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Description
Cold, damp and mildewed. That is how the ground felt as Cinder slid carefully under the bottom rail of the broken fence. She cursed softly as the large gash on her left leg began to throb with a dull pain as she stood up on the wet earth. The wound in her shoulder already aggravated by the dampness in the air, and the cold penetrating the thin black jacket Cindy wore. Under that, her gray tank top was in tatters, blood drying still from the earlier run-in with Nicolas. He knew she had followed him from that alley, and if he didn't, the scent of her blood certainly made sure he knew it now. Tightening the laces on her knee-high black boots, she brushed the mud and dirt from her dark denim shorts and proceeded to make her way quietly and quickly through the thick forest, limping slightly on her wounded leg.

"Nicolas" she whispered sadly to herself. "Why Nicolas, why did you turn on me? What happened to you out there?" she whispered again to herself, watching every movement with her orange eyes. 'Why did you betray me like that?' she thought sadly as she walked along the small path straight into a small clearing in the heart of the forest.

"Because I saw the truth Cinder, and the power I could hold. All thanks to Adonis." A deep voice said, and Nicolas emerged from the darkness of the shadows to her left. A devilish smirk on his pale, regal face, mirth, anger, even sadness, radiated from his pitch-black eyes. He chuckled softly, evilly almost. "Such power Cinder!" He exclaimed as he took a step closer and was suddenly mere inches from the tan girls face.

"So it was Adonis then, the very Adonis that was sent to murder me and the one I killed." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, though you did him a favor. The punishment he would have faced from me would have been much worse." He chuckled softly again, his fangs flashing in the darkness of the cold night. Her hands clenched at her sides, she could feel the fire burning in her palms, engulfing her hands in flames.

"Y-You sent him to kill me?" She asked softly, looking into the dark abyss that was now his eyes.

"Yes." It was a simple answer, but it stung her heart like a thousand red-hot blades. This was the man she'd loved, the one she would have given her life for a few years ago. The one who'd said he would never hurt her and always protect her. And here he was, admitting flat out that he'd sent someone to KILL her! 'Now I know its true, but I wish it wasn't' she thought as tears welled up in her eyes though she refused to let them fall in front of this evil creature that was no longer the man she once loved. Cinder closed her eyes, took a deep breath and hardened her resolve, her features, and most painfully of all, her shattered heart.

Nicolas had to take a step back with surprise and nervousness when Cinder opened her eyes. Blood red orbs fixed onto his own pitch-black eyes, he could see and sense the fire of her anger and hurt burning in her eyes, her veins, her very soul. The flames swirling around her arms and hands like vines had changed, they were no longer bright yellow, orange and red but a deep dark blue mixed with black. His own hands crackled with electricity, it was running up his arms, in electric blues and yellows. Nicolas took a fighting stance, ready to charge the half-breed fire demon he once called lover.

Her stance never wavered.

It all happened quickly. Nicolas charged Cinder ready to slash her across the stomach or chest with his electrified, short katana. She blocked the attack with her own fire-engulfed dagger and slashed his arm with the other. He jumped back and snarled at her, baring his fangs. She charged at him this time with one dagger poised above her head to strike, the other protecting her side and stomach.  Nicolas feigned a jab at her protected side and instead slashed a new gash opposite the wound in her thigh, relishing in the small yelp of pain that escaped her throat. The battle between the two enraged souls continued. Cinder matching Nicolas block for block, parry for parry, and assault for assault.

A raging battle between fire and lightning.

Raw power against raw power, for revenge, for anger, for the clashing emotions in both fighters, at least one would never leave that clearing alive. Yet suddenly it was Nicolas who turned the tables and sliced at her hands, cutting them both and causing her to drop her smoldering daggers to the wet earth. Nicolas held the point of the katana to Cinders throat, smirking smugly. She could feel the cold silver of the blade pressing against her heated skin; the bolts of the now completely blue lightning stinging her skin. "Check-Ahh!" Nicolas yelped as the heel of her black boot met his wrist, effectively disarming the now completely enraged vampire.

"YOU DISPICABLE LITTLE WRETCH!!" He screamed at her, electricity swirled around his entire body, crackling and snapping, his black shirt, pants and hair flaring in the immense waves of energy swirling around him. Cinder stood her ground while black flames engulfed her entire body, her long hair billowing behind her in the wake of such energy. Her voice was low and menacing when she retorted to his remark, not a shred of emotion could be heard, nor seen in her cold blood colored eyes.

" You are the despicable one here Nicolas" she spat out his name like it was poisonous. “It was you who left me without so much as a goodbye for 5 long, painful years! It was you who 3 years ago began to haunt and taunt me, not only every day but even in my dreams with visions of you killing my friends, my family, and even me! It is you who I have been forced to track because you killed Dartak, Paul, Marissa and Sarah and left your message to me on the apartment wall with their blood! It was YOU who sent Adonis to murder me in cold blood and you have the AUDACITY to call ME the despicable wretch?! OH, That Is Rich!" Cinder chuckled to herself. After all, this evil, vampire, boy had put her through he had the nerve to call HER the wretch?  He really must be a little off in the head just like Dartak had said he was. 'Dartak.' she thought sadly, 'my trainer, my friend, my brother mercilessly murdered in cold blood.  All of them, Paul, Marissa, Sarah, my best friends.  All of them murdered by HIM!' Quick as a flash, she pulled her last dagger; the silver one Dartak had given her the day before he died, from a hidden sheath inside her right boot. It was time to end it all.

"DIE MY LOVE!!" She screamed as the black fires surged around her and she lunged at Nicolas ready to stab her blade through his evil heart. But at the same second, Nicolas pulled his own dagger from his belt and lunged at Cinder, lightning surging around his own charging form. When they finally clashed, all the hatred and anger and sadness that had been building in both for the past 3 years was unleashed.

"CHECK-!" Nicolas sneered as he plunged his golden dagger deep into Cinders abdomen with a look of triumph that soon turned to shocked horror as Cinder plunged her silver dagger, smoldering, into his heart and twisted it.

"-Mate." She finished. Nicolas fell to the ground dead.  It was finished. Cinder sank to her knees beside his body, she let out a sharp hiss in pain as she pulled the dagger from her stomach and dropped it to the ground. She watched in near amazement as her own blood slowly formed a puddle around her knees. "Rest… in peace… Nicolas." she whispered as she gently kissed his freezing cold forehead and collapsed next to his body letting death claim her.

No one knew what the strange screams or lights were that came from the forest that night and no one was brave enough to go and see what may have happened. No one ever knew about the young half-breed fired demon and the dark hearted vampire who fought the people they loved most, each other, to the death.

Checkmate.

Description
Cold, damp and mildewed. That is how the ground felt as Cinder slid carefully under the bottom rail of the broken fence. She cursed softly as the large gash on her left leg began to throb with a dull pain as she stood up on the wet earth. The wound in her shoulder already aggravated by the dampness in the air, and the cold penetrating the thin black jacket Cindy wore. Under that, her gray tank top was in tatters, blood drying still from the earlier run-in with Nicolas. He knew she had followed him from that alley, and if he didn't, the scent of her blood certainly made sure he knew it now. Tightening the laces on her knee-high black boots, she brushed the mud and dirt from her dark denim shorts and proceeded to make her way quietly and quickly through the thick forest, limping slightly on her wounded leg.

"Nicolas" she whispered sadly to herself. "Why Nicolas, why did you turn on me? What happened to you out there?" she whispered again to herself, watching every movement with her orange eyes. 'Why did you betray me like that?' she thought sadly as she walked along the small path straight into a small clearing in the heart of the forest.

"Because I saw the truth Cinder, and the power I could hold. All thanks to Adonis." A deep voice said, and Nicolas emerged from the darkness of the shadows to her left. A devilish smirk on his pale, regal face, mirth, anger, even sadness, radiated from his pitch-black eyes. He chuckled softly, evilly almost. "Such power Cinder!" He exclaimed as he took a step closer and was suddenly mere inches from the tan girls face.

"So it was Adonis then, the very Adonis that was sent to murder me and the one I killed." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, though you did him a favor. The punishment he would have faced from me would have been much worse." He chuckled softly again, his fangs flashing in the darkness of the cold night. Her hands clenched at her sides, she could feel the fire burning in her palms, engulfing her hands in flames.

"Y-You sent him to kill me?" She asked softly, looking into the dark abyss that was now his eyes.

"Yes." It was a simple answer, but it stung her heart like a thousand red-hot blades. This was the man she'd loved, the one she would have given her life for a few years ago. The one who'd said he would never hurt her and always protect her. And here he was, admitting flat out that he'd sent someone to KILL her! 'Now I know its true, but I wish it wasn't' she thought as tears welled up in her eyes though she refused to let them fall in front of this evil creature that was no longer the man she once loved. Cinder closed her eyes, took a deep breath and hardened her resolve, her features, and most painfully of all, her shattered heart.

Nicolas had to take a step back with surprise and nervousness when Cinder opened her eyes. Blood red orbs fixed onto his own pitch-black eyes, he could see and sense the fire of her anger and hurt burning in her eyes, her veins, her very soul. The flames swirling around her arms and hands like vines had changed, they were no longer bright yellow, orange and red but a deep dark blue mixed with black. His own hands crackled with electricity, it was running up his arms, in electric blues and yellows. Nicolas took a fighting stance, ready to charge the half-breed fire demon he once called lover.

Her stance never wavered.

It all happened quickly. Nicolas charged Cinder ready to slash her across the stomach or chest with his electrified, short katana. She blocked the attack with her own fire-engulfed dagger and slashed his arm with the other. He jumped back and snarled at her, baring his fangs. She charged at him this time with one dagger poised above her head to strike, the other protecting her side and stomach.  Nicolas feigned a jab at her protected side and instead slashed a new gash opposite the wound in her thigh, relishing in the small yelp of pain that escaped her throat. The battle between the two enraged souls continued. Cinder matching Nicolas block for block, parry for parry, and assault for assault.

A raging battle between fire and lightning.

Raw power against raw power, for revenge, for anger, for the clashing emotions in both fighters, at least one would never leave that clearing alive. Yet suddenly it was Nicolas who turned the tables and sliced at her hands, cutting them both and causing her to drop her smoldering daggers to the wet earth. Nicolas held the point of the katana to Cinders throat, smirking smugly. She could feel the cold silver of the blade pressing against her heated skin; the bolts of the now completely blue lightning stinging her skin. "Check-Ahh!" Nicolas yelped as the heel of her black boot met his wrist, effectively disarming the now completely enraged vampire.

"YOU DISPICABLE LITTLE WRETCH!!" He screamed at her, electricity swirled around his entire body, crackling and snapping, his black shirt, pants and hair flaring in the immense waves of energy swirling around him. Cinder stood her ground while black flames engulfed her entire body, her long hair billowing behind her in the wake of such energy. Her voice was low and menacing when she retorted to his remark, not a shred of emotion could be heard, nor seen in her cold blood colored eyes.

" You are the despicable one here Nicolas" she spat out his name like it was poisonous. “It was you who left me without so much as a goodbye for 5 long, painful years! It was you who 3 years ago began to haunt and taunt me, not only every day but even in my dreams with visions of you killing my friends, my family, and even me! It is you who I have been forced to track because you killed Dartak, Paul, Marissa and Sarah and left your message to me on the apartment wall with their blood! It was YOU who sent Adonis to murder me in cold blood and you have the AUDACITY to call ME the despicable wretch?! OH, That Is Rich!" Cinder chuckled to herself. After all, this evil, vampire, boy had put her through he had the nerve to call HER the wretch?  He really must be a little off in the head just like Dartak had said he was. 'Dartak.' she thought sadly, 'my trainer, my friend, my brother mercilessly murdered in cold blood.  All of them, Paul, Marissa, Sarah, my best friends.  All of them murdered by HIM!' Quick as a flash, she pulled her last dagger; the silver one Dartak had given her the day before he died, from a hidden sheath inside her right boot. It was time to end it all.

"DIE MY LOVE!!" She screamed as the black fires surged around her and she lunged at Nicolas ready to stab her blade through his evil heart. But at the same second, Nicolas pulled his own dagger from his belt and lunged at Cinder, lightning surging around his own charging form. When they finally clashed, all the hatred and anger and sadness that had been building in both for the past 3 years was unleashed.

"CHECK-!" Nicolas sneered as he plunged his golden dagger deep into Cinders abdomen with a look of triumph that soon turned to shocked horror as Cinder plunged her silver dagger, smoldering, into his heart and twisted it.

"-Mate." She finished. Nicolas fell to the ground dead.  It was finished. Cinder sank to her knees beside his body, she let out a sharp hiss in pain as she pulled the dagger from her stomach and dropped it to the ground. She watched in near amazement as her own blood slowly formed a puddle around her knees. "Rest… in peace… Nicolas." she whispered as she gently kissed his freezing cold forehead and collapsed next to his body letting death claim her.

No one knew what the strange screams or lights were that came from the forest that night and no one was brave enough to go and see what may have happened. No one ever knew about the young half-breed fired demon and the dark hearted vampire who fought the people they loved most, each other, to the death.

Checkmate.