eena

It seems there is more interest in sunsets than sunrises. Perhaps because innately we fear the dark.

I understand it was Derian who spoiled everything. He purposefully tainted your view of me and forced you to go along with him. I know none of what happened was your idea or your desire, Eena.__he didn__ get up, but spoke from her curled position. Her voice was weak, still heavy with despair. __erian didn__ force me to do anything.___ut if he hadn__ influenced you, we would be enjoying a pleasant dinner again, telling stories and laughing. I__ sure that would be the case. You would be happy_and so would I.__ena chuckled without amusement.__ou have to admit we shared some very enjoyable evenings, didn__ we? There__ really no reason we can__ put this whole mess behind us and start from where we left off._ He sounded genuinely serious.__ou forget,_ she reminded him, __ heard your conversation with the Ghengats. This isn__ about Derian, it__ about you.___lright,_ he admitted with an acquiescent sigh, __o I__ not everything you__ hoped for. But really, what man can ever live up to any woman__ terribly high expectations?__his got her attention. She almost stood up to face him, but decided it wasn__ worth the effort. Leaning forward, she retorted, __xpecting a man to respect you, to be honest with you, and, oh yes, to not be a shameless murderer__ don__ think those are overly high expectations!__e shrugged, casually excusing his faults. __obody__ perfect.___hat do you want?_ she finally asked, exasperated.He squatted to her level and stated his desire. __ want you.__ena thought the expression on his face__he look in his weary blue eyes__ppeared strangely sincere. But there was one thing she had learned from all this: never trust a master of deceit.

Life is a valuable and unique opportunityto discover who you are.But it seems as soon as you nearanswering that age-old question,something unexpected always happensto alter your course.And who it is you thought you weresuddenly changes.Then comes the frustrating realizationthat no matter how long life endures,no matter how many experiencesare muddled through in this existence,you may never really be ableto answer the question....Who am I? Because the answer, like the seasons,constantly, subtly, inevitably changes.And who it is you are today,is not the same person you will be tomorrow.

You can capture this body of mine, take away my freedom and enslave me. You may even have the power to capture my soul and sentence me to the realm of eternal darkness. But my dreams you cannot touch. They are my will__he very essence of who I am. In them I laugh. In them I cry. In them I love. And in them.....I live.My dreams are untouchable and unceasing.

Life__ gonna kick you in the butt.That__ what it does. But if you gotta put up with this crap, the least you can expect is that your friends will stand by you. I mean, for crying in the night, what else are friends for but to help you make right what isn__ in life? (Kira, The Mishmorat)

Shhh, Eena, it__ going to be okay. I promise, you__l get through this._ She didn__ fight him, but grabbed onto his shirt, weeping softly into it as before. He began to hum faintly, a familiar Earth tune. Soon he was singing the words in that deep, consoling voice of his. The song itself was meant to be comforting, and his tender manner made it that much more effectual. Eena recognized the song. She fell asleep to the soothing l

Why is it we must suffer the loss of something so dear before we realize what a treasure we had?Why must the sun be darkened before we feel how genuinely impossible it is to live without its warmth?Why within the misery of absence does love grow by such bounds?Why must life be this way?It is a strange existence where such suffering makes us far better people.

She imagined him leaning against the shuttle, entertaining thoughts of scolding her for dressing like a ragged commoner. Never mind that her present outfit was light years ahead in comfort.(Actually, he__ wishing he had been less critical of you earlier. He feels bad that you won__ acknowledge his presence, and he blames himself.)(Quit it, Ian. I__ not going to feel sorry for him.)She caught her protector__ shrewd grin, highlighted by the fire__ glow. (You already do, Queenie.)(This talent of yours is really annoying.)He leaned close to her ear and whispered, __hat__ not what you thought earlier when you wanted to get ahold of Efren._ __ne tiny rosebud in a handful of thorns,_ she retorted.

I hate you, Edgar. I hate you with all my heart.

Eena worried to Ian in her thoughts. (You__e not going to let him walk away thinking what I think he__ thinking, are you?)(You won't change his mind. The evidence is a little suggestive. You should have just stayed behin

Stop tormenting Derian.___e?_ Edgar gaped at her with a clearly fake look of innocence.__es, you.___nd what about you? When will you stop tormenting him?_ Edgar moved past the young queen to approach the unmoving captain. He circled the man as though he were checking out a statue on display ____ not tormenting him; why would you say that?___ou have the poor guy believing you actually intend to marry him._ Edgar stopped to fix the captain__ collar, raising it up high and stiff around his

Eena turned aside, breathing shallowly as her mind raced with questions. She was glad he couldn__ read the confusion that swooped her up like a passing tornado. Was it even possible to genuinely love more than one man? Yes. Oh, yes.She knew it because her heart irrefutably felt it. She loved Derian; it was true. She wasn__ trying to convince herself of it, no matter what Edgar said. She yearned deeply for her captain. But she loved Ian too. She always had. Only she purposefully, appropriately, had set those feelings aside when he made the decision to pursue Angelle. But Angelle was gone now. No, Eena thought to herself, this changes nothing. She scolded her heart for longing for something spent and ended, for even considering the possibility. Her with Ian? No, no, it had to remain in the past.

The woman laughed again. She was the loudest person in the cave. Eena wondered if perhaps she was talking to a female Ghengat. Curiosity got the best of her and she turned around to look, surprised to find neither a Ghengat nor a Harrowbethian woman, but a Mishmorat. A striking, cheetah-spotted Mishmorat with straight lengths of charcoal hair and the most alluring dark eyes in existence. This bronzed female was the same size as Eena but observably more muscular. She appeared to be a mix of cheetah, Arabian princess, and gladiator in tight-fitting pants. Eena paused, dropping the stone in her hands. __ira?_ she breathed.__mmm,_ the woman grumbled. Her painted eyes scrunched with displeasure. The look was still stunning. __ see my reputation precedes me._ Eena gawked as if a legendary ghost had been resurrected. __ou__e alive?

The calling that has been thrust upon you is likewise as demanding and daunting. I understand how you feel, believe me. But we need you, Eena. I would say I__ sorry, but_honestly I__ have no other woman take your place. You are exactly what we need. And yes, it does require a great deal of sacrifice, but you don__ have to bear these burdens alone. We are all here to help you. And believe me there isn__ one of us who wouldn__ give his last breath to defend yours so you might go on to heal Harrowbeth. Don__ block us out. Don__ think you have to stand alone. Please wake up and know that I understand. And I promise I won__ say, __ told you so.__ The room fell quiet. Eena didn__ move. Derian could see how her breathing continued smoothly in and out just as before. ____l give you some chocolate if you wake up._ It was a last-ditch effort. ____e got plenty of it, and I don__ care for the stuff.

Don't ever give up. Don't ever give in. Don't ever stop trying. Don't ever sell out. And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off.But never, ever, ever give up.

Imagine in vibrant, wonderful detail your heart__ desire__ reality only you can envision, an adventure only you can direct.Then cradle your creation. Caress it. Mold it. Coddle it until it comes to life.And when your precious treasure grows so grand as to steal your breath away, set it free for all the world to experience. For that is how you live your dreams.

Yes, he knew he was falling in love, her way. And the worst part was, as disabling as he found the emotion to be he craved it all the more. To feel this way about a woman was amazing even if it was __emporary and fleeting_, as he__ put it. It was a natural high like he__ never felt before. One he couldn__ get enough of.

He reached out for her hand and she grabbed onto his. __ena, when you__e ready to talk about it, I__l be here. That__ what best friends are for._ She let the tears fall. He__ never know they were for him. He__ think they were because of Derian. They held hands silently throughout the night, Ian unaware that this was by far her most tortured nightmare ever. Paradise so close, and yet completely unattainable.