Chapter 2

Ruki pushed the secret room in the courtyard out of his mind for weeks to focus on the Founders' arrival. Carla and Shin Tsukinami were known for two things. The first was being the last known founders in existence. The second was for being very hard to please.

Karlheinz was not the first one to try and create an alliance with them. There wasn't a set number, though most agreed the number of those who had tried was over a million. Yet none had succeeded and most were wiped out by a mysterious enemy soon after. Some assumed the Founders themselves had destroyed them which the Founders took offense to.

Ruki remembered one ball he had attended with Karlheinz and his sons where someone accused the younger Tsukinami of killing one who had recently tried to forge an alliance with them. It was only due to the timely arrival of the elder that the accuser wasn't killed then and there.

Now that he knew what was hidden in the second courtyard, Ruki focused on trying to dub a different location to have the ball. It wasn't for the girl hidden there, though he was interested in that. It was to keep tensions between every group at an all time low. Ruki could smell that girl's blood. Without even tasting it, he could tell it would be addictive. The worst thing that could happen if the ball was held there would be the discovery of that girl and Karlheinz being accused of having a secret weapon.

Of course his sudden decision to find a new location for the ball did not go unnoticed. While Karlheinz did not question it, his brothers did. The first to ask was Yuma. Then Kou and finally Azusa. Every time Ruki would reply with the same vague answer. Maybe he could have told them, but some part of Ruki held him back. He wanted to find out why that girl was hidden there before he told the others.

It was obvious from previous conversations that Karlheinz knew she was there. The question was if Karlheinz's sons knew. Discovering the answer to that question would be difficult. Ruki wasn't close to any of the Sakamakis. At best they were indifferent to him, at worst there were almost fights that broke out in the halls.

His best bet would be to start by asking Karlheinz.

"So you discovered the girl." Karlheinz said when Ruki entered his office. Without giving the younger vampire a chance to respond, Karlheinz asked, "what do you think of her?"

"How did you know I was going to ask about her?" Ruki found himself asking. Karlheinz's calmness was unnerving.

Karlheinz chuckled. "My familiars are everywhere, Ruki. It would be strange if I didn't know. Now answer my question."

For a moment, Ruki was silent. "She is a human." He finally said. "Why is she here?"

"Well...even I don't know the complete truth," Karlheinz trailed off until Ruki looked ready to say something. Then he continued. "but my sons are awfully fond of her. They refused to listen to me unless I brought her here and kept her safe."

So that's why they don't cause trouble. Ruki thought. There was the occasional broken wall because of the youngest son, but that was all. Ruki had thought it was strange, but had written it off as the sons being concerned about the Founders. Looking back on that now, with the information about the girl in the courtyard, Ruki wondered what he was thinking. He should have known something else was going on.

"I won't tell them about you discovering their secret." Karlheinz interrupted Ruki's thoughts. "If your found out that will be your problem to solve."

"I understand."

Karlheinz dismissed him by waving his hand lazily. As soon as the doors closed, the Vampire king rested his head on his hand. His sons were not stupid. He had no doubt one of them knew about Ruki finding the girl. Though which one was a mystery to him. He never payed that much attention to his sons' familiars. Currently his two guesses were Reiji and Ayato.

The elder one had the skills necessary to cure the girl of her current state, and Reiji would no doubt want to find out how to do that. It was amusing to see who could be considered the most orderly son have books strewn across the floor in his room as he looked for a cute. On the other hand, Ayato had been the one to fight for the girl. While the others put up a struggle, Ayato had some very choice words for him. Maybe it was his mother's stubbornness. In any case, Karlheinz allowed it. His castle had become far more interesting watching each of his sons go into that hidden room to watch over that girl.

Now he hoped that the events leading up to the climax would be interesting. He hadn't had this much entertainment since the destruction of a few certain races.

A/N: I dont have anything to say. I hope you liked the chapter! Leave a review/comment! I love to read them!