Die only Once Die only Once "Altair," her voice was hoarse… raspy… every breath coming in gasps, "Please, don't worry about me… go…"

He looked at her… his face hidden by the white hood that he wore. She would never see… the expression that he wore for her.

"Finish… what we came here for," he caught her as she fell, no longer able to support herself. Blood was seeping from underneath her garment. The white cloak and hood so similar to his own soaked in red… soaked in her blood.

In his arms her breath was growing shallow as her eyes… bright green eyes stared up at him, "Please, Altair" she whispered, almost unable to utter those last words. Altair gazed into her now empty eyes… her now dull green eyes…

"Go with God," he whispered as he gently closed them. The fierceness they had once haunting the back of his mind. He would finish what he had started… for her… for no one else…