"Hurry up! We have a three week's journey ahead of us, and I don't want us to start out slow!" a pale-skinned man said, giving the rope he held a small tug. The young woman at the other end of the rope frowned at the man.

"Well, yelling will get us nowhere. And stop jerking the rope so much. It's cutting into my wrists," she said, quickening her pace. The man scowled at her.

"Oh, be silent, and stop your complaining, woman! The only thing I care about is getting you back to that gypsy caravan, and collecting my reward money!" He marched moodily on, his captive's rope in one hand, and a horse's reins in the other. His blood red eyes turned to the sky, noting that it was getting late. "We'll set up camp soon. And I want no funny business." They reached a clearing, and the man started a fire and set up a tent. They sat around the fire, eating a meal he made. Nothing was said between captive and captor for a while. The girl looked at the man from cross the fire. His dark red eyes were fixed on the flames, and his long, light-lavender hair was swept to one side of his face. His skin was very pale, almost the same purplish color as his silky locks. A dark indigo cloak hung off his shoulders, which he had wrapped around him to keep away the bit of the wind. The girl finally spoke up.

"So do I at least get to know the name of my captor?" she asked. He looked up from the fire, and studied her for a while. The girl sat silently, waiting for his reply.

"Vaati," He finally answered.

"My name is Selene," she told him, looking back at the fire. Vaati rose to his feet and walked round the fire, tired of pleasantries. He took the rope and tied it to a tree.

"I suggest you get some sleep. We start early tomorrow," he said, the ever-present frown on his face. She timidly gave him a small smile, wondering why he was angry all the time. Vaati narrowed his crimson eyes at her, then turned and strode toward his tent. Selene sighed, watching him go. She wished, for some reason, that she could help him. The girl was an extremely kind-hearted person, and didn't like seeing anyone angry or in pain, the way Vaati looked.

She put side her thoughts, and curled up underneath the tree. Shivering, the girl hugged her knees to her chest, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Fangs. Tearing, ripping fangs and cold, bloodthirsty yellow eyes. Snapping and dripping with a mixture of saliva and blood, the fangs darted closer. They opened wide and SNAP.

Selene jolted awake, sitting bolt upright. Her heart pounded loud in her ears, and her chest rose and fell quickly with her rapid breathing. She put her hands to her face to find that she was covered in a cold sweat. The girl wiped her face on her arm, and took deep breaths.

"Just a nightmare," she reassured herself softly, "it was just a nightmare." Selene shivered as the wind blew, and she noticed something draped over her shoulders. She pulled it tightly round her, and found that it was Vaati's blue cloak. A small smile graced her lips as she took a glance at the tent, knowing that he wasn't an entirely cold person. She leaned back against the tree and gazed at the pale sky. The first rays of the sun were starting to peek over the horizon, and they would be moving on soon. The forest around her was still dark, and the fire from the previous night gave off a thin trail of smoke.

Selene's gaze moved to the tent as Vaati emerged from it. In the low light, she could see he wore a pale, bluish-purple long-sleeved tunic, and orange pants. He walked silently to the horse, and patted it and fed it. Vaati began packing up the camp. She looked up as he walked over to her tree with his ever-present frown, he handed Selene an apple and untied the rope from the tree.

"Thank you," she said softly as he led her to the horse. He gave a sharp nod in acknowledgement. Vaati took the reins of the horse, and they started walking. The journey was silent, Vaati leading horse at a fast pace, Selene trailing behind. The girl pulled the cloak tighter around her, and then stopped, remembering that it was Vaati's. She slid the dark blue cape off of her shoulders.

"Vaati?" she said to his back. Without turning, he answered.

"What?"

"Thank you for lending me your cloak. Here," she said, holding it out for him. He looked over his shoulder at her, then turned and took the cloak.

"No problem," he muttered, throwing the cloak back over his shoulders and turning back around. They continued on through the woods in silence. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun blazed a deep red-orange through the leaves of the forest. Selene was getting tired from walking all day, and she could tell by Vaati's particularly bad mood that he was too. He stopped in another clearing, and set up the camp. Selene was once again tied to a tree. Vaati say by the fire he built, cooking a meal. Suddenly, the tree branch above him shook violently as a winged creature dive-bombed him. Vaati only had time to gasp in alarm. Straining against her bonds, Selene acted quickly and made a sweeping motion with her arms. A blast of fire slammed into the monster, sending it flying across the clearing. It was smoldering as it struggled to get up. Selene made a quick downward sweep, and shouted a spell. A ball of fire crashed sown on the winged creature. It no longer moved. Vaati stared at it in shock, then snapped his head in Selene's direction.

"You're a fire mage?" he asked, astonished. She nodded, noticing that he was showing some emotion. He noticed this too, and his emotion soon became unreadable.

"I guess that's why the old hag wanted me to do the job. And because I owe her one…" he muttered, standing up and straightening his pale, blue-purple hat. He glanced at Selene, then brushed himself off. "I'll have to get something better to tie you with." Selene glanced at her hands, and noticed that the rope had burnt off.

"Oh," she said. She looked down at her hands. Without the rope, she could see that they were raw and bloody. But she wasn't contained. She was free. Her heart leapt as she turned toward the dense woods behind her. Before she could run into them, she heard someone sprint behind her, and a pale hand clamped round her wrist. She cried out in pain as the grip tightened, and she was spun around. She came nose to nose with a pair of deep red eyes, burning with anger.

"DON'T you DARE,' he growled, twisting her arm angrily. Selene bit her lip to keep from crying out. Whimpering, she tried to back away from him. Vaati angrily shoved her against a tree.

"Vaati, please! Don't!" she pleaded, the pain in her wrist becoming unbearable.

"There is far more than just my payment at stake! I'm not sure how I could possibly make you understand that you must and can't escape!" Selene turned her head and winced as he shouted. He was truly frightening. Selene could feel a tear slide down her cheek. She finally grabbed his hand with her free one, and feebly pried at his fingers. He gave a slow sigh, and released her wrist. She collapsed against the tree cringing, and clutched her bleeding wrist. Vaati looked down at his own hand, smeared with her blood, and the frown slowly fell from his face. For the first time in a long time, Vaati felt truly sorry for something he had done. She had only shown him kindness, and he hurt her. He knelt down beside her, not sure what to do or say. The pain in her wrist started to numb, and Selene wrapped it with a strip of cloth from her dress.

"I'm sorry." Selene looked up. As she looked into his crimson eyes, she was surprised to see he was sincere with his apology. With his emotional guard down, Selene was also shocked to see so much pain in one pair of eyes.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I just… really need to get you back. I guess you deserve an explanation. The old hag that runs your gypsy caravan, Madam Rosa, she gave me a new life, a chance to start over from my old one. And she has threatened to take that away if I fail to return you to her. So please, go back with me." Selene stared at him in shock true desperation shown in his eyes. "Please," he said again. She blinked, then nodded slowly.

"A…all right. I was bound to go back anyway, I guess. The closest thing I have to family is back there," she told him. Vaati gave a sigh of relief, ad he stood and offered a hand to her. With her good hand, she took it, and he gingerly helped her stand. His face hardened again as they walked to the tent. Vaati held it open for her, and she hesitantly went in. It was small, but nice nonetheless.

"You can sleep on that side. I'll stay over here," he said, motioning for her to sleep in the back of the tent. He lay down in front of the door, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Selene sat down on her spot, and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Thank you for letting me stay in here," she said softly.

"No problem," replied Vaati. Then he lifted his hat off his eyes and propped himself up on one elbow. "I never got a chance to thank you for saving me from that monster. So thank you," he said, looking at her. She gave a small smile and nodded.

"No problem" she said, repeating his words. He looked away from her and lied back down, pulling his hat once more over his eyes. He turned so that he was facing away from her. Selene lay down as well, and turned with her back to Vaati.

"Night," she whispered. She paused, but after receiving o reply, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Good night, Selene."