A/N: This is a story for a contest at my friend's website, and so it's based around a collaborative story we've been doing based off of the game Fable. I am aware that I'm using the name Percy Blakeney which is from The Scarlet Pimpernel. So yes, just read it for the story, you'll probably understand it. Anyway, without further ado...

Disclaimer: I do not own Fable or anything related to that, nor do I own the name/character Sir Percival Blakeney. All I own is Hayley Isil and the beginning quote(which I made up).

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Love is, by definition, a feeling, an instinct, something we, as humans, strive for. It is built into our very soul, and therefore is something we cannot escape despite circumstances and decisions we make. Love is an unconditional emotion felt towards another person, place, or object; it fuels us and it breaks us. But is Hate not also an unconditional emotion as well? Can it, too, be as paramount as Love? Hate is, by definition, something etched into our nature, something that can create pain, as well as extinguish it. So if Love is, in reality, equal to Hate in both ambition and definition...how often can the lines between it be blurred? How often can a vehement Love turn into an enraged Hatred?

And are we powerless to stop it?

The rain now poured down upon the cold, icy ground of Hook Coast while the dark, threatening clouds overhead began to roar with thunder. Lightening streaked across the sky, while the once gentle waves now crashed and beat against the shore. Nature was in an uproar and defying the coming end of Albion. A war had broken out all across the land, one that would not be quenched by any amount of bloodshed...but only by the ending of the world.

The Heroes Guild, a once great and sturdy monument, now laid in complete ruins. It's broken halls were silent in reverence to the fallen Heroes, the same Heroes who had defended the righteousness of the Guild against the ones whom had betrayed them all. For this war, this ending of Albion, was coming from a source that none had anticipated. This war was not something that had come about by an outside enemy, but from the inside...from the very heart of Albion.

This war had been caused by a great love for Albion and a dangerous realization.

"P-please! I beg of you, have mercy!" cried the terrified Guard as he lay on the ground, his severed legs laying a few feet away.

"Pathetic," hissed the figure who now stood above him. "Can you not simply die an honourable death?"

The question was rhetorical, of course, but the Guard continued with a pitiable, "I have a wife and--and children! Please! Have--"

He never finished his sentence, for the sword cut through his the soft flesh on his neck as a a knife would through warm butter. The Guard's blood now sank deep into the snowy ground, the tainted red blood mixing with the pure white snow. She hovered near him momentarily, before sheathing her sword and continuing on. Guards lay dead everywhere, some missing limbs, and all lying in bloody pools of defiled snow.

The Guard had asked for mercy--and he had not been the first person to do so--and Hayley Isil had delivered it to him. All in Albion would be receiving her twisted view of mercy soon enough. The woman who now strode towards the Sword of Aeons was no longer the same woman who had joined the Guild at a young age, eager to help out wherever she could, eager to earn renown, and eager to help protect Albion. No, this woman was not the same woman.

Hayley's steps made hardly any sound against the cushioned snow, but every step seemed harder to take than the first. Since leaving the Guild, after punishing all those who deserved cleansing, she had found herself feeling weaker rather than stronger. Everyone and everything around her seemed to become colourless...they were either black or white, good or evil.

She was lost now, lost within the silent darkness. She had loved Albion with all her heart, had wanted to protect it with every ounce of strength that she possessed. However, on her quest to do so...she made a grave mistake, one she would never be able to escape from. The mistake had seemed harmless at the time, but it did not take long before it grew to a scale greater than she would have ever anticipated.

Hayley Isil had fallen in love.

It was a quiet thing, at first. She had hardly noticed when it had happened. Sir Percival Blakeney of Bowerstone had seemed to be no more than he appeared, an idiotic fool with a great deal of money. However, as she got to know him--as they both opened up to one another--she realized just what kind of man he really was. The facade of a fool he wore was just that...a facade, a mask. She was the only one to whom he took off the mask for. She had believed he loved her, and deep down, she had loved him with as much vehemence.

Sir Percy was one of a kind. Just thinking of him would bring a smile to her lips, and make her heart leap in ecstacy. In Hayley's eyes, he was perfect, flawless. Unlike herself, he held a confidence unparalleled by anyone she'd ever met before. His confidence followed his virtues, however, for while posessing a great deal of money, Sir Percival Blakeney also posessed a good heart. He was kind, generous, and compassionate...never hesitating to help those who needed aid. He did not judge a person for who they were, but for what they are now.

In summary, he was the complete opposite of herself. He was good where she was evil, his love was genuine, something she felt she did not deserve for she was not like him. She was not perfect. She had never been the prettiest, the most intelligent, the strongest, the richest. She had simply been her. And for Percy, that had seemed to be enough. He took her, accepted her, for who she was...a broken woman searching for an unattainable goal in life.

But now, now her goal was within reach. She had wanted to save Albion, to protect it from all the darkness that had threatened to swallow it whole. And as she had wandered Albion, destroying the evil, it had always seemed to sprout more dangerous seeds of darkness. It was as if, for every evil thing she slew, every crime she righted, more evil would seep into the world. In the end, she figured out what the problem was...and the realization had destroyed her.

Albion was no longer pure and good and worth fighting for, for it had become everything that Hayley despised with a passion. It had become the thief in the alleyway who stole money from defenseless orphans, it had become Balverines feasting on the good families of Knothole Glade, it had become a dirty, corrupted thing. A thing not deserving of life.

Hayley loved Albion with all her heart, and to love a monster was to be a monster. There was no way, that she could see, that she could save Albion...other than destroying it. And that was what she was going to do. She was going to cleanse herself along with every living thing on Albion.

She would kill everything to save that which deserved a chance to live. Albion had once been good, and deep down...she believed it could attain that same goodness once more if only it had a new beginning. That was what she was going to give it, a new beginning.

Percy hadn't expected it. No one had. She had struck decisively, at the core of the evil: The Heroes Guild. Maze had been the first to betray them all, helping aid the darkness in ruling, and so he was the first she slew...and his blood remained on her hands, and forever would. The Guildmaster was next, followed by the rest. Her anger, seething hatred, and power had overwhelmed them. It helped that she had managed to persuade some of the Guild members to aid her. Soon, the Guild had been left in ruins...cleansed of the dark taint that Maze had created.

The betrayal that had begun with Maze would end with her, for she swore her life upon it. Inside, her heart was breaking, but she could think of nothing else to do. Her values, beliefs, and morals were stacked against her...pushing her to the brink where she had no control over what she was doing anymore. Her heart had poisoned her mind.

She was close now, so close, to achieving her goal. She had done what she hadn't thought possible. She had never possessed the strength and stability of mind to do what must be done, but now she was. She was facing her fears, and doing what she felt had to be done...if only for the sake of her beliefs. She couldn't let the corruption that was Albion go any further. She wouldn't let it go any further.

The Sword of Aeons lay before her now, hovering just slightly above the ground, glowing a faint dark red colour. She could feel the power emenating from it from as far as a few feet away. It was quite exhilerating as she stared at it, feeling the power coming from it, and knowing that she would bring about the final act of all Heroes...the final act of redemption, for she was going to redeem Albion, by sacrificing herself and all others whom had posioned and contaminated it in the first place.

She stretched her hand out, but right before she wrapped her hand around the hilt of the mighty sword, she felt a slight poke into her neck, not enough to puncture the skin...but enough to let her know she was no longer alone. A sick feeling rushed to her gut for she suspected who was behind her right now, and that thought alone was enough to chill her to the bone.

"Odd's fish, m'dear, you have made quite the mess, haven't you?" whispered the man behind her, his voice holding no humour.

"Percy," she breathed. Only I am the one to have such bad luck as to have the one man that I love come after me, she thought miserably.

"You seemed surprised to see me," he said, his tone was still serious, solemn. He allowed her to turn around, the point of rapier touching her delicate throat.

"I am," she replied quietly, "Dreadfully so."

They stood there for some time, saying nothing, and Hayley could not bring herself to look at him, keeping her eyes towards the ground. If she had looked up, however, she would have noticed the pain etched seemingly permently on Sir Percy's normally chipper face.

"Why?" Percy asked at last, the one word filled with misery.

Hayley remained silent, unable to bring herself to tell him anything, knowing the longer they talked, the closer to the end they'd get to...and the sooner she'd lose him.

"Hayley, please look at me," he ordered gently. "I need to know why you did it...all of it."

"I did it," she swallowed, "For Albion."

Percy's grip on his sword lessened, but did not altogether disappear. "I don't understand."

"I knew you wouldn't," Hayley whispered to him, voice full of agony. "That is why I didn't ask you to help me...I knew it would be going against everything you stand for. But, Percy, please...understand that I never meant for it to end like this. It's just--Albion, Percy, Albion is too far gone...there isn't anything else we can do for it now."

"Love, you can't believe that--" Percy began.

Anger flashed into Hayley's expression. "I have seen more than you think, Percy, and I assure you...there is no more hope left for this forsaken land."

"Not with that kind of attitude," he said, stalling for time. "We can fix this, however. We can stop it here and now...and together, we can help bring about a new Albion."

"No," Hayley said simply. "It's too late--"

"It is not too late!" Percy reassured her, dropping his sword now, and gathering her in his arms.

In that moment, she hated Percy. She hated his voice, how he looked. She hated how he would not give up her. But, most of all, she hated how she couldn't stop loving him.

"Yes, it is," her voice was taking on a hard edge now. "I knew you wouldn't understand. No one does. No one ever has! No one ever will!"

Percy kept embracing her, despite her struggle to be released. Slowly, lovingly, he caressed her cheek, brushing away the few tears that had escaped. "I love you, despite all of this...but I can't ignore it. If you stop now, I can get a pardon for you and--"

Hayley had begun to shake her head then. "I'm sorry, Percy. Truly, deeply, I am sorry."

"Hayley, you--" but suddenly his eyes widened in shock more than pain as he let go of her and stumbled backwards, clutching his stomach. Blood began to seep between his fingertips, and he managed to glance down only to find a startling realization.

Hayley had stabbed him.

Tears were rolling down her cheeks now as she caught him in time before he collapsed to the ground. She laid him down while she struggled to catch his breath, grimacing in agony as she stroked his forehead tenderly, sobbing.

She continued to hold him while he choked and coughed, blood dripping from his mouth now, a sign of internal bleeding. Her crying gained more and more volume as she cradled him, ashamed of what she'd just done...but knowing there was no other way. His blue eyes were beginning to hold less and less focus, and his skin was growing paler by the second as he tried to cling onto life.

"I'm so sorry, so so sorry," she sobbed to him.

He managed, with his last bits of strength, to slide his hand into one of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't cry," he whispered in a strained voice. "Lud, I could never stand to see a woman cry."

And slowly, then, his eyes began to close as he drifted off into a painless world, devoid of the agony of life. Hayley saw him departing and leant down beside his ear, and whispered in a pitiable voice, "I'll follow you into the dark, Percy."

Percy Blakeney died then, in the arms of the one woman who had owned the most important thing he had: his heart. She continued hold and rock him, her body was wracked with sobs while she did so, but she could not complete what she had set out to do anymore. Percy was gone, slain by her hand, and nothing felt important anymore...not even Albion.

"I love you," she said through clenched teeth for it was all she could do to not cry. "So much."

Eventually, after a few hours, she managed to find the strength still within her to complete what she'd set out to do. She laid Percy's body down, and stood, walking purposefully towards the sword. It was in the same place, unchanged by the events that had recently happened.

Just as her hand wrapped around the sword, she felt a stabbing back in her abdomen, and looked down to see a large blade protruding through her. Shock registered in her eyes she was flung violently to the side, directly into the alcove wall. Blood spilled from her wound at an alarming rate, and she knew that she would be seeing Percy sooner than she had anticipated.

She looked up to see who had ruined her task, had made her fail once again in her life. For it was suddenly and alarmingly clear that she would never win, never accomplish anything. As she lay dying, her life flashed before her eyes...and every mistake and failure she had ever caused hurt her even more deeply.

"Fool," said the voice harshly. "Did you really think you could stop me?"

"Maze," she coughed in bitterness.

"And now, I have the Sword, Albion..." he glared menacingly at her. "And I have had the pleasure of watching you destroy my only opponent, and the one you love. I have destroyed everything you have worked for. I have destroyed Albion. I have destroyed you."

Hayley's strength was leaving her to rapidly then, and she had no breath to reply to Maze. She managed to grip the small necklace that hung around her neck: a gift from Percy. A grim, ugly smile crept to her face then...and with her last breath, she looked at Maze and said, "I'll see you in Hell."

And then everything went black.

"Hayley!" a voice called her suddenly. "Wake up, m'dear!"

She sprang upward, as if propelled by some mystical force. Her breathing was labored, and her hair was matted with sweat, sheets all tangled in her bed from tossing and turning to frantically.

Glancing up, she locked eyes with the most beautiful sight ever. A sleepy Percival Blakeney. "Percy!" she cried, latching onto him as if her life depended on it.

"Are you all right, Miss Hayley?" he asked in a more serious tone, abandoning his facade for a moment due to concern. "My servant said he heard you screaming and crying, and came and got me. You aren't hurt, are you?"

She couldn't say anything for the happiness that possessed her was overwhelming and she continued to hug a bewildered looking Percy.

"Well, I shall take that as a good sign," he said, smiling faintly. "I suggest you get some sleep, m'dear. Zounds, you look a fright!"

She wiped away a few vestiges of tears, and nodded slowly.

"Good night, Miss Hayley," Percy said, "Sweet dreams."

Hayley smiled then, and laid down back in her bed in Percy's Manor, remembering he had allowed her to stay the night in the guest room after having had a long day. She took a deep breath, pulling the covers tighter around her.

"Good night, Percy."