Author's Note: This is the almost untouched revised edition of Azul Tears, which I had on FP back in 2006. The story itself was inspired by the film A Haunting, as well as I've been told some aspects remind readers of the novel Beauty and the Beast, although the early 90's television series derived from the novel would most likely be my primary source of inspiration. There are some graphically violent scenes in several chapters and some adult conversations and sexual content that may not be suitable for younger readers. The primary relationship is male/female, but some readers have expressed that there are some underlying male/male tensions that brew between characters in various chapters.

One: Like A Butterfly

Mia rolled over in her bed, dreaming of a nightmare that she had been having since she was very young. It was always the same, she was walking down a series of steps to a door that was at the bottom of a large castle. She knew that there was something awful on the other side, yet she opened the door anyway. She walked into the room, and saw a monster in a cage. The monster had thick brown hair around most of his body, and sharp fangs and were easily seen with his curled lips. He would look at her with yellow eyes, his face filled with the hate that only a monster could have for a child. Then he would run up to the bars and howl so loudly, Mia had to cover her ears just to keep from screaming.

She woke up in the night alone in her bed, her ten-year-old body sweating and shaking from the dream. She cried out a little into the night upon waking, although no one was there. The sound of a storm brewing outside made her get out of bed to head to her parent's room. She thought to herself about basic things that made sense to her, in order to keep from being afraid. She knew that the year was 1870, and the place was London. She knew that she had deep blue eyes, and her mother would say they looked like the ocean. She had long brown hair that went down to her waist, and her father always told her that she was very smart for her age.

Mia continued to think simple facts to herself while she wandered down the abandoned hallway. It was not unusual, she only lived with her parents and they didn't believe in keeping servants. She went to their room, the darkness hard to adjust to, the storm thundering outside. She walked into their room and asked in her slightly British accent, “Mummy? Daddy?”

There was no reply. She couldn't see them in the darkness, and she couldn't even hear them breathing. She went up to their beds, and looked at the figure that should've been her mother. She whispered again, “Mummy?”

There was another crack of thunder outside, then there was silence. Mia reached out for her mother, intent on touching her, when a flash of lightning confirmed what she thought. There on the bed was her mother and father, but they were both lying in a pool of their own blood, their throats torn away.

Mia rode inside the carriage as it rolled up the hill toward a large and dark looking castle near Liverpool, England. The carriage driver was seated up front, away from her line of hearing. Another older man was seated next to the driver, looking over some papers that seemed to be of importance. The driver asked the older man, “Whatever happened to her?”

“Her parents were found brutally murdered in their home. There was no sign of forced entry, and no sign of the killer. They found the poor girl lying on the floor next to the bed. She didn't even scream when they took her parents away.”

“How awful. Why is she going to Mr. Craine?” the driver asked.

“Apparently Mr. Craine is some kind of a very distant relative to her father. He offered to take her in, and that is all that we can ask for.”

They came upon the castle and the carriage stopped in front of it. Mia looked out at the castle, noting that it looked morose and dreary to her. The older man opened the door and let her out, then she saw that a man and a woman were standing on the steps. The man was tall, with thick black hair that came around his head and toward his cheeks, like a partial beard. He had very strong features, and large hands that looked as though they could consume her. He watched her with haunting brown eyes, the kind that knew everything anyone had ever done. The woman next to him had long black hair tied back, and her own pair of harsh brown eyes. She was beautiful, but she looked as though she thought she were better than everyone else.

Mia walked up to them, and the man leaned down to say to her, “Good day, Mia. I am Edward Craine, and this is my wife, Marian.”

He signaled to the thinly set woman. Mia looked at her, but Marian just smiled at her with a fake expression, as though she didn't really care. The older man turned to leave, saying, “Take good care of her, sir.”

“You know that I will,” Edward said.

He reached out to Mia, and she took his hand. Upon entering, there was an older man with a bald head, a slim figure, and a sour looking wrinkled face holding the door open for them. When they entered, Edward signaled to the older man and said, “This is our doorman, William Marx.”

Mia bowed slightly to him, but he did not seem so kind. He only said, “I do not cater to children.”

Edward just laughed and started down the hallway, so Mia followed him. Marian turned the other way, saying, “Please show her to her room, Edward. We don't want her thinking she will sleep outside.”

Mia turned back to Marian, but she just walked away from her, not saying good-bye, a sense of wickedness written across her face. Edward led Mia down a set of large stairs, to the basement of his large castle. Just like in her dream, Mia saw a giant door in front of her. She was not afraid, because she thought that Edward would save her if anything happened. He opened the door, and there in the room was a large cage, with a man in it, but it was not exactly the monster from her dream.

The man in the cage had long brown hair on his head, and the brown hair covered most of his arms, his muscular chest and his back. He had a pair of trousers on, but she was sure the hair covered his legs as well. His fingernails were long and sharp, and when he turned to look at her, she noticed that he had soft green eyes, but he curled his lips back to reveal long canine teeth. The man walked up to the bars of the cage and looked at Mia angrily, asking, “What is she? Some kind of a sacrifice?”

“Be kind to her, Adrian. She is going to be the one who will care for you and feed you every day,” Edward said.

“I don't want a child tending to me!” he shouted, pacing toward the back of the cage.

Mia looked up at Edward, and he told her, “Pardon my brother, dear. He suffers from a condition where his body steadily grows fur until he becomes a monster for three days at the end of the month, then he will shed his fur and look almost human again, except for his teeth and nails. He is a very big secret in our family, and I want you to promise that you will keep this secret at all costs.”

“I will,” she said, not knowing exactly what that meant.

Edward led her to a door beside the cage, then he opened it to reveal a smaller room with a bed, a dresser and a mirror. He told her, “This will be your room.”

She looked at it, knowing it was much less than she had before, but she didn't mind, saying, “Thank you, sir.”

It seemed that none of the other servants in the castle really liked her. For the rest of the day, a plump woman named Wendy with graying black hair and soft brown eyes took Mia around, showing her everything that she would need to know. Wendy was the only one who showed any interest in her at all, and Mia liked that. By nightfall, Wendy gave Mia a plate of food and said, “Give this to Adrian.”

“Why is he in a cage?” Mia asked.

“He is very dangerous. He can kill anyone if he gets out. Don't ever let him out for any reason,” Wendy said with a stern look.

Mia went downstairs to the room and found Adrian still in his cage, turned away from her. She brought the food up to the cage and asked, “Are you hungry?”

He turned to her angrily and said, “I could tear you to pieces, little girl!”

She went up to the cage anyway and put the plate of food underneath a space in the bars. He ran up to the cage in a moment and grabbed the bars, saying to her with a crazed look, “Aren't you afraid of me?”

Mia gave him a simple look and replied, “Why should I be afraid?”

He realized that she wasn't playing into his fear, so he sat down and began chewing on a bone with meat on it, saying, “You're a stupid girl not to be afraid.”

“Can I pet you?” she asked.

He looked at her with an irritated expression, then he said, “Fine.”

She put her hand on his head and stroked his fur, liking the soft touch. That was the beginning of a strange and secret friendship between woman and beast.

By the year 1876, after Mia's sixteenth birthday, she had become comfortable with everything that went on in the castle. Marian basically stayed away from her, becoming angry if Mia said anything to her. The doorman William didn't like her either, and most of the servants kept their distance. Edward was good to her, but she had a suspicion that he was up to something, but she could never quite guess what it was. The only one that really spent time talking to her was Wendy.

She gave Adrian food each day, sometimes combing the dirt out of his hair or giving him water to bathe. He was very good to her, sometimes teaching her words or ways to spell things, and they often had fun together. They kept their friendship a secret from Edward, and Adrian would pretend to hate Mia when Edward was watching. For three days each month, Adrian would turn into a monster, and be uncontrollable. Mia would watch over him to make sure he didn't hurt himself, then he would become almost a man again, and she would clean up the fur he shed the night before. With a steady diet of meat, he seemed to be alright, not thirsting for blood as much.

One day, Mia was working in the hallway when Edward came out and asked her, “Mia, could you come here for a moment?”

She got up and went with him into his study, where another much younger man was seated there. He was handsome, with a strong build. He had short brown hair and blue eyes that were watching Mia with a sense of lust. Edward signaled to the man and said, “This is Richard Davis. He is my partner and he will be joining us nearly every day.”

Mia bowed to him and said, “How do you do?”

He just stared at her. She looked at Edward, who didn't seem to notice or care that Richard was looking at Mia strangely. Instead he said, “Mia, would you please find Marian? I need to speak with her.”

Mia went down the hallway to Marian's room, where Marian was sitting at her vanity. Mia said to her, “Marian? Edward would like to see you.”

Marian turned to her with an irritated expression, then she got up and said, “Fine. Don't touch anything while I am gone.”

Marian left the room, and Mia went inside just to look at the many perfumes and makeup pieces that Marian had. She was surveying the colors and bottles at the vanity when a book suddenly fell to the floor next to the bed. She went over to the book and picked it up, noticing it was marked on a certain page. She recognized Edward's handwriting, and although she wasn't great at reading, she could see that the page said something to the effect of: Mia will be my wife.

She could hear Marian coming back down the hallway, so Mia closed the book and put it back on the table, pretending she saw nothing.

Later that night, while cooking dinner, Mia and Wendy worked together. Mia asked Wendy, “What do you think will become of me?”

“I don't really know, dear. You've been here six years and so far everyone has tolerated you, so I think the best of what could happen,” Wendy said.

Mia worked with the dough in her hands as she asked, “Do you think I will ever get married?”

Wendy continued working while she replied, “I would say that you will. Most likely it will be an arrangement, as most weddings are. Don't be afraid, you will have someone good with your background.”

When Mia had finished preparing dinner, she took the plate of food downstairs to Adrian. When she came inside, he was already waiting for her. She got down on her knees and put the food under the space in the bars, then Adrian sat down to eat it. He told her, “You look pale today.”

“I saw something I wasn't supposed to today, something that concerns my future,” Mia said.

“What might that be?” Adrian asked, eating a piece of meat from the plate.

“I met a man today. I think he wants me to become his wife,” Mia said.

Adrian stopped for a moment, then he adjusted easily and went on to say, “That's expected of him. I'm sure that he wants you to have a good life with him. Most women need to be married to be considered upstanding.”

Mia sighed a little, then she said, “Well, the problem is that I don't know how to be a wife. I saw Marian and Edward once, doing that thing that you told me about, and I don't know how to do that.”

Adrian smiled and asked, “You mean a physical relationship?”

Mia turned away from him, blushing. He laughed and told her, “Surely you have had relations before.”

She looked at him with an innocent expression. He stopped smiling, realizing the truth of the situation. He asked her, “Haven't you ever kissed a man?”

“No, I don't even know how to do that either,” Mia said, looking sad.

Adrian stared, dumbfounded. He laughed again, thinking she was kidding, but his laughter only made Mia flustered. He stopped laughing and said, “You must have some feelings for someone, enough to allow for a kiss or more.”

She got up and quickly went to her room, saying, “I have to go to sleep now, it's getting late.”

“Mia,” Adrian started, but she shut the door to her room.

Mia went to her bed and lay down in it, feeling some tears coming on, but she didn't cry. Instead she just went to sleep, not wanting Adrian to ever know how she felt about him.