He never understood then things that she kept in the box. Honestly they were things of no great value to anyone and though he had tried to interpret the meaning behind some of the things within, he never could understand why some of the items held significance for her.

There was the small bit of ribbon, faded and threadbare after so many centuries. He remembered that the ribbon had once been a shade of midnight blue, but now it was a washed up shade of grey. It was the ribbon that had been intertwined throughout her fire colored locks the night that they had met.

 There was a leaf, carefully wrapped in a piece of cloth, which by some miracle hadn’t crumbled and turned to dust over the years. When had she gathered that and why had she saved it? He wished he knew. This along with the small polished rock, the small length of rope, and small piece of human bone were things that would always remain a mystery to him.

The final item in the box was a small leather pouch that held a small bit of ash. Taking it between his fingers he remembered when she had started to wear it…and the ashes of the individual held within.

They had lived happily together for some time. It had taken them both some time to learn to balance their hunger, duties to the coven, and their physical relationship, but they had been able to find a way to do it in the end. They had settled into a routine of sorts. He spent time with his brothers working on keeping their world in some semblance of balance, but most of his time was spent with her. During the day she helped him with his artistic pursuits, and in the evenings, after feeding, they spent time in each other’s arms with very little words passing between them.

He still remembered the first time that Aro brought Juvenal to the tower. The boy couldn’t have been more than four. He had to be the most beautiful child that any of them had seen with his head of thick black curls, pale immortal skin over full dimpled cheeks, and cupid-bow lips. The only thing that was slightly off was the bright red crimson color that tainted his eyes.