June 25th, 1000

It was a stiflingly hot day in the small town of Lagrasse, France. The blazing sun beat down onto the few civilians that had braved the heat to go about their daily business causing beads of sweat to run down their faces as they attempted to gather food for their family or gather water to ward off dehydration.

One of the few people who could be seen actually enjoying the heat were two young children, around 9 or 10 years old, who were running through a field playing an exciting game of catch.

"Got you!" Cried the young boy, wrapping his arms around the girl as they tumbled to the floor in a fit of giggles.

"That's not fair! You didn't give me a chance to run!" Squealed the young girl. Though she spoke English, it was obvious that it was not her first language, judging by the thick, French accent. The boy, on the other hand, spoke with a Russian accent. Because she could not speak Russian and he could not speak French, they compromised by speaking a language both of them knew.

"Rules are rules." Said the boy, propping himself up on his elbow and smirking at the girl. She narrowed her eyes in mock dislike before lying flat on her back and staring up at the sky.

The children's names were Elijah, who was just one member of a large family from Russia who had migrated over to France in search of warmer weather and a better quality of life, and Ava, the youngest child and only daughter in a family of four.

Elijah watched Ava as she stared up at the sky with a smile. The two of them had become friends not long after his family had moved into town and had been all but inseparable since. It wasn't just the two of them that had become friends, either. Their parents had bonded over various dinners and Ava's older brother was friends with Elijah's brother, whereas Ava, whilst her best friend was Elijah, was also friends with Elijah's sisters.

"What's it like in Russia?" Ava asked, turning to lie on her side so that she was facing him. Elijah thought for a moment. "Cold," he said simply.

"Cold? Just cold?"

"I don't remember very well, I was very young when we left, but I know that I much prefer it here." he said, plucking a strand of grass from the ground and shredding it between his fingers. Ava copied him and pulled a clump of strands from the ground.

"Do you not miss it?" she asked, shifting her position so that she was lying on her stomach.

"Not really, it's nicer here."

Ava smiled but did not say anything else. They lay in a contented silence shredding grass between their fingers.

As the day wore on, Elijah and Ava played some more games, each of which Elijah won resulting in an infuriated Ava.

At last, in the early evening as the sun began to set, the heat that had engulfed the town since sunrise started to disperse as the sky started to dim.

"Oh," Ava said suddenly during the middle of a game as she registered the colour of the sky which was a slightly darker blue than it had been during the day. "Mama said I must be home before dark."

"Ok, lets go." Elijah said, holding out his hand, which she took. They walked through the field, hand in hand - well, Elijah walked, Ava skipped and tried to persuade Elijah to do the same - back to Ava's home. There, they found Elijah's mother deep in conversation with Ava's mother and her older brother engaged in a wrestling match with Elijah's younger brother, Klaus.

"Oh, Ava!" her mother exclaimed when she caught sight of Ava. "Oh, darling, you're filthy!" Ava glanced down, she was covered in grass stains, so was Elijah. She came forward with a piece of damp material and started to rub at a smear of dirt on Ava's cheek.

"Mama!" Ava protested, squirming away from her mother. She caught sight of Louis and Klaus's wrestling match and, with an excited squeal, bounded over to them.

"Can I join in?" She asked as they paused for a moment, breathless, as they looked up at the young girl.

"No younger sisters allowed!" said Louis.

Klaus laughed. "Yeah!" He said before pouncing on Louis again.

"Boys!" Elijah's mother said with a reproving glance, but it was obvious she didn't really mind.

Disappointed, Ava retreated back to Elijah, pouting. "I would ask you to wrestle with me," she said, obviously losing interest in the idea, "but I know that you will cheat so that you can win."

Elijah grinned at her, he took pleasure in winding her up. He didn't cheat when they played games, he was just better at them than her, because he was a boy and obviously stronger, but he knew that she would never admit that.

"Boys, it's time for us to go." said Elijah's mother, standing up. She retrieved Klaus from his game of rough and tumble with Louis and brushed him down so to rid him of the dirt that had managed to coat his clothes.

"It was nice to see you, Leda." said Ava's mother.

"You too, Giselle." said Leda. "Say goodbye, boys."

"Bye," Klaus and Elijah chorused as their mother led them away. Elijah turned and used the hand that wasn't being grasped by his mothers to give Ava and cheery wave, which she returned.