings and insure that her baby was healthy, Yuuki would willingly drink blood tablets before she revealed that weakness to Sara.

"Maybe now you'll tell me what I wish to know." Silence met her demand.

Sara's picturesque face twisted when she refused to respond, and quick as a whip she had raked her manicured nails across Yuuki's cheek.

"You don't deserve to be Queen. You're nothing more than a human Kaname took pity on!" the head of the Shirabuki family snarled. "You cannot help him like I can. You've gone and filled his head with unnatural thoughts, living peacefully alongside the human trash."

"I love him. He's my brother and I'm his sister. There is no one better for him than me," Yuuki answered quietly. "Kaname would never love you."

Sara sneered. "Love is unnecessary. It serves no purpose."

"Then I feel pity for you. A life without love is a long and lonely life." Unbidden, Yuuki felt tears build up in her eyes just thinking about the romantic moments she had shared with Kaname and how there might not be anymore.

Her love for her brother shaped her life. Even when she couldn't remember her years as a vampire and promising to one day marry Kaname and live a life like their parents, he was the center of her universe. Her heart beat every time she heard his name and it took all her control to not blush and sound like an idiot when talking to him. She cried when he had to leave her.

Yuuki couldn't imagine going through life without love, not when Kaname was never far from her.

"I'll show you the fruits of love." The brunette stared at her nonplussed. "Yori," she called, raising her voice slightly.

The summoned girl stepped around the corner of the door, short cropped hair snapping at her brisk movements, and moved to stand at her Mistress's side. "Yes, my lady?"

Yuuki's heart constricted painfully at the sight of her best friend's heart shaped face, but Yori only had eyes for Sara.

The ancient vampire curled her fingers around Yori's jaw, turning her face until she met Yuuki's gaze straight on, hazel eyes blank. "This," Sara drawled, running one long finger along the underside of the human's jaw, "is what happens when you love. You get hurt.

"Isn't that right, my darling?" she directed at the silent Yori still motionless in her embrace. "Your love for your friend shattered when she denied you your wish."

"That's right, my lady," Yori answered.

Yuuki felt lightheaded. Her best friend had been in love with her? That didn't make any sense. Why wouldn't she have said something instead of pushing Yuuki into admitting her feelings for Kaname?

"Why don't I give you a minute alone with Kuran? Would you like that, sweet Yori?"

It was a sickening display. Even if a minute alone was not what Yori wanted, Sara's tone left no room for argument. She wasn't asking what Yori wanted at all, just treating her like a doll or a child that was unable to decide for herself. Yuuki hated seeing Yori reduced to this. Even if Yori had betrayed her, the amount of control Sara had over her just wasn't right.

Long blonde hair flowing behind her, the Pureblood swiftly exit. The second the door swung shut with a snap Yori darted forward. Yuuki gaped, flummoxed, as she knelt and desperately latched onto her pale hands.

"I'm sorry, Yuuki. I know you have no right to ask this, but I need you to trust me." Yori's big, round hazel eyes gazed pleadingly up at her, conveying her sincerity. "I don't have time to explain. Take this." Something solid dropped out of the sleeve of Yori's shirt and into her palm. Yori smoothly wrapped her hands around Yuuki's and folded them over the object.

"You won't be here much longer, I promise you. I have to go now. Sara's meeting with Aidou. Take care of yourself, okay?"

And then Yori was gone, leaving Yuuki to stare at the spot she had been kneeling in a stupor. Aidou wasn't a victim? He was involved in this too? And what didn't Yori have time to explain?

The vampire unclenched her hand, revealing a small plastic medicine container. She popped the lid and tipped it over the palm of her hand. Several small white tablets spilled out. Blood tablets.

Where had Yori gotten a bottle of blood tablets and why had she given them to her?

Yuuki replaced the cap and hid the unlabeled bottle under her pillow. Puzzled as she was, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. There was no denying she would need them if Sara held true to her threat to cut back on the amount of blood she gave her.

The tablets weren't a real substitute for blood, and did not taste nearly as satisfying, and Yuuki really wasn't supposed to be drinking them, but she would do so. She had managed to choke them down when she had the Hunter's Association over for tea, so it should be easier the second time around.

But were they safe to eat, coming from Yori's hand?

Yuuki curled in on herself. How she wished Kaname was there. He would have known what to do. Her brother had all the answers.

"Onii-sama, where are you?"

Aidou Hanabusa was already present when Yori quietly slipped into Shirabuki's grand lounge where she conducted her business like a court.

Seeing the two of them before her, the lone human in the room was stunned by how similar they were in appearance, almost eerily so. Aidou's eyes were a much lighter shade of blue and his hair was a darker blond than Sara's, but other than that the two could have been mistaken for twins. Had she not known Sara was a Pureblood, she probably would have assumed the pair was brother and sister.

"You would give your loyalty to me so easily?" Sara's laugh was tinkling. The sound sent shivers down Yori's spine. "How could I trust a man like that? That is why woman are more dependable. They can be trusted to look beyond their own interests and personal gain."

Aidou dropped smoothly and elegantly to one knee, fisting his right hand over his breast. "What can I do to prove my honor?"

"Bring me Kaname's blood."

The Aristocrat unwaveringly promised to carry out her request.

"Go with him, my sweet Yori." Sara's head tilted in the direction of the retreating male. "Make sure that he does not endeavor to deceive me."

Yori bowed her head in acquiescence and slipped out into the hallway after the newest recruit to Sara's side of the war. Yori had no doubt that it was war that was brewing. "Can you truly get his blood."

"I can."