A Firefly's Tale-The Backstory of AJ - Printable Version +- Comics Uncovered (http://comicsuncovered.com) +-- Forum: Creative Corner... (http://comicsuncovered.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=10) +--- Forum: The Bestseller Club - Shhh... (http://comicsuncovered.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=35) +--- Thread: A Firefly's Tale-The Backstory of AJ (/showthread.php?tid=35)

A Firefly's Tale-The Backstory of AJ - Enchantress - 03-19-2004 Thought maybe I should post this over here...or "ovah hea" as AJ would say. A Firefly’s Tale Angelee Broussard remembered very little of life before her wings. Images of her past were fuzzy and grey, as if looking through milky glass. Of late, she had done her best not to think of it. She had enough on her mind right now. "And now, Put your hands together for our sweet little winged wonder…Firefly!" The lights were dimmed as she stepped out and took her place. With her back to the audience, she leaned forward and arched her back, wrapping her hands around the pole in front of her as the blaring strains of "Mississippi Queen" began to blur into the room, the lights raised and the whistling and applause began as looked over her shoulder with a sultry look at the men gathered around the foot of the stage. Giving her pink hair a toss, she turned and leaned against the pole. Reaching around her back, she began to slowly untie the tiny black bikini top she was wearing. Dancing closer to the edge of the stage as the men beckoned her with wads of cash in their fists. Leaning down, she blew a kiss to a guy who couldn't have been much older than her 17. He immediately leaned in and placed a twenty dollar bill in her garter, followed by his buddies who did the same as she winked at them all as she ran her hands down the leather shorts she was wearing. If they could even be called that, they barely covered anything. A couple of bright pink straps curved over her hips, peeking out from beneath the skintight black material. Life hadn't always been this fun. Sure, most people would consider it degrading. She didn't. It was the only chance she had to feel beautiful. The men in the audience who slipped her cash nightly had no idea that the wings were real. They had no clue that the pink haired girl stripping for them was a mutant. To them, it was all a fantasy, and she was more than happy to fulfill it. Besides, not only did she get to show herself off, this was the fastest way for her to earn the cash she needed to get her bike up and running, and get out of New Orleans before Jasper found her again. Jasper...even now his name caused a pang in her heart. She kept smiling that sultry smile as she untied the rest of her top, holding it in place with one arm, she turned her back and snapped her wings up, reveling in the "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd. Tilting her head back, she smiled widely as she held the tiny bikini top out with one hand and flung it towards the back of the stage. Turning, she tossed her head hard, letting that mass of pink hair fly around her and continued to let her body move to the music as the crowd got louder. “Night Jay, Night Lala, Nighty Night Billy!” Angelee said as she tossed a small backpack over one shoulder and walked out into the humid Louisiana night. Not a bad night all in all, about six hundred dollars, a couple of bachelor parties, a few proposals, a couple of guys wanting a little more than just a show. That’s where she drew the line. Going topless and stripping to earn some quick cash was one thing, selling yourself to the highest bidder was another. “Later AJ, have a happy.” Lala, one of the resident strippers waved to her from her seat at the bar and smiled as AJ left. “Good kid, I’d hate to see her stick with this though.” She said to Jay and Billy, who were behind the bar, cleaning up. It was nearly 5 am, time to call it a night. “Yeah, she rakes in the cash thought, and she’s cute.” Jay said as he wiped a clean glass with a dirty rag and scowled down at it. His attention had been on the cute black leather behind that had just walked out the door. “Damn…” he muttered as Lala and Billy broke out laughing at him. “That’s like the 3rd time this month that girl has distracted me.” His grin got larger as he sat the glass down and sighed. “Too young to be doing this though… you should see her on that bike though, damn, the girl’s good.” Billy said in a dreamy way until Jay elbowed him. “Never fails, she comes in and all you boys just go bozo. Must be those wings.” Lala said as she slipped off the barstool and made her way to the back room. The sound of a revving engine filled the early morning hours as AJ sat crouched next to the bike, covered almost head to toe in grease and oil. “AJ Girl, Tis 6 a.m! I ain’ts gots my beauty sleeps I says!” Tante Marie leaned out of the upstairs window and shook her fist at Angelee. “Sorry Tante, Ah just got home, ain’t been to bed yet none myself.” Angelee grabbed a shop rag out of her back pocket as she stood up. Wiping her hands, she shut off the engine and let out a bit of a yawn; it had been a long night. “Girl, ya been out runnin dem streets again, ain’tcha? Ups ta no goods!” The elderly black woman started down the wrought iron stairs, stretching her arms high over her head and yawning loudly. “Naw, was just hanging out down at the Boom Boom Room. Why?” AJ hated lying to the old woman, but didn’t want her to know the truth. “Boom Boom room huh? Den, why is it dat Crazy Joe says he saw ya showin’ your goodies off down at Da Sin Bin? Eh? Eh? Lie to old Tante Marie yous thinks. I thinks not! I’s knows betta girl.” AJ’s head went downcast and she dropped the wrench as the Tante Marie stood before her shaking her finger in her face. “Sorry, Ah shouldn’t have lied ta ya, but…ah just needed some quick money. Ya’ve been monstrously kind ta me, letting me sleep in the garden and all, but ah can’t take ya charity forever, Tante. Ah gots ta make my own way.” Her pink ponytailed head looked up into the face of the woman she had come to respect as much as a mother. “Well, if ya gonna go showin’ off ya wares, don’tcha expect no decent boy ta have nuthin’ ta do with ya! Now, gets ya a shower. You’s got that baby oil and glitter still all ovah ya!” to prove her point, Tante Marie pulled a huge chunk of silver glitter from AJ’s hair as she shooed her inside to take a shower. AJ lay starting up at the morning sky from her sleeping bag nestled in the lush garden of the St. Anne Street home that Tante Marie owned. The old woman had taken her in when she had been on death’s door a year ago. Sick with a fever so high most people would have died from it, she had nursed her through that and AJ had done her best daily to repay her for it. From cleaning her house, to running to the market for her. No task was too big or too small for Angelee to do. She felt it was her obligation to repay the woman for her kindness. But she refused to sleep inside. Explaining to Tante Marie that in her mind, it was freeloading. And she wasn’t no freeloader. Even in the winter months, she curled up as close to the house as she could in her sleeping bag and slept. Her eyes grew heavy as she let out another yawn and slowly fell asleep beneath the blooming bougenvellias. But sleep was something she got little of. A few hours passed and she was wide awake again. Finally giving up, she rose and let out big stretch and walked barefoot across the garden to where her bike sat. Enjoying the feeling of the lush green grass beneath her tiny bare feet, she sat down on the ground next to the bike and picked up the discard wrench and began to work again. The air was thick with impending rain. A person could almost taste the thunderstorm in the air. Angelee had felt it hours before it even began. Her wings had begun to twitch and flicker. She grumbled to herself and ignored it for the most part. Ignoring the tumultuous feelings growing within her however, was something she couldn’t do. Ever since last night, when her mind had wandered briefly to a set of beautiful blue eyes and a seductive smile, she couldn’t ignore her feelings. “Why now? Why did Ah have to think about him now?” she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, tilting her head and closing her eyes as she did. Jasper was bad news. And she had been dumb enough to fall in love with him. “Quit. Just get this bike runnin’ and get the hell out of here. Last thang Ah need is for him ta find me, here…he’d sick them bloodsuckers off on Tante Marie in a heartbeat. He’s heartless, rememba that girl.” She had a horrible habit of talking to herself. Mainly because she spent the majority of her time alone and hated the sound of silence more than anything. Standing up, she climbed on the bike and gave it a jump. Revving the engine hard, she grinned happily as it growled to life and began to purr for her. “That’s mah girl!! Yes!” she yelled, ecstatic that the bike was finally working the way it should be. She had money in her pocket, her bike was running, she’d finally be able to get away. It had taken her two days of planning and waiting around, but as the sun began to crest on the bayou, Angelee gave Tante Marie a kiss on the cheek and mounted her bike. “Ah gotta. It’s not safe for me here, and Ah don’t want anythang happenin’ ta you.” Grabbing the black helmet that was emblazoned with a set of pink wings across the sides, and the words “Spread your wings” across the back, she placed it on her head and snapped it down. “Ya can’t run forevah girl. Yas knows that.” Tante Marie came to stand next to her, and handed her a small pouch. “But, Ah wants ya ta have these. Des special.” Angelee took the pouch and opened it up, revealing two bright and shiny daggers. “Tante…” a look of awe crossed Angelee’s pixie like features as her brown eyes gazed up at the old woman. “No…yous takes old Voodoo and Gris Gris, des be helpful to yous in alots of ways.” Marie shook her head emphatically as AJ tried to give them back. Angelee smiled and hugged Tante Marie close to her. “Ah’ll come back someday….Ah promise.” She shoved the daggers down into either of her boots, waved and started her bike and took off. Casting a glance over her shoulder before she sped down the streets of the French Quarter, she knew somewhere, deep down inside, she may never see Tante Marie again, and an immense wave of sadness washed over her. As she turned the corner to go down Bourbon Street, she saw the crowd gathered and sighed. It was a good thing she had thought enough ahead to use her sizing powers to shrink down the pink iridescent wings on her back and put on a normal leather jacket. The less conspicuous the better. However, with the placards that read “No Muties in Mardi Gras!” and “Mutants go away” on them, Angelee slowed her bike and raised the visor of her helmet enough to get a look at the ringleader…Anabelle Duchaine. The same Anabelle who was Jasper’s sister, the same one who called the Mutant Watch authorities on AJ and had her carted off to Baton Rouge and tortured when she found out her brother’s lover was a mutant. Oh, it was payback time. A wicked gleam began to twinkle in her brown eyes as she took the helmet off and sat on her bike, watching the protesters march. “Ain’t it a shame ya’ll are lead by a MUTIE! DIE MUTIE!” She quickly put her helmet back on and rode the bike up middle of the crowd, causing them to disperse and dissolve into chaos. They began to circle around Anabelle as she screamed she wasn’t a mutant, yet in the fervor of the crowd, no one cared. They were out for mutant blood and even if she wasn’t one, she’d due just fine. Angelee smiled maliciously as the crowd began to shout and demand answers from Anabelle. She deserved it. Her and her vampire loving brother both. She turned her bike down the street and headed over to see Lala and pick up the present she had for her. “Isn’t she adorable?” Lala’s blue eyes shined as she handed the small German Shepard puppy off to AJ. “She’s a dog. Ya got me a dog?” Angelee was holding the puppy at arm’s length as if the thing was carrying the plague. “Oh, stop that already! It’s just a puppy! And she’s just adorable, yes she is!” Lala waggled her blonde head as she stroked the puppy’s ears. “It’s a dog…You got me ah Dog.” She still sounded like she was in shock, until the puppy licked her nose. “So, whatcha gonna name her hon?” Lala said as she took the puppy and put into the small carrier that was now strapped to the back of AJ’s bike. “Don’t know, never had a dog before. How am I going to travel on this bike with that thing, Lala? Were you even thinking?” Angelee shook her head as she put the helmet back on and looked behind her at the yelping puppy, then up at her pouting friend. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to be alone.” Lala’s blonde head was downcast, feeling silly for her going away gift now. “It’s ok. I guess it’s one of those things a person has to grow to like. Well, come on…Vicky, let’s hit the road.” Lala looked up and smiled brightly at Angelee, who had apparently just named her new puppy. “Vicky yeah?” Lala wiped away a few tears as AJ started the bike. “Yeah, I only call ya Lala cause ya made me, Vicky suits you better.” She waved as she sped off, leaving New Orleans behind her. “So Vicky…what do ya think? New York? California?” Angelee ask the black and tan dog laying next to her, snacking happily on a cheeseburger. It had been over a year since they had left New Orleans and in that time, AJ had built up quite a name for herself on the racing circuit. Bikes had become her passion some time ago, and she and Vicky had toured the country for the past year earning what they could and racing for the thrill of it. When AJ got spotted by a few promoters, she went into the amateur circuit, and from there on up. The pro circuit as she was finding out, was not a female friendly environment, much less mutant friendly. “Vicky” tilted her head and looked up at AJ as if she understood everything her master was saying. AJ’s hand slid to Vicky’s collar and she smiled brightly. Still tucked behind that collar was a single microchip, a microchip that held something very important. Vicky raised up enough to fall across AJ’s lap as she looked out the window of the motel room they were holed up in. Vicky’s head raised up off of Angelee’s lap as the dog look towards the door. A low growl began to issue from her as she jumped up and stood near the door growling at it. AJ was off the bed in a heartbeat, pulling the daggers from her boots as a loud knock sounded on the door. “AJ…come on out, they ain’t no other way outta der.” “Jasper…” his name slipped unabbiden across her mind as she pulled Vicky away from the door where she was now barking. “He must have those things with him, otherwise, Vicky wouldn’t be throwin’ such a ruckus.” Pulling Vicky away from the door, trying to quiet the dog somehow, she knew there was no way out. Jasper Duchaine had been “The” guy. Or so she had thought. She had met him several years ago during her time living on the streets of New Orleans. Jasper and his sister Anabelle had taken AJ in and helped her out. Jasper and AJ seemed to just naturally gravitate towards one another. Tall, hair the color of a bayou twilight, and eyes as cold as steel, she had fallen head over heels for him easily. But Jasper’s feelings for her weren’t what she thought. He had professed his love time and time again, and was even going to introduce AJ to a few of his “friends.” It was all a big lie. Jasper was what was known as a “leech” for the small clan of vampires that inhabited the French Quarter. It was his job to bring them fresh blood, by any means necessary. So if it meant seducing a sweet young thing like Angelee, that was all the better. AJ shook her head in disgust at the memories of her times with him. The lingering feeling of his fingers caressing her skin, the way he made her feel so loved and protected as he pulled her close to him after a passionate night, but it was all nothing more than lies. He had used her…and she had been smart enough to wake up and realize it before she was found dead in a swamp, drained of her blood. But now, Jasper faced a quandary with his master, Drakon. The head bloodsucker of the New Orleans clan, who’s attention Angelee had attracted one night while she was stripping. The pink haired siren intrigued him. Being around her for mere moments was like he had sipped the finest blood on the planet. A heady feeling overcame him, and he knew he must possess her. “Ah gotta get outta here.” Angelee became frantic as the door started to give way beneath the constant pounding. She was crouched down next to Vicky, her arms around the dog in a protective way. “Vicky, when I tell ya, you run, and you don’t stop runnin’ sweetie. Don’t let them getcha!” She took the dog’s head between her hands as she spoke, hoping she’d understand. Quickly grabbing her ever present backpack and shoving as much of her stuff as she could in it, she slung it over her shoulder and shrank down to the size of a firefly. Angelee unfurled her wings and flew over to the windowsill and waited with a feeling of cold terror curling in the pit of her stomach. The door buckled under the pressure and shattered on it’s hinges. Angelee watched from her hiding spot as Jasper and 2 other men entered the room and began looking for her. She could tell the other two were bloodsuckers, they just had the look about them. “Come out AJ, Ah ain’t gonna hurt ya girl.” Jasper tilted his head and looked around, motioning one guy to head into the bathroom. Vicky, who had been standing by the door as they came in, bolted out of it and ran out into the night. AJ waited into the guys were in the room before she flew off of the windowsill and out the door. Jasper knew nothing about her sizing power, he only knew she had wings. She had kept the other part secret for some reason, and know she understood why. As fast as she could, she flew around the corner and saw Vicky waiting next to the small Ford pickup truck that AJ’s bike was strapped in the bed of. Quickly reverting her size back to normal, she opened the door as quickly as she could and motioned Vicky to jump in. Jumping in and locking the doors, she started the truck and began to back out as she saw Jasper and the vampire emerging from her motel room. “There she goes, get her.” Jasper yelled, pointing towards the truck. AJ stomped the gas petal hard and cut loose out of there as fast as the vehicle would go. It had been close, too close. A few hours passed and AJ stopped for gas and to find out exactly where she was. She had been glad that she hadn’t unpacked the truck yet, at least this time she didn’t run out without everything again. “Ah know, we gotta stop runnin someday.” She leaned against the bed of the truck as she pumped the gas, looking into the back window at Vicky. “Someday sugah..” As far as she could tell, there was a size 13 boot in the middle of her back. Her head was throbbing so badly she could barely focus her eyes as someone grabbed her by her wings and pulled her up. It was all she could to do keep from screaming in pain. Rain was pouring down on her and her attackers. “Get her up! I’m going to enjoy this.” She was trying to open her swollen eyes to get a good look at the male whose voice was cutting through the fog of pain. After a few blinks, she saw a pair of cold blue eyes staring at her. “Hello AJ…I’ve missed you.” His smile was malevolent as he pulled back and punched her hard in the stomach. Angelee heard the sound of yet another rib cracking. She gasped for her breath as Jasper pushed his dark rain soaked hair out of his face. “Hi Jas...” she said breathless with pain. Trying to look over her shoulder, she saw Mikey and Dave, two more leeches that ran with Jasper for Drakon. “Ah see ya brought tha welcomin’ committee.” She flinched her wings hard; hoping to get Dave’s grubby hand’s off of them. “Oh, Ah’ve brought more than that lover.” His hand went under her chin and tilted her head up so he could look at her. “Look at ya girl. Broken, beaten, defeated. Give up already. No mattah where ya run Angie, I’ll find ya. Ya see, Drakon’s got connections sugah, and when he wants somethin’ he gets it.” AJ’s dark eyes were full of hate as she stared at her former love. The one man she had let in…she had trusted him. But not again, never again. She knew better than to say anything, it would just result in another beating, and right now, she was sore and broken enough. “Careful boys, those bruises have to heal. Drakon wanted her untouched…but I had to have a taste, just fer old time sake.” He leaned in and let his tongue trace down her cheek as he sighed deeply. “Mmmm..” It was all Angelee could do to keep herself from spitting on him. She had to get out of this; her life depended on it. She wasn’t going to spend the rest of it as a thrall to some bloodsucker. She looked around for Vicky, starting to panic. “Ya looking for your mutt? Don’t worry, we’ve made sure she’ll be taken really good care of!” Jasper said as he grabbed her arm and began to drag her towards the black van awaiting them. “VICKY!” AJ screamed as she pulled and tried to get away from the three men. She looked around frantically for the dog, but she couldn’t see her as they shoved her into the van and drove off into the rainy Alabama night. Something awoke her from her sleep. What was it? She felt something on her face, warm and soft, like a butterfly alighting on her, but different. Her eyes slowly opened as she shrugged off the last vestiges of sleep. It had been 3 days since Jasper had nabbed her in Alabama. She had gotten too close to New Orleans, she knew it was only a matter of time. Her attention returned to the soft caressing that her cheek was receiving. “I told you Jasper, I wanted her untouched.” The voice had almost a hiss to it, yet it was seductive and calm. “Master, forgive me, she put up a fight.” Jasper stood near the door of the darkened room, dimly lit by candles, everywhere. Bathing the room in an orangish glow. Angelee tried to make out the shadowy figure that was touching her. She blinked a few times as he stepped closer to the silken bed she lay in. He was….heaven? Soulful blue eyes gazed down at her, a smile of fascination on his beautiful face. Framed with long brown hair, he reached a pale hand back out and touched her cheek again. Angelee’s mind told her to be afraid, but she never much listened to what her mind had to say anyway. “Where…” she asked with a raspy voice as she pushed herself up and took in her surroundings. She gazed in awe at the room she was in. Opulent, lush, richly decorated in cherry wood furnishings; the bed itself was covered in royal blue silken sheets and canopy. Her fingers slid across the sheets, and she smiled a bit. But her rational mind began to remind her where she was, who this was, and that Vicky was gone. “Where Vicky?” She asked the beautiful man standing before her. “Don’t worry yourself about the dog right now my pet, just rest.” He brushed his hand over her forehead as he softly spoke to her. “You’re tried, aren’t you? Rest now, all will be revealed in time….” And he was right, suddenly she felt so tired as she lay back down on the bed and her eyes closed, she slipped back off to sleep. Drakon stood there admiring his prize as she slept. But it was a conspicuous presence in the room that annoyed him beyond all belief. He turned towards Jasper Duchaine and his smile fled. The look on his face was one of rage and anger. He raised his hand, and with a mere flinch, Jasper flew against the wall and was pinned there. “Please Master! Ah didn’t.” Jasper began to plead for his life as Drakon advanced on him. “Don’t…Don’t beg boy. You were given a simple mission. Bring me the Angel. Yet you chose to toy with her, you tasted her glory and denied me my rightful prize. And you’ll spend the rest of your pathetic mortal life paying for that.” Drakon’s pale hand dropped and Jasper’s body went limp and hit the polished wooden floor with a loud thud. Drakon stepped over him as he opened the door and gave a scathing look to the guards standing outside the door. “Take out the trash.” Was all he said as he moved soundlessly past the now unconscience Jasper. Angelee awoke sometime later. Her head was throbbing as she pushed herself upright in the huge bed she was in. She rolled her shoulders and winced in pain as her wings unfurled and stretched. She reached up and carefully ran her hand over the wing directly above her left shoulder. It was unbearably sore. Tentative fingers ran over the edge of the wing, then across the expanse of the gossamer to the opposite edge. “They really are beautiful.” She startled as she heard a voice from the corner of the room. She let her hand fall and looked down for a moment and smiled. “Do you always sneak around a lady’s boudoir while she’s unawares an’ indecent?” Angelee crossed her arms over her naked chest and smiled. She was not going to let whoever this was think for a moment they had an upper hand in the situation. Sure, here she was, naked in a strange bed, but hey, wasn’t like this was the first time this had happened. Drakon stood up from where he sat in an overstuffed chair across the room and bowed deeply to Angelee. “You wound me, my lady. I merely sought out the company of the most elusive female on the planet.” He walked around the bed slowly, as if he was stalking his prey. Angelee shook her head, her shocking pink hair flowing around her, down to her waist. “Ah’m not elusive, Ah’m just otherwise engaged. Now, while Ah appreciate yer hospitality, Ah don’t know ya name, and Ah really don’t like being naked in front of strangers.” Her lips turned into a pout as she tried turning on the charm. “That’s a lie, and you know it. You love taking your clothes off, I’ve seen it, hell, half of the state of Louisiana has seen it.” Drakon crossed his arms and leaned against the bedpost and smiled playfully at Angelee. “Ok, well, you got me there, but Ah still don’t know your name.” AJ smirked at him and leaned against the headboard of the bed, arms still crossed over her chest. “Just call me Drakon, Angel…you don’t mind if I call you Angel do you?” he sat down on the bed and looked at her with an appreciative smile. Angelee’s smile faded as he sat down and introduced himself. “Actually, I prefer AJ, if ya don’t mind, Drakon.” She pushed herself towards the opposite side of the bed and stood up. Feeling the wooden floor beneath her bare feet, she walked naked towards the window, letting her wings fall to their relaxed state down her back, and looked out. “New Orleans…” was all she said as she saw the pale strains of dawn begin to come up across the city. She felt Drakon standing behind her. He had somehow moved silently across the room. His lips were on her shoulder as his arm went around her waist. “I had to bring you home, my beauty. This is where you belong.” His voice was whisper soft in her ear as he pulled the heavy curtains back over the window and turned her around in his embrace. “I’ve missed you my love….” Angelee closed her eyes as a lone tear fell from them and traced it’s way down her pale cheek. The room had been silent for many hours as Angelee sat pouring over the books Drakon had given her last night. For the past six months, she had been his unwilling houseguest. Looking up from the books, her gaze landed on the window and she let out a sigh, dusk was approaching, he’d be coming to her soon. The door opened slowly and Angelee saw the familiar face of Joseph in the doorway. “Mistress, the Master has arisen and is requesting you.” He never looked at her; his green eyes were always on the floor, as were everyone else in Drakon’s employ who waited on her. “Well, you can tell him the same thang you have for the past two months, Joseph. Go to hell.” Angelee stood from the desk and closed the book. She saw Joseph flinch as she approached him, and finally, her curiosity got the better of her. “Why dontcha evah look at me?” she tilted her head, her eyes searching his face for an answer. “It is forbidden, Lady Firefly. That is all I can say.” He slowly back out of the door and closed it behind him. Angelee put her ear to it, and could her him lean against it and let out a deep sigh. Again, her curiosity was piqued. She and Drakon had what one would call an odd friendship. She wouldn’t necessarily call them “friends”, but if there was no way out of his home, and no where for her to run, because she had tried that the first three months she had been here, everyday, with no success. But she was willing to hear him out, and he wanted nothing more than to win her love. And she never saw that happening. “Do you know why I adore you so, Angel?” His voice came from behind her and she jumped from her spot at the door. “My keen fashion sense?” she leaned back against the door, kicking her foot up on it and crossing her arms, giving him a smirk. “No, not at all my love, It’s the way you tempt my thralls. Poor Joseph is so enamored of your glamoring powers that he’s not even able to look at you.” As he walked towards her, Angelee couldn’t help but to admire him. He was by far the handsomest man who had ever been attracted to her, even if he was a vampire. “Glamoring? Oh, that’s that faery power you keep insisting Ah have.” She shook her head again. This was a conversation they had had many times over the past few months and Angelee was still unwilling to believe him. “Angel, you must by now, believe me. You’ve read the books I’ve given you, you know you are far more than a lowly mutant.” He placed a hand on either side of her, effectively trapping her against the door. “Hey, some of mah best friends are “lowly mutants” thank you. And no, Ah see some similarities, but Ah don’t see the connection. Sure, Ah’ve got wings, and Ah can shrink my size, and yeah, maybe folks do feel a little attracted to me for unknown reasons, but Ah’m sorry, Ah…” she couldn’t deny the facts were stacking up more than she’d like to admit. “Do you know, darling…” he said as he leaned in to kiss her…” when the Fay slip through the veil between the worlds that they lose their memory? They effectively become lost and have no recollection of ever being in that mystical land. I’m amazed you hadn’t figured this out yet.” He leaned in and placed a slow seductive kiss on her lips, and Angelee was more than willing to oblige him. “Have you been drainin’ Bourbon Street drunks again?” Angelee smiled at him as the kiss broke off. “You know I’m as immune to your powers of persuasion as you are to my so called “glamor”. “ she ducked under his arms and walked across the room, putting some space between them. “Who said I was immune to it? Ever think that’s why you are here? You make me feel alive again, and for that, I’d be willing to risk everything. But more than that, Angel, you and I are kindred spirits. Both of us are creatures of myth and legend. We belong together.” He followed her across the room, to where she was standing at the desk. In her hands was one of the history books he had given her, and he could see the look of distress on her face. “Angel, my dear Angel, do not weep for something you are not, Rejoice in what you are. Longer lived than myself, a beautiful Fay who was able to slip through the veil and keep her powers.” He took the book from her hands and tilted her chin up so he could look into her dark brown eyes. “I’ll not keep you here against your will any longer. I only seek to keep you safe from those who would harm a beautiful creature of legend, and I only ask for the chance to win your love.” He ran a pale finger across her cheek, catching a tear that had fallen down it. Angelee knew he was lying to her. She was nothing more than an ornament, a bird in a gilded cage and he’d keep her this way forever. He had told her months ago he had sold Vicky off to an animal testing facility in the UK, trying to break her will and shatter her, and it had failed. She still stood before him proud and willful, and it was eating at him and she knew it. “I’m willing to listen to your Faery talk, and if you want to win my love, I’ll give you that chance, but the first time you even get those fangs close to my neck, I’ll shove a stake through your heart faster than you can say Louisiana heat wave.”