OK, so I know I said that this would be the final chapter, well, turns out I lied. There is still one more after this, though it will serve as a kind of epilogue. ;D Enjoy, folks!

The sun was setting over the horizon, and Tira watched it with fascination. How pretty the colours were… how beautiful was the sight of the birds soaring about in the flame-coloured sky, so happy, so… free.

Unlike Tira.

You're not a bird, Tira. You never were.

She didn't bother arguing. She knew that now.

She leaned her head back against the tree she was sitting against, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of the forest around her. She didn't want to think anymore, not now when she knew who Voldo really cared about.

She opened her eyes and picked up the nearest pebble, flinging it irritably as far as it would go. If she hadn't let herself be affected by the stupid, irritating feeling that was love, none of this would have ever happened. She would have escaped a long time ago without any regret at all. She would have gotten on with what she wanted to do, gone where she wanted to go, killed who she wanted to kill.

She fiddled with her hair, staring straight ahead. Was there a chance that Voldo loved her back?

She discarded that thought as soon as it crossed her mind. He only cared for Vercci, remember? She served as his ally – and only when it suited him.

All this time you've been in denial. Why didn't you just listen to me from the start?

Tira didn't bother keeping her voice down. 'Maybe I didn't want to. I didn't want to believe all the lies.'

Oh, so they're lies, now, are they? Lies, is it, that he doesn't value you at all? Lies, that he only kept you around to serve his godforsaken master alongside him? Lies, that he never loved you, despite all the delusion that made you think otherwise?

'…I hoped they would be.'

Why hide from the truth? From me? Have I ever let you down? No... it was me who stuck by your side your whole life. We don't need anyone but each other.

'Speak for yourself! You might not need anyone, but as for me... I need Voldo. I want Voldo.'

Ah, but you see, he doesn't want you back. Not like that. He never has. He never will.

'What do you know? It's like you exist only to irritate me! To tell me what I can and can't do all the time!'

Yes, because you're just incapable of thinking for yourself! You always end up in a mess! Just like now!

'If you think I'm such a failure then go! Leave! Why are you still here?'

Because you need me. You're useless without me to guide you.

She stood up, infuriated. 'I don't want you to guide me.'

'Who are you talking to?'

Tira spun round, startled.

'Uh – I was just – um –'

Voldo walked forwards slowly, out from the shadows of the trees. The sun had gone down completely by now, and in its place the moon shone, clear, full and bright. It dimly illuminated Voldo's face, making him seen paler than usual, and his eyes – as well as his katars – reflected the ghostly light.

'Perhaps... perhaps I am not the only one who... hears voices.'

Tira looked at the ground guiltily. 'I'm sorry... for what I said earlier...'

'Which part? The part about me using you? The part about me being merely Master Vercci's puppet? The part about me not caring for anyone but him?'

'All of it,' she whispered.

Voldo's sightless eyes pierced her. 'You did not give me a chance to speak earlier. If you had... you would have realised just how wrong you were.'

Tira frowned. 'Wrong about what?'

'Everything.'

His clipped response made her flinch, and he carried on, his tone somewhat impassive. 'I did not use you. And the decision I made to kill you was... not an easy one.'

'But you still tried to go through with it!'

'I thought it was what Master would have wanted. In his eyes the price for theft was always death... or, at least, it was when he was alive… and has been ever since.'

'So... what you're saying is... if Vercci hadn't ordered it, you wouldn't have tried to kill me?'

'That is correct.'

Tira raised an eyebrow. 'How do I know that you weren't keeping me alive just for convenience?! To have some help protecting this place?'

'Because I have been here for years and not one intruder has escaped alive – what difference would you have made? It was help, yes, but nothing I could not have done alone.'

She eyed him. 'So if you had no use of me… then why not kill me as soon as you met me?'

'Master Vercci asked that same question.'

'He... he did...?'

Voldo began to pace. 'He suspects I... harbour feelings for you...'

Tira's eyes widened. 'And... do you...?'

Voldo paused. 'I... I would be lying if I said I did not.'

She stared at him. Was she really hearing this…?

'Is that what you told him...?'

'Something like that, yes.'

'But... but what did he say?! Wasn't he angry?'

'If he was, he would not have interfered. He sees everything, and he told me… he said it was my decision alone. That I should do what makes me happy.'

Tira gazed at him, stunned. She was still not quite able to believe that Vercci appeared to own Voldo wholly, even in death, to the point where he could not love someone else without his master's permission.

'And… what makes you happy, Voldo?'

'I think we both know the answer to that.'

Tira was silent for a while, hardly daring to believe her ears. She had been wrong after all…

'Wait,' she said suddenly, 'you didn't answer my question. Why didn't you kill me as soon as I arrived? We both know you could have. And when I ate the fruit – it was poisonous – why did you help me? You've had so many chances to let me die… why didn't you?'

'You were... different. You did not want the treasure. I sensed… something else. Similarities… and rare ones, too.'

Tira was certain now. The two of them were indeed the same. They always had been.

But… I'd rather be crazy and – and interesting, than, well, normal and… and boring… at least you and I… we're special, right?

She stepped closer to him, until her face was inches away from his.

'Why didn't you tell me?' she whispered, 'about… how you felt…?'

'Why do you think?' he murmured, 'I was afraid. What if you did not like what you heard?'

'Afraid of what I'd say… or him…?'

Voldo was silent.

Do something useful for once, Tira. Tell him what he needs to know.

Tira sat down on the ground, pulling him down with her, and placed her hand tentatively on his shoulder.

'Listen to me. If you want to be happy… you need to… you've gotta stop treading so carefully around Vercci. He wants you to be happy, you hear that? That what he wants. And if you're going to honour his wishes and do as he says, you have to do just that. Think about yourself a little more. And if he sees everything, like you said, then he's watching me say this to you, now. If he had a problem with it, he'd stop me. But… it doesn't look like he is. What does that tell you?'

Voldo had grown very still, and Tira carried on.

'I know you'll always serve him… but you can't be scared of – of devoting yourself to someone else, too. Otherwise you… you won't live. And if Vercci cares for you, he'll give you the freedom that you deserve.'

Voldo's eyes glittered, and Tira took a moment to gaze into them before pulling him close for a kiss, somewhat glad that he did not try and push her away this time. She heard him drop his weapons, listening to the dull thud they made as they hit the ground, and he slowly placed his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

He was the first to pull away, and he brought a hand up to lightly touch her jaw. Tira inhaled sharply at the contact, her heartbeat beginning to quicken as his fingers began to travel lower, tracing a line down her neck, over her collarbone, brushing the swell of her breasts and gliding smoothly down her stomach until his hand came to rest upon her hip.

She suddenly craved his touch, realising how little of it she had received recently and how much she missed it. She wanted to put things right between them, and she had not been surer of anything in a while. If this was to be the first step, then so be it.

'Lower,' she found herself whispering.

And he obeyed.

The touches became more frequent, more urgent, more desperate, and soon Tira cared about nothing other than the man above her, the complicated, layered yet empathetic kindred spirit.

They were each other's outlets, and tonight every word unable to be spoken and every hidden emotion would be unveiled. There were no more secrets now.

I'm kinda sad that I have to properly wrap this up now. One more chapter to go, and I'm already starting to miss writing this.

Reviews welcomed, as per usual. :3