Disclaimer: the Night World is the property of L.J. Smith, and I thank her for it....

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It had been a year since Ash had left to right his wrongs, and Mary- Lynnette was patiently (ok, maybe not so patiently!) awaiting his return. She had spent hours, days, weeks, and months treasuring the memory of their connection.

Her soulmate.

The thought made her happy and sad, all in the same instant. She went all warm and fuzzy... but felt a terrible pain at the same time. She loved him so much... and she missed him so much.

She spent her nights as she always had, but with a fiercer dedication, staring at the stars. She reminded herself daily that he was out there somewhere, staring at the very same sky. She spent her days keeping her mind busy with whatever tasks she could find. This, to keep her thoughts from turning to him... For, when she did think of him, his absence was almost too much to bear.

Her senior year in high school had gone by quickly, and with her new- found dedication to her schoolwork, she graduated at the top of her class. But none of that really mattered to her... only one thing, or one person, that is, mattered to her... Ash Redfern.

She had decided to postpone college for at least another year; it no longer seemed that important. Her dad and stepmother Claudine did not seem too concerned, because they had seen how diligently she had worked for the past year and agreed that she needed a break. And Mary-Lynnette was very grateful for their understanding. Frankly, they had been worried about her. She had distanced herself from everyone except for Ash's sisters and her brother Mark. She rarely talked about Ash and conveniently found a reason for leaving the room, whenever his name was mentioned. Though she found herself, on many days, fighting a deep sadness, she was determined not to give into depressing thoughts. This meant she needed as many distractions as possible from thoughts of Ash. She did, however, remain very close with his sisters and spent a majority of the summer at their home. They were a source of comfort to her. They knew her reasons for avoiding even his name. They understood and never pressed the issue.

When she was alone, she could not stop the memories from coming, especially when she was stargazing. She would sit by her telescope, a faint smile touching her lips and tears streaming down her face. This was the case tonight. The sky was so clear, it was nearly unearthly, and there she sat, smiling and crying silently. Smiling because they (she and Ash) had found each other in the first place and crying because he wasn't there with her. She had been up on her hill for nearly three hours, when she heard someone call her name.

"Mary-Lynnette?" Rowan called.

Mary-Lynnette made a very slight sniffling noise, as she brought her tears to a halt. She shook her head and wiped her tears from her face with the back of her hands. Taking a deep breath, she stood to face the eldest of the three lamia sisters.

Rowan was tall, slender, and graceful with flowing brown hair and brown eyes. Though it was dark, Mary-Lynnette could see that Rowan's face seemed to glow. She had been hunting. "Hi," Rowan said in her low, musical voice. Coming closer to Mary-Lynnette, she said gently, "You've been out here for awhile and, well, it doesn't seem that your eyes are exactly fit for gazing through a telescope."

Mary-Lynnette glanced down, sheepishly. She should have known better than thinking she could hide her tears from a vampire. She knew their eyesight was phenomenal.

"When you're alone, you think about him a lot, don't you," Rowan stated, sympathetically.

Mary-Lynnette could not look up, could only manage a slight nod. She couldn't find her voice at the moment. When she felt tears begin to well up again, she forced them back. Steeling herself, she looked up into Rowan's sympathetic, brown eyes. She was so different from her sisters, yet she was also so much like them. Kestrel, two years younger than Rowan, was nearly her opposite, and most definitely so in manner. She was very nearly just as her name described her; predatory and hawklike, with golden hair and eyes the color of amber. Jade was the youngest, sixteen when they had come to Briar Creek a year ago. Even today she used her white-blond hair to hide herself and her silvery green eyes. A person almost wouldn't know they were sisters, though one thing they had in common was their unearthly beauty. And, of course, Ash also had that.

Rowan put her hand on Mary-Lynnette's arm, bringing her from her musings, and said, "I know you miss him. But he will be back soon... He'll keep his promise, trust me, he's changed. He didn't leave Briar Creek the same person he was when he arrived. He's your soulmate, he can't stay gone forever. He may even be on his way back, as we speak." She said this last part with a little more enthusiasm and squeezed Mary-Lynnette's arm for added emphasis.

Mary-Lynnette sighed and let a slight smile form on her face, "Thanks. You're right. It has been a year now—in fact, it's been a few days over." At that, Rowan raised questioning eyebrows. "Yes, I've been counting," Mary-Lynnette quickly replied to the look. "I just miss him so much... But you are right. Maybe he is on his way right now." She cheered a little more, and it was evident in her voice.

Rowan smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad I've helped a little," and looking up at the sky, "but it's getting late, so I should get back to the house." She looked at Mary-Lynnette, "Maybe you should be heading back too," she suggested.

As Rowan turned to leave, Mary-Lynnette replied, "Yes, I suppose I should." Rowan disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

Mary-Lynnette folded her lawn chair and the legs of her telescope and headed down the hill. At the bottom, she almost expected to find her old station wagon waiting for her, but where it would have been she found a black jeep. After what had happened to her old car, her dad had been hesitant to find her a replacement. But because of her hard work at school and home, Claudine talked him into finding her something she could haul her telescope around in. So, they had found this jeep and, with the back seat folded down, there was more than enough room for her telescope. Somehow, it almost seemed ironic that the jeep was black and blended in so well with the night, for Mary-Lynnette had always felt that she had belonged to the night herself. That is, until she learned what was really hiding in the darkness. However, her increased knowledge of the night (and the Night World) did not keep her from enjoying the night, the stars, and from finding joy in the people who truly belonged to it.

When she had just finished closing up the back of the jeep, she got the distinct feeling she was being watched. Her spine stiffened, as the hairs on her arms stood on end. She turned around slowly and stared into the darkness surrounding her. Somehow, it seemed darker than before. She shivered and was brought back to her senses. "Don't be silly," she thought and went toward the front of her jeep. As she opened her door, she chanced a glance over her shoulder and thought she saw eyes glowing among some nearby trees. Blinking several times, she stared toward the area where she had seen the two shining dots... and saw nothing. Shaking her head, she climbed into the vehicle. Later, in bed, she couldn't shake the memory of the shining eyes or the feeling that someone had been watching her.

And she didn't sleep well.

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(There will be more chapters to come, once I have time and creative inpiration; please be patient, if patience is an issue.)