Author's note: None of my characters or my LS friends are mentioned in this fic. This is, in fact, between an anonymous Hume male and Elvaan female, duly noted as "he" and "she". This is considered a gothic romance, according to what one of my friends said. This is also heavy angst, bloodshed, and mental insanity. There is absolutely no humor in this story. This was inspired from Evanescence's "Even In Death", of which belongs to them and the lyrics are used only at the very end. Please read and review, and enjoy. There could be incorrect lyrics at the bottom, but please discard this, for every website I went to for double-checking were different.

---Kidria


There was no reason to believe they had no future… They could have one; they could have everything they wanted together, if only those fools would listen. His eyes flashed dangerously as he remembered how they dragged her away from him. How she screamed, how she begged, how she desperately reached for him and with a final cry admit her love. He could not let them take her away…not from him. Not when they have so much ahead of them.

His beautiful Elvaan love, with her bright blue eyes and her short and yet wavy blonde hair, her small frame and delicate features; it haunted him. Haunted him so much that he knew without her, he would be driven to insanity. But his family refused her, hated her, despised her. Well, he despised them as well, refused them, hated them, and only wanted her. So as he stood here, in this thorny thicket, outside her home he devised a plan. He knew of a special place, a place where no one could take them apart again. Where when together, they were together

Those Elvaans, they were so arrogant, he thought to himself as he stalked the night. Back to that thicket outside her house. But she was different, she was his…and tonight she shall always be his, beyond even Altana's reach. Because real love is forever, and they shall be forever. He let the moonlight guide him through the twists and dark shadows of the night, how the shadows cast their protective shells across him and hugged him close. He heard their whisperings, how they shall help his plan. He felt the cold embrace and knew it would be best to pay those shadows back. They could shelter them as they journeyed to their special place…that place…

The brown earth beneath his boots became softer as he came to cultivated ground. Looking up to the second story he saw her window. It was alight, her silhouette in its yellow luminosity. He knew it was she. Hours upon hours and nights upon nights staring at her room at this spot and he had memorized her every detail. Her true body, her shadow, her form, the way she moved, the way she would shake when she laughed, the way she could cry into the night when they were gone. Yes, he knew every detail of her… he knew how to convince her to come with him, to be with him despite how frightful it seemed. The sacrifice was not great, he reminded himself. The pain is passing. Staring at the scar on his wrist he remembered how terrified he was, but that was over. He saw a glimpse of their future home, their future itself. It was… beautiful. Breath-taking.

His breathing quickened as he saw the mother draw water from the well. He knew she would not drink that water. Only the fools would and she was no fool. He crept closer to the front door, peeking in the window. The family sat around the table. The tall, proud Elvaan father, the mild but arrogant, smaller mother, the little, spoiled brother and her…she was coming down the stairs as the rest of them ate, drinking deeply the water the mother had thought was healthy from the well.

When the little brother fell out of his chair, the mother screamed and tried to go to him, but she merely fell over him, stiller then stone. The father rose to his feet, only to appear crippled and stumble to the ground, blood fresh from the veins spilling out of his mouth. He smirked. He wanted the father to have the most pain. It was only fitting to see him writhe on the ground, clutching his stomach, clawing at his clothing. The father tore his clothing apart and his fingers dug at his very flesh and began to try and rip that off too. The mother and brother were still, no blood from them. He knew they would be fine, it was the father he wanted to hear scream. And how lovely that he was now.

But she was screaming too, and he knocked the door down. She screamed when she saw him but he saw the happiness in her eyes. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away as the father cried out at them, pain so evident in his voice that the Hume could feel it in his own stomach…and it was beautiful. He felt her want to go back but he forced her deeper into the forest until his friends, those shadows, once more embraced them. When they stopped she fell to the ground, sobbing, whispering pleas and prayers. He knew after he told her, she would be happy.

"What happened?" she whispered. He cupped her cheek gently in his palm.

"Nothing." He replied. "But I've brought you here for a reason."

"Are they dead?"

"Listen to me, my love." He said. He kissed her lightly, gently. "I know how our families hate each other…but I can fix that. We can go someplace, where they can never find us, and we can be together."

"Where?" he saw she had her interest, and that she had forgotten her family. Good.

He pulled the dagger out of his boot and pressed it against her chest. She gasped and tried to draw away from him but he pulled her close with his free arm. She was a very small Elvaan, shorter then he but must slimmer and graceful then the rest of her fellow race. But she was weaker then he, and he was able to hold her still with his one arm. She stared at him, her eyes widen and frightened. It reminded him of the game he used to hunt, how they looked so pitiful before he killed them…she was similar, but he loved her. He never loved his game. He could give her the gift of swiftness.

"Please, my love," he whispered. "It's all right. Trust me, I know how this is. It will be all right."

"You are scaring me." She said softly, in a voice that quivered with fright and yet he heard her coming to him. She believed him. He knew he could convince her…it was not manipulation.

"I know, it's scary at first. But it's all right. I checked, it's a beautiful place, just for me and you."

"How could you have…" she saw the scar on his wrist. "You mean you…?"

He shrugged as if it was nothing, like it was something casual. "It's not as bad as you think." He handed the knife to her. "But trust me…it'll be okay. Do you want to do it, or do you want me to?"

She was shaking badly. "It was you…you put some sort of poison in my family's meal…"

"I knew they would follow… I had to stop them."

"You killed them…"

"They are alive. It's not as bad as it looks." He kissed her gently. "Please…" he smoothed her hair back behind her long, pointed Elvaan ear. "For us, my love…our future. We can be together…with no one to hate us."

It was obvious he had won her over. She looked up at him, eyes trembling. "You…you do it… I'm scared… Will it hurt?"

He kissed her again. "Only for a moment, but I swear I'll minimize the pain as much as possible."

Her naïve look of gratefulness pleased him beyond anything, and he thrust the knife into her chest. She gave a howl of pain and clutched at his clothing, tears streaming down her face. He pulled it out and again stabbed her. Blood fell all over his hand and clothing, the air thick with its scent. Almost driven he stabbed her again and again until her screams stopped and she was limp in his arms. He pulled the knife away and gently laid her into the arms of the shadows, as he promised them.

She's waiting for me, and I can't keep her long. She might get lost. The Hume closed his eyes. We can finally ignore these people's narrow-mindedness; we can finally have our own life…beyond death.

He brought the knife down into his own chest, coating over her blood with his own. A grim, pleased smile spread across his face as he fell to the ground next to her, digging the dagger deeper into himself, willing himself to leave. Home was waiting.

Home where no one can ever hurt us again.

One last laugh against those who tried to pull them apart, he pulled the dagger out and allowed the shadows to hold him as well.

Give me a reason to believe that you're gone…
I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong…
Moonlight on the soft brown earth
It leads me to where you lay…
They took you away from me but now I'm taking you home…

I will stay forever here with you…
My love…
The softly spoken words you gave me…
Even in death our love goes on…

Some say I'm crazy for my love, Oh my love…
But no bonds can hold me from your side, Oh my love…
They don't know you can't leave me…
They don't hear you singing to me…

I will stay forever here with you…
My love…
The softly spoken words you gave me…
Even in death our love goes on…

And I can't love you, anymore than I do…

I will die, but real love is forever…