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Hello everyone!

First of all, I'd like to say thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read the story that goes with the entry. It honors me to know that there are those out there who wanna read what I have to write. ^_^

WARNING: Writer me has a long story to go with the Crow Companion. twisted

A little note: Anything in italics are 'your' thoughts. smile
And don't be fooled by any mushiness we might encounter. There's malevolence in every word of this tale... Enjoy.

The narration is in a woman's 2nd person. The format is block.

STORY BEGIN:

You look around the ballroom, bored and wondering when you can claim you're tired and leave. The ball has met with fantastic response, and nearly everyone with a name in the countryside is attending. You try to be festive and enjoy the evening, but you just don't feel up to having any fun - wanting nothing more than to get this accursed corset off and go curl up on your bed to sleep. Nothing seems to bring light to your night.

Except one thing.

"Ah, Madame!" You turn to the formal call to see your servant - Seleno - walking towards you, dressed well for the occassion. He smiles at you as he nears. "Madame, I'm so glad I found you among this crowd! I would like to introduce you to someone." He motions to his left, and suddenly you're struck with a brilliant mane of orange hair and sharp red eyes. "Madame, this is Aluard. He is a guest of honor - invited by your father himself. He holds many estates all throughout the country and is a very powerful influence in the Council."

Gracefully, the newcomer takes your hand in his own gloved one and kisses it gently. He smiles from around your knuckles as he looks up at you.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Countess."

You feel yourself go red - never had you seen such a handsome stranger - before you clear your throat and nod regally to him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Aluard," you stumble over the strange name and your blush deepens. His amused smile doesn't help calm you down.

"Yes," he replies softly, his blood red eyes - at first frightening - now gentle. He holds his hand out to you, and for the first time you see the crow on his shoulder - its eyes equally as red as his owner's, but with a hint of menace. At your surprised gasp, Aluard blinks and looks at the crow on his shoulder. Smiling, he raises a hand and pets the bird's head, calming it.

"Please don't be alarmed," he requested. "This is Tomeh - my friend ever since I was very little. He's very well trained, so I'll ask you not to worry."

You gaze at that bird for a moment longer - something doesn't fit quite right with you about the creature - but you forget about it as Aluard gives Seleno his cane and holds out his hand to you.

"Now my Countess..." he breathes to you, his deep voice husky and smooth. "Will you grace me with the honor of a dance?"

Fighting down a blush, you take his hand and - with a nod to Seleno - Aluard leads you away to the dance floor.

The rest of the night passes like a blur. Dancing with him brings you a strange euphoria, and when he leaves you to dance with other girls who are all vying for his attention, you lean against the wall and simply watch, eyes downcast and refusing any other offers to dance.

But Aluard always comes back to you, and you dance with him again before he departs once more, moving on to a different group of admirers.

But he always returns - with that same half-smile you've come to memorize and that same malevolent crow on his shoulder. Throughout the night, he's all you can think about - all you want. You sigh and shake your head at yourself.

Oh dear, what's happening to me?

Before you know it, the festivities have died down to easy slow-dancing, and you're entertaining the idea of slipping off to go to sleep when Aluard makes another entrance, his red eyes sharp and his half-smile clearly visible on his lips.
His hand gently takes a hold of your arm as you begin to move from the wall, turning to the direction of your room.

"And where are you going, my lovely Countess?" He asks sweetly in your ear, making your cheeks go red. "The night is still young."

You turn to him, your eyes automatically glancing at the crow.

You could SWEAR that creature was laughing at you the way those deadly red eyes glinted.

Fighting down a shudder, you look up at Aluard's gentle, half-closed eyes - so different from the crow's, though they were the same shade.

"Yes," you reply to his silent question, his soft gaze easing your mind. "I suppose I can remain a while longer."

Aluard graces you with a soft smile.

"I'm glad," he breathes. He takes you by the hand and leads you outside. "Shall we go to the terrace? I've heard your mansion has the greatest view in all the country."

You close your eyes and smile, acutely aware of the way his fingers are laced between your own.

"Yes," you breathe softly. "It's very beautiful - especially at night. You can see all the lights of the village below, and the lake to the south as well."

He gives you another soft smile, and you find yourself staring at his strong features - at the heart tattoo on his cheek - a little longer than necessary. Blushing, you look down at the floor, and he utters a soft laugh as you pass through the large arches and step out onto the terrace.

The full moon beams down at you, and when you look to the right, you see the lake down below near the village, still and as smooth as glass.

"So beautiful," Aluard murmurs next to you, his crow - for the moment - silent both physically and mentally. "I'm glad I accepted your father's request to come tonight."

You manage to smile at him.

"Yes," you hear yourself say. "I'm... glad for it too."

He suddenly fixes you with a searching stare, making your mind go to one thing:

Crow.

"Countess..." he breathes to you. "Do you..." he clears his throat and looks away, having the decency to look embarrassed. "believe..." he looks back to you, locking gazes as you stare up at him. "...in love at first sight?"

You feel yourself go red at the question, and you take a step back, holding your face bashfully.

"Oh..." you breathe. "I... don't know." Taking a calming breath, you take your hands away from your face and instead begin wringing your hands nervously. "I'm... not sure at all."

Aluard merely looks at you.

"I do."

Shocked, you look back up at him. Taking your hands in his, he continues.

"I believe in love at first sight, my Countess," he states. "I noticed something different about you as soon as I laid eyes on you. I knew from that very moment - I wanted you to be mine."

You feel yourself blush again, and you shake your head, breaking eye contact.

"But - how?" You mutter. "I don't understand-"

"Why do you think I danced with you so many times, my Countess?" Looking up at him, you see him give you that half-smile. "I left you, yes. But I kept coming back. It was to make sure that what I felt was real. I have come to the conclusion that it is. Now all that is left..." his eyes flash, and you feel the hairs on the back of your neck rise. "...is your consent to return those feelings."

You merely look up at him for a moment, thinking, with your hands still in his.

"I..." You look down, refusing to acknowledge the sun that had burst to life in your stomach at his words. Suddenly you hear yourself say -

"I don't believe in love at first sight!"

His grip on your hands slackens as the crow on his shoulder stiffens. From shock? Disappointment? Anger?

Blinking, you look up to see his eyes downcast and hidden by his bright orange bangs.

"Very well, then." Slowly, he releases your hands and turns, giving you a full view of his pitch black hair. "I shall leave you be."

He heads for the ballroom, and suddenly you feel empty and abandoned.

No. Don't leave me.

"Master Aluard!"

Other girls were waiting right inside the archways, waving to him.

"Master Aluard, please spend some time with us!"

Pausing only for a moment, Aluard slowly turns and heads their direction.

You're suddenly stricken by a possessive rage. How DARE they take him? YOUR guest, YOUR dance partner, YOUR LOVE -

Your eyes widen.

My... love?

No - can't let him get away-!

"Aluard!" You hear yourself call to him. He stops, but doesn't turn around. Noticing something on Aluard's face, the girls mutter amongst themselves and fade back into the throngs of the guests. Blushing, you continue, taking Aluard's silence as invitation.

"I..." Your face hot, you look down and clench your fists, wondering what the handsome man had done to get you so riled up. "I do."

Aluard turns back to you, red eyes wide.

"What?" He breathes. Your blush deepening, you don't meet his eyes.

"I do..." Choking with fear, you force yourself to continue. "...love you."

Just don't go with those girls!

I want you here! With me!

Suddenly Aluard is in front of you, your hands clenched tightly in his and his red eyes drilling into your own.

"Did I hear right?" He asks breathlessly. "Did you say what I think you said?" He jerks you closer, and you wince at the pressure he has on your fingers.

"I-" You stumble over your words, and Aluard doesn't help by not letting you look away.

"Answer me, my Countess," he breathes to you, the crow staring at you from his shoulder with bright eyes. "I beg of you - ease my worries and answer me."

Screwing your eyes shut, you force your head down.

"Yes!" You hear yourself exclaim, close to shouting. "Yes, you did! I love you!"

Suddenly the entire world seems to still. The frogs stops chorusing, the music from the ball seems to fade, and the wind turns silent. Blinking, you look up to see Aluard staring down at you, a satisfied air about him and something different about his entoxicating eyes.

"Very well then, my Countess," he purrs, voice smooth like water on glass. Something strikes you as different about his voice. He takes hold of your chin and forces your head up to where there is barely any space between your faces. "It is done. You are mine..."

The crow spreads its wings and lets out a shrill cry.

"...Forever..."

Shocked by the sudden change in his demeanor, you yank yourself from his grasp and get a good look at him.

You gasp.

Aluard's eyes are identical to the crow on his shoulder's - blood red and shining with an unearthly, internal glow.

You can only think one thing.

Danger. Get out now.

Gasping, you pick up the folds of your dress and whirl to run away from him, but - with the sound of fluttering wings - he's in front of you, hands behind his back and those devilish red eyes gazing calmly at you, as if knowing there's no way you can escape. The crow has vanished, and in its place two shadowy wings have sprouted from Aluard's back, shimmering with a dangerous black glow.

"Why do you run, Countess?" He asks sweetly, eyes glinting maliciously. "There is no reason to."

You take a few steps backwards, cold sweat dripping from your forehead in fear.

"Stay away from me, you monster!" You cry. "You are no one that I love!"

Aluard laughs - a cold, chilling sound.

"You lie," he replies smoothly. "You have always been a rebellious one, Countess. Even now, you ache to join me. You ache to run away from the regulations and rules and be somewhere where you can let loose all the rage and sorrow you've bottled up over the years. And you know I can help you do that." He raises a hand to you, and the wind begins to blow, shaking the dead leaves from their places in the trees. "Join me, my love. Join me in total damnation."

Your eyes wide, you close them tightly and shake your head.

"I would rather die, DEMON!" You spit venomously, glaring at Aluard. He chuckles.

"Oh, but my dear..." Suddenly he's behind you, one arm around your waist and the other hand at your throat, forcing you to tilt your chin upwards. His breath is hot on your skin. "That's what damnation is."

Something is suddenly torn from you - something important and priceless and essential - before you turn limp in his arms, your eyes dead and your heart still.
Silently, the crow reappears on Aluard's shoulder, and he effortlessly picks you up, cradling your body close. Wordlessly, he leaps from the terrace and vanishes into the shadows of the trees, leaving the ballroom and its inhabitants eternally frozen in time with the moon forever shining down...

"That's what freedom is."

And that is the reason for the old adage: Never trust a man with a crow companion.

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Well, that's the end of that amazing little number. ^_^ For all who had the patience to read that, I salute you, and give you cookies. -gives cookies-
My second time! biggrin -is excited- Please vote fairly. ^_^

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http://www.gaiaonline.com/avatararena/

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Have a good day everyone!