A/N: First off, thank you to everyone- we finally broke 100 reviews! I love you all so much for all that you do for me. Secondly, I don't think you understand how long I have been waiting to write this chapter. For the full effect, please refer to Howl by Florence and the Machine. That is all. xx -Skye

…

Be careful of the curse

That falls on young lovers

It starts so soft and sweet

And turns them to hunters

...

fourteen

There was something oddly calming about this obsession, this desperate determination that drove her. For days on end she refused to eat, refused to sleep, refused to do anything except hunt for any sign whatsoever that they were even remotely close to finding Illidan. For too long now had she existed without purpose, without any sense of direction to guide her. But now, she had her reasons to go on, to keep fighting, to keep breathing in spite of the fact that her heart was little more than a broken mess in her chest, and she would not rest until she had succeeded. She would not let him go, not this time.

She pushed on, and her Watchers followed loyally after her, but by the time the sun set on the third day, they were so far beyond the point of exhaustion that the thought of taking another step was simple too much.

"Warden Shadowsong," Naisha called out, falling into place beside the elder woman. Her eyes were ringed with darkened circles, and she struggled to keep up with Maiev's quick pace. "The Watchers are beyond their breaking point. We need to rest-"

"And grant Illidan an opportunity to gain even more ground?" Maiev interrupted, her words harsh and cold, her eyes narrowed as she stole a glance at her lieutenant. "We have already fallen too far behind."

Naisha felt her hands clench into fists at her sides, the metal of her gauntlets creaking with the motions. She had spent the greater part of her life at Maiev's side, had known for a long time the way her feelings for the Betrayer consumed her, but this was simply too much. She had never seen her like this before, willing to abandoning all else for him, including her own sanity. "We don't even know if we are on the right trail," she tried to reason, but of course madness had no time for reason.

A slow sigh passed through the younger elf's lips as she stopped in her tracks, so abruptly she nearly lost her footing. It took a few moments for Maiev to realize that Naisha was no longer at her side, but eventually she did halt, turning just enough to meet her steady gaze. "We need to rest," Naisha repeated, this time more insistent than she had been a moment ago.

Maiev bared her teeth in a scowl. "Fine," she snapped. "Go ahead, then. I will scout ahead." She turned on her heel then, retreating away from them without looking back.

Naisha repressed a soft growl of frustration, turning away as well to return to the others. The small band of elves paused, exchanging hesitant glances before refocusing their attention on their immediate superior. "We'll camp here," she instructed, nodding slowly as if to confirm her own words.

It was Cordana that spoke out, a deep frown pulling her elongated brows together. "What of Warden Shadowsong?" She asked. Seeing the painful expression that crossed Naisha's face, she instantly regretted the question.

But Naisha only bowed her head, her long hair falling forward to shield her face. "She will continue her hunt."

...

Maiev had long since gotten used to feeling hopeless. From the first time she had realized that Illidan Stormrage would never love her even half as much as she wanted him to, her life had been measured in all of the things that would never work out the way she wanted.

She was feeling that now, that same dull sense of dread that settled in upon her chest and made her doubt every step that she took. Naisha's words weighed heavily upon her. Maybe she didn't have the slightest idea what she was doing. Maybe she didn't have the slightest where Illidan was, or what he was planning.

And yet, she couldn't bring herself to stop. Because this was all she had left. Illidan was all she had left.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she came to a slow stop and ran a trembling hand through her pale hair. She felt as though her entire life was crumbling down around her all over again, but this time she was on her own, and she had no idea how she could possibly manage to pick up the pieces. She tried to shake away those thoughts, but they were so consuming she could hardly stand it. It reminded her far too much of who she had been once, a scared little girl, a child unable to defend herself or her heart.

Just as she was beginning to think she might never escape this feeling for the rest of her life, and the urge to collapse on the ground and shed all of the tears she had been forcing back was becoming nearly too much to resist, Maiev heard the sound of quiet footsteps approaching from the brush. Snapping back into herself, she abandoned all emotions, her ears twitching as she whirled around to scan her surroundings. At first, she saw nothing, and she almost allowed herself to believe it had been nothing more than a trick of the mind, her madness and desperation creating things that had never really been there at all.

But the instant Maiev began to let her guard down, the sound returned, and this time when she spun around she found herself standing face to face with a great, towering demon. Any attempt to cry out died in her lungs, her voice hitching in her throat as she struggled to free the umbra crescent from where it had been strapped across her back. And yet, something stalled her movements, something kept her from jumping into attack, something kept her frozen in place, and as she looked closer she realized that she recognized this creature, had long since memorized the swirling shapes of the bright tattoos that littered his skin.

For the slightest second, all of her anger fell away, leaving only shock and this strange sense of sadness in its place. "Illidan?" She asked softly, unable to stop her eyes from going wide.

The man before her did little more then bow his head, the horns that now protruded from his forehead weighing the motion down. "Why am I not surprised that you found me?"

His words and the complete lack of emotion in them gave Maiev the ammunition she needed to shed her weakness and reclaim her burning rage. "I promised you forever," she retorted, but the words were icy instead of endearing.

Illidan said nothing to that, just stood there watching her with that blank stare, watching the way her blood red aura flickered and danced before his eyes, flaring up with each heavy breath that she took. When the silence had stretched on for too long between them, he murmured lowly, "You know I will not go back."

"I wasn't going to offer you a choice," Maiev growled. Straightening up, she tightened her grip on her infamous blade and leapt into battle. Illidan was quick to dodge her attack, taking up his own pair of glaives as he turned to face her once more. He felt uneasy on his feet, not quite acclimated to the way the wings and horns interrupted his balance and altered his movements.

But there was no time for uncertainty in his actions, not when Maiev was staring him down with lust for his blood clear on her face and her weapon swinging as she charged him down again. Once, in a time so long ago it was hard to remember, he had been able to predict her every move. It was Illidan that had trained her in the first place, had taught her how to properly wield her weapon, had taught her where to stand and where to move. Now, however, she was unpredictable. Reckless and frenzied, taking chances that might have cost her head if she were not so well-practiced.

"I am going to end this," Maiev growled, lifting her voice to be heard over the sound of their blades clashing, the loud clamor that filled the silence of the night.

In spite of everything, it all brought this dull feeling of pain to Illidan's chest. This girl before him was nothing now but a living ghost, encased in her polished steel coffin, brandishing her venomous words and her hate like they might somehow manage to bring her back to life. Stepping to the side to escape another assault, Illidan crossed the glaives in front of him, managing to latch the curve of her blade on them and using the hold to yank her in closely. "What happened to you, Maiev?" He asked of her. "What happened to that innocent little girl I used to know?"

Baring her teeth, Maiev twisted the umbra crescent free and retreated away from him. "You happened!" She cried, her voice raised in her frantic state. "You killed that girl when you took everything from me. You broke my heart, Illidan. You offered me hope of love, and then ripped it all away from me, because I was only ever second best. And yet in all this time, you have never shown any remorse." By now, her chest was rising and falling with each gasping breath. She had lowered her weapon to her side, opting instead to stare at him with widened eyes, so clearly trying to fight off tears that he wouldn't have been able to see her cry anyway. "Tell me, Illidan. Can you honestly say you ever loved me?"

For a long time, Illidan could only stare at her, his vision following the outline of her essence. For so many years, he had watched and memorized that light, and in time that was all she had become to him, just this burning energy that would destroy him if it could, and he realized in that moment that he had somehow forgotten how she had looks before she became that. He tried to recall her face, her eyes, the curve of her lips, but the images had been replaced now with blinding red.

At last, he dropped his hands to his sides, his wings flicking idly behind him. "No," he whispered, and just like that any chance Maiev had of ever hoping to piece herself back was stolen from her once and for all. She felt her grip on reality slipping, along with her grip on the umbra crescent as it fell from her hand. All at once, she let go of all that she had held onto for the last ten thousand years. That last sliver of hope, to which she had been clinging, was ripped away, and as she felt her heart unraveling within her, Maiev collapsed to her knees before him.

"Because of her?" She whispered hoarsely. The sound of her own vulnerability was the final straw, the breaking point. She had forced herself to be strong for so long, but she was losing control of herself, breaking down as the illusion she has hidden behind was ruined and she was left to face the dark reality that was truly, really had nothing left at all.

But weakness was not something that Maiev was used to, not since she had cast out that part of herself. She had traded in her innocence for vengeance and hate, and she could do so again. Taking a long, shaky breath, she pushed herself up to her feet and narrowed her eyes at him, clung to the anger that she could control, instead of the heartbreak that controlled her. "Because of Tyrande?" She repeated, noting the way he flinched as she spat out the name like poison. "I don't see her here now, Illidan. Do you? No! She's home with your brother, where she has always wanted to be." Her voice wavered as she watched the way his expression contorted, as she broke his heart just as he had always done to her, but she forced herself to continue on. "Do you really think she will ever love you like you love her? Like I have loved you?"

"I would rather be alone with my love for her than pretend to feel even a fraction of that for you," he hissed back abruptly, trying to block out the sting of her words.

Maiev visibly recoiled, as though he has reached out and smacked her across the face. She almost wished he had; surely the physical pain would have hurt far less. "You would not be standing here speaking with me if there was not some part of you that cares," she tried, but the words tasted hollow, like she was trying far too hard to convince herself.

Illidan extended his hands over his shoulder to slip the glaives back into place between his wings, lifting his chin in defiance of her pleas. "Well," he retorted coolly, "perhaps that part of me was left imprisoned in the Barrows."

He turned away then, turned his back on her so that he wouldn't have to endure watching the way her vibrant flame kept flickering before him like it wanted nothing more than to go out. Maiev felt her tears break free at last, rolling down her cheeks in ugly streams. "Illidan," she stammered out, extending a hand like she honestly expected him to turn back and take it, like any of this had ever had any hope of working out for her.

But he never so much as threw a glance in her direction. "Leave it alone, Maiev," he muttered, the words etched with bitterness and nearly inaudible. "It's over."

She allowed her hand to fall back against her side, stayed where she was and watched him walk away. But she knew in her heart, or whatever may have remained of it, that his words could not have been further from the truth. No, this was far from over. This would never be over, not until she had driven her blade through his heart, just so he could know a shred of the pain that he had inflicted upon her.