This hit me as I was walking home today and I had to write it. Sort of a mystery I guess but not a very clever one. It will be more cute than anything. Sorry for the useless summary, it was too short to allow me to say anything of more meaning. This chapter will let you work out the plot.

The Earl Cain Saga and all its characters and settings belong to Kaori Yuki, if they were mine, it would be very different and nowhere near as compelling.

The letter had been lying on the windowsill when Riff had woken up.

He couldn't recall leaving the window open and his door as always locked but somehow, the letter had turned up. At fist, he was hesitant about opening it. It may have been a trap sent by Delilah, a trick from one of the many enemies of the Hargreaves or…well, it could have been anything. He knew he should show it to Cain and have it examined but…for two reasons, Riff opened it anyway.

The first reason was that the envelope was black. It piqued his interest. As simple as that. The second reason was the word written on the front in a silver, elegant hand. The word read Starshine.

Riff carefully shut the door to his room and sat down on the bed before opening the envelope. This was so that he would not b disturbed and that if it was dangerous, no one else was in immediate danger. Then, taking a deep breath, he opened the envelope quickly and pulled out a sheet of pure white paper.

The ink was deep black and the words were large, exquisitely formed and beautiful to look at. But the handwriting wasn't why Riff's pulse quickened while reading. The words themselves held a beauty and a mystery all their own. Riff fund himself reading them over and over, trying to find some slip, some flaw that betrayed an evil purpose. He could find none. And that left him lost and confused; how could he feel about this? In the end, he put the letter under his pillow and set to his morning duties, yet the words played over and over in his head. The words were as follows;

My dearest Starshine,

Don't be afraid of the words you are about to read. The only thing you have to fear is that you will hide your feelings away and not allow yourself to venture into the awaiting unknown. There is a very simple reason why I have written you this letter; you captivate me.

I couldn't bear not letting you know this any longer and this is the simplest way for you to learn to trust me. I know that sounds strange but maybe you will understand, if things turn out the right way. I truly hope that they do.

I am the kind of man that doesn't want for much but the one thing I do want is you. I know I am not telling you much but if you are willing to try and find out more, write me a reply and leave it on your windowsill when you fall asleep. Staying awake will just mean I will not collect it. It is not time for you to see me, just yet.

I await your decision,

Your Shadow.

And Riff had no idea what he should be thinking.

"Riff?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Riff? Are you okay?"

The silence stretched on and on.

"Riff!"

Cain's voice snapped Riff back into alertness and he blushed a little. He never daydreamed. He had been folding his masters clothes away for another night and had suddenly thought about the damned letter and…lost track of anything but the thought.

"Sorry, milord." He said quietly, turning back towards the bed where Cain was lying, snuggled up under the duvet but glaring. He reminded Riff of an angry kitten. With his face lit by the soft light of a solitary candle, I was hard for Riff to image the pain that Cain had been through. That is, until he looked into his eyes. It was always there, lurking behind the façade of arrogance and only really showed when Cain had reason to doubt Riff. The fact that it was showing now made Riff almost cringe with shame.

"What's the matter?" Cain asked, his voice suddenly small. "You've been daydreaming all day."

"I must have got out of the wrong side of bed, milord." Riff replied, smiling. "I'm sure it is nothing to worry about."

Cain smiled back, looking a little relieved. "Well, make sure you get out the right side tomorrow. We're taking Mary shopping and I'll need you to help me keep her from buying the whole shop. Or several shops."

"Of course." Riff inclined his head slightly. "Miss Mary only tries to buy so much because she wants to see how much you are willing to spend, you know."

"Yes, I know." Cain laughed. "I doesn't matter. She knows I'd spend it all."

Riff nodded again and backed out of the room. "Goodnight, milord."

"Goodnight, Riff. Make sure Mary is asleep for me, will you?"

"Of course."

Riff shut the door quietly and padded along the corridor to Mary's room. It was always surprising to strangers that someone so tall could walk so quietly. There was light glowing around the frame of the door as he reached his destination. He knocked once at the door to Mary's room before pushing it open.

"Riff!" Mary squealed and threw herself into her bed, blowing out the candle as she did so. "I'm asleep you know!"

Riff smiled and nodded. "Of course, Miss Mary. I was just checking."

His smile widened as he heard her sigh with relief and he shut the door gently. He then returned to his room. As always, he was the last to bed. He felt a strange sort of satisfaction in knowing that the others were safely tucked away to spend the night in hopefully blissful dreaming.

He felt a sharp stab of guilt as he remembered the letter. Was he inviting danger to Cain and Mary by reading it? How much worse could the situation get if he replied? What was he going to do about it?

After a few minutes thinking, Riff reached a decision. He was going to write back. Surely it wasn't dangerous and if it was, he would take full responsibility for anything that happened. It all came down to him being lonely. He loved working for Cain and living with the family. He was perfectly happy with his life, despite it's danger and darkness. But sometimes, especially on cold winter nights like these he felt a need just to hold somebody as he slept, feel a heart beating that wasn't his own, feel someone's breath on his face and know it wasn't a threat.

It had been a long time since anyone had wanted him. Why shouldn't he see where it led?

Riff slowly and methodically undressed, slipping into a long white night shirt. He would never leave the room wearing it, of course, but it made him feel comfortable. He then sat down at his small writing desk and carefully wrote a reply.

Shadow,

Why are you so afraid of letting me find out who you are? How can you expect me to not be afraid when you act in such a way? How did you get the message into my room? And why do you call me Starshine?

I know it is unfair to answer with questions but I suppose it shows that I do want to find out more. I do not like being kept in the dark but I do appreciate your extravagance. Just know that if you harm any member of this household I will find you and I will make you pay. You having feelings for me will not change that and I can't feel anything for someone who is just a word on a page, not even a name.

So, all I can now say is I await your reply and further information.

Riff stopped writing for a moment, not sure how to end the letter. After a painful moment of deliberation, he gave in to his curiosity and signed it Starshine. He then placed the folded letter on the windowsill and, as an afterthought, opened the window slightly.

As he climbed into bed, Riff fought with feelings of guilt, unease, curiosity and just a faint hint of excitement. Nothing so…intimate had happened to him before, not like this and it was a tantalising experience. Slowly, ever so slowly he drifted into a dreamless sleep and became dead to the world.

Around an hour after Riff fell asleep, a pale hand snatched the letter from where it lay. It glanced at Riff who was lying in a sliver of moonlight and then melted back into the shadows.

Please review and tell me what you think. I will reply to all of you and reviews make me write faster Thanks for reading anyhow