A/N: well, not much to say in this note, 'cept for a GREAT BIG thank you for all the reviews you guys are submitting! seriously, you guys are what give me a lot of the inspiration I need to be working on this story all of the time. me luffs all of you .

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

"Though We Walk Through the Valley"

Chapter 4 - "Fear."

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"Victoria!" Victor gasped. He grabbed her shoulders and gently pulled her away from him so he could see her face. Her eyes were glazed over with tears, and filled with sadness and understanding. Yet she was smiling… ever so sweetly.

Victor frowned, suddenly feeling helpless. His wife who loved him more than anything had just… made it clear that he was free. She was going to let go of him so that he could go… to Emily.

"No," he stated sternly. "I will not be as selfish as to leave you behind due to my own foolishness."

Victoria continued to smile. Raising a hand to his cheek she said to him, "Victor, darling, it would be more foolish…" she paused to choke back a sob. A single tear however, managed to escape her eyes, and she brushed it away, frustrated with herself for it. "It would be more foolish for you to remain here."

Victor stared her, unable to speak, or move… or anything.

"I want you to be happy, Victor," Victoria spoke again. "That is my only wish. And if that means you being with someone else, then so be it. It… it would not be selfish for you to do this for me, as well as yourself."

The dark haired young man sat dumbfounded. "Victoria, I…" He trailed off, not even knowing what it was he wanted to say. He… couldn't just leave everything behind. Yet… something inside of him was screaming at him to take the opportunity. The realization of his remaining feelings for Emily had left him miserable in this world, and now that Victoria knew of his feelings as well, it would also be hard on her if he stayed. But…

"What about your parents?" Victor asked. He could've smacked himself for coming up with such a stupid excuse for staying there. "And mine? What in the world could we possibly tell them? They would never accept –,"

"Don't worry about them, Victor, I'll take care of them. You needn't worry about anything." Her smile remained, though it was becoming more and more difficult to hold it there. She tried desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to fall, since showing tears would only upset Victor even more so than he already was.

"So… will you go?" Victoria inquired, half frightened of what his answer might be. The expression on his face at this point was unreadable.

"I…" Frustrated at his lack for nerve, Victor glanced down for a moment, took a single deep breath, then looked Victoria straight in the eyes.

"I will."

He smiled.

She already was.

As Victor walked across the bridge, the town behind him was just beginning its day. He tried not o pay attention to the noise that emitted from it, but more to the soft, almost comforting, sound of his feet crunching upon to the new blanket of snow.

His goodbye to Victoria had been bittersweet… though more bitter than sweet. A few tears were shed from both of them, along with one last embrace. Victor knew he was upset about leaving Victoria, and he wished beyond belief that he would still be able to see her. But he knew that could never be… once he was in the Land of the Dead, he could only make very seldom trips back up here. If only the circumstances could've been just a little bit more normal… he could at least remain friends with Victoria. She was truly an extraordinary woman, just about the only person in town that Victor could relate to. Everyone else was just so dull; following the same schedule each and every day, perfection being the top priority. Victoria had been the only one who loved color, and appreciated other things such as art, and nature.

Victor sighed. He knew he would miss her terribly… but that was just one of a few things he was sacrificing by going through with this. He shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts from his head, for he now had to worry about other things.

He didn't know where to go.

The last times Victor has been transported to the Land of the Dead, it had been with the help of Emily – someone who was already dead. So probably the only way down there from the Land of the Living was to be accompanied by someone who already resided there. And then the obvious way to get there would be to die.

Victor gulped, his usual timid self surfacing. He didn't want to die… not yet, at least. What if he took the chance of actually going through with killing himself, and things didn't go as planned? What if Emily wouldn't accept him, or she wasn't even there? When she had disappeared in the mass of butterflies that night at the chapel, it had left him befuddled. She had told him that he set her free… did that mean she had gone past the Land of the Dead and into heaven? Had she only been there in the first place due to the unfinished business of her murder?

Victor shook his head again – that couldn't be right. Mayhew had appeared down there upon his death, and he had had no unfinished business. So then there was no heaven or hell… just a Land of the Dead, where Emily should be.

She had to be.

But what if she wasn't…

Victor didn't want to think about it.

At this point, Victor had made it to the start of the forest. He stopped, still unsure of what to do next.

Maybe he could hold the fact of him having been there before to his advantage. He didn't know much about how they did things down there, but he did know it was possible for them to go between worlds. And even transport a living person down there. So maybe if he could just somehow get a hold of someone down there…

Victor knew he didn't want to make contact with Emily, not yet. He wasn't so sure he was ready to see her at all. It had just been last night after all, when he told himself going to look for her was out of the question.

But then who else was there? He hadn't really spoken to anyone else during that day…

Ah! "Elder Gutknecht!" Victor stated happily, glad for having remembered the old skeleton.

Now that he had someone from the Land of the Dead he could try and contact, Victor made his way into the trees. He figured his best bet on getting a hold of the skeleton would be at the place him and Emily had ended up upon being sent in this world. That one beautiful clearing in the middle of the forest, where the moon had shone so magnificently that night…

That had probably been when Victor first realized just how beautiful Emily was, as she had gracefully danced upon the glittering snow. And even at the time, when he had been desperate to get back to town, and back to Victoria… he had nearly been impelled to pull her in his arms and join in on the dance. But instead, he let his fear overtake him. Looking back on it now, he knew he had been such a cowardice fool. Maybe if he would've come to his senses so much sooner, and not run away from her, things would've ended differently.

He wouldn't let his fear of the irrational lead him astray this time.