A curse was made... a dragon slain... a knight in armor defeated... magic transforming... dread was quickly spreading... doom was being repeated... a warrior empress steps in to the battle... the evil was rounded up like cattle... but they’ve come back strong, everything’s gone wrong- no empress to fight (she already died) so evil runs free, so starts this story:

Saige Amethyst was just a normal 15 year old girl... or so she thought. She didn't have many friends, though she lived in Windchester for almost all of her life. She was a very shy, quiet girl who loved fantasy more than the life she was living. Her hair was a golden brown, her eyes, blue.

It was the beginning of a bright June day on Rosewood Ave. The warm air ran swiftly through Saige’s long hair- which was tied in a very loose ponytail down to just below her knee- as she rode her bicycle down the familiar street. She smiled as she heard the birds sing and the ringing of the church bells. This was indeed going to be a most pleasant day.

She looked to her right to see a field of flowers and the breathtaking view of the mountains she had always seen on her bike rides. The aroma of the sea of wildflowers gave even more strength of this dramatic picture. She looked to her left to see the usual stores and restaurants. Suddenly, she saw a figure walk out from one of the stores. His eyes were a deep emerald. His skin, a creamy dark peach. His hand nonchalantly whipped his dark blond hair from his face. He seemed so casual, but something about him just caught Saige’s interest. Maybe it was the fact he was coming out of the store her best friend’s grandfather owned. Maybe it was that he looked about her age, and yet she never saw him before. Maybe it was his slightly pointed ears. Maybe it was the fact that he was staring right at her. She blinked to make sure it was for real... yeah, he was still there- pointed ears and all- and still looking straight at her. She would’ve stopped... if it wasn’t for the sudden turn in the road and the big willow tree she ran into, forgetting to turn. She tumbled to the ground as the sound of her bike against the dirt path made her shudder. By the time she looked back, he disappeared.

"Are you alright?" A soft, warm hand reached for Saige's. She looked up to see two sparkling brown eyes and a soft, familiar smile.

"Hey, Chris..." As Chris helped her up, he asked her what had happened. "I guess... I just wasn't watching..." Saige heard stumble out of her mouth. She picked up her bike and started walking down the rocky dirt path. Chris walked close beside her. He had thick, brown hair in a mushroom cut that always seemed to shine and glow- even in the dimmest moonlight. His warm brown eyes were large and always seemed to be making "puppy-eyes". He wore somewhat baggy light blue jeans- which were so faded, they almost looked white. She noticed he was wearing her favorite greenish-bluish plaid flannel over a black shirt. She loved this outfit, but has never seen him take off a flannel, even in the hottest weather on the hottest day of Summer! She admired that.

Christopher Sean Reiley was Saige's best friend. He knew her for a very long time, and whenever she felt pain or when she was hurt, Chris would always be there for her to cry on his shoulder. He was her only friend in Windchester. Saige looked up to Chris as a best friend and companion. She had always thought of him very close, almost as a brother.

"So where are you off to this morning?" Chris asked, absorbing the warm summer air, his arms behind his head.

"I was just taking a little ride..." Saige replied, staring off into space.

"What are you doing today?" he inquired, suddenly looking over at her. She shrugged.

"The usual, I guess..."

He seemed to hesitate with what he was going to say next, looking down at the ground. "Wanna go on a hike in the woods with me?" he asked slowly and shyly. He looked up with a shy smile. "I hear it’s gonna be a beautiful day." She didn't answer for a few seconds. She just looked out into the forest to her right side- the side opposite from where Chris was walking next to her- as they shuffled along the dirt path. It was separated by a long wooden fence, like the kind you would see at horse stables. He stared at her for a while, as they started to walk a little slower. Saige just didn't seem to notice him for a while. She was so interested in the forest for some strange reason. Finally, she sighed and looked toward Chris with a soft, friendly smile.

"It's gonna be another beautiful day, isn't it, Chris?" He looked at her for a moment more.

"That’s what I just..." He stopped himself and looked down at the ground. "Yea, it’s going to be nice and sunny." He looked up at her again. "So, do you wanna come along?"

"Where to?" He looked at her in a strange fashion again, with one eyebrow lifted. "Oh...I'm, er... sorry...I wasn't really paying much attention. My mind is somewhere else today." She giggled shyly. He blinked as he decided whether or not to accept that excuse... then he looked down and smiled.

"Yea, I've noticed," Chris said with a chuckle. She smiled as she turned back to the forest. A movement through the trees caught her eye. It was in the forest behind the low wooden fence. She saw a shadow looking over at her for just a split second. She watched a hand casually run through the shadow’s hair, like how the strange blond-haired guy did. Was it him? That boy from before? His eyes locked on her again, almost as if he was waiting... waiting for her. Chris, now noticing Saige staring off again, stopped his jolly chuckle.

"What'cha lookin' at?" he asked as he glanced toward the forest. "You see something interesting?" He saw the figure as it started to walk a little deeper in the forest. "Who’s that? You know him?" Saige moved her head slightly toward Chris, but her eyes stayed locked on the person.

I wonder... Saige started to think. If it was that guy, she felt she had to meet him for some strange reason. She had a sudden urge to jump over the fence and run after him. If only she knew what this choice lead to...

All of a sudden, Saige dropped her bike, jumped over the fence in one leap, (wow) and started running toward the forest. I just gotta know who he is... and why he stares at me like that... While many thoughts flooded her mind, Chris thought of a few things himself as he called after her. Did I say something wrong…?

"Saige! Wait up! Where are you going? Saige! Saige!" he shouted over and over again. By now, he had jumped over the fence (Jumped?! Hah! More like climbed.) and pursued her quickly. He was a very fast runner, so it was easy trying to catch up to her at first. He continued to call after her. She didn't seem to notice him. She was just determined to find the mysterious guy. "Saige, please! Stop! Please! Saige!" He continued to call after her.

Saige ran and ran, but her legs were numb, so she didn't know if her legs were getting tired. She came to a fork in the road. A dense swamp of trees surrounded the path. It was not very sunny at all. She looked back. Chris jumped behind a tree so he wouldn’t be noticed by an approaching... well... you’ll find out soon enough. So, now Saige could only see the road just fade into a dark blankness bordered with trees. A sound of a twig breaking in front of her made her eyes advance to the path ahead. She saw nothing at first, but when she started to turn back, she was face to face with the twinkling green eyes- which were slightly slanted. Strands of the dark blond hair accented his features as he stared sharp into her eyes. He said nothing at first, and neither did she.

"W-who a-are..." Saige finally stuttered almost in a whisper. She couldn't finish her sentence. She was not as brave as she hoped she would be. Finally, she was face to face with this stranger.

"I do not come to harm you. I did summon you for a reason, but I must first ask a favor of you." His warm breath was soft with every exhale as he moved his face closer to hers. She felt her face grow warm as she started to blush a little.

"W-what’s the favor?" she asked curiously, finally regaining her strength and bravery. She started to lose it again as he smiled. Slowly, he moved closer and whispered ever so softly, "You must come with me..." She swallowed hard. His cheek was gently touching hers as he slowly moved back. He looked into her eyes as he mumbled something strange, as if in another language she had never heard of before. She looked at his eyes as they seemed to flash, like a bolt of green lightning. He turned and started walking the way he had come...the way Saige was going. Saige, as if in a trance, followed.

* * * * *

Saige woke up in a small wooden hut. It was rather small, but cozy. The moonlight lit up her room to show a bookcase in the corner and a table on one side of her bed. The door- which was shaped as an oval- was closed, but she could see a bit of light from the keyhole. She got up and moved to look through the keyhole. It took her a couple of seconds to get used to the light.

A warm fire crackled and popped under a large pot, almost like a witch’s cauldron on the immediate right wall. On a bookcase on the back wall on the left, a few shelves held books, a boat in a bottle, many papers, a globe, and many other objects. On a desk in the right corner of the room were maps, globes, pens, and other various objects strewn carelessly continuing a little onto the floor. A small table and four wooden chairs were near a small kitchen-type area on the immediate right side. Most of the furniture was made from wood and fur. On one big chair sat a blond-haired young man. He was sitting at another little desk near a bookshelf.

Saige wrapped her fingers around the cool, smooth brass handle of the door. It made a soft rusty squeak as it opened, but the guy at the desk didn’t turn around. Saige let out a deep breath as she tiptoed her way to the chair and tapped the man on the shoulder lightly. "E-excuse me, Sir…" He looked up to see Saige’s thoughtful face. Her throat tightened. "Hello... " Her mind blanked out as she recognized the guy’s face. It was the guy who had put her under the trance! He must’ve brought her back to his home or something. A warm smile crept across his face. The light of the flame reflected on both of their faces.

"Ah, I see you’ve awaken from your slumber," he said, slowly rising from his seat. He was a few inches taller than Saige. "I do strongly suggest you get as much rest as possible. After all, tomorrow’s going to be a long day for you..."

"What do you mean? Who are you?!" Saige suddenly burst out. "And where am I?"

"Slow down," the young man said calmly. "I know you must be full of questions. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sanshuu No Omo, but you may call me Sanshuu for short. You must be quite curious about many things... you shall receive all the answers to your questions in thorough detail all in good time."

Saige stood for a moment, staring at Sanshuu. The room was quite dim, with only the flickering of the candle on the desk he was working at and the fireplace, which was now located a few feet from her, in back of Sanshuu. Saige could still see the soft shine in Sanshuu’s hair and a twinkle in the now deeper emerald eyes. His smile was quite welcoming and friendly. She couldn’t smile. She couldn’t speak. She just looked away into the faded darkness.

She swallowed back a lump in her throat. "...Why..." Saige spoke slowly, thoughtfully, and so quiet it was barley audible. She still didn’t look up at him. "Why am I here... and… where am I?" Her eyes were now watching the candle flicker. They seemed to sparkle, showing how much she was confused and so very thoughtful.

"That information is at this time irrelevant," Sanshuu said with a mild tone of sternness in his voice. Saige looked up. His eyes softened as he asked, "Are you hungry?"

Saige had been so tired and confused that she didn't seem to notice her hunger. She hesitated. "Yea... I guess I am a little hungry," she said at last, looking up with a somewhat nervous smile.

* * * * *

Saige and Sanshuu had been walking for hours. Both were quite speechless. Sanshuu, who had been walking in front of Saige, looked over his shoulder occasionally to make sure she was still there and unharmed. Every single time Sanshuu looked back to see if Saige was all right, she was always looking down at the ground thoughtfully, but a little depressed. She looked up when he checked on her again. She instantly blushed and looked down again. He stopped unexpectedly and turned to her. She, not knowing that he had stopped, still kept walking. She did not look up- even for a second. She suddenly ran into him, her chest accidentally squishing up against his. He blushed.

"Um…heh…heh, heh…" She looked up, blushed, and jumped back. Her eyes fell to the ground again. "(Ahem) What’s the matter?" he asked with curious eyes. He was not blushing anymore, and his eyes still sparkled, despite the gloominess of the forest. Now the trees were densely gnarled together. There was no path. It seemed as though they were in the middle of nowhere. He looked down at her. She just silently looked at the ground. "Saige... what is it? What’s wrong?" She finally looked up with a surprised, bewildered look upon her face.

"How… did you… know my name?" she asked slowly.

He smiled. "Oh, I know much more than that."

"Um… like what?"

Saige was expecting a little more than Sanshuu’s reply. "Your shoe size is 7! Hah!"

Her expression became more confused. "How did you..." Before Saige finished her sentence, Sanshuu put a finger up against her lips. She blushed as he moved his head closer to her face. Just as he tilted his head, his eyes focused on her lips, a growling made him suddenly pivot and pull a sword from his backpack. Her eyes widened as he spoke over his shoulder.

"Stay close... your life depends on it," he said as he faced the direction where they had heard the growling. His voice was bold and commanding, his eyebrows, burrowed. A four-headed snarling beast suddenly vaulted out from the bushes and stood, almost two feet ahead of Sanshuu. When Saige saw the beast, she shook all over. When the beast roared, it revealed four jaws full of sharp, jagged teeth. She gasped and stood a little closer to Sanshuu.

"I-I hope you know w-what y-y-you’re d-doing..." Saige stammered. He could feel her trembling behind him. He smiled. He then focused on the four-headed wolf again, his smile fading into a sneer. Holding the sword tightly with both hands, Sanshuu watched the beast proceed closer. As he braced himself, ready for the beast to pounce at any moment, Saige could stand it no longer. She turned and ran as fast as she could, not looking back. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sanshuu turning as a loud "NO!" echoed behind her, followed by a few other nervous outbursts she could not understand. The beast, quick with its reaction, leaped to its side and rushed passed Sanshuu to pursue after Saige. Sanshuu ran after the beast, trying to keep it from reaching her.

* * * * *

As the girl with the attitude was telling you (Hey! I heard that! ) she fell unconscious. When she woke up, she was faced with the two beautiful, glowing lime-colored eyes. She didn’t know how long she just lay there, staring into those two gorgeous ovals of color. Finally, she took a deep breath and tried to lift her head up. A pain shot through her body as she rested her head once again... on Sanshuu’s lap. He had been softly running his fingers through her long, golden-brown hair.

"...You’ll be alright. Just take it easy. There’s no rush..." Sanshuu soothingly spoke almost in a whisper. Saige tried to speak again, but no sound came from out of her throat. She lifted a hand and looked at it.

Her sleeve was torn in several places, some tears having traces of blood on them. Sanshuu stopped stroking her hair and trying to soothe her. Saige looked at herself a little more as she touched her face. Blood. She had been running so fast that she did not feel the branches and bushes and whatnot scratching up her face and body. Her eyes looked away in disgust. She felt her stomach turn as she nearly vomited. She reached into her pocket and took out a fold-up brush with a mirror.

"You really got scratched up..." Sanshuu said, trying to break the silence. Saige just looked at her face soundlessly. "You know, you shouldn’t have run away. I mean, I told you-"

"You think it’s all my fault?! You just think if you told me-" interrupted Saige, sitting up, her face twisted in animosity and disbelief.

"Look, I didn’t mean to seem so rude..." She still looked extremely angry. "...But it’s true! You shouldn’t have run away!" Sanshuu finally snapped.

Saige just looked at him for another moment with an infuriated face. She suddenly thought of something that would be more effective than just screaming back at him. She turned her head with a (fake) look of pain on her face. He saw a tear fall down her face. Saige had a secret he didn’t know… she could make herself cry at any time. His expression suddenly changed to a tender, regretful facial cast.

"Oh, please... please don’t do that..." He said with a now hurt expression. A few more tears slowly rolled down like rain off of a crystal ball. "Please don’t cry."

"...Take me home..." she whispered, her voice barely catching in the wind. She did not look up, and now her back was to him.

"I..." he started. He swallowed. "I can’t."

"What do you mean you can’t?!" she growled. Saige looked back, an angered, confused look broke through her fake crying.

"I’m sorry." He spoke very softly, almost inaudible. Saige turned around, her back facing him again. After a long silence, Sanshuu touched her hand. "I wish I could do something to make you feel better..." She didn’t look back. "Please..." Again, she didn’t look back. He moved closer to her. He held her hand tighter. She didn’t move. Then, Sanshuu put his face next to hers.

"What... are you... doing?" Saige asked with a frown, looking at him in the corner of her eye.

"Oh, nothing," he said softly, his lips close to her ear. She could almost feel his soft lips brush against her ear. She turned her head toward his, jerking her head away from his lips. Their eyes locked deep into each other.

"Really, Sanshuu… what are you doing…?" she asked with a slight sigh, her frown softening. Her heart pounded with mixed feelings: anger, sadness, confusion... she didn’t know what to do or think. She felt his breath getting stronger on her face as he moved closer. She could feel herself blushing. "Sanshuu..." Saige turned away, trying to speak, almost as if she were protesting. Sanshuu gently turned her head to face him again with his hand. He moved close again, wanting so badly to kiss her. She hesitated again, then stood up.

"Saige..." he started to protest. He stood up, still holding her hand. She pulled it away quickly.

"Sanshuu, where are we?!" She demanded. "I’ve had enough of this! I demand answers!"

"I’ll tell you... if you let me," he said as he advanced, his hands reaching up to each side of her face. Saige slugged him severely across the face. He almost fell backwards, but his legs held stubbornly onto the ground. He took a few steps back, rubbing his cheek.

"Don’t pull any more of that crap on me, you… you pervert!" She was expecting him to react with anger, but instead, he started laughing. "How dare you laugh at me! I’m warning you…" He stopped chuckling, but kept his smile. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face and answer my damn question, you spineless, senseless, ground-licking, butt-picking jerk!" He kept his grin.

"I knew you were the one... ever since I saw you. I knew it."

Saige wished she could lift an eyebrow. This would be the perfect time. She narrowed her eyes instead. "What?"

"You heard me. Alright, we might as well get started..." He turned to the side and looked up a little higher then straight ahead, which, for him, would be a thicket of trees.

Saige frowned as she crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you mean ‘get started’ ?!" Now Saige was getting pretty ticked off and confused. She watched Sanshuu take a couple of steps toward the thicket, then he looked back and signaled for her to follow. "Wait a minute- where are you going?!" He started to run away. "Hey! Deaf-boy, where are you going?!" He disappeared behind the trees. "Well, I’m not going with you! I’m leaving!" she shouted after him. He didn’t come back to beg her not to leave. Why? This made her curiosity hit her... hard! She quickly followed through a patch of thick bushes and the labyrinth of trees. She pursued him for what seemed like hours, pushing her way through branches and bushes. Stupid Sanshuu. I’ll get him for this!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, Saige found herself in a beautiful clearing. She stopped short and looked around. The trees were so lush and green, with dewdrops sparkling in the warm sun. The beams of light filled the clearing making the waterfall twinkle and glow like a flying river of sapphires. Even the water sprinkled carelessly on the rocks made them sparkle like gemstones. The cool mist and the many varieties of wildflowers took part in making this an even more enchanting picture. On one large rock, Sanshuu had been waiting for Saige. His white button-up shirt was almost halfway unbuttoned, fluttering in the wind to show a little of his chest. His green, loose Arab-style pants were cut off at the top by a purple scarf and at the bottom by tie-up dark brown boots. Saige couldn’t even believe it was him, for it was a magnificent sight in front of the flowing, sparkling waterfall. It was all quite dramatic. She finally came back into reality as he nonchalantly whipped his hair out of his face once again.

He then looked down at her. She walked up closer to the rocks. He held out his hand to her. At first, she remembered her anger at him and crossed her arms over her chest, turning away and closing her eyes. She suddenly felt something nudge her to him… a strange force pushing her toward his offering hand. She looked at it, then looked up at him. She cautiously- almost hesitantly- reached out with her hand to touch his. With a slight flick of her fingertips, she felt his soft, warm hand. She carefully lay her palm on top of his as he wrapped his fingers around her small, elegant hand. He led her up to the rocks he had been standing on. This somehow felt strange... like she had been there before. It seemed almost familiar to her. Her eyes skidded around the scenery, and were drawn helplessly deep into his hypnotizing eyes. She spaced out as he put a hand on her cheek and moved his face close to hers.

"Saige..." His voice was soft, but somehow, she could hear it over the waterfall. She was still spaced out and, though she heard (and felt) every breath of his, her brain shut down and she didn’t think about anything. She finally came back into reality as he was just about to kiss her. Yuck! I don’t wanna kiss this jerk! She pulled away as he watched every move she made. Half of the heel of her short, black, tie-up boots went off the edge of the rock. As if her heart wasn’t beating fast enough already from Sanshuu’s sudden advance! Her heart jumped into her throat, and Saige felt herself gasp. Sanshuu slowly advanced to her, taking time with each step. "I chose you because I could sense you..." Her eyes and face whirled around to face Sanshuu.

He took another step. "I could feel you. I could hear you. I knew you had to be the one. I felt the power of your soul. I sensed the magic in your heart." He paused and looked down. He then looked up, his face slightly lowered, a serious expression on his face, and yet a slight smile on his lips, almost like a playful tiger. This sent chills down Saige’s back. But… was that really a bad feeling? "It is time you should know more about your journey." Saige looked down behind her nervously as a few pebbles fell off the edge. She couldn’t exactly see how deep the rushing river behind her was, but the pebbles seemed to drop a long way into the water. She looked up as he continued, advancing another step or two. "You have been chosen as a Kommohei Sarabae*. That is like a powerful warrior. You must fight as the Princess of the Sapphire Serpent and take the place to become an immortal empress whereforth you shall protect your kingdom and ensure the many lives of the-

"Wha- hold it!" interrupted Saige. "Speak English! I have a headache and your stupidly low voice and Shakespearean talk aren’t helping!"

Sanshuu let out a deep breath. "Okay… let me put it this way… you have to train to pretend you are the princess and fight the evil spirits… um… and stuff."

"Alright… that’s better..." Saige said calmly. Then a couple of seconds later, Sanshuu’s words finally sunk into her head. "Fight?! Princess?! Evil spirits?!"

"Yes. You heard me." Saige took a couple of steps away from the edge of the cliff and saw the waterfall ending to only about a foot lower than the rock. She sighed in relief and sat Indian-style a few feet away from Sanshuu. He came over and sat next to her. She moved a few inches away.

"I don’t like you," she said as she turned her back to him again, her arms crossed and eyes closed stubbornly. She opened them in surprise as he stood up.

"Are you ready to continue?" Sanshuu asked, changing the subject (and letting out a sigh). She remained quiet, looking up at him with wide, surprised eyes. He- he just backed off! She looked down, realizing she was staring. A moment or two passed with little or no speaking when finally, Saige looked back to see what Sanshuu was doing. She frowned. "Sanshuu…?"

Neither of them spoke for a while as they looked at each other, barely blinking. Finally, Saige turned back to the rocks. It turned out that behind the raging waterfall were three caves- the left having a smooth low ceiling, the middle having the same smooth surface with many jagged rocks on each side, with a higher ceiling. The only problem with that cave, besides the many jagged rocks, was that there was a shallow stream of water on the floor. Saige predicted she would have to go with Sanshuu, and that Sanshuu was going to go through one of these caves. Of course! I mean, he wouldn’t just do that kick-ass spell for no reason, right? She was afraid to go through that second cave for fear that the water would get deeper.

The cave at the right also had a low ceiling, but it was not as low as the first one. If they went through the first cave, they would have to crawl on their hands and knees. Who knows, maybe that cave would get smaller! At least in the last cave, they could walk normally. The ceiling, instead of being smooth like the other two caves, was very sharp and had so many jagged slabs of rock and stone hanging down like sharp knives hanging down ready for the slightest disturbance to send them plunging down and cutting anything between them and the ground. Saige swallowed hard. This cave also had a little stream flowing down the rocks they were standing on at this moment. She looked at the three caves, wondering which would be the safest... and which one Sanshuu wanted to go through. (Notice how those are two different categories.) She guessed the middle cave would be the safest, then the left cave was her second choice. She didn’t want to go into the third for fear of bats, darkness, sharp rocks falling and cutting her up, being drowned in water... there were so many dangers in the right cave.

Sanshuu started to walk toward the middle cave. Saige followed, secretly relieved in her heart. Then, he turned abruptly to the right cave. She felt as if a huge anvil was dropped in her stomach. She stopped following. Sanshuu stopped at exactly the same time Saige did. He turned to her. "What is it?"

"I d-don’t wanna g-g-go in that c-c-creepy p-place," she managed to say through her chattering teeth. He stepped closer. She crossed her arms.

"I’m sorry, Saige. This is the only way. We have to go," Sanshuu told her as he touched her hand.

She pulled it away and wiped it on her jeans. "Don’t… touch… me… " she growled in a disgusted face. "Stupid pervert."

"The only way we’re going to get through this is if you trust me." He tried to touch her hand again. Again, she tugged it away. "Please... please, Saige... Just trust me." He tried one more time... again, unsuccessful.

"Quit it, okay?" She turned away from him and folded her arms across her chest again. "I don’t wanna go."

Sanshuu sighed. "Okay, fine," he said nonchalantly, pretending to give up, shrugging.

"Huh?"

"If that’s how you’re going to be..." With that, he grabbed her arm. This time, she tried to pull it back, but his grip was firm. "I’m sorry it had to come to this, but you have to come."

"Why do I have to go?! I don’t even know you! Let me go!" She struggled, and, after a long while, she realized his grip was too strong. She finally gave up her dramatic struggling, but still kept a look out for a time he wasn’t paying attention and she could escape. "Ooh, I’ll get you back… grr… stupid… jerk-face!" She kept struggling a little, trying to free her hand, or at least loosen his grip. It was no use. She was finally forced into the cave, though she constantly tried to get back to the exit, trying to pull away from him stubbornly. His hand was still firm around her wrist. Both said nothing (besides Saige’s angry grumbling) as they shuffled through the cold, echoing cave. The only noises were their footsteps, the stream, (Saige’s grumbling and growling, ) and the dripping off the jagged stones above their heads. Suddenly, Saige heard a few rocks crumble. She gasped and moved a little closer to Sanshuu.

Sanshuu smiled slyly. He put his arm around her. "Why are you trembling?"

"I-I heard something…" Saige replied in a cross between her quick, bold voice and her whisper. He smiled as he noticed she didn’t push him away.

"Don’t worry... I’m here..." He held her closer, taking advantage of the moment. She suddenly realized what she was doing, and pushed him away, keeping a good distance between them. His smile quickly faded. She saw his emerald eyes twinkle again in the dimness. Saige suddenly felt very tempted to go up to him again and let him keep her warm and safe. She then shook the very thought of it out from her mind. She narrowed her eyes in utter abhorrence. Then, the sudden sound of rocks tumbling down and crumbling again made her jump. She also heard a faint screech.

"I told you I heard something," she hissed at Sanshuu, glaring at him through the dimness. Instead of the sly, evil smile, he seemed tense and alert. He was looking in the direction of where the noise came from.

"What was that?" he whispered to Saige, ignoring her last comment and not even looking at her. She didn’t answer as she tried to see through the darkness, staring toward the same direction as he. He suddenly looked at her. He moved a little closer. He tried to make eye contact, but her eyes were clearly focused toward the sound of crumbling rocks. He couldn’t resist taking advantage of this moment as he snaked his arm around her waist and kept his eyes locked into hers. She looked up at him, shocked and very annoyed.

"Shouldn’t you go check out what made the noise?" she asked in an angry, nonchalant tone. He didn’t reply. Slowly, almost tentatively, he moved his face closer to hers. If the darkness had not impaired his vision, Sanshuu would definitely see Saige blushing, her expression softening. Her mouth became relaxed, her breath becoming soft and light. She could feel her face getting warmer and warmer. She didn’t know just how close his face was to hers until he held her tighter, closer. She suddenly pulled her head back, like a stubborn horse that was trying to be tamed. She tried to jerk away, now coming back to her senses, but his arms were strong around her. "Sanshuu…" she started to protest in an "Okay, I don’t want to go through this crap again…" voice.

Saige tried to push away again, trying to get away from his grasp. She started to walk backwards slowly. Sanshuu’s legs moved every time Saige tried to walk back. He tried to kiss her again, this time almost half an inch from her lips. Saige finally pushed him away, causing him to stumble back a couple of steps. "Jeez, Sanshuu! Can you make any moves on me any less subtle?!" A loud echoing intonation suddenly rang through the cave. Sanshuu pivoted quickly as a bat flew across his face. Saige gasped and jumped back. She didn’t really care if Sanshuu got hurt, but she didn’t want to get the blood sucked out of her! He took out his sword as the bat flew to a huge, jagged rock ahead. He turned to her as he wiped the bloody scrape made above his right eyebrow. He didn’t even look at her.

"Stay here. It may be a vampire bat," Sanshuu said, then half-skipping, half-walking, he slipped away into the darkness.

"Don’t worry, I was planning it that way before you even thought about it," she replied after him in a voice full of attitude… and, though she didn’t mean to, it almost sounded sarcastic.

He turned to face her once more, taking a couple of slower steps backwards. "I don’t want you hurt. You can be vain later, but try to stay here… and stay safe for now, okay?" She suddenly felt a jolt in her heart. His face was sincere, and he actually looked like he cared for her, or something. She would’ve blushed if he did anything else… like if he touched her hand… or wrapped his arms around her... But he just turned after telling her to be careful. Did she actually… start to care for this creep?

Before she could answer that question in her mind, her voice surprised her as she barked after him, "Wait!" He turned again. Her throat suddenly tightened. She was still wondering why she had said that, when her voice went on without her mind. "...Be careful… alright?" Her tone then gained its regular attitude. "I can’t get out of here by myself." He smiled and turned around, disappearing into the darkness. Why had I said that?!

Saige could only hear his sword colliding against the rocks and his footsteps in the extremely shallow water. Then she heard another sound, much different than one she had ever heard before. A hiss like a serpent, a growl of a cat, a human girl’s scream, and the ever-so high-pitched screeching of a bat… all simultaneously! Was this some kind of hidden zoo or something? It sure sounded like it! Saige suddenly noticed the silence. The clanging, the footsteps, the splashing in the water, and the animal noises had all stopped. Again, only the dripping was heard. Then, a fire was suddenly lit in a mysterious fashion, for no one was near the fire... no one, except Sanshuu’s body lying on his back, as if he had been knocked unconscious or even killed.

Saige gasped. She instantly ran over to him. As tempted as she was to kicking him to see if he would move, she stooped down next to him. She first looked at his neck, making sure he wasn’t a vampire or anything creepy like that. Then, after noticing there were no bite-marks, she touched his hand... it felt warm and a little damp, probably from the fighting, she guessed. She checked his pulse... Yes, he was still alive. She looked around for the bat-like creature or someone that might’ve lit the fire. No one was in sight. No creatures were in seeing-distance.

She looked down at Sanshuu. What was she gonna do with him? She couldn’t just leave him, as much as she wanted to. She looked at his face, half in shadows because of the fire. It didn’t look too bad… in fact, she could almost find it… cute. She realized she had put his head on her lap and had an urge to touch his face. What the- No way! I… I can’t… but… well… just… so… tempting… She started to touch his face and move his hair out of the way. He actually looked almost angelic and innocent in the dim light. She leaned forward. She didn’t know why she had the strange urge to do it… she kinda hated this guy! But still… she couldn’t help it. She leaned forward, about ready to kiss his forehead. She then realized what she was doing (yet again), and jerked her head back. "Stupid jerk…" she mumbled, but stayed at his side.

* * * * *

______________________________________________________________________________________

Sanshuu awoke slowly to find he was lying against a rock. He looked down to see Saige sleeping quietly a couple of feet away, her back to him. He carefully inched his way closer to her and, oh-so-cautiously slid his arm around her waist, so that he wouldn’t wake her. He smiled as he closed his eyes, a feeling of relief that she did not awaken broke through his lips as a sigh. He really liked the feeling of cuddling her in his arms. She then rolled over, now facing him, her eyes still closed and her mind still in dreamland. Still sleeping (and very unconscious of it), she put her arm around him, (very, very unconscious of it,) now cuddling him. Sanshuu opened his eyes with a very surprised look upon his face. When he saw the angelic picture of Saige with her arm around him and a sweet smile on her face, he couldn’t help but smile. If only he had known that she was dreaming of holding an abnormally huge teddy bear instead of a cute but perverted guy. He held her closer.

Now Saige was blushing again. She looked down, her arm numb and her body warm. She finally pushed him away somewhat weakly and sat up. She leaned against a rock, her arms down at either of her sides. Sanshuu too sat up. Saige didn’t look at him… her eyes circled the room to every inch of what she could see... except for him. Sanshuu suddenly touched her face, causing her to look up. He leaned forward after a slight pause. His eyes sparkled. They reminded her of raindrops on the leaves of her rosebush back home. She wasn’t even gone for three whole days, but she still missed it. She started to reminisce... about her mother baking peanut butter cookies... about her father’s jolly laugh... about Chris accompanying her on her morning bike-rides... she had already started to miss them all.

She was right in the middle of a memory of a Sunday morning, waking up to the smell of freshly baked peanut butter cookies. Her mother gave her one. She felt so warm and her memories were so realistic, she accidentally whispered without thinking, "Thank you." After she realized what she had said and where she was, she looked up at Sanshuu. His hand was not on her face anymore. He had decided not to kiss her at that point. He looked surprised, a strange, unreadable expression on his face. Then he opened his arms and hugged her. She didn’t know what to think, except for one thing: Aww, man! Another perfect moment for the one-eyebrow lifted look! I gotta get Chris to show me how to do that if I ever find that dork again… She considered pushing him away and yelling at him, but… How could I yell at the big lug? It was so cute how he was hugging me like a little sister or something. I just couldn’t resist it… Saige slowly put her arms around him, too. He was surprisingly soft and warm! He held her closer. The cave was cold and damp; Saige couldn’t let go of him. It was like waking up from a cold, snowy night in a nice, warm bed. Now, anyone in their right mind would never get out from under the covers unless they were forced with a spiked whip, right? That’s how she felt at that point.

He backed up just to look into her eyes. Saige’s mouth was relaxed, not in a smile or frown. Her twinkling blue eyes looked up into his hypnotizing green ones. Sanshuu’s eyes moved to her mouth. Was I actually gonna let this… this jerk share a romantic experience with me?! After all he dragged me through?! He put his hand on her face to tilt it a little. He bent closer, slowly letting his lips reach for hers. What- a cute, perverted jerk like this? Their lips touched, a little awkwardly at first, but again, a little smoother. Was it that much of a surprise?

She finally gave in, closing her eyes and trying to almost enjoy the experience. She felt him draw her in a little closer. She backed up a little. He opened his eyes slowly, his lips still a little extended, finally pulling away from hers. The fire snapped and popped as he looked so deeply into her eyes again. She looked away as he leaned forward to kiss her again. As stubborn as she was, she jerked her head back. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and lowered his hand, allowing her to back up away from him. Suddenly, the animal he was fighting with before cried out in it’s creepy sound. It seemed to be coming closer. Saige jumped back as her head jerked toward to direction of the screech. Sanshuu turned and sat next to Saige.

"Sanshuu... you… you heard that, right?" He didn’t seem to respond for a while. She could already sense his eyes burning through her left cheek, but she looked at him anyway. He was looking at her, of course, his eyes glittering with thoughtfulness. "Maybe you could go and check it out…?" Her voice sounded more like a plead than a suggestion or, more like herself, an order.

"Maybe if we don’t make any noise, it won’t hear us and it will leave us alone," he suggested.

Saige shrugged. "It may work, but I’m terrible at keeping quiet." It was a dumb idea anyway, but can you really expect much more from this guy?

"I know something that will keep you quiet," he said slyly.

"Try to lock your mouth against mine, and I will shoot you," she threatened. She heard the animal again and almost threw Sanshuu in that direction! Sanshuu evidently heard it as well. When she turned to look at him again, his face was deep in concentration and looked strong and ready to face danger. His eyes were trying to locate the animal from the direction of where the noise came from. The bat-thing suddenly came out, flapping its creepy little wings and landing on a stone next to the fire. Saige and Sanshuu stood up almost simultaneously, Sanshuu standing in front of Saige protectively while she looked over his shoulder.

"No, I am not a bat," the creature said, as if it had read their minds. It opened its wings to reveal its cat-like face and ears. It had a long, fluffy tail, two very big bunny-like feet, and little teddy bear-like arms and paws.

* * * * *

"Please! I’ve never been anywhere besides this dreadful cave. If I can have an adventure with you, I can die happily and satisfied." The animal really wanted to go (apparently). Saige, who was now a few feet away from Sanshuu, looked over at him. He was thinking to himself, then he looked over at her. She turned to the animal.

"Just what kind of... thing... or whatever are you? Do you have a name?" Saige started to question the animal. She moved a little closer.

"Nope, I don’t have a name. Why don’t you name me?" Saige liked the idea of giving this thing a name… she liked that idea a lot.

She smiled and rubbed her hands together. "How about Crystal?" The animal shook its head. "Okay... what about Obsidian? Jasper? Precious? Dorothy? Justin? Batman? Superbat? Wonderful Black-Winged Warrior? Checkers? Pepper? Or... oh, the perfect name!"

"Hurry it up!" the animal interrupted impatiently.

"What do you think about Pyrite? Or Richard Simmons? Or-"

"I liked that last one," it interrupted again.

"What? Richard Simmons?" Saige asked, frowning. I kinda meant that one as a joke… (heh, heh, heh)

"No, Pyrite. That sounds pretty neat," the animal suggested.

"Um… alright, then! Pyrite it is!" Saige announced. She took a couple of steps forward and tripped on a loose stone. Before she hit the ground, Sanshuu caught her. "Um… thanks. I guess I have weak knees," Saige said in a quiet voice, now blushing and holding on to him to make sure she wouldn’t lose her balance again. He took advantage of this moment and leaned forward to kiss her again. "You know, you’re pushing it, buddy…" Saige glared with a smirk.

"You know, you almost look evil right now." She lifted her eyebrows up, contemplating if it was a good thing or a bad thing. "That’s just my style," Sanshuu chuckled evilly. Without letting her protest or anything, he pushed his lips against her mouth. She frowned and tried to pull back, again with no luck. Suddenly, she felt something tickle her neck. She jerked back to find Pyrite on her shoulder. Without turning to him again, she slugged Sanshuu, causing him to fly over and hit hard against the wall (of course making an imprint). She looked at Pyrite with a surprised but thoughtful face.

"Let’s go, let’s go!" it insisted.

Saige smiled at Pyrite. "You’re cute, you know that?" She rubbed its head. It purred like a cat.

"Thanks, but can we go now?" Saige looked at Sanshuu. He had just gotten back on his feet, now looking at her as if he was desperate to kiss her, which he probably was. He then gave Pyrite an annoyed look, as if saying, "Ooh, boy! I’m gonna kill you, you stupid little…" He turned and signaled her to follow, with Pyrite still on her shoulder.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

They spent what seemed like hours traveling in the dark, damp cave. The drops of water dripping from the ceiling were very loud as they fell into the shallow stream, echoing through the cave. Sanshuu told Saige and Pyrite to be quiet, for the slightest disturbance would cause sharp rocks to fall. Just then, a drop of the icy cold water landed on Pyrite’s nose. It sneezed after trying to control it with little effect. Suddenly, a knife-like rock crashed down two inches in front of Saige.

"Run, Saige! Take my hand and run!" Sanshuu suddenly barked. She did so as more and more razor-sharp rocks bombed down and crumbled. They ran left and right in a zig-zaggy fashion, dodging the rocks as much as possible. One got Sanshuu right in back of his shoulder. It was so sharp, Saige only thought it just barely rushed past. Unfortunately, a tear on his shirt suddenly began to show on Sanshuu’s back and Saige saw the blood starting to drool through his shirt. "There’s the exit!" he informed Saige and Pyrite. They finally rushed out of the cave and into the late afternoon sun. They kept running far from the cave. They finally slowed down in a clearing. They soon found a beautiful pond with soft emerald grass and water flowers of all sorts and decided to rest there for a while. Pyrite went out to find wood while Saige took care of Sanshuu’s bleeding shoulder.

"Jeez, Sanshuu. That looks like it hurt!"

"I’ve had... much worse pain... than this..." he managed to say between short breaths and gasps. While she was dodging the jagged rocks in the cave, Saige’s jeans ripped in a bunch of places. She didn’t even notice! Since there were so many rips, she ripped the legs of her jeans off so they looked like shorts. She took a piece of the cloth and dipped it in the water. She tried to clean his wound as best as she could. Suddenly, his skin grew over the deep cut so there was no trace of blood on his arm besides his ripped sleeve.

"What the-" she was about to say. Then, she felt her eye patch being lifted, and a piece of the cloth she had ripped off gently touching her wound. Sanshuu had also taken a piece of the cloth, dipped it in the water, and started to delicately clean Saige’s wound. Then, he carefully put the eye patch back. She looked at him as he carefully put the cloth down, keeping his eyes locked into hers. She slowly reached up and moved a strand of his blond hair out of his face. He reached up and put both of his hands over that hand and held it. He closed his eyes and moved her hand down his cheek as if it were valuable silk made of pure gold. She suddenly jerked her hand away. "What am I doing?! What the hell happened to your wound?! It’s totally healed!" She turned to examine the water, and noticed a sign behind a few vines. ARACHNIKAYGA *: SPRING OF CURES. She looked at the water as it started to glow. She jerked back and felt her back against something… against Sanshuu. Oh, great… not this again! He put his arms around her.

"Thank you, Saige. My arm feels much better," Sanshuu told her with a squeeze. They both stood up. She leaned against a tree as he stood in front of her. He started to move his arm up, down, left, and right to show her it felt much better. Then, as he was moving it back, it went all the way around and back to its original place, making a few cracking and snapping noises. He quickly unwound it again and looked fearfully at Saige. "Saige, what’s happening?" Her eyes were wide open in shock as she slowly shook her head.

"I-I don’t know." She went over to him. He looked so pale as he touched his shoulder. She put her hand on his. "Does it hurt?" He didn’t look up for a few seconds. "Sanshuu…?" He looked up at her. "Are you alright?" He didn’t speak. "Sanshuu...?"

"Er, yeah. I’ll be okay," he finally mumbled, looking down.

She took a couple of steps away from him, then looked over her shoulder at him. "Don’t worry." She took another steps forward, turning away from him again. "It was probably just a weird reaction to the water." He was about to sneak up and put his arms around her again when…

"Oooh, what are you two doing?" Pyrite asked in a more obnoxious than curious way. Saige blushed and pushed away from Sanshuu. Sanshuu’s face turned annoyed.

"Oh, no- nothing! Nothing at all! Hee, hee, hee!" said Saige quickly, moving her hand in a way that looked like she was trying to shoo-away the very idea of her and Sanshuu doing something.

"Go away, you stupid bat –cat… whatever you are," he said through his teeth.

"Um… we weren’t… that is… it wasn’t what it looked like…" Saige stumbled over her words as Pyrite just started to laugh. Then it dropped a huge pile of wood right at their feet.

"If you need more, I could go and-"

"Please, yes! Go!" said Sanshuu at the same time as Saige was saying, "No, that’s alright. This is plenty! Stay!" Pyrite looked confused. Saige and Sanshuu looked at each other. Sanshuu gave Saige a look that said "We’re going to be alone, whether you like it or not". She returned the look with a message of her own that said "Nah-ah. No way are we gonna go through that again. Pyrite’s staying whether you like it or not". They glared at each other for a couple more seconds until, finally, Pyrite broke the silent quarrel.

"Alright, I’d better get some more ‘cause it will be dark soon and it will be pretty cold," it finally said. "Besides, it’s better to have too much than to have not enough," Pyrite added with a smile and a wink toward Sanshuu. It disappeared into the woods. Again, Saige and Sanshuu were left alone. Saige silently cursed to herself as Sanshuu looked over at her, an "Oh, yea! The champ" smirk.

"So, where were we?" he asked guilefully.

Saige walked over to him dauntlessly. "Sanshuu... I was just wondering-"

"Oh, yeah," Pyrite interrupted, popping its head out from behind a tree. "Don’t try to drink that water-type stuff. It’ll make you feel kupoopfibled... and stuff. Also, just to inform you, we are now in the Forest of Arachnikayga. You can use magic here. Okay, I just wanted to share that bit of info. Bye now!" With that, it flapped its wings and went off to look for more wood.

"Okay... what were you saying, Saige?" He looked down at her again. She was looking down at the water, which now seemed to reflect like a liquid mirror. It was a thick silver color with only the wind making ripples. "Saige...?" She still didn’t answer. She didn’t even look up. "Saige?"

She looked up sharply. "Huh? Sanshuu… what’s with this "magic" type thing that Pyrite was talking about?" He didn’t answer. "Sanshuu?"

"It’s hard to explain," he mumbled, "I’ll explain later."

* * * * *

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Saige took advantage of the deep silence. She watched the water reflect the trees behind her as they blew softly in the wind. The leaves danced and twirled as they almost instantly caught the wind. When they broke free from the branch, their home, they drifted down to the floor as if their life source suddenly let go. They seemed to die on their journey to the forest floor, where others just like them were awaiting. Saige felt a little depressed.

Then, a ripple in the water cast a wave through the picture, and Saige could only see their colors. Soon, the colors blurred... and then faded. Though the water was still the same mirror-like substance, it’s only reflection was Saige! She looked behind her to notice the forest and Sanshuu were all still there. She turned back to the water. Only her reflection was showing. It was as if the world disappeared through the eyes of the mirror! Like the water just chose not to reflect anything else. Then, a ripple-like motion started to dance behind Saige in the reflection. Saige’s reflection did not wave at all. She looked back... there was no ripple. Again, she saw only the forest and Sanshuu, who was now gathering the pile of wood and sticks Pyrite had left.

When she looked into the water again, the ripple was taking a colorful-but-blurry shape. It became a little clearer, and after a while, it took its shape. It was the forest behind her, but the water did not reflect Sanshuu. Suddenly, a head popped out from behind the tree. Saige could not identify it at first because it seemed so distant. Finally, she saw the twinkle of the two brown familiar eyes she had seen so many times before.

"Chris..." she whispered with a little excitement. "Chris, is that you?" He stepped out and started to look around. His soft brown hair told Saige she had been right. "Chris!" she said a little louder, still trying to keep her voice in a hushed tone so that Sanshuu wouldn’t hear.

"Saige...?" He seemed so distant, and yet he seemed to be right in front of her. His voice seemed to fade in a rippling echo.

"Yes, Chris. I’m right here," Saige whispered, leaning a little closer to the water.

"Saige, where are you? And why do you seem so far away?" He kept looking around.

"Chris, I’m right here!" Saige thought for a second. "Try looking in the pond," Saige said almost in her normal voice. She was so happy to see him. She watched as he looked around until he almost reached what looked like right next to Saige. Though she could only see him in the water, she could almost feel the warmth of his body next to her. He sat down in front of the pool and looked in. It looked as if the pool was a sheet of glass, with Saige on one side and Chris on the other… a very wavy piece of glass.

"I see you… but… you’re not here," Chris analyzed, looking very bewildered.

"Yeah, I know. It’s really weird, huh?"

"Not as weird as some of the other things around here," he responded.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" she asked. He looked around.

His voice suddenly became very quiet. "Haven’t you noticed?"

Saige shook her head. "Not really."

"Well, you will soon enough. Why are you over there while I’m over here?" He looked back at Saige. "I mean, It’s the same place, but only twice! If you were here, you would be right next to me." He motioned with his hands and eyes.

"I know. I can feel your body heat. I think it has something to do with this water."

"I missed you, too…" Saige leaned over the pond. As she was about to touch the water, forgetting it was indeed water and not the real Chris, Sanshuu looked over at her.

"Saige, what are you doing? And who are you talking to?" He started over to her. Saige touched the water, and was suddenly sucked in. Sanshuu leaped forward and grabbed her ankle. He held on tight. He heard her screaming, echoing through the water. It was very strange, for the water was not really wet anymore. "Hang on, Saige!" Sanshuu held on with all of his might.

"Sanshuu! I’m slipping!" Saige sounded almost as if she was crying. Sanshuu couldn’t hold her, as she dropped into the unknown. He fell back, tumbling over a couple of times and bumping his head on a tree. The last thing he heard was the screaming of Saige falling down into the unknown. "Saige..." he whispered, then he became unconscious.

"Chris... is that you?" So I had to play weak- is that such a crime?! He touched my hand, which was still on his face.

"Yes, Saige… I’m right here." Saige blinked a couple of times.

"You’re both Chris?" she asked, still blinking.

"No, just wait a couple of seconds so your eyesight turns back to normal," he said with a hint of a smile in his tone. He stopped stroking her hair.

"What... happened?" She was starting to recuperate.

"You fell out of the sky and bumped your head on this tree trunk," Chris explained casually. She thought for a second.

"Okay. And about how many times have you rehearsed that line?" He chuckled. She looked around. It was the same place she was just a few minutes ago, or at least, before she got knocked out. Now it was getting deeper into the night. The sun was about to set. Saige tried to get up. She stood up... and then nearly fell on a sharp rock, which would have given her a very bad boo-boo. Luckily, Chris caught her in time. Cliched many times in this story… She looked up at him. Then she embraced him warmly. He tightened his embrace. "I missed you so much, Chris!"

"I missed you, too," he replied.

"So what have you been doing?" she inquired, backing away from him.

"You wanna hear the whole story?" She nodded. "Well, let’s see… when you ran after that guy-"

"Sanshuu!" Saige interrupted. Chris looked at her for a second, with his famous one-eyebrow-up expression saying, "What the-".

"How do you know his name?" he asked, surprised. Saige could sense a little suspicion (and jealousy! ) in his voice.

"It’s a long story. I’ll tell you after you finish."

"Alright... so, I followed you until you stopped. He came up behind you, whispered something in your ear, and disappeared. I was about to come up to you when you started to walk after him. He led you to this little hut, where you stayed overnight. I fell asleep under a tree near the hut. The next morning, I awoke to find both of you gone.

"So I went my own way, hoping it was the same path as yours. I came across a huge sand serpent when I almost got sucked into some quicksand. A little bat-cat-type of animal said this weird chant and blew a huge knife-like flame into the creature’s chest. Then, it extended a rope and helped me out. I thanked it as it flew away…"

"I think I know which animal you’re talking about! And I ran into a four-headed beast! It was so scary… oops! Sorry for interrupting again," she said quickly, putting her fingers to her lips. Saige looked a little sad and guilty.

"It’s alright," Chris said with a slight smile.

"So, do go on."

"I wandered about all through that night and into the day. I found a nice little place near a pond and fell asleep next to a tree. When I woke up, I heard a bubbling in the water. That’s when I heard your voice..."

"Chris...?"

"Yes?"

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" Saige inquired.

"Oh, I don’t know," he replied.

"Do you like it out here?" she asked as she looked up at his face.

"Yes. It’s very beautiful."

"So do I. I’ve always wanted to be away from it all. Now that I am, I love it." She smiled and looked out at the sunset again. "I’ve always wanted to do more of the things I love so much already. To hear the birds’ sweet melodies, to smell the heavenly scent of the wildflowers, to create a new adventure everyday and still have so much to explore and wonder about, to have my own little world away from everyday life." She closed her eyes and got comfortable, leaning against the log behind them. "To share it all with a close companion…" she said in a much quieter, almost inaudible tone. He looked down at her as if she were an angel from Heaven. Chris ever so shyly put his arm around Saige as they fell asleep.

* * * * *