"Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, and so live ever-or else swoon to death-."

The Brighton Estate, London; April 12, 1918

It was the day they had met, five years to the day and on this day it would be when they married as well. However untraditional it may have been they would marry at night, surrounded by only friends and family. From the window looking out at her garden she could see her staff preparing for the night, tables were being set with white tablecloths and red accents. Flower arrangements were precariously positioned throughout the décor and within her home and everything smelled of baked goods and sweet treats. It was a day she never imagined would come in all her years.

The arms that wrapped around her waist were unrelenting in their pursuit to pull her back into the unmade bed but she only laughed and turned her head into the side of his neck. "James, it is time we both wake." She half scolded, her lips just close enough to kiss the prominent vein on his neck though at the last second she nipped his skin and only a small amount of blood was drawn though it healed within seconds. "Are you still certain you want to marry a girl like me?" Izabella batted her lashes at him, her smile coquettish yet refined to look like a proper lady.

The Captain grinned and pulled her even closer by the hips. "I've awaited this day since I first laid eyes on you. I knew I would have you." It was a truth he had not revealed until now. He would have happily spent the remainder of his years wooing the Lady Brighton whether he was successful or not for he had never seen anything more beautiful in his years.

"A bit overconfident weren't you?" She kissed his chin and ran her hands up his chest until they could slip to the nape of his neck, fingers interlocking. When James looked down at her she smiled as his chin began to wrinkle up, it was just one of the many things she adored about him.

"Yes, I admit, but luckily you were just as taken with me as I was with you." The cocky tone of his voice was enough to make her narrow her eyes at him. He was too sure of himself at the time and too unaware of what exactly he was getting himself into by associating with Izabella Brighton.

The vampiress's laugh was melodic as she took in his words before finally countering with her own view of their first meetings. "I suppose I was, admittedly at first I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into your neck." She raised a single brow gauging his reaction but the Captain only rolled his eyes and pulled her closer to the bed until they both fell back onto the mattress with her astride his waist.

Izabella loved being atop him, she loved to see his eyes shine and feel the way his breathing hitched and heart leapt. James trailed his hands up and down her back wishing the thin material of her dressing gown could not separate his skin from hers. With her emboldened and swift motion she had leant down, pressing her lips against his, her hands trailing down his alabaster skin and just to the top of the waist band of his lounge pants. Not going any further she pulled away and stood from the bed, smirking. "Minx." The Captain growled, attempting to follow her but she batted his hands away.

"I know. I'm terrible," She looked to the open wardrobe where a freshly pressed tuxedo awaited her dashing Captain and in the room down the hall her white dress awaited its wearer, "but it's time to begin getting ready." Upon turning a hand wrapped around her wrist and soft lips were pressing against hers, sighing in delight she returned the kiss and pulled away with a fervent blush staining her cheeks.

"If it is a sin to desire your lips against mine than I am the most offending soul alive." Perhaps if she was not making haste to prepare for the evenings ceremony she would have swooned and then chuckled as she would piece together that he had put his own spin on a Shakespeare quote but for now she could only look back and smile at him.

When she slipped into the dressing room her eyes were closed and with her back pressed against the door she sighed, not seeing the brooding presence that had appeared in the room as well. "I haven't seen you blush like that since Keats told you that he had written Bright Star with you in mind." The vampire mused and immediately Izabella's eyes opened wide.

"Adam!" She scolded, lips pressed into a grim line but within a second she shook her head and stepped closer to him. "Were you trying to frighten me to death?" Her hand rested over her heart which was now beating even more rapid than before, but her scowl disappeared just as quickly as it had formed at his eloquent reply. "Where is Eve?" She glanced around the room, at the dresses lining the walls and to the vanity on which a suit jacket had been thrown.

"With your darling Captain. More than likely spewing coercions of what she should do if he broke your heart." The brooding vampire could not stop himself while smiling while speaking the words due to the fact that he knew Captain Nicholls would never do anything to hurt Belle.

"I thought that was your job?" Her tone was teasing as she finally moved to stand in front of him then she was wrapped in his arms and everything seemed right again. She had James and now Adam and Eve were in her home as well, it made her heart swell that all the people she loved were brought together if only for the night. The vampire placed a lingering kiss to the top of Belle's head before resting his chin where his lips had just been.

"I suppose through the years I have learned that you are capable of looking after yourself." His smile was founded in sincerity but his eyes moved from her to the dress laid across the back of one of the chairs within the room and almost reluctantly his hands fell away from her waist and back to his sides. "You are going to look beautiful."

Izabella moved to her gown and picked it up, holding it in her arms like it was the most delicate thing in the entire universe. From the white material her golden eyes flashed up to Adam, whose shirt was buttoned unevenly and wrinkled but she had expected nothing less. "Would you like the honor of lacing me up?"

In silence she slipped off the silk dressing gown, revealing the pale expanse of skin that in every way would have been considered perfection, even the small freckles on her shoulders and legs. Her fingers curled around the post of the dressing screen as Adam intricately laced the strings on the back of the dress, there was no corset, nothing over the top or too ostentatious it was just a simple gown, far simpler than the gowns she owned from the Regency and Victorian eras. The neck dipped down in a subtle v and sleeves were kept short, the vampire stepped back and admired the lady as she looked over herself in the mirror, smoothing the skirt down with nervous hands.

Before leaving the room Adam slipped a small vial into her hand, curling her fingers around the glass. "What is this?" She asked, holding it up to the light to see that it appeared to be nothing more than water.

"A successful experiment." He replied, obviously pleased with the results. Izabella nodded but still did not understand what purpose it would serve. "For James." He added after a long moment of silence and that only increased her confusion. "I was tinkering, as you like to say, and I stumbled upon something very intriguing. I used my blood to test this concoction so I know it will work. Its light, the sun, Izabella. If he drinks this then the sun will not harm him as it does me." She almost dropped the vial, the disbelief on her face was clear and out of fear that his hard work would end up splattered on the polished floor.

Izabella set the small glass aside and watched as Adam knelt down, taking her hands within his in an attempt to explain. "When a slide of unchanged vampirous blood is placed in the sun the cells immediately die but when I mixed my blood and this to test the cells lived, they lived on, and they were still living when I left to come here." It was then she understood, she understood the trouble he had enduring finding the perfect combination of chemicals and substances, she knew it was likely he would never be able to reproduce the solution.

"Then why have you not taken any?" She asked with furrowed brows.

Adam pursed his lips and lifted a single curl of scarlet hair that had fallen in her face. "I have lived by the moon for so long now I cannot imagine life in the sun; that is why. I know you love the light and I know your Captain did as well. Eve and I are night dwellers we have been for centuries, but you and James deserve to have the sun. Now don't keep Captain Nicholls waiting."

The sun was setting and from the window she could see the few attending guests arriving, walking through the foyer with pleasant chattering. The vampiress looked closely at the vial sitting on the chipped surface of the vanity and tucked it away in one of the drawers for safekeeping and stood to leave but the firm knock on the door startled her from thoughts and slowly she cracked the door to see George Nicholls.

"May I speak to you for a moment?" His voice was subdued and she nodded, opening the door so that he could join her. "You look gorgeous, Ms. Brighton." The man commented but his eyes seemed distant as if he were lost in memories of long ago.

"Thank you, Mr. Nicholls." She looked down, clasping her hands in front of her but when the aging man pulled out a slim blue box she looked up, watching as he took the lid away to reveal the contents. It was a necklace, made of pearl and gold that would rest delicately at her décolletage and frame the neckline of her gown with an elegant design that still remained simplistic.

"This was my wife's, she wore it on our wedding day and she saw Katherine wear it with the intentions of seeing Olivia wear it as well, but I don't think it would look quite right on Jim." He smiled and Izabella managed to laugh through the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes, with the Nicholls she felt like she had a family again as they had welcomed her with open arms. "I believe if she were here today she would see that you wear it as well, even now I consider you to be a daughter." The vampiress could not manage any words at the moment but with a silent understanding she turned and pulled aside her hair to allow James's father to clasp the necklace and aid her with the sheer veil.

Few words were exchanged beyond that and they simultaneously left the room, he proceeded to the garden where the ceremony was to be held and looking out the curtains she counted the heads and saw that everyone was there and down the divide of chairs was flower petals scattered along the cobble, candles flickered along the aisle and tables but the glow of the moon provided most of the light. The officiant was speaking and the guests remained silent. At the sight of James she smiled, he looked so handsome, even with the slightly longer hair and scruff on his jaw. From the vase she plucked her bouquet, in it was a single Middlemist rose surrounded by white roses and daisies. Now she waited.

There was silence as she walked down the parted chairs, it was unnerving to have everyone's eyes focused on her and only her but she could only look forward at James. A wide smile broke out across his face if only to mask to tears that were welling in his eyes at the sight of her. She was a vision in white with hair like flames and skin like alabaster. When she stepped in front of James he whispered that she was beautiful and from there the ceremony began though until she had to speak she could not look away from his viridian eyes.

"James Nicholls, our miracle lies in the path we have chosen together." No one asides from James truly realized the gravity of the words she spoke and after a moment pause she breathed in and smiled. "I pledge my heart, body, and soul to this union. I promise to share my thoughts, dreams, hopes, and fears with you and wish for you to do the same. I vow to hold you close through laughter and tears, to cherish and respect you for the man you are. And through this union I will be faithful and loving, through the good and bad, so that we may grow in love and wisdom for the rest of our days." For now they had an endless amount of days.

"Where there has been cold you brought warmth, where there was darkness you brought light. I wish to intertwine our lives on this day and become one as husband and wife. I vow to love you and care for you, eternally. You are everything I could have dreamt of and more, so from this day on I will cherish you and always look forward to our tomorrows as I know we will walk side by side, hand in hand, and heart to heart. I love you, Izabella Brighton." When she smiled she did so unreservedly and before him stood the vampire he loved, her eyes and skin ethereal.

What the officiant said after that did not necessarily register and with wide eyes Izabella was scooped into her Captain's arms, his lips molding against hers. The evening passed and the celebration had ended by eleven, from there James lifted Izabella into his arms and stepped across the threshold back into the house, a self-satisfied smile on his thin lips. "It is tradition for the groom to carry the bride into their home is it not?"

Izabella could only smile and give a chastising head shake. "Since when have we done anything according to tradition James?" His chuckle was lighthearted and together they ascended the stairs that led to their room. The Captain only placed her back to her own feet when he sought to begin untying the laces on the back of the white gown. As the gaping back exposed the gentle slope of her shoulders James placed short kisses across the skin until finally the gown fell to the floor. He took a step in front of her and extended his hand, without hesitation she placed hers within his and allowed him to guide her out of the puddle of white silk and lace.

She was mere inches from his body; he could smell her perfume, of Jasmine and scents of the exotic yet even now he still could sense something forbidden about her. Izabella lifted a hand to his chest, tracing the buttons of his dress shirt, his breath caught in his throat as even though her skin was like ice there seemed to be heat emanating from her hand. Setting the task of undoing the buttons of his shirt, she proceeded to do so slowly until he shrugged it off and her hands were left to wander over strong skin.

His lips moved to her neck and then her collarbones. "Mrs. Nicholls," he breathed against her skin and she could only smile and thread her fingers into his hair and pull his head away so that she could kiss her husband upon the lips for the first of many times. She thoroughly taught him that one cannot take pleasure without giving pleasure, and that every gesture, every caress, every touch, every glance, every last bit of the body has its secret, which brings happiness to the person who knows how to wake it.

James fell asleep holding a goddess and Izabella closed her eyes that night realizing for the first time in her life what it felt like to truly, unreservedly happy.

The Narracott Farm, Devon; February 17, 1919

Albie had quickly fallen back into the routine from before the war, in this cold February morning he was out in the barn tending to Joey and the mule his father had bought to do work in his and the horse's absence. Harold honked in content for the moment as he feasted on week old bread crumbs, the others had hay and barley that could be eaten in the winter months. What he could never expect, however, was to see a plume of dust following a car down the road and straight towards their hedged lane.

It couldn't have been Lyons as the rent had been paid for a year in advance with what he earned from the war. His mother walked from the house a basket of wet clothing in hand to be strung on the line to dry but at the sound of a car engine she turned to look at Albert who was returning to the barn and back again.

"You two must be lost." Mrs. Narracott's words were slow yet clipped, an amalgam true of Anglo-Saxon and Old French, the accent of the people in the West Country was one thing Belle never forgot.

James smiled and shook his head before speaking. "If this is the Narracott Farm then we're not lost at all."

The woman's confusion only increased tenfold but she nodded and placed a hand on her hip next to a worn apron and threadbare peasant style skirt. "It is."

"Captain Nicholls, miss, and this is my wife Izabella. I'd like to speak to Albert for a moment if you don't mind."

"Albie!" The boy in question quickly darted from the barn at his mother's call, by this time James and Izabella had both exited the car and stood watching as he almost stumbled over one of the rocks that littered the soil but he came to a halt before he could tumble into the guests.

"Captain Nicholls! I'm sorry sir, but I thought you had been killed like so many others." He quickly rambled out and by the way his back straightened and his chin lifted it was easy to see that he had served in the war. If not from the subtle manners embedded in military training than you could see the scars of war, his voice had an unnatural rasp to it and the skin around his eyes was cracked as if from a burn; mustard gas.

"Aye, there is nothing for you to apologize about. I fear it is I who owes you an apology for I could not keep my word in regards to Joey." James lowered his head fearing that the horse had been lost to the battle but Izabella couldn't help but smile when Albie broke into a large grin.

"I think I have someone else who might like to see you, Captain, if you'll wait here for a moment." Albert was running back to the barn, Ms. Narracott returned from the clothes line, shaking her head before returning her gaze to James and Belle.

"You're the one who bought Joey from town aren't you?" She asked with a raised brow and he nodded before clarifying the circumstances under which he took Joey.

"Leased, but yes. That was me." Izabella hardly payed attention to the conversation her husband was having with Albert's mother, instead she watched as the boy lead out a horse with four white socks and a white marking in the shape of a diamond on his head. James had been right, this was beautiful horse, the muscles of the beast moved beneath a shining brown coat with each step and upon nearing the three of them he tossed his mane and began to trot as if showing off.

When the boy and horse came before the two James was the first to extended his hand and pat the beast's neck, unable to stop himself from smiling. "How's my bonny boy doing?" In response he simply tossed his mane and nudged the Captain in his shoulder with the muzzle of his nose and then his attention turned to Izabella. She looked the horse in the eye and to James and Albie it appeared that the two were having a conversation that only they could understand, regardless though she lifted her hand and traced the pattern between the horse's eyes.

"I've never seen a horse quite like this one. A war horse." She smiled and the two men were enchanted with her voice. Stroking Joey's neck she took her hand back and stood straight. "A miracle horse." In the beast's eyes she could see the horrors he had endured, the pain, the hardship; it reminded her of the first weeks after James was turned.

"Would you like to ride him, miss?" The voice of Albie shook her thoughts away and looking to him she kindly declined the offer and slipped her hand into James, but not even a moment later James had shook his head and hoisted her from the ground and onto Joey's back. When she was bestride him, she soared like a hawk. He trotted on the air and the earth seemed to sing when he touched it. It was indescribable to ride a horse such as this one through the Dartmoor country, around the boulders that littered the landscape and over the rolling hills. It was the very definition of the word freedom, to ride without saddle and without care.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she rode back to the farm house and from the horse she slipped gracefully to land on her feet. "A fine horse indeed." Albert's smile only grew larger and James slipped his hand into hers, his own smile rooted in amazement at the woman he called his wife.