A meeting with Destiny

[cassandra]

Cassandra was so happy to be out of the sanitarium and back at the club. Thankful for how quickly her and Kaden's strength was returning, and for how business had been picking up at the club, she began her shift with gusto.

As she was restocking the garnishes at the end of the bar she noticed a man staring at her. While that in itself wasn't unusual, she was the bartender, after all, something about this man was. It almost felt as though she recognized him, though she was certain she'd never seen him before. As he made his way towards her she smiled and said, "Hi, what can I get you to drink tonight?"

[Kratos Cage]

Kratos replied, "Hi, I need a double shot of vodka." "Its been a long week and I just need someone to talk to." Kratos was visibly shaken. He too felt like he knew this woman, but he had never seen her before. Maybe someone from his past or just a memory of something else.

He sits down and begins to drink away the memories of his pain.

[cassandra]

"Well, by all means...talk away! You know you have to have a degree in psychology to be a bartender, don't you?" Cassandra teased in an effort to relieve the deep sadness she saw in his eyes. She still couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him, though. "I'm Cassandra by the way, and you are?"

[Kratos Cage]

Kratos felt himself beginning to smile at the kindness of this beautiful woman. "I'm Kratos." Kratos took a deep breath. "I was in the cemetary and I was drawn to this tombstone. It called out to me. This tombstone turned out to be my mother. My father had her beheaded for being a shapeshifter and had her banished to Night World to be buried." Kratos gripped his glass tighter with the thought of his father. He thought of only one thing, the death of this monster. "I only want to make him pay for what he has done to my mother. But to take his life, I would have to end my own."

[cassandra]

Cassandra felt a shock go through her at his words. "But..no..no, that was just gossip, It can't be..." Cassandra tried to shake off the feeling that was falling on her but heard herself asking the newcomer, in a wooden voice, "Why would killing your father end your life?"

[Kratos Cage]

"My mother told me of the deal he made with another from Night World. If he dies at my hand this being will take his vengeance on me and everyone I know." Kratos speaking in a soft voice, "I have no idea who this person is or who to trust. My mother sent me here to seek you out. She said you would have a way to help me."

[cassandra]

Hearing those words Cassandra's heart stopped beating for a moment...before she blurted anythng out, she decided to ask the newcomer a few questions. "Exactly where did your mother and father meet, do you know?" She asked him, holding her breath while she waited for the answer.

[Kratos Cage]

With a puzzled look on his face Kratos replies, "She told me they had met here in Night World. Why do you ask?" He could sense she knew more than he thought she did.

[cassandra]

Looking intently into his eyes Cassandra saw there was no way to deny the resemblence. As much as she had always hated it, she had inherited her father's peculiar jaden green eyes....and so had her brother....Kratos! Fixing him another drink, a double this time, Cassandra handed it to him and walked around the bar and sat beside him.

"Your mother's name was Rachael. Your father's name is Orion. That much you know, Kratos. What you don't know, is that he's the ruler of a kingdom near here. I know this because I'm hisdaughter. Which means, I'm your sister." Cassandra sat there waiting for his reaction, praying to herself that it would be a good one. She'd never really had anyone except her beautiful mother, that her father had had murdered, the same as he did Kratos'. "For someone who hates shifter's so damn bad, he sure couldn't keep his hands off them!" She thought bitterly.

[Kratos Cage]

Kratos had so many thoughts running through his head. How could this be? Why do I find this out now? What do I do now? He could see that she was anxiously waiting for him to speak. "This is so much for me to handle. There are so many unanswered questions and so many things we need to find in eachother. My mother wanted us to find eachother, I know this much. I want to know all you know. It was fate that brought us together." Kratos felt something inside that he hadnt felt in many years now..... family.

[cassandra]

"Your mother was a beautiful person, and I just wish there was a way I could thank her for the gift she's given me, Kratos. I've felt so alone for so many years. Not the kind of aloneness that a lover can fill either, the kind that comes from having no one who shares your blood. There is a lot we have to talk about. A lot I have to tell you. Know this: you aren't the only one in danger...our father is also trying to kill me. One thing he wasn't banking on though...us joining forces." Cassandra's voice caught for a moment, and she just looked into those green eyes, so like her own. Unable to restrain herself any longer she leaned forward and eveloped Kratos in a tender hug. "I'm so glad to have found you, my brother." She softly whispered in his ear.

[Kratos Cage]

"Im so glad to have found you too, my sister," he whispered back. "Our father will pay for all the pain and suffering he has been responsible for. With us joined together there is no way he can stop us. I know deep inside of me that my mother knows you are thankful. I wished I knew your mother. Im sure she was a beautiful and kind woman like you. I have felt so alone myself. But knowing that the blood that flows through my veins flows through yours has brought me out of this despair. Please tell me all you know. We need to figure this all out." Looking deep into her eyes, Kratos knew he was on the path to a higher calling. With his sister by his side he knew that their father would pay for what he had done to their mothers.

[cassandra]

As if she was reading his thoughts, Cassandra said, "He's going to pay...now that we're together against him...he stands no chance...we'll make him pay Kratos...the plan has already been set in motion before I knew you existed...will you come with me ane meet Kaden? He's my lover...and the one who's going to help us defeat our father, please say you'll come?"

[Kratos Cage]

"Yes my sister, I will come with you to meet Kaden. Our destiny will be fullfilled. I will do whatever it takes to make our father pay for his sins!" With that Kratos gestured for Cassandra to lead her to Kaden. With hope finally in his heart, Kratos whispered to the sky, "The time of vengeance is almost here mother. The time of redemption is almost here."

[cassandra]

Taking Kratos by the hand Cassandra led him to the backroom where Kaden was working on the books. Walking into the room ahead of him Cassandra looked at Kaden and said in a voice still filled with wonder, "Kade? Hunny, I'd like you to meet my brother....Kratos!" She said as she pulled Kratos into the room and motioned for him to stand beside her.