"Alright then, I'm off!" Karena called out before turning to open the door of the Edwards' new house in London.

"Be careful on your way there sweetheart!" her mother called back in reply.

"Always mum!" she went through the door, and then turned back around. "Love you!" She then stood and waited for her mother's response, and when she heard it she closed the door and walked down the street to catch her bus to university.

A little over ten years had passed since Karena said her farewells to Zacharias, and she had grown into a rather beautiful young woman. She was now five feet and four inches tall, and she grew out her hair so it was long and straight, ending in the middle of her back. She usually had it tied up in a slightly messy bun – like today – with her straight bangs hanging over her brow.

Karena and her family now lived in London in a town house they owned, as it was easiest for her father to live in London rather than travel back and forth to work, and Karena was attending university now. As for which university, it was none other than the best in London; Gressenheller U., where a certain archaeology professor was slowly gaining popularity.

Karena had hoped that she would see Zacharias there, as she assumed that he would be following Dr. Barnham's footsteps in studying to become a doctor because he did seem a bit interested in the trade as a young boy. But unfortunately there was no sight of him there. Karena still had hope that she would see her good friend again, and believed that he was still somewhere in London.

"Good morning, Karena." She heard a familiar male's voice call out while she approached the bus stop.

"Wow. It's interesting seeing you here early for a change, Vincent." She smiled at her friend, who frowned at her statement.

Adam Vincent Durand, better known to his peers as Vincent, is Karena's friend she met at the university, and it just so happens that their parents are very well acquainted too. He stands at five feet, seven inches tall with short slightly fluffy light pale green hair that was parted on the left and spring green colored eyes. He was usually well dressed, wearing a simple cream colored button up shirt and dark brown dress pants with black loafers.

"Why aren't you taking the late bus today?" Karena continued with an amused smile playing on her lips.

"If you must know, I'm going early to get to the library before lessons start."

"Looking to cram for an upcoming test...possibly today?"

Vincent whipped his head towards her, expressing shock and embarrassment. "How-!?"

"Oh come on, Vincent! We've only known each other a year now but you're an open book!" He opened his mouth to object, but couldn't find the words. "Do you need any help with the studying?"

Just then the bus came around and stopped where they were. At the same moment he blushed and replied swiftly with, "I'm a grown man! I don't need any help with my studies…" He trailed off as he continued in thought, 'Besides, you'd only hinder them as I'd rather look at you than stick my nose in any book…'

"Well, either way I'm going to the library too for a bit of research." Karena announced as she boarded the bus, pulling him from his thoughts.

He followed her on board, and continued by changing the subject with a question. "I happened upon a nice little café just a couple blocks away from Gressenheller. Would you like to accompany me there once classes are over?"

"It's not the usual place?" She shot him a confused look from her seat by the window.

"It's actually quite a bit nicer…" He sat next to her and then responded to her gaze by sending her a quizzical one. "Do you…want to go to our usual place?"

"Oh no. Let's go to the new café. I'm all for trying new things!"

"Great!"

The two friends smiled at each other, and then rode the rest of the way to the university in silence…

"It really is rather nice in here!" Karena exclaimed as she took in the décor of the place.

It was still rather fancy, so she let down her hair to not seem so unkempt. It was kind of small but homey, with just a few little round tables here and there, wherever there weren't booths (and there were only really three of them). A counter was to the immediate right of the entrance along with a deserts display, which had various cakes and pies within. The walls were a nice pastel blue green, and there was a wood floor. Various decorative trees adorned the corners of the room. On the back wall was a set of double doors leading to the kitchen, and a hall leading to the bathrooms.

"I'm glad you like it." Vincent said in response after they had ordered a pot of tea and some shortbread biscuits. He then took a look around once the two of them had taken the last couple of seats at a round table. "It usually isn't this crowded though…"

"Maybe word got around."

They made some small talk as they waited, and when the time came for their tea to arrive, all they heard was an immense crash and clatter of pottery. All eyes turned to the source of the noise to see a rather well built tan young man with fiery red hair standing before the mess he had most likely made. He wasn't fussing at all over it though, as he had a very shocked gaze trained right on Karena.

Their eyes met and Karena stood instinctively, uttering his name. "Zachary…?"

"Karena…Is that really you?" he asked in reply.

He had certainly grown taller (about five, ten), and had a bit of toned muscle, at least what she could see peeking out from his white button-up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He also wore some black dress slacks and shoes, and an apron that matched colors with the walls.

Zacharias was then reminded of his mess by a waitress nearby and became embarrassed. Turning his gaze from that to his friend, he gave her a sheepish smile and said, "Sorry about that. I'll clean this up and get you some more, yeah?"

"Yes, thank you." She returned the smile and then watched as he withdrew into the kitchen, possibly to get another pot of tea ready and gather some cleaning supplies.

"Okay spill. Who is that guy?" Vincent asked in a slightly annoyed tone, bringing her attention back to him.

"Oh, him? He's Zachary, er…Zacharias Barnham." Karena answered truthfully. "You could say that we're childhood friends."

"Barnham?...As in the doctor?"

"Yes, that's Zachary's adopted father."

Vincent's gaze turned into brief surprise while he commented with wonder, "Odd…I don't recall him ever really mentioning a son, let alone seeing any evidence of one at his clinic…"

"Maybe they've drifted apart, or Zachary's moved out." Karena also pondered on this, but soon became conflicted. "I really want to ask, but I know it's not my place…"

As he watched his friend continue to debate with herself, Vincent couldn't help but feel something unusual from within. Sure the two of them were close now, but she failed to even mention Zachary. The way their gazes met when they recognized each other almost instantly started chewing at him from the inside.

The young man returned soon enough with a fresh pot and some more biscuits. He set them down on the table between them, voicing his apology for his mishap earlier. "Once again, I'm terribly sorry for what just happened." He said while rubbing the back of his neck. "So along with the shortbreads, I added some raspberry thumbprint biscuits, fresh out of the oven and on the house. I know you like them Karena, so enjoy."

Zacharias then walked away from their table with a smile and proceeded to clean his mess and the floor while he was at it. As he did so, he couldn't help but steal glances at his old friend and her companion. The curiosity got the better of him and he was still nearby, so he decided to ask to satiate it.

"So…are you two here on a date…?" he inquired.

Upon hearing this unexpected question, Vincent blushed a bright red and swallowed his bite of biscuit down hard. He would've choked on it if he hadn't taken a quick sip of tea afterwards.

Karena was unaffected, showing only mild surprise before giving her ever so casual reply. "Oh no. We're not dating. We're friends."

Zacharias relaxed a little at her answer, seeming relieved while Vincent felt a short pang of sadness. "Ah. Well any friend of Karena's is a friend of mine." The young waiter commented with a smile as he offered his hand in greeting. "I'm Zacharias. Pleased to meet you."

"Vincent." The other male said simply, shaking Zacharias' hand politely.

"So what are you up to these days? I mean, besides waiting tables at this café…" Karena mentioned with curiosity, eager to catch up for lost time.

"Oh, just making ends meet at the moment, earning money for a decent university." Zacharias answered with careful thought as he continued to clean up.

"I thought Dr. Barnham would take care of that…"

He sighed, as if it was a hard subject and he didn't want to answer but he did anyway. "I kind of felt bad, taking any more from such a good man when I was old enough to pretty much support myself, so I moved out. I still drop in from time to time to say hello, but other than that…" – he trailed off, but then came back from his slight momentary depression, wanting to know about her – "So how are you doing? Are you in university?"

The conversation continued like this, but Zacharias would have to step away to take orders, serve, and clean up. They made it work, though by the time the two friends were each done with a couple cups of tea, they still weren't all caught up. So Zacharias suggested they exchange contacts and so they did, promising to keep in touch.

Little did they know that with Zacharias' reintroduction into Karena's life, it was bound to become quite crazy and dramatic in the months to come…