Disclaimer: I don't own Marcus, William, Lucian, or any part of the plot pertaining to Underworld or Underworld Evolution. I do own Craeve and her backstory, so no touchy!
Yoru: What's wrong with you?
Kuronue: (gasping like a fish on the floor) Straight…pairings…(faints)
Yoru: So I like slash. Gimme a break. But I make up characters for books and movies, and when I made Craeve, I fell in love with her and her story. So I decided to write a Fanfiction about it. Who else is she gonna be in love with, Selene?
Kuronue: I'm just shocked that she's not a boy.
Yoru: Ha-ha. Now on to the fic before I kill Kuronue.
Marcus' POVI wasn't sure what to think when Father brought her in to meet William and I. He'd told us that a recently orphaned relative was coming to live in our house, but he hadn't said that she was female…or that she was exquisite.
She was petite, pale and well formed, like a porcelain doll. Her features seemed rather plain until I took a good look. Then I noticed rosy lips, defined cheekbones, long dark eyelashes, and the occasional freckle delicately staining her ivory cheeks. The glowing quality of her skin made William's and my own pearly skin seem almost pasty in comparison.
Her eyes were green, so green, with a golden-and-orange starburst in the middle. Our eyes were brown and dull.
Her hair was reddish-gold and fell to her shoulders, fluffy and soft. Suddenly I was embarrassingly conscious of my limp crimson curls, and I saw William fiddling with his own scarlet locks.
"Marcus, William, this is Craeve. She is a distant cousin of our family. Get to know her well; she will be here until she marries." Father squeezed her shoulder gently. She smiled at us, and I saw that she was not perfect: there was a gap between her front teeth.
"Hello," she said quietly.
"Hello," William said before I could. He held out his hand, and she shook it. Father smiled and patted William on the head.
"I think it is time for dinner. Come, children."
Later that night, William and I sat on our large bed and stared at each other.
"Marcus, have you met Craeve before?" William asked after a minute.
"No. I've never even heard her mentioned."
"You seemed awfully captivated by her." William smiled. I glared at him.
"She's pretty. Nothing to get excited over."
"She's nice. I guess eventually we'll all be best friends." He leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
"I think we will." I lay down beside him and put my arm over him.
"I wonder how old she is. She looks younger than us."
"Well, we're sixteen. So she probably is just a little younger."
"Old enough," William said, laughing.
"Old enough for what?" I asked scathingly.
"Father said she would leave when she got married. So I guess you'll just have to marry her to keep her around."
That's when I tickled him and the pillow fight began.
William's POVI laughed and joked about Craeve with my brother, but I was in truth already infatuated with her. She was beautiful, not pretty as my brother said, and I knew I would want her when she grew up. Is this wrong? I asked myself.
No. It couldn't be wrong. It was too right.
Far too right.
But I couldn't tell Marcus, and I certainly couldn't tell her. Not now. Not when Marcus obviously wanted her too.
Then again, we barely knew her. Perhaps this would pass.
The next morning found me opening my eyes to a not altogether unpleasant sight.
Big green eyes staring into my face.
"GAAAAAH!"
Marcus woke up then and stared for a moment before falling on the floor, laughing so hard I thought he'd burst. I eyed the girl on top of me.
"May I ask what you are doing?" I asked, trying to sound scathing. Craeve smiled hugely.
"Waking you up. I want you to give me a tour."
"What time is it?"
"Just after dawn." Marcus had been looking out the window. I glared at the girl on my stomach.
"Can't it wait until noon or so?"
"Nope."
"How old are you, five?" I grumbled as I started pushing the blankets off.
"Twelve." She climbed off so I could finish getting up. Marcus slid back under the covers and pulled them over his head. Craeve crawled over to him and jerked them off.
"You said you wanted William."
"Both of you." She pouted. She wasn't quite as lovely when she did that. More adorable, I supposed. Marcus snarled.
"I'm starting to think you're going to be an annoyance."
"No, you don't. I'm too cute." She turned to me again, "Well, come on!"
I sighed and decided to follow her orders. She was right; she was too cute to hate.
Craeve's POVThe tour only took about an hour; the house wasn't that big. Big enough, though, for me to be impressed. Suddenly, grief overtook me, and I started to cry.
"Craeve? What's wrong?" William knelt next to me and patted my head.
"Are you sick?" Marcus asked, still standing. I shook my head.
"I want my mama…" I managed to get out. William pulled me close.
"Where is your mama?" he asked gently.
"Far away. She told me never to come back because there was nothing for me in our lives." I clutched his nightshirt, almost feeling like I was back in my brother's arms.
"Craeve, what happened to your family?" Marcus asked, sitting beside us.
I told them.
"My family lived in a small shack with another family until Lord Viktor's soldiers came and demanded taxes. When we couldn't pay, they took both of our fathers and left the rest of us homeless. The other family went away to look for a new life. I didn't know where Papa was, and Mama wouldn't tell me.
"Mother stowed us away on a train to a faraway country to live with our Uncle Alexander, who she said was rich enough to take care of us but not of her. She wrote him a letter and gave it to my brother for safekeeping.
"My sisters Maria and Yuri got sick and died on the train. My brother Kraven got me to a town, gave me the letter, and left me, telling me he'd be back for me and not to run off. I got a job in a bakery and waited for six months.
"He didn't come back. I heard somewhere that he had gone back to our country. He had abandoned me, just like Mama and Papa.
"The first thing I did was find out where Uncle Alexander lived. After that, I worked until I had enough money to get here. That took another two months. Then I came here and you know the rest."
Marcus and William were silent for a minute. Then Marcus joined our hug.
"We're your family now," was all he said. That was enough.