And The Raven Never Flitting

Disclaimer: Oh my. I actually own this. What a surprise!

Chapter One:

Sense And Sensibility

"I think I slip the net
But I cut myself free
I'm not losing yet
So don't forget me."
-Morcheeba, "Never An Easy Way"

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Sometimes when it was too dark to see your hand in front of your face, young Julianne would stare at the stars longingly. She would watch them with an enthusiasm that bordered on psychotic. Dots of white on a sea of black, a beautiful blanket of light and dark. She always had this feeling, this notion that thingre nre not as they appeared to be. That there was more to life than that which surrounded her. Something..surreal.

Something different.

She would then stand, and walk blindly back towards her house, with a grace that no normal person should possess. But that was years ago. Years before she met the malicious and sadistic Amanda Martin. The thought of the name was enough to make her left eye twitch with repressed anger, and sickened as she was by the thought of the name, the actual person behind it was much, much worse.

Amanda had come to Julianne's native Ireland when they were both fifteen. With blonde hair and blue eyes, and a body that would put your average supermodel to shame, she looked as sweet and innocent as the day she was born. But that she wasn't. And poor Julianne had learned that the first day they met, bumping into her on accident. It was the kind of thing a person reflected on, wondering above all else if there could have been a way to prevent it. Amanda had lashed out immediately, shoving the poor girl down to the floor with a satisfied grin.

Today was no different from any other day at school. A few "Good Morning"s were exchanged between teacher and student, who was hurrying through the crowd, all the while thinking with exasperation, Not today, not today. The girl hugged her school sweated tighter around her body, combat boots barely making a sound as she moved. Then it happened.

Twitch. twitch. twitch.

She went into panic mode, looking around through the sea of milling students, her gaze intent and studious as the little color that was there drained from her face. She didn't see her. But her twitching eye told her that Amanda was nearby. She took a step forward, cautiously, only to faceplant into the floor with a cry of pain. She stayed like that for nearly a minute, before finally lifting herself up, reaching a hand up to tenderly touch her nose.

It wasn't broken.

That was good.

It was bleeding profusely.

That was bad.

Somehow, the sight of her own blood made her little bubble of self-contained anger pop, and she growled. It was a feral, bloodthirsty growl of such intensity that the student body around her stepped back. All of them. Except for Amanda. The blonde merely smirked, crossing her arms. She opened her mouth to let out some smart comment, but suddenly found herself being slammed to the floor with a primal force. The only thing she was able to let out was a scream of fury and pain, as she dug her nails into the tender skin of Julianne's neck.

Claw marks were ending up on her face, arms and neck, until finally Julianne wrapped slender digits around that long neck and leaned down close, their noses barely touching. She hissed in a low, menacing voice that held the threads of angry promise.

"If you ever touch me again, I will rip every strand of hair from your sadistic little head, and I don't give a fiddler's fart who tries to stop me! They'll be mopping your blood off the floor with--" She was being pulled off of the girl, who was sitting in shock on the floor. Kicking and screaming, Julianne tried to pull away, all the while spouting off words that would make a sailor blush. She didn't care. She didn't care if it was her own mother who had dragged her away from Amanda Martin, but as it was her luck, it happened to be the headmaster.

"Miss Finnigan! If you please! Calm yourself! There is no room for your temper in my office!" He said, his face still slightly purple from the strain. Julianne snorted in a rather unladylike manner, and crossed her arms, looking away from him. He peered at her with those friendly brown eyes, running a hand through his thinning hair. "Miss Finnigan, would you care to explain your actions?"

Another snort. "No."

After he stared at her for nearly five minutes, and she realized that she wasn't going to get a fight with him, she sighed. She turned towards him with her eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill over. "For two years, Amanda has been harassing me every moment she gets. Tripping me in the corridors, shoving me into walls..today was no exception. She shoved me from behind, nearly broke me nose, I did," She gestured to the blood on her face, "I fought back today. I was letting out two years of pent up frustration, sir. And I apologize for losing my temper. But if I could redo everything, it would still happen that way. She deserved what she got, and I delivered what she deserved."

An astonished blink.

"Well, ah..Miss..Miss Finnigan, I suggest that..that you go home." He hadry,dry, swiss accent. She never could remember his name. She never cared. "Rest up, and report back here tomorrow afternoon to begin serving your punishment." With a casual shrug of her shoulders, Julianne stood, and walked out of the office, proudly displaying her still bleeding scratches like a warrior displays his battle scars.


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"Julie, dear..could you kindly take your bad aura up to your room?" Her mother said in that sing-song voice of hers. She had just finished explaining what happened, pausing every so often to let out a hacking cough from the amount of incense in the room. She quite often wondered how long it would take before her mother came home and announced cheerily that she had lung cancer, but as long as everyone kept thinking good thingsen ten the positive energy would clear her right up!

Julianne trudged up towards her room, but paused instead at the attic. She blinked. The door was open. She had lived in this house her entire life and not once had anybody managed to get that damn thing open. She wondered idly if her mother had focused all of her "positive energy" towards the door. She chuckled a bit at the thought, and then stepped forward.

Pushing the door open farther, she looked around the dusty room. There wasn't much there, just antique toys and a few old wooden crates. She wasut tut to turn around and walk right back out when something caught her eye. A chest, old and bronze, with no visible locks on it. She arched her brows slightly, staring at it for the longest moment.

Slow steps carried her towards it, and she opened it. She groaned with dismay when she saw it was empty. Except for..what was this? She reached down, picking up the single sheet of paper that lay within. She ran her fingers across the words on the page. They were old, and slightly faded, written in an elegant handwriting that made caught her breath in her throat. She whispered the words, blinking a few times as she did.

"I summon now the beast
Whose heart is stone and now sleeps
I summon him now to awaken once more
My powers open wide the door."

A chill ran down her spine as she set the piece of paper back down into the chest, and turned to come face to face her mother, her expression that of shock and disbelief. Her words came out in a soft, hushed tone, and she seemed to be serious for the first time in her life.

"Julianne.. what have you done?"

Julianne looked at her mother in question, cocking her head to the side. She never did understand that woman. She doubted she ever would. She then looked back at the chest, staring at it. Away from anything except her mum's sad and fightened features. But she could still feel them. And they were breaking her heart. "It was just a fight, mum..Not like I killed someone."

"No, Julie..You don't understand. You read the incantation..You..You.." She stepped forward, and grabbed her daughter's hand, dragging her down from the attic and back down to the incense darkened sitting room. "Mum! MUM! Stop! What in bloody hell're yeh doing?!" Julianne wrenched her arm from her mother's grasp, and was met with a swift slap across the cheek.

"You don't understand! You read the incantation! You released him!" The older woman looked almost frantic now, her eyes flashing as she began to search relentlessly through the books and tomes that had usually sat gathering dust. "Mum, you're going mad..I didn't release anybody! What are you talking about?!" A voice sounded from behind the both of them, and Julianne whipped around in a flurry of red curls and wide eyes.

"Why, she means me, my dear."

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"Stay away from her, Legato.."

"Mum? Who is this?"

"..Stay out of this, Julianne.."

"But Mum, I --"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!"

The man that stood before them was tall, almost frightengly so. With eyes of the palest green, and dark brown hair that brushed his shoulders. Julianne arched her eyebrows when he caught her gaze, a soft smirk crossing his lips. She took a step back, her heart pounding a bit too loudly for her own liking. Her mother growled --a feral growl, like a mother lion protecting her cub -- and spoke softly.

"Get out of here, demon."

"Now, my dear, I don't believe that's very.." He flicked his wrist, sending her mother flying into the wall. "..Polite."

"MUM!" She moved to run over to her mother, but found herself trapped in a steely grip. She struggled, but in the end, it was all futile. The man, no, monster that held her, nibbled at her neck with a startling sensuality that sent unwanted feeling shooting through her body. "Tell me, love..what year is this?"

"Let me go! Mum!" He spun her around swiftly, grasping her shoulders and gazing at her with a fury in those eyes. A spark of recognition came across his face, and he muttered a name, a single name that sent shivers dowr spr spine.

"Lilliana.."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lilliana..you look..just like Lilliana." He brushed cold fingers across her cheek, and she gasped, shivering. "No..No, my name is Julianne..Please, my mother..she.."

"She's dead. And you're coming with me."

"What?! NO! She can't be..I won't! I won't go with you!" She wrenched herself out of his grasp, and made a mad dash towards the stairs. She found herself pinned against the wall with astonishing force. No human could move like that! He held her hands above her head with one hand, and grasped her face in the other, forcing her to look into his eyes. Those dead, emotionless eyes.

"You can," He dipped his head down, "And you will."

And he caught her lips within his own.