Chapter Text
i. Schwarzwald
The girl ran.
She ran as far as her legs could carry her, but tree after tree she ran- all identical to the next- the view was the same. A constant plane of dark trunks, the boughs too tall and too dark to be seen, with only the night sky, speckled with twinkling lights to guide her. Her long ivory hair flowed behind her as beads of sweat trickled down her face and body, drenching her white dress. Despite the running, a cold chill tore through her as the realisation settled in: the woods were never ending.
After a moment, she stopped abruptly. She heard rather than saw him close the distance behind her. The man- boy, she never really knew- drew her closer to him, relishing how he didn't really have to pull seeing as she herself leaned back. She turned around then, and froze at the sight of her pale prince, something she could never really learn to stop. His ebony hair even darker now in the woods. His quartz eyes searched hers before he smiled- a small one at that- at the look of defeat in her eyes. He brought his gloved hands to cup her face and her eyes fluttered close at the contact.
"Mine," he murmured, barely audible even in the silent night, as he covered her lips with his.
The girl, she was Life. And no matter how far Life went, Death would always follow.
ii. Cat and Mouse
"Alina," he called. Even through a wall, she could hear the smirk in his muffled voice. She would've laughed but avoiding the risk of giving herself away, she chose to remain silent in the dark as she had been for the past 10 minutes. Another minute passed, then-
The door opened, sending light skittering everywhere.
"Alina," again he called, this time a murmur. He walked cautiously as if sensing her nearby. As he walked to the other side of the room, she slowly inched her way from the side of the cabinet to the door, and just another step closer-
"I found you," he whispered in the shell of her ear. Rough hands turned her over before she could even react and then she was met with his grey eyes, now filled with some emotion she couldn't be too sure of.
"Aleksander?" she put her hands on his chest as his grip on her waist tightened. She moved her hands further up, to his shoulders, then the nape of his neck, and finally decided on hooking it lightly around his neck before asking,
"What's wrong? You've already won."
"Nothing," he smiled a minuscule smile.
Her eyes probed him further. Then finally:
"I like the way you look in the dark."