Polished up what I did, yesterday...

 And wrote a bit for the 4th part, set current day. But here's the first 5 pages of my work, yesterday. Can you guess when it's set?

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It was from the purest luck that I saw him before I sensed him. By the side of the road, caught in the shadows of evening, tending to his injured horse. His breastplate was on the ground. His cloak and uniform jacket were slung over his saddle, so all he wore was a well-fitted shirt over broad shoulders and trim torso, with tight gray pants showing off near-perfect legs and rear, held in place by a pair of braces that only added to his glamor. Boots crafted from the finest leather folded over at his knees to his feet.

And blood.

Dried down half his face.

Over his left shoulder...matting the shirt to him.

Powerful in its draw...in its promise...

Even though I was not yet hungry, I still felt the deep growling desire to taste of it. See if he might be someone to keep for a while...to enjoy myself with him.

But something deep within brought me hesitation. I had no idea what it was, so I remained hidden in the trees, watching him. No...no, gazing upon him in a way that was from far more than a need for nourishment.

His head was such a perfect shape. Hair tightly cropped and of a color that could be light brown or blond, in the sun. No beard hid the elegant line of his jaw or fit of his lips, and the simplicity of his nose and eyes more than complimented them. All of this truly pleased me in ways I had not felt in so many years.

Years? Hell, centuries, to be honest.

His jacket's off-color white, where there was no blood, revealed he was a Prussian Cuirassier, and the cut and quality of it emphasized he was of higher birth. As did his every move. Even wounded, as he was, he radiated breeding and ability.

That is when Geoffrey snuck up behind me and draped his arms over my shoulders settled his chin on them. He was still the only one I allowed to do that.

"He is almost as beautiful as I," he whispered in my ear.

I smiled. For Geoff to say that about anyone was all the proof I needed that my eyes were not deceiving me. Nor was my infatuation or...oh, let's just say it -- lust.

"His name is Franz Sebastian Giselher von Bergren," Geoff continued.

I am never surprised at how quickly he can gather information about anyone, anywhere, any time he chooses.

"Northern Germany," I murmured.

Geoff nodded. "They have a castle. Much land."

"And sent this lad off to die in war. Such a waste."

"I would have taken him, but I thought you should see him, first. So I found myself a Frenchman."

"Is he a gift?" I was only half-joking.

Geoff shrugged. "Offering, maybe? To my Blood Angel?"

I caressed his cheek with my ear, pleased beyond measure. And didn't the little bastard know it.

"What do the others think?" I asked.

"They're busy, and don't know of him. Yet. It all depends on if my offering is accepted."

"In what way?" I only asked to be polite. I knew what Geoff was suggesting...and he knew I would agree to it.

He wasn't fooled. "Oh, Leonides. Look at him."

As if I wasn't, still. The gentle way he checked his horse where the blood was greatest. The tenderness of his hands and care in his cool blue eyes. His lashes almost glinting in the last rays of the sun.

"He would bring our number to ten."

"So?"

"The more there are of us, the harder to control how others see us."

He nibbled my ear. "I have a plan for that."

I had to chuckle. "Don't you always?"

"Leon..." I softly growled at his shortening of my name. "You are smart, but I am brilliant."

I barely kept from bursting with laughter. "And arrogant."

"Of course." He held me closer. "I would love to have him as a brother...but it is you who decides."

As noted, I already had, but I chose to play with Geoff a bit longer. "I don't know. He's German and my lineage is Norman."

"You still feel akin to that?"

"Not so much."

"Well, keep in mind -- it was France who started this idiotic war. You would think after their debacle in Russia they would have learned better. But no."

"Men have no real interest in history."

"Outside of one's past capacity for profit."

Again, I had to fight a laugh. He was such fun to be around. And it was true, greed is probably the easiest emotion to manipulate and feed upon. I pulled his arms tighter around me and sighed.

"You have already decided to take him." Geoff was all but whispering into my ear.

"I...do...not...yet...know," I said, with more emphasis than necessary. "Both sides have committed such atrocities..."

Of course, he cut right through it. "You like how he cares for his horse, even though he, himself, is wounded."

It was true. Young Franz had found a wound to the animal's left shoulder and was using water from his skin to wash it. Looked like the jab from a lance, and the horse was favoring that leg. Any other man would have put a bullet in the poor beast's head then requisitioned another. But this lad loved his mount, wanted him to heal, which all but screamed to me of innocence and kindness.

"You really li-ike him." Mocking whispers. "You want to ta-ake him. You think he's per-rfect. Why do you hesitate?"

"I don't know...I don't know that he deserves it."

"Oh, Leon, please...none of your inner morality."

"He does remind me somewhat of myself."

"And you call me arrogant. Just tell me...would you make him one of us?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

I looked at Geoff, almost smirking. "You. There's something about him I find entrancing, this is true, but I fear you fear I would not like you anymore."

Geoff's arms shifted into an embrace, and his voice grew tender. Any time I let him know how important he was to me, he always seemed surprised, and his joy at the revelation would take him over...for a moment.

"So..." he finally said, "we do not feed upon him. And to be honest, I am glad." He let his nose drift across the nape of my neck and kissed my other ear. "But what more do your senses tell you about this entrancing possibility?"

I took in a deep breath, not really wanting to say it, but finally murmured, "He could be like me."

Now Geoff hesitated. "Of your bloodline?"

I didn't meant to say it but..."Possibly."