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n

n

"I came to talk to you. I may have reacted too instinctively yesterday so I want to apologize and fix the things like two grow-up people.

" John said, the man heard him and exploded in laughs.

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"You dare to apologize to me? Where did your courage go?

" The man said looking at John with disgust.

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"It's not about being courageous, Connor. I don't want to give my son a bad example. I want to grow him with the idea that problems and disputes can be solved as adults with a good talk.

" John replied, forcing himself to modulate his voice to a calm tone as he didn't want to overact.

n

"You lost my esteem a while ago. This only confirms that you are neither strong enough nor brave enough.

" Connor said, gesturing to John as he spoke to emphasize his saying.

nHowever John didn't care about what Connor thought of him, he only wanted to fix the situation and do the right thing for once.

nHe turned around but before he could speed away

nConnor stabbed John sharply in the shoulder making him fall abruptly on the floor.

nDespite the excruciating pain which followed the burning sensation, John managed to stand up fastly and pull out the knife from his back.

nHe narrowed his eyes and a scream escaped from his lips.

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"You should have imagined that I wouldn't accept a retreat. You forgot about our laws. When you accept a fight you can't step back.

"

nJohn's eyes darted to his son who took steps back and looked at the scene confused and scared. He could stab him with the knife for revenge but John's hand froze. He pictured Elijah in the clothes of Connor's son.

nWith the energy he could have spent to stab his enemy he speeded away instead.

nWhen he walked into his house he fell on the sofa.

nHis bleeding intensified leaving a huge blood spot on his jacket and he painted for air.

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"Dad!

" Elijah cried out as soon as he saw him bleeding and Roselyn ran toward him.

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"He stabbed him… take some towel and ice,

" John murmured. Elijah nodded and speeded to come back with the towel and ice in a few seconds while Roselyn removed his shirt.

n

"It's healing slowly but it's healing,

" Roselyn said relieved.

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"Yes. You have to slow down the bleeding so it will heal faster.

" John said managing to the towel around the wound tightly.

n

"John, I am sorry. I didn't know he could do something like this to you.

" Roselyn said before whispering to Elijah to bring some blood and wine there so that he could feed and hopefully feel better.

nElijah returned in an eyeblink, John immediately grabbed the bottle and drank half of it in a breath while Roselyn held his hand.

nShe closed her eyes and focused to heal him through the handshake.

nJohn only recovered after a few minutes, his bleeding finally stopped and the healing process started.

nConnor by stabbing John in the back didn't only make him even more furious than it was but also broke one of the most ancient rules: never attack your enemy on the back, because a fight shall always be balanced and equally fought. By doing so, John couldn't refrain but accept the imminent fight.

nIt wasn't a matter of what was right or what was wrong, now it was a matter of survival.

nJohn fell asleep on the sofa so Roselyn and Elijah went to wash his shirt and to make a good meal for the next day.

nLuckily Felicity was with Ginevra so she didn't attend that awful scene, but Elijah was very shocked even if he tried his best not to show his feelings to Rose.

nWhenever Roselyn asked if he was alright after seeing his father bleeding that much, he faked a smile and said he was.

nWhen John woke up he found both Elijah and Roselyn in front of him monitoring the situation. The wound was almost fully healed and he chuckled when he saw them take a breath of relief.

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"You thought a knife could kill me?

" John said amused.

nRoselyn headed him to the cup of tea which he soon drank from it, then he fixed his position.

nHe cleared his voice, his paleness almost faded away and his eyes flashed of their usual redness.

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"I tried to fix things but when I turned around he stabbed me. I guess I have no choice at this point.

" His gaze set on Roselyn who sighed.

nShe wished she could change supernatural creatures' mindsets but she forgot that some of them couldn't feel empathy and be rational as much as humans. Sometimes their animalistic side would emerge and there was nothing she could do to change that.

nShe nodded slowly, giving up to the idea of John being forced to fight.

nElijah offered his mother a smile, like if he read his mind.

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"I promise you if I will ever have to choose between violence or a productive talk I will always pick the second option.

" Elijah shook his mother's hand to show her he didn't need an example to figure out what was the best thing to do. His parents already had grown him with good values to make him take wise mature choices.

nJohn and Rose's eyes filled in tears looking at their son being more mature than Connor and that was only thanks to them.

nRoselyn kissed Elijah's cheek and whispered closer to his ear how proud she was of him. Then she asked him to bring the cake they had baked while John slept.

nElijah nodded and speeded into the kitchen, after about one minute and half his little hands were carrying a dish on which laid a chocolate chips plumcake.

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"Maybe this will help you to heal faster,

" Elijah said referring to John who smiled and nodded vigorously.

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"That's exactly what I need,

" John exclaimed.

nThe three of them ate a slice of the pancake and drank some tea while they waited for Felicity to return home.

nWhen John stood up, Roselyn cleared the sofa from the blood and helped him to sit down.

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"I haven't been practicing in a while, but vampire's strength isn't like human's strength. Which fades away or increases according to the training. It's something that can only increase day by day.

" John said he moved his shoulder so that he could check his wound as he turned his head to the side.

nHe smiled as he noticed his wound healed fully and only left a scar there. The pain almost faded away too and he could finally mentally reorganize his eyes to figure what he did wrong not to hear Connor was going to stab him.

nHe was so silent that John barely heard him pulling out his knife.

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"You should rest today.

" Roselyn intervened,

"you were harmed you deserve some rest.

"

nJohn nodded, he didn't practice as Roselyn suggested but instead he spent the day planning his next move.

nWhen Felicity came back home accompanied by one maid she immediately ran to hug her dad.

nAs soon as she touched him Felicity took a few steps back and blinked as if she just visioned something very scary. She shook her head and suddenly started to cry so loudly that for an instant the glass of the window seemed willing to break.

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"Felicity!

" Roselyn walked toward her daughter and picked her up.

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"What happened?

" John asked confused.

nBut the child wouldn't stop crying, Roselyn was even more confused, she didn't know what had happened to make her cry so desperately.

nRoselyn rocked her for a few minutes until she finally stopped crying.

nHer breath shortened and she looked around the room lost and puzzled.

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"Felicity talks to me,

" Roselyn whispered as she kept rocking her gently.

nThe little girl gestured to the floor as if she wanted to get down.

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"Felicity talk to me please.

" She hissed.

nYet the baby was still quiet and glancing at the surroundings and John was disoriented just like if she didn't recognize the place.

nWhen Roselyn let her down, Felicity headed to the sofa as if she was attracted to it like a magnet letting Roselyn deduce she probably had a vision of when John was wounded.

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"Felicity stop!

"

nRoselyn ran behind her and stopped her in time before she could touch the sofa, making the girl start to cry once again.

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"Look at me,

" Roselyn said, the little girl wasn't meeting her gaze, she was shutting her eyes close and opening them only to travel around the room as if she was in a parallel world.

nFinally, when she met her mother's gaze Roselyn had the certainty she was right, by staring straight into her eyes, Roselyn linked with her and she had the same vision. She saw John being stabbed and then he fell onto the sofa and severely bleeding.

nRoselyn swallowed down, overwhelmed by emotions, as she already deduced Felicity was a banshee just like her.

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