Chapter Forty

It was before dawn, but Amber was already wide-awake, fully dressed and ready for the day and whatever it might bring, or at least she truly hoped so. Though Ebony had only left an hour or so ago, Amber already felt the aching loneliness of missing her best friend. She was more than confident that Ebony and the others would be able to handle themselves, but the stark reality was they were in war and there were no guarantees that there would be a happy ending.

After their hurried good bye earlier, Amber had not been able to fall back asleep. Instead of forcing herself to lay awake, listening to the even breathing of the women still sleeping in the lodge she shared with them, Amber had gotten up and gone to the magical meadow she had discovered when she first joined the Gaians.

It was in this meadow that she and Pride had shared their first kiss, their first confession of love and nearly every intimate moment that had transpired between the two, however Amber never once felt she was encroaching on sacred ground. She had originally come to the meadow to find solace and tranquility from the stresses and pressures surrounding her and that was why she had come there again.

The early morning had shrouded the meadow in a beautiful thick mist that only added to the already magical elements of the glade. The fallen log that Amber had found so long ago was still in place, overgrown with green moss and home to a thousand different living things. Rather than disturb their habitat, Amber moved on, finding a shallow portion of grass and laying down flat on her back, staring up at the milky pale sky of morning.

She closed her eyes and slowly allowed the serenity of the meadow to seep into her bones, chasing away her fears and troubles. This meadow had been there long before Amber was ever born and would remain there long after she died. Even if the trees and grasses were destroyed or burned away, the aura of the place would remain until the earth passed away.

But no matter how strong the pull was for Amber to forget about her troubles and woes, she knew she could not ignore them forever. Rather than return to the village, however, Amber allowed herself to mull over her latest concerns in the midst of the mystical clearing, thinking in the back of her mind that being in such a peaceful surrounding would help with clarity of thought.

Though she and Ebony had not had the opportunity to discuss the latest development with the Guardian and his traitorous sister Lioness, Amber had a strong hunch Ebony felt the same as she did. Lioness had not revealed her entire plan to Zandra. The cunning young woman had undoubtedly only revealed to Zandra that which she felt she could. She instilled fear into the once unshakeable young woman, allowing her to realize that the entire time she thought she was playing the Chosen, they had really been playing her.

A shiver raced down Amber’s spine and instinctively she pulled her long dark gray coat tighter around her lithe body though she wasn’t really cold. Memories of the terrifying dream from the night before washed over her anew and it was all Amber could to do keep from crying out in fright.

She hadn’t even been thinking about Zoot nor the rather hastily thrown together funeral that the Mall Rats had held for him over a year before, but last night she had dreamed vividly of the once leader of the Locos, his terrifying scream as he fell over the banister of the mall and the sickening thunk as his body connected with the slate floor below.

The drop had been greater than that drop that had killed Dal, and Amber and the rest of the Mall Rats had every reason to believe that Zoot was truly dead. His body had cooled and his lips had begun to turn blue even before they had cast him off in the ocean on his fiery funeral pyre. He was dead. Amber was positive of it then, so why did she find herself doubting now?

Having awakened several times during the night, Amber had been a little surprised when she heard the sound of Ebony thrashing wildly about, obviously terrorized by her own nightmare. Amber had immediately gone to Ebony’s bedside, grabbing onto her best friend’s hand and urging her to find that peace she had somehow found in so many of her dreams.

But peace did not come for Ebony and as Amber sat beside her the dream worsened. Several times Amber was able to make out the words Ebony spoke in her dream, though she almost wished she had not. Ebony was crying out to Zoot, begging and pleading with him to be merciful.

Without realizing it, Amber had begun to sob softly, muffling her cries with the back of her arm, though they were still loud enough to fill the entire meadow. For the first time since the war against the Chosen had begun Amber found herself afraid. More than afraid, she was petrified.

Deep in the darkest corner of her heart Amber realized that even if they defeated the Chosen and beat back the Guardian they could still loose. They would loose because Zoot really was alive, that he would return not as a scared teenage kid acting out in the only way he knew how to deal with his grief, but as a god, set up and placed on a pedestal by his Guardian, just as they planned.

~*~*~

Distracted and unable to fall asleep after his shift tending to the wounded during the night, Lex found himself up and wandering about the Gaian village, fully soaking in the terrible scars and damage that had been inflicted on the once picturesque surroundings. The Chosen had not been satisfied with crushing the spirit of the Gaians and other rebels or destroying their once beautiful home, but they felt it necessary to maliciously demolish the surroundings the Gaians had found peace and serenity in.

Lex shook his head, his heart hardening inside him as he made a firm resolve that he would exact revenge against the Guardian for what he and his tribe had done here. They did not care that many of the trees that they had destroyed had been standing there for decades before any of them had been born, they only wanted one thing, to kill and to destroy in any way they could.

Lex’s hands were tightly clenched into fists and he would have hit something if there had been something to hit, but everything around him was already broken or was desperately needed for the remaining Rebels survival, so Lex swiftly checked his temper, telling himself that he would have to find another outlet to cool the hot coals burning inside him.

Deciding that the surest way to cool his fiery temper was to go on a brisk walk, Lex made his way to the carefully disguised path that Panther had shown him on his first visit to the village. If he followed it correctly it would take him around the perimeter of the village and the small amount of land that the Gaians had called their own. Lex knew he had to make sure to remain on the path, however, for he did not know these woods and knew it would be far too easy to become lost in them.

After he had been walking for several minutes and his mood had mellowed out considerably, he discovered that somehow he had gotten off the beaten trail, however he was still following what looked like a path, though it was obviously not used nearly as much as the other. He quickly decided to satisfy his curiosity and find out where this deer trail led, determining that he would turn around and head back if he began to loose his sense of direction.

Before he had chance to travel more than a hundred feet, however, he heard the strange and almost eerie sound of someone crying. They were attempting to muffle their tears, but the noise was loud and distinct, echoing in the early morning air.

“Hello?” Lex called softly, almost afraid that he had discovered yet another wounded rebel or perhaps some unlucky city kid who had wandered into some sort of animal trap. Lex then remembered Pride telling him the Gaians did not believe in traps and he quickly discounted his second theory.

“Is anyone out there?” Lex called again, this time a bit louder and his voice began to echo about what appeared to be some sort of clearing. The sounds of the tears immediately stopped this time and Lex half wondered if he should just turn around and head back to the village. He had obviously disturbed someone who had needed a few precious minutes alone to his or her grief.

Lex turned to go, but quickly discovered his exit path was barred, blocked by a rather furious looking blonde Zulu knotted woman whom Lex knew was not to be messed with. Amber was standing with her hands on her hips, her eyes glowing with a deadly fire that Lex did not remember from his earlier meetings with her. Though she was nearly the same height as Lex, she appeared to be looking down at him, disapproval written across her face.

“What are you doing here, Lex?” Amber demanded, her voice quiet yet so full of authority that Lex knew he would not be able to get away with a lie here.

Lex shrugged his shoulders, trying to tear his gaze away from Amber’s eyes. Though she had attempted to hide the fact, they were slightly red and puffy and his suspicions were confirmed that it was Amber who had needed the precious moments alone.

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to take a walk. I heard a noise so I thought I’d come check it out.” Lex explained carefully.

“It’s dangerous to walk in the woods when you don’t know where you’re going. You could have easily gotten lost, Lex.” Amber chided him, though the correction coming from her was not half as stinging as it would be coming from someone else. “We can’t afford to loose you, Lex. You’re far too valuable to the rebellion.”

“I know. It was a stupid mistake. I was just so furious with what the Chosen had done that I really needed to cool off before I hit something.” Lex decided to be completely honest with her as he forced himself to calm the strange fluttering in his stomach that was brought on by her nearness. “Besides, there wasn’t really anything back at the village to hit.”

“No. There’s not.” Amber nodded grimly, “The Chosen do a rather thorough job.”

“Unfortunately.” Lex added, his thoughts turning back to his own home where he had left his recently wedded wife. Suddenly, his feelings that he had once thought were so strong and unshakeable seemed pale and insignificant as he stood so near to Amber that he could catch the soft whiff of her perfume. “I’d hate to image what they’ve done to the mall.”

“According to my sources, not a whole lot.” Amber informed him. “Apparently the Guardian has set the mall up as sacred, seeing as how it was the place where the mighty Zoot was slain. He’s using it as his base of operations, though I can’t see why. There are far more secure buildings in the city that he has disposal of.”

“Rubbing salt in the wound.” Lex stated bitterly, knowing exactly why the Guardian has used the mall as his new headquarters. “The Mall Rats were the strongest opposition to the Chosen. He knew that if he took our home and used it for his own purposes he would kill the last of the fighting spirit that lingered in the city tribes.”

“You’re probably right.” Amber agreed, her voice softening. “I’m really sorry, Lex. Believe me, I know how hard it is to loose your home. But at least you can cling to the hope that it won’t be destroyed, right?”

“I suppose.” Lex furrowed his brow, curiously studying Amber. “You know, the mall is still your home if you want it to be, Amber. Your room and all your things were never touched. Both Bray and Dal went through there once or twice to get a memento or two, but none of us had the heart to move your things. I don’t think any of us ever wanted to believe you were really dead.”

A sad, wistful smile came to Amber’s well-formed lips at Lex’s words, though her spirits did not seem to lift at all. “That’s so sweet.” She murmured softly, brushing aside a stray strand of golden blonde hair away from her forehead. “But the mall is no longer my home. I chose to leave over six months ago. This,” She turned a full circle, her face upturned as she stared up at the sky, “This is my home now, Lex.”

“You were always more of the outdoorsy type.” Lex grinned, realizing that as Amber had turned she had moved closer to him, though he could not be sure it was a purposeful action or not. “You know, for the longest time I wished you and Dal would just leave the mall and go start your farm like you had originally wanted to do.” He added, his voice a little strained.

“Did you?” Amber’s lips quirked up into a genuine smile. “Well, Lex, believe it or not there were a great many times where I wanted to do just that. I even started to leave that one time with Sasha right after you and Zandra got married, but I couldn’t do it. I knew you guys needed me too much.”

“So why did you?”

“Why did I what?”

Lex swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat as he stared at the beautiful young maiden standing directly across from her. Her unearthly beauty was only enhanced by their intoxicating surroundings and Lex felt the undeniable urge to scoop her up in his arms and hold her for all eternity.

“Why’d you leave us, Amber? On Eagle Mountain… You chose to leave us then, right?” Lex tried to keep the hurt tone from coming across in his voice inflection, though he knew he was doing a botch job of it.

“It’s complicated, Lex.” Amber informed him, her eyes dropping and she began to fidget with a bright turquoise thread that Lex assumed had come from her shirt. “Really complicated.”

“Bray?” Lex asked softly, his heart hammering loudly in his chest.

“A little bit.” Amber nodded, looking up again, her eyes meeting his. Unshed tears glistened brightly in her dark eyes and Lex had to fight the urge to lean over and kiss her eyelids tenderly, wiping away all the tears she might ever shed. “It was mostly me, though.” She added. “I had to go.”

“But why?” Lex’s heart gave a painful lurch inside him. He well recalled the deep feeling of loss after he discovered that both Zandra and Amber had died atop Eagle Mountain. Though he had been married to Zandra and had truly begun to love her, it was Amber that he had missed the most throughout the six months she had been dead to him. Amber and her never wavering sense of justice. Somehow he knew that if Amber had been around instead of Bray or Danni the Chosen’s plan would not have unfolded quite as neatly as they had planned.

Amber hesitated, not answering him for several long seconds. When at last she spoke her voice was thick with emotion, wobbling dangerously close to tears. “I discovered a part of myself on Eagle Mountain, Lex. A part of me that I didn’t know was there and that I didn’t like. I didn’t know how to handle it so I ran. I realize now that was not the best solution by any means, but I don’t regret it. I really don’t.”

“So if you could do it all over again you would have done things the exact same way?” Lex inquired, tenderly brushing Amber’s tears away with his fingertips.

“Maybe not the exact same way.” Amber shook her head, her hand reaching up and taking a hold of his, sending a jolt of electricity through his nervous system and straight to his heart. “I-I would have done one or two things differently.”

“Like what?” Lex murmured, his voice husky as he slowly began to draw Amber closer to him, his heart delighted to discover that she moved quite willingly. He held fast to her right hand with his left, his own right hand dropping down to her waist for a better hold on the fleeting beauty he had somehow captured in his grasp.

“I really don’t know.” Amber was staring up at him, her eyes reflecting emotions far too powerful him Lex to even begin to read. “A lot of things I guess. What about you? Would you have done anything differently?”

Lex nodded, licking his lips in anticipation. “Yeah.”

“What?”

“This.” Lex began to lower his head, his eyes remaining locked with Amber’s. His lips were a hair’s breath away from her own when suddenly Amber bolted. Her eyes widened and she took a large step away from him, her arms wrapping around her slim body possessively.

“Um, Lex, I think you and I need to talk.” Amber stated her voice conveying her nervousness. “Really bad. See, the kiss, that one back in the lodge before we knew Zandra was alive, I-“

“I know. I know.” Lex sighed heavily, realizing that he had been delusion to think that Amber could actually love a guy like him. “It was a mistake. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

Amber’s expression faltered, but she forced a smile to her lips. “Good. I just wanted to make sure we were clear on that.” She paused, staring hard at him, her eyes reflecting an emotion that Lex refused to read. “I need to go back, before someone notices I’m gone. But first, have you talked to Zan yet?”

“Not yet.” Lex replied grimly, realizing that even if he admitted he had somehow fallen in love with Amber there were two rather large obstacles standing in the way, obstacles that a few weeks ago Lex would not have minded being there in the least. “But I will today.”

“Good.” Amber nodded, the mask of leadership firmly sliding into place. “She hasn’t been awake for very long, but I’m quite sure she’ll want to speak to you.”

“Undoubtedly.” Lex shrugged his shoulders as Amber brushed past him, her lips set in a grim line and Lex began to wish that the magic of the meadow had not worn off quite so quick.

~*~*~

Patsy was still exhausted and half asleep when Chaise announced rather loudly that they had arrived at the first Chosen nursery. To Patsy’s eyes, however, the Chosen nursery appeared to be a quaint little country cottage that seemed to come straight out of a storybook. It was painted white with delightful medium blue shutters and a thatch-looking roof. It was surrounded by a white picket fence and a flourishing garden with vibrant blossoms of every color of the rainbow.

“It’s gorgeous!” Patsy gasped, clapping a hand on her mouth. “Simply gorgeous. It’s like something out of a fairy tale, Chaise.”

“Only there’s no princess living in there, Patsy, just the wicked witch.” Chaise commented, plunging on ahead. “Don’t let the exterior fool you. The Chosen are here.”

“I know.” Patsy nodded, though she found herself still rather doubtful. The closer they came to the cottage the more Patsy was convinced that it was abandoned, though it looked to be fairly recently. It was still early in the morning, but Patsy had enough experience with babies to know that they did not pay attention to time the way the rest of the world did. They cried when they were hungry whether it was six at night or three in the morning. It didn’t matter to them.

They arrived at the picket fence and rather than run the risk of the swinging gate creaking loudly and alerting the Chosen guards inside the cottage of their presence, Chaise swiftly hopped the three feet then assisted Patsy up and over. She felt a flush creep to her cheeks as their fingers brushed and he smiled at her, only enhancing his already good looks.

Chaise moved forward, beckoning Patsy to follow him. Before they had arrived at the cottage they had gone over the plan, though it didn’t seem like much of a plan to Patsy. Surprise was their most powerful weapon and Chaise was counting on it being only a few frightened young girls watching the children.

If they attacked suddenly and made a lot of noise all at once he was certain they would be able to frighten the women into surrendering. To Patsy it seemed like Chaise was making an awful lot of assumptions, but she kept her mouth shut and did as she was told.

Cautiously, still fearful of making any unnecessary noise, Chaise climbed the porch stairs, motioning to Patsy to remain on the ground. Then, with one powerful kick, he broke the door down, letting out a war cry that caused Patsy to jump even though she was expecting it.

Taking her cue from Chaise, Patsy began to scream b|oody murder, flying up the stairs her fists swinging wildly in the air ready to connect with anything. However the moment she burst through the doorway she felt herself quickly overpowered and a strong hand clamped over her mouth.

“Something’s wrong.” Chaise whispered in her ear from directly behind her. “No one’s here.”

“What do you mean no one’s here?” Patsy pulled his hand away from her mouth, determining that she would get a good look at the cottage before she made that decision. “I thought you said this was one of the Chosen nurseries.”

“It’s supposed to be.” Chaise sighed heavily, his eyes scanning the front room of the cottage. It was filled with an assortment of different types of baby cribs and scattered with toys and stuffed animals, but not a single child was in sight, or the blue of a Chosen robe.

“Well, it looks like it used to be.” Patsy stooped down and picked up a stuffed elephant, thinking to herself that it was rather cute and would go perfectly with Cloe’s stuffed teddy bear. She swiftly set it down, however, not wanting to appear babyish in front of Chaise. “But everyone left in quite a hurry.”

“Yeah.” Chaise nodded his agreement, stepping further inside the cottage. It was a rather small house with only a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, but every room was the same as the first - full of cribs and toys but no people.

“Maybe they went for a walk.” Patsy suggested once inside the bedroom, though she didn’t believe it herself.

“No, I don’t think so.” Chaise shook his head, thankfully not laughing at her theory. “They’re gone. They’ve taken everything that was important. Food, water, supplies. But where would they have gone to?”

“Do you think they realized you learned the location of the nurseries and decided to clear out?”

“I don’t think so. The Chosen’s communication system is advanced, but not that advanced. It would still take nearly a week for word to come from the mines that I never arrived and then another week for the Guardian to send word back that I had gone rogue.” Chaise shook his head. “So there has to be something else.”

Patsy nodded, her eyes spotting what appeared to be a rather lumpy pile of blankets off in one corner. It was rather unspectacular, but there was what looked like a shoe poking out from under one of the blankets. Pressing her fingers to her lips, Patsy advanced slowly, ready to pounce on whoever was hidden beneath the blankets.

At the last possible moment, Patsy ripped the covers off the individual, exposing a young woman with her hair styled in the typical female Chosen fashion. She wore the pale yellow robe of an Acolyte and only one shoe. However the most remarkable thing about the woman was that she seemed not to see Patsy or Chaise. Her expression was empty and vacant as if she was in another world completely.

“What’s going on here?” Patsy breathed out, crouching down to eye level with the woman. “Excuse me, miss?” She snapped her fingers in front of the Chosen’s face, hoping for some sort of reaction. “Hello?”

A low moan escaped from the woman’s lips, but the vacant glazed over look lingered in her eyes.

“She’s like a zombie.” Chaise commented, lowering himself into a similar position as Patsy. “Completely out of it. But I can’t think of anything that could have done this to her?”

“Nor can I.” Patsy admitted, slowly rising to her feet, her eyes scanning the room more carefully this time, hoping to spot something else she and Chaise might have overlooked in their first overview of the room.

She looked at each toy individual, picking up those that looked a little suspicious. Finally, she came across a black technological looking device. Patsy assumed it had been used as a toy since all non-battery powered technology had been rendered useless after the adults died, but the moment she picked it up she realized this was no toy.

“Chaise!” She called him over, no longer caring to be discreet with her voice. “Take a look at this.”

Chaise hurried over to her side and took the strange headset like object from her grasp. He turned it over in his hands several times then promptly stuck it on his head like a motorcycle helmet. A loud gasp escaped his mouth and he tore it off immediately, his eyes widening with fright.

“Chaise, what is it?” Patsy whimpered, suddenly very much afraid.

“It’s over, Patsy.” He whispered, his face white with fear. “It’s all over. We don’t stand a chance.”

~*~*~

Inspired by his conversation with Amber, Lex determined that he would speak with Zandra at the first possible opportunity. Of course, that opportunity did not arise until several hours after breakfast had been served and Lex had been put to work dishing out bowls of thin gruel to the wounded and dying. Amber had been getting her hands dirty as well, though she made sure she was never in a room alone with Lex and he didn’t have a doubt he knew exactly why.

However, Lex was determined not to let Amber’s rejection distract him from what he knew he must do. As soon as Ocelot informed him that he could take a break from the serving, he made his way to the lodge where he knew Zandra had been placed. It was the same lodge he had kissed Amber in, but he mentally forced all thoughts of that magical moment from his mind.

Once inside the lodge Lex was overwhelmed by the thick scent of humanity and sweat mingling with death and blood. It turned Lex’s stomach and he began to wonder if there was a way to move the wounded out into the open air so they could actually breath. He was sure inhaling such a pungent odor could not be good for them.

He quickly made his way over to Zandra’s bed and was pleased to discover that the injured prisoners on either side of her had been moved. He only hoped they had been taken to the recovering lodge and not placed in a hastily dug grave in the ever growing cemetery.

Lex took a seat on the bed to Zandra’s right, studying her still sleeping face. She still had the ability to take his breath away and Lex felt the tears he had never managed to shed over her begin to form in the back of his eyes.

He sat on the bed for several long minuets before the blue haired young woman finally turned over, a low moan escaping her lips. It was the same moan Lex recognized from the few months they had been married. She always woke up with a groan and the familiarity brought a smile to his lips.

“Hey gorgeous.” He moved off to bed and into a kneeling position so that his head was just a foot or so above hers. “Did you sleep well?”

Zandra’s eyelids fluttered open and though it took a long minute for her to realize who it was peering over her, Lex knew she recognized him. “I hate you.” She whispered at last, though there was no vehemence in her tone.

“Do you?” Lex was a little surprised at her greeting, though he could hardly blame her. She obviously thought he had abandoned her on Eagle Mountain, given her up for dead, which wasn’t far from the truth.

“Yeah, I do.” Zandra nodded, her blue eyes focusing solely on him. “You killed our baby.”

“I-I did?” Lex was taken aback by her sudden revelation. He tried to recall the events of the observatory exploding, but discovered that they were still a muddled haze. Nothing was clear, only that he had been holding onto her one minute and then the next she was gone.

“No. You didn’t.” Zandra shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “I did. I killed our baby, Lex. I didn’t mean to. You have to believe me, I did everything I could to stop the blood, but it just wouldn’t stop. It wouldn’t stop.”

She was whimpering loudly now, tears cascading down her unmarred cheeks and Lex felt a deep sadness settle over him. He had come to terms with loosing both his beloved wife and his son many months ago but now hearing Zandra blame herself for their son’s death caused the tears to come to his eyes anew.

“Oh Zandra.” He murmured softly, cupping her cheek with his hand. “It wasn’t your fault. It was never your fault. Please don’t blame yourself. I never blamed you.”

“You didn’t?”

“Of course not.” Lex shook his head, knowing it was the truth. Even when he had been furious with Zandra for dying and leaving him alone he had not blamed her for the death of their child. She had wanted the baby just as much, if not more, than he had. He knew she would have given her life to save their son if she could have, just as he would like to think he would do.

“Why not?” Zandra whimpered. “It was my fault. If I hadn’t gone back for that stupid jacket none of this would have happened.”

“Jacket?” Lex’s eyebrows shot up, a figment of a memory returning to him.

“I went back for the jacket.” Zandra sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “Or actually, this.” She reached for the thin silver chain that hung around her neck, producing the delicate wedding ring he had presented to her on their wedding day. “We had fought just before the observatory exploded and I took off my ring, shoving it in my jacket pocket. When the building began to collapse around us I forgot to grab my jacket then went back for it when I realized what I had done.”

“Oh Zandra.” Lex pressed his lips tenderly against her forehead. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Believe me, if I could I would take your place in a second.”

Zandra sniffled loudly, looking up at him with clear and beautiful eyes. “You’ve changed, Lex.” She commented. “You’ve changed a lot. You’re not the Lex I once knew.”

“No. I’m not.” Lex shook his head sadly, suddenly realizing that this was how Amber must have felt when she stared at Bray, realizing what a strange he had become during the six months she was away. “And you’re not my same Zandra. You’ve been Alana now, Chosen lieutenant.”

Zandra nodded, her face ashen. “I’ll always love you, Lex. Love you and the time that we had together.”

Lex felt his lower lip begin to wobble, the realization of Zandra’s words sinking in. “Zandra, please,” He discovered his cheeks wet with tears. “We can try again. Start anew, try for that family again…”

“What? And break up your happy marriage with Tai-San?” Zandra laughed, no trace of bitterness in the musical sound. “I couldn’t do that Lex. I can’t hold you to wedding vows that neither of us mean any longer. I know you don’t love me any more, just like I don’t love you. Not in that way. Not in the way a husband and wife are supposed to love each other.”

“But-“

“Don’t.” Zandra leaned forward, brushing her lips tenderly against his own, and Lex found himself savoring the sweet taste of her lips, a wash of memories sweeping over him. “Let’s not tarnish what we once had. It was beautiful, while it lasted.”

In one fluid movement, Zandra lifted the silver chain over her head and removed her wedding ring. She placed it in Lex’s hand, closing his fingers over the silver adornment. “It was beautiful.” She repeated. “But now it’s over.”

Lex nodded, still unable to control the tears. “I love you Zandra.” He ran his fingers through her curly blue hair, remembering a time when half of her head had been hot pink. “I always will.”

“I know.” She smiled sweetly, laying back against the pillow, her eyes closing. “Take care of yourself, Lex. Don’t do anything stupid. Remember, I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

“Don’t worry, Zan.” A bittersweet smile jerked up on Lex’s lips. “I’ve already gotten most of my stupidity out of my system.”

“Good.” Zandra returned his smile, her eyelids slowly beginning to droop. She murmured one final “It was beautiful.” Before she nodded off to sleep leaving Lex clutching tightly to the tiny silver ring, tears streaming down his cheeks unchecked.