Gabriel

I strain to find the location of the approaching threat. Like a thunderclap, the first bombs detonate, shaking the earth beneath us. Flames dance across the sky, illuminating the sky in vivid, bloody detail. Debris rains down around us, a deadly hailstorm of destruction. In the chaos, my mind fills with concern for my men, and I am thankful I listened to my gut. I can hear another bomber approaching, then I hear our flack cannons, and there is a massive explosion in the sky, debris raining down everywhere.

"Mikhail, how long will these shields last?"

"These are indefinite, but while they are up, my magic is exhausted extensively."

Tatiana is holding two children, and the others surround her; she looks up at me and proudly says, "Mikhail is the most powerful Vekmak I've ever seen. We are safe in here. Tatiana speaks to the children in a calming tone, she and the twins are talking in Russian about witches and werewolves. I notice Ava; she is pale, and her eyes wide with fear and disbelief of everything. I pull into my arms, and I project a wave of calm over all of us. Mikhail's head whips towards me, and he gasps.

"Gabriel, was that you? Did you just use magic?"

He walks over to me and puts his hand against my chest, and his eyes go white, and then suddenly he looks at me, returning to himself, and asks, "Who in your family was a zaklinatel?"

He sees I'm unfamiliar with this word and says, "A spell caster?"

Ava says, "A wiedźma."

We all look at her; she says, "A witch."

"You believe in such things, Lalka?"

At that moment, in all the confusion of the war, it was impossible to focus on one individual thing until the bomb landed directly on the force field, the imagery was incredible to witness the destruction this close and survive. Watching this amount of force and power being resisted by wispy blue tendrils of magic is astonishing. The power of Mikhail's magic is something even at 600 years old; I have never witnessed before; such energy. Ava is in my arms, and Mikhail is still talking to me asking about my bloodline, and the children are all crying; it is utter chaos, and the stimulation is maddening.

The babies begin to cry loudly now, and I snap myself out of the cloud of thoughts fogging up my head. I send out a large wave of calm, and the children's crying stops and Tatiana's shoulders relax.

Mikhail laughs loudly. "You, my friend, are an enigma, both vampire and witch, but you are a born witch like me. This was not taught. You becoming a vampire was just in addition to everything else."

Ava squeezes me, and I look down at her, terrified to see how she views me now. And she appears confused but not frightened of me.

"I promise once we are safe, I will tell you absolutely everything. I give you my word."

She nods. "You believe me, don't you? That I will tell you every detail."

In a soft and strangely composed tone she says, "Yes, Gabriel, I believe you."

"Are you frightened of me?"

She looks into my eyes and lovingly says. "No, I love you. You are my everything, just like you tell me." She moves in closer to me to show me she is not lying.

I hold her close and kiss her head. Her heartbeat was regular and calm, in contrast to everyone else within the force field. I believe she's in shock but somehow handling it so well.

I have a gut-wrenching thought that brings bile to my throat, Gladys's beautiful face flashes in front of my eyes. I pray she is safe. There are no more sounds of bombers, now just heavy smoke, gunfire, and small explosions. It's not until late afternoon the major explosions stop.

Mikhail and I talk about their plans once he releases the force field.

"Tatiana and I have agreed to take the children home with us back in Toulouse, and they all want to come with us. She has always wanted children, but my bloodline has been passed down with another pure-born witch. Mother forced me to bed a twenty-four-year-old woman for three months until she was certain the woman was with child I was fourteen years old, and I was forced again when I was 15, and the last time was at 16 years old. I have four children I've never seen because my mother cast me out when she knew I loved Tatiana and no one no matter how powerful would keep us apart; we would both die than be apart. My mother placed a powerful spell preventing me from making half-breeds, as she called them."

Ava looks up and happily says, "So now Tatiana and you will have a family."

It isn't until Mikhail taps my shoulder that I start to become aware of my surroundings once more, which is completely uncharacteristic for me. Still, I'm worried about Gladys, and I am certain Ava is in shock. And I am so concerned this may trigger her memories about everything else.

Touching my arm Mikhail asks, "Gabriel, did you hear me?"

"No, I apologize; what did you say?

"This is our address and our phone number. We should be home in two days if you and Ava like we have an entire guest house on our property, and we'd be more than happy to have you there."

"Thank you Mikhail for everything you have done and for your friendship, and we will visit you soon.

I'm lowering the shields. Tatiana has loaded two bags of medical supplies for you and Ava; being a physician is very helpful right now, so I thought I'd give you the supplies needed."

"Mikhail, is there a way I can leave this shield while it's up? If so, please allow me ten minutes to assess the situation of the base."

He quietly says, "Yes, the field only prevents things from entering. Go, I will keep it up, and when I see you, I will bring it down, and then we will be heading out immediately."

I kiss Ava and promise I'll be right back. I have no concerns about someone seeing me use my vampiric abilities, and I speed around assessing the damage and try locating the wounded to assist the North Medical Tents. Besides the vast and extensive damage, the direct hit of the Fritz-X bomb, the entire encampment suffered massive damage, and I've seen eight casualties so far. One by one, I find the members of Hell Squad as I search for Gladys, asking if anyone has seen her whereabouts. I've gotten every one of my squad members accounted for, and then I spot Vinny.

Shrapnel from one of the shot-down bombers was entirely through his abdomen. The only thing keeping him alive was that he was near the edge of the base, and no one had found him yet. The pressure from the mangled plane held blood in circulation only allowing a pathway from his head to just below his diaphragm. This was the only thing keeping him alive and not for much longer.

"Vinny, can you hear me?

"Hey, Lu, I'm fucked."

"Listen to me, okay? This is vital you know what I'm saying."

"Sure, Lu, I hear ya."

"I'm about to give you my blood, and if it works, you will die, but you will come back like me. Vinny, I'm a vampire. I'm immortal, and I can make you one too. You will wake up hungry, and your thirst for blood will be insatiable, but you can control it; you can direct your thirst to those who deserve it. For the first several weeks, it will be hard to stay isolated, but being around humans will be overwhelming so try to avoid stimulation overload."

Vinny laughs, and I bark orders to listen to his commanding officer and he snaps to attention.

"Vinny, Avoid the sun. It harms most vampires. Do hunting at night and kill every Nazi that you run across and drain them without any remorse. Once you have better control, you can be around people slowly and integrate yourself into society. I will send a large sum of money to a bank in Zürich under your name. They will ask you for a password; it'll be Hell Squad. I will also leave contact information on how to reach me. Do you hear me? Do you understand what I am telling you?"

"Sure, Lu, you're gonna make me, Bella Lugosi, and I'm gonna run around sucking Nazis dry, and you're gonna leave a lot of cash and Switzerland for me. While you're at it, can you send Rita Hayward to me and tell her I want a blowjob every night with supper and her wearing nothing but an apron and heels."

In frustration, I yell, "Damnit! I'm serious, Vinny!"

I let out a deep animalistic growl, dropping my fangs and sinking my teeth into my arm. Making sure he sees me do this, his eyes go wide.

Vinny disbelievingly says, "Holy fuck Lu you're an actual fucking vampire. That explains why you're so fucking superhuman, like Clark Kent. Will I be strong? No, wait, the real question is will I have a big cock!"

"Open your mouth, suck."

Vinny laughs and jokingly says, "Sure Lu, but I don't like you in that sort of way."

Even facing death Vinny is a smartass. I tell him that I have to pull this shrapnel from him. Unsure of the exact amount of blood needed to turn someone, I urge him to consume as much as possible.

"Alright, I'm going to pull this out now. You better come find me!"

"Sure thing, Lu, and I'll make you and your girl a Russo's pie wearing my black cape and my new fangs."

I yank the enormous metal from him, and blood begins to pour in streams from him.

"I'll see you soon, Vinny." I wait till he's taken his last breath, and I lay him on the ground and hope this transition is successful.

Knowing that time is of the essence, I search the base once more, yet there's no trace of Gladys; with a heavy heart, I try not to assume the worst. I find my second in command and instruct him to take control. I hand him my dog tags.

"Jack, I need to discuss something of very importance, something that might potentially cause trouble for you." You told me after I saved you and Vinny's life several months ago that if I ever needed anything at all; I could count on you. Can I hold you to your word?"

"Lieutenant, I am a man of my word, and Sir, it would be a privilege to assist you any way I can, and I think I know what you need of me."

"Thank you, Jack. Tell them you found me near the medical tent on the other side. When you see the destruction over there, you'll understand. Please take these men immediately and head towards France. Try to take any wounded you find, but I want you gone before dark. I have no family; all I have I'll be taking with me."

Jack instantly snaps to attention and stutes me saying, "Lieutenant, it's been an honor to serve under you, and I hope you and your girl are happy forever. You deserve to be happy. Go have a bunch of babies and enjoy life."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Davenport."

I head off running at first, then fade, and within seconds, I'm near the vehicles, and I jump in a Duce-and-A-Half and drive towards the medical tent.

As soon as Mikhail sees me coming, he lowers the field. He says, "I was starting to get worried. You've been gone for 20 minutes."

"I was trying to find Gladys, but she's nowhere to be found. I did however find one of my men, and he was as good as dead, and I gave him my blood, figuring it cannot hurt. I also handed my tags to my second in command."

Mikhail nods and says, "So you are pulling a disappearing act?"

"Yes, it is for the best. Can you make a fire big enough to burn down this tent?"

Mikhail agrees and enthusiastically says, "Yes, that's exactly what I was planning on doing.

"This truck is for you, Tatiana, and the kids. The gas is full, and there are two containers of extra fuel in the back, maybe put them in some kind of protection spell. There should also be rations and a few cans of water in that truck as well. We keep everything stocked for emergencies."

Tatiana whispers to me and asks. "You didn't find Gladys?"

"No, I did not find her. The only thing I can hope is that she left with Dr. Willard earlier this afternoon. He was going for supplies from the camp near France, but it seems very unlikely for her to leave and not say something."

Tatiana looks sad, she reaches for a hug, and whispers. "We will do a location spell for her as soon as we are back home, and I will send you word. Gabriel, thank you so much for saving these children. Are you sure you and Ava will not come with us?"

"I would appreciate any news that you find about her, I have several things to take care of in Switzerland, but we will gladly accept the offer to visit."

Ava is sitting on a cot, staring off into the distance; when she sees me, she smiles, and I'm relieved at first, but the site of her staring off had me concerned. Ava and I say goodbye to Tatiana, Mikhail, and the children as they drive off. I pick Ava up and fade into the treeline far from the tent, and then I see a massive ball flying from the direction Mikhail is headed the ball builds in size like a snowball being rolled down a hill, and by the time it strikes the tent it is 5 feet wide and at least 3 feet tall. Fire erupts violently exploding everything that was near the medical unit. All that will remain is charred debris. Ava doesn't even flinch when the explosion occurs.

"Ava, how are you?"

She replies with a calm composure, "I'm good, Gabriel."

She smiles at me, and I see she's in shock. I kiss her and tell her I'm going to pick her up, and we're going to head back to Switzerland.

Ava looks up worriedly and says, "I don't want my own hotel room."

"Don't worry, my love, you never sleep alone again."

The countryside was engulfed in chaos. As I observed the wartorn landscape, any fear of being noticed fading quickly dissipated.

For the next three days, we stay in Zürich, which allows me time to set up an account for Vinny and attend to other matters. Ava appears to be distant, and I fear saying or doing something incorrectly, worried that it might cause her to collapse under the weight of the chaos and trauma she has experienced in the past several months.

She never mentions me being a vampire or asks about Gladys; she responds and talks, but only if I start the conversation. She is still loving and affectionate curling in my arms each night. We eat at the café that she loves. We stay in the same hotel in the same room, and outwardly, she remains as if nothing is wrong. On the third day, I call Mikhail.

"Hello, Dr. Petrov speaking," Mikhail answers with a lighthearted sound to his voice.

"Hello, Mikhail."

"Gabriel, it's so wonderful to hear from you. How is Ava?"

"She is the reason that I'm calling. I am concerned for her, and honestly, I believe being around people she knows right now will be helpful."

I explain to him how her behavior has been and then I ask, "Do you think it could be a Fugues state?"

"Yes, it's possible for someone experiencing a Fugue state to misinterpret or misunderstand their surroundings, including the severity of a situation. I agree having familiar things around her will be beneficial, and I can see what spells I can do to help her. Plus, Gabriel, I want to explore your magic with you. Please tell me you two are on your way."

"Yes, we will be now. We'll head out first thing in the morning."

I tell Ava we will visit Mikhail, Tatiana, and the children, and I see a spark of happiness unprovoked in her eyes. That tiny sign brings me some relief. It allows me to hope things will turn out alright in the end.

This evening I am drawing her bath. I have done this each night since arriving in Switzerland, but tonight when I turn to leave I hear a small sigh slip from her lips, and when I turn around she pouting.

"Lalka, what's wrong?" I gently push her hair behind her ears and tilt her chin so her eyes meet mine. She remains silent, but she begins to unbutton my shirt. "Do you want me to bathe with you?"

She casts her eyes downward and very softly says, "Yes, please."

The hotel is one of the finest in Europe, yet it seems it wasn't designed with a 6-foot-4-inch man in mind, but I manage and Ava relaxes against my chest after I turn the water off she seems content in my arms.

While washing her hair we begin to talk about tonight's dinner.

Ava tells me, "I should have gotten the cheesecake."

"I will get you cheesecake once we finish our bath. How does that sound Lalka?"

She excitedly says, "Really? Oh Gabriel that would be amazing." she hands me the small rose-scented soap. She moves her hair from her back and asks, "Will you wash me?"

I take the soap and pick up the washcloth, rubbing the soap inside the cloth. Once it's lathered up, I begin to clean her body. Bathing Ana was one of the things I enjoyed and looked forward to each night, and it makes me happy to think I might be able to continue this with Ava. I am proud of my willpower as I reach in front of her and clean her front, starting at her neck and then working down her chest. I pause to soap my hands and decide the cloth has done enough for tonight.

My large hands cup each of her breasts and surprisingly Ava quietly says, "That feels good."

This encouragement was all I needed to continue the rest of our bath running my hands all over her body massaging and cleaning every part of her I could reach. "I can not reach your feet I am affarid you will have stinky little feet now."

She giggles then astounds me when she stands up and faces me her hips just inches from my face then she sits on the side of the tub and places her foot on my thigh I am surprised that the sweet shy Ava, I know, is acting quite boldly tonight. Of course, I do not object only a fool would deny her requests. Once I finish her cleaning and rubbing her feet I look up at her and for my next task. I am ready to do whatever she asks of me.

Ava takes a deep breath, she then says, "Gabriel, I'm ready for bed, please."

I stand up to rise us off with the shower, and I notice she is looking at my cock. I have managed to remain mostly flaccid this entire time, but as if my cock knows someone is watching it; rises for the occasion. Ava watches in fascination not saying a word. Standing in front of me her full lips parted she bites her bottom lip, her nipples are hard, and her expression is so sexual I am at a complete loss for words. I try to slip into her mind, but it still echoes with voices.

"Let's get you to bed Lalka." Quickly I move from the bathtub and kiss her forehead as I grab the towel and cover myself. I wrap her hair in a towel and dry her and myself off, and then I pick her up, and we slip into bed, our naked bodies against each other. She wiggles against me, and this places her perfectly round backside against my cock. Given her mental state, I haven't felt right evening thinking about sex much less trying to engage in anything sexual with her. The events in the tub and now her ass pressing against my cock causes a hardness that I do not think will go down anytime soon.

She rolls towards me and the look in her eyes is wanting, and she timidly says, "It's so large and very hard. Is this because we are naked together?" as she reaches out to run her finger up and down my cock.

I moan at her touch resisting my urges, and calmly say, "Yes, feeling your body against me causes me to become very excited."

She leans into me and kisses me; her kiss is full of passion. I return her kiss and then work my mouth down her neck, but returning to her mouth I am unable to resist her lips.

The passion and energy build between us. Climbing on top of me, her ass is again up against my cock, and the sensation is indescribable, and she whispers, "Take me, Gabriel. Take my virginity; make me yours."

I pull her off of me with every ounce of willpower I have.

She doesn't protest, and this I am thanking God for because I am only so strong. I kiss her lips and stroke her cheek running my hand over her hair and telling her, "I do not need your virginity for you to be mine. Your love is all I need."

Her breath catches and I look her in the eyes and we connect I feel her and know she sees and feels our bond. "Ava, you may not realize it, but you are my soul, you alone keep me human. You represent all that is good and hopeful in my life." She tucks her face into the crook of my neck and lays her head on my shoulder. I sense her chest heave in an attempt to stifle tears, yet they fall gently onto my shoulder, streaming down my chest.

"That's so beautiful, Gabriel; you make me feel so special."

"Because you are special, Lalka."

I gently lift her hand to my lips and kiss it tenderly "I will spend every day of my life making sure that you are happy. When I say I love you it's more than words Ava."

She curls up into my arms, and I stroke her hair repeatedly in a soft rhymatic soothing way soon she's sound asleep with tiny snores and all, and I can't help but smile.

The last twenty-four hours have been incredibly overwhelming. Over hundreds of years I've mastered the art of controlling my emotions, yet, in her presence, years of self-discipline vanish like dust in the wind. I find myself willing to do anything for her.

As I glance up at her I notice the sheets and blanket have shifted enough to see her breasts. The shower we shared the other night invades my mind; the passion and desire. Then thoughts of tonight in the bathtub with her pressed into my body; her touching my cock, the look in her eyes tonight as she told me to take her virginity flashes through my mind and I think about how if things were different, I would have.

I am touching myself, initially unaware of my actions. Ava lies on her back with her head resting on my arm, her golden hair giving her an angelic glow. My cock, still yearning for attention, refuses to relent and has become painfully swollen. Still hard and emotionally charged, I start to masturbate, cautiously at first to avoid waking her, but my pace quickens looking at her; her lips are plump and inviting, and I can't help but imagine her plump lips wrapped around my cock.

I gently caress her breasts, feeling their softness under my fingers. As I touch her,  a desire builds, demanding to be released. My hand moves faster and harder, and I know I won't be able to hold back much longer. As I lie here with Ava in my arms, I hear her deep breaths and realize she's asleep. I then envision if I had taken her virginity, how she would be tightly clamped around my cock, and despite my attempts to stay silent my breathing quickens, and a feral grunt escapes as I forcefully come into the towel that was around my waist; my body instantly relaxing. I lay there with her curled against my body and listened to her breath until I fell asleep as well.

I wake up around five in the morning, and knowing she's been sleeping till ten am. I leave a note on the pillow saying I went for breakfast and supplies for our trip. I leave another message on the side table by her book and the armchair she's become fond of, and a third slipped in the bracket of the bathroom mirror, all the notes confessing my love for her.

I arranged a private plane, but it took a while to find a pilot willing to accept the chance of flying right now with everything so hostile regarding the airspace. I discovered an American man in his late 40s who was very confident and had no doubts about our safety after dipping into his thoughts. He's already planned the route he will take and thought about fuel, and several other flights had taken to a similar area. I paid him half now, and I told him I would pay him the other half plus an additional $500 on our safe arrival.

He smiled a big cocky smile and said. "Well, you better have that $500 ready,"

I informed him that we would meet here at noon. Looking at the time, it's only seven in the morning, which makes me confident that I will be able to complete all my errands.

I decided to visit my old friend who runs the boutique. The doors were closed and locked, but I remembered noticing a stairway leading upwards during my last visit to the boutique and hearing footsteps. I assume she has an apartment above the store.

I persistently knock on the door; after five to ten minutes, she appears in a bathrobe, opening the door angrily until she recognizes me. Her demeanor instantly shifts. I select several outfits for the summer and a few for colder weather, uncertain of what we might find outside Switzerland, as rationing is still in effect everywhere.

I bought a few items for Tatiana and a couple of dresses for Marika. While checking out, I inquired about any stores selling children's clothing and men's items. She confirmed she knew one and was close friends with the owner. She offered to call them immediately to inform them of my arrival. Although I wasn't buying many high-end fashion brands or jewelry, my total cost was similar to the last trip due to the number of items. After paying, she welcomed me to return any time. The other store owner was jolly and very helpful. I managed to find items for Marc and even picked up something for Mikhail.

I could try and blame Ana for my love of shopping, but it would not be fair. Did she develop a massive passion for shopping? Absolutely, but I encouraged this and even fanned the flames. It brings me joy to give someone else a gift. I love the excitement and happiness it brings. Before Ana, I always kept new tailored suits, but the desire to buy out a store developed soon after our trip to New Orleans. Ana had more lingerie than most department stores carried, and how she'd use each item.

I kept one thing from her intimate collection, and it was her black silk garter; she'd bought it without me and waited until we were at a formal event for a charity to tease me with it. Ana was running late from another event she had attended alone. She left a message for me at the front desk that she'd meet me here at the Waldorf Astoria and that she did. 

That night she had on a low-cut satin black dress that had a slit that ran up her thigh. The spectacular part of the dress was the tiny Swarovski crystal chains that stretched across her back from shoulder to shoulder, tapering down below her waist to just above her hip. With 6-inch heels and her hair pinned up, exposing her nearly nude back, she walked in a side door of the grand ballroom; she knew I'd smell her perfume when she walked in, and when I looked in that direction, she was standing leaning against the door her leg stretched out and her dresses slit hiked up to her hip. She had on that black garter high on her thigh. I had the hardest time controlling myself. I wanted to fade to her and drop to my knees and kiss her up her leg and then sink my fangs into her thigh right above that tiny black garter.

I did get my fangs into her later that evening, but it took so much willpower not to do it right then. Ana loved to tease me and forced me to stay there till the end of the evening. I was doing my absolute best to try to focus on the speaker at the charity event, but it was useless with her in the room. I think she alone was a direct cause of several divorces. Men were breaking their necks to look at her. I smile and chuckle as I recall this fond memory.

For the first time, the thought of her didn't shatter me, leaving an emptiness or a sense of being consumed by darkness. Instead, I caught myself smiling, just as Ana would have wished for me.

After selecting a few teddy bears and candies for the children, I stopped by a jewelry store near the hotel, aware that I may soon need wedding rings if she accepts my proposal.

I returned to the hotel with breakfast. I leave all my shopping bags in the lobby telling the Bellhop that I wouldn't be upstairs long.

I returned to the room with an outfit I had set aside for each of us. Ava's was a red dress, belt loops holding a black patent leather belt, a pair of black Chanel heels to replace the last ones, and, of course, a pair of stockings, a garter belt, and a new bra, with matching panties. Even though she'd be wearing everything, the undergarments were entirely for me.

Ava was sitting in the armchair, reading the newspaper. As soon as she hears me, she leaps up and hurries over for a hug. Smiling she says, "Gabriel, good morning, sweetheart!"

I lean into her and our lips meet in a tender kiss. She looks at me with my hand behind my back and says, "What do you have hiding back there?"

"Something almost as sweet as you." I hold up the bag of pastries and then pull a miniature cheesecake from the bag; with fresh strawberries laid on top in the shape of a heart.

She makes an adorable little squeal of delight and says, "Gabriel I forgot about my cheesecake! You are so sweet. Thank you! I'm starving."

Her mood is light and almost back to her normal self, she seems to have slept well. I tell her about the plans while she eats, and she's excited about flying and not the least bit nervous, like so many first-time flyers are.

I pull out the panties and bra from the shopping bag and motion for her. She hurries towards me, and I watch as she slips her robe off I am determined to make it to the airport by noon so I focus on the task at hand. As I fasten her bra, I kiss the back of her neck, and goosebumps spread across her skin. I turn her around and notice the bra adds some serious cleavage.

"This next item is something I prefer to remove, but time is of the essence."

I help her into her panties, making sure I squeeze her ass before pulling the satin and lace panties up. Then I sit her on the chair and begin to work the first stocking up her leg.

"Gabriel, I've never worn stockings before; this is so fancy, these are elegant."

"I'm glad you like them, but we're not done."

I work the next, stocking up her leg, then wrap the garter belt around her small waist, hooking it in the back. Then, I attach the straps to the stockings. I pull out the heels, helping her slip her tiny feet into the sleek black heels. She turns her head and catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror as I am removing the tags from her dress.

Shyly she says, "I look pretty."

"Yes, in fancy lingerie or just a nurse's uniform; it doesn't matter what you are wearing; you are stunningly gorgeous and take my breath away every time I see you. Now, let's get this dress on you."

The dress fit her perfectly, and she seemed to like it. As I got dressed I watched her taking peeks in the mirror, as if she wasn't sure that was her in the reflection. I got dressed in navy blue slacks, a white button-down shirt that I rolled the sleeves on for now, and a matching navy vest. I have a jacket I'll put on if I need to later, for now, I throw it over my shoulder.

"Gabriel, you look like a movie star," Ava says with a dreamy look in her eyes as if I was a young Cary Grant walking off the set of a Paramount movie.

I tilt her chin up and softly kiss her perfect lips, then in my attempts to be smooth I say, "I'd better look like a movie star because, with a dazzling starlet like you by my side, I need to keep all the wolves at bay."

We talked about movies on the way to the lobby. Ava spoke about how the last movie she had seen was The Strawberry Blonde and how her father said, "Mrs. Hayworth isn't just a pretty face; she's wicked smart, a lot like you, Lalka."

I waited to see if the mention of her father brought about emotions or caused her to be upset, but she remained talkative and had no visible distress. Walking through the hotel lobby I motion for the bellhop to bring the bag and Ava's eyes widen as she sees all the bags from my morning shopping extravaganza.

She squeezes my hand and says, "I think you bought out every store in Zurich."

I just smile at her, but I am sure it came off as my cocky smirk as Ana called it.

The taxi ride to the airport was short. The airport is small but still busy even in wartime. The commercial and private runways share the same main terminal, walking hand in hand I feel Ava's hand tighten around mine. "Are you okay Lalka?"

Softly she asks me, "Why are people looking at us like that? Is it because you are so incredibly tall, and I'm so short? It makes me uncomfortable. Also, Gabriel, there was a blonde woman, and she looked just like...."

"Lalka, it's because most people have never seen an Angel here on Earth."

Her face blooms with an embarrassed smile, it's adorable. "What were you going to say before I so rudely interrupted you?"

She pauses, to think for a moment, then admits, "I forgot what else I was going to say; my mind has been so foggy lately." She gives me a cute smile and a nonchalant shrug, she seems to dismiss the forgetfulness.

We meet the pilot, and he helps the men put our bags on the plane.

He looks Ava up and down and says, "Look, if I'd known your girl was this pretty, I'd been paying you just to let me fly you two Toulouse."

I keep from letting his comment get to me and try to see it as a compliment.

The plane is small, and Ava looks worried. I reassure her, "The Beechcraft are extremely safe planes."

I hold her hand as we take off down the runway. I can feel her heart pounding as the noises grow louder. Soon, we were in the air, and the pilot told us to buckle up because it might get choppy.

This sort of plane would usually fly much higher. Still, at lower altitudes, the pilot could take advantage of denser air for fuel efficiency and more straightforward navigation, which is a good idea, being parts of France were German-occupied. About an hour into the flight, the pilot said that the Gods were in our favor because the air current was doing all the work.

Ava is tense a few times, and I whisper to her everything is good and there is nothing to worry about. I send her a wave of calm and soon, she is relaxed enough to fall asleep.

A piercing scream breaks the silence in the aircraft " Ava, wake up, Ava, wake up, love."

She is wide-eyed and terrified as she bolts awake.

She begins to cry and tells me, "Everything feels foggy in my head, and it is hard to differentiate between the dream, no nightmare I had just had, and what was real."

Seeing her shake like this breaks my heart. I try to push as much calm into her as possible, and slowly, her shoulders relax a little, and the sobbing subsides as she attempts to regain her composure.

I hand her my handkerchief, and as she dabs at her eyes, she inhales sharply. Then, with a voice filled with terror, she whispers to me, "Gabriel, it was horrible. My dream was filled with dead bodies; the air was thick with smoke, and the sounds of crying, shouting, and gunshots were everywhere. It wasn't until I saw you and gazed into your eyes that I recognized it was all just a dream. I know it was a terrible nightmare, but it felt so vivid; it felt so real."

I didn't dare ask her anymore about the dream, but it would be something we would have to talk about, and it broke my heart.

I expected us to run into some trouble on the flight just with how our luck had been going, but the flight was smooth, and the landing was perfect. As promised, I handed the pilot the rest of the money plus an additional $500; he thanked me and told me he would be around this area for the next few days if I needed to go anywhere else. He jokingly said you can find me wherever there's booze or boobs.

I got us a taxi, and we managed to fit all the bags in the trunk. The journey was scenic. The air was clear, free of gunfire or haze, just the beauty of a summer day. The sky was a vivid blue, fields blooming with flowers everywhere you looked. The taxi stopped for a slow passing train. I turned to Ava and pointed out the horses grazing by my side of the window.

When I saw her, my heart sank. Her eyes closed tight, and tears were streaming out of them. I asked her what was wrong and begged her to tell me. "Please, tell me what's troubling you. Is it related to the dream?" She remained silent, only pointing towards the train.

I noticed the train was a mix of freight and cattle cars, and the look of terror on her face suddenly made perfect sense. I did the only thing I could think to do, and I held her casting calm with greater intensity and focus than I ever had. The train passed, and the driver glanced at me, looking for approval to proceed. I gave a nod. and sent every ounce of myself into Ava as she trembled in fear and tears streamed down her face.

Ava's expression turned into sheer terror, reflecting the horror and pain she endured and the terrible atrocities she had seen committed, but had been victim to. No matter how hard I tried to comfort her, the pain on her face remained unchanged. I will do everything in my power to help her through this by any means necessary. Yet, I'm aware that no magic can make everything she endured disappear.