|| Chapter Twenty ||
Other Hand of God

Blood trickled down her lip; the life substance dripped to the floor in a few droplets. Faith had been pulled back up to her feet, only to be slammed back down to the floor again in a rage from the man behind her, who she yet had to see. As she lay, whimpering and choking on her blood, she looked down at the liquid; her body shivered from the cold. Her heart began to pound as she watched the gooey liquid form an almost tear drop on the dark, hard floor. Her mind twisted with itself as she choked again, coughing more of her horrible tasting blood onto the floor. Her throat burned as she continued to cough. Although it felt like it, she wasn't coughing out much blood for one to be alarmed.

"Believe me sir, I didn't mean to!" She remembered the white headed man grabbing her by the throat at that point, holding his strong hand so tightly around her she was prevented of breathing; of talking; being put on the brink of death.

These two men made her mind become clouded with the dismal thoughts of Albedo, with the way they had suddenly snapped, punishing her for just speaking a word. All she had done was ask for them to leave Gaignun out of whatever they had planned, and for no reason whatsoever the one had lifted her up, and for a naive second she thought she would be freed, only to slam her back down onto the floor. She felt weak as she breathed painfully, the man holding his position on her again. Hopelessly, she stared at the bullets that were lining the floor; the weapon in the other persons hand. She didn't know where he was, but as she had been lifted up she caught a glimpse of him in her eye; he had been leaning casually against the wall, as if he was waiting for someone. But he was, wasn't he really? He was waiting for the ride – waiting for Gaignun. But Faith was sure Gaignun wouldn't give the attackers a ride, especially as they had no weapon to threaten him with. As a matter of fact, as she just realized, they had nothing to threaten Gaignun with.

So in a few moments she would be free. She imagined herself being free of the too men; her cold body running into Gaignun's warm one. He would hold her close, sharing his heat and tell her it was all okay. Then, after enough convincing she would manage to get him to help her to find her brother. She would sit in the car, staring dreamily out the window as she spoke to Gaignun about whatever her mind would have to offer; asking for him to turn up the heat because of how much time she had spent outside, explaining the cold had gripped a tight hold on her body. She didn't have a clue what would happen when they found her brother, but she'd be in his safety, which was good enough.

"What are you thinking of, Faith?" the man against the wall asked her. He sounded bored and it was obvious he was asking her so she could release him from his boredom. Though she didn't wish to, she answered none the less.

"Something that has nothing to do with you," she bit her lip, expecting a beating straight away but the man only laughed.

"Haha, oh you're still quite the rude one, Faith," he menacingly commented; his voice and mannerisms reminding her much of Albedo. "Thinking about your husband are we?"

She gritted her teeth. "He's not my husband," she glared down at the floor, not being able to collect the energy to look at the person. A cold wind swept into the alleyway, sending shivers to run down Faith's spine, though she had tried her best to hold them back. And to think – right now she could be snuggled up in her warm bed, with the stupid twittering of Little Miss Morbid beside her, who, surprisingly, Faith had begun to miss.

"You want him to be, don't you?" the man's cold voice sniggered. "Silly girl, caught up in your fantasies. May I ask why hasn't he popped the question and given you the ring to bound you two for eternity?"

She sighed deeply, not knowing the answer to it herself. She figured the man was just trying to get inside of her and reveal her weakness. Faith shook her head, she'd be damned if she let that happen! "One doesn't need a ring to prove one's eternal love to another," her voice was mature and almost emotionless as she spoke.

"Is that so?" he asked, maintaining the same tone she had spoken with. "Or …" his voice began to grow cold as she heard his footsteps; his body drawing close to hers. "Does he not truly love you? Why is that, Faith? Is it because of the simple fact you're a realian?"

His fingers suddenly came under her chin; his strong tips dug until her flesh as he tore her head up, to look at him. She moaned as he lifted her head up painfully; an aching pain began at the back of her neck as he kept her in that position. Still, his features were covered by the darkness – preventing her from seeing him, but she could feel his cold eyes staring deep into hers and she could just about see the dark shadow cast over his lips, grinning menacingly.

"Or is it because you're a blood thirsty murderer?" he hissed deeply. He hadn't spoken loudly; his voice was almost soft but because of the words mixed with the menacing tone, she couldn't help but let her body shiver; her eyes shook as the goose bumps appeared on her skin.

She heard the pulling up of a car and the man in front of her quickly darted, leaving her to lye there; the other man firmly on her to prevent her from escaping. Though she knew there would be no chance of an escape, she still squirmed around, part of her just wanting to cause hassle for the man holding her down, whilst the other part believing deeply there would be a chance for her to escape. She simply heard the opening of the car door and then a few words were spoken to the man, yet she hadn't heard properly. Suddenly, she was pulled up to her feet: her wrists being held together by his strong hand; the other grapping onto her hair which she was sure would fall out anytime soon by the strength they used.

In her eye she could see the black car: the exact model of Gaignun's vehicle and her heart began to furiously pound against her chest. Her breathing increased as she felt strangely light headed. Her world became a strange blur as she tried to blink; keeping it all clear but it was useless. Before she knew it the world had slowly faded into darkness before she had managed to get to the car Gaignun was in. She could feel the arms of the person become loose around her wrists, and she wanted to run away, but because of her fading mind all she could do was to stand; feeling her body grow limp without her being able to do a thing.

"What would you do if you were to get caught?" the eager young boy asked, though there was a hint of worry in his tone. All the girl could do was giggle. Standing above her was a beautiful woman, with red coloured hair. Her hands were wrapped in a pair of clear, plastic gloves, as she began to blend a foul smelling liquid into the girl's pink and red locks. As her fingers massaged her daughters head, she giggled and squirmed; sometimes hissing in discomfort if her mother pulled at her wet hair a little too hard.

Their mother sighed deeply as she dug deeper into her roots. "That's why we are dying her hair, so that she cannot get caught."

"Whoa what's smell?" a loud, deep male voice asked; the owner of the voice came into the dinning room, taking off his blazer before giving his wife a kiss on the cheek.

The little girl giggled as her father hugged her brother, and then gave her a playful look. "Faith, that you? What did you do to my daughter? I think we should let her have a bath."

"I'm dying her hair," the mother smirked at her husband's playfulness.

"Boy I can't wait to see that," he smiled, poking Faith's little nose. "I bet I won't even recognise you. What colour are you going for, Faith? Shocking blue? What about bright red?"

"Electric yellow!" she happily cried, almost jumping off her seat. Her father grinned happily, whilst her mother angrily sighed as some of the smelling dye went onto her cheek.

"Faith, do stay still!" she glared. "I'm getting more of this on me then in your hair."

"Sorry mummy …" she bit her lip gently, trying not to laugh as it would only irritate her mother even more. She put her head down, wrapping the towel tighter around her neck.

"Is this for the disguise?" her father whispered, thinking Faith's ears hadn't caught his voice. Though they had, she stayed silent, wishing to find out more and to not make herself out to be rude. Her eyes looked to the side, spotting her brother who was sitting on the chair to the side, watching her intently.

"Yes," her mother whispered back. "We'll have to keep on top of it though. Her roots are going to come through pink and red. Don't forget that."

"I won't, I couldn't," he whispered. "It's just … we're being naïve, thinking this will work."

Her mothers hands quickly came away from her hair; Faith just sat there, her eyes looking to her brother who was watching there parents with a look of worry on his face. Their mother quickly turned around to their father; a face of anger on her face as she walked to him, backing him into the wall. She was a tall woman, with strong arms; a good body build that anyone would be afraid of, though it wasn't fear that made the man back into the wall – it was the pure shock of seeing the usually calm woman getting angry.

"We are not being naive, you hear me?" she yelled; the dye dripping off her gloved fingers and onto the floor. "We have worked damn hard to get that, that … that girl to where she is now! And I will not have anything get in the way! We've worked too hard, and a simple hair dye won't get rid of it all, I agree, but it's a simple idea – not naïve at all, okay?"

Faith stirred as she woke up, her mind blurred as she groggily came around. The sound of a car was the first thing she heard; the sickening feeling in the stomach the first thing she felt. Her body bounced as the car drove along a bumpy road. As she blinked a few times, she found her head leaning on the cold window glass; her hair had fallen over her face, though she could still tell it hadn't been long since she had fallen into unconsciousness; the sky was still dark. As she moved her hand to brush the hair from her eyes, she noticed how her index finger was covered in a white bandage, where it had been broken by the man. 'Gaignun …' she thought as she tucked her hair behind her ears, and sat up properly. The soft seats of the car felt good under her body as she glanced around; the car filled. Beside her was one of the men, the one she had bitten; she was sure of it. He was cradling a red finger in his hand again. She could see his face properly this time. He could be counted as a handsome man, defiantly normal looking too which was … remarkable to her. How could a man so normal, sitting with sandy blonde hair and wearing an average suit be her attacker? It was something she wished not to dwell on at that moment in time – all she could care about was getting the answers and figuring out what was going on.

Sat in front of her was the other attacker, and driving the car next to him was someone else. His hair was pure black and he was wearing a black coat, along with black trousers. Her heart began to pound quickly against her ribcage as she stared at the man; her eyes widened in either shock or happiness; perhaps a strange mix – she couldn't tell. Her mouth opened as she left out an airy gasp. "Gaignun."

"I thought she was meant to be sleeping," the man in front of her hissed, obviously annoyed. "I thought you had injected her some Local Anaesthetic?"

"I thought I had too," the man beside her said; his voice a little worried. "I did it before anything even happened. Trust me, I did."

"Then how come she is still awake?" the other yelled; his voice so loud, so shocking it caused Faith to jump. "Obviously it didn't work, did it?!"

"You … have some temper issues," Faith whispered, feeling safer with Gaignun in the car, though he wasn't speaking much. Just having him around made her feel better then anything, though she was extremely confused at the same time. What was he doing driving the car? Were the other two men being taken somewhere? Yes, that would defiantly make sense. They were the ones that would be getting into trouble, probably with the police and Gaignun was being silent because of many reasons: mostly because it was his character and for the simple fact he could be so worried and so angry at the same time it kept his mouth quiet.

"Keep your trap shut, you little brat!" the man in front yelled, proving what Faith had said: he did have anger issues.

Gaignun must have whispered something to the man, because after he sighed deeply; an almost groan and sat back on his chair, folding his arms tightly. She felt the eyes of the other man on her neck as she stared out of the window; drifting into her own, sleepy world. Just as she felt her eyes beginning to droop shut, as if they weighed ten stone, she heard a song quickly emerge from the pocket of her jeans, making her body convulse as she jumped in fear and shock.

'Hello, hello, is anyone home? Hello, hello, just pick up the phone.' Before anyone else had the chance to attempt to stop her, she had quickly gotten her hand into her pocket, grabbing the phone. She couldn't remember being given back the phone, but someone must have done seeing as though Gaignun was in the car with her, and really she couldn't get any help, even if they needed it. She pushed a button with her finger, and held the phone to her ear; the men in the car, apart from the driver, had their eyes turned around to her; watching her carefully, a little shocked too that her phone had randomly gone off.

"Hello?" she asked, sniffing a little as she watched the others carefully.

"Faith, where are you?" a voice on the other end of the phone asked. She felt all the blood drain from her head as she sat there; her hand clutching her phone tightly.

"W-who … i-is this?" she asked, her voice shaking as she looked at the black headed driver.

"Faith, its Gaignun."

Her throat closed up as she stared at the driver, who she had been sure was Gaignun. Her body began to tingle, a strange emotion coming over her as she stopped herself from feeling light headed. A small dizzy spell came over her, yet she had managed to stop herself from dropping the phone and letting her body fall limp. Being strong, her fingers wrapped around the phone a little tighter then before, her palms beginning to furiously sweat and her breathing increased.

"G-Gaignun?" she repeated, trying to understand it. "They wanted me to have the phone … they want me …"

She heard the sniggering of the man in front of her and she furiously glared. "You're sick!"

"Stop acting like such a foul child," the driver hissed. She was unsure of whether he was speaking to him or to her, but his face turned to the man for a split second; flashing him a frightening and stern glare. "If I had expected you to treat Miss Ackermann with such appalling manners I would have collected her myself."

"What? You'd have knocked on her door and requested her?" the man smirked. "The girl wouldn't have gone with her even if you begged her. We had to attack her for reasons."

"Perhaps," he said. "But there was no need for such emotional tumour, you understand this, yes? I call such a thing cruelty. Faith, Miss Ackermann, may you please place your phone into that socket?"

Faith blinked, staring at him for a few moments. His hand came behind the seat and his finger tapped a holder, in the shape of her phone. "You do not need to hang up on Mister Kukai." He explained as he took his arm back and put his hand on the steering wheel where it belonged. She obliged and slipped her phone into the holder, and within a beep it was put on loudspeaker, for all to hear.

"Gaignun Kukai?" the driver asked politely; not a tone in his voice to be fearful of.

"Yes, this is he. Where is Faith?" he asked; his voice with a little bit of anger.

"I assure you Miss Ackermann is fine," the driver said. "My name is Damion Blanc. May I just say that Faith is fine, I can promise you that? She has a few minor damages due to some unfortunate mistakes of my colleagues, but other then that she is just as healthy as she was when you last saw her. I do apologize for these circumstances. I had wished to collect you and Faith, it would have been easier for the girl, but because of her stubbornness to go outside during dark hours, I took our chance while we had it. I do apologize for any hassle I've caused for you."

"Can you explain why you want Faith?" Gaignun asked.

"We only want to talk to her about her past, Mister Kukai," Damion answered. "But I wish for you to be there too. Could you meet us at the old farming house on the outskirts of town? It's just field right now, but you can spot the house a mile off – its large and on its own."

"Yes, I will meet you," Gaignun answered. The sound of a car door shutting could be heard, and then Faith could hear the turning off the keys as he switched on his vehicle. "But on the grounds you let me stay speaking to Faith."

"Gaignun, I'm right here," Faith smiled, happy with his caring. She could have sworn she heard him sigh out in relief.

"We're … going to have to do something about you and running off …" he chuckled, trying to be playful with her. She smiled.

"I know, I'm so sorry, Gaignun," she said. "You're on loudspeaker right now, so you know."

"I see, so who else is in the car?" he asked. The two other men, who had yet to say their names, glanced at each other. The one she had bitten sighed, knowing he was to go first.

"There would be me," the man said. "I believe we have spoken before, a few minutes ago on the phone. The name is Luis Clementine."

'Clementine …' her eyes widened. "Daddy …" she whispered so quietly if anyone had heard her they didn't say or do anything in reaction.

"Oh would you look at that," the man who hadn't named himself yet happily said. "We're home. Oh how fantastic. Look at that, Faith. Mother will be most pleased."

She gasped as a name came to her head. "G-Gabriel?!"

The man sniggered and soon was laughing hysterically; his hand on his face to collect the salty tears that were emitting from his eyes from the amount of laughing he was doing. Faith put on a firm glare, feeling anger towards him.

"I always hated your name," she hissed. "Gabriel is an angel, the other hand of God. You don't deserve such a name."

"You do not deserve such a name like Faith," he smirked. "No one could ever put faith into you, what with the way you constantly changed from one person to another."

"No one could ever name you after God's other hand," she countered.

"Oh do you not see it?" Gabriel smiled. "I am the other hand – Mother is God and I am her messenger, her helper."

"Mother is God in the eyes of a child …" she whispered, quoting a line she had grown to know.

"Stop with this nonsense," Damion said, breaking the short silence.

"Faith …" Gaignun said. "Please, pick up the phone. I wish to speak with you in private."

Hesitating, she glanced from Damion, to Luis and then to Gabriel, her eyes going back to Damion one more time. They all seemed occupied within their own minds, Damion driving of course down a dirty road in the middle of no where; none of them objecting to what Gaignun had said. Nervously, she reached for her phone, taking it out the holder and then held it hard to her ear. "Gaignun, only I can hear you now."

"Good," he smiled widely on the other end. "What's the difference between the sprout and the bean?"

Faith giggled. "Heh, what are you talking about, Gaignun?" she asked, feeling a jolt of happiness from his unusual behaviour.

"That the difference between the sprout and the bean," he said, almost in a tuneful way; quoting a line from 'Sprout and Bean' she and him had been listening to the previous day. "What is the difference?"

"It is a golden ring," she sung, more in tone then him. "It is a twisted string."

"Good girl," he grinned. "You sung and answered the question. I want you to think about that until I come, okay? I shouldn't be too long. Ten minutes at most, perhaps, but I don't want you to worry. Now, what's the difference between the sprout and the bean?"

She giggled. "It is a golden ring."

"Here, Miss," Damion offered, getting out of the car. Faith undid her seat belt as the other men exited at a much faster pace then she had. Being busy singing with Gaignun, she had only hung up when Damion had switched off the car; when everyone else had already taken off their seatbelts with their eager hands clutching the handle. The belt made an almost excited noise as it retracted to its resting place; Faith slid her phone into her pocket and put her hand on the door handle, ready to get out when Damion stood on the other side, opening the door before she had the chance. The door handle was torn from her hand and her arm almost dropped. Her skin immediately shivered as the cold air came into the once warm car; but she ignored it, staring at Damion's politeness as he held the door open for her, waiting for her to get out.

"T-thank you …" she stuttered, getting out of the car. Her legs felt a little numb as she clambered out, the anaesthetic that had been injected into her made her entire body feel unusually numb, as if she were dead.

"It's quite alright," he smiled. The sky was still dark, yet a little lighter then it had been before; a slight blue tint had been added to the dark colour, lightening it up, and signalling the sign of a new day to start. The air was still cold, her breathe could be seen under her nose as she breathed or spoke. She was able to see his face in the little bit of light; his smooth features, clear skin and freshly shaven face and his dark blue eyes; they were all familiar to her. With a strong arm, he shut the door and looked at her as she moved awkwardly on the pebble covered path. "Are you alright, Miss Ackerman? Do you need any assistance?"

"I'm fine," she said, glancing at her surroundings. There were miles of fields, sectioned off into little squares with old wooden fences, where cattle and other things had been grown. At the end of the driveway was a large home. It had three stories, made from old fashioned wood and a beautiful porch that reminded her much of her old home. Gabriel and Luis had begun to make their way to the house, whilst Damion stayed back.

"Miss Ackermann, it is time to come inside," he said; his voice dragging her eyes to look at him.

"Please, don't call me Miss Ackermann," she said. She turned her head to the road, wondering when Gaignun's car would be pulling up. She didn't want to enter the house without him; she felt so nervous and though this kind, polite man called Damion was there with her, it didn't mean she felt safe. Hell, she felt the complete opposite! From the small pockets of memories she had, she was sure her family would kill her off if they ever got the chance.

Damion sighed deeply, his hand moving into his coat pocket. "I'm sorry, Faith." He said; his fingers moved and his other hand slipped into the same pocket. She watched him with curiosity as he did something in his pocket. "I've just been so used to addressing you as Miss Ackermann it's become accustomed to me," she frowned at his words. Slowly, but suddenly to Faith, he pulled out the silver gun she had stolen from Gaignun. He had finished putting the bullets back inside the weapon and was clipping it all back together. Instantly her feet took a step backwards as he cared for the weapon, her palms beginning to sweat.

Perfect place; it was a perfect place to kill her. She could picture it all, being told to get down on her knees, to stare at the pebbles, taking in all their unique patterns and colours, awaiting her death. Then there would be the defining bang as the trigger would be pulled; raven birds with feathers the same colour as Gaignun's locks would fly into the air as her body would fall limp. It was far from the town, no one would hear her and Gaignun would soon find her. It would be surprising if Damion's name was in fact Damion.

He clipped the gun, before looking up at her horrified expression. He smiled a little from her reaction as he turned the gun around, the barrel facing him. With one hand up in the air he passed the gun over to her so that she could grab the handle and the barrel wasn't facing her. "It's to make you feel safer; I hadn't planned to shoot you."

"I bet Gabriel wishes to shoot me," she muttered to herself as she took the weapon, a little shocked he had been willing to give it to her. Making sure the safety was on; she put the gun in her belt.

"Gabriel acts like an irrational child most of the time," Damion said. "But if he were to ever have such a thought, it isn't true."

Faith sighed, not believing him and looked back at the road, desperately searching for Gaignun's car with her eyes. Damion had seen her and sighed like she had done.

"He'll be here soon," he said. "Come on, let's go inside otherwise you'll catch a cold."

"I want to wait," she said, taking a step foreword.

"Faith …" he was about to say more when she sharply cut him off, speaking in a loud, firm tone.

"I want to wait!" she growled, stepping foreword again. Stubbornly, she sat down on the uncomfortable cold pebbles, disturbing them as she made a place to sit. She pulled down the sleeves of her shirt so that they covered her fingers, and crossed her legs. Her elbows leaned on her knees and her hands held her head as she stared foreword, waiting patiently for him.

"Damion!" Gabriel impatiently called. "What's taking so long?"

"We are waiting for Mister Kukai," he answered, giving an expression to Gabriel. Even far away, Faith could hear an irritated grunt come from Gabriel.

"He wasn't so impatient when we were kids," Faith muttered, shivering furiously from the cold.

"Which is why we should go inside," Damion said. "We don't want him to get irritated, besides, your cold Faith."

"I'm fine," she hissed quietly.

She could hear the sound of an engine drawing closer; her eyes strained as she looked at the road, just about able to see Gaignun's black car driving quickly. Her heart began to pound quickly in excitement as a smile appeared on her face. 'That the difference between the sprout and the bean, it is a golden ring.'

He turned the car to the left, driving on the pebble pathway. Damion had stood back a little as Gaignun parked, Faith jumping to her feet as she excitedly watched Gaignun, eager to run up to him and greet him, though the guilt was still looming over her. She had put the poor man through a lot of the previous days, and she was struggling to figure out how to make it up to him. Before she had a chance to even begin to think of things like that he had switched off the car and she found herself twiddling her fingers in anticipation. The door opened and he stood out gracefully. Seeing his strong figure, his face and his beautiful black hair was enough for her heart to skip a beat and a feeling of safety run through it.

Before the alluring man could glance up, or shut the door of the car, her body ran into his, almost knocking him into the vehicle. He was so warm against her body, just like she had imagined before. He smiled contently as she wrapped her arms around his body, tucking her face into his sweet smelling shirt. In reaction he put a hand on her back, holding her close to him. He was relieved, more then relieved to have her back in his arms, safe again.

"Gaignun I-" she was cut off by him.

"Apologize and give you the task of doing my paper work," he smirked. Her head lifted to look at his face and he poked her nose, making her giggle.

"I did do your paper work," she smirked, reaching up to poke his nose. "Remember those sheets from yesterday?"

"That was you?!" he gasped, remembering how annoyed he had been; how he had thrown them irrespectively across the room, when they had been Faith's work. She had used her time; when she had been ill from the amount of blood loss, when she was meant to be resting, to finish his work for him. His face softened as he stared at her, his lips slowly curling into a smile. "Faith …" he whispered, pulling her close to him again. "However did I get such a wonderful girl like you?"

She smirked, holding tighter onto him like a child. "Not that wonderful …" she whispered so quietly Gaignun couldn't hear.

Keeping his arms wrapped around her, his eyes glanced over to Damion, who stood near the car. Damion returned his look with a polite nod and a slight smile. "Damion Blanc?" he asked.

"Yes Sir," he nodded again. "It's a pleasure to be in your company. We do thank you for being here with us."

"I'm here for Faith, not for you," Gaignun almost glared as he looked at the house; Gabriel stubbornly leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, glaring at either Gaignun or Faith (most likely Faith) and Luis was messing around his torn finger again. "Now …"

Gaignun looked at the car door, and then back to Damion. "Is this meeting worth putting my partner under strain, or must I take her home now?"

"No, Gaignun," Faith said, lifting her head to look at him. As she spoke to him, his fingers ran through her tangled hair, brushing it for her. Her locks felt soft under his hair and soothing to his skin. "I need to face this, I have to face this," her fists tightened around his shirt as she looked down at his chest. "I want … I want a life with you, I want to maybe be called Faith Kukai, and I … we can't do that unless everything's straightened out."

There was a little pause of silence as she remembered Gabriel's words; "Does he not truly love you? Why is that, Faith? Is it because of the simple fact you're a realian? Or is it because you're a blood thirsty murderer?"

These words caused her to shiver furiously and Gaignun, taking it the wrong way, sighed deeply, taking his arms from her. She felt cold as he pulled away and stared at him, wondering what he was doing. He went inside of the car, reaching to the back and pulled out a blue blanket. He shut the door behind him, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, facing her.

"You should have gone inside …" he whispered, his face close to hers as he continued to hold the blanket tight to her body.

"I wanted to wait," she countered, feeling warmer as the material was wrapped around her. "I feel safer with you."

His hand moved onto her cold face, caressing her cheek gently and lovingly. He kissed her forehead just as lovingly, and then kissed her cheek; both making her smile. "Faith Kukai sounds like a beautiful name …"

She smiled, blushing furiously as she nuzzled herself closer to him. Never had she felt so loved, so happy then she did at that moment. The world around them disappeared as she was held by him; his face deep in her hair. He kissed her sweet smelling hair and smiled. After a few long minutes, Gabriel's yelling could be heard in everyone's ears.

"Would you two lovers hurry the hell up?!" he yelled, obviously irritated. "I hadn't brought you here to kiss and waste my time."

"Is he your brother?" Gaignun asked her quietly, not wanting to let go.

"Yeah … come on, Gaignun," she said, lifting her head. She moved away from him only for him to hook his arm around hers; his hand gripped tightly on her own as he smiled. She smiled back and looked over to the house, the usual feeling of nerves appearing in her chest, yet not as strong with the man of her dreams holding onto her.

Comments~ Wow a long chapter =) Hope you enjoy. Sorry I haven't replied to the reviews people have given for the last couple of chapters; poor internet access, so I'll just say now thank you all so much for you kind words; I appreciate it so so sooo much and they all make me smile. =] So thankies very much, again.