Interlude 2

To Say Goodbye

His breath came out in pants and puffs as he ran. His lungs were burning and his throat felt like it was on fire. Tears were streaming from his eyes, to dribble down his pale cheeks and pointlessly to the floor as his feet carried him towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

But then, everything was pointless. Life was completely without point. It was pointless to be alive when all you did throughout the days was to sit around waiting to be told off and pushed around. It was pointless to love when it was forbidden…especially when it was forbidden.

It was pointless for him to run to his love in the night, they would get caught eventually and then an end would be given to their pointless lives. There was no point in breeding, it just gave more life to the world, the curse of life, more pointless life.

Artemis lashed out with his coarse sleeve at his face. Tears were pointless, they changed nothing. Showing emotion only showed weakness. She was gone. Her pointless life had come to a pointless end.

But if it was so pointless to love, why was he running to through the dungeon tunnel towards his love? Why was he completely ignoring all the lessons that had been smacked into his head? Why was he blocking out the voices in his head reminding him of all the conclusions he had drawn to this day?

Artemis tried, God knows he tried, but to no avail. He could not halt the hiccupping sob as it rushed up his throat, scalding him as it came. It echoed around him, mocking him, taunting him as a weakness.

The sun had only just begun its sleep and the moon was not yet even bright above the trees. But he was still making his way from the castle. He was still trying to run from his memories. It was dangerous to be coming out at such an early time…but he needed comfort, he needed strong arms, he needed a soft voice to murmur sweet nothings in his ear, he needed someone to calm him. He needed Jacob.

His legs felt as if they would give way any moment and he feared he would collapse and lie forever, broken and bleeding on the stone floor beneath him. His hair was tussled and out of place, if he had been calm he would have been annoyed. His arms were beginning to feel numb as they pumped at his sides in time with his hasty steps. Still he carried on.

The light that lead to a temporary freedom had never felt this far away before. As much as he ran and as hard as he tried, it only seemed to grow further away. A fresh bout of tears flew out behind him, sparkling in the far off light as they fell towards the ground, caught in the flow of gravity and despair.

Artemis whipped at his face again and tripped on a rock that lay before him. He did not get up, it would be pointless anyway. His nightmare was coming true. He did not belong in the castle, but he could not escape to the outside world either, he did not belong there also.

So, Artemis lay there, broken although thankfully not bleeding, frozen within time, awaiting his rescue. His tears crawled down his face, tickling his soft skin, and splattered onto the ground beside him, before slowly creeping off towards the light, searching for the freedom he could not manage to find. His own tears were mocking him.

The moon outside the tunnel was hardly even there, a tiny slice against the ever expanding cosmos. In its own way, it showed its sorrow for the man hidden from its glow. It commanded the stars to glitter down at the world, creating the illusion of its own tears, soaring across the sky, crying out in silence anguish.

Footsteps resounded around the tunnel, approaching the shivering, crying figure. The face was one of worry, a furrowed brow marred the lightly tanned forehead. Emerald gems sparkled even as the light receded behind him, sparks of anxious fret and concern.

Artemis was drifting between the folds of his mind. One second, or what felt like a second, he would be silently floating in clouds of fluffed, soft wisps of an unidentifiable material, not a solid but then not a liquid and then not quite a gas either.

Then another second, he would be wrapped in the eternal flames of earth, screaming out as they licked at his sensitive skin. He could not wake himself from this restless state, only hope and have faith in the outside world.

Just as he was starting to lose all trust in the other world and he began to drown again in his fire swept hell of molten flames, a cool touch breathed across the edge of his consciousness. A calmingly, cold stroke of heaven swept through him and sent the fires of his mind back to a frozen, painless state. Artemis flickered open his defrosted eyes.

The lined on his troubled brow finally smoothed, if only slightly. A smile crept across his lips as he pulled Artemis to his chest, encircling him within strong arms. In return, fingers threaded into his hair and pulled his face up to meet his own. Lips touched. Sweet, tender and loving, filled with an innocence they had not felt together for a long time.

"She's gone."

And so the sobs began again as his lover began murmuring in his ear. Humming old tunes to him, hushing his tearful cries and singing a tranquil, song. Nothing what-so-ever that could be seen as of importance but calming and bringing a rush of memories back to the blonde prince. Mutterings of love and declarations;

"You take my breath away every minute of every hour of every day…"

Reminiscences of secret meeting, waiting for one, single special moment.

"…To watch the sun rise on your face…"

Even philosophical nonsense was added to the tune, as the cries began to die away and another voice added its soft input into the old, personal melody.

"…Time is a wave in constant motion…"

Many hours into the night, after many repetitions of such songs, the two fell silent. The intimate moment was not to be interrupted this night. They would stay, leaning back against the grime covered wall in each others arms.

Artemis, for his part, was not in any way, against allowing his lover the feeling of dominance on this night. He felt completely exposed, his emotions on show to the world. He needed the protection his Jacob could offer.

"What happened?" His voice was soft, hardly there, whispering over his ear from behind.

"He did not mean to…she fell…he reacted…it was…he…she…"

Silence reigned once more over the tunnel, waiting for softly spoken words to return and continue their story. Artemis, determined not to cry once again, snuggled back into the other man's arms.

"It was an accident…Mother…she…surprised Father…he…" He stopped again, considering his words. His sentence was firm, although he who he was trying to convince was anyone's guess. "It was an accident."

Jacob, behind him, nodded silently.

Echoes of dripping water filled the tunnel.

From the whispers and murmurs, two soft voices began to sing once more, melodies of privacy that should never be heard by outsiders' ears.

Meanwhile, the moon outside, who's weeping had been raining above the world, turned its tears of stardust to joy. Flying across the sky, keeping the memory of love alive forever.

Chapter 6 review replies

Bahlovkarizma – I hope you enjoyed this one too.

Minoki – here is your continue

Imarriedmalfoy – a) here is a bit of emotional insight into the lives of Artemis and Jacob – I was in a lovey dovey mood when I wrote it hence all the imagery b) I'm glad you liked the last chapter c) I enjoy reading your comments d) loads of old men have used that phrase before me, so technically I stole it first and e) (last one) please enter the dedication competition. Bibi

Mistress of the flames – Your next update. Love u and come back soon.

Nymphy fate – Sorry for leaving you on your cliffhanger still. But I wasn't in the mood to write petty fights and stuff so I did an emotionally charged memory thing instead. Hope you like it.

I would also like to thank Westlife and Ronan Keating for the lyrics

SEX Dedication Competition SEX

Guess the names of the next set of past lives. Get both correct and their first chapter will be dedicated to you.

Draco's name begins with L and has 7 more letters. (8 in total)

Harry's name begins with B and has 4 more letters. (5 in total)

SEX SEX SEX (I hope that got your attention)

Please take a guess guys.