The House Of Secrets

[witch]

The House Of Secrets

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/witch016/Story%20Photos/homes/Blaze%20House/House.jpg

The House Of Secrets, A Lovely French Manor, Located On The Quite Outskirts Of Town.

The House Of Secrets could be said to be a farm house with a lovely open courtyard where the Blaze family love to run and hide, Mark sometimes turning on the BBQ and cooking up a meal for those warm Summer days.

The house once used to have six bedrooms though with Mark's help two of those rooms (these being in the separate apartment) have been turned into Mark's Study and Cara's Dance/ Art room.

The house has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (one being in the apartment the other in the main house)

A large Kitchen is where Cara cooks her own storms while keeping an eye on the rest of her family who play in the Living Room though sometimes Mark does spend his time in the Workshop.

But why is it called "The House of Secrets???" Well that's for the Blaze Family to know and you to find out... lets just say that things in this house aren't always what they appear...


((Pictures Coming))

[witch]

OCC: Double post I know. For Mark and Cara.

Cara Blaze Andovea

The smell of burning wood filled Cara's noise the soft cool breeze coursing her hair to dance, everything seemed so alive even the baby inside her belly who seemed to be tap dancing at the very moment.

Cara watched from the "Love Swing" where was seated as her husband tended to the fire and the food that it was quickly cooking the craving for bacon only calmed by her craving for other things... mostly good things like frozen sugar strawberries, chocolate (though that was always a craving for her) and most strange of all hot chips dipped in ice cream and meat pie.

"Hows it coming?" she asked closing her eyes as she felt herself relaxing within the courtyard of her new home.

It had been the couples wedding gift to each other though mostly Mark's to her surprising her with the open space of a France Farm House with a work room that held a barre so she could practice her dancing when she got better... speaking of which.

"If it doesn't need tending to for a little while maybe you could help me practice my walking again."

It had been a few days ago when she had gone for a check up not only for the baby but also herself that the doctor told her if she had some help she could try walking again. Ever since then Mark had helped her catching her when she fell but always there holding her when she asked reminding her that in time she would get better.

"It might also calm this little one down I think she's going to be a dancer just like me. Came feel she's kicking up a storm."

[Black Mask]

Mark Blaze


A cool breeze drifting through the air, Mark silently tended to the grill to make sure the food was prepared right. Today since he knew he wasn’t going anywhere, he wasn’t wearing his usual black hat and trench coat, instead he wore a tight black sleeveless shirt that showed every rock-hard muscle in his upper body. The larger man found it interesting that he could only good cook on a grill for if he tried to cook in a kitchen, he would surely burn it. Using the stainless steal spatula, he flipped over one of the steaks that were on it, thinking of the past few days. First, they had went to the doctor for a check up on Cara and their daughter and he had said that with help she could start to practice to walk, which was great news because that meant she was getting better. From that day on, the dark haired man would without hesitation help his smaller wife practice whenever she asked, knowing that she wanted to walk on her own again. Second, there was the new home that they lived in now, which was a gift from the couple to each other. He loved the expression on her face and the look in her eyes when he showed the house for the first time and he also enjoyed the hug and kiss she gave when too, which brought a small ghost of a smile to his face. The finally there was the strangest of all, especially to him. For the last couple of days, the younger woman had been requesting some strange things to eat, a lot of which he had never heard before. Frozen sugar strawberries seemed to be one of her favorite strange foods and the most confusing to the larger man. He wondered why someone wanted to eat something that was frozen. It just didn’t sound to appetizing to the dark haired man. Flipping the other steak, Mark heard his wife’s soft voice from behind him where she sat on the swing.

"Hows it coming?" she paused for a moment as he merely nodded, not knowing that she had closed her eyes, "If it doesn't need tending to for a little while maybe you could help me practice my walking again." the larger man immediately looked toward her, signaling that he was more than willing to help, besides the food could wait just a little bit, "It might also calm this little one down I think she's going to be a dancer just like me. Came feel she's kicking up a storm." she said softly, placing a slender hand on her stomach. He took a quick glance toward the grill to make sure everything would be alright for the time being before walking silently over to where his smaller wife sat. He then gently took her by her hands and slowly helped her up to her feet, keeping a firm grasp on her arms so she wouldn’t fall. Keeping a soft grey green gaze on her, Mark began to speak in his usual deep masculine voice that had a hint of softness to it.

“Of course, my ange, anything that makes you happy. Perhaps I could get you some… frozen sugar strawberries…. later or would you prefer something else?” he questioned before swiftly getting behind her and once more gripping her arms in a firm yet gentle word to make sure she didn’t fall.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Swinging somewhat gently in the swing Cara had closed her eyes the smells around her making her calm as she thought back to the first time Mark had carried her into the house.

She had been overcome with joy and love throwing her arms around him and pulling him down for a kiss thanking him for the home they now had never thinking she'd have a place to call home again after she had come back to Paris and now...

With the smell of fire and food Cara asked how it was coming along amazed that while her husband was well... not so good in the kitchen he was like a master chief when it came to the BBQ smelling the meat slowly cooking making her tummy rumble a little at how hungry she was along with the baby inside her.

Not seeing her husbands nod she asked him if he could help her practice her walking. She remembered how both their faces had lighted up at the news that she could try walking again her back now strong enough though there was still some numbness in her legs unlike the babies.

Smiling widely she told Mark to come and feel their daughters powerful kicks making her joke that she just might be a dancer.


Opening her eyes she watched as he came over to her gently taking her hand and helping her to her feet which wobbled a little making her even more glad that Mark had a strong yet gentle hold of her making her feel both safe and very much loved.

For a few days after her accident she had not wanted anyone touching her the fear of it still fresh in her mind, for nights she had woken up screaming swearing she could fell the dagger cutting into her skin and in every waking hour she had jumped at the slightest shadow. Through it all though Mark had been a loving husband calming her through it all telling her again and again that everything was all right just like he did now.

“Of course, my ange, anything that makes you happy. Perhaps I could get you some… frozen sugar strawberries…. later or would you prefer something else?”

She couldn't help but smile at his gentle toned words his old nickname for her coming back again loving the way it sounded on his lips and as for the lure of strawberries well...

"That would be prefect but as for something else I just want you."

She took a small steep forward then feeling Mark do the same behind her before she took another pushing herself a little though she felt a little pain the doctor telling her it was normal and to push through it a little though not to much.

"And to think this is just practice for when this little one comes, I still can't believe it, I still can't believe that I'm calling her my little jelly bean we really need to start thinking of same names."

Slowly she looked up at Mark then looking into his loving eyes.

"Have any in mind?"

[Black Mask]

Mark Blaze


As a gentle breeze drifting through the air, he quietly tended to the grill to make sure the food was prepared right. Today since he knew he wasn’t going anywhere, he wasn’t wearing his usual black hat and trench coat, instead he wore a tight black sleeveless shirt that showed every rock-hard muscle in his upper body. Using the stainless steal spatula, he flipped over one of the steaks that were on it, he thought over the past few days and what had happened. The hints of a small smile appeared on his features when he thought about showing the young female the house they lived in now, loving the hug and kiss she gave him when she saw it. He also mused over his wife’s strange craving, mostly the frozen sugar strawberries, as he flipped the other steak when Cara soft voice reached his sensitive ears. She asked him how the steaks were coming and he merely nodded in a reply, keeping his attention on the grill and what he was doing. A few moments of silence passed before she asked him to help her practice walking, which he knew she longed to do along with dancing again. Quickly looking toward the smaller woman, he saw that she had a hand on her growing stomach as she told him that the baby was kicking again. After glancing toward the grill to make sure everything would be alright for now, he quietly walked over to the swing and helped his wife to a stand, keeping a firm yet gently grasp on her wrist to make sure she didn’t fall. Using her nickname that he had given her, he agreed to help her walk, telling her also that he would do anything to make her happy, and asked her if she wanted some strawberries or something else later, quickly goin behind her and grabbing her again. He saw the smile come on her lips and as a result, a soft glint shinned in his eyes, her smile making her more beautiful to him.

"That would be prefect but as for something else I just want you." she paused for a moment to take a few small steps forward, taking her time as she did, and he immediately followed in suit, "And to think this is just practice for when this little one comes, I still can't believe it, I still can't believe that I'm calling her my little jelly bean we really need to start thinking of same names." she looked up toward him and their gazes met, "Have any in mind?" she asked and waited for him to answer. He looked away for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face, which wasn’t anything unusual for him. A name? For the child? He hadn’t really thought of that before. He thought that was the mother’s right and that she did that after the baby was born. Well, apparently he was wrong…again. He would have never guessed that the father also took part in the naming of the child. Shaking his head slightly, he looked back down at his wife before he began to speak again, the soft glint still in his grey green eyes.

“I’m not really good at naming babies and besides, I thought that only the mother did that since she’s the one who goes into labor and experiences the pain….” his words faded as he actually noticed what he was saying and he looked away again in embarrassment, a light pink color coming to his cheeks, “Sorry about that…” he murmured quietly, still keeping his gaze away.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Slowly steep after steep she walked her eyes ahead of her picking a place in the courtyard that she decided would be her resting point if the pain let it be. With Mark's gentle hold around her wrist Cara felt stronger, felt the urge to keep pushing herself not let him see her weak side a side he had seen all to much this past months, the months she wanted to put behind her.

Carefully she willed herself onwards the thought of dancing again being her hope there was just one problem with having Mark help her and that was not letting herself melt in his loving embrace.

To take her mind off both pain and other thoughts she quickly come up with something to talk about an image popping into her head of Mark and herself someday teaching their young daughter to walk. Looking up into his eyes there was still one question they had to answer and that was thinking of a man to call their child and so wondering if he had any in mind she asked.

“I’m not really good at naming babies and besides, I thought that only the mother did that since she’s the one who goes into labor and experiences the pain….”

Hearing his words she slightly wondered about them how many babies had he been asked to name? He saw his cheeks go red just as she was about to correct him on his thoughts but stopped when she heard:

“Sorry about that…”

With his gaze away from her Cara tried to pull herself up a little, to have strength in her legs so she could free one hand from his hold and bring his eyes back to her but even as her fingers tried to move away from his she felt herself crumble and so quickly she fell backward, to land against his chest.... better then the ground though just as rock hard.

"Why are you sorry Labor is a part of bringing a child into the world, not the most enjoyable part or so I hear but it is the last part before you get to see the child, hold it." She started to feel weak again, tired and for a moment she thought it best if she sat back down. "But I want you to have a say in her name she is after all part of you to."

Her eyes went to the swing then her strength now gone.

"I think I best sit down again, maybe we can try again after dinner."

She felt herself being picked up and carried back to the swing, thought she saw a look of worry and concern in Mark's eyes though she could be mistaken.

"I'll make you a deal one of us picks the first name the other the second how does that sound? And as for the pain of labor swear to me that if I need to be cut open to get the baby out, that you'll trust the doctors, though I do hope it won't come to that... I just thought you should know that it's also normal to get a baby out that way to."

[Black Mask]

Mark Blaze


Quickly looking toward the smaller woman, he saw that she had a hand on her growing stomach as she told him that the baby was kicking again. After glancing toward the grill to make sure everything would be alright for now, he quietly walked over to the swing and helped his wife to a stand, keeping a firm yet gently grasp on her wrist to make sure she didn’t fall. Using her nickname that he had given her, he agreed to help her walk, telling her also that he would do anything to make her happy, and asked her if she wanted some strawberries or something else later, quickly goin behind her and grabbing her again. He saw the smile come on her lips and as a result, a soft glint shinned in his eyes, her smile making her more beautiful to him. His young wife told him that was alright and she also wanted to be with him before taking a few slow steps forward, the larger man following obediently behind her to make sure she didn’t fall. Cara then told him that this was just practice for their child once she was born and that they had to think of a name for her. Looking away from the young female, Mark thought for a moment, trying to figure out a good name for their daughter, but sadly couldn’t. he looked back toward her and told her that he wasn’t very good at giving babies names and that he thought the mother gave them the name since they went into labor. When he finally noticed what he was saying, he looked away in embarrassment and murmured out a small sorry, a small blush coming on his cheeks. He felt her try to take her hand out of his grasp, for what reason she did he didn’t know why, but when she did, he felt her fall against his chest where he could, wrapping his arms around her to make sure she didn’t fall and because he wanted to.

"Why are you sorry Labor is a part of bringing a child into the world, not the most enjoyable part or so I hear but it is the last part before you get to see the child, hold it. But I want you to have a say in her name she is after all part of you to." her gaze traveled toward the swing, but his remained on her, "I think I best sit down again, maybe we can try again after dinner." with a slight nod, the dark haired man effortlessly picked up the young female in his muscular arms and started toward the swing, a slightly concerned look in his eyes at he sudden weakness, "I'll make you a deal one of us picks the first name the other the second how does that sound? And as for the pain of labor swear to me that if I need to be cut open to get the baby out, that you'll trust the doctors, though I do hope it won't come to that... I just thought you should know that it's also normal to get a baby out that way to." she said softly. Yes, that’ll be nice, to have a part in naming his child. He thought he would never get to name a child, but he was and he was going to enjoy it since it was his own. Walking up to the swing, he gently sat her in a comfortable position before eyeing the swing himself, seeing if it would be comfortable for him. He moved to the side slightly after a few moments and sat down, making the swing sway slightly under his weight. He made himself comfortable, even putting his arm around his wife, before placing a kiss on her forehead, trying to show her just how much he loved her. He knew that the steaks were going to be alright for a little while longer so he mind as while enjoy the time.

“Sharing the task of naming our daughter is alright and it’s just that you’re going to be in pain and…” suddenly he stopped and paled slightly when her last sentence finally hit him, “What do you mean by ‘cut open’?” he asked in slight alarm, never heard of such a thing.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Rather quickly Cara felt herself getting weaker her body not used to holding her up on two legs that she couldn't feel let alone the extra weight to her small frame thanks to her growing belly. When she tried to take her hand out her husbands hold so she could turn his gaze towards her she failed falling quickly back against his chest making her glad that his arms quickly wrapped around her.

Cara knew that there would be concern and even a hint of worry coming from her loving husband but instead of dwelling on her weakness she instead asked him to clear up something for her, his words from before leaving her a little confused and thinking it had something to do with labor, the pain of it she told him that she wouldn't mind it, it being the last stage before their child was to be born.

Before Mark could answer her though she thought it best that she sit back down and no sooner had she spoken the idea she felt herself being raised up to be once again held in loving arms.

Gently he sat Cara on the swing concern looking down at her that she wished to wash away and with an idea on how to do this in mind she struck up a deal telling him that they would both take change of one part of their daughters name, after all he was going to be a big part of both their lives and as their child's father he should have a say.

While saying this however she also thought it best to clear something else up just in case something went wrong and so she started speaking of about maybe maybe needing a C - section.

Her eyes followed him as he slowly sat on the swing his wight gently coursing it to rock as his eyes once again befell his wife to then put his arm around her which she quickly nuzzled into felling a light kiss touch her brow.

“Sharing the task of naming our daughter is alright and it’s just that you’re going to be in pain and…”

She couldn't help but smile at his words knowing that he wished her never to be in pain she was just about to tell him once again that she wouldn't mind it to much when she realized he had cut himself off worry entering his face once again.

“What do you mean by ‘cut open’?”

Looking at her husband Cara gently took up his hand in one of hers placing the other on his cheek, something she knew he loved and with a gentle voice she began to explain herself hoping to dull his alarm.

"It's proper name is a Caesarean it's most commonly performed if the mother can't push out the baby or if her life is at risk." She explained hating saying the last part but knowing she needed to. "Some mothers to be even ask for it giving up normal birth all together. To get the baby out faster they cut open the mothers belly open which in the long run will leave a scare and though there are risks it is rather common."

She now said nothing looking at Mark hoping her words had put him at ease just in case things came down to her having to go under the knife.

"If you wanted the next time I go in for a check up we could ask the doctor about it, let him answer the questions I can't."

Even now she could somehow still see the shock and alarm still.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, like I said I just wanted to tell you, just in case."

With that she lead forward and placed upon his lips a loving kiss her eyes then going over to the grill.

"I think those are done now and I can't wait to feed my hunger to get some strength back, by the way thank you for helping me."

[Black Mask]

Mark Blaze


His young wife told him that was alright and she also wanted to be with him before taking a few slow steps forward, the larger man following obediently behind her to make sure she didn’t fall. Cara then told him that this was just practice for their child once she was born and that they had to think of a name for her. Looking away from the young female, Mark thought for a moment, trying to figure out a good name for their daughter, but sadly couldn’t. he looked back toward her and told her that he wasn’t very good at giving babies names and that he thought the mother gave them the name since they went into labor. When he finally noticed what he was saying, he looked away in embarrassment and murmured out a small sorry, a small blush coming on his cheeks. He felt her try to take her hand out of his grasp, for what reason she did he didn’t know why, but when she did, he felt her fall against his chest where he could, wrapping his arms around her to make sure she didn’t fall and because he wanted to. She then explained to him that the labor was just a part of the process of child birth though it wasn’t the best part and that he should have a part in naming their child since she was a part of him. Understandable, but he still thought that the mother was the one to give the child a name since she experienced the pain. He snapped out of his thoughts when she told him about trusting the doctors if she had to be cut open. Wrapping his arm around his young wife and giving her a gently kiss on the temple, he told her that it was fine with him to share the task on naming their daughter, but he suddenly cut short, paling slightly. Her last words suddenly hit him hard and she seemed to notice it. With slight alarm in his voice, he asked her what she meant by ‘cut open’. He had never heard of someone being cut open for child birth. It sounded something like a horror movie for him. The dark haired man suddenly felt her slender gently hold his, this one being of those rare times he didn’t have his leather gloves on, and then felt her hand be softly placed on his cheek, making him lean into her hand on instinct and nuzzle it.

"It's proper name is a Caesarean it's most commonly performed if the mother can't push out the baby or if her life is at risk. Some mothers to be even ask for it giving up normal birth all together. To get the baby out faster they cut open the mothers belly open which in the long run will leave a scare and though there are risks it is rather common." she paused for a moment, trying to see if he understood, which he did, but he was still shocked and filled with alarm, "If you wanted the next time I go in for a check up we could ask the doctor about it, let him answer the questions I can't.” she paused once more to place a loving kiss on his lips, him closing his eyes in sweet bliss, I think those are done now and I can't wait to feed my hunger to get some strength back, by the way thank you for helping me." she said softly. He kept where he was for a little while longer, keeping his soft gaze on his young wife. Though he understood what she said, he was still wary of the very idea of her being cut open. He didn’t know if he could trust the doctors enough to do that. Finally snapping from his thoughts, he nodded slightly before standing with slight difficulty, making the swing sway slightly as he did. He walked back toward the grill to find the steaks at the peak of perfect and used the spatula to pick them up and place them on two plates. Walking over to the table that sat near the swing, he placed the plates on the table where the other food and drinks were and then walked back toward where Cara sat. With ease, he picked her up bridal style, being extra careful since she was with child. Despite her being pregnant though, she still felt light as a feather to him but he could tell that she had gain some weight as the months had passed. The larger set her gently in her seat and pushed her closer to the table before walking to the chair next to her and sitting in it. Looking at his wife, he began to speak in a quiet tone.

“You’re very welcome, darling, and I’ll have to think about that.” he fell silent for a moment, thinking of something else to say, “So, which name I’m I exactly choosing?” he asked, slightly confused about the naming thing.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She could tell the idea of her being cut open was not something Mark would ever really go for, his trust in doctors not that strong at the best of times and he being very protective of his young wife would surely question the doctors every steep.

Instead of dwelling on things that might never be she instead told him that the meat was done and that if he so wished he could ask the doctor any questions he had when they went for her next check up placing a kiss upon him as she did so.

For a little while longer they simply sat next to each other before he finally got up and checked the meat bringing it over to the table the smell feeling Cara's noise as her belly suddenly felt as hollow as anything. When her husband came and picked her up she remembered just how strong he was her extra weight of being with child seemed very little to him as he sat her down gently before pushing her in towards the table.

“You’re very welcome, darling, and I’ll have to think about that.”

She nodded hearing this, he words telling her that he'd always be there to help her and to look after her. She started cutting the meat before her and popped a bit into her mouth savouring the taste before swallowing trying to hold herself back for the taste just screamed to have more.... a women having a child what can I say?

“So, which name I’m I exactly choosing?”

Looking up for her meal, a large smile on her face she herself thought about the answer for a second or two.

"How about her second name?" She asked "And just an idea, just in case sometimes people use the grandmothers name if you wish to do that I think it should be your mothers name but like I said it's just an idea."

Having spoken the thought she didn't know how he'd take it would Mark even want to be reminded of his parents in that way or would be rather forget never speaking his mother's name again?

"I'm sure what ever you choose we'll booth love."

She looked up at the sky then the clouds racing across the sky.

"Skyla" she spoke softly "After the beautiful sky. How do you feel about Skyla being her frist name? Sky I think is just a little bit to common."

[Black Mask]

Mark Blaze


Wrapping his arm around his young wife and giving her a gently kiss on the temple, he told her that it was fine with him to share the task on naming their daughter, but he suddenly cut short, paling slightly. Her last words suddenly hit him hard and she seemed to notice it. With slight alarm in his voice, he asked her what she meant by ‘cut open’. The dark haired man suddenly felt her slender gently hold his, this one being of those rare times he didn’t have his leather gloves on, and then felt her hand be softly placed on his cheek, making him lean into her hand on instinct and nuzzle it. He knew she was trying to calm him down and to tell you the truth, it was working. The young female told him that the proper name for it was called a Caesarean and it was preformed when the mother couldn’t push the baby out or she simply wanted to get the baby out faster. Pausing for a moment, she wanted to see if he understood what she had said, which was clear in his eyes along with some worry and alarm. What still worried him was that there were risks to this and there was a possibility that Cara would have to go through it, something that the larger man didn’t want. She continued on, telling him that he could ask more about it when they went for one of her check ups before placing a sweet kiss on his lips, making him close his eyes in bliss. The smaller woman took a quick glance toward the grill and then said that she thought the steaks were ready and that she was starving, also thanking him for helping her. He merely sat there for a few more moments, keeping a gentle gaze on her as he thought over what she had said, before snapping out of his thoughts and standing up to walk over to the grill. He used the spatula to put a steak on each plate and took them over to the table that they were going to eat at then walked back toward where his wife sat and picked her up with ease, being careful since she was pregnant. Sitting her in her chair, Mark pushed her closer to the table and walked over to where he was going to sit next to her, telling her that he would have to think about that as she took a bite of her steak. Thinking of something else to say, he asked which part of the name was he going to pick out, making his confusion obvious to her. A large smile appeared on her face as he cut a small piece of his steak and began nibbling on it like he did almost everything else he ate.

"How about her second name? And just an idea, just in case sometimes people use the grandmothers name if you wish to do that I think it should be your mothers name but like I said it's just an idea." she suggested, making him stop nibbling on his steak, "I'm sure what ever you choose we'll both love." she looked up toward the clear sky, "Skyla. After the beautiful sky. How do you feel about Skyla being her frist name? Sky I think is just a little bit to common." she said, looking toward him. Though he had heard her question, his mind was still on what she had said before. He never knew about naming a child after the father’s mother, then again, he didn’t know a lot of things it seemed. His thoughts drifted to his mother. She was kind, perhaps even kinder than Cara, and she cared for everyone even if they hated him. She was a gentle soul and she could never hurt anyone, treating everyone as though they were family despite the way they treat both him and her. She didn’t deserve to die the way she did and neither did his father, but especially her. He still blamed himself for her death and his father’s. If it wasn’t for him they would still be here and they would be waiting for their grandchild. Letting out a sigh, he looked away from her and toward the ground.

“Yes, that’s a beautiful name, it’ll fit her so well. As for her middle name, I think it should be Aurora, after my mother. It’s the least I could do since it’s because of me that she and my father is dead.” once again he let out a sigh before looking up toward out toward the distance, slipping into his memories, “She was beautiful, kind, and she cared for everyone. She basically loved to help any person she could. I remember when people would come to our front doorstep wanting some sort of help and she would gladly offer them whatever they needed whether it had been food or a place to spend the night. Though my life in my hometown was a living nightmare, she would try to make it better than it was.” he looked toward her, his gaze still distant, “You remind me of my mother everyday and I believe that my daughter will too.” he finished quietly, looking away again and still within his memories.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Now sitting at the table and happily eatting she watched her husbands face change from confused to worry and back again. The news about maybe being cut open was something that she could so eaily tell he didn't want to happen and in truth nither did she, she wanted to see her child the second she was born and be over come with happniess just as her husband would be instead of having him fear for her every secound she was out of it.

Looking to clear his mind and change the subject Cara quickly told him that he could ask the doctors the next time they went in and answered his question about which name he should choose. Thinking about this answer for a few moments she revealed an idea about useing his mothers name not quite sure how he'd take it. She looked up at the sky then watching the clouds race by, feeling the suns sweet glow and a name suddenly came to mind, the name of Skyla Sky being to comman.

When her eyes come back down to meet the gaze of her husband she wasn't surprised by the fact he wasn't looking at her, she could easily tell he was slipping back to the past, thinking about his parents.

“Yes, that’s a beautiful name, it’ll fit her so well. As for her middle name, I think it should be Aurora, after my mother. It’s the least I could do since it’s because of me that she and my father is dead.”

She joined him as he let out a sigh, she knew he blamed himself for what had become of his mother and father but she would never see it that way. When she had gone back to his hometown she had found out the truth, it was Satlin that had killed them and not him... still at his hands or not she knew he would always blame himself.

“She was beautiful, kind, and she cared for everyone. She basically loved to help any person she could. I remember when people would come to our front doorstep wanting some sort of help and she would gladly offer them whatever they needed whether it had been food or a place to spend the night. Though my life in my hometown was a living nightmare, she would try to make it better than it was.”

He turned his eyes back towards her then Cara panting a smile on her face as her husband talked.

“You remind me of my mother everyday and I believe that my daughter will too.”

As he looked away from her again Cara couldn't help the question that rose to mind.

"And would that be a good thing or a bad thing?" She asked wanting to know if thoughts of his mother was just to painful. "She sounds like a wonderful women, with a kind heart who knew to look beyond the surface. Our daughter while carry on your mother's name and we should tell her to act just as your mother did."

She reached over for Mark's hand then bringing it to rest on her cheek hoping that his gaze would return to her.

"I'm sure your mother will be looking down on us and always watching over us with a smiling face. She loves you just as much as I do and this little one to and I promise you, you will not lose us."

She would have kissed or hugged him then if her legs worked instead she simply turned her head and kissed his hand to then take it down to her growing belly felling a huge kick from within.

"You see Skyla Aurora Blaze agrees with me."

[Black Mask]

Mark Blaze


After placing a soft kiss on his lips, Cara took a quick glance toward the grill and then said that she thought the steaks were ready and that she was starving, also thanking him for helping her. He merely sat there for a few more moments, keeping a gentle gaze on her as he thought over what she had said, before snapping out of his thoughts and standing up to walk over to the grill. He used the spatula to put a steak on each plate and took them over to the table that they were going to eat at then walked back toward where his wife sat and picked her up with ease, being careful since she was pregnant. Sitting her in her chair, Mark pushed her closer to the table and walked over to where he was going to sit next to her, telling her that he would have to think about that as she took a bite of her steak. Thinking of something else to say, he asked which part of the name was he going to pick out, making his confusion obvious to her. A large smile appeared on her face as he cut a small piece of his steak and began nibbling on it like he did almost everything else he ate. His wife told him that he could choose their daughter’s middle name and suggested that it be his mother’s name, making him stop nibbling on his steak as he began to sink into past memories. Looking up toward the sky, she told him that she wanted their daughter’s name to be Skyla, after the beautiful sky. Though he had heard her question, his mind was still on what she had said before. He though over his mother and the decision of giving his child a middle name before letting out a sigh, he looked away from her and toward the ground. Mark told her that was a beautiful name and that it would fit their child very well, still sinking into memory. The larger man also told her that he wanted Skyla’s middle name to be Aurora after his mother, saying that it was the least he could do since both of his parents were dead. Both he and Cara let out a low sigh and Mark continued on, telling her how kind and loving his mother was and how she tried to make his life better. He looked toward her and told her that she reminded him of his mother everyday and he believed that his daughter would too before once more looking away.

"And would that be a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked, making him slightly confused, "She sounds like a wonderful women, with a kind heart who knew to look beyond the surface. Our daughter while carry on your mother's name and we should tell her to act just as your mother did." when he felt his hand being grabbed and placed against something soft, he looked toward her and saw that she had placed his hand against her cheek, "I'm sure your mother will be looking down on us and always watching over us with a smiling face. She loves you just as much as I do and this little one to and I promise you, you will not lose us." she placed a gently kiss on his hand and placed it against her stomach, feeling a strong kick and spread his fingers to feel as much as he could, "You see Skyla Aurora Blaze agrees with me." she said softly. He was silent for a few moments, keeping his large hand on her stomach as though to wait to feel a other kick. She was probably right. His mother and father were probably in the place people called ‘Heaven’, watching over him and his family with loving gazes. He would probably never meet them again, he knew he wasn’t going to go to the place where all good people went to after they died. He had done nothing good in his life and he had a demon inside him, so how could someone even think he had a chance of going there? Snapping from his thoughts by a other more gentler kick, a small ghost of a smile appeared on Mark’s lips.

“Yes, it seems that she does agree and I believe that she will be as beautiful and kind as her mother.” he said quietly before looking up toward the young female, “As for your question, it’s a good thing that you remind me of my mother. You’re just as kind and beautiful as her and you saw me as person and not as a monster that the others see me as.” he paused for a moment to grab her hand in a gentle hold and place it against his cheek, much like she did his own, “ And I thank you much for it. I will always take care of you both and love you and our daughter no matter what.”

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

With the quite afternoon upon them Cara loved the simple act of just being with her husband, with him working and her once again taking a brake they didn't really see each other as much as she'd like for when he got home she was asleep trying to regain her strength and with her legs not working she couldn't keep up with him when he was home. Now just sitting here eating a dinner together it was the greatest gift and soon there would be someone else joining them on their meals.

The subject of naming their daughter brought about a whole new train of thought and memories Cara unable to help but wonder if it was a good or bad thing, for as soon as she had brought up the thought of Mark's mother his gaze quickly turned from her and become saddened.

She listened as he talked about the kind and loving women who's life had been cut short later revealing that she herself remind him of his mother which in the long ran made a question arise upon her lips.

A look of confusion past her husbands face as she spoke her question only leading her into saying that she to though Skyla should be brought up to look beyond the surface and then placing his hand over her cheek she kissed it before moving it to her belly telling her husband that both she and their daughter would always love him.

Feeling Mark's fingers spreed she smiled as she felt another kick her eyes coming up as she watched the ghost of a smile appear on his face.

“Yes, it seems that she does agree and I believe that she will be as beautiful and kind as her mother.”

Cara couldn't help but blush. As Mark wasn't used to being loved, looked at differently then a monster she wasn't used to being called beautiful.

“As for your question, it’s a good thing that you remind me of my mother. You’re just as kind and beautiful as her and you saw me as person and not as a monster that the others see me as.”

He took her hand then bringing it up to lay upon his cheek before gently nuzzling into it which in turn coursed her to smile.

“And I thank you much for it. I will always take care of you both and love you and our daughter no matter what.”

"I'm glad to hear it and it's not hard to see you as something other then what most people think of you for me it's easy you open up to me, show me the real you and I am grateful for that. I never thought I'd find love, have a family and now I have the greatest one of all just don't think to highly of me."

She drought his hand back to her lips then before once more letting him do as he wished with it.

"I'm glad I can remind you of your mother I wish I had known her but I can tell she must of been wonderful to raise a son as strong and as loving as you despite everything and I know you blame yourself but like I said I would die for you to it's a choice and one you can't blame yourself for."

She knew that he had been doing that as she had spoken, as he had thought about his mother.

"Mark you have to believe me I love you more then anything and anyone I would of died at Satlin's son hand if I could save you."

She stopped then her eyes falling to the ground.

"Sometimes though I wish I could talk to him make him see the wrong that his father had paced upon him, he was so kind to me I hate thinking that he..."

She stopped again her eyes coming up to meet Mark's.

"I'm sorry and here we where having a pleasant evening."

[A_Single_Rose]

OOC: For Cara/Evrard. Sorry for taking so long. BIC:

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard pulled into the small driveway of the sizeable home. It was a half-hour drive from his apartment on the other side of Paris. He parked the car and turned off the engine as he quickly looked over the front of the house. He glanced at the address on the dashboard. This was it. This was Cara's home. It had been some time since he last saw her and their last meeting had not been the most pleasant. He remembered it well. That husband of hers, the dangerous behemoth of a man, had ruined what should have been a celebratory evening. He had warned her against this stranger she had told him of. Of course she didn't listen. Why would she listen? Foolish child.

Evrard took a breath and got out of the car, taking the small gift from his passenger seat. It had been too long... She had a baby now, for Christ's sake, which was why he had bought this toy, a plush stuffed horse. Surely, the baby would like it. How old was the infant anyway? Little children always loved stuffed animals - right? Evrard shook his head as he walked up the driveway and toward the door. He would say he was excited to see her. That wasn't right. He was certainly looking forward to seeing the young Cara again, now a wife and mother. He was... curious. He had lost contact with her for the longest time. How had life been to her?

Holding the stuffed horse in his hand, he gave three loud raps on the door and casually adjusted the collar of his dark green sweater. Would Cara be different from the girl he once knew?

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Cara had just been in the kitchen cooking afternoon tea when she had heard the raps on the door making her first glance at her sleeping child to see if they had woken her but save for a slight stir she was still fast asleep.

Setting to food aside she smiled knowing who was at the door and rather looking forward to it for it had been such a long time since she had talked, let alone seen her patron it had been another life time ago. Now she was married, had a home and a child cutting back somewhat of her dancing and singing hoping that, that wouldn't be a factor tonight.

Picking up her child she walked to the door and pulled it open a smile on her face as her eyes fell upon the ever handsome Evrard.

"Evrard" she said with a smile this being one of those rare time she actually called him by his first name. "It's so good to see you again."

If it wasn't for the fact that Skyla was in her arms she would have hugged him, instead she simply lay a kiss to his cheek.

"Please come in and I'll show you around less you wish to eat first."

Once he had entered she closed the door behind them and led him through to the large living room.

"So, how has life been treating you since we last talked?"

If she remembered correctly he would be rather silent about his life quickly changing the subject to something.. or someone else, namely herself.

"Mark's not here by the way."

Somehow she felt compelled to say so maybe because of glancing eyes and a slightly tense feel about the air.

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

He pressed the front of his sweater with his free hand and smoothed back his hair. He looked down at the plush horse. How old was the infant? He hadn't seen Cara since before she gave birth to the child, since before she became pregnant. Or had she... And he hadn't known? Evrard clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. No, this was going to be a cordial meeting - ill feelings behind them. But he couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of apprehension at meeting that monstrous husband of hers again. What the silly little girl saw in that beast, he did not know. But he didn't try entering the mind of a young girl. It was too complicated for him.

The door opened and he straightened himself, toy in hand. "Evrard" He smiled upon hearing his name in her soft, joyous voice. "It's so good to see you again." He leaned down and let her kiss him on the cheek. His feeling of malaise faded for a moment in the background of his thoughts and he only focused on Cara. How radiant she looked. She always had a youthful aura about her. Now, that was coupled with a mother's glow, he supposed. His eyes went down to the small child in her arms. The little girl was sleeping peacefully, so small, so calm. For a moment, Evrard envied the little one's serenity. "Hello, Cara. It's been too long." Cara smiled and showed him inside. "Please come in and I'll show you around less you wish to eat first." Evrard smiled and bowed his head as she lead him to the living room. It was quaint and had a soft, comfortable feel to it, like a home should feel. He was sure Cara made a fine housewife. How was that affecting her stage career, though?

"So, how has life been treating you since we last talked?" Evrard turned his attention from the room to the small, affectionate Cara beside him. He smiled down at her, trying to hide an uneasy feeling at the base of his stomach. She was a wife. How old was she? Barely a woman. And now... she was a mother. A wife and mother. Foolish, foolish child. "Mark's not here by the way." Evrard nodded with a widened smile. Thank God... He didn't want to have to deal with the man. The only thing they agreed on was that they did not like each other. Evrard wanted to leave it at that. If Mark had been here, Evrard felt he would have had to leave. He was glad that Mark wouldn't be here to spoil the otherwise happy reunion.

"I've been very well, thank you. But," he looked down at the peaceful child in her arms, "how have you been? Nothing has happened to me, but look at you." He took a short look down at her and smiled. "You are a mother now." She was just as he had remembered her: small, gentle, almost frail-looking. She was still the kind and gentle-hearted Cara he had first met on the stage. Evrard remembered the gift in his hand. "Ah, and here is a small gift for little Skyla." He handed the stuffed horse to Cara.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

To long, it had been to long as if time had almost cheated them out of the thrill of seeing each other let alone being in each others lives like they once had so closely been.

Upon opening the door Cara couldn't help but smile seeing the handsome face of her patron, friend and second father but yet again he had always been handsome. Leaning upward to kiss his cheek gently she then pulled away watching as Evrard's eyes traveled from her to her young child making her wonder what her patron not only thought of the sleeping child but also of her.

If she remembered correctly he had been somewhat warry of first her love for Mark, then her marriage for the tails she had once told him she hadn't been able to blame him but had he even meet Mark since then? She couldn't remember all she knew was if he had she hadn't been around.

Shutting the door Cara lead Evrard into the living room, large with a somewhat cottage farm feel about it (maybe because that's what it was) and start away asked him how life had been for him along with stating the fact that her husband wasn't there, seeming to see him relax as the words sank in.

"I've been very well, thank you. But, how have you been? Nothing has happened to me, but look at you."

Both set of eyes went downwards to Skyla at this Cara's smile matching Evrard's though hers no doubt had more joy and love in it then anyone else's, a mothers right.

"You are a mother now."

Her smile couldn't help but beam.

"Ah, and here is a small gift for little Skyla."

Looking up Cara spied the small stuffed horse that Evrard was handing her and so juggling Skyla just a little she reached out for it.

"Oh Evrard it's lovely, how did you know she loves horses but doesn't have one yet? Thank you I know she'll hold onto it tightly."

She then lead Evrard into the kitchen telling him to please sit and upon placing Skyla in her play pen she then started to serve the food.

"As for your question I'm doing alright my health as you may have been told has been somewhat up and down but the doctors are thinking they've gotten a better hold."

However upon saying this her face fell just a little but breathing it aside she went on.

"Skyla's been a blessing along with Mark she is my greatest joy in life and though I know it takes away from my dancing and singing I still try to at lest keep up with practice."

Her eyes fell to Evrard then she pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"I'm so sorry that it's had to take a back sit for so long when you still continue to be so kind to me and I'm also very a shamed that it's been so long since we have gotten together like this, please, you must have thought I was trying to keep you out of my life or something when nothing could be further from the truth."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

There was something lacking in the air, something that made Evrard a little uncomfortable. No, it was lacking. Actually, there was a slight dose of tension in the air around them. Most likely, it was only Evrard's imagination. Cara was probably completely at ease. She looked so happy as a mother and housewife. Her career was on the sidelines now. This disconcerted him, but it wasn't as if he really needed the money from his patronage over her. Still, he had wanted to see the girl truly shine on the stage. Such promise - then this. Cara was so young...

"Oh Evrard it's lovely, how did you know she loves horses but doesn't have one yet? Thank you I know she'll hold onto it tightly." Evrard smiled somewhat automatically, pleased that she liked the gift. He glanced down at the little child in Cara's small arms. She was sleeping soundly - a veil of serenity over her small, still developing form. Such a fragile little thing was an infant, yet how loud and obnoxious they could be. He wondered how much sleep Cara was getting these days.

Cara led him to a kitchen area, tidy and neat, like the living room. He sat down where she indicated, watching as she carefully and gracefully put the baby down in a little pen - was that what it was called? Sounds like a place where you keep animals. "As for your question I'm doing alright my health as you may have been told has been somewhat up and down but the doctors are thinking they've gotten a better hold." Evrard nodded, remembering the episode at the hospital. How long ago was that? It had to have been over 2 years ago. "Skyla's been a blessing along with Mark she is my greatest joy in life and though I know it takes away from my dancing and singing I still try to at lest keep up with practice."

She sat down with him, her small frame made even smaller now. Like her daughter, she looked so fragile. It was a wonder this small girl gone through the labor of birthing a live human being. "I'm so sorry that it's had to take a back sit for so long when you still continue to be so kind to me and I'm also very a shamed that it's been so long since we have gotten together like this, please, you must have thought I was trying to keep you out of my life or something when nothing could be further from the truth." Evrard smiled kindly over at her and leaned an elbow on the table. "No, no, don't apologize. I should have kept contact with you, especially after Skyla - is that her name? - was born." Part of the reason he hadn't kept contact was because of Mark. He had never approved of Cara and him, but knew he had no power of the matter. "But I don't think your husband would have liked that too much." Evrard looked over at her with a subtle raise of his brow and changed the subject to her career. "I have missed watching you perform on stage, Cara. Hopefully, you'll make a full return soon, hm?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Having now sat down Cara wasn't to certain what to say to her patron, the subject of Mark was a no no not with how she knew Evrard thought about him and the subject of her dancing and singing was surly something that would come up.

When he had first entered her home and given her the gift for Skyla a little of that friendly, family feeling once again entered her not quite the same as it had once been but getting there.

Still the question of what to say or do next drew her to answer his question about her health, she knew that he had kept at lest a small tab on it he knowing that her head was still troubling even after all this time, but did he know of the fever that had almost cut her down and the small other bits that had taken over her life since getting married?

After that first little strain of struggle to talk things seemed to open up but there was two things she wasnted to make clear that she still kept up with her lessons and that she had missed him.

"No, no, don't apologize. I should have kept contact with you, especially after Skyla - is that her name? - was born."

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Having now sat down Cara wasn't to certain what to say to her patron, the subject of Mark was a no no not with how she knew Evrard thought about him and the subject of her dancing and singing was surly something that would come up.

When he had first entered her home and given her the gift for Skyla a little of that friendly, family feeling once again entered her not quite the same as it had once been but getting there.

Still the question of what to say or do next drew her to answer his question about her health, she knew that he had kept at lest a small tab on it he knowing that her head was still troubling even after all this time, but did he know of the fever that had almost cut her down and the small other bits that had taken over her life since getting married?

After that first little strain of struggle to talk things seemed to open up but there was two things she wanted to make clear that she still kept up with her lessons and that she had missed him.

"No, no, don't apologize. I should have kept contact with you, especially after Skyla - is that her name? - was born."

She had nodded at his question and yet dimmed afterwards there was something he wasn't telling her, something she couldn't quite place.

"But I don't think your husband would have liked that too much."

Closing her eyes she was about to say something when Evrard stopped her seeming to catch onto his mistake. Unlike Calvin, or Easy or anyone else for that matter it seemed Evrard had judged her husband and thought nothing twice about it.

"I have missed watching you perform on stage, Cara. Hopefully, you'll make a full return soon, hm?"

"If my head lets me and Mark agrees to the day care at the Opera House I hope to return within the month, like I said I miss it greatly."

There was an air of sadness in her voice then.

"Evrard I know you don't much care for my husband, that you think I've made a mistake but, he loves me, he's the only one who does and saw me he cares for me and would die before letting anything happen to me..." even as she spoke her words she remembered what he had said to her only a few days before.

"In truth he has left me for awhile so he doesn't harm me or Skyla, he fears Damon is trying to control him again he'd rather die then let that happen."

A single tear ran down her face then and now it was her turn to change the subject.

"I heard on the Opera House grape vine that you have been in trouble yourself over a maiden, but isn't love worth fighting for? For it was told you got into a fit yourself, along with other things."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard shifted his weight in his seat and held his hands loosely together on the table. It was good seeing Cara again. He had missed her youthful innocence and that subtle radiance in her small face. Truly, she was the closest individual to a daughter (or any sort of child) he had ever had. There was a slight protective feeling within him ever since her accident and the incident at the hospital. He had been surprised at the grief he had felt at the time, the fear of what might happen if she had died. For this reason, he had refrained from contacting her - that and the fact that he and her husband did not - literally - see eye to eye. But this was supposed to be a pleasant meeting, a reunion of sorts to catch up and possibly get her back on the opera house stage.


He asked if she was returning to the Paris Opera anytime soon.
"If my head lets me and Mark agrees to the day care at the Opera House I hope to return within the month, like I said I miss it greatly." Evrard refrained from wincing or scowling at the mention of her husband. The girl didn't need anymore grief from him. But she started talking about him, nonetheless, "Evrard I know you don't much care for my husband, that you think I've made a mistake but, he loves me, he's the only one who does and saw me he cares for me and would die before letting anything happen to me..." Evrard remained silent, not wanting to upset her. He remembered how defense she had been at the cafe when she first told him about Mark. You never fully knew a person until you made them angry. "In truth he has left me for awhile so he doesn't harm me or Skyla, he fears Damon is trying to control him again he'd rather die then let that happen."

Evrard rose a brow, but still didn't speak. Damon... That was the other personality, no? That Mark character was a danger to others, especially to people as frail and fragile as young Cara. Why didn't she understand Evrard's reasoning? The man was dangerous and yet, Cara found herself drawn to him because he made her feel "safe." What an anomaly. But Evrard held it in. Cara was in enough emotional pain right now. She didn't need his reprimanding words to upset her more. He felt uncomfortable when a tear slid down her pale cheek. He always felt uncomfortable around people when they were emotional. He never knew what to do.

But as quickly as it came, it went. "I heard on the Opera House grape vine that you have been in trouble yourself over a maiden, but isn't love worth fighting for? For it was told you got into a fit yourself, along with other things." Evrard was surprised by her words. What was she talking about? It took him a few moments to figure out who she was referring to. He feigned an amiable smile. "Oh, the dancers don't busy themselves enough with their grande jetees. They need to exercise discipline over their mouths." Well, he knew first hand how... experienced they could be with their mouths. "You sound like a romantic school girl, Cara, and I have no idea what you are referring to." He smiled and once again the subject changed. "I have found you another tutor for when you return to ease you back onto the grand stage. He is very good, especially for what I will be paying him. We shall dust your vocal chords and dancer's limbs off in no time." His smile didn't fade.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Catching up with friends was wonderful, catching up with someone who was more then a friend but not quit family was more so. Cara still thought of Evrard as her second father, though in truth that role should have belonged to her stepfather, the one person in her Russian family that was still alive, though they had lost contact long ago. With Evrard things where rather simple, they talked about what needed to be talked about, her return to the stage and...danced around the subjects that didn't, such as her husband.

With a smile on her face Cara let it be known that she planned on returning to the Opera House as soon as she could. For once things seemed to be settling down, her head didn't seem to be giving her trouble and though Mark wasn't there, there didn't seem to be the normal issues that seemed to follow him around.

She saw the smile that was on her Patron's face at her words though it quickly changed when Mark's name came up, reminding her once more that even though Evrard had never meet the man the words she had spoken of him where enough, granted her first talk about the name that was to become her husband she had spoken in fear and was still getting to know him herself.

With these very thoughts in mind she tried the smooth the way, telling Evrard that she at lest had seen the light and that Mark would never mean her harm. If only Evrard knew of the scares on her back, the look in Mark's eyes when he realized he had done wrong, the fear within them as he thought she'd leave him... it was hard to forget and heartbreaking to remember.

Though her words seemed to earn her a raised brow Evrard seemed to hold his tongue making her at once wish that he kept it and spilled it all at the same time maybe that was partly why the tear streamed down her face laced with sorrow of thoughts before.

Quickly though she changed the subject turning things back to his life telling him of the gossip that was going around her second home. Now she wasn't one for gossip but a strong believer of love and that people had the right to know what was being said behind their backs.

It seemed to take him a moment to realize what she was talking about, or could it be whom she was talking about, the look of surprise telling her better then words ever could that he was not catching on until a smile that she couldn't quite read graced his face.

"Oh, the dancers don't busy themselves enough with their grande jetees. They need to exercise discipline over their mouths."

A look of question come to Cara, was she one of those dancers in which he spoke, or was he truly hiding something? He had never been one to truly be open about himself.

"You sound like a romantic school girl, Cara, and I have no idea what you are referring to."

And yet that still present smile told her that he did, but the subject quickly changed not giving her the chance to push it.

"I have found you another tutor for when you return to ease you back onto the grand stage. He is very good, especially for what I will be paying him. We shall dust your vocal chords and dancer's limbs off in no time."

Now it was her turn to seem surprised, no one had spoken of a replacement teacher, nor had he told her he was thinking about it. She had felt settled with the way things where going, her lessons though cut short at times where always something to look forward to but maybe that wasn't the most unnerving thing it was the chance that his dollars where wasted that weighed heavily on her mind.

"He?" she spoke at last, the gender being the first thing that came to mind. She knew her husband when it came to her being around other men, no matter the age or the reason. "Evrard I'm flattered with everything you are doing for me, but... I still fear I am somehow letting you down. My grace and voice is not where it should be I'll admit and I have much still to learn but..."

For a moment or two she trailed, time and time again everyone said how well she was going with her lessons but it seemed every time she took one seep forward something was there to pull her three steeps back.

"But I fear I'm letting you down, maybe it would be best if you found someone else, someone whose health isn't an issue or their family if Mark doesn't agree to the daycare I need someone who can look after Skyla and Calvin isn't always there, he being the only one Mark seems to trust. However I do have a dance studio here maybe, maybe from time to time your person could come here... It would be nice not to have the place fill so empty."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Ah, yes, a fortunate occurence of chance it was. Cara's previous teacher had left some time ago, shortly after Cara took leave. And at the time, it did not bother Evrard very much. Who knew when Cara would return? But until recently, when he finally recieved word from the young girl, he decided to help ease her back onto the stage. The luck happened when he was on his way out of the opera house after getting information and securing a spot for Cara's return. A man some years older than Evrard was talking to a middle-aged woman. The conversation was obviously more business than pleasure as he mentioned something about needing more students. Here, Evrard had interjected, much to the woman's surprise and offered the man a chance. Of course, Evrard wouldn't let any desperate man tutor Cara, so he conducted a short interview and found the man to be very qualified. Voice and dance weren't his strong suits, Evrard found out, but he was adequate and asked for a very reasonable price.

"He?" Evrard nodded at Cara's questioning expression. He had expected this sort of surprise. From his memory, Cara had never been absolutely confident in herself and seemed self-degrading at times. "Evrard I'm flattered with everything you are doing for me, but... I still fear I am somehow letting you down. My grace and voice is not where it should be I'll admit and I have much still to learn but..." Evrard raised a brow, waiting for her to continue. But what? She had improved since the first time he had heard and saw her. She was still young. Who knew what she could achieve in time...

"But I fear I'm letting you down, maybe it would be best if you found someone else, someone whose health isn't an issue or their family if Mark doesn't agree to the daycare I need someone who can look after Skyla and Calvin isn't always there, he being the only one Mark seems to trust. However I do have a dance studio here maybe, maybe from time to time your person could come here... It would be nice not to have the place fill so empty."

Evrard nodded. "Of course. That is a simple accomodation. You don't live too far out from Paris. Skyla will be fine, then." His expression became slightly more serious. Something not quite a frown formed on the edge of his lips. "And Cara," he looked at her firmly and steadily, "you are not letting me down. You will get better. With time, you will get better, especially with these lessons. I've made sure the training won't be too rigorous." But it wouldn't be a walk in the park either. He lightly placed his hand over hers on the table. "I'll be with you every step of the way. If you'd like, I could even be at your first lesson," he said with a smile. Was this being fatherly? Was this what it felt like? The reassuring? The coddling? How odd... But he was a man of his word to Cara and would do his best to help her recover physically - emotionally was another story.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

It was strange, here she was with a friend that she had wanted to catch up with for such a long time and now that he was here... they seemed to dance upon topic's she'd rather not talk about. Mark was the first and foremost item on her mind knowing that if they talked about her husband it would no doubt upset the two of them and for the change in subject, her singing and dancing was something else that at the moment seemed to be a sore spot, this time for her.

She knew she hadn't really been in the spot light for quite awhile now, her place in the Opera House there but not all at the same time the manger always wondering when she'd need time off again no doubt complaining about her spot there for someone else to fill.

Glancing over at Evrard her eyes shoot wide when she heard him talk of a new teacher, she knew her old one had left but still, the very mention that it was a he made the issue more troubling. Her fears started to flow, her mind and heart finally speaking the truth she was wasting Evrard's time and money, he should have found someone better, both in health and skill however that didn't stop her from bringing up the idea of the new guy coming to her home that way things might run more smoothly and Mark wouldn't worry about what was going on behind closed doors.

From beneath her long eyelashes she watched as her patron nodded, his thoughts not seeming to mind her own.

"Of course. That is a simple accomodation. You don't live too far out from Paris. Skyla will be fine, then."

A small hint of a smile crossed her face though it was quickly gone as Evrard's smile seemed to change into something harder.

"And Cara,"

The look he gave her then made it impossible to look away, his eyes looking so deeply into hers that it almost made her feel like he was looking through her and not at her.

"you are not letting me down. You will get better. With time, you will get better, especially with these lessons. I've made sure the training won't be too rigorous."

Her tiny smile returned and then grew as his hand gently took her own, it was something that her patron very rearly seemed to do almost making it a father sort of move, as if trying to cheer her up and she'd admit, it kind of did.

"I'll be with you every step of the way. If you'd like, I could even be at your first lesson,"

For a long while Cara said nothing biting her bottom lip instead for a moment or two before her eyes came up again.

"That would be nice if it could be agreed upon, for you have seen me on stage and I do not know anything about this man, not that I don't trust you it's just..." She stopped there her hand going to her shoulder and the secret she wasn't quite sure he knew about it contained. "It's just my trust in them is still rather... not truly there, certain events not helping."

With that said her eyes glanced to her wedding ring, a small tear running down her cheek which she quickly whipped away a quick change of subject needed.

"Now I said that you should came and have some tea, would you like a cup or would you like me to fix you a plate of what I have cooked up for lunch?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

"That would be nice if it could be agreed upon, for you have seen me on stage and I do not know anything about this man, not that I don't trust you it's just..." Evrard remained silent and still, listening to her. She had issues with trust and had a somewhat skewed image of herself? Was that the product of being the wife of a negligent, abusive husband? No, perhaps not. He remembered her lack of self-confidence the first time he had met her. So meek, so childlike in so many ways. Now, here she was with a house of her own and a child. It was disturbing, in a way, but Evrard knew she was still the pure little girl he had taken under his wing at the opera house. "It's just my trust in them is still rather... not truly there, certain events not helping."

Evrard nodded in understanding. She had been hurt so much in her life. He wasn't even sure if she had living parents that she knew of. Poor child... He watched as she quickly wiped away a tear from her face. It made him uncomfortable, but he felt the need to be here for her. Cara was fragile. No matter how hard she tried to be strong - there was no doubt she had some strength in her - she was still a frail little girl. A young woman. Single, with an infant to care for. She needed the distraction of the opera stage now more than ever.

"Now I said that you should came and have some tea, would you like a cup or would you like me to fix you a plate of what I have cooked up for lunch?"

Evrard smiled at her sudden change of subject. Perhaps it was for the best that they stopped talking business - for now at least. He still needed to give her information about the tutor and the scheduled days for her lessons. They would progress in small steps. "Lunch sounds wonderful, Cara. Thank you." He straightened in his seat and rested an arm on the table, laying his other hand on his knee. Silently, he let her do her work for a minute, content with simply watching her. It felt so mundane, so simple. She had been catapulted from the stage into a middle class(?), French position. A housewife. Was she happy? "So Cara, how have you been busying yourself lately - aside from taking care of Skyla, of course." He glanced over at the sleeping child, then back up to Cara. A single mother. A young single mother. What a life. What a chore.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

In so many ways Cara was still a little girl, the same little girl that Evrard had first meet when she had returned to Paris. Nothing but a shadow lingering in the side lines of the Opera House, in other ways she was more grown up then anyone realized, even herself.

As Evrard talked to her she knew there were questions her patron wanted to ask, some she wanted to stay away from but she hadn’t ran away from anything in a long time and with the subjects that needed to be faced sooner or later she'd have to stop running all together.

When Evrard had said he would be there for her first lesson with the new teacher she was more than happy. Her trust in men was very little, though she tried to smile through things and though she hadn't told Mark she had woken up at night, nightmares filling her head of both Dementis and the priest’s son.

She saw the nod that come from his head making Cara wonder if he had once again checked up on her when they hadn't seen each other first hand. If he knew the truth, all of it would he still nod or once again tell her she had made a mistake?

Wanting to change the subjects at hand and take her mind of things she asked Evrard if he now wanted to eat or wait til later.

"Lunch sounds wonderful, Cara. Thank you."

With a slight nod of her head she set about putting things on plates and filling cups, glancing over at her small child still sleeping.

"So Cara, how have you been busying yourself lately - aside from taking care of Skyla, of course."

Turning back to the table she set the food down and pushed a cup over to Evrard before taking up her own and taking a sip.

"I have been trying to keep up with my training and for a time I was learning self defence. I've been drawing more and meeting new people but Skyla takes up most of my time, not that I'd have it any other way."

She stopped there, a small sigh passing over her lips.

"Resting, trying to heal. Evrard, did you know that I was attacked, do you still feel like I've made a mistake, do you think.... do you think that if Mark doesn't come back I can do this?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

It was somehow surreal, this little meeting with Cara. How long had it been since he had last seen her? And here they were, eating lunch, conversing, smiling, crying (on her part). It all seemed so unexpectedly mundane. Of course, there had been a few rough patches in their conversation - when talking about that unfit husband of hers, for starters. Evrard could remember some months ago - over a year ago, actually - when Cara had come to him in that small cafe, telling him about this Mark character. It had been a frustrating meeting, he remembered. Now, with the husband seemingly missing and Cara stuck at home with a child to take care of alone, Evrard could not help thinking "I told you. I warned you." Cara had never been an overly enthusiastic individual. It seemed, with the amount of tragedy that had occured in her life, it was difficult to be very enthusiastic or optimistic about anything. However, she seemed unhappier than usually right now. She did not hide it very well. Evrard wasn't even sure if she truly tried to hide her unhappiness.

The smell of food hung in the air, pulling Evrard from his pensive mood. Cara set two plates of lunch on the table and pushed a cup over to him before taking up her own. He nodded in thanks and gladly began eating. He wasn't particularly hungry, having eaten about an hour before arriving here, but he wasn't going to pass on having lunch with Cara. "I have been trying to keep up with my training and for a time I was learning self defence. I've been drawing more and meeting new people but Skyla takes up most of my time, not that I'd have it any other way." Self defense? Evrard pictured Cara learning how to protect herself. It was an odd, but encouraging image. She always seemed so petite and fragile in Evrard's eyes. It was difficult to imagine her endeavoring to learn self defense. However, it was good. If she could properly defend herself, Evrard's mind would be set just a little more at ease.

Cara sighed then, making Evrard look over at her, a wondering curiosity in his eyes. More evidence of her unhappiness. "Resting, trying to heal. Evrard, did you know that I was attacked, do you still feel like I've made a mistake, do you think.... do you think that if Mark doesn't come back I can do this?" Attacked? Evrard straightened and finished chewing a piece of his food. She had been attacked? His jaw clenched and he drew in a short, heavy breath. He knew he should have contacted her sooner and more often. He should have. How irresponsible he had been with Cara. He should have known this the moment it had happened. Details. Information. He needed to know what had happened.

And as for Mark... Evrard would do all he could to help her live with that husband of hers. "Cara," his voice was soft, but firm, filled with conviction. He held back on inquiring about the attack. "I am convinced that you will be able to cope. I promise to help you. I have promised to help you. Any mistakes that happened have already happened. The only thing you can do is move on, Cara. And I will help you." He looked down at his plate, knitting his eyebrows before looking back up at her young, yet tired face. "Now, about this attack," he spoke as calmly as he could, with a serious undercurrent in his voice, "Cara, what happened?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

To see her friend and second father again was a delight but to dance upon the subjects that needed to be danced upon was quite another, luckily for both of them they had food and a young child to come between them if anything hurtful started to raise its head.

Having asked her Patron if he'd like to eat now or later she placed food and drink around them making sure to note the time as she did so and when Skyla would need her next feeding. He had asked her how she was doing and what she was up to which was both easy and hard to talk about.

To begin with she spoke of her training in both dance and song, then about the teaching's that Calvin had started her with which now had seemed to die away along with he himself. Having glanced at him she saw the look about his face as she spoke these words no doubt thinking as Calvin had that she was weak and needed protecting.

It was having said the good that now lead into the bad. She spoke of healing and questioned if he knew she had been attacked which he didn't seem to with the shock that overtook his face, it was then another shock past her lips that the one they had always danced around. Mark, her husband and Skyla's father, if he didn't return which had always been a back thought... would she cope? Could anyone see her doing it alone?

"Cara," he spoke her name softly but with that all around firmness that was Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin. "I am convinced that you will be able to cope. I promise to help you. I have promised to help you. Any mistakes that happened have already happened. The only thing you can do is move on, Cara. And I will help you."

A small half smile graced her lips and for a moment she wanted to wrap her arms around her patron and never let go but somehow she reframed instead merely whispering a thankyou before his face changed.

"Now, about this attack,"

Her hand went to her shoulder.

"Cara, what happened?"

Closing her eyes for a moment Cara took a few deep breathes and started.

"Mark and I were walking in the alleyways of the dark side of town, I had asked him to show me more of his world. I was afraid we were being followed but she brushed it aside as Mark said he'd protect me with his life and he couldn't see anything." She once again reframed from telling her patron that he had excellent sight and could fight like a thousand men put all together. "We were waiting the results to confirm our thoughts about me being with child and suddenly his cell phone went off."

Tears started to come to her eyes then but she went on remembering the betrayal she had felt that her own husband didn't trust her.

"The doctor made a mistake about when I conceived Skyla; he told Mark that I must have been in his home town when Mark wasn't with me. He flew into a rage and tried to kill me I only just got away. I ran as I fell to then be picked up by someone I thought was a friend but..."

Standing up she lifted the back of her top and showed her patron what was left of the attack.

"He put a knife in my back and after I had fallen he burned a metal heart and burned it into my shoulder and when I was out of it he must have done the star. I only lived thanks to one of our friends who found me and another doctor who patched me up."

Pulling her shirt back down she took her seat and a few more sips of her drink.

"Mark found the man and all put killed him. You see the man that did this to me is and was an old enemy of his Mark also thought he was Skyla's father. We only found out the truth that the first doctor had made a mistake when Mark come to say goodbye. I forgave him but these scares will always be a part of me."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard's fingers tensed around his knife against the table, bleeding the knuckles white. He should have heard of this before now. How could he have let himself lose contact with her for so long? Anger. Frustration. Two of the many reasons why he had distanced himself for a time. She had run off with that undesirable she called her "husband." Evrard had been angry about that. It was the sort of anger laced with something resembling remorse because he knew their union would end badly. As cynical as it may sound, there was no way it could end well - not in reality.

Evrard waited as patiently as he could and lessened his grip on the knife, instead bringing his hand up against his chin. "Mark and I were walking in the alleyways of the dark side of town, I had asked him to show me more of his world. I was afraid we were being followed but she brushed it aside as Mark said he'd protect me with his life and he couldn't see anything." Keywords alarmed him already: "Mark," "alleyways," "afraid." Evrard continued to listen silently and uncomfortably. "We were waiting the results to confirm our thoughts about me being with child and suddenly his cell phone went off." He visualized it in his mind's eye, albeit with a somewhat skewed point of view of course. A dull feeling of dread settled in him as he listened.

"The doctor made a mistake about when I conceived Skyla; he told Mark that I must have been in his home town when Mark wasn't with me. He flew into a rage and tried to kill me I only just got away. I ran as I fell to then be picked up by someone I thought was a friend but..." Evrard tried to keep up with her narrative, but focused too long on several details. The implications were atrocious. Not only was she indirectly telling him about her pregnancy, she was telling him about her infidelity. Evrard was not exactly a moral man, but to hear Cara... The rest of her words came into his mind and he shifted uneasily in his seat.

Cara suddenly stood and pulled away part of her shirt. Evrard's eyes widened, but he said nothing. A scar in the shape of a heart clung grossly to the once-unblemished flesh on her back. "He put a knife in my back and after I had fallen he burned a metal heart and burned it into my shoulder and when I was out of it he must have done the star. I only lived thanks to one of our friends who found me and another doctor who patched me up." At the first few words, Evrard clenched his jaw hard and swallowed. The image was painful, Cara being stabbed in back, her soft skin penetrated so violently and unjustly. She sat back down. The image of the crooked heart lingered in his mind for a few seconds more.

"Mark found the man and all put killed him. You see the man that did this to me is and was an old enemy of his Mark also thought he was Skyla's father. We only found out the truth that the first doctor had made a mistake when Mark come to say goodbye. I forgave him but these scares will always be a part of me." She forgave him? Cara... She was too gentle, too submissive. Evrard drew his brows together slightly. Even though Cara's name was cleared in the infidelity department, she was still too... she was too fragile. That was her only fault - her fragility.

Evrard sat in numbed silence for a long moment. He didn't know what to say. Apologize? But for what? It had not been his fault. And yet, somehow, this incident could have been prevented. If only he'd been more present in her life, she might have been dissuaded into venturing into that side of town. He drew in a breath. "Cara," he said breathily, "I- This will never happen again. If I can do anything about it, this will never happen again." His voice was hard and strained. He did not want to voice anymore of his opinions about Mark, who had posed a serious, prescient threat to Cara's whole being. It was for the best that the indigent was gone. "You realize that if there's anything you ever need - anything at all - you can ask me?" He was uncharacteristically determined to provide a better life for Cara, or at least a more stable foundation for her to live on. Cara was his responsibility.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

To reveal the story behind her scares it was one that always pulled on her heart but not for the reasons one would think. Her cut and burns had healed, Samson was a man who wouldn't be a threat for a long time if ever again and the nightmares had slowly dimmed, what had hurt her most was Mark not trusting her in the first place.

She replayed the story to her patron and as she came to this part she wondered if he thought she'd be one to cheat. Hadn't he been the one to say she was such an innocent, still a child? Something about his face told her he thought this was one subject she may not be so innocent about.

Even though it hurt she went on before standing up and showing the remains of that night. She heard the intake of breath saw the tightened jaw as she turned her head back over her shoulder before pulling her shirt back down and taking her seat.

Breathing deeply she went on this now the part that would no doubt really get to her patron. From behind long down cast lashes she watched his face as she told him she forgave her husband the only sign she saw of his outwards thinking was her Patron's eye brows knitting together.

Now at the end of her tale they sat in silence her because of the numb memories she was feeling, her fingertips playing over the burn and he well... one could only guess.

"Cara,"

Her head came up and looked into the eyes of the man across from her.

"I- This will never happen again. If I can do anything about it, this will never happen again."

Her head dropped but she nodded. He was kind, loving and caring no wonder she had seen him as a second father but... What would he say if she told him about the kidnapping just before Skyla was born? What would he say to the rape that Dementis had placed upon her at the mask?

"You realize that if there's anything you ever need - anything at all - you can ask me?"

"I thank you for that Evrard really but... It has all been my choice. I choose to stay with my husband and I know, I see it in your eyes if nothing more you believe he'll be the death of me."

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I was kidnapped before I gave birth I almost died then and Dementis raped me before that."

Why had she said those things, she didn't quite know maybe to prove a point or just tell someone she wasn't sure.

"All I need is..." she couldn't even say. "All I ever wanted after my mother died was love. To be able to love someone with all that I am, I.... I know I was asking for trouble when I married him, I know the dangers I await at his hands but think me the child that you do, I love him and love is worth fighting for, worth holding onto..."

Her voice trailed off and she looked down at her ring finally breaking apart.

"But he didn't trust me and now I don't know if he's coming back I don't think he wants me anymore."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Two years ago. Evrard could still remember the first time he had approached Cara, although the finer details had inevitably faded from his aging memory. He remembered watching her, hearing her, and finally presenting to her his business proposition. It had been a rather hasty proposition. However, he had been in search of a talent to invest his money in. Cara was simply the lucky girl. And Evrard... Had he been lucky? Had he made the right decision in picking out this young woman - this child? Well, she wasn't a child anymore - not legally, anyways. She was 18 now. So much had happened in that sliver of a time period of two years. Evrard couldn't say whether or not he regretted or rejoiced in having chosen Cara. These past two years had certainly been filled with a plethora of dilemmas, dangers, and dramatic events revolving around Cara. He had not been around for all of them, which he was at once thankful and sorry for. These more current developments, for example - Cara's attack. Evrard should have been there for her during her recovery, but his anger and disappointment had gotten in the way. This meeting was a way of making ammends.

Evrard breathed in slowly and deliberately, letting this alarming information sink in, allowing it to properly process in his mind. It was shocking how many times Cara had found herself near death. Absolutely shocking. He promised to be more present in her life. "I thank you for that Evrard really but... It has all been my choice. I choose to stay with my husband and I know, I see it in your eyes if nothing more you believe he'll be the death of me." That was correct. He found the frustration building up again, but he held it at bay for the time being. Was this not supposed to be a happy reunion? So far, it seemed to be layered with nothing but unfortunate news.

She was crying again. It always made him uncomfortable when she cried. He felt so helpless; he didn't know what to do. Reaching over to grab her hand felt somewhat inappropriate, but simply sitting in his seat in inaction seemed equally unacceptable. If only she'd stop crying... "I was kidnapped before I gave birth I almost died then and Dementis raped me before that."

Evrard tensed. What? His eyes hardened in concern and alarm. His back straightened. "I almost died... raped..." Qu'est-ce au nom de Dieu... What in the hell has happened? What was she still doing with this "husband" of hers? He was outlandishly abusive, volatile, absolutely unsuitable for Cara to be around. Why was she staying? Evrard only looked at her. Not knowing what to say. He then wanted to ask her to clarify, but she continued. "All I need is... All I ever wanted after my mother died was love. To be able to love someone with all that I am, I.... I know I was asking for trouble when I married him, I know the dangers I await at his hands but think me the child that you do, I love him and love is worth fighting for, worth holding onto..." Evrard's jaw twitched tighter and his hand drew closed against the table. This was insanity - absolute insanity. This was not love. This was desperation. Because she can not find "true love," she settles for someone - something completely unsuitable for her! Madness. It sounded more like Stockholm Syndrome than "love."

"But he didn't trust me and now I don't know if he's coming back I don't think he wants me anymore."

"I think it would be best for us all if he didn't return." Evrard had to say it. He had to be honest with her at this moment. It was too important to be overly prude about. He had needed to say it. "He is dangerous for you; he's dangerous for you health, Cara. Understand this. I know this isn't what you want to hear because you- because you think you love him," the subject of "love" was something he could be tactful and sensitive about, "but Mark isn't good for you." Evrard pronounced every word slowly and carefully. He needed the message to be as clear as crystal. "It would be a favor to you if he stayed away."

Evrard didn't talk to her angrily. He spoke to her seriously and as calmly as he could. He wanted to make it clear that he was not angry at her. Cara did not need to bear any more unwanted guilt.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Was it wrong of her to tell her Parton everything that had happened in her life since she had seen him last? She didn't think so, after all he was putting his money into her and he had more of less been there for her since the start. She remembered 2 years ago when she had gotten the news of her mother’s death, though he hadn't been the one to find her Evrard had been looking for her, he had stayed with her when no one else did and his wisdom was always sort after though really taken.

As they talked Evrard once again told her he'd watch over her, the thoughts of him being a second father once again returning. She had never thought of her steep father until she thought of Evrard. Her mother had remarried again but for Cara she had never gotten to truly know the man and though she had been kind and welcoming he had never called to her heart.

Revealing more and more about the years past Cara couldn't help but see the tightness of her friend’s jaw, the white of his knuckles it seemed he was no longer trying to hide it even when she said it had all been her choice. She knew what he was thinking, what he had been thinking and no doubt always would and she voiced it once again Mark Blaze would be the death of her, in Evrard's mind that was already set in stone.

Jumping onto the subject at hand Cara once again told Evrard how much she loved her husband, how much she cared about him but somehow she could see it falling on deaf ears. Love was something that she and Evrard had different view points on back then and maybe more so now. Dementis scared her, he was the one trying to kill her, Mark had only tried to kill her once but Evrard wouldn't hear that.

Now, now it came down to one thing. It all wouldn't matter unless her husband return, if he even wanted to.

"I think it would be best for us all if he didn't return." Came Evard's sharp tone. "He is dangerous for you; he's dangerous for you health, Cara. Understand this. I know this isn't what you want to hear because you- because you think you love him,"

At the word 'think' Cara's gaze came up. After all this time could it still be that Evrard thought she was someone blackmailed into staying? That her feelings were nothing but lies? It pained her to hear it.

"but Mark isn't good for you."

Every word was slow and drawn out as if he believed himself talking to a child.

"It would be a favour to you if he stayed away."

"I know you're trying to protect me, you always have and I value that but you are wrong about one very important thing. I don't think I love Mark I know I do I told you long along that I thought I loved Eric but I didn't it was a crush I do know the difference and I wouldn't marry just anyone. I know people think I may have rushed into it after all he asked me to marry him the first date we had but..."

She needed to make her Patron understand, she needed him to why she wasn't quite sure but still...

"He understands me better than anyone I've ever met; he believes in me and is always there to lead a hand... up until now at least. He never means to harm me and he hates himself when he does. The only time Mark has ever tried to kill me was when he thought the baby wasn't his all the other times."

No it was pointless going that way, Evrard still didn't believe in Dementis had he no doubt wouldn't until he saw it first hand and maybe not even then.

"I pray he does come back because the truth is I can't sleep without him, I don't want to eat and all I think about is him."

Her gaze turned hard then and she forced the tears to stop.

"Besides I can't go back to the way I was living before and who else would ever love a girl with a child, scares and a head that could easily once again take her life?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard was doing his best to maintain a sense of calm about him, but he found that he was failing. The restraint was slowly and agonizingly slipping from his fingers. This whole ordeal about Cara and her husband always frustrated Evrard. He couldn't see how it made any sense. Here was Cara, a girl just barely an adult - barely - and she already had a child in an abusive and frightening relationship. How could she stand it all? How could she subject herself to this amount of danger? And the worst part of it was that she was not ignorant. No, she knew what she had gotten herself into and yet she still entered into this- this "partnership." He could see the exasperation in her sad eyes and he hoped she could see his own. He wanted her to know how frustrated and angered he was by this.

"I know you're trying to protect me, you always have and I value that but you are wrong about one very important thing. I don't think I love Mark I know I do I told you long along that I thought I loved Eric but I didn't it was a crush I do know the difference and I wouldn't marry just anyone. I know people think I may have rushed into it after all he asked me to marry him the first date we had but..." Evrard grit his teeth. Eric... He searched his memory for this "Eric." A hint of a memory came up. Cara, the accident, the hospital... the close call... He breathed in and slowly breathed out as he suppressed this particularly poignant memory. Eric had left as Cara had laid dying on that hospital bed. Evrard barely knew the young man and he was glad that the weak-hearted deserter had left.

"He understands me better than anyone I've ever met; he believes in me and is always there to lead a hand... up until now at least. He never means to harm me and he hates himself when he does. The only time Mark has ever tried to kill me was when he thought the baby wasn't his all the other times." Evrard couldn't hold back a small scoff. Only once... but otherwise, it's okay. Does she realize how nonsensical she sounded? It was absolute masochistic tomfoolery. "I pray he does come back because the truth is I can't sleep without him, I don't want to eat and all I think about is him." What sort of spell did her husband have over her? Fear? He probably threatened her more than once, putting her life in danger numerous times. Evrard was in disbelief over Cara's assertions. She was like a misguided, lovestruck little girl in something beyond her capabilities of handling.

"Besides I can't go back to the way I was living before and who else would ever love a girl with a child, scares and a head that could easily once again take her life?" So was she only staying with this man because there is no one else? Mark was nothing more than a last resort, then. This, however disturbing, was somewhat comforting. She was trapped, not here of her own free will - if he was understanding her correctly.

"I will say this again and I will say it as many times as I have to: he is not good for you. Don't think you have to stay with him. He will eventually kill you, Cara." His voice rose and was sharp and stern, but he was not shouting at her. He still contained some of his anger, though not much of it. "And you expect me to stand by and let this happen? You want me to believe it's all right that your husband causes you more harm than good and you want me to do nothing about it? I'll take you away, Cara. I can provide for you - you know I can." He had unconsciously leaned forward and was making gestures with his hands out of frustration. He swallowed and finally slowly leaned back in his chair, letting out a low breath. His eyes fell down to his hands on the table. "What is it that you want me to say, hm, Cara? Did you expect me to finally approve of you husband?" He clenched his teeth and swallowed. His eyes finally rose up to hers again, tired of this whole ordeal. "I'm sorry for all of this, Cara. I know you wanted this to be a happy reunion. I'm sorry for doing this to you." His voice had softened and so had his gaze. "I'll drop it now, if you'd like."

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

The more they talked about it the more worked up they both became. Trying to put herself into her friends shoes she knew were his thoughts and point of views were coming from but why couldn't anyone see hers?

Calvin had thought she was crazy to stay with Mark she remembered fighting him on every front she knew how until they too had made a deal. She didn't know if Calvin truly had come round but she did think he saw beyond the surface of the man she had married. The members of the Opera House... she had heard their whispers and even the priest on her wedding day... Easy, Mark's best friend she remembered him telling her he thought it was a mistake she knew she was half blind but could they all be right? It was a thought she couldn't help but think about even as she went on once again to defend her choices and her husband.

She knew she sounded like a broken record but finally she voiced something that pulled at her heart, had done since the beginning and now she finally voiced it. Though Eric had never truly given her the hint of loving her there had been others. Polaris had been the first man she had kissed, the first man who had told her she was beautiful but when she had fainted she had never heard from him again, then there was Vicktorio the way he looked at her had sent shivers up and down her spin. She remembered the look on his face when she had told him she was married, he seemed... hurt?... by this but she got the feeling it hadn't put him off and where was he now? The same place the dancer had kidnapped her was, nowhere to be found.

"I will say this again and I will say it as many times as I have to: he is not good for you. Don't think you have to stay with him. He will eventually kill you, Cara."

Evrard's strong voice brought her back to the here and now her face cringing at the four letter word that rang out to both of them. She had felt it at time, knew Dementis still wanted to but could Mark really kill her? Her eyes glanced over to her small child.

"And you expect me to stand by and let this happen? You want me to believe it's all right that your husband causes you more harm than good and you want me to do nothing about it? I'll take you away, Cara. I can provide for you - you know I can."

As he leaned forward Cara's gaze quickly returned to him. Yes she knew he could help her, pay her way but she hated her parents doing that, hated Mark, her husband when everything should be halved doing that she wouldn't be able to live with herself even if she was dancing and singing more in return.

"What is it that you want me to say, hm, Cara? Did you expect me to finally approve of your husband?"

For a long time they seemed to hold each other’s gaze and slowly Cara shock her head. Evrard would never come round; she'd have to face that.

"I'm sorry for all of this, Cara. I know you wanted this to be a happy reunion. I'm sorry for doing this to you. I'll drop it now, if you'd like."

"I'm sorry to" she spoke at last "but I guess that unless he comes back there's no point in even talking about it."

She tried to think of something to change the subject to anything but her mind was suddenly blank. Luckily though there was something that court her eye, the program for the next ballet she would be in.

"I take it you'll be coming to the show?" she asked softly "I've been trying to practice here at home but I never seem to get very far."

Dark eyes come up to her Patron's ones and a sigh passed over her lips.

"Maybe I need some more time away, maybe I should return home, I need to go home anyway but... I just haven't wanted to do it alone and.... I didn't know how you'd feel given all the time off I've had already."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

"I'm sorry to but I guess that unless he comes back there's no point in even talking about it." Evrard wanted to say nothing more about Cara's "husband." He was right, but she just wouldn't listen. What was it that was so alluring about an abusive relationship? Was Cara drawn to near death experiences? Did that make her feel better or give her a rush - or what? Evrard had no idea. She was legally an adult, but in too many ways she was still a young girl. And he had little to no experience with the psyche of little girls. Whatever went on their small, flighty heads, he could only conjecture. Most of the time, he felt he was far off the mark. Their minds weren't fully developed yet, so their logic and reasoning skills are null. What was it - a female didn't reach full maturity until her early twenties? Cara still had a ways to go yet.

"I take it you'll be coming to the show?" Evrard raised his brow in interest and smiled. His posture changed completely from a brooding position to a position of full, brightened attention. He wondered for a moment what it was she was talking about. He searched his mind. "I've been trying to practice here at home but I never seem to get very far." He listened silently and thoughtfully. She needed to physically bring herself back to the opera house. Everything would fall back into place. She'd easily slide back into her regular practicing and performing routine. It was just a matter of time.

Ah yes, the upcoming ballet. He hadn't been planning on attending, but considering the fact that Cara was in a fragile state of mind now - more fragile than usual - he would probably make an effort to go. She needed his support now more than ever with her husband gone and her juggling dancing and singing and taking care of the baby. What a difficult situation. How had she gotten herself in so deep? It was madness. Evrard would never let anything escalate to this level. He'd cut the fuse before the bomb could get a chance to fire off. "Maybe I need some more time away, maybe I should return home, I need to go home anyway but... I just haven't wanted to do it alone and.... I didn't know how you'd feel given all the time off I've had already."

"Cara," he spoke softly and put as much care as he could muster into his voice. "I know this transition is difficult, but I assure you that everything will return to normal once you settle back in at the opera house. Patience. It will take a little time, but before long, you'll fall back into the rhythm of dancing and singing again." Evrard spoke with a confident smile and looked at her with a carefully gentle gaze. "I am coming to see the ballet. Of course I'm going. I am anxious to see you lighting up the stage again." He said this with the greatest smile of all. That was not a complete lie, but he used enough exaggeration - and it was only a little bit - to try to make her at ease again. They needed to depart from the high, emotionally charged atmosphere that had been suffocating the air between them only a few minutes ago.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Here it was, meant to be a happy get together and it had so far been almost anything but.

Yes she was happy to see her patron again but somehow they had landed on the one subject that got to them both and now trying to dance around it to get over it... well it was proving a little harder than one would have thought. Still, with one very sad thought Cara landed on the idea that unless Mark came back Evrard and herself would no longer have this ever present debate over their heads.

Cara could only think of one safe subject to jump to and that was her dancing and singing. It was, after all, why Evrard was in her life in the first place and therefore her upcoming stage appearance should be brought up along with her thoughts of taking more time off.

"Cara," the way he said it almost made it sound like it would brake and his gaze seemed so soft it almost made her turn away. "I know this transition is difficult, but I assure you that everything will return to normal once you settle back in at the opera house. Patience. It will take a little time, but before long, you'll fall back into the rhythm of dancing and singing again."

She forced a tiny smile to come to her lips but inwardly she was having a hard time believing him.

"I am coming to see the ballet. Of course I'm going. I am anxious to see you lighting up the stage again."

"I don't know about that. I am hardly were I was when you meat me, like I said I hardly sleep or eat and dancing and singing is the last thing I feel like doing."

Looking up she looked into her friends eyes and blinked back her tears not wanting to cry again.

"People are talking; they've always talked but now... Now its worse I feel like I have no one left and no one would care or miss me if I left. I thought returning to Paris was a good thing" She glanced over at her small child then "But since I've returned everything seems to be going wrong."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard searched her eyes. What was he looking for? Happiness? There seemed to be a severe deficiency of happiness in those watery brown orbs. Reluctance? There was plenty of that in plain sight. Cara was reluctant about many things, it seemed. She was reluctant to return to the stage. She was reluctant to move on. She was reluctant... She still believed she was right in marrying Mark. Cara was adamant. She was small and she was frail, but she was adamant, if nothing else. Her strength wasn't physical, it was moral. Even that, Evrard questioned. Her heart was in the right place, but it was sourly misguided. It had led her into this estranged, destructive marriage. Danger was a motif in her life, it seemed. She was surrounded by it - or rather, she surrounded herself by it.

"I don't know about that. I am hardly were I was when you meat me, like I said I hardly sleep or eat and dancing and singing is the last thing I feel like doing." Evrard subtly clenched his jaw, slowly and barely gritting his teeth. Cara was self-destructive. He pitied her, but he was also angered by her. How could she do this to herself? How little did she really think of herself? She was riding a path toward premature death. He didn't know how he would handle it if she died. He tried not to think about it and instead focused on her sad, mellow eyes again.

"People are talking; they've always talked but now... Now its worse I feel like I have no one left and no one would care or miss me if I left. I thought returning to Paris was a good thing But since I've returned everything seems to be going wrong." Evrard continued to subtly grit his teeth, breathing in slowly and letting out a deep sigh. He gave his teeth a rest. He couldn't stand much more of her self-deprecating attitude. He knew that it would be difficult to see the positive points in her life, but it frustrated him to think that Cara had given up completely on her life. She was like an undead walker, a mere shell of a human being. She was only 18, for Christ's sake. She shouldn't be entrapped in this remote house, more prison than home. She should be out there doing whatever it was 18 year olds did. Evrard had certainly lived his own youth to the fullest - without making himself look like too big an ass.

His eyes had drifted down toward the table. An idea slowly crept into his mind. He pressed his lips together before looking back up at Cara, who seemed on the verge of tears again. Don't cry. Please. For my sake, don't cry.

"Cara, what do you like to do?" He said abruptly, with a hint of brightness. "For fun. What do you like to do for fun? You don't feel like singing and dancing, so what would make you happy? Something realistic, of course. There must be something. Tell me." It came out as more of a command than a suggestion, but Evrard was almost beyond the point of caring about his tone. What he wanted was to make Cara happy right now. He needed her back in good health so that she could return to the stage. Plus, having her healthy and - most importantly - happy would help the uneasy feeling he had everytime he looked at her. The uneasy feeling of anger, frustration, and pity, mixed with possibly caring feelings... He needed to see her with a smile on her face again - a permanent smile, not one of those forced, fleeting smiles she so often showed him.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

What could she say but that she felt like she was letting him down? Ever since Mark had left Cara had felt like she was losing herself little by little that the girl Evrard had met two years ago was long gone and in a certain way... she was.

Back then she had been full of life and love ready to jump back into the dancing and singing world in which she had left behind after her fathers death. She'd had no one to worry about then save her mother and after she had died well... she had turly had no one.

Now as she sat across the table from her friend she inwardly thought she had been better off back then. No one to care about or leave her, no one that held her heart and able to rip it out at any moment. If something went wrong in her life she only had herself to blame. Now, now she had a child and a husband though one was more certain then the other, she had a demon in her life more real then those on TV or in nightmeres and her heart... it just wasn't as open as it used to be.

She saw the look on her patron's face thinking that he to would soon give up on her, not that she'd blame him the look in his eyes telling her he had either given up or was tired of hearing her troubles no doubt both.

"Cara, what do you like to do?"

The words seemed to come start out of the blue that Cara had to blink a few times as she replayed them.

"For fun. What do you like to do for fun? You don't feel like singing and dancing, so what would make you happy? Something realistic, of course. There must be something. Tell me."

"I..."

His words seemed to come as a command taking her off gaurd, why did he want to know?

"Back home I used to skate on the frozen ice but what I truly loved to do was ride my horse. I just felt so free and that nothing could worry my but... I haven't done that in years. I couldn't afford food for a horse let alone the money needed just to ride for a few hours."

She stopped there a deep sigh falling from her lips.

"Why? There isn't a lake or a stable around here so it's not like I could do those things anyway I mean I'd have to get my own horse and ride it here bu like I said I don't have the money and I wouldn't dream of asking Mark."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

"I..." Evrard smiled at her hesitance and confusion. Yes, his question had come out of thin air, a non-sequitur in relation to what they had been previously talking about. In fact, it was not completely random. In his mind, it flowed easily from their conversation to his question. She was telling him how unhappy she was. He was asking her how he could make her happy. As simple as simplicity itself. There was nothing more to his question than that. Well, he wanted to make her happy, but more specifically, he wanted to make her happy to motivate her. Her performance had fallen from the last time she had been on stage. The new tutor he had called upon would help her, but the tutor would only be able to do so much. Cara had to give her whole self into her work. She couldn't be distracted by everything that was happening: her missing husband, her infant child, her fluctuating health... Evrard was going to help her get her mind off these issues.

"Back home I used to skate on the frozen ice but what I truly loved to do was ride my horse. I just felt so free and that nothing could worry my but... I haven't done that in years. I couldn't afford food for a horse let alone the money needed just to ride for a few hours." Evrard's eyes twinkled with the ideas she was giving him. "Why? There isn't a lake or a stable around here so it's not like I could do those things anyway I mean I'd have to get my own horse and ride it here bu like I said I don't have the money and I wouldn't dream of asking Mark."

He maintained his smile and leaned back in his chair, content with her answer. All of those things were manageable. He knew of an ice-skating venue downtown that would be perfect. With a little bit of money, he could close it completely for an hour and give her free reign to skate at her leisure. A stable... He could easily look up where he could rent horses. Or perhaps, as an incentive, he could give one to her as a gift... But he was getting ahead of himself with these thoughts.

"Do not depend on Mark anymore, Cara. Focus. I am here for you, Cara. You must know that. Remember that." He erased the irritability in his voice and instead replaced it with amiability. "Besides, what you mentioned could be easily found out and arranged. Anyways..." It would be a surprise, then. He could set something up as a surprise for her... later, though. Not now. Here was the non-sequitur. "So tell me about Skyla." Evrard looked over at the small child's pen where the baby lay. "Tell me about motherhood, what it's like to have a child. You know you are the closest I've ever come to having a daughter." He said this with unhidden warmth. Yes, he did see Cara as a daughter of sorts, although he was not as present as he could be. If he had been more in touch with her, so many incidents could have been avoided - her most recent near-death experience, for one. But those thoughts were better left at the back of his mind. He instead focused on Cara now, trying to think in a more positive light.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

What could she say but that he had taken her by surprise when he had asked her what she liked to do for fun. She would have thought he'd known the answer to that for after all singing and dancing had become her whole way of life, besides he had never truly asked her about her life outside of the Opera House and what she herself brought up AKA Mark, the issues, drama ect that he brought with him.

With shock, wonder and trying to think Cara's stummbled over an answer and seeing her Patron grin didn't help. She had somehow come to know that slight twinkle in his eyes and that grin, it often ment he was up to something but she'd never know what until it was revealed and so giving up and being more collected she told him about home.

Back home she'd skate on the lake outside her house and with the few friends that she had when she wasn't inside curled up in front of a fire reading or of course outside with her horse. Just thinking about her horse brought back wonderful memories along with a sad one of when she had, had to say goodbye to her beloved friend but she had learnt to brush that memory aside and focuse on all the fun they had, had together.

Her words seemed to draw Evrard to a relaxed state, he seeming just to stop his chair from falling over as he leaned far back.

"Do not depend on Mark anymore, Cara. Focus. I am here for you, Cara. You must know that. Remember that."

A tiny sigh passed over her lips though she nodded. She couldn't get her husband out of her mind no matter how hard she tried, he was the other half of her heart and though she knew Evrard would always be there she couldn't brush Mark aside.

"Besides, what you mentioned could be easily found out and arranged. Anyways..."

The single ending word made her look at him in question the 's' at the end so unlike his proud and well spoken self and before she could even think of questioning him about it he skillfully changed the subject.

"So tell me about Skyla."

Two sets of eyes fell to the young child.

"Tell me about motherhood, what it's like to have a child. You know you are the closest I've ever come to having a daughter."

She couldn't help but smile here, so long ago she had told the man she had seen him as a secound father but he had never said anything of the sort.

"It's wonderful" she answered simply. "It's like having my own little bit of sun shine. Skyla makes me happy and laugh and always seems to know just what I need. Of course it is hard and has become harder since..."

Thinking there was no need to say the rest of that thought she went on.

"But I wouldn't change it for the world not even to hide the scares that come with having her."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

His foot fell on the pedal like lead. Don't do anything drastic... Stay level. Remain logical. That advice wasn't only for himself. It was for Cara, as well. When he had gotten her call, his mind had switched into alertness and alarm. Time altered. It was slow. It was fast. It did not exist? The street lamps ran past the car windows. He found himself speeding vicariously between, around, and through lanes. The car's engine growled with fiery undertones as Evrard made his way to Cara's home.

Cara. Cara. What are you planning?

From what he heard from her, she wasn't planning anything. She had sounded distraught and nonsensical. It had been difficult making sense of her words. She had not been blubbering or stuttering. She had had no speech impediment that prevented him from understanding her. For some reason, Evrard had had trouble understanding her words anyway. They didn't make sense to him. As he tried to run through their terse conversation in his mind, he tried to reword it, to translate it into something coherent to him. The "other one" inside her? Evrard couldn't think the word clearly until this moment, when his mind had settled - only somewhat, however - from the initial shock. Pregnant. Cara was once again pregnant. And by that man she called her husband.

Evrard pulled into the driveway too quickly and he swiftly slipped from his driver's seat, slamming the door. He bounded toward the door, almost knocking before he remembered her request.

"Cara!" He shouted. "Cara, it's Evrard. Let me inside, please!" He needed to get to the bottom of this - now.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Cara was scared, more scared then she had ever been the source of her fear only a distant memory but still playing before her eyes over and over again. She had been looking in the mirror trying to hide her latest scare but she couldn't get past the change in her eyes. They were lighter and yet so much darker.

In fear she had called for help, trying to think of a plan anything that would make her feel safe again. It wasn't that Mark didn't make her fell safe but all she could see when she looked at him was the memory of her letting him down.

She had called for Evrard remembering his offer for help. Her words rushed as he picked up the phone and she started to stumble over her latest drama. It was only after she had gotten him to promise he'd came right away that she thought twice about it.

"Cara!"

She jumped panic starting to entwine within her soul once again at the loud cry of her name.

"Cara, it's Evrard. Let me inside, please!"

To believe the voice or not? The one in her head told her not to and for a time she simply stood there before forcing herself to move. She had called him, she needed help, she needed to get away before everything came to a sudden end.

Slowly, carefully she made her way to the door, her eye going to the spy hole and looking out. Sure enough Evrard was there and with a hand she couldn't really control Cara opened the door.

"E..e.. Evrard?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

His breathing was surprisingly calm. It was unsynchronized with the pace of his mind. Questions muddled themselves together, demanding answers. Evrard stood uneasily outside, keeping himself steady to the best of his ability. Each moment the door remained closed, Evrard grew more and more restless. Where was she? Had she left? He glanced at the driveway, but knew it was useless to check for a car. Cara didn't drive. Now that he thought of it, he wouldn't know what kind of car they had anyway - if they even had one.

Evrard's fingers clenched against his palm as he almost tried to look through the door. He needed to know where Cara was. He needed to know how she was. He needed to know that she was safe.

There was movement inside. Evrard stood upright and breathed in with relief. Cara, open the door now... please... As if she heard him - he was on the edge of hallucination - the door opened. She was there in one piece - whole and untouched. Untouched, as far as he knew. His face brightened at the sight of her seemingly unharmed, standing before him. But he could not help retaining a concerned, alarmed look.

"E..e.. Evrard?"

"Cara," he stepped forward quickly and held her upper arms, resisting the urge to grab her to him. "Are you all right? I came here as soon as I set down the phone." He looked in her eyes searchingly, as if the answers lay in those trembling brown orbs. What secrets and explanations lay in those eyes? "Please, you have to explain this to me now."

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Fear, there was so much fear it still lay itself inside her as if a snake ready to take it's long Winter nap and to none would it awaken so it could move on though, in deepest heart it was ready to strike believing it's deadly blow.

Not even when Cara opened the door with shaky hand and breath did the fear subside. Not even when Evrard held her by her upper arm making her cringe slightly at the left over pain.

"Cara,"

He had breathed with gentle touch should have warmed her but didn't.

"Are you all right? I came here as soon as I set down the phone."

Her inner heart asked herself how he could even ask that question. Her eyes, even as he looked down into them were changing. Couldn't he not see the brown fading even in her blind eye? Or was she mistaken in her thinking that she was the one half blind?

"Please, you have to explain this to me now."

He had said that before, when she had called the words may have been different but her reply wasn't.

"I don't know if I can."

She stood there holding back the tears, her skin as white as ever save for one place.

The mark she had hidden, the one that she was sure Evrard was looking for it now bleed through. Cara didn't even know if Mark knew about her latest scare, the one matching his own, the one that had almost cost her to loose her heart.

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

"I don't know if I can."

To hell with the crypticness. Cara had called him - for help, out of fear. She had explained nothing, so he leapt into his car and weaved his way through Paris to get here. And what did he find? Cara. She was alive - at least she was alive. But was she well? No. She didn't seem physically impaired at first glance, but he couldn't be sure. What if she was hiding from him? Evrard couldn't help wondering if Cara was still protecting Mark's character. Unbelievable.

Evrard strove to remain calm, but he was finding it more difficult with each passing second, especially since Cara didn't seem in the right state of mind to tell him anything.

"Inside," he didn't ask her permission. He only knew that he needed to take charge. Evrard firmly ushered her into the next room. "Sit." He tried not to be angry and he hoped Cara wouldn't be taken aback by his terseness, but she had called him for help - either physical, emotional, or both. Now, for him to help her, she needed to help him. She needed to give him information. A doctor can't prescribe an accurate diagnosis without knowing the symptoms.

Evrard led her to sit on the couch and he took a seat beside her. Remember, Evrard, be gentle. It was difficult under his current stressed state, but he would try. He would try for Cara. "All right, Cara," he spoke slowly and deliberately. He tilted his face down and looked straight at her eyes. They looked tired, but frighteningly alert, as if she were afraid to close her eyes. There was so much she needed to explain to him, such as the mention of pregnancy. Had she said she was pregnant? Not explicitly, but she had implied it. Or was his hearing and memory playing tricks on him? He couldn't be sure. His mind was in a flurry and he struggled to keep his thoughts straight.

"Focus. I need you to focus. Take your time, but you need to tell me what is wrong. And..." No, he would wait to ask about her pregnancy in a moment. There was no use in bombarding her with questions. It would only be counterproductive. "What is wrong?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

That which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger but that was only after you got throw the simpering mess that came after the 'that which' and just because you weren't dead in the manner in which most thought of the word, there were other ways to die.

When Evrard told her to explain herself Cara had no better idea how to then when she had called. She had run everything through her mind and had almost worked herself up into a state like she had been when Mark left which lead her to answer him the same way she had done so before.

It was an answer that Evrard clearly didn't like or would accept, a matter made clear with one simple word and action.

"Inside,"

Though his manner was gentle she could feel the force behind it as he lead her through the house and into the sitting room.

"Sit."

She did just as she was told felling like she would have fallen down if she hadn't. Her body hadn't stopped shaking since Mark had helped her escape their latest trial nor had the cut over her heart stopped bleeding.

"All right, Cara,"

Her head come up to meet his downward gaze, their eyes meeting for he looked straight into them. Could he see how red they had become, or would he think that it was all because of the tears she shed?

"Focus. I need you to focus. Take your time, but you need to tell me what is wrong. And..."

He left the thought unspoken making Cara wonder what it was he would have said. In the years she had known her patron she had never truly known him to hold his tongue.

"What is wrong?"

Taking a deep breath Cara closed her eyes. Maybe it would be easier if she said it like she was once again trying to explain things to herself... it was worth a try.

"I need to go back. I need to go home. I need to get out of Paris, I can't.... I can't keep doing this."

It was here that her hand went to her heart the blood truly starting to come through.

"I don't suppose you know about the latest kidnapping, do you?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard could practically feel his blood pressure rising. The thumping in his chest was heavy and deep, making it slightly difficult to maintain control of the situation - his temper, specifically. He needed to be patient, but that would only work to a certain extent. Cara had called him in the middle of the night - that indicated an emergency. Cara rarely called him and never had she called him in this state. On the phone, he had never heard that sort of fear in her voice before. Yes, he had been with her in times when she was ill or dying or recovering. A sort of fear was in each situation, but this - this was different. This had a far more ghastly feel. It was difficult to pinpoint. Cara needed to explain. Now.

"I need to go back. I need to go home. I need to get out of Paris, I can't.... I can't keep doing this." Home? What is she- was she talking about Russia? What- Why was she suddenly wanting to go "home?" Something had happened. It was Mark, wasn't it? It had to be. The man was dangerous. He was overpowering, demented, and- and what did Cara see in him? Evrard would never know. Cara needed to elaborate, although Evrard was sure this had to do with Mark. Where was he anyway. Cara was beating around the bush. Well, at least she was coherent and not bluthering like mad. Evrard looked at her intensely and earnestly, trying to catch each flicker and flinch of emotion in her smooth, distressed face. She looked so young, yet there was something dark and old surrounding her eyes and mouth. Evrard blinked. It was probably just the shadows and the lighting.

"I don't suppose you know about the latest kidnapping, do you?"

"What?" Evrard shot up and didn't care about restraining the anger and shock in his voice. "Kidnapping? Cara, what are you talking about? Tell me- and "latest" kidnapping? So this has happened before?" Evrard got up and shut his eyes, pushing his palm against his forehead. He dug his fingers through his hair and clenched his teeth. His other hand clenched into his side as he tried to process her words. Kidnapping? It was Mark. There was no doubt about it. The animal- what had he done to her this time? Evrard barely bothered to calm himself.

"You need to tell me everything. Now, Cara Andovea. Did- " He stopped abruptly, his mouth still open. His eyes flickered down to her shirt. Before, he had thought it a trick of the light, the way the moon and the lamp worked together to create a void in certain places. But it was more than that. His eyes widened and he dove toward Cara, placing his hands on her arms gingerly. And just as quickly, he let her go, afraid to injure her more. "Cara, what is this? What happened? You need medical help." The blood was seeping through the fabric, spreading like a red army across the front of her. He took a small cloth from his jacket's inner pocket. He hesitated a moment. "I need you to take off your shirt, Cara." He cleared his throat and looked at her steadily. "I need to tend the wound." Medical urgency took precedence over modesty and personaly boundary.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Where to start, how to start, she was losing it but were to start? The memories, the nightmares all flashed through her mind why couldn't he? Surly her face pro trade it.

She could see the anger within him start to rise, she had seen this face on him time and again though this time it seemed stronger. Though she knew he was holding it back, trying to remain calm Cara knew he'd lose it either before she answered or surly after.

Taking a breath she said the same thing she had said on the phone. She needed to get out of Paris and wanted to go back home to Russia, she had been meaning to go back so why not kill (shiver) two birds with one stone?

Looking him d...d..dead in the eyes she tried to start at the beginning, a fact which wasn't easy as she knew what was to come.

"What?" And there had gone the calm.

He had shot up out of his chair as the word jumped around the room before returning in Cara's ear. His face was one worse then Mark and there was no doubt that Evrard thought he was to blame.

"Kidnapping? Cara, what are you talking about? Tell me- and "latest" kidnapping? So this has happened before?"

Her red eyes came up to look at him she had told him about the kidnapping before... hadn't she? She was sure of it for she could remember the same face upon him as was there now.

Not saying a word she simply nodded, she'd go into detail about that later if he wanted her to.

"You need to tell me everything. Now, Cara Andovea. Did- "

At the sudden stop of his words Cara couldn't help but wonder what his question would have been. Did Mark hurt you? was no doubt on top of the list but as his eyes searched over her she flinched knowing that the red he saw now was no tick of light in his mind. For his arms shot out around her making her jump slightly from fear and pain only to calm when he let go again.

"Cara, what is this? What happened? You need medical help."

It was now that she looked away from him, steeped back a little and ran a hand through her hair. No more doctors, she had stitched up the wound herself and she'd be dammed before letting someone else see it.

"I need you to take off your shirt, Cara."

Her eyes meet his wide as if un-hearing, or doing so and not believing.

"I need to tend the wound."

"I already have" she spoke with force making no move to take off her shirt instead wrapping her arms around herself. "Besides it's nothing"

Nothing that she couldn't handle, and nothing like the inner scares that tormented her mind.

"Just forget about it, I have and... my hearts still inside, that's what matters right?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Watching the widening circle of blood only served as a reminder of what had happened to Cara two years ago - two? Or was it three? He couldn't keep his chronology organized right now. Evrard remembered the waiting room, the nurses, doctors, patients, etc. sitting around him and passing in and out. He remembered pacing, not being able to sit still due to the anxiety of not knowing. How was Cara? What had happened? Would she be all right? And all he could do was hope that the wound was mendable, that Cara would wake and live to see the next day and the day after that. He remembered entering her room, striding to her hospital bed and seeing her. Bandages covered the majority of her head and she looked more frail than he had ever seen her before. It had frightened him, but he had to stay calm for Cara, to reassure her that she would be all right. He had to lie to her and tell her that he was 100% certain that Cara would make it out alive and whole. Of course he wasn't sure. He knew the ideal outcome and could only wish for it. He knew the high probability of Cara... of Cara dying. But he couldn't tell her that. He couldn't tell her she would die before she reached 18.

And here she was, bleeding on her couch. Evrard held the cloth tightly in his hand, his fingertips and knuckles flushed white. What sort of wound was it? How severe?

"I already have. Besides it's nothing" Nothing? She was still bleeding. She was still bleeding and it was only "nothing." Evrard frowned at her lack of alarm and her modesty. Yes, he could appreciate the fact that she was the sort of person who didn't want trouble and she didn't want to trouble others. Although her heart was in the right place, she was being counterproductive. The more she put off explaining the situation to him, the more agitated Evrard was becoming. But before he could protest, she began to speak again.

"Just forget about it, I have and... my hearts still inside, that's what matters right?" What was the meaning of this? What was she saying? Her heart... This had to do with Mark. He had harmed her. This idea only further angered Evrard. To think of that animal laying hand on her - physically and emotionally. "Cara, you're still bleeding. You need to let me take care of it. If you ignore it, you'll bleed out." Evrard grit his teeth and furrowed his brow. "If you aren't going to let me help you, I might as well leave." He didn't want to say it. As soon as he uttered the words, he realized how puerile it was, but he was losing patience. He wanted to help Cara, but she needed to cooperate. Evrard extended the cloth to Cara, an indication to help herself if she didn't want his help. He softened for a moment, "I want to help you, Cara. Allow me to." The last three words came out slightly harsher than he had meant it, but he was done wasting time.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She tried to push aside the thoughts of her bleeding heart, she had just forced herself to tell Evrard about her latest kidnapping. He seemed shocked by her words, angered by them as she told him to forget the blood and in a rather cryptic way told him that the blood was not the main focus of the cut anyway.

Besides she didn't want to remember that, the thoughts of her last moments on Earth, of what happened afterwards that made her think losing her own heart would have been a small price to pay.

"Cara, you're still bleeding. You need to let me take care of it. If you ignore it, you'll bleed out."

She wanted to laugh to scoff, but instead only tears formed. She was no stranger to blood or bleeding out, her head long ago had been far worse then this and her back only awhile after that. In the way of scares, this, was nothing.

"If you aren't going to let me help you, I might as well leave."

From the corner of her eyes Cara's empty dark brown once looked over at him. Threats, it was just what she needed why couldn't he just let her do things her way? Why was it, even in this day and age that MEN were in control of everything?

"I want to help you, Cara. Allow me to."

His last three words come out rather strong. The darkness in her eyes suddenly flashing red as it angered her.

"Do you understand?" she challenged. "It's not the stopping of my heart I care about...it's... it's the one I took, the life I took to spear mine and Marks that worries me. I killed someone to save myself and... I fell like this is a small price to pay."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard tried. He tried and had been trying for years. No, he wasn't explosive and wasn't as sensitive as a hair trigger, but there was no denying - he could not even deny it himself - that Evrard was... comment dit-ons?... inclined to headstrong, changeable emotional throes. "Temperamental" was, perhaps, even too strong. Edward was far from being a red-faced lunatic erupting with rage at the slightest provocation or irritation. He wasn't a spoiled tantrum-prone child. However, he wasn't exactly a peace-seeking monk either. Yes, Evrard's semi-threat to Cara was somewhat childish, but he was annoyed, bewildered, and angry. He struggled to keep a grip on rationality and calm. Obviously, he wasn't faring so well.

"Do you understand?" Evrard was slightly taken aback by the sudden bite in her attitude. He hardened his eyes and pressed his lips together in indignation. Cara... where was the Cara from only a few years ago? The young girl with naivete and youth lining those soft dark eyes... How things have changed. "It's not the stopping of my heart I care about...it's... it's the one I took, the life I took to spear mine and Marks that worries me. I killed someone to save myself and... I fell like this is a small price to pay."

Evrard's eyes locked on hers, taking in the information. What was she saying? That she had- killed someone? Question after question overwhelmed Evrard's mind: What is she talking about? The life she took? Was it an accident? She had said it was out of self-preservation - hadn't she? Evrard had pulled his hand back to his side, clutching the cloth in concentration. He looked blindly beyond Cara, trying to formulate a response, a plan of interrogation and extraction of information. It was all to help Cara, but she was being so frustratingly vague, it was difficult for Evrard to control his temper.

Settle, Evrard. Cara is in need of your help. Settle down. Cara was still a young girl. She might legally be classified as an "adult" with a completely independent will and way of life, but in reality, she was just as much a youth as she was when Evrard had first met her. His memory of their business deal on the Seine - how timid and frail and gracious she was. She was still timid and frail and gracious, but... but there was something slightly hardened about her. Something no longer pure and innocent. Evrard was no Romantic, but he could not help but see Cara in a rose-tinted light. The girl had softened a small part of him that revolted the idea of settling down and creating a family. Cara was now like daughter to him. And he needed to help her, to be here for her. That is what he was going to do.

Finally, he breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly through his nose and looked at Cara's chocolate brown eyes. "Tell me everything." He spoke softly and smoothly, but not without an edge that signified his exasperation. "I will listen. Just tell me what happened," he furrowed his brows and let out another breath, "and we will go from there."

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Did he not understand, nor see what she was trying to tell him, trying to live with? It was hard enough to think dream about night after night let alone trying to say the words aloud.

His sharp tone got to her driving out a force of her own in which she told him that it wasn't herself that she cared about. No, she could live with the fact that she had died in Mark's place, hadn't she told her husband that thousands of times? But to take a life... even to save one it was not something said easily.

The look about Evrard's brow told Cara more then words that he was taking back, in disbelief and wonder. She was no longer the girl he knew two years ago. The one that was shy and held her tongue, blind to the world and in hardship though she had just started going through it.

"Tell me everything."

Her eyes came up and a sigh passed over her lips, everything, that was going to be easier said then done. Everything would include the nightmares of two years ago and way before. Everything would include Mark's story and Dementis. Everything would include opening a can of worms that was better off remaining closed.

"I will listen. Just tell me what happened, and we will go from there."

Sitting down Cara brushed her long hair aside and took her own deep breath.

"I guess the best way to explain it is to go back. When Mark was still a child there was a man in his village who thought mark was a demon and had to die. When Mark was still young the man, Stalin, and the village came for him, they took Mark and almost killed him by cutting out his heart and doing a ritual that would hopefully get the demon out."

She stopped there hoping her friend understood her up to this point.

"Only Mark didn't have a demon inside him at this time and the ritual didn't work right instead of killing a demon they made one. Demenits. As you know I married both of them took of his families name, but what you didn't know is that... I once went back to his home town, I searched for answers and found them but sadly that came at a price. Stalin and his son followed me here, found Mark and found the best way to get to him, though me."

It was then that she stood up and turned her back to her friend showing him the scares that lay there.

"His son found me a year back when mark and I had a fight. Mark found him and all but killed him."

Now, now the short past was out of the way, hopefully no more needing to be said.

"The latest kidnapping was only awhile ago. Stalin kidnapped me, made it look like I was dead cutting Mark down knowing that without me he wouldn't want to go on. I awoke just in time to get through the chains tying me down and over to Mark and save him. The only problem was Stalin could still walk, I heard him becoming up behind us, I all but forgot I had a knife in my hand and... I just... I just wanted to stop him and...and save Mark."

Tears rolled down her eyes, her face falling to her hands.

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Evrard maneuvered the cloth between his fingers and palm. It slipped against the warm skin and absorbed his frustration. It's soothing effect was slight at most, however. It would take more than a small square of fabric to pull him from his stressful state.

"I guess the best way to explain it is to go back. When Mark was still a child there was a man in his village who thought mark was a demon and had to die. When Mark was still young the man, Stalin, and the village came for him, they took Mark and almost killed him by cutting out his heart and doing a ritual that would hopefully get the demon out."

Demon? "Cutting out his heart?" What was Cara talking about? It sounded like some legend or mythical story. And then she had mentioned a demon. She had mentioned a "demon" in Mark before, hadn't she? He couldn't remember the exact conversation, only that he had warned her to keep her distance from Mark. Apparently - and unfortunately - she had not paid attention to Evrard's warning. She should have listened to him. She should have stayed far away from this menacing figure - this "demon." And "Stalin?" Cara was talking about Stalin, now? Was this the connection back to her birth country Russia? Or was he merely confused? Evrard resisted the urge to interrupt and he continued to listen impatiently.

"Only Mark didn't have a demon inside him at this time and the ritual didn't work right instead of killing a demon they made one. Demenits. As you know I married both of them took of his families name, but what you didn't know is that... I once went back to his home town, I searched for answers and found them but sadly that came at a price. Stalin and his son followed me here, found Mark and found the best way to get to him, though me." Evrard didn't know how to process this information. It was bewildering to here and it sounded like the fruits of an overactive imagination. What was Mark doing to her? Putting this images in her head. And apparently this "Stalin" figure was not in fact the Russian leader of the same namesake. At least that singular point was clear. What did Cara mean by "they made one?" And she "married both of them?" Who was the other half of "both?" This "demon?" Cara was most certainly shaken - mentally disturbed. She needed medical attention. Perhaps she had lost too much blood. She wasn't making any sense.

When she stood up, Evrard stayed seated, watching her intently in case something... drastic occured. "His son found me a year back when mark and I had a fight. Mark found him and all but killed him." Evrard remained silent, loosening the cloth in his hand as his mind set to work trying to make sense of Cara's words. "The latest kidnapping was only awhile ago. Stalin kidnapped me, made it look like I was dead cutting Mark down knowing that without me he wouldn't want to go on. I awoke just in time to get through the chains tying me down and over to Mark and save him. The only problem was Stalin could still walk, I heard him becoming up behind us, I all but forgot I had a knife in my hand and... I just... I just wanted to stop him and...and save Mark."

Was Cara earnest? Did this truly happen? Evrard was inclined to believe her, but he was wary. He wasn't naive, easily ensnared by fantastical tales of violence and action. He wasn't a fool, for God's sake, but what could he do? Tell Cara she was mentally unsound and simply leave her here in this state? That was cold - even he had to admit that - and it was irresponsible. Cara was dear to him, no matter how frustrating she was to deal with at times.

Evrard sat on the couch for a long moment, letting the narrative hang in the silence. Finally, he looked up at her and saw her crying quietly. She buried her face in her hands. For a moment, he didn't move to her. He needed to stay still for a moment more. So what was he to do now? He breathed in and out and spoke levelly. "What do you need me for, Cara?" He didn't know how to help her, so he asked. What am I supposed to do for you, Cara?

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

it sounded like something out of a dream, a nightmare and a horror movie all rolled into one and oh how Cara wished it was. At least that way she'd know what to do to bring it all to an end. Wake up or turn off the TV, now, now it seemed like the tail of a mad women.

Who really talked about demons, who ever thought them real? No one, she had once gotten the notion from a talk with Evrard that Mark suffered from a split personality and if she hadn't known the truth she could understand how one may come to think that.

But the change in the eyes, the manner and the strength, this was not something normal. Back in time people believed in witches as the black hearted people of Satin, that vampires were real and were the course of the plague. People had no trouble thinking angels were real and didn't Paris itself believe in gargoyles? Was it truly such a leap towards demons?

As she explained and ran through the whole story Cara could understand how crazy it seemed, how make believe. But did one think the scares on her back were done by her own hand? Or that the victims of Vlad the Impaler tortured themselves?

Finally, the end of the story came her head falling into her hands. What was to happen now? Would Evrard simply leave or call the cops? It would be a change for not only had Mark vanished but Calvin to.

For a long time there was silence safe for the tears that rolled down Cara's cheeks.

"What do you need me for, Cara?"

The laboured breath of Cara was all that was heard for a moment, neither saying a word for none seemed to know what came next. Finally Cara's head come up.

"I need to get away, I can't be here anymore. I need to go home. Mark's gone, my families gone and so is everyone else. Everyone I love. I did this to save him and... It ends up being like this. You think I'm making it up, that I should be locked up but... I killed someone Evrard, there's no changing that and... do you really think I'd make that up?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

The living room felt wide open, yet narrow at the same time. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. How could he when Cara was standing before him, telling him something that seemed almost fantastical. She showed him the scars, seemingly evidence of her narrative. A small, quiet thought in Evrard's mind wondered if those scars were from Mark. It was only a thought. Who could blame him for believing Cara was subject to physical abuse under such a man? It was not at all farfetched. But Evrard was giving Cara the benefit of doubt and he believed her. Well, he was trying to believe her. In any case, what could he do with this information? He couldn't heal her, not even if Cara allowed him to. Evrard stared at the red spot blossoming over Cara's heart. She had done a poor job stitching it up, apparently. She needed medical help now. But he waited for her to answer him.

"I need to get away, I can't be here anymore. I need to go home. Mark's gone, my families gone and so is everyone else. Everyone I love. I did this to save him and... It ends up being like this. You think I'm making it up, that I should be locked up but... I killed someone Evrard, there's no changing that and... do you really think I'd make that up?"

Evrard stood up from the couch. "No, Cara, I believe you, but you must know how strange this all sounds to a person hearing something like this for the first time." He walked over to her and gave her the cloth, not to clean her wound but to wipe her face if she wanted to. Evrard furrowed his brows and pursed his lips, concentrating on the young girl's face. "I am still here. You are not alone, ma petite." He wasn't sure if he'd ever used that term of endearment on her before. No matter. Evrard shifted his weight to his other leg. "You say you need to get away. Where? Back to Russia? What will you do there? And how will you get there?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

That's it, he's going to lock me away, get ready for the white jump suit and the padded room. You've really done it this time Cara.

Not for the first time did these thoughts circle around Cara's mind. They had when she had first told Evrard about Mark and later when Evrard thought she was making everything up when Mark had left.

Yes, she knew her life seemed like something out of a make believe book but hadn't Evrard come to realize that every fantasy was based on a thread of truth?

She told him that she had to leave, had to go away and for a long time it seemed her Patron and friend wouldn't say anything until finally he stood. Whether it was to leave or do something else she wasn't sure, not even when he walked over to her.

"No, Cara, I believe you, but you must know how strange this all sounds to a person hearing something like this for the first time."

To this she nodded. It was hard to believe, she knew that but did he really believe her? She doubted it, he always seemed to call her 'stories' into question.

As he handed her the cloth for before Cara brought it up to her eyes and whipped away the tears one running down her cheek and landing on her blood over her heart. Without much thought Cara looked down blood once again spilling through.

"I am still here. You are not alone, ma petite."

My little. His little what? wasn't that what ma petite meant? It was not something she was used to. Inwardly Cara re thought his words. Yes it was true that he was here whenever she needed him but otherwise?

"You say you need to get away. Where? Back to Russia? What will you do there? And how will you get there?"

Dark eyes came up at this, her teeth biting into her lower lip. This was the part that she was dreading.

"I...I would finally be able to see my home again, I would be able to finally work out what was left to me. Whether I want to sell everything or not. I...i have a little money save and..an" taking a deep breath she finally came out with it. "I hate asking and you know I'd somehow find a way to pay you back, or you could keep all the money I make at the Opera House. I was hoping maybe...that is... if... you..you could loan me the rest?"

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

What was Cara turning over in that little head of hers? Judging by her narrative, she was far from all right. If anything, she was in danger of being mentally, physically and emotionally unstable. She was already bleeding not inconsiderably. Her nerves were apparent in every motion and tremor of her voice and body. Her mind... Evrard could only guess how distraught she was. No, he did not have to guess. It was plain in her face. Cara wasn't insane, but she was fragile. She had always seemed that way, even after all these years and after all the hardships she'd gone through, she was fragile. The ordeals in her life didn't appear to significantly toughen her, but it was miraculous she had survived this long in such a state. Images of the night in the hospital reappeared rapidly in his mind. He couldn't shake them away this time.

"I...I would finally be able to see my home again, I would be able to finally work out what was left to me. Whether I want to sell everything or not. I...i have a little money save and..an" And? And? Evrard barely noticed that he held his breath, waiting for her to continue. "I hate asking and you know I'd somehow find a way to pay you back, or you could keep all the money I make at the Opera House. I was hoping maybe...that is... if... you..you could loan me the rest?"

Evrard fell silent. She wanted to go home. To do that, she needed money. That is why she called him. As her patron, he took in a share of finances from her participation in the opera house. In return, he paid for her tutorship and care within the opera house, among other things. Cara needed money. Was that all it came down to? Money? That is the ultimate reason for her calling him? A feeling of hurt mingled with bitterness and sadness churned itself in Evrard's chest. He didn't know what to say, how to respond.

"How much do you need?" That was it. Anything else was pointless. Even if he didn't give her the money, she would find a way to leave. It was easier this way. "And if you want to repay me... You must be safe. And you must return." That was as useless as trying to change Cara's mind. Words were emptiness. He knew that as much as the next man. He had no idea what was in store for her back home. He had no idea how much of this was feasible for her, or even true. But she wasn't a child anymore - he needed to come to terms with that. She wasn't his daughter, no matter how much he had seen her that way. Ultimately, he had no control over her. So he would concede to her request - very reluctantly and with a troubling heaviness in his heart.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She hated herself, she hated asking and needing to. She couldn't help but wonder what ran through his mind as she choked out her reply.

His face, it seemed to drop and though neither said anything she could read within his eyes some of what he was thinking. She has asked me here just for money, to leave and here I thought we were friends. She sees me as nothing more then that. Or something along those lines and she didn't blame him though nothing was further from the truth.

Cara wanted to go home for more then the reasons she voiced but to voice them would be to bring them to the forefront and in doing that a war would begin. She remember back to when they had been like this the first time. She telling him that Mark had left. Did they really need to go back to that time? It was hard enough remembering his face when she had woken up from death the first time could she really ask him to sit back and watch it happen again?

"How much do you need?"

Cara's eyes came up though full of tears. It was not a question to which she had an easy answer. She hadn't wanted to ask him in the first place and therefore worried about the money herself even thought of selling off what was left of what she owed only to realize that she wanted Skyla to have some small part of her.

"And if you want to repay me... You must be safe. And you must return."

To this she nodded only to stop at his last demand. Returning, she hadn't thought about that. She knew that she was running away, that her problems would be here when she came back. There was a bad side to it, yes but as she looked across at Evrard there would be at least one good thing in her return.

"I want to repay you, I don't want that hanging over our heads, our friendship and you have no idea how much that means to me."

More then she could say.

"I just. Everywhere I look I'm reminded of him and I feel like I'm slowly losing myself. I just..."

Could she really explain it to him, did she want to, would he understand?

"I don't know if you've ever lost someone and didn't know the reason why, if they'd ever return. It slowly eats away at you and you wonder if it's your fault or theirs... You blame yourself anyway. You want to hold on to the memories and yet you so badly want to forget. You want to stay were you last saw them, replaying it over and over in your mind but it drive you crazy. You go to sleep and realize the dream you were dreaming was just that, you wake up alone."

Her hand reached to her locket and this time she took it off reaching out for Evrard's hand.

"I once gave this to someone I thought I loved with all my heart. Someone I saw as family and a friend. I know now that I was lying to myself, that I chose wrong but,"

She placed it in Evrard's hand.

"I realize now I just picked wrong and I'd like it if you'd look after it until I come back. My promise to come back, if you'd let me go."

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

There was a gradual hollow feeling creeping into his chest. It was strange and uncomfortable. Evrard didn't quite know what to make of it, the intruding sensation. It wriggled softly between the wet inner organs of his torso, feeling around softly, blindly for something. It didn't know what it was looking for. Evrard didn't know either. He especially didn't know. He was only barely aware of it as it was only a hint within himself. It was like an old memory that he couldn't quite place. The nudging feeling was irritating him in the back of his mind, but he tried focusing - successfully - on Cara.

Cara. Evrard wasn't sure how to think of her anymore. She wasn't a child, but because of his advanced years and her fragility and naivete, he couldn't help thinking of her as a child. She was so small and innocent - and yet she wasn't. She was legally an adult. She was a mother of an infant, for Christ's sake - with another one on the way apparently. Evrard was still having a problem comprehending that little piece of information. It was still strange seeing Cara as a mother of one, much less as a mother of two. And married, Cara was a married woman, although she might as well not be since Mark was so absent in her present life. The lowlife - to desert his wife, the mother of his child (children)... Evrard had gone through two divorces and a failed engagement. Even he had more respect for his exes than Mark had for his wife. Cara deserved the world for what she had gone through and for the purity in her heart. It sounded oddly sentimental and sensitive, but Evrard believed that Cara deserved a good life, a great life not only for herself but for her children. Evrard... Evrard wanted to help. He truly did. Then why did he feel so resigned standing in front of Cara?

"I want to repay you, I don't want that hanging over our heads, our friendship and you have no idea how much that means to me." The hollow spot receded slightly. Friendship. It was a simple word and it seemed almost childish like something an elementary schoolyard youth would use. But it seemed apt. This started out as a mutual business partnership. It had turned into something more endearing than that, something closer to a familiar tie. "I just. Everywhere I look I'm reminded of him and I feel like I'm slowly losing myself. I just..." Evrard hung on her words.

"I don't know if you've ever lost someone and didn't know the reason why, if they'd ever return. It slowly eats away at you and you wonder if it's your fault or theirs... You blame yourself anyway. You want to hold on to the memories and yet you so badly want to forget. You want to stay were you last saw them, replaying it over and over in your mind but it drive you crazy. You go to sleep and realize the dream you were dreaming was just that, you wake up alone." Evrard stayed silent. He did not know. Not really, not in this capacity. He would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't loved any of his exes to some extent. Love - the word was almost foreign to him, not that he was heartless, but because it felt constricting despite its light, uplifting connotations. Evrard had an appetite that no one woman alone could satisfy - or if that was possible, he hadn't encountered that woman yet. Some had made lasting impressions on him, but sometimes, they simply blended together in one mesh of the opposite sex. Evrard had loved a few of his exes, but he had never been overly distraught or sentimental about them. He never gave himself the chance to.

Evrard watched as her hand went up to her necklace again, an impulsive motion. However, she took it off. She raised his hand. Evrard blinked at her touch - so soft and gentle. It filled the hollow mark again. "I once gave this to someone I thought I loved with all my heart. Someone I saw as family and a friend. I know now that I was lying to myself, that I chose wrong but,"

He was confused and then understood to the extent that he felt he should understand. He didn't need details this time. Cara put the locket in his hand, the bottom of the piece was warm, having spent its time against Cara's skin. "I realize now I just picked wrong and I'd like it if you'd look after it until I come back. My promise to come back, if you'd let me go." Evrard closed his hand around it and nodded subtly before raising his eyes back to hers. The hollow spot was waning, but it was still there. Her gesture - sweet and tender - was not without a tinge of sadness. There was a heaviness in the locket when she set it in his hand. When he enclosed his fingers around the foreign object, he felt a small sorrow spreading from his hand and across his chest. This delicate onslaught of emotion was truly irritating to Evrard and he tried to fight it off, but the sincerity and the liquid misery in Cara's eyes was enough to subdue him, if only slightly.

Evrard's next gesture was automatic. He didn't have to think about it. It felt oddly... natural. He wrapped his arms around Cara gently, but with a lasting firmness that expressed his worry and his resignation. He hugged her to his chest and breathed deeply. "Thank you," he said lowly, letting his chin graze her hair lightly. "I shall keep it until you return." He breathed out slowly through his nose. "Then I will be glad to give it back to you when I see you." He pulled away from her, letting his arms linger on her arms for a moment before letting them fall to his sides. "When are you leaving?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Goodbyes were always hard, though one would think Cara had gotten used to them by now but maybe that was it. The goodbyes in her life hadn't been goodbyes, goodbyes entailed seeing someone, seeing them off. A few tears maybe, a hug and/or a kiss not the disappearing acts of those from Cara's life.

It was almost strange. To be standing in front of her friend and letting him know that she'd miss him, letting out all the things that she had to say, needed to be said while wrapped in a strange explaining of why she had to leave.

Her hand went up to her locket, the one that meant so much, was her life. Would Evrard remember it from all those nights ago? When she had been found in the snow the locket in her hand as she lay dying? It had been the last time she saw someone who meant the world to her, though in some ways it opened up the door for him. A new friend, a father and a non blood member of the family.

Gently, softly she placed it in his hand. The weight that she was so used to having around her neck now gone. It was a strange feeling but the one thing she left behind that she knew she could and would come back for. A silent promise.

The question now was if he'd take it, if he'd let her go. It was almost like a child asking for her father's blessing... but he was not her father and she was no longer a child though to Evrard she sometimes wondered.

The movement he made to wrap his arms around her took her somewhat by surprise. Though he had held her a few times it never really seemed like him. She remembered once when someone said she had broken through his shell, that she had been the only one that he let in. She couldn't remember who had said it and didn't believe it at the time but...

"Thank you,"

She whipped a tear away from her face a smile spreading from cheek to cheek.

"I shall keep it until you return. Then I will be glad to give it back to you when I see you."

Pulling back, his arms falling away Cara tried to control her tears though somewhat failing.

"When are you leaving?"

"I.. I thought the sooner the better, less time to dwell and think. I ask one more favour," she couldn't help but laugh then "One I think will make you happy. If Mark returns and I'm still gone please, don't tell him were I am. I need time, away from him, to get over him, if I have to."

She look up into her patron's kind eyes.

"Maybe then I could start a new. Find someone who'll actually want to stay. Everyone said I was wrong in loving him, but..."

She wouldn't go into that.

[A_Single_Rose]

Evrard Ludovic-Marcellin

Resignation lingered in his breath, encasing his head in a solemnity that he couldn't simply shake away. He had lost to Cara's surprising will. He had lost yet again. This disturbed him, but he knew it was useless to continue trying to convince her to stay. It was dangerous, but... maybe this was what she needed. In the time he had known Cara, he had seen a void in her. It was in the way she walked, the way she spoke, the way she closed her eyes and parted her lips. Every motion seemed to arise from that missing quality. Of course, this was all speculation. Perhaps Evrard was seeing too much, trying too hard to see and understand her motives for leaving Paris - for leaving him.

"I.. I thought the sooner the better, less time to dwell and think. I ask one more favour," Her laugh made him quirk a brow. "One I think will make you happy. If Mark returns and I'm still gone please, don't tell him were I am. I need time, away from him, to get over him, if I have to." Evrard nodded. Finally, the girl had come to her senses. This was one upside to her leaving, he supposed. She would be far from that husband of hers. Cara was right; it made him happy - slightly. It wasn't enough to relieve the gravity of the moment.

Evrard caught her eyes as they looked up to his. If only he could see everything within and behind those eyes. Then he could understand her life in its entirety. For now, he would have to settle with worry and speculation. "Maybe then I could start a new. Find someone who'll actually want to stay. Everyone said I was wrong in loving him, but..." Yes, it was wrong. Evrard said nothing. Cara realized her mistake and she was sorry. No amount of reprimanding would change what had already transpired.

"Sh," he hushed her gently, "Never mind that." Evrard furrowed his brows in thought, letting a ghostly moment of silence pass between them as he looked down. He wasn't sure where the thought came from, but he wasn't going to let it slip through the cracks. Amused, he grinned. "If you aren't leaving immediately, I wonder..." He straightened himself and looked back up to meet her gaze. "Would you, Cara, like to attend the opera house's masquerade with me? Your final days in Paris should be memorable. You deserve an evening of fun."

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

When was she leaving? It had been a question Cara had asked herself over and over again. It had been the question she asked herself when her mother died, when Eric had left her life and the question she had asked herself once again when Mark had left the first time. This time she finally had an answer... straight away, an answer that was both a good and a bad thing.

Her mind had questioned her about this thought, as had her heart. Should she remain like she had last time, waiting for his return only to end up with a broken heart? She couldn't believe that Mark would show up out of the blue again. Fairy tails weren't real, she had to grow up, stop believing in them, stop believing that true love was something real.

That was why she asked Evrard not to say anything, a fact that should have made him happy and seemed to. To Cara it was one of the hardest things she had ever had to say. Hiding from her husband... It cut at her heart. To get over him... that was something that would never happen. He was part of her and a part of her children... a child growing inside her that he'd never come to see, a fact, among others, that brought tears to her eyes.

"Sh, Never mind that."

But how could she not? She had been in this place before though taken a different path to the one she was on now she somehow felt herself winding up at the same place. Her mind went back to Vicktrio, the only other man who had seemed to look at her with passion in his eyes, a passion she had looked over then but felt. Would she ever have that again?

"If you aren't leaving immediately, I wonder..."

She raised a broken brow.

"Would you, Cara, like to attend the opera house's masquerade with me? Your final days in Paris should be memorable. You deserve an evening of fun."

A small smile come to pass over Cara's face, she didn't know how much fun she'd actually be and memorable, maybe, but for all the wrong reasons still...

"I'd love to, there's no one else I'd rather go with."

At least no one that was still in her life.

"Evrard, let me ask you something. I know you've never found true love, that you've split apart from more then one person but... do you ever truly move on or... does it always eat away at you? I told him I wouldn't be strong enough and he still left, I thought he loved me, he... he promised he wouldn't leave me again."

This lead to another question one that made her look at her ring and play with it.

"How long does law see me remained married when... when for all showmen ship... I'm not anymore?"

[AgentCarolina]

OOC: For Cara and Charles BIC:

Charles Beauregard

Charles' car pulled up the drive to the house that was at the address listed in the files. It was a cute little lovely french manor that looked like a miniature version of the Beauregard home. He gently parked the car and got out. What if the address was wrong because the files haven't been accessed in a while, and you are about to vandalize someone's home? He took a deep breath as he realized he would just have to cross his fingers and pray that there was a God and that he was watching. Charles hopped up the steps and tested the door. To his suprise it swung open easy, it wasn't locked or barred. That was good news for him, but a little suprising. Though he supposed that when you lived out in the country, not many people were trying to break into your home very often.

He left the door open before going back to the car, getting Cara and walking up the steps into the house. She was very light. He knew she was petite, but it was amazing how easy it was for him to carry her. There was a sitting/living room in the main area, where he went to lay her down on a couch. He went back and shut the door before going over to check on her again. He didn't feel comfortable sitting down in a home that wasn't his, so he just stood next to her. "You're home Cara.", he said quietly, though he wasn't sure if she could hear her. I have officially gone crazy. "You can wake up now." It was a bit odd that she hadn't even stirred all the way over in the car. He wondered if subconsiously, she could sense she were in familiar surroundings...If this is her house.

OOC: I wasn't sure how the kids or the nanny behave...so I didn't godmod for them. Yeah, happy posting!

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Hearing someone entering the house the nanny walked out and screamed before seeing someone with Cara.

"Who are you, what did you do to her?" she yelled

Cara eyes slowly opened everything still seeming a little fuzzed though now at least she could see.

"Skyla?" she asked. "Were... where are my children?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

An angry voice erupted from somewhere behind Charles right after he put the unconsious Cara on the couch. And it wasn't happy.

"Who are you, what did you do to her?"

He spun around to see a very pissed-off, protective looking woman coming his way. At least she recognized Cara, he thought. At least I'm in the right house. "Woah!" he threw his hands up in a defensive guessture. "Not so loud!" he said, putting the shoe on the other foot. He had just done this Cara a big favor and he was not about to have his ass chewed by someone he didn't even know. "The last thing she needs right now is noise." She kept advancing on him...and Charles didn't hit women, so he knew he had better start talking FAST. "My name is Charles Beauregard, I work at the Opera." he managed to spit out lightning quick, taking a step backward. "Miss Cara was at practice and she had a fall. She passed out and," he lied "the office was busy and crowded so I took her home." He took a deep breath to recover from the tounge twister he had just had to spew.

"How did you get in?" She said suspiciously. "The door was unlocked." he said almost smugly. "You're lucky it was just me, any maniac could have come waltzing in here, no?" He frowned. "Besides, you could be a stranger to this house for all I know.", he barked.

"I," she said "am the nanny."

"Nanny?"

Oh right! Cara had said something about her kids before she blacked out...one boy and one girl, this must be their nanny. Cara, as if having a sixth sense, began to open her eyes.

"Skyla?" she asked. Who? Was that the nanny's name?

"Were... where are my children?" The nanny opened her mouth but was cut short by a tiny voice:

"Mama!" it came squealing from one of the back rooms, and Charles stood back and waited to see it's owner he was sure would come bounding through the house at any second. Everyone in this house has some kind of sixth sense...he thought.

"Don't let them hang off of her," he told the nanny before he heard the 'patpatpat' of approaching little feet.

OOC: I'm assuming one of them can at least walk and say 'mama' major godmodding, but again, if it needs to be fixed, then it shall

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Having worken up she spoke her daughters name wondering what was going on and why the blinding lights from before had suddenly seemed to change.

The cot she had once been sleeping in now felt warm and soft and voices.... she heard other voices.

"Mama!"

"S..s..skyla?" Cara questioned her head turning a little to see her young 3 year old. Her head turned then her eyes landing on Charles.

"Y..Y..you took me home?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

It was amazing how quickly Cara had started to come to and was able to speak now that she was in the comfort of her own home. Great idea Charles. He applauded himself, she'd be just fine now. And he could leave her here without fear of her getting up and hurting herself again.

The tiny voice yelled from the back room and a little person ran into view. It was a little girl, VERY young. She was maybe 2 or 3 years old and calling for her mama. It was cute.

"S..s..skyla?" He heard Cara's voice speak again. He then saw her sit up and look at the toddler who had entered the room. Oh, Skyla is the girl's name. In response to hearing her name, she toddled over to her mother's arms. "Careful," Charles said, feeling a little awkward about instructing someone else's child. "Mommy isn't feeling well." Cara's eyes were now on him.

"Y..Y..you took me home?" she asked.

Dammit. Now came the awkward explanation. He sucked in air through an 'o' shaped mouth with his cheeks sucked in before answering. "Yes ma'am." he said simply. Southern humility, southern humility. This was like the time he got caught with his girlfriend in the barn in high school, but WORSE. "I'm sorry. I know it crossed a line, but I thought since you were going to be out for a while anyway, you might find it more comfortable to wake up at home than on that cot." He cleared his throat and shrugged. "That and I couldn't really conduct a proper examination under those lights." It was getting hot, and he found himself tugging slightly at his collar. Please, Please, PLEASE don't rip my head off! He looked her in the eyes, ready to take whatever verbal bashing might come like a man.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Upon hearing her daughter's voice Cara tried to sit up since Mark had left she didn't like her children seeing her in a weakend state, didn't want then to see her crying or in pain.

"Careful,"

A new voice came as her arms wrapped around her little girl.

"Mommy isn't feeling well."

It was then that it dawned on her. To be at home this Charles would of had to have taken her. Was that kind of thing even allowed? At this point did she even care? Still it didn't stop herfrom asking the question.

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry. I know it crossed a line, but I thought since you were going to be out for a while anyway, you might find it more comfortable to wake up at home than on that cot."

Upon hearing this she nodded.

"That and I couldn't really conduct a proper examination under those lights."

"Thank you" she breathed "Were you able to perform the exam once I got home? Y...You seem hot please... sit down for awhile Em would you mind getting him something to drink?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles braced himself for the lashing he was sure would come once she found out he had taken her home. But none whatsoever came. Instead, she said:


"Thank you" it was a bit of a weak sigh, but it was still positive feedback. "You're welcome," he said politely.

"Were you able to perform the exam once I got home?" He sighed and shook his head, taking a step toward her. "No, actually." he said. "You woke up just a few moments after I put you down on the couch, so I hadn't conducted the exam just yet. But you seem to be progressing fairly well." Again he pulled at his collar, maybe it wasn't just nerves, it really was HOT in there.

"Y...You seem hot please... sit down for awhile Em would you mind getting him something to drink?"

The nanny nodded "Yes ma'am," and scurried off.

"That isn't necessary, really, no need for all that." he said. "Besides, I'll only be a moment, with your permission I'd like to give you just a quick once over to make sure there aren't any major problems." He knelt down so he was eye level with Cara and Skyla. He smiled. The child was precious. "Little Skyla," he said "do you mind if I borrow your mommy just for a moment?" It was a 'cute' question, but she would have to get off of her if he was going to be quick about it.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Having just woken up she was still a little bit out of it, her mind just seeming to catch up.

Having now realized she was home she remembered something the doctor had said asking him about it.

"No, actually." Was his reply. "You woke up just a few moments after I put you down on the couch, so I hadn't conducted the exam just yet. But you seem to be progressing fairly well."

She nodded noticing the way he seemed to pull at his collar. and saw he looked a little hot, the farm house could be that way even with all the windows open which was why she liked that fact there was a lake out back.She asked if em would mind getting him a drink knowing that the older women would bring out a jag of water and place it on the table.

"That isn't necessary, really, no need for all that."

"But you're hot, and I could use some anyway" Cara said trying to put him at ease. "Besides, I'll only be a moment, with your permission I'd like to give you just a quick once over to make sure there aren't any major problems."

She rolled her eyes watching as Charles went down to her level.

"Little Skyla,"

Skyla's little face turned to him.

"do you mind if I borrow your mommy just for a moment?"

"Give back?" the little girl questioned coursing Cara to smile.

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles was having an unusual day that just kept getting stranger by the moment, but oddly enough, this was probably the calmest thing that had happened the whole time.

He told her she didn't need to worry with getting anything to drink, but she was stubborn and insisted. "But you're hot, and I could use some anyway" Was she honestly trying to put him at ease after the flashes of symptoms he had seen her have all afternoon? He wasn't going to relax until her knew she was alright.

He saw her roll her eyes as he got down to her level. He quizically raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Really, after what we just went through?' You wouldn't be rolling your eyes now if you had seen the way they rolled back in your head before you passed out.

He asked the toddler Skyla if she would move over for just a moment so that he could check on Cara. To his suprise the toddler responded with: "Give back?" Cara smiled, and he laughed. "Please," he said. Skyla looked to her mother once more before sticking her little finger in her mouth and scooting to the side and nodding. "Thank you Skyla." he said.

He turned back to Cara. "How's your head?" he asked her and he gently began putting pressure with his fingers at the base of her neck. He pulled away for just a moment after feeling how warm her skin was, realizing his own hands must be freezing. "Sorry," he said, rubbing them together to warm them up, "Doctor's curse." He then applied light pressure again and waited. If she did anything with the pressure applied to her neck like that, then something more than a migraine was wrong.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She wanted to put the guy at ease and hated the fact that he had already gone out of his way to try and help her, a drink seemed like the least she could do.

She rolled her eyes at the mention of another exam saw the look he gave her and held back a laugh, if he only knew. When he came down to her level she watched as Skyla's eyes went big and turned to this new stranger asking her if she's mind her mother being looked over once again.

"Please," Charles said in response to her question.

Placing her tiny fingers in her mouth she crawled over a little sitting beside her mother and watching.

"Thank you Skyla." he said before Cara noticed he turned back to her. "How's your head?"

"Hurting" she said jumping when his hands touched her neck coursing a slight pain. "Sorry," for some reason he blew into his hands before placing them back on her neck and applying a little more pressure. "Doctor's curse."

She bite down on her bottom lip a little a new pain shooting up into her head.

"P..P..Please stop"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

"Hurting" was the answer he got about the question over her head. He expected just as much. What he didn't expect was the fact that she jumped when he placed his hands on her. Thinking they were cold, he warmed them up and tried again, only to get the same reaction. Though this time it was accompanied by a:

"P..P..Please stop" she whimpered.

"Mmm-hmm." he said matter-of-factly. "A little more than a migraine Miss Cara." He stood up, walked over and poured them both a glass of water from the pitcher that-Em was it?- had placed on the table. "It could just be swollen." he said after taking a sip of his own glass. He walked over and gave Cara her own. "Or it could be cracked." he said frankly. "If that is the case," he said, covering his wording so he wouldn't alarm her. "We'll have to put you in a brace and you'll have to promise me not to perform that dance move EVER again. At least not with that moron." He took another swig of his drink. It wasn't very gentleman-like but it was HOT in that little farmhouse. He was tempted to loosen his tie and unbutton a button, but didn't.

"But we can't be sure of what is wrong with it without the proper equipment, which is in my office." He shook his head. Still a great idea Charles. "Take it easy for the rest of the day, if it bothers you, ball up a pair of clean socks, put them in the oven for about a minute and then put them on your neck where the pain is." It sounded odd, but it worked. "The clinic opens at eight as usual tomorrow, and I want to see you as soon as possible, okay?" he said. He felt very rude for intruding on her home and accepting her food and drink. He didn't want to get in her bad graces and figured he should leave as soon as possible.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

The pain that shot threw her neck was almost unbearable. That on top of the headache only seemed to make it worse as she jump making Skyla jump to just a little coursing her to beg him to stop for more then one reason.

"Mmm-hmm." he seemed too mumble making Cara question. "A little more than a migraine Miss Cara."

Why was she not surprised? She watched and he went to get some water for himself and her handing her the glass she she took slowly and brought to her lips.

"It could just be swollen. Or it could be cracked."

"Perfect." Cara mumbled "As if my head wasn't bad enough already"

"If that is the case, We'll have to put you in a brace and you'll have to promise me not to perform that dance move EVER again. At least not with that moron."

"No problem, believe me" She replied her eyes closing for a moment.

"But we can't be sure of what is wrong with it without the proper equipment, which is in my office. Take it easy for the rest of the day, if it bothers you, ball up a pair of clean socks, put them in the oven for about a minute and then put them on your neck where the pain is."

She nodded in understanding.

"The clinic opens at eight as usual tomorrow, and I want to see you as soon as possible, okay?"

"I'm no stranger to the place. I'll get there ASAP so I can leave just as quickly. No offence but I really hate that part of the opera House."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles had thought it would be best to leave as soon as possible, but her last statement had interested him. He found himself sitting down. It had been a long day, and the heat of the house made it feel like he was relaxing in a sauna.

"No offence but I really hate that part of the opera House." she had said. This made him curious. A dancer who hated working at he Opera House? He didn't find it pleasant himself, but honestly, he was confined to that clinic all day unless he got about and explored like he had that day. He didn't understand her reason. He wondered if there was a story behind it.

"By, 'that part' " he said "can I assume you just mean the doctor's office? Or are we talking about that entire section of the Opera House?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She hadn't really known she had spoken or that or that her quite mumble was loud enough to be heard but it seemed that she had and he did.

The statement about the doctors office just rolled off her tongue without so much as a second thought, at least not until Charles asked about it.

"By, 'that part' can I assume you just mean the doctor's office? Or are we talking about that entire section of the Opera House?"

Turning towards him she sighed.

"Well the whole doctoring part of the Opera House IS called the doctors office but I mean all of it. How could I not when it seems like a second home? When some doctor is tending to me every other mouth for some reason or another..." her words hung then as a sigh passed her lips. "Though at least some of those reasons are now gone"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles could tell that this woman genuinely loved her children, or at least the child that had come running in to see her. Just by the way she had smiled when the little girl made her cute comments, or blinked her wide innocent eyes, he could tell. That's why the next string of comments that came out of her mouth bothered him.

It was his own fault he supposed...for being nosy and asking the question to recieve such a troubling answer.

"Well the whole doctoring part of the Opera House IS called the doctors office but I mean all of it. How could I not when it seems like a second home? When some doctor is tending to me every other mouth for some reason or another..."

That was terrible. Not that he hadn't seen some 'hospital residents' as they were sometimes called. He had heard the sob stories and seen them have to stay for weeks and sometimes months at a time. But, he felt sorry for Cara's case. She wasn't whining, or complaining. She had a life to live and kids to love, and she honestly WANTED to get better. She wasn't milking things.
She sighed before continuing.

"Though at least some of those reasons are now gone" He nodded. It was good that some of the things were able to be fixed, and he hoped that more could be done. No, not hoped, but was officially determined that he should assist in the healing process as much as possible. If he didn't her lifestyle, her career, and maybe eventually her life could be at risk if he didn't help at least a little. He wiggled in his chair, making himself comfortable after having sunken down a little before speaking again.

"Well," he said, clearing his throat a little. "What if you didn't have to go to the doctor's office all the time?" he asked. "What if the doctor came to you?" He hoped she would at least consider the offer; after all, to him it seemed she would much rather be at home more often than in that wing of the House. He worked there and he didn't fancy it much.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

He had asked the question though she had wished he had not, the memories all flooding back as she explained in black and white terms why she hated the doctor's office. But now with Mark gone would he life ever be like that again, had the trade of for him leaving her meant that the hospital in her life would no longer need to make sure her bed was always free?


"Well," his voice snapping her out of her thoughts her hand falling away from the heart upon her shoulder.

"What if you didn't have to go to the doctor's office all the time?"

Her brow rose in question.

"What if the doctor came to you?"

"I umm" She started before going on "I'd like that but the main reasons I was always in hospital is gone now. M...M..my husband is gone so now it's mostly just my head and anyone else that comes after me."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

He had offered to start making routine visits to see if she was alright, so that she could avoid coming to the office so often. That was, at least for the simple things. It would be no trouble at all.

"I umm" she said. He leaned forward to listen. Why was she hesitant again?

"I'd like that but the main reasons I was always in hospital is gone now. M...M..my husband is gone so now it's mostly just my head and anyone else that comes after me."

Charles was slightly taken aback by what she had said. He hadn't even thougth about her being married, though spouses often went with children. It would have been very interesting had it been him as opposed to the nanny that had come in after Charles had laid Cara on the couch. But she had just said that since he was gone, she wasn't hospitalized as much. He had to wonder...had he been beating her? Charles couldn't stand the thought. Under no circumstances was it EVER acceptable to lay your hands on a woman with the intention of causing her harm. And Cara seemed physically fragile as it was. It would take someone incredibly twisted to want to cause her harm.

Then she said the bit about 'anyone else that comes after me'. His expression hardened. Was there someone else now that was trying to hurt her. He was trained to heal, but he was also capable of causing pain when necessary. "'Anyone else that comes after you?'" he asked, quoting her. "What do you mean by that Cara?" He couldn't help it...he happened to tense up in the slightest.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Who would have thought that a dump on the head would lead to a story of history? When Cara found herself speaking of her husband, the battle that came with him she could see that Charles had questions.

"'Anyone else that comes after you?'"

He had questioned making Cara nod her head slowly.

"What do you mean by that Cara?"

A sigh passed her lips. Was she really ready to tell someone else about her past?

"I take you you haven't heard the rumours then, didn't read much of my medical history. Tell me have you ever heard of a man Called Mark Blaze? Do you believe in true evil?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

This afternoon had taken a serious turn of events. That and his visit to Cara's household was supposed to be very short, in then out. But it was turning into something a bit deeper. She had secrets, and he didn't mean to delve in; but as a doctor, and as of right then, the doctor who was taking care of her, he had to make sure nothing was going to cause her any harm.

He reflexively bowed up when she said someone had been 'coming after her', but he sat on the edge of his seat and listened intently.


She sighed. "I take you you haven't heard the rumours then, didn't read much of my medical history." He shook his head. "I only recently moved to France, and I just flipped through your files to see if there were any pre-existing conditions that the medication I was giving you might irritate." He mumbled, not wanting to interrupt.

"Tell me have you ever heard of a man Called Mark Blaze? Do you believe in true evil?"

He raised his eyebrow. "I don't know a Mark Blaze." he said in response. "The name doesn't even ring a bell." But true evil...that was another story. True evil was the reason his uncle's life had been claimed in that freak accident, his father's health had started deteriorating, and his brother had come home crippled and insane at the same time. He thought of his brother, and the shell of a person he was now compared to the strong willed, competitive spirit he had been before...before.....

He realized he had drifted away from the conversation, and brought himself back to reality. "True evil, however..." he said quietly. "I find it hard to deny the presence of something that mercilessly takes from innocent people every second of every day." It was a little intense perhaps, but that's how he felt. His eyes seemed hollow tunnels, like he was looking at Cara from far away. "How was it connected to Mark Blaze?" he asked in a detached voice.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

"I don't know a Mark Blaze."

Nodding she saw she'd have to go from the start.

"The name doesn't even ring a bell. True evil, however.."

She waited knowing that to each person evil meant something different. To her Evil was the true evil of the word. The Devil, demons hell.

[B]"I find it hard to deny the presence of something that mercilessly takes from innocent people every second of every day. How was it connected to Mark Blaze?"

"There was a side to him that was shear evil. D..d..demonic. He had a demon inside of him, one that coursed a lot of trouble."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles wondered how the conversation had taken such a dark turn. It was very sudden, and a little disturbing, but he knew he had to listen. His concience wouldn't possibly let him go now.

He asked her how this 'Mark Blaze' person had anything to do with 'pure evil'. There were many kinds of evil in the world. Some were little, like the people who mugged old ladies; to the big evils, like murders; to pure evil that tortured. Thats all it wanted to do was make people miserable and see them writhe in pain.

"There was a side to him that was shear evil." she said. He nodded and took another drink of his water.

"D..d..demonic. He had a demon inside of him, one that coursed a lot of trouble." she finished. "Demon?" he said. In his mind he had pictures of small creatures with red eyes and pointed fangs running around biting people and screaming like banshees. When he thought of someone being posessed, he saw someone with bloodshot eyes, writhing and twitching with pain as they tried to get rid of the monsters inside them. "What kind of trouble?" he said. "And did you know he had this..." he had trouble with the word, "demon inside him when you met him?" This conversation was taking a dark turn. Anyone else might not have believed her, or might have listened unless it was out of sympathy. He however, actually believed her, and wanted to help, or at least lend her an ear.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

"Demon?"

Crazy, she knew it would be the first word that popped into his head and at times as she replayed herself over the years she knew that the story that was coming up was just that. Crazy and a story told on dark nights when the moon was full and thunder cracked the night.

"What kind of trouble?"

He asked making Cara's hand once again go to her shoulder.

"And did you know he had this..."

"Dementis" she finished.

"demon inside him when you met him?"

"Not the very first time" she revealed, "I was just a little taken back my him then. He was so tall, big built I almost thought he was a statue. I meet him again on Christmas one week before my birthday, we got to talking. I made him a promise that I would always be his friend, I can't remember what made everything change so suddenly. he thought I was someone else, someone that wanted to kill him. That's when I met the demon, that's when I knew my life would never be the same."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles suddenly found that he wanted to know as much as possible about this 'Mark Blaze,' man as possible. He sounded dangerous, and anyone that would hurt someone kind and fragile like Cara had to be cruel.

"Dementis" she had finished his sentance when he was asking about the creature that had posessed her husband. So it even had a name!? This was scary, stormy night, halloween-type, make you pee your pants around the campfire at the boyscout meet stuff. But what made this ghost story all the more horrifying was that it was all true. Why would Cara make these things up?

"Not the very first time"she said, answering his question. "I was just a little taken back my him then. He was so tall, big built I almost thought he was a statue." Immediately Charles pictureed a tall, wide, hulking bear of a man standing ominously over Cara. He didn't like it, and unknowingly, he grimaced as she continued speaking.

"I meet him again on Christmas one week before my birthday, we got to talking. I made him a promise that I would always be his friend, I can't remember what made everything change so suddenly." He was touched by Cara's warmth in trying to make friends with this obvious monster of a man, but his frow deepened and his leg began to slowly twitch in anticipation of the dreadful turn he knew this horror story was about to take.

"He thought I was someone else, someone that wanted to kill him. That's when I met the demon, that's when I knew my life would never be the same." He pictured the same huge, lurking man again, but this time, the creature was trying to protect its very existance from Cara....sweet...kind...innocent Cara against that, that thing.

He bowed up again. If this Mark person were here, he would be wanting to have a little chat with him right about then. "That's horrifying," he hissed through clenched teeth. He was tempted to say 'disgusting' but didn't want to rub salt on the metaphorical wound. "Cara," he said quietly, calmly. This next question was a bit more personal. "Was all of this before or after you married him?" His eyes turned to little Skyla. Was she one of his? Was there any way that the sweet, innocent girl he saw before him, sucking on her hand was child in part to the monster Cara's stories had began to form in his mind?

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She didn't want to go into detail, didn't want to remember herself. For awhile she had been pushing back the memories of her husband and his counterpart and so she only told Charles the start of the story.

"That's horrifying,"

He didn't know the half of it but she remained silent. her hand brushing over the burn in her shoulder. Memories fading back of that day.

"Cara, Was all of this before or after you married him?"

"That was before" she answered. "But we where married only a short time after, that was when I really learnt more about him, the danger that came with being his wife, having his child. Yes My son is the demons Skyla there is more Marks and believe me there is a difference."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles was curious whether or not Cara had married this monster before or after he had somehow abused her. Surely no one could be that forgiving, even someone as kind-natured as Cara.

"That was before" she said. Charles nearly fell out of his chair. This woman had endured being physically harmed by a man much, much bigger than herself; and still went ahead and married him?

"But we where married only a short time after, that was when I really learnt more about him, the danger that came with being his wife, having his child. Yes My son is the demons Skyla there is more Marks and believe me there is a difference."


So she had actually felt enough for this man that she had carried his child for nine months. Then, from what she said...somehow she had also carried the demon's child inside her as well. He looked at little Skyla and wondered what the 'demon' child was like.

"Was there ever any danger besides just the physical harm?" he said. It was a question he didn't want to ask, he had the feeling the answer would be something else he just didn't want to hear. But, he found that it slid between his lips anyway. He sat up as he thought of the only thing worse Mark could have done besides harm Cara. "What about the children?" he asked. "Did he ever harm them?" He felt a bit like Dr. Phil instead of Dr. Beauregard, but something gave him the impression that he was the first time that she had really told anyone.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Once again Cara found herself spilling out the story. The chapters once more being read though though this time more had been added.

She spoke of her marriage, the time before that what the time after marriage had revealed without all the details. Told how the kid were different, the nature of which they were born.

"Was there ever any danger besides just the physical harm?"

For a moment she waited and simply nodded.

"What about the children? Did he ever harm them?"

"No, he's never harmed the children. He loves them, left once to protect our daughter. H....he's never seen out son."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

This story of Cara's first wedding and husband...one he thought would be full of happiness, was turning out to be more of a Stephen King novel than a Nicholas Sparks. It was slightly disturbing.

He asked her if there was danger besides the physical. What all had this man done to her? She had nodded in response. He was tempted to just straight up ask her what he had done to her. But, he knew that was out of the question. Instead he asked one that was a little more dull and imprecise. "What happened Cara?"

He asked her about the children, suddenly worried that the man might have laid a hand on them. The very thought of what Mark could have done to them made him cringe.

"No, he's never harmed the children. He loves them, left once to protect our daughter. H....he's never seen out son." Charles thought that a man who had done those things to Cara wasn't capable of 'loving' anyone. But, little Skyla's innosence was hypnotyzing, and Charles was relieved neither of them had been hurt. But the fact that Mark, or Dementis rather, had never seen his son. Had Mark left Cara in the middle of her second pregnancy?

"How is that possible?" he said, then his curiosity about the boy taking hold, he added. "Is your son here." He made sure to call the boy 'her' son, not wanting to relate Mark or Dementis or whomever to either of the children as much as possible.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

God how she wished she could skip to the last chapter, the 'happily ever after' or to the simple 'the end' at least she'd know it was the end. How would romance, horror and mystery story turn out, would she be a victim? Somehow she felt she already was.

She had nodded to Charles question about pain that was beyond the scares on the outside, could he not see her still broken heart, the way he face seemed to glaze over when ever she talked of her husband deprived of any and all feeling?

Could he not hear the sadness in her voice when she told him that Mark had never seen the son that Dementis had given her?

"How is that possible?"

"He left before I gave birth" was her simple answer. "Is your son here."

"I would think so, no doubt sleeping" she explained her hand going to her shoulder again brushing her hair aside having now revealed the burnt heart.

"He just up and left.... again and I'm left to wonder if he'll ever return, if he loves me at all or even if he's still alive."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles knew there were only two possible ways that Mark/Dementis could have not seen his son. He was dead, or he left before the child was born and hadn't come back since. "He left before I gave birth" was the answer he recieved. He thought just as much.

He was starting to feel quite uncomfortable asking these questions. It really was none of his business as it was, and it must be terrible for her to re-live this.

"I would think so, no doubt sleeping". She was talking about her son. Charles had to wonder, Skyla looked like she was now maybe two or three years old. That would mean the son was still a baby, and that the split was very recent.

"He just up and left.... again and I'm left to wonder if he'll ever return, if he loves me at all or even if he's still alive." That really made Charles feel like a heaping pile of turd. He had been sitting there asking her questions about her very VERY recent split in a marriage that (though he couldn't see how) she still cared about. He felt like he should stop intruding on both her memories and her property. He cleared his throat. "Well, we can always hope." he said, not wanting to specify WHAT to hope for. He stood and placed his glass back on the table. "Thank you for everything," he said. "but I'm sure you would rather spend time with your family than discuss your medical history with me." He gave her a small, polite smile, waiting to see if she would dismiss him. Not that he needed permission, he was a grown man and he was intruding in the first place, but it still seemed like something he should wait for.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Was fate really so curl as to make her relive it? It was an answer she already knew for she relived it ever day, ever second. Every waking moment and all those time when she was not.

Charles had asked about her son, the newest pain placed upon her. Dementis had seemed so pleased with him when he had told her of his son and yet demon nor man had ever seen him.

The same thoughts raced through her head. Last time Mark had said he left to protect her, this time she couldn't help but wonder if he ran scared. Having seen her kill someone even if it was to save all their lives.

"Well, we can always hope." the doctor spoke having cleared his throat Cara only shaking her head. She was beyond hope, beyond caring.... just praying that her will would hold up this time.

"but I'm sure you would rather spend time with your family than discuss your medical history with me."

"It's nothing new" she forced out holding back the tears "I...I'll be explaining it more tomorrow anyway. Which leads me to warn you I have a heart burned into me. Just so you know."

And with that images came back to her memories so fearful that she could no longer hold back the tears.

[AgentCarolina]

OOC: Long time no post, no? BIC:

Charles Beauregard

Charles thought he was finally scot free. He could be free of the woman whose life he had intruded on far too much lately, and her family history. Still just visualizing that Blaze man made him both cringe and reflexively flex like he were ready to throw a punch. Cara had already been through enough, and she was so pure of intention, so kind. Not once had she asked how he knew where she lived or why he had taken her home instead of calling someone. She had been nothing but greatful and embarrassed, even ashamed since he had dropped her off. All of it was uneccessary.

He thought it was time to leave her in the ease of her own home...Though it must be like a house of horrors to her now.

He was almost dismissed...almost leaving when Cara revealed another detail that made his gut twist with shock and disgust.

"It's nothing new" she said in response to his comment about her medical history. "I...I'll be explaining it more tomorrow anyway. Which leads me to warn you I have a heart burned into me. Just so you know."

Charles stopped. His brow creased in thought and understanding. "Burned in to you?" he said softly. "Like a brand?" He thought of the cattle he had to brand when he was living with his uncle...the feel of the hot iron and the smell of searing flesh that came when the metal made contact with the cow's hide. Who would do that to her.

He came closer again, kneeling next to her. This poor woman needed some kind of tenderness, even if it did quite litterally hurt her. "Forgive me," he said. "This is already hard I can tell, but..." his voice was soft, his eyes apologetic. He really didn't want to do it but it had to be done.. "may I see the mark?" He said. It really was a question. If she said no, he would oblige, if she said yes, he would take it from there. "Please?" he said.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

The past,god how it seemed to creep up on you. It was like a horror story one you wanted to run from, hide under the covers and forget, it was like the "Tell Tale Heart" under the floorboards quite at first but slowly getting louder and louder. No matter how much she tried to run from it, it always came back.

It wasn't that Charles was prodding, no, thankfully it wasn't that. Instead it was simply her own mind and worry that made her reveal more and more about herself, Mark, Dementis and now the Celtic heart.

"Burned in to you?" he questioned her voice having seemed to stop him in his seeming haste for the door. "Like a brand?"

Yes, very much like a brand. Before her eyes she watched it happen again, the laughter that filled the air along with the smell of her burnt flesh. The pain that in the end had been to much.

She blinked as he steeped closer making her take a small steep back the images quickly fading though never fast enough for her liking.

"Forgive me,"

Cara raised a brow. For what?

"This is already hard I can tell, but... may I see the mark?"

In the back of her mind she had known that the question would sooner or later come. He would see it on his own or she'd reveal it to him. So few had seen the scares she now wore, the ones that had been placed upon her outer flesh.

With a nod, she gently took up her hair revealing her shoulder and the heart upon it. In the years since she had gotten it, the skin had healed the doctor having done a good job.

"It seemed so painful at the time, though.... that was the least of it"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles saw her recoil when he came closer, a reaction he was unfortunately used to when he was on the clock. Most people weren't too fond of doctors, and didn't appreciate the fact that he was so young.

He asked if he could see the burn. He was curious, not out of personal rudeness and a need to prod, but instead out of professional concern. If the burn were recent and hadn't been treated it could suffer serious infection.

Somewhat to his suprise, she agreed to reveal the burn to him..no struggle, no questions asked. She smoothly turned so her back faced him while lifting her hair. There he saw the burn she was talking about. He could tell it was faded, but its dark marring presence still stood out on her fair otherwise unblemished skin.

To his relief, it was apparent that the wound had healed. This was good and bad. It was excellent because it meant that she wouldn't suffer infection on top of having taken the pain of the original injury. It was horrible because it also meant that she had the injury for quite some time... and she would always have that scar.

"It seemed so painful at the time, though.... that was the least of it"She said.

"Thank you," he said, scooting away, giving her space. "For letting me see." He sighed. He STILL couldn't believe someone had done that to her. Especially someone MUCH bigger than her...and on top of that it was her HUSBAND. Someone she probably loved...and who was supposed to love her back. He had turned on her, and now she would never be able to completely forget.

"The least of it?" he said. He tried to remain professional though on the inside he was practically trembling with anger and sorrow for Cara...and he barely knew her. "Did you suffer more injuries?" he said. He couldn't imagine what more the man could have done to her.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

As she brushed her hair away she couldn't help but wonder what ran through the doctors mind. She could remember the look of Calvin and to a point even Mark's when they had first seem it. When she had first seen it she had wanted to rip the flesh from her shoulder wanted to rip out her eyes now....now as she glanced at herself in the mirror, ran her hands over the scared flesh of both shoulder and back the nightmare once more hit her mind.

To her relief Charles didn't touch it though she knew full well that his eyes roamed the raised red flesh and that of the skin around it. It had taken a long time to heal, strangely even longer then the scares that were lower and deeper cutting, funny...

"Thank you," he voiced making her let her hair down so it covered it again at least somewhat. "For letting me see."

She nodded and turned, what was she to say to that what was she meant to do now? He had seemed ready to leave maybe she should just let him do that or... it seemed he made up his own mind for her.

"The least of it?"

She raised a brow for it seemed a question one she couldn't remember putting forth.

"Did you suffer more injuries?"

Cara couldn't help but chuckle, not a normal reaction but her's none the less.

"You have no idea" she told him "No one does."

Her eyes come up to look at him tears within her chocolate orbs.

"You'd think one would get used to it, that the devil would find someone else to pick on. Just seems him, death and demon have found their new play toy with no thought of letting go"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles was disturbed by Cara's saying that she had suffered more injuries. How could any more horrible damage be done to her? He knew the emotional scars must be torment enough, but giving her physical scars that would almost never go away with them was far too much. How much torment could such a small, fragile body handle?

Yet...she chuckled in response to his answer. He raised both eyebrows in suprise. That was an unexpected response. By far.

"You have no idea" she told him after the chuckles subsided."No one does."

He knew she wasn't really jesting at all, but the fact that she seemed the least bit lighthearted about the whole situation put him slightly at ease. His shockingly deep concern couldn't be easing the tension much. Did Cara have tolerance for sympathy?

Her dark brown eyes looked up into his. It was startling, as it was the first time she had looked Charles in the eyes since he had flown onto the stage to help her. They were large, and as deep as rich dark chocolate, reminding him of a doe's eyes. But in those eyes, he also saw immeasurable pain. As if to vouch this true, tears began swelling beneath their lids. Almost reflexively, he pulled his handerchief from his pocket and offered it up to her. He wasn't sure if she would approve of his sympathy, but it was the only thing he knew to do.

"You'd think one would get used to it, that the devil would find someone else to pick on. Just seems him, death and demon have found their new play toy with no thought of letting go" she said. That phrase nearly broke his heart right then and there. In all honesty, he could no longer give her professional help (he was by no stretch of the imagination, a psychiatrist) and quite frankly, he had passed the 'professionalism' line quite some time ago when he drove her home.

"Oh, Cara," was all he could manage to say. Every syllable ached with the sorrow he felt for this poor little ballerina. His words stopped there. What else could he say? He couldn't say "It's all right," that was a lie. Things obviously weren't all right with Cara. He also couldn't say that he understood. He felt sympathetic toward her, and tapped into her pain, but couldn't relate and would certainly never understand what had happened. So, he said the only honest thing left that he could think of. "I am so sorry." Cliche, quite possibly. But it was truthful. The demon would never be sorry for what had been done, but someone had to apologize for the wrongs that had been done to Cara, and it didn't look like the universe was going to step up and help her anytime soon. He held his gaze with those big doe eyes, hoping that she wouldn't cry. He would understand if she did of course and there was nothing he could do to stop it, but he couldn't stand to see women cry. It was terrible.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

She had laughed, was that normal? No of course not but it was all she was able to do about her past, otherwise she'd be so lost in sorrow and pain that it would take her over once more and....she couldn't handle that. Still, it didn't stop the pain that entered her voice slightly as she spoke.

"Oh, Cara,"

The way he had said it made her look up, her dark eyes meeting his as she tried to hold back the tears she had cried over the years that seemed to build each time she told her story. Within them she could see the sorrow, the pity the things she could do well without but understood. God, if she were hearing this story from someone else she'd.... she'd no doubt run a mile.

"I am so sorry."

A half tiny smile graced her lips and she held back the tears as best she could.

"Not your fault, not any one's really. It was just the hand I was dealt. Dementis was..... twisted in his own right but.... these outer scares weren't by his hand, no his scares run so much deeper."

She sighed then.

"But what can you do? You can't change your past and you can't know your future. You just.... have to deal the best you can."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles was beginning to admire the petite ballerina on the couch before him. She was so...strong. She was small of frame and obviously delicate in structure (who wouldn't be with her medical history?) but she was strong of heart. She had endured so much torment, and was volunterily telling him about all of her past hardships and horrors. He had blatantly tried to steer the direction of the conversation, and even flee it entirely several times, yet still she carried on.

Maybe it's just time, he thought. Maybe I'm the first person she's ever shared this with and its just time for her to let it all out.

He sincerely apologized, though it was a very cliche thing to do for the situation, he truly did feel sorry for Cara and everything that had happened to her. She responded with a polite:

"Not your fault, not any one's really. It was just the hand I was dealt. Dementis was..... twisted in his own right but.... these outer scares weren't by his hand, no his scares run so much deeper."

Charles nodded, though on the inside he was shaking his head in disbelief. She was taking everything in stride, and gathering herself up again in a matter of moments. Just a few seconds ago she seemed to be on the brink of tears, ready to let her emotional dam break (though thank heavens she hadn't) and now she was smirking casually, and accepting her emotional burden.

A small frown played at his features, he couldn't help it. The whole situation would never be kosher with HIM, even if Cara had forgiven the horrible monster that had done everything to her.

She let out a small sigh before continuing.

"But what can you do? You can't change your past and you can't know your future. You just.... have to deal the best you can."

Charles did shake his head slightly, his eyebrows raised in his amazement. "You could have done a lot of things actually," he said softly. "and no one would have blamed you for any of them." He was getting uncomfortable, squatting on the balls of his toes, and he shifted his weight for a better stance.

"You could have done the angry thing, and gotten even." he said first. Though, quite honestly, he couldn't see Cara seeking vengance for anything.

"Or you could have done the cowardly thing and run away." He said. Like you did. "Though in all honesty, under the circumstances, no one would have considered you a coward." a small smirk crossed his face, then slowly faded away.

"What you did," he finished, standing once more. "Was the brave thing." He hoped he wasn't coming across as corny. "I admire you for that."

Suddenly he remembered the reason he had come to Cara's house in the first place. She hadn't been acting like she was in much pain, but someone who falls often enough soon learns to mask pain well.

"How's that neck of yours?" he said, remembering the possibility of swelling.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

But what can you do? It was a question that she had just put forth, one she had been asking herself for a long time now though.... no answer had ever shown.

As Cara found herself once more revealing her story, showing the scares she couldn't help but question this again. What had gone wrong? What could she have changed?

"You could have done a lot of things actually," Charles voice came making her head come up. "and no one would have blamed you for any of them."

A look of shear question crossed her brow.

"You could have done the angry thing, and gotten even."

She sighed, shook her head.

"I don't think so"

"Or you could have done the cowardly thing and run away."

Again she shook her head. Running was not something she could do though.... there had been times she wished she had.

"Though in all honesty, under the circumstances, no one would have considered you a coward."

"No....just....crazy" she said remembering.

"What you did, was the brave thing. I admire you for that."

"Brave?" she questioned. "I don't feel brave"

But the subject was quickly turned for which she was somewhat grateful.

"How's that neck of yours?"

She shrugged a shoulder.

"I've had worse. Pain is.... nothing new to me"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles was, by NO stretch of the imagination, a psychologist. He was merely a simple physician. Needed help with complex mental trauma due to something that happened during your childhood? Charles was stumped. Need a bandaid? THAT he could fix.

He tried to change the subject back to her injured neck, and was very thankful when she accepted the flow of the conversation.

"I've had worse. Pain is.... nothing new to me" she said with a shrug.

"Well," he said. "That is unfortunate, but that doesn't mean it's something you have to deal with." He stood again, relieved to finally be out of his awkward squatting position. "Mind if I give it just one more quick look to make sure it isn't anything serious?" he figured the swelling would have gone down some now, so he should be able to tell if she had broken anything.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

And so the night had taken another turn, for one of which she was grateful. It was hard enough remembering her past, let alone reliving it as she clued someone else in. She however kept the most shocking truth of all from him, the fact she would never reveal to anyone. When it came to love.... she was done, the pain all to much to handle.

"I've had worse" she had said, Charles didn't need to know that she had once almost died from a broken heart, that she was just holding herself together this time. That everyone she loved simply... left.

"Well, That is unfortunate, but that doesn't mean it's something you have to deal with."

"Oh yes it is" she breathed.

Pain seemed a part of her now, what would it be like to live without it?

"Mind if I give it just one more quick look to make sure it isn't anything serious?"

"Go ahead. It would be nice to have some pain taken away"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles made the comment that she didn't have to live with pain any more. Which was true. No one should have to live with pain, especially if they knew Charles. So long as you didn't cross him, he would do anything in his power to help you with your pain, whether it be physical or emotional.

"Oh yes it is" she sighed almost under her breath. Charles frowned a smile of discontent at her statement. Her mindset couldn't possibly be healthy, but it would take more than one evening of talking and venting to get everything out. He intentionally didn't say anything in direct response to her.

"Go ahead. It would be nice to have some pain taken away" she said. Again he frowned and sighed an unsettled sigh. "That I can handle," he said, attempting a small smile with an attempt to try to lighten her heavy heart. "Lean your head forward for just another moment, please dear." he said and gingerly pinched his thumb and forefinger where her neck met her spine at the base of her sholders. There was no apparent inflamation. Definantly a lot of tension, like it had knotted up, but that was normal. He didn't feel any sharp ends, and it didn't look abnormally swollen. "Hows that feeling?" he said.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Pain, it was a part of her now and she doubted anyone could stop it or take it away. It was a part of her heart.... what remained of it and there was no way that even a doctor could fix that.

He asked to see her neck again, fine, fair enough, maybe he COULD fix that, otherwise?

She brushed her hair aside and told him to go ahead.

"Lean your head forward for just another moment, please dear."

Dear? Alright, she'd go with it. It had been a long time but she did as she was told cringing a little as his fingers once more travelled.

"Hows that feeling?"

"Better, thanks" she said only in half truth. "I don't think it's to bad anymore"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

To Charles' relief, it didn't appear as though any major damage had in fact been done to Cara's neck. It was a little swollen, and a little knotted, but that was something that could be easily remedied.

"Well," he said stepping away. "There's nothing major astray that I can tell." he said with a small close-lipped smile.

"Just take some over the counter pills for the pain if it's keeping you awake," he said, turning to pick up his bag, which he had almost stepped on. "Alternate ice for the swelling and a warm rag for the tension, don't want you developing a spasm." He said, standing once more.

"Just don't let the little ones hang off of your sholders." he said. "And go into the city and get a massage." he said with another smile. She needs an excuse for one of those. He thought to himself. It seems long past due.

"If the pain continues, you can stop by my office at the Opera." he said. He was beginning to dismiss himself, but he couldn't see why he would be needed any longer. "And if you need anything-" he said, reaching into his pocket. "anything at all.." he pulled a small card out of his pocket. "Both numbers, day and night," he said, slipping the card into her hand. "I'll answer."

There was a small noise. He looked to see little Skyla peeking around the edge of the couch. Charles had forgotten about her.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

"Well, There's nothing major astray that I can tell."

To this Cara let out a breath, it was good to know that there wouldn't be more scares and pain to deal with.

"Just take some over the counter pills for the pain if it's keeping you awake, Alternate ice for the swelling and a warm rag for the tension, don't want you developing a spasm. Just don't let the little ones hang off of your shoulders."

Her eyes glanced to her daughter then. It was not her shoulders she used to climb on. She sighed but nodded.

"And go into the city and get a massage."

"Never been able to stand that"

She watched him as he stood, he seeming ready to leave for which she was somewhat grateful.

"If the pain continues, you can stop by my office at the Opera."

Again she nodded and took the card he then gave her. Looking down at it she couldn't help but wonder. Her mind going back to the last doctor she knew, a friend... could she really let that happen again?

"I'll answer."

"Thank you, I.... I guess you should be getting back to the O.H now and I.... I should get Skyla to bed. Thank you for all you've done... please, let me see you out"

And a few moments later.... he was gone.

[AgentCarolina]

OOC: Please note that the above scene has ended. This scene is for the lovely Miss Cara and Darling Dr. Beauregard BIC:

Charles Beauregard

Charles navigated his truck down the country roads similar to the ones that led up to his own home. I hope I remember the way. It had been quite some time since he had paid a house call to Miss Cara after she passed out on the stage. A lot had passed between them since then, and in their most recent encounter, she had opened up and shared about her passion for horses. This being something they had in common, she had invited him back out to her house to go meet her stallion. The day was going to be interesting if anything.. If I can get to the house first..


Charles managed not to get desperately lost, and wound up bringing his truck to a stop in front of Cara's home. He got out of the car and brushed the dust off. That's what you get for riding with the windows down. He wore the same boots he had on the day they had talked about riding, his comfortable jeans (because...well, they were comfortable...and he wanted to rib her a little), a decent tee shirt, and the cherry on the proverbial sundae....his very own, slightly worse for wear, cowboy hat. It was the one he had worn since he was a teenager...NOT the one that had been trampled, the one he got AFTER that...and he hadn't seen the use in getting another. It might serve a purpose today, but again, it was mainly for the purpose of making her smile.

She hadn't told him to come straight out to the stables or such when they had talked, so he went up to the door like a good boy. And, despite the fact he KNEW the door would be open (like she had explained it always would be) he knocked. He bounced up and down slightly, just about as happy as little boy being dropped off on a play date.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Out in the back paddock Cara Blaze Andovea had just called for her horse, the handsome white stallion coming straight to her in a gentle welcome nuzzling her and sniffing at her pocket thinking there might be treats.

"You get the carrots later bad boy" she told her horse with a laugh leading him out of the paddock and over to the rail putting on his bridle which was going to be the only thing she put on her horse today.

When she had first gotten his she had used the Western Saddle that Evrard had gotten them both but having gotten to know and trust her horse she no longer wanted to use it.

Today was a day of freedom of riding for the pure joy of it and so swinging up onto his back she walked him to the front garden having heard a truck pull up.

"Well, well, well. How's it goin' cow boy?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles smiled and rocked slightly on his feet as he waited for someone to answer. He was, well, excited; it was the first social call he was making since moving to France. And it wasn't a party, or a gala, or a ribbon cutting, or any other pretentious ceremony or collective gathering of butt-kissers and those whose butts were being kissed- it was an invitation to go horseback riding. He jumped on the offer, and couldn't wait to see the horse. He had dressed out like a rider (mainly to rib Cara), though knowing she only had one horse, he figured he probably wouldn't actually get to ride today.

He was surprised when his greeting came from behind instead of in front of him.

"Well, well, well. How's it goin' cow boy?" the familiar voice had called. He turned on his heel with a smile to see Cara, already on horseback, smiling a greeting. "Howdy Ma'am!" he called back, tipping the brim of his hat in her direction. "Couldn't wait for me to saddle up eh?" he asked, walking closer but keeping a reasonable distance and posture, unsure of the horse's mannerisms.

It was a beautiful horse though, and he seemed well behaved enough, didn't start or back up as Charles approached (though Charles wasn't an idiot and he was going about it the right way). His white coat gleamed like he had just been brushed, and for a moment Charles wondered if Cara had gussied him up in the anticipation of company. Upon studying Cara herself, Charles saw that she was bareback....bareback with just a bridle.

He laughed and shook his head. "Looks like you were even too impatient for the saddle."

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Neatly brushed, newly feed her stallion was ready to go just as she had wanted him to be upon Charle's arrival though Cara knew that she'd give the horse a good rub down after their ride.

Having swung up on his back she rode to the front of the house greeting Charles seeing him decked out in full cow boy gear...though he was missing the guns and spurs, thank god.

"Howdy Ma'am!"

She couldn't help but laugh, he was at it again, the bad cow boy accent along with a tip of a hat.

"Couldn't wait for me to saddle up eh?"

A mere shrug of a shoulder, for it was clear he couldn't see the truth. The saddle was back on the rail over near the paddock along with helmets. A must, Cara thought to herself as she watched Charles come closer.

Her horse, have been picked BECAUSE he was well trained simply looked at Charles breathing him in, though standing almost perfectly still, twitching his ears now and then listening to the world.

As Charles steeped closer he laughed making Cara wonder what it was he was laughing at before she saw him shake his head.

"Looks like you were even too impatient for the saddle."

She smiled.

"Now where's the fun is a saddle? I like feeling the horse underneath me, every breath. Sides I hate stirrups and I'm ready to prove a point. You didn't think me a rider and I'm here to prove you wrong. So, you ready cow boy?" She asked offering him her hand.

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard


Charles couldn't help but poke a little fun when he noticed she was bare-backing. Was she seriously that zen about riding, or was she just trying to be impressive?

"Now where's the fun is a saddle? I like feeling the horse underneath me, every breath. Sides I hate stirrups and I'm ready to prove a point. You didn't think me a rider and I'm here to prove you wrong." she said.

So it was a little bit of both. She did seem to love riding as much as she had expressed to Charles the day they had collided in the stables. He was curious what she would be like once she completely unwound. A perfectly happy Cara...that would be a sight to see. It was nice to get her to laugh, her smile was nice, her voice like little chiming bells, and he was sure someone with a past like hers needed to laugh as much as possible.

"So, you ready cow boy?"

He raised an eyebrow at her lowered hand. She wanted them to ride double bareback? After a moment he grabbed her hand. Challenge accepted. "Are you ready prima ballerina?" he said with a laugh as he hoisted himself up. He didn't necessarily doubt that she was a rider (considering she was on by herself, bareback...and he hadn't REALLY had no cause not to believe her when she spoke with such obvious passion) but it was fun to rib her a little. She had teased him, and he had to keep the field level.

"So," he said once he was settled on the stallion's back. "does this handsome fellow have a name?" Before I just go galloping off on him, bareback?

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Having climbed onto her horses back and walked to the front of her house Cara had found her guest. Since their meeting at the stables Cara had found herself laughing again, being teased, being somewhat happy which was a rare thing. Now holding out her hand she waited for Charles to take it asking him if he was ready.

She saw his raised brow, saw the unasked question within his mind, saw the silent wheels turning. Would he take her hand, be happy with their 'joining up' as it was called. She only had the one horse and she didn't think to tell Charles to bring his own.

After a moment he took her hand swinging himself up behind her and suddenly she could feel the heat from his body behind her making her shiver a little. It had been so long since she had been that close to a person, her dancing having not involved a partner since the 'death drop.'

"Are you ready prima ballerina?"

She laughed a little smiling though shock her head.

"I'm not a prima...at least not yet but I AM ready." she stated giving the cues to get the stallion to move along.


"So, does this handsome fellow have a name?"

"Ghost" Cara answered simply "I called him Ghost. I tried to think of something that would relate to my patron but didn't come up with anything so... I thought about this handsome boy instead. Riding back home in the snow on a white horse.....people said we looked like something from a horror movie. Ghost therefore seemed to fit...and when I felt how fast he could run... well it felt like flying."

She walked them to the paddock reaching down to open the gate to then close it again once through sitting back up and looking out over her land.

"Lets fly"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard


Charles thought she was definitely confident if she was going to ride both of them bareback...and she was the one with the reigns. It was obvious that she trusted the horse, and that they were bonded well. He thought he felt her tremble a little as he adjusted himself behind her.

"I'm not a prima...at least not yet but I AM ready." she said, nudging the horse into motion. It was nice to feel the familiar, steady sway of a trained gait. He was working with his mare on improving her behavior and finishing her proper training. She might not ever be able to break into a full gallop because of her injuries, but she needed to be able to hold a rider without scaring or rearing up.

"Ghost" Cara said in response to his question of the horse's name.

"I called him Ghost. I tried to think of something that would relate to my patron but didn't come up with anything so... I thought about this handsome boy instead. Riding back home in the snow on a white horse.....people said we looked like something from a horror movie. Ghost therefore seemed to fit...and when I felt how fast he could run... well it felt like flying."

She delivered this monologue as they were riding closer to a large paddocked area towards another area of her land. He had a hard time believing that Cara could look like something out of a horror movie, but the name did still fit the horse. He hadn't been able to name either of his current horses- he had bought them both after they had already been named and registered, and he liked their names, so he didn't bother to change them.

"That's a great feeling isn't it?" he asked. "Feeling like you're flying on your horse." he said.

He hadn't realized that she was closing the gate to the paddock.

"Lets fly" she said.

Suddenly, and without warning, Ghost lunged forward. Thrown off his guard, Charles instinctively grabbed for Cara, wrapping his arms around her so he wouldn't be tossed off as he found his center again. "Woah!" he said, startled.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Ghost, there was more to the name she had given her Stallion then simply that but she didn't want to think about it. Instead she just wanted to forget the rest of the world and simply ride. Flying across the land in shear freedom.

"That's a great feeling isn't it? Feeling like you're flying on your horse."

"You don't know the half of it yet" she told him as she had closed the gate nudging her horse into full speed feeling Charles thrown back a little.

She hadn't realized that he wasn't holding on until she jumped a little as his hands went around her. Smaller then her husbands but warm, gentle.

"Woah!" he cried out behind her as they took off Ghost's feet hardly seeming to touch the ground.

The land stretched on forever over the flat plan of the paddock making Cara tilt her head back slightly. She looked up at the sky now truly feeling like she was flying her hair dancing as her eyes closed a totally relaxed look coming to her face as the sun bathed her in a soft glow.

"Freedom" she whispered.

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Cara had given the horse the command to gallop so quickly, it had caught Charles off guard and he had to quickly grab hold of her to avoid flying off the horse and onto the ground. He thought he had felt her jump slightly, but it must have been his imagination. She didn't try to say anything and the horse didn't jump with her.

Ghost was really running..not a trained gait, but a natural sprint, like he loved to run just to feel the wind in his face. It took Charles a bit to get used to the horse's own rhythm, and he wasn't directly in the center of Ghost's back, so he had to adjust more to the sway of his back flanks. But slowly, he managed to let go of Cara, relying on his own balance as Ghost continued to run.

He realized that Ghost wasn't the only one who liked the feel of the wind in his mane. Cara had closed her eyes and turned her head toward the heavens. Any sane man might have flipped his lid and taken the reigns, but Charles crossed the bridge from his sanity when he willingly (and anxiously) mounted a horse- bareback nonetheless- with a woman he barely knew holding the reigns.

"Freedom". he heard her whisper.

Charles himself felt the memories of his youth bubbling up..the exact feeling you got when you trusted your horse this much...when there was no separation between animal and rider..and you just let things happen.

He found himself caught up in the joy, his own eyes dancing with joy as a smile that would have split the Cheshire cat's face was plastered to his features. He stuck both hands in the air, looking for all the world like a kid on a roller coaster. "WOO!" a noise of pure joy. He laughed, lowering his hands, he really did feel like a bird with his arms to his sides as the world rushed past.

"This is freedom!" he agreed.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

With wind in her hair and the feel of powerful muscles underneath her Cara had never felt so free, so alive as she did at that very moment. Ghost ate up the ground as he flew across the ground something that before he had come along Cara had almost forgotten the feeling of.

Laying back in a stretch of water looking up at the sky felt like floating this...this was simply the next steep.

Half way across the paddock she felt Charles let go of her, the warmth around her waist however still remaining and though she couldn't see him she could hear the:

"WOO!" that come from behind her "This is freedom!"

"You may want to hold on, we're coming to the jumps and while Ghost is smooth you may.... loose your seat"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Think of your happiest memory..the best one ever...that moment in time you were so happy, you thought you absolutely had to be dreaming. Now what would it be like if you could re-live that moment right now, free of charge. That was exactly what was happening to Charles, except with him, it was like living several memories. To him, that's what could be felt every time he was set loose with a good horse and a good day.

He felt like a kid, reaching his hands in the air as he soared like an eagle, crying out for the sake of pure joy. Nothing would bring him down.

"You may want to hold on, we're coming to the jumps and while Ghost is smooth you may.... loose your seat"

She didn't have to tell him twice. Jumps were fun enough when you were the one with the reigns, double made it intimidating....double AND bareback..this was going to be interesting. He quickly held on to her again. Wings folded.

He leaned forward, head over her shoulder as he watched for the first jump. "Thanks for the warning," he said with a smile, anticipating the jump as the first hurdle came into sight.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Shear bliss and total freedom. It was like touching the stars to then capture one to keep forever like falling in love for the first time though to Cara it was even more then that. It was like finding herself again, when everything was perfect, no worries to hold her down and speaking of being held down the jumps suddenly come into view.

It was almost an afterthought that she told Charles that he may want to hold on.

"Thanks for the warning,"

"No problem"

A few more strides and they touched the heavens, sailing through the air on soft wings before landing and heading for the next.

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles braced himself as he felt the horse's stride adjust for the upcoming hurdle. Ghost launched himself over the obstacle with ease, even managing to land gracefully. Charles laughed, throwing a hand up to his head to make sure his hat didn't fly away. Cara was truly in her element, loving every moment as the horse approached the next hurdle. Again, without breaking stride, Ghost jumped and kept running.

Charles laughed. "This is fantastic!" he said, still feeling for all the world like a little kid on the front seat of a roller coaster.

He looked down at the ground beneath them, disappearing fast beneath them. His gaze then looked backwards, towards the stables...the paddock entrance...the house. They were going far out. What was going on. His blue eyes sparked with question, but he said nothing as he held closer to Cara with the one arm, the other firmly on his hat smiling all the while.

OOC: I lied..but I was working on this as we were PMing sorting out the ball post. Off I go there now, much love. <3

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

The paddock stretched on for awhile yet and Ghost ate it up quickly, the rhythmic pounding of his hooves sounding like a heart Against her legs she could easily feel every breath hearing them as her own heart slowed completely in her element.

"This is fantastic!"

Cara laughed reaching her arms around Ghost's neck hugging him gently. Ghost was born to fly, never to brake stride, almost as if he could go on forever.

As another jump came upon them Cara felt Charles hold onto her a little tighter the warmth once again running over her center as she slowly pulled the up to a stop.

"Care for something to eat?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles felt the earth start to slowly fall back into place around him, the grass and trees no longer a blur as the horse slowed to a stop. He slowly released Cara, sitting back up in riding posture, though that didn't exactly register. He took a deep breath and let out a low whistle, giving his head a single wag of approval. He had to get another horse now..that settled it. Beau was good for trick riding (when Charles felt brave enough) and slow trots, Charles was afraid to run him any. Roulette had broken her leg while training...and now that it was healed she was content just to misbehave. On a good day, she would let you on bareback and ignore commands. On a bad day, she would buck and rear. He knew if she kept it up, she would re-break that leg, and it might not be so minor the second time around...there was only one cure for that. He didn't like to think about it.

"Care for something to eat?" she asked him.

Charles blinked, smirking at the pure random nature of the question. "That would be great but umm..." he said with a laugh "I don't think we can run Ghost through a drive through." It was then that he realized he still had his hand on his head as if his hat were in danger of flying away. He quickly put it to the side and acted like nothing had happened. Nice.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

The problem with flying was that sooner or later you had to come back down to Earth and as Ghost flew over the last jump Cara slowly brought him into land. The touch down had gone perfectly as so was the slow run down the run way which now meant it was time to unload and have something to eat.

"That would be great but umm...I don't think we can run Ghost through a drive through."

"Arh but you see we wouldn't BE driving WE'D be ridding. That's what makes all the difference my dear Charles. However... I planned ahead"

Slowly she walked them over to a near by apple tree a blanket with a basket of food ready and waiting.

"See? No horsing around needed. Get it horsing around?" she laughed.

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

The ride had taken them farther away from the house than he thought it would have, and he hadn't had any reason to complain..still had no reason to complain about the joy the long ride out had given him, but he had still been curious as Cara brought the horse to a stop, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

When she asked about food he had been confused..again considering that they were in the middle of the back of her property. He made a joke (albeit a lame one) about attempting to take the horse to a fast food restaurant. The response was slightly attention grabbing.

"Arh but you see we wouldn't BE driving WE'D be ridding. That's what makes all the difference my dear Charles. However... I planned ahead"

"True, Cara, true." he said with a nod. There was a difference between steering the horse and going for a ride. The part that had gotten his attention though, was the addition of the small but important word 'dear'. She was kind natured, but she had never simply doled the word out on a whim before. He could just be looking into it too far, being Charles..but still, he couldn't help but wonder...

He followed her line of sight and saw there was a picnic basket laid out with a blanket under the shade of a healthy looking apple tree. Someone thought ahead... he smirked at the surprise. He was learning quite a bit about Cara.

She began walking the horse over to the blanket.

"See? No horsing around needed. Get it horsing around?" she said, laughing. Charles let out a laugh of his own- at least he wasn't the only one firing off almost painfully corny puns. "Very punny." he responded. His stomach spoke up, making his blue eyes widen with embarassment. What is in that pic-a-nic basket Boo Boo? "How had you planned on us dismounting?" he asked. There were several ways it could be done, but he didn't want the horse to freak out and hurt one of them..or heaven forbid..trample the food.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

The jokes and teasing seemed to continue though inwardly Cara couldn't help but wonder at the response one might get if you rode up to a drive through on horse back.

'one large fries and an apple pie to go. Thanks'

However, would it still be called a 'drive through' or a ride through? It was a thought in which she challenged Charles' words for technically one would maybe be able to get away with a horse and buggy. Wouldn't THAT be driving?

"True, Cara, true." Charles answered to her thought either way before she went on saying it was all a matter of horsing around which, with it's clever choice of words, worked on two levels. "Very punny." he said with a laugh. "How had you planned on us dismounting?"

Thinking about it for a moment Cara answered.

"Well, there's a few ways but I think the easiest will be... Down Boy" she commanded.

Hearing the command Ghost slowly curled his legs under himself as he got down on the ground.

"Now you just have to swing your leg and stand up"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles was unsure how Cara wanted them to dismount, if there was an easier way..or if something was more comfortable for them or for the horse. Or if something was easier. Easy would certainly be nice if one did not want to plant their face directly into the dirt upon dismounting.

"Well, there's a few ways but I think the easiest will be... Down Boy" she said. For a moment Charles thought she was talking directly to him and wasn't sure if he should be amused or insulted. Woof? He was thinking of just throwing his leg over the side when the horse curled his legs and laid down beneath them. Well, that works too...

Charles was already swung around the side and was about to touch the ground when Cara spoke again. "Now you just have to swing your leg and stand up" she instructed. His boots hit ground and he stepped back, offering his arm with a smirk. "Need some help?" he asked.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Upon the subject of dismounting Cara simply got Ghost to lay down for it would no doubt be easier then trying to climb down with either swinging a leg and hitting the other person.

With two simple words the well trained horse followed her command and unknowingly joined them on the picnic rug as Charles seemed to swing his leg and get himself to a stand, she hearing the soft 'thud' of boots hitting the ground.

"Need some help?"

Looking up Cara noticed his offered arm and thinking for a moment took the offer of help.

"Thanks" she said once she had found herself standing again pulling an apple from her pocket which she had picked from the tree easier. "Here you go boy"

Holding her hand flat under Ghost's noise she quickly felt the velvet tickle of his lips as the brushed gently across her hand.

"Now... would you like to look around a little or....sit down and eat?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Charles had slipped off, almost with no direction from Cara, it did come almost naturally after all. He had been riding horses for HOW long now? His instincts kicked in and he offered his arm to help her down off Ghost's back. She accepted, and he slid her off easily with a smile.

"Thanks" she said as her feet hit the ground. "No problem," he replied with a tip of his hat (another habit, though this time he had ditched the lame accent)

He saw her retrieve a shiny apple from the ground and walk around to Ghost's head, presenting the apple to him. It brought a smile to his lips. You could tell a lot about someone by the simple things they did, and the way they treated the helpless things around them, like animals and children. Charles had suspected that she had a kind heart from the beginning, he just wished she would come out of her shell a little more and let more people see that sweet nature just a little more.

He tried not to make it obvious he had been looking as she turned to face him again.

"Now... would you like to look around a little or....sit down and eat?"

Charles cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders, despite the small pang now coming from his stomach as he thought he smelled the food coming from within the basket. "Whichever you think." he said nonchalantly. "I'd love to see the place, but if the food is in danger of getting cold, I wouldn't mind eating." He leaned against the comfort of the tree, it's rough bark scratching his back, and it's shade cooling him. His hat slowly, accidentally, tipped over his eyes as the tree forced it down. He couldn't help adding a smirk and resting his foot on the tree as well, completing the cowboy-esque pose.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Upon being helped up Cara had thanked Charles with the standard reply of a:
"No problem," falling from his lips.

What wasn't standard was the tip of the hat which followed making Cara shake her head and question if she was in some sort of western movie. She could remember a romance novel she had once read called 'Chase The Lightning by Madeline Barker' Charles taking the role of Troy and her taking the role of Amanda. Though Ghost was close to the horse in the story she doubted he could travel through time but... as Charles answered her question about eating she really did start to question if he had steeped out of a western.

A shrug of the shoulders, a clearing of the throat, THAT was normal, any man did that.

"Whichever you think." she almost expected a ma'am upon the end. "I'd love to see the place, but if the food is in danger of getting cold, I wouldn't mind eating." What wasn't normal was the way he leaned against the tree, one leg raised his hat tipped over his head.

"You want some hay to chew upon there cowboy?" she questioned "I'm sorry to say I didn't pack any but.... I'm sure you could chew on the grass if you like"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

It felt amazing to be standing under the tree, feeling it's old bard rough through the fabric of his shirt, it's steady strength holding him up, and it's wonderful shade cooling him off. When he relaxed, the tree had pushed his hat over his eyes, and he didn't want to reach up and push it back. Cara noticed, and decided to do some teasing of her own.


"You want some hay to chew upon there cowboy?" she asked. He pushed the hat back up then, looking up at her. He didn't think it was that bad.

"I'm sorry to say I didn't pack any but.... I'm sure you could chew on the grass if you like"


"No thank you." he said. "Somehow I don't think Ghost would appreciate that," he added, stepping away from the trunk of the tree and closer to her, the sun on his back was a lovely contrast after the cool trunk of the tree. "I'm sure whatever you have packed would work just as well..." he trailed off. He didn't want to be direct about anything..but it felt like his stomach was clawing desperately away at his insides in an attempt to reach the basket before his mouth could.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

In her head the image of spurs and old ripped at the knee jeans come flooding in though before her eyes it was more a game of 'what's missing from this picture?' from the moment she had watched Charles lean against the tree Cara knew just what it was.

In the old movies she had seen cowboys chewing on something whether it be tobacco, grass or straw...she had once heard of it called charring, whether that was right or not she didn't quite know.

Drawing his attention and playing with him a little she questioned if he'd like some, though...sadly... the grass would just have to hold him for now.

"No thank you." he answered pushing his hat back up, his gaze finding hers. "Somehow I don't think Ghost would appreciate that, I'm sure whatever you have packed would work just as well..."

"Oh come on now" she smiled as he came closer toward her "I think he could shear a little, there is far more then enough. However if you insist on food I didn't pack any grits but I have trail mix and damper bread. Care for some?"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Horseback rides and picnics...he had done something to please Fate. The day was great, no pressure, no expectations, just good fun (and hopefully good food) was to be had on a day like the one he was having. In the spirit of being lazy, he had leaned against the trunk of the tree, completely relaxing in the shade and closing his eyes with the peace it brought him. It was then that Cara had noticed his stance and decided to rib him with some cowboy humor. What was wrong with being a cowboy? Specifically, she asked if he wanted something to chew, teasing him that she didn't have any blades of wheat, but that there was grass he was more than welcome to. He slowly pulled himself out of the comfortable bubble provided by the trees shade and answered her back saying that he didn't think Ghost would like Charles cutting in on his food.

"Oh come on now" she said with a smile as he approached. "I think he could shear a little, there is far more then enough. However if you insist on food I didn't pack any grits but I have trail mix and damper bread. Care for some?" He was tempted to stick out his tongue, but settled for an eye roll in response to her comment about grits. It was unfortunate that she didn't have any..this he would admit. But the trail mix she DID mention sounded like absolute heaven at this point. "That would be amazing." he said. The adjective was a little strong maybe, but it was a small miracle that his innards hadn't hit the grass and started crawling away. Maybe he should eat breakfast more often. He slowly sat down on the blanket she had spread out, legs in front, and let out a contented sigh. "It's thoughtful of you to do something like this." he complimented, and it was. Though he couldn't help but feel a small pang...his first BIG date with Melody had some similarities. If there was wine in that basket, deja vous might not be accurate enough words to describe the feeling.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Had she gone to far withe the slight teasing? She didn't think so but when he pulled away from the tree she couldn't help but want to eat her words. He said something about Ghost not liking him shearing his grass making her quickly reply that there was more then enough and didn't farmers chew the stuff for the sweet watery taste?

Trying to hide the slight uneasy feeling she instead offered him the food in the basket. Trail mix and bread having been always something her family had sheared when going camping. It was easy to make and filling.

"That would be amazing." he stated as Cara started pulling everything out. "It's thoughtful of you to do something like this."

Laying the food out the rug and handing him a plate she shrugged a shoulder.

"Riding always seems to make me a little hungry and I haven't been on a picnic in ages. The last one..." she trailed off for a second, remembering. "The last one was with marshmallows and a fire. Besides Ghost likes the trail mix"

She even went so far as to pour some on her hand and feed it to him.

"I hope you don't mind lemon aid."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

He got to relax for a day, he was getting to know Cara better (and she was actually pretty funny and laid back when she wasn't guarding herself against everyone and everything) she had taken him horseback riding- bareback riding on a horse he barely knew. That could have been interesting. And now she was feeding him, with a picnic that was obviously planned ahead of time. His mind was sent turning at her surprise picnic. Did she invite ALL men she barely knew out to her property to throw them on her horse and fill their stomachs? For a moment he remembered what she had said about killing a man and wondered if the food might be poisoned. No, she did that to protect her family...Besides...she holds no grudge...right? His suspicions were silenced with the combination of logic and his screaming insides.

There was something slightly awkward when she settled down and handed him a plate. What had happened? He couldn't have said anything offensive. Sure, he annoyed people with his child like enthusiasm and his...sometimes immature sense of humor. Child like..that's putting it nicely. You're an overgrown teenager. The breech in comfort wasn't large, and he decided to just brush it off as he took the plate from her. His eyes immediately lit with a little greedy spark but he politely put the plate down as she spoke.

"Riding always seems to make me a little hungry and I haven't been on a picnic in ages. The last one..." she trailed off, remembering. When she was lost in thought, he grabbed a pinch of the mix and popped it quickly in his mouth, knowing it was rude but unable to be patient.

"The last one was with marshmallows and a fire. Besides Ghost likes the trail mix" she finished, pouring some in her hand and feeding it to the horse. Charles cocked his head and the corner of his mouth rose in a crooked smile as he observed her. It was very innocent, the way she respected Ghost..very Snow White. "You said marshmallows. He likes s'mores too?" If so..he was in good company. S'mores were the highlight of every camping trip, every outing. They made the nights camped out under the starts that much better. And they used chocolate..sweet, sweet chocolate. "Does Ghost always get his own picnic?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he munched some more of the granola.

"I hope you don't mind lemon aid." she said. "Of course not," he said with a shrug. "Lemonade would be fantastic." Truth be told, he was more of a sweet tea kind of guy..but there was nothing wrong lemonade, and what was he going to do, say no? "This is excellent by the way." he added, swallowing the last of his mouthful. "Was it originally meant for horses or humans?"

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Ghost's velvet lips brushed over her hand slightly making Cara smile as he ate the trail mix. His lips and tongue looking for every late bit making her laugh slightly before she kissed his long noise. She had heard the saying that the way to a mans heart was through his belly, and as she even spied Charles munching on a handful she couldn't help but wonder if it were true.

Thinking about the past a moment she recalled her last picnic. It had been with Mark, right after she'd been attacked, unable to walk. It was then that he had, had his first ever marshmallow. She could even remember the look on his face as he eaten it. She said nothing of her husband though instead stating that Ghost would, if she let him, would eat the whole box full.

"You said marshmallows. He likes s'mores too?"

Turning she laughed but looking into Ghosts eyes she thought for a moment.

"Well, he likes biscuits and I think he may have had a nibble on Skyla's chocolate one once or twice. I haven't tried him with marshmallows though. Maybe because he is one" she said kissing the horse again before sitting down across from Charles. "But... you never know"

"Does Ghost always get his own picnic?"

"Of course" she stated seeing the raised brow and the handful of mix. "He's part of the family and was kind enough to bring us both out here. I don't want him to feel left out."

She then had reached into the basket and pulled out the lemon aid she had made along with two cups hoping that Charles wouldn't mind the drink.

"Of course not," he replied. "Lemonade would be fantastic."

Nodding she poured for him first handing him the cup before pouring out her own.

"This is excellent by the way. Was it originally meant for horses or humans?"

Turning and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear she smiled.

"Both. As I said it's something Ghost loves to eat and I like it to. I want my brother to be happy and have something at hand when ever he feels hungry. Besides... you seem to like it to so... I think its a winner."

She pulled out a few other things setting everything down.

"Skyla likes fairy bread and her brother likes pop corn. I guess... I'm just trying to make everyone happy and welcome"

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

Picnics were things of joy..for everyone. There was food, and sunshine, and the occasional outdoor activity to be had. It was all fun and games..until the ants invaded or the sky opened up, and even some good times could come out of those mild calamities. In Charles' experience...most picnics were planned..by all participants. But Cara had surprised him. He had thanked her for the pleasant surprise and she had responded by telling him about her last picnic. Apparently there had been s'mores...or...marshmallows. Cara had just said there had been 'marshmallows' and a 'fire' but marshmallows plus fire equaled s'mores, right? S'mores weren't something he thought of when he visualized a picnic..that was more of a camping thing, wasn't it? He didn't suppose it mattered as his mouth watered and he sneaked bites of the trail mix she laid out. He had teased about Ghost, who she was now babying. The horse greedily ate from her hand, and she laughed.

"Well, he likes biscuits and I think he may have had a nibble on Skyla's chocolate one once or twice. I haven't tried him with marshmallows though. Maybe because he is one" she said said. He nodded. "Likes chocolate eh? Smart horse." he nodded to Ghost as if giving him some respectful credit. "Does Skyla ride?" he thought the big animals might scare the seemingly shy little girl..but with Cara riding around bareback, the girl could be a little filly herself. Cara kissed Ghost on the nose before finishing her thought. "But... you never know" He had wanted to roll his eyes at her somewhat mushy affection for the animal as he asked her teasingly if Ghost always got his own picnic.

"Of course" she said. "He's part of the family and was kind enough to bring us both out here. I don't want him to feel left out."

Charles nodded. That was understandable after watching the woman talk about her animals..and seeing the way she treated Ghost, like he was a small child, pampering him.

She had poured him some lemonade after making sure it was fine, and he had taken a small sip as he more liberally began munching on the trail mix. It was like some kind of drug, he was trying to be a gentleman, but he couldn't help but keep putting one bite in his mouth after another. He cracked a half joke about it, wondering if it had been made first for the spoiled Ghost or for human consumption.

"Both. As I said it's something Ghost loves to eat and I like it to. I want my brother to be happy and have something at hand when ever he feels hungry. Besides... you seem to like it to so... I think its a winner."

He slowly brought the bite he was about to put in his mouth back down and cleared his throat, swallowing the last bit. She noticed he couldn't stop cramming it in his face. "Agreed," he said with a nod, taking another small sip of the tangy lemonade.

"Skyla likes fairy bread and her brother likes pop corn. I guess... I'm just trying to make everyone happy and welcome" she said as she pulled the other things out of the basket. He smiled back at her, "You're doing an excellent job in my opinion." he said. "But umm...fairy bread?" he had no idea what it was, but it sounded interesting.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

Cara kissed her horses noise, patted him and laughed with him, talking like he was a member of the family and to her he was. Was it because she had grown up around horses, that she loved them so, that Ghost was a part of her soul? Or was it simply that Ghost was the only male in her life not to leave her after her father had died?

Charles had asked her about Chocolate, if her horse had eaten the sweat brown stuff and Cara replied kissing the horses noise once more. She'd be damned what anyone else thought and if Charles didn't like it, well it was simply to bad. Ghost was the one thing that made Cara forget.

"Likes chocolate eh? Smart horse."

You don't know the half of it" she stated sitting down brushing the slight teasing of her ways aside as she joined him in picnic. She had packed what she thought at the time was a little to much but with Charles scarfing down the trail mix she was no longer sure, giving off a slight teasing off her own. Truth be told, Ghost may have been more upset about the trail mix then his grass.

"Agreed,"

She then went on about other foods, which ones her children liked best, saying she just wanted people to feel welcome, to...to hold onto some kind of family, friends.

"You're doing an excellent job in my opinion."

Her brown gaze turned to him, for he would never know how much those few words meant to her. She smiled softly laying out a few other things.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"But umm...fairy bread?"

"You don't know what fairy bread is?" she questioned wondering if he was teasing or not. Of course fairies where more of a girl thing but still... didn't EVERY child know fairy bread of at least some form? Like it or not...though she had been one of the odd kids that hadn't.

"It's white bread" she started "covered in butter with sprinkles or hundreds and thousands. I guess it's more Australian and New Zealand based by that name but....surly you've heard of something like it? Muisjes or.. what was the other one?.... Vlokken?.. I think. Ghost even eats it sometimes when Skyla shears."

He had asked her something about Skyla riding.

"Actually it's kind of cute. She pretends I'm the fairy queen and she's a little princess. The fairy bread helps Ghost to fly without wings. Kind of like Pixie dust, even has me wear wings. Of course, you don't really look like a fairy doctor so...maybe we'll have to give you some, IF she lets you join the court...she hasn't done that since... her father left."

It was after that, that she debated something.

"Charles...I'm sorry for snapping at you before, in the dressing room I mean it's just.... with not knowing about my husband... I feel....scared, alone. S...she loved it so much, still asks for you to read to her again... I..I didn't know what to tell her, if you'd want to."

[AgentCarolina]

Charles Beauregard

It was a surprisingly decent little picnic. The day was lovely, the weather warm with the shining sun, there was just enough shade with the slight little breeze that stirred to keep them comfortable. He realized that there maybe really wasn't that much trail mix to go around, and decided that if he were going to ration it at all, he should slow down. He had asked what fairy bread was..unfamiliar with the food.

"You don't know what fairy bread is?" she asked. "Nooo." he said slowly, sensing he had said something horribly wrong, knowing the question would probably have made little Skyla's jaw drop.

"It's white bread" she said. "covered in butter with sprinkles or hundreds and thousands. I guess it's more Australian and New Zealand based by that name but....surly you've heard of something like it? Muisjes or.. what was the other one?.... Vlokken?.. I think. Ghost even eats it sometimes when Skyla shears." His eyes widened as she described the practical sugar bomb that she said she gave her toddler. That seemed..dangerous. Skyla wasn't a curtain climber by any means, but still..giving a small child something covered in butter and sugar. Cara was definitely a BRAVE woman. "I can't say I've heard of it, no." he chuckled shaking his head. "But it sounds..." Like a diabetes attack waiting to happen. "sweet."

"Actually it's kind of cute. She pretends I'm the fairy queen and she's a little princess. The fairy bread helps Ghost to fly without wings. Kind of like Pixie dust, even has me wear wings."

That was adorable..and hilarious. The thought of Skyla playing princess and riding horseback with a fairy wing-ed Cara make him start to laugh. It stopped short when he heard what she said next.

"Of course, you don't really look like a fairy doctor so...maybe we'll have to give you some, IF she lets you join the court..."

He sucked his cheeks in for a moment, raising an eyebrow as he looked over his shoulder, visualizing the wings. "I don't think I have the right figure for it, quite honestly." he said in her brief pause.

"She hasn't done that since... her father left." Cara finished. Charles looked up at her, guarding himself a little, making sure Cara was going to be okay. Things hadn't panned out so well the last time Mark had entered their conversation.

"Charles...I'm sorry for snapping at you before, in the dressing room I mean it's just.... with not knowing about my husband... I feel....scared, alone." she said. He sighed softly, his hand running through his hair. "Well," he said. "It's like I said before..you're never alone with the kids." He had included himself as someone the night in her dressing room. Someone she could rely on, but something barred him from it this time; perhaps learning his lesson. "But- I understand."

"S...she loved it so much, still asks for you to read to her again... I..I didn't know what to tell her, if you'd want to." she continued.

"I would love to." he said. "Any time you- or she- wants me over." he nodded, his hand rubbing his jaw, then resting on the blanket. "Happy to oblige." he was treading lightly, not wanting any unnecessary tears or outbursts once again.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

To hear that the good doctor didn't know a thing about fairy bread was somewhat shocking. It somewhat made Cara wonder if Charles was the kind of doctor who'd give out jelly beans or a lolly pop to a kid after a check up just to make them smile. Yet again, he did get along well with Skyla which seemed to be where their conversation turned.

If Skyla had been there to hear Charles' confession Cara had no trouble in seeing what would have happened. The little girl would have packed up the picnic, grabbed hold of both Cara and Charles' hand to to then drag them back to the house so Cara could make it. Skyla would then make sure that Charles had a pile.

"Nooo...I can't say I've heard of it, no."

"Don't let Skyla hear you say that" they both chuckled.

"But it sounds... sweet."

To this Cara couldn't help but nod, relaying the make believe world that had come about thanks to the special treat.

Fairies, a world of make believe, that had only just been revealed to Mark before he had left, now...now Cara was a queen without a king, something that saddened everyone of the royal court. It was in the subject of the court that Cara once again found Charles with a look about his face that she couldn't all together read.

"I don't think I have the right figure for it, quite honestly."

Cara couldn't help her gaze from travelling over him before shrugging her own shoulder.

"Oh I don't know, maybe you'd just be a wingless one or....a nyth of some kind. The blue eyes would be something magical in a of itself though." She couldn't help but blush a little at that before drawing the subject to a close.

It was upon saying all this, thinking back that she realized what a jerk she had been to him upon seeing him in the dressing room.

"Well, It's like I said before..you're never alone with the kids."

To this she nodded, however, it wasn't quite the same thing, no quite what she meant. Still for now she'd let it slide, it was clear that Charles didn't understand.

"I would love to. Any time you- or she- wants me over. Happy to oblige."

"She'd want you over every night." Cara stated before letting out a breath. "But enough about me and my family. I don't want you to feel obligated to be a....a....nanny?.... to her or to me either. I know you said that I could rely on you but I...." she shocked her head forcing herself to stop. "Enough about me.... what about you? I feel like you've read a whole chapter of my life and I've only just gotten to line one when it comes to you"

[AgentCarolina]

OOC: Mmkay..getting back on track...let's go!..BIC:

Charles Beauregard

It was nice being able to sit there with Cara, just relaxing, not worrying about time or patients or any of the other things that tended to cloud his mind. Talking about little Skyla also made him smile..she was like a little ray of sunshine- something you couldn't help but to smile at every time you saw it.

Not to mention Cara had fed him..and he got to learn what 'fairy bread' was..though truth be told, monkey bread still sounded better to him..he would have to ask her if she had ever had any. Did skyla like cinnamon? They were still joking about fairies when Cara said something that surprised him a little.

"Oh I don't know, maybe you'd just be a wingless one or....a nyth of some kind. The blue eyes would be something magical in a of itself though." she blushed after she said it and looked away. It made him smirk a little, an eyebrow raising. Was she flirting? He didn't have time to figure out..as she changed the subject so quickly, back to family.

"But enough about me and my family. I don't want you to feel obligated to be a....a....nanny?.... to her or to me either. I know you said that I could rely on you but I...." she shook her head.

He smiled softly, letting her know it was okay..that he didn't mind. Though the word 'nanny' did sting a little. Was he just nanny Charles? After that comment..he had thought..

"Enough about me.... what about you? I feel like you've read a whole chapter of my life and I've only just gotten to line one when it comes to you"

He was pulled out of his train of though, both shoulders shrugging as he laid back on his hands in the grass. "What did you want to know?" he asked, the subject still a little awkward.

[witch]

Cara Blaze Andovea

It was becoming easier and easier to talk to Charles although....Cara had seemed to get along with almost everyone after having come out of her shell.However, she would have thought that Charles would have gotten sick of talking about her and her family by now didn't most men cringe at that sort of thing? She tried to think back to all those times she had talked to Evrard, Easy, and yes...even the snake. They had all had different things to say but otherwise...

She couldn't help but want to bring Charles into Skyla's life a little more, the little girl simply loved him and no doubt want to pull him into her world and therefore, yes...he just might have to be a wingless fairy.

At her comment about his eyes, Cara blushed realizing to late what she had said. In mythical law blue eyes where said to be the most magical and while his eyes where stunning she just....well...

Cara kept her gaze low after that not knowing how Charles would take the comment and so quickly 'rabbited' on. One could say she rumbled a little, tripping over words for after all she even made out that Charles was seen as a nanny to her though that wasn't quite what she had meant.

To everyone around her she was still a child, innocent and to kind hearted for her own good. Young, in other words. Mark had been almost twice her age Evrard older again and while they had two very different roles in her life she couldn't help but flash back to all the talk.

Wanting to change the subject she realized something, he knew pretty much all there was to the key notes in her life and he...he was still a mystery to her.

"What did you want to know?"

She thought for a moment though her face dropped as her hand went to her locket.

"I...is your family s...s..still around?" she questioned her voice almost a whisper as tear rolling from her cheek.