003. Ends
Author: Cate
Summary: 13-year-old Alexis receives a demoralizing birthday present from her "Aunt Helena."
Rating: R
Author's Note: Typically, I hate anachronism, but I just can't resist… Pretend that Don Henley's "The End Of The Innocence" (I know, cheesey) came out a decade or so earlier than it actually did, mmkay?
Disclaimer: I have no ties to ABC, TFGH, Don Henley, Victor Hugo (oh, but I wish) or anyone else who could possibly want to sue me for this.
Birthdays were not routinely celebrated in the Cassadine household, unless of course they were Stavros'. Having long become accustomed to this, Alexis was surprised to say the least when Stefan climbed onto her bed at the crack of dawn, thirteen years to the day she was born, and gently tickled her nose until she woke up.
"Happy Birthday, little one," he whispered as her eyes snapped open. She responded with a quizzical glare, and he laughed. "I have a surprise for you. Be quiet, and hurry up before everyone else wakes."
"What kind of surprise?" she asked suspiciously.
Her cousin smirked. "I'm not telling you; you'll have to come see for yourself." He rolled off of the bed, and left the room, with his cousin trailing sleepily behind in her nightgown. He led her to the little-used music room, knowing that they were unlikely to be disturbed.
"What am I supposed to be seeing?" she asked, instinctively keeping her voice low.
"Don't be so impatient, little one," he chided her, pointing to the piano bench. "Sit."
She obeyed the simple order automatically, without hesitation. Normally, Stefan would have chastised her for this, too -- he hated that she was treated like a servant by the rest of the family, and did everything he could to encourage her to speak her mind whenever it was safe for her to do so, but this time he was too excited to argue. He pulled a small, heavy package from behind the instrument and held it out before her. "Happy birthday, little lark."
"Lark?" Alexis questioned as she accepted the package and gingerly began to peel back the paper. Soon she understood -- her cousin had gifted her with a leather-bound, unabridged French edition of her favorite novel, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. "Oh, Stefan," she whispered, running her fingers along the book's spine. "Thank you so much!"
"Open it," he urged with a smile.
Carefully, she lifted the front cover, revealing a message written in her cousin's best French. "To my little lark, Alexis: May you never forget how to sing. Love always, Stefan."
Alexis set the book gently down on the piano, and leapt into her cousin's arms. "Oh, Stefan," she cried, hugging him tightly. "This is the best birthday ever."
He held her close for a moment before pulling away, handing her back the book and whispering, "Back to bed, little one. Before everyone else wakes up."
"So soon?" she protested, and he smiled inwardly at her defiance. But all it took was a simple nod from him before she did as she was told, running barefoot back to her small bedroom without so much as a goodbye.