And so we meet again! You guys are lucky tonight – I'm exhausted, so the author's notes are short. I'm really excited about this chapter – I think you all should be pleased with it. I'll warn you ahead of time that it sort of stops in an odd place, but you'll see that it picks up rather nicely for the next bit.
As usual, here are my thanks to those who are kind enough to review and feed my addiction
laura: I love it when you review. You're always so nice, and your compliment is (I think) the highest honor that a fanfiction writer can be paid. Thank-you so much!
Lunatic: Your thirsting for Mary-Lynnette and Ash action has been granted. Just brace yourself for his dinnertime antics. I'm glad you liked what I did with Mark – I think he's a really awesome character, and I'm looking forward to bringing forth his relationship with Jade a little bit. As to this chapter – I hope I can fulfill your expectations and keep you entertained.
RaVyn: Your compliment was so wonderful to receive after that last chapter – it's one of my favorites and you were so nice! It definitely helped to keep me at the computer and writing.
VenusdeOmnipotent: I live for cuteness. I think Ash does, too. Secretly, that is.
amber-rules: How do I make it real? I have no idea, but if I could bottle it, I'd never have to work again. Maybe Ash's psyche just likes to talk to me a lot. Let's just hope that I can keep doing it – we have at least another fourteen chapters to go!
Massive good karma goes out to those that review. Thank-you all again, you have no idea how wonderful it is to get feedback (both good and bad!). I like to do my best to keep you enthralled.
Okay, enough chit chat. Let's see this next chapter.
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
Mary-Lynnette turned off her car after having let the engine run for a couple minutes and, popping the hood, got out to check the oil. This was part of the monthly inspection that she always performed on her car, and she knew it was one of the reasons that her old station wagon had lasted as long as it did. Despite the rust, the pitted windshield, the moody gas cap, and the brakes that worked more because of prayer rather than electricity, the car had served her well for almost two years before its downfall.
Glancing at her stepmother's car, a cute VW Bug, in disgust, she couldn't help but marvel at Claudine's complete ignorance of what went on within her vehicle. It could have garden gnomes and weasels living in it for all she'd notice.
Satisfied that her oil level was where it needed to be, she moved on to examine the radiator coolant, the wiring, and the transmission and power steering fluids. Just as she was moving on to the battery, she felt the impatient tug of the soulmate chord, and heard a voice behind her drawl, "Are you sure you know what you're doing under there? Machines are really the domain of men and beasts."
Turning around and being careful not to touch her clothes with her grimy hands, she crossed her arms and arched her eyebrow at Ash. "And just how many miles to the gallon does your car get?"
"Um . . ."
Smirking at him, she triumphantly declared, "I knew it. You don't have any clue what's under the hood of a car."
Recovering quickly, he responded, "Now that's not true. I just don't know the mundane, laymen's information." He gave her a superior look, "But I had my car specially built, so I know the parts."
Debating on whether or not she really wanted a lecture on engines and aero-dynamic bumpers, she eventually just said, "Well, layman or not, it's what keeps my cars running. Don't just stand there, hand me that water jug."
Lazily walking over to the requested item, he slowly picked it up and meandered over to her, holding on longer than necessary so she would look up at him when she moved to take it. "Don't you want to know?"
"Know what?" she asked, getting caught up in the shifting shades of his eyes.
They're green today, she noted, wondering distantly if there were emotional correlations to his eye color.
"If I'm man," his head moved closer to hers, keeping his lips just inches above her own. "Or beast?"
To her dismay, she felt her brain completely melt into mush at his words, her mind unable to wrap itself around all of the possibilities and connotations of the man-or-beast scenario. Of course, it didn't help that the soulmate chord was acting as a proverbial cheering squad, practically chanting as he reached down to close the space between them.
Kissing Ash was a new experience for Mary-Lynnette. Well, to be honest, kissing anybody was a new experience for her. It just made things more complicated when he was so good at it, and when the entire event was wrapped up in a delicious pink haze that made her feel as though she were flying miles above the earth. Forgetting about the jug and her greasy hands, she wrapped her arms around his neck, totally immersed in feeling him against her. Dimly, she knew that there was another way to be even closer to Ash, a way to really be with him, but she was having a problem articulating what that was, or even caring.
After long moments, Mary-Lynnette's practical nature managed to climb on top of the pink haze and nudge her back to reality. Opening her eyes, she felt her head start to clear, her heart pounding and lungs on fire. Sliding down his long frame, she coughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ears. Feeling residue on her face, she looked at her hands and, to her horror, remembered their condition. Glancing back at Ash, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
Being similarly disoriented and confused, Ash was struggling to control his emotions when he noticed that Mary-Lynnette had an odd look on her face. "What?" he asked, looking around to see if anybody had caught them in their private moment.
Mary-Lynnette fought hard not to smile before pointing out, "Um, I think I may have ruined your shirt."
Glancing down, he saw that all around his white t-shirt were patches of black oil and grease. Closing his eyes he muttered, "My sisters are never going to let me live this down."
Bending down to pick up the jug of distilled water, Mary-Lynnette turned her attentions back to her car, trying her best to steady herself. "They were teasing you?" she asked, carefully filling up her battery to about 5 mm above the plates.
Finally calming down, he answered, "You might say that. It's their new game: Kick the Ash."
Putting the caps back on the battery, Mary-Lynnette felt settled enough to chuckle. "Mark was doing the same thing." Thinking of her brother's hurried exit from the kitchen, she couldn't help but glower and mumble: "That Brutus."
"Brutus? As in, 'Et tu Brute?'"
Still glowering, Mary-Lynnette looked towards Mark's window and muttered, "With about half the honor and not nearly so noble a political agenda."
Ash winced at her tone, "Ouch. What'd he do?"
Sweeping down to pick up a bottle of windshield wiper fluid, she walked to the other side of the car to reach the dispenser, refilling the washer bottle as she explained, "He was celebrating our road trip when my Dad walked in – putting me on the spot for explanations."
Feeling a happy buzz at hearing her say the words "our road trip," Ash cleared his throat and shifted, draping his body over the side of her car so he could see her over the roof. "What exactly did you tell him? Your Dad, I mean."
Mary-Lynnette shrugged, dropping the bottle and slamming down the hood of the car. "Just that you and I had resolved our differences and that you wanted to take me out to Nevada so I could stargaze."
Interesting. "How 'resolved' are our differences?"
Blushing as she scrutinized her windshield wipers, checking to make sure they weren't wearing down or splitting, she answered, "Resolved enough so that we don't hate each other."
"So ...your Dad doesn't know about us. Like, the whole 'souls bonded through eternity' thing." He said this as he turned, propping his head up with his hand as his elbow continued to rest on the car. Mary-Lynnette looked up and saw that his eyes were a dark brown, again making her wonder what kinds of emotions they were supposed to reflect.
Sneaking another peak at him, she couldn't help but marvel: And I used to think that wiry and blond was a boring, unintelligent look. Given the dirty shirt and casual jeans, she now happily and willingly conceded that his longish hair, well chiseled features and sleepy eyes combined to make a stunningly attractive, rumpled picture in the early afternoon sun.
Glancing down at the wipers again, more to distract herself than because they needed the extra attention, she was forced to admit, "Well, no, not exactly. I couldn't actually tell him about our actual relationship, and I wasn't sure how to go from hating you to dating you in one conversation. I figured if I could just express the general sense of things having changed between us, then that would be truth enough."
"Will you tell him before we go on our trip? About us dating?" Mary-Lynnette looked up at him here, hearing something in his tone and feeling an odd tremor from him through their connection. Frowning, she asked, "Ash, what's the problem? I didn't want to push my Dad with a lot of information. It's only been a day; I wanted to give him time to get used to this." Taking a deep breath she then added, "And I want to get used to this, too."
Ash looked down at the driveway, trying to control the intense feelings ricocheting around in his head.
When are you going to get used to me? He wondered, wishing that he knew the words or actions that would get rid of the walls he still felt between them. After a second or so, he raised his head and met her curious gaze, offering her a lazy grin and straightening up as he wandered over to her. "Don't worry about it," he said.
Still not convinced, Mary-Lynnette decided that it would be best to just leave things as they were. "My Dad wants you to come over for dinner tonight," she informed him. "He feels it's his paternal duty to investigate you and your background."
Ash grimaced. "I knew something like that would happen." Brightening, he chirped, "Well, tell your step-mom that I like spaghetti. With meatballs."
Spaghetti with ...that's AWFULLY ...red. "Ash . . ." she warned, giving him a suspicious look. "No games or innuendo. I don't want to spend the whole evening listening to you hint at your vampire lineage."
"What?" he asked, stealing a quick kiss before turning to head back to the Burdock Farm. "I happen to like spaghetti. My family's Italian ...somewhere on my mother's side." Waving to her he called back, "I'll be over at five. We can talk about our plans and I can meet your dad."
"Ash," she warned, "My dad's going to have questions for you."
"And I'll have answers for him," he assured her. Seeing her shell-shocked face, he added, "Don't worry! Parents love me."
Watching him walk away, Mary-Lynnette did her best to fight against a feeling of dread. I hope that they're at least somewhat truthful. Casting a look at her home with trepidation, she sighed. Ash in my house. I just hope there's something left by the time we get to dessert.
Rolling over on to her side as she awoke from her nap, Mary-Lynnette looked at the bedside clock and leapt out of her bed in a panic.
I can't believe it's 4:45, she fumed, dashing around her room looking for something more becoming than jeans and a t-shirt to put on for dinner.
How did I oversleep? She kept asking herself, tossing glares at her alarm clock and making future plans to take it apart and bury its components in opposite corners of the front yard. That is, after she filled Mark's sheets with the worms she'd dug up from Mrs. Burdock's old garden.
It's immature and will most likely provoke retaliation, she mused, finally finding her hairbrush underneath some graphs she had been making and desperately working it through the knots in her hair, But I think I can let myself go this once. Big sisters have their rights, too.
Glancing out the window, she saw Ash's lanky form making its way across the yard and toward the front door. She appreciatively noted that he'd taken the opportunity to dress up a little, substituting khakis and a button-down shirt for his usual ripped jeans and band T-shirt. Just as she was about to bask in pride at his outward display of maturity, she noted to her horror he was carrying an enormous bouquet of roses and a bottle of what looked to be very expensive red wine.
That's the cheesiest thing I've ever seen.
"Oh, no. What is he up to?"
Just as she was beginning to panic, she saw him look up toward her window and give her a little wave with the bouquet. Tossing him a glare, he responded by flashing a cheeky grin before continuing to her front door. Throwing her brush on to her bed, she gave herself one last once-over in the mirror, satisfied that her own khaki skirt and blouse was more than appropriate for the evening. Hearing the obnoxious ring of the doorbell, she threw herself out of her room, making it downstairs without an accident more because of luck than any actual skill.
"I'll get it!" she yelled, flying to the front hallway.
"We noticed," her father dryly observed, getting up from his easy chair in the living room.
Claudine poked her head out of the kitchen, the sound of Mary-Lynnette's antics enough to draw her away from the cooking. Arching her eyebrow at her stepdaughter, she clicked her tongue a few times before ducking back to her preparations. Coughing self consciously, Mary-Lynnette looked around and noticed that besides her parents, Mark and Jade had also been witness to her flight of death as they set the dining table, both stopping in mid-motion to stare at her.
Distracted at seeing the young vampire, she asked, "Are Kestrel and Rowan coming, too?"
Giving Mary-Lynnette a puzzled look, Mark pointed to the eight plates that were already on the tablecloth. "Duh," he said. "They're already here helping Claudine." Delicately setting up some of the silverware he added, "Some of us didn't take a nap this afternoon."
Feeling more and more ridiculous, Mary-Lynnette jumped a foot as the doorbell impatiently rang for a second time, and she abruptly turned to open it.
Ash was standing on the front stoop, looking slightly put out. "Did you guys decide you didn't want me to come after all?"
Giving a nervous laugh she said, "Just a few technical difficulties."
"In her brain," Mark offered, coming to the front door. "Let him in, for God sake. He's been standing out there for, like, five minutes."
Can this GET any worse? She thought, numbly moving aside to let Ash in.
"Thanks," Ash said to Mark as he stepped inside. Seeing Mary-Lynnette's miserable look, he couldn't resist bending down to kiss her cheek. "It's cool," he assured her. "My sisters take forever to get ready, too."
Hearing a throat clear, Mary-Lynnette looked up to see her father leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed against his chest. Without having to guess, she knew that he'd seen the exchange of affection, and her entire hopes for getting through the evening without spotlighting the relationship went up in smoke.
Before she could do anything, however, Claudine again emerged from the kitchen, this time hastily wiping her hands off on her apron. "Ash," she said, her accent making her sound flustered. "How nice to see you again. Dear," she turned to Mary-Lynnette's father, "Have you and Ash been introduced?"
"I haven't been greeted yet," her father drawled. "I'm third in line, it seems."
Blushing furiously, Mary-Lynnette went through the formalities, eyeing the wine and flowers as if they were live animals. "Should I take those?" she asked, hoping that he would keep the gift exchange as subtle and simple as possible.
"I brought them for your parents, actually," he said, turning to the adults in question and presenting Claudine with the flowers and her father with the wine. "I ordered the flowers especially for you," he told Claudine.
Taking a look at the flowers again, Mary-Lynnette saw that she'd been mistaken in assuming that they were roses.
What the ...
"Red poppies," Claudine murmured, touching the petals to her forehead. "Ash, how did you know?"
Coming in from the dining room, Mark echoed Mary-Lynnette's thoughts: "Know what?"
Claudine gave Ash a kiss on the cheek and then turned to go back into the kitchen. "Red poppies are the national flower of Belgium," she explained cheerily. Giving Ash an approving look before exiting, she remarked, "That was very observant of you."
Shrugging he said, "It was nothing. I had some connections, and I thought you might not have seen any in awhile."
Before Mary-Lynnette could sputter some kind of response, her father broke in with, "I can't believe you found this."
Dimly turning to look at her father, she weakly asked, "What did he find?"
He turned to Ash with a look of disbelief, "Opus One? 1987? How ...?" Her father gave Ash a shrewd look, "How old are you?"
Ash chuckled. "Only nineteen, but this was all perfectly legal – my Aunt has a number of cases in her basement. My uncle was kind of a connoisseur." Extending his hand, Ash added, "I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Carter."
Finally getting disgusted with feeling so overwhelmed, Mary-Lynnette straightened her shoulders, determined to make it through the evening with dignity despite her boyfriend's schmoozing. Firming her resolve, she thought to herself, Mark Twain once said, 'The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.'
Looking at her father as he reverently placed the wine bottle on the coffee table, she inwardly groaned, We're going to have a lot of moments tonight.
"So, Ash, you said that you were nineteen." Accepting the basket of garlic bread, Mary-Lynnette's father looked at the young man, comfortably settling into his first father-to-boyfriend cross-examination session.
Mary-Lynnette closed her eyes in prayer, hoping that any spare angels or saints were on her side for the evening. Jumping in surprise when Ash slid his arm beneath the tablecloth to comfortingly rub her arm, she almost missed his answer, "That's right, sir. I graduated from high school last year."
'Sir?' She thought, sneaking a glance at Mark, who was regarding his salad with acute fascination. It looked as though he was trying not to laugh.
Oblivious to his son's amusement or his daughter's discomfort, Mary-Lynnette's father continued, "I see. And where are you going to college?"
Oh, no. Loaded question at two o'clock. This could be bad. Mary-Lynnette chose this point to cut up all of the meatballs on her plate and arrange the meat equally about the noodles.
"Well, when I was in high school, I took college courses along with my regular workload," Ash explained, mixing up his noodles and tomato sauce. "Mostly business classes. After I graduated, my father asked me to stay home for a few years to help him run our family's affairs."
That's a remarkable lie, Kestrel thought to him, sniffing delicately at the garlic bread.
It's not a total lie, Ash thought back. Dad DID ask me to help out. I just neglected to mention to Mr. Carter that I turned Dad down at the time.
You never wentto high school. You were schooled on the enclave, just like we were, Kestrel retorted. Then you spent two years in every Nightworld club on the east coast.
Not every one. Only the good ones, Ash assured her.
No telepathy at the dinner table, Rowan reminded them, giving each sibling a firm look from over the rim of her glass.
Glancing up from his own plate with interest, Mary-Lynnette's father asked, "What kinds of affairs?"
Thanking all of the deities he could think of for his past spy training, Ash managed to mask his disgust as he started to eat his salad. Ugh. Vampire eats salad. This is just … wrong. Swallowing, he responded, "A lot of things. Mostly negotiating property sales and maintenance – our family owns a lot of land."
If you hold your breath, the lettuce isn't so bad, Jade offered, chasing down her own mouthful with some water.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING can make this okay for me, Ash declared, nearly gagging as he partook of more of the vegetables.
Jade, Ash – cut it out! Rowan warned.
I'm just trying to help, Jade sniffed, turning her head slightly so she could smile at Mark.
"So, what kind of work do you do?" This was from Claudine, who up until that moment had remained content to simply watch the different dynamics between the guests. Although she didn't quite understand what was passing between them, she saw enough to know that some message was being sent and understood. In an attempt to shake the feeling, she turned her full attention to Ash.
Ash felt Mary-Lynnette's light kick that brought him back to the conversation. Catching her eye, he didn't need their connection to get her meaning: Pay attention!
Clearing his throat and trying to ignore the ghosts of vegetable chunks that he could still feel in his throat, Ash answered, "I travel a lot and negotiate with different buyers and sellers. When I need to, I help our lawyers draw up contracts." He tossed both Mary-Lynnette's father and Claudine a wry grin. "I'm also pretty good at playing golf with old men."
Her father chuckled, and the air in the dining room grew more comfortable as the other guests felt the release of tension. Inwardly heaving a great sigh, Mary-Lynnette observed: This isn't so bad. Maybe he'll behave himself after all.
"So, do you have plans to go to college when your family's business has settled down?"
Mary-Lynnette turned to look at Ash, interested to see how he'd answer this one.
"Well," Ash responded, conjuring up another infectious grin, "I'm interested in medicine, actually."
Her head jolting up, Mary-Lynnette grew suspicious. What is he up to?
"Really?" her father asked. "What kind of medicine?"
Ash shrugged. "Oh, I'm not all that particular, yet. I just know that I've never had a problem with needles or blood, and I like to help people. It seems like a good combination."
Already being overly-sensitive to the subject, hearing Ash actually talk about blood at the dinner table nearly caused Mary-Lynnette to choke. Masking her coughing in her napkin, she looked around the table and noted that Ash's sisters were also not amused by his humor. Mark, long done with his first helping, was busy putting together another plate, still desperately trying to hide the smirk that had yet to leave his face.
I'm glad he finds this so funny.
Still seemingly unaware of the vibe between the young adults at the table, her father shook his head and chuckled, "Well, I hope you find some more direction soon enough. You don't have all the time in the world you know."
Ash shrugged. "Oh, I wouldn't worry so much about that."
Mary-Lynette's father was oblivious to his daughter's rising disbelief. "No, really," he affirmed. "I think you'll be surprised when you wake up to find that your youth is long behind you and that many opportunities are long gone. I know I did."
Ash gave him a confident grin and shrugged, "My family says the same thing. But, I guess I figure since we all live to be so old, I can gather my rosebuds while I may."
Although Mary-Lynnette knew that the teasing was virtually harmless, it was doing nothing for her nerves, and as a result, she was on the verge of losing her temper. Not wanting to have a scene in front of her father, she stifled her response, simply shaking her head in amazement. And I thought this was going well.
Her reaction caught her father's attention, and he looked over at her with concern. "Is something wrong, Mary-Lynnette?"
Now the focus at the table, she was forced to think quickly. "Oh," she said, thinking quickly. "It's just an old argument we've had." Here she tossed Ash a look of exaggerated patience. "We can never agree on the appropriate age one should decide on a career." Her eyes said it all: Please behave yourself!
His green eyes twinkling with amusement, Ash easily flowed with her excuse. "It's true. I really respect that Mary-Lynnette already knows what she wants to do and that she's enrolling in such a good program to do it. I just don't know what I want to do, yet, so I don't think one can really dictate a standard age to choose a job."
Cocking his head in thought, her father seemed to process Ash's opinion before nodding. "I can accept that. Although I went straight to college from high school, I remember a number of my buddies from back home enrolling in the Peace Corps or the Army to give them some experience before choosing a field." Giving Ash a steady gaze, the warning in his voice was almost tangible. "It seems to me that the important thing is not to be wasting time and to still be productive to society."
Ash had to hide his gulp. Point taken. "I completely agree, sir."
Blinking at him in amazement as her panic started to recede, Mary-Lynnette had to hand it to Ash – his former answer had been perfect. 1) It had shown her father that Ash respected women (Mary-Lynnette in particular); 2) It demonstrated that he knew of her activities and her goals and supported them; and, 3) It validated his non-student status and his reasons for not having a clear vision of his future without making him sound like a irresponsible kid with no direction or, 4) insulting Mary-Lynnette's father for assuming that he would be otherwise.
Very, VERY good, she thought, flashing Ash a brilliant smile that left him slightly dazed. Noting the interaction with interest, Mary-Lynnette's father chose that moment to remark, "So, I hear everyone at this table is interested in some kind of road trip this summer."
Surprised, Mark looked up from his plate for the first time, his gaze immediately falling on Mary-Lynnette. Shrugging to him, she indicated that she had no idea where her father had heard such news.
"That's right, Mr. Carter," Jade said, reaching down to hold Mark's hand under the table. "I told your Dad about it earlier today," she explained, seeing Mark's startled look. "You were taking too long."
Hiding a smile behind her napkin, Mary-Lynnette wondered if being present for Mark's interrogation would be enough to justify a reprieve from a bed full of worms.
Remembering his sneaky exit from the kitchen, her eyes darted back to her younger brother as he began to explain the trip. Her eyes narrowed, and she felt Ash stir beside her, chuckling as he followed her line of sight to note her target.
"So, Ash, did you keep in touch with Mary-Lynnette during the school year?" Claudine asked, doing her best to draw the two into more conversation.
The worms stay, she decided, twisting the long spaghetti noodles around her fork as Ash proceeded to verbally weave his way through another minefield of parental questions.
What do you mean dinner's not over yet?
The first section by the car took so long, that I decided to drag it out to cover two chapters. We still have dessert, after all. And they have to make plans.
You should have all of the above by Friday.
Until next time!