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chapter four | mark
Tonight, there was a party in celebration of one of my fellow Night Class' birthday. In celebration if Ichijō Takuma. I had silently placed my gift on the table where the other gifts had been placed, before slipping over to the snack tables. I made sure that I kept myself at a reasonable distance from the other part attendants.
There were so many people, the entire dorm to be precise. My eyes washed over the gathering of people, not in search of anyone in particular, but simply to pass the time. Lord Kain was off to the side conversing with Lady Souen, I could see Lord Aidō speaking with some classmates and Lord Kuran was seated on a balcony.
As I looked to the far end of the gathering, I was surprised to see the two academy Guardians approaching. Has there been another incident? But that question was quickly washed away as Lord Ichijō greeted the both of them with a joyous shout; he had invited them personally.
As they were guided up to the roped off area that Lord Kuran was seated, I made my way towards the edge of the crowd, keeping my distance from the two Guardians. I did not need to bring trouble to myself tonight.
I leaned myself against the trunk of a thick tree and closed my eyes in thought. I drowned out the sounds of nobleman chattering, the smell of blood and the pain in the back of my mind. My throat was feeling as dry as sand, my eyes felt heavy and my fangs were pulsing with agony. There's too many of them here. My breathing began to rapidly shorten while also quickening, my mind hazing from being surrounded by aristocrats.
The Guardian girl should just disappear.
Why must Lord Kaname favour such an unsightly human?
The hunter's child should die for the disrespectful glare he holds towards our Lord.
Someone should just drain the both of them dry.
My hand came up from my side to grip at the front of my button-up shirt, the thin fabric stretching from the tight hold I had on it as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut to fight back the unintentional orders flowing into my head. The wishes of would-be masters.
Warm hands held my shoulders and pulled me away from the tree I was leaning against and held me in a warm embrace. My face being buried into someone's chest, a familiar scent filling my nose. "L-Lord Kai-n..." My voice managed to force out. Something was choaking me, an invisible force known only to myself.
"Just focus on your breathing." His deep voice rumbled from his chest as he spoke in a hushed tone. "There isn't any reason for you to follow any unsaid order, you don't have the mark anymore. The organisation has long since been disbanded."
We remained like this for some time, however my mind was still racing and my breathing only speeding up rather than slowing. When my pale coloured eyes began to flicker to a bright red, Lord Kain picked me up like a child and decided it best to take me far away from the party. I was losing control.
He carried me to a pond and--carefully--dropped me into the cold water, knowing it was shallow enough for me to not drown, but deep enough that I would not be hurt. "Has it calmed down?" His emotionless voice was broken by the amused look in his dull eyes, a smirk playing on his lips as he bit back a laugh to maintain his "wild and cool" persona.
I blinked away the red from my eyes, staring up at the aristocrat with my grey-green coloured eyes. "My head simply hurts now, however the pain has subsided." I looked down at my reflection to see the faded marks of chains circling my neck, my fingers reaching up to play with the chains that were burned into my flesh so many years ago.
I stood up in the water and took his extended hand in mine to get out of the pond. "Forgive me for causing you so much trouble."
"My father took you in because he was worried that I'd end up being anti-social," Lord Kain chuckled, slipping his jacket off to blanket my body in it, "causing me trouble is what you're supposed to do."
"I supposed so." We shared a lighthearted chuckled.
The sound of water splashing causing both Lord Kain and myself to pause in our movement and turn to look back at the pond. The two Guardians were in the pond with a hunter pointing his weapon at Kiryū. I debated going over the aid them, however Kain took me by the shoulders and steered me back towards the Moon Dorms. "Nope, I'm too tired to clean-up after your hero complex tonight."
"You are always tired, Kain." I rolled my eyes, however I did not fight against him. "Even when we were children, you would be napping while playing hide-n-seek."
