Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood

Chapter three~

"God – ric?" I said slowly, pronouncing each syllable. "I like that name. It's an interesting name."

"Oh? And why would that be?" Godric asked, amused.

I sat back on my heels, grinning stupidly. "Well, you've got God in your name," I said. "I mean, that's pretty cool. Kinda makes me think of you as someone really important."

Godric raised an eyebrow, smirking. "What about your name? It's got the word Rose in it," He stated. "Roses are flowers. They look beautiful on the outside, but if you aren't careful, you can cut your finger on it."

I nodded, grinning. "Ha. Never thought about my name that way before," I admitted.

It took me a couple of moments later to realise that he'd called me beautiful. I blushed a little, and hoped to god he couldn't see through the dark.

But, of course he could. He was a two-thousand year old Vampire, after all. Godric could easily see through the dark. "Why are you blushing?" He asked, a hint of amusement underlining his words. "Is it something I said?"

He said it as though he had no idea of his word choice, but I knew better. I cleared my throat, shuffling a way a little. "No, it's nothing," I said, quietly.

Godric grinned. As I looked closer, actually, I saw his bluish-grey eyes sparkling; as if he was really happy. But something inside me told me he wasn't usually like this. Well, of course not! I scolded in my mind. He's trapped down in the basement, in a silver cage! Why would he always be happy?

"Godric," I started slowly, choosing my words carefully. "Why are you down here?"

He was silent for a while, and I could tell the sparkles in his eyes had died down. I immediately berated myself for it – I had made his happiness go away. I hated doing that to people – I hated to watch the life and cheer fade away from someone. It was like Jason, I could never say 'no' to him. I never, ever wanted to see sadness in his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," I apologised sincerely, "I shouldn't have asked."

He kept on being silent, and I hated it. But there was nothing I could do. I dropped onto the cold floor, so I was facing the ceiling. I tucked my hands under my head, and stared up in bored fascination. And so, I found myself counting all the splodges and smudges on the ceiling for the next half hour, with only the company of a silent two-thousand year-old Vampire.

Eventually, I felt my eyes begin to droop. It must have been well past one in the morning now. If I wanted to actually survive Gabe's exercises tomorrow, I had to get some sleep.

I stood up stretching, and yawned rather widely. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Godric," I said. "But I'd better go now. Sorry about that question, I didn't think it'd hurt you so much." And so I turned around, and started to make my ascent up the darkened stairs.

"Don't leave, not yet," Godric commanded all of a sudden.

I felt a whoosh of air next to me, and suddenly, he appeared in front of me.

I stumbled backwards in fright, but he caught my waist before I could make a rather embarrassing fall. Godric pulled me against him, smooshing me against his muscled chest. Jeez, for an old man, he's got some serious abs…

"Please, I did not mean to make you go away," He said seriously, stuffing his ice cold face in my hair. He sniffed my head, drawing me closer to him, hugging me tighter. "Stay a bit longer," He almost pleaded.

I gulped, pushing my hands against his chest, but he didn't budge an inch. "H-how did you get out?" I asked slowly.

I felt Godric's chest rumble with laughter against me. "Are you afraid of me now, Rosalie?"

I relaxed a little in his grip. "No," I said defiantly. "I am not afraid of you."

This comment seemed to make him hug me tighter. His face moved down from my hair, and down to my neck. He inhaled deeply, and swept his thumb over my neck, removing any hair covering it. "You smell nice, Rosalie," He said breathlessly. "Delicious, actually."

I shivered in his embrace. "D – delicious?" I squeaked.

"Mhmm," He agreed, exhaling a breath of hot air over my neck. His hand wove itself upwards, so it could tangle in my hair. I froze in fright when I heard the click of his fangs pop out. My heart pounded against my ribcage.

"Are you afraid of me now, Rose?" He asked, scraping his sharpened fangs over my delicate neck. "I can hear your heart. It's beating very fast. You're terrified of me."

I shook my head. "No. I'm afraid of your actions, Godric," I stated simply, "Not of who you are."

He paused for a while, seemingly thinking over my words as his cold hand tangled further into my hair. "You are wise for your age, Rosalie," He stated. "I don't think I've ever met a Human like you before."

I chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment," I said. "Now, do you think you could move your fangs? Pointing it against my neck is kind of…unnerving."

Godric took one more deep inhale of my scent, before sighing, and moving his fangs away from my neck. I studied the sharp points in the darkness, curious. Before I could stop myself, I was reaching out, touching the sharp points. It was so razor sharp, that as soon as I touched it, a globule of blood appeared on my fingertip.

Before I could move my hand away to inspect the damage, Godric snatched it back. He popped my index finger in his mouth, and I felt his tongue glide over the cut. My face heated up in embarrassment when he started to suck on my finger a little. I removed it slowly, and heard him groan in disappointment.

Godric chuckled when he saw my reaction. "You are…blushing. Again," He added. "You certainly are an interesting Human, Rosalie. Most of your kind would be running, screaming, by now. But, your heartbeat isn't erratic at all – you really aren't scared of a monster like me."

I cleared my throat, willing away my embarrassment. "I told you, you don't scare me," I declared. "Not one bit. You are –" I cut myself off, as I let out a rather large yawn.

Godric laughed, and, with incredible speed, picked me up his arms – bridal-style. "Godric," I protested quietly. "What are you doing?"

"Humans need to sleep at night," He ordered. "I'm taking you to bed."

I grumbled profanities. "I can walk to my dormitory myself, thank you very much," I grunted.

"Maybe," He laughed. "But I shall take you there."

I didn't get any more say in the matter, because, suddenly, the world around us was a blur of smudged up colours and swirling patterns. I realised that he was running…fast. So fast, in fact, that the soft air that whooshed past me gently lulled me into a deep sleep.

Before I completely blacked out, I heard Godric whisper to me. "Come back to me Rosalie," He demanded softly. "When the halls are silent, and the moon is high, come back to me."

Then there was darkness.