AN: Prince Doumeki and Lord Kimihiro. Gotta love 'em. Here's their first meeting. Posted for background to the upcoming Masqued Intentions.

SUPERNATURAL ENTANGLEMENTS

The carriage pulled up in front of the white mansion, its wheels cutting through the slush left from the snow the night before. The footman jumped down from his perch and opened the carriage door so that the passenger could alight.

Light from the lanterns either side of the mansion's front steps briefly lit the carriage's interior. A flash of gold embroidery belied the carriage's plain exterior. The ornate embroidery was soon eclipsed, however, by the body of the exiting passenger.

For a moment the man simply stood in the driveway, ignoring the slush he stood in and the movement of the footman closing the door behind him. He let his eyes slowly rove the building before him, as if it would give some clue to the character of the man he had some to see.

The mansion was fairly modest by present standards but impressive nonetheless. The building formed a stout H, with the main building forming the crossbar nestled between the east and west wings. The entrance was the focal point of the building, jutting forth from the main body of the building. The two wings extended out to create a sheltered arc around it, partially enclosing the entry. A façade broken into five faces. The symbolism was not lost on the visitor.

The entire structure sat on a solid stone foundation that supported three stories. Nine clusters of diamond-paned windows stared out from the top two levels. The lower floor, interrupted by the entrance, had only five. Twenty three in total. Five and twenty-three. Both numbers of import for those who followed the ancient superstitions. Even so, their presence did not necessarily mean anything - traditions lingered in the country's architecture even if their practices were forgotten. Except for the peculiar choice of white stone and black roof tiles, it would have been normal, if stark, to normal eyes.

The only things that suggested that this building was something out of the ordinary were the strange additions that would be taken as mere decorations if one didn't know better.

On every corner of the building - on the edges of the tiled roof, the ledges of every window and the meeting of foundation and wall – clung a multitude of carved stone dragons. Their eyes were turned outward, their mouths baring teeth in open threat against any intruders. And while they could have been taken as excentric decoration - such things had been popular in the past, after all - the entrance suggested it was something more.

A pair of unicorns stood at the bottom of the steps, placed to either side. Their stony eyes seemed to gaze out and in at the same time as their horns were lowered, directed challengingly at whoever thought to ascend. The visitor instantly recognized the twin symbols of purity and protection. He noted that the mansion's owner had even gone to the trouble of placing the two beasts in the proper alignment to banish evil. The quality of the statues suggested that they had been commissioned and the man was willing to bet that they had been prepared in the traditional way, too.

His gaze moved to the stairs. There were nine. And carved into the front of each was a fierce serpent, its form winding sinuously across the rectangular slabs. Nine steps for a protective ward. Nine serpents to devour evil spirits which dared try to enter.

The protections were completed at the top of the stairs. Two crescent moons sat atop the stone posts that ended the stair rails. A third crescent sat embedded in the wood panelling of the front door. They formed a triangular arrangement that took in the entire space of the enclosed patio at the top of the steps. Even as he looked closer, more obscure designs became apparent in the decoration of the patio itself.

And above it all, centred in the space between the arch leading to the door and window on the third floor, was a large stone relief. It involved no unicorns, serpents or crescents. Instead it looked to be a strange stylized sun with its flares snaking out like flames, lightning and smoke. It took a while for the man to realize that some of the decorative carving was actually text.

It was the perhaps the strangest thing he had seen so far.

His eyes lifted to the window above the mysterious seal. He was willing to bet that it was master bedroom.

The visitor looked back at the dragons guarding the corners of the building. Now that he was looking for them, he could see that the symbols of the ward above the entrance were repeated in miniature underneath the dragons' claws. The entire building was one giant ward against evil spirits.

The revelation was reached with a sense of light satisfaction. As he had suspected, the building had indeed reflected what he had heard of the owner.

Lord Kimihiro, as he was known, was a cipher in polite society.

The late Lord Watanuki had suddenly moved back to the ancestral home some thirty years ago. No explanation for the family's absence was made and society was left to gossip about the possibilities. Despite the scandalous murmuring, the lord and lady had returned to society with barely a hiccup. They kept a low profile, never attending large gatherings and hosting modest get togethers in the ground of their own estate. Gradually, with no fuel to feed the fires, the gossip died down and the family's presence was merely seen as one more of society' eccentric staples.

However, nearly a decade after their return, a freak accident killed both lord and lady, leaving their son to inherit the estate.

Not much was known about the man. Even as a child he hadn't been seen often – popular opinion had been that he was abroad gaining a classical education. Unusual for one so young but for what other reason would he be so rarely seen? Even after the death of his parents, his excursions beyond the borders of his estate were rare and far between. And no one seemed to recall much about the young man other than he was quiet and polite.

That perception changed, however, after the lord attended a party held by Lady Kashi some seven years ago. The details of the incident were not certain, and clearly exaggerated from what was often told, but the lord had apparently had some sort of fit in the course of the evening. He had attended no gatherings after that and received no visitors. Illness was a stigma in society and the man had become somewhat of a social pariah.

Lord Kimihiro. It was strange that his first name was used when people referred to him. It was an insult to use a first name so. One was to be referred to by their bloodline not their personal name. But somehow the label had stuck to the man. In all the gossip he was never referred to with his proper title.

However, for a man like the visitor, common gossip was only part of the information that was available. More useful information was come by with patience and the right questions. And while it turned out that Lord Kimihiro had indeed not left his house often since that day, he was not without visitors. A steady trickle of people came to the mansion at odd hours. People with problems that required the services of man who was said to have unusual powers.

It was a similar problem that brought the man here this winter night.

If the situation hadn't been so serious, he would never have sought out the strange mansion and it's even stranger master. But he had exhausted other possibilities and, despite his scepticism, he was willing to take a chance.

"Milord?"

The man turned his gaze from the house and let it rest on the footman. Most of his servants knew not to intrude when their master was deep in thought. This man, however, was new to service and had not yet become familiar with his employer's ways. Likely he had thought that the lord was lost in thought and had forgotten his whereabouts.

The lord didn't really care what the footman thought but he agreed that it was time to enter. "Wait here." And with that curt instruction he moved to the front steps.

He studied the unicorns as he passed them, the stone eyes returning his stare. He passed unharmed between them and felt nothing as he ascended the stairs and their guardian serpents. Not even when he breached the ward of the three crescent moons did he feel the whisper of anything supernatural.

But he hadn't expected to. The lord did not truly believe that Lord Kimihiro was what the rumours claimed him to be. At best he would receive some intelligent advice, nothing mystical or magical in nature. In all his years as the Keeper of the Southern Ward, he had never even had a scent of the supernatural. And he did not believe that he would suddenly run into it now.

Such things were for the gullible and the desperate. He'd learnt that a long time ago.

There was another ornate decoration the door within the arc of the crescent. Another dragon, it's brass tongue hinged to use as a clapper. The lord studied it expressionlessly for a moment before lifting it to rap it on the door.

Despite the late hour, the door opened nearly instantly. A butler appeared in the opening of the door. Dark eyes stared out from underneath white-streaked black hair. "The master is asleep. Please leave your card-"

The man broke off as the lord roughly pushed past him and entered the foyer. He had taken a long time to research Lord Kimihiro and he was not going to be turned back now.

The foyer was somewhat like he had imagined from the building's exterior. It was a high open space that encompassed first and second floors. The ornate stairway leading to the second floor was the focal point, located directly in line with the entry. As he had half suspected from his scrutiny of the patio, the foyer was also decorated with arcane symbols. When he glanced down, he realized that the entire foyer floor was a ward, a large black design laid into the white marble.

"Sir." The butler had shut the door and followed his steps further into the foyer. "I must insist-"

"I'm here to see Lord Kimihiro." The lord's attention had turned to walls. It was less apparent that the exterior but the walls bore the same sigils and images as the patio. It was as if the foyer itself was made to house a series of large interlocking wards.

He was beginning to wonder if Lord Kimihiro's rumoured illness was one of the mind.

"Sir. The master is-"

"Hikideshi." A soft voice interrupted the butler's words.

The lord's gaze rose to the stairway landing. A slender figure in a deep blue robe stood there as if he had been there all along. One hand resting lightly on the banister, he stared down on the foyer.

Eyes matching the robe he wore met the gold eyes that stared up at him from below. "Go prepare some tea, Hikideshi. For his Highness to visit me at a late hour on such a night it must be important."

The butler nodded solemnly and left for his task, leaving the two men staring at each other.

Once the soft footfalls faded away, the prince was suddenly painfully aware of the starkness of his surrounding. The silence of the mansion, unbroken by the bustling of servants as was often the case at his own estate, seemed stifling. Even so he refused to break it.

Finally the silence was broken by Lord Kimihiro. "Shall we move to the study? This may take some time."

Prince Doumeki nodded. But even as he did so he beginning to wonder if anything he had heard about the man before him was true.

xXx

Lord Kimihiro had not bothered to change his robe. Instead of keeping his guest waiting he simply led the other man to the study as if he was perfectly at ease wearing a robe in front of a complete stranger.

For all Doumeki knew, maybe he was.

The prince kept his eyes surveying his surroundings as he was led deeper into the mansion. Though not as obvious as they had been on the patio and in the foyer, various protective charms were in evidence. They were in every room and there was always more than one. If it hadn't been for his upbringing as Keeper, Doumeki doubted that he would have noticed them at all. But the prince had been educated in the ancient traditions and superstitions of his country and was familiar with many of the archaic wards he saw. All were made for protection and defence.

It looked like the lord was afraid of spirits.

He let his gaze rest on the back of the man before him. Was he simply displaying what his customers expected of him, or did he really believe in the power of the wards that surrounded him? And, if it was the latter, was it simple superstition or something more sinister? He suspected he'd find out in the next few minutes.

After several minutes, Doumeki was finally led into the study. The room looked similar to the study he kept in the Southern Ward. However, instead of the desk he favoured, Lord Kimihiro simply had a low table and number of comfortable armchairs near the fireplace. And while the prince's study did have wards, a residue of ancient times, they were not nearly as intricate as the ones that ran along the walls.

Especially the one laced around the window. The prince shot his host a sharp look when he noticed the faint tracery carved into the windows' frames.

Lord Kimihiro simply smiled faintly at the look and gestured to an armchair while he knelt down next to the fireplace and stoked the slumbering coals. Doumeki was slightly surprized, even though he didn't show it. Most nobility would have sent for a servant to do the task and certainly wouldn't have lowered themselves by doing it in front of a guest. But Lord Kimihiro didn't seem concerned at the picture he made kneeling in a robe next to the growing fire.

It made his pale skin glow like porcelain-

"Well." Lord Kimihiro rose from the fireplace and took a seat opposite Doumeki across the low table. "What can I do for you?"

Doumeki simply stared at him. He'd half expected that the man would have pretended to know why he was there.

Lord Kimihiro seemed to get a bit irritated. "I'm not a mind reader. Nor am I a fortune teller." Dark blue eyes met gold. "If you want my help, you're going to have to tell me the nature of your problem."

Doumeki considered the situation. The gaze of those blue eyes meeting his own. The wards covering every surface of the mansion. The problem that brought him here in the first place.

"The Lord and Lady of Cotsgrove (1) believe that they have an angry spirit haunting their house. Recently their daughter, the Lady Himawari was injured."

Lord Kimihiro had paled slightly at the mention of the ancient estate. At the mention of injury he paled even further. "The Lady Himawari-"

A knock on the door interrupted whatever he was going to say. The door opened and the butler entered, carrying a tray. In short order, tea and an assortment of pastries were laid out. Doumeki took a pastry and popped it in his mouth. It was good and he took another.

"Master." The butler paused on his way out and handed something to the lord. Lord Kimihiro seemed to seize on the object with relief. Doumeki, pretending to be engrossed with his tea, caught a glimpse of the gold dragon etched into the silver watch before it disappeared into a robe pocket.

The door closed behind the butler. "Where has the spirit been spotted?" The blue eyes wandered onto the tray and Lord Kimihiro's brow wrinkled slightly when he saw how many pastries had been consumed.

The prince helped himself to another pastry. A faint light flared in the other man's eyes at the action and Doumeki suppressed a sudden urge to smirk. "It hasn't."

A blink. "Pardon?"

"It hasn't," he repeated. A bite of pastry.

Lord Kimihiro was looking a bit perplexed. "It hasn't what?"

Another bite. There was only a little bit left and he put it into his mouth as well. "Been spotted."

Another spark in those blue eyes. "Then how do they know there is a spirit in their house?" It sounded like the lord was beginning to loose his patience.

Doumeki took a sip of tea before answering. "Things keep dying." The lord looked shocked at that. "Rats. And then the scullery cat. Birds dying outside the window."

Lord Kimihiro was staring into his own cup. Doumeki took the opportunity to take another pastry but the other man didn't seem to be interested in his eating habits anymore.

"Killing creatures." The lord muttered to himself. His hand had slipped into the pocket of his robe but he didn't seem to notice. "And now the young lady." He looked up at Doumeki. "All centred around the same room?"

Doumeki nodded. "Lady Himawari fell off the landing near the door's entrance."

"And the servants were probably getting injured before that." Lord Kimihiro commented absently. "It wouldn't want anyone entering its territory."

Doumeki was watching the man carefully now. "It?"

Lord Kimihiro set his cup on the table and made a vague motion with his hand. The other remained in his pocket. "The spirit. They can get very possessive when they have existed for a long time." His voice grew thoughtful. "Though to start injuring people..."

There was silence for a moment. Only the crackling of the fire intruded.

"It has to be drawn out."

Doumeki raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Not banished?"

Calm blue eyes met his. "That would not be wise at this stage. It has already begun harming people." He didn't elaborate on that but continued talking. "It will have to be carried out by someone who has lived within wards for most of their life."

His eyes were on the prince for a moment, measuring. "As a Keeper, you would be suitable, your Highness."

Doumeki shifted slightly in his chair. They had been talking normally till now. It was the first time the lord had addressed him by his title since the foyer. It somehow made him uncomfortable.

"You'll need a vine." Lord Kimihiro seemed to have taken the idea that the prince would be involved to heart. "Any vine will do. Place the cut end into a wide mouthed vase filled with water and the other end inside the room. Leave it for over night and the sprit should be trapped."

Doumeki was sceptical. "And that's it?"

Lord Kimihiro seemed slightly amused. "It does seem simple once you know what to do." His expression sobered. "In the morning you should seal the vase and dispose of the vine. Burning would be best. Until you can bring it, the vases should be safe within the wards of the Southern Ward."

"Vases?"

Again, that blue stare. "I'll need both. The vase you sealed in the spirit in and the vase in the room."

xXx

Prince Doumeki had only been slightly surprized when he saw the vase in the room. The Lord and Lady of Cotsgrove had only been too happy for him to take it and he had ended up taking both vases back to the Southern Ward.

They had both sat in the central room of the Ward for nearly a week. The prince had looked in on them several times but they had only seemed like normal vases. Only when it seemed that the strange incidents had in indeed stopped, Doumeki set off to see Lord Kimihiro.

It was once again late at night when the carriage rolled to a stop outside the Watanuki mansion entrance. There was no snow this time though as the prince stepped out of the carriage. With only a cursory glance at his surroundings, Doumeki passed the two unicorns and crossed the nine serpents only to pause in the triangle of the crescents.

The door opened before he could use the dragon knocker. The butler who had answered before opened the door. His gaze on the two vases the prince held, he opened the door and ushered him inside.

Doumeki had only moved a few steps into the foyer when a voice stopped him.

"Place them in the centre of the ward, your Highness." Lord Kimihiro was once more on the landing. The only difference was that the robe was a bright scarlet instead of a deep blue.

The prince stared for a moment, considering how to take the request, before placing the two vases down where he had been asked.

"Now leave the ward." The voice was just as firm as it had been the first time. But there was an edge to it that he hadn't heard before. Doumeki glanced up at the man once more before he walked off the black pattern set in the floor.

Lord Kimihiro let out a shaky sigh and started down the staircase. The prince watched in some concern as the man made his unsteady descent. By the time he had reached ground level, his grip on the banister seemed to be the only thing that kept him upright.

The prince moved over and took the other man by the arm. "Are you ill?"

An expression of surprize flashed across the other man's face. His posture improved as he straightened slightly. "I shall be fine shortly."

Doumeki was doubtful and kept his grip. Through the silk of his robe, the prince could feel the shivers running through the other man's arm. It was clear that the man was unwell.

To his surprize, Lord Kimihiro did not object to the prolonged contact. Instead he simply reached his free hand into the pocket of his robe. Gold flashed in the light of the foyer and Doumeki recognized the dragon-embossed pocket watch.

Lord Kimihiro held the watch in an unsteady hand and said one word. "Ryuu."

The dragon on the watch began to glow. Then suddenly it was moving. It lifted from the metal in a long sinuous stretch that ended with it sitting on the watch, no longer a flat representation but a solid creature. The tiny dragon took a look at its surroundings then hopped off the watch and curled around the thumb of the hand holding the watch.

The prince eyed the little apparition warily. "What is it?"

The lord smiled fondly at the little creature. "A construct. Due to a strange quirk of my inheritance, I am unable to use my power directly in such matters."

Doumeki's eyes narrowed.

The lord moved his thumb to pat the little dragon's head. "Instead I must use an intermediary. Ryuu acts as a conduit for my power."

As if it had received a silent signal, the little dragon uncurled itself and flowed down to the floor. It glided across the floor and stepped onto the first point of the ward. As soon as the first small golden leg touched the black marble, it's glow increased. It paused for a moment then moved to the next point. After it moved on, the point glowed softly with gold light.

The process was repeated until all nine points were glowing. Lord Kimihiro had grown progressively pale throughout the process. Doumeki, who had directed his attention to the lord rather than the dragon lighting up the ward on the floor, nearly missed what happened next. The sudden bright flash that engulfed the foyer, however, had him turning back to the vases.

They were barely visible in the threads of gold smoke that swirled up around them. Obscured by the flexing ropes of gold, they looked faded, as if they were growing less tangible. Even as he watched, they wavered and were suddenly gone.

But as the gold threads died back it became evident that, while the vases were gone, the ward was not empty.

A purple butterfly lifted from the floor and fluttered over to the lord and prince. It's flight was slightly erratic and as it grew closer, Doumeki realized that it was made of paper.

A woman's voice suddenly filled the foyer. "Timely as always, Kimihiro. I expect the next payment soon."

Message delivered, the butterfly fell to the floor, now only a folded piece of purple paper.

The dragon, which had retreated to the side of the room, suddenly returned to its master's hand. With a flex of its little leg, it returned to the watch and settled down on its surface. After a brief gold glow, it was once again only a gold inset on the silver pocket watch's surface.

Doumeki looked from the folded butterfly to the watch. Magic. That was the only word for it. His eyes turned to the man who had performed the feat. With the vases and dragon gone, he was looking much like he always was. Too pale but otherwise well. The prince wondered if he did such thing often and whether they always had such a cost.

"Your Highness." The lord was staring at him with those dark blue eyes.

Doumeki realized that he still held the other man's arm. The grip had tightened without him realizing it. He let go as if the silk under his hand had burned him.

Lord Kimihiro addressed the butler. "Hikideshi. Tea in the study." He turned back to the prince. "I suppose you expect some answers."

A person with any shred of common sense should have been running out the door by now. But instead he nodded and was shortly afterwards following the lord to his study to have some tea. No doubt to hear about things that a prince, no matter his position as Keeper of the Southern Ward, shouldn't know about. No doubt his mother would be shocked when she found out.

But the possibility of facing the queen's wrath didn't bother him. He found that he was getting increasingly intrigued by the pale slender man. And not much could capture his interest these days.

Besides, the pastries were good.

xXx

1) English-sounding and intentionally so. I'm toying with a history that includes two peoples living in the one land. That's why there are Japanese and, later, European names.

Not as funny? Just wait until Masqued Intentions. Kimihiro takes a while to loosen up :)