Ash:

Principal Wallinger shuffled Ash's latest assignment with a foreboding that made her gulp and stare at the desk. The desk was rosewood, polished, as shiny as the principal's bald patch peeking through his comb-over. After a quick glance of her work and the post-it notes the science teacher had attached, he peered over his glasses at the offending student and her mother.

"I'll ask one last time, who did you copy this assignment from?" he asked.

"No one. I swear," Ash replied.

"This might have your name on it, Ashleigh, but after looking over your previous assignments this last one doesn't reflect your style at all." He picked up the cover page and read, "'The effects of quantum physics and quantum teleportation. What really happens inside wormholes.' A very advanced subject matter, and one we have not covered in our curriculum. Now if we look at the previous titles you've chosen to explore..." He opened her file and read from the top sheet of paper, "'What must go up must come down—Wrong!' and 'Do Alien's exist? Yes!' we are blessed with two brilliantly ridiculous titles that have no scientific foundation on which to stand upon."

He closed the file and interlaced his hands, crunching her assignment as he did so. Ash was beginning to dislike that smug smile of his more and more. It had been bad enough witnessing it at assembly over the years, but he'd worn it at least five times while she'd been sitting in the room.

"I think they're creative," Marianne said, smiling.

"I see," he said, unamused. "But as I was saying, Ashleigh's work has been well below par for the past four-and-a-half years, so unless she has miraculously become a genius in the last week, I think we can say that this newest assignment has been plagiarized to its last full stop."

It has not! Ash was about to say, but Marianne patted her on the arm.

Marianne sighed. "Mr. Walling—"

"Principal Wallinger," he corrected.

"Principal Wallinger. Ashleigh worked very hard on that assignment. I saw her typing away with my own eyes, and I never saw anything to lead me to believe that she was cheating."

"Then she is more cunning than you think. Not smart enough to write a physics paper of the caliber before me, but she is cunning."

Marianne scoffed.

"Parents always prefer to see their children through rose-colored glasses," he said, "but sometimes those glasses need to be dropped to the ground and smashed, because—"

"You know nothing about my daughter!" she said, standing. "The fact that she is producing work of such a high standard is downright amazing considering that my husband walked out on us three months ago. To her credit, she has been strong throughout it all, never complained. Just made my life easier, if anything."

Ash dared a glance at her mum, surprised that she hadn't started crying. She certainly sounded upset enough to cry.

In the first month after David left, Ash would catch her Mum crying out in the garden, weeds in one glove, wiping the tears away with the other. Ash had thought Marianne had been happier lately, but maybe she'd just gotten better at hiding it.

The principal managed a sympathetic smile. "As unfortunate as that might be, it still doesn't change the issue of who is responsible for this assignment."

"I am," Ash said, standing beside her mother.

"No, no, no," he smiled, wagging a finger at Ashleigh. "Someone else..."

There was a knock at the door, but before the principal could respond Lücan strolled into the room.

Ashleigh and Marianne dropped back into their seats.

Why is the investor here? Ash thought.

Lücan casually pulled up a chair beside Marianne and set his briefcase down. His smile was so confident that he seemed to take up the entire room. Ash guessed it was probably the only reason the principal didn't explode right there and then.

"Ah, sorry I'm late," Lücan said lightly. "There were a few pressing matters I had to attend to, but I am here to help in any way to resolve this misunderstanding."

Principal Wallinger snorted. "Misunderstanding?"

"Precisely."

The principal squinted at Ashleigh's file. "Excuse me? Who are you again?"

Lücan stood and leaned over the desk, shaking the principal's hand. "Lücan. An old family friend. And Ashleigh's tutor."

Huh? My tutor? What the hell is he playing at? More to the point, why would Mum ask him to do this?! He's the clinic's investor—Dad's investor. Lücan might pop over to our house to borrow sugar, bring a few clippings of his roses for mum to plant in our front garden, but that's about it. Who knew that the investor would turn out to be Jasper's uncle and the owner of the house across the street, the one with the rose garden I've always loved. Annoying. Lücan is everywhere lately! Now he's here at my school, trying to take credit for my work!

Principal Wallinger smiled triumphantly. "So, I can assume that you are to thank for the majority of this assignment on quantum physics, Mr..."

"Mr. Nightly," Lücan introduced. "And no. In the past two weeks, I have merely acted as Ashleigh's guide through the various subjects taught at Mont Albert Heights. Apparently my teachings are more adept than the current physics teacher posted here. Despite the failings of this particular teacher, I will assume your other teachers are up to scratch?"

"Well, yes..." The principal balked. "They most certainly are!"

"Good. Because I am also here to enroll one of my foster sons here for his second last year of school."

"Righty-o, then. You'll need one of these..." The principal yanked at one of his drawers and pulled out the enrolment forms, sliding the papers across to Lücan. "I must warn you, it might be difficult for your son to make the transition from his current school to our curriculum, as we are already partway into semester two."

"That won't be a problem. I home-schooled him personally."

"Then he will be a valuable addition to our school."

Lücan nodded, slipping the enrolment form into his briefcase. He stood and shook the principal's hand firmly. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wallinger."

Principal Wallinger stood up from his desk, cheeks flushed. Ash almost giggled, sure he was about to correct Lücan like he had her mother, but Lücan spoke again, "Now that all matters are resolved, I look forward to seeing you Monday."

"Monday?" Principal Wallinger asked, confused.

"Is that not the start of the school week?"

"Yes. Yes, it is. But normally new students don't start until—"

"My son and I will see you then."

Marianne tapped Ash on the arm, motioning for her to leave.

Lücan was already holding open the door when the principal called out, "Your son's name, Mr. Nightly? So we'll know who to expect."

"Will Javü," he replied, following Ash and Marianne out into the hall.

Will Javü, Ash thought, puzzling over the name. I bet he's just as uptight as his foster father. I 'spose I'll find out Monday.

Will Javü... Why do I feel like I know that name?

Pushing thoughts of the new boy aside, Ash felt dazed. The interrogation was over and she'd been found innocent. Kind of. Okay, it was more due to Lücan's smooth talking. Now she was walking out the front gates a free girl, trailing her mum to their van.

"Farewell, Marianne, Ashleigh," Lücan said, as he made his way to the fancy BMW parked in front. The way he was smiling at Marianne, Ash thought he looked smitten.

"Thanks again," said Marianne.

"Yeah, thanks," Ash called. "Seriously, you saved me back there."

"Anytime." He gave a brief wave, answering his phone the next second.

Just as Marianne rounded the front of the car, Ash dared to ask, "Any chance of a driving lesson?"

"Er...I don't really have time, sweet. Maybe next weekend?"

Ash threw her schoolbag into the front seat. She'd bet anything that her mum was stalling the driving lesson. After their last one, Marianne had meditated for a full hour.

Tucking his phone away, Lücan wandered over to the van. "I have some spare time if you'd like me to give Ash a driving lesson?"

Marianne smiled. "It's a grand offer, but I wouldn't want to put you through the experience."

"I doubt Ash's driving could be any worse than Sasha's."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Marianne said.

"Sasha?" Ash asked.

"An exchange student staying with Jasper, Will, and myself. Which reminds me, I'll need to get another enrolment form. Excuse me a moment..." He dashed back into the school, the doors slamming behind him.

As they waited on the footpath, Ash noticed Marianne staring at the school's entrance, awaiting Lücan's return. That's when a new theory dawned on her... "You like him, don't you?"

"What?" Marianne said, smiling and glaring simultaneously. "He's just an old family friend."

"That's actually true, the family friend part?"

"Yes."

"Well, he's been stopping by a lot lately."

"Define a lot?"

"Twice a week. Sometimes three."

"For a few minutes at best!" Marianne said, flustered.

Ash smiled. "To give you rose clippings. That's almost as good as a complete rose. Kind of romantic." Ash didn't know why she'd said that last part. The first time she had met him he'd been The Horrible Investor. Although, she couldn't quite recall why he had been so horrible.

"You're serious about this?"

Ash nodded. "Why not? Dad—I mean, David—has moved on. Why shouldn't you?"

"Move on...?" Loose strands blew from Marianne's bun as she glanced up the road. Maple trees bridged the road, as pretty as the Victorian-style houses and gardens that lined the hill. It was one of Ash's favorite roads, just around the corner from their own. Marianne had moved there nine years ago, for the very same reason. Now her eyes were filled with sadness. "Why are you calling him David, all of a sudden?"

"Because he left. Because he's only managed to see me twice in three months! Because he took the clinic from you, even though you'd built it together. It's like he's forgotten us, like we never existed. He's pretty much a stranger. So I call him David."

Marianne pulled Ash into a hug. "You shouldn't have to worry about this, but if that's how you feel..."

"Everything alright?" Lücan said, startling them both. He seemed extremely concerned. Ash took that as a promising sign.

"Yep," Marianne said.

"How about that driving lesson?" Lücan asked, throwing Ash the keys to his car.

As much as Ash wanted to get behind the wheel, she couldn't leave Marianne, not like this. She fiddled with the keys, ready to hand them back.

"Ash, have the lesson," Marianne insisted.

"You're sure?"

"Better him than me."

The fact that her mum had managed a laugh was encouragement enough. Ash tried to hold back a smile as she made her way around to the driver's seat of the BMW. But when she sat in the driver's seat and Lücan sat beside her, instructing her to check the seating and mirror adjustments, all she could think of was... I must not stack this car. It will ruin any chance Mum has with him.

Ash looked down at the unfamiliar sight of the five speeds on the gear-stick. "Hang on, I don't drive manual."

"You do now," he said.

Oh God.

As Lücan went through the gears and clutch pedal, Ash was truly scared that there would be a dent in the BMW by the time they were through.

"But your car..." she said. "It might get hurt."

"It will be fine. Now indicate right and pull out slowly from the curb."

Ash did just that, watching the road as if her life depended upon it. She turned the wheel right.

"Mirrors!" Lücan snapped.

Ash slammed on the brakes and the car stalled in the middle of the road.

Help! What just happened?

"You took your foot off the clutch. That's what happened."

"Oh."

Lücan sighed. "Rule number one: always check your mirrors and look behind you. Now, let us start from the beginning."

An hour later they pulled into the Rendwick's driveway. Ash cut the ignition, happy that she'd had only two near disasters this time. She'd be surprised if Lücan ever invited her for another driving lesson. Not that he seemed tense. In fact, he didn't seem to care that a tree branch had scraped the car when she'd pulled up too close to a curb. She stepped out of the car to the assess the earlier damage—Lücan, too. Standing side by side, they stared along the door panels.

"I told you it was fine," he said.

She shook her head. "I don't get it. I heard that branch cut clean across the car. There's not a single mark!"

"Armored vehicle," he explained. "Even the tires are bulletproof."

"Why do you need a bulletproof car? Are you Batman or something?"

He gave one of his wooden laughs, pointing across the road to his rose-strewn house. "Last time I checked there weren't any bat caves lurking beneath my property."

Ash laughed, imagining him with a bat cave. "No bulletproof vest, then?"

"Unnecessary." He patted the roof of the BMW. "As for the car, I prefer my things not to be broken, and in my experience few things last forever."

"Oh. That's a little depressing."

He gave the roof one last pat. "Exactly."

"Hi, Ash," called Marianne, arriving at the letterbox. Mail in one hand, her work bag in the other, she walked towards them, not a smile in sight. "How was the lesson?"

"Good," Ash and Lücan answered, surprising each other.

"Really?"

"Would Ashleigh pass a driving test, yet? No. But..." Lücan frowned, studying Marianne. "Why don't we have a cup of tea? You look like you could do with a rest."

Marianne seemed torn between speaking and walking away.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

All the color drained from Marianne's face. Ash wondered if there had been an animal emergency at the clinic and it had left her mum in a state of shock. It wouldn't have been the first time Marianne had fought back tears over a four-legged patient. Although, this time she seemed paler, her eyes more unfocused.

"Mum?" Ash asked again.

Marianne shook her head. "David. He's engaged. Kimberly's pregnant. Five months. Already!"

"Oh, Mum," Ash said, wrapping an arm around her mum's shoulder.

"How can this be possible? After all the years that David and I tried and failed to have a baby, now he's—"

"Marianne!" Lücan said.

Ash moved into her mother's line of sight. "But you didn't fail, Mum. You had me." She frowned. "I am your daughter, right?"

"I love you as a daughter, but...you are not mine."

"What?" Ash gasped. The world seemed to spin around her. Nothing seemed familiar. Marianne looked different—sad, prettier, younger. "Who do I belong to, then?"

But the biggest question of her life was left hanging in the air. Marianne turned to Lücan, and her Aussie accent was replaced with a flourish of curls, as she said, "Erase this. Please!"

Erase this? Huh? And what is with her accent all of a sudden? If they hadn't been acting so strange, she would have ran away.

Lücan steadied Marianne's arm, adopting the same curly accent. "Perhaps it is time for her to remember."

"No. It was supposed to be when she was seventeen. That was the deal."

"It was," he agreed. "But as with all deals there are conditions. Some of which have been broken in recent months. David leaving was one of them. Others have been far beyond my control."

Marianne hugged herself. "She's all I have left."

He laughed strangely. "You think I don't know that? How it feels?"

"I'm sorry, Lücan. I didn't mean—"

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

But he continued speaking to Marianne, "The risk is greater now, for you and for her."

"I don't care!" Marianne said. "Give me more time. Please!"

"Why won't anyone answer me?!" Ash shouted.

Lücan turned to Ash, his smile kind, his eyes tired. She almost felt bad that she'd been rude. Then again, they had been rude first, ignoring her, talking about her as if she couldn't possibly understand. Then she realized they had been speaking another language. It was ornate, curled slightly at the edges.

"My apologies, Ashleigh," he said, his accent British again. "This has always been a difficult topic for us."

"But you're talking about me as if I'm not even here! I mean, even if I can understand the language, the least you could do is make sense."

He laughed once. "A fair point."

"You can understand us—every word?" Marianne asked.

Ash nodded. "It just makes sense. I couldn't hear there was another language at first, because it immediately translates to English in my head, then I realized..." Anger filled her. You've lied to me. My whole life. Why didn't you tell me I was adopted? And what about my real parents? Do you know them?"

Marianne looked at Ash with tear-filled eyes. The last thing Ash wanted was to hurt Marianne, but these questions were too big not to have answers. Somewhere out there she had parents, parents who might be missing her, who needed her as much as she needed them.

Lücan stepped toward Ash. "First you must choose. Stay with Marianne and live as you have been these past years, or choose to find out who you are. Which will it be?"

"Lücan, no!" Marianne protested.

He held up a silencing hand. "I'll give you a minute to decide, Ashleigh. Any longer and I will have to make the decision for you."

These are impossible choices! I want both! Maybe if I knew more about my family it would be easier to decide.

"Do you know my parents, Lücan?" Ash asked nervously.

He rubbed his brow. She hadn't thought the question had been that bad, but he looked as if he'd give anything not to answer. "I might."

"Please tell me they're nice?" she asked, her hands in prayer position.

"In varying degrees, I suppose."

"What are their names?"

He shook his head. "I'll need your decision now."

"I pick..." Ash bit her lip, still deciding. She could see Marianne out of the corner of her eye, gaze cast to the pavement, her mood dropping by the second.

"While you are deciding, I do have a question," Lücan said, his gaze assessing. Normally a look like that would have made her nervous, but she felt calm suddenly, unusually so. "This might sound odd, but can you tell me your name?"

Huh? "You know my name."

"Humor me."

"Ashleigh Shala Rendwick."

He nodded. "Any other names that people might call you?"

She sighed and begun to list them: "Ash, Ashie, Asha—" She frowned, trying to complete the end of that last name.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Thank you."

She squinted up at him. "You are so confusing. You know that?"

He smiled uncomfortably. "One day I promise to make it less so."

"Ha. Sure you will."

"Lücan," Marianne whispered, "I can't bear much more."

Lücan sighed. "I'll give you until the end of the school year. But just so we're clear, this isn't a promise. If there are any more complications—"

"I understand. Thank you." Marianne went to hug Lücan, but he stepped back, looking as if there should be more space between them.

Ash stepped up to Lücan. "Don't tell me you just decided for me?!"

"Yes."

"But I was going to choose—"

"Don't say it," he whispered. "Marianne needs you."

She nodded, horrified that she could have thought of leaving Marianne.

"And we can have another driving lesson Sunday afternoon," he said, as if that would make this crazy day alright again.

And so she nodded, feeling numb inside.

"Goodnight, Ash." Lücan's gaze intensified, as if his golden eyes were lit within. Unable to look away, Ash flinched as an invisible force tugged within her mind. Her thoughts and memories whizzed by so fast she could barely pinpoint a single one. The tugging grew stronger, but Ash was determined to fight it.

Lücan cursed softly.

Ash glared at him. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to protect you."

She scoffed. "From what?"

"It's not working?" Marianne asked Lücan.

"She's resisting," he said.

"Hypnosis, then?" Marianne suggested.

"I guess that's our last option. It's not always reliable."

Ash backed away at the word 'hypnosis'. But after a few mind-altering words from Lücan, Ash and Marianne were walking into their house, dealing with the news that Ash was going to have a baby brother or sister in four-months-time. Being adopted, that was long forgotten.