A/N: I know it's not canon, but I wanted to give Vicente a backstory. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12

Aria arrived in Cheydinhal just as the sun was rising. The robe she wore hid her armor as she walked through the city, but she still tried to act natural as she walked past the house and disappeared behind the next one. There she waited until she was sure that no one was watching.

She slipped into the house, went though the basement, and stopped at the door to the Sanctuary. She spoke the password and the door swung open. She stepped through and when the door whispered, "welcome home," she smiled and savored it. Home. This truly was her home.

She walked into the living quarters. Breakfast was over and a few family members were sitting around the fireplace. Aria waved to them and stopped next to her bed. As she removed her armor, she dropped each piece into her chest. She knew she should probably check for any needed repairs, but right now, she just wanted to talk to someone about her revelation. She particularly wanted that someone to be Vicente.

She walked over to Antionetta, who was sitting near the fireplace. Antionetta put down the shirt she was mending as her Sister approached. "Welcome back."

Aria smiled. "Hey. Do you know where Vicente is? I want to tell him about my contract."

Antionetta shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since breakfast. He might have gone out to feed."

Aria thought about that. "Who does he feed on, anyway? Vampires need a steady source of blood in order to go out in sunlight. Does he just find someone in the city?"

"No," Antionetta said, shaking her head, "that would draw too much attention to the Sanctuary. He prefers to go outside the city and find a bandit or marauder to feed on. And he's careful not to pass on his vampirism, since he doesn't want to hurt innocent people."

"Really? That's thoughtful of him. In kind of a creepy way," Aria said. "I'll see if he's in his room."

Antionetta nodded and went back to her mending as Aria left the room to find Vicente. He wasn't in his room, or the training room, so she decided to wait for him in his room. Out of boredom, she decided to poke around a bit. There wasn't much to see. Vicente didn't keep a lot of curios. She was studying the books on the shelf when her attention was drawn to a small framed portrait sitting half-hidden on one of the lower shelves. Aria carefully moved a stack of books and gently picked up the portrait.

It showed a family- a father, mother, two young men, and a little girl. Her eyes wandered over the mother and children and fastened on the man. The clothes were an older style, but the face was the same. The eyes, the nose, the jaw- it was Vicente. Aria looked again at the family surrounding him. He was happy. They were all happy. She felt a twinge of envy. It had been so long since she had seen her family.

She was still longingly studying the picture when a hand closed on her shoulder. She started guiltily and looked up to see Vicente gazing down at her. She blushed started trying to explain.

"I'm sorry! I wanted to tell you about the contract- you weren't here- I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been looking at your things-" she stammered. She was silenced by a gentle squeeze of Vicente's hand.

"It's alright, Aria," he said, his voice sad. "I'm glad someone else finally knows." Aria stayed quiet, sensing that he wanted to talk. With a deep breath, Vicente began.

"As I told you before, I was stricken with vampirism three-hundred years ago. I was twenty-four. This picture was painted a couple of months before I left. Hard to believe I was ever that young..." With a slight smile, he leaned over and pointed at the older of the two young men. "I had a bad case of wanderlust when I was younger, and my family wanted me to have this picture. When I realized what had happened to me, I immediately traveled home, hoping they would help me."

"They didn't, did they?" Aria asked softly when he didn't continue.

Vicente closed his eyes for a moment, his hand still on her shoulder. "No. They were terrified. My brother and sister wouldn't come near me. My parents thought that nothing could be done for me, so they made me pack my things and promise to never come back."

"What happened to them?"

Vicente's eyes stayed on the painting. "I don't know. I kept my promise." He looked up and saw the expression on her face. "Don't pity me, Aria. It doesn't hurt anymore to think of it. And I'm glad that someone else knows after all these years."

Aria looked down at the picture again. "No one else knows?"

Vicente smiled and leaned close, banishing the feelings of sadness. "No one else goes poking through my belongings."

Aria blushed and Vicente reached to take the painting back. As he did, he noticed the dried blood on her hands. "What happened?"

Aria explained the cuts as Vicente guided her over to the table. As she told him about the contract, he cast a healing spell over her hands. When she finished her report, he leaned back in his chair, obviously pleased with her story.

"So the accident has been staged and Baenlin lies dead. Well done! You have more than earned your reward and bonus." He walked over to his desk and picked up a sack of gold and a sword before coming back. He handed her the sack and held out the sword. "I present to you this weapon. It's an enchanted blade, known as Sufferthorn. It's prick is deadly, I assure you."

Aria accepted the Elven shortsword and looked it over while Vicente returned to his seat. It was unusually light and the perfect length to wear across her back. When she unsheathed it, the blade glowed briefly, showing it's enchantment. She was still studying the high quality of workmanship when he spoke again.

"Yes, you are quite an asset to this Sanctuary. In fact, I believe you are ready for advancement."

Aria looked up at him. "Advancement?"

"Yes. You have more than fulfilled every requirement to advance in rank. I hereby appoint you Slayer."

"What was I before?"

"Every new Dark Brother and Sister begins with the rank of Murderer. As you complete contracts, based on your performance, you will advance in rank."

Aria cocked her head. "How do you keep track of everyone's rank?"

Vicente held out a hand. Aria took it and he pulled her from her seat. He took her back to the main room and showed her something she hadn't seen before. On the wall next to the door to the living quarters was a column of thin wooden plaques. Each one had the name of a family member engraved into it. Next to each name hung varying numbers of small black ribbons. Aria's name was at the very bottom.

Vicente gestured to the column. "Each ribbon represents a rank. No ribbons means the family member is a Murderer, our lowest rank. One ribbon signifies Slayer, two is for Eliminator, three means Assassin, and four is Executioner."

Aria pointed at the name with the most ribbons. "Lucien has six ribbons. What does that mean?"

"Six ribbons signifies the rank of Speaker. The only rank higher than that is Listener of the Black Hand."

Aria studied the column. "So...you and Ocheeva are Executioners, Teinaava and Mraaj-Dar are Assassins, Telaendril and Gogron are Eliminators, and...Antionetta is a Slayer."

Vicente removed something from his pocket. "As are you now." He handed her a black ribbon.

Aria took the ribbon and placed it on the small hook next to her name. Then she stepped back and studied the display again. "Since your name is at the top, and mine's at the bottom, I'm guessing that the names are placed up here in order of arrival here in the Sanctuary?"

"Exactly."

Aria studied the black ribbon and thought about it's meaning. When she didn't say anything else or move away, Vicente touched her shoulder. "Is something wrong, Aria?"

Aria shook her head. "It's not a problem or anything. Just something that occurred to me on the way back. I was thinking about the contract and then I remembered the body. It was pretty awful, Vicente- the blood, the crushed bones. It bothered me, but it didn't really hit me until later that I was responsible for the murder of a man who had done nothing to me. I was trying to figure out how it came to this. And then it hit me: in the few months that I've been here, I've felt more at home than I have in years. This family...they all really care about each other. And that's what I realized. I need the love of this family. My family."

Vicente didn't say anything until he was sure she was done. Then he took her hand and guided her over to a couple of chairs nearby. As they sat, he kept hold of her hand.

"That was something I, too, realized when I joined the Brotherhood. When I became a vampire, it took me a long time to come to terms with myself. And, just like you, the thing I kept coming back to was the love. When my family cut me off, I became nothing short of a monster. For a hundred years, I sunk lower and lower, taking out my pain on whatever crossed my path. It took the love of the Brotherhood to bring me back to something resembling human. Every time I have to kill someone, I remember what I was before the Brotherhood, what I would be without my family. Here, I'm given love, acceptance, and a home, and in exchange, I take a life when needed."

Aria looked up at Vicente. His eyes said that he really understood what she meant. She saw the tender concern in his eyes and smiled at him. "I guess, despite how our lives started, we turned out to be pretty lucky, after all." She squeezed his hand. "Thanks for listening, Vicente."

Vicente nodded and stood up, drawing her to her feet. He embraced her for a moment, then said, "Go on, now. I'll see you later."

Aria nodded and pulled back, then went into the training quarters. Hopefully Gogron or Teinaava would be there. A good sparring match would allow her to work out her emotions.

Over the next several months, Aria thought about Vicente's words. She spent a lot of time in the training room, working on her skills. She asked Telaendril to teach her how to use a bow and reveled in the friendship that grew along with her ability. Teinaava and Gogron continued to train with her and their teasing and playful comments always brought a smile to her face.

Every moment reminded her that what she had become was worth it. It was well worth it. She was reminded of it every time she sat down to a meal with her Brothers and Sisters. No longer did she sit in the background watching. Now she actively took part in the conversations and banter going around the table. She remembered it every time she and Antionetta giggled together over some girlish thought or idea. She thought about it every time Ocheeva welcomed her with a warm hug.

Her life on the streets seemed so far away. And it faded further with every passing day. She loved living in the Sanctuary, living with her new family. Mraaj-Dar's continued bad attitude and distrust still stung, but she hoped it wasn't wishful thinking that she thought she detected a softening in his chilly demeanor.

Vicente was already her favorite family member. Every day, he made it a point to seek her out and talk with her. They didn't always speak about serious subjects, but Aria couldn't deny that she looked forward to those moments with him. She often tried to sit next to him at meals so they could talk more. She didn't bother to analyze her reason for wanting to be near him, however.

Everything around her reminded her that, yes, it was worth it.