From: keiko Frost and Fire [prolouge?/one shot] An AoshiMisao Fic The first few flakes of snow fell as softly as feathers from the heavens. Twilight streaked crimson in random carelessness across the horizon fast blending imperceptibly into a deep shade of violet, the last rays of light in a play of colours and gradients. Still the snow fell --- ominously silent, forever and forever, slowly, so very slowly twirling through eternity to land soundlessly on the ground near his unmoving silhuoette. A wind caught up, seeming to blow from the ground itself, its coldness unshakable in its intensity, ghostly fingers lingering on his face then reaching out to pierce his soul, ice invading all warmth, all light, all darkness, till the pure frost of ice is all that is left of him ---- and of the small figure lying equally still in his arms. Snow fell with increasing intensity now, catching in her dark tresses. He reached out to brush them away, not liking the coldness they emanate, the fire which should have banished them now strangely absent, leaving an achingly empty void. A memory of another time, another place, came to him, of blossoms on a summer breeze catching her flowing hair, the petals of pink highlighting her happiness as he gently brush them away, of her laugh, of her eyes of such a startling shade of blue with the subtlest hint of violet that his breath caught as he reached out to caress her cheek.. --Her eyes, wide and trusting and so very blue--now closed under pale eyelids, her dark hair which once had brought out their colour now a sharp contrast with her paler cheeks. It shook him in a way he could not understand and he held her tighter against his chest, burying his face in her hair as though absorbing her into him, imprinting her essence onto his soul. But she was so cold, so cold, and he shuddered incontrollably against her, unable to quell the swell of emotions in his chest. He closed his eyes in pain, and an image of the same snow covered ground, only now with red spilling forth over it, crimson a cutting contrast with the endless white. His senses scraped raw by the unebbing tide of red unstoppable in its conquest, his breath mists on the air drifting away into nothinngness. Nothingness ----and the word tore at him, his heart and soul flayed, mutilated---- nothingness ---he had to remember, why can't he remember--- nothingness ----the utter stillness, the blood ohgodnoohgodnoohgodnoohgodnoohgodnoohgodno ----pouring out of her mouth in great gushes He snapped open his eyes in terror and looked at her pale face in the crook of his arm, frantically searching, desperately needing to prove destiny wrong --- but the red had stained her cheeks, had trailed from the edges of her mouth to wound its way down her throat. Had caked dry on the long slash there. Blood now an alien red on her skin. "Misao -----?" a hoarse whisper, his voice sickened with dread, reaching out to touch her lips. And with the touch, her voice came floating on the wind back to him, the words uttered over an eon ago now swirling round him in waves ---- ...Aoshi-sama....I knew you'd .. come...... I just.... didn't know.... it would end this way... And she gave him a brilliant smile "Ai shiteru, Aoshi... ...ai shite----" and the realisation hit him,that Misao is dead that he would never hear her laugh never hear her say his name never feel her by his side never see the light in her eyes never hold her close never be able to tell her that he love her nevernevernever then Aoshi was crushing Misao to him, as great heaving sobs tore through him and racked them both, as he repeated her name over and over again to the weeping sky and the desolute coldness. still the snow fell --------------------------------------------- konbanwa keiko here. what you just read may be a stand alone or the prolouge of the series Frost and Fire [I don't know which yet, I have my O's to think of this year]. Been toying with the idea of this scenario since the start of this year, sure took a long time before i seriously gave it any thought. Just had to get it out before I could settle down to anything else^^ hope you like it. Comments pls? It's a hard piece to get out... with all that angst, and with Aoshi blocking out facing Misao's death... Ja , keiko ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Campaign 2000 is here! http://www.onelist.com Discuss your thoughts; get informed at ONElist. See our homepage.