Destroyer

The sun shone brightly over the little city park-and-playground.
Leraya and Teran were sitting in the field picking flowers. Asya and
Blade sat on a nearby bench and watched."So, why haven't you bitten
the girl?" Blade turned from Asya to watch Leraya playing with
Teran. "All those nights where you almost starved, she was food
enough." Asya glanced at him out of the corner of her eye."She's my
daughter. I may be a vampire but I'm still a woman, and a mother. I'm
not barbaric, I do have maternal instincts." Blade turned back to
Asya. He watched her, studying her every move and feature. He would
make it his business to learn her every characteristic. Once you know
the nature of what it is you seek, you know what it is capable of.
That was his motto. Her hair was braided back against her head, a
sign of readiness and preparedness. She never took her eyes off of
Teran as she watched her play with Leraya. A watchful eye over her
daughter and the fact that she was ready to fight at all times
surprised Blade. She seemed almost like a regular human. There was a
faint scar on her neck. He knew that he had seen something like it
before, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Asya's eyes began to
tear up. She blinked back the tears, and put her head down. Blade
reached his hand towards her, then paused. She looked so vunerable,
so helpless. He placed his hand on her shoulder. He felt her tense up
and he almost instinctivly pulled away. "Mama! Look what we made for
you!" Blade turned to see Leraya running towards them with Teran hot
on her heels. Leraya had a necklace of flowers in her hand. Blade
still had his hand on Asya's shoulder. He felt her slowly relax as
she raised her head to look into her daughter's eyes. "Oh, that's
nice sweetie." Leraya looked deep into her mother's eyes and studied
her face. "Mama, why are you crying?" Leraya glared at Blade. "What
did you do to my mama?" Asya began to laugh, everyone stared at
her. "He didn't do anything to me, Aya. I'm just glad to see you
having fun again." Teran watched Blade the entire conversation. He
was intently watching Asya. Teran knew the look he was giving her.
Whether or not Blade knew it, Teran did. He was falling for Asya.
Teran had picked up on the little hints being dropped for the past
couple of days. She also believed that Leraya knew it too. She stood
next to Blade and waited for a moment. She nudged Blade with her leg.
He turned to look at her. Teran nodded her head towards Asya and
slighty lifted her arm. Blade turned back to Asya and Leraya. He took
his arm off Asya's shoulder."Leraya..." She backed into her mother's
arms and looked at Blade,"Yes?" "Come here a moment please. I want to
give you something special." Leraya glanced at Asya for approval.
Asya looked at Teran, Teran nodded. Asya smiled at Leraya,"Go on,
Aya." Leraya cautiously stepped towards Blade. He opened his arms
invitingly. She looked around at everyone, took a deep breath, then
rushed into his arms. He closed them around her and hugged her
tightly. Blade leaned close to her ear, "I will always protect you,
my queen." Leraya leaned back and stared into his eyes. She nodded,
knowingly and laughed. "Thank you, my friend."