So, here's the deal...this chappie is a little shorter than the others...hope that's okay. A little of Caius' past, and a little more about my world. Check out my freewebs to see what I think Ava should look like.

Enjoy!

"I'm so sorry. I suppose it's better that you came here than there. My father and the others have been cleaning up. It's better that you didn't see your family that way."

"Thank you, for telling me, but I must say that any family I had was long dead anyway. They were dead before I left, bandits. My sister and mother were killed shortly before I left. My father died when I was just a small child."

I actually let my true emotions seep into being. My sister had been seven years my junior, and she could scarcely remember our father. Fia had been the one thing I had kept precious to me. She had been the little angel, blonde hair and our father's blue eyes. Our mother would hardly look at us because she was always so drugged up, so I mostly raised Fia. The men who used our mother liked to keep her docile, and used the drugs to do so. I was only grateful that Fia had been killed before they had replaced our mother with her. I'd loved her too much to allow that to happen anyway.

Ava looked at me tenderly as she took my hand into her own, "I'm so sorry."

I shook off the unbidden emotions, "Don't be, that was a long time ago."

"As you like." She acquiesced easily, "We shan't talk any more of it. Curses, how rude of me to have not offered you some refreshment before upsetting you, I'm sorry. Come, let me get you something."

"No, you shouldn't bother. I'm not hungry, and I've got my own drink." I said quickly, motioning to a flask I had at my side. She nodded slightly, but stood anyway, setting to make herself tea. What the human didn't need to know was that my little flask was full of blood…not necessarily animal blood either.

I watched with unusually rapt attention as she moved, taking the ribbon and flower out of her tresses. Her hair was surreal, hanging down around her hips, it moved with her, a black satin curtain obscuring her exquisite body from my view. I heard myself growl out in need. She looked up, meeting my hungry gaze with one that was innocent and probing, "Did you say something?"

I shook my head slightly, "No, I did not." My words were thick in my throat.

Ava smiled, bringing a cup of hot tea back to the sofa. "So, tell me about your travels, I'm sure they must be terribly exciting."

The next few hours saw me watching the girl slowly fall asleep through my stories. If I could say, the way her eyes would drift closed before jerking back up made her all the more lovely. How could one human do this to me? I hadn't felt this sort of carnal lust in centuries, but I felt it for this one human girl. I should just kill her, I reasoned. These feelings were nothing of value to me. Besides, I had Athenadora to satisfy my needs, why should I want this girl? Why!

She was sleeping peacefully, curled like a child on her corner of the sofa. Her head was tilted to one side, exposing the lush, silk caramel of her neck. Her blood was pumping just below the surface, waiting for me to sink my teeth into the delicate skin. "Why do you tempt me so, human?" I growled under my breath, and I was astounded when the girl's eyes fluttered open.

She jumped a bit, and then seemed to realize who I was. She sighed, smiling softly at me, "Good morning, Lucian. I'm sorry I didn't make a bed for you." She looked around with a sheepish grin, "Or at least get off the sofa so you could stretch out. Never the less, did you sleep well?"

I nodded, lying to her was becoming second nature to me. "Yes, fairly well. You?" I didn't want her to know that I didn't sleep, I didn't want her to know what I was. I didn't want her to know, because for the first time in centuries, I didn't want to see fear in her human eyes.

She looked me over, a tiny bit of an unknown emotion in her eyes, "I slept very well, considering."

"Considering what?"

She giggled again, and the noise brought a smile to my lips, "Considering that it's the first time I've ever slept with a man who wasn't my brother or my father next to me. I'm proud of myself, especially since this was my first night without any of them." The smile on her lips faded, "Thank you, Lucian, for staying with me. I could have never done it without you."

"Done what?" I asked, immensely curious as to her answer.

"Yesterday was my eighteenth and a half anniversary of my birth. You're from around here, you must know that it's tradition for that day to be the day in which we truly become adults and are expected to live on our own. Thank you, for not making me be truly alone last night." She ended with a smile, soft and tender. "I must admit that I was a little scared."

Finally, something I was familiar with. Something that was mine, from my time, finally. Perhaps that's why I was drawn to this girl, she was the one who could tell me what I wanted to hear, that my time hadn't completely been forgotten.

"Mae dod i oed." I said in the tongue I had grown up with, "The coming of age," I repeated in English, "yes, I remember. I myself, left home before mine could be performed, but I witnessed many of them."

"Well that's too bad. It's also too bad that you came so late last night The ceremony was beautiful. It would have been lovely to have had such an interesting guest." She looked up at me through her dark eyelashes and I felt a heat rise in me.

"Are you betrothed?" The question blurted out of my mouth before I could stop it. What was it about her that made me lose my reason?

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-Jenn