Hawthorne

"Stay still," Trey said as he tried to tighten the restraints on Elizabeth's hands. "Don't worry, once we get to my house, You'll be freed. It's just for show"

Elizabeth stood, hands tied behind her back, facing the ruins of the old castle which was now home to all Leviathan. "You're sure this will work? They wont suspect anything?" Elizabeth's stomach was in knots.

As he finished restraining her hands, he turned her around, looking into her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure." He then tied a noose-like knot in another length of rope and put it around her neck. "Now, you'll have to wear this too. It's... customary for slaves to be tied like this... if they run, it strangles them, and stops them in their tracks. Don't run, please." He adjusted the noose to be just a little looser than on actual slaves. His fingers trailed up her neck, sending shivers through her body, and he rested his hand against her cheek.

She blushed, biting her lip. Why do I feel like this with him?

Trey suddenly pulled his hand away from her, grabbing the rope. "Alright, let's go." He took a step forward, toward the gate to the city, and she quickly followed behind. As they approached the entrance, she noticed two men standing to either side of the archway. "Hey boys, just found myself a wench. Going to take her home and break her in." Elizabeth sensed in his voice that his own words disgusted him.

Elizabeth bowed her head, looking at the ground when they approached the men. But when he said that, she closed her eyes and acted as though she was struggling to try and get free.

"Go on ahead, and tell us about it later! She looks like she'd be good." One said as they both laughed.

"Will do." Trey's voice trailed off as they walked into the gate. When he got her out of sight from the guards, he turned to her quickly and said, "I'm really sorry about that."

Elizabeth looked at him. "It's fine, lets go."

And on they walked, into an area filled with run down shacks. She heard a few whispers from on-lookers. "Oh, fresh meat. Looks tasty."

With that, Trey stared them down. "Touch her and I will slit your throat, toad." He yelled. They continued walking, leaving the slum behind, entering a nicer area of the city.

Elizabeth felt slightly less uncomfortable there, so she looked around. In the street, there was a man, with white hair, and pale, almost dead looking skin. A zombie-like creature, along with what could have been four ghosts, followed behind. A necromancer! When the zombie looked over at her, she looked straight ahead, studying Trey's long, wavy hair.

They soon reached a building that was probably a stable at one point, and went inside. Elizabeth's eyes scanned the room, noticing all sorts of bottles of herbs and tinctures. Many occult items rested all over. In the far corner of the open area, a grand altar was placed, a pentagram as a focal point. He really is a witch.

Trey turned to her, dropping his end of the rope. "Alright, let's take these off of you." He reached for the rope looped around her neck, fingers lightly touching her collarbone, once again, sending shivers through her body. He loosened it and slipped it over her head. Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, he walked behind her to untie her hands. He did so carefully, and then turned her around to face him.

He took her hands in his, and one at a time, kissed the inside of her wrists lightly as he looked into her eyes. One of her hands drifted to his chest, the other rested on his cheek. "Trey..."

Placing his hand over hers on his chest, he leaned down, closer to her. "Yes, Liz?" His voice was soft.

Elizabeth saw something in his eyes, and turned her head away. "N-nothing. Never mind..."

Trey placed two fingers under her chin, and turned her to face him again. "It's okay." He smiled as he leaned in, closing the distance. His lips brushed hers lightly. Elizabeth's face went red. When he pulled away, she was speechless. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Sorry. I just couldn't miss that chance. "

"It... It's alright." Elizabeth closed her eyes, resting her head against his chest.

Before she could react, he carried her to his bedroom, laying her on the bed. He laid beside her, and they turned to face each other. Oh… Taking her hand, he pulled it up to his face, kissing her wrist like he had moments before. This time, he kissed up her arm to her shoulder, along her collarbone, and up her neck, sending shivers through her entire body. I've never felt like this before. This is amazing! He placed one arm at her waist, pulling her closer as he kissed her.

After a few moments, he sat up, taking his shirt off, revealing his chiseled torso. He pulled her into his lap, her legs wrapped around him. He kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her close. With one hand resting on his shoulder, she ran the other through his wavy hair. Oh, Trey! He reached for her dress, pulling it up slowly over her head and threw it to the floor.

She felt butterflies wreaking havoc in her stomach, and chills through her entire body. She's never been intimate with anyone before, and this was definitely what she imagined it might be like.

Someone pounded on the front door. "Trey, you in there man? Open up."

Trey looked at Elizabeth apologetically. "Sorry... It's my brother."

"It's fine." She kissed him once more before she got up. As she put her dress on, Trey went straight to the door to greet his brother.

"Chris, what do you want?" Trey's voice carried hints of anger. "I was in the middle of something. At that point, Elizabeth walked out, head held low.

Chris looked past Trey, noticing the girl with messy hair, and the straps of her dress hanging at her arms. "I'm sorry man. I didn't know you found a new one."

Elizabeth's head shot up, and she stared at them both. Trey shook his head. "Shut it. This is different..."

"Oh," Chris teased, pushing past Trey and walked straight to Elizabeth. "Baby brother Trey has a girlfriend. What is she, an elf? A shape shifter? Human?" He circled her, looking her over. Trey remained quiet, looking straight at her. "Oh my god... She is, isn't she. You fell for a mundane."

"Chris, I swear on the gods and goddesses, if you tell anybody..." Trey glared at him.

He... likes me? Elizabeth was blushing again. He likes me!

Her eyes met his, and his voice went soft. " Just... don't say anything to anyone. Things are complicated enough." He walked over and took her hand.

"Trey, you're my brother. I wouldn't do that. You know, unless she was ugly." He laughed

So smart assed comments run in their family. Elizabeth glared at him. "Very fucking funny."

"Oh, she has a mouth on her, too. I approve."

Elizabeth pulled herself closer to Trey, and he put his arm around her, comfortingly. She didn't trust Chris as far as she could throw him. "What did you want, Chris?" Did trey somehow know she didn't trust him? It seemed like it.

Chris thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, bad news man... Don't hate me, for gods sake. My lady was looking after Wyatt for you while I went out to grab dinner for us. When I got back, Wyatt was gone." She said she had left him alone for only a minute, to grab a diaper. When she got back, he had vanished. A note was left behind that said 'we're taking our son back."

Trey was in shock, so Elizabeth spoke up. "You tell him this after going on about me? Really? What's more important? A piece of ass, or the baby he practically adopted."

Trey looked at her, mouth wide open. "Liz, dear. You're not just a piece of ass." He squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Chris, you piece of shit. How could you let this happen? I told you to watch him. Not that unreliable little twat of a girlfriend." They were both fuming.

Chris stared at her, surprised. "I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough! You're lucky Liz is here right now... " Trey's fists were clenched. "Leave. Right now, or I swear I'll..."

"Trey, stop... He's sorry. There's nothing he could have done after leaving Wyatt with her." Elizabeth touched his arm, as he breathed deeply, trying to calm down.

Chris tip toed toward the door. "I'm really sorry, man."

"Just go." Trey kept his back to Chris. Tears were welling up in his eyes.

Once Trey's brother left, Elizabeth took him by the hand, and led him back to the bedroom, making him sit with her. She wiped his eyes, and hugged him tightly, assuring him that Wyatt would be fine.

After a short while, he stopped crying, an expression beyond anger lit his face. "I am going to take him back." He got up and practically ran to the front door.

"Trey, wait. Lets just go see if he's happy where he is." Elizabeth caught up to him and took his hand before he reached for the door. "Maybe it's best for him to be there."

"Liz... I need to see him. I need to make sure he's safe. I need to go alone."

That night, they laid in bed together, as Elizabeth comforted Trey. When he had gotten back, well over three hours after he told her to stay here, his expression was somber. He announced that Wyatt was safe and happy where he was, and that when he left, he went to the families door, and asked to come inside and explain. They accepted the situation as it was, and were pleased to know that Wyatt hadn't been harmed in anyway.

These creatures are that civilized? Elizabeth almost forgot that some of the Leviathan were essentially human, just special.

Trey soon got up, remembering that they hadn't ate all day. " You must be starving! I'll find us something to eat." He leaned down, kissed her passionately, and left the room.

Elizabeth laid there, looking around the room. An ancient cd player laid in the corner of the room, collecting dust. Beside it, stood a tower which held discs just as old. She got up and wandered over to browse through them. Getting lost in the albums, she hadn't realized how long she stood there. Trey came in sneaking up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I made us a late dinner." He picked her up, carrying her out to the small dining table he had set in another corner of the building. Sitting down, she looked the sandwich over— slices of turkey deli meat, with cheese, mayonnaise and spinach. "It's not much... I hope its alright though."

"It's perfect." She choked it down, smiling. She wasn't about to tell the man who indirectly admitted that he has feelings for her that she absolutely hated spinach.

After they finished eating, they went back to the bedroom and laid down. They were both exhausted from everything the past few days. They laid as far apart on his king sized bed as possible. When she thought he was asleep, she inched her way closer to him, and suddenly, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. He laid on his back, allowing her to rest her head on his chest. One of his arms was wrapped protectively around her, the other holding her hand against his torso.

This was the most comfortable she has ever been. She was at peace. She soon drifted off to sleep, where things were not so peaceful.

"Liz, watch out!" Trey screamed from across the meadow. He laid on the ground, his leg crushed between a fallen tree and the ground.

Liz ran as fast as she could, away from what was preying on her. A towering creature, black as night was right behind her. It's claws outstretched, fangs sharp as nails. She screamed in pain as it tried to scratch her, catching on her hair and ripping it out.

Suddenly, she was running faster. Liz looked down, and realized that she was floating. Her attention turned to Trey, and she saw that he had his arm stretched out to her. Was projecting his powers onto her? She turned around, still moving backwards. Her body arched, her face to the sky above. A low growl escaped her throat, and a bolt of lightning hit the creature, only to make it angrier, and faster.

The giant wolf-like creature caught up to her, raking at her chest. She tried to get away, to no avail. The beast lunged forward, tackling Liz to the ground. It bit into her shoulder, shattering every bone around it. Blood poured from her mangled shoulder.

She was losing every bit of life as each second passed. Despite the indescribable pain, she tried to fight back. Shortening her live even further, and making the monstrous wolf even angrier.

"Liz, wake up!" Trey shook her lightly. "Wake up, Liz, you're having a nightmare."

Elizabeth bolted up right, nearly hyperventilating. She reached for her shoulder, and then her stomach, finding that both were fine. Then, she lifted the blanket, checking Trey's leg. "You were pinned under a tree... There was a wolf... Your powers, I used them. But the monster killed me." Tears rolled down Elizabeth's face.

"Shh. Shh. It's alright, sweetheart." Trey wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead. "It was just a bad dream." He rubbed her back, rocking her. "Just settle down, everything is alright; You're safe here, I promise.

"Thank you," Was all she could say.

They stayed up together for the rest of the night. Elizabeth never really had nightmares before she seen a Leviathan. The very leviathan who held her in his arms at that very moment. She wondered if maybe that it was related somehow. What if seeing first hand, the beings she was taught to fear, opened doors in her mind to frightful ideas and possibilities.

And yet, there she was, in the arms of one of the many evils that inhabit this war torn earth. The man who held her, Trey, was the single greatest person she had ever met. When Elizabeth looked at him, she saw a great man, who has had his struggles, just like anyone else. She doesn't see an abomination.

Elizabeth's thoughts trailed on through their silent embrace. They had since laid down, his arms wrapped around her protectively. Looking up, she saw that he had fallen asleep. He looked peaceful. Trying not to disturb him, she inched as close to him as she could and tried to settle in.

Elizabeth awoke to an empty bedroom, early in the morning. She rolled over onto her stomach, wrapping the large blanket around her like a cocoon. Tried as she might, she couldn't get back to sleep. Relaxing in bed was enjoyable though, she had to admit.

She soon began to nod off, only to be woken by Trey's voice. "I see the caterpillar will soon transform into a beautiful butterfly. Oh wait, it already has." He climbed in beside her, pulling some of the loose blanket over him.

Elizabeth relinquished the blanket, and pulled herself closer to him. "Good morning, she yawned."

"Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well that time around?" Trey wrapped an arm around her.

She couldn’t remember any dreams except that one. "Yes, I think so." She propped herself up long enough to kiss his cheek, and the laid back down, resting her head against her chest. "Thanks for trying to stay up with me."

"No problem, darling." Trey kissed the top of her head, rubbing his thumb against her upper arm.

Silence ensued, only the sound heard was Trey's heartbeat, and breathing, radiated from inside his ribcage, into her ear. One of the most soothing sounds she has ever heard. I wonder what he is thinking about… Her own thoughts were a jumbled mess, somewhere between the moment they had before Trey's brother arrived, and the nightmare she awoke from only seven hours before.

His touch was chilling; his kiss tore flesh from her shoulder, crushing bones. Ecstasy. Pain. Numb. Shrieks escaped her lips, disguised as moans. Elizabeth shook her head, dismissing the disarranged thought.