Two days later

"I have no idea how it happened," Liana told her friend Brigid. Her tone was exasperated. "He asked me out on a date and I was all set to say no, but for some reason I didn't. It was like I was hypnotized, though not really."

"This could be a good thing, you know," Brigid told her friend. "I think you're far too isolated. What's the harm in dating this guy, as he obviously likes you?"

"You know I don't need to get involved with anyone," Liana said. "I wouldn't want to put anyone else in danger due to my problem."

"Liana, you deserve a life," Brigid said in exasperation. "Yes, I know you have dangerous people after you that want you, because of your incredible power, but you can't keep running away from having a personal life forever. You've been living on the edge for far too long, and even though you now have a job, instead of stealing just to put food in your stomach, you need to put down roots. You seem to really like this guy and it's clear he likes you or he wouldn't have asked you for that first date."

"You seem very certain of that," Liana said.

"I know Dave very well," Brigid explained. "We're pretty close actually."

Brigid didn't bother to explain how Dave had raised her after she had been abandoned near his home.

It wasn't yet time to tell her story.

"If Dave asked you out, then he's really interested in you, as he hasn't dated for as long as I've known him. That's not to say he hasn't had a few one night stands, as a man has needs after all, but he hasn't seriously dated."

"He's much older than me," Liana said. "Or at least that's the rumor."

"Does that really matter?" Brigid asked. "Nobody will look twice if you were dating someone who was two times your age. It might matter among the humans, but not among supernaturals, as a lot of supernaturals are much older than they appear. For all you know he's still quite young for whatever kind of supernatural he is."

Her friend had a point Liana had to admit. For all she knew Dave could be well over 80 or 90 years old and yet he didn't looked much older than she did. Still, she was rather leery about dating anyone seriously. Dating anyone required a great deal of trust and she really didn't trust many people. Considering that her mother had been murdered and she been on the run since, that really wasn't surprising. She knew that the spine crackers that worked for whoever was after her that wanted her for her power were still out there, no doubt searching for her.

"It's not so much the age factor," Liana admitted. "It's just that I'm afraid to get involved with anyone and you know the reason why."

"Lian," Brigid sighed in an exasperated tone. "Witches can live for long time and considering how powerful you are you could live to be 1000, if you don't get yourself killed by those spine crackers. Are you telling me that you're willing to forgo any type of personal relationship for basically the rest of your life? If those men who are after you don't get to you before they die they'll always be someone that wants you for your power or for some other reason like to steal your power, leaving you nothing but a husk. So long as you warned Dave of the danger he could be in, if you started dating, then it's his decision. Yes, you can stay single and not get involved with anyone for the rest of your life, but Lian, that's not healthy and being alone forever is no kind of life. Let me remind you I'm your friend and I'm just as likely to be kidnapped as Dave is to get you to cooperate and I've known you for much longer. That's only if they find you though and so far that concealment charm you bought has been working."

"So far," Liana said cautiously.

"And hopefully, it will continue to," Brigid said. "You can't put your life on hold however. If you really like Dave I would continue to see him."

"I don't know...," Liana said uncertainly.

"I know you have trouble with trust, I can't blame you there, considering how you had to live your life for so many years," Brigid said. "I've known Dave a long time though and he's completely trustworthy. Also, Dave is well able to protect himself, so if trouble does come calling he knows how to defend himself quite well. You have to think about the fact that attraction such as yours and Dave's doesn't come along all that often. That's not to say that you can't be strongly attracted to other people, but you told me yourself that your attraction to Dave was irresistible and you said yes, to a date when you were intending to say no, because of that attraction."

"That's true," Liana admitted reluctantly.

"Well then, all you're doing is seeing if this attraction takes you anywhere. It might be after you've been dating for awhile that the attraction will fade and you'll mutually agree to break up. After all, attraction doesn't always lead somewhere, though it also often does. On the other hand, it could turn into a mutually satisfying relationship or it could be that you have a falling out, but you have to at least give a relationship a chance."

Liana still looked uncertain and Brigid suppressed to sigh. She couldn't really blame her friend for her uncertainty. Liana hadn't had a chance to have the normal experiences of being a teenager. Going to school, making friends, dating a boy you liked for the first time, getting your first kiss, making out somewhere. Her friend had been on the run since before she was officially a teenager, so she hadn't had any of those normal teenage experiences.

No, Brigid suspected that Liana's mother had been hiding from the same men that were after her friend. She had to find a way to convince Liana to take a chance, because what she had 'seen' was that she and her adoptive father would be very happy together for many centuries. Her father would love her friend and treat her exactly like she deserved to be, with love, tenderness, gentleness and compassion. As for the thugs and the ones that controlled them, they wouldn't stand a chance against her father's fury and they would soon be incinerated. The problem was that Liana was rather weary of trusting anybody, and it had taken her a considerable amount of time to gain any sort of trust herself. She knew that if Liana believed she had broken that trust her friend would never talk to her again. Liana would just freeze her out of her life completely, something she definitely didn't want, so this would have to be done very carefully.

Liana was denying herself love or at least a chance to fall in love, all because she was afraid and while Brigid couldn't blame her friend for that fear she also knew it was blocking Liana from being truly happy. Liana was simply too honorable to want to get anybody involved in her mess due to mere association. That she was so honorable was pretty amazing considering her mother had been murdered when she was just 12 years old, though by then her personality, ethics and morals would've been basically set in stone. Brigid well knew that Liana hadn't wanted to become a thief, but that it was the only way to survive for a 12 year old girl who wasn't old enough to get a job, at least not a respectable one. Not for someone who had people that wanted her for her power, either to drain it for their use or make her use it for them. No, the only job she had been likely to get at that age was for some thugs to have placed her in a whore house, where older men would've taken pleasure in raping her and paid a considerable fee for the opportunity. Young meat was often the most highly prized, for a certain type of person, which just made them sick and twisted.

Liana had avoided that experience fortunately, as Brigid had no doubt that if her friend had been raped constantly for several years that she would've taken her life or simply not been able to get close to anyone ever at least not in a relationship sense. If she had gotten involved with anyone just to appear normal Brigid had no doubt that any relationships would have been surface only.

"I suppose I need to get over my fear," Liana said finally having been lost in thought.

"You need to at least try to," Brigid said. "You can't let those spine crackers ruin your life not when you have a chance at happiness. Alright, so it might not work out, but you need to at least try. If those spine crackers do show up you have every right to deal with them and believe me, Dave will do so, if they dare threaten anyone that he cares about."

"What kind of supernatural is he?" Liana asked casually, as it wasn't always the safest thing to ask someone. This was a question that she had been curious about, because Dave refused to say at least until they knew each other better.

"Sorry, I can't tell you, I promised," Brigid said shaking her head. "Dave will have to give you that information himself."

Liana knew better than the beg or whine, because once Brigid made a promise it was set in stone, unless the circumstances were very unusual.

"Why are you and Dave being so mysterious?" Liana asked in an annoyed tone. "I'm sure I won't be shocked if you told me what kind of supernatural he is. There are so many different kinds that I'll never guess it on my own. I mean we have shapeshifters, witches of various strengths, seers, those with ESP, those with telekinesis, telepaths, those who can get water or fire to do their bidding and many more."

"I'm sure you'll be shocked when you do find out," Brigid predicted. "I would love to be there to see your reaction."

Brigid refused to say anymore on the subject and Liana knew better than to try to persuade her.

"So when are you seeing Dave again?" Brigid asked casually.

"Tonight," Liana said blushing, as she thought about the man that had become her boyfriend in such a short amount of time. She hadn't been looking for any romantic entanglements and yet she had managed to get herself involved in a relationship with the mysterious jeweler that she had been attracted to from the beginning. She had tried to deny that attraction, but failed. She wasn't sure what it was about Dave that made her say yes, against her better judgment. It was as if all her reasoning and logic went out the window whenever he smiled at her. Something inside simply melted a little and the barrier she had built around her heart was cracking at an alarming rate. Liana had tried her best to stop it happening and had failed in that too, probably because she didn't really want too.

"Well then, you're going to have to get all dressed up for it," Brigid said in unconcealed glee, because she knew that Liana wasn't one for dressing up, but considering her past that wasn't surprising. She'd never had a chance to be a normal teen and go out on dates after all. You can't run very well in high heels or dresses that reached your feet. Her friend's, mother hadn't taught her how to get all fancied up. For a lot of years her friend had worn rags or second hand clothes, stuff she could run in if necessary.

"I don't wanta," Liana whined looking pathetic.

"I know Dave and he's going to take you somewhere fancy and you will not go in your usual pants and boots," Brigid said. "You have money now thanks to selling that jewelry, which I thought you should've done a long time ago by the way, as it was dangerous to hold onto something that had been stolen."

"The risk was minimal," Liana protested. "I had them in a safe place and nobody knew I had them except for you."

"That you know about," Brigid pointed out. "I have to admit you were an excellent thief, as you learned how to hide your trail quickly. I understand that you had no choice considering you had and still have powerful underworld figures after you and your were also just a child who would not been able to get a legitimate job, but now that you've gone legit so to speak, well, it was about time you sold that stuff."

"I did sell most of it," Liana protested.

"The less valuable pieces sure, as you could always claim that they belonged to a relative and that you needed the money, but not the more valuable pieces, as that just would have brought you unwanted attention when you were younger than you are now. Yes, you could claim that they belonged to your mother or some other relative, but most people wouldn't want to sell such valuable jewelry that belonged to a relative, unless they were in very serve financial straits. Even if they believed you when you said that you wanted to sell it because you needed the money, those people would likely wonder if you had anymore such valuable pieces, because the only people that are going to buy something from a kid are at least dishonest or worse work for the very people that you're trying to avoid at least as informants."

"Why do you think I was always so careful," Liana said and Brigid nodded knowing it was true. "I learned very quickly that people would turn on me in a heartbeat and not necessarily to those in authority either, but into the very people I was trying my best to avoid. On the other hand, I needed that money if I wanted to keep eating."

"I know," Brigid agreed. "Now, that you're grown up and you've gone legit well, it's time that you started doing what most normal people do, ones that don't have psychopathic killers after them, by starting to date, possibly get married have a child or two."

"You're the one that convinced me to go legit," Liana reminded her friend. "You didn't treat me as if I was some kind of criminal when I told you about what I did for a living. You understood that I had no choice in the matter, not if I wanted to live and not be captured by the same people that killed my mother. You didn't treat me like you didn't want anything to do with me, simply because of what I was forced to do. You were the first person I ever told all my past to."

"I am a seer I knew we would meet and at least some of the circumstances behind why you had turned into a thief," Brigid said. "I didn't see everything, but enough to know you were a good person."

"I didn't know that at the time, though and I wondered why you were so accepting," Liana pointed out. "We both know that most people wouldn't want anything to do with me and I would've been lucky if they didn't report me either to the authorities or some criminal boss."

"The one thing dad taught me was to be accepting of other people. He said what mattered was the reason somebody stole or somebody murdered someone as likely there were extenuating circumstances. Not always, but a lot of times. I should not disdain or loathe someone without a very good reason," Brigit said smiling, as she remembered Dave's lessons very well. He had been so gentle and kind to her growing up and stern when necessary. His punishments for misbehavior were rather unique, but she got the point as she was an intelligent girl. She had been taught not to judge people by their actions unless she was sure why those actions had been performed, as there could be extenuating circumstances. In Liana's case, she had known there were extenuating circumstances to the reason that she had taken up thievery and that was simply to survive. That was something that Brigid could respect, as you would do a lot of things you normally wouldn't just to put food in your belly and clothes, no matter how ragged, on your body.

"Well, I want to meet your father sometime," Liana said smiling.

Brigid said nothing, because Liana had already met her father who was the same man that she was currently dating, but now was not the time to reveal that fact. The relationship between her friend and her dad was just to new and that she was afraid to disrupt things. Liana could be very stubborn if she discovered that she had set her up. She would likely break things off, with her father and never talk to her again. When she and Dave got closer it would be time to tell her that she was set up, but only because Brigid knew that her friend and the only father she had ever known belonged together. She had seen this so it was a certainty. She also knew that if she and Dave didn't hook up then Liana would either lose her life fighting off those thugs that had been after her on their boss's orders for years or she would be forced to work for the same man. The last possibility was having her magic drained, so she would suffer the same fate as the first possibility and that was to die. There was only one possibility in which she lived and Brigid knew that Liana would likely take her own life then work for such an evil man, even though she hadn't seen that specifically she knew her friend.

No, hooking up with her father was the only way for Liana to have a real life, one where she would actually be happy, but since Brigid knew she'd never convince her friend of that this was the only way she said nothing and let things develop naturally.

"Now we had better begin to get you dressed for your date," Brigid announced. "Luckily, we're much the same size, so you can wear something of mine, as you don't have time to go shopping."

Liana sighed accepting her fate, knowing that when Brigid was determined there was no changing her mind, so she didn't bother to try.

~~~Dave and Liana~~~