Re: All I want for Christmas is a VAMPIRE (Lamenting_Quill and Alexis Sapphire)

[Lamenting_Quill]

"My dear Kiara... shall we go home?"

The husky and sensual tone of the voice behind her caused Kiara to whirl around, her eyes widening when she came face to face with Adrian. His clothes were stained here and there with the deep red of blood. Hayden's blood.
"Oh my God" Kiara gasped, her eyes filling with horrified tears. Hayden had tried so hard to help her and ended up dying for her. It wasn't fair.

"Why?" Kiara asked in a terrified whisper as she began to take steps backwards "Why are you doing this? I don't understand why you would do this, you seemed like such a good man"
She felt betrayed and deceived, the man she thought she was coming to know was a complete lie.
His words however, finally hit home and she shook her head vigorously "I am not going anywhere with you, you're crazy and a murderer!"

Her legs were shaking and her heart was trembling, she had no idea how she was going to get out of this one. She was a lone woman against a much stronger lunatic and Hayden was lying somewhere around here dying.
None of this made sense though, how had Adrian done all of this? No mortal man could move that swiftly back and forth from her and Hayden. It spurred one whispered question.

"What are you?"

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian could only grin now. Yes, she had asked him who he was, but he didn't really feel inclined to giving certain specifics. Not being one to ever lie, Adrian simply exercised his right to ignore the question. Instead, he decided to address her remark about not going with him.

Somehow, he knew deep down that this wasn't a typical situation for Kiara like it was with him. He could shake it off, maintain a light-hearted composure and keep his mood solemnly positive and playful. Kiara would most certainly not be capable of that. She would be angry, perhaps enraged, fearful, disoriented... and she had refused him again.

This time her refusal only came in the form of words; words that promised Adrian she would not do as he said. She would not go with him. This time however, Adrian felt the confidence of his ability to impose his will on Kiara despite her own objection. Earlier this evening, she had refused him, and he accepted it. He left the room. This time, he would afford her no such courtesy.

"Come now my dear..." Adrian reached forward with a heart-warming smile that was altogether inappropriate for the situation. His being so casual and friendly in light of Hayden's death (or presumed death according to Kiara until she would know more) was clearly evidence of a mental game being played by Adrian.

"You've had a tough night... let me make it better."

Adrian's voice held the verbal commitment of a night Kiara would never forget, but since it was the wording of a murderer, it probably didn't have the same effect it would have earlier tonight. His voice almost dared her to try to reject him, while giving her such a playful tone that he would take great 'I-told-you-so' pride in proving her wrong when it turned out she would not be able to stop him from taking her.

They were past the point of no return, and he would have her. His palm rested firmly over her wrist holding the stick, his body unmovable. His other hand reached forward in an attempt to gently stroke her hair trying to comfort her. He almost dared her to stay still long enough to be comforted by him, but did not use his abilities to manipulate her body in such a way.

If she was panicked, he wanted her to be able to panic. If she was going to run, he wanted her to get it out of her system. After an attempt or two of fleeing, no doubt she'd be discouraged at how easily she'd be brought back.

If she was angry at him, he wanted her to be angry. There was no wrong Kiara could do. She was perfect... she had the divinity of an angel in her beauty and the fierceness of hellish flame in her anger. When he was sure he would take Kiara, there was absolutely no way he could lose.

"You know you want this... you're afraid... you're angry, but it'll pass. Soon your anger will turn to despair, then acceptance... then you'll see a world you would have never thought possible. It all begins for you tonight."

Adrian's fingertips itched to stroke her rain-dampened auburn hair before resting along the back of her neck. His calm and slow pace of speaking casually indicated only one thing... he would try to kiss her again.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"You know you want this... you're afraid... you're angry, but it'll pass. Soon your anger will turn to despair, then acceptance... then you'll see a world you would have never thought possible. It all begins for you tonight."

"No..." Kiara protested in a terrified whisper as she backed away from his seeking mouth "I don't... Perhaps I did once, but no more... I know your true nature now! You disgust me!"

Pain gripped her heart as she thought about poor Hayden, he was in all of this because of her. He was out there dying all because of her. It was all her fault.
"Murderer!" Kiara screamed as she swiftly brought her foot forward to kick him hard in the shin because bolting into the darkness.

Tears blinded her sight as she ran through the pitch dark forest of the Bayou, she wished she had just tried to wait out the storm in her damn car!
"I'm so sorry, Hayden" Kiara sobbed as she ran.
A startled scream tore through Kiara as she trip over something large, a log maybe?
With a groan, Kiara braced herself on her palms as she hurried to try and get up. It was then that her eyes focused on what she'd tripped over.

Molly.

Her eyes were still open, wide and her cheeks stained with tears. Her neck was torn open viciously.
Kiara's eyes filled up with tears yet again before she fell backwards onto her bum shrieking in horror.

[Alexis Sapphire]

"Oh-... well uh... I can explain that." It was almost a ridiculous comment, but technically, Kiara had no proof Adrian had anything to do with Molly's death so Adrian just sold that. He really was too casual for his own good sometimes.


"Oh Kiara-!" Adrian's comment came out with a bit of a laugh. It was as though he considered her rejection to be foolish. He understood it fully, were the roles reversed, he'd be doing the exact same thing. The point was that he had to continue to put on his show. He had to continue to present a facade as it was the only way to keep Kiara from having some kind of mental breakdown.

"Let's think about this for a second... what are you going to do? Walk for a month straight to find a main road where someone might be able to pick you up and drive you the rest of the way?"

Adrian was truly confident in the fact that she didn't really have another option. He was able to convince himself therefore that he was doing her a great favour by 'allowing' her to stay at his place, even if she wanted to leave.

"So I'm afraid I can't let you do that to yourself. We can walk back to the house, or I can carry you. Believe me my dear, chivalry is far from dead, I have no problem carrying a beautiful woman through the door into her new place."

The idea of lifting Kiara over his shoulder and bringing her into the house was most humorous when he thought about it. She couldn't really go anywhere, she could try to hide from him but being as familiar with her scent as he was, she'd likely get a very short distance before he'd be talking to her again.

The fact that she might accidentally stumble across Hayden's body if she were left free to roam around was, however, valid. It ended up causing Adrian to make the decision himself.

With a small smile, he quickly leaned forward, one palm gently supporting her wrist while his right arm wrapped around her knees as he crouched. Standing immediately, he held both her legs together in the bend of his arm. With a swift adjustment, he pulled her so that her waist and lower stomach was over his shoulder rather than leaning down behind him.

He could have sped to the house perhaps, but this was a little comical and he half expected to be royally amused by her objections. She could try to hit is back or pull at him but her dangling arms would struggle to reach.

Carrying her back with him also emphasized a symbol of his power over her. Her inability to stop him would be a common theme he would take great joy in showing her over the next two days. He could have also invoked his puppet technique and forced her to walk back with him, her body would walk despite her yelling or screaming to the contrary. She would fight it as best she could but it would seem as though she were watching herself move from outside her body, unable to control it. Her physical performance completely over-ridden by Adrian's technique.

That however... Adrian had in mind for another portion of the evening. Back at the house, Adrian was going to utilize his puppet technique to teach Kiara how to ball-room dance. She would be unable to control her movements as she and Adrian would be dancing perfectly to a classical piece of music.

Every ounce of her anger was fuel to Adrian, it was as though he could harness anything from Kiara.

[Lamenting_Quill]

The moment she was hoisted over Adrian's shoulder, her horror turned into blind rage. Molly had obviously been the first to die, she had looked positively icy cold.
Adrian had gone and murdered the only two people that had shown kindness and warmth towards her, Molly had been the only friend she'd had in this place and now she knew she was alone. Completely alone.

"I hate you!" Kiara screamed, pounding her small feminine fists into Adrian's appropriately muscled back "You're a monster!"
Her heart was pounding so hard and the tears just didn't seem to want to cease at the moment, her whole life had just been turned upside down and now she was going to spend Christmas as a prisoner to a deranged lunatic.

Blurriness began to cloud her vision and her mind slowly grew numb with dizziness. Before she knew it, she had gone still on Adrian shoulder and fallen into unconsciousness; All the exhaustion and stress finally just caught up to her.

**********************

Later when she awoke, she was in a completely different room than before... this room was by far more luxurious and exquisitely decorated.
Though her head ached from fainting, it didn't take very much for her to assess that she now resided in Adrian's own bedroom. The bed she rested upon was draped in what had to be genuine garnet colored Japanese silk, it was far too soft to be anything else.

She managed to sit up and ignore the splitting headache long enough for her frightened robins egg blue eyes to scan the room for Adrian. He was no where to be seen and for that she was grateful, she was in far too vulnerable condition to deal with him.
Gazing down at herself, Kiara was not all too surprised to find that she no longer wore her winter clothing. No, she was now dressed in the most beautiful night gown of white silk and delicate lace. It was obviously designed to be both seductive and innocently beautiful all at the same time.

"I... am definitely... in a lot... of trouble" Kiara murmured to herself, Adrian seemed to be as fixated on her as Hayden had claimed "I have to get up"
Her sense of balance seemed to be returned as she carefully climbed out of the massive bed and kept steady on her bare feet.
The carpet was soft and fairly warm, so the bare feet didn't bother her too much unless one considered that bare feet made it much harder for her to go anywhere.

"Where is he?" Kiara murmured to herself, she couldn't imagine Adrian would leave her unwatched for very long.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Truth be told, he hadn't expected Kiara to faint. It really was a bit of a bummer surprise to him when her fight had given out and she was just there, dangling over his back. It encouraged a quicker return to the house to make sure that she was still physically stable. She really had been through a tough night.

Rather than use his technique for anything sensual or self indulging, Adrian was adamantly sure it would be a waste to have Kiara do anything with him while she was unconscious. It would just be so empty, so pointless. Without her fiery passion Kiara was of much less interest to the immortal. Her very being in all of its energy and strength, mental, spiritual as well as physical had caused the immortal to have feelings he didn't think were possible for him to have for a long time.

He had settled to allowing Kiara's hypnotized form to change out of the soaked winter clothing into something much more elegantly comfortable. Since she was not thinking at the time, Adrian had picked out the attire and laid it out on the bed for her. In his mind, he could visualize her in it and it brought a smile to his face in pure anticipation.

He had picked out the attire based on what her own mind had designed for her in the dream the night before. Since Adrian didn't have something of that exact design, he had picked out the closest thing he had available to him. An appealing white silken night gown.

Behind the closed doors of her new room, her unconscious form would have undressed and redressed. Her body had then laid down onto the newly made bed and the orange rings in Adrian's brown eyes disappeared. His use of paranormal power over her body had come to an abrupt end.

Stepping inside the room, his eyes fixed themselves on his prize with utmost approval at just how well he had picked out the gown. His eyes turned to the pile of clothing that Kiara had removed from herself while changing. Taking a few steps forward, he helped himself to the ragged bunch of fabrics and then turned to exit the room again, quietly pulling the door shut. Kiara just needed to rest comfortably until she would re-awaken.

-----------

Given the size of the mansion, it was almost always quiet regardless. If you had met the staff or had been in it long enough to get a feel for where the staff often performed their duties, it was a much less quiet or isolated place.

For the time being however, Adrian preferred the isolation. He had set plans into motion to be the only one Kiara would see... the only one she could talk to. She could make a run to any phone in the house she'd like, and she'd unfortunately find no connection. Even her own cell had been taken from her and placed in Adrian's forbidden attic. She could never prove it of course and it could easily be assumed that she lost it somewhere in the woods.

Adrian decided to spend some time playing music in his ball room. He had spent nearly an hour strumming out keys on his piano and chords on his violin for three songs.

The first, Por Una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel. When it came to dancing with another, Adrian absolutely adored that song. It was sharp, yet sensual, it carried itself consistently but never boringly predictable. It was a perfect song with which to teach Kiara to tango.

The second song Adrian played and recorded was 'A time for us' by Andre Rien. The 3rd song Adrian engaged in preparing a musical set for was the 'Point of no return' song from the Phantom of the Opera. It was almost symbolic that he would eventually toy with Kiara by having her hear and dance to this song with him.

The options were limitless as he held the confidence of knowing she could do little to leave him and might very well find herself unlikely to try before feeling up to full health again.

Before leaving the great hall, Adrian selected a song to play while he would go to check up on Kiara. The music would resonate through the entire house, it wasn't necessarily loud, but using the speaker system designed for the maids and butler to communicate with each other no matter where they were, Adrian found it a much better use to use that system and establish a musical tone through the house.

Almost dreamlike, it seemed as though Adrian looked to take Kiara's sense of reality away. In reality, Adrian was a murderer. In her perception of reality, he was a murderer who was psychotic. In both their realities, he truly was a murderer who was obsessed with her. Denying it would only hurt him in the future and make him seem foolish to himself. He had to accept that yes, Kiara had awakened something in him that he did not want to lose. He truly was obsessed... or in love... if it was a more accurate way of wording it. Whatever the case, there was a very fine line between the two and it depended who you asked.

Stranger In Paradise played lightly in each room and hall of the house. Adrian carried a fine glass goblet in one hand, and in the crook of his other arm, a large bowl of ice with a bottle of champagne laid in amongst the cubes.

The door to Kiara's room would have opened with a slight whistling sound among the smooth motion. Adrian's eyes had found her risen figure before seeing the bed, which kept him from feeling odd about seeing the bed empty. He might have felt the need to have to go out there and find her all over again.

"Ah, Good-... well... I guess technically it's morning."

His casual tone didn't change as he walked over and placed the bowl of ice and champagne on the room's centerpiece table. The goblet was then stood down beside the bowl.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as though absolutely nothing had happened. For him, there was nothing out of the ordinary, so keeping Kiara distracted from a sense of reality was always going to be a fun game. The way he figured it, if he always stayed calm and never lost his patience, he would rub off on her and she might start to find her own feelings irrational just because of how he might treat her for constantly feeling that way.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"How are you feeling?"

He looked at her as if absolutely nothing was amiss, like he'd never killed Hayden and abducted her. She knew enough though that panicking and acting like a wilting violet was going to get her no where in this mess, she had to remain calm and keep a clear head!
"I've been better" Kiara replied honestly, her eyes and tony chilly.

He had brought with him goblets and a iced champagne, it was rather obvious where his head was right now.
"Adrian... listen to me, please" Kiara said, hoping there was a small chance she could reason with him "You need to let me go home, I have family that will be very worried about me. You're a handsome guy, you'll find other women that will interest you far more than me"

Well, at least there was one thing in her favor, it wasn't like he could force her to participate in a cathedral wedding in Paris. Way too public.
'Just remember' Kiara told herself 'He has no legal rights over you, you can escape completely free at any time available'
It was all she could do to keep herself from having a nervous breakdown, now all she had to worry about was when Adrian would attempt a seduction.

Kiara wasn't at all stupid, she knew he would eventually and she also knew she was going to have one hell of a time resisting him. He just seemed to know exactly how to push all the right buttons to make her completely forget herself.
'He killed Hayden and Molly' Kiara reminded herself 'I just need to remember that and it should help. Just gotta keep from sleeping with the bastard until I can get the hell out'

"Adrian... if you really care about me" Kiara began "Then please, find it in you to consider what I want..."

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's lips parted in a genuine smile. So she was feeling better, that was fantastic. He could make her forget everything... but where was the fun in that? Instead, he decided to lay out some bait and bring the old playful Kiara to the table. She was intelligent and knew how to carry herself, so perhaps enticing her into the conversation would get him some leeway.

"I think you'll find out that you don't truly know what you want yet..." he began.

He popped open the champagne with a violent suctioned release. Pouring both glasses to about half capacity, he recovered the champagne and placed it back in the ice bowl.

"For instance... if tonight never happened, would you be so anxious to leave me?"

x

[Lamenting_Quill]

"I think you'll find out that you don't truly know what you want yet..."

"For instance... if tonight never happened, would you be so anxious to leave me?"

Those eyes... so rich and beautiful like fresh turned earth in early summer... he was at it again with those sexy eyes of his, trying to make her forget everything but him. He still had that effect on her even after all he'd done.
"Perhaps not, but I still do not understand... why was it so necessary for you to kill Molly and then my best friend"

The best friend whom could have potentially been the love of my life...

Kiara figured she just pretty much answered it for herself, Adrian was clearly in love with her in his own way and he was completely against another male getting in his way. So he eliminated the competition.
However... why Molly? Why did sweet harmless Molly have to die, there was little sense in denying he was the one whom had ended Molly's life. This area was far too remote, it was unlikely someone decided to take a drive all the way out here to just kidnap Molly, murder her and then dump her.

She had to be careful though, because if he was so casual about committing two murders in one night... it wouldn't be wise to make him angry.
'Best just give him what he wants until I can figure something out' Kiara decided sagely 'As long as I can avoid sex, well, then acting is right up my alley'

She gave a convincing sigh and extended one elegantly feminine hand for one of the glasses of the bubbly drink he held in his perfect hands "If I am going to unwind, I'll be needing a glass of that, maybe two"
Kiara had to admit, the nightgown she wore was certainly beautiful in it's construction of the finest silk available. At least in this nightmare, she was able to wear some of the prettiest articles of clothing she'd never dreamed of affording as she was still new in her opera career.

"Any Christmas traditions?" Kiara asked as she accepted a glass from him "I imagine I'll be spending Christmas here, thats always been one of my favorite times"
She got a fabulous idea then that could work in her favor, one that Adrian in his ideas of wanting a permanent relationship with her couldn't possibly turn down.
"I have a great idea" Kiara said "You can prove to both me and the most important people to me how much you love me, how about we visit my parents on Christmas? They are living here in the Bayou, I'll introduce you as anything you like. Make it a Christmas gift to me"

This was the ultimate bait, she couldn't ever see any way he would turn down a way to insert himself further and further into her life until he would be able to make himself a permanent fixture in it.
"Well, want to meet my father?" Kiara asked and played on something she'd heard Hayden say "I certainly cannot go off and get married in Paris without my father's approval of my groom"

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian closed the gap, approaching Kiara from the side before standing behind her, his palms gently rested on her shoulders. His grip was not firm enough to hold her in place, so alot of his soothing action depended on her either being unsure or too composed to just flee from his grip. In all fairness, he put alot of emphasis on the soothing nature of his calm sultry voice to keep her from being overly rowdy or freaking out. As she settled into the reception of the champagne, Adrian felt even more inclined to ease the mood in the room.

"I understand you're frantic, you've had a horrific night..."

She had such a beautiful composure anyway that he felt confident he'd be able to spend a few seconds massaging her neck before she might interrupt him. His fingers went to work, rotating and rubbing her neck tenderly while squeezing her shoulders gently.

"But what do you really know?" Adrian proposed thoughtfully. He couldn't just outright refuse to visit her parents after all. Unfortunately, he also couldn't justify encouraging her to feel that she could come and go as she pleased.

"... You probably have some kind of defamatory comments that Hayden could have made about me. You know that you fled with him into the night. You know that blinding darkness was all around. What could you have seen-... really?"

He paused momentarily taking a sip of his champagne.

"You've likely heard my voice singing in the forest... heard yelling and squirming from Hayden and did, technically, see a dead body."

His fingers returned to methodically massaging Kiara's neck. They squeezed gently, then released, his fingertips working to send a rush of a chill to sooth any tension she might experience from trying to fight his massage.

"It seems to me, you have a victim (Molly) without any real understanding of what could have happened to her, and you have a possible second victim (Hayden) who was attacked in the woods. That much is clear, but by who or what? Can we possibly know? The only thing that you have to tie me to this whole scene is that I like to sing in the forest at night. Even so, bringing you back here, you might think it abduction or kidnapping, I might call it saving you from whatever could have attacked Hayden and Molly."

His tone presented such an expert case for a fairy tale story that Adrian's expertise as a lawyer could easily be assumed. He wasn't actually lying to her, she couldn't actually 'prove' that Adrian was guilty of any of the things she was so angry about. Was she wrong? Of course not, she was perfectly right. Did that mean she could prove it? Unfortunately not. Even more woeful for Kiara was that Adrian would coyly play the proof card, exposing the fact that she might look crazy with every accusation she made against him.

"Think very carefully before you ask for a gift... Hayden was a gift." He let his voice whisper huskily into her ear, unsure of whether or not his sensual change in tone would draw her to melt into his arms or inspire her to resist his soothing massage out of self defensiveness and the need to cling to reality.

His point was very clear, people who came between himself and Kiara would get hurt. Accidents happened, a series of unfortunate events could befall anyone, anytime. In all of it... no direct proof would ever exist against Adrian.

Could Kiara be self-aware enough to understand that anyone she introduced Adrian to could be subject to the same treatment as Hayden? Perhaps not so viscerally direct, but heart attacks, spontaneous strokes, vehicular malfunctions...

One by one, everyone Kiara cared about could be taken out. She would know full well what was happening to them, but she'd be unable to prove any of it. Adrian felt compelled to give her a chance to think about her wish very carefully.

"-... There's very little I wouldn't do for you." He wouldn't lie and say there was nothing. There was in fact a set number of things he wouldn't do for Kiara. He wouldn't lose her, that premise was an umbrella for small rules that would keep her bound to him for life.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"-... There's very little I wouldn't do for you."

It was true that Kiara had not been able to see what had happened, but there was the blood the had been on his clothes when Adrian came into view back there.
She studied him now and his attire had not changed, but then... Where was all the blood? Had she imagined it? Maybe, she was fairly terrified at the time.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it, Adrian? You have to admit that this looks really, really bad. Who else could have killed Molly and Hayden?" Kiara asked, her face confused "I want to believe you, but... it all just looks really bad"
She wasn't quite sure what to think anymore, Adrian had made some good points about what had been seen and heard.
How did she know though she wasn't making these reasonings because she merely wanted an excuse in the back on her mind to succumb to Adrian's hot seduction.

She took a long sip of the champagne and sighed, Kiara only wished she knew what to make of all this.
"Hayden said you threatened him and I can tell when and if he is lying" Kiara said, "Please explain this"
Perhaps Adrian was merely jealous of the attention that Hayden could have potentially gotten from her and was bluffing or perhaps... perhaps he had dealt with Hayden for good...

She tried to fight it, but his massaging fingers felt sensually hot on the back of her neck. She wanted to moan in satisfaction and tell him where else to massage, the man knew well how to use his hands.
'This isn't good...' Kiara said, half melted 'This just feels too damn good..."

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's lips perked into a smile as he managed to work Kiara's body formidably. With only access to her neck and shoulders at the moment, he had managed to impart some of the relaxing sensation he was aiming for. Encouraged by such, he allowed his palms to flatten against her shoulder blades along her upper back and gently circle the area, squeezing, stroking and clawing delicately.

He couldn't lie to her, he didn't want to lie to her. Being a master manipulator of words, he wouldn't have to lie to her. He'd simply choose his words carefully and let her imagination and self doubt do the rest.

"I'm not saying it looks good for my dear. In fact, I'm not even saying you're wrong. What I'm saying is, maybe it's not the best idea to throw around accusations that you can't prove."

After another heated squeeze up the center column of her neck, he let a chilling breath exhale past his lips, sprinkling the now heated neck with a cool breeze of his own making. Immediately after, he let 3 of his fingernails delicately slide from the base of her neck up to the end of it, a gentle grazing of her flesh designed to inspire a chilling tickle based on the contrast of the warm squeeze and cool breath prior to the stroke of the fingertips.

"Molly was always the adventurous type... these woods aren't known for their safety or hiking trails. It's actually the appeal. I can live here for years and never see a hiker or camper."

He spoke seductively, even about such a dark subject as Molly's death, he spoke of it as though it were simply a tragedy that was unfortunate yes, but not enough to distract him from the prize he now had in his hands.

Speaking of those hands... one now circularly carressed her back with the continued massaging method while the fingertips which had massaged, then sent the tickling chill up her neck now gently circled and rubbed inside Kiara's hair-line.

As his fingers advanced up her neck, they didn't stop and return to the base to squeeze like they had before. Now those fingertips continued up, stroking through her hair. The fair folded to either side between each of the invading fingers as they invaded like 5 steams. Then... he let his fingertips gently slide back down to the top of her neck before gliding up through her hair again as far as his fixed hand would let them reach before returning to the top of the neck.

"And Hayden well..." His voice husky and sultry, still presented an awkward scenario for Kiara to consider. He would never outright accuse her of something he knew he was guilty of, but since she didn't know for sure, maybe, just maybe he could push her button with the remark.

"You two left together... but only you came back. Depending on who you tell, maybe things don't look so good for you either."

The hint was there that people might interpret her as a potential murderer. No one actually 'saw' Adrian there until he was bringing Kiara back, and if Adrian stated that he couldn't see Hayden or didn't know what happened to him, one would have to assume that Kiara was the last to see him alive and wouldn't be able to give any details on what had happened. People might suspect that she had killed him for some reason.

It was ludicrous, ridiculous and absolutely wrong, but then again, nothing from this night seemed to be supported by any kind of proof. All they had was speculation and the only thing that would continuously be able to make Kiara feel uneasy about Adrian was just how nonchalantly he absorbed all of this. It was all minor to him... Kiara was the prize; the only thing that mattered.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"You two left together... but only you came back. Depending on who you tell, maybe things don't look so good for you either."

Though what he said sounded like a threat, he also had a point in what he had said. It really didn't look very well for her either, she could be played off as a spurned lover by the media.
Her thoughts though really couldn't register very much however, Adrian's hands were were working far too much sensual magic wherever they touched.

She wasn't sure how she was going to pull through this without ending up underneath Adrian, letting him claim each and every inch of her.
Her body tingled excitedly at the idea and she mentally scolded her traitorous body, this was hardly the time for sex.
"I suppose you're right" Kiara said and then carefully removed herself from his hands before something happened "It doesn't look good for either one of us"

It made her nervous how Adrian stared at her, like she was a juicy piece of meat he couldn't wait to rip into and devour. It made her tingle and throb in places she really didn't think she should be right now.
"Stop looking at me like that" Kiara murmured desperately "I can't think straight when you look at me like that"

She had to find a way to swing the mood to another subject, she to try and get Adrian's mind away from sex, his expression said exactly what he wanted.
"Did you want to meet my parents or not?" Kiara asked "It is the proper thing to do if you really intend to persuade me into a permanent relationship. I'm not about to date or marry a man that can't get the courage to meet my father you know"

[Alexis Sapphire]

"I'm sure meeting your family would be thrilling."

Kiara's latest comment caught Adrian by surprise, it seemed his mystical charm was working. He had managed to lower Kiara's level of intensity. With more time to think, more time to talk, less time in a frenzy, she would be easier to read and understand from his end.

Even with everything that had happened, she was giving 'him' the ultimatum. It really was enticing to think that even though Adrian had just displayed ultimate power over her life, she had the self awareness to dictate terms to him.

"You'll find that I don't concern myself with how anything looks. People have been disappearing out here for decades, it's almost an urban legend that you travel out here at your own risk..."

It really was insensitive of Adrian to speak so casually about the death of one of Kiara's greatest friends and potential love interests. The sensual nature of his tone however, the very way he carried himself was what might be considered inappropriate and how was Kiara to speak ill of Adrian's refusal to be negative?

Clearly, death of another was something much easier to cope with for Adrian than it was for Kiara. As she slowly removed herself from his grip, Adrian took a final drink, emptying his goblet tipping it upside down into his mouth and then placing it on the table before pursuing her.

His fingertips now stroking lower along her back, edging out around her sides before his arms wrapped around her stomach. He held his chest firmly to her back leaning forward and resting his face oh so close to her head. His nose was softly caressed by a small portion of her auburn hair which he interpreted as a unique scent when he inhaled huskily.

"Stop looking at you like what-..." He challenged her with the question. Could she define his gaze? Could she put into words the impact his glare had on her?

His palm pressed to her stomach in a way that would increase a flush warmth, holding her firmly, yet without any level of pain. Adrian had held many a woman close to him as they struggled looking to take great joy from the fury of their discontent and anger. He was intimately familiar with his own strength, how to hold one close, without hurting them, yet at the same time making it seem impossible to move away from him.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Stop looking at you like what-..."

The way Adrian held her now was all encompassing, she could feel every muscle of his body against her back and the scent of his light musky cologne intoxicated her senses with seductive sensuality.

"Y-you know wh-what I mean" Kiara managed, trying not to be completely absorbed by his advances "Like you're about to p-pounce me or something"
It was odd, but when he looked at her the way he'd been, she kind of felt like Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf... Only this story was far, far more sensual. The wolf wasn't about to eat this maiden... not like one would think...

The more Kiara thought about, lulling Adrian into a false sense of security by appearing to give into him would end up serving in her favor. The more he trusted her, the better it was for her.
With courage and strong resolve in her heart, Kiara whirled around in Adrian's arms before he even knew what was happening and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She buried her face in his neck and pressed herself close.

"Whatever is out there... Don't let it get me" Kiara murmured, snuggling close to Adrian firm lithe body "Keep me safe, Adrian"
She had to admit, even though he was a manipulating liar... he sure did smell pretty damn good... It had to be illegal for a man to smell this good.
Kiara allowed her hands to caress down his back and feel all the taut muscles there, after awhile her hands drifted lower. One hand stayed at the small of his back and the other drifted lower to caress his rump... Oh good lord, he was nice and firm there too!

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian couldn't help but smile coyly as she buried her face below his chin. Either she was overselling a great acting ploy, or she was legitimately conceding that she knew he was the one who killed Hayden and Molly and that she was literally begging him not to let 'whatever was out there' (ie: himself) hurt her.

Whatever the case, Adrian was surprised to see just how willing she was to cling to him so soon after the event. If she was just acting in a way to turn him off, it was going to fail miserably. Adrian was going to give his hypothesis a little test.

Letting his hands rub up along her sides (since they were slid about when she turned in his grasp), he brought them to the base of her neck, bringing her face out from clinging to him, and tilting it ever so slightly to the side.

"Kiara... my Kiara, you'll be well cared for. There's no need to worry about that." He uttered as he leaned in to take advantage of the close quarters she had enhanced in no small part.

If she was going to try to manipulate him away from his sexual appetite for the evening, he wasn't going to have any of it. He would use her own acting against her in order to take her. If she was legitimate about wanting to be close to him, then he'd be happy to give himself.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Kiara... my Kiara, you'll be well cared for. There's no need to worry about that."

A small part of Kiara wanted to push him away and tell him that she wasn't fooled by him at all, but a much larger part of her was vastly overwhelmed by Adrian's raw sexual appeal. To say the least, that side won by a landslide; For now anyway.

That familiar rush of sensual excitement filled her lower stomach once more as his lips descended on hers and began a passionate dance of lips and tongues.
She was lost to it for the time being, she was emotionally exhausted and she was desperate for some comforting... Even if it was from the source of it all.
It was safe to say that her resolve about not sleeping with him was about to go down the toilet, but it wasn't like sex gave him legal ownership of her.

After all of this distress and grief, the things Adrian was making her feel felt completely amazing and she wanted more of it.
Kiara gently guided them backwards towards the bed and fell back, Adrian atop her... this was going to be a long, long, but very pleasant day... She doubted they'd leave the bed much today...

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian was not long waiting before throwing on a few spare garments. He dressed himself to the bare minimum, clearly, the shower had his name written all over it for the time being.

"You'll find it doesn't pay to worry so much Kiara." he let his tone speak with some fine tuned ease.

"I think a few days out here with the crisp air and quiet landscape will do you a world of good."

There was a momentary pause as he glanced back at her form on the bed.

"I'll make arrangements for our wedding in the near future. We'll be visiting Paris."

His tone was rather deceptive, he spoke very casually and straight-forward, though he honestly expected some kind of retaliation from the strong-hearted woman. It was very easy for him to decide to claim her, would be be so easy for her to accept simply being 'claimed' as though she had no say in the matter?

No doubt she'd have something to say about it, and just like any good lover's quarrel, it would just make her that much more appealing as he would prove her wrong again...

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara found herself sore and aching after the distraction of Adrian's pleasuring body was removed from her, she watched him retrieve his black silken boxers and put them on. Good grief the man was built perfectly, it was like his very design was intended for love making.
Though right now, the only thing on Kiara's mind was a nice hot bubble bath; She certainly was not going to let that Gardenia scented bubble bath in her room go to waste, it looked imported. That is unless Adrian expected her to be moved to his room now, though that to her seemed a little hasty.
Though she had no idea what was going to emerge from his mouth next... she thought Adrian was just talking big to Hayden, but...

"I'll make arrangements for our wedding in the near future. We'll be visiting Paris."

Her eyes instantly grew wide and flew back to Adrian, her heart just about stopped "Wait... what? Wedding? I never agreed to marry ANYONE"
Hayden was right, Adrian was indeed quite obsessed if he made a solid decision to marry her right after taking her to bed.
Sure, she had just given Adrian her virginity, but they weren't living in the 1800's, it wasn't like he had to preserve her honor in the eyes of society or anything.

No, wait, Adrian was always making some sort of funny sarcastic comment... that had to be it, he was just kidding, trying to make her laugh to make her forget the soreness a bit.
"Oh, I get it, very funny Adrian" Kiara said with a half-hearted chuckle "Thats really cute, hilarious. I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but I enjoyed it so the soreness is worth it. I'll just have a hot bath in my room and I should be just fine. Don't worry"

She carefully slid off the bed to avoid movements that might irritate the soreness between her legs and reached for her nightgown, her eyes slid to Adrian "You don't happen to have a robe I could borrow, do you?"

[Alexis Sapphire]

"Wait... what? Wedding? I never agreed to marry ANYONE"

Adrian's eyes didn't even return to Kiara at the moment.

"I don't think anyone asked you to agree." He stated a little too seriously that it could be considered perfect sarcasm or a scary mockery. It did constantly occur to him that Kiara might have a higher sense of entitlement to the casual 'norms' than he might assign to her himself.

Adrian had decided he would take Kiara as his mate and therefore, in his mind the decision was a foregone conclusion. It was done, it was now just a matter of when and where. Even the 'where' had already been selected.

Before he could carry on any further, Kiara has gone down a road of analysis describing his comment as some kind of casual passing joke. He would have ascertained that he was most serious about it but honestly, he felt anything else he would say to her would fall under the category of 'following through with the joke' to her. The remark she had made about enjoying the time with him couldn't hold off his smile however, and his need to explain the wedding to her died down instantly.

"Only the first of many to come my dear. You and I are going to have a full 48 hours to get to know each other so intimately, it'll be our early honeymoon."

He gestured to the room across the hall where she would find another visitor's lounge.

"You can find a few more clothes in there or you can go back to your room and pick out another if you'd like..."

[Lamenting_Quill]

As she turned away from him for to scan for something she could cover up with, she heard him speak.

"Only the first of many to come my dear. You and I are going to have a full 48 hours to get to know each other so intimately, it'll be our early honeymoon."

Her heart sunk to her stomach with pure dread, he was serious... completely stone cold serious... about getting married... in Paris, France no less...
She turned around to face him, his back was to her and for that she was grateful, otherwise he would see the completely panic-stricken look upon her face.

His hand gestured then gracefully towards the room across the hall from his own "You can find a few more clothes in there or you can go back to your room and pick out another if you'd like..."
How could he be so completely calm about this? Where did he get off thinking he had the right to dictate to her that she would be his wife?

She thought to argue it out with him, but she didn't have the mental capacity to do so at this moment in time, she was too tired and far too sore.
"Just going to borrow this, I'll bring it back" Kiara murmured softly as she grabbed one of the sheets that made it through their lovemaking without getting anything on it and wrapped it around her for modesty purposes.
Kiara fled from the room as quickly as she could without it looking like she was in any kind of hurry.

She considered the room across from Adrian's but decided against it, she needed some space to think and calm down, she also fancied a hot bubble bath.
When she made it to her room, She tossed the sheet she was hiding her thoroughly ravished body in onto the bed and made her way into the bathroom where she filled the bathtub up with delightfully warm water.

Grabbing the imported French bubble bath from where it sat on the back of the toilet and poured a liberal amount under the running water to create a froth of Gardenia scented bubbles along the top of the water.
Shedding the nightgown, Kiara carefully stepped into the bathtub and slid down into the soothing water.
A sigh slipped from Kiara's lips as the scent of Gardenias clung to her skin and relaxed her senses while the heat of the water soothed away her soreness.

"What in the world am I going to do?" Kiara asked herself aloud "He has convinced himself that I am going to Paris with him to get married... ugh, what a mess"
His words from earlier haunted her as she remembered what he said back there.

"Only the first of many to come my dear. You and I are going to have a full 48 hours to get to know each other so intimately, it'll be our early honeymoon."

48 hours to get to know each other.... what in the world did that mean? Was he planning to drag her off to Paris in just two days? Or did he just mean they'd be all alone in the house for a whole two days with no staff?
She seriously hoped it was the latter of the two, she didn't think she'd have any idea what to if Adrian was planning to tie her to him like that in such a short time.
"Could things get any worse?" Kiara sighed, bringing up a hand to rub her forehead.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Passing his library, throwing on his shoes once more, he glanced up one more time, hearing the gentle sloshing of bathwater. A small smile and nod was formed as he opened the closet door and helped himself to one of 3 shovels inside. He then quietly exited the house. No more than a few blinks later, Adrian was once again standing over the body of Hayden.

The body was easily clutched, and with another blitzing blur, Adrian darted off into the forest. A comfortable distance inward, a place that was hardly ever travelled and well off the rarely beaten path as it was, Adrian slouched the body onto the ground and began to dig.

The soil was good... the earth gave way pleasingly and within minutes, Adrian had constructed Hayden's grave.

"I can't say I didn't warn you."

The voice was extremely casual, he knew better than to expect a response from the body, knowing full well it was far too late for Hayden to comprehend a thing he said. Nonetheless, there was a moment of sympathy for the tragic life of this man. This man had been warned, but could never truly believe until he had seen the danger he was in. When he could see it, there was no way of fleeing it.

At the very least, he died knowing what killed him.

It was more than Adrian could say for most of his victims. The earth was filled in just as quickly as it was dug out, and those searching for Hayden would from here on out were doomed to never finding him. Maybe in the far, far future, Adrian could lose his claim to this land, some hotel might be designed, contractors could come in for landscape speculation and stumble across the body... but in all reality, it just wasn't going to happen.

The process was repeated with Molly and a short time later, Adrian was back in the house.

Adrian's shower would have been relatively shorter than any bath. He often did indulge in extended showers and fine baths but tonight he found himself feeling rather restless. Anytime, Kiara might decide to confront him about his remarks, anytime she might return to her fiery passionate self objecting and attempting to fight against him.

Anytime... he just might need to have her beg his name again.

[Lamenting_Quill]

One might say that an hour and a half bath is just too long, but those people had obviously not just been deflowered by a drop dead gorgeous man with very strange and terrifying abilities...

One bent of marrying her...

Lifting her hands out of the water and looking at them, Kiara decided from the way they resembled prunes that she aught to get out now before she turned into one giant prune. She had to chuckle though at the irony of the idea, she didn't think Adrian would be too keen on wedding a wrinkled prune.
With a sigh, Kiara braced herself for the onslaught of soreness, but found herself a bit relieved when she got up and it turned out that the hot soak did indeed help to sooth away a large portion of it.

Stepping out of the tub and grabbing a large fluffy towel, Kiara wrapped it around herself and moved to the mirror hanging above the bathroom sink.
She nibbled her bottom lip nervously as she made a nerve wracking realization... she really should ask Adrian about protection if they were going to have further intimate relations, her getting pregnant would seriously throw a wrench into her plans of escape and besides, she didn't think Adrian would be all that ready to give up his carefree lifestyle to take care of a child.

Leaving the bathroom to enter her bedroom, Kiara made her way over the wardrobe and chose a comfortable and yet stylish pale pink cotton lounge pants and a white long sleeved cotton top that hugged her deliciously curved form just right and still maintained a sense of comfort.
She was glad that such casual wear was included in this wardrobe or else she would have been quite miserable in the clothes department, no woman wanted uncomfortable clothes after losing her virginity.
Especially to a man as well endowed as Adrian...

Protection... Definitely something she need to get her hands on... along with an escape plan...

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian had meanwhile taken up a comfortable seat in his livingroom. Having scaled the staircase, stashed the used undergarments and sheets into the appropriate bucket, he had come to realize Kiara's bath was probably going to be a little longer than he first thought.

Now that was something that brought a bit of a chuckle. At the very least, Kiara was developing an awareness of time. There were no responsibilities at the moment, no needs, no chores to speak of. All of that would come later.

Right now, the light blue, green, red and yellow of the radiant television could be seen softly flickering throughout the floor where the walled TV was stationed. The jumbled sounds of scattered sentences and random music clips was a clear indication that Adrian was skipping from channel to channel.

He had brought 4 bottled waters with him and placed 3 atop the table near his chair. The 4th he opened and held in his left hand while his right hand scowered the list of channels looking for something that would grab his interest. Every other minute, Adrian found himself flooding his mouth with the cooled water.

He hadn't fed on anyone in quite awhile and it just enhanced his thirst for alternatives even more.

[Lamenting_Quill]

On her way through the to halls to seek Adrian, Kiara decided that it would be in her favor to play nice and go along with Adrian's delusions until the right opportunity presented itself.
Normally she might feel guilty about deceiving a man into a false sense of security concerning his romantic relationship, however Adrian kind of asked for it in this situation as Kiara was not a willing part of this relationship and he knew it well.

As she made her way down the staircase, Kiara was highly grateful for the fact that she found a pair of fluffy pale pink half slippers at the bottom of the wardrobe. They were just a tiny bit too big for her, but not enough that they were impossible to wear without falling all over herself.
"Adrian?" Kiara called out once she reached the bottom of the staircase.
She poked her head in each other room down the first floor hall as she came across them, there were a few small libraries and an office until she came to a parlor with a large TV mounted on the wall.

A large sofa rested against the far wall facing the TV, upon the lush cushions sat a golden Adonis, Adrian Flavius.
Kiara fully entered the room and took a seat beside Adrian on the sofa, she cuddled close to him arm "You know, before we go to see my parents, we should see about an engagement ring. My father is the type to notice something like that"
She caressed his arm with sensual gliding fingertips, she need to play this well if she wanted to get information out of him "So, when were thinking we'd get married? Spring? Summer?"

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's attention had been easily taken away from the flashing screen before him. Kiara's stroking of his arm already inspired a series of goosebumps that had almost earned a moan of gratitude. The moan was quickly concealed as a thoughtful:

"Hmmm..."

It was quickly followed by his thoughts.

"Well, I'd be a little flexible on the time, as for a ring, I would most certainly be remiss if I did not offer one. Believe me my dear, there'll be the whole kneeling experience and you will have the opportunity to prance about, ecstatic about my offer."

The way he spoke was rather satirical but insanely humorous. The truth was, he had just made her aware of his plans for the marriage, he hadn't actually asked how she felt about it. Now, he was presenting her acceptance as a foregone conclusion.

Up in his room, a series of crescent engagement rings remained neatly put aside. There was once a time when Adrian once humoured the idea of maintaining a harem of impeccable beauties. Such fantasies were quickly undone as unrealistic and no longer socially acceptable, as they had been in the day of his father, but nonetheless, when a great woman was found, the gem was to be available.

Adrian wasn't much of a last-minute shopper.

Perhaps later tonight, he would present it.

"What would you think?" He decided to humour himself with her opinion, granting the small thought that it might count for something.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara couldn't help but grin inside when Adrian clearly enjoyed her nails gliding gently up and down his arm, his noise obviously meant to sound thoughtful still held that hint of satisfaction. If she just kept him happy until the right time, she'd be free soon enough.
"Might be nice" Kiara replied, schooling her expression to a thoughtful and pensive "Though nothing too gaudy or too big, I think I'd prefer something simple yet elegant as well"

Purposely Kiara left out what he had said about her 'prancing about ecstatic with his proposal of marriage', not just because it wasn't her to do something like that, but she wanted to bait him. She wanted him to want more, if he was distracted with trying to please and woo her... he wouldn't exactly be on the phone booking a trip to France or arranging a minister, not to mention booking the cathedral of Notre Dame for their 'nuptials'.

"I was meaning to ask you about something" Kiara replied "It was only once so I don't think it will be a problem just yet, but we really should consider protection if we plan to be... well, intimate... in the near future. I think we'd want to wait a bit before a baby, you know?"
That was one thing that really worried her, she would seriously have some guilt going on about taking off on him if she was carrying his baby... best to avoid being trapped into this insanity due to a baby.

"Just seemed sensible" Kiara added, lifting a hand to curl one of her fingers in his golden locks "We're both young, we want to make sure we are ready before we have a child, right?"

[Alexis Sapphire]

"I suppose you're right..." Adrian had to give a perplexing nod as his gaze fixed onto a random point of ceiling. Immortals such as Adrian never really had a problem with commitments to children. For one, it was hugely unlikely that their seed would survive within a mortal; secondly, it was very easy to avoid the commitment when all you had to do was look into the woman's eyes and state that the child wasn't yours. Hypnosis was always funny in such a way. Sometimes it was easy to pass the child off as another man's, but in some cases, the woman just kept asking and asking, digging so deeply that the hypnosis left them unsure of anything.

Sometimes they went mad wondering who the father was, unable to convince themselves that they had a fling with anyone else, and yet unable to believe the truth, that the vampire was the father. Denial, clinical depression, there were a number of ways that such a woman would be discredited, but the truth would just be so unbelievable. That someone with a vampire's ability actually existed outside of hollywood and science fiction? Come on.

Of course, there was always the more direct manner. Many an undisciplined vampire would either see to the child's demise immediately through some unfortunate event... or sometimes, maybe even the mother!

Society as it was, compared to how it is now, is constantly adapting for Adrian, but for those immortal Gods among men, time refuses to stand still. The idea of actually being bound to Kiara was different for Adrian than considering her bound to him.

To Adrian, Kiara was his property, his asset, his treasure of immeasurable value. She would be far from a ball and chain because he was not used to the commitments of the man to the woman. In Roman times, such relationships were much simpler. Slavery was open and accepted, people knew their 'place' and those who ruled were openly powerful and charismatic.

Now, slavery was much more subtle, wage slaves had taken over the globe. You did not own a slave today by providing them shelter, you owned slaves by providing them with money, forcing them to buy their own shelter and food. When you took care of their debt, made them reliant on you for their very needs, you had, in effect bought yourself a slave.

Kiara was going to be tremendously valuable to him, amusing and entertaining, even with her fiery passion at times to disagree or fight against him. There was absolutely no wrong this woman could do. Irregardless, throwing on a condom was most certainly not a difficult task for Adrian. There was no headache to it and there was barely any inconvenience.

If anything, it was simply the principle of the matter... but that didn't bear fighting at the moment. At the very least, it seemed Kiara was beginning to settle into the mindset of spending forever with him. Her thoughts of a child were more than symbolic of long term thinking. Either she was an actress beyond the degree he had already thought her to be... or she had simply been that much easier to persuade.

He let his hand glide along her auburn hair, gently stroking his fingers through the stands.

"Everything will be perfect." He left a vague answer on instinct. It was as though conceding anything to Kiara for sake of her say-so would have encouraged her to feel that she had a stronger standing in this relationship than she did. -... Or that he wanted to believe she had.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Relief flooded Kiara when he agreed with her, it didn't bother her one bit that he didn't want to be saddled just yet with a baby.
His hand drifted up to stroke her long auburn hair, his fingers taking the time to rub the silken strands the whole way down all the way to the ends. It made her shiver slightly at just how much attention he really paid to her, it felt almost like she was his entire world.

"Everything will be perfect."

Though it was hardly enough to make her want to stay with him for real, she had no desire to be imprisoned in a gilded cage until the end of her days, subject to all of Adrian's whims.
For now however, Kiara had to do her best to play the blushing bride-to-be until the right time came for her unhindered escape.
"So, Paris huh? Late springtime in Paris sounds nice" Kiara asked, trying to act as though the notion of being wedded in the most romantic city on earth was pleasing "What inspired a wedding in Paris?"

Very carefully and gracefully, Kiara slide onto Adrian's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked like a bride completely enchanted by the details of her magical big day in Paris, France.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian let his head tilt mockingly, as though he were remiss to lose sight of the television. It was truly refreshing to see Kiara more and more confident as she spent time with him.

His eyes quickly settled on her own as he let his hands answer by wrapping around her lower back and entangling his fingers behind her.

Here was another question he couldn't bring himself to lie about, but instinctively, felt the need to manipulate the truth in order to keep his life hassle-free-... or rather, as hassle-free as he could. The story shared between himself and Hayden couldn't really be divulged to Kiara seeing as it would do nothing more than bring Hayden back into the forefront of her thoughts.

"It seems like as good a place as any..." He shrugged casually, his hands unlocking behind her, engaged in a series of tingling tickling motions with his fingertips.

"I've always enjoyed visiting and it is, somewhat of a romantic staple."

x

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