The evening dinner was shrouded in silence and suspicion. Christopher took a bite from his fork and glanced at Grace. The woman kept her gaze down and he slowly looked over at his cousin. The man had been silent all meal and he recalled the look the man shot him when they joined at the table. Looking back down at his food, he felt grateful for the silence and finished his meal. Utensils rested on his cousin's plate and he watched the man get up. He collected his dishes and carried them into the kitchen. When the door shut behind him, he closed his eyes and took a calming breath. Sitting next to that brute made him want to kill the man. Holding back his raging emotion, he sat through the meal in silence and ate the food cooked for them. "Something bothering you tonight?" Looking up at the deep voice, he found Oric wiping a dish off and he brought his dirty dishes to the sink. Oric went to take them but he submerged them into the soapy water. The cook shook his head with a smirk and let the man tend to the dishes. The door opened again and Oric watched Grace enter. She placed her dishes and her brother's dishes on the counter top. She spared a glance at her cousin and fought back a sigh. The tension at dinner had been unbearable and she knew Christopher was lucky to still be alive. She studied the tense posture of the silent man and shook her head. Oric watched her leave the kitchen and looked back at the man. "So what happened at dinner?" He kept silent and put his dishes in the strainer. Grabbing the towel, he went to dry the dishes off but Oric rested a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should get some fresh air." Putting the towel down, he looked up at the old cook and watched the man nod. Stepping past him, he walked over to the kitchen door and walked outside. The evening sunset met him and he heard the quiet waves calling to him. Silently he made his way along the beach and around the bend to his spot. He lowered himself into the warm sand and rested his arms on bent knees as the wind swept over his face. The ocean waves played a game, drawing close to his boots and pulling back at the last second. He studied the burning sky and found gulls flying home for the night. The tension rolled off his shoulders as the ocean eased his nerves and he closed his eyes. He let the warm breeze run over his face and clear his mind. Slowly he felt the sun disappearing from the sky and opened his brown eyes. Quietly he rose from the sand and brushed his pants off. The wind blew across his face with a cooler bite to it and rested in his hair. Turning away from the ocean, he walked back to the kitchen and slid inside for the night. He found Leon and Oric playing their nightly card game and grabbed an apple from the counter. "Do you have a bottomless pit for a stomach, lad?" His eyes narrowed and he looked over at Oric. The cook was watching him with a smirk and he took a bite out of the apple. The door opened from the dining hall and he found Abigail entering. She had a basket of clean clothes and sat them on the counter. "I see the place is returning to normal." Leon shot the woman a glance and said "One night of quiet doesn't mean change, Abigail." The woman frowned and said "You know as well as I do when there isn't any laughter the place is like a tomb." His eyes fixed on the woman and she went still. She knew his intense stare all too well and looked over her shoulder. Meeting his simmering brown gaze, she kept her mouth shut and he left the kitchen. Walking through the quiet castle, he knew Abigail was right but he was not in the mood to try and mend it. Grabbing the railing to the stairwell, he climbed the stairs and came to a stop at the landing. His eyes swept along the long hallway and he heard soft music coming from the West Wing. It was soft and reminded him of the ocean waves. Silently he followed the music into the West Wing and found the door open to Eve's room. The music had stopped but he heard clapping. "That was wonderful." "Care to learn?" Grace's laughter floated into the hall and he heard the woman stand up. "I'm not musically inclined." "You can always learn." "Oh don't even start to believe that. You haven't heard me at the piano." "I can't imagine it being that bad." Grace laughed again and he glanced inside the room. He found his cousin sitting on the bed and staring toward the window. Carefully he looked in further and found the blonde woman looking out the window. "Eve, are you all right?" The woman looked back at her and said "I'm fine." "You seem upset." Eve offered her a comforting smile and the woman bought it. She looked back outside and he watched Grace get to her feet. "I hope we can do this tomorrow night as well." "Of course." Grace smiled and came to the door. He drew out of sight and into the hall shadows. His cousin walked into the hall and made her way down the Wing. Looking back at the room, he slowly approached the room and found the woman pushing the windows wide open. She leaned over the window sill and let the wind capture her face. The breeze calmed the worn nerves and she closed her eyes. The music she had shared with Grace melted with the distant ocean waves and she let the smile capture her face. How she would love to go run into the waves and let them carry her away. She slowly became aware of a presence and stood up. She glanced back at her door and she leaned back against the window. "Do you always linger in the shadows?" The brown gaze finally revealed itself and she watched the Lord enter her room. He held her gaze and she left her window. She took a seat on her bed and watched him move to her former spot. He looked down at the courtyard and rested his hands on the sill. "I see dinner didn't become a war zone." The wind played with his dark brown hair and brought the highlight wave to sight. She wanted to run her fingers through that light wave of brown and feel the mark her mother left. "You said you wanted to handle him." She smirked at the indifferent tone and asked "What brings you up here?" "The music." He still kept his back to her and she let her eyes run along his form. He was sculpted like a piece of art but she could still feel the darkness inside him. The accident had dashed out the fire he was born with and left him wrapped in a stone armor. "You mentioned teaching Grace." "Yes." "Heed her advice." Her smirk drew into a smile and she asked "Is she really that awful?" He finally turned his brown gaze on her and said "It'll dry up the ocean." The laughter came out before she could stop it and she caught her sides. He listened to the melodic sound and found her radiating in a pleasant light. Slowly the music died and she looked up at him. He watched her brush a loose strand of gold behind her ear and noticed her hair was hanging freely around her. "I am sorry." "For?" She shook her head with a smirk and said "I shouldn't have laughed." He shrugged and crossed his arms. She studied the rippling muscles with the fluid move and found her eyes slowly looking back at his. "Grace is fond of you." "Is she?" He looked out the window and said "She hasn't had someone she could relate to in a long time." Eve studied his stone mask and asked "Are we talking about her or you?" He kept his gaze hidden and said "Let her down easy when you decide to leave." His brown eyes rested on her again and she slowly rose to her feet. She could see a very dim light in his eyes and stepped closer. He didn't move as she approached and she took a spot at the window beside him. "I will leave when you want me gone." He grunted and said "Apparently that decision is out of my hands." She smiled and asked "The help overrunning your authority?" His growl was quiet but still filled her ear. She looked up at him and he lowered his gaze on her. He found the evening sun wrapping around her like a curtain of light and felt his pulse slowly quicken. Her ocean blue eyes danced in the sunset rays and her skin beckoned him to touch it just for a second. Feeling the strange pull growing tighter around him, he looked away from her and listened to her soft sigh. "What is your policy on animals in the castle?" "I don't have one." "Then why isn't there at least one dog in here?" He shot her a glance and said "We haven't had a dog for ten years." "Will you be keeping Tanner?" His brown eyes lingered on her and he said "That mongrel is your pet." She smiled and asked "Haven't experienced his young charm have you?" "I don't care to." Another soft laugh escaped her and she looked out the window. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. This woman had a magnetic pull around him and he hated it. He couldn't afford to let his guard down, especially when this woman was getting close to his own kin. "Get some rest. Any confrontation with my cousin is wearisome." Eve watched him cross the room and stop at the door. He looked back at her and she leaned against the wall. His brown eyes were guarded again and she watched him disappear. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and smirked. At least he was willing to make some kind of conversation with her instead of lecturing her now. Her smirk grew into a smile as she thought about his lingering gaze. The light in his eyes were new but they were still so distant. Walking to her door, she left it cracked just inside the frame and walked over to her bed. Her sleeping shirt waited for her and she sat down. Slipping her boots off, she peeled her pants off and removed her shirt. She picked up the long sleeping shirt and slid it over her skin. Her clothes rested on a chair and she pulled her bedding back. Sitting in the middle of the bed, she ran her fingers through her hair and drew her knees up to her chest. Her thoughts drifted back to the guarded man and her smile finally touched her eyes. She pulled the bedding around her and curled up in the middle of the bed. Her hair fanned out around her as a golden curtain and she let her blue eyes drift closed. Her breathing became relaxed and she fell into a calm sleep with the ocean's quiet music in her ears. Her door opened a little and the man leaned against the frame. He watched her rest and heard the hushed footsteps approaching. Looking down the hall, he watched Leon approach with the pup in his arms and took the squirming bundle from the old man. Leon chuckled and left. He watched the man disappear down the hall and looked back in the room. Tanner looked up at him and licked his jaw. He met the puppy's brown stare and carried him over to the master bed. Gently he lowered Tanner onto the bedding and watched the puppy make his way up to the sleeping blonde woman.