"Spare me the drama," she spoke to the air.

         To her surprise, the man obeyed, stepping out from the shadows behind her. "As you wish," he breathed.

         She turned around, arms crossed across her chest. For a long moment, neither said anything. Their eyes met; his, calm, prepared, and ready; hers, hard, blazing, and fiery.

         She exhaled, an annoyed, exasperated sound, and turned away. "Why are you doing this? Why are you here?"

         "Here? I think I'm perfectly allowed to occupy the bowels of what was once Mount Aleph. It's not as though anyone comes looking down here, after all."

         "You know what I mean. Rights or no, you're in danger here. If the others find out you're here, there'll be hell to pay."

         "And yet you still came to see me..."

         "Yeah, well." She paused and closed her eyes for a moment, unseen to the other. "You're exiled. And that's a gentle way of putting it."

         "And yet..." Tap, tap. His fingers tentatively brushed her hair onto her cheek. "You're here."

         "And mad at you," she spat. "In case you hadn't noticed."

         "Because you don't want me to be caught?"

         "Among other things." She took a step away from him. "Do you even consider other people's feelings? What do you think I went through when you told me you were here?"

         "As if you really believe that."

         "Yeah, well... what do you know?"

         "I know you, my dear. I know you're just worried about me." He stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders before looking into her eyes. "I know you still love me, or you wouldn't be here."

         She could only hold his gaze for but a moment before turning her head away, sending a lock of hair into his face, but she had no words for such an accusation.

         "My dear." She felt his fingers gently but firmly pull her chin back up, but didn't look into his eyes again.

         He smiled at this. "How like you."

         "Alex..." she whispered. How much was there to tell him? How much couldn't be said?

         The man smiled again, albeit sadly. "We've lost so much time together," he murmured, moving his hand to her red hair again.

         "You're so different, Alex... So much more gentle..."

         "It happens to people you've been apart from for quite some time," he said simply.

         She reached up to brush his hand away, but with a deft motion he caught her wrist lightly between his thumb and forefinger. "Aah... this..." He looked closely at the ring on her finger.

         "It's Garet's," she replied, twisting the hand out of his grip. "He asked me to marry him, and... you were dead..."

         "But you would prefer to be with me?"

         "Of course I would..."

         "Then perhaps I could simply eliminate the rest of them," Alex mused.

         "You tried that once already," the redhead reminded him. "Isaac almost killed you, and you have far less power now than you did then."

         The Mercury adept smiled. "My dear Jenna, there is nothing I would not do for you."

         Jenna swallowed. "I know, but... I don't want to lose you."

         Alex sighed, looking unhappy. "Well, then... can we not, for a start, remove it for the moment?" He slowly pulled it off her finger, and when she didn't resist, flung it to the side. It clattered ominously as it bounced against the stone cavern, coming to rest several dozen feet from their position.

         Its removal seemed to trigger something in the Mars adept. Almost immediately, she moved closer to the man and ran her fingers through his hair, whispering, "Alex..."

         "Jenna," he breathed. "How I've missed you these years..."

         "I know," she said, still whispering. "I've missed you just as much."

         And suddenly they were embracing, arms around each other, one of his hands behind her head, one of hers on his back, their faces pulling closer...

         They kissed.

         It wasn't the first kiss for either of them, but it was their first together, the first they had kissed someone truly special to them, their first kiss with their soulmate, and it had passion and fire aplenty.

         For a moment, however, she feared he may sense...

         She pulled away. "It..." She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and find the right words. "It doesn't feel right..."

         Alex looked at her curiously for a moment. "It's that ring, isn't it? It binds you to him, does it not?"

         She shook her head, confused. "No... I don't... I don't know..."

         He let her go, turned away from her, and raised his head to look at the ceiling. "Your friends have... always come between us..."

         "Well... We did meet with you kidnapping me..."

         He laughed, a dry chuckle with little real amusement in it. "Yes... I suppose that is true." He crossed his arms, but did not turn around.

         "Alex..." Her voice, her beautiful voice, called quietly to him. How long had it been since he could truly appreciate the perfection of her voice? It was, truly, his favorite part about her; he had given up all his plans for the world in the hopes of bringing her here today so he could hear it once again. He closed his eyes, savoring that one simple word she said, and felt her hand in his hair. Her touch - the second thing he loved about her.

         Finally, he turned back around. She was looking at him, eye to eye, though she had been mostly avoiding such before then. Her eyes were still hard and blazing, but no longer angry; they held wanting, lust, desire...

         He leaned forward, and she mimicked him; her eyes were full of promise as their lips pulled closer together, promise of a kiss even better than the one before...

         Suddenly he felt a pain in his rib - a sharp, stabbing pain, reinforced every quarter second by his pulse running over the offending area. He gasped in pain and stumbled backwards...

         His hands, moments before touching the woman he loved, scrambled by his side. He cried out as he accidentally bumped the handle, driving the knife upwards into his skin and letting more blood spill out the cut. He pulled it out with another cry of pain as his strength began to fail him; he fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his chest to pool on the stone around him.

         "Jh..." he gasped, attempting to breathe - it seemed as though the weapon had punctured his diaphragm - "Jenna... What..."

         The sound of her footsteps seemed to come from behind miles of ocean, and his view of her kneeling over him was hazy. "What... What happen - "

         "I stabbed you," she said simply. Her voice was calm, but her face was full of disgust.

         Alex couldn't believe it. This was the woman he loved, and the woman that loved him; they were meant for each other, were they not? But his brain, quickly deprived of oxygen, could not think these thoughts, and could only fall into a muddle of confusion...

         The woman stood up straight when Alex stopped breathing. Giving him a final kick in the ribs, she walked off to pick up the ring and slipped it back on her finger. Then, walking back to the corpse, she picked up the dagger, held it loosely by the handle, and made her way to the city of Vale.

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