Hello again! Here we are with the next chapter, and I have to say up front, that I tried really hard to keep the entire thing in character. Some of it was difficult, and I think one thing you'll notice is that Ash is more somber than we're used to seeing him. My impression is that it's due to the context of this part, and we should see him back to full wisecracking form by Chapter Three.
I want to thank the following people for reviewing, and just give a little response to each commentary. I really appreciate the votes of confidence, and I even went back and changed a couple things that were brought to my attention about Chapter I – one of them being the timeline of this story. I meant for it to take place in the spring of Mary-Lynnette's senior year, but that would only be about ten months after Ash left, not thirteen, as I was originally thinking.
amber-rules: As always, I love reading your reviews. You're such a voice of support, and I know I can count on you to let me know how the writing's coming along. Thanks for coming along with me on this story, too!
crystleflys: That's such a lovely compliment! I'd never try to fully match L.J. Smith in style, but I'm really glad that you can accept my version of it!
Hananiah: Ah, the blending of past and present. I was really pleased with myself for bringing in quotes from Daughters of Darkness – it's awesome to know that it was so well received!
angel: With this story, my feeling is that it'll probably remain at a PG-13 rating. With all of the issues that Mary-Lynnette and Ash have to work through, I think that something as intimate as sex will be a long ways off for them. I'm not much of a lemon writer, so anything physical that takes place between them will probably be viewed through more spiritual/emotional connections. With respect to my other story, however (which I noticed that you also read), I can guarantee you that Poppy and James will be taking their relationship to the next level. The telling of it, however, will also be from an emotional/spiritual context. Therefore, I can't keep out all of the kissing, but it won't be terribly graphic, either.
sweettooth: You gave me so many compliments; I don't know which one to respond to! Thank-you for them all, and I'll keep trying to live up to your expectations! Your review was wonderful to receive.
filanvampire: I think all of the maturity in this story comes from me leaving my immature ideas in my Inuyasha fanfiction world. I'm so happy that you're enjoying the tale.
SpiritofEowyn: It's fine to ask me to update quickly . . . I just can't guarantee that I will. My muse, she is a finicky creature! Still, things seem to be flowing well for the time being, and although it's not quite as present in this chapter, there is plenty more humor to come!
Lunatic: Thank-you so much for catching me on the graduation procedure. I actually didn't have either one at my own high school commencement, so I wasn't even considering protocol. As such, I went back and changed Mary-Lynnette to Salutatorian. Although I think her character would have pushed her to be the first in the class, I just couldn't take away the musings she had during the ceremony. If anybody asks, I can just say she was busy making star charts during the year and the other guy beat her by a hundredth of a point.
And now, on to the meeting of the soulmates.
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
He knew that she'd be on her hill tonight. He couldn't explain how it was that he knew, since it wasn't as though she went every night. Still, after spending a good hour sulking in his tree, he'd had the feeling that he would find her stargazing. Maybe it was just because he knew her. Either way, after gathering up his courage, he'd made the assent to her viewing point and found her rummaging about in the trunk of her car.
That must be the new one her father got her, he thought, remembering the unfortunate demise of the station wagon.
In the time since he'd left her, he'd imagined their reunion on more than one occasion. Hundreds, if the truth would be known. He'd envisioned walking up to her while she was relaxing in a hammock, pulling her out of class at school, or following her on a family trip to catch her in a moment of privacy. So many scenarios and so many dreams later, he found himself almost where they started – on a dark hill, late at night.
All right Casanova, so NOW what do you do?
He didn't have a clue. All he could manage was to stare at her, captivated by the wave of her hair, the sound of her heartbeat. He stood there for long moments, watching her arms push aside various items in the trunk, most likely trying to unearth the telescope she always carried with her. Or maybe it was a new one?
Did the old one burn in the fire, too? I can't remember.
Lost in random, procrastinatory thoughts, the decision to act or not to act was taken out of his hands as he saw her back tense and her movements cease. Only an instant behind her, he felt the soulmate chord burn, tugging on each of them as it tried to bring them together. Having stopped her motions entirely, Mary-Lynnette turned around to face him, a fierce light blazing in her blue eyes.
Oh, crap.
Okay, think. Quick. Think. Words. Forms of communication. You can do this.
"Er . . . soft you now, the fair Mary-Lynnette."
Hamlet? You're gone for months and the first thing out of your mouth to your soulmate is a line from a tragic play? Great, Ash. Just great. If you really want to make her swoon, maybe you should suggest that she 'get herself to a nunnery.'
There was a long pause while Mary-Lynnette steadily looked at him, before a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You don't really expect me to answer with, "Good my Lord, how does your honor for this many a day?"
She would have memorized that play, too.
Deciding not to answer her directly, he changed the subject, slowly moving toward her. "Is there any work of literature that you can't quote from?"
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she looked down to hide her chuckle. "Well, yes. You just don't seem to pick the ones I don't know."
Walking up closer to Mary-Lynnette, now only standing a couple of feet away, Ash's senses were swamped by her presence. After being denied his other half for so long, his mind, body, and soul were doing all they could to show him that this was the person that it needed to be with and that this was the soul he needed to stay next to.
As if I could forget, he thought, vaguely ruffled at the chord's insistent tugging.
The smell of her jasmine shampoo, the sparkle of deep intelligence in her eyes, her limbs – a little paler than when he last saw them, and her voice – so melodic and filled with life (or was that annoyance?), all of these parts of her worked their way towards him, pulling him closer to her. Although he wasn't directly connected to it, he could feel her soul tremble; he knew she had to be experiencing something similar.
So he's been here all along.
Mary-Lynnette was absolutely certain of that fact. Although he did have the rumpled-traveler look that reminded her of a housecat recently shoved out of his favorite, but inconvenient, napping spot, she sensed that it was hours old and that he'd been in town since sometime that afternoon.
Leaning back against her car, she tried her best to get a hold of herself and the multitude of feelings that were coursing through her. Absolute elation. Intense nervousness. Significant irritation because he'd taken so long to show up. Fear that he was going to leave. Fear that he was going to stay. The general desire to jump on top of him to give him an even more rumpled look.
Whoa. Where'd THAT come from?
Get a grip, Mary-Lynnette.
Slightly disconcerted by his silence and the intense way that they kept looking at each other, Mary-Lynnette cleared her throat and looked away. "Um. So … when did you read Hamlet? An after-party recovery session?"
Nice. First you stare at him, and then you insult him. JUST what he wanted to come home to.
He didn't seem to notice the awkward undertones of the question, though. Looking at her for another moment, he finally blinked, his eyes shifting in and out of different shades of amber. "Huh? Oh, no. I read it on a plane trip to Miami."
Miami. Safe subject. Good subject. Away-from-thoughts-about-jumping-Ash-subject. "Um," she coughed here, incredulous at the direction her thoughts were going. "Miami? What did you do there?"
Taking a step closer to her, and thus causing her to inch back against the car, Ash responded, "I was sent on an assignment." Here he stopped his walking and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, kicking the ground. "I, well, I'm not sure any other way to say this." Here he looked up at her. "I've been pretty busy. I left the Nightworld … started doing some other work. Better work," he assured, seeing her eyebrow arch in surprise. "Work that's supposed to help out both the humans and Nightpeople."
Suddenly feeling calmer, Mary-Lynnette figured that she should do something besides back away from him. Squeezing the edge of the trunk for comfort, she moved towards him, closing the space between them to less than a foot. "You actually left the Nightworld?"
Running a hand through his hair, he let out a shaky sigh. "Hard to believe, huh?" He looked at her hesitantly. "I know you didn't really expect me to."
Unconsciously mimicking his nervous habit, Mary-Lynnette tucked away some loose strands behind her ear, and then slipped her hands into her back pockets. "I'm not sure what I expected," she softly confessed, staring at his sneakers. "But, I'm proud of you. That you left. I know it wasn't easy."
Frowning slightly, Ash shook his head. "No, but not for the reasons you'd think." She didn't respond, and after a long moment of silence, he haltingly asked, "So … are you going to yell at me?"
Mary-Lynnette's head jerked up, her gaze meeting his for the first time. Seeing the depth of emotion in his eyes, and feeling distinct panic at not only recognizing, but also responding to it in kind, she fought against the new tide of feelings that swept through her, urging her to stop talking and to start acting. "Why would I yell at you?"
"Because I didn't come to your graduation."
Oh. That.
"You didn't go for Kestrel, either. None of your family did."
"Well," Ash offered, moving past her to lean against the back of her new car. "When you have family that dates back to before the medieval times ... celebrating an end to four years of high school is sort of irrelevant."
Oh, excuse me for being human. "Gee, thanks. I didn't realize asking you would've been an insult to your lineage."
Eyes wide in alarm, he quickly backtracked, "No! That's not what I meant. I know it was important to you."
"So why weren't you there?" She moved her hands from her pockets to again cross them in front of her. Now that she could concentrate on being irked, she didn't feel so overwhelmed by the jubilant nature of their soulmate chord.
Ash winced, knowing that she'd made her point. "I was ... I mean, I didn't ..." he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know."
"Don't you?"
Ash stood for a minute, staring in front of him and trying to figure out the words that wouldn't make the situation worse. Finally, he settled on honesty. "I didn't know what you wanted me to do. We haven't talked in almost a year, and I wasn't sure what your life was really like right now. When my sisters didn't tell me one way or another if you wanted me here – they just assumed I was coming – I had no way of knowing if I should take that to mean that you'd decided you wanted me around after all." Here he shrugged at her, "I know I'm a lot to handle."
Unable to still feel angry in light of his logic, Mary-Lynnette moved back to her car, leaning on it next to Ash and silently basking in his warmth beside her. After another short silence, she responded, "I guess things weren't really clear, were they? Last year, when you went away. We sort of left all of this up in the air – I would wait, you would come back. If things were right, we'd be together." She looked up at him, her blue eyes filled with dozens of different emotions. "I'm just not sure how to tell if things are right or not."
Ash bit back a short laugh, and then glanced at Mary-Lynnette to see him looking up at him with a questioning gaze. Shaking his head, he clarified, "Things are always so complicated with us. I know dozens of soulmate couples - none of them seem to have the issues that we have. They just sort of walk up to each other, and then bam, they're together and things are fine." He turned to face her. "Why is it so hard for you and me?"
Mary-Lynnette blinked in surprise, "There are lots of other soulmate couples?"
Ash nodded, "Yeah. Usually a new one turns up every month or so – lots of vampires and humans, some between witches and humans, and a few between different races in the Nightworld."
After a moment, Mary-Lynnette offered, "I don't think that it's necessarily easy for them, Ash. I imagine they have problems, just different ones that come from being in a relationship."
"And we're not?" Ash asked, his voice quiet in the night air.
"I ... I'm not sure." Glancing up at his face, she added, "It's sort of hard to have a boyfriend when you don't talk to him for ten months."
"But ... you did wait for those ten months?" His voice was hesitant here, and it was his tone that finally broke through to Mary-Lynnette's confusion and panic.
Ash is back.
Ash came back for me.
Of course, this was obvious – she'd sensed that he'd been in Briar Creek since early afternoon, and she'd been talking with him for at least ten minutes. The soulmate connection had been humming with pleasure at the two of them being in such close proximity, and she'd had bits and pieces of his feelings sent to her as they'd talked. But it wasn't until she'd heard the fear in his voice – it wasn't until she'd heard the fine edge of desperation, that the reality of his presence hit her. To her horror, as soon as she let herself fully embrace the realization, she felt tears spring from her eyes and run down her cheeks.
Seeing her weep, Ash was at a total loss. "Mary-Lynnette ... oh, please don't cry. I'm sorry – whatever it is that I did, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to miss your graduation, well, I did, but it wasn't meant to hurt you, and –" Here an awful thought sprung to his mind. "And, um, well, if you didn't wait, then, uh, I ... I guess we can talk about it. I didn't want ... oh, I suck at this." He reached up to touch her shoulder, unsure if he should offer comfort, or completely back away.
Shaking her head, she used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes and face dry, feeling ridiculously embarrassed. "No, it's okay. It's fine." Turning to Ash, she did something that surprised both of them, and reached up to cup his face in her hands, lifting it so that she could look into his eyes.
"I did wait," she confessed, appreciating the way that his eyes changed from amber to blue in the moonlight – almost like the Northern Lights. He moved to speak, but she kept going, knowing that the time had come for her to start dealing with some of her fears. "I waited every day, knowing that there was an equal chance of you coming back and of you staying away."
"Mary-Lynnette ..." he whispered, his pupils dilating with emotion in such a way that she couldn't forget what he was, even if she had been trying.
"I wanted you to come back. I wanted you to return the way you said you would. It doesn't matter that you didn't come for the ceremony – it was stupid, anyway. I'm really glad that you're here now."
Completely captivated, Ash couldn't help himself as he moved to kiss her. Before his lips touched hers, however, she pulled away from him and looked him in the eye.
"I can't promise you this is going to work," she warned, answering the confusion in his gaze. "I know we're supposed to be together, but I don't know if we can be together. But," here she bit her lip and closed her eyes, almost as if she were readying herself for taking a dive off a cliff. "But I want to try. We've both grown up a lot. Maybe we can make this happen."
Before he could come up with a response, she moved her face up to complete the kiss, finally turning the painful tugging of the chord into a sweet humming. Both of them in over their heads and overwhelmed with sensation, neither one noticed as a meteor streaked across the sky. Although it was too early to be a Perseid, it was no doubt an early indication of what the summer had to offer.
An hour later found Mary-Lynnette and Ash still on the hill, him sprawled on a blanket and leaning up against the side of her car, her leaning back against him. Next to the pair was a half-eaten bag of Chee-tos. The moon had long since risen, ruining any more possibilities for decent viewing that she may have had planned. For the moment, however, she wasn't really inclined to go back inside.
After a rather long but comfortable silence, Mary-Lynnette asked, "Ash?"
"Hmm?" Like Mary-Lynnette, Ash was perfectly content where he was.
Taking just another minute to get her thoughts together (somewhat difficult to do given the distraction of his hands idly rubbing over her own), she ventured, "What have you been doing, exactly? You said you left the Nightworld."
"Well," he replied, sitting up a little more so he could be alert enough to give her an answer, "After I left Briar Creek, I went back to my parents to let them know what was going on here. They were a little surprised, to say the least, but since it didn't seem as though the girls could get into any trouble, and they had other stuff to deal with, they didn't push it."
"Then what?" she probed, turning slightly to look up at his profile.
He leaned his head back against the car. "Then ... I sort of floated for a couple of months. I spent time working for my family, helping out with our businesses. Nothing harmful," he assured her, "Just some stuff dealing with property and stocks."
"Property and stocks," she echoed. "Ash, just how rich is your family?"
"Um ... pretty rich," he answered. "You don't live for thousands of years without amassing some kind of wealth."
"Uh-huh. I see." Note to self: file away paranoia about boyfriend's rich family for a later time. "What did they say about you leaving the Nightworld? None of your sisters ever mentioned anything to me about it. Actually," she said thoughtfully, "do they even know?"
Giving a small, nervous laugh, Ash replied, "Uh, no. You see, that's the funny thing about all of this . . ."
Some time later, Mary-Lynnette, now seated on the blanket facing Ash, rubbed her temples and took a deep breath.
"So ... um ... that's where I've been ever since. I'm one of Thierry's agents – I do a lot of spy work in the Nightworld clubs, talking to people and gathering information for him." Staring down at his palms, he explained, "That's why I can't tell my sisters about it. Besides other Daybreakers, nobody can know what I'm up to. As far as my family's concerned, I just got back into the party groove."
"Do you still, um ... with other, er …"
Catching her line of thought, Ash shook his head, "No. Well," he sort of coughed here, "I don't actually, but I pretend to, and well, it sort of works out that various girls think I, uh, did."
Deciding to file that away with ... quite a few other things as well, Mary-Lynnette eventually said, "Well, you're doing what you promised me you would. You're trying to make things better."
Disconcerted by her more somber mood, Ash quipped, "Well, as it was once said, 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done . . .'"
"And, 'it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.'" She smiled. "Charles Dickens, too? You've read a lot this year."
"Well," he said, cutting off a yawn, "I have to keep up with you, don't I?"
"After all, we are soulmates," Ash had said. "I can't be completely stupid or I'd be completely wrong for you."
Remembering that time, she said now, "I never thought you were stupid."
Caught in the middle of a stretch, Ash was confused, "What?"
"Last year. You said you couldn't be completely stupid or you'd be completely wrong for me. I never thought you were stupid. I wanted to think you were ... but I never really concluded that it was the case."
He gave a small smile, "Thanks."
Looking down at her wristwatch, Mary-Lynnette was horrified to see that it was past three thirty. "Oh, my God. It's so late."
Ash glanced up at the sky and shrugged, "It's not so bad."
"Well, maybe to full creatures of the night, but us hybrids like to be in by two." She stood up then and began to gather up the blanket. Ash did likewise, helping her to fold the large bedspread. After she packed it in her trunk along with the Chee-tos and telescope, she turned to Ash once again.
"Ash, what kind of a base does Circle Daybreak have? Where are its headquarters?"
"Las Vegas, actually," he answered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "That's the main one, anyway. Thierry has a ton of property all over the world, but we use the Nevada one the most often."
"I take it that he's pretty loaded, too?"
"Yeah. He was the first made vampire. He's had a lot of time to build his empire."
Mary-Lynnette nodded, seemingly lost in thought. She looked up when Ash spoke.
"Mary-Lynnette? What's on your mind?"
"I was just curious. During the year, I got ... feelings ... I guess you could say, about where you were and what you were doing. Nothing specific exactly, but I could sense some things about you. I just wanted more information to put with it."
He thought for a long moment before hesitantly offering, "Well, I sort of had an idea about that, while I was driving here earlier today."
Arching her eyebrow, she prompted, "An idea?"
He lightly rocked back and forth on his heels, answering, "Well, I don't know what you're planning to do for the summer ... but I thought that maybe, at some point, if you wanted ..."
"Ash, just say it."
He took a deep breath and looked directly at her. "Okay. We haven't had a lot of time together. I thought maybe we could take a trip? I could show you some of the places I've been – you can meet the people at Circle Daybreak, see what kind of work I've been doing. If we're really going to be together, you'll probably want to know what's going on between the Nightworld and the human world."
Well. Well, well. A trip with Ash.
"We get some more time to talk, and, uh," here he coughed again, "talk. About things."
A trip just to talk? I don't think so, Mary-Lynnette thought, noting his "cough" with interest.
Taking her silence to be negative, he concluded, "Yeah, I was pretty sure you wouldn't go for it. I can just come back here a lot and –"
"I'd love to go," she interrupted, looking up at him with a small smile.
"—visit. You'd what?"
"I'd love to go on a trip with you," she repeated, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek before turning to get into her car. "We can talk about it tomorrow – get in, you can walk to your sister's house from my driveway."
Staring at her dazedly as she got into the car, he could hardly believe what she'd said.
She'll go with you? Just like that?
Feeling sure of himself for perhaps the first time that evening, Ash practically sauntered to the passenger side door.
Ah, and the second chapter is complete. I'm terribly nervous about the characterization in this part – it was absolutely insane to put those two together after a ten-month separation. Still, I did the best that I could with it, and I'll leave it to you guys to let me know if anything feels off to you – just be gentle!
Until next time!