"Merge with me. Merge with me you rare bastard".

Her final words clung to the air and began to suffocate him. Even as she watched him flicker away, she kept one hand clenched firmly around his throat. Desire trickled down his chin and a solitary tear fell silently from the side of his face. The piecing moonlight shun high above and rivers of silver blood criss-crossed the grass. Their eyes remained locked as his life poured away. At last, perhaps mercifully, he died. His final moments were almost beyond comprehension. It was a multitude of familiarities merging into something unrecognizable. Unquenchable desire mixed with ecstatic agony?. It was almost as if the humanistic constructs which bound his mind to the world around him were abruptly tearing themselves out of his head. Now in their place remained a schism of his very soul. Time itself now bore no meaning and the world had long since melted away. Reality lay scattered around him and in its place he saw the great void that remained. But still, he found himself in her eyes and there, he was satisfied to see a familiar beacon which he knew would soon be extinguished…

Selene stood up and the world carried on turning. At her feet lay two bodies splayed out across the grass. She dropped to the ground staring long and hard into his eyes, trying to find just the faintest…speck. She tore her eyes away from him and swore loudly. Her breathing began to calm and she sat beside them locked in deep thought. The high was starting to die down and guilt and remorse had begun to take its place. She could remember all the innocents she had taken over the years as if mere moments had passed, and long after she had destroyed them, they remained with her, forever. To be born and reborn from love, pain and the demise of so many would dampen even the coldest heart. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. A shattered mirror lay half covered in the grass at her feet. She picked up and stared into her new eyes. They were a brilliant green, brilliant, yet tainted. Her hair was as black as the night sky and her face was hand crafted by perfection. She tossed the mirror aside and stared at the ground. There lay her old lifeless body. The body which just a moment ago, in the midst of unimaginable splendor, she had once inhabited. From that along with the man she had loved she had emerged into the world once more. Beside her old body lay a delicate red silk dress which shun ominously under the bright moonlight high above. She lifted above her head gazing at it admirably before steeping into its smooth forgiving skin.

She jumped up, arms fully stretched towards the moon, and began to dance across the hilltop, tears streaming down her face.

"Well at least I know who I am. I can fucking live with what I am, who are you to judge!" She fell to the ground and rolled down the side of the hill. She laughed manically as she gained speed and slowly came to a stop, her eyes once again fixed on the moon.
She jumped to her feet and began walking towards a nearby road.

Her head had become congested, her thoughts running wild. She felt like she was on autopiliot and all she could think was to get as far away as she could. Before her was narrow stone road that ran as far as the eye could see in both directions. She stepped onto the road, its smooth, icy surface sent a chill up her bare feet and through her body. She flinched, but spared it no second thought. She turned left and steadily began to make her way along the road. The air was cool and refreshing, yet it could only do so much to sooth her. She raised a hand wiping the tears from her face and sighed deeply. She wrapped her arms around her slim waist, hugging herself tightly, as the wind began to bite. Hours passed and the hill grew smaller and smaller. A mere tiny blip in the great plains around her. The expansive fields stretched miles into the distance. They were almost as flat as naturally possible, and as she could see, in the distance, at almost all sides, huge mountains could be seen poking their crooked noses just above the horizon. She looked up at the moon high above. The moon itself was always the best guide when one needed to find the way to solace. The moon of cause was always situated in the exact same spot in the sky come day or night, and the huge city that lay ahead was forever in its shadow. The moon dominated nearly a quarter of the sky. It was large enough so that even in the middle of the night, one would be provided enough light to easily find their way around these parts. The great fields around her shun with an eerily silver glow. Partly from the light high above, but mostly due to the moon flowers which were scattered around her as far as the eye could see. The flowers themselves were a sight to behold, one of the most remarkable sights imaginable. Each looked like a normal flower in appearance save that its petals bore host to the most spectacular luminescent light display. Each individual pedal would erupt with silvery lightshows that interacted with the other petals spectacularly. And the flowers themselves acted and reacted almost as one. Sometimes it would appear like a sea of silver before you. But sometimes they would dance with each other and the lights would give host to the most brilliant patterns on a scale unimaginable. And these unique specimens were native to the solace crater. No other soil of any other land could bare them for only the direct light of the moon can give them vitality. One step beyond the great mountains around them and the flower would wilt and die. At the center of this colossal silver crater, just 15 miles ahead of her now, a warm yellow glow could be seen. It's bright light lit part of the sky directly above it until it met the moonlight. They met so seamlessly it was hard to tell where one started and the other ended.

"Agh" She screamed as her foot met a jagged rock embedded in the road.  Hopping to the side of the path she knelt by the side of the road holding her foot tightly. She was thankful, for as her thoughts were now so venomous that any distraction was relief. She lay back and stared high into the sky. She closed her eyes trying to imagine a moment in her life when things weren't always like this. There had to be a moment of her life free from pain. As hard as she thought nothing came. She opened her eyes and faint tapping sound caught her ear. It was light but growing louder by the second. Footsteps? A horse neighed loudly and a wave of dread swept over her. The faint outline of two horses and a carriage could be seen in the distance, albeit it slightly obscured in shadow by the silver glow beside the path. She jumped to her feet and began walking at a hastened pace.
"Fuck, fuck…ignore me, just keep on moving. Keep on moving you fucker."
The noise grew louder and was soon almost upon her. Her head felt light, the world began to spin. The noise stopped. She kept moving not daring to turn around. One of horses groaned loudly and she felt her throat convolute. She was sick a little in her mouth but she merely spat it to the side of the road and carried on moving. The carriage door shot open and two leather boots met the ground.
"Need a lift maam?" the voice was both soft and inviting.
She stopped dead. It was too late now.
"I'm fine, thank you for your kind offer sir but I must be on my way." She didn't turn around, she wanted to keep her face hidden if she could. The less people she let see it the better.
"Don't be daft, this is no place for a woman to wander by herself."
"What's it to you!" she turned her finger raised accusingly. "Just leave me be."
She froze, as she watched his eyes broaden. So much for that plan.  
"Good lord, your coverered in blood."

Selene stood for a moment staring into his deep green eyes and began to ponder. He had a wavy brown hair and a wild beard that added a bit of age and maturely to his demeanour. It contrasted strangely with his youthful voice. She didn't know what to think of him but perhaps it was worth the risk. Her eyes looked over at the two great beasts towing the carriage. Empath horses. The last thing she needed to see right now. Nearly twice as large as normal horses and with wild flashing eyes that emanating with an ever changing array of vivid colours. Tools used by Solace to worm out dissidents and rebels. She took a deep breath and started towards the carriage. She shot them a quick glance as she passed. Their gaze was locked squarely on her. It was not the hollow, animistic gaze that was carried by all dumb beasts. Instead there was a spark of intelligence carried by that of a human.  Selene took a step to the side of the path and tried to think of the happiest thought imaginable, something they wouldn't pick up on. She knew she was leaking guilt and probably stood to them a mile off, and in her current state , in light of what she had just done, there was little she could do to stem the tide. She held her breath forced a smile and trying to avoid any further eye contact with either of them. She walked up to the stranger and smiled.

"It was a rather frightful accident, I was attacked! If you could give me a ride to Solace I would be most gratefull"
"Please tell me, where are you injured I can help?
She froze again cursed her stupidity. She saw he was growing suspicious and quickly forced another smile.
"Oh, it's fine. Wer'e be at Solace before we know it" she waved a hand dismissively
"May I ask you name at least?"
"Ask away" she said her smile vanishing.
"I just did."
"I know"
"Meaning what my lady?" he raised an eye brow.
"Meaning, ask all you want, but silence will be all that falls from my lips."
He studied her carefully, biting his lip. He looked like a high ranking physician judging by his rather fancy attire, perhaps he could be useful.
"But don't worry, good things come to those who wait" she said stroking his arm seductively. No sooner had she touched him did one of the beasts let out a great shriek that tore through every fiber of her being. She grasped her ears and cowered beside the carriage door.

"Make it stop I beg you!"

"Easy boy, easy." The stranger attempted to subdue the horses with a few firm tugs of its reins but it was to no avail.
One of the horse burst forward which great ferocity and tore away from the carriage. The other followed suit and soon they were lost in the silvery sea, mere silhouettes growing ever smaller.