Resurrected

[Tiff'blz]

Dark night, slow breeze blowing around the fragile leaves on every tree. A lone figure made iridescent by the moonlight. Blueish white hair glowed with help of silvery light. A form framed by a silken white gown showed a body malnourished, but still for the most part healthy. Head bowed she studied the gravestone. The epitaph was as emotionally charged as a dead battery.

"Tiffany Croffin"

No..she didn't think they would remember her..Nor did she think they would care that she was gone. Who would?.. A name formed in her mind, but disappeared as quickly as it showed up, a whisper on the ever present wind.

They couldn't have cared that she was gone..or they would have questioned the lack of a body.. They never questioned her disappearance, just marked her as dead and went on their way.

Tiffany huffed and crossed her arms. Her ice blue eyes ripped over the entire graveyard, wanting madly to tear it apart. Their nonchalance made her so angry..But the ice-queen she was, that she had been forced to become..refused to let even a single tear fall from her eyes.

She could only think of a man, with black hair, and brown eyes..She wondered if this was the Laodice she kept dreaming about..but it was so hard to remember..

She had been held for months in a dank, dark cell..with a boy named Wyatt for only a little while. He made them angry..so they took her away, leaving him there by himself. He had been terribly hurt, and she had been worried for him, but concern for herself took over when they started to hit her.. Then Dor came along...

A flash of white shook her out of her reverie. A waterlily, being tossed by the wind that had picked up. "Waterlily..that is what Dor called me.." She whispered as she picked up the battered flower. But he is dead..who left this at my grave?" A slender finger trailed over the bruised petals. "Soft to the touch..Fairly new, freshly picked.." She continued to whisper as if she were crowded by the dead, who wanted to see the flower that had caught her interest. "Who is left then? .. Who survived the attack?"

[THE Phantom]

Laodice strolled through the sea of graves, expecting them to rise as the waves of a real sea and toss him about, drowning him in misery. He touched a few, though he didn't recognize the names. But someone somewhere mourned for each and every one. With the death of one dies the hearts of many. He was there to see if his heart was to be taken. If so, he was willing to let it fly from him and rejoin the one that held it captive.

He stepped in front of a single plot, reading the face of the cold stone, not acknowledging the other person with him. He read the inscription of a name that he knew too well and fell to his knees. He noticed the girl there was touching a flower from the grave. How could she desecrate the final resting place of the one he loved? He stood up and turned to her, her face unclear in the darkness. He stood there, a daunting figure in his full cloak, his face in complete shadow. A white circle appeared above them, lighting up the area. He was about to say something, but stopped. Something was familiar about her, but he wouldn't let himself draw any conclusions. He just looked at her hair and into her eyes, both the blue of the clearest waters. His face was still in darkness, but he did not move it. He wanted to see how she would respond.

[Tiff'blz]

The wind blew her hair about, whipping around her face with such force that it stung her eyes. She raked it back and looked at the flower. The petals had been torn away, leaving only a stem. "Hmph.." She said, sadly comparing it to the life she had now. First she was on top of the world.. had everything she could want..then it was so cruelly torn away..just like the beautiful petals of the flower. She let it go, watching the wind carry the stem not to far from her. It landed at the feet of someone near her gravestone. She stopped immediately, her body frozen. All except for her eyes remained rooted to their spot. Her wandering eyes roamed up the figure, seeing a thick black cloak, surrounding his entire body. He looked almost like the Grim Reaper himself. Come to claim her, perhaps? At her very grave? The irony actually made her laugh. The clear ringing sound bounded off of the graves, filling the silence.

"Come to claim my very soul? You realize that it might be hard to take..since I dont know where that thing has gotten off to." She said shrugging. Her hand rested lightly on the gravestone. It ran off of it slowly, feeling the rough texture of the cut stone that hadnt been sanded smooth like so many in the graveyard had. "I realize now that since I have already been assumed dead..no one will miss me..So please..Put me out of my misery then.." She said, letting her eyes fall to the pathetic exuse for a grave. She looked up, with eyes shining like crystal, water glazed over. She was gathering up her energy. Why? Even she didnt know..But first she must question why he had kneeled at, off all the places, her grave..." Do I know you?" She asked softly, trying to look at the face that was shrouded in darkness.

[THE Phantom]

Laodice stood in front of Tiffany and was suddenly very sure of who she was. "No one will miss you?" he asked, "Well who's to say you haven't already been missed? And no soul? Well, then you are already taken. Far be it from me to take what is not mine." He put his hand on top of the stone that held her name. "You were a good one," he said, almost laughing, "It's been hard, you know. But there are states worse than death." Laodice stooped down and picked up the flower at his feet. "I see many flowers on the graves. Consider yourself very fortunate. You're the only one who can see what you've received. It's funny... Throughout life, not many put much effort into making you happy but once you die, they will exhaust their resources making a nice place for you to sleep." Holding out the flower to her he continued, "I'd like to take this second chance to change that." Laodice pulled down his hood with his free hand and showed his face. "Welcome back to life Tiffany," he said with a tear falling, "May it be a happy one."

[Tiff'blz]

The voice made her tilt her head. Familiar...so familiar.. She squinted, studying the figure. She stepped forward, but stopped. When he held the flower out to her, she grasp at it slowly, her fingers running over the soft yet solid skin of his hand. A cold chill ran down her spine and she looked back up at the darkness that covered his face. She frowned. " I know you.." She said, answering the question she had asked earlier. He pulled back the hood, showing the face that haunted her dreams. Her breathing stopped, and she was guessing that her heart was picking up the slack of the lungs because it beat so hard and fast that she feared it would burst from her ribcage. "La..." She began as she launched herself at him. "Laodice..." She whispered, buring her face on his shoulder. "I....I.." She couldnt speak, a lump in her throat. She had dreamed, hoped...wanted so badly to see him again. She stopped, sobbing so feircely that they racked her slight body horribly. She stepped away, turning from him, wiping angrily at her eyes. "Im sorry..I .. Lost control of myself.." She said shaking her head. She rocked back as all of the memories of him hit her like a brick wall. The fountain, the ice rose she had made for him.. The ball...where she realized..that she loved Laodice. She had never gotten the chance to tell him. He had left so suddenly..She sobbed, gasping for breath as she remembered how she had gotten caught in the first place. Looking over the entrance to the outside of Cassis..wondering where in the world he had gotten to..And whether or not she should go find him..But he had left without her.. Her head dropped, staring at her feet. "Why did you go?" She asked so softly she was afraid she would have to repeat herself and speak up. "I am not taken..just broken.." She whispered.

[THE Phantom]

Laodice felt sad at her reply. "If there's a way to forget the past, I'd like to know what it is. The past is clearly wrought with blurred confusion. I would never make the choices I made again," he said, then pausing. He looked at her blue eyes glowing in the dark. "The moon is falling," he said, "to glorify the rising of the sun. We have a chance for a new beginning. Please don't make us dwell on the past." Laodice felt a breeze pass by, blowing his long hair. He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable with his appearance. He had let his hair grow out to the bottoms of his shoulders. His face must have shown the seed of many sleepless nights and stressful days. He could see in Tiffany that she had gone through hard times as well. "I hope you've been alright," he said, "I would hate to hear of your discomfort. I should have been there all along. I'm sorry."

[Tiff'blz]

Tiffany sighed, listening to his voice with her eyes closed. Her head tilted down and to the side, unconsciously trying to get as close to the source of the sound as possible. "New beginning?.." She turned back around to face him. "Only if you wish to forget the past. What has made us what we have become..what has brought us this far.. I say, we remember the past..revel in the accomplishments that saved us from the horrors of our lives.." She looked him straight in the eyes, her eyes reflecting the m0onlight, a silvery-blue against the paleness of her face. "I dont want to forget. Forgetting would be like saying that it never happened..but it did.." She said shaking her head, sending a tear flying from her face. " But I want a new beginning..New memories, not to replace the ones I have..but to make the rest pale in comparison." She said, straightening up. "I wish you had been there. Not to save me, not to keep me from discomfort. I would go through it a hundred times through..to just know that you were alright. I wanted to see you, touch you..Just know that you were alive and well.. That is all I wished for..I believe that is what kept me from being completely broken..Just the hope that I would see you just one more time."

She stepped forward, looking at the face that she remembered so well. "Such words were never spoken more beautifully from any other lips.." She whispered, loving to hear such words again. She closed her eyes and said the words over again in her mind..then as a second thought..said them out loud.

"Nighttime...So painful is the death of light, that brings the beauteous birth of night. The sun falls down to make the way, the moon takes place to shun the day. The stars emerge in memory, of the sun that set them free. The night now bows in gratitude, as day returns once more anew."

The words engraved on her mind..the lulling sound of his voice that lingered in her memories. She heard it every day, and for the longest time, she did not know what it meant.. "Almost makes me wonder if you saw this coming..." She whispered, tears glittering on her eyelashes, even as her eyes were still closed. " So painful is the death of light...That is when you left.. So painful.. " She shook her head and surprisingly smiled. "But you are back.." She said, stepping up closer to him yet again. A hand raised to brush the skin of his cheek as she looked into his brown eyes. "I have missed you so.."

[THE Phantom]

Laodice nodded in agreement to her views on the past. "It's true. The past has shaped us and made us what we are. Perhaps it has made us stronger," he said, "But some of us didn't fight as hard as we should have. You say to revel in the accomplishment? I say I have made none. But I hope now to change that. The future is the only thing in my power." He stepped closer to her, feeling like they were beauty and the beast. Every second he got closer to staying a monster forever. Maybe she could free him from these bonds. He listened to her recite the poem he had told her so long before. He smiled.

"Ten years gone and at long last,
We hold only tattered pasts.
Fighting simply for survival,
Staving off the mortal rival.
Remembering before the war
To bring back joyousness once more,
I see just a single face
To help me stand the lasting race.
I'm running back to follow you
Hoping you will take me too.
Wherever you are, I want to be,
A single shared eternity."

As she stepped closer to him, he wiped the tears from her eyes. He put his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. "I've missed you as well. I hope there will be no more pain. But if there is, we will bare up under it together."

[Tiff'blz]

Tiffany buried her face in his shoulder, taking in the feel of just being in his arms. Tears came from her eyes, not from sadness, but from absolute joy. "I have missed you so much Laodice.." She said, her words muffled. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, not wanting to let go even though she knew she would have to sooner or later.

"To be with the one you love, is to face everything as one.." She whispered. She ran a hand over his hair, turning her head so that his head would fit more comfortably on her shoulder. "It has been too long.. You said I could trust you .. And I want you to know.. I still do..Forever and ever, I trust you.." She pulled away to look him in the eyes. " I let myself be happy again..I want to be happy.. " She took his face in her hands and leaned her forehead against his. "To be this close to you..It pains my heart..I think the joy is just so much to bear..that my heart feels like bursting from my chest.." She said with a small laugh. "What a wonderful day when pain makes me so happy.."

[THE Phantom]

"Well," Laodice said, "It's good to be back here. I'm glad you're alright." He looked around them at the graves, then at Tiffany's grave. "I suppose we can have this removed," he said, "I don't want to even think of your making use of it. Perhaps we should go somewhere else for now." He drew back, though not wanting to, and took Tiffany's hand. "It's up to you. I'll go where you go. Like I said, I want to be where you are, no matter how dark the place is." A mist started forming over the ground, making the cemetery like that of a scary film. Pointing his hand in the direction of the city, he hoped that Tiffany would want to leave.

[Tiff'blz]

Tiffany laughed softly. "So eager to get away from the place that resembled my loss.. And yet I stand here as if it is home..I do not blame you for wanting to leave..Indeed, I can honestly say I am quite hungry..Would you like to get something to eat?" She asked, smiling at Laodice. She let him take her hand and looked over to where he was pointing. "Yes..that sounds good.." She said, nodding her head in agreement. She stepped away from the stone that marked her grave. "We could have it removed..but I see no reason to..I do not intend to come back to this place.." She said, her head turning back from the sight. "I would much rather spend my time with you somewhere more..pleasant." She said with a bright smile on her face as she walked toward the city lights, the night growing darker. The city seemed to be beckoning them to come to its safety.