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*Content warning: Mild sexual content and mild language. Slight cheesiness xd *

“But you know we can’t. It’s forbidden!” Alexis exclaimed, trying her best to keep her voice low and convey her worry at the same time. Her deep blue eyes glinted in the moonlight. “You know how He is.” She tried to turn away; to walk back through the door marked with the symbol of Scorpio.

The man pulled her back. “I beg you to come with me.” Felix looked at her pleadingly. “I need you, you are my light in the darkness that we live in.” He got on his knees and held Alexis around her midriff. “Please, Hummingbird, come with me. We can leave this place.”

Alexis glanced around nervously at the dull streets before looking down at her lover. “But you are a Taurus. You know the rules. If He finds out, we will both be killed! This should have never happened. I’m so sorry, Felix.” Again the young woman tried and failed to enter her dwelling.

“I don’t care. I refuse to let it end like this!” He picked Alexis up and held her as a groom would hold his bride. Feeling as though he should begin their journey on the right foot, he kissed Alexis deeply before running toward the gates with her still squirming in his arms.

Felix carried Alexis as fast as he could, but it was simply not good enough. The second the gates had closed behind them, the alarm started to sound. He cursed himself. If he had been stronger, faster, maybe they would have been far away before someone realized they were missing.

He ran for the woods, believing with his dark hair and eyes, he could blend in, but he was worried about Alexis. Her white-blonde hair was sure to catch the moonlight - and someone’s eye. Feeling it was the lesser of the two risks, Felix stopped behind a clump of trees, set Alexis down, and pulled off his jacket.

“What are you doing?” Alexis sounded both angry and aroused. Wasn’t that the curse of the Scorpio? Always ready, always willing. “Put this over your head,” he whispered urgently. “It’ll be harder for them to see us.” He threw it over her without waiting for a response.

Grabbing her hand, Felix pulled her onward. They had never been outside of their ruler’s city before, but they had heard rumors of others. Cities where people were free to choose who they wanted, and what they wanted, and when. None of this silly ‘rule by astrology’ nonsense.

Already the sound of horses and dogs could be heard. They would surely be found. “Felix, where are we going?” They were already deep in the forest. Felix did not answer. He was putting all of his energy into trying to find a place to hide. “Felix? Felix, answer me!” Alexis demanded.

Before he could respond, he was jerked to the side by someone, pulling Alexis with him. One second they had been in the middle of a forest, being chased by His scouts, the next, they were standing in a rather cramped, hollowed out tree. Their savior slid a slab of tree bark over the opening and they were plunged into darkness. As their eyes adjusted to it, they could make out the outline of an old man.

“What-” Felix began, but the old man shushed him. “Quiet now, just for a while.” Slow moments passed before the sounds of the scouts grew louder. All too soon they were right outside of their tree.

“The dogs have lost their scent!” one of the scouts was yelling. “They must have doubled back at some point. Come on!” Despite the order, there was no sound outside to indicate that the scouts were leaving. Silence, unbearable silence. Then, “Alright, men. Half go on, half go back. We’ll get them.”

Everyone in the tree sighed their relief as the sounds grew faint. “Now listen to me,” the old man said without a pause. “They’re going to capture you if you leave here. Stay here no matter what you may hear.” He hoped the couple would listen. How many times would he fail them?

Through the dark, Felix could see Alexis eyeing the old man with suspicion. It reminded him of the first time they met. He had just finished work, and had finally gathered up his courage to talk to her. He had explained that he had been infatuated with her for a long time, and that he would like to meet with her in private. She had given him this same look. “Are you a scout?” she had asked, without the slightest trace of embarrassment.

Oh how he had laughed. In the end, she agreed to meet with him. One meeting was not enough, however. They began to meet for weeks until the night that they finally had each other. It was a wonderful, mind blowing experience for Felix. But that’s when things started to go down hill.
The relationship started out as something exciting and carefree. But once the sex began, Alexis started to get cold feet. Their meetings came less often, and she became moody and unpredictable.

Tonight she tried to leave him. “It was fun while it lasted, but after we… after that, there’s just no way I can keep seeing you. We’ll be killed.” Over and over she said that, no matter how many times he tried to convince her otherwise. And she had been right after all. He was not good enough to keep her safe.

“Do you hear me?” the old man asked with something close to hysteria in his voice. “Listen to me you young fool, or all will be lost!” He hit Felix on the top of his head and repeated what he had said. “They will say things and do things to try and scare you out of hiding, but you will be safe here.
“I’m going to go distract them. Lead them away from here. Stay put.” He began to make his way out of the tree, but Felix grabbed him roughly. “And how do we know that you’re not just going to inform the scouts?” he asked in a harsh voice. “Why should we just trust you?”

The man looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and anger. “My dear boy, I have been living in this tree for sixty years. They killed my Hummingbird. I could not save her. Eighty years I’ve lived, and only one of them was spent with my love. Why would I want to destroy yours?”
Felix was still not sure if he believed the man or not, though felt that he had no choice but to stay here. He let go of the old man’s arm and held on to Alexis. Once he was sure that the old man was no longer near, he whispered to her.

“I love you, Alexis. No matter what happens, you’ll always be my only, I promise.” Even in the darkness he could see a tear shining on her face. She stood on her toes to reach his mouth and kissed him sweetly. “I love you, too.”

Full of passion, her hands found his and she put them on her breasts. Alexis did not believe for one second that they would be safe. She wanted one last moment with her Felix, one last time as his lover.

It was amazing how much more space the tree seemed to have once they were shed of their clothes. They did not rush, but took their time, careful to get every move right. If they were to be found, let them be found loving each other. Their senses seemed to sharpen in the tree. The sounds and smells of their passion were intense. Half-blinded by the darkness, every touch and kiss was felt tenfold.

Time took no notice of them, and they no notice of time, but it passed all the same. Too soon their bodies were worn, and their moments to a close. As they dressed, they could hear the scouts again. They sounded both angry and triumphant.

“He said they’d be down by the beach.” One voice was saying. From the other direction they could hear another man shouting. “Lying old scum.” Then louder. “He was lying. Kill him.” A single, loud, echoing bang filled the air.

“Burn the whole damned forest down!” Another scout was yelling. “They’ll either die or run. Burn it to the ground!” Shouts of agreement met this.
Felix looked at the woman he loved. Should he risk it? Was this simply a trap to lure them out? They would wait. That’s all they could do now. Once the fire started, they would make a run for it, and then… Then it would be out of their hands.

They could hear the scouts snapping twigs and gathering brush. It seemed to go on for an eternity. Finally there were new sounds. Sounds of flames licking hungrily at wood, sounds of scouts and animals retreating.

“Alexis?” he asked quietly. “What do you want to do? It’s my fault we are here, maybe if you take charge, we can still get out of here alive.” Felix watched as Alexis bit her lip nervously. There was a moment when there eyes met when he considered just grabbing her and running away without waiting for her answer. He could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, however, and could not bring himself to do it.

“Okay.” she said finally. She was trembling, and tears were sparkling in her eyes, but she looked determined all the same. “Okay. There are two choices. Stay here and burn, or make a run for it. If we stay here, there’s no way to protect ourselves from the fire. If we leave, we have a chance. It may be slim, but it’s a chance all the same.”

Alexis looked up into her lover’s face. She kissed him one last time before nodding. They reached out and clasped hands and slid the tree’s concealed door to the side. As though their minds were connected by their love, they ran in the same direction without communication.

As fast as they could, they made their escape. Felix began to tug Alexis. He knew now where he wanted to go. The old man had told the scouts about a beach. That meant that there must be a ocean nearby. He was trying to lead his lover in the direction he thought would lead to the water.

The scouts were close, just outside of the controlled fire’s range. They watched as the lovers came out from the burning brush. They waited, trying to guess where the rebels were headed before acting. There was only one thing in that direction - ocean. The scout leader smirked. “Men,” he began, “split up. We’ll sneak up on them from all directions.”

Hearts pounding, breath ragged, and heads spinning, Felix and Alexis ran. The ocean was in sight. If they could just make it, they could swim. If they could swim fast enough, the scouts would not catch them. These thoughts pounded in time with their hearts. Freedom was within their reach.

That’s when they heard it; the sound of horses crashing through brush. Without thinking of the consequences, Felix stopped running and looked behind him. Not a moment passed in which Alexis regretted following his lead. They were caught, and she would stand by her man. She held onto his hand more tightly. “I love you,” she whispered.

“So you’ve decided to quit running?” one of the many faceless scouts asked. “That’s got to be the dumbest thing you could have done.” A smirk twisted on his face. “Shoot them,” he said without warning.

The first shot fired hit Alexis in her left breast, the second in her forehead, and the third in her stomach. Things seemed to blur for Felix. There were cheers from the scouts. Rage and pain filled his body before he seemed to numb over. There was a dull throb in his arm, another in his chest, and another. Again and again he felt dull throbs, but nothing registered with him.

He reached the scout who had ordered the others to start shooting and began to strangle him. Though at first the scout looked shocked, even scared, it did not last long. He managed to give Felix an evil grin before shooting him dead center in the stomach.

Blackness, spiraling and bleak filled Felix. He hit the ground, unconscious. The scouts, believing him dead, left him where he lay.

Hours later he awoke in his old tree, tears soaking his aged skin. Every night he relived that day, when he lost his beautiful Hummingbird. Perhaps this would be the night he could really change things. With luck, he would wake up to another day with Alexis by his side, as she should have been for all these long years.

heh 4laugh thank you 3nodding
and that's actually the only short story I kept xd the rest are all beginnings of novels, and not nearly as polished. [polished that in like 3 days cause it was for a competition i found out about, like a week before the deadline xd ]
i guess i could probably post the first couple of pages of some of my stories, but i'd want to polish 'em up first 3nodding
thanks for commenting as well as giving compliments btw whee heart

Well it's sort of a dream xp lol xd The one other person outside the family I shared it with said she hated the ending xd heart
And I'll have to check that out! surprised ...Is it supposed to be a link? gonk LINKY BROKEN domokun

O.o Alexis? lol xd You're supposed to know the whole time that she's a woman xd