Somewhere along the line, I'd lost myself, Devi thought, her hands wiping away the tears from her face. She had gone outside the castle doors towards the gardens to catch her breath. The sun had just begun to spill its blood across the sky, turning the cloudy, grayed blue into a mesh of purples, reds, and pinks. Feeling the calming sensation of fresh wind caressing her cheeks and rippling through her black hair lifted some of the guilt off her chest, but it was still there, burrowed deep within her heart as a constant reminder of how different she had become. It was a stab to her head every time she thought about how she had just left her friends behind to go off with a stranger, albeit one whom she could very well have a strange attraction to.

Like one in desperate need of a distraction, she tuned into the sweet melodic tone of the wind rushing against her tanned skin, encasing her slender figure in a cyclone of falling earth hues and wrapping her mind in the sweet hymn of Mother Nature. She inhaled deeply. Then let it out. A ring of wind pushed away from her, carrying with it the leaves and twigs that had danced around her, as if she was the center of their world. The ring pushed past the trees, their branches swaying away from her, creaking in protest as they were pushed from her presence. With a sudden loss in energy, her circle vanished and the leaves floated back towards her in mock frolic. The trees bent back with indignant bumps against one another, bouncing back and forth as they steadied themselves in a stationary position.

"What is happening to me?"

She leaned against the trunk of a tree, the only thing that seemed to be stable in this dream that she had somehow fallen into. Self-meditation had always helped her before…

Sometimes you're just so selfish! I wish you would go away. Love me like I love you. Help them. Save them. Hi, my name is Ewan, what's yours? So Devi, you like anyone yet? Elle! Freak! Maybe this is where we're supposed to be, away from the normal because really, who is normal? Enough emotion can drive the most amazing occurrences out of one person. It feels good to make her happy, doesn't it? You're everything she wants. What happened to her? Embrace.

"Why do you keep following me?" Devi asked aloud. Arms wrapped around her tense figure, and Audram spoke.

"Why do you keep running away?"

Devi sighed. There were too many questions in her mind, too many thoughts. Even if she could answer the question, there was still the fact that she knew nothing about the dark haired stranger bringing her comfort, yet he seemed to know quite a bit about her.

"What do you really want from me, Audram? You really think you can feel something for me? We're not meant to be anything but enemies. It's in our blood." He took her hands and spun her around to face him. Devi looked into his eyes which glowed disappointment at her statement, somehow channeling his hurt so that her guilt deepened.

He gave a soft smile. "Do you really think that?"

She couldn't help but shake her head, avoiding his eyes, his touch, and the heavy feeling in her chest. His hand reached to her face, stroking her cheek and bringing her chin up so that her eyes looked into his. She was crying again and he gently wiped the tears away.

"I'd rather die than see you miserable. I hope you know that. I don't know what you did," he forced a laugh back, trying to stop his own barriers from completely crashing around him," but I can't help but feel that if I can't see your smile, I might just as well end myself."

At this point in time, she broke. If it had been any other day, any other moment, any other person, she probably could have walked away from it, unscathed. But this was it. With all of his barriers down, with this confession, she could feel his living self, the connection to the world was back in him and she felt a presence stronger than anything she had ever felt in the natural world. It was attachment to the elements, the force that her powers derived from. It was like finding herself, exactly what she needed. Completion, focus, oneness: whatever it was, it felt binding. Devi pulled him into a hug and he moved as close as he could to her.

Then they kissed.

Devi felt the world rushing around her, or was it her making the wind spin around their two bodies, holding each other as if letting go would break this magic spell encasing them? Audram felt this tremendous burst of energy and life, something he hadn't felt ever since his mother entrusted him with the secret about their family's ancient task. They both felt something they hadn't ever thought they could feel again; it was what they had always been searching for. It was something they had never thought was possible. But it was theirs, theirs to share, together.

Ewan and Aurelle were now to the top, Aurelle trailing behind Ewan, trying to catch up with his running body.

He suddenly stopped, raw emotion hitting him square in the chest. Aurelle skidded to a halt inches before crashing into him

"Ewan!" Aurelle cried, surprised. She rushed to his side and grabbed his arm that was emanating a heat so comforting, she almost cried. She pulled him up and was surprised to feel a tight embrace around her.

"Ew-" Lips pressed themselves upon hers and for the moment, her head reeled in panic. It felt… right. She let herself fall into the kiss, closing her eyes and pulling Ewan closer to her.

Ewan pulled away and nuzzled his head against Aurelle's neck, kissing slowly the soft skin that was exposed.

"Ewan…" Aurelle whispered.

"Don't let me go," he whispered. "Devi, don't leave me."

Her eyes shot open.

"Devi," she said as her arms dropped. He was channeling someone, of that she was sure. Trouble was that Ewan had never been so encompassed with someone else's emotions that he'd lost all control. With his arms still around her, Aurelle began to panic. He wasn't going to let go.

"Ewan, Ewan wake up!" she said, fear evident in her voice. "Please wake up, please"

Ewan's arm twitched.

"Please let me go. Please, stop. I know you can fight it. Please, Ewan, please let go…"

He began to cry and whimper like a child in fear. Something was really spurring him to a wide variety of emotions. He opened his eyes and stared at her and then suddenly he straightened up. "Aurelle?"

"Oh Ewan," she smiled, pulling him into a hug.

"My head hurts," he stated. "What's with this place?"

"I don't know, but as soon as we find Devi, we can get out of here." She let go of him.

"Well, she's definitely close," he said, pulling away from her to continue walking. Up ahead were beautiful rose hedges, forming a maze. "One more obstacle."

Did he forget about what just happened? Aurelle wondered, taking her stride next to her determined companion. Why did I… kiss him back? Does that mean I like him? No, he's just my friend…

Her mind racked through questions that had no answers. She looked at Ewan through the corner of her eye. He was determined; his brown eyes lightened and his face was set without a wink of joking. What is he thinking about? She looked at the path in front of her that appeared so welcoming. What if this is all just a trap? She wondered.

Ewan looked at her, her face worried, shone by the darkness of her blue eyes. He could feel the confusion passing through her, finding it difficult to block out her feelings like he usually did out of courtesy. He didn't want to know her feelings, for fear of what he might find. He grabbed her hand, causing her eyes to open wide to stare at him.

"Don't worry," he said calmly, pulling her along, hand in hand. "It's going to be all right."

She stared at his hand, feeling the warmth pass along her fingers.

Do I really like him?

"Do you feel that?" Nita exclaimed, a grin creeping across her dark face.

Maerrish paused and smiled as his senses tingled. "I believe we have some more visitors."

Nita kissed her brother on the cheek and skipped down the stairs toward the front door.

"And brother would love if we showed our guests some hospitality!"

Maerrish smiled at his sister. "You're such a child, Nita."

She smiled suggestively back at him. "And don't you just love children, dear?"

Comments: ::reads over:: What the hey now… an update? ::gasp:: The world is ending! Yes, I did promise that I will be rewriting this story, but as I was in the process, I came across this chapter I had started way back when. If anyone noticed, the beginning is wayyyyy better than the ending of this chapter; that's because I started half of this chapter a long time ago, back when I remembered what my storyline was. Anyway, I really liked the beginning so I didn't want it to go to waste. Sorry about the ending. It sucks. But anyway, the rewrite's taking a long time, so sorry. But summer is helpful with the time issue. I hope to have major rewrite updates soon.

Sorry for those who gave up on this story and thank you to those who still read.