A/N- Sorry for taking so long updating--the last few days have been REALLY busy for me. No time to write. And, in this chapter, I'm just going to skip the nine months, because I don't want to bore you with blabbing about the pre-Paris time. And, I've already got that planned out, so, what the heck, I'll just go straight to that. Thanks for all the nice reviews!

Dear Jocelyn,

I can barely wait to see you, even though it's only a week until I'm coming to Paris! I can't believe how quickly nine months has passed! How are you and Pierre doing? I hope well!

I'm sorry I'm telling you this so late, but another person will be accompanying me. His name is Gabriel Noirmort, and is my very good friend. Is that alright with you? Also, he has a young cat, and she would be terribly upset if he was away for long, so we'll have to bring her along, too.

Gabriel lives not far from the village, near the small house I bought after running away from Giles. He's very soft-spoken and polite, and I'm sure you'll like him! You might get a neck-cramp, though; you have to look up when you speak to him, as he is quite tall, at least eight feet. It's rather comical to see his cat ( an orange tabby, who is named Rose) sit on his shoulder, since she is so small.

Gabriel and I have made new friends, who also live in Paris, and Gabriel can stay with them if there's not enough room. Maybe you have met one of them. There is a girl about our age, named Alison Destra. She has a friend, a man named Kal (I don't know his last name). Kal is also tall , around six and a half feet, with waist-length black hair, so he sticks out in crowds.

Well, I had best be finishing up! It's about a quarter past midnight (I lost track of time reading books again!)

Say 'hello' to Pierre (and your baby!) for me!

Your friend,

Liz

On the train to Paris

Elizabeth looked out the window, watching the scenery roll by. It was so fast! Gabriel sat across from her, Rose curled up in his lap. The kitten had grown quite a bit since they had first found her, but was still small for her age. Gabriel stoked her back as he also stared out the window, eyes rather unfocused.

"Day-dreaming?" she asked.

He jerked slightly and blinked. "I suppose you could say that." He diverted his gaze from the window and looked at her. "I think we're almost there."

"Yes." She smiled and was struck again by the necklaces illusion.

He had shown it to her not long after receiving it, nine months ago, but hadn't put it on. He had given her Alison's letter, and her necklace, then left. After reading the letter, she knew what the necklace would do, but actually seeing it…

It's almost as if there's a stranger sitting across from me. His eyes were a normal black, with actual whites. He had a thin nose, sharp cheekbones, and a pale complexion. To be honest, it wasn't that much of a difference between the illusion and how he really looked, but it was still un-nerving.

You've just gotten accustomed to how he looks, with the fur and all.

"Hm?" she asked, realizing he had said something.

"I asked if your friend was going to meet us at the station," he repeated kindly. "I see I'm not the only one who's drifting off."

"Oh. Yes, she said she would. Her and her husband. We'll be going to their house, afterward."

"Alright. Did you tell them that I was coming with you?"

"Of course! I bet Jocelyn can't wait to meet you. She's always been the more social one. She likes meeting new people." In her letter, she had, of course, made up a few things, like her living in a house of her own (something she had made up after continuing their correspondence from the castle), and Gabriel living near it. But it didn't really matter, did it?

"That's...good."

"You're not nervous, are you?" She tilted her head and examined his eyes. She had long since discovered that she could read whatever he was feeling in his eyes. And at the moment they didn't look nervous, exactly…more reproachful.

"No, not really. It's just that I've never been accustomed to meeting people. Even when I was little I was anti-social. I guess that last thirteen years or so just amplified that. Don't worry, though; I'll be polite to them."

"I'm not worried about that! You've got better manners than half the people I've met. I just don't want to force you into meeting anyone."

"It was my decision to come along, was it not?" He looked down at Rose as she woke up from her nap and stretched, yawning and exposing small white fangs. "Have a nice nap, Rose?" Gabriel asked conversationally. The cat extended at paw and grabbed a lock of his hair.

Elizabeth had to laugh; she must've seen Rose do this more times than she could count. "What is it with her and your hair?"

"Absolutely no idea, ange." Gabriel tugged Rose's paw gently away from his face. "Oh, look!" He pointed out the window (with a normal fur-less, claw-less hand). "Is that Paris?"

"Wow…" Elizabeth leaned closer to the window, fogging the glass with her breath. There was suddenly a great many buildings: houses, churches, shops…and there was even a street! Growing up in the country her whole life, there was a lack of streets, using dirt roads to get around. But there, they had streets made of grey cobblestone. And there were so many people! The train slowed, then stopped at the station. How were they going to find Jocelyn and Pierre in the crowd?

A person from the front of the train announced that they had reached Paris, and for them to grab their luggage and board off the train.

Gabriel and Elizabeth got up; Rose jumped on to his shoulder as soon as he was standing. "Here; I'll get our bags." Gabriel picked up the three suitcases that had been at their feet as easily as if they were sheets of paper. He may have looked human, but he still had inhuman strength.

Elizabeth wanted to carry her own (two of the three suitcases were hers; she just couldn't pack all of her clothes into one!) , but she knew Gabriel would object. An aristocrat from birth, he practically had chivalry and the like forcibly beaten into him. "Alright. Let's go find Jocelyn, shall we?" She headed to the front of the train, exiting into the hot summer sun.

Squinting against the light and raising a hand to shade her eyes, she scanned the crowd. Everyone was as stranger! She stood up on the balls of her feet and looked for her friend. Jocelyn, Jocelyn, Jocelyn… After a moment, she finally caught sight of he unruly brown hair. She lifted her other hand and began waving. "Jocelyn! Hey! Over here!"

Even from where she was, she could here her friend's excited shout. "Liz!" Jocelyn wormed her way through the crowd, making it out then running at her at almost full speed. Elizabeth moved forward to meet her, and they met with almost enough force to knock Elizabeth off of her feet.

"I missed you!" Jocelyn yelled, then held Elizabeth out at arm's length. "Look at you! You've gone and grown your hair more!"

"And you've cut yours!" Jocelyn's normally shoulder-blade length hair now just brushed her shoulders.

"And I can't believe you're pregnant! You look so skinny!"

Jocelyn smiled impishly. "That's probably because I'm not. Caroline was born two weeks before I got your letter."

Elizabeth looked at her in shock, then shouted happily. "You had a daughter!"

"Yes! Caroline Elizabeth Lundy."

"You named her after me?"

"Of course! It was either you, or my mother-in-law! And you know how much I love her!"

They both laughed. There weren't that many people that they both loathed on sight, but they both thought Pierre's mother should be next in line for the throne in Hell.

"Sooooo…" Jocelyn said, releasing her grip on Elizabeth's shoulders and peering over her. "Is that your new beau?"

"He is not my beau!" she whispered, feeling her face turn bright red. And it had nothing to do with the sun.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Jocelyn." Gabriel reached them then set down one of the suitcases, extending a hand for her to shake.

Jocelyn shook it. "Pleased to meet you, Gabriel! And your cat, as well." Rose, perched on Gabriel's shoulder, tilted her head and looked curiously as Jocelyn. She dropped Gabriel's hand then shouted over her shoulder. "Pierre! We're over here!" She turned back to the two and rolled her eyes. "Pierre probably went off the wrong way looking for you; you know how bad his sense of direction is! And he has Caroline with him."

Gabriel blinked. "Is Caroline your daughter?"

"Yes, she's four weeks old now! Takes after her father, she does. Has his face and hair. "

"Great, isn't it?" Pierre appeared out of the crowd at Jocelyn's side. In his arms he held a small girl in a pink baby dress. And Caroline did indeed look like her father: the same dark hair, calm eyes, and round nose.

''Bout time you found us, love." Jocelyn took Caroline carefully from his arms and kissed him on the cheek.

"I was only gone for a minute!"

"A long minute," she joked.

"Ah, bonjour, Liz, Gabriel! Nice to meet you!" He shook Gabriel's hand. "And nice to see you again, Liz!"

"Same here! And hello, Caroline! I'm your Mom's friend!" Elizabeth bent over and smiled at the little girl, who smiled back with the enthusiasm only a child can muster.

Caroline looked past Elizabeth at Gabriel, pointing at him with one tiny finger. She gurgled some incoherent words, grinning.

"Yes, sweetie, that's Lizzy's friend! Can you say 'hello'?" Jocelyn held up Caroline a bit more. The baby waved her hand and made some more noises that she considered to be a proper greeting.

Gabriel raised a hand and waved back. "Hello, Caroline."

Jocelyn grinned then lowered Caroline, balancing the child on her hip. "Let's get on home, then." Jocelyn said. "I can't wait to show you our new house, Liz!"

Gabriel ducked as he entered the door, almost unconsciously; ducking while walking into a room was a habit. Quite a necessary one, in fact. Luckily, the ceiling was at least a foot above his head.

"Welcome to our castle!" Jocelyn moved into the center of the room and made and exaggerated bow, sweeping her free arm.

The room they were in must have been the living room. There were two couches on either side, a fireplace (unused, since it was summer) at the end of the room, and a low table in between the couches. There floors were wood, and were very clean: Jocelyn must have cleaned them before leaving for the train station.

"Over here is the kitchen…" Jocelyn went into a room connected by a doorway. The kitchen was neat and also clean, windows covered with yellow curtains.

"And this is the dining room." The room next to the kitchen, containing a long table and six chairs on each side. They crossed the room, and through a door into a hallway. There were two doors on one side, three on the other.

"This is mine and Pierre's room," Jocelyn pointed to the first door on the left, then to the second. "And that's going to be Caroline's room, when she grows old enough. That room is the bathroom," -the first door on the right- "The other two doors are the guest rooms- your rooms." Jocelyn smiled at Elizabeth and up at Gabriel. "Now, I'm going to put Caroline to bed--it's time for her nap. You two settle in, then I'll show you the town." She turned and left, going into her room. Pierre was out in the stable behind the house--they had gotten here by carriage.

"You like it here so far?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, so far. Which room do you want?"

"Hmm…it doesn't really matter to me…that one." She pointed randomly to the last door. Gabriel left his suitcase outside the first room and brought Elizabeth's into the guestroom. It was decorated in plain blue and white, with a bed in the middle, a wardrobe opposite to it, and a night table on the side of the bed. There was one window, covered with a curtain.

"I'll…go unpack." Gabriel said, then left the room, walking the two paces to his own.

It was done in the same style, except that the colors were just blue, instead of blue and white. He dropped the suitcase on the bed and opened it. He had packed lightly; four pairs of pants, one light jacket (the other he was wearing), and a few shirts. All in black. To his surprise, he had discovered that he had no other color in his wardrobe.

The rest of the space in the suitcase was taken up by reams of parchment, quills, and ink. If he was going to get an idea for some music, he wanted to be able to write it down.

Shrugging off his jacket after Rose jumped off onto the bed, his hand went unconsciously to the necklace. I'll have to take it off while I sleep…I hope no-one comes in while it's off. That might take some explaining.

Don't be so paranoid! Why would anyone decide to wander around in the dead of night, looking in people's rooms? God, you worry more than an old woman!

Rose jumped off the bed and began exploring her new room, sniffing occasionally at the floor or a piece of furniture.

Gabriel sat down on the bed and watched her. No problems with adjusting to new places, this one. Rather ironic, that a eight-inch tall cat was more bold than an eight feet tall man-turned-mo

Don't say it, Gabriel. Just drop that nonsense for now, alright? Don't even think it. Talk to your cat, talk to inanimate objects, talk to yourself, but do not wallow in self pity!

Gabriel raked a hand through his hair. "I'm not wallowing…" he muttered.

"What?" Elizabeth poked her head in.

"Nothing. Just thinking out-loud."

She caught sight of his suitcase. "Planning to write a book while we're here?" she joked.

"No, just some music. If I get any good ideas, that is." He closed the suitcase, latching it so Rose wouldn't decide she would like to shred paper as a pastime.

Elizabeth closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed next to him." Want to visit Alison and Kal, afterwards?"

"Sure…do you know where they live?"

She surprised him by nodding. "She wrote their address and how to get to their house on the back of the letter. Didn't you see it?"

"Actually, I didn't even bother looking. When would you like to go?"

"After we're done looking around, I guess. Maybe after supper."

"Sounds good."

There was a few knocks on the door. "Can I come in?" Jocelyn asked.

"Yes," Gabriel and Elizabeth answered at the same time.

Jocelyn came in, grinning. "Caroline fell asleep early, and Pierre's going to stay here with her. Shall we go?"

Kal sat next to the window in his room, staring out at the night sky. As usual, there was no candle or lamp in his room; he liked and could see perfectly well in the dark. His hair, brushed for once (due to Alison's nagging) hung down over the back of the chair. One arm was propped up on the windowsill, and his chin rested in his hand. His shirt was tossed carelessly on the bed. He never really cared for shirts; he had fallen out of habit in wearing them, since whenever he would spread his wings, they would be torn into shreds. The moonlight filtering through the window accented his numerous scars sharply. There was barely a square inch of skin that wasn't scarred. His life was and always would be a hard one. After all, what could you expect, being evil and having as many enemies as he had?

Most of the scars were inflicted by humans or other demons; some were from a cougar he had run into at the age of twelve; a few were from a rogue wolf who at attacked him when he was sixteen. The ones from the humans had been inflicted with whips, knives, swords, pistols, and muskets; the ones from demons had been made by the opponent's bare hands.

Watching the dark sky, pierced with bright stars, (that, ironically, he couldn't see. He couldn't even see the sky, for that matter: he just had his head turned in that direction) he began to hum a song he had recently learned. A fact that many people and demons would deny or gape at, Kal actually had a talent for music. He could play the violin ad piano fairly well, and could sing, despite the fact that his voice was slightly damaged (smoke inhalation).

A raven fluttered from his desk onto his shoulder. Kal immediately stooped. "What?" he snapped angrily.

What's put you in such a bad mood? The usual?

"What else? And if you knew, why ask, you stupid crow?"

"The usual" meant other demons looking for either a fight or a death match.

I ask because you're more distracted than usual. Since when do you sit peacefully by the window and hum?

"Since whenever I want to! And I know what you're thinking, so don't get all worried. You were right when you told Alison last year; I'm a heartless abomination, with no hope at normality."

One, I wasn't thinking about Alison lifting your curse, and two, I didn't say it in those exact words.

"Lie if you want, crow. I'm quite comfortable with the way I am, and have no wish for the Princess to 'lift my curse'. Curse, ha! I'm not complaining."

Oh, no? Then what about the fact that the thirteenth is in a few weeks, hm? Have you forgotten?

"What do you think, idiot? No, I've completely forgotten about that date!"

So what do you plan to do? Lock yourself up again?

The thirteenth of July was the anniversary of his parent's--and his whole village's-- death. And his birthday. With every year that passed that he was not killed, or his 'curse' not lifted, he grew stronger, deadlier, colder. He lost control of his emotions entirely, and someone often ended up dead, if they came near him. All that night, he would be crouched down, alternatively shivering and sweating, barely able of a coherent thought because of the pain that he felt. The pain was his scars--mental as well as physical. Every year, they burned as if they'd be set on fire, or ached as if they were ice.

"Fly back to the mountains. The chains won't hold this year." The mountains he was referring to were the ones in North America, where he had been born. They were cold and desolate, and of course, deserted.

The Princess is giving no signs of going back on her word, is she?

"No, of course not. She'll never be the type to kill someone," he said, though his hand drifted to a round scar in the center of his chest. Where Alison had accidentally shot him with a pistol. Had he been anyone else, he surely would have died, but, as luck had it, he didn't. After all he was Kalendrakk.

And, ironically, the only person in this world who could kill him was Alison.

Just then, Alison called to him telepathically; him being her protector, bound to her by Raven magic, they could communicate with their thoughts.

-Kal! Gabriel and Elizabeth are here!- Her mental voice sounded the same as her speaking voice.

-they are?- Unlike hers, his was different; it sounded the same, but was darker, more angry than his usual voice. Speaking to her telepathically used to give her horrible headaches, because his mental-voice always carried a part of his memories, and that was pain.

-Yes! Didn't I tell you that they were coming to Paris?-

-no-

-Oh. My mistake. Well, come on!-

Kal got up from his chair and shrugged his shoulders, tossing off the raven, whom he had named Death's Flyer.

Ah, well. Don't kill the guests! Death's Flyer adivised, half-joking.

"Maybe I will and maybe I won't. Go harp on someone else!"

Maybe I will, the raven said, imitating his voice. But please, Kal…for Alison's sake, act normal.

"What is this 'normal' that you speak of?" he tossed back, then slammed the door behind him.