Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Laelia.

Notes: I don't know if I needed that disclaimer since no names are mentioned other than Laelia's. Oh well. Anyway, this is just a little something that the plot bunnies brought to me one night a week or so ago. I sent it to a friend, and apparently it's now a Harry Potter fic . . . Go figure! lol. Anyway, I'm working on a fic right now that sort of sprouted from this little snippet. My friend *cough*Telepiel*cough* decided that the 'he' mentioned below was Severus Snape. This little snippet won't make it into the actual fic, not in it's current form at any rate, but Telepiel bugged me to put this up, so here it is!

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LAELIA f Ancient Roman Feminine form of Laelius, a Roman family name of unknown meaning. (from behindthename.com)

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Laelia Wiltshire stood staring out over the water, her eyes narrowed as she carefully studied the opposite shoreline. For all intents and purposes she seemed to be watching for something, but in truth she was deep in thought. What if her plan didn't work? She had planned it out so intricately, inspecting it from every angle for flaws, trying to make it utterly foolproof. Now it all came down to the one unavoidable variable in her plan: did they believe her? She exhaled audibly to calm her nerves.

Somebody approached from behind, but Laelia didn't turn. If she was in danger, she could handle herself well enough, though she felt she was safe.

"Who are you? Really?" a voice behind her asked as its owner approached to stand beside her. He turned his head slightly to examine her while she momentarily struggled with an answer.

"Answering that could take a lifetime, I'm afraid," she replied without turning her head to look at him. Her past was not something she was keen on discussing.

"I'm not asking for a doctoral thesis on the subject," he commented snidely. "Are you a spy?"

Laelia chuckled bitterly and glanced at the figure standing next to her. "Are you always this direct?" When she received no answer, she returned her gaze to the distant shoreline and said, "short answer? Yes."

"And the long answer?" he prompted.

"Still yes, only more detailed and infinitely more complicated," she answered with a superior grin.

"Try me," he said threateningly, turning to face her fully.

Still not turning to look at him, Laelia chuckled haughtily. "I'm not saying you wouldn't understand - I'm saying I don't want to talk about it. Surely, you of all people can understand not wanting to talk about the past." If the comment had bothered him at all, it didn't show - his past was just about as questionable as her own. "Anyway, I'm certain you've checked up on me."

He turned to face the shoreline again, and admitted, "I have. Though, not surprisingly, what I found was extremely vague." He paused, hoping she would fill in the blanks, but Laelia merely snorted in response. "Very well. Have it your way." He turned and started to walk away, but stopped. "I don't trust you," he muttered without turning around.

"As well you shouldn't," she responded.

Making no other comment, he left, abandoning Laelia to her thoughts once again.

"I hope they believe me," she muttered to herself, casting one last look across the water before returning to her room.