Chapter 6
*Past- 11 years ago, England*

A little girl, no older than 5, sat on the swing in the park kicking her legs back and forth. Her mother was facing away from the little girl, talking about adult stuff on the phone. As she kicked her legs up, her skirt would flare. Due to her mother being at work all day, she allowed the child the chance to go to the park in the evening to tire her out, it was her treat for eating all her vegetables. The sun has surprisingly already set due to the storm that was brewing.

"Annabella, don't swing to high, and don't move from the swing. I just need to go get something from the car. I'll be back in a minute." Annabella's mother said, raising her eyebrow, while the phone was still held to her ear.

Annabella nodded her head, knowing that it had something to do with the work. Her mother has been spending lots of time in work lately, she works in the science industry, and apparently a company in china has had a break though in fake blood that was similar to real blood. Bella watched her mother walk away to the car, as she kicked her legs again to get the swing higher, when a young man entered the park, and sat on the swing beside her. She ignored him at first and continued to swing her legs, before she realised he looked very in the dumps.

"Hey Mister, are you okay?" She stopped her swinging and looked at him. He stopped looking at his feet and moved his eyes to hers.

"I'm not sure anymore, child." He replied in a smooth voice. Bella blinked, moving both her hands to smooth her back as the wind blew.

"When I'm sad I think of happy thoughts, like cute puppies. Carol's dog has puppies, they are cute, I get to play with them when she picks me up from school." Her child-like innocence made Godric smile, in return made Bella smile.

"Talking to you is making me happy. You're very good at that. What are you doing on the park by yourself this late?" Godric inquired as he began to swing.

"Mum says I'm her bottle of joy when she's sad and says I'm a miracle that fell from the sky. She's working a lot, so she's gone to the car and said I have to wait right here on this swing." She swung her legs back to get herself started. As she built up momentum she leant back on the swing, as her hair brushed against the floor.

*Saturday*

I lay in my bed, my windows open letting in a cool breeze, my curtains fluttering. My alarm was due to go off in 10 minutes so there was no point me trying to go back to sleep. Today is Saturday; officially it has been 1 week since I've been living in Texas and around 5 or 6 days since I first met Godric. The feelings I hold for Godric confuse me, I know that deep down I love him and I need him. However, the rational part of my brain is telling me that surely, I cannot love someone in such a short period of time. I can care deeply, in which I do, but Love is too strong a word, especially for me. However, one thing I know for certain is that I need to make Godric understand that he doesn't need to sacrifice himself for his sins or to bring the human and vampire community together. There will always be haters. Haters are just communities, who will dislike anything new, such as Religion and now Vampires.

I climb out of bed and throw my clothes on, choosing some skinny jeans and a low-cut top. I open up my laptop and turn it on, waiting for it to load I quickly rush through my morning ritual, brushing my teeth and hair and then bidding good morning to Sarah and Steve. A week or so today, from what I've overheard something "special" is supposed to happen, and I have a feeling that, that something "special" has a certain Godric in mind.

When my laptop has finished loading I bring up Google, and search for the child of Godric. Fangtasia, the club owned by Eric Northman. The website is very… appealing to those wanting obviously more than a good night. I hate to think what Steve and Sarah would think if they were to browse through my history. I sieve through all the information to the bottom of the page and find the contact details for Fangtasia and hopefully Eric. Writing down the information onto a spare piece of paper including the address, email and phone number, I delete my history and shut down my laptop before tucking the paper away and making my way downstairs for another false day of smiles.

Tonight, I will ask Godric to leave again for me, to escape and not come back, to not give himself up to the haters, as Godric is worth something to this earth, to his child and as much as it confuses me, to me as well, as I know that what I'm feeling is something more than friends.

In the meantime, I head downstairs to see Sarah and Steve sitting at the table, I suppose they are waiting for me so they can set off to Church.

"Morning, Sarah, Steve" I say, I reach up to the cupboard to get my crunchy cereal and grab a bowl.

"Morning, Annabella, how was your sleep?" Sarah answers. I put some cereal into the bowl before grabbing the milk from the fridge.

"I slept like a log" I reply, pulling up a seat, and sticking my spoon in, lifting it to my mouth.

"That's good, myself and Steve have some good news. So, you know how the Lock-In is happening soon, I thought we could let our best workers stay at ours for a short while. I and Steve have invited Jason to stay with us for the duration." Sarah says smiling, as she sips her drink.

Wonderful, we'll be having some total stranger whose obsessed with the death of Vampires staying in our house. By the smile on Sarah's face you can tell she likes the guy who will be staying with us. Seems like thou shalt not cheat, due to sinning is flying out the window. Can't say I don't feel for my aunt sometimes though, I mean she's married to a total psycho-crazy-bag. I personally don't know what Sarah see's in Steve.

From the start my family hasn't been fond of Steve, especially since arriving in Texas to live with Steve, Sarah has become rather recluse. I suppose you can say I'm not fully related to Sarah. My grandfather had an affair in Texas with a woman who ended up pregnant, years before I was born. It wasn't until recently when I was young, that we met Sarah in Texas, and since then my Mum was close with Sarah, until Steve came along that is.

Steve hadn't said a word during the short conversation, he was still sat at a table, but staring at the wood.

It surprised me when he suddenly spoke up, "Annabella, the Lock-In will be happening on Saturday, I have men building the stage. It will be happening Annabella, do you understand?" He raises his eyebrows and stares at me intently.

Sarah quickly nudges Steve, and he lifts up from his chair and walks up the stairs disappearing from sight.

"Don't worry about Steve, there seems to be a problem at the church throat we are dealing with." Sarah says, lifting up from her chair and following Steve up the stairs. I sit awkwardly at the table, with my empty bowl of cereal in front of me.

My alarm goes off at 9pm, Steve and Sarah share a room upstairs, so I know I can sneak out without being heard, to an extent that is. I still tiptoe down the stairs and open the door carefully. I feel like I'm on some super-secret mission, in which technically I am doing.

I sneak across the lawn and make my way to church. Luckily, it's only 20-minute walk from the house, so I make my way taking a steady pace. I pass several houses with lights on, but blinds are closed, so I know no-one will report my nightly escapes to Steve and Sarah.

The Church arrives in my view quicker than I thought, I make my way around to the back of the church as I know no-one will see me and the doors tend to be easier to open. I take the key out of my pocket and open the door, making my way through the church, it's truly dark, so I use my phone as a torch, I pass through the main area, walking past the wooden benches, and I pull open another set of large doors, before turning down a small corridor to head towards the basement where Godric is.

I finally reach my destination, and head down the steps towards where Godric is kept. I see him still in his cage, shining my light on him, I turn on the light to the side, and the room brightens up. He's sitting with his legs crossed, it reminds me of the first time I saw him, he looked very serene and calm like he is meditating.

"Good Evening Godric" I whisper, not wanting to disrupt his calm state of mind. His blue eyes open, and I place my phone back in my pocket and take the backpack of my back and pull out the last bottle of Tru Blood.

"It is now that you are here, Annabella" Godric replies in greeting, his blue eyes opening, and viewing me from head to toe. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to throw my clothes in, so I still wore my night shorts, that no doubt clung to my cheeks, and my tank top.

"How was your day, Godric?" I ask, as I give him the bottle of Tru Blood, after opening the silver cage.

"I spent the day sleeping as per usual, how was yours?" Godric asked, taking my hand in pulling me onto the floor beside him. He began tracing the vein in my hand, as he drunk the Tru Blood in the other.

"It was the same as usual, Sarah arranged some bonding exercises for the girls, so I spent the day moping and waiting to see you again. It's just... I can't stop my minding from thinking Godric. I don't want you to die, you don't deserve to be here. Please, Godric, leave tonight, escape, go to your child and live the rest of your life. You need to move on. You shouldn't let the rest of your future be ruined by the past actions. You've changed since then." I beg and plead with him, taking both his hands in mine, and holding them, feeling how cool they are compared to mine.

He sighs and rubs his thumbs over the back of my hands. "Please, let's not talk anymore about that tonight. Let's just enjoy the time we have."

I sigh and leave it. Even I know you can only push someone so far, but tomorrow, it is arranged, I will be calling his child, hopefully he will be able to change his mind.