Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Wish I did.

Author's Note: This one is a little weird but please stick with it til the end. As always, please review!

Her boy was unhappy again. He was trying to hide it, but she could tell. She could always tell. Little things gave him away, a tightness around his eyes, a downward twist to his lips in between fake smiles. He had killed off his lead character months ago, and his mood had been souring ever since. He still signed chests and flirted with his little cronies but his heart was not truly in it. It worried her. She hadn't seen him this bad since Kyra.

When she'd found him, he'd been sixteen, all gaunt and gangly with limbs grown too long for his frame. She'd been doing a play, and he had snuck backstage. She had felt his eyes following her all evening, could smell his desire and his equally strong curiosity. It was the second that had drawn her to him, that naked lust for life, for new experiences. In a world of shadows, he had outshone the sun.

That night, he had wooed her with words, beautiful and dark. She had shown him things then, and for many nights afterward, things even his rich imagination could not have conjured.

It almost made her regret making him forget it.

She could have turned him then. At that point he would have granted her anything. She had refrained, however. Time and again she had seen her brethren throw caution to the wind and it almost always lead to heartbreak. She didn't want to turn him too soon, didn't want to cheat him out of a full life. A few decades of patience were a small price to pay to prevent an eternity of resentment.

His real mother had been easy to erase from his mind. She had been a drunk who had never even wanted him. That woman couldn't see what she saw. He was unique. In two thousand years of walking the Earth, she had never found anyone quite like him. Orpheus had been close, at least before the death of his wife had driven him mad. Even that was a pale comparison. Orpheus had tasted like the moon, all still energy and cold light. Richard...Richard was her long-lost sun. His blood burned hotly in her throat, filling her being with a golden glow. It had made her feel not only alive, but young, as if the world were new.

So she had taken him. Weaving a new history in his mind, so detailed and complete he hardly even noticed. Truly, it had been her finest work, until that bitch Kyra had ruined it. She'd only had him five years, supporting and guiding him, and then he had to go and meet her. She'd put an end to it as soon as she had been able. Not soon enough as it turned out. He had been utterly heartbroken, unable to write, his fire nearly extinguished.

So she'd made Meredith for him. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. The girl had been nice enough, if a bit stupid, but she'd never been quite right once her mind had been tampered with. He had needed someone extraordinary, and even with her help, Meredith hadn't stood a chance. He had needed someone whom he could love fully, unconditionally, as was his nature.

Letting him play Daddy had been one of her more brilliant ideas. It had required no small adjustment to his memory. It had also required certain...sacrifices on her part. She had written herself in as part of his family, one with a certain sensitivity to sunlight. Unfortunately, the ridiculous customs of this time had such a problem with incest, even if it was fictional. It had worked beautifully. He began to write once more, more prolific than ever. It didn't matter that she could no longer taste him aware. He had been happy, and she had basked in his glow once more.

For fifteen years, it had been enough. There had been a few hiccups. Gina had been a surprise, albeit, she had thought, a harmless one. It was a warning, a signal, that he had begun to grow restless once again. He needed a partner, a human mate, but she had long since despaired of finding one worthy of him.

Telling Gina about his writer's block had been a long shot, and predictably, it had gone wide. Still, she had listened to his tale of woe with a sympathetic ear. She always listened, and she always would.

She pushed her red locks behind her ear, and felt another set of eyes on her. The "Silver Fox" leered at her. In her youth, the poets had said that hers was a face that had launched a thousand ships. In reality, it had only been a few hundred, but still. She should be used to the adoration by now. This time, it irritated her, distracted her from the problem at hand. What was she going to do?

She turned her attention back to him. "I just want someone to come up to me and say something new." he whined.

At that moment, fate intervened.

"Mr. Castle?" the woman said.

Stunning. That was the only word she could come up with. Like Richard, this woman practically shone. However, whereas his light was warm and golden, hers burned hot and blue-white. Two stars of equal brightness, she knew they would orbit each other in a beautiful dance. This was the answer. She would stay back, let them come together on their own, and only when they were hopelessly intertwined would she strike.

She would have them both.

She would turn Richard first, and then, if he had been good, she would let him take the woman himself. Then the three of them would be free to live out their unlife together.

Always.

Everything was falling into place. She smiled as she grabbed the pen from Richard's unresisting hand.

"That's new," Alexis said.

And she meant every word.

Additional Author's Note: Did I get anybody? Did you think the narrator was Martha, or was it obvious that it was Alexis from the beginning? I tried to make it ambiguous until the very end. Do you think I succeeded?

I told you this one was a little creepy and I meant it. I'm not sure where it came from but I figured that any being who was 2000 years old would at best consider individual humans treasured pets, even if they were as extraordinary as Rick and Kate.

Pretty please with sugar on top, hit that Review button! I'm particularly proud of this one and I want to know what you think.