Hey everyone, I am quite sorry I haven't updated in ages; I got a new computer and I couldn't access until just recently, so here are two LONG chapters to appease you. Thanks, and sorry!

As I said before, I don't own anything except Soleil and the plot.

Previous Chapter

Tancred looked at her burned wrist, the skin shiny in the red places. He cautiously reached out and lifted it; he felt her shift at his touch, but she kept her eyes closed.

Tancred stroked his long fingers across the burn; it felt hot and dry. He lifted it to his cheek and pressed it to his cool skin. He could feel the heat on his cheek.

Slowly but surely, Tancred pressed his lips to the burn. There was a soft sizzling sound, and when he looked at her wrist again, the burn had disappeared where he had kissed it. He continued to kiss her wrist, soft, chaste kisses, until the burn had disappeared entirely.

When it was gone, Soleil opened her eyes and looked at her wrist in wonder. Then she locked eyes with Tancred. She felt electricity coursing through her body, throbbing at her wrist as if her heart had relocated.

"Tancred," she began, but was silenced by his finger on her lips.

Tancred felt as if his whole body was burning, his lips were on fire. Soleil looked startled as his mouth began to redden.

"Tancred, you took my burn onto your lips; you took it on yourself!" she cried in disbelief.

Tancred nodded mutely; it seemed as though his lips were fused together. The pain numbed his mind, blackening the edges of reality, burning it away; Soleil grew farther and farther away—then everything was black.

Chapter 7

Soleil knelt over Tancred's body; he lay sprawled on the cold stone steps.

"Tancred, wake up! Wake up! Can you hear me?" she shook his frantically by the shoulders, making sure his head didn't bang the stone. "Tancred?" she whispered. There was no response, and she could see that he had indeed taken her burn on to his lips. Where his full, pink lips had been, there was a red mass that was dry and hot.

He's going to die, she thought. And just for me. He said—he loved me.

Soleil tried to gather his body in her arms, and although she was tall, she was still some five inches shorter than he, and much lighter.

"I'm sorry, Tanc, I don't want to do this," she told him softly as she heaved him up under the arms and dragged him slowly towards the dormitories. She didn't know where she was going to take him, and what she was going to do. She dragged his dead weight down the long, cold corridors, often stepping on the hem of his green cloak as she walked backwards.

His head lolled forwards, and she paused to look at his face, walking more slowly. Suddenly, she collided with another person who was walking behind her in the silent corridor. She whirled around, still holding Tancred's upper body in a tight grasp.

"Charlie!" she whispered loudly. "You scared me half to death." She was breathing heavily, partly due to the exertion involved in lugging Tancred around, and partly out of relief that it was Charlie she had encountered, and not a Bloor.

"Are you alright, Soleil? You looked so upset when you left." He looked at her in a concerned way before seeing Tancred

"What happened to him?" he cried, alarmed. He knelt down and began shaking Tancred.

"Charlie, I can't explain now, do you know who can help him?" she asked, frantically. His face was a pale grey and tears shone in her eyes. Charlie was horrified to realize that he would rather help her so that she would like him more, not to help Tancred.

That is the most horrible priority I have ever made. I swear never to prioritize people again. He said to himself, shaken. Soleil began shaking with nervous energy.

"Help, Charlie. Please help me," she pleaded, tears spilling over. She dashed them away hard with her wrist, and Charlie winced at the sound her wrist bone made as it collided violently with her cheekbone. She grabbed Tancred under the arms again and continued dragging him frantically, tripping over his cloak over and over again. She fell, and stopped.

"I don't know where I'm going," she whispered, before slumping over Tancred, patting his face, stroking his hair.

"It will be alright, Tancred. Hang on there. Just think, when you wake up, we can go far away, and no one will ever be able to take my flowers from me," she whispered fiercely, smoothing away a tear that fell from her eye to his cheek with her thumb.

Charlie, who was about to take action, suddenly was struck with a notion: Tancred had given Soleil the beautiful flowers that were in her hair! Suddenly violently jealous, and angry with the affectionate way Soleil caressed Tancred's face, Charlie bent down and roughly took hold of Tancred's legs.

"Stand up," he ordered briskly, repeating himself before she had a chance to respond.

"Stand up!" and hauling Tancred's bottom half with Soleil carrying his top, Charlie led her to the kitchen lair of Cook.

He ducked into Cook's closet, pushing Tancred's body through the little concealed door within. He turned to look at Soleil, who was regarding him with distrust and sadness written across her smooth features.

"Come in," he said, his anger and jealousy towards Tancred swiftly evaporating at the sight of her wistful face. He felt deflated and embarrassed about his behavior. He felt redness creeping up his collar, and he cursed the genes that gave the trait to him. Hi crawled into Cook's hiding space, once again wondering how the ample woman managed to fit into it without any trouble.

Soleil followed, and found herself in a cozy little apartment set below the kitchen floor. The friendly-looking, overweight, motherly woman she had come to recognize as Cook was bustling about, making Tancred's distressed-looking form comfortable. She looked up at Soleil, who was struggling to stay composed at the sight of Tancred. The burn had spread across his face, and held his left eye fused shut.

Suddenly, she noticed something that made her chest tighten and her breath race in panic. The burn covered his mouth, and it was moving towards his nose.

"Cook! If we can't stop this, he'll suffocate!" she cried, kneeling down to stroke Tancred's face, murmuring softly and shaking with fright.

Charlie looked over at her, and his rage was rekindled twofold. He turned sharply to face the wall, trying furiously to interest himself in a little gold tree covered in blue glass ornaments. He accidentally smashed one between his trembling fingers. Cook turned to look at Charlie when she heard the tinkle of glass on the floor. He looked back at her, and his face crumpled as though he were about to cry. She understood him perfectly.

"Charlie, why don't you head back to the dormitories? We have an early bedtime tonight account the nasty weather that's coming in." Cook said, tenderly, laying a heavy hand on his shoulder.

Charlie looked at her for one long moment before turning to leave. Soleil turned from her post alongside Tancred and looked at Charlie. Her eyes met his, and suddenly she felt a great sadness weighing on her chest. She slowly stood, laying Tancred's hands across his chest.

"Charlie," she said quietly, but his nerves jangled at the sound that seemed to loud and fierce. She approached him cautiously, as though he posed a threat to her. His eyes were guarded as he looked at her, then away at the wall in a disinterested way. She crossed the small room until she stood right in front of him. She scooped her arms under his, and pulled him to her. Charlie stood still, not moving. She laid her head on her shoulder, and spoke to him.

"Thank you for bringing me here Charlie. I owe everything to you, and so does Tancred. You helped me when I began to panic. Charlie, you're a beautiful person. Truly." He shifted uncomfortably at the feeling of her breath blowing over his neck, causing the tiny hairs to stand on end.

He finally brought his arms up around her shoulders, and they stood that way for a brief moment.

"No problem," he said, his voice breaking slightly around the lump in his throat. Soleil took his face firmly in her hands and kissed his lips confidently. Somehow Charlie knew that the kiss was only a friendly one, and very chaste. Somewhat happier, he left Cook's apartment quickly and headed to the boy's dormitory.

I do believe that you should review, although I have been a bad girl and not updated in something like 6 months. Please forgive me, and give me some reviews to boost my deflated ego. Thanks.