Only Hate the Road When You're Missing Home

[Rosetta Sinclair]

[ Made for Bellamy Rowan ]

Rosetta stood before the Imperium mansion with a forlorn expression, her crystal blue eyes sluggishly moving over the structure and all her Gothic beauty. She had looked upon this mansion for decades, and yet she had never come to learn it well. It was almost as if the shadows in the crevices of the roof and behind the statues were moving, always changing its form.

It wasn't the mansion Rosetta had come to know and love. It was the vampires within.

It was late morning on an early summer day, the time of year when the weather was on its best behavior. Rose was in a navy sundress with orange flowers, and a straw hat sat prettily atop her white-blonde hair.

She didn't enter the mansion. She never did without express permission. In leaving, she had broken something, ended something, walled something...she knew better than to come in as if nothing had changed. It had been twenty years. Hardly comparable to the six-hundred-and-nine years, but still time. Passing time, keeping them apart.

Her expression had lightened as soon as she'd taken her eyes from the house. Now they followed a lizard as it scurried by. She smiled, and then pursed her lips to whistle a tune.

[Bellamy Rowan]

Bellamy saw her from an upstairs window. She was easy to spot with her bright hair and skin, she practically glowed in the sun. Honestly, she was breathtaking. Just the sight of her took his breath away, even over six hundred years later. Especially since she left. He felt her loss deeply, and though she kept coming around it didn't seem to ease the ache at all. Perhaps unbeating hearts took longer to heal. Maybe they never could.

He didn't move out to meet her, not right away. Instead he lingered at the edge of the curtain near the window, the shadows gathered around him to keep him from view. He wanted to hate her, to hate her for leaving like she had. Maybe part of him did...sometimes...mostly he just pined for her. And that was what he really hated, that he couldn't move on, that he hadn't seen the signs of her eventual departure, that he couldn't stop it.

After a few long minutes he went downstairs and opened the door. Despite the fact that he could go out into the sun, Bellamy much preferred a cloudy day to a sunny one. "You know you can just come in." He told Rosetta.

[Rosetta Sinclair]

It wouldn’t be long now. Someone always noticed. Vampires were possessive creatures, always keeping a sharp eye on what was theirs—Imperium vampires perhaps more so than average.

Rosetta’s eyes returned to the mansion when the lizard scurried from sight. She looked from window to window for a familiar face, but found none. Just as she was considering moving closer and using the knocker, the front door opened.

Bellamy. If hearts had wings then hers was soaring at the sight of him. There he was. Her lover. Her mentor. Her friend. Her life.

Despite what she had done, despite leaving them, leaving them, Rosetta was still there. She would never go far from Bellamy. He was like blood to her. Without him she would crumble away.

Rose stepped forward until she was at the bottom of the front porch’s stairs. She clasped her hands in front of her and beamed up a Bellamy. Involuntarily—she had let her guard down—her entire person became illuminated with a soft, warm glow.

“Good morning, Bells.” She grinned, showing her pearly whites, because then nickname was far too cute for such a serious man like Bellamy. “Are you inviting me in for tea?” She turned her head a little, playing coy.

[Bellamy Rowan]

Bellamy looked down at her from the top of the stairs, hundreds of years of memories filtering through his mind. He longed for her, he wanted her to come back home, for things to be as they were. But he was also stubborn and as much as he felt like swooping down to take her into his arms, he steadfastly remained where he was.

The corner of his lips twitched up at greeting though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Bells. It was amusing even if was a bit grating. If anyone else had called him Bells then he wouldn't have let it slide without a glare or a demand to never call him that again. But Rose had always been able to get away with just about anything.

"Hello, Rose." He returned the greeting. He had refused to call her anything but 'Rose' throughout all of her name alterations over the years. "I'm afraid we're all out of tea at the moment." He replied. "But I'm sure the family would be happy to see you." He said, stepping aside so that she could enter the mansion.

[Rosetta Sinclair]

"Well, I don't know--" she feigned, though the next second, to a human eye, she would disappear. In fact, and as Bellamy would see, she sprinted up the stairs, zipped past the coven elder, and moved into the house to greet the vampires that she knew and loved. It didn't take long to go through the rooms, though the mansion was large. Perks of super speed.

The blonde returned to the bald in about thirty seconds, nothing out of place except for one stray lock of hair which stuck out and to the side. She had oblivious to it.

"You were right." She said, jumping eye brows at Bellamy before walking, human speed, to the closest sitting area.

[Bellamy Rowan]

Bellamy shook his head when she zipped away, amused at her antics that he had so gotten used to in their centuries together. It would be easier if he could hate her. But who could hate Rose? The truth was that everyone loved her, it was just in her nature to be adored.

While she was gone he closed the door and it wasn't long at all before she had returned. "Did you doubt me?" He asked with a small tone of amusement in his voice. He noticed the stray hair but she had walked away before he could attempt to fix it. He followed her and moved to sit down in the sitting room, furnished with a few luxury couches. "So, what you brings in for a visit? Just missing your family?" He asked.

[Rosetta Sinclair]

Did you doubt me? His rhetoric question bounced between her ears as she moved to sit, echoing in the recesses of her mind, disturbing her more than she expected them to. No, Bellamy was always right. Always. She couldn't think of any instance in which he was wrong, not in a statement, nor in an action. It was Rose who was the one who did wrong, who was sometimes reckless and rash and said things she didn't mean. Her blue eyes flickered to the window again, to the sun that wanted to enter into the room through it but could not because of the roof.

His question that asked for an answer returned her full attention to him. A soft smile spread onto her lips as she looked over the coffee table at the man she knew as well as she knew herself.

"No." It was a lie. "I've come for a reason." She was making it up as she spoke. "But...let's not skip to business. Formalities, Bellamy. You lived through the Victorian era as well as I." She was poking fun at him again. It was easier to joke and smile when she was here, rather than do what she truly wanted to do: cry. Scream. Complain. Beg.

[Bellamy Rowan]

Bellamy settled back on the couch, his arm draped over the back of it and an ankle crossed over the opposite knee. He exhaled a sigh as he looked at her. She knew perfectly well that he had always been the kind of man who liked to get down to business. He didn't really 'do' small talk. Though this wasn't the first time she had asked it of him. She had taught him how to act...civilized, even if he didn't particularly enjoy it.

The truth was, that the longer he was in her presence the harder it was for him. Why couldn't she see that she belonged back her? Home. With him.

"How is business at Laurel Heights?" He asked, attempting to be polite and ask appropriate conversational questions.

[Rosetta Sinclair]

The moment Bellamy complied and started the small talk, Rose regretted encouraging him to. Surely he was asking about her gathering of vampires in a roundabout way. Or maybe he was inquiring after a business he had invested in for her sake. Maybe he was regretting giving her the apartment complex all those years ago.

"Swimmingly." She returned with a lippy smile, though she was eager to move past it. She didn't want to talk about her other family with him. It felt wrong.

"And have you found anything new and exciting to invest in?" He'd invested significantly throughout their years of life, putting money behind strange new things that were now a part of the modern world's everyday use. He'd always had an eye for those things.

[Bellamy Rowan]

Bellamy nodded at her simple answer. The truth was that he was just making small talk like she had asked. He had been asking because though he was still hurt by her departure, 20 years later, he still wanted her to be successful and to not have to struggle in want of something. "So you got the pool installed then?" He asked, his lips turning up just slightly as he joked with her, as if trying to hold back a chuckle.

He considered her question for a moment, Bellamy had a hand in many things in Silverdale, what was new? "Nothing lately." He replied. "I'm thinking about making a trip out of town actually, maybe this weekend."

[Rosetta Sinclair]

Rose mirrored his smile at his question about the pool, only hers was far bolder. She appreciated the jest. It helped keep the mood light. She preferred light.

"It had just been cleaned, actually." She said with a nod. "Feel free to come give it a spin." The thought of Bellamy out in the pool--in the sun--was amusing to her.

At mention of him taking a trip away, she immediately perked up. There was nothing she could do to stop the rapid fire questions.

"This weekend? You're leaving? Where? Why?" Not very subtle.

[Bellamy Rowan]

Ya, Bellamy was not exactly a 'go to the pool' sort of guy. It was so...sunny. Maybe on a cloudy day...if other people weren't around...but it was still doubtful. "I'm sure there are others who enjoy more than I would." He said lightheartedly.

At her barrage of questions it reminded him of other times they had taken trips together. He could remember many occasions in which she begged him to take her to various places around the world. They had been basically everywhere by now.

"Seattle. I was contacted by a vampire there reaching out for help, though they were vague on the ability they have. Regardless, they don't have the means to travel far without getting stuck in the sun. So it's easier for me to go to them..." He trailed off thoughtfully. "You wouldn't want to join me would you?" He asked.

[Rosetta Sinclair]

Rose eyes Bellamy intently, waiting on his response. He could have spoken faster. Her ears devoured what he told her as he did. In the past, she would have been filled with eagerness and likely insisted they leave today. In fact, she sat up a little straighter, and wanderlust filled her eyes. She remained that way for two beats as he spoke, and then she remembered. Remembered that she had left Imperium. That traveling with Bellamy would likely lead to something she had told herself she no longer deserved. That when they brought the vampire home, it would have two covens to choose from--and Bellamy wouldn't like that.

A sadness fell into her eye. She turned her gaze towards the window once more.

"I don't think that would be appropriate." She said it quietly, even stiffly, and he would know that it was taking a lot for her to say that.

[Bellamy Rowan]

A darkness fell into his gaze at her response. He could tell it wasn't easy for her to say it but it felt like being rejected by her all over again. It wasn't the first time he felt that pain. Having her continually in his life meant then the wound was constantly being reopened.

"Very well." He said, drawing his gaze away from her and into the room over her shoulder. He didn't make an effort to continue with the small talk. If she wished to continue it then she could pick the next topic.

[Rosetta Sinclair]

They fell into a silence. Where silence might be comfortable and contained for Bellamy, for Rose it was loud. It was all in her ears, the silence, and she had to break it.

"Will you come to my party?" She asked rather abruptly.