Arda Rana, Thalion Maethor Lhûg yassen Anca en Lhach ar' Lith

Kirma 36.

"I-I have to sacrifice…" she trailed off and Faramir knew what she was going to have to forfeit.

"You're to be human if you wish to stay here." Dante's eyes widened before nodding slightly.

"I- I will be a weak wretched human, I won't be the Dante you want." Faramir felt insulted.

"How could you think that I want you because of your demon heritage?" He asked and Dante flinched. "Dante I love you." Faramir blurted out.

Dante froze before looking up into her lover's eyes. He had never said that. They barely knew each other and Dante knew she felt the same.

"I love you, Dante; I don't care what you are." Dante felt her throat seize up before she burst into tears. Faramir pulled her close to his chest again and allowed her to cling to him like he was her life line.

They made love several times and Dante could only pray that he would still want her even after she was completely human.

The next week passed quickly with the castle in a hurry to get ready for the crowning of Aragorn. Dante and Faramir spent most of the time together, if Dante wasn't with Faramir she was with the hobbits. Frodo continuously showed her with kisses to the cheeks whenever she pulled a long face.

Finally, it was time for the coronation. It was beautiful; the white tree was up in bloom and white petals floated through the wind. Soldiers and the people of Gondor as well as the Elves filled the courtyard.

Dante stood beside Faramir as Eowyn stayed at Boromir's. Gandalf and Aragorn stood at the stairs and the old wizard placed the crown on Aragorn's head. "Now come the days of the King. May they be blessed."

Aragorn stood and faced the people, looking all the King he was just crowned to be. "This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace." Then he began to sing the King's hymn, sounding beautiful with his low tenor. He began the slow procession of walking down the aisle and bowed his head at the Fellowship who bowed back.

With the announcement of trumpets, the Elves stepped forward. Legolas lead them and met up with his old friend. He smirks and nods his head behind him. There, Arwen stood with a bright smile on her beautiful face.

Dante felt her eyes burn as she watched Aragorn lift Arwen into his arms and kiss her, causing the crowd to cheer and clap. Aragorn then turns and with Arwen by his side proceeds to greet the Hobbits.

When Aragorn told the small men to not bow to anyone, Dante felt such pride when Aragorn knelt on one knee and the rest of the people followed. Those brave little men did so much for this world that no man could have ever hoped to do. Frodo turned his head to meet Dante's eyes who winked.

She was not surprised to see that tired look in Frodo's eyes. He had gone through too much to not be finished with everything. She nodded slightly and the blue eyed hobbit smiled gratefully. He knew she understood. It broke Dante's heart but she understood.

The rest of the ceremony was beautiful and full of happiness. Dante could feel the people's emotions echoing through her and yet she could not feel any for herself. She was about to lose the last of herself to be with Faramir. Dante stood at the edge of one of the towers, letting the wind blow through her hair.

It was peaceful here, calming, and free. Dante closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp air mixed with the smoke of her cigarette. She was a proud dragon demon, about to give away all that she was to be with a human. If someone had told her this three years ago she would have slit their throats. Now she realized how much she didn't truly care. She had been repressing her demonology for years already.

As a human Dante realized that she would still have extraordinary strength, senses, and skill. She would still be a ninja; nothing would change other than her demon blood. Dante realized that her human love was much stronger than her love for her heritage.

It was at that moment when her body began to seize and she collapsed.

Faramir was in a deep debate with Gimli about strategy when a terrible scream echoed through the castle. Everyone lifted their heads, startled by the sound that continued to sound through the walls. Faramir felt his heart jump into his throat as he raced down the halls towards the screams.

He finally found the source and it was as he feared. Dante was writhing on the marble in pain, her tail curled around her leg. Tears ran down her tan cheeks as she sobbed in agony. Faramir rushed to her side and touched her neck, when she didn't respond; he pulled her into his arms and was disturbed by the shudders that wracked through her body.

Dante caught her bottom lip in her teeth and pierced the skin causing a line of blood run down her chin. With another scream, Dante's eyes flew open and her back arched.

Faramir once again was forced to see his lover twist in anguish and loose the last of her demon heritage. Dante's long white hair began to darken and turn into a deep red color, her skin remained tan but she lost her demon markings. Her long and pointed ears shrank and resembled more of an elf ear. Her sharp claws dulled and thinned as well as her fangs. Dante's eyes shifted into a deep blue color, so dark they appeared black. Her horns shuddered before retracting into her skull as well as her tail that had wrapped itself around Faramir's leg. Silver tears leaked from clenched shut eyes, framed with dark red lashes.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Dante's screams died down to pitiful whimpers. Her body lay limp in Faramir's arms as she shuddered and wept. Faramir took to rocking the woman in his arms slowly, as he just let her mourn for her demon heart.

Dante couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Just like that, she was human. She didn't even get to have a last flight. It was just torn from her, no warning whatsoever. Her fury was nothing compared to the sorrow she felt. She was no longer a demon, no longer a dragon, she could never fly again, and she was now fully human. Slowly and fearfully she opened her eyes to look through her tears at Faramir.

His expression was that of worry and wonder. She had no energy so she could not lift herself. Faramir hurried to help her sit up and her head rolled onto his shoulder.

Humiliation coursed through Dante's emotions, she couldn't bear to even look at Faramir. She just allowed him to lift her into his arms and then stand to leave the tower. She was starting to lose consciousness when she was placed onto a bed.

Her now blue eyes fluttered back open, her lashes clumped with tears and her nose was embarrassingly wet. She sniffed and sat up to see Faramir standing above her with no prominent expression. Dante's body shook with exhaustion but she was desperate to see Faramir's reaction. Her eyes drooped and she could not hold back the need to sleep. Her vision blurred as she quickly lost consciousness.

Her body ached when she woke. She ached but she was warm, and not just warm from the blanket. She turned to see that Faramir was beside her, his expression was serene in the early hours.

Slowly she drew herself out of bed; her body was still shaking from the loss of her demon strength. She limped to the tall screen that hid the tub and without asking for a servant to heat the water, Dante took a rag and dipped it into the rather cold water. She began to wash herself and inspect her new body.

In the tall mirror that hung on the wall, Dante could see herself fully this time.

Her body shape had not changed, her muscles remained the same, the scars and summoning tattoos were still there. Her skin remained dark but she noticed that all of her demon markings had disappeared.

Dante was a little glad to see that her hair wasn't the muddy color she thought it would be; it was actually an attractive red color that had a bronze tint to it. Her lashes were the same color as well as her eyebrows. She inspected her hands to find that she still had rather long nails that were tough but they were not the claws they once were.

Opening her mouth, Dante saw that her fangs had drastically shrunk and same with her ears, she now looked like she was part of the Inuzuka clan.

The now human woman leaned in even closer to look at her eyes. The pupils were now circular and a deep blue. Dante stood back and looked over her shoulder; her precious tail had disappeared leaving a tailless backside.

She bit her lip to keep the burning tears at bay. As a human, her emotions were much stronger, and the despair she felt was even more violent than when she was a demon. Disgusted, Dante turned away from the glass and dried herself off.

Pulling on a white slip, Dante once again noticed something missing. Her horns were gone. The woman could no longer hold it in. Falling to her knees, Dante let out a slow keening noise that sounded rather animalistic. The tears burned at her eyes and fell down her cheeks once again as she let out a cry and fell onto her side to curl up into herself.

Faramir stirred and sat up to see his beloved on the floor, curled into a fetal position. He threw off his covers and rushed over to her.

"Dante, Dante please get up." He whispered as he touched her shoulder only to make her curl even tighter. "Please, Dante come to me." He leaned over to her ear and kissed her temple. He wrapped his large hands around her upper arms and proceeded to untwist her so that he could bring Dante into his arms.

Dante sat limp in Faramir's embrace, sobs shaking her body as her nose was buried into his collar. "Dante…please, look at me." He asked but she refused to move. Finally Faramir pushed her off of him and held her face in his hands. He lowered his head so that she had to meet his eyes. "Are you Dante?" He asked.

Dante raised an eyebrow. "What?" "Are you Dante?" he repeated and the now human woman nodded. "Then nothing has changed." He kissed her slowly, Dante's body tensed before relaxing and welcoming her lover's affections.

Faramir then proceeded to explore her human body and prove to her that he did not see her any differently.

She loathed admitting it, but being human had a few perks. She could now lie beside Faramir without fearing of poking him in the eye, the smell and sounds of others no longer invaded her senses, and a few other small details. All together…she hated being human. She was a demon and proud of it…only to have it all ripped away to stay with some male and a few others in a world that was not her own.

Dante looked over to inspect Faramir with her human sight. His blond lashes fluttered against his cheeks as he had fallen back to sleep. She could no longer see every tiny detail on him, and for some reason he seemed even more handsome than before. He hadn't shaved in a few days so there was a good amount of stubble on his chin, his blond hair had a bit of brown mixed in, her favorite feature was his lips; his lips were perfect, pink and extremely kissable, the corners slightly tilted so that he looked as if he were dreaming of something good, and they were the same lips that worshiped her human body.

"Damn emotions." She muttered as tears ran down her cheeks. It wasn't as if she didn't have emotions as a demon, but they weren't as strong or created such rash displays. It was as if her love for Faramir had doubled and was almost painful. He was so kind…perfect…human. With a non-clawed hand she ran the pad of her thumb across his bottom lip.

She moved her hand over his face, hovering it so that it didn't touch him, and then softly touched his hair. The hair was slightly coarse, without modern soaps and being a male he did not do more than use regular soap to clean his hair. It was slightly tangled from where she had buried her hands into his hair some time ago.

Now that all the other smells in the area wasn't invading her senses, she could focus on his scent. He smelt of sweat and something else…Dante took a long drag through her nose and detected a hint of a musk and cedar wood. She leaned in and took in a deeper breath and her brain felt light headed. His scent always had appealed to Dante but for the first time she could focus on it.

Unconsciously, Faramir turned his body and slowly pulled her flush against him before settling again. Dante lifted her head slightly before laying it back onto the pillow. Her own arms curled up in front of her as her leg draped itself over his hip. She let her mind focus on his scent and fell asleep.

When Faramir woke up, Dante was sprawled over him, her head turned away from him. He blinked. He had never seen her like this; she was always awake before him. Her red hair was a mess and was spread around her and on him. She mumbled something and shifted slightly only to fall still once again, still deep in her slumber.

Her head had turned in her shifting so that Faramir could inspect her now human features. She still looked like Dante but her face seemed softer, her animal like presence was still there but it was not as sharp as before. Her eyebrows slightly furrowed and her nose wrinkled before smoothing out and she let out a low sound before falling silent. He smiled and gently ran a hand over her head, almost missing the horns that used to be there. He decided that he would only miss one thing about Dante's demon body, and that was her tail. Her tail moved with her emotions and when they were together it would wrap around his leg and it was comforting.

Faramir noticed that her lids were slightly red, signaling that she had cried again. He leaned in and kissed her eyes softly and began to ghost his lips over her face. When he got to her lips he barely touched her before she responded by leaning up to kiss him deeply. Faramir smiled and ran a hand down her side as her leg hitched up his hip and wrapped her arms around him.

They continued to kiss before breaking apart to properly breathe. Dante sighed and leaned back onto their pillows ungracefully. "This sucks." She stated. Faramir chuckled and pressed another kiss to her collarbone before lying beside her.

"You will grow accustomed to it." She huffed and pouted her lips. Obviously she wasn't in the mood to be crying but eventually it would come. "I'm going to go to the hobbits." She stated and moved to get up before being yanked down into Faramir's arms. She shrieked as she tumbled with him as he laughed. He landed on top of her and he pinned her arms with his. She glared at him. "Get off," she growled but was interrupted by a searing kiss that left her dazed. She barely noticed that her nightshift had disappeared.

"Not while I can keep you here in my arms. It is still very early, you can see the little men later. For now I don't feel much like sharing." He moved to kiss her but she turned her head petulantly so he kissed her jaw and began moving down bringing out a moan. He skipped over her breasts to come back up to her throat.

"Oh come on!" She grouched. Faramir shook his head and chuckled again. He leaned down and took her earlobe and gave it a small suck and Dante whined and clenched her thighs together. She glared at Faramir who merely captured her lips again and she finally gave in.

They once again made love in the morning. It was midmorning before Dante was able to pull away from Faramir. She giggled when he missed her and almost fell out of the bed. She skipped away and rushed to the water basin. She quickly washed herself before moving to their drawers.

Faramir came up behind her and kissed her neck as she tried to get dressed. "Come on, I've got to show my ugly mug some time." His reply was a sharp bite to her neck. "Ouch! Wha-ow! Ok, ok I'm not ugly sheesh." He soothed the marks with his warm tongue that made Dante lean back into him. He continued to sensually kiss her neck and once again suck on her earlobe. "Which reminds me," she said absentmindedly. She moved to her bag of things she hadn't unpacked and pulled out a box.

Faramir pulled her back against him and he just rested his chin on her shoulder as Dante began to replace her piercings where the seals had been broken. That consisted of all the ones on her lobes and cartilage as well as the lip and tongue piercings. Her bellybutton one was untouched as that had not been a seal. The eyebrow and nose piercings were non demonic seals so they were still intact.

"I had forgotten you had all of those." Faramir muttered.

"You don't like them?" Dante asked as she turned her head slightly. Faramir blinked.

"No they're fine; it's just very strange to see them on a woman, on you. It does add a little bit of eccentricity to you." He ended it with a kiss to her shoulder before moving away so the he too could get ready for the day. Dante smiled, human joy of being complimented by her lover was making her giddy. She quickly tied up her leather corset before kissing him on the cheek and leaving the room.

The servants around the castle paid her more attention than she had gained as a demon. Only this time instead of fear it was awe and jealousy. Dante wasn't really vain but she knew that because of her demonic heritage she was still inhumanly beautiful and now she was more human. She was now beautiful like the elves only more animalistic.

One thing Dante knew she always would feel was pride. She might be human now but she was born a high class demon and she will always be better and above the humans. She had more power than any of them. Ignorance is never tolerated or acceptable. She strode down the halls with her head held high with a closed off look to her beautiful face. She supposed it was a flaw on her part as pride often got people into trouble…but she had always been a prideful creature, being human wasn't going to change things.

She heals clicked down the halls and obviously the hobbits knew that sound meant her as their door swung open and the four tumbled out. They grinned and looked around crying out her name before Sam's eyes met Dante's.

"Dante?"

Her previous pride that had kept her head high crumbled as human fear took over her. She cursed inwardly as she felt her eyes prickle with tears. Her lip trembled and she sniffed to keep the tears from coming. Her shoulders slumped and she hung her head.

A small hand touched hers and she saw Pippin looking up at her in wonder. "Human?" he asked. Dante sniffed before huffing.

"Yeah, seems it's the price to pay to stick with you guys. Keh…worthless." She muttered as she looked away.