My strange family had sprung up before me; my big, brutish barbarian and my awkward, little, victimized newborn. I didn't know if I was ready for it, but there was nothing that could be done to change it. I knew I could live with Ondre, he was my other half, but Artemis would prove something altogether different. I was both excited, and frightened at the thoughts of her future.

We pulled into a gated area, surrounded by a thick, tall stone and concrete fence; the twisted iron gate receding into the fence like the one at Queen Serana Torllona's house. There was a beautiful collection of the most wonderful trees. There were tall and skinny spruce trees, barren oaks, even the dark and twisted wood of an incredibly large cherry tree. The limousine pulled through the little grove along a wide and solid black driveway, approaching a massive home.

It was blocky, but elegant and colonial, with French-inspired southern styling. Standing at the front door was a vampire I didn't recognize; she was tall, and thin, with her hair pulled tight on the back of her skull.

"That's Olivia, my Love. She's one of mine."

"You made her?" I turned back to Ondre.

"I did. Years ago, she's something of my accountant; helped negotiate the price on the house. Her companion is soon to being promoted to sheriff."

"Nice. Must make you proud." Ondre shrugged, smiled and squeezed my hand.

"She's staying with us until you're done with her."

"What would I need her for?"

"To pay for the things you're going to fill our house with." He smiled at me. "Honestly, did you think I'd by someone else's things for you? Never." He kissed my hand and I instantly felt a burning in my chest for him.

"I love you Ondre." We kissed, and the limousine came to a stop. The driver appeared at the door and opened it. He was a small, husky, Asian vampire, with stringy hairs on his face.

"I love you." He held my face to his, and rolled his lips over mine. "I can't wait to show you the bed..." He teased and Artemis, with an uncomfortable look on her face, exited the vehicle. He and I climbed out a bit more slowly. Ondre forced me out first, taking the opportunity to playfully slap my rear. I won't lie, I liked it.

"Hello, Leon. My name is Olivia." She said, holding out her hand. I took it, and dipped my head.

"Hello. I understand you'll be staying here for a while."

"Yes." She seemed to not want to say more, but that wasn't good enough for me.

"You helped him buy this house, correct?" She nodded. "Have you been inside?"

"Yes, just stepped out when I heard you at the gate."

"How is it?"

"It's beautiful, a bit empty, but I hear you will soon be changing that."

"Let's hope. I do love spending money." She grumbled some kind of laugh, which in truth was more of a groan than anything else. "Olivia, this is Artemis. She is my progeny." I stepped aside and Artemis took a step forward, totally avoiding Olivia's eyes.

"Hello, Ma'am." She said in her mousy voice.

"Please, call me Olivia." She was friendly with my newborn, but something about the way she acted seemed off. Almost like she couldn't wait to stop being in my presence.

"Come on, Leon. I want to show you around. Would you like to come, Artemis?" Ondre spun me in his arms, tucking me by his side.

"I guess..." Artemis shrugged, and followed behind Ondre and I. Olivia, for some reason, made a point of being the last one inside.

"Wow..." The front room was solid white, with a bold and rich, dark, hardwood floor. In the center of the room at the far wall was a large stairwell that rose into the air and split into two separate staircases that went higher and then seemed to open into a large hallway.

"Through here is the pool and the sauna-"

"We have an indoor pool?" I asked.

"We do." He tickled at my hip as we walked through the doorway which revealed another smaller room with several other doorways. "Through here." He led us through the one on the far right. "The one on the left leads back here too." He said and the room we stepped into was totally different from the one we left.

There was clean white tile on the walls, with large, multi-color tile covering the floor. The pool was submerged in the center of the long room. Its walls were lined with glittering golden stone and its bottom a bold and solid black marble. At the back of the room was a wooden door with a wood burning that read 'WET'.

"What's back there?" I asked.

"The wet-room; a place I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of." He slipped a finger under my waistband. I'm sure the women around us saw but they needed to get used to it because it would never stop. After we saw the pool, which I was sure to be diving into before dawn, Ondre showed us the dining hall, the kitchen, both of which were totally empty. Then we saw the library which was already full of books.

"Most of these are from my collection. But please, feel free to add." He said, his voice sounding over all of us. It was nice seeing him so accepting of Artemis; he had been a maker several times before, and had much more experience than I when dealing with newborn. He was my maker when my creator ran away.

Next was the den, the study, the garage, an office, and we ended back in the front room.

"Upstairs are the bedrooms. Ours is the largest, but they all have their own bathroom, alongside the two standalone bathrooms at the far end of the upstairs hall."

"How many bedrooms are there?" I asked.

"5, counting ours." Ondre began up the stairs, the rest of us following behind him. "Artemis, if you'd like you can choose which room you want. They're fairly empty now, but that should soon change." Ondre sent Artemis down the hall on her own, Olivia taking after her. "This..." Ondre said, reaching out for the door knobs of the massive double doors in front of us. "-Is our room." He thrust open the doors and the first thing to catch my eyes was the enormous crystal light hanging from the center of the ceiling. I was completely overcome and tackled Ondre to the floor.


~Ondre

Leon pinned me to the ground, his arm around my neck and his lips gingerly laying sweet kisses on mine. I rolled him over and held him close to my body, lifting him and making for the massive log-framed bed at the far end of the room.

"Where the fuck did you find that?" He climbed off me and walked on his knees to the footboard of the bed. I took off after him and mounted his little body, burying my face in his neck.

"Olivia found it."

"Damn...She has...connections-" His voice trailed; I pulled his yellow coat off his arms and slipped my hand under his shirt, and pulled at his abdomen. "Wait. Wait, Ondre! Wait!" He shoved me off of him, something I think he enjoyed doing, and ran for the doors of the bedroom, shutting them and grabbing a long black box from his coat before bounding back to the bed. He sat on his knees and eagerly handed me the solid black box.

"What's this?" I asked, taking it from him.

"It's your birthday present. Happy belated birthday!" He smiled, and tilted his head, wanting me to open the parcel. The box was a long and skinny rectangle, with the top decorated with a sparkling, golden bow. I peeled open the top and saw a black velvet bag, its drawstring and tight-pulled opening at the brim on the heavy cardboard.

Leon leaned on his fingertips, focusing on my face as I pulled out the bag. Instantly, from the shape gravity forced on the bag, I knew what it was.

"Something tells me this is a present meant more for you, than myself."

"What gave you that idea?" He bit his bottom lip and rocked back on his knees. I slipped my finger into the silken bag and felt icy-cold metal. It was smooth; I drew open the bag and poured it into my hand. It was as long as my hand, fingertip to wrist, and as wider than four of my fingers clustered together. The long, smooth shaft was a shining gold metal, with a round base for gripping that was wider than the toy itself.

It was a dildo: A shining, golden dildo.

Leon leaned over, flicked a switch at the base, and watched as it came alive in my hand.

Bzzzzzzz-! The machine inside it rattled to life and it began to vibrate.

"Interesting..." I said, turning the device around in my hand.

"I thought you'd enjoy getting to use it-" He leaned forward then cupped my hand around the solid shaft, and took it in his. "On me." He pulled me to his body and laid down in the bed in front of me. He held the toy in his hands and shut it off, touching its round tip to his mouth.

Within seconds his pants, shirt, underwear, and sheer socks were thrown about on the floor. Leon was underneath of me with my fangs puncturing the sweet and forgiving flesh of his neck, one hand around his cock the other around the one he bought for us. It was large, not longer than me, but certainly wider. Leon said he could take it and I didn't doubt him, he was an expert in this.

I pushed it into his tight, pink flesh and his face twisted in a sudden jolt of pain.

"A'rrêtez!" He shouted at me and shivered as I pulled the cold metal away.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No more than usual..." He laid his hand in mine and forced the toy to the bed, where we left it off. I could hear footsteps outside our door; they lingered, and didn't begin to move away. "Artemis?" Leon called out, turning his attention to the door.

"Could I talk to you...Please?" I could see him weighing the decision, and so I made it for him.

"He'll be right out." Leon turned around to give me a morose look and climbed off the bed, slipped into his pants and threw on his coat before opening the door and stepping out to meet with Artemis. He was a maker now, and I'd not allow him the lapse in responsibility for sex. Not this time, at least.


"I have to sleep in...this?" She stood over her coffin, which for all intents and purposes was a very beautiful resting place.

"Until I can have a bed delivered, yes." Artemis sighed and for the first time since New York, she looked up at me.

"I can't..." Her pale grey eyes seemed to tremble, and her bottom lip stuck out the slightest bit.

"Why not?"

"I-I'm afraid..." Just then, a bloody tear fell from her eyes. She felt it glide over her cheek, and touching her face she saw the streak of blood.

She screamed. It was loud, and sirenous, enough to cause me to immediately slam my hand over her mouth.

"You cry blood. You vomit blood. Had you been born a man, you'd shoot blood from your cock. It's nothing to scream about." I said slowly, and let her go. She was shaken by my actions, but more so by the information she'd been given. "There's around four hours until dawn, would you like to come out with me?"

"How do you know when the sun comes up?"

"I can feel it. Can't you?"

"I don't know what half the shit I feel is..."

"You'll get used to that...Let's get you some clothes."


"Any bed, it doesn't matter what kind, she wants one."

"What's wrong with the coffin?" Ondre asked. His voice was quiet in the speaker of my phone.

I had brought Artemis to the part of town that had taken to the Great Revelation. We were in a small boutique named 'Moonlyt'. I didn't understand the incorrect spelling, but Artemis didn't even seem to notice. A woman in a respectable black dress came by and handed me a tall champagne glass of TruBlood.

"Merci." I took the glass from her and made my way towards somewhere more private, but considering the vampires in the store with me nothing would truly be private.

"She's afraid of it."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't say, I have to assume she was claustrophobic."

"Was." His voice made certain I understood his meaning. To him, a vampire should be fearless and able to conquer anything presented to them. He was the embodiment of that creed, and I his apprentice.

"She's afraid, and I will not force her into the coffin."

"Someday, she'll have to sleep in one."

"Someday, but not while I can stop it. Get Olivia on it."

"My, my…You've gotten commanding tonight."

"I haven't had my medicine in a very long time."

"Shame." He chuckled. "I'll see to it Artemis has a bed before dawn."

"Thank you, Ondre."

"Of course. Go on; get back to spending my money."

"You know I will." I paused, not wanting to let him go.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you." And he was gone. I looked at the screen, which lazily faded to black. I turned it over in my hands and slipped it into my jacket, which I had buttoned to conceal my bare chest.

"I love those shoes!" Said a female vampire who had somehow snuck up on me.

"Thank you." I touched the heel to the floor, and tapped it twice. She was pretty; a soft face with friendly eyes and short, brown hair curled alongside her face.

"Where did you get them?"

"They were a gift. I couldn't even begin to guess where they got something this fabulous in a size this big." The girl laughed and touched my arm playfully. She smiled and began for her exit.

"Well, it was nice meeting you..."

"Leon," I held out my hand and she took it in hers with a light and airy touch.

"Diana. It was nice to meet you, Leon."

"Likewise, Diana." We smiled and she walked by me and once she entered the night, disappeared into the darkness.

"She was pretty...You know her?" Artemis asked from nearby. I turned around and saw my newborn looking how she should be. Her long, milk-chocolate colored hair bounced about her shoulders. Below them was a dress made from a patterned silk fabric that resembled lapis lazuli.

If you've never seen a stone of lapis lazuli, I strongly recommend finding one. It's incredibly beautiful; a light turquoise stone with bands and splatters of gold and brown all throughout. It was one of my favorite stones, its beauty not in its cut, or its shine, but in its imperfections.

"Beautiful." I stepped towards her and touched the fabric. It was cool, and slippery, the way silk should feel. Her breasts were concealed by a textured breastplate of sorts, which covered them completely. Below that was the rest of the dress, its attention-grabbing fabric fluttering and flowing down to the floor.

"You like it?" She asked looking up from beneath her brow.

"I think it's amazing, but too much like a dress to look good on me." Artemis laughed and turned her head away.

"It's expensive though..." She scrunched her face in what I took as disappointment.

"And? Remember, we're rich-"

"Or something." She looked up and smiled.

Artemis' beauty was beyond reproach. She had the figure of a woman, not the sticks that walked around us; she had breasts, and hips. But her envy of these tiny women was obvious. I couldn't help but feel angry as the bright look on her face vanished and was replaced by a dark, and saddened landscape.

I stepped forward and grabbed Artemis' arm. "Did you find anything else you liked?" This snapped her attention back to me, but only for a moment. Her eyes drifted away immediately and fell on the human at the far end of the room.

"You're hungry, aren't you?"

"Is that the burning I feel in my throat?" I nodded once, and she instantly responded. "I'm fucking starving!" Her fangs came out at this, something I could see she regretted.

"Right there." I touched her face again, showing her how to work her new teeth. "These muscles." I exposed mine, and showed her, slowly, how to retract them. "There you go. Not too hard. Let's pay for these and get you some blood. You're so pale." I walked away, and heard her laugh once I got a few paces away.

"-Cause I'm a vampire. Duh..." She said to herself, understanding the humor.


Artemis had found a few things she liked. The dress she wore, along with the pastel blue pumps on her feet. There was also a pink shirt with frilly cuffs, this I had to have myself. Surprisingly enough, she and I were able to wear each other's clothes. Immediately, I could see the fun we'd be having in my closet.

Along with the dress, shoes, and two identical tops, there was a dark bolero-style jacket, a pair of long and skinny-leg pants; something I had to comment on.

"You wear this style?" I held them up.

"I like them." She said quietly.

"I love them, I've got a few just like them at home-" Home. I had a home, and a family. I wasn't alone anymore.

This may seem trivial, but having been alone the past half-century left me with a longing for community and acceptance I couldn't explain. Ondre had certainly been the cause of my pain, as he left me alone when I thought our love was eternal. I suffered unending torment from this fact. I couldn't think of these truths and not feel the intense hurt in my chest from his absence. The months he and I had recently spent together were the happiest of my existence. If anything, they proved we loved each other and were not bound by our murderous habits.

"Are you there!?" She grabbed my arm, and I became incredibly aware at how unfocused I had just been.

"Comment?" I asked, my French flawless.

"Oh, tu parle Français?" Artemis asked, her French was obviously American, but well-spoken.

"Oui. Je suis Français."

"You are? What's it like?" The woman behind the counter snickered at Artemis, but a grow shut her up instantly; a trick I learned from Ondre.

"I don't know what being French is like, I've never been anything but who I am. As for France, sadly, I couldn't tell you, I never saw it. My mother, grandmother, and my mother's husband all immigrated here when I was en utero."

"Your mother's husband?"

"I am the product of rape." Her eyes turned to slivers and she looked away from me.

"My Goodness, such heavy conversation for the check-out counter." The lady who presented me the glass said, punching in numbers on the keyboard of her computer. I said nothing to her, and presented her the black credit card Ondre gave me before I left. Her eyes widened and she nearly gasped as she turned the card over in her hands.

"Is this for real?"

"It had better be." I snarled and made sure to watch her from this point on. She worked it through her little scanning machine and after entering a select amount of numbers, handed it back to me, along with a small, tablet computer and a stylist. I penned Ondre's name and tucked his card back carefully into my wallet.

"Here you are." She handed me a large bag, containing the things we'd bought and with a smile, thanked me for our patronage.

"Allez-vien." I touched Artemis' arm and we left, heading home.


"When are you going to wear this?" He asked, holding up my new pink shirt. I gave him a look and snatched it from his hands.

"When pirates are fashionable again, I'll have the perfect shirt. Then we'll see who's laughing."

"I suppose we will." He fell back on the bed and I walked into the closet, which, for now, was full of boxes that contained all of our clothing; mostly mine. I strung the shirt on a hanger and perched it on the iron rail that straddled the innards of a little wardrobe built into the wall. Once done, I made way for Artemis' room; to be sure she was happy with the bed Ondre miraculously conjured.

Her room was two doors down from the one Ondre and I shared. Olivia's directly followed ours.

"Artemis?" I knocked on the closed door, waiting for her permission to enter.

"Hey. Come on in." She called. I turned the handle and pushed open the door, seeing her lying in her bed.

"You look comfortable."

"Where did he get this? It's amazing!"

"He has his ways. Just checking on you before dawn. Get some rest." I smiled and turned back out. I really did hope she got some sleep, I couldn't imagine her reaction to the bleeds.

"How was she?" Ondre asked when I shut the door to our room behind me.

"She was fine, she looked it, anyway." I stepped out of my shoes, threw off the coat, and peeled out of my pants. Lying down beside my barbarian he took my hand and pulled me on to his chest.

"If I could be tired, I'd be exhausted." He said stroking my side.

"I concur." I kissed his chest and settled beside him for daybreak.


I awoke alone. The great bed I had fallen asleep in beside my lover was empty, and I felt a chill at his absence. Then I heard a gentle, but steady mechanical buzzing, and for a moment I was sure my failed attempt at surprise hadn't been such a failure, but seeing it laying unused in the floor dashed those hopes.

The sound stopped and I heard a click, like plastic on marble. There were also footsteps, Ondre's footsteps; they were solid, but graceful, his unclothed flesh making little squishing sounds as he walked. I smiled, listening to him move about until the sound of running water drowned him out. He was in the shower and I was going to join him.

I rolled off the bed and made my way through the massive room and through the large, wide doorway. There, in the floor, sat a tiny brown wastebasket with a shining white plastic rimming its edges. The counter ran the length of the south wall, with a tiny peninsula-like bar that came out of the wall. Sitting on this mass of marble was an electric hair clipper, covered in the black hair of my barbarian. In the trash can was a lump of it, all the hair on his head from its size. I looked over it with a certain amount of grief, I loved his hair; the way it danced over his eyes still shook me to my knees.

"Something wrong?" He asked, standing in open doorway of the glass wall around the shower. His head was shaved, with no more hair than a peach, but I'd never seen him look so good. It was the hair of a warrior, and enhanced the angles of his face perfectly.

"No...Nothing."

"Then why are you over there? Please, join me."

Well, there was no saying no to that.

He had me in his arms long before I ever felt the water on my skin, the soft clink of the glass door shutting was my last notion of reality, as Ondre's mouth rolled over my neck and his fingertips gripped the base of my skull. It was an amazing kiss. I ran my hands over his scalp; his short hairs were soft, and thick on his flesh.

"Do you like it?"

"J'aime-" I mouthed and pulled myself back on top of him. We fell into the wall, Ondre's arm around my back and to my side; stabilizing him against the wall. I wrapped my legs around his back and he dropped his weight to his knees, tucking his hands under my hips and lifting me onto his chest. We spun around the room and he settled against the wall, his shoulders on the large slab of stone.

"Je te désire-" I pulled myself on top of him and buried my face in his neck. His fingers dug into the globes of muscle on my rear and I felt him slide between my legs. That was what I wanted; he throbbed and pushed it up under my quickly tightening scrotum.

"Ça?" He shoved it up into my leg; his head left a thick, bloody streak on my belly.

"Ouias-" In less than an instant we were on the floor, water pounding down from above. Ondre was behind me, his fingers tickling at my most sensitive of areas. I felt his chin touch my flesh, then his mouth to the side of his finger. Then, his tongue flicked and massaged the tiny bud of pink flesh of my bottom. It sent me into a stupor and I laid my face to the floor of the shower.

Soon his finger and tongue worked in tandem, preparing my body for his unyielding and overpowering presence. His lips were on my ear, his body pressing mine to the marble. That's when I felt his round, full tip searching for entry. I wiggled my hips on him and after a moment of struggle, slipped in. There was a sudden pain that subsided rapidly and was replaced by an incredible ecstasy as he adjusted himself and slid deeper.

"Nnn-Gah!" I gasped, the thickest part of his anatomy now inside. He groaned and quickly forced the rest in.

"That's so sexy...When you move around on me..." I didn't even notice I was doing it, but now I felt my hips swaying from side to side, his cock throbbing inside of me. He pulled back and then forced it in again, and again. With every thrust he gained momentum until he attained a slow and steady rhythm.

He grabbed me and flipped us over; he landed on the floor and held me on his hips, my knees and feet resting beside his muscular legs. His feet adjusted and I felt his knees at my back.

"Lean back, my Love." I did as he commanded and he went right on like he had before. The force of his hips crashing into mine was enough to break my hip, but we never connected, the only parts of our bodies to meet were the ones locked around each other. I felt it coming on, the pressure building in my groin, the heat swelling up in my gut. I was on the verge of a spectacular orgasm.

Ondre's eyes rolled back in his skull and I saw him close his eyelids over them and he rocked me at a record pace. His hand wrapped around mine and worked over my plump, hard shaft. I let go, and bounced on his hips, and into his hands. The fire in my stomach poured into my legs and rushed to the tip of my cock, sparks erupted inside me and I felt the pressure give in. Like a bursting dam I erupted, spraying Ondre's chest, and mine, with thick, crimson semen.

Ondre felt it, my muscles tightened around him and within seconds I felt him filling my insides with his warm, bloody seed. He pushed deeper, jerking and spraying, his eyes shut and his head kicked back. He opened his eyes and looked up at me. He was a glorious sight, his body tight, but relaxed in a state of nirvana. I leaned over him and rested on his chest, slipping my tongue into his mouth.

Ondre slipped out of me with a comically audible pop and held me close to his heart. We washed together; he took the time to wash my hair while whispering sweet nothings in my ear. His fingertips massaging my scalp the way they had other parts of my body, sweetly, and tenderly, with a strength and pressure the denoted his devotion.

"I love how you quiver when I kiss your neck." He said, pulling the soapy lather from my hair. "Like this-" He touched his soft lips to the back of my neck, and I felt the quiver he spoke of. It started in my chest and spread throughout my body, centralizing in my neck and limbs. "Just like that. You're so beautiful." His hands snaked over my abdomen and he kissed my neck again.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you, Leon." He swayed with me under the stream of water, and before I knew it, our moment was over. "Here you are." He handed a warm, large, white towel through the door of our shower. He had stepped out to fetch them for us, and stood in our bathroom with one wrapped around his waist. "Dry off, I want to help you dress."

"Why would you do that?"

"I have someone coming over later I'd like you to meet." Who the hell else was he brining into our home?

"Huh-" I said and began to dry my hair.

"You need to feed." He was right, I felt weak, fragile, dead. I needed blood; authentic, fresh, living blood, and I wanted it now.

"How can you tell?"

"I know you, Leon. Give me more credit than that." He stood in front of the mirror, looking over his new hair. "Let's get you some blood." With this he spun about and grabbed my hand, pulling me through our bedroom and into the closet.


~Ondre

My Love was the vision of vampire seduction. A choker around his neck, boots half-way up his calves, with the jacket Annabelle had gifted him a time ago, and a silver pair of the skin-tight pants he seemed so attached to. He wore the ruby pendant I had made for him on the collar of his coat, it was a bit much, but I didn't care. He looked incredible, and I was having difficulty keeping my hands off of him.

"Where are you going?" Artemis asked as we began down the hallway towards the stairs.

"We're going to feed, care to join us?" I asked her.

"The two of you? And me?"

"Come on, we'll show you a good time." Leon teased, and I could see a slight smile on her face. "I'll help you dress." He said and she took off for her room. "Meet you downstairs in five."

"No more than three..." I let him go, and took off down the stairs alone.

I waited for him and his newborn, and was met by Olivia.

"Expecting someone else?" She asked, leaning on the banister.

"I was indeed."

"Guess I'll just have to do then." I gave her no response. "The man will be here in one hour, papers ready."

"Good." I heard Leon coming down the hall, as did Olivia. She disappeared deep into the house, an action I regarded as her way of dealing with her intense jealousy.

"There you are." He said, standing where she just was. He gave her no mind, something I very much liked. He was confident in himself, and completely indifferent to the rest of the world; everyone but me.

"You look incredible, my Love."

"Merci."

"Je vous en prie." I said, taking his hand as he stepped to my side.

"So...Where are we going?" Artemis asked, rounding the central staircase.

"Where the blood is. Don't worry about the destination, concern yourself with the experience." Leon made an excellent point, and taught his newborn a valuable lesson. One I could see he learned from his time with me. Artemis, Leon, and I soon entered the darkness and we fell into a line. Leon ran point, Artemis behind him, and I covered the rear.

This little unit was mine to protect, regardless of my opinions of his newborn, she was a part of our life and formed a sense of completion around me. I had a family, after so many years of solitude. While I did not love Artemis, I loved her maker more than anything on this planet; keeping him safe meant keeping her safe.

He was clean, and efficient, capable of leaving no trace behind. His newborn was messy and impulsive, and it would require effort on both of our parts to shape her reflexes and hone her senses. Yet, she had potential, there was fire smoldering under the surface of her soft, victimized face. If tempered, she would prove a most deadly killing tool, and a perfect addition to our nest.

I could see the way she eyed him, and knew it would not be long before her feelings for him grew out of control. It was not my place, but I would end her suffering over her longing for my Leon. He was mine, and would never be hers. The sooner she realized this, the better for all of us it would be.