Vastella choked on her tears as she gazed with discontent eyes at her lover. Her tears slithered down her cheek, resting at her jaw line before dropping on the Taroka card that decided the other?s fate. She looked with her clouded eyes at the card; it was ?The Serpent Keeper.? This card drew forth-great terror in people, symbolizing death and fatal illness. As she pondered her morbid thoughts, she knew in her heart that she couldn?t change Eclipse?s fate but only mourn for his life and hope that maybe her predictions had failed. Yet, she couldn?t stop the raging anger that tolled her mind to try and stop this travesty. She looked back up to her lover. ?My love, I wish that I would have never drew this card.? Straining to say these few words that came out in a whisper. ?I knew this day would come, but not so soon,? he said calmly, ?but I see no use in quarreling with death.? He stood slowly and turned his back to Vastella, pacing out into the moonlight, leaving the draped tent that drew forth his future and his fate. Vastella, stricken stiff by his reaction she stood quickly, as tears raced past her cheek into the crisp air. ?But, you cannot allow Death to take you without trying to defeat it!? She exclaimed with such a passion that she couldn?t contain. The other turned his head slightly to his side, to let one of his hawk-like orbs that rested on his tanned face gleam at her smugly. ?It?s not even worth the effort, Vastella, Death is a higher power.? He spoke softly, slowly and with every word he paced away from her, from her life, from existence. Straight into the abysmal waters of death that soon he would drown in.
Vastella knew she couldn?t change his mind so she retreated back to her home, opening the door with a creak of the rusted hinges. She threw her raven hair back in a sigh, her eyes drowsy and experiencing a burning sensation that plagued her since the incident at the tent. She knew that it was caused by all the tear shedding she had done. She lightly threw her Taroka cards on the silver platter she had designed for them to rest on and slid them slowly into a drawer that squeaked as she opened it. She laid the platter down upon the polished wood and slid the drawer back into its original place. She flicked her blue eyes to the door and shoved it closed, slowly walking to her resting chambers awaiting a humble sleep, as if she could with a thought of him crossing through her mind every moment she even breathed. Strolling behind her disrobing screen, she slipped into her sleeping attire and climbed into her bed, running her long, soft elegant fingers across the navy blue silk sheets, covering herself within their soft material. Vastella shifted positions until she was lying upon her left side, staring into the open hallway at the wall opposite of her, that held upon it pictures and beautiful cards from her past Taroka decks. Like her ?Despairing Druid,? which displayed an elegant elf like woman, with dark markings upon her face, holding a golden goblet crimson tears falling one by one into the artifact. Though it did bring sadness and demise, it was a beautiful card to possess.
As the tiring ache of Vastella?s eyes became even more painful, she drew her eyelids over her blue orbs and melted her long flowing hair and face into her velvety soft pillow to dream for tonight until awakened by the rampant chaos of the world around her.