Hello, MTG fans and/or readers of NUTI & ALM! I am MrsCaraHAnderson, formerly known as lovelyladybug5. I am offering an outtake of this story or a preview of the next chapter to those that review.

Be sure to check out my other fics, Never Underestimate the Impossible and Anything Like Me; They are based off of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy.

Big huge hugs to my beta, . He's the Jace to my Liliana.

Please read/review!

xoxox

(Jace Beleren)

"Lili?"

I pull her through the threshold of the house and bolt the door behind her. She sinks to the floor in a dead faint. The runes on her face and body are glowing, and I feel the planeswalker magic coursing through her limp figure. I pick her up, and her body feels like it is on fire. I lie her down and sit on the edge of the bed for a brief minute.

Something is obviously very, very wrong. She wouldn't be here otherwise. However, I refuse to let any harm come to her if I can help it. I made that vow to myself long ago. Our past has more than its fair share of demons, no pun intended. Anyone who has been around me knows that I still care for her, regardless of her lies and her seductress ways. It's also obvious to me that she does not reciprocate these feelings.

I run a basin of water and carry it back to my room and sponge her burning forehead, trying futilely to drop her temperature. After a half hour of this, I force myself out of the room. I go to my sitting room and sink onto the chair. It's impossible to stop the questions that are bouncing around in my mind right now.

What could she possibly be here for?

What does she need my help for? She's always taken care of herself, and she's taken care of me. She is the reason that my mind healed after Kallist died.

Is it the demons? What about Wildspeaker, did he finally track her down?

Could she possibly be working with Rakdos? What about Lazav?

Is she cursed?

I can't even figure out why I care about this woman as much as I do.

I walk back up my stairs, taking care to be quiet. I run a new basin of water, sponging her forehead, trying to quench the inferno that's wracking her body.

Hours pass, those hours turn to days.

On the third day, she stirs. She thrashes and relaxes, her body covered in sweat. She falls limp and her eyelids flutter open.

"Jace?"

"Lili.. Liliana. What's wrong? Why are you here?"

"Jace.."

Her eyelids fall slack again.

It's another twelve hours until she wakes again. I'm just walking out when I hear her voice, a little bit stronger now, call out my name.

"Jace."

"Liliana? What's going on?" Her voice is so weak. She sounds meek, and mild. This isn't characteristic of her. I hand her a glass of water to quench her parched lips.

"My magic is near exhausted."

"I know. When you fell onto my door step, your runes were glowing and your body was on fire. What or who were you running from, Liliana?"

"I can't endanger you by telling you, but I need your help."

"That was the most contradictory statement you've ever uttered, Liliana Vess."

She snorts, because she knows I'm right.

"Do you not trust me, Liliana? Haven't I given you proof that I will side with you? I sent Wildspeaker to the other end of the multiverse, even after it all happened! If I remember correctly I wasn't the double agent."

Maybe it was a little too soon for that, but I was nursing my manhood for months after she left.

"I trust very few, Jace Beleren. You are one that I do."

"Then tell me what is going on, Liliana!"

"Jace, I can't! I can't endanger you anymore than I already have? Do you think that I didn't care for you? Do you think that the guilt over selling you out to Tezzeret and Bolas doesn't weigh on me?"

"Liliana, you are the most selfish person that I know! I know that what happened between us meant nothing to you!"

Lili's eyes glow black and her runes begin to glow. I feel the black magic permeate through the room. This is dangerous and we both know it. Her magic could kill her.

"You know nothing, Jace Beleren."

"I was a mere pawn in your plan to get rid of Kothoped and the others. It was I who fell for you, not the other way around."

"You were never just a pawn to me, Jace!"

"You have the audacity to say that, Vess?"

"Nevermind. It was a mistake ever coming here. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Lili. Let me help you!"

"I can't endanger you any more, Jace!"

We've reached an impasse. I don't know what I can possibly say or do to get her to tell me what is going on. Suddenly, an idea swims to the top of my mind.

"Fine, Liliana. You don't have to tell me what's going on. Stay here until you get stronger, that way you can fight off whatever plagues you. Right now, you're no good in a fight or even to protect yourself. Any powerful magic would kill you."

"It's not your place to protect me, Jace."

"Liliana. You and I are friends; we are allies. I'll help you when you need it. You let me heal when I needed it. You protected me. Let me repay this debt to you."

"You owe me no debt, Beleren."

"Let me help you, Liliana."

I take her silence as acquiescence.

She's not strong. I bring her a bowl of soup, and we let ourselves reminisce. We talk about nights on the run, funny memories between the three of us. Sometimes, when the conversation goes silent, I know we are both thinking about what transpired on those nights, so many months ago…

The glint that used to be in her eye is no longer there, almost as if she's given up.

She grows stronger day by day. When she first came here, she could barely hold a glass and any magic was dangerous to her well-being.

Days become weeks. She tries magic, little by little. When she first arrived, she could barely summon a flicker. Her eyes would go black, and she would faint again.

Time passes. I go to my engagements, all the while keeping her whereabouts a secret. When she arrived, I cast a veil over the house, obscuring her from anyone. It's been close to three months when she finally gets her full strength back.

More time passes. Days grow shorter and nights grow longer. Sometimes, she smiles. She almost looks like a new person.

We fall asleep on opposite ends of the house every night. I try to grow closer to her, she pushes me away. There are days when my pride won't let her in. There are days where we don't speak, and there are days when we are inseparable.

There is one night, in the darkest part of night, when my name rings out from across the house. Terrified, I bolt in. She's sitting up, looking resolved.

"What is it, Liliana?"

"Garruk is after me."

It all seems clear as crystal, now. That was the problem so many months ago. That's why she showed up at my doorstep, half dead. She's on the run from Wildspeaker.