09-04-04

Takes place 10 years after A Beginning

A Step

by LeoniaKat

Diana carefully pushed the front door open, glad that the door didn't squeak, and slipped inside the house. She didn't know if her mother or uncle had realized that she'd snuck out in the first place but she wasn't taking any chances. She knew they would be mad that she'd gone outside alone after her bedtime. She couldn't help it though; there had been a beautiful, bright orange harvest moon. She had a tree she liked to climb which looked out over the near-by lake. She loved the peace and quiet of the night. It wasn't her fault that in summer it meant she had to be out past her bedtime to enjoy it!

Tiptoeing towards the main staircase, she listened carefully for any clue as to where the adults were in the house. With luck, her uncle would already have left for the night. If she was really lucky, her mother would be in bed already as she had to work early the next morning.

She carefully ascended the stairs, being careful to skip the second stair which creaked and the eighth which groaned. She was three stairs away from the landing of the second floor – and ten steps from her bedroom door – when she heard her mother's door open. She swallowed and decided to risk dashing to her room.

"Diana!"

Uh oh, too late, she thought as she froze and looked up the stairs. There was her uncle, striding towards her. She glanced to her right and saw her mother approaching. She was in deep doo doo now!

"What are you doing out of bed?" he asked as he came to a stop before her.

Her heart racing, she considered the striking figure of Uncle Lucien. He was her father's step-brother, though which parent they shared had never been explained to her. His short-cut blond hair and glacial eyes, combined with a sharp nose and chin, made for an imposing individual. He often scared the hell out of her. "I… I went downstairs for a drink of water."

"And you dressed first?" he inquired, his tone making it clear that he knew she was lying. "Do not lie to me. Where were you?"

Not sure if remaining silent or telling the truth would earn her the worse punishment, she opted for remaining silent.

"Answer him," her mother said sternly. "Where were you?"

Diana finally shrugged, "I was outside."

"You know you are not supposed to go outside by yourself, especially at night!" her mother yelled.

"I don't understand why not," Diana replied defiantly. "It's not like I'm going to get hurt or anything." She immediately realized she'd said something wrong when she saw her uncle removing his belt. She backed up a step before his hand grabbed her shoulder. There was a blur of motion and then the sting of the belt hitting her backside.

"Don't you ever talk back to your mother in such a manner!" Another blur and then another sting. "Nor to any other adult. Do you understand me?"

She blinked back her tears, refusing to let him see them, "Yes, sir."

"Good, now go to your room and stay there. If I catch you sneaking outside again…" he trailed off and glanced at his belt meaningfully. He released her, "Now go."

Diana scampered off to her room, letting her tears flow freely now. Dang but that belt had hurt! She realized it really was her fault for getting caught. At least he hadn't made her promise not to sneak outside again. She always did keep her promises.

As she changed back into her pajamas, she thought back to the last big promise she'd made to her uncle…

Five years ago…

Sitting in the principal's office was not exactly where she wanted to be on her first day of school. She knew her mom was on her way to the school to meet with the principal and that she was going to be angry. She scuffed her feet as she waited. Her hand still hurt from where she'd punched Billy Johnson. She rubbed at the knuckles, smiling as she remembered how he'd dropped like a puppet with no strings.

Diana turned her head as the door to the office opened and her mother walked in. She'd never seen her mom look that angry before. She swallowed and stayed seated.

The door to the principal's room opened and Principal Blake stepped out to meet her mom. "Ms. Lambert, I presume. I'm Principal Dave Blake. I'm sorry to have called you to come down here…"

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Blake." She tossed an angry glare at Diana. "You said my daughter had been in a fight?"

"Why don't we go into my office to discuss this?"

Diana rose and hesitantly followed the adults into the other room. She sat in the chair next to her mother in front of the desk.

"Now," the principal began, "I asked the teacher to explain what happened and although Diana did hit another student, it appears that she did it in defense of another student. Billy Johnson and two other students were preparing to hit another student, Kylie Tucker, when they were outside. Diana saw this and struck Billy, giving him a bloody nose."

"They were going to hurt her!" Diana interjected. "I couldn't let them hurt her."

"Diana! You are in enough trouble already, young lady," her mother said quickly. "I don't care why you did it, you are never to hit anyone. Do you understand me?"

She dropped her head, "Yes mom."

"Normally, we have to suspend students for fighting, but it's the first day of school. I think we can let her go with a warning this time, but if it happens again…"

"It won't," Diana said quickly.

"Good," the principal said. "Thank you for coming down here, Ms. Lambert."

"No problem," Nat said quietly.

Their drive home was made in silence. When they got home, her mother stopped her before she went to her room. "You will tell your uncle why I had to go see your principal today."

"Yes, mom."

When her uncle woke that evening, she had to explain the entire situation to him. It was the first time he'd taken his belt to her. He then made her promise not to fight in school again.

Three weeks later she asked her mother if she could take martial arts lessons. When her mother asked her why, she said it was so she could defend herself if she was ever in Kylie's position.

Present…

She glanced up at the shelf with her accumulated trophies. She had kept her promise to her uncle, finding ways to talk through situations, even when she felt like simply throwing a well-aimed punch.

This fall she'd be starting middle school. She realized she'd be back at the bottom of the school hierarchy again. She pushed those thoughts aside for the present as she still had a month left of summer. For now, she needed to consider a new strategy for getting out and back into the house. After all, she'd never promised not to go out again.

Lacroix had watched his niece retreat to her room. He glanced at Natalie, "That girl becomes more like her father every day." He too was remembering Diana's first day of school.

"Not just in looks," Natalie agreed.

"She has his confrontational nature."

"Combined with a rebelliousness and desire to protect other people," Natalie added, having also been thinking of that incident five years ago.

"With her curiosity, penchant for high places, and love of the night, we had better watch her carefully." Lacroix replaced his belt. "We should be grateful she hasn't a vampire's abilities. You have no idea how difficult life with Nicholas was in those first years."

Natalie smiled slightly, "Why don't you tell me about it over a drink." She gestured downstairs and watched him nod. She led him down, eager at the prospect of getting to hear stories of her late husband that Nick had never been willing to share.

To be continued…