On a role lately, so I'm gonna keep pushing out chapters for as long as I can. It's funny, I thought about delaying it to get more reviews, as I would have done in the past, but the number of reviews isn't a measure of the quality of a story. That will speak for itself, so here is another chapter for all you fans.

-Don't Cry: Chapter 4-

The first thought that crossed her mind after she jumped was a single word.

Why?

Why had this happened? Why had she let him fall like that? She could have assumed her beast form and easily pulled him up. What was the odd hole of blackest night? A leftover of the Grave Eclipse? Why did she even come here? She'd wanted to see him so badly, and then she'd practically ignored him for the last two days! Every time they met glances, they'd either exchange an awkward conversation of a few lines, or smile and look away. She just couldn't think of what to say to him...and now it might be too late! Why hadn't she listened to Karis?

If you don't tell him, you might not get the chance to...

Matthew was facing down as he fell towards the earth below. She stretched out to reach him...just to touch him one last time...one last...time. And just before her hand could touch him, she felt something push her back, away from him. Was that...Psynergy? Why?

Her answer came a moment later, when she felt herself connect with the bottom of the ravine and sink into it. That had been painful...wait a minute? Pain? Sink into it? She tried to gasp and found she couldn't breathe. It only took her a second more to realize why. She was wet, she was moving sluggish, she was under water. With a struggled movement, she broke the surface of the river that had formed this very ravine, and tried to swim towards what must have been the river bank, coughing and wheezing. She reached land, and lay there on her hands and knees for a moment coughing, trying to bring air back into her lungs. Her gaze lifted slowly, and she saw a broken, horrifying site among the rocks.

"Matthew!" She screamed, certain that it had carried to the four corners of Weyard. She stumbled over to him as fast as she could, and kneeled beside his broken body. There was blood everywhere, his limbs a tangled mess, and...and...gods it was just to horrifying to look at! Without even thinking to her own fatigue, she pressed her hands onto his chest. A heartbeat greeted her, weak and growing weaker She closed her eyes as tears streamed from them, trying to focus.

Nature's Boon. She chanted the words in her head, trying to form the healing power. To her distress, she found that it would not come. "Breath! Jolt!" She called, trying to awaken her Djinn, but they would not heed her call..they were exhausted? But how, she hadn't used them at all! "Ether! Wisp!" She tried again, praying that they would respond. "Please!" She cried out. "He's dying! Help me!"

She'd, of course, left all of her belongings in her bag, back in town. And from the look of the shattered glass about Matthew, what little he had on him had been destroyed in the fall. Was there nothing she could do for him except sit here and watch him die? She howled in despair, sobbing into his chest. It wasn't right! She'd just found him! She was going to tell him, and before she could...now he was going to die? If only she hadn't gotten to him first...if Tyrell had, he could have pulled him up! If she'd been thinking she could have saved him! She lay there, watching life slowly leave him when her sharp ears heard something.

"Hey!" Came an unfamiliar male voice. "Is someone there?" The echoing around the cavern made it difficult to tell where it came from. Sveta looked around, seeing nobody.

"Yes! S-someone is hurt! I need help" She called out. She had no idea if this voice was friendly or not, but it didn't matter now. Matthew was dying...and his last act had been to push her away so she wouldn't share his fate. She couldn't let the most important person to her die like that, not again, not so soon.

From around a bend in the ravine, a taller man came. Well built, probably somewhere around his high twenties, brown hair. He had the garb of a traveler, and a spear on his back along with classic adventurer supplies. Sveta looked at this man, her tearful eyes pleading. "Please! Help him!" She called out. The man looked at her and then at Matthew and winced. "Oh jeez." He groaned at the site. "Hold on! I've got something for this!" He said, reaching into his side pouch as he moved over. When he removed his hand, it had a glass bottle in it, filled with perfectly clear liquid. He opened it up and placed it over Matthew's lips, tilting it back so as to let it run down the boy's throat. Sveta watched, still fighting back the tears, as the man worked. Once the bottle was nearly empty, he handed it to Sveta.

"Drink the rest." He instructed. She took it in her shivering hands and looked at him, clearly confused. "You want him to live or not? He's going to need you able to use Psynergy if he's going to survive." He said, checking Matthew's vitals once again. Sveta didn't hesitate anymore, and gulped down the last of the strange liquid. As she did, she felt a strange burning sensation go through her. She felt...revitalized. The man motioned to her.

"Come on, you're an Adept, right? Heal him, he needs more help then just the draught." He said, and Sveta nodded wordlessly, placing her hands back on Matthew's chest before attempting to use Nature's Boon again. This time it worked, and she could feel the strength of his heart returning. Slowly but steadily. A half smile split her features, as the tears still fought their way out. "He's...alive...He's going to live..."

The older man stood up and looked down at her with a smile. "Well, looks like luck was on your side today, little lady."

Sveta had not taken her eyes off of Matthew until she was sure he was stable. It had been exhausting trying to heal him without the help of Rief or Amiti. Her power was usually only good for superficial injuries, but that water, whatever it was, had helped immensely. Come to think of it, she knew next to nothing about this man who sat across the way from her. He'd saved Matthew's life, so he couldn't be a thief or a spy. "Ummm..." She started, not sure how to start the conversation. "T-Thank you, for helping me save Matthew's life." She said, a slight bow to the man. He looked over to her, and then the boy, and then back to her? "Matthew?" He echoed. "Oh there was no need to thank me. I was in the right place, at the right time, with exactly what you needed. I'd say it was fate." He remarked, running a coin through his fingers.

Sveta did consider something, and she did really want to know. "That water you had...I've never seen water do things like that, what was it?"

"That." He started. "Was Hermes Water. It's a special water of healing that flows from the base of Mercury Lighthouse. Lucky for you, I just so happened to have some. It's supposed to cure any normal disease, and I've heard on Adepts it's even more potent. I guess there is some truth to that rumor." He finished.

Sveta looked at him curiously. "You could tell we were Adepts...are you one yourself?"

The man shook his head. "No, I am not an adept. I've seen a lot of you guys though, so I have gotten pretty good at telling." He finished, looking up and down the ravine from his vantage point. "Look, it was nice to meet you and all, and I'm glad I could help you out, but I've got to get going. Matty should come around in a few hours." He explained, standing up straight from the wall he was leaning on.

Sveta leaned up, looking at him oddly. "But...you saved him, helped me, and used up a very valuable resource, and I don't even know your name!" She protested.

He looked back to her with a grin. "Yep, and I don't know yours either. Besides, I doubt we'll meet again, so a name would be unimportant, wouldn't it?" He looked down the river, clicking his tongue. "I follow the whims of fate, going wherever they take me. I was here when it happened, and I had just what you needed. I'd say that was a sign that I was supposed to use it here. After all, everything happens for a purpose." He flipped the coin he was rolling about his fingers and checked it. "Hmmm, Tails. So south it is!" He finished, and began moving south. "Well, that's my good deed for the day, see you around princess." He remarked, before walking down the path out of sight, leaving a rather confused Sveta. After a moment, a new question dawned in her mind.

"How did he know I was a Princess?"

It was a few hours later, night had started to fall. Sveta was not sleeping though. She refused to sleep until Matthew woke up, his heart might stop in his sleep. And so she waited, checking his pulse and breathing often, and letting her hands linger slightly longer then was needed. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, he stirred. Sveta hadn't missed this, and her ears shot up in anticipation. Still she remained silent, waiting for him to fully come to.

His eyes drifted open slowly, as his vision swam in front of him. Everything was blurry, and everything was pain. His entire body screamed in pain, but that was only a reminder that he was alive. He'd survived the fall, somehow. Something was in front of him...something...pale and...pink-ish? He couldn't quite tell what it was, but his vision was coming back into focus. The all too familiar face finally pierced past his haze.

Sveta...this had to be a dream. He wanted to move, but found his body was not responding to his desires and could only look upon her. He tried to speak, to will his mouth to move.

"Sveta..." He mumbled, looking upon her with such relief. She seemed fine, unlike him. "You're...ok..?" He groaned out, the words hurting too hard to even form correctly.

Sveta's face scrunched up in anger as she looked back at him. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" She nearly shouted at him. "Don't you ever give up for me! D-Do you have any idea h-how much I-I-I..." She couldn't finish the sentence, as she buried her face into his chest, sobbing. It hurt, that was still a tender area for Matthew, but he ignored it and let her cry. When Matthew was finally sure she'd stopped crying, he went to speak. But before he could, he heard an odd sound.

Breathing...slow and routine. He glanced down, and saw the young queen now asleep, her head on his chest. He managed to get enough control of his arms to place them over her, and he allowed himself to drift back into an uneasy sleep. To spite the incredible amounts of pain he was in...this wasn't that bad of a situation.

Alone, with Sveta. She was so beautiful, even with her face red from all the tears. The thought felt odd to Matthew, had he fallen for her? When had that happened? She'd jumped off of the bridge, almost facing certain death, just to have a chance at a hope of saving him. And she'd done it.

Matthew recalled her falling with him, but in all actuality, he'd passed out almost as soon as he fell from the bridge. All he could remember was seeing her jump over the edge after him, and then nothing. The exact circumstances of his survival could wait. For now he was content to simply lay with her in his arms, for however short this respite would be.

The next awakening came in the morning. Matthew shifted as the sun hit his eyes. The shifting instantly caused a sharp twang of pain from his bruised ribs, but more importantly, Sveta began to stir as well from the motion. She lifted her head off of his chest, wiping the sleep from her eyes. And then she took in her surroundings as she was still waking up. Matthew looked up at her, and could see the exact moment when she realized where they were.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, moving off of him. "I'm sorry, I just...hadn't slept since you fell..." She explained. Matthew waved it off though, not like it mattered.

"Matthew..." Sveta started, looking over him. He looked much better now, though still pretty seriously injured. "W-When you fell, I was so scared. I was scared one of my friends was going to die. I was going to be left all alone again. But more then that, I was scared that I wouldn't..."

And she couldn't finish that thought as a whoop of joy could be heard from above them. Both of their heads turned and looked at the cliff, to spy a very excited red head rappelling down the cliff face. "Karis!" Tyrell shouted upwards. "I found them! They're ok!" Matthew and Sveta both looked upwards with broad smiles.

It would seem they'd avoided yet another brush with certain death. Twice in one week, this was not a good routine to get into. Matthew smiled to Sveta.

"Too good to last, eh?" He managed out weakly,with a smile for her. Sveta smiled herself, and punched him in the shoulder so lightly it might not have even made contact at all.

Tyrell had reached the bottom of the cliff, and looked around at the surroundings. Of course he noticed his two friends, and was ecstatic to see that they were safe. But there was a lot of blood...way more then he would expect seeing both of them alive. Never the less, that could wait. He walked up to them and looked over Matthew with a half grin.

"Man the things you will do to get out of work." He said with a stupid grin, and Matthew laughed lightly. It hurt to laugh, but he didn't mind. "So, how is he Sveta?" Tyrell asked her, his face warm with an emotion she hadn't seen from him before.

"Um...He's pretty badly hurt. I'm not sure how we could move him, or even if we should. I think..."

And then to the shock of all gathered there, Matthew leaned up. "Actually." He spoke. "I'm not that bad. It's a little tight when I try to breath, but over all I think I'm ok..." He said, trying to stand. He failed, however, and fell back down onto his side. Tyrell laughed.

"And Karis says I'm the headstrong one. Here." He added, holding out his hand for Matthew. Matthew took it and stood, wavering slightly.

"Hmmm. My leg still feels a little weak...and I think my arms kind of banged up too." He explained. "But I should be ok to move...don't think I'll be rock climbing anytime soon though." Tyrell laughed at him.

"Oh Karis thought about that already. Let me go back up and I'll come back down for you. Sveta, would you mind helping Matthew over to the rock face" He asked.

Sveta nodded, moving over to wrap Matthew's arm around her shoulder. "I have him Tyrell, you'd better head up and get what you need. I am sure Karis is worried sick about her brother."

Tyrell looked oddly at Sveta for a moment, before grabbing on to the rope. "I'll be back in a few minutes! Just hold tight!" He shouted as he began the climb up.

Matthew looked to Sveta confused. "Uh, you know me and Karis aren't related, right?"

Sveta laughed a bit, her first real laugh today. "Oh yes, but she said yesterday that you were like her older brother."

Matthew chuckled. "Yeah, I could see that. But how did this topic come up?" He asked, curiously.

Sveta's face instantly went red. "Oh...just talking." Was her reply, and then she became very quiet.

Tyrell did not descent the cliff face again. This time it was Karis who eagerly climbed down. When she saw Matthew, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Matthew winced slightly, but hugged her back.

"If you ever do something that bone headed, that stupid again, I'll never forgive you!" She half shouted at him. "We're all a team! That means I don't want to see any more of this 'Heroic Sacrifice' crap from you!" She then looked towards Sveta, who was feeling very much like a third wheel. Karis ran to her and gave her a likewise hug

"Sveta, you saved my best friend's life. I don't know how I could ever thank you enough." She said, pulling away and smiling broadly at her. "But we can continue this topside, we've got to get you up there." She gestured to Matthew.

It was a few awkward moments with the two girls lashing ropes about him. Under his arms, around his waist, a support for him to sit on. It was kind of excessive, but he trusted in it now. Karis gave the final rope a tug before being satisfied it was safe. "Ok then, stand back." Karis instructed, looking to the side. Matthew was strapped in and Sveta did not look like she would be leaving his side. Karis sighed with a half smile and moved a few feet away from them before gathering her Psynergy. A bolt of lightning shot through the air, vanishing into the sky beyond. Almost instantly, the ropes began to move, hoisting Matthew up the cliff. Likewise, the other rope for Sveta and Karis to climb started to move. Sveta made a grab for it, and Karis gripped the end of it.

"How?" Sveta asked. "How is Tyrell moving all of this?" Karis from underneath her answered.

"It seems we did attract some attention with our little project. Just wait until we get to the top."

Sveta could not have imagined what would greet her when she peeked over the cliff face. People...her people! Beastmen lined the sides of the cliff, all of them working. Those who were not working on lifting them out of the ravine, worked tirelessly on the bridge, which had come along nicely. "How...did this happen?" Sveta asked, totally thunder struck.

Tyrell was the first to answer, as he was helping Matthew out of his confinement. "After you two fell, later that day a bunch of Beastmen showed up. They said they'd lived here, and when the Eclipse happened they managed to get themselves to Kolima. Kolima's a natural fortress with the way the houses are, and it came out better then most other towns. Not many towns where you can grow all the food you need in your basement, especially thanks to Tret and Laurel." Off to the side, Sveta could see Karis being helped over the side by a young fox beastmen, who seemed to be staring at her rather intently.

Sveta stopped him for a moment. "Who?"

Tyrell looked confused. "Oh right, you weren't with us. A pair of sacred trees, they knew our parents back when they were on their adventures. Anyway, so when the Eclipse ended, they all packed up and came back here. When they found out what had happened, and what we were doing, well.." He gestured over to the mass of Beastmen working now. "They were all ecstatic to help." He said with a smile. Upon seeing her, the beastmen crowded around her.

"Your majesty! Please you shouldn't be out here working! Come, come inside!"

"What a honor to meet you Your Majesty! I'm beside myself!"

"We've prepared a place for you to stay, more befitting to someone of your status."

Sveta held out her hands. And instantly the crowd silenced. She waited but a moment before speaking to them.

"I am truly thankful to have wonderful subjects like all of you. But as queen, I cannot sit by and watch my people work. Yes, I am a leader, and a leader will lead by example. I will not lounge in a palace while my people toil with no food or homes. I will do all I can to ensure their lives are restored to normal." She said, and the cheering that erupted from the end of her speech was deafening, even with barely over two dozen people there!

She smiled, and felt a hand on her shoulder as she finished. She turned to get a full view of those brilliant blue eyes and that bright smile. To think that she thought she'd never see it again?

"That was incredible." Matthew said, looking over the crowd that had begun to resume working. "Even after everything that happened, they are completely loyal to you. And I see why." He began to move off to the side, slowly. "Um, would you give me a hand getting back to the inn?" He asked, and she nodded with a smile. It wasn't a long trip, and she was quick to get him to a small room. He needed to lay down. As she helped him towards the bed her turned around to face her. "Right here we are." He said, looking her in the eyes. "Oh, and one more thing." He added, giving her a hug of his own. A small 'Eep!' escaped her lips as he pulled her close.

"I never did thank you for saving my life Sveta." He said, his mouth right by her ear as he whispered. He pulled back, and placed a single, fleeting kiss, on her lips. Barely a touch. "Thank you." He whispered. He pulled away, looking over her completely start struck expression. She seemed lost for words as she reached up and touched her own lips.

"Y-Your welcome..." She said, almost as if she was in a dream.

Another one down. I must say, I really like how this fic is developing. It's starting to take on a life of it's own. Made some quick changes to the previous chapters, nothing warranting a re-read, just some minor spelling and grammar issues. Now I figured I'd give some review responses:

Forte: It probably should offend me to be called a place holder,but honestly it's a major compliment considering it was that fic that inspired me to write this one. So I guess it's totally true!

Jollygreendragon: I'm quite glad you like my portrayal of Bentley. I always figured him to be the accountant type of personality. Glad you are enjoying the fic, I'll try hard to not disappoint!