"Please!" Cried the princess. "If you have mercy on my father, I'll willingly be yours!"

"Mercy?" Replied the gargoyle king. "You want me to show him mercy? The same kind of mercy that he showed my brothers?"

"You took my daughter against her will!" Her father cried.

"I merely took what was mine!" The gargoyle king proclaimed in anger. "I took what you promised me!"

"What are you talking about?" The princes asked in confusion. "Father, what is he talking about?"

"You mean you didn't tell her?" The gargoyle king asked as he looked at the king.

"Tell me what?" Cried the princess.

"Your beloved father, your dear king." The gargoyle king replied in disgust. "Promised my brothers, and me, any virgin bride we desired in the kingdom. In exchange we would protect his precious kingdom from any, and all invaders. Apparently your father didn't care which peasant girls we selected. But he had decided that his own daughter was too good for us. However, that was not specified when we made our agreement, and by then it was too late. I had already fallen in love with you."

"Father!" The princess cried out in horror. "Please tell me that its not true! Please tell me that you didn't offer up your female subjects as payment!"

As she looked at her father, she could see the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He then shut his eyes, and turned his head away from her. She knew at that moment, that her father had made such a horrific bargain.

"I'm sorry, my daughter." He replied. "Please forgive me, but I was desperate. The last battle against one of our neighboring kingdom, ten years ago, completely wiped out our reserves. We were able to to defend the kingdom, but the losses were too much. I had gotten wind that the kingdom, that we had beaten back a decade ago, was building their reinforcements. We wouldn't have stood a chance. I needed a way for us to defend ourselves. So I sought out the gargoyles. And even though it was the virgins of the kingdom that they wanted, I never dreamed he would asked for you."

"But I do want her!" Sneered the gargoyle king. "My brothers and I fought valiantly for you. And how did you repay us? You joined forces with your former enemy. You worked together to destroy us. Since we fought for you against them, they hated us! They had no qualms about joining forces with you to destroy us! I am the last of my kind. My brothers have all died, and as a consequence, they have all turned to stone. But the arrow that you used to try and pierce my heart, miraculously missed by a few inches. And unlike man, a gargoyle can heal if he is not fatally wounded. The next time you try to silence an entire species, make sure you that you've destroyed all of them."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Are you hungry?" Gabriel asked. "It's five AM, but I think we both slept good ten hours."

"I guess I haven't eaten in awhile." Cali replied, as she nervously looked at the floor. He smiled at her, and then gently took her hand.

"Come." He said as he pulled her along with him. "I'll make us something to eat."

"You want to go downstairs like this?" She asked. He then looked at her and chuckled. With that he walked over to a chest of drawers, and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.

"Here." He said as he threw the boxer shorts at her. "You can put these on." As she caught them, she watched him put on the t-shirt. She hated to admit it, but he did have an impressive build. But he must have caught her looking.

"Enjoying the view?" He asked with a smirk. Embarrassed, she could feel her face become flushed.

"I was just." She began to say. "I was just wondering about theses shorts, I've never warn men's boxer shorts before."

"Well the smaller hole is for the front, and the two bigger holes are where you would insert your legs." He replied with a sly smile.

"Right." She laughed uncomfortably. As soon as she put them on, she felt awkward about wearing them. Well at least she had her own pair of underwear on underneath. He then walked over to her, and gently took her hands. Immediately he stared straight into her eyes, as he face was only a few centimeters away from hers. His eyes were dark, and powerful. Cali feared his gaze, and began to look towards the ground.

"Look at me!" He demanded softly, as eh gently cupped her chin. "Whenever I get this close to you, that means I want you to look at me directly. Do you understand?"

"Yes." She replied, as her eyes met his.

"Good, you're learning." He said with a smile. "Now then, I think I would like a good morning kiss."

The truth was Cali didn't have a lot of experience with men. Mainly because her adolescence, was far from ideal. She had a lot of past demons to deal with, mainly the many foster parents she dealt with over the years. So relationships were not something she ever really had time to explore. So, with what little experience she had, she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Gabriel furrowed his brow at her, as he gave her a look of confusion and disapproval, "My dear, I can assure you that I expect a lot more than that. Remember, I own you." With that he grabbed the back of her hair, and smashed his lips into hers. Her eyes widened, as she was not expecting him to be so forward.

He soon broke the kiss, looked at her, and flashed a domineering smile. "You have no idea how bad I want to fuck you right."

"Um..I thought—I thought you were hungry." She said, worried about what he might try to do next.

"I am." He replied in a seductive whisper. "But maybe for more than just food."

"I haven't—I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday." She replied. At this point she started to tremble a bit, scared that she might make him angry.

He looked at her, and chuckled. "Don't worry Songbird, I won't take you until you're ready." She felt relief, as he smiled at her, and lightly tweaked her nose. That was until he said, "But that doesn't mean, we can't find other ways to have some fun. I'm going to teach you everything you need know about being an attentive wife to your devoted husband."

All of a sudden his playful smile, turned into a wickedly lustful one. True she was inexperienced, but even she knew what he was hinting. She stood there and said nothing, as he just let out a sigh.

"Come on." He said. "Let's get something to eat. He then gently took her hand, and had her follow him. Since she had passed out on the way to his home, she didn't get to see it when they had arrived. Needless to say, it was huge. She had seen pictures of expensive homes in magazines, but this home was incomprehensible.

But she noticed one continuous theme that seemed to be throughout the house. There seemed to be large statues of gargoyles everywhere. She had always been fascinated by them, especially after her parents were murdered. After learning that they were used in architecture, as a guardian or protector, she used to fantasize about one rescuing her from her unhappy childhood. But no gargoyle ever came. If her uncle sal hadn't come along when he did—-

"How do you like your eggs?" Gabriel asked.

"Um, scrambled's fine." She replied.

"Scrambled it is." He replied, as he turned on the stove. "Just take a seat at the breakfast nook, and I'll have my culinary masterpiece up in a couple of minutes."

"I'm-I'm surprised you cook." She stated, at she sat down at the table. He just looked at at her, and smiled.

"You're going to find that here are a lot of surprising things I can do." He replied. "I wasn't always the man you see before you. Up until two years ago, I was architect living in Paris."

"May I ask what happened?" She inquired. "I mean why you now are doing this."

"You mean running the Sicilian mafia?'" He asked.

"Well, I-a-" She started to say.

"It's okay." he replied. "I didn't exactly have a choice. My father has was essentially the mafia king, and I guess I was the prince. I never really wanted to be involved this life. But fate had other plans. Two years ago my parents were murdered after attending a concert in Milan. It was a Mafia hit by a warring family. So as heir apparent, I guess it was my duty to take over for my father."

"Oh." She replied solemnly as he finished making the eggs. "I-I had a somewhat similar story. When I was six years old, I witnessed a man shoot my parents in cold blood."

"What?" He replied, with a horrified look upon his face. "Who? How?" He then placed a plate of eggs, in front of her, before he quickly sat down with his plate.

"It was so horrible." She told him. "I can'tremember his face, but I'll never forget stance when he pulled the trigger. I don't know who he was, or why he was there. I just know he felt guilty."

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"Because I saw it in his eyes." She told him, as she was finishing her eggs. " I can't remember the rest of his face, but I can remember the remorse in his eyes. Also, he apologized, right before he ran out the door."

"You know, if you want." He began. "I could try and find out who it was. I could take care of him."

"No please!" She cried. "I just can't, I just can't be responsible for someone's death. Not even his."

"Okay, okay, I understand." He replied. "Listen, why don't you go up and take a shower. I had the clothes you were wearing yesterday laundered, you can put those on when your done. I also had your undergarments put in the drawer, under the tv. By the way, after I put you to bed last night, I called my sister Rosalina. She'll be over around noon. She's dying to meet you."

"Um sure." She replied while faking a smile. "I look forward to meeting her as well."

Cali got up from the table, and made her way back up stairs. The house was large, but somehow she was able to find her way back to the bedroom without getting lost. To her surprise, the bed had been freshly made. She didn't even see any staff come in to clean. Maybe it was the bedsheet fairies, or something?

She immediately took off all her clothes, and threw them in the hamper. With that, she hoped int the shower, and turned the water on full blast. As the water beaded all over her body, she burst into tears. For the first time since she was a child, she wished a gargoyle would come along and rescue her. But just like when she was a child, they never did.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After he finished his breakfast, he left everything for the help. Well, that's what he paid them. He then went into his office, grabbed a bottle of scotch, and pour it into a glass of ice.

Way to fuck up asshole! He thought. She saw you pointing a gun at her uncle, just as someone had once pointed a gun at her own parents. It's going to take a while to he to love you.

He then threw back the scotch, before pouring himself another glass. As he poured, a smiled kept upon his face.

But don't worry, she will!

About five minutes to noon, Gabriel and Calliope waited for Rosalina in the foyer. He was nervous, as more than anything he wanted them to be friends. Hopefully, it would make things a lot easier for his songbird. At exactly twelve noon, the doorbell rang, and Gabriel answered the door. Normally the butler would do it, but he wanted to be the first to greet her.

As he opened the door, there stood Rosalina with a huge smile upon her face. She was also carrying a couple dress bags. Up until yesterday, until he had discovered his songbird, he thought Rosalina was the most beautiful woman he had ever known.

"Gabe!" She cried as she through her arms around him. He adored his sister, she was one of the few things that reminded him of who he once was. She then gave the songbird the same enthusiastic smile.

"You must be Cali!" She exclaimed, as she threw her arms around her. "It's so nice to meet you! Lister, I know we're going shopping today. But I went ahead, and picked up some things on the way over her. Gabe was kind enough to tell me your sizes. Now why don't you go try the red cocktail dress on real quick, and come back down and show Gabe and me. Then, I'll tell you all about the amazing day I have planned for us!"

"Um..o-okay." Said Cali as she gave Rosalina a shy smile. She then headed upstairs with the dresses that Rosalina had gotten for her. As soon as she went into the bedroom, and shut the door, Gabriel looked at his sister and smile.

"So, what do you think of her?" Gabriel asked. "I think the two of you are going to be the best of friends."

"Cut the bullshit, Gabe!" As she stared at him in anger. "What the hell is going on? What the fuck did you do?"