When You're Gone

Adonia is broken when her sister Mora and her would-be lover Bane leave her without a trace or a letter. But are they gone voluntarily, or was there another reason?

Adonia sighed as she looked out her window. It had been a year since Bane and Mora had left. Her sister had left her. As had the only man she had ever cared for. Bane had left her without a word. And neither of them had even sent a letter to let her know they were alright. Adonia’s green eyes filled with tears. Why had they left? Was it something she had done?

“Adonia? Are you up here?” her mother’s voice called, and quickly Adonia wiped away her tears. It wouldn’t do to have Mother scold her again for crying for ‘no apparent reason.’

“Yes, Mother,” she called back, and stood, dusting off her dress as she did so. The turret was so filthy… Adonia stood tall and with proud bearing as she had been taught as her Mother’s face appeared in front of her, poking her head around the door.

“Come on, Adonia, let's get you ready for the ball,” she said firmly, but her excitement showed through. Adonia resisted the urge to roll her eyes, although inside her heart was breaking further. Mother was so set on Adonia marrying this year. Too bad Adonia had set her mind, and heart, against it, despite the poor state her heart was in after her betrayal by her sister and the one man she thought she could rely on. With a small, inaudible sigh, Adonia followed her mother downstairs and prepared herself for the torture that would surely follow.

 

Bane fought himself internally. He wanted to go to Adonia, to tell her everything, to hold her, just once, and tell her he loved her. But how could he, when he wasn’t even human anymore? Softly, in the corner of his mind, he heard Mora’s voice.

‘I know what you want to do, Bane, but we cant. It would hurt her even more than our disappearance,’ she said sensibly, although Bane could sense the underlying anguish.

‘But we can watch her and protect her, can’t we?’ he asked anxiously.

‘I guess so. As long as we don’t contact her we, and she, are safe.’ Bane gave a sigh and turned away from the big old house, loping into the forest once more and back to his love’s sister. They only had to wait until the next night, and they would become human once more. But only if Adonia remained unaware of their presence.

 

Adonia sang to herself quietly, her tune one of despair and hopelessness as she reluctantly coiled up her hair. She had convinced her mother to leave her alone for the last hour before she had to leave, and now sat at her window playing with her fair curls as she looked out over the barely-lit landscape.

“All I know now…is that I am alone…when you're gone…I feel I've lost my home…” she trailed off as she thought she saw a shadow outside in the garden moving, and leapt to her feet to peer out the window. She slumped back in defeat when she realised it was just one of the many statues in the front garden. Her hope that Bane and Mora would return was again crushed. They were gone, and they weren’t coming back.

 

Mora breathed a sigh of relief. Adonia had almost seen her. If she had, it would mean neither she nor Bane were going to change back to human the next night. Oh, why couldn’t that stupid ball Mother was making Adonia go to be tomorrow night? It would be so much easier to go to her and save her from all those idiotic young lords who wanted her as their ornamental wife. Adonia was more intelligent than that, and worth so much more. Turning and fleeing into the trees, Mora was crying inside. Please, let my sister stay hopeful until we come back. I need her to be here, she thought to herself.

 

Adonia made herself act the perfect, beautiful, shallow maiden at the ball. She had to, or else be thoroughly scolded by her mother when she returned home. She passed the time pretending to be feeling faint and not well enough to dance with the many young lords who asked her, despite the glowering disapproval from her mother. She didn’t want to dance with anyone but Bane. If only Mother could understand the depth of her emotions, the sorrow she felt. Bane wasn’t just another young lord…he had been the only man she had ever trusted, ever loved. With a small, inaudible sigh, Adonia waved her fan gently and waited for the torture to be over.

 

Bane paced in the shadows of the forest impatiently as the sun rose. He only had to wait until nightfall to see Adonia again…it had been a year…what if she had moved on? He wouldn’t be able to bear it if she had. He would kill himself. Or get Mora to do it for him. At least she was related to Adonia, and had a way to keep getting back into her life. Bane growled softly and then sighed as Mora appeared nearby.

‘She almost saw me last night, but she didn’t,’ she confessed mentally, sitting and curling her tail around her. ‘If she had, we wouldn’t be able to talk like this,’ she added, reminding Bane that their transformation would become full and permanent if either of them had been seen. They would fully become the animal, with no human thoughts and no memory of their human lives. It would be torture, Bane knew, if he couldn’t ever see Adonia again, despite the fact he wouldn’t remember her. All he had to do was wait until nightfall. And when he was human again, he would hold Adonia close and tell her he loved her, as he had wanted to do for a full year.

 

Adonia shook with sobs as the sun rose. Tonight it would be exactly a year since Bane and Mora had disappeared. Oh, why had they left her?! Adonia curled into a ball and sobbed heartbrokenly. She was so lonely, so depressed, without the two of them. She knew in her broken, shattered heart that they wouldn’t have left of their own choosing, but she saw it as them leaving her intentionally, perhaps even running away together. That hurt the most, and Adonia had to stifle her sobs in her pillows as they got louder and more anguished. Then she sat up hurriedly and shook her head sharply. No! She couldn’t think like that! It wasn’t fair on Bane and Mora. They had never been more than friends, and she knew Bane would never betray her like that. Well, at least, she hoped she knew it was the truth. She wouldn’t know what she would do if it wasn’t true.

 

Her mother didn’t come to find her until midday. That was one blessing, in a way; Adonia knew that it wasn’t long before the scolding and sharp words would fall on her mind. It still hurt too much. All she had to do was make it through the day, and then she could escape back into her dreams. All she had to do was make it through the day…

 

Bane paced impatiently, waiting for Mora to return. They had to get back to the mansion, to be near Adonia when they changed back to human. Bane let out a sigh of relief as Mora appeared, carrying clean clothing in her mouth. Then he nodded and turned, leading the way back through the forest to Mora’s human home…and Adonia.

 

The two wolves managed to leap up onto Adonia’s balcony without anyone seeing them, and hid on either side of her window-door to wait for the sun to set. Only a few more minutes…

 

The change was quick and painless, unlike their original transformation. Bane hurriedly pulled on his new clothing, not looking at Mora until she tapped his shoulder lightly. She held her finger to her lips, her green eyes still sad. Her long black curls hung over her shoulders messily, and Bane knew his own brown hair was in desperate need of a trim. He nodded and peered through the slight gap in the curtains, waiting for Adonia to return to her room from supper. They didn’t have long to wait.

 

Adonia flopped back onto her bed gracelessly, her breath leaving her body in a huge sigh. Finally, she could escape. She could return to her dreams, to her fantasies. Oh, if only Mora or Bane (either would suffice) would come back! It was so painful to be without them, to think of them but not to be able to see or speak to them. Adonia sat bolt upright at a tap on her window. It was coming from her balcony… Standing, Adonia made her way carefully over to the window and pulled back the curtains. There was no one there. Curious, Adonia opened her window and slid outside onto the balcony. She let out a squeak as a pair of strong, warm arms surrounded her, hugging her tightly but still gently, and she gasped as she saw Mora step out of the shadows.

 

Bane tapped at the glass when he saw Adonia flop onto her bed, as beautiful and graceful as she had been when they had been forced to leave. Adonia sat up sharply, looking towards the window, and stood, walking slowly across the room. Bane ducked and hid as Adonia twitched back the curtains, looking out, and saw the confusion in her beautiful but sad green eyes. He waited breathlessly for her curiosity to get the better of her, and grinned when she opened the window and slid outside. He stood and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her like he had wanted to for a year, and smiled when she let out a surprised squeak. He was back with Adonia, and that was all he wanted. If he had to die now, then so be it. He was happy.

 

Mora smiled shyly at her elder sister, who was caught in Bane’s arms and had extremely wide eyes.

“M…Mora?” Adonia whispered, and Mora nodded, stepping closer.

“I'm back, Adonia,” she murmured, and Bane reluctantly released the girl he loved. “And so is Bane,” she added as her sister turned and saw the handsome young man. Adonia was still for a moment, then threw herself at Bane, hugging him enthusiastically as tears poured down her face. Mora just waited until her sister had calmed down.

 

Adonia was crying as she hugged Bane, feeling his strong arms around her and hers around him. It had been a year… a year! Why were they back now? Sniffing back her tears, Adonia released her hold on Bane and took a step back, looking between Mora and him.

“Why did you leave?” she asked softly, agony in her voice despite her attempt to hide it with barely any volume in her question. “You never even said goodbye…”

“We wanted to, Adonia,” Bane interrupted gently, his deep brown eyes sad and a little pleading. “But we couldn’t…we weren’t given a choice!” Mora nodded.

“Believe me, sister, if I had been given the choice, I wouldn’t have left you,” she said sadly. “But we were forced to leave. We couldn’t come back and see you until tonight.” Adonia gave a little gasp and her eyes filled with tears again. They were going to leave her again?

“You're not staying?” she asked, and then was surprised when Bane and Mora both hugged her, reassurance seeming to radiate off them.

“We're staying, Adonia,” Bane murmured in her ear. “I won't let anyone make me leave you again. I'd rather die.” Adonia gasped, and then crumpled into tears. She had missed them both so much, and now they were back…Mora smiled slightly and released her sister, tears in her own eyes.

“I'm going to go get into some of my own clothes,” she said with a small smile. “I'll be back soon,” she promised, and hugged Adonia as best she could with Bane’s arm still around her sister, then hurried off into the house and out Adonia’s door.

 

Bane waited until Mora had left before turning Adonia in his arms to look down at her with pleading eyes.

“Adonia, I must tell you,” he whispered, stroking her cheek gently with one hand. Adonia gave a tiny sigh and leaned into his touch, her green eyes no longer sad.

“You can tell me anything,” she whispered. Bane bent and lightly touched his lips to hers, then whispered something he had been longing to say for over a year into her ear.

“I love you, Adonia.”

 

Adonia was still and silent for a long moment, then smiled and rested her head against Bane’s chest.

“I love you too, Bane,” she murmured, feeling happy once again. “I didn’t know if you were going to come back, but I waited,” she whispered, comfortable in his embrace. Bane hugged her tighter.

“I made you a promise when we were still children, didn’t I?” he asked. Adonia looked up and nodded. “I promised I would come back,” he whispered, and Adonia smiled slightly.

“I remember that. I was scared you weren’t going to come back after you went away for the summer,” she said softly, remembering. “But you promised me you would come back, that you always would…”

“And I keep my promises,” Bane whispered, kissing her forehead lightly. “But I'm going to make you a new promise,” he added, lifting her chin carefully. Adonia just looked at him silently, her green eyes wide. “I will never leave you again. It hurts us both too much. No one will ever take me away from you,” he promised, releasing her to go down on one knee. “Will you marry me, Adonia?”

Author's Note

*gasps* Oh my, what will Adonia say???
"Yes", of course XD. I'm thinking of writing a sequel...whaddya think?

Ugh, I'm such a sap!!! Oh well...

Meanings of names:
Adonia = Beautiful
Bane = Fair
Mora = Dark

Let me know what you think!
Oh yes, and I got the idea from Avril Lavigne's song "When You're Gone"