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she sent the phantom hands up his legs and they squeezed tightly around his upper thigh, "Let me love you" she begged as her lips kissed him again, with more passion, and longing. she kissed down his neck, shoulder, chest...

Though her body was obediently following the music to the way it remembered, her mind was else where. 'This is her distraction... and the song's almost over! Please don't give in Auren... Please. I'll be there soon. I'm sorry.' the thoughts nearly brought tears to her eyes, but her face remained still, emotionless.

she giggled and slipped out of her silky red dress, "Oh, No one in perticular..." she crooned as she kissed him softly. Undoing the clasp of her bra she watched it fall to the bed and smiled as her skin brushed against his. her fingers drifted down his chest and undid the button of his pants, and slowly slid the zipper down, waiting for him to take the lead.

Oriana got this horribly sick feeling in her stomach as the violinist hit the last cord of the song and she held her sister in a dramatic dip. when the strings finished humming the crowd applauded and she pulled her sister up. Oriana's eyes instantly scanned the rushing crowd for her fair haired lover.

Hali was once again whisked away by a group of young attractive men who were very interested.

Oriana stopped. she looked around and it sounded as though she were under water. she couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. "Why is this so familiar..." she choked as she dropped to her knees. a soft whisper at the back of her head giggled, "I took your boyfriend..." it taunted. her eyes shuttered and she clenched her fist.

the soft marble floor began cracking from the cold frost crawling across them as Oriana rose to her feet and summoned her bow. she could hear his breathing, and her giggling; their hearts beating together. tears began to stream down her face, but she knew... she had no one to blame but herself.

she followed in his footsteps seeing the scene through her eyes and as she reached the door...

And as Savanna moaned his name...

Oriana summoned an arrow, kicked the door down and screamed, "DON'T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME!"

The arrow flew straight through her side and she fell off the side of the bed. Oriana summoned another arrow and stood over top of her, letting it fly; close range, through her stomach. there were no tears anymore, just pure rage, as the room coated with ice the windows shattering from the cold. Oriana drew back one last arrow and aimed it inches above her forehead, her arms trembling, but she couldn't release it...

the arrows melted in her body and began to glow.

Oriana began crying and forced her way out of auren's arms, vanished her bow, and slammed her fit against the wall as she walked out the bedroom door.

Savanna's hardly breathing body suddenly inhaled deeply and her eyes fluttered. she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Damir grabbed Oriana and pulled her close, Vienna brushed through her hair and kissed her forehead, "We're sorry sweetheart... we should have been here sooner."

Hali peeked around the corner and sighed, "..... what have i done..." she grumbled as she curled up in a ball, hidden from sight, and cried.

all the guests were blocked off from the area under order of the past rulers of the realm, but there was definitely interest.

Oriana took a few deep breaths, straightened her dress and hair, and walked away from the scene with her glass of red wine and back to the ball to reassure everyone that everything was fine. when they cleared out of the tiny entryway, Oriana turned back around and helped her sister up from the ground, "Stop crying... we came to party, and at least one of us has to be the life of it..." she kissed her forehead and smiled, "... you're usually better at it."

Hali smiled and hugged her sister tightly, then left to keep things in order.

Oriana closed her eyes and tried to block out the pain, the images, the voices, and most of all; tried to look on the bright side. 'She never finished... she never killed him. he's still alive, and he clearly wasn't a virgin when he came to me... what's another woman....' she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, 'Plus... no mortal man can escape that woman...' her body tensed at the thought. oh, how she loathed her.

Vienna smiled when she noticed a vase right above Savanna's head on an end table. she raised her hands and the water lifted from the vase, and trickled down over Savanna, and made her sink into each drop. vienna then took another vase and walked away with it; Far away, and spilled it on the floor.

Savanna rose from the floor where Vienna had spilled the water, and they were smiling at eachother. Savanna smiled and offered a hug to Vienna, "Sister! how long it's been."

"Step Sister..." Vienna growled not accepting the hug.

"What, No love for me?"

"Get. out. of. my. realm."

Savanna's eyes widened and she glared at her, "I have every right to..."

"... To leave... Unless you want me to LET my daughter finish what she started, or LET her fiancee give you a piece of what's on his mind. Leave now... Or i'll Let Damir take you to Ice Aquious and give you the grand tour... maybe you'll turn into one of those lovely ice sculptures along the way"

Savanna looked devastated and slowly faded off into a dark corner of the room.

Vienna returned to Damir and held him softly, "Everything will be okay... Right?"

Damir nodded and held his wife close, "Everything will be fine."

After her parents had faded from the scene, and Auren's "Friends" had left him alone; Oriana took the plunge onto the deck, her heels clicking softly on the marble. she lightly touched his arm, then laid her full hand on him, "Are you alright?" A stupid question, but she meant it physically.

every time she closed her eyes, she flashed back to a time when she went through this before. when she loved another and this happened... she didn't get to ask that, because by the time she had found him, he was dead.

her other arm rested on his back and her forehead laid on his shoulder. she didn't know how he would react, so she tried to be comforting, but not crowd him... though deep down, all she wanted to do was hold him and cry.

it started with her hands, a slight tremble, that grew a bit and spread through her arm. then stayed. "could..." her voice a mere trembling whisper, "... But would you?"

Her ears blocked everything out again; everything but her strong beating heart. 'do i really want to know the answer...'

the tremble started in the other hand and worked it's way up, once it reached her shoulders she pulled her arms away and started shivering.

'Would he... leave me?' tears came to her eyes at the thought, 'We can make it... we can make it through this... we can make it.....' her voice echoed over and over in her head.

Oriana forced her own shivering to stop and walked over to his left hand. she brushed her hand through the thick bristly hairs, then once he relaxed, she lifted his hand and kissed the top softly. she couldn't stop the tears from coming, but she was too petrified by the thought of him leaving to speak.

Oriana gently guided his hand to be palm up and cupped his hand along her cheek. she kissed his thumb and smiled, whispering softly, "We can make it.... through this..."

"Auren..." she whispered as she closed her eyes, "I have been with two other men before you... The last one i was with was twenty years ago, and we... separated at this same ball... That's why i was being so paranoid..." she opened her eyes and tried not to think about how it ended, but he had to know, "the last time this happened.... we had just gotten engaged a few weeks prior, and.... she killed him. Not only did she lure him into degrading himself to the point where he had nothing more to give... she gave him just the tiniest bit to survive, and sliced him apart..." Oriana shuttered and leaned into his arms, "I'm just so grateful that you're alive... despite what happened."

she pulled him close and tried to ignore Savanna's scent on him, that's not what mattered right now, "Auren... I am certain that I am capable of leaving this behind. I am more grateful than devastated." she looked into his eyes and smiled, "I'm grateful, because you're still here with me, and in my arms."she released him from the hug and stepped back, "However, this is not something for me to decide... it's your choice now. I just want you to know that I will be fine... if you decide to leave." she walked to the door of the balcony and placed a handle on the knob, "Would you like me to leave you to decide?"