A/N: The final chapter and an epilogue will follow shortly. I got some time on my hands now so I should be able to get that out soon.
Marius' POV:
There were no words from any of the dozens and dozens of languages that I was fluent in that could describe how I felt while watching him leave with her. It was painful, more painful than when my maker decided to end her existence. But I had to let her go. I had given my word to him. I had no doubt that she would feel the pain of our separation as much as I have. She would feel the emptiness and the unbearable ache. But in time she would understand why it had to be done. She knew that honour was one of the most important things to me. It would have been dishonourable of me to go back on my word. I do not know how long I stand in the same place staring out into the darkness of the trees. A stake could have been plunged into my body and I would not have noticed. It is not until my son pushes his concern through our bond that I come out of my haze.
"Father?" Marten says in a questionable and worried tone.
I close my eyes briefly in an effort to relieve the pain and turn around.
"We have destroyed most of them. Several of them have fled up the hill," he says. Eric's child and vampire bodyguards were standing behind him. Several weres stand in the distance.
"Pursue them, but be mindful. The witch may have cast more spells," I say to him and the others.
"My master is calling me back," Eric's child says. "I have to go," she adds, looking at Marten.
"Go Pam," Marten says. "It was a pleasure fighting alongside you." He takes hold of her hands and places a kiss on them.
She smiles at him one last time and leaves. The vampire guards and weres follow her.
"I guess it's just you and me like always," Marten says. I nod weakly.
"The ones that fled up the hill looked to only be about 100 or 200 years old. They are no match for us," he says.
"They don't concern me, but that witch does. She is much older than I," I tell him. "She seems... familiar to me, her scent. I don't you want you to go anywhere near her, do you understand? Kill the others, but leave her to me."
"Yes father," he says. I could tell that he wanted to say more but decided against it.
We run swiftly up the hill until we reach another clearing that was tainted with evil witchcraft. We stand still, surveying the danger around us.
Suddenly a malevolent laugh and a dark fog fill the air. Marten glances around to find her but I know that her evil presence was everywhere.
"I knew that one day we would meet," she says and continues to laugh. "It is time that you pay for your sins." She begins to recite an incantation.
For a moment I wonder what she is referring to and the memory of how I am associated with her comes to me. "Marten, leave now!"
The fog quickly dissipates but Marten does not retreat. Instead he slowly walks forward with his sword in his hand.
"Marten, leave!" I order him once more but it was too late.
He stops moving forward and slowly turns around, revealing completely white eyes.
"I will send you to hell where you will feel nothing but excruciating pain for eternity! It is the only thing that you deserve!" he snarls in a voice that was not his own.
He swings his sword at me and begins attacking me. I defend myself against him but he seems to be quicker and stronger than usual.
"Stand down!" I try to command him again through our bond but I fail. I try to reach out to him through our connection but I meet what I can only describe as a dead end. It was like he was not my child anymore; that he was no longer there. The evil entity had taken over his body.
Marten is becoming even more stronger and faster. It is getting difficult to defend myself against his blade so I try something else. I use my power and focus it on him. He instantly falls to his knees screaming out in agony. He places his hands on his head as though trying to alleviate the pain.
"What are you doing to me?" he growls angrily. "It burns!"
"You will let my son go," I angrily command.
I hear the same sinister laugh and look up to see the witch approaching us.
"It is strange how children react to situations. One moment they are obeying your every whim and the next they defy you," she speaks in Japanese. "I once had a child, a very long time ago in Japan. He was the best fighter in the East. I had arranged for him to train with the very best so that he may take full advantage of his natural talent. But there was one problem with him. He had an ability, an unfortunate ability that allowed him to disobey me despite our maker/child bond. He wanted to leave me and so he did. I cried to him to stay with me but he told me that he wanted to explore the world on his own. He promised me that he would return but he never did. One night our connection was severed and I knew that he met his final death. Words cannot describe the anguish that I felt. When you lose a child, it is as though a large piece of your soul is suddenly gone. I later found out that it was you who ended him and I vowed that you would one day experience the anguish of a loss of a child. You will know how it feels like to be robbed of a beloved child that you nurtured. I have patiently waited for this moment for too long."
I look at her and at Marten. "I am sorry for your loss but I will not apologise. I did what had to be done. If he were to have survived he would killed an infinite number of vampires and humans. He was a danger to himself and to our kind. You said so yourself that you were not able to control him. As for my child, you will not take his life. Let him go before I end yours."
She laughs again, "You can try but you will not succeed. I am much more older and powerful than you. He will meet his final death by your hand," she points. "I must go and prepare myself for I will be bringing a new child into our world. A child who possesses fae powers and maybe more. When she is turned she will become the most powerful vampire our world will ever see."
"You will not go anywhere near her," I threaten.
She smiles, her rotten teeth showing. "She will be under my control soon enough and when she is, you will be the first vampire that she destroys." She vanishes soon afterwards.
I look down to see Marten still moaning in pain. "Father" he calls out weakly.
I release some of my power on him and he looks up at me. His eyes have returned to normal and I can feel him through our bond.
"Marten, be still. This will all be over very soon," I assure him.
"I can't fight it for much longer," he grunts. "It feels like a dark shadow is overtaking me and it wants nothing more than to kill you. I don't think it will stop until it does."
"I know," I tell him. "It is a wicked curse and irreversible. It can only be broken until its task is done."
"Then kill me father," he croaks out. "I will not allow it to complete its deed."
"No," I respond. I lay my sword on the ground in defeat. "It is my desire that you live. You are my son and the best part of me. As long as you remain, I will truly be immortal. I need you to help protect Sookie."
"I cannot!" he cries out.
I drop to my knees and release him completely from my power. He stands up and I look into his eyes, "Do it. I command you as your maker."
He sobs as he picks up his sword. He raises it to his side at the level of my neck. "I love you father."
"I love you too," I tell him one last time.
Just as he is about to strike, he plunges it through his chest and heart. He falls to the ground and his body disintegrates.
I am completely shocked beyond words.
"Marten?" I manage to whisper. A bloody tear rolls down the side of my face as I reach out to touch his blood. I slowly raise my hand to my mouth and taste it. For a brief second I irrationally allow myself to hope that it was not his but it was.
"MARTEN NOOO!" I cry out in overwhelming grief. I recall the time when I created him, when I gave him the life that he should have been given in humanity. I remember all those years of training him and teaching him everything that I knew. I remember every journey and the battles that we won together. The tears flow from my eyes as the memories flash through my mind.
Quickly, my grief is overtaken by rage, a blinding rage that consumes me. I look down. My hands and arms are fire red. My senses are heightened even more as I locate the one who took my son's life. She will pay dearly for what she has done. I now have a better sense of where she was so I set off to fulfill my new mission.
Sookie's POV:
I was vaguely aware of the feeling that I was being carried somewhere. Was I dead? Was my soul being carried away to heaven? I could feel the gentle breeze on my face, the waves crashing against the shore and the soft murmurs of someone's voice in my ear.
"Sookie? Wake up for me please," the gentle voice says. I could feel the light caress along my cheek and forehead. Marius? It had to be him, he found me! I try my hardest to open up my eyes.
At first my vision is blurry but the image of the person before me becomes clearer.
"Eric?" I say in a raspy voice.
"Shhh... Sookie you are safe now. Everything is going to be fine," he says.
"Where are we?" I ask. "The old woman, the witch, where is she?"
"We are on the beach," he answers. "Do not worry about her, she has been taken of."
"Is it just you here?" I ask him. Is Marius with you? I wanted to ask.
"Yes it is just you and me here on the beach. I will be calling Pam and my royal guards back shortly," he says.
"Oh," I say feeling disappointed. My breaths were in short huffs. I felt like I was having an asthma attack. I was so cold.
"I'm so cold Eric," I whisper, shivering.
He clicks out his fangs and raises his wrist. "You need my blood. It will give your strength and make you well again."
"Was our bond broken by her?" I ask.
"No, but it has been weakened and in turn has made you very weak. If you take my blood our bond will be strengthened once more," he says.
I glance at his wrist, then at him and shake my head. "No Eric. Perhaps it is better this way. It will help both of us to move on."
"Sookie, you need my blood or you will not survive," he pleads.
I shake my head again. "No, if it is vampire blood that I need, then let me drink from another source like Pam or one of your guards. Did Marius come with you?"
He is silent for several seconds before finally speaking. "Yes he was here."
"Then I will drink from him," I state.
He gives me a severe look. "You do not understand Sookie. This spell was designed to break the bond between us. It is only my blood that can heal you," he says firmly.
I look into his eyes and I can see that he was telling the truth. I contemplate my options for a moment. Die on this beach or re-establish my bond with Eric and apparently I didn't have a whole lot of time to think it over.
"Okay," I reluctantly answer.
He bites down on his wrist, puts it against my mouth and I drink in the familiar sweet taste of Eric's blood. Instantly I could feel the effects. The hum of our bond was returning and I could feel his emotions as though they were my own. Lust, love and worry were the dominant. My strength was returning and I was able to move my limbs with ease and breathe normally.
He leans down and places small kisses on the side on my face. I would be lying to myself if I said his touch did not stir up anything within me. I close my eyes and breathe in his familiar scent. He starts kissing the side of my neck and bites through my skin. By then, the wound on his wrist has healed and I could feel the pull of my blood as he drinks from me. I wanted to tell him to stop, that this was not part of our understanding. But I couldn't utter the words. The arousal and desire within me was so overpowering that I bite down on his wrist with all my might and drink from him again.
His other hand moves down my side and underneath my skirt. I faintly hear the tear of my panties. With the barrier gone he begins to rub my clit. I could hear the rational side within me telling me to stop, that this was wrong. Though my body desired this, my mind began screaming at me to end this physical encounter.
I open my eyes and remove my mouth from his wrist. "Eric stop! You are taking too much from me!" And I didn't just mean the blood.
Right away he removes his fangs from my neck and licks the wound.
"You weren't supposed to bite me!" I yell as I try to push him away.
"To reaffirm our bond, it had to be a mutual exchange," he says. "I had assumed that you knew this."
"Well I did kind of know that!" I huff, "But you failed to mention that it would happen here and now!"
He shrugs his shoulders and smirks.
"God, you were always so high-handed!" I say angrily. "And could you please remove your hand!"
I clamped my fingers around his wrist to remove it from between my thighs which he allows. This was almost like déjà vu.
He leans on his side as I get up. I smooth out my clothes and look around for my panties. Just then Pam, some other vampires and weres arrive.
"Master," Pam says bowing down. She then looks me over and frowns.
"I see that you are well," she says in a sarcastic tone.
I wanted to reply but before I could Eric says "Enough! What of the battle?"
"All the weres are dead. Some vampires fled the scene before we could get to them. Rosamund, her witch and her human were nowhere to be found," she says in a bored tone. "Marten and Marius have gone to pursue them."
"Marius? Where is he? Is he okay?" I frantically ask.
"Contact the were on the boat. Tell him to come here right now. You will leave this place with Sookie and rendezvous with me in St. Martinique," Eric instructs Pam.
She nods and begins speaking on her walkie-talkie.
"Pam! You didn't answer my question, where is he?" I say loudly but she ignores me.
"Sookie you will go with Pam back to the main island," Eric says.
"No!" I growl, "I'm not going anywhere without Marius! Now you tell me where he is!"
He looks at me for a few seconds. "Leave us. I need to speak to my bonded alone." I watch all the vampires leave. The weres were still in their wolf forms.
"He has given up his claim on you," he says casually.
"What? What do you mean?" I snap.
"He has agreed to not interfere in our relationship anymore Sookie. You are mine and now he has come to terms with it," he states.
I stare blankly at him. "N- n- noo he would never do that. He said that he would always be there for me as long as I needed him," I blurt out. "He would never do that. He would never go back on his word unless..."
"What did you do Eric?" I say quietly.
"I did what I had to, to get you back. Like I told you, you are mine and always will be," he says. "We reached an agreement. He has accepted that you are mine."
"You can't just do that Eric! You can't play with people's lives, make decisions for them and expect them to accept it!" I shriek. "You know what, I don't accept your so-called agreement. Me, the person that you are treating like a commodity refuses to accept your contract!"
"I am going to find Marius. Don't even try to stop me!" I yell. I try to walk away but he gets a hold of me from behind.
"Sookie, please just accept this," he says in a low tone in my ear.
"Eric, let go of me!" I say as I struggle in his grasp.
"Sookie just hear me out," he says as he loosens his grip around my waist.
"No I am done listening to you!" I tell him.
"Listen to me please," he pleads. "I beg you."
I stop struggling and try to catch my breath. "Alright say what you need to say, but make it quick." He releases me and I turn around to look at him.
"Sookie, you know that I love you. I love you more than anyone that I have ever known from both my life as a man and as a vampire. And I know that you loved me just as much. I felt it every time we made love, every moment that we shared together. I know that you love me still," he says.
"Eric, I can't go back, I have moved on. What we had was amazing but it's over now..."
"Sookie I know that you still love me. You can deny it all you want but I can feel it through our bond," he says.
I sigh. "Of course I still love you. I will love you up until my last breath but it's not the same. I don't feel the same intense love that I felt for you before everything went to hell. You need to understand that I've changed, we both have changed. I love Marius and I want to be with him. I can't just ride off into the sunset with you, metaphorically speaking of course," I say.
"Give me a chance. Give me a chance to make things right between us. I know that you can love me again as much as you did before. Just give me the chance to win your love back," he says looking at me with such intensity that it feels like he is staring into my heart and soul.
I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell him that that it was impossible for something to happen between us again. But I couldn't because it wouldn't be the truth. I knew that it was possible but I just wasn't sure I wanted to go through that again. I think back to all the times that we spent together. When he was there for me at my darkest points, when I thought I couldn't go on anymore. I remember all the times that he made me smile and laugh despite the fact that it went against his vampire nature. I think back to all the special moments that we shared when it just me and him madly in love and shutting out the rest of the world. He was my family and always would be.
But something that I hadn't anticipated occurred. I never dreamed that I could love someone else as much as Eric. What Marius and I had was very special too. He brought me back from the brink of despair; he saved my life. Of course this wasn't the only reason that I loved him. Unlike Eric, he was patient, kind and selfless right from the beginning. I loved being with him partly because he made me feel so happy and content when I had thought those emotions no longer existed within me. I know that he loved me just as much. Would he really just give me up that easily?
I gulp back the tears. "I don't know Eric. I mean I can't believe that he would just abandon me, leave me without an explanation."
He grips my arms softly. "We belong together Sookie, you cannot deny that and it is not just because of the bond. Give me a chance and I swear to you that I will make up for all the wrong that has happened between us. I will give you the time and space so that you can learn to love me again. We will make a fresh start, create a new life together."
"I... I can't make this kind of a big decision right now. I need some time. I need to talk to Marius," I respond. "I need to hear it from his own mouth that he no longer wants to be with me and then I need some time."
"Sookie that is impossible..." he says but I cut him off.
"No it's not! If you really care for me as much as you say you do then you will let me do this. Please Eric," I begged.
He takes less than a minute to think it over. "Alright, but I am coming with you."
I sigh in relief. I didn't want him to accompany me but I doubted Eric would let me go without him. "Okay, so which way?"
"I will fly you up to our last location. We should be able to figure out which direction he took," he says.
"Pam," he calls out. She suddenly appears from the darkness. "Meet us at the last place when we were with Marten and his maker. Be cautious," he orders.
She nods in compliance and runs off.
"Climb on my back Sookie," he says, which I do. We take to the sky and fly up the hill, heading towards the spot where the witch was performing the spell on me. I suddenly get the jitters.
"You are safe with me," Eric says after feeling my apprehension.
We land on the spot and look around the area for clues of their whereabouts. A minute later Pam appears.
"I think they went that way..." Pam says before two vampires tackle Eric to the ground. I react and barely move out of the way before I become his landing cushion. Eric's sword lands at my feet and before I could even blink, there are four more vampires attacking both Eric and Pam.
"Sookie, run!" Eric yells after tearing off the arm of one of the attackers.
I pick up his sword and start running but I don't get very far before Rosamund appears in front of me. She flicks the sword out of my hand.
"Well, well, well, you are a hard one to kill," she sneers. "I guess it has always been a job that was meant for me."
"No, if anyone is going to die here it is going to be you, you crazy bitch!" I snarl finding some new confidence within me.
She laughs loudly. "You must be the crazy one if you really think that a stupid pathetic human can kill me." She raises her blade, "This is truly going to be a rare pleasure and the best thing is that Eric is here to see you die."
"You're right about the fact that a human probably can't kill you, but a fae can!" Instinctively, I silently call out to Eric's sword. It appears in my hand and I block Rosamund's swing. She is momentarily stunned and I take the opportunity to begin my attack. We clash swords for a few minutes until I use another power within me. I raise my palm against her and a powerful force sends her flying and landing about ten feet away. With the strength and the agility of a vampire, I am in front of her and pick her up by the throat.
"I would let you go if I knew that you would leave me alone, but I can't see that happening," I tell her. "Sorry about this."
I plunge Eric's sword into her chest and she fall to bits spraying blood everywhere. Strangely though, none of her blood gets on me.
"Sookie?" Eric says behind me, "You are glowing."
I turn around and he is looking at me with fascination in his eyes. "You are beautiful."
I look down and my skin is luminescent with a light bluish tone. I look over at Pam who is staring at me in awe.
"I—I—I don't know what happened," I stammer. "It was like all of a sudden I knew what to do to protect myself. I'm sorry about her," I say pointing to Rosamund's blood.
"Do not apologize for ending her. I am only upset that I was not the one who did it." He comes up to me and caresses my cheek. "You are finding your strength," he says.
I look around and there are large blood splatters around the area. I also spot Ari's body lying face first on the ground. Good riddance, I think to myself in an un-Christian like manner. I look at Pam again hoping that she didn't want to take a bite out of me, but she doesn't move from her place.
Just then we hear a loud cry which sounded like someone in absolute pain. I recognize the voice instantly.
"Marius," I whisper. My light dims and I look over at Eric. "We have to go help him," I say. He nods and I hitch onto his back again. We fly upwards towards an area that made the tiny hairs on my neck stand up.
We land on the ground and survey the scene. There was more blood near a sword. Eric walks over to the spot, smears some of the blood on his fingertips and sniffs it.
"Who..." I say in a small voice almost not wanting to hear the answer.
He turns around with a forlorn expression, "It is Marten's blood."
I put my palm across my mouth to muffle my cries as the tears flow. We are joined by Pam and she reacts by dropping to her knees. Tears of blood were flowing from her eyes.
All of a sudden we see sparks and large bursts of fire in the air accompanied by the sound of Marius' battle cry about fifty yards away. Immediately I start running towards it but Eric stops me.
"It's too dangerous Sookie," he says.
"Eric, I can protect myself. You just witnessed it for yourself," I yell out.
"Yes but I don't think you can manage it properly yet," he says.
"But we need to help him," I plead.
"He's an ancient vampire with powerful gifts. He can handle himself," he says.
"Obviously not well enough," I say gesturing to Marten's blood. "We can help him. I know we can."
"Please master. That old hag killed Marten, she must pay," Pam cries.
He deliberates for a brief moment and finally says, "Very well, but stay close to me."
We run through the bush at human speed toward the loud sounds and lights. We stop dead in our tracks when we reach the fighting that was going on. The scene was almost something out of a science fiction movie. Marius and the witch were throwing large balls of red fire at each other. She look mentally deranged, more so than before. Her eyes were completely pitched black and black foam was coming out of her mouth. Her white hair was giving off sparks that were flickering towards her hands. I guess that must have been how she conjured up fire balls. Marius was glowing red. His blue eyes were replaced by fiery red ones. He was matching every fire ball that the witch was throwing at him but he looked like he was starting to tire out. He took high leaps in the air in an attempt to thwart her, but so far she was defending herself extremely well fighting against him.
Red sparks rain down on us and Eric shields me from it. "Come on," I say to myself, trying to invoke my newfound power while staring down at my palms.
"Sookie, you don't know...," Eric worriedly says but he doesn't get the chance to finish before my bluish glow returns and I could feel the power flowing within my body.
I take several steps forward and yell, "Hey!" They both stop and turn to look at me. Immediately I gather up some energy to form a ball of blue light that I fling against the witch. She tries too late to retaliate and the force sends her flying backwards. The energy singes every strand of her hair and she lays on the ground bald. But she doesn't stay down for long. She is on her feet a few seconds later baring her rotten teeth and black foam from her mouth.
"That's quite a talent you have," she says crudely. Her eyes become glossier.
"Sookie don't look into her eyes!" Marius yells but it's too late. I become entranced and can't look away.
"Come to me," she says and I obey. I still had control over my mind but it seemed she was in control of my body.
"No!" I hear Eric yell, followed by a loud thump and a painful grunt. I hear another thump and a female groan behind me which must have been Pam as I continue to walk towards the witch.
"You will join me," she says. "Together we will be the most powerful vampires this world has ever known."
I try to scream but I can't when she grabs me by the arms. Her touch feels like hundreds of tiny needles piercing through me. She lets go and grabs a small tiny dagger from a pouch around her neck. She leans in and is just about to bite my neck before I am thrown aside and land on the ground. I look up to see Marius slicing her head off with his sword. But somehow, even after losing her head, she manages to raise her hand and stab her tiny dagger into his chest.
He falls to the ground and I crawl to him. When I reach him, I put his head on my lap.
"It has punctured my heart," he says.
Tears fall from my eyes. "Tell me what to do," I say in a shaky voice. I wanted to pull the dagger out but was afraid what would happen.
"There is nothing that can be done," he says in a low voice. More tears fall from my eyes and I let out a few sobs.
"Please don't leave me," I sob.
He continues, "There comes a time when one's existence must come to an end. Perhaps mine is now."
"Please do not cry," he says putting his hand on my cheek. "I have experienced more happiness and love with you during these past few months than all my time on this earth combined."
"But I don't think it was supposed to end this way. We just found each other," I whisper. "We were supposed to have more time together."
"Yes," he responds as a single red tear drops from his eyes. "But I will take our memories with me to the afterlife and wait for you."
"Promise?" I ask him.
"I promise," he says. "We will be together again just not in this life. I want you to live. I want you be happy and free. Promise me that you will fulfill every dream that you have and once it is time, we shall meet again and be together forever."
I continue to cry silently. I didn't know how to do this. How do you say goodbye to someone that you didn't want to let go of? "I promise," I say with a trembling voice. "I love you. I will love you always."
"I love you too with every fibre of my being," he responds. He smiles at me one last time before closing his eyes.
"Marius?" I whisper. I shake him a little but he doesn't respond. He was gone. A light gust of wind goes by us and I let out a loud cry. I close my eyes, trying to decide what to do next. I didn't want to live without him. There was an emotion within me that was adamant about the fact that he should live.
I open my eyes, stop crying and focus on that emotion. I place both my hands over the dagger and the blue light engulfs us both. I focus all my energy on removing it and sure enough it inches slowly out of his chest until it is completely out. I throw it across the ground and zap it away with my power. I place my palm over his stab wound and it begins to heal.
"Come back," I whisper. All of a sudden I could feel his energy and emotions returning to his body. Tiny bright sparkles surround us as he breathes in and open his eyes. He looks at me with a bewildered expression. "You did this?" he asks.
I smile down at him. "Yes I figured it was fair. You healed my heart once upon a time, now I have healed yours."
He sits up with a huge grin on his face. I smile back at him and wrap my arms around his neck as he hugs me back. I put my lips against his and we share a kiss. We stay in our intimate moment for what seems like hours, blissfully unaware our surroundings until heartbreak and pain courses through the bond between Eric and I. We break away from each other and I look over his shoulder at Eric who is staring at us with a pained expression written across his face. Marius glances over his shoulder and back at me with a sombre expression on his face.
"You need to go back to him," he says, his voice filled with sadness. "I gave him my word. He is your bonded."
I am overcome with grief yet again as I try to hold back more tears. I nod weakly and we both get up. He grabs both of my hands and we just stand there gazing at each other for a few minutes. I didn't want it to end. But I needed to think positively about this, even if I didn't want to leave him. Life had a way of setting things right. I had to believe that was the truth, since after all, I had just saved him from permanent death.
I hug him once more. "I'm sorry about Marten," I mumble against him. "He was a good man and a good vampire. He shouldn't have died. It was my fault. It was because of me."
"Do not blame yourself for his death," he says softly. "Before you brought me back I saw him. His message to you was to not blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. He would've laid down his life for you."
I reluctantly tear myself away from his arms and wipe the tears from my eyes. I was kind of hoping that he would whisk me away from here. But that wasn't going to happen. He grabs my hand and we walk together towards Eric. Pam was nowhere in sight.
"Treat her well, help her grow into her powers and always protect her," Marius tells Eric. "But most importantly, let her be free. It is only during that time that Sookie is truly happy."
Eric nods his head. I walk towards him and he scoops me up into his arms.
I looked back at Marius. "I don't want to say goodbye, so I guess I'll just say see you later."
He barely manages a smile, "See you later," he replies back.
I smile at him once more before Eric takes flight into the sky. As we fly, I stare at the bright crescent moon, wondering about the future.
A/N: Okay I know you are thinking... WTF! IS THAT IT? But remember, I still have an epilogue to write out which I sort of have an idea of. So I will be posting again soon. Take care and have a good day