Chapter 27

Rashel was exhausted; the two days back had been anything but calm. Lord Thierry had been in a torrent, demanding everything and everything from all of them. They had said that same thing though, they weren't going to leave Ash and let him do something reckless. Thank the Goddess for Lady Hannah, if it wasn't for her then none would have gotten any sleep, even Thierry himself, everyone that is except for one.

The moment they had arrived Ash had never once left her side, James had been reduced to grabbing blood bags and dropping them off at the door. Healers had been passing in and out of the those doors for two days without any news about Mary-Lynnette, whenever she or any of the others would ask they would all shake their heads saying that it was too early to tell. Two weeks of damage had reduced to a sleeping corpse. That was all she was able to do, either sleep or barely managing to grasp reality.

She looked down at the Get-well teddy bear and grimaced, this is was not her strongest suit, and if anything it was one of her weakest. Rashel sighed, frustrated because there really wasn't anything that she could do and it was something that she wasn't accustomed to.

Rashel was wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost tripped over Timmy who sat by the door without talking or acknowledging anyone. There were times when no one realized he was even there.

At the sight of Rashel though he got up and walked away, neither glancing at her nor saying a single word. All she could do was stare down at the bear hoping it would just work out. There was too much going on and frankly she wasn't good at any of this.

There was this warmth, soothing gentle warmth that enveloped her. It didn't take away the smell of incense that floated up and the creams that were wrapped up in bandages.

But it didn't matter, there was a strong hand gripping hers. A cool breathe that brushed her hair over her forehead. Mary-Lynnette opened her eyes to the safety of caressing sheets and the hand of Ash who had fallen asleep in a chair by the bed. She had slept the days away, yet her eyes always managed to find him. He was always somewhere in the room waiting and worrying about her. He was there.

Even with vampire strength and the stamina of a beast even she could see the circles under his eyes, the basic tides of upkeep had left and withered away to a t shirt jeans and hair that was a tornado from sleepless days. Blood bags wee scattered around a garbage pail not far off leaving a faint scent of metal and rust hidden under the gauze and glue on her arms. The lightest sleeper in the world was easily to escape.

Mary-Lynnette couldn't get control over her legs; they wobbled under her weight, a newborn infant that was still learning how to walk. Everything was dark, the room filled with a heavy silence she wasn't ready to break. It was where she was able to hide away from the world. Her fingers fumbled over sidewall until she was able to find the light switch and bring cast shadows into the corners of the bathroom.

I just need to see….

It seemed like every step screamed to stay away, there was something inside that seemed to know that truth but she just wasn't ready to accept it. Fingers curled around the sink's rim, knuckles turned white and with a deep breath found her staring back. It wasn't her.

It's not me, can't be me.

Whoever this was seemed gaunt and broken, her eyes lifeless and dead, she looked like someone that should have been locked away for their own safety. This wasn't the Mary-Lynnette she had known for so long, the one that stared back at her in the mirror that one that reigned confidence when she felt she had none. This one was just broken.

Fingers managed to detach themselves from the rim to graze against her skin. There was something there; she could feel it even now. She only needed to brush her skin before she felt it, a hot angry burn along her flesh. "I'll leave you a reminder of me."

Her hair couldn't hide it, instead brushed against it as a constant voice that yelled at her; two punctured holes were puckered surrounded by blood spots under the skin, this was a branding something that would have to stay for weeks before finally leaving no visible trace. What about after that? Would the feeling go away just like the wounds or would those stay longer? How much longer?

Panic gripped at her could she live with it?

The thought itself was unnerving, the chance to erase it too great. There had to be something, anything to hide it, banish it from touching her. She scrambled past the mirror toward the shelves trying to find something to make it all go away. The creams wouldn't work fast enough, the gels to heal scars took months to keep them from showing. Why wasn't there anything that would work? Couldn't there be something?

Mary-Lynnette's frantic search caused the bottles to tumble over. "No! No, no, no, no….."

"What are you doing?" Ash flicked on the remaining lights in the room casting shadows over the floor.

She didn't think that it was really possible for a vampire to be tired; the circles under his eyes were evident. His eyes were filled with a sorrow that she had never seen in him before, a worry, fear, and every emotion that was filled inside those eyes.

"I….I just…." I can't show him.

Quickly Mary-Lynnette turned until her neck hid the mark in the shadows. She didn't want him to see, the fact that she was now branded by the very evil that they were fighting against…. His father…

"How long? How long was I gone?" She asked.

Ash made his way over to her, "You were held hostage for two weeks and four days. You've been asleep for another three days without leaving this room. You've been away from me for so long that I never left your side once you were back, did you think I wouldn't notice that you were gone again? Even if was leaving my side for a few moments?" He stopped only when his fingers could graze themselves against her skin. "What are you doing?"

Mare just looked up at him trying to figure out what to say. How could she? She could only look up at him, fear clearly evident in her eyes. And while the storm of fear raged even harder in her it was clear that Ash was trying to control his as a means of comfort to her. And he seemed to know her plight.

His hands guided hers away from her neck, a warm palm to soothe the pain that built there. A thumb gentle against the hollow with a pressure to get her to really look up at him, her face titled up towards the light to expose what she was trying to hide most.

She watched as his eyes darkened, utter sadness filling his face. They both knew what this meant; she was branded, like a piece of property. "I'm not…"

What happened next surprised her the most. Ash had stopped her voice, not by words, but by the hot breath there. It was strange, how strong his grip was to make her stay where she was, trapped so that she couldn't move away and yet so gentle that she felt he was only cupping her face with a soft palm. He bit down softly, pulled back only slightly before biting down again harder, not with fangs, but with teeth that wouldn't spill her blood. He kept going, tongue against her skin in a way that made her knees weak and fingers grasp at the wall to steady herself against something sturdy. She whispered his name, caught up in the feelings that flew through her, the way her stomach tightened and how her fingers tingled against the sensation of his teeth grazing against her skin. There was a hypnotic feeling, a wave of strange feelings that built up inside her. And then it change, the pull on her flesh stopped and came with soothing kisses, ones that captured she between his lips and feathered across her skin. His nose buried against her, taking in her scent.

When Ash finally pulled away she gave out a weak mewl in protest and for the first time in a long time there was just a hint of the Ash Redfern that he had once been, one where his world was complete and careless filled with her, he chuckled with a hint of a crooked smile and brushed his lips against hers.

"Mine" He whispered.

"What?" she said.

"You will always be mine." A small hint of his dazzling smile began to grow, "Nothing but me will ever touch your skin and leave a mark. Whatever is there will be replaced by me, nothing will change that."

Ash pulled away and Mary-Lynnette missed the heat that came off of him, the circle of his arms and the scent of his skin. He pulled her away from bathroom, away from the mirror that held a broken girl and back into a room that was filled with a warm glow of a fire, warm and inviting. The smells of cedar and oak swirling in the air as the wood popped and cracked in the embers.

"Ash." She said.

He paused and turned toward her, waiting for her, looking as if he would do anything for her and she had no doubts that if she asked for the moon she would find it outside her window tied together with a bow and a loving man.

Her fingers tightened around his, the knots in her stomach loosened. It took now, with him standing there in front of her to chase away all the doubts she'd had in her mind. The rough road ahead would have to deal with that fact that they were going to stay together. No matter what.

"I love you." She said.