Chapter 3 - Curiosity

Raphael woke to the bright morning light shining down on his face. He shot up in his surprise, searching for Amy. He smelled something cooking in the kitchen. Raphael got up and followed the scent of meat and something with sugar.

"Morning, father!" Amy greeted, checking on the bacon again. "How are you feeling?"

Raphael merely approached her, his brown eyes still laden with sleep. "I'm fine, Amy. How long have you been up?"

"That depends, what time is it?" she inquired. The father looked around for the clock which was hanging over the doorway to the study. "8:52," he responded. Amy checked for herself. "Then I've been up for nearly an hour and a half."

"Really now?" Raphael mused, looking around for something to do. Amy glanced at him for a moment. "Breakfast will be ready in a little while. I'll fetch you when it's done!"

Raphael walked over to the library and chose to read something. However, while searching through his books, he found some sort of bookmark in between two pages of a fantasy novel. "What's this?" he wonders curiously, flipping through it. The story itself seemed to involve a woman who falls for a vampire, but ends up losing her life to the man she loved. Quite bloody actually in his opinion. The bookmark itself, he recognized, was Amy's because hers always had a blood red jewel somewhere on it. What it was doing in one of his books, though, remained a mystery.

"Breakfast is ready!" Amy called from the kitchen. Raphael replaced the bookmark and returned the book back in its spot on the bookshelf just before Amy entered the room. "I'm coming, Amy," he said with a small smile. "Why don't you go ahead and eat?" She nodded, heading back to the kitchen to set the hot plates on the table for her father when he came out.

Raphael was still puzzled that Amy was reading something bloody and terrifying. He decided to ask her about it later, thinking that Amy's cooking was delicious. "So, do you like it, father?" she giggled, setting the blueberry muffins on the table knowing that her father loved them.

"I do, Amy!" he replied. "What did you put in this?"

Amy laughed. "I assure you, there's nothing else in the food." She sets the plate of cinnamon buns next to the scrambled eggs. "However you make it, I made it the same way!"

Raphael raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure you didn't add a lot of sugar in this? It tastes really sweet." Amy shook her head, "No, the only sugar you probably smelled was in the muffins and the cinnamon buns. Speaking of which..." She hands him one of the blueberry muffins. "Would you like one?"

Raphael silently accepted the offering, happy to see her smiling. "Should I wonder as to the occasion?" Amy laughed, "Must a daughter have a reason to dote upon her father?" Raphael chuckled at how sweet and caring Amy was being.

"Besides," she started, getting his attention. "When was the last time you were actually home in the morning?" Raphael thought about. It was a good point; he was rarely home in the morning because he had always left in the middle of the night. "I wanted to do something special for you, even if it is a small thing."

"Amy, this is fine, really," Raphael sighed, gently kissing her on her forehead. "Thank you." She accepted the gratitude, embracing him happily. After breakfast, Amy had walked back to her room, serving only to confuse him. It made him wonder what exactly she was doing. He heard a quiet mewl outside. He looked out the window to the courtyard to see two black cats.

Walking outside, he recognized them as the stray felines that haunted his gardens. "Well, hello there, you two," he greeted them, letting them brush up against him. He was thinking about taking them in to see if Amy would like them. They would need names though...

"Oh, I see you found Seraph and Kora!" Amy approached him cheerfully. Kora immediately pranced towards her, rubbing her dark muzzle against the back of the redhead's hand. "You know these cats, Amy?" Raphael inquired.

"Yes," she answered. "I brought these two in. They would have died in the freezing winter."

*That would explain where they came from and when they got here,* Raphael thought, noticing that the male cat, Seraph, was trying to sit on his foot. He picked up the furball, brushing his nose against the cat's. He could hear the warm purr from him.

Raphael turned to Amy, seeing her with Kora in her arms like the cat was a newborn child. "If you want us to keep them, Amy, we could," Raphael suggested, his daughter's red eyes lighting up with joy. "I'll take care of them, father," she nodded, turning her attention back to the black kitty in her grasp. "Though, I think Kora's pregnant."

Seraph meowed in agreement, sort of struggling to be put down. Raphael released the ball of fluff and fur so he could go to his mate. Amy sat down, letting Kora go to socialize. "I'll have to stop by the store and get something for them to eat..." He looked back at the garden, seeing as was some mice hiding in there.

He saw a flash of black fur, a yowl, and a squeak of terror from one unfortunate mouse, seeing the look of triumph on Seraph's face as he brought back the prize for him and Kora to share. "On second thought, I think they'll be fine back here, since they know how to hunt!" Raphael chuckled. Amy laughed at the adorable faces of her kitties.

"Yeah, they'll be fine!" she giggled, leaving them a few cat treats for them. Raphael looked at her, curious. "You kept this from me? You could have just told me, Amy," he laughed. Amy smiled shyly, "Well, I wasn't sure if you would let them in."

Raphael pets the two happy cats once more before walking back inside. "When have I ever denied you anything, my child?" Amy giggled, knowing it was true. She ran after him back inside the house. The redhead looked around for her father.

"Just ask me next time, Amy," Raphael laughed, surprising her with a hug from behind. "You have nothing to be afraid of, okay?"

"I know, father," Amy said with a smile. "I know you wouldn't hurt me."

~A/N: So, how am I doing so far? Feel free to leave any sort of criticism in the review box or in a PM to me. All is accepted. Please Review! X3