Ladies and gentlemen, behold! I have kept my promise and wrote a chapter on the plane! So here's this thing...yup, another long one. Oh well. It's a touch redundant for comedic purposes, as I did want to take a slight break from all the hardcore manipulation we've got going here and decided to throw this one together, which establishes my intentions just as well as any other way. So yes, do enjoy. And do review. Really, if you read it, review it. It helps me as an author, I can get you guys the stuff you want to see, and you get this warm, tingly feeling for doing something nice to help the day of a starving college student.

Disclaimer: The Scarlet Pimpernel, sadly, is not mine. But Lucian is, as is every other kid in this story. Rocks to be me. Get reading.

Soon the Moon Will Smoulder

Chapter 11: Let Go Of Each Inhibition

Lucian stormed through the manor, frantically looking for a decent place to hide; the Ffoulkes family, for one reason or another, was once again at his residence. Damn that whole family; the League member, the escaped aristocrat, the thorn in his side and the smitten woman. Damn the lot of them. Skipping steps as he ran up the stairs, he quickly ran down the hall and pulled at the handle of his study. Cursing violently as he remembered that he had locked the door as he always did, he thrust his hands into his coat pockets and fished for the key. He suddenly stopped breathing, eyes wide in absolute horror; the key wasn't in his pocket.

He quickly patted himself down, examined every pocket, every place that he could have possibly stored it, but to no avail; the key was gone. He panicked. Rushing down the hall as quickly as he could, he dashed into his room and made a beeline for his closet; he must have left the blasted key in another coat.

For near an hour and a half, Lucian searched each coat, jacket, shirt and pair of pants that he owned at least three times in an attempt to find the misplaced key, but the damn thing was, in fact, misplaced and absolutely nowhere to be found.

Upon hearing the soft footsteps of people coming down the hall, accompanied by the inane voice of his brother, and the soft whisperings of Allison, he instantly grew furious at his inability to retreat to the safety of his study; not only was his entire life in there, but the preservation of his sanity at that very moment depended on the access to the room that his own carelessness now kept him from.

He listened carefully, heard Allison and Blake approaching his room, and, cursing fluently, dashed to the window, threw it open, and jumped to the tree that grew just outside. Swiftly climbing down, he sprinted across the lawns and ran around to the front of the house, threw open the front doors, and without a glance in the direction of the Ffoulkes family and his parents as he ran past them, he dashed to the servant's quarters. He didn't lose the key. They must have.

Stopping just outside the door, he scowled at the absolute necessity of entering and lightly tapped on the door with no intention of waiting for an invitation of entry. Three seconds later, he kicked the door in and marched inside, any servants located in that general area quickly parting for the man and rushing as far away as the room would allow; the last time the eldest Blakeney frequented them, he exploded in a violent rage upon an unsuspecting chef on the count that the poor man had not arranged the vicious boy's food in the proper order. Suffice it to say, they stayed out of the man's way, and he did likewise. After all, he only frequented them when he was intent on unleashing Hell. "Jessup!"

Sighing heavily, the man closed his book and stood up; what an amazing task it was to tolerate this boy. "Master Lucian?"

Smiling sarcastically and slowly sauntering toward the man, he bitterly asked, "Are you aware that your entire staff is a collective group of useless imbeciles?"

Raising an eyebrow slightly, he tiredly asked, "Is there a problem, Master Lucian? Have we somehow yet again managed to offend your fragile sense of domestic equilibrium?"

"Very funny, plebeian," Lucian growled as he stood face to face with the stoic man, "but it is far more important than my idiosyncrasies."

"I shall remember that for future reference, sir."

"Shut up!" Lucian quickly paced back and forth before the man. "I have a key that never leaves my possession, Jessup, and its importance to me greatly outweighs the value of the lives of your entire staff. Now," he firmly stated, stopping abruptly before the man again, "my key has gone missing. Your maids must have misplaced it, and I swear to you, if I do not have it back in my possession in an hour's time, I am going to have a mental breakdown."

Jessup indifferently stared at the blonde man, who was now gripping his head and running his hands through his hair in a nervous fit. What a hopelessly impossible boy. "If I may be so bold as to say so, sir…"

What?" Lucian snapped at the man. Oh, he had it with this one…

"How can you accuse my staff of misplacing it when you yourself said that it never leaves your possession?"

Lucian saw red, cried out in fury and stomped his foot upon the ground. "Damn you, Jessup, I will have your head!"

"I somehow doubt that your father would approve of that decision, Master Lucian."

"Argh!" Lucian stormed out of the room in a flurry of curses and death threats, tears of rage and frustration nearly coming to his eyes. Rubbing his temples in an attempt to clear his headache, he slowly made his way to the sitting room in an attempt to avoid the unwanted company of his parents, their guests, and the contemptible Ellison, who was no doubt roaming the mansion in search of hard evidence of Lucian's grand design.

He dragged his feet as he entered the room and grimaced in pain as Blake's inane laughing reached his ears. His eyes shot open and he was about to leave, but his eyes locked with the hopeless adoration of Allison's and he knew he was stuck; leaving would only make things worse. Sighing in defeat, he trudged inside the room, nodding slightly in the girl's direction before throwing himself on a couch facing away form Blake and his little paramour; he wanted nothing to do with them.

Heart rising in her chest, Allison started toward the man on the couch, but a swift hand reached out and gently grabbed hold of her arm. "Why depart so soon, Madame?" Blake asked softly as he brought her hand to his lips.

"But Lucian…"

"Oh, pish posh, Allison, let the good man be. He is tired, no doubt, from his rigorous activities of avoiding the company of others. Come," he said softly, gently tugging at the woman's arm, "let us indulge his whims and retire to a room a bit more…private, if I might be so bold as to suggest it."

But the woman would not have it and refused to budge. "Blake, please, I wish to stay here."

"Very well, Lady Ffoulkes!" Blake cried loudly, grinning softly to himself as he heard Lucian groan, taking satisfaction that the man was likely grimacing in some degree of irritation. "We shall remain here! Let my brother bear witness to our declarations of love, what?"

"But, Blake," Allison said timidly, blushing slightly as she fidgeted in embarrassment, "I…Lucian, he's…and I lo-"

"Sink me, Madame, what is this?" Blake exclaimed, bringing his hand to his chest, feigned surprise in his lazy blue eyes. "Shying away from our affections? La, but what a sweet, modest thing I have caught!" Turning towards the couch, laughing as inanely and as loudly as possible, he cried, "Lucian, my dear fellow! Allison seems to be frightened of publicly expressing our love for each other. Sink me, that is a demned rarity these days, what?"

Face buried in a pillow, Lucian muttered, "Blake, I could not care one way or another. Remove yourself or shut up."

"No matter, my dear boy!" he called, turning his attentions back to the blushing girl. Kneeling before her, he took her hands in his, gently kissing each. "My dearest Allison," he said softly, the foppish mannerism dropping away into all seriousness. "I am well aware that you do not love me, but I, darling, do love you." Smiling softly, a mischievous glint in his eyes, he fished through his pocket, withdrew a small item, held it in the palm of his hand and offered it to the woman. "Allison, my darling love, I give you the key to my heart."

Lucian groaned, turned over, and in a moment of impulse fuelled by the need for quiet – not to mention that the irritating fellow was being horribly clichéd - , threw his pillow at his brother; not only did the young man ever cease to speak, but the very mention of keys to anything made Lucian extremely angry. He had had enough of keys for the rest of the week. But still, the mere mention forced his curiosity active, and he lifted his head, gazing over the top of the couch at his amorously inclined brother. Eyes widened, jaw dropped, and after a few moments of staring stupidly at the boy, managed to stutter, "What – is – that?"

"What, this?" Blake asked in confusion at the suddenly active boy, holding the small gold item up. "I found it!" he chirped happily. "Forgive me, Allison, but this is not the actual key to my heart. I am actually half inclined to believe that hearts do not even have keys! Sink me, can you imagine? But, la, it is a quaint little thing, what?"

"That's mine!"

Before he knew what was happening, Lucian had hurdled the couch and was rushing at full speed toward the youngest Blakeney son, a furious look in those pale eyes. Quickly bowing and kissing her hand, he managed a rushed, "Goodbye, my sweet Allison," before taking off away from the enraged man.

The two raced about the estate at full speed, Lucian slowly gaining as they went, neither boy seeming to grow fatigued in the least, but still, Lucian was the bigger, faster man, and when Blake ran back into the room they had left Allison, the vicious boy had managed to tackle his brother to the ground.

Struggling for a moment upon the ground, Lucian had succeeded in getting the boy on his back, straddling himself over the grunting Blakeney and pinning his arms over his head. "Give it here, Blake!"

"How shall I do that, my dear brother? You've got my arms!"

Viciously driving his knee in to the boy's ribs, Lucian leaned down, face to face with the grimacing boy. "Where is it?" he growled viciously?

"In my pocket."

"Which one?"

"Guess."

Crying out in frustration, Lucian placed Blake's hands together and held them with one hand as he sat on the boy's waist, his free hand quickly searching the boy's pockets and running over his shirt as he looked for the possible location of his key.

"You know," Blake said in his usual inane tone, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of his brother, "if you were a woman, this would be quite thrilling."

Throwing his hands up in frustration as he failed to find the location of the key, he got off his brother and, leaning against the wall, patiently waited for the boy to get up.

Blake stood up, rubbed his ribs, brushed himself off, and suddenly found Lucian's fingers wrapping about his throat; just another typical day at Blakeney Manor.

"Where is my key, Blake?" Lucian asked softly, dangerously, his smooth voice straining to keep his calm and control.

"Your key? Heavens, Luc! This is the key to my very heart!" Blake proclaimed as loudly as he was able with those long fingers constricting about his neck. "Why would you ask me for something like that?"

"Blake…" he growled between clenched teeth, holding out his hand. "Give it here."

"Let me go?"

Gold eyes boring into the deep blue for a moment, Lucian slowly let go. "There's a good man," Blake said quietly, gently rubbing his throat. "Now, Allison, as I was saying…"

"Blake! Key! Now!"

Quickly spinning around and feigning surprise, Blake's lazy blue eyes met the furious falcon-like yellow ones. "What is this? Lucian, you wish for my heart's key?" Smiling coyly, he slowly approached the man and ran his hand across his cheek. Nothing like embarrassing the man in front of a lady… "Why, Luc, you cheeky devil, Uncle Elton will be so pleased! I had no inkling that men were to your liking!"

"First off," Lucian snarled viciously, "Elton is in no way in relation to us, Thank God. Secondly, I most certainly am not –"

"You know, father suspected it, but sink me, Luc! With your own brother!"

"Blake…"

"Very well, Lucian," Blake said quietly, gently pressing himself against the extremely angry, extremely flustered man. "I suppose this thing is commonplace," he said softly as he reached his hand down his pants, slowly withdrew it and placed the key in his mortified brother's hand. "Terribly sorry, but though you are most certainly beautiful, I must say that I prefer the ladies."

With that, he spun around and approached Allison, smiling lazily and droning, "Sink me, Allison, but it appears to me that my brother is not very partial to women and seems prone to incest." Gently kissing her hand, he softly whispered, "Please, at least find it in your heart to consider me," before flouncing out of the room and calling for his father in a sing-song voice.

Lucian stood clutching the key to his chest in relief, breathing deeply in an attempt to quell his rage and calm his trembling body down. His key…his beloved key!

Shifting uncomfortably, Allison slowly approached the man she loved and quietly whispered, "Lucian?"

"Can I help you, Allison?"

"If…" Tears suddenly came to the young woman's eyes and, choking back a sob, softly asked, "If I were a man, Lucian, would you want me then?"

"Heavens, this blasted world has gone insane!" he cried, exasperated, as he threw his arms up in the air and fell back into an armchair, running his hand across his face in irritation.

Standing before the man, blinking back tears and regaining composure, she quietly stuttered, "So you…that is to say…"

Peering at the girl through his fingers and growling at the sudden bombardment on questioning his sexuality, his yellow eyes carefully looked the girl over; the way she was standing, and in that light, the pretty thing could almost pass as Helouise…

His arm swiftly snaked around her waist and pulled the startled girl in to his lap. Looking deep into her eyes, gently brushing her cheek, neck, lips with his fingers, he buried his hand in her hair and leaned his forehead against hers. Those eyes…they were nearly the same shade as his sister's…

Flushing slightly, breathing deeper, he drew the woman nearer to him, and with images of Helouise running through his mind, he passionately kissed her.

Allison was fully unprepared for what Lucian was doing to her, and her slightly parted lips provided easy and instant access for the man's passion. And, oh, how she loved him… Gently cupping his face, the softly moaning girl tried to match the experienced man's movements, and though she was a bit awkward in her innocence, her love for him came through as well.

Softly humming a tune to himself, Blake sauntered down the hall back to where he and his brother had their little incident, hoping that Allison would still be there, preferably alone this time. Stepping into the room, he was about to speak, but stopped short as his deep blue eyes discovered the woman he loved in the arms of his brother, her hand under his shirt, his arms encircling her waist, and the two of them becoming increasingly passionate. His heart stopped and he suddenly could not breathe. Feeling himself on the edge of tears, Blake slowly turned away, casting a final, longing glance at the lovers before leaving elsewhere.

Growling in frustration at the bad angle, Lucian moved the girl to lay across his lap, but it did little good; if they were to become anymore intimate than they already were, they would have to break and move elsewhere, where they would have room to move freely, and, preferably, the privacy of a closed door. To the whimpered protest of the woman he held, Lucian slowly pulled away, let his eyes drift open, and his previous arousal disappeared as he found himself looking into the flushed and love filled face of Allison, quite a different woman then he had thought himself to be with. Clearing his throat in embarrassment, he gently slid the girl off of him and, softly kissing her hand, turned to leave the room.

Flustered, a bit confused, but filled with passion and a longing to be touched by him again, Allison quickly declared, "Lucian, I love you."

He stopped dead in his tracks and hung his head in shame; his passion was not meant for her, and the very fact that her love for him was genuine made him actually a bit remorseful. Sighing heavily, but not turning to face her, he whispered, "It would be best for both of us if you didn't."

"But, Lucian –"

"I don't love you, Allison Ffoulkes, but my brother does. Do yourself a favour and try to return his sentiments." Without another word, he left the shocked, nearly weeping woman in solitude.

Lucian slowly walked away, hands in pockets and staring dejectedly at the ground. He had kissed Allison with the notion that he was kissing Helouise. Aside from the fact that it was his sister, this would not have been an issue had he not felt the extreme pleasure and hopeless yearning, that very same mindlessness that he had felt the first time he made love to a woman. He didn't suppose it meant anything, but it was certainly a pleasant change from the usual feeling of absolutely nothing. But still, a close watch was required; keep a close leash on control, that was essential.

Why had he told Allison that? That he did not love her…he most certainly did not, but that hadn't stopped him from saying so before; he did not love the Dewhurst twins either, but he said he did all the time. But then, they didn't love him either, whereas Allison genuinely did; perhaps it was a sort of mutual honesty and deception that he resorted to. If that were the case, then the habit must be broken immediately; the honesty of others was expected, required even, but he was by no means required to do likewise, lest every honest man he happened upon were to know of his schemes. He somehow doubted that this was the reason for what happened between him and Allison.

God, he was thinking of another woman…but then, that was not so unusual. Were he even to feel the stirring in his loins when he was with Tacey, he was forced to turn his thoughts elsewhere. Just now, with Allison, he had no intention of getting so close to her until he thought of Helouise. Perhaps that was it. A sudden – what? Guilt? – for thinking of his sister in such a manor that the mere thought of her could arouse him as it did…no matter. He was probably overanalyzing. He frequently tended to do that.

Stumbling into a sitting room with the hope of finally getting the solitude that he yearned for, his eyes went green with jealousy and he felt his temper rise, as there at the widow, stood Ellison and Helouise in extremely close proximity to each other, the handsome man whispering in to her ear, the young woman's eyes dancing with life and laughter as they always did.

Lucian couldn't help himself; a bitterly malicious smile tugging at the edge of the man's lips, he smoothly drawled, "What, Helouise? Leave me for the likes of him? I simply will not allow it."

Catching sight of her brother, her eyes lit up more than before and she threw herself into Lucian's arms.

Grinning broadly, for the satisfaction of the irritated, vicious glare Ellison was throwing him as much as for having the lovely woman in his embrace, he smoothed back the lovely thing's hair, gently kissing the top of her head.

Wrinkling her nose and feigning disappointment, Helouise looked up into the pale eyes filled with adoration. "I may not entertain the notion of having Lord Ffoulkes? Brother, you are a cruel and wicked man!"

"Yes, so it would seem…"

Leaning up and gently kissing his cheek, she softly inquired, "How are you, brother?"

"Excellent well, now that I have seen you."

With a melodic laugh and, gently hitting the man's chest, admonished, "Lucian, you are little more than a tease! What would mother say?"

Smiling softly, he gently drew her into his embrace again, burying his head in her strawberry blonde hair and inhaling the scent of rose. "I imagine say something to the extent of, 'Excellent work. Keep at it'." Lightly stroking the girl's cheek, he softly whispered, "If you would excuse Lord Ffoulkes and I, dearest?" His cold, gold eyes met the fiery blue ones and they held, boring into each other. "It would seem as though he and I have a matter of business that must be attended to."

"Of course, Lucian!" the girl cried happily, dancing out of the room without another word to the man.

Lucian watched longingly as his sister left the room, and as soon as she was out of sight, he turned back to face Ellison. "You are courting my sister, Ffoulkes?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Chauvelin. As if I would voluntarily attempt to make myself a relation of yours, snake."

"What were you speaking about?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Oh come now, Ellison," Lucian said in false interest. "Play fair, I told you my plans."

"Perhaps, but then again, I'm smarter than you, Chauvelin," he said coldly, a slight tremble of anger underlying his voice.

"Is that so? Which is why, then, I have already assembled the allies and information I need to commence, and you, who know all of my plans and secrets, have yet to find a way to inform anyone of my design and take you seriously."

"You know nothing of what I have done!"

"Oh please, Lord Ffoulkes," Lucian scoffed, slowly advancing upon the enraged man. "Had you managed to succeed in anything, half of England would be in chaos and assembling their weapons. It is not everyday that the most loved of English lords is found to be raising the son of a saint with a revenge vendetta." Gently placing his fingers under Ellison's chin and drawing his face closer to his, he gently inquired, "Who is the smarter man now?"

"Damn you."

"Thought so." Quickly releasing the man, Lucian leaned against the windowpane, gazing out in to the garden with a look of utter triumph written across his face. "Tell me, Ffoulkes, how does it feel to be so close to your enemy and be powerless to do a thing about it?"

Glaring viciously at the man, he coldly stated, "When I have the power to, I will wipe that smugness off your face."

"When you have the power to, I will not be found by you or your allies."

"You will not know who my allies are!"

Leaning close to the lord again, he smoothly whispered, "No, my dear Ellison, but I know who will serve me, and I know better than to trust anyone but my own. Just try to catch me. My numbers will be simultaneously larger and smaller than yours. You cannot win."

"Are you some kind of idiot, Chauvelin?" Ellison sneered scornfully. "How could you be bigger and smaller at the same time?"

Grinning slyly, he smoothly whispered, "Wouldn't you like to know?" Yawning slightly, he added, "Have you not yet developed a plan to defeat me? You can be sure I have one for your destruction."

"Why not get rid of me now?" the boy said scornfully, raising his chest in pride. "It would save you the trouble later when I will make it difficult for you."

"Oh, but Ellison, it makes my little game all the more entertaining. With you out of the way, there is no challenge, and where is the fun in that?"

Ellison looked defiantly into the yellow eyes of his enemy. "There will always be someone to rise against evil."

"Yes, but they are not all whores for justice as yourself, Ffoulkes. What are you doing to my sister?"

"Taking her from your side, Chauvelin," the man said softly, nearly viciously.

"A pity to waste your time with her. She won't leave me."

"What are you doing in that study of yours?"

Grinning maliciously, Lucian quietly stated, "I know the identity of the Pimpernel."

"You lie!"

"Perhaps," he said softly, shrugging his shoulders in indifference as he headed toward the door, "but you can say that in some ways, I have discovered him before he has risen, for when you become that hero, Ellison Ffoulkes, I will know where to find you, and so help me God, you will die."

He nearly laughed, almost jumped for joy as he left Ellison entirely defeated in the other room. Life was a sweet, sweet thing sometimes. He was about to head off in search of his sister when he passed by Blake's room and noticed the boy sitting at the window, staring blankly outside. For some reason or another, Lucian walked in, laid his hand upon his shoulder, smiled softly at the boy as their eyes met.

"Sink me, if it isn't my dear brother Lucian!" Blake cried, trying to sound his usual vacant self but somehow failing; the boy was clearly shaken.

Sitting beside the boy, Lucian softly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why, Luc! Whatever do you mean?" That genuine, sincere look in his brother's eyes, devoid of all the mockery and bitter sarcasm that they usually held dissolved Blake's attempt at covering up the overwhelming depression that held him. "I saw you together with Allison, Luc."

So that was it. Oh God… "Blake, I –"

"I love her, Lucian. You must have known that, being as smart as you are. But I so suppose the smarter man won, what?"

"Blake, hear me, I do not love her," Lucian said firmly, gripping his brother's shoulders.

"But, why then –"

"I don't know, but what's done cannot be changed. I do not love her, and I told her so. Christ, I even put in a good word for you, if that is any consolation."

Softly smiling up at the man with tears in his eyes, Blake gently said, "I told you I would find some good in you."

Scowling, standing up and heading toward the door, he quietly growled, "Don't think too much of it, Blake."

Sighing in irritation as he entered the hall, he ran a hand through his hair; time to find Helouise. Why, he wasn't exactly sure, but something over the course of the past year had changed drastically between the two of them, and he needed to know what it was. Maybe she had nothing to do with the new way he saw the woman, but he honestly could not say; still, he needed to clear his ignorance of this development. Fool that he was for not taking notice of this earlier!

Walking about the mansion, he at last discovered the pretty young girl engaged in friendly conversation with the adults. Quietly approaching the girl from behind as to not disturb the group, he gently laid his hands upon her shoulders, lightly kneading the muscle as she turned her head and smiled at him.

"Lucian, it has been simply ages since I have last seen you!" Andrew said good-naturedly, extending his hand to the man.

"Indeed it has been," he replied, firmly taking the lord's hand. "You look well."

"So I have been, my good man. You're getting strong, aren't you?"

"So it would seem."

Turning toward Percy, slight laughter in his voice, Andrew lightly said, "Sink me, a strapping young fellow your son is becoming, what?"

"Indeed he is, indeed he is!" the baronet said loudly, his chest swelling with pride. "But sink me, Andrew, my other son tells me that good old Lucian here is heading in the direction of our old friend Elton."

The room fell instantly silent for but a moment and Lucian remained completely stoic. He had seen that one coming from a mile away; trust Blake and Percy to attempt to damage his reputation in a social setting.

"La, but this is news," Andrew said slowly. "Have you consulted Elton about this? He is due back from his recent expenditure to Spain next Thursday."

"Really? That I have not heard. I shall get right on that."

"Father," Lucian said quietly, and the room was instantly silenced, "I am too ill-tempered to be homosexual."

Percy stared wide-eyed at the stoic man in dead silence for half a minute before gasping and slowly stating in an enlightened voice, "Sink me, you are absolutely right! You are simply too nasty to be, you wicked boy!" The room breathed a collective sigh of relief and Percy turned to Andrew, gleefully stating, "Have you ever met a bad-natured homosexual?"

"I can't say I have, Percy."

"And Elton is the most wonderful of lads, what? La, but Andrew, my son may marry your daughter yet! But this is a relief! Demned nuisance, rewriting the will and the inheritance proceedings. Glad to be rid of that dread!"

Rolling his eyes at the tireless continuation of the subject, Lucian grabbed Helouise's arm and gently tugged her in the direction of the door. Smiling and taking his arm, Helouise allowed him to lead her away to a room devoid of their father's inane conversational pieces.

Laughing in amusement as Lucian led her into a room and sat her down on the couch, she managed to softly ask, "And how did our brother manage to reach that conclusion about you liking men?"

Sighing slightly, more tired then anything else, he plopped down next to his sister. "You know Blake…"

"Yes, I suppose so, but even that is a bit extreme for him." Pausing for a moment, she looked at Lucian curiously. "What have you against Ellison, Luc?"

Leaning back, closing his eyes, he shrugged his shoulders, quietly said, "Call it protectiveness." Looking at her, he softly said, "I cannot stand to see him anywhere near you."

"Why ever not? Lucian, I do not believe you have to worry about me when Ellison is around."

"He's a man, Helouise! He's taking you away from me!"

There was something in her brother's eyes that she had never seen before, and it was somehow overbearing, a bit frightening even, if for only the reason that those strange, pale eyes never showed so much feeling, so much passion as they did now. They were always so cold and distant, but they had suddenly changed and she had to look away they were so intense. "Lucian, you can't be the only man in my life, I –"

"Why not?" Yes, what reason existed that said he could not have Helouise to himself? The two of them were so close as it was, what need was there for another to come between them?

"What? Lucian, listen to me!" Smiling softly at the seemingly hurt man, she gripped his hand in her own. "You and I cannot be separated, no matter who comes into my life. You mean so much to me, my Lucian, and anyone who tries to change that will very quickly find an enemy out of me." Gently cupping his face in her hands, she softly asked, "Do you understand?"

Lucian softly moaned, placed his hand over hers. Again with the longing, the need to have her…God, it was monstrous intolerable. He was so certain that he had killed any and all capacity for lust, but heavens he wanted her. This was not right. This shouldn't have been happening to him. Not to him, it couldn't…he couldn't be… "I understand, Helouise."

Smiling softly, she took his hand and gently squeezed it. "Thank you, Luc."

She got up, skipped to the door, and Lucian quickly sprang up from the couch and before he knew what he was doing, called, "I love you, Helouise."

She quickly turned around, looked him in the eye, and went to his side, gently hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, brother." Throwing one last smile in his direction, Helouise glided out of the room.

Lucian dropped to the floor, his face buried in his hands. He had to kill this, this he didn't know what, but it needed to die right now. This could not happen. His plan for revenge, his weapons against others, they all depended on his ability to keep firm resolve in his course of action, to be sure that no matter what, he kept his eyes on his end goal. But no matter what he did, every thought, every image, everything, it all turned to Helouise.

He couldn't have loved her. He didn't love anyone. Not even her. Especially not her. She was a sister, his companion through his childhood, that bright, shining star that always made even the worst of life seem good and peaceful. Quite fond of her, yes. Protective, absolutely. But in love? Never. He couldn't love her. He had been warned that such things were detrimental to everything he stood for; had his father not been slave to his mother, he may still have been alive today. No, he didn't love Helouise…he didn't…

And all the more he thought on it, the more he realized that there was something there that had never been before, something that shouldn't have been there, even without his grand design… Gripping his sides in pain that was not at all physical, he lay on the floor and shivered in the prospects, in the hopes of being able to be near the lovely girl, his Helouise, as soon as it was entirely possible.