* Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Lycans/Vampires or their powers as depicted in Underworld. However, every character in this story (save two that will come up later) is of my own creation. Please do not steal them.*

Author's Note: By the way, I forgot to mention when I placed this certain part of the story. For those of you date-seekers out there, I planned on this being set during the 1100's, ending up somewhere in the 1200's at the latest part of the story. It only makes logical sense that it should be placed so early – Viktor mentions that the elders have been leapfrogging through time for fourteen centuries (starting obviously somewhere in the 600's), and the war only started around 1400 or so. (Lucian mentions that the war started some 600 years ago, so, do the math.) I also chose that for 'costume' purposes. I don't like the clothing of the periods before this, and it can't happen during my favorite clothing years (1600-1910). And now, back to the story.

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The New Addition

Lucky for Catherine, Diarra and Rigel had not spoken to anyone after Arienne had left to speak with Catherine. The secret was safe.

About two years had passed since Diarra had announced the new addition to the Donovan clan, and Arienne now had a bouncing baby brother. They had decided to name him Sergio Madigan Donovan, since Mikelos would have been Arienne's name had she been a boy. Sergio was a different child. He had the same black hair as Arienne, but had eyes that were a blue that rivaled the beauty of the sky. When Catherine first saw him, she called him a guardian angel. Arienne thought that she, as the older sister, would be the guardian, but made nothing of it.

Sergio was a very energetic child, and he looked up to his sister with such idolatry, that one would hardly ever see Arienne without him trailing behind. Arienne taught him all that she knew, and when the time came, she even helped him strengthen up for his first transformation. At the celebration for his entrance into the clan, Sergio was strong enough to keep up with even the fastest of the Lycans; even the elders were impressed with his speed. Arienne was so proud of him, she could have burst – and that's when they discovered that he was just like her.

Sergio was the second Lycan to have the ability to change at will.

"Can you believe it?" gossiped several Lycan women one night. "Both of Rigel's children have the same ability. Do you suppose it's hereditary?"

"I think it's very likely. But perhaps all the Donovans will become so blessed in the future."

"No," said another. "Not all of us. Only those who are born Lycans will become this way. Those of us who were bitten, I fear our kind can never be as they will be."

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A few more years had passed and the house of Donovan was as peaceful as it had ever been.

CRASH!!

At least, that was until Sergio and Arienne decided to wreak havoc upon the household with their childish games.

"Dammit, Diarra. How can I get anything done while they ravage the entire estate!?" yelled Rigel as he rose from his throne-like chair. "I've told them countless times to concentrate on their studies… not on playing foolish games!"

"Rigel, dear – let them play a little. They are still only children," cooed Diarra.

Rigel heaved a great sigh. "Fine, but if I must endure their raucous, then at least let them play OUTSIDE. That way, they can stay away from our valuables."

After giving the two snickering children a thorough scolding, he ushered them outdoors to inflict their mayhem upon nature. The children walked composedly out onto the patio, and then broke into a run towards the trees. Arienne laughed at her brother's attempts to be faster than her. "You'll never beat me, runt," she called to him from a distance as she spurred her Lycan speed further.

"You'll… see…" he panted from behind. "One… of these… days… I'll… run… faster… than you've… ever seen!"

"Ha!" she cried, leaping easily over fallen tree trunks. They ran on, Arienne cutting the path through the uninhabited forest, Sergio following as close to her heels as he could get. She loved the feeling of running through the brush without a care, but she felt something inside her that told her it would all change one day. Her mother taught her more about proper etiquette and what manners were correct to use at which times rather than reading her stories or playing games. Arienne wondered about how all the older members of the clan acted so differently from Sergio and herself. Was that her destiny: to become quiet and stuffy like the adults? She wasn't sure if that was what she wanted her destiny to be.

Suddenly, Arienne stopped herself at the edge of the woods, her breath caught in her throat. In front of her lay a dirt road leading to a wall of buildings not too far off. Sergio bumped into her back, stunned. "Why'd you stop?"

"Shhh!" Arienne hushed. "Look – the human city," she whispered.

"What's a human?" he asked, as if it were something disgusting. Arienne told him exactly what her mother had told her the eve before her initiation into the clan. Sergio's eyes widened and furrowed with each detail, absorbing every point. "They sound absolutely dreadful. Why would anyone choose to be human?"

"That's not the point," she snapped. "I think they're fascinating. To live such a short time with no special abilities – all the while being completely unaware of another species that looks exactly as you do and has a common tie with you? A species that lives not five miles from you… I can't wait until the day I get the chance to visit their city."

"You're daft, you are. There's nothing interesting about them at all."

Arienne turned to him, giving him an expression that could melt glass. "You know, Mother has been focusing on making me quite lady-like recently. Perhaps I'm getting too mature for this kind of activity." She turned and began to walk back to the house – but her walk was more of a proud march rather than a stroll. The reality of her words hit hard in Sergio's brain.

"Wait, you mean… you won't play with me anymore?" he called, jogging after her.

"Well, age brings maturity and responsibility, which means I cannot act like a child, can I?"

"But, there's no one else in the clan my age! I can't just play alone!"

"Then I suppose you'll have to find something else to do, won't you?" She continued to walk proudly on, but stopped a few steps short when she heard no footsteps following her. She turned her head slightly to see if Sergio was still behind her, and instead caught a strange scent in her sensitive nostrils. She didn't recognize it as Lycan, and it wasn't any animal she knew from the forest. Her head lowered in a cautious dog-like manner, turning to see her brother crouched on the ground in fear. "Do you smell that?" she whispered.

Sergio's head tilted to one side as he sniffed the air and nodded. "W-what is it?" he squeaked.

"Shush," she hissed, crouching lower and inched closer to his side. Her ears twitched, picking up any kind of sound that seemed out of the ordinary, and she felt her eyes sharpen into those silvery spheres they became when she transformed, but she held her changes back. Hearing a growl from her side, she noticed that Sergio had automatically changed – a miniature version of the rest of the clan, like a pup. In an almost reflexive thought, she wondered of she was that small when she was in her wolf form, but the thought popped out of her head as she heard the branches of a nearby tree rustle unnaturally. "Stay as you are," she whispered pleadingly to Sergio. "Don't let anything see you change." She held her arm over Sergio's back, protective as she was instinctively, and awaited whatever came across her path – and then it came.

A young man – about seventeen years old, tall and thin, short black hair and wide black eyes, and his clothes loose fitting and unkempt – stumbled out from behind a thick bush of briers. He looked confused and lost. Arienne quickly let her eyes change back to their 'normal' yellow color. He turned around several times, as though trying to recognize anything familiar, and laid his eyes upon Arienne and the pup by her side. "Where…?" he croaked, clutching his throat. "Which is the way to Sussex? I fear I have lost my way and am… am injured… But how did it…? When…?" the man rambled.

Arienne was bewildered. This must be a human, but he looked so frail and baffled that it disappointed her. She had expected something strong and graceful, blissfully unaware of the creatures around them. This man just looked like an unfortunate fool. She opened her mouth to speak, but dreaded that her fear would cause a growl to escape rather than a word, so she simply pointed in the direction she came. He stared at her for a few moments, then let his eyes follow her finger and back to her face. He nodded, took a step or two, and collapsed.

Sergio changed back and crawled up to the man, sniffing carefully. "Is this a heman?"

"Human," she corrected. "I think so."

"Are they all this odd? Why would you be interested in something as fumblingly mad as this?"

Creeping closer, she saw sweat soaking through the man's open collared shirt. 'Ah, that's it,' she thought. "He must be sick, look at him." She pulled Sergio back by his shirt. "Listen, go back to the manor, tell someone about the man and get them to come out here. Maybe we can help him."

"What about you? Aren't you coming back?"

"I'll stay just to make sure he won't go anywhere. I'll be along in a while."

Sergio nervously glanced between the sleeping man and his sister. "Arienne, I'm not so sure… What if he's dangerous?"

"If anything happens, you'll know about it. If I have to, I'll change. Now get going." She watched him run off, still looking over his shoulder every now and then, and turned her gaze back to the man. She pulled his shoulder back, flipping him onto his back. She brushed back the tiny strands of hair from his forehead and examined his face. He was kind looking; smooth features, light stubble along his jaw line, even handsome. Arienne had never admitted that anyone was handsome because she had never thought anyone was – before this man. She could feel her pulse quicken at the very sight of him, it seemed hard to breathe as she leaned in even further and ran her hand across his cheek.

The man twitched, waking quickly, and fiercely grabbed her wrist. She froze in fear, unable to tear herself away from him as he sat up and pulled her close, his eyes wide and crazy boring into hers. Her breath – that which had so soon before been difficult to catch – had now been caught steadfast deep in her throat as she gazed into his face. "Leave – Me – Be," he croaked again, and threw her back. She skittered back a few steps and felt her eyes change as she stared back. His eyes narrowed and blinked once, then twice, and finally rolled back into his head as he fell rearward to the ground.

Arienne gazed in wonder at him. He was still heaving breaths, exhausted from his trek. She crawled backwards a pace or two, shaking with fear. Her keen sense of smell alerted her to a metallic scent in the air, something she recognized – blood. But where was it coming from? It smelled as if it was coming from where the man lay, but she'd seen none on him.

A twig snapped somewhere off in the distance, but not in the direction of the manor. Fear gripped her and she decided that it was time to leave. If anyone else saw her, they might take her back to the human city and ask questions. If they found out about the manor, there'd be trouble. She couldn't let that happen, and this man's life would have to wait.

She ran off, transforming to get more speed when well out of sight, only to nearly run into her father and more elders at the edge of the forest. "Arienne!" he cried. "What's this Sergio said about a man in the woods?"

She returned to her human form and said, "I think he's sick, but someone else was there. It wasn't safe. He may still need help – he was sweating and I could smell blood."

"Where was he?"

"Straight through there, a little ways from the city," she said pointing.

"Alright, you stay here, in the house. Wiley, Devon, follow me."

Some time later, they returned empty handed. They explained that when they reached the place where the man had obviously been, he'd disappeared. The only explanation was that he either gained the strength to walk back, or that some others had come to take him back. It would have been dangerous to search any further for him, sick or not. Arienne was disappointed, but understood he father's reasoning and could not ask them to endanger the clan for the sake of one man.

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*Coming soon: "The Journey of a Lifetime".*