"Why Khayre?" she whispered into the darkness, her hands clenching around the smooth blue silk of her gown. She bowed her head and sighed deeply, the night air soft and damp. Fireflies danced around her, tiny points of fire that flicked throughout her hair and gently landed to kiss her tear-streaked cheek. She drew her legs against her chest and rested her head against them, feeling her tears soak into the midnight fabic.

What was she to do now? How was she to go on alone like this? Tears swellled her throat and she bit her lip sharply, a sharp sob just barely escaping through her clenched teeth. She took deep breaths, her entire body shaking as she just barely kept her tears at bay, her eyes fixed on a giant golden moon suspended above her, large and lush and as far away from her as the happiness she so desperately dreamt of.

She heard his footsteps rustling the soft grass before he even entered the clearing. Sighing, she contemplated fleeing away from him and into the dark temptation of the forest around her. Oh, how easy it would be, to just vanish within those black depths, to run away and never turn back, never see his face, or his smile. Never hear his laugh...