Fondness for an Ancient Warrior

Fondness for an Ancient Warrior Part 3

Caius didn't wait long to call Illyana. His imposed sabbatical was turning out to be better than he had anticipated. Instead of having to beg Aro to let him return home, he was quite enjoying himself living among humans. Certain humans anyway. Illyana had unwittingly convinced him to stay in the area, but he found he even liked Pietro for the horse expert he was. His comments to Caius complimenting him on how well he managed the unmanageable Monarch stroked the vampire's ego.

Pulling his little-used cell phone from his shirt pocket, Caius called Illyana later in the morning. He had added her number to his speed dial, the only number so listed, since leaving the castle was a rare occurrence. Who else would he be calling?

He listened as the line rang...and rang...and rang. His eyes blazed as he huffed, disconnecting the call. She had no job to go to, no family to care for, so where was she? She should have been awaiting his phone call.

Caius paced his hotel room, trying to decide what to do. Should he go out to her farm, and what, pretend he was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by? No, that wasn't the way he wanted to present himself to her, like some lovesick human. If he drove there only to find her gone, his ego would not tolerate the implied insult. Perhaps he would drive past the farm and see if her car, a rather nondescript vehicle that suited her purposes, was parked near the house. His acute vision meant he wouldn't even have to enter the road that led up to her place. He need only drive past the gate.

In choosing to travel through the countryside, Caius thought he just might not go past Illyana's farm. She had more or less demanded he call her today, yet she hadn't answered when he did. The perfect punishment for her perceived transgression, he decided, would be to deprive her of his company, which didn't seem childish in the least to the ancient vampire.

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Despite his earlier decision, Caius drove past the farm, his eyes focusing beyond the path leading to the farmhouse. He saw her car sitting under the large tree out front, but he didn't see Illyana anywhere. So she was inside her home and just hadn't bothered to answer her phone. Fine, he thought. He would have stayed away just to see if she missed him, but he found he didn't want to deprive himself of her presence.

His car, of its own volition he was sure, turned into the drive and followed the path to her house. He parked the traitorous vehicle and got out. Hearing no sounds coming from the house, Caius went to the barn. He found Pietro brushing down Monarch, whispering endearments to the animal.

Caius was surprised since Monarch had only recently thrown the young groom. "Ciao, Pietro, dov'è Illyana?"

"Signorina Illyana sta esercitando Mystique." He pointed past the wall of the barn to the large field outside.

"Grazie, Pietro," Caius replied. He went back out the barn doors and strode to the edge of the field. His eyes easily spotted the woman standing in the middle of the field, laughing and clapping while Mystique ran around freely. He wished he could just flash to her side, but that wasn't possible if he wanted to keep her safe from the truth about his nature. He had no choice but to use the slower method, like a human, plodding all the way.

Illyana was encouraging Mystique to enjoy his freedom by whistling and clapping at him. He was so tame towards her, whenever she called, he would come running. As she clapped in joy while Mystique ran around her, she turned briefly toward the barn in time to see Caius walking towards her down the length of the field.

She waited for him while getting Mystique to settle down and stand beside her. The horse obeyed and noticed Caius too, his nose lifting into the air, sniffing.

As her handsome new friend drew nearer, Illyana said "Caius, I thought you were going to call."

He stepped up to her, leaving very little space between them. His eyes were hard, and his mouth unsmiling. "I did call. You didn't answer," he replied. But while gazing at Illyana, his eyes softened while a slow smile altered his dark expression. He found he could not remain angry with her, an obvious weakness for him.