Afton's heart was racing... it was a different kind he wasn't used to. It thumped so hard when he neared the coast.... the coast was where he had last seen her.

It was quiet... dark... Something around there somewhere spooked the horse. Impatient, he got off, held it's reins and whispered soothing words into its ears. It spooked him too, it did. For it was quiet as death.

Stepping on the same ground he had trod a few days ago, he sensed a difference. Somewhere... somehow.

There were footsteps from behind, barely audible, but Afton's ears had been tuned and he caught on, “Kaylie?” he whispered hoarsely.

The intruder was hooded, but his face was covered with a mask. Afton saw a stray strand of blonde hair peek out for a split second and he knew it wasn't her.

His guard was on and he quickly dug for a switchblade... a pistol... anything!

A couple of switchblades came in handy and he grabbed one more to fling. He aimed....

Heart thumping, eyes squinting, his mind, thinking up the very actions he'd told himself he'd never do. He was just about to throw. He had calculated everything to the very second with his estimation, when it occurred to him.

Dropping the switchblade, he changed it into backward grip edge-out for both hist hands. He'd go defensive this round. It was a bet, but he was willing to wager his life on this first time.

This... my fate is all up to the moon to decide.

The intruder, an assassin most likely, rushed upon him with a speed that almost caught Afton off guard. The first strike from the assassin's was dodged, but the second blow came soon after, giving Afton no choice but to block.

The third blow was more of a slash straight to the heart, which Afton had predicted and blocked again. There was determination in the attacker's fourth strike and he drew a scratch of blood out of Afton's shoulder.

I can't keep doing this! His weapons are good... long too. His speed is too much. I can't hold out much longer with two small switchblades!

As if the sight of blood was his power source, the assassin continued his attacks with renewed energy. He forced Afton away from the horse and toward the forest.

It was a queer sight. Two short black hooded figures, both doubly armed, playing a game of death where only those who use their brains and agility would survive. The shorter one was armed with two short swords, his mask swayed with his movements as he labored to fatally injure his opponent. The slightly taller one had gotten rid of his cape and was successfully blocking and dodging the attacks, never caring to return the blow.

They fought in silence. The shorter one had wonderful balance and was using the trees as supports for ingenious tricks that actually worked. That is, of course, if he had only used it on a Chrisianon.

From the shadows of the trees, the assassin would come crashing down from somewhere above, using gravity to his advantage.

The first of those unique blows gave Afton a nasty gash upon his right collarbone. The next few were predictable and Afton blocked them with both his switchblades.

On one of these attacks, Afton's switchblade snapped in half, the momentum of the blade made it graze a flap of skin off his right forearm. His right hand was down... so was his morale.

Alas! Fate! Why do you hate me so?

Afton gave up and was fleeing to his horse when, “Stop! Or I'll shoot!”

So he has firearms? I'm... Why didn't I use my brain for once? Rushing blindly to see her might be my end. I shan't see her again!

Then, time froze...

“Kaylie?” Afton whispered hopefully.

“Hurry, let's go,” she said, dragging him away.

They had not gone far when she stopped and gasped, here eyes flashing red a little before returning to it's normal color

“Kaylie...” he whispered, concerned.

“It's nothing,” she hissed, pulling him forward. But they had not gone more than one step when time unfroze.

Afton pulled a motionless Kaylie behind a tree. Now it was a game of surprise. Either party could catch the other off guard and use the element of surprise to end everything. It really wouldn't take long for the assassin to find out they'd disappeared.

Peeking from one of the trees, he espied a slip of the assassin's black apparel and exhaled a short sigh of relief.

Afton shifted to the next tree, purposely making noise on the way. The next Afton saw of him was was when he dashed for a nearby tree.

He's faster than I thought!

Afton breathed deeply, taking the time to calm down. She'd be ok. So would he, really, he just.... hesitated to take lives.

With one hand on the remaining switchblade, he ran for it. Yes, he should have picked his pistol first, it was the only thing that'd work now. But there was no time for regretting, it was past and now he had to take the risk.

A few shots were fired and Afton felt a bullet graze his forehead. It didn't hurt now, but it instilled the fear of death into his mind. It clouded his thoughts for a moment before he snapped himself back to reality. It was kill or run.

Afton made it to his horse and mounted it to draw the oppressor out. He dug frantically in his bag for that pistol.

Where is it?!

A shot was fired his way and the horse shied in response, sending the switchblade flying as Afton tried to maintain balance. The contents of his bag poured out, the pistol together with it.

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Jumping down, Afton snatched up the pistol before lifting it with two shaking hands.

The next few things happened so quickly. He fired, felt a stinging pain, and fell unconscious. What it was, he didn't even know.

****

He touched the ceiling of the frozen heart. It was warm.... but made of ice. He stabbed a hole through it and the whole construction trembled. Afton shook together with it and would have fallen had he not been gripping his switchblades tightly.

He remembered the ball in the middle and looked down. The ice was gone... what's left was a giant hole. There was nothing that would stop him from falling to the bottom of that abyss.

The tremors shook that impenetrable ball of transparent material and it rocked back and forth, the thin icicle that held them threatened to break.

Afton gasped, but before he could do anything, it broke. His life... it was all gone... flying down to that abyss. Biting hard on his lip to hold back his tears, Afton jumped down after them.

He'd get through it together with them or die trying.

Once his fingers dislodged themselves, the heart fell apart. Afton looked up for one last time and was awestruck. Was it at the beauty of all those sparkling hearts of crystal or of wonder that they seemed to be at war against one another?

For, above him hung thousands of hearts of ice. Every second, one or more of them would shatter and vanish. Almost all of them seemed to be clustering up there in the middle of the sky, like little stars, only, they were hearts... beating hearts.

Afton quickly turned his attention to those he loved. Kaylie, Alistair, Rain... they were falling slowly, but surely, down to that pitch-black hole. Afton dove for it, touching it first with one hand, then the other. He was going to protect them no matter what...

****

Afton woke up, his heart pulsing fear into his veins. He looked around to find himself in the forest. Kaylie and the assassin, they were both nowhere in sight.

What happened? Where's Kaylie?

He got up and rubbed his forehead. It throbbed with a headache and fever.

His right hand hurt with every move, but it was still bearable. He took a step forward and his leg hit a bottle. It was different from any he had seen, with a 'CoCa CoLa' label over a coat of red.

Afton picked it up and looked at it before tossing it away, carelessly. “Kaylie!” he yelled. To be separated again would be torturous, both for him and her.

He ran back to the place he had left her. In the daylight, it looked... different. She was gone. Of course, she wouldn't stay in one place the whole time, but she was really... not anywhere around.

There was a sense of loneliness and wistfulness, but good things in life... just have a habit of vanishing from his life without a trace.

Afton tried to steer his thoughts from her and surveyed his injuries.

****

“So, she's dead? She's really... dead?” the queen asked, on the verge of tears.

“I believe so,” soldier #2 replied, hanging his head.

“You may go now,” the queen said hoarsely. But, she was the one who ran up the stairs to her private room and threw herself upon the bed, weeping tears of regret.

“The poor girl blames herself,” the attendant sighed.

“But... but I'm guilty! I let her stand out like that!” soldier #2 cried.

Soldier #2 was guilty and he knew it. But somehow, he had mixed feelings on the matter. He was remorseful, yet relieved. He'd always thought Kaylie would be the death of his dear queen, whom he adored.

“Captain!” came an abrupt call, “there's something in Sundance!”

****

The screams and wide-eyed glances of those in Sundance were directed at a girl dressed in black. Her hood had been thrown back and red eyes flashed as the girl looked around.

Whomever her gaze fell upon would end up running in fear. She was just that terrifying.

“What is that creature?” some whispered among themselves.

“She isn't even human!” a woman shrieked.

Kaylie turned to her and began staggering, blood-shot eyes staring. The woman cowered, but continued yelling, “What are you doing here? Just go back to your world! We don't want you here!”

Kaylie stopped, her eyes flashed purple before returning to red. She didn't speak and continued tottering toward her next victim.

“If you kill people here, you'll regret it!” the woman screamed, “Don't bring a curse upon us for tolerating you!”

Kaylie, glaring with those red eyes, lifted a hand toward the woman.

The woman was shocked at first, but even while dying, she said in a voice tinged with anger, but softened by pain, “God forbid that I should ever allow a monster like you here.”

Kaylie put her hand down and the woman fell. A few people nearby checked for pulse. They got up shaking their heads to the extreme horror of the crowd... another death. She'd already killed quite a few people on this mad rampage

The crowd soon dispersed, many to the safety of a shop window, others to their homes on the second level. Yet, Kaylie seemed to be able to make victims out of anything.

The pebbles on the road froze wherever she went. Once, as she passed a fruit store, she left with their goods all freeze-dried.

But there was one thing about her that all marveled over: she did everything all while staggering. She was weak, yet able to induce fright in the whole of Sundance. What would happen if she was in full strength?

“We'd better get rid of her quickly,” one random teenage boy whispered to his gang, who agreed with firm nods. They took up everything in sight. Pebbles, fruits, metal, pistols, and wood.

She laughed as she easily froze the pebbles and fruits into pieces (If you freeze things enough, they crack up, if you know what I mean). Blades and pistols, she took them all crying out in pain, but the cuts and wounds healed quickly and they fueled her anger.

She retaliated by freezing a couple of their hearts, sending the rest running.

However, fate had it that she stopped just outside a shop. A child in the window of the house above dropped a wooden block by accident. It hit her on her forehead and cut down to a little past her eyebrow. Her eyes widened and she bent down to pick up the block.

A few people observed that when she touched it, her hand flew back, as if shocked by a bolt of electricity. They took up woods of all kinds and threw them at her from wherever they were. To their surprise, only a few actually reaped the results that they desperately needed. It was baobab wood that worked.

The stoning with wood was still ongoing when the soldier's arrived.

“Stop!” soldier #2 cried when he recognized Kaylie, “For God's sake, let the poor child alone!”

“Poor?” one of them spat, “Count the corpses on the streets. Ask around! She's no poor child, she's a devil!”

Kaylie had crumbled to the floor to brace herself from the wood. Now, she cautiously got up and looked at soldier #2.

“What has she done?” soldier #2 whispered, thinking up the possibilities.

“Is this demon even human?” one guys asked, they had stopped and were questioning soldier #2.

"Don't ask the obvious!"

“What's this? A failed attempt at a secret weapon?”

“It must be the work of a sorcerer!” another shouted.

“Quiet! I'll sort this out...” soldier #2 yelled over the noise.

“Kaylie!” came a cry from somewhere in the crowd, “Kaylie!” it came again. Angry residents, fuming store-owners, everyone else... they stared as her prince came through on a black horse.

Kaylie's eyes flickered between red and purple. “Afton?” she whispered.

“Who?! Who did that to you?!” Afton asked, jumping off quickly and running to her.

“Afton,” she said, beginning to cry, “I really didn't do it on purpose.”

Even as she spoke, her eyes flickered to red occassionaly. The onlookers glared at them both, especially soldier #2.

“Don't worry, Kaylie, I'll get you through. Because...”

She fell into his arms, sobbing, “I killed so many people! It's my cursed origins! I'm so sorry, Afton, I didn't melt that heart.”

“Kaylie, look at me,” Afton whispered, “you're going to be alright.”

Kaylie looked at him, but her eyes fell to the raised pistols and baobab wood. “Don't look there,” Afton said again, “Do you trust me?”

Kaylie stopped crying and looked at him, those tears still on her cheek. She nodded.

Something overcame Afton and he bent over and kissed her forehead, “I swear, I'll never leave you again.”

Shots were fired. Time froze... She shielded him with her own body and took all the bullets.

It hurts... It hurts so much! (Kaylie)

The soldiers stopped, shocked that they'd shot her, but the indignant Sundance citizens began raining baobab wood upon them.

Afton held her tight and rolled over so that he became her shield. “Don't do that again, Kaylie, don't hurt yourself for me. I'm not your little brother anymore. I never was.... Kaylie...”

A sharpened piece of wood hit Afton on the back of his neck, piercing through the skin. “Kaylie,” he continued, blood, flowing down over his face, “I love you.”

Whatever was thrown at him, he wouldn't care anymore. He loved her... a little blood loss would never change that.