So... here I am again. I'm updating because I updated at like 2 am and now it's like 8 pm, so... yeah. Enjoy.

It was a dark and stormy night. An unnatural haze lingered over Miami. In his bed, Austin shivered. For a summer night, the air was cold and the sky was black. It was almost as if something evil lurked out there in the shadows.

Austin rolled over, clutching his pillow, and tried to fall back asleep. But a worry nagged in the back of his mind. Something was not right. No matter hard how he tried, some ghostly force prevented him from sleeping. It made him uneasy. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed, pulled on his silk, and poured himself a cup of water from the pitcher on his nightstand. Quietly, he left his room.

The halls were silent as he walked in the dark. He did not know where he was going, or why, but his body seemed to move on its own accord. He was being drawn by an unseen power. Past his father's bedroom, past the dining hall, past the bedroom, and out onto the terrace. With the moon hidden behind thick clouds, it was nearly impossible to see in the inky black night. But something lying on the path to Austin's right made him gasp in shock. A body!

He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. Tree branches scratched at his skin and pulled at his clothes, but he paid them no mind. Heart pounding, he fell to his knees on the pathway and placed a gentle hand on the figure's arm.

Now that he was closer, he could see that this was a young woman of Miami, a Damsel by the looks of her, who appeared to be no more than eighteen years old. But she was in dire need of help. Her clothes were torn and bloody, and her hair was matted with dirt. She needed the attention of a healer, immediately. Without a second thought, Austin picked up the wounded Damsel and, cradling her in his arms, carried her inside to seek the help that was so desperately needed.

"Her situation is severe," a man said in a worried voice. "Whether or not she will live until morning is beyond my sight. My team of healers will do the best they can, but..." his voice trailed off.

Austin could sense his fear. There was a good chance the young woman might die. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

The man sadly shook his head. "Nothing the healers are not already trying. But it might help if you just sat with her. She will need to see a friendly face when she wakes up from this ordeal, and you are the closest thing she has right now."

"I understand," said Austin. "And I will stay with her for as long as it takes. I will not let her die."

With that, Austin turned and hurried to the room where the wounded Damsel was being housed. She was surrounded by healers, all of whom wore the same concerned expression. They had washed her body and dressed her wounds with a healing salve, but still the woman showed no signs of improvement. Her breathing was shallow, and her pulse was weak. One of the healers turned to Austin with a defeated sigh.

"It will be an uphill battle," she said. "We have done all we can at this time. Now, we can only wait and see if she wakes."

Austin nodded resolutely. "I will stay with her through the night and keep watch as she sleeps."

One by one, the healers left the bedside, the last one closing the door behind her. In the flickering candle light, Austin dipped a square of cloth in the bowl of warm water left by the healers, and gently used it to stroke the injured woman's hands. Then, taking up the Damsel's limp hand, he settled into his bedside chair and prepared to wait through the remainder of the long, cold night.

"Where... where am I?"

Austin jerked awake with a startle when he heard the words being spoken. He stared down at his patient, an immense wave of relief coursing through his body. The woman was alive! And from the looks of things, she was on her way to making a full recovery.

"You are in the palace," Austin told her. "I found you last night, lying unconscious and nearly dead on a path coming from the forest. I carried you inside, and my father's healers tended to your wounds. Please, tell me your name and how you came to be here."

"My name is Ally," said the girl. "I come from a small cottage. I do not know where exactly. I was on an errand from my father to deliver a message. But last night... all I remember is that I was riding through the forest when suddenly I was attacked by a group of ogres. At least three surrounded me. I tried to escape, but there were so many, and I had only my knife for protection. And that is the last thing I recall. I do not know how I came to be here, or why I am not dead."

Austin smiled at her. "The stars must shine favorably on you. To live through such an ordeal... that is more than mere luck." It was more than luck, too, that Ally had wound up in Miami and Austin had found her. Now that the two were together, it felt almost like fate had lent a hand. Ally was meant to be here, and Austin was meant to have found her. Why, Austin did not know. But it felt so certain.

It also did not hurt that Ally was one of the most beautiful individuals Austin had ever seen. Her wavy brown hair compared perfectly with her large, dark puppy brown eyes set in a lovely face. And her sculpted body, half-hidden by the bed linens, was a further attraction. Austin could hardly suppress his desire to run his hands over that soft hair and perfect body. But he kept his feelings under control. Ally had just barely survived a nearly fatal encounter. Now was not the time for romance.

Within three days, Ally had improved enough to leave her bed. They gave her a new set of clothes, and she was able to wander the corridors and gardens by herself. But the one thing that troubled her was Austin's absence. Since the morning when she'd first awoken in Miami, she had not seen Austin at all. It was as if her rescuer had simply disappeared. She had asked his father where his son could be, but he had no answer. Austin was gone without a trace.

Ally desired to speak with Austin again, and properly thank him for saving her life. But she also just wanted to see him once more. She could not explain it, but she felt a deep connection to Austin, either forged by the lifesaving bond or some other power. She knew that Austin was someone special. Someone she had to see again.

It wasn't until the sixth day after Ally had recovered that Austin returned to Miami. He rode up the same path where Ally had been found, dragging a net filled with the heads of the ogres behind him. All three of them.

"Here are your ogres!" he called to Ally. "I found them hiding out in a cave not far from here."

Ally stared in surprise, eyes going wide. "You killed... all of them by yourself?"

"I cannot let such dangerous creatures roam free in our lands," Austin replied. "And I did it for you. They nearly killed you. I do not want anything like that to happen again."

Ally could feel her heart pounding as Austin spoke. Austin killed those ogres... for her. Before she could stop herself, she leapt at Austin and threw her arms around his neck, kissing the brave man on the cheek.

Austin laughed in surprise, but did not pull away. "What was that for?"

"It was just a thank you." Ally said. She smiled, but when she saw the suddenly serious look in Austin's eyes, the smile faded. "What is wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Ally," said Austin, "I have to confess something to you. That first morning you were here... I thought you were so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you then, but I did not know how you would react."

Ally gasped in shock. "Kiss... me?"

"I told myself I must not, because of the terrible ordeal you had just suffered. It was not the right time. But these past few days while I was gone, I could think only of you the entire time. And now..."

"Austin..." Ally sighed his name. "I thought about you too. All the time, while you were gone. I was worried I would never see you again."

Austin lifted his hand to gently stroke Ally on the cheek. "I am sorry I ran off like that. I should have said something to you."

Taking a deep breath, Ally said, "Austin, there is something I have been considering over the past several days. I think we were meant to find each other. What happened to me... it was no accident of fate. I was meant to come here. You were meant to rescue me."

A bright smile broke across Austin's face as soon as Ally had spoken. "You know," he said, "I had been thinking the same thing! That night when I found you I had been worried and unable to think. Some strange power led me out to the terrace, and that was when I saw you."

Ally took Austin's hand. "So you think... we are meant to be together?"

"I have no doubt of it." Slowly, Austin leaned in and kissed Ally softly on the lips. "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too, Austin." Ally whispered in return.

It was a dream. A dream. A realistic dream. Who am I kidding? It seemed like it took place in medieval times. There were ogres! Why'd I even think it was real for a second? Maybe not the setting or context, but what happens in it is real. The feelings are real. The connection was real. Everything was real. It felt real.

I wanted to scream over the fact that it was just a dream. I wanted it to happen. Why couldn't this damsel in distress fall in love with the hero and live happily ever after? A question I was sure would never be answered. I hated that it was a dream. I hated that it was a dream that would never come true. I hated the entire dream. At the same time, I loved it. I loved it when I thought it was real, but now that I know is not the case, I hate it. I wanted to go back to sleep and dream it all over again. Of course, I couldn't. This felt like the most insane situation to be in. It was the most insane situation to be in. Why couldn't it just end? What would I need to do to make it end?

Please. That would never make it end. Asking it to end? That's like asking a wall to move. It was like asking the impossible. It would never happen. I wanted to slip away, be somewhere else. I couldn't take it anymore. I love him so much my heart hurts. Is love supposed to feel like that. Let me rephrase that: Is true love supposed to feel like that? Is it supposed to feel like you're suffocating? As someone who has never been in love before, I don't know.

I started to cry. I couldn't help the flow of tears down my cheeks. I couldn't help what I was feeling, though if I could, I wouldn't be in this situation. I wanted this all to just be over. I would have to end this in some kind of way. That meant I would have to talk to Austin. Yay?

I didn't need a mirror to know that I was a wreck, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Nevertheless, I opened the door and walked in, with a sulky feeling in the pit of my stomach. I shivered a little. Being in here felt so wrong. I was not supposed to be here.

As if he had sensed my presence, or simply saw me, Austin came out of his room slowly. He must have noticed that I was feeling a little (or a lot) depressed. "What's wrong?" he asked and sat on the couch. As I struggled to respond, I simply didn't, and sat next to him.

The only way to truly respond was to tell him what was on my mind. I went through a whole list of things to say in my head but there was one that seemed like the best thing to say. "I had this dream. It was really weird, but... it got me thinking... about you. A lot. A lot more than usual. There's one part that I... love. It was something about me not coming to you on accident, but it was a twist of fate and... it was meant to be. I have to ask you if think that or if I'm just crazy."

"Well, I don't know. It was your dream."

I laughed a little until I realized he was serious. "No, I mean... do you think we were both at the party that night just because... or because it was a sign or fate telling us we were meant to be? The dream probably-"

"Yes. I do think that."

I looked at him, almost as if to see he was telling the truth. I knew he was. I knew that without having to look. "It's just... I guess sometimes the person you really need is the one you didn't think you wanted. It took a stupid dream for me to realize that."

"Yes, it did."

I didn't know what to do or say next. All I really knew was that I was tired of lying to myself and to him. I envisioned myself saying my true feelings for him, but that didn't happen. This was supposed to be a goodbye, but I think we both knew it wouldn't end up as one. "Feel free to say something because I... I'm out of words."

He didn't say anything. "I have nothing to say."

"Well, I guess... this is it. Bye."

"Wait. You say it like it's final."

"Because it is!" I didn't know why, but I was growing annoyed. I wish that he could read my mind and understand every emotion and thought that I have. We'd be closer to the end of this.

"Why?"

"I'm confused."

"Confused about what?"

"Us!"

"What's there to be confused about? We're just... us."

"That's the problem. There can't be an us anymore. There's barely an us now! I think about there being an us and I don't feel in love... I feel like I want to cry and sometimes... I do. I hate being in love with you."

"No, Ally. The problem is you. You're so hung up in the past about what happened. You have to learn to move on."

"I can't move on, okay? I try and everyday, it just gets harder and harder. It's because of you. I'm reminded of everything that happened every single day because of you. That's why I'm here. I have to end what I'm feeling."

"Well, then, what are you feeling?" I just now noticed angry we both sounded with each other.

"I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest. It's not that you broke it or anything. It's that you make it hurt. Not the stuff you do, it's just... you. I hurt all the time and there's never anything I can do to stop it."

"Then forget about me. Leave me and never turn back. It seems like the obvious solution to your problem."

"I can't do that! But believe me, I have tried so many times. And I just keep ending up here."

"That's not my fault."

"I didn't say it was!" I sighed, before speaking again. "It's not. It's mines. It's my fault." my voice cracked a little when I said that.

"Why do you keep ending up here? Your life would be better if I wasn't in it."

"That's true, but it wouldn't be my life without you in it."

"What are you scared of? Why? What is it?" By now, he was shouting.

"Me, I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of who I am, what I saw, what I did, but most of all, I am scared of walking out of this room and never feeling for the rest of my life, the way I feel when I'm with you." That was the whole reason I came here. That fear was why I was here in the first place.

"Why can't you just move on?"

"I'm trying. Moving on is simple, it's what you leave behind that makes it so difficult."

He stared at me. "Ally. What's so great about what you're leaving behind?"

I blinked. "The fact that I know it would never leave me behind." One of us would have probably kissed the other had I not started weeping into his chest. But he held me in his arms. That was enough for me. It couldn't be described as a hug, but it couldn't be described as me laying on top of him with our arms around each other. It was something that I was certain would never happen again. But, like always, I was wrong.

My sobbing stopped. I listened to the beat of his heart. That's when I could finally say it. "I love you."

His breathing pattern slowed down. "I love you, too. I... I always have."

I closed my eyes. I started thinking about something. I was excited about it.

My heart had stopped hurting.

Oh, I love this chapter. It turned out way better than I expected. We're getting to my ULTIMATE favorite chapter pretty soon though. And I thought for once I'd say, thank you! You guys are so awesome! Like, seriously. You guys are what makes me want to write each new chapter! Stay amazing! : )

Well, enough of that sappy stuff. Tell me what you think?