Like I said, there aren't many author's notes before this chapter. Author's Snort Warning is still in effect.

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 had been driving for about two and a half hours when the creature beside her began to stir. Glancing over, she couldn't help but smile as he burrowed his head under his arms, trying to get away from the sunlight. Holding on to the wheel with one hand, she grabbed his sunglasses from the cup holder and handed them to him.

"Ugh," Ash mumbled, shaking his head to clear away the dizziness. Putting on the sunglasses, he then gave a long, back-arching cat-stretch before moving the seat up. Taking a look around, he nodded with approval. "We're in California?"

"Have been for a little less than half an hour," she answered, looking behind as she moved to change lanes. "We're on I-5."

Ash yawned again, looking around the car to take stock of what had happened while he'd been asleep. His gaze falling on the dashboard, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You don't have the music on?"

Mary-Lynnette blushed faintly and shook her head. "I wasn't sure how sensitive your hearing would be while you slept ... and you looked really tired."

Feeling a sense of warmth spread through his chest, Ash couldn't have stopped the smile he gave her even if he'd wanted to. "Thanks."

"No problem."

The car was silent for a few moments as Ash continued to wake up, the odd sleeping schedule and even odder sleeping location making him feel somewhat out of sorts. After he'd reoriented himself, he twisted around to the backseat and saw the cooler Mary-Lynnette had brought with her.

"What's in the cooler?"

Glancing back at the Styrofoam container, she shrugged. "Just a few drinks – that way I don't have to buy them on the way."

"Can I have one?"

She grinned. "Only if you get one out for me, too."

Twisting around even more and nearly cutting off his circulation with the seatbelt in the process, Ash managed to unearth two cokes, setting the cold beverages in the front of the car. Glancing up at his soulmate as she mumbled a curse at a truck driver, he took the extra initiative and opened her can for her, holding it a little higher so she could easily take it when the danger had passed.

Accepting the coke, Mary-Lynnette was relieved to feel the mild jolt of caffeine hit her system. Although she'd had plenty of sleep the night before, getting up so early had had some unfortunate effects, and she wasn't too proud to resort to mild narcotics to keep her in top form. Which reminded her of a question she'd been meaning to ask ...

"Hey Ash?"

Swallowing his own mouthful of soda, he responded, "Yeah?"

"Human food and beverages don't do anything for you, right?"

He settled back and adjusted the seatbelt slightly, approving of Mary-Lynnette's driving for the time being and willing to let her stay in control for a little while longer. "Right. Well," he corrected, "It's not that human food doesn't do anything for us. I mean, we can taste it and it'll make us feel full. We just don't get any nutritional value out of it and it won't recharge our powers or more mystical abilities."

"What about drugs?"

Ash blinked. "Come again?"

"Drugs," she clarified. "Like, marijuana, or alcohol. Or," pointing to the cans, "caffeine. Can you drink coffee and feel more awake? Do narcotics affect vampire physiology?"

Ash shook his head. "Not as far as I know. Granted, I haven't tried a whole lot of those, knowingly at least." Mary-Lynnette gave him a funny look and he moved on to explain, "In a lot of the clubs I go to, they lace drinks for the shifters and witches – they're crazy affected by stuff like that. If I ever had any of it, I wouldn't have noticed."

And yet another thing to process, she thought. "So what do vampires do to get high?"

Ash was somewhat uncomfortable. "This is a really weird conversation."

She looked at him sideways and was more determined to hear his answer. "Come on, I've been wondering about it."

Ash sighed and looked out the window for a few minutes before responding. "Things with blood. Things with power. Things with telepathy. Once you tap into your brain ... or someone else's brain, there are a whole lot of messed up things you can do for a buzz." He stayed facing the window, his arms crossed against his chest.

And I imagine you've done more than a few of those, she thought. She didn't react for a minute or so, but then reached out with her right hand to touch his left arm and squeeze it gently. Ash jumped slightly at the unexpected physical contact and then felt another rush of warmth as he realized that she wasn't going to condemn him for those particular past activities.

"At least you know now that that stuff is 'messed up,'" she observed, rubbing his arm gently before returning both of her hands to the steering wheel.

"Yeah," he acknowledged. "You'd be surprised how much you can learn from Circle Daybreak in just a year." Clearing his throat, he examined the gas level and suggested, "You might want to stop the car soon so we can fill up. I can drive for awhile."

"Come on, just try it," Mary-Lynnette urged, shifting sideways so that she could look at him straight on.

"No way."

"Oh, come on. It's fun."

"I am not playing the license plate game with you. It's stupid."

"Ash, we've been in the car for five hours. I want to play a car game."

"Can't you just read?"

Mary-Lynnette glowered.

Ash winced. "I guess that would be 'no.'"

"Right. This is a trip. Quality time. We should be doing things together."

"We are," he whined, briefly swerving out of his lane to pass another car and darting back into his original one.

Mary-Lynnette held on to the door handle during the stunt, gritting her teeth so as not to tell him to slow down or, heaven forbid, actually watch out for other motorists. "We should be doing more," she pushed.

"We've been talking," he pointed out, nearly flooring the gas pedal as he pushed the car past seventy-five miles an hour.

Fighting the additional force pushing her back into her seat, she replied, "Yes. About lots of things – my school, your enclave, my mom, your mom, my brother, your sisters. We need a break. We need a game."

Ash shot her a look, his eyes light green. "You're not going to drop this, are you?"

I think they're green when he feels strongly about something, she thought. When he's in his top form or has been pushed to his limits. Reining her attention back to the conversation, she assured him, "Not in a million years."

He sighed heavily and dropped his head against the seat, throwing in the towel. "Okay, fine. Pick a car."

Clapping excitedly, Mary-Lynnette sat forward. "Woo! Okay ... up ahead. See the VW bug?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, the license plate is KML-24J."

"Let's use KML," she suggested.

"I'm partial to 24J, myself."

"Ash ..."

"But KML is a lovely phrase-provoking combination," he amended, rolling his eyes.

"KML," she began. "Kangaroos Mostly Leap."

Ash groaned. This is retarded. "Kids Meddle Lots."

"Kites Move Lightly."

"Uh ... Kittens Mew Loudly."

"Oh, nice one," she complimented. "Um ... Knives Manipulate Lasagna."

"That's convoluted," he accused.

"But it works."

Ash's turn was next, but he became hard pressed to think of another phrase. Seeing the time tick away on his watch, he knew if he didn't come up with an answer in another ten seconds or so, then Mary-Lynnette would win this round and they'd have to keep playing.

Suddenly, he had it. Grinning, he leaned over and quickly covered her lips with his own.

"What was that for?" she asked, feeling slightly dazed.

He gave her a cocky grin. "Kiss Mary-Lynnette."

"I think you're being too harsh on Kurtz," Ash commented, propping his feet up on the dashboard and tucking his hands behind his head.

Mary-Lynnette steadied the wheel with her left hand and used her right to grab a few french-fries from the McDonald's bag. She'd managed to convince Ash to stop at the fast-food chain a little less than half an hour ago after pointing out that although he could survive on the deer's blood he'd brought in his cooler, she needed something more substantial.

And, of course, as soon as they'd pulled away from the restaurant, he'd started to steal her fries.

Smacking his hand away from the bag for the tenth time she asked, "How do you figure that? And stay away from my processed starch."

Shaking his hand and glaring at her briefly, he sighed in momentary defeat and returned his hand to behind his head. "Well, you object to using him as the hero in Heart of Darkness because he doesn't go "completely native," but then you want to use him as some kind of role model for Marlow. I don't think you can have it both ways."

Mary-Lynnette wiped her hand on her jeans before gripping the wheel again, sitting up slightly so that she could stretch her back. Her eyes briefly flickered to the clock and she noted they were six and a half hours into the trip. She figured she'd drive for another hour or so before letting Ash take the heavier traffic they were bound to encounter the closer they got to southern California.

"Well," she replied, "Let me ask this: what do you think of Marlow?"

Ash shrugged. "I know he's supposed to be the hero – the one with the most unbiased point of view, but he kind of bothers me. Did you ever notice that he has huge fixations on the 'black' side of Africa?"

Mary-Lynnette furrowed her brow. "Elaborate?"

"Well, take the example of his first observations of the station. He tries to set it up so that we feel he's the most objective character in the novel, but he spends a lot of time describing the horrors that he sees – and he uses the words 'black' and 'white' repeatedly. I think he's obsessed with the difference."

That reminds me of ... "Oh! I remember, now," she said. "'They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing early now—nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation.'" She shook her head. "I never caught that."

Ash nodded. "That part goes on to talk about moribund shapes and black skeletons. I think Marlow has an obsession with the African that makes him less objective than he'd like to see himself."

Mary-Lynnette nodded, "Okay, so why does Kurtz fail as a role model for a somewhat blind Marlow?"

"You tell me."

She thought for a moment, trying to draw up passages and phrases from the book that she'd read a few short months ago. Ash waited patiently, taking the time to sneak a French fry or two while she was preoccupied. Eventually she offered, "Okay. I still hold that Kurtz fails as an existentialist hero, and I think what you pointed out about Marlow's flaws are true. Is it possible, then, that it's a lesser evil to acknowledge differences between races and to exploit them?"

"As opposed to thinking that you're above them but you really just can't stop obsessing about it?"

"Exactly."

Interesting, Ash thought. "So that would mean that at least Kurtz recognizes his own flaws and isn't trying to conform to any sort of established moral code? White or black?"

"I think so," Mary-Lynnette answered, turning on the windshield wipers as rain started to sprinkle down from above. "I'd still argue that he doesn't disregard enough of the established systems to qualify as, say, an existentialist hero ..."

"But he has enough consciousness about his actions so that Marlow could learn from him," Ash concluded. "That's really smart. Of course you realize that your entire theory rests upon your audience agreeing to a system of relative morality."

Mary-Lynnette arched her eyebrow. "My audience? Is that what you are?"

Ash grinned and threw one of her own phrases back at her: "It would seem so."

"Does that mean I get applause and roses?"

"It means I'm one of your biggest fans."

Ash stepped out of the mini mart, tucking his wallet into his back pocket. Although he'd agreed to let Mary-Lynnette pay for the gas on the trip, it wasn't his fault if they needed to refuel while she was napping.

Then again, some would argue that putting more gas in one's car was unnecessary when you still had half a tank of gas left. Still, Ash was a firm believer that it was better to be safe than sorry.

She'll never know, he thought, taking a minute to look at her through the window before getting back into the car. The warm feeling that he'd felt in his chest that morning had been steadily growing all day, and it had increased tenfold when he realized that this was the first time he'd ever seen her asleep.

Did she feel the same way this morning when I was taking a nap? He wondered, sliding into the driver's seat and turning the key. Did she feel ... this tender?

Ash had always thought that Mary-Lynnette was beautiful, even though their first meeting had consisted of a handful of insults and more than a few kicks to his shins. Despite the animosity, he couldn't help but be captivated by the wave of her hair, or the intensity of her eyes. Unlike his own, Mary-Lynnette's were always a steady blue. The fire inside of her was warm and constant, and he was quickly realizing how badly he wanted to be able to depend on that constancy.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he urged the car forward, deftly making his way back to I-5. It was about 5:30, and he anticipated getting to the West-Coast house within the next hour or so. He moved to turn on the radio, but took another look at the young woman sleeping next to him and decided against it.

It wasn't just her beauty that got to you, his mind whispered.

Are we still on this subject?

Do you have anything else you'd rather think about?

Well, no, not really.

Ash had often wondered about the kinds of emotions the soulmate principle evoked in couples. After first meeting his other half, his entire world had seemingly crashed down around him in light of the new, unexpected, and extremely intense love he had felt. His beliefs, his morals, his identity – they were all insubstantial whims that he'd just been following for lack of any real direction. But it all changed when he met one human girl. She was solid; she was real. With her came new standards for behavior and a new way of regarding life. And underneath all of these changes there remained that initial, intense emotion.

"I seem to love you sort of desperately."

He had honestly meant those words when he'd said them to her a year ago, and they still held true. Taking his eyes off the road briefly, he stole another look at Mary-Lynnette, feeling protective of her while she lay in her most vulnerable state. He reached over and brushed a few dark strands of hair away from her face, his fingertips lingering on her soft skin.

But love isn't always intense, Ash thought, returning his attention to the road. At least, it isn't always just intense. It can be gentle, too. The more I know her, the more careful I want to be with her. The more we talk, the more I understand her.

I think my love is deeper, now.

That must be part of being a Knight, he realized. I can't just be a warrior that goes off and slays dragons that are far away from her. I have to be a Lord who can stay behind with her. She needs to be protected, understood, and helped. Love starts the relationship, but you need more than just the sparks to keep it going.

That's why I had to come back.

Well, one of the reasons.

He thought back to their conversation from earlier that day – the one where she had asked about vampires and narcotics. The topic had made him distinctly uncomfortable as it danced around a subject area that was hard for him to forgive himself for – much less one that he would expect Mary-Lynnette to accept. To use telepathy, blood, or even chemicals to control one's prey was something many young vampires did – especially the males from larger, more powerful families. Given that the Redfern family was the most influential in the Nightworld, Ash had certainly lived up to the stereotype when it came to seduction and manipulation.

Ash winced, trying hard to chase away the memories. You're a different person, now, he reminded himself. You know those kinds of things are wrong, and you know that you did them because you didn't know better. And ... because you were lonely.

But you're not lonely anymore, he told himself. And you're making up for what you did – one life at a time.

He let out a slow breath, noticing for the first time that his grip on the steering wheel had become rather tight. He heard Mary-Lynnette mumble in her sleep, and a slight change in her scent told him that she would be waking soon. That brought back another memory, one that knocked away all of the darker ones.

"I love you."

She cared for him – just as much as he cared for her. Furthermore, she had shown him today that despite learning hearing more unsavory information regarding his past, she would still stand beside him. Her constancy was showing through, day-by-day and hour-by-hour.

Leaning over slightly to kiss her temple, he thought to himself, Although we still have a lot to learn, I think we're finally figuring out the basics.

"How much further?" Mary-Lynnette asked, feeling increasingly nervous as the houses around them seemed go grow exponentially larger.

Ash grinned. "A little less than a mile. We're almost there."

"And you're sure you won't have family there that I'll have to meet? I don't know if I'm ready for that."

Ash grimaced. "I don't think my family would be ready for that, either. Things are, ah, a little tense between some of the members right now."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You never mentioned that before. Neither did your sisters."

He raised his hand to run it through his hair, clearing his throat. "It's nothing. Just a little disagreement."

"About what?"

"Oh ... nothing much. The general relationship between humans and vampires. Nothing to get worried about."

Mary-Lynnette covered her face with her hands. "That's not very reassuring."

Ash waved his hand, dismissing the issue. "It's really nothing to worry about. Nobody ever comes to this house – we don't even have a butler. It's just empty in case one of us decides we need to use it."

"How often have you been here?" she asked, her eyes widening as they passed by a four-story mansion surrounded by a black iron fence.

"Once or twice," he answered, making a left on to North Canon Drive. "Some of my cousins on my dad's side use it fairly frequently, but they're not conservatives. If we keep quiet, I doubt they'll even –" pulling onto the property and making his way around a long driveway to the small parking lot in front of the entryway, Ash was presented with a sight that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Oh, no," he moaned.

Mary-Lynnette was temporarily oblivious to her soulmate's despair. Climbing out of the car, she paid only passing attention to the Integra parked next to them.

Oh, my God ...

Although she had jokingly referred to Ash's family as holding the Redfern Fortune, this house was enough to jolt her into reality.

And this is one of their extra houses?

The West-Coast house was nothing short of a masterpiece. From the front, all Mary-Lynnette could clearly see was a stone pathway off to the left that looked as though it led to some tennis courts, and a huge beige and brown limestone entryway surrounding an enormous wooden door. The entire structure was surrounded by a well-kept garden, and she could hear the hissing of a fountain in the background. Walking slowly towards the steps, she noted that the house looked to be only two stories, but it was all spread over at least a half an acre.

"Ash ..." she called weakly, "This isn't a house. This is a hotel."

"This is a disaster," he answered.

Finally shaking off some of her awe, she turned to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

Leaning against the car and rubbing his temples, Ash pointed to the forgotten car. "That," he said. "That is a disaster."

"What's wrong with the car? It –" Mary-Lynnette was cut off by the sound of the front door opening. Turning to look behind her, she was startled to see a tall, attractive, dark haired youth walking towards them. Unsure of who it might be, she instinctively moved closer to Ash, getting the sense that all was not well between the two males.

"Well, well. I didn't expect you to be here tonight," the tall boy said, giving a twisted smile that vaguely reminded Mary-Lynnette of old photos she'd seen of James Dean.

"I could say the same for you," Ash answered, the irritation heavy in his voice.

"Jamie? Who is it?" A small, disturbingly elfin-like female burst out of the house, nearly colliding with the group. She looked at Ash in surprise. "Ash? What're you doing here? We thought you went to . ." Here the girl looked at Mary-Lynnette with an intense, emerald gaze. Then she smiled. "Oregon."

"And I thought you guys were in Vegas. Far. Away. In. Vegas."

Mary-Lynnette was confused. "Ash, can you introduce me?"

The blond vampire sighed and vaguely waved his hand in the direction of the other two teens. "That's James. He's a cousin – one of the liberal ones. And that's Poppy. You two will probably have loads to talk about."

"Why's that?" Mary-Lynnette asked.

"I used to be human like you," Poppy said simply. "Then James, my soulmate, made me into a vampire."

Daybreaker interaction! We thought it'd never get here!

These two parts were a little shorter than usual, so I apologize for that, but hopefully the massive plot leap was worth it. We're definitely picking up speed now, so I ask everybody to hold on for the ride, and, if you get a chance, to let me know what you thought.

See you in Chapter VIII!