Chapter 5 – Roll Away Your Stone

Roll away your stone,
I will roll away mine -
Together we can see what we will find.
Don't leave me alone at this time
For I am afraid of what I will discover inside.
[Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone]

When Godric awoke the next night, he could sense the still activated light even before he opened his eyes. His progeny's head lay on his chest, exactly as it had been when he had fallen asleep in the morning and would probably be remaining in this position for another two or three hours.

With his age he had not only gained immense power, but also the ability to rise before dawn. Disappointingly it had no impact on his sunlight tolerance – as he had to learn the hard way a few decades ago – therefore he was bound to stay inside during his first awake hours every evening.

Aside from occasionally lingering humans his underlings had brought to his home, he was usually alone during this time of the day and often took the advantage to read some of his old scriptures, or listen to classical music.

Lately he also gave popular music a try.

Since he came to know Laura, he had searched for every song he had heard her sing the night he had met her. It was a nice occupation while he was still on the hunt and when he finally had gathered every tune, he listened to them in an endless loop. Though the topics were not particularly encouraging, they made him feel at ease and strangely linked to this young human.

It was only when he tried to move, that he realized a faint weight on his shoulder as well. Surprised, he turned his head to look for its cause and could not resist a smile at the sight.

Obviously Laura had been too concerned about him to leave his side, and had fallen asleep during her guard over him. Now that he was aware of it, he could not understand how the feeling of her warm cheek against his cool skin could have ever been unnoticed by him. He relaxed and lay back against the cushions again, to remain at her side for a few more minutes, cherishing this moment.

His thoughts circled around the conversation they had held in the morning, before sleep had overwhelmed him. She had seemed really hurt, when he had asked her how he could help her with her aims, if not with his money and it pained him, that he had caused such an expression to spread on her beautiful face.

Her face.

It was the second thing that had attracted his attention, coming right after her voice. When he first lay his eyes on her, the street lights had barely lit it, but with his supernatural sight he was still able to see every single one of her eyelashes. They were dark and long and seemed to caress her cheeks when she moved her eyes under her closed lids.

She had been so smitten with the music, that he had to wait a few minutes until she finally opened her eyes and although they had held a surprised or even shocked expression, they nonetheless mesmerized him with their blue shades. The hue had reminded him of a Central American bird species – the Thraupis episcopus – and as he now thought about it, it certainly was no coincidence, that his first association had been a bird.

Since the very first moment he had the feeling that she wanted to be more than she was and escape whatever it was that was holding her down.

As far as he was concerned, she already was more than any other human. Never before had anyone accomplished to occupy his mind for such a long time – not even Eric. He just had to follow him for about a month until he got the chance to turn him – and certainly he had taken the chance.

With a sigh he carefully lifted her head up from his shoulder and placed it on the cushion he had lain on. His son, on the other hand, was dead for the day and it was not necessary to be overly gentle with him. He just slipped out beneath him and let him roll back onto the mattress.

Godric was just looking through his progeny's shirts, to see if there was one that would fit him, when a cell phone started to ring. Immediately he recognized that the sound resonated from Laura's purse, which lay abandoned on the floor beside the bed and he decided to relocate it to the living room, so the young woman's sleep would not be disturbed.

He returned to the bedroom to continue his search for a fitting shirt, but when he heard the device ringing for the third time, he resolved to answer the call. Within the blink of an eye he was outside again and rummaged about Laura's bag hurriedly.

When he finally found the device, he quickly glanced at the screen for a moment, where it said 'Patrick' and pressed the green button.

"Gosh, Laurie – you're quite hard to reach! Is everything alright? Why didn't you answer our calls yesterday? Your Gran and I'd been worried sick!", he heard an agitated voice exclaim on the other end of the line, in a much too loud tone. A bit surprised about this new information, his eyebrows rose in a very human like manner and he coughed slightly to stop the other's oral fluency.

"I am afraid, I have to disappoint you – Laura is not available at the moment!", he told him with a calm voice and waited for a reply. He heard the boy – he at least assumed it was a boy, his voice did not sound completely mature yet – on the other end inhaling sharply, before a deadly silence settled between them for a few moments.

"Who am I speaking to – if I may ask?!", this Patick-boy wanted to know hesitantly, but nonetheless unequivocally angry, "And how did you get a hold of Laura's cellphone?"

It was obvious that he was not very pleased to hear a male voice answer his friend's phone, but to be honest, Godric was not very delighted either to listen to this kid, talking about Laura as if he knew her for quite some time.

But still he had to chuckle slightly – because after all it was him, who was separated from the sleeping beauty the boy desired to speak to, just by a lousy door.

"I am an acquaintance of her", he stated curtly and waited for the certainly following questions, with an amused grin. This conversation had definitely the potential to become quite interesting...

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?", he heard the now quite shrill voice of the kid resonate from the device and he would have laughed again, if his ears hadn't hurt that much, "WHERE is Laura? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?"

Somewhere in between, Godric had fortunately decided to put at least an arm-length between his ear and the phone, otherwise his aural sense would have severely suffered.

"My name is Godric and I have not harmed Laura in any way – she is merely sleeping at the moment", he explained to the boy with a soothing voice, as he dared to bring the device closer to his head again, "And it would be nice if you could calm your voice – my ears are quite sensitive..."

Silence settled again. Should he err on the side of caution and better distance himself from the speaker again?

"Then this Eric-guy found you...", was all he heard him murmur in a low voice after a few moments. Obviously he was trying to oblige his request to keep his voice low, but how did he know about his son? And why did he know about his disappearance in the first place? Had Laura told him?

He coughed uneasily to distract himself from his thoughts. "Did Laura mention me?", he asked in his most monotone voice to cover his curiosity. He felt like a nosy little boy for asking something like that, but he simply had to take this opportunity.

Now it was the boys turn to laugh. "Mention you?", he asked disbelievingly, "She talked about nothing else, man! She was really worried..."

He was not very surprised to hear that, after all she had put some effort in reasoning him out of meeting the sun and when she appeared at his nest, he knew that Eric must have been in touch with her. Surely he had told her about his disappearance, maybe he had even interrogated her about his whereabouts.

But to hear this boy mention so carelessly, that she had been worrying about him, made an odd feeling spread inside of him. Something like gratitude and... relieve?

Why was he relieved that this woman had been worrying about him? She should not bother about someone with a blood-soaked past like his – and he had no right to hope for such sentiments!

He was about to reply something when a rustling noise caught his attention and he turned his head in the direction of the just opening door.

Laura stood between the two rooms in the doorframe and rubbed her still tired looking eyes. Her dark golden hair stood messily off her head, although she tried to contain it and one of her shoulders was bare, because the red fabric of her dress had slipped down over it, revealing the black strap of her underwear.

"Who are you talking to?", she asked in a low voice and pulled her sleeve up again, while her eyes examined him questioningly. Their blue shades were mesmerizing and he had the feeling, as if he would be summoned by them when he absentmindedly strode across the room and came to a halt in front of her.

"Your friend was quite persistent. He called three times until I decided to answer the phone – I believe his name is Patrick", Godric informed her truthfully and held the device out to her. With her questioning stare still sticking to his face, she hesitantly took the phone, while a loud "Dude – are you still there?!" resounded in the otherwise totally silent room.

Though Godric was not particularly amused to be called 'Dude', he smiled, as he saw how hard Laura tried to stifle a laugh after the statement of her friend. Maybe it wasn't too bad to be called like that, if it made her react in such a pleasant way …

"You call Godric 'Dude'?", she asked the boy in a fake-appalled voice, while she simultaneously winked at said vampire, "What's wrong with you?"

She strolled to the couch, let herself drop into the cushions and tucked up her bare legs to sit there, comfortably curled up into a ball. Obviously she had gotten rid of the ruined tights she had apparently received from his overzealous son – but he had to admit that his taste was remarkable.

It was hard to resist the urge to touch her smooth looking skin, but when he thought of the expression on her face, only seconds after he had done so the previous night, it wasn't that difficult any more.

He reminded himself that he was not a greedy savage who simply took whatever he wanted anymore. His caresses would just cause her to be deterred by him and that was the last thing he wanted. Sitting beside her was all he would allow himself, at least for now...

"What's wrong with me?", he heard the boy's disbelieving voice ask through the device in Laura's hand, which she'd started to hold – in wise foresight – an arms length away, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! SLEEPING WHILE A VAMPIRE IS PRESENT – ARE YOU NUTS?!"

Her eyes moved to linger questioningly on Godric's face after this outburst of her friend, but when he just shrugged his shoulders in an apologetic manner, she simply smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"Are you finished with your lectures?", she asked this Patrick-boy in a bored manner, while she held the microphone of her device to her mouth and continued in a teasing voice, "It may be of interest to you, that it wasn't just one vampire but two and they weren't just 'present' but shared a bed with me …"

She giggled and once again winked at Godric when they heard an "ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE?" from the other end of the line. With one arm wrapped around her knees and the other holding her cell phone to safety distance, she sat there and grinned at his certainly also quite amused looking face, while her friend ranted on the phone.

"Have you calmed down already?", she asked with a honeyed voice, when they heard the boys tone soften after a while.

"Yeah, yeah – whatever …", Patrick replied a bit miffed, "Have you at least asked him about his blood?"

This question made Laura and Godric simultaneously tense up and changed the mood in the room rapidly. What did he mean by that? Was he aware of the healing qualities, the blood of his kind possessed? Did Laura know?

"I thought we already settled that?!", he heard Laura hiss in an angry tone, while she leapt up and started to pace about the room, "I'm not going to. That's ridiculous – we're not just talking about the flu or something! I have terminal cancer – it's high time for you to accept the fact that I'm going to die. LIEVE IT THE HELL ALONE!"

Her voice had started to tremble after her second sentence and her movements had become more erratic. It was obvious that she did not consider whatever he had implied a good idea and it seemed to have offended her deeply.

"It's not just curing the flu – also other much more severe infections …", her friend tried to argue but she just clenched her fist and boxed in a frustrated manner against the wall. Godric was beside her within the blink of an eye and had caught her hand before it could have struck again. But before he had the chance to examine her knuckles, she angrily withdrew her hand and turned her back on him to start pacing about the room again.

"FUCK IT – PATRICK!", she jelled into the phone exasperatedly and caused Godric to seek her proximity again (against his better judgement), but she kept him at bay when he tried to soothe her.

"You will listen to me now, boy – and listen carefully – I'm certainly not going to repeat this", she stated through gritted teeth and leaned against the wall, "I will not cling to a hope just to be disappointed again in the end. I may consider Godric my friend, but that doesn't mean that he feels the same and I'm surely not going to ask him something like that. Would our situation be the other way around, I'd feel exploited, if he did and that's the last thing I want him to feel …"

While talking to her friend, she had been sliding down the wall and now she sat huddled on the floor. Her charming eyes were closed and her face held a pained expression, while she sighed after the last words had left her mouth.

"Lala … please – I-", he heard the pleading voice of the boy on the other end of the line and his tone held far less confidence than a few minutes ago. "Stop it", Laura interrupted him tiredly but still sharp, "It was nice to hear your voice, but I think we talked enough for one night – bye Patrick!"

Before her friend had the chance to reply anything, she had hung up and thrown her cell phone across the room in a frustrated manner. But before it could have shattered on the floor, Godric had caught it in mid-flight and stood on the other side of the couch now, waiting for her to say something.

"You have heard everything, I suppose?", she asked with a cracked voice, when she looked up after a few moments of silence. Godric nodded, but otherwise did not move at all.

When he noticed her glance scurry quickly over his torso once, he became aware again, that he still did not wear a shirt. His own still had to be in her suit and as soon as this matter was settled, he would ask her to fetch it. Although she didn't seem to be displeased by his appearance, he could sense her embarrassment and it was disconcerting to be the cause for such a feeling – even if it suited her in some way...

"Only a few days after I mentioned you the first time, he came up with this absurd idea, that drinking your blood would somehow save me", she explained in a low voice, while her eyes were blankly staring at the floor, "But although I told him that I didn't give a shit about what's written in these 'vampire-knowing' blogs and papers and that I certainly would never ask you for a few drops of your blood, he kept pestering me..."

Godric studied her expressionless face intently, to get at least a hint of what she was thinking right now, but it was in vain. This was how Isabel had to feel whenever she tried to figure him out – and it wasn't pleasant at all to experience it from this perspective. Her blue shaded eyes still stared stubbornly at the parquet floor and her arms clenched her knees as if her life depended on it.

"Our blood indeed holds a few qualities", he noted carefully and started to stride slowly into her direction, "Among other things it really has the ability to heal certain diseases."

She lifted her eyes and sighed quietly, when he came to a halt before her. Her face held a pained expression again, as she stared at him and her heart hammered loudly against her chest.

"I don't want your blood Godric", she whispered and turned her head away, but he was still able to see how she shut her eyes tightly, "Please don't think of me like that..."

He slowly crouched in front of her to be on her eye level, but she still did not look at him. Before he could think of a reason not to do it, the index finger of his right hand had settled under her chin, while his thumb stroked gently over the dimple under her bottom lip and he caused her to face him with soft force.

"I would not think any less of you, if you wanted to try it", he told her in a soothing voice and as soon as she opened them, he looked deeply into her eyes to glamour her a bit, so she would be able to calm down again. Her heartbeat immediately decreased to a normal frequency, but she obviously recognized what he had done, because she averted her gaze as soon as she was able to.

"You would not?", she asked disbelievingly and stared at the floor once more, as if it was the most amazing thing, "But I would be disgusted with myself, if I'd even consider making use of you in such an unashamed way..."

A chuckle escaped his mouth and apparently it was the best way he could have reacted, because her glance darted perplexed to his face again. He tried to give her a warm smile, but as he was quite out of practice, he was not sure if it looked as reassuring, as he hoped it would.

Only when his thumb absentmindedly grazed over her bottom lip, he recognized that his fingers still held her chin and reluctantly let go of it.

"Is it comfortable to sit on the floor?", he asked in a mocking tone and held his hand out to her, after he had stood up, "I suppose a soft seating accommodation is much more to your liking, no?"

She hesitantly laid her hand in his and with a gentle hitch, he pulled her to her feet, slowly steering her to the center of the room again, where she dropped relieved into the cushions.

"I'm glad you aren't mad at me...", she muttered, as her cheeks blushed to a rosy color, which caused her to avert her head in an ashamed manner.

A smirk spread on his face while he sat down next to this extraordinary, young woman. If she really had reckoned he would be mad at her, just because her friend had mentioned his unsolicited opinion, she really did not have the faintest idea how highly he thought of her.

"I could not get mad at you so easily", he assured her, while he leant against the backrest and thinking of what she had said earlier, he continued with a smile, "After all, you are a friend of mine."

With closed eyes, he savored the immediate proximity to her and the comfortable silence that had settled around them. The only sources of sound were Laura's constant heartbeat and her breathing and they had an unknown soothing effect on him.

Just when he sensed her gaze sticking to him, he opened his eyes again, to look questioningly into her caught face.

"Where did you get those? – if it's not a too personal question to ask", she hurriedly babbled and gestured to the marks on his body, "I always thought you guys were invincible. But how would it be possible to get inked if that was the case?"

"Well, that is easily explained: I got those marks when I was still human", he told her gently and looked down at his body and said marks, "And we are not invincible. With enough force it is possible to open our skin, even if the source is not made of silver or wood. And do I really have to remind you of our major weakness?"

She just shook her head quietly and with a dejected expression, but as soon as her eyes ran over the ink on his biceps, her it became interested again.

"Are those tribal marks then?", she asked in awe and crawled closer to him to examine them in more detail, "Do they have a meaning? – I'm sorry, if I'm too nosy! But I have a penchant for Tattoos – getting inked is also on my list, by the way..."

"I am pleased, that they appeal to you", he replied and darted Laura a glance before his attention returned to his upper arm, which was still under her watchful eye, "These are the runes the Druid picked for my initiation ceremony. They already held a hint of what was to come, but I was not able to recognize it then."

He looked up to eye Laura, while he slowly brushed over his collar tattoo with his fingers. Her expression was curious as she watched his movements intently.

"This is a simple pectoral mark. It symbolizes power", he explained and turned his torso, to provide her a better view at his other arm, "And this one was the sign of our tribe. We lived near the sea, therefore it symbolizes waves. Women also had this one, but usually only two rows."

His gaze had absentmindedly fallen to the zigzagging mark on his biceps and he was deep in thought, when he suddenly felt the touch of soft skin on his collarbone. His head snapped up to see what Laura was doing, but she seemed to be somehow captured in the moment.

Her fingers danced feather light over his skin and he really enjoyed the feeling, until the wish to touch her too, occupied his mind. With a jump he was situated on the other end of the couch and had at least created one or two feet's distance between them.

Laura still sat in the middle of the couch, with her fingers in mid-air and looked a bit shocked at the spot he had been in, only seconds ago. When she slowly let her hands fall to her side again, her cheeks started to blush. Once again, she was embarrassed because of him. Now he could as well return to the subject beforehand...

"I would like to explain some things about the blood of my kin. I want to inform you about the consequences, should you reconsider your decision and would be willing to try it."

He had closed his eyes, but he could practically sense her glare. While he listened to the rustling she caused with changing her position, he also detected faint sounds from the bedroom. His son would be standing in the doorway at any moment.

"What do you mean?", she asked alarmed and when he opened his eyes, he saw her biting on her lower lip, "'Consequences' sounds a bit obscure..."

With a smooth motion he also pulled his legs onto the couch and leant against the armrest like Laura did, to face her fully. She was curled up into a ball again and had effectively buried herself into the cushions. Her eyes examined him, while the expression on her face screamed how uneasy she felt.

"As I already mentioned, our blood possesses certain qualities – beside the ability to heal", he started to explain in a gentle voice, "I do not want to deter you – I simply want to tell you about the side effects as well."

Her face still showed an uncomfortable expression, but she nodded hesitantly to let him know that he could continue. But just as he wanted to do so, he heard something that caused him to turn his head and the next moment the bedroom door opened, revealing Eric standing there, leaning against the frame.

"What happened to 'the blood is sacred'?", his son mocked and crossed his arms over the chest. One of his blonde eyebrows was quirked and something in his challenging expression caused Godric to doubt his own judgement 1000 years ago. How could he ever have considered it a good idea, to turn this defiant Viking?!

"It was necessary to phrase it in a way you would comply with – otherwise every woman who ever had managed to get into your bed and was lucky enough to be able to leave it alive, would have been linked to you", he replied dryly and gave his son a bored look, "Sooner or later, you would have certainly lost your mind in this storm of feelings. I never intended to be the maker of a fool, therefore I had to impose certain rules on you."

The body language of his progeny had changed drastically. His hands were now buried in the pockets of his trousers and his head was bowed. The challenging look he had worn only moments ago, was now replaced by a submissive one.

"I am sorry master", his son apologized and furrowed his brows thoughtfully, "My statement was inappropriate."

Only when he heard her gulping, Godric's attention turned back to Laura again. Her eyes were wide and glued to him, while her incisors bit down on her bottom lip once more. The blend of surprise and awe on her face told him that she had not expected him – or maybe both of them – to react like that.

"As I just mentioned, one side effect is – and it is surely one of the most important for you to know about – that the vampire whose blood you drink, can feel whatever you feel for an unknown period of time", he tried to return to his explanations as if Eric never had interrupted him, "It depends on the vampire and how potent his blood is. The older the vampire, the more power the blood possesses."

"So your blood would be quite powerful, I suppose...", she muttered and averted her gaze, obviously deep in thought.

"Godric is one of the oldest vampires in the new world", Eric interposed and eyed the young woman intently, "You should feel honored, that he offered you his blood!"

"He never said anything like that", she clarified immediately and looked stubbornly at the Viking.

"Then you should keep in mind, that he never does anything without purpose", his son explained to her, as if he was talking to a three year old, "If he takes his time to tell you about the effects, it implies that he considers you worthy of his blood"

"Eric!", Godric advised his son sharply, but still didn't avert his gaze from the charming human before him, who was obviously embarrassed once again, "This is not necessary."

The Viking just stared blankly at him for a moment, but nodded silently.

"Are there other effects?", she asked subdued and buried herself even deeper into the cushions.

"The vampire would also be aware of your whereabouts and could locate you at any time, which could be bad for you, if he or she does not mean well by you, but could also be advantageous if you were in danger", he resumed patiently. "You also would feel stronger after consuming our blood and it would increase your senses."

"And the moral of this story is, to think twice whose blood you accept", Eric concluded and pushed himself off the doorframe. With slow strides he moved, under Godric's watchful eye, into her direction and crouched before her.

Her eyes were wide as she looked down at him with a confused expression. "You should really consider his offer, Shorty", he advised her in a gentle voice, "It's worth a shot."

Godric silently watched their interaction and had to admit that he felt pleased about the efforts his son made to persuade her, though he did not like the thought that she had to be convinced in the first place.

"I can't sympathize with the idea that someone else knows my every feeling", she whispered apologetically. Eric examined her for a moment, but nodded after a while and stood up again, with a questioning glare on his face directed at his maker.

"Do not feel forced to make a decision now, Little One", Godric addressed the petite woman before him, "The offer remains."

He was surprised by the disappointment he felt, but nonetheless he tried to smile reassuringly at her. It was reasonable that she'd have difficulties with the idea of digesting his blood and he had to remind himself that she did not explicitly say 'no', now that she knew he would be willing to offer.

With a faint smile on her face, she nodded slightly and the grateful look she bestowed on him immediately compensated for the unpleasant feelings her reaction had caused.

"Does anyone of you two know where I left my purse yesterday?", Laura asked in a low voice, while she started to massage her temples. Godric immediately sped around the couch and lifted her bag from the spot he had put it in, after extracting her cell phone. After handing it to her, she rummaged through it and pulled a plastic bottle out after a while.

As the content obviously consisted of pills, Godric concluded that she wanted to take her medicine. Because he was aware that humans liked to gulp tablets down with water, he went to the refrigerator to get her a bottle of water and returned with the cool liquid just a few seconds later.

With a soft 'thanks' she took it from him, dropped two pills on her half extended tongue and washed them down with the water.

"Though it's not going to be the reason for my death, the headaches are still unpleasant...", she mumbled and closed her eyes, as she had laid her head back against the backrest.

"Do they appear often?", Godric asked her gently, but when she did not answer after a while, Eric took over.

"It's one of her main symptoms", his son informed him casually, "But as she also had to deal with it the last time, she already knows how to ignore the pain to some extent."

"What does 'the last time' mean?", he demanded to know in a slightly rougher voice now. It displeased him that his progeny knew more about Laura than he did. But that was a matter that could be changed easily...

"Didn't she tell you?", Eric asked confused, and glanced at the young woman for a moment, who just shook her head, "She was first diagnosed with cancer when she was 15. They immediately performed a surgery and were fairly sure that they'd extracted the whole tumor. But the process injured the brain area it had been in - it took her a year to fully recover, but they thought she had rode it out.

"Half a year ago, they diagnosed it again. It would be operable but there is a high chance she would lose her sight in the process and they are not even sure if they would be able to extract if completely. She decided against an operation and they gave her a year – one and a half at most."

"That's why I left home", she interposed, "My parents don't agree with my decision and it's impossible to enjoy my remaining time with the two of them constantly telling me what to do. The only family member who understands me is my grandma. She allowed me to stay in her flat here in Dallas, as it has been vacant anyway for a while now anyway..."

Godric silently observed how she gently took the cellphone, he had put down on the couch table previously. "I think I'm going to call her now – she surely is a bit worried because I didn't answer my phone yesterday", she murmured and darted a glance at him, "Do you mind if I return to my room for a while? I'd also like to return home tonight – I think Eric has spent enough money on me..."

After he had simply nodded, she stood up, grabbed her purse and bid her farewell. When the door closed behind her, the two vampires silently looked at each other.

When she had mentioned that she wished to return to her residence, Godric became aware of the fact again, that a good part of his home had been destroyed. It was high time he thought about his future plans...

"I would be glad if you'd decide to return to Shreveport with me!", Eric told him, as if he had read his thoughts. The thousand years his son had spent with him, had taught him how to read his face. He was the only person who really knew him...

"Thank you, Eric", he answered in a low voice and stood up to face his son from a more comfortable perspective, "It would be nice to reunite our family and I definitely will take you up on it. But for now I want to stay in Dallas – there is a young human I want to keep an eye on..."

AN: hey again :) I hope you liked this one – I'm afraid, it got a bit wordy ^^ but I didn't have the heart to cut anything out, sorry ;) As for the bird species I wrote about: as its colors are lovely shades of grey and blue – just as I imagine Laura's eyes to be – I thought it was fitting (even if it isn't particularly common to compare eyes with birds ...) So – I hope you keep reading and also leave a review :) Till the next chapter ;)

last update: 05/2021