Insturmental

[Serenity]

::Cole smiled briefly as Serenity spoke, his amber eyes intent as they followed her every movement. He pondered how it could be that she was so composed... though it may have been that the Slytherin understood he would never touch her again, especially considering the consequences he would reap from Meriel.

The only authority he respected was that of Meriel and his Queen - he couldn't care less about any others.

Really, he thought it was more than that, though. Serena seemed one of those rare types that had incredible amounts of self-control, and it was slightly strange for him to see such composure in someone who was still breathing.

"Meriel is doing wonderfully; I shall send her your regards, if you like," Cole answered, shaking himself from the deep current of his thoughts. His eyes narrowed slightly in concern at the expression on her face as she kicked a rock.

"If you don't mind me saying, you look rather troubled, Serenity... " the Vampire commented, slightly uncomfortable, leaving the end of the statement as an open invitation for her to either speak about what was on her mind or tell him in no uncertain terms that it was none of his business.::

'Yes, thankyou Cole, always the genial sort, eh?' She smirked. He always knew. Always. He could read her like a book, an open book ready to tell a story. At this moment, she really didn't feel that this was a good thing at the moment.

She felt stubborn. She didn't want to tell. She wanted to keep this to herself, those last few fleeting moments, in her heart.

'Just relationship complications' she threw it off as if it were something minor, like a sunshower, or something that just came and went. But she knew better. The emotional blow that she had encountered had really stuck with her this time.

[Cole - retired]

Yet again, the smile that curved the Vampire's bloodless lips was not one that many mortals saw. Instead of being full of nearly manic malice, dripping with ridicule and disdain, or coldly calculating, it was truly warm for all that it quickly faded from existence.

"Until the day I die," he said, returning her smirk with a playful one of his own, entirely aware of the irony of the statement.

Cole nodded slowly as he mulled over her words, and the casual way she attempted to skim over what was obviously very important to her. Though she might have been able to successfully deceive the ear of a human, his finely tuned senses picked up on the strained inflection and the almost thrumming quality of the emotion beneath the breezy tone that blanketed it.

"Far be it from me to pry into your personal affairs, Serenity," Cole finally murmured gravely, "and I'm well aware that a four hundred year old Vampire who once attacked you entirely unprovoked would probably not be your first choice for an attentive listener... but that's what I am; that's what you have in me, if you so require it, milady," he finished, almost absently attaching the endearment to the end of his sentence.

The Vampire fell silent; as he spoke his penetrating gaze had slid unobtrusively from the Slytherin to the nearby tombstones, in hopes that the bit of distance such an action might provide would conceal the fact that he was, in fact, concerned for her.

[Serenity]

She sighed softly, knowing that she would end up telling Cole either way. She propped herself up against a large rock and rubbed her face. 'Where to begin...' She mumbled to herself.

'Well, I was in a relationship with a certain person on and off for about a year or so. That is until the beginning of this month, he cheated on me with a few of my closest friends and hurt the people I love', she shook her head, 'And I just made it okay, because I loved him, he would come back to me each time and I would pick up the peices and tell him that it was okay.'

She scratched her arm hard over and over again. This being a well-rounded habit of hers when she was upset of frustrated.

'But I promised so many people that one day I would end it. He took away my sanity, made me second-guess myself, he told me I showed no emotin and that I wasn't good enough. But I tried over and over to please him, and in many different forms....' She took a slight pause then continued, 'But it never seemed to be good enough, so finally I just ended it, and he was okay with it, secretly, although he didn't show it I think he was happy, because according to him I was too clingy.'

She closed her eyes and lowered her head. 'Im not the same Cole, Im not me, He took so much from me, I don't know what to do anymore, Im at a loss.'