The place was called Cha?hovalest, which roughly translated to Paradise. The locals hadn?t really exaggerated much in Jets view. The weather was cool, and a soft wind blew the scents of the ocean across the city, the briny aroma of salt water permeated the places and mingled with the wildflowers that grew rampant every chance they got.

Up above the nightsky was bright with stars, this planet being situated close to a nebula that was spawning newborn suns at a fantastic rate. But the real "stars" of the sky were the three moons that orbited the planet, each one larger than the moon on Earth and each casting a pale blue light of varying shades. It was lovely and unforgettable. Except that she had forgotten both them and this place.

It was the first night of the Festival of Wonders and that too lived up to its name. In the native tongue it sounded something like Ta?ro Atabaran. She liked the native tongue it had a cadence that was not unlike Japanese but softened until it was more like a thing to be voiced by the winds. Brightly colored tents were up and decorated by streamers that danced to the beat of the oceans will and music filled the silences as she wandered the streets.

Her sleep was still hard to deal with, the dreams were always waiting. Despite a strong and stubborn will sleep was a necessity that she couldn?t go more than a few days without before her body shut itself down and allowed the visions to take her where they wanted. Sergei had come home with her last night and, despite her resolve not to fall asleep with him around, it had claimed her before he left.

When she forced her eyes to open he had still been there, next to her and asleep. She wasn?t sure how she felt about that, it was at once comforting and frightening. There had been three times recently where she had found herself surrounded by broken furniture when she woke with bruises on her knuckles to tell the tale of her own destructive hand in it.

It had been a vision of this place that had haunted her dreams and it called to her during the day so strongly that she found herself passing through a portal. How she knew where to find the portal was a mystery to her, she hadn?t questioned the ability before but if some of the dreams were true than how likely was it that it was all true?

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw someone moving stealthily behind her, ghosting her steps as she wandered through the crowds of strangers. The natives here looked a great deal like humans, a great deal like she did and blending was not an issue. She was shorter than most, not so short to draw notice, her hair color seemed unique but no one had commented and when she spoke it was halting and the accent was not right. All and all she figured these people thought her slow but harmless.

Not enjoying the sensation of the shadow she sped her pace up just enough that she could make a few quick turns that would be difficult to follow without the tail picking up the pace and perhaps slipping up so that she could catch a better glimpse of the pursuer. In the dream she had seen this city, this festival and a magnificent display of fireworks before a dread so horrible had overcame her and she shook herself to wakefulness. It was not fear of something physical, she could bear such pains but rather something that cut deeper and with the whirlpool of memories threatening to spill out bits and pieces of scenes that had no context or meaning she instinctively avoided such things.

The dread that had visited her during her sleeping hours was returning with a vengeance. Something she had forgotten that she should never have let go, never allowed them to take from her when all else had been stripped away; better to have lost the memory of speech than the thing stalking her in the shadows.

Then the fireworks began. Brilliant bursts of unique colors splashed themselves across the canopy of stars and painted pictures across the faces of the moons.

Her feet began hitting the sand dusted roads with increasing frequency until she was sprinting blindly, turning down one street and then another, heedless of the stares that followed in her wake. Pressure was building up around her lungs and she was finding it difficult to breathe, there was no even draws of air as her body consumed oxygen she was gulping it down and it wasn?t long before she was forced to stop or pass out.

Body bending over, her hands coming to rest on her knees as she tried to slow her breathing, to allow her body to recover from whatever it was that had sent her spiraling into this state. Lifting her chin to look around through bangs that were hanging in her eyes she saw she had reached the beachline, and that the waters spread only a few yards from where she had stopped far out to the horizon. Three blue moons, full and brilliant cast their light down, shapes and images appeared and disappeared as the fireworks continued. All these things shimmered on the flowing surface of the waters, giving the black blanket some distinction from the rest.

The wind, she thought, it must have been the wind that brought the words to her ears as she fought to calm her pulse and breath normally. But how could the wind carry words so clearly? She could still hear the fireworks exploding above her head but now they were muffled and mingled with strange voices. There were two distinct voices, the first was a mans, deep and melodic. ?You will leave me again in the morning??

The second was a womans, tentative and unsure of the reception the words she spoke would receive. ?No.? A pause. ?If you will have me I will stay. For some time now I have left with you in possession my heart, it longs to be nowhere but in your keeping. I have come to realize that I would have it no other way.?

?Everytime you go away... I have tried not to hold you back, ~~~~~. You know... you know I love you. But I also know that you are bound by your duty. If you stay... will you accept me as your husband?? There was a name the man spoke there, Jet was sure of it but it was not something she caught.

?My duty be damned, I lo-- ?? The womans voice choked off, the sounds of her struggle came so clearly to her ears.

?NO!? The anguish in the mans voice tore at heart, tore at her soul. For a long moment she felt as though her heart would never beat again, stopping long enough that there was a vicious pain in her chest.

?I love him, you cannot change that ?? It was the woman again and Jet was scanning the darkness, trying to figure out where the wind was bringing the voices from, needing to find the couple, she had to help. She HAD to help. There was an unspeakable sound of pure torment that she was sure had come from the woman. She couldn?t breathe, couldn?t move, the image of a man?s face flashed in her mind. Eyes the color of the largest moon in the sky were looking at her, begging her to help as a blade burst through the center of his chest, someone had stabbed him from behind. Blood bubbled up past soft lips that had always tasted of sweetness and spoke of life, kindness and love... had always? Always when?

"We do not have to change that... we need only cleanse the taint from our ranks." It was a different voice this time, another male but painfully beautiful, a voice that should not be here, should not ever have been. Even though the words he spoke were so cold and full of prideful arrogance there was no denying his power and the finality of the tone. "And we will do so with the same efficiency we use to keep the Balance. You have Fallen, and your name will be stricken from our ranks."

Something warm and wet slipped down her cheek and her vision clouded. The last thing she remembered before consciousness fled was the expression in those eyes, so full of love and loss... and forgiveness.