Mary-Lynette sat on her tartan blanket at the top of Parker Hill; she gazed longingly up at the sky through the lens of her new telescope, her brother Mark and his Soulmate Jade had bought her it for Christmas, it had been just what she needed, much clearer and more powerful than her last one.
She loved to spend the evening hours gazing at the stars, dreaming that Ash, wherever he might be, was staring at the same sky, watching the same stars and thinking the very same thoughts, missing her as much as she was missing him.
Her heart ached whenever she though of Ash, her Soulmate, her one true love, so much so that she though she might die. Mary- Lynette had be a normal teenage girl until she had met the Redfern sisters, Kestrel, Rowan and Jade and become mixed up in the Nightworld - before she had fallen in love with their brother Ash.
Ash was the very air which she breathed, barely a moment passed when she didn't think off him, without him she knew she couldn't live, but until he had "slayed his dragons" and made amends for his past, she couldn't live with him either, and that hurt more than anything. She wished he were here now, sitting with her contemplating the stars, lounging with his strong arms around her and kissing her hair.
She shook her head before she could become lost in the memories; they were too raw and painful. Ash would be back one day, and she could wait, she had to wait, after all, she though, if their love was strong enough to endure the turmoil's of the Nightworld, then they could survive a little time apart. She adjusted the optics on her scope and turned her attention back to the night sky.
In Las Vegas, Ash Redfern was looking at a very different sky, one that was filled with twinkling lights but none of those were stars. The bright lights of Vegas could be just as enticing. But at the moment he was thinking of a girl sitting on a hill gazing at the stars and wishing he could be with her more than anything else in the world. "Mary-Lynette wait for me." He whispered to the night sky.
"What was that Ash?" He turned around and threw a dazzling smile at his cousin Thea Harman. Thea was a witch and she had the most annoying ability of being able to tell when something was playing on his mind.
"Nothing at all," he replied knowing that it was no good lying to her.
"Ash Redfern don't you dare lie to me, I know you are thinking about Mary- Lynette, " she laid a delicate hand on his shoulder and for once he didn't pull away. Thea of all people knew what it was like to have a Soulmate, and a human one at that. Her Soulmate Eric was human. "It's okay to miss her you know, it must have been very hard to walk away from her like that, even if she did tell you too." He sighed. "It must have been hard for her too." Thea threw him a sympathetic smile.
"You know Thea, you always know just what to say." Said Ash, "Now the reason I came to see you, I wanted to get a charm for Mare, something to help protect her, something she can ware or can keep with her all the time. I have a feeling that something is going to happen, something big, and I don't know if I am going to be there to protect her from it. I don't want her to get mixed up in anything to do with the Nightworld, I want to protect her from that if I can." Ash glanced at Thea, she understood, she knew what it was like to be in Circle Daybreak with a human, it was dangerous for them, dangerous for all of them and he didn't want Mare to have to go through anything like that, not at the moment, when the danger was so near and the final battle drawing ever closer.
Thea thought for a moment before saying, "I think I may have just what you need, why don't you come inside the Magic Shop and take a look." Thea took his arm and the two of the walked inside.
Far away from Vegas, miles from the dangers that the Nightworld and it inhabitants were facing, peril of a different kind was beginning to show itself. Something big was brewing in Briar Creek, the shadows were talking, the supernatural creatures uneasy.
A lone figure stood in the darkness watching the girl on the hill. She was just what he needed. She was going to be his; she was going to be his new Jenny. Even a shadow man needed to love and she was delicious. This girl had the same innocence and the same gentle manner of Jenny. She would be his Queen of the Shadows, his Princess to his Elf Prince. This time he would play a new game, one that he would not loose. "Mary-Lynette," he whispered quietly the name rolled nicely over Julian's tongue; he was back and this time he was here to win...
Julian had been watching Mary-Lynette all her life, never allowing any harm to come to her. Ninety years ago his eternal love Jenny had passed from this world and into the next and he had been alone, he had been trapped in darkness unable to help her and she had died. On her death the elders of the shadow world had released him, carving his name back into the rune stave. He had wandered in the Shadow Realm never gazing on the earth, unable to bare the pain of his own memories, until eighteen years ago, when he had sensed a presence so close to the essence of his Jenny, in a baby that was born here in Briar Creek. He had been watching and protecting Mary Lynette ever since she had been born, since she started school, and even when the infernal Vampire Ash had stolen her heart from him.
There was nothing he could do to help her when the Night Worlders' had arrived; they were a power beyond his control.
Mary-Lynette was his, his love, he had made the mistake of giving Jenny too many choices and too many chances, and he would not make the same mistake twice. Julian would play a new game with Mary-Lynette and her Nightworld friends and he would turn her against Ash, then claim her as his queen. And he would start now.
Julian stepped out of the shadows and into the pale moonlight, he was bewitching, it was the only way to describe him. Tall and lean with eyes so blue they could blind you and hair so white it looked purer than snow. He walked with grace of a cat, slowly towards the hill, towards his prize.
Mary-Lynette lifted her head from her telescope; she could hear someone walking towards her, sense their presence. She had an eerie feeling come over her, brush across her whole body, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and her arms became covered in goose flesh, something was not right. She slowly sat up, and glanced to her side, it was too far to sprint down to the house, and no one would hear her if she shouted. She heard the person stop behind her, she didn't dare turn around.
"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." The voice was soft and melodic and slightly inviting. Mary-Lynette looked around, and found herself looking into the most alluring face she had ever seen. The eyes we so blue she felt like she was falling deep into the ocean. She couldn't move and she couldn't speak. All she could do was stare, stare into those beautiful eyes.
"I said are you okay? I didn't mean to frighten you." He said softy. Mary- Lynette could feel her lips moving but no sound was coming out. "Are you sure you are okay?" He looked at her intensely from under long dark lashes, an amused smile forming on his lips.
"I'm…fine," she finally managed to gasp. She shook her head; pull your self-together girl she told herself firmly. "I'm fine, you just startled me. What are you doing up here at this time of night?" she asked. She was beginning to feel angry, with herself for the way she had acted and at this boy for giving her such a fright.
"I was drawn by the stars," he said, looking passed her and up at the sky, "Beautiful aren't they?" Mary-Lynette looked at him intently, there was something about him, something inhuman which made her wary of him. She couldn't help talking to him, she couldn't help looking at him, she tried to think of something other than his eyes but she couldn't, she tried to think of Ash but she found she was unable to even remember what her Soulmate looked like. "Yes, the stars are beautiful." She replied. "I'm Mary-Lynette Carter." She extended her hand to him, wondering even as she did it why. The boy grasped her hand gently in his own and drew it to his lips. His lips caressed her hand, one soft gentle touch.
"Julian." Was all that he said. "This is for you." He drew his other hand out of his pocket. Mary-Lynette gasped when she saw what was in it. It was a rose, but not just any rose, a delicate glass rose.
"You don't even know me!" she cried. Julian took her hand and placed it in hers. "Oh but I do, I've known you all your life." Mary-Lynette felt her self-falling; she was having trouble getting her breath. She could see the ground rushing up to meet her and then the world went dark. Julian caught her as she fell, careful not to hurt her she laid her gently on the ground. She was perfect, he thought, her face was as innocent as Jenny's had been. She was going to be his, he would play a new game with her and he would start by taking her with him and then paying a little visit to Vegas. Julian shut his eyes and placed is hand over the ground, opening a portal to the Shadow World; this new game would be played in his territory.