Love is Cold

The Final Battle

I practically threw myself at Leo, hugging him tightly and rolling us over each other. Then, the tears flooded my eyes, making my vision blur. Tears of happiness. I wiped them away and smiled at my boyfriend. I was so happy. I had chosen to forget about my dreams for that one moment, to let myself be happy.

"What do you think Darby's gonna say to this?" Leo joked in a seductive whisper. He kissed my forehead. I know she wanted Guthry to ask my hand. She never did like Leo. She always said that he'd hurt me or that he couldn't be loyal.

"I think, we better run," I replied mockingly. He offered a quick chuckle, squeezing me tighter.

"Then, where do you want to go?" he asked. He picked me up and wrapped us back in our temporary bed.

"I'll go anywhere, as long as I'm with you," I answered snuggling close to his chest.

"And you'll be ok, raising vampire spawn and having to be turned?" asked Leo. "We can always have another, when we're ready." I smiled and cupped his face.

"I want to have this one, Leo. I'll be ready, but I want to be turned on our wedding day. I'd like to stay human, a little while longer." I

That's how we stayed, until we fell asleep. Me, snuggled up to Leo's chest, hands around his waist, and him, with his arms wrapped around my shoulders.

* * *

We tried to open the door the next day, but it was locked. We needed to find the key, quickly. The prince had been missing for eleven days and I knew that Saphiros would be temporarily put under the control of Lady Tristesse. The citizens were terrified of her and we had to rescue Guthry.

I, eventually, found it hanging from the ceiling by a black metal chain. Leo transformed into a bat and retrieved it. It took some perseverance and a touch of super strength to break the chain. We unlocked the door. What I saw was terrifying.

Prince Guthry was chained, torture dungeon style, to the wall. His arms were bound above him, while he sat unconscious on the ground. There were spots of blood on the floor. There was a big slash across his right cheek. He was shirtless, his pants were torn, and there was blood, old and fresh, caked on his arm from a missing pinky on his left hand.

"Guthry!" I yelled grabbing the sides of his head. He slowly woke up, but he was groggy and I wasn't sure if he'd make it, if we didn't leave, immediately. "What's going on? Where's Queen Rolfe?" He and could barely talk.

He somehow managed to to squeak out, "Not... her. Him." He weakly pointed to the left, where the room's front was located.

I peered over and beheld a horror I hadn't seen in quite a while. There was an enormous staircase and at the top, sitting in a large, red throne, was King Ulric Gillian, grinning down at us. He was in a full body suit of gilded armor(imagine it being deep red and gold). It wasn't the bulky kind, like I'd wear to a full on battle. It was sturdy, but he was going for the offensive advantage.

"Ahh... You've finally made it to the last room. I'm pleased that your skill met my expectations. Congratulations, Aria. I thought you'd be here sooner, though," Ulric goaded. "Oh, and you brought Leo with you. How kind. Now, I get to kill him sooner."

"Don't you dare. I won't let you," I responded.

"Poor, Aria. You think it's up to you? Besides, I have to. He committed assault, by punching royalty, and thievery, by stealing you from me. I must uphold the law," he said with mock concern and standing from his throne. With that he threw a fireball at Leo, who quickly dodged it.

This was it. The final battle. The day I died.