Although I posted this with my first chapter of my James and Poppy fanfiction, I'll post it here as well:

"I've been a fan of L.J. Smith for years, and one of the things that always disconcerted me about her Nightworld series was that we never got to spend a lot of time with the couples. Normally, they would meet, go through plot, and get together at the end with a sense of renewed purpose against the dark forces. There was really no time to savor the romance and the link between the two lovers, although there were usually some really intense scenes involving the soulmate connection.

Eventually, this led me to an idea for a set of fanfictions. My plan, at this point, is to write a story for each couple and flesh out their relationship a bit. All of the stories will take place within the frame of L.J. Smith's books, so nothing should really happen that could be considered "alternate universe." I just want to give each couple an adventure and a way to understand each other in a different light and context than they had before. With a few of the fanfictions, I may have to take some liberties with the relationship and advance it beyond what was originally set down for us (with Ash and Mary-Lynnette for example). However, more or less, I'm just taking what the author gave us and running with it for a bit."

Okay . . . so, originally, as you can see, I'd intended to go through the soulmate couples one by one, efficiently writing each story and organizing them so as not to have a lot of them out at once. Well, my muse is being difficult and last week, as I re-read the original books to get back into the frame of mind to finish In My Sight, my brain (in addition to getting pumped up to work on the James and Poppy fanfiction) started to tackle my Mary-Lynnette and Ash story as well. I tried so hard to ignore it, but my muse would not be denied. As such, I now present you with the first chapter of For a Knight's Lady. I have no idea how updating is going to go this summer, but I'm trying to stay in a positive, disciplined mindset. Hopefully, this story won't be a carbon copy of the other eight hundred and forty-seven ML/A stories out there. I think my conceptualization of their relationship is at least somewhat unique. You can just review and tell me what you think.

Okay, enough with the notes – on to the story.


For A Knight's Lady

By: EarthDragonette

Disclaimer: Ash is not my original character. Mary-Lynnette isn't my original character either. Neither are Thierry, or Hannah, or, well, anybody really. Except Reina, the blonde kid from the club, and the pup. Those I'm rather fond of – even if Reina DOES vex me so. Anyway, I'm not making any money off of this story.

Rating: PG-13


" . . . and so, in the words of Isaac Asimov, one who also once looked toward the stars for guidance, I suggest to you today: 'If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.' I challenge you: Keep moving. Keep learning. And always, always, remember that through it all, your keys to success will be through your efforts, your dreams, and your abilities. Thank-you, and congratulations, class of 1997."

Mary-Lynnette, squinting slightly as the early afternoon sun slipped out from behind a cloud, stepped away from the podium amidst a thunderous applause and carefully picked her way back to her seat on the stage in front of her classmates. As Salutatorian of her graduating class, it wouldn't really have done well for her to trip after giving the opening speech. Settling herself as comfortably as she could in the folding chair, she glanced at her lap and began to lightly pick at the hem of her graduation gown, determined to keep her eyes away from the audience. If she happened to look up at some point and see an unexpected cap of blond hair attached to a lanky build, it would certainly not be because she was visually stalking the crowd.

Feeling the beginnings of the familiar emotional tug-of-war between desperate hope and staunch disbelief, Mary-Lynnette forced herself to look up at the principal as he gave a speech that was gooey with nostalgia and obviously intended to remind the recent alums of their future financial obligations to their high school. Despite the fact that his delivery was superficial and more than a little dull, she was determined to enjoy every minute of her exit from adolescence. If enjoyment involved appreciating the sophistry of a balding middle-aged salesman, then so be it.

Considering they're both Caucasian males with blond hair, it's amazing how much he and Ash don't look alike.

Well, so much for not thinking about Ash.

Inwardly sighing, she felt her reservations give and let her gaze sweep across the families and friends sitting around the football stadium. Although she could easily locate her family members, including Claudine, her father, Mark, Rowan, and Jade (Kestrel was in her graduating class, and thus, sitting on the football field with the rest of the students), she was disconcerted and disappointed that the observers were lacking one male vampire. Well, one particular male vampire, anyway – who knew how many she actually had in her town? Recalling her anticipation before the ceremony, she brought to mind the conversation she'd had with his sisters while getting ready that morning.

"You're kidding us. You honestly haven't heard a single word from him in almost a year!" Rowan exclaimed, nearly dropping a book about red giants.

Blushing slightly, Mary-Lynnette concentrated on applying her eyeliner. "Well, we just … I never knew how to get a hold of him. And … he had some things he had to do. A lot of things he had to do."

"But, Mary-Lynnette, we knew where he was. You could always have asked us. If we'd even known that you two weren't in contact, we would've done more to let him know how you were or let you know how he was. We all thought you were at least communicating by phone." Kestrel leaned forward from Mary-Lynnette's bed, her amber eyes intent upon the human girl.

Knowing that they wouldn't rest without some sort of explanation, she sighed and having finished with her make-up, turned to face them, leaning on her dresser.

"Okay . . . I'll, I'll try to explain." Here she took a deep breath. "Last summer, when we first met, so many things happened at once-"

"That's when Aunt Opal died. And we had to deal with that horrible werewolf. And I met Mark," Jade stated with her characteristic simplicity.

Glancing at the young woman who was currently pooling her long, blond hair in front of her face to work an intricate braid, Mary-Lynnette could only nod and offer a small, but genuine, smile.

"Exactly. It was when I first found out about a lot of things. I guess I thought at the time that I could handle all the adventure life could give me – that I would be prepared for anything. When I met Ash . . ."

"You found out you were wrong," Rowan completed, shaking her head slightly. "But, Mary-Lynnette, it's been almost a year. Surely you adjusted to Ash and everything at least after a few months."

This was where Mary-Lynnette was in difficulty. Although it was true that she had gotten used to the idea of the existence of soulmates rather quickly, it was a lot more difficult to get used to having one – especially if you'd never really wanted one in the first place.

Not to mention that he used to use people like her for food and cheap fun.

Still, although she trusted and loved her vampire family, this wasn't something that she could just readily admit to them. It spoke of fears and insecurities that she wasn't ready to face – opinions and realizations that made her heart shake with fear, for she hadn't dealt with them yet. She hadn't contacted Ash in a year because she just simply couldn't. Not with what he was … with what he used to be.

And to top it all off, she was in love with him, and wanted to be with him more than anything. The combination of her emotions was enough to make her cry – and it had – and the crying was enough to make her feel disgusted with herself for being a classic, romantic female.

Given the circumstances, all she could offer to the vampire trio was: "Well, we've been busy. Ash understands."

Seeing that there was more to the situation than Mary-Lynnette was letting on, Kestrel only noted, "Well, I hope so. Is he coming for graduation, then?"

Mary-Lynnette shrugged, looking out the window for the twentieth time that morning. "I don't know."

And so, now here she was, sitting on an increasingly uncomfortable stage in front of her peers, waiting for the acknowledgment that would set her free from the past and encourage her future studies, and feeling increasingly annoyed and worried that she had yet to see any sign of her soulmate.

"Mary-Lynnette Carter."

Jumping out of her chair, she hurried over to her principal to shake his hand. Walking back to her seat, she opened up the red certificate holder, already knowing that the inside would be empty – the actual diplomas were held until final grades were turned in. It seemed morbidly ironic to her how the schools handed out containers of promises, covering the uncertainty of success with glamour and romanticism.

It sounded an awful lot like how relationships worked, too.


Ash Redfern sighed and ran his hand through his hair, doing more to dishevel it than to comb it out of his eyes. He leaned forward to rest his forehead on the steering wheel of his convertible, wondering for the hundredth time why he was parked in the middle of the forest.

And for the hundredth time, his brain answered: Because you suck at life.

Losing patience with just sitting, he threw open the driver side door and smoothly climbed out, slamming the car shut and striding off into the woods in a random direction.

As Ash walked, he began to pick up speed until he was jogging at a comfortable pace, his footsteps remaining nearly silent on the damp, Oregon soil. The exercise did him good – it was one of the many things he had learned about himself since he'd last set foot in these woods.

"Aren't you getting a crick in your neck?" he'd asked.

Mary-Lynnette rolled her head from side to side slightly to limber the muscles. "Maybe."

Captivated by the movement of her dark hair against her tanned neck and shoulders, he couldn't help but offer: "I could rub it for you?"

Mary-Lynnette snorted and gave him a look.

Feeling the sting of her rejection, he was at a loss of what to do next. He'd already overstepped some sort of boundary, it'd seemed, and it felt awkward to backtrack. But he had to try something . . . she was his soulmate for Pete's sake . . .

"You want to take a walk?" she'd suddenly asked, turning her clear, blue eyes on to him.

Do I want to what?

"Huh? Sure."

That felt like it'd happened so long ago.

And what had really changed? He was still a vampire, she was still a human. He still had a rather notorious past when it came to his interactions with humans; she still had dreams for the future that didn't include being tied down to a vampire with a reputation. Granted, in the time since he'd seen her he'd left the Nightworld, joined Circle Daybreak, helped to save and rescue hundreds of humans, witches, vampires, and shapeshifters from various Nightworld and natural oppressions . . .

So many, in fact, that their faces, names, and personalities blurred and kept him awake at night.

But how much did it matter? How could he begin to make up for all of the blood he'd spilled and pain that he had caused? On one hand, although he hadn't leveled cities or destroyed entire civilizations (as some vampires in the past had been wont to do), he had treated the human species as cattle … or worse.

Cattle didn't have the complex emotions that humans did – emotions that Ash had used to his advantage time and time again, night after night.

But not since this time a year ago. Not since he'd met Mary-Lynnette. She'd touched him like no other, and after their minds had first united in her family's living room, he'd known that there would never be another for him. Oh, he'd fought it of course, tried to make the feelings go away, tried to get all of the dizziness, sparks, and colors to fade past his memory. But in the end fate had won out, solidly trapping him into her web of inevitability, ensuring that from that very first moment, Ash's purpose, his life, would be for protecting Mary-Lynnette and making her happy.

It was why he'd had to leave. He knew that she'd felt many of the same things that he had: the sensation of being pushed together, as if it was simply wrong that their souls were in two separate containers. Those feelings had frightened her, made her vulnerable in ways that she'd never dreamed or even wanted. It was for her sake that he'd left to begin the uphill climb toward forgiveness. It was both a gift and a curse to be bound to such a morally upright soulmate.

Feeling his memories turn down a distinctly uncomfortable path, Ash launched himself up the next tree that he came to, a large cottonwood, pushing his muscles as hard as he could to climb his way to a large branch. Pulling himself up, he swung into a sitting position and rested his back against the trunk. Sighing, he looked across the rapidly dimming forest, his eyes easily adjusting to the change in light.

Just like Mary-Lynnette's never would … even if she wanted to see the night more than he did.

Nice, Ash. Are you going to beat yourself up about that, too?

... Well, yes.

The fact of the matter was, when it came down to it, besides an all consuming and possessive love, he didn't feel much besides guilt when it came to thinking about Mary-Lynnette. It was almost as if any shame he could have felt for any of his actions throughout his entire life had been deposited into one subject area. Although it was nicely organized, it made it rather difficult to view the relationship with a healthy mindset.

When he'd first left Briar Creek a nearly year ago, he'd been positive. He knew that there would be a tough road ahead of him, and although he sensed that Mary-Lynnette wasn't sure she could believe in him, he also felt that she wanted to believe, and that was enough to keep him moving.

It hadn't been easy. As soon as he'd returned to his father's enclave, he'd been swept up by his obligations and responsibilities to the family. Unable to return to his past way of life where he partied until dawn and then recuperated during the daylight hours (thus avoiding his duties as heir), his family had taken his change in lifestyle as an opportunity to integrate him into their activities.

It was only a month or so into the work that Ash realized how badly he was failing in his promise to Mary-Lynnette. Although he was no longer actively harming humans, working out trade agreements with other lamia clans and helping to run his family's estates was in no way a form of repentance. While he was walking alone one night through the streets of Annapolis (he had arranged to meet a number of landowners to discuss some property by the Chesapeake Bay), fate finally found a way to get his attention.

Meandering down Pinkney Street and heading toward the city docks, he had felt some sense of danger in the area. Peering into the darkness, he saw a number of figures clustered up by the side of a building and heard the sound of a woman crying. Moving quietly and quickly, he leapt to the top of some stairs, balancing himself on the railing, and peered over the group to get a better look.

Even now, eight months later, the sounds of the young woman's cries burned into Ash's memory, and the sight of what had been about to take place made his blood boil. Without a second thought, he'd jumped down to the middle of the group and given each and every man a thrashing they would never forget. He didn't know what had possessed him to defend the woman so harshly. Perhaps it was because she was vulnerable and delicate. Perhaps it was because she had brown hair, just like Mary-Lynnette's. Perhaps it was because the situation was just wrong. Whatever had pushed him, however, the look in her eyes when he'd helped her to her feet had filled in the missing piece. He had never had someone look at him that way before, with her eyes full of admiration and a savage gratefulness.

He had never been a hero before.

After helping her home, he'd turned around and promptly left Annapolis. He knew then that his destiny did not lie with helping the Redfern family prosper and grow wealthier and more secure. It wouldn't be enough to train his mind and body if he wasn't actually using them for anything.

And hadn't he promised Mary-Lynnette that he would slay dragons for her? Like any Knight would do to protect his Lady and make her proud? And that's what she was to him, right? She was the one that had saved him, the one that he needed to be better for. For Mary-Lynnette, he needed to slay those dragons.

"What a line!" She'd said to him last year.

But he'd meant for it to come true. The morning after that dark night, he'd joined Circle Daybreak. He would help to defeat the biggest dragon of all, the one that hurt and manipulated people like Mary-Lynnette in the so-called name of security and preservation.

For his Lady, he would slay the Nightworld.


Mary-Lynnette flopped down on her bed, gazing up at the glow-in-the-dark planets and constellations she'd stuck on her ceiling sometime during her childhood. Tracing the formation of the Big Dipper with her eye, she let her thoughts wander over her memories of the ceremony and the after-graduation party.

Overall, she supposed she was pleased with how the events of the day had progressed. The graduation had been a milestone and, well, milestone-y. The party …

Mary-Lynnette rolled on to her stomach, tucking a pillow underneath her head and staring at her giant relief map of the moon. Rubbing her chin against the pillowcase, she processed what she was feeling before forming solid thoughts.

The party was fun, she decided. Although she had long ago written off Claudine as any form of parental or authority figure, she had to hand it to her stepmother – the woman knew how to plan and carry out a social event. The caterers had arrived and set up without a hitch and the D.J. had not only been on time, but he'd played more than just the bump-and-grind music that was so popular with her age group. Their house, not exactly small by any standards, had become incredibly tiny in the span of fifteen minutes as her numerous relatives showed up to wish her congratulations on her graduation and her acceptance into Cornell University for the fall. After several hours of mingling, present opening, and dancing, she'd retreated to her inner sanctum, leaving her parents as they finished cleaning up.

Feeling restless, she flopped over on to her back again, this time tracing the series of photographic prints on the eastern wall. Yes … the party had been nice, but-

But what?

She sighed, holding back the inevitable moment for just a second more before walking right up to the Truth and letting it kick her where she deserved it the most.

But, Ash wasn't there.

Wrinkling her nose, she sat up, lifting her long, brown hair off her neck and tying it away from her face. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she gazed out her window, feeling annoyed and ruffled.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary.
How does your garden grow?

"With stars at night, and northern lights,
And a vampire soulmate who didn't come into town to see me for my graduation."

Okay, well, now that that's over with, let's try to be a little more adult about this.

If she were being honest with herself, and she always tried to be, then Mary-Lynnette would have to accept that for the past year, even as she'd tried to remain distanced from Ash and their relationship, she'd only grown closer to his memory. Every day, right before she woke up and was just hovering on the brink between the dream world and the real world, she could always feel his presence, and occasionally get a sense for how he was doing. That was another reason she'd never had his sisters seek him out – she already knew if he was sick or well, tired or rested.

These little sojourns into his mind had disturbed her at first – there had been so much darkness, so much fear inside of his heart. Then, as the months passed, she began to notice a change in him. She didn't know exactly what was doing it, but somehow, amazingly, Ash was conquering some of his fears and changing into something that was more filled with hopeful light, and less filled with darkness. Over the months, she'd grown so proud of his progress, and, day-by-day, had loved him even more.

Not that the darkness didn't remain, however.

As such, even as Mary-Lynnette began to painfully hope that he would return to her with dragons and demons laid as trophies before his feet, she couldn't help but doubt him and his abilities to overcome his nature – to overcome what he had been. Therefore, it was with equal parts belief and equal parts skepticism that she'd waited for him today. She was terribly annoyed and depressed that he'd disappointed her.

Never mind that he didn't actually KNOW you were graduating. It's not like you told him, her mind pointed out.

But Kestrel was graduating, too, and he should have come for her, she argued back.

What if he stayed away because of you? What if something (someone) else made him happier all these months? What if he decided he DIDN'T wish he were human after all? – This from another, nastier part of her mind.

Oh, God, Mary-Lynnette, you're talking to yourself.

"That's it. Time to go outside."

Shaking her head, she quickly stood up and pulled on a comfortable pair of sneakers, grabbing her keys as she went out the door. Thumping down the steps, she waved to Mark and Jade, both sitting on the couch watching some primitive and stagnating form of entertainment.

"Scientists say that Americans watch over 250 billion hours of T.V. each week. Go read!" she shouted, slamming the door behind her.

Through the wood, she could barely hear Mark retaliate, "I have five hours left to make my quota!"

It was an old argument.

Getting into her new car, purchased by her father a year ago after her original vehicle had been set on fire by a territorial werewolf, Mary-Lynnette started the engine and drove out to the hill, all of these actions done on autopilot since she'd done them so many times over the years.

Climbing out of the car, she decided against pulling out her telescope and settled for simply laying on the hood, gazing upwards and letting herself become absorbed by the universe. Noticing Venus, she kept herself from looking below the planet to search for some sign of the Ring Nebula.

Or, as Ash had so aptly described it, the "ghost doughnut."

You know, you sort of stink at this whole "not thinking about Ash" thing, she thought.

Becoming thoroughly disgusted with herself, she slid off the car and moved to get her telescope out, anyway. Maybe if she set it up – looking AWAY from Venus – she'd actually get in some good sights tonight. Maybe if she could drown herself in a far away galaxy, she wouldn't feel the constant pull on her heart for a graceful, cat-like youth.

Just as she was opening up her trunk, she felt it. The connection. Maybe it was because she'd been expecting it all day, or maybe it was because she had gotten used to it throughout a year of dreams, but she felt the soulmate chord tug at her impatiently, the white-hot jolt making her look up.

And on the other end of it, standing not more then twenty feet away, was Ash.


So, there we have it – the end of my first contribution to the Mary-Lynnette and Ash fanfiction world. I hope that this was enjoyed by all – getting into Ash's mind is a lot of fun, and I have a ton of ideas where I'd like this story to go.

Now, although I may not review it due to infrequent updating on my other story, I humbly beg you to please review!