Rating: PG
A/N: This is an epilogue to my story The War and the Ring and is a two-shot. Thank you Marigold for the plot bunny! And of course, many thanks to Moonlighter for being my beta and sounding board. Couldn't do it without you!
Previously:
“Anna Maria was a young girl during the war. She remembers her mother giving a family heirloom to this soldier because he helped her family.”
“And because there were no more sons in the family to give it to.” Mick took his ring off of his finger and set it on the table in front of Anna Maria. “Is this the heirloom, Anna Maria?”
Part 2
She let out a gasp and then picked up the ring to inspect it. “Si! Si! This is it! The ring with the St. John cross!”
Catarina seemed skeptical. “Are you sure? The exact ring?”
“Yes, of course I am sure!” She turned to Mick. “It is you – you are the one.”
Mick laughed. “No, of course not. You mean my grandfather. He was the one.” Anna Maria looked unconvinced, but remained silent. “The story was passed down to me along with the ring. How he saved a little girl from an ambush while they were walking along the road to her farmhouse.”
“And she hurt her ankle so the soldier carried her on his back the rest of the way,” Catarina chimed in. Mick and Beth turned to look at her and she laughed. “I have also heard the story many times,” she said.
“They discovered an enemy soldier in the house…”
“And the American saved them again. The girl’s mother, my great-grandmother, fed the intruder while the American bandaged his wound… ”
“And sent him on his way. Then your great-grandmother made supper for my grandfather.”
“Of soup and bread and cheese!” Catarina said with delight.
“Wow, I never knew that,” Mick lied. “You know a lot of details.”
Catarina nodded. “It is a very important family story for us. After supper the American soldier stayed the night.”
“And he was given this ring in the morning, before he left to rejoin his unit.”
“I hugged him,” Anna Maria said softly.
“What did you say, Grandmother?”
Anna Maria cleared her throat. “I said I hugged him. The American soldier, before he went to sleep on the floor by the fire. I hugged him and kissed him good night. My mother called him my angelo custode.”
“Guardian angel,” Catarina translated. Beth’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Mick, who gave her his little half grin. “May I see the ring please?” Catarina asked and her grandmother passed her the ring. “The story goes that this belonged to my, let me see, my great-great-great-great-grandfather,” she said, counting off on her fingers. “He was English, and his last name was St. John. This ring is the St. John Cross.” She handed the ring back to Mick.
Mick slid it back in place on his first finger. “My grandfather was told there were no sons in the family anymore and they convinced him to take it as thanks. They wanted it to be worn by a St. John.”
Beth smiled and took his hand to give it a squeeze. “And so it has been, all these years.”
“Si,” Anna Maria sighed. A silence fell over the table.
Catarina thought it was time to change the subject. “Beth, is this your first trip to Paris?”
“Yes it is. We’re on our honeymoon!” she giggled.
As the two young women chattered, Anna Maria and Mick stared at each other. Finally she spoke up. “Mick, come take a walk with me.” She stood from her chair as Mick jumped up to assist. “You do not mind, Beth, if I steal him for a short time?”
Beth smiled warmly at the old woman. “Of course not, Anna Maria. We’ll wait here for you,” she said as Catarina nodded in agreement.
“We won’t be long,” Mick said as he bent over and gave Beth a peck on her cheek.
Mick put on his sunglasses and held out his arm to Anna Maria, who wrapped her hand around the crook of his elbow. They left the café and Mick tried his best to stay in the shaded areas of the sidewalk as they strolled along in silence. Finally Anna Maria spoke. “Your grandfather, he had a good life? He was happy?”
Mick kept his eyes straight ahead. He hated having to lie to her. “Yes, he was happy. He died young, though. I don’t really remember him.”
“I see.” More silence. “That bench,” she said pointing. “Let us sit there and talk. It is shaded and separate from the others; no one will hear us.” Mick led her over to the bench, wondering what she had on her mind. “I will be honest. I do not believe your grandfather was in the war. It was you. I know it was you. I thought of you so often. I will never forget your face.”
“Anna Maria that is imposs…”
“No, you must listen,” she interrupted. “I have been watching you. I know the signs. Your hand was cold. You did not eat. You stay in the shade. You are one of them but I am not afraid of you.”
“One of who, Anna Maria? Who do you think I am?”
“I do not know the English word. You are, how shall I say it, a drinker of blood,” she whispered.
Mick managed to keep a straight face. “A ‘drinker of blood’? Are you calling me a vampire?”
“YES! That is the word!” She actually clapped her hands.
“Anna Maria, don’t be ridiculous. There are no such things as vampires.”
“Ah, but there are. My grandfather used to tell me stories. Stories passed down to him from his elders, from the old country. I used to shriek with delight, and Mama would scold him because then I could not sleep.” Mick smiled. “And I have seen them for myself, too. Once.”
Mick looked at her with one raised eyebrow. “You have seen one?” he asked, still not admitting anything. “What exactly did you see?”
“I was in my early twenties. I worked in the city and lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building. In this part of the city, all the buildings were close together. They had alleys between them. One hot night I could not sleep. There was no breeze. I heard growling from the alley below.”
“Go on.”
“I thought it was from stray dogs, ready to fight. I climbed out onto my fire escape to yell at them, hoping they would go away.”
“And?” Mick encouraged her to continue her story.
“There were no dogs. I saw a man leaning over another man, the kind who drinks too much and sleeps on benches; a drunkard. The man leaning over was growling; he had his mouth to the neck of the drunkard.” Anna Maria shivered involuntarily at the memory. “I gave only a small gasp, but the, the vampire, he heard me anyway. He turned to look up at me. His eyes were silver; blood was on his chin.”
Mick was fascinated. How is it she survived? “Then what happened?”
“I made the sign of the cross, and put a finger to my lips. He continued to stare at me, and then suddenly turned away. He picked up the drunkard as if he weighed nothing at all and in an instant they were both gone from the alley. I knew then that my grandfather’s stories were true. And from that day until this, I have never told another soul about that night. And I will never mention it again.” She looked at Mick. “So please, you must tell me. I am an old woman. I will carry your secret to my grave. But I would be so happy, so very happy, if you are indeed my angelo.”
Mick sighed and looked down at his hands. Then he looked Anna Maria in the eye, and smiled. “I see you learned English after all, Anna Maria.”
She clasped her hands to her chest as a smile lit up her entire face. “Yes! And it was because of you! Yes, you!” she exclaimed at Mick’s look of surprise. “Mama told me after you left that if I had known English I could have talked to you. I wanted to learn in case you ever came back to our farm.”
“Is your mother – is Anne still alive?” Mick asked.
She shook her head. “No. She died when Catarina was just a girl. But I will go to her grave when I return home. I will sit and tell her about you. It is okay to tell a loved one who has passed, isn’t it?” she asked fretfully.
Mick nodded. “Yes, that would be alright, if no one else is around.” Anna Maria relaxed. “And what of your father,” Mick went on. “Did he make it home from the war?”
“Si, he came back to us about six months after you left. We were so happy! Mama told him all about you and the ring and he was glad. He said a prayer for your safe return.” When Mick didn’t reply, she asked gently, “What about you? You have had some happiness, yes? In spite of…I mean of course… I…” She got redder and redder the more she stammered.
“It’s okay, Anna Maria,” Mick said, patting her leg. “I understand. I have had both happiness and sadness in good measure. I had a hard adjustment after I was turned.” Anna Maria noticed the faraway look in his eye and was distressed to see the sadness that came with it, but also saw that it was fleeting. “However, since I met Beth, I have been beyond happy.”
Anna Maria smiled. “She is a beautiful woman. She is very much in love with you; I can see it in her eyes and in the way she looks at you.”
“And I am very much in love with her.”
They sat for a few more moments in companionable silence. “Anna Maria, I have carried out your mother’s wish. I will have no sons to pass this ring on to, but it will be worn by a St. John for eternity. I wear it to remember my humanity. It is such a part of my hand now that I would be lost without it.”
“You have made an old woman very happy, Mick St. John. I will tell my mother when I visit her grave. She will be pleased to know.”
Mick gave a quick nod and stood up. “We should be getting back now,” he said as he held out his hand. Anna Maria smiled and accepted it. Mick tucked it around his arm and they walked slowly back to the café.
*****
Mick and Anna Maria returned from their walk laughing and smiling. Beth and Catarina got up from the table and they all hugged goodbye. “Ciao!” Catarina said as she returned Mick and Beth’s wave. “Grazie molte!” Anna Maria’s eyes lingered on Mick’s retreating back until Catarina gently turned her around and they walked off in the opposite direction.
Mick and Beth strolled along with their arms around each other’s waists, looking every bit like a young couple in love.
“Mick?”
“Hmm?” He seemed lost in his thoughts.
“What happened on your walk? What did you and Anna Maria talk about?”
“She knows.”
“What?” Beth looked up at Mick, startled. “What do you mean she knows?” Mick recounted his talk with Anna Maria as they continued to walk. “That’s amazing,” Beth said when he had finished. “You know, when you first told me the story about Anne and the ring you never mentioned that she called you Anna Maria’s guardian angel.”
“I had forgotten about that till she mentioned it.”
“Well, I don’t mind sharing,” Beth said with a smile. “That’s just a part of who you are; who you’ve always been. Human or vampire.”
He looked down at Beth and pulled her even closer, kissing the top of her head. He glanced at the ring on his finger and again gave thanks to Anne for passing it on to him. It was indeed a part of his hand now and would be forever. He recalled something Josef said to him once, about being the person the universe meant for him to be. He sighed happily.
“I love you, Beth St. John.”
“I love you too, Mick St. John.”
The End
MLC: This was fabulous! 
And Beth is soooo right, with 
C'mon...MLC writing, remember? 
