little bit.”
He winked at me and I took one of the few spots not covered with flowers on the couch. I grabbed a rose from the bouquet resting next to me and inhaled the sweet smell of the petals. Before I could appreciate the fragrance any longer, Vaughn returned and took a seat next to me with a plate in his hands.
“What is this?” I asked him.
“I thought I would make you something special, Ariel. So I made you a cake.”
“You baked?”
“I… I followed the recipe but it didn’t turn out exactly how it—”
“It doesn’t matter, Vaughn. I’m sure I’ll love it.”
I took the plate from him and poked at the spongy cake with my fork. There was a thick layer of frosting on it and the construction of the piece was something that a professional chef would be embarrassed to serve. Vaughn stared at me intently as I took a piece and ate it. The sweetness of the sugar overwhelmed my tongue and I grimaced a bit from the taste.
“How is it?”
“It’s… sweet.”
“I tasted some of the frosting. It’s really good.”
“Yeah, it is,” I chuckled. “There’s a lot of it on it…”
“So you do like it then?”
The sweet sugar lingered on my tongue and I smacked my mouth to try and remove it. When I looked at Vaughn, I couldn’t help but smile at him, knowing that he had done this for me.
“It’s the best piece of cake I’ve ever had.”
He poured a glass of wine for the both of us to share. I took a sip to wash the taste of the icing from my mouth.
Vaughn and I spent most of our time together late into the night. We slept in most mornings because we never had anything to do. Every now and then Vaughn would have to show up early in the morning for work but the lack of sleep didn’t hurt him. I liked it this way. There was a calmness in the night that wasn’t there at any other time of the day. I think it’s because of who he was. He was accustomed to the night. And I didn’t mind one bit.
“So what brought this on?” I asked him.
“What do you mean?”
“Why would you do something like this? It’s not our anniversary and today’s not a special occasion… is it?”
“I just wanted to do something special for you because… because I love you, Ariel. Do I need another reason?”
“No,” I blushed. “No, you don’t.”
We both relaxed on the couch and enjoyed the new surrounding of the flowers around us. I leaned in close to him and rested my head upon his chest. I breathed a deep sigh of relief, enjoying the peace I felt that only Vaughn could give me. But in my moment of silence, my thoughts began to wander. I remembered what happened at the bar that night. The uneasy feeling I had from watching the news and the strange man I saw returned to me. I wrapped my arms tight around Vaughn to try and forget about it but it wasn’t going away. I reluctantly opened my eyes and sighed as I pushed myself up and away from him.
“Is something wrong, Ariel?” he asked me.
“Vaughn… I want to ask you something.”
“Of course.”
“It’s about…” I swallowed and paused for a moment.
“Ariel, you can ask me anything. You don’t need to ask for my permission.”
“I know it’s just… I don’t want to ruin the mood you’ve created, that’s all.”
“Ariel…”
“Right,” I sighed. “It’s about… your clan.”
“…Yes?”
I knew that Vaughn would put up with anything I asked him even though this was a sore subject for him. I couldn’t imagine what he went through when he killed every member of his clan. He put his family to death. And he did it all for me.
“How large was your clan?”
“There were not many. But I don’t know the exact number.”
“And you were with all of them when they came to this city?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure? I mean, is there any chance that one or two of them went somewhere else?”
“They were all here, Ariel. And they all died here.”
I sighed, thinking if there was any possibility that one of them might
He winked at me and I took one of the few spots not covered with flowers on the couch. I grabbed a rose from the bouquet resting next to me and inhaled the sweet smell of the petals. Before I could appreciate the fragrance any longer, Vaughn returned and took a seat next to me with a plate in his hands.
“What is this?” I asked him.
“I thought I would make you something special, Ariel. So I made you a cake.”
“You baked?”
“I… I followed the recipe but it didn’t turn out exactly how it—”
“It doesn’t matter, Vaughn. I’m sure I’ll love it.”
I took the plate from him and poked at the spongy cake with my fork. There was a thick layer of frosting on it and the construction of the piece was something that a professional chef would be embarrassed to serve. Vaughn stared at me intently as I took a piece and ate it. The sweetness of the sugar overwhelmed my tongue and I grimaced a bit from the taste.
“How is it?”
“It’s… sweet.”
“I tasted some of the frosting. It’s really good.”
“Yeah, it is,” I chuckled. “There’s a lot of it on it…”
“So you do like it then?”
The sweet sugar lingered on my tongue and I smacked my mouth to try and remove it. When I looked at Vaughn, I couldn’t help but smile at him, knowing that he had done this for me.
“It’s the best piece of cake I’ve ever had.”
He poured a glass of wine for the both of us to share. I took a sip to wash the taste of the icing from my mouth.
Vaughn and I spent most of our time together late into the night. We slept in most mornings because we never had anything to do. Every now and then Vaughn would have to show up early in the morning for work but the lack of sleep didn’t hurt him. I liked it this way. There was a calmness in the night that wasn’t there at any other time of the day. I think it’s because of who he was. He was accustomed to the night. And I didn’t mind one bit.
“So what brought this on?” I asked him.
“What do you mean?”
“Why would you do something like this? It’s not our anniversary and today’s not a special occasion… is it?”
“I just wanted to do something special for you because… because I love you, Ariel. Do I need another reason?”
“No,” I blushed. “No, you don’t.”
We both relaxed on the couch and enjoyed the new surrounding of the flowers around us. I leaned in close to him and rested my head upon his chest. I breathed a deep sigh of relief, enjoying the peace I felt that only Vaughn could give me. But in my moment of silence, my thoughts began to wander. I remembered what happened at the bar that night. The uneasy feeling I had from watching the news and the strange man I saw returned to me. I wrapped my arms tight around Vaughn to try and forget about it but it wasn’t going away. I reluctantly opened my eyes and sighed as I pushed myself up and away from him.
“Is something wrong, Ariel?” he asked me.
“Vaughn… I want to ask you something.”
“Of course.”
“It’s about…” I swallowed and paused for a moment.
“Ariel, you can ask me anything. You don’t need to ask for my permission.”
“I know it’s just… I don’t want to ruin the mood you’ve created, that’s all.”
“Ariel…”
“Right,” I sighed. “It’s about… your clan.”
“…Yes?”
I knew that Vaughn would put up with anything I asked him even though this was a sore subject for him. I couldn’t imagine what he went through when he killed every member of his clan. He put his family to death. And he did it all for me.
“How large was your clan?”
“There were not many. But I don’t know the exact number.”
“And you were with all of them when they came to this city?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure? I mean, is there any chance that one or two of them went somewhere else?”
“They were all here, Ariel. And they all died here.”
I sighed, thinking if there was any possibility that one of them might
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