A/N: OK, so I finally updated, and I've done my best, but you can't flame if you don't like it, because it's been ages and I've had real trouble and am only doing it because you've asked me to. If you do want me to carry on even more, then r/r, or I won't know that there's anyone to read it.
For the next week, Anna felt as though she were walking on air. Everything was that bit more bearable; it was like meeting Thierry had lit up her world so that not even the horrors of war could shadow it for long. Some of the mental strain of nursing shifted, replaced by the song of another soul calling to hers. She couldn't wait to see him again.
* * * * *
Le Tournesol Noir. It was a Night World café that Thierry frequented, and now he was there with his two closest friends, Thorne and Bracken, two lamia who he knew he could count on to help him. And he needed their help. If there was one thing he'd learnt in all his endless years of living, it was that it was impossible to survive on your own. And he had even less chance of protecting Anna if he tried to do it single-handedly.
'So you've found her,' Bracken said calmly, leaning back as Thierry finished speaking. 'And from the look in your eyes, you don't mean to let her go,' he added impishly. 'What do you want us to do?'
'I need to be able to count on you to make sure that there's always someone near her ready to fight for her life,' Thierry stated simply. 'I know it sounds cliché, but I don't think I'll be able to bear it if I have to lose her again. It's like, every time, I've lost a part of myself, that only she can bring back to me.'
Thorne nodded sympathetically. 'You can count on us. Now, go and start getting ready for Saturday. Because you've got to have her to lose her!'
Grinning, Thierry got up and left. This time, he would make it work. He had to.
* * * * *
Sitting nearby, Crystal, Maya's latest right-hand vampire, was smiling sardonically. Poor Thierry. He was so naïve, despite the years and the hardships he had seen to embitter him. It was what came of good intention, something Crystal was proud to be free of. It was just too much fun being a bitch. With that in mind, she prepared to leave the café in search of Maya, who had guessed that both Thierry and Hana would be in France, being their usual benevolent selves and doing their bit for peace. How right she had been, Crystal thought, suppressing one of her most evil laughs. And now the fun would begin.
* * * * *
Although Saturday seemed to take forever to come, it finally arrived, and Anna woke filled with irrepressible excitement. It had never bothered her before, but now she wished that she didn't have to wear her uniform even when she wasn't working. But nothing could ruin her mood of optimism as she thought of a day spent with the handsome stranger who somehow didn't seem quite so strange. Almost as if she knew him, or had known him. Laughing at herself, she banished the thought, and dressed in the required uniform, limiting herself to styling her hair differently to make the day special. Not that it needed any effort to make the day special. The world was going to be a better place now that she had met Thierry.
* * * * *
Stalking up and down, Maya was even beginning to frighten some of her followers. Her manic laughter was enough to make even the most soulless Night Person falter. 'Oh it's too precious! I might even let them get close this time. Maybe that way, when he loses her - seemingly to a vampire unrelated to me (she glanced at Crystal as she said that) - he'll turn to anyone who's offering for comfort. He can't hold out forever.' Her eyes were alight with malevolent fire - fire that was destined to destroy.
And while that fire burned, Anna was getting ready to go to Thierry, as love began to blossom in her heart once more for him, her soulmate and unintentional destroyer.
For the next week, Anna felt as though she were walking on air. Everything was that bit more bearable; it was like meeting Thierry had lit up her world so that not even the horrors of war could shadow it for long. Some of the mental strain of nursing shifted, replaced by the song of another soul calling to hers. She couldn't wait to see him again.
* * * * *
Le Tournesol Noir. It was a Night World café that Thierry frequented, and now he was there with his two closest friends, Thorne and Bracken, two lamia who he knew he could count on to help him. And he needed their help. If there was one thing he'd learnt in all his endless years of living, it was that it was impossible to survive on your own. And he had even less chance of protecting Anna if he tried to do it single-handedly.
'So you've found her,' Bracken said calmly, leaning back as Thierry finished speaking. 'And from the look in your eyes, you don't mean to let her go,' he added impishly. 'What do you want us to do?'
'I need to be able to count on you to make sure that there's always someone near her ready to fight for her life,' Thierry stated simply. 'I know it sounds cliché, but I don't think I'll be able to bear it if I have to lose her again. It's like, every time, I've lost a part of myself, that only she can bring back to me.'
Thorne nodded sympathetically. 'You can count on us. Now, go and start getting ready for Saturday. Because you've got to have her to lose her!'
Grinning, Thierry got up and left. This time, he would make it work. He had to.
* * * * *
Sitting nearby, Crystal, Maya's latest right-hand vampire, was smiling sardonically. Poor Thierry. He was so naïve, despite the years and the hardships he had seen to embitter him. It was what came of good intention, something Crystal was proud to be free of. It was just too much fun being a bitch. With that in mind, she prepared to leave the café in search of Maya, who had guessed that both Thierry and Hana would be in France, being their usual benevolent selves and doing their bit for peace. How right she had been, Crystal thought, suppressing one of her most evil laughs. And now the fun would begin.
* * * * *
Although Saturday seemed to take forever to come, it finally arrived, and Anna woke filled with irrepressible excitement. It had never bothered her before, but now she wished that she didn't have to wear her uniform even when she wasn't working. But nothing could ruin her mood of optimism as she thought of a day spent with the handsome stranger who somehow didn't seem quite so strange. Almost as if she knew him, or had known him. Laughing at herself, she banished the thought, and dressed in the required uniform, limiting herself to styling her hair differently to make the day special. Not that it needed any effort to make the day special. The world was going to be a better place now that she had met Thierry.
* * * * *
Stalking up and down, Maya was even beginning to frighten some of her followers. Her manic laughter was enough to make even the most soulless Night Person falter. 'Oh it's too precious! I might even let them get close this time. Maybe that way, when he loses her - seemingly to a vampire unrelated to me (she glanced at Crystal as she said that) - he'll turn to anyone who's offering for comfort. He can't hold out forever.' Her eyes were alight with malevolent fire - fire that was destined to destroy.
And while that fire burned, Anna was getting ready to go to Thierry, as love began to blossom in her heart once more for him, her soulmate and unintentional destroyer.