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The Harmony in Discord: Victoria

By: Taiku Altergrund

In Loving dedication to everyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one

"When can I take my blindfold off honey?" said Victoria in eager anticipation of what was coming.

Alexander replied to this laughing lightly as he said, "Soon! I want this to be a big surprise. Our 1 year wedding anniversary is a big deal. Not many couples get to this point anymore."

"I know that is why I am so anxious. You woke me up three hours before I was used to for this trip."

"That was needed to see what I want you to witness."

"You know I hate it when you tease me like this Alex. You may be my hunky lion cop, but I have my limits too."

"Just a few more minutes and a bit of offloading and then we will be there. Then you can take it off. Alright?" said Alex as he set his hand upon Victoria's leg.

A smile crossed the young vixen's face as she leaned against her husband's arm. A few minutes of loud bumps, hops, grunts, and "velocity changes", Victoria and Alexander arrived at their destination.

Alex was the first to disembark the SUV. "YES!" he exclaimed with prideful roar, "we made it just in time." All the while aiding his wife out of the vehicle, and upon her vacation of the SUV, she noticed familiar scents on the air. A small breeze had kicked up and drifted to her nose a smell of mixed flowers, tree bark, and creek water.

"Ok," said Alex in a whisper, "Take the blind fold off..." He paused a moment as the sun began to crest of over the unspoken beauty of the field in which he had brought his beloved wife. "NOW!"

As Victoria took off the blind fold, as strong gust of wind kicked up the dew that had been resting upon the flowers and grass in the field. The sun now shining over the horizon, glistened through the dew and shimmered upon the thousands of waving plants a rainbow of extra colors and moods. Few in beings in the world had seen such pristine and untouched beauty in the world since the great wars had ended, but to Victoria, whose eyes now began to tear up front the heavenly splendor and bliss of the moment now before her, mother nature gently spoke to her saying, "Rejoice, for in the meadow you shall know of paradise."

"Oh, Alexander." Victory said now crying in pure elation and bliss, "This is so perfect."

Alex replied softly as he held her in his arms, "It took me three months of diligent searching to find this place."

"Why so intently?"

"because I wanted you to see what I cannot say to you, that is why I spent all my time off out of the house. This is also the best spot to see the total solar eclipse from today"

"The eclipse is not supposed to happen until this afternoon. Why did we come so early then?"

" I wanted to spend all day here in your loving company, enjoying a picnic lunch, and then behold the eclipse."

"You truly are a hopeless romantic of a man aren't you Alex?"

"Better to be a hopeless romantic then to become a wretched fool!"

From behind them the sound of loading guns broke the moment they had been in. Stepping forth from the shadows of the forest which surrounded the meadow, a tall man. He was well over six and one half feet tall, easily 255 pounds of muscle, and very much reptilian. He spoke with a booming voice that rustled the leaves of the trees behind him. "You are going to just stay right there! My partner and I are going to take what we want the be on our way. If you try to fight back I guarantee you will die!" As the final line of this monologue passed his lips his eyes locked with Victoria's. Victoria had always been adept at soul reading with even the lightest of eye to eye contact, but this was a whole new level. The eyes of the man before her and Alexander were as deep and black as the deepest stretches of space, his heart withered and black with hatred, mind filled with violence and conflict.

"This man is serious Alex," Victoria whispered to her husband, "his mind is fouler then the man you put away last month."

"So one of you is an adept. Terant Seal Her!" The man bellowed.

"Already done!" even before Terant had said this Victoria's mind and soul were bound and silenced. Her breathing became heavy with stress as she struggled against that which now bound her thoughts.

"LET MY WIFE GO!" Alexander roared as he conjured a powerful fire around him. Alex's powers came from the sun, the brighter it shown, the more power he could safely use. As it turned out his powers were at their peak this day as the moon was acting more as a focusing agent then a blocking agent.

"Markus, I can't hold the girl with that fame around them!" Terant screamed as his grip over Victoria weakened.

"Terant, just hold on as long as you can I need a clear shot!" Markus raised his gun to take aim at Victoria, but as he did the flames surrounding Alex and his wife flew forth in a torrent of blue at Markus. Breaking his aim and avoiding certain death, Markus leapt forward through the fire and flames to minimize damage. Holstering his rifle and pulling out 2 pistols Marcus took several shots at Alexander.

"SHIT!" Alex screamed as one of the bullets grazed his left arm. Alex had no choice but to force focus his flames into a blade. If he stayed back at a range he was dead, close combat was his only way to stop the men from suffocating his wife to death.

Victoria was losing strength quickly as her body began to buckle from the binds on her. Desperate she tried to plane shift her soul from her body. Terant's hold was broken but her body lay on the floor and her soul jarred from it. Breath now gone from her she cried out "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

The distraction of her cries blunted Alex's stroke against Markus, causing it to pierce the outer edge of the alligator's arm instead of the lungs. Taking the opportunity Markus fired a bullet clean through the left leg of the lion. Alex fell to the ground for only a moment as the flames of his rage stirred and darkened the blue of his fire. "YOU WILL DIE!!!" A second blade of black flame formed in the other hand of the now enraged husband of the dying Victoria. Stroke after stroke, shot after shot, for three minutes Alexander fought Markus, all the while dragging the fight towards Terant. With a blaze of black flame the alligator was engulfed and Alexander's Left arm began to burn itself from the force of heat his magic was producing. On top of that Alex could also feel his lungs and other critical functions start to grow weaker. He had to work fast if he was going to save his wife. On top of this the eclipse was drawing closer, and control of his powers was starting to slip. If he did not save his wife soon he would engulf himself in the flames he was using to try and protect her.

Markus took one final shot as his body was destroyed by the hellfire which tore him limb from limb. This shot pierced Alexander's heart. Pain racked the lion as the hellfire passed through the would cauterizing it. Markus now dead, and near death himself Alexander had no qualms paying his life force to sustain control of his magic as the eclipse began. Terant, the man who was binding Victoria now attempted to bind down Alexander. This attempt was folly as the lion's mind was gone; consumed with rage and passion, Alexander began to channel a spell.

"Prisons of hell, Chains of the Sun, Hallows of my soul: Bear forth and consume my foe, bring his powers to me, let them be gone, let them be incinerated, let his mind be scorched and his body set aflame! Before Me Now I Call You Forth: SOLAR FLARE OF THE ANCIENT ONES!" With this surge of power Terant was destroyed and nothing remained but the scorched ground beneath his feet as if he had never existed. a Ghostly voice echoed on the wind, "You win this round. But know that I will continue my work in this world. Enjoy the loss of your beloved wife. For now her soul has passed to the next world! AHAHAHAHAH!"

"Victoria! VICTORIA! Speak to me! Come on sweaty , let me have you back" It was too late, the body was cold and dead. For an hour Alexander stood over his now dead wife waiting till the apex of the eclipse, and when the moon and sun were at their zeniths. He began the final act of his life.

"Sun, creator of life, give to me thy power and correct the tragedy that has befallen my wife. In this hour of twilight last, in which her life has so tragically passed. Now within me a life force strong, and before me a soul now gone. Mother moon, maker of night, now before me grant thy sight. For her life so sadly taken, now to her body return. My body broken, my soul now in turn, restore her life, my end be neigh, and hers far ahead. Now with these tears I shed, bring warmth back, a beat in her bosom, a tear from the one I wed. Back to me now in this Day in Night, bound to life by the last of my might. A mind for a soul, a body to make that which was broken whole, and a love so pure and true to make red her lips so blue. My life now forfeit, Victoria Return to this world!" As he spoke the words so true, runes began to appear around Victoria's body, as Alexander's began to wither. The light of the eclipse created a ring of pure white as the body lifted into the air; life now flowing from one to the other, and Victoria's soul returned to the world."

"Alex?"

"Yes my wife, I am here!"

"I was dead, but how?"

"I used the last of my power to bring you back, I don't have much longer for this world myself. "

"Why did you do this, you know I cannot live without you."

"Yes I know, but I had to save you. You need to be a light in this world. Our love was true and sacred, but you must carry on."

"How can I live without you? You make me strong when I was weak. You were my hope in the darkness of night, and you were my one true love!"

"Be unto others as I was unto you." Alexander was on deaths door, his body now old with age, and withered from use, "Forgive those who have wronged you, find peace, and let others draw joy from you even in the darkest night in a day." With that he passed away, the last breath of his faded, and his body limp.

It was 4 hours before Victoria was back to Marketh, and within the walls she turned the body of her husband to the cremator. Her only request was that he be placed in a sun themed urn.

Fox Amoore was in attendance with Taiku Altergrund, Benjamin Merlough, and Aurther Altergrund. All of them had been saved by Alexander's self sacrifice at least once themselves, but more importantly they were near and dear friend of his.

Taiku stood at the pedestal speaking softly and mournfully, "Today we pay tribute and respect to a friend who gave his life to save the one he loved. Alexander was not just a cop, friend, or even a husband He was a hero to everyone here. His ideals of mercy and kindness were true bastions of hope in our war torn world." Taiku had to clear the tears from his eyes before continuing onwards. "For many of you here, he was just another cop, a co worker who you could count on to get the job done, but know that he was far more to his friends then just that. We learned and grew with him as people, and we did many things together. My fondest memory was when Alexander taught me how to play tennis for the first time. Such a simple day, but still so prominent in my mind. How is it that such simple acts of kindness are the longest lasting memories. Let us dwell on his life and not his death as we now pay our respects. Fox, would you please play the song?"

"Certainly, For everyone who has ever felt lonely remember we are immortal so long as we have each other and our memories, and that with them we are immortal!"

As the music started up a female singer took stand at the microphone and sang these words:

Shimmering winds softly speak what we find, what we seek faith in magic, belief in trust shows what's fair, what's unjust

A month, a day, maybe a year or maybe upon an autumn tear we'll find the moon, and the sun and be immortal, and be one

We are immortal faithful fateful we are final we are one we are one

Leaves fly away sinful to stay but we need them not for we won't leave this spot drift away into the sun with thoughts of none fade away as we stay one

When the song ended, everyone in the chapel was in tears. When Alexander was laid in the ground Victoria ran from the scene unable to watch the one she had loved be put to rest so permanently. No magic was strong enough to bring him back, but his dying wish had to be fulfilled. For in keeping his dying wish true, she would never lose him.

Since that day 5 years ago, Victoria had lived a life of honestly, forgiveness, and mercy. She even paid the kindness of visiting the man who had murdered her grandmother, Albert Mortigan, and in doing so she found peace with the loss of her grandmother. Each day passing, as Victoria hoped that she had made her husband proud of the life she now lead.

So remember, that no matter how painful a loss is to bear, live in memory of that person and you can find harmony in the greatest discord.