Their Prophecy

Identity

Tim wasn't one to judge a book by it's cover but, even after delving into the content of the character recently re-titled "Ana Wells", he was certain he'd figured out her true identity. As if her lineage wasn't made obvious enough by the fact that she was a Pureblood, she had the haughtiness of a Royal and an incredible likeness to a missing Prince that deserved a miserable death.

A painful, torturous death.

When Cronan Thanisius disappeared without a trace, Tim had hacked into the mainframe of the sanctuary. It was problematic getting through all the firewalls and avoiding information kill switches that his father had set up within the program but, after about thirty minutes of great irritation on Tim's part, he'd done what he'd always done best: Solved the equation.

But to no avail.

Not even the mainframe contained the information he sought.

All trails of Cronan Thanisius ended the moment he left the Blackwell household nearly a year ago--the information purposely scrubbed. Deleted. Caput. Tim thought it was someone else, someone higher up within their organization protecting that prick but now, staring down at this little girl with signature blonde hair and blue eyes, a girl that couldn't possibly have been brought here without his father's stamp of approval, he had no doubt that it was his old man who had destroyed the evidence trail.

But why?

The girl was writing meticulously, dutifully filling out the assignment he'd given her, but she lifted her head after a moment of his halted typing. She stared up at him with features that were undeniable. He'd seen a similar face on missing persons posters, milk cartons, and new reports. Violet Blackwell had disappeared without a trace once before, too. When she came back, mostly unscathed, the only mark left on her was a tell-tale bite mark on her throat. She was supposedly taking courses at Stanford but Tim had no doubt that was just the story planted in the family's mind, a cover story for a young bed slaves' pregnancy.

"You okay?" Ana piped up, frowning at the boy.

"I've met your mother before," he said with a smile.

The little girl perked up at that but said nothing. She was heeding the warning not to speak of the past, and with good reason Tim knew. Her parents were being hunted by the Circle of Kings, desperate to forcefully denounce her father for abandoning his throne. If word got out about his child's whereabouts, they would come for her, raise her up to endure a forced political wedding no doubt.

"Violet was very kind," Tim hedged, trying to pique the girls' interest.

Something in the girls' eyes changed, her lips tightening suddenly. "We never speak during tests."

"Oh," Tim treaded lightly, going back to his computer, typing away, "I apologize for disturbing you."

The girl waited a moment before going back to her questions.

And then he waited patiently, continuing his design of a software that would auto-fill most of his online college course examinations, which would free up his time a bit so he could focus on more important things. Like, for instance, putting this girls' father six feet into the ground. Tim's father might not be one to hold a grudge but him? He was comfortable with the idea of vengeance.

"Have you . . . met my uncle?" It was a soft question from the girl, curious.

That curiosity could be useful to him. "Yes, actually. We're good friends."

"What's he like?" she wondered, gazing up at him brightly.

Tim smiled warmly at the child, grateful for this opportunity that had just fallen into his lap. "How about this," he said carefully, "I'll answer your questions but for every question you ask me, I get to ask you a question of my own."

"Why?"

"Think of it like an ice breaker," he suggested. The girl stared up at him blankly. Obviously she had no idea what an ice breaker was and why would she? "It's an exercise to get to know other people in a professional environment."

There was a moment of hesitation.

Her eyes raked over his careful smile, the same warm one his father wore every time he was up to something. Tapping her pencil, feet swinging beneath her, the girl was learning a genius level but she was still just a child who wanted to know more about her own blood family. Pursing her lips, she said, "I'll agree to those terms." Tim felt a trill of triumph run through him, until she added, "But only if I get to meet him."

Meet him? Theo knew nothing about his sister's true whereabouts. Tim could only imagine the guy would pass out from shock if he were to meet his sister's spawn without any warning. That, or punch Tim in the face for even suggesting something so heinous. And that's supposing he could somehow make it outside of the sanctuary with the girl without being caught by his own father's building security features. "That is impossible."

The girl didn't hesitate to pick her pencil up, eyes moving back to the packet in front of her. "No deal."

"I'm not allowed to take you out of this place."

It was apparent she didn't care. "I want to meet my uncle."

"You don't understand, he doesn't even know you exist."

The girl wasn't swayed, emphasizing each word explicitly, "No. Deal."

He wasn't giving up, not when he was so close to getting the answers he was searching for. "Even if I was about to take you from this place, what conversation could you possibly have with someone who doesn't know who you are?"

The girl gave him an annoyed look. "You said you're here to teach me, which means you must be smart. Figure it out."

Tim was shocked. He'd never thought he'd have to bargain with such a young child, nor had he ever felt like he was losing in a debate. Perhaps, he thought with mounting aggravation, the reason why she wanted to meet her uncle was because she took after him. "Okay, I will see what I can do."

Ana smiled victoriously, then that spark of intrigue was back in her eyes. "What does he look like?"

"I'll show you a picture," he promised, grasping like straws at this chance to bypass all the drama of playing jail break with the toddler Pureblood, "if I get to ask a question of my own." All he needed was the answer to one question.

The girl gave him a hard look. Then, "Nevermind."

"Nevermind?" he asked, already pulling out his phone, holding it up pointedly as a potential offering.

"I will see him in person soon enough," she assured him, humming happily down at her assignment.

Tim felt his grip on his phone tighten and, for just a moment, he felt his carefully planted smile falter and his eye twitch. If the Thanisius girl wanted a family reunion in exchange for information, he'd just have to make that happen.