Saxon Laurentiu's Story

Saxon lifted his forearm from his eyes and winced at the incoming light. He blinked a few times dispersing the dark spots blurring his vision. He sighed. Now that he had woken up, he was obligated to get up out of bed. He cursed his inability to fall back asleep once he woke up.

It was only when he attempted to push himself up from the comfortable cushion, that he registered the body entangling his own. 'Huh.' He thought to himself slightly amused. How had he missed that? Dispassionately, he took in the appearance of the female draped over him. Wavy, chestnut hair tickled his chin and alabaster skin contrasted sharply with his dark, tawny color. She was younger than him from the looks of it. Well, he honestly could not be sure. That was the trouble with vampires. Saxon slowly untangled their two bodies. Skillfully and gently as not to rouse the girl from her slumber. He slipped out of his bed and shivered as his feet touched the floor and his bare body was subjected to the cool air of the her bedroom. He promptly began picking up the clothes strewn over her floor. Shrugging back into his shirt and pants from the previous night. With the more feminine garments in his arms, he laid them down on the foot of her bed. Folding them and placing them in a neat pile. When he could help it, Saxon preferred to keep spaces neat. He sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped his feet into brown leather boots. Fully dressed, he leaned back on his hands and gazed at the young woman. Well, she was cute enough he would admit. Ghosting over her heart shaped face, he moved a lock of her hair from her lips. Before the thought of otherwise could even emerge in his mind, he leaned over and pressed his lips to her temple. Relishing how warm she was. 'Berries. . .' He absently noted. That was what she smelled like. He pulled away and stood once more. Pulling the blanket up higher, he tucked it around her petite body. Could not have her freeze to death after all.

Turning on the ball of his foot, he grabbed his sword from its haphazard spot on the floor and strapped it to his back. With one last glance at the girl sleeping soundly, he opened the heavy door slowly to make a silent getaway. "Crap." He muttered under his breath. What was her name? That was just like the young man. He could not remember names for the life of him. 'Celini? Ceana? . . . Crescent?' No. None of those sounded correct. Saxon ran a rough hand through his snowy hair. He could feel a sense of irritation already mounting for what was sure to come later. The girl would find him later undoubtedly. She seemed like the clingy type. She definitely looked like one of those people who bitched and whined and sulked once they realized he had forgotten their name. And he was never in the mood to deal with that drama. He released a resigned sigh. He always ended up with those types.

Only making it one foot out of the door, he ran into a smaller figure. Or maybe she ran into him. It was her face implanted in his chest after all. Saxon tensed at the contact and instinctively pushed her off of him with a grimace. She stuttered an apology and he dismissed it with a flippant wave.

The smaller auburn haired girl steeled herself before the bored eyes of the infamous Laurentiu brother. The others were right, she would find him here. Today at least. "Sir, the King has called a very important meeting. He is expecting all of the upper class to meet at once." Saxon hummed curiously and raised a slim brow. This was new, he best be on his way.

Taking smooth long strides down the hallway, he called out over his shoulder to the tiny page. "You might want to inform the girl in there as well. She seems like a heavy sleeper. Ciana I think." The page looked from him and peeked into the bedroom. 'Althea. . .' She thought with a disappointed sigh.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Waltzing into the large auditorium, the designated meeting place, he scanned the room for familiar faces and empty seats. Spotting the telltale mane of golden curls belonging to his precious sister Cordelia, Saxon made his way towards her. On his way a small frame clad in a crimson kimono caught his eye. He smiled lazily. Not bothering to stop as there was no time to talk anyway, he stretched out a hand and caught a lock of Millicent's inky strands. Letting them slip through his fingertips as he walked past her seat to his own.

He slid into the empty seat next to Cordelia. Just in time it seemed. The King strode purposefully forth and onto the stage, and the chatter of the room fell silent. Saxon bounced his leg in anticipation for the news.

---

---

Kygo had legitimately never been more bored in his life, though that may or may not have been over exaggerated considering the fact that he was starving. He hadn't eaten in what felt like days due to his being busy and not wanting to waste time. He sat in one of the upper booths that lined the theater, out of the major crowd of any commoners but at the same time, able to hear his father.

He had told his father he didn't want to be on stage with him not because it embarrassed Kygo, but because he simply didn't want to. Kygo watched those he knew enter, interested in who was there while at the same time, entirely uninterested. He watched Millicent arrive in her blood red kimono. It was somewhat similar to his own though his was a tunic instead, and the red was a deeper crimson than hers, the patterns on it gold veins as if it showed the thing that truly kept his kind alive. His pants were black and the sash that kept his tunic in place was gold like the veins.

He had been awake for hours, though the light that had awoken him to prepare for the day was artificial and caused him to miss the childish thoughts of wanting to see the sun.

Saxon entered and sat beside his sister, both Kygo's cousins. He didn't necessarily know if he loved them considering they were not his immediate family, though he did cherish them and care for them. It was love, but Kygo was too naive to recognize it due to his young life.

Kygo watched his father stride onto stage, his strength something that Kygo always wished he would one day have, but at the same time, didn't want due to the fear of being too much like his father. The horror that would be, to only be a shadow, to not be in the lime light.

Kygo leaned back in his seat, taking in the large crowd and smirking slightly at the fact that he was higher ranked than nearly all of them. Perhaps one or two not including his father were above him. It was not nearly as important as he thought it was, Kygo knew that, but he didn't care, it helped boost him in the reality that it made him feel like he had value, even if he possibly didn't do anything...

---

Gavril panted to himself as he golden gaze watched the training dummy slowly slide to the ground in a mass of clean cut pieces. He hadn't meant to destroy the dummy but he was rather worked up this morning and he needed to rip something apart. He could always stir up trouble with humans but he had made a promise not to take unnecessary risks. The humans had new weapons that could fell even an upper class vampire such as himself and he could not afford to be as careless as he had been in his ventures. He had already paid the price for that and he did not want to make a repeated mistake. Besides his sister would surely gut him if he even dared think about going after the humans without her. She had the same ire and drive to kill the humans for what they did to their father. Just thinking about it made his blood boil. That of course led to thoughts about his half brother and his father's obvious lack of fidelity. Gavril snarled, baring his fangs before he stabbed the dummy to vent out his frustrations.

The vampire turned away from the mess he caused and grabbed the towel he had brought with him to wipe off some of the sweat he had collected through his training before he turned to his sword and inspected it for any damages considering his rough handling of it throughout the morning. He grabbed his sharpening tool and smoothed out the edges to his liking before he sheathed his favorite weapon. It was a black blade that sliced just about anything like a knife through butter. Its handle was as silver as moonlight and the designs emasculate and artistic. He wasn't usually one for flashy blades so there were no gems or gaudy attachments. It was simple and beautiful like deadly art should be. Its sheath was equally obsidian with silver lining and his family's dragon blazon glistened when it caught the light. That was the flashiest thing on the sword.

Before the vampire could fathom what he'd like to do next in his day, a page hurried into the training area like a bat out of hell. He arched an eyebrow at the young vampire wondering would could possibly make the page so flustered. "His Royal Higness! The king has summoned you to an important meeting! He has called upon all the nobility to attend and is about to begin! I am sorry for getting you so late, but I could not find you!"

Gavril's eyes widened. An important meeting was about to be held and he was going to be late? He hadn't even had the chance to wash up after his practice session. His eyes narrowed on the page in the infamous Laurențiu disproving glare that could curdle one's very blood. "This should have been the first place you checked!" he growled as he hastily as he wet his towel and tried to clean off as best as he could as he rushed towards the door. He was always in the training facility so he found the page's excuse a terrible lie. He pulled on his clothing as he made his way to the meeting room. If the king had already started speaking, so help him he was going to find that page later and skewer him alive over a spit! This was unacceptable! Above all things Gavril hated being late to anything. It was either early or on time, but never late!

The vampire managed to slide into the meeting room doing his best to disguise his pant and ran his hand through his dark locks one last time in an attempt to make it look presentable and less disorganized than he felt in that moment. At least his clothing wasn't rumpled. Damn it he valued his appearance and his ability to seem ever calm. Damn page. At least the king hadn't started his speech though it seemed he had made it just in time. He rushed to his seat beside his sister and the prince, a high honor to be seated so close to both the king and the prince. He offered his sister and the prince a smile in greeting though he barely managed a nod to his brother. He even gave a nod to Millicent in acknowledgement of her presence. Unlike many of the other vampires, he did not fear her nor did he believe the silly rumors about her eyes stealing peoples souls. It was just hogwash really. Millicent was an interesting vampire to say the least however and she did have her mysteries... mysteries he wished to one day dispel.

No matter, all that was for later pondering. He turned his attention to his king and folded his hands, ever the model of an attentive and loyal duke. He owed the world to the king and saw him much as a father figure, especially after his own father's passing. He would do just about anything for the man should he be asked. He respected no man higher and was honored to be thought of so highly as to outrank all of the dukes gathered around the table and even the prince beside him. Of the vampires assembled, he also fancied himself the one closest to the king considering the man favored him. Which made his tardiness all the more unbearable. He was going to have to make sure he found that page later and deal with him personally for his mistake.

Cordelia awoke to the knocking of the door. “Come in.” She murmured sleepily as she sat up, golden locks forming a messy halo around her head. Though Cordelia wasn’t averse to waking up early, her sleeping habits were much like a child’s, going to sleep early and waking up after exactly eight hours. It was only healthy, as her mother would say.

The door was opened to reveal a page, standing at attention as he spoke. “Lady, the king has called an important meeting. He has summoned all nobility to attend.” A meeting? It sounds like something interesting was going to happen, considering that the King would not simply call upon all nobles for any trivial meeting. Perhaps it had something to do with the humans… A murderous look flashed in her eyes for a second. She would never forgive those vile humans for what they did to her father. For every bit of pain they inflicted on him, she was going to repay it ten times over. Still, she smiled at the page politely, nodding to dismiss him before pushing herself off the bed and going toward the dressing room. It wasn’t particularly early, but she didn’t feel as if she was in too much of a hurry. A lady shouldn’t be too early or too late, she should arrive right on time.

Brushing her hair, she pulled her corkscrew curls into two neat twintails, using her ribbon as a hair band. This time, she chose a flowing blue gown to go to the meeting. It was one of the rare few her mother had designed for her, considering the fact that Cordelia had a hobby in making her own clothes. It might be just her intuition, but this meeting was definitely quite serious, and she needed to make a good impression.

Even though it took some time before she decided that she looked satisfactory, Cordelia was still among the first to arrive at the meeting. The seats were rather high, it was obvious that they were meant for those looking like adults. It was another problem with vampires perhaps, but Cordelia could never look her age. She wasn’t a child by vampire standards any longer, though her body was still developing slowly. Swinging her legs under the table, she waited a little impatiently for the others to arrive. “Saxon!” She beamed at her adopted brother in delight, before her attention diverted to a figure clad in red. “It’s nice to see you here as well, Milly!” She called out, giving the Baroness a small wave. Millicent was someone her brothers knew, and though Cordelia had never spoken to her before her brothers seemed to have a good impression of her.

Prince Kyogo arrived next, and he was greeted with a bright smile as well when he took his seat. Gavril was unusually not present yet, however. Cordelia arched her neck, looking for her brother as the other nobles filed in. It was quite odd, considering how much his brother valued his pride. He was always punctual or early in all the years she knew him. He appeared soon however, and Cordelia returned his greeting, though the nod toward Saxon made her frown slightly. The atmosphere between them had been unusually cold lately, and Cordelia never understood why. If she was absolutely honest, she had her doubts toward the prince for causing the sudden distance, but she would never admit that fact. She knew that it wasn’t polite to make baseless accusations.

The King started addressing them then, causing her to snap to attention. Sitting upright in the position that had been drilled into her head, Cordelia crossed her legs underneath the table and rested her hands on her lap expectantly.

---

Atsuko woke up at seven in the morning as usual. It was when training usually started, and her body that was conditioned to expect it had not forgotten, causing her eyelids to flutter open exactly the same time as the clock next to her started beeping. Her hand reached out to tap the clock silent, and ruby red eyes stared up at the ceiling as her sleepy mind tried to pull itself together. Ah yes, training. It didn’t take her long to get dressed, Atsuko’s mind was in autopilot as she changed, drowsily brushed her teeth and got ready to do her exercises. It was a routine set, and she had never missed a day of it. Despite how it might appear, her body was tuned to the military style training.

Her morning exercises were long over when the call came for them to assemble, and Atsuko was reading a book about first aid when the announcement for assembly came. Giving the messenger a quick nod, she changed into her uniform impeccably, striding out to join the soldiers in a neat file. Her brother would be disappointed if she arrived late or just on time, a soldier always needed to prepared and punctual.

She held her red scarf closer as she stood on the tips of her toes, trying to seek out the others from a sea of unfamiliar heads. Today’s gathering must be something quite important since there was so many here, but Atsuko didn’t want to lose sight of their group. It might be a sense of security when she was around with them, even though she was positive that most of them didn’t have a good impression of her. Perhaps she just wasn’t good enough to prove her worth.

---

Gavril's eyes widened when the news hit his ears. The humans had managed to kill a pureblood? That was... he had thought it would be impossible for them to do such a thing. They hadn't had weapons strong enough to do something like this before. The humans were becoming increasingly dangerous. They needed to be put down before they truly destroyed everything that was beautiful in this world. Human ambition had always been a devastating quality and now the vampires had that cruelty aimed at them. He had once valued human innovation and vision but now he had come to realize that such blind eagerness to 'advance' would lead to destruction. The humans had destroyed themselves and yet they still couldn't see the blood that stained their hands. They were always so quick to blame others for their faults like children unwilling to take up the mantle of responsibility.

Gavril's hands tightened into fists where they rested on the table and his eyes narrowed in his anger. Finally the king had decided on a full on attack on the humans. It made his heart race in eagerness that he would get the chance to put the bastards in their place. It was very likely that the human that had killed his father and nearly killed him would be there. He'd finally be able to exact his revenge on her as well. He would show her the might of the Laurențiu line. He could already imagine his sword sliding into that wicked heart. Or maybe he would just damage her enough that she could not fight him as he plunged his fangs into her neck and drank her dry. He wanted her to suffer for what she did. He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lip before he turned his attention back to the meeting at hand. He could fantasize about what he'd do to the human later.

The duke sat back in his chair when the king departed after his announcement and reached up to rub his chin. There was a small part of him that wondered if this was a good thing. He remembered how he and his sister and gone into a blood rage and tried to take on a human settlement themselves. It very nearly cost them their lives. Was this a similar situation? Perhaps the king was close to the pureblood that had been slaughtered. Was he thinking clearly? What if this was some sort of attack? Physically attacking Shibuya would mean that they were going into the heart of human civilization and attacking its main stronghold. The humans would have the advantage in that terrain. Hopefully, this wasn't a set up and they could catch the humans by surprise. He would have to keep an close eye on the young prince and his sister... and his brother. He may have mixed feelings about his father's bastard but he didn't want him dead either. It wasn't Saxon's fault his father had strayed after all and he had grown up with the boy.

Gavril turned to his siblings then as he stood from his seat. He would have to make sure they were all well prepared. "All right, you heard the king," he announced. "We need to get ourselves prepared physically and mentally." He knew Saxon had a fascination with the humans and he didn't share the ire that he and his sister held in their hearts so that final point was more directed towards him. "We are going to war and you both need to be ready for what is to come. Stay on your toes. Stay close to the prince. That way we can protect each other if it comes down to it," he instructed. Oh and mother... she would be sad to see the three of them leaving. They needed to say proper good-byes to her.

"Once you are done getting ready, I expect each of you to give proper good-byes to Mother. We will meet at the stables and ride together. Hop to." Gavril might as well take this quick moment to clean himself up as well. He hurried out of the room and rushed through a shower before he dressed and pulled on his black brigandine beneath his attire. He proudly bore his family's emblem upon his breast and secured his sword belt on his hips. When he had everything that he needed for the fight, he hurried to his mother's side.

She was in her personal little garden reading in her favorite chair. His heart ached when he saw her. She was such a strong woman and did so much for all of them. He didn't want to bring her any sad news. He truly loved her so much. He knocked lightly on the door before he entered the room. His mother looked up and gave her eldest a smile.

"Gavril! What a pleasant surprise." She set her book down and sat up with grace to rival the elegant swans. Her smile faded when she realized he was dressed for war and held his helmet in the crook of his arm. Gavril knelt beside his mother and kissed her knuckles in fealty before he gave her a hug. "The king has decided to attack the humans then?"

[color-#8d002b]"Yes. We will be leaving shortly. We are attacking Shibuya."[/color]

"I see." The woman sighed and put a brave face on. She caressed her boy's face before she squeezed his shoulder. "Take care of your brother and sister, Gavril. You have far more experience in battle than they and will look to you for guidance."

"I will, Mother. I'll make sure they come home safely.

"There's a good lad," she smiled. "Don't forget to take care of yourself to. I want to see you walking through those gates when the party returns as well."

Gavril nodded to his mother and gave her another hug before he left the room and headed for the stables to saddle his horse and wait for his siblings.