Lars had been forced to come to London to visit Borgin and Burke's. It was the only thing about this stupid country that he liked. The shop was excellent, and had many beautiful and useful items that he could use in his weapons business.

He found what he was looking for, and admired the beautiful weapon. A cursed short sword, it was called Knifr, which was Old Norse for knife. Why it was called a knife instead of a sword, he didn't know. The sword was cursed to make even the smallest cut bleed profusely, and caused extreme swelling. Knifr was expensive, but he purchased it anyways. This would come in handy in his line of work.

He was about to exit the shop, when he saw somebody he had seen before. It was one of the people who worked in that dragon camp he had attacked with the Dark Ones a while back. Lars remembered her because she had been shocked that her boyfriend Bronn was among the attackers. Walking out of the shop, he stepped in front of her. "I think I've seen you before. Do you know a man named Bronn by any chance?"

Victoria hadn't been sure about coming down here. She'd looked all around Diagon Alley for the treats that Cyreen liked, but she hadn't been able to find them. She had been planning to visit her soon and really wanted to have them. So, in a last stitch effort, she figured she'd try down here. Not sure where exactly she'd find them, she just started wandering, keeping a firm hold on her wand.

Just as she'd decided to turn around and go home, he heard a man talking. At first, she thought it must be to someone else. Who could she know here? But when he said Bronn's name, she froze, the blood draining from her face.

No. Turning around to face him, she didn't know if she actually knew him. "I..." Victoria felt like she couldn't breathe. It felt like the room had decided to start spinning. Clutching her wand tightly, knowing her knuckles were turning white, she swallowed. A part of her wanted to say no and turn away. But the little bit of her mind that still wondered why Bronn would do what he did screamed for answers.

"Yes. Why?"

When he said the name Bronn, the girl stiffened. Maybe there was something between the two of them, he thought there might have been. Occasionally he would mention her in passing. All he said was that she was a friend, but now he realized there might have been more than friendship between them.

It was clear that she knew him, and that she was still in pain over him leaving the dragon keepers group up there. He could tell by her knuckles going white, and also by her face, that she was in pain. She might be fun to mess with, if only he could find a way to get her in a place where he could get her to Germany.

"I saw you, and you looked exactly like this girl Bronn described. Part of me was curious whether or not it was really you. Do you want me to give him a message for you?" Lars asked. "Oh, forgive my manners, I'm Lars Wilhelm. Completely forgot to introduce myself."

Victoria eyed Lars warily. His German accent sent shivers down her spine at the connections her mind made with Bronn's betrayal and the Germans. She knew so little about what had happened, having run away as soon as possible with Cyreen. As much as she was trying to move on with her life, the lingering questions haunted her at night.

As she looked at the stranger, she didn't miss his good looks. But those baby blues, that might pull some women in, looked cold and piercing to her. She was learning, too well, that looks didn't always give you a good idea about a person, but something about him gave her chills.

At his words, she felt speechless. The idea of contact Bronn, talking to him made it feel like someone had hit her in the stomach with a sledgehammer. "No." But a part of her couldn't leave it at that. "I...I mean...." A flash of her night terrors came to the floor front of her mind and she felt her anger flare up, "No."

She was reluctant to exchange pleasantries with him, but she figured if one dark wizard had her name, one that had obviously talked about her, why not one more. She didn't relax one iota, "Victoria."

It was clear that Victoria was not happy to see him. He wasn't surprised in the slightest. Bronn had been pressed into joining the Dark Ones, and told to come across as leaving Victoria because he wanted to. Clearly, she was still hurting over it, no, not just hurting, it was tormenting her.

Lars stared back into her eyes, thinking of the terror that still lingered there. If, if he could use her feelings against her, she would be a might fun person to torture. He might be able to play with her minds, twist her emotions into knots. The thought made him smile, and he grinned just a little bit.

Victoria clearly didn't want any part of Bronn any longer. Even just talking to him made her angry, he could see that. "That's alright, completely up to you. I take it you are just a tad bit angry at the fellow. Can't really blame you for that." Lars told her, trying to come across nice for the moment.

"Yes, so you are the same girl Bronn spoke of. I thought you might be." he muttered to himself. "You can relax Victoria, I'm not going to hurt you." Not yet at least.

Victoria furrowed her brow. She wasn't expecting the smile that Lars had. Especially how genuine it looked. Everything she'd ever thought about dark wizards was based on them being evil to the core, incapable of goodness. His smile just didn't fit with that idea.

At his comment about not blaming her for being angry, she frowned. What does that mean? Could Bronn have done him wrong too? If so, it couldn't have been as drastic as what he'd done to her. Lars seemed too calm about it. But she hated to think of Bronn going so over to the opposition that he'd hurt other people too, though she knew it was a stupid thought.

When he mentioned again, that Bronn had talked about her, she lifted one eyebrow. "What did he mention about me, may I ask?"

She did relax. She knew she was too trusting, but she didn't see anything dangerous at the moment. A small part of her mind didn't want to simply walk away from this man. He seemed like the only tie she had now to the only man she'd ever loved.

Lars looked at her, and thoughtt hat it appeared she was trying to puzzle something out. Perhaps she was expecting him to appear more evil. If he could fool her into thinking he was good, it would make messing with her that much easier.

Bronn was clearly a topic she didn't like, her frown was evidence of that. He'd never really liked the guy. There was too much good left in Bronn from him to truly devote himself to the Dark Ones. His lingering feelings for Victoria had made it clear to him. If he'd just get over her he'd be a valuable asset.

"He talks about how you were the only thing he regretted leaving behind. You two were close, at least that's what I gathered from it. Were you?" he asked her.

Hmm, he didn't expect her to actually relax. Perhaps it would be easier than he thought to convince her he wasn't bad. Something was making Victoria stay and listen to him, was it feelings for Bronn? "You really care about him, don't you." Lars muttered to himself.

Victoria let out a shuttering breath. Talking about Bronn was hard for her. Hard to actually face. And he said that Bronn regretted leaving her?

She felt tears stinging her eyes. Either he was lying, or something just didn't make sense. Either way, she was sure this man wouldn't be able to tell her. "Yeah. We were...close." She really didn't feel like telling him just how close they'd been.

As much as she hated to admit it, the anger she'd first felt at Bronn for doing what he had was fading a little. The further away it got from that terrible night, the easier it was to put it in the past. And having Alec, who was trying so hard to commit to her, who really cared about her, helped.

She sighed, trying to keep the tears from falling. She sniffed, "I did."

Looking at her watch, she realized Tess would be home soon. As odd as this conversation was, she was sad to simply end it. Cocking her head to the side, she smiled a little. "I gotta go. See you around."

He heard her broken breathing, and he knew that she was in pain over it. Lars could see it all in her eyes, the hurt was evident. She wasn't hiding it well enough for him not to see it.

"Hey, it's clear that you cared for him. I can see that from the tears in your eyes." Lars told her. Pulling out a handkerchief he had on him, he gave it to her. Be nice now, you can have your fun later Lars. "You can keep it, you need it more than I do." he said warmly.

This Victoria, she was a lot tougher than he had expected her to be. Despite the hurt it must have caused her, she was fighting. Part of him wondered if somebody was helping her past it, or if this was all her. Either way, she was a strong girl.

"I'm so sorry for what happened. Just...stay positive okay, things will get better. Keep your chin up." Lars encouraged, and he smiled at her a bit.

This was definitely one of the more interesting conversations he'd had in a while. Maybe he would see her again, he certainly hoped so. "Yea, see you around Victoria."