Emily played quietly outside her house, her Mother was busy with her Father. She smiled slightly when she heard her mother's laughter inside. Emily found it strange when ever her father was around the sun would shine and the birds would sing the most melodic tunes. But when ever he left the skies would darken and the birds would stop singing. Emily did not like those days, those days her mother would lay in bed motionless refusing to take food or drink. To soon the sounds of her mother's laughter stopped and the door opened and her father stepped out.

"Leaving so soon, Poppa?" Emily asked looking up at her father. He was a tall man, skin much paler than hers and her mother, hair like straw, and eyes the color of the green fields. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek lovingly.

"I have something for you little bird." He brought his hands from behind his back and presented her with a doll. "I had it made especially for you, in France." He handed her the doll.

Emily took her present, gently brushing the hair down. "This is for me?"

"Yes little bird. Do you like it?"

Emily smiled and hugging her gift. "And what will you name her?"

The girl looked at the doll, trying to find a fitting name for her but her mind drew a blank. "I can not think of a name. What do you think?"

He tapped his chin thinking, "Adele is a quite lovely name."

Emily's mother came to the door, wrapped in a blanket. The sky darken. "Giving her gifts does not make up for the fact that you are not here, Peter."

Peter sighed and turned to the women. "I can not help how things are Olivia. We can only make do."

Olivia frowned and there was a crack of lighting. "You do not want to change things. You like having us as your secret. Keep us hidden away, alone in the woods." Peter shook his head he tried to reach out to her, but Olivia stepped back out of his reach. "If you leave this house Peter do not come back."

"Olivia you do not mean that."

A crack of lighting. "I do."

"I am her father."

Olivia smirked. "Are you?" she crossed her arms. "You leave me all alone in the woods. Perhaps a lost stranger came across my threshold and I welcomed him in. Took him into my bed made him a lover..."

Peter smacked Olivia across the face and forced her back into the house slamming the door behind them. Emily screamed dropping the doll on the ground. She tried to open the door, but it would not budge. The skies darkened, the wind whipped around her as she banged on the door until her hands bled. She slumped to the ground burying her head in her knees trying to drown out the cries of her mother.

Emily awoke when fat rain drops fell onto her body. She was still outside lying on the ground she got up slowly, her joints stiff from sleeping outside. The door to the house was open. The girl tip toed into the small home that her and her mother shared in the woods. Things were thrown apart the house, the music box her father had brought from London was smashed on the floor. "Momma." Emily called out. She walked into the back where the bedroom was. Her mother laid in the bed twisted in the sheets. "Momma." She whispered as she climbed on the bed curling around her mother.

10 years later

Peter LaSalle sat in the parlor of the Dumas Hotel in Richmond. He had just return from a trip from London. He was tired and all he wanted was a sip of bourbon and perhaps a beautiful woman to warm his bed. Just as the thought had crossed his mind a young women with beautiful brown eyes entered the room with a young man in tow. The duo were very drunk. The man kissed the woman passionately against the wall. Peter cleared his throat to make his presence known to the young couple. The women looked over the shoulder of the young man. "Looks like we are not alone, Stanley." She smiled devilishly at Peter.

The young man cleared his throat and straighten his clothes. "It seems so, my dear."

Peter stared upon the young women. She was beautiful so full of life, she reminded him of Olivia. He shook his head at the thought of his lover. He had not thought of her and his little bird in years, it was too painful for him. So Peter stood intending on introducing himself to the young women before him.

"Peter LaSalle." He said extending his hand to the young man.

"Stanley Davison, sir." The boy grinned. "And this is my companion Katherine Pierce."

Peter took Katherine's hand and kissed it. "A pleasure to meet you both." He said staring into the young woman's brown eyes. "You know Mr. Davison that ladies are not allowed in the Dumas parlor room."

Stanley laughed and looked at the young women beside her. "Yes sir, but you see Mr. LaSalle Ms. Pierce is no lady." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

The young women playfully hit him on the shoulder. "You mock me, Stanley. Now my feelings are hurt." She said pouting.

The man kissed her on the cheek. "You know I jest Katherine. You are very much the lady."

This seemed to appease the girl. "I apologize that me being here is disruptive to your sensibilities Mr. LaSalle. We shall leave." She tugged on the young man sleeve. "Come Stanley."

Peter watched the duo left the parlor. The woman looked over her shoulder and gave him the most flirtatious smile he had ever seen. The women was definitely a minx.

The next morning Peter sat on the porch of the Dumas Hotel reading the paper when the women from last night sat at his table. "Good morning Mr. LaSalle." She said as she plucked a piece for fruit from the table.

Peter folded the paper and eyed her suspiciously. "Good Morning Ms. Pierce and where is Mr. Davison?" He asked watching her bite into a strawberry.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Stanley had business to tend to early this morning. He left me all by my lonesome with nothing to do."

"That is a shame."

"It is. Tell me Mr. LaSalle, what is there fun to do around here?" She asked plucking a grape and popping it in her mouth.

Peter smiled and waved the waiter over. "Can you please send the rest of my breakfast to my room." He requested. He got up and gave Katherine his hand. "I believe that I can find you something to entertain you, Ms. Pierce."

"Excellent." Katherine smiled.

Peter awoke in bed alone. Katherine Pierce certainly had stamina. Wrapping himself in a sheet he got up and went to the burrow to pour himself some water. They had spent the morning and most of the afternoon in his suite having sex. Peter had not been ravish so much since Olivia. He frowned at the thought of Olivia. He had been thinking of her way too often. There was a letter left on the nightstand.

It was a letter from Katherine thanking him for a lovely time. Yes this women was definitely a minx.

Peter tried to read and enjoy the rest of the day, but his thoughts would either dwell on his morning with Katherine or the more morose thoughts of his last night with Olivia and his little bird. She would seventeen now. He wondered what she looked like now all grown up. Emily had his mother's dark eyes and his sister's laugh. His little bird was his one greatest accomplishment in life, unfortunately it was an accomplishment that he could not share with his family and friends. He did not like hiding away Olivia and Emily in the woods, but that was the only way he knew to keep them safe. He knew if his father ever found out about them he would have them both killed. So he squirreled them away, only visiting when he returned from his trips. He would go to their house first and spend a day or so and then return home. No one was ever suspicious of his secret family. Peter found himself and his thoughts once more in the parlor of the Dumas Hotel. He sipped his bourbon and smoked a cigar. He had hoped to run into Katherine but he had no such luck. The hour was late and he was about to go up to his room when the door opened.

"Oh I have found you." Katherine entered the parlor with all smiles. "I had hoped to run into you."

Peter got up and kissed her on the cheek. "I have had the same desire Ms. Pierce."

She smiled and sauntered over to the window of the parlor. "It is a lovely night..." she turned to Peter tilting her head slightly. "A full moon."

Peter joined her to the window wrapping his arms around her. "It is very lovely indeed." He placed soft kisses on the nape of her neck. "The view from my patio is even more beautiful than this."

"Mmmm, sounds delightful."

"Ms. Katherine." A small voice called out.

Peter jumped back from Katherine and turned around to the interloper. It was a young colored girl who stood with her hands behind her back and face down. Katherine did not turn around only glared at the reflection of the girl from the window. "Yes, Emily."

"Your carriage is ready." The girl replied.

Katherine huffed. "Oh, I'm sorry Peter, but I have to be going now." She said as she kissed him on the cheek. "I had a wonderful time with you."

"Do you have to really leave?" He asked almost whining.

Katherine nodded. "I'm afraid that I do. You see I do not want to be here when the authorities find your body. I do not like messes."

Peter looked confused. "I do not know what you mean."

Katherine laughed. "I expected this moment to be more heartfelt."

"Excuse me?" Peter was now confused.

Katherine sauntered over to the girl who still had her head down. She placed her pointer finger under the girl's chin, tilting her head up. "Emily I thought you would be more happy to see your father."

Peter froze and took at the girl Katherine was standing beside. "Little bird?"

The girl finally looked at him and Peter gasped. His daughter was standing before him, she was no longer an little girl but a beautiful young women. He ran over and hug her. "How is this possible?"

Emily stiffen in his embrace. Peter pulled back and cupped her face. "I have dreamed of this moment of us being reunited like this." he cried. "I have thought of nothing of you and your mother since that horrible night. How is she? I did not hurt her too badly did I?"

Emily glared at him. "You broke her." The candles that lit the room flared.

Katherine beamed. "Yay the fun is starting."

"I regret my actions that night... I should have never put my hands on your mother like that." Peter confessed hugging Emily tighter.

The room started to shake. "You broke her and left her without looking back. She loved you and you treated her like some whore." Emily spat.

Peter stepped back raising his hands up. "No, I loved your mother. There was nothing I cherished more than the two of you."

Emily cocked her head to the side. "Cherish? You call beating her and leaving her in the bed bleeding cherishing her?" Emily laughed.

"Emily do hurry up. I'm hungry." Katherine whined.

Peter looked at Katherine and to Emily. "Are you indentured to her?" Katherine laughed. "I will buy her freedom." Her reached in his pocket. "Tell me what you want for her, I do not wish for my daughter to be in a life of servitude."

Katherine snatched the money from Peter's hands counted it and stuffed it in her bra. "No I do not own Emily. One can not own such a person as she."

Peter was confused. "Then what is your relationship."

"Emily and I are friends." Katherine simply replied. "You see I found young Emily, poor thing was begging on the streets." She walked behind Emily and wrapped her arms around her. "And after I figured out what she was, I could not allow her to go hungry. So I took her in, feed her, educated her, did all the things that you should have done..." she replied pointedly.

"You were on the streets? But I made provisions for you and your mother to always be taken care of. What happened?"

Emily stepped from Katherine embrace. She circled around Peter forcing him to follow her around the room. "You may not of killed her that night but she died. She was never the same. She would hold up in her bed hoping that you would return, that you would forgive her for the words she said. But you never did. She allowed her grief to consume, her until her body could not take it anymore and she died..." The candles roared to life, the objects around them started to float around the room. "I promised her that I would find you and do what she was too weak to do..."

Peter looked around the room afraid. He made an attempt to the door but it would not budge. "What is this!" He yelled afraid.

Emily smirked. "Come now father, you knew what she was, what I was to become. That is the reason you bedded her?" She said cocking her head to the side. "You used her to do your bidding, using her magic against your competitors, your enemies to help you gain your wealth..."

Peter eyes grew big. "Emily." He whispered out. She had the gift just like Olivia. "You have the gift, little bird. Please..." He begged. He had seen once Olivia unleash her power once before, it was raw, magnetic, deadly and the most beautiful thing he had ever saw. "Let me make it up to you, let me be the father I should have been. We can be happy, little bird. Just do not hurt me."

The room stop shaking and the candles returned to their normal flame. Emily smiled. "Oh I not going to hurt you, father." She turned to Katherine who was simply bursting with excitement. "Katherine, I am done here. I will wait for you in the carriage." The doors swung open without Emily touching them and slammed closed when she left.

Peter saw Katherine's beautiful face, turn dark and ominous. "Demon!" Peter screamed.

"No vampire." She replied as she bit him.

Katherine climbed into the carriage next to Emily, wiping her mouth clean. Emily sighed. "Do not wipe your mouth with your sleeve, Katherine." She scolded handing her a handkerchief to clean up with. "It is unbecoming of a lady."

Katherine just smiled wickedly at Emily.

"So where are we headed now?" Emily asked looking out the carriage window listlessly.

"Mystic Falls."

Emily shook her head. "Is that not where the young man you meet in Atlanta is from?"

"Yes, he was so kind as to offer his home after poor Momma and Poppa died in the fires in Atlanta." Katherine replied pouting her lips and batting her eyelashes.

Emily chuckled shaking her head. "You are bad Katherine."