Story: AU, AH. Story is situated in 15/16th century. The long war between vampires and humans has ended. The vampires claimed their place as noble rulers with humans becoming their thralls. But not all of them are willing to accept their subordination so easily.

Pairings: KanamexZero / ZeroxKaname

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Vampire Knight.

Enjoy!

The Courtesy of the King

Chapter 1: The Game Begins

The alley was dark and dirty. Some noise and drunken singing could be heard from the tavern at the corner. 'Lucky horseshoe' was quite popular for its cheap prices and chesty waitresses and thus usually crowded. But the cloaked figure didn't go inside. Instead he continued walking to the carriage standing nearby, hidden from the lights. As the figure came closer, its door opened and he got in quietly.

"As you wish, my Lord," after a few minutes, the strange person stepped out bowing deeply and disappearing in shadows with rushed steps. Little jingling from his pocket suggested that it was not just a question of honor or loyalty that will make sure the job is done.

With a sound of whip and horse neighing the carriage left, only the noise coming from tavern remained, as if nothing ever happened.

"His Majesty the King!" the servant standing by the entrance suddenly announced, causing an abrupt silence as people stopped chatting and bowed simultaneously to pay their respects.

Kaname felt more than a little bit edgy as he entered the chamber and walked graciously to the throne. And those ceremonial clothes hugging his body tightly were certainly not helping him feeling any better. Yet they spoke volumes about the importance of today's guest. At least he didn't have to feel out of place as all the nobles in the throne room were wearing their best clothes that no doubt cost more than an average peasant earned in their whole life.

Kaname sighed as he gave a sign and the chit chattering began again. He really wasn't looking forward to this particular meeting. Sure, Ichijou was his guardian and a former regent when he was still too young to reign himself, but he knew better than to trust him. Thanks to his loving care Kaname's childhood felt like one long imprisonment.

As the boy came of age, the old aristocrat wasn't very eager to lose his position and tried many tricks. After a long political struggle young Kaname finally took his rightful place. Yet even now, Ichijou was highly regarded among many aristocrats, and was not someone you should underestimate. That's why, when a letter came a few days ago announcing his visit, Kaname didn't find a good enough excuse to refuse. You can be the king alone and yet still have your hands tied down by all kinds of politics.

Suddenly, the noise died again and Kaname looked up expecting to see the dreaded guest. But he couldn't be more far from the truth, for there stood a beautiful young girl with long brown hair, wearing an elegant golden-white dress, which made others ladies of court pale in comparison. She looked like a true angel.

"Princess Yuuki!" the herald announced and Kaname stood up abruptly, causing nobles to bow even more deeply. He offered his hand to Yuuki as she gracefully walked to him. With a delicate smile she took it and sat down on the smaller throne next to her brother's. Only then, the king sat down as well.

"You didn't have to come, Yuuki," he whispered. She was his treasure and he didn't want her to meet the old leech.

In the past, following his mother, the queen's, request, Yuuki was sent to the manor of Count Cross, where she would spend her childhood in anonymity, away from all the dangers that court life brought. Kaname knew that he shouldn't have brought her back, that he was being weak. But he really needed her by his side then. She was an angel, a lonely light in this dark place. Kaname just hoped that Yuuki would forgive him one day for bringing her back to this sinful world.

"But I wanted to be by your side, my dear brother," she replied with a smile squeezing his hand gently. She wanted to be near him, especially when he seemed so troubled by this visit.

When Yuuki returned to the court she almost didn't recognize him. They were separated shortly after their parent's murder and when she came back, there were no traces of the sweet happy boy he used to be. Instead there was this young wary aristocrat, this authoritative yet respected king. This lonely man. He thought his mask was perfect but she could see underneath it. She could see how the court life broke him. Yuuki made up her mind then, that she would stood by his side and help him bear a little of his responsibility. She too will become strong, and together they will become respected monarchs, honoring their parent memory.

"Lord Ichijou!" at last, the third announcement came. With his head held high the blond aristocrat entered the room.

"Your Majesty, My Lady." Ichijou said and gave a little bow, just enough to not look disrespectful. Kaname didn't respond only nodding warily in acknowledgement.

The old aristocrat not least put off by the lack of comity, continued without hesitation: "As you sure know, princess will soon be old enough for marriage. I know your Majesty is still in grieving, but the country is in dire need of an heir and as a former regent of this country I feel obliged to give some suggestions of possible spouses. As I believe that this matter is not only concerning princess's future but the future of the whole country as well, and should be appropriately discussed." There was a loud murmur coming from crowd, many of them appeared agreeing.

Kaname's expression became harder. His fist clenched but other than that he gave no indication how this particular subject was painful to him. He knew since his wife murdered and he was still in grieving period, that he wouldn't be marrying anyone soon. He knew that the people were getting more and more nervous. There were a lot of assassination attempts on lives of important aristocrats happening lately, and they needed the proof that Kuran ancestry won't relinquish so easily. They were calling for offspring of royal blood.

It seemed that Ichijou noticed it, too. He certainly didn't keep this particular ace up his sleeve for too long. Kaname's lips thinned. If Ichijou suggests himself as one of the possible future husbands, that moment he'll forget all his manners and tear his head off, with a royal pleasure.

Yagari put his weapon down on the table with a tired sigh. He looked around the small messy room, not really surprised that Zero was nowhere to be seen. The boy was no fun nowadays but he couldn't blame him. With his parent's murder, transformation and increasing number of messy jobs on top... Yagari couldn't even remember when he last saw him smile.

He took a small pouch from his belt and held it on his palm thinking. He was not getting younger and the jobs were getting more and more dangerous. If something happened to him, he wanted to ensure that Zero has been taken care of. He wanted for Zero to not to be worried about his future, to give him a chance to do something else besides hunting. So he tried to save as much as he could...

After a while of arguing with himself, he groaned and headed to the door. Sometime you just need to wash away your frustrations. And there is no better place in the whole town for that than Lucky horseshoe...

"One more here, honey," Yagari raised his empty mug.

A waitress came soon, to give him a refill only to be suddenly hoisted onto the hunters lap. She giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. This was no noble establishment and the waitress was quite used to the antics of some customers. Usually, she would punch the drunk and get him back in line quickly, but the hunter was a regular in this place, and her favorite customer.

As she turned her head Yagari noticed the twin marks on woman's neck - the vampire bite. The hunter growled. He would gladly shoot the bastard's head off, but sadly, the vampire didn't do anything against the law. Not until he killed somebody. That was how things worked in this screwed up excuse for a world. Vampires were the rulers, the nobility controlling everything and people had to just deal with it.

It was the result of the dark ages, the hundreds of years of fighting between humans and vampires. No one seemed to know how it began or where the vampires came from. There were no records and if they were, the bloodsuckers take good care to destroy them. The war was long and exhausting bringing the people to the brim of extinction. Not long after that humans gave up in exchange for peace and some rights.

Vampires rebuild the human society to their liking and became the rulers. Many laws were created to ensure the humans behaved. And people, after so many years of suffering, were more than willing to become their obedient little servants. At the same time, those laws gave people some kind of sense of justice, just enough to squelch possible rebelling ideas.

And that's where hunters came. The ultimate enemy became some kind of law enforcement. Their main purpose now was making sure vampires behaved according to the law. They became obedient house-dogs, it was really quite pathetic.

But not all of them were so ready to give up and many still bore thoughts of freedom. There were secret societies planning some kind of coup d'état often secretly hiring skilled hunters as assassins. If only those bloodsuckers knew what their puppies were doing when the masters weren't looking…

Suddenly, hooded man sat down across the table, jolting Yagari out of his thoughts. Speaking of the devil... The hunter patted the woman's butt and sent her back to work turning to acknowledge the newcomer. There was no doubt who was this man, even without showing his face. He meant a business, and it must have been really something as Yagari's usually stoic face showed quite a surprised expression.

Zero headed back to the small house he called home. It was in quiet part of town near fish market. Even though the constant smell of fish was killing his nose, the rent was cheap and it wasn't as if they could live wherever they wanted with their amount of earnings. Moreover, Yagari seemed to try to save as much as he could, but Zero never asked him what for.

Zero rubbed his hand to wash away the small ink sign. He didn't want Yagari to find out that he visited one of the vampire places again. He often sneaked there pretending to be an ex-human servant of one of nobles there, trying to find any clue about Shizuka. At least, he hoped that someone would recognize his face and mistake him for Ichiru thus giving him some clue. But so far no luck. It was as if they dropped off the face of the Earth alone.

The sun was rising already but Yagari was still nowhere to be seen. His weapons were on table though, so Zero assumed that he was probably in some dirty pub again, drinking his ass off again.

"Glad you show your face once in a while." A deep voice startled him suddenly, the older hunter standing at the door.

"Master, I..." Zero tried to think of something to explain his late return but Yagari waved him to be quiet.

"I've got a really interesting job offer. I think you would like to hear it."

"I can't believe it!" Kaname walked angrily to his private chambers. One bad look from him was enough to send servants to mind their own business elsewhere.

"It's not so bad ..." Yuuki followed him quickly, trying to calm him.

"Not so bad... NOT so bad? Yuuki, he wants your wedding day to be on the same day as your birthday. BIRTHDAY! It's only two months until you..." he leaned his forehead on the window panel, looking at the gardens outside and taking deep breaths. He had to calm down. He didn't want to take his anger out at Yuuki. "I refuse, even if it causes a revolt or civil war..."

"Don't brother, please! In two months I will be coming of age and that means I can decide for myself...And I most certainly won't let you do something foolish that can endanger peace in the whole country just because you think you must protect me at all costs." Yuuki wished Kaname would stop treating her like something fragile. She was old enough and capable of making her own decisions. This proposal didn't sound so bad and it would mean getting old Ichijou of their case, at least for a while. Even if that meant marrying the man she doesn't love. But she would do it, for the country... and for her brother.

"Don't you see? You are doing exactly what he wants! He knows I will never agree to something like this... he also knows that when you come of age, I have no right to veto your decision..." Kaname replied, starting to sound more miserable.

Yuuki hugged him from behind, staying like that for a minute or two quietly. "Takuma has been your best friend for so long...it couldn't be someone better, I will do it."

"He might be my friend but he is also that person's grandson. If he marries you, Ichijous will become part of the royal family, giving that old leech more power than he ever had before..."

"You know Takuma; he's a really nice man. I don't believe he would betray you… us…ever."

A sudden thought struck Kaname. He turned around so he could see Yuuki in the eyes. "Yuuki, do you perhaps love Takuma?" The young noble was very kindhearted, had good manners, he would certainly treat Yuuki with respect and love she deserves. Kaname trusted him, despite this whole grandfather issue and if Yuuki loved him, where's the problem, right? No, he still didn't like the idea.

Yuuki dropped her eyes so she could lie to him more easily. She knew that Kaname's marriage has been only for diplomatic purposes and he didn't really loved his wife. But she also knew how much he was looking forward to have a son. Yuuki wasn't at court yet, but he practically didn't write about anything else in his letters. Often describing how he would send his son after Yuuki to the countryside. How he would visit as often as he could, to come to play with him, to teach him… When the news about death of Kaname's pregnant wife reached her, she insisted on coming back to court immediately. Her brother needed someone to support him, someone to grieve with. It nearly destroyed him then, and she didn't want to see him hurting like that again. She would do this. She owned him so much. He protected her childhood by keeping her away to live in happiness and naivety. It was her turn to protect him. "Yes" she said firmly, praying it sounded convincing enough.

Kaname saw through the lie and gave a small smile, his little sister was really growing up... but he won't let her sacrifice herself like that. "Yuu-"

Yuuki put her finger on his lips, silencing him. "Let's go, brother," she took his arm and leaded him to the door. "We have a dinner to attend and it would be very rude of us to let our guests wait." She smiled innocently. She might not have a chance to win this fight yet, but at least she hoped to distract him enough to come up with better arguments later. As Kaname groaned loudly at the prospect, she knew she did a good job.

"You're not just drunk; you're COMPLETELY out of your mind!" Zero couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yagari must have lost it and he didn't notice it until now. "You want us to kill the king? That's a suicide!"

"I know it won't be easy, but with the money we will be paid, we could quit this miserable lifestyle and do whatever we want." He knew he was insane to accept this job, it could be their very last mission. They could so easily fail and die. But if they succeed, they'll get enough money, to not to struggle through everyday life anymore...they will be practically free. "And I have a plan-..."

"Maybe I don't want to quit, maybe I like things as they are!" True, sometimes Zero felt suicidal, but not THAT suicidal... he still had a few things he wanted to do.

Yagari snorted, he knew how to convince his pupil. "Zero, I know you want revenge, that you are looking for any information to find Shizuka. You think you're so clever, but I know you are still going to those dirty vampire places... but the only thing you will accomplish, is getting yourself killed. She's a pureblood, if she wants to disappear she would, and no one would be any wiser. But if there is a person who would know her whereabouts, it'll be only another pureblood... and who's better than the king himself, huh?" He knew it was a little unfair to play it like that. When Zero stayed silent, his jaw clenched as he struggled with himself, Yagari knew he won this round.

Maybe Yagari was right. It could bring him closer to his goal, and besides any dead pureblood is good pureblood, right? But he still couldn't imagine how they will pull this mission of without getting themselves killed. "And what's your brilliant plan, then?"

"Well, killing a pureblood is impossible," Yagari ignored Zero's ironical snort and continued. "Not until you gain his trust and make him lower his defenses. We'll need someone to get close to him. And it wouldn't be me or any other hunter. He wouldn't trust humans around him. But Zero, you are a vampire... and a hunter," Yagari added quickly when Zero glared at him. "If someone can do this, it will be you."

"I am ex-human vampire without master, you know what will any pureblood do with an unbound level D ..." dark look spreading across Zero's face. "No. Never! I won't become one of his thralls." Purebloods were capable of controlling minds of lower class vampires and he wasn't going to take his chances.

"Don't worry, that won't be a problem. Trust me a little." Yagari pointed at his neck. "You'll just need a little lucky charm." Zero didn't know what that was supposed to mean but he knew when it came to the hunter charms, there was only a few hunters better than Yagari. Zero sighed resignedly.

"And how am I supposed to get myself to court?" He really didn't think that he could just go and apply for a job or something.

"Well, it involves one kindhearted princess," the older man grinned mischievously. "It's time to finally put your charming looks to use, my dear boy."

Zero suddenly got the feeling that he wouldn't like it, at all.