The sky was pitch black, streaks of red and pink danced across it like ribbons hanging from a kite, drifting lazily in a late summer sky. Jagged mountain peaks jutted towards the dismal sky above, colored a dull gray, as was the rest of the monotonous landscape; the whole place looked devoid of life. Appearing out of nowhere, about a dozen figures -shrouded in long black cloaks which hid all but their glowing red eyes- materialized, each wielding a large, glistening sword. The leader of the ominous group stepped forward, pointing his immense sword to the sky.

Out of nowhere, a lone figure appeared at the opposite end of this bleak area. His blonde hair rustled slightly as he moved closer, his brown eyes full of sorrow and determination. Taking his time, he slowly neared the leader, drawing his sword from its sheath. Stopping about fifteen yards away, he cautiously spoke, "Where is she?"

The leader chuckled at the young man, sending a chill down his spine. "Why, she's right here," he stated, motioning to the cluster of hooded figures behind him. As if on cue, the group split, revealing the person the young man had been searching for. There stood a girl, her teary brown eyes full of fear. As soon as she laid eyes upon the young man, her eyes grew to twice their size, a gasp escaping her lips.

He couldn't believe his eyes; it was really her. He took a few steps forward, but was stopped by the tip of a long sword being aimed right at his face. The hooded leader held the sword in place while grinning wickedly and shaking his head, "Tsk tsk tsk...I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said menacingly, while motioning to some of the other hooded figures with his free hand. One of the beings drew his sword and stood next to the girl, a new wave of fear sweeping over her delicate face. She took a small step in the direction of the two feuding figures, only to be roughly pulled back by the figure with the sword.

As the young man watched, a scowl appeared across his face, but he made no movements. Instead, he spoke, each word dripping with venom, "Let her go."

The leader stole a quick glance to his gang and the girl, causing an eruption of laughter to emit from each hooded figure. He turned his attention back to the young man, grinning. "I'm afraid we can't do that. You see, she belongs to us now," he spoke, his grin growing slowly, "Give me one good reason why we should let her go."

The man stood up straight, and met the leader's glowing red eyes with his own brown ones, a renewed sense of hope replacing the sorrow, the determination still there, as he spoke four words, "Because I love her."

This comment caused another eruption of maniacal laughter to emanate from the hooded assembly. After a few moments, the snickering subsided, leaving smirks plastered upon their hidden faces. "Well isn't that just the sweetest thing we've ever heard," the leader voiced, sarcastically, "but I'm sorry to say that 'love' isn't going to save you in this case. However, I'm not completely heartless, so I will make a little deal with you. If you can defeat all of them, you can have her back. But if you lose," he trailed off, while making a slicing motion across his throat.

The young man glanced from the figure to the girl and back again, a small smile appearing on his face, "All right. Let's do this." As he said this, three cloaked creatures approached him, the leader placing his sword in its sheath and taking his place next to the girl, who looked like she could faint at any moment for all the fear inside of her.

One of the figures charged towards the young man, the other two in close pursuit, swords flying through the air only to be met with a metallic clang against his own. After a few grueling minutes of fighting, the three hooded creatures fell to the ground alongside their weapons, disappearing almost instantly.

Six more beings made their move to attack the young man, who was barely fazed, with only a gash on his left arm. Like before, all six figures collapsed after fierce combat. By now, he had accumulated a slash on the right side of his face, a large wound growing on his right leg, and a number of other cuts and bruises upon his personage. A grin encompassed his lacerated visage as he coughed up a small pool of blood. Looking towards the group of four, he poised his sword, ready to finish what he knew he would win.

The leader matched the young man's grin, and motioned for the remaining two figures to attack. He knew the young man was tiring, and these two were his best fighters. Minutes passed, but neither the creatures nor the man had faltered. As they fought, the leader became uneasy as to who would win. With an extremely malicious smirk, he drew his sword, walked behind the brawling trio, and stabbed the sword through the young man's back.

Unaware of the leader's presence behind them, until the cool steel of the blade protruded from the young man's back through his chest, the fighting abruptly ceased. A look of shock and affliction crossed his face as he dropped his sword, collapsing to the ground while clutching a bruised hand to the deadly wound. The leader withdrew his sword, sheathing it and cackling ferociously as he stood next to his accomplices.

The look upon the girl's face could not have been more shocked. Dashing over to where the young man laid on the ground, she kneeled beside his almost lifeless body. Placing his worn hand in her pale one, she unconsciously stroked it, while gently caressing his bruised cheek with her other hand. A single, crystal tear rolled down her cheek, soon followed by a dozen more.

The young man's eyes slowly fluttered open at the gentle touch upon his face. Attempting a smile, he mustered up the strength to speak, "I love you." As soon as these three words escaped his lips, the smile faded, his eyes gently closing, into eternal slumber.

The girl choked back a sob, still grasping his lifeless hand in hers. A sudden chill ran down her spine as a cold hand was placed on her shoulder. Her moist eyes gazed up into the glowing red eyes of the leader. She quickly stood, making a break on his right side. Unfortunately, the two remaining figures were positioned on either side of him, ready for that kind of desperate attempt at freedom. Each figure grasped onto one of her arms, making it virtually impossible for the girl to escape.

The leader slowly, in a taunting manner, approached the feared girl, while drawing the sword that killed her love, placing it on the left side of her neck. The chilling tip of the blade, not to mention the thought of what this very blade had done, caused her whole body to convulse as her head snapped to the side. The leader's frigid fingers were placed under her chin, bringing her distressed amber eyes to his, grinning. He regained his grip on his sword, and slid it once across her neck, not making contact, as if to fully enstill the torturous fear into her. A she brought it back, about to strike, a faint noise could be heard in the distance. Almost inaudible at the beginning, the noise grew to be quite annoying. Just as the blade came within an inch of making contact...

...the chocolate eyes of the young girl flew open, as she sat up quickly,panting while looking around. She slapped her palm upon the impending alarm clock, trying to regain a normal breathing pattern. A hand flew to her heart, as the memories of the dream she just had came flooding back.

***

A/N: Hey guys! I'm quite aware that I haven't updated since January, but my severe writer's blockness plagues me too much. This was based off a dream I had a while back. I woke up in tears. But it made for a good story...or at least, I hope. I have something else under way...hopefully that will be fixed soon. So if you'd be kind enough as to review, maybe my brain will listen and write some more!