The Game We Play

Azura would admit, she had come to the point where she would often walk around at night just because she was living with the hope that perhaps she might run into Godric himself or maybe even his friend again. It was foolish, stupid and many would probably even say suicidal, but she couldn't bear to miss a chance to meet them again. They were peculiar, especially Godric. His friend seemed more the type of person to be a 'vampire' with his dark smirks and sadistic eyes. Godric was kind, someone that would be the last one she would expect to be a blood thirsty creature of the night.

She found herself thinking over and over again about when he had saved her life and began to get frustrated when she wasn't able to remember everything she wanted to. She hated that, barely over a year prior, her life had been saved and she was having trouble remembering the face of her saviour. Greenish blue eyes-that she knew for sure-but did he have high cheek bones? Was his hair light or dark brown?

Letting out a soft sigh, Azura looked up at the sky when the heavens rumbled, thunder echoing in the distance. The storm was going to be getting closer and closer, soon it would be over the city. The rain hadn't started yet, so when the rain hit the buildings it was only going to be a matter of time. Azura looked back the way that she had come, debating. Should she turn and go home before the rain comes, or keep walking to finish her lap of the area and get home at the same time she usually would.

"Not yet," she mumbled to herself, turning to continue on in the direction that she was heading.

It was hard to live in a city filled with people that only spoke ill of vampires, while she was curious about them and wished to meet her only two vampires again. She had never told anyone about Godric or his friend, and she never would, because that would make her an enemy to humankind. Those that were friends with vampires-or even those that only associated with the dead-were considered filth and were often disowned, beaten and even killed.

Azura feared what may come to pass should she reveal her feelings. There was no one out there to protect her, she would be alone to fend off those that tried to harm her.

"Azura?"

The sudden voice caused her entire body to tense for about three seconds, before it registered in her mind that she knew the voice that had spoken her name. She turned to look at one of the doors she had walked passed, belonging to a popular cafe in the area.

"Bonjour, M. Weldon," Azura said, looking into the eyes of her English teacher at school. He was an older man, nearly fifty if she was assuming correctly, and loved to teach English with a passion. The students in his class all loved having him as a teacher because he joked around more than some of their peers did.

"Miss. Bellerose, what are you doing out so late? I know that there is no school tomorrow, but-"

"It's dangerous?" she finished, interrupting him. He looked at her with sympathy; for whatever reason, she did not know. Why would he pity her in any way?

"Azura, are you having troubles in your foster home?"

What?

"No!" she quickly denied, looking startled as her blue eyes widened. "That's not it at all. Mrs. Cross is wonderful, truly she is. I felt that I needed some air and I enjoy walking the city. I don't mind the night." The sympathy left his gaze, but he still looked concerned. Azura knew that he didn't like the vampires in the world, as he often pointed out in both English and French. "I am safe, I know it."

"I would be much more at ease if you allowed me to walk you home."

"I'm not going home, though. I have not yet finished my walk. I will see you in class on Monday, au revoir!" she called over her shoulder as she started walking once again, leaving the aging man behind. She could hear his calls of protest, but she was soon swallowed up in the crowds of people that were heading home for the night or going out for a late dinner. The warmer weather tempted people to step out of their homes, even at night when the vampires were awake and moving about.

The quick pace that she suddenly took spurred her into a slightly lighter mood, even with the oncoming storm that must have reached the edge of the city by that time. Her blond hair bobbed around her shoulders, falling away from where she had left it to cover her neck. She quickly rounded the nearest corner to make her way down a side street, cutting her walk shorter but not changing the basic route.

She soon ducked into one of the less known cafes along a side street, smiling to the woman behind the counter as she immediately began to make Azura the same peppermint tea that she ordered every time she went for a walk, every time she came to that café.

"You look happy. Is it because summer is here?" Ms. Karen Olsen asked as she moved about fluidly. She had the grace of a dancer, even though she refused that she had ever danced whenever Azura told her so.

"Perhaps, I just feel very light. It seems the warm weather, though, is one of the only things that can allow people to relax enough to come out at night. They almost forget those fears they have of vampires," Azura commented as she came to stand at the counter, out of the way of patrons who may wish to order, and began to speak in hushed tones to Karen.

"Almost eighteen years old and you already sound like a college student. Oh! Have you had any offers?" Karen asked suddenly, causing the other to smile.

"Not yet, they won't be sending those out for a little bit longer." Karen placed the green tinged tea before the younger woman, smiling as she did so. "And I am not so smart yet-"

"Modesty, modesty," Karen interrupted as she waved her hand. "You're the top of your class, in the honour roll and I just know that you'll get that scholarship you've been waiting for. Mrs. Cross must be so proud of you, little one." Karen shook Azura's hair and caused her to back away.

"I am taller than you, Karen. I am no longer a little one." A fond smile came to the other woman's lips as she nodded her head in agreement. "I am slightly nervous, though, about if I decide to move away for college."

"Oh? Homesick?"

"No," she said softly, looking down at her tea as she leaned her arms on the counter. She thought of Godric, and the blonde vampire that knew him, and wondered if she would miss them the moment that she moved away. How strange it was, to never be able to get someone out of your head after only on impression. And both of the meetings were on less than good circumstances. "I feel I may miss something, something important."

Karen looked at the girl before her, so smart and innocent for someone like her. Azura had told her of some of the homes that she had lived in, many of them in very bad places that she wished never to have to think of again. She couldn't understand how it was that she could still be so gentle and loving toward almost everything—even the dead that walked among people—after the terrifying life that she had led prior to moving in with Mrs. Cross.

"Perhaps something's waiting for you there," she suggested, finally getting Azura to look up at her. She didn't seem upset, per say, but she had clearly been thinking on something for a long time.

Azura soon chance the subject, moving to sit on one of the stools as she sipped at her tea and listened to Karen tell her stories about some of the regulars that came in. Azura had met many of them and laughed along with the other woman as she listened to the antics of her fellow patrons. She felt her heart lighten as the worries of leaving were left behind, her happiness returning to her as though it had never left. Karen was relieve to see that she was smiling again and not dwelling on whatever thoughts were disturbing her this time.

"I should be getting home before the rain catches up," Azura finally mumbled softly as she looked over to the glass door. There were few people on the streets by then and most of the people in the café had left as well.

"Be careful, sweety, it can be dangerous out there. I know that you don't mind vampires, but that doesn't take away the fact that people have been murdered by them. I don't want to see you dead on the news tomorrow morning," Karen said in all seriousness, making Azura nod her head and give the woman a quick hug of reassurance.

"I'll be here again tomorrow after school, I need to study for my tests," she whispered in the café owner's ear before she turned and left the small rented space. The moisture was thick in the air by then and it made Azura's steps hurried as she tried to make her way back toward her home without getting soaked to the bone.

She had barely even made it a block before the clouds began an all-out downpour. Taking refuge under the awning of a store front, she pulled the wet strands of her hair away from her face and wiped at her soaked skin. A man jogged passed with an umbrella over his head, quickly making his way home with his briefcase tucked to his chest to best keep it dry.

"It appears you could use a hand."

The voice took Azura by surprise, looking back in the direction that she had come. It was there Godric stood, still in the rain but with an umbrella over his head that kept him mostly dry. The hems of his dark slacks appeared to have gotten splashed but he looked otherwise unaffected. She couldn't stop her heart from beginning to race as she looked at him in the dim light provided by the street lamps.

He has high cheekbones, she realized. And his hair seemed to be a medium hue of brown.

"Saving me again, I see. You see to enjoy playing the hero," she said with a soft smile on her face. He returned the smile, though he didn't comment on her words.

"Come, before you catch a cold. I'll escort you home; it's not safe out here so late and all alone." She nodded her head and stepped out from the awning, the rain own momentarily brushing her skin before she stepped under the safety of Godric's dark grey umbrella. She felt no warmth from him, as she could have should she have been standing next to a human man, but instead of gave of an cold air that only made her think of him all the more as a man frozen in time.

"I don't live far from here, a couple blocks in this direction. Thank you for offering."

"It's a pleasure," he replied, nearly causing her to blush. He had a wonderful accent, but it was nearly impossible to trace. She found herself loving its sound, after hearing only French and American accents for so long it was nice to have something else to listen to. There were so many things about Godric that were just so refreshing. "If I may point out, it appears that you know my name but I still have yet to learn yours."

"Azura Bellerose," she introduced at last. Two years after they had met and he finally knew her name. She offered her hand to him, making sure that it was the one that he could shake without having to switch his hold on the umbrella. Godric took her hand in his, but instead of shaking it he brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

A shiver ran along her spine at the romantic gesture, and it was not from the icy feeling of his skin. That, in fact, was quite refreshing. It kept her grounded, helped her to remain herself as she finally got to meet him again.

The rain continued to pound down on the umbrella, falling around them and splashing their feet with water as it bounced off the puddles. She felt reluctant to pull her hand back from his grip, faintly noticing that he didn't seem ready to release her hand, either. They resumed their pace once more, stepping around large puddles that had collected in recessed areas of the pavement.

"Do you live around here?" she asked suddenly, thinking back to his accent once more. It wasn't French, that was for sure. Was he English, perhaps?

"I live in Dallas, actually," he answered honestly, looking over to see her surprised look. His lips quirked up in amusement at the shock on her face before he looked forward again. Azura jumped over the puddle of water that was before her, momentarily moving out from under the umbrella.

"If you live all the way over there then why are you here?" she asked, her innocent curiosity only allowing the smile to remain on his face. He didn't mind the questions, he found her curiosity about his life to be cute and felt a sort of affection for it.

"Work. There are many different vampires in this city that I work with," Godric explained easily, trying not to get into deep detail. He didn't wish to drag her into all of the drama that came with his life as a Sheriff; she didn't need to know about Vampire laws and politics, either. They didn't even interest him. "I see you still have the habit of walking around so late at night."

"Well, how else was I going to see you again if you weren't there to come and save me from the rain?" She smiled back at him so brightly that he wondered briefly if she had forgotten that he was a vampire. No, that was not the case. She knew exactly what he was; she just didn't mind nor care.

"Well, I am honoured to save you from the rain." A blush warmed her cheeks as she looked away from him and out into the falling rain, her hands slipping into the pockets of her pants. She could still feel the lingering cold from his hand and lips. "You have grown much since I last saw you," Godric continued a moment later, drawing her attention again. Her cheeks still held a faint rose colour but she wasn't avoiding his eyes anymore.

"I was only sixteen when I met you. I'll be eighteen in about six months," she explained. Her eyes stayed on his face as she spoke, gauging his reaction to her words. He didn't show any kind of shock or surprise when she told him her age, but he nodded his head along to show that he actually was listening to her.

She gasped in surprise when he suddenly slipped an arm around her waist and picked her up in one swift, simple gesture. She was pulled against his form and spun away from where she was walking, her feet coming clean off the ground. Her wide blue eyes looked down into his green ones, one of her arms having wrapped around his neck in reaction to suddenly losing her footing.

"You should watch where you are walking more carefully, Miss. Bellerose," he whispered softly, drawing her confusion to the surface. She looked back to where she had been walking to see a deep pothole in the pavement that was masked by the rain water that had filled it up and gave off the impression of a shallow puddle.

She looked back over to him again, realizing immediately that she was still wrapped in his arm with her own around his neck. She could feel the entirety of his cold form against her, pressed to her chest and beneath her hands. A smile broke out over her lips before she could stop herself, looking down at him. It felt like she was in one of those old romance movies.

"Just Azura, please," she whispered back at last, leaning down to press a kiss against his cheek, just as she had two years prior. Godric's grip on her waist loosened enough to slide her down his body and allow her feet to touch the wet ground again. The sudden change in level brought her lips to the corner of his jaw instead, making the gesture appear to be more than a thank you.

Godric's arm remained around her waist for the last stretch of walk to her home, waiting at the steps of the home before she finally slipped inside. She immediately looked out the window of her bedroom to where he was when she got to her room, seeing that he was walking back the way they had come at a steady pace. Her heart jumped in her chest when he turned to look back once. She wasn't sure whether he knew that she was there or not, but she found herself hoping that he did.


And they meet again! I hope everyone liked it, there will be more of him in the next chapter as well, I assure you. Eric will be back again, too, I swear. Eric's yummy and all, but...there's just something about Godric ;)