This is my first fanfiction, so please cut me some slack ^^ Same goes for grammar and spelling because English isn't my first language.






Title: Waiting for the Moon

Author: X-tremer89

Pairing: UC; Liz / Josef

Rating: Mature (just to be safe)

Category: Roswell / Moonlight Crossover

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything Roswell or Moonlight.

Summary: What if Liz isn’t who she pretends to be? And what happens when her old life catches up to her?

Additional information: The story begins before Tess kills Alex in Roswell. No specific episode for Moonlight. Liz moved to Roswell when she was 15 years old, she then became friends with Maria and Alex. As for Moonlight, Sara never existed. I moved the Roswell happenings a few years later, meaning that the shooting happened in 2006 instead of in 1999.

The song lyrics used in this chapter are Forty Foot Echo - Brand New Day





Chapter 1


Arundel House, England, 1610

“Just you wait Lizzie, I’m going to get you!” eleven-year old Josef Konstantin shouted at the departing back of his friend Elizabeth Howard, called Liz by her family and Lizzie by him. He had known her since the day she was born and had been friends with her from the moment she could talk. Lizzie meant everything to him and he wanted to protect her, so he spent as much time as possible with the petite dark haired girl with the big brown eyes that could get her everything she wanted.
He could tell her everything and vice versa, she was his confidant and simply a person Josef never wanted to miss, no matter what happened. While the young boy had been lost in thoughts, he hadn’t paid attention to what happened around him, so he missed Liz sneaking up behind him. “Got you!” Liz screamed, laughing while she started to run away again. Josef took off after her, sure that he would be able to catch her this time.


Arundel House, England, 1620

“I can’t believe they are doing this!” Liz was pacing the room. “You’re going to leave a mark in the carpet if you don’t stop walking back and forth.” Josef had his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching his fiancée as she tried to work off some of her anger. He wondered why there wasn’t any smoke coming out of her ears. “I don’t get how you can be so calm about this!” Liz looked at him, pressing her lips together after her words so they were only a thin line. “And I don’t get why you are so angry about this.” Josef replied, taking a few steps towards Liz.
As he reached her, he put his hands on her upper arms, trying to calm her down at least a little bit. “Lizzie, I love you. I know that and hopefully you do as well. We would have talked to them some time in future anyway. Why are you so angry about our parents deciding that we should get married? It is what we wanted, just sooner than expected.” Liz closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Josef always had this calming effect on her, no matter how angry she was. “Of course I know that. And love you just as much. It is just … they always made me believe that they would not intrude on my decision who I want to marry. Now they do the exact opposite! They decided who I am supposed to marry without even asking me.”
Liz took a small step towards Josef, who put his arms around her instantly. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being so close to Josef. “Don’t misread my anger; I really want to marry you. It’s just the circumstances this was decided in that madden me.”


Los Angeles, 2007

Josef’s eyes snapped open as he heard something - or rather someone - knock on the lid of his sleeping-place. He pushed the enormous freezer open, not saying a word to Mick St. John, the person freeing him from the nightmare he just had. However, it wasn’t exactly a nightmare. It rather were memories that still haunted him. Liz. He still loved her, nearly 400 years after losing her. Josef shook his head, tried to get rid of her image. “Mick, haven’t I told you not to wake me up? Your ugly face is not what I want to see first thing in the morning. Or at dusk, depending on the way you look at things.” Mick decided not to answer a cranky Josef who hadn’t had anything to eat - or drink - yet.
“Since I’m not interested in the reason for your particularly bad mood tonight, I’m going to get straight to the point. I need your help with the case I’m currently working on. A girl has been shot in the café her parents own in the middle of the day. There even was a bullet hole in her uniform; at least the police record says so. However, the girl seems to be unharmed. Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”
Josef rolled his eyes, sighing while he climbed out of the freezer. “You think it’s a vampire?” He really wasn’t interested, but his upbringing got the best of him, forcing him to ask. Even if it was only by courtesy. “I’m pretty sure that she is one. But I have to be sure. That’s were you come in. I’m going to go to Roswell and …” “Wait a minute. Roswell? As in Roswell, the alien capital of the world? You’ve got to be kidding me. You really want to check out something out of the ordinary that happened in Roswell? Why don’t you go searching for those little green men with the antennas on top of their head while you’re there?” “Funny.“ “That’s what I thought.” “Are you finished?” “I think so.”
“Good. As I was about to say … while I’m in Roswell, I want you to look after my stuff.” “That’s what you woke me up for? Mick, you could have left me a note. Do you have any idea how important beauty sleep gets when you’re 400 years old? Of course you don’t. You’re only 90.” It was Mick’s turn to roll his eyes at his best friend’s behavior. “Don’t be such a drama queen. You were about to wake up anyway. So? Are you going to look after my belongings while I’m away?” He knew that Josef would do him this favor, but he wanted to have an answer.
“Sure. Now go before I start to think twice.” Mick couldn’t help but grin at Josef’s immature act and decided to do as he was asked - just this once. A mysterious shooting was waiting for him to clear up the mess anyway. After Mick was gone, Josef went back into his freezer. He still had about two hours of sleep left until it was time to get up, no matter what Mick was thinking.


Osbourne Hall, England, 1617

“I want to see him!” Josef could hear Liz screaming on the other side of the door, but the maid in front of the door was persistent. “You can’t. He is seriously ill and nobody except the doctor is allowed to see him. There is too much of a risk that somebody could catch the sweating sickness.” The 15-year-old girl in front of the maid started to cry. Nearly nobody survived this illness. Just another reason for her to see him. If he died, than she would as well. They had promised that to each other in the carefree spirit only children had. “I don’t care if he passes it on to me. If it happens, so be it!” After saying that, Liz pushed her way past the maid and entered Josef’s bedroom.

He looked at her, his eyes dull and paler than she had ever seen him. “Are you out of your mind?! Get out of here Liz!” It took a lot of strength to tell her to leave, not only physical strength but emotional since she was the only person he really wanted to see. “I don’t think so. I am not going to leave you alone. I made a promise and I intent to keep it.” Josef knew very well which promise she was talking about, but he wouldn’t have it. Therefore, he decided to do what was necessary to make her leave. “But I don’t want you here! Just go away, I can‘t stand to look at you, healthy as you are, while I‘m on my way to Hades!” He could instantly see the hurt covering her face while new tears entered the brown eyes he loved so much.

“Fine, I’ll go.” She backed away, slowly, tripping over her own feet. Finally, she turned around and ran out of the room. Josef closed his eyes. It hurt him just as much to say these cruel words as it had hurt Liz to hear them. However, it was only in her best interest. She did not need to catch his disease and suffer as he did. He wanted her to have a long, happy life. Not a short and painful one. He felt a tear slowly sliding down his cheek, but it didn’t matter to him. He just drove away the person he loved more than anything in this world. Nothing mattered to him anymore.


Los Angeles, 2007

Josef woke up for the second time on that evening. Why in the name of god was he dreaming about Liz again all of the sudden? He didn’t have a rational explanation. Once again, he shook his head and got out of what was his version of a bed. He had a business to take care of; there was no time to dwell on thoughts of times long gone. Or people long gone in this case.

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate any kind of reaction to this *lol* Here is the second part.

The lyrics are Johnny Cash - I Still Miss Someone


Chapter 2

Roswell, 2007

“So this is the girl that can’t be harmed by a bullet.” Mick muttered to himself. Nobody in Roswell talked about that incident anymore since it had been over a year ago, but to Mick the story wasn’t old news and he wanted to get to the bottom of it all. His gaze followed the petite waitress as she talked to some customers, always presenting a friendly smile that would surely get her a tip, before she went back to the counter to get some French fries for a guy named Alex she had talked to earlier. He seemed to be one of her friends, so it would be wise to talk to him later in Mick investigations.
While Mick made that mental note, he hadn’t seen Liz approach him. “Welcome to the Crashdown, my name’s Liz and I’m your waitress. What can I get you?” She looked at him expectantly first, but then she seemed to realize who - or what - he was. A confused look crossed her face, but it was gone again as fast as it had appeared. Mick himself wasn’t surprised at the realization that she was a vampire. He had assumed that she was one from the moment he read about the incident. “Just some water.” Liz nodded and quickly left his table. What she didn’t realize was that Mick took a few pictures of her with his mobile phone while she was getting his water. He would send them to Josef later to see if he could find out anything about Liz Parker.

Los Angeles, 2007

Josef stared at the screen of his laptop, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a correct sentence. It couldn’t be. The picture that captivated him couldn’t be real. Liz was dead and nobody could look like her, it was simply impossible. There was no way that anybody could even bear a faint resemblance to this angel he loved and lost 400 years ago. Suddenly the vampire with the normally tough and distant act was glad that he sat down before looking at the picture Mick sent him. He even forgot about the phone he still clutched in his right hand.
“Josef? Hey, Josef! Stop giving me the silent treatment. Do you know her?” Mick finally managed to get Josef out of his thoughts, but the answer the older vampire was giving him didn’t exactly satisfy the private investigator. “I’m gonna call you later.” With that, Josef ended the conversation, something Mick didn’t approve of. Josef could be certain about this circumstance since the phone he still held in his hand started to ring again.
“I told you that I’ll call you later Mick.” “No, you are going to talk to me now. What is it? I mean, it’s obvious that you know her.” “It’s complicated.” “As if our life is ever easy.” “You don’t understand.” “Then help me understand. Josef, what is it?” “She … she can’t be alive.” “Well, obviously she is. Why did you believe she was dead? Was she a snack a few years ago?” Josef growled lowly, telling Mick without words to shut up.
“She was my fiancée.” He finally admitted. “Back when I was human. We were strolling around the gardens of her parents’ house when we were attacked. When I woke up as a vampire, she was gone. I have never seen her again. Until now, that is. I thought she was dead. I can’t believe that the thought never occurred to me that whoever turned me could have turned her as well.” Josef was not talking to Mick anymore; he was talking to himself, completely unable to cope with the situation. “I have to see her with my own eyes. I won’t believe that it’s her until I’ve seen this girl.”
Mick had a vague premonition that this wasn’t going to end well, so he tried his best to keep Josef away. “Josef, you don’t have to come here. Remember, little green men with antennas? They are everywhere in this town. It would drive you mad. As well as the tourists. I’m sure that this girl isn’t who you believe her to be. You saw her the last time 400 years ago. Images blur as the time goes by. Don’t do anything stupid.” “Her image didn’t get hazy, believe me. And it is her.” “You can’t be sure of that.”
“Damn it Mick, her name is Liz! My fiancée was called Elizabeth, Liz for short.” “Josef, I hate to break it to you, but there are more girls called Liz out there.” “Oh really? Stop treating my like a moron. It has to be her. Same hair, same eyes, same nose and lips, same name, the same smile… ” Josef got off the track for a moment as he stared at Liz’ picture and the slight smile gracing her features and making her eyes shine. “… This cannot be a coincidence. There are too many similarities. I’m coming to Roswell.”
Mick sighed, knowing that arguing with Josef wouldn’t get him anywhere. It would only jar on his nerves, something he could easily live without. “Fine. I don’t know what you expect of coming here, but fine. But do me a favor and find somebody to take care of my business while you’re out of town chasing ghosts.” “I’m going to give your keys to your little human friend Beth. I’m sure she won’t mind.” Without waiting for an answer, Josef hung up the phone for the second time. He just then realized that the radio was playing an old song by Johnny Cash.



Josef turned the radio off. Just what he needed right now. It really couldn’t get any cheesier. He looked at Liz’ photo again. The song came to his mind. “You were wrong, Johnny. Here eyes are chocolate brown, not blue.” It was stupid to answer to a song, but he did it nonetheless. Josef shook his head, trying to focus. He then booked the next flight to Albuquerque where he would rent a car to get to Roswell.

It was Christmas Eve and Liz’ parents decided to throw a big party with all their friends as well as inviting people they wanted to impress. Liz herself was sitting in a corner, trying her best not to look bored, but she failed terribly. At least Josef thought so as he watched her play with the fabric of her dress. The dark red tint made her olive colored skin look a bit paler than it actually was, but she looked beautiful nonetheless. Her long dark brown hair had been curled and some strands had been pinned up, but the rest cascaded down her back in a waterfall of chocolate colored tresses.

She had not spoken to him since he had pushed her away, believing that he would die soon. However, fate had different plans for him: he survived. Josef had tried many times since he got better to talk to her, knowing that it would not be easy. However, he really underestimated the thick skull Liz had. At most attempts, he wouldn’t even see her because her parents or a servant sent him away. And when he got to see her, Liz simply ignored him, talking to a maid or just answering his words with deafening silence.

However, tonight this was about to change, he would make sure of that. He had waited long enough for her to comprehend why he acted this way. Tonight he would make her understand, whether she liked it or not. He was about to walk over to her as he saw a young guy approaching her. Thomas Hastings, if he remembered the name of this redheaded pale bloke correctly. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but finally Liz put her hand in his and let him lead her towards the dance floor. Josef couldn’t believe what was right in front of his eyes. Why in god’s name did she agree to dance with Thomas? Soon enough Josef felt something at least close to satisfaction as he saw that Liz clearly wasn’t enjoying herself. Thomas kept her in an iron-like grip, dancing as if his legs were stiff.

As soon as the dance was over, Liz excused herself and went outside the house. Josef followed her, wanting to make sure that she was okay. He watched her close her eyes as she took a deep breath, obviously enjoying the feeling of the cold air filling her lungs. He slowly approached her, not wanting to scare her.

“Do not think that I didn’t see you watching me, Josef.” He should have known that she had noticed him already. “Well, I just wanted to make sure that Thomas didn’t crush you. His grip on you didn’t exactly look comfortable.”

Liz looked downwards, noting that the snow already began to freeze the hemline of her dress. She couldn’t care less. “You’re right, it wasn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me …” Liz wanted to go back inside, not because she missed being among all those people but because she couldn’t stand to be alone with Josef. Her heart still hurt badly and every time she saw him, his words rung in her ears. Words that still cut her like a knife. But Josef grabbed her arm as she walked past him. He wanted to fix this mess. Every day without Liz was torture for him and he couldn’t live like this anymore.
“Josef … let go of me, please.” Liz’ voice was weak, not really meaning what she said.
“Not until you let me speak.” Liz sighed, slowly turning around. The begging expression on the face of her childhood friend was enough to make her go weak in the knees.
“Fine. Speak.” She wanted to say more, but her voice wouldn’t let her. Josef led her towards a bench under a big tree that wasn’t covered in snow and took her small hands in his bigger ones, warming up her fingers as he held them.

“It’s Elizabeth.” She didn’t want him to call her by the nickname he used since they were children. Too much had happened to still hold on to old terms of endearment. Josef felt like she had just stabbed him, but he tried to cover his hurt.
“Fine. Elizabeth it is then.” He took a deep breath, trying to get ready for what he was about to say. “I’m sorry. I am sorry for hurting you, for pushing you away. But I had to.” A bitter laugh escaped Liz’ lips, but she didn’t say anything. “Because I made a promise as well. I promised that I would not let anything harm you. Ever. And I could have harmed you. You know how easy it is to catch the sweating sickness. I just wanted to protect you. But I knew that you wouldn’t stay away if I simply asked you to. I had to hurt you to make sure that nothing would happen to you. I thought I was going to die and I didn’t want you to suffer the same fate because I failed to keep my promise.”

Liz couldn’t stand it anymore. She jumped to her feet, freeing her hands from Josef’s grasp at the same time. It might not be the way to behave for a lady, but Liz couldn‘t care less. “Did you just listen to yourself? Everything you told me was about you. What you wanted. You didn’t even ask me! What if I chose to suffer the same fate? What if I decided that I want to be harmed if it means being near you? Those thoughts did not even cross your mind, did they? Of course not, because it doesn’t matter to you what I want!” Liz turned around and started to walk back to the house of her parents, but she didn’t get too far since Josef easily caught up with her.
He grabbed her arm once again, forcing her to stay. “Let go of my arm or …” Liz didn’t get a chance to carry on with her threat because Josef silenced her with a kiss. She wanted to fight it, really wanted to get away, but her mind clouded over more and more as the innocent kiss - her first kiss - continued. This was the least thing Liz had expected tonight and caught her completely off guard. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, it felt good. She’d even say that it felt right.
After a few moments, Liz stopped fighting against his hold and let the soft touch consume her. When the need for air became too much, Liz pushed Josef away, leaning her head against his shoulder. He put his head on top of hers, slowly stroking her back. “Elizabeth, I would rather have you hate me than suffering because of me.”

Liz was confused that her past chose this time to haunt her. Another vampire was in Roswell and she didn’t know what to make of it. Now this memory of her mortal life. What did all of this mean? Was there a connection between this guy and her remembering her past? Did he maybe even turn her? No, that was absurd. Thomas did it, she was almost certain of it.
She would remember this new vampire in town if she had seen him before. He was what people would call tall, dark and handsome. Just what Liz made herself believe she liked in a guy, leading her to date Max, which was the biggest mistake in her life. She had enough problems on her own before, no need for all the alien abyss she got sucked into. However, that was a mistake she could not fix anymore, she was in too deep to just walk away.

She had dragged Maria and Alex into this mess, the two people she relied on, even if she never told them about her vampire status. Liz chuckled as she tried to imagine Maria’s reaction if she had told her. Most likely Maria would run away screaming as she did when she had been told about the aliens, but this time she would cover her neck while running. Then a somewhat sad thought crossed her mind. In a few years, she would have to disappear from the radar of her best friends before they started asking questions why she didn’t look a day older than 18 years. Liz shook her head, not wanting to think about it. She’d have to deal with this soon enough.
A knock on the door of her room caught her attention. “Liz, are you ready?” It was Maria, waiting for her to come out of her room so they could go to the cinema.
“Just one moment, I have to fix my hair!” Liz called while she put her hair in a high ponytail. After she put on some lip-gloss, she was ready to go and opened the door.
“Let’s go, they won’t wait for us.”
“Maybe they will, because I’m not that sure that anybody else wants to watch another rerun of ‘Gone with the Wind’ on the big screen.” Liz laughed and linked arms with Maria as soon as they had left the house. Tonight she would have fun with a friend and be carefree, like any other 18-year-old girl in Roswell. Neither of the girls realized the dark figure around the corner taking photos of them.

Counting Crows - Goodnight Elizabeth
Snow Patrol - Make This Go On Forever


Chapter 4

Roswell 2007

The impatient knocking on the door of his motel room caused Mick to swear. He didn’t even have to think about who this could be. There was only one person he knew that was so eager to get to Roswell, not necessarily see him first, but Josef seemed to have cooled down at least a little bit, which was good because now he wasn’t as likely to do something stupid. On the other hand, if he saw his former fiancée face to face … who knew what Josef would do?

“Mick, open the damn door, I don’t have all night.” Mick rolled his eyes before finally opening the door. Josef stormed past Mick into the room.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Josef.”

“I wanna see the rest of the photos.”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking, how are you?” Josef growled, signalizing Mick that he was walking on very thin ice.
Mick opened his laptop and a few clicks later, Josef was pushing him out of the way, staring at the photos his friend had taken of Liz. There she was, waitressing, laughing, talking with some people about the same age who he assumed to be her friends, at least according to the content look on her face as well as the small smile lighting up her eyes. Josef didn’t notice the smile forming on his own lips. The more pictures he saw, the more he realized that Elizabeth, his Lizzie, really was alive. At least as alive as a vampire could possibly be.



The next pictures made him laugh. Liz was walking with a blonde girl, arms linked and laughing. “400 years and you haven’t changed even a little bit.” He mumbled while tracing the contours of her face with his index finger.

“What?” Mick decided to bring Josef back to reality. Josef turned around, still smiling, something that had Mick wonder if Josef just might have lost it. He had never seen Josef smile like this. Carefree, not plotting anything … simply happy. There was not much that could scare Mick, but seeing Josef like this was definitely one of the few things that could.

“This … Liz linking arms with a friend while walking … she already did it in the beginning of the 17th century when we were still alive. We used to walk like that when we were strolling around the gardens of her parents‘.” Josef’s eyes suddenly tarnished. “This was about as close as we were before were attacked.” Josef closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to gain control over his emotions. As he looked at Mick again, there was a completely new level of determination in his gaze. “I have to see her. Now. Give her address to me.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? Mick, give it to me or I swear I’ll tear this town apart until I’ve found her.” Mick had the suspicion that Josef wasn’t joking, so he sighed before giving him the address of the Crashdown Café.

“She lives in the apartment above the café with her parents. But she’s still in the cinema; she and her friend Maria went to watch ‘Gone with the Wind’ about an hour ago.”

“I’ll wait for her.”

“Sure, and when she comes back, you’re going to give her a heart attack.”

“Which would be so bad since her heart is still beating and everything.”

“Who says that Maria won’t come home with her? She’d call the police in an instant, reporting a burglar who might have even worse intentions since he waited for a young woman to come home.”

Josef slumped down on the sofa, hiding his face in his hands. “And how do you suggest I should approach her? I’ve waited 400 years to see her again; don’t expect me to be patient about it.”

“You certainly can’t just turn up in her room and say “I’m back, let’s throw a party!” It doesn’t work that way. It’s been 400 years, Josef. You should talk to her friends first, getting to know her again through them. Then you can think of a way to let the girl you loved …”

“I still love her.”

“Fine. Then you can think of a way to let the girl you love know that you are still alive as well.”

“This takes too long. I can’t wait that long, not when I know that she is just a few minutes away.”

“You have to, otherwise somebody might get suspicious. I mean, imagine this: a guy nobody has ever seen before turns up in Roswell, goes straight to the Crashdown Café, knowing you in the dinner rush, walks up to one of the waitresses and is all over her. Nobody would notice that.” Josef didn’t like the sarcasm underlying Mick’s last words. He gnashed his teeth, knowing that Mick was somewhat right. Not fully, at least Josef didn’t want to admin it, not even to himself.

“Fine. Who do you think I should talk to?” He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

“I’d say Maria, but there’s always the slight chance you might kill her because she talks too much. Alex Whitman, the guy you saw on the photos from the Crashdown, would probably be sparing you some nerves. It seems like he is just as close to Liz as Maria is, so there shouldn’t be any important information lost when you talk to him instead.”

Josef nodded, getting up from the couch. “And where does he live?” Mick took his laptop and after a few minutes, he gave Josef the address he needed. “Thanks. I’ll see you around.” Without waiting for an answer, Josef left the motel room, leaving Mick alone again. The younger vampire shook his head at the enthusiasm his best friend was operating with. He had never seen Josef like this and hopefully this would be the first and the only time.



A few blocks down, Josef silently swore under his breath. There was no light in the whole house he was standing in front of, meaning that either everybody was out or everybody was asleep. And since the car of the family was parked in front of the house, the second possibility seemed a lot more likely. He’d have to wait until the next day. Waking someone up wouldn’t exactly add to the level of trust he needed to get information about Liz.
He went back to the motel Mick was staying in. It seemed to be the best Roswell had to offer, which was the reason Josef took a room there as well. Arranging a sleeping place was a completely different story, he would have to improvise on that because he didn’t have his freezer here. After looking around the room, Josef decided that it would be best to fill the bathtub with cold water and throw some ice in it. Not the most ideal solution, but he’d survive. After he got rid of his clothes and got into the tub, he quickly fell asleep, but not before looking at the picture of Liz again that he printed out and put in his wallet.


Osbourne Hall, England, 1620

“Do you really think that this is a good idea? My father is going to kill you. And put me in a convent. Just because our parents want us to marry does not mean we are safe from them getting other ideas.” Liz looked at Josef doubtfully as they rode into the woods. Josef had told her about a clearing he had discovered a few days ago and had gotten her to agree to watch the stars with him there. Josef simply laughed at her concern and brought her hand up to his lips, softly kissing her fingers. He then put her hand back to his waist so she could keep clinging to him. Horses scared her, he knew about it, but it was necessary to ride here because they would have taken a lot longer if they had walked.

“I’m positive that this is an excellent idea. Or don’t you want to watch the stars with me, my heart?” In response, Liz pressed a soft kiss to the skin of his neck.

“Of course I want to. I’m just scared, that’s all.”

“You don’t have to be. I will not let anything happen to you, ever. I told you this before and I will tell you this until the end of days if it is necessary for you to believe me.” Suddenly Josef made the horse stop. “We’re here.” He loosened Liz’ grip on his waist and got off the horse before helping her off it.

Liz looked around the clearing. “You were right … it really is beautiful.” Josef took the blanket he had in the saddlebag and spread it on the ground. Liz took him up on the wordless invitation and sat down, keeping her eyes on Josef.
As he sat down, he put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. Liz didn’t fight him, instead she leaned against him, closing her eyes. Deep in her heart, she knew that this was the place she always wanted to be. In his arms. She felt his lips on her forehead and smiled at the soft kiss. “You are everything to me Josef. Everything I could possibly wish for.” Liz opened her eyes again as she felt Josef softly tugging at her chin so she would look him in the eyes.

“You know that I feel the same way. You are my world. I would die for you", he said, looking straight into her eyes.
After those words, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing the woman he loved so much it sometimes drove him insane. Liz put her arms around his neck, pulling him a little closer. Josef believed this to be an invitation and slowly lowered Liz on her back, still kissing her. She broke away as soon as her back hit the blanket.

“We can’t go any further than this, not yet”, she whispered before wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue. Josef shook his head, smiling.

“Nobody is ever going to find out, I promise.” With this, he bent down again, silencing Liz again with a kiss.




Arundel House, England, 1620 - the next morning

“Where have you been Elizabeth?” Liz cringed at the thundering voice of her father that echoed off the walls, which made it sound even more frightening.

“We … Josef and I … we were watching the stars and fell asleep.” It wasn’t even a lie, just not the whole truth. Her father seemed to sense that something about her story wasn’t what really happened.

“Don’t you dare lying to me!” He raised his hand, only to slap Liz in the face a moment later. Her head turned at the force the blow held and she put her hand on the hurting cheek. Josef was frozen in his place next to Liz. He couldn’t believe what he just saw. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have taken Liz to the clearing. He broke his promise to not let anything happen to her.

“Please, don’t …” he tried to talk to Liz’ father, but to no avail.

“Don’t what? Hit her if she has done something wrong? I have every right to hit that little wench! She is my daughter and I might do as I please!” It took every ounce of willpower Josef had not to say “not much longer”. There was no need to anger William Howard anymore as they already did. Instead, Josef tried to swallow his own anger. However, William’s next words did nothing to calm him down, on the contrary.

“You are going to a convent Elizabeth. You put shame on our family with your reckless behavior. This will teach you to think first.” Liz felt her whole world crumbling down in the matter of a few minutes. When she had gotten home, she had been the happiest girl in the whole universe, she was sure about that. Now she had a death wish.

“Please … father … don’t do this to me …” she sobbed and tried to reach out for her father’s hand, but instead she got another slap in the face.

“Don’t say one more word or I swear that you won’t live to see the walls of the convent.” With that, William grabbed Liz’ arm and dragged her away from Josef who had to watch helplessly as his dreams seemed to come to a sudden end.