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‘Dionne,’ he hissed, ‘I’m going to have him is it’s the last thing I do.’ As he came closer, Dionne kicked out. The kick caught him in the stomach, winding him. As he lay on the floor, gasping for breath, Dionne frisked him in search of the key. Then she saw it. It hung around his neck, on a silver chain. 

Reaching out, Dionne yanked it. Jareth screamed as the chain cut into his neck. It came free in her hand. She turned and tried to put the key in the lock of the chain. But it was no good, she was too nervous. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Jareth. 

Turning around, she tried to push him away. But he was stronger than her. He pulled her away from Moonlight and threw her to the floor behind him. She skidded in the sand before sitting up. Jareth already had Moonlight in his arms. Dragging her hands across the floor, Dionne struggled to her feet. Pulling all her immortal strength together, she grabbed Jareth and hauled him away from Moonlight. Jareth hit the floor with a hollow thud, which seemed to knock him unconscious. 

Quickly, she ran up to the altar and managed to free Moonlight. Both of them cried tears of fear and pain. As she helped Moonlight down, she saw a pile of wood, which she assumed would have been Moonlight’s funeral pyre had she not got here in time. Beside it, sat a tank of flammable liquid. Dionne wasn’t sure whether it was petrol or not but picked it up anyway. 

‘We’ll burn this place to hell,’ she whispered. Slowly, they began the long walk back to the surface. Dionne took a cigarette from her pocket and put it behind her ear. She had no intention of lighting it in here. Moonlight looked at her. ‘I started smoking again after you left,’ she smiled. 

Moonlight looked at her. 
Eventually, they reached the main body of the church. Under the watchful eyes of the angels, Moonlight and Dionne finally embraced. Slowly they smiled. As they moved in closer, a noise disturbed them. The look on Moonlight’s face caused Dionne to swing round. Behind them, stood a very angry Jareth. The look in his eyes was pure hatred. 

Slowly he began to approach them. ‘He’s mine, Dionne,’ he hissed, ‘mine.’ Dionne pulled away from Moonlight and quickly unscrewed the top on the tank of fluid. Lifting it as high as she could, she splashed the liquid into Jareth’s eyes. He screamed and fell to his knees, scratching at his eyes. 

Dionne threw the tank away and took the cigarette from behind her ear. Slowly she put it in her mouth and flicked open her Zippo. She lit the cigarette and savored the flavour. She watched as Jareth looked up at them, his eyes scratched and bleeding. 

Dionne looked at the flame flickering from the Zippo. Then she let it go. Almost in slow motion, the lighter fell from her hand and towards the floor. It hit the floor, the flame igniting the liquid. Jareth screamed as the flames engulfed his robe. He tried to put them out but couldn't. 

As he felt the immortal life slipping from him, he looked through the flames at Dionne, standing, staring at him, smoking. Slowly, he watched her turn and leave. Outside, under the starry sky, Dionne could still hear Jareth’s haunting screams. But this was it. The nightmare was over. Dionne turned to Moonlight. He stood looking at her, his eyes filled with tears. Dionne walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Then she let it go. 

Weeks of pain and frustration all came out. They stood in the middle of the empty road, tears streaming from their eyes, holding each other, the burning church lighting the sky. Eventually, just before dawn, Dionne and Moonlight managed to make it home. 

As Moonlight collapsed onto the couch, Dionne closed the curtains against the early morning sun. She turned her attention back to Moonlight. He was almost asleep, tired and weakened by his experience. Sitting beside his head, she looked down at him and smiled. 

He looked up at her and weakly returned her smile. Dionne reached down to the table beside her and picked up a tiny knife. Slowly, she slit her wrist, wincing as she did. Then she offered the blood to Moonlight. Wearily, he took her arm in his hands and attached his mouth to the wound. As his tongue lapped at the blood, Dionne smiled. 

His wounds were slowly healing, bringing back the beautiful Moonlight she had known. Eventually, he let go of her wrist and slipped into sleep. Dionne watched him for a while but soon she felt sleep taking her over. She rested her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. In his dreams, Moonlight saw images of the abuse he had been through. Being bound hand and foot, being raped. It all came back. 

He felt tears stream down his cheeks. He wanted to wake up but couldn’t. The sun set and Dionne slowly woke up. Moonlight was still sleeping beside her. He had shifted in his sleep, his long hair spread out across the couch. Dionne knew that he had had nightmares, just from the way he slept. She reached out a hand and gently stroked his hair. 

She smiled, happy to have him back. She had next to no money now but it had been well spent. Leaning down, she gently kissed him on the cheek. He stirred and smiled in his sleep. She sat watching him until he woke. Slowly he stirred, first rubbing his eyes and pushing the hair out of his eyes before sitting up and looking at her. 

‘It’s over,’ she whispered, ‘the nightmare’s over.’ She reached out a hand to stroke his face but as she did, he flinched away from her. Dionne looked at him, a hurt look in her eyes. She went to touch him again and again he flinched away.

 ‘What is it?’ she whispered. He carried on looking at her. ‘Moonlight,’ she whispered, ‘what’s wrong?’ Slowly, he moved his head to one side. His neck looked perfectly normal but on closer inspection Dionne could see that his flesh was covered in tiny scars, not yet healed. 

They were just the tip of the iceberg. As Dionne pulled his shirt down, she could see that the tiny scars became longer lines. They seemed to go round onto his back. Quickly, she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it away from his back. Then she saw them in the full. Lots of long, faint, whip lash scars. 

‘He beat you, didn’t he?’ she whispered. Moonlight slowly nodded. As she ran her fingers along his flesh, he flinched away, not wanting her to touch him. Dionne made quiet, soothing noises. She felt tears spring to her eyes. How could anyone do this? she asked herself. Why would anyone want to, was her next question. ‘Why?’ she asked, ‘why did he beat you?’ 

Moonlight shrugged, his hair slipping into his eyes. Dionne reached out and gently pushed it back behind his ear. Slowly, she reached out her arms and wrapped them around him. ‘It’s going to be ok,’ she said, ‘the nightmare’s over.’ But, unknown to them, the nightmare was far from over. 

Dionne got to her feet, intending to go down to the entrance hall of the building and collect the mail. She took the apartment key from her pocket and went to put it in the lock. As she did, she dropped. Cursing, she bent to her knees to pick it up. Still on her knees, she fumbled with the key. 

Her eyes were on a level with the keyhole. She looked through it and found herself looking into another eye. Dionne screamed and backed away from the door as fast as possible. Moonlight looked up. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. Seconds later, the door swung open. In its place, stood Jareth. 

Dionne stared at him, a look of hate in her eyes. ‘I thought you were dead,’ she hissed. ‘Never assume anything,’ he replied. Slowly, he began to walk over to them. His burn wounds had healed and he looked as he had the night before. Dionne backed off, dragging herself along the floor. 

Jareth leaned down and grabbed her by her hair. Without missing a step, he hauled out of his path. She screamed in pain and hate, desperately trying to attack him. He glanced at her before carrying on towards Moonlight. Moonlight was sitting on the couch, visibly shaking with fear. 

He couldn’t move, let alone run. Jareth moved closer and closer, an evil smile on his lips. Moonlight cowered deeper into the couch, shaking his head. Dionne quickly looked around her for a weapon. There didn’t seem to be anything. Then she saw it. Leaning against a wall was a decorative sword that Moonlight had brought home one day. It was heavy and also sharp. 

Crawling across the floor, Dionne pulled it into her hands. She took the plastic cap off the end and slowly got to her feet, dragging the sword with her. Jareth was all over Moonlight, hands exploring. It was obvious, from what Dionne could see that Moonlight was in some distress. 

As quietly as she could, Dionne crept up on Jareth. She raised the heavy sword as high as she could before plunging it down into his back. There was a horrible noise as it entered his body. Screaming in pain, he swung away from Moonlight and looked at Dionne, his eyes flaming with rage and hate. He writhed for a moment, desperately trying to get the sword out of his back but it was no use. Suddenly, all life was gone from him and he fell to the floor. 

Dionne looked at him before cautiously walking over to him and prodding him with a foot. He seemed dead. She bent down and pulled the sword from Jareth’s body. Using a foot, she pushed him onto his back. There was one last thing she had to do, just to make sure he was truly dead. With a scream of rage, she again raised the sword as high as she could and plunged it down into Jareth’s heart. His body crumbled to a dust before her eyes. 

Dropping the sword, she ran over to Moonlight. He was visably shaken and crying. She felt tears well into her eyes as she wrapped him in her arms. Moonlight curled up as best he could, just wanting someone to hold and protect him. His guardian angel. Dionne’s hands gently stroked him, her own tears falling onto his body. She hoped now that the nightmare was over and that they could get on with their lives. She realised that she had become Moonlight’s guardian angel, someone to watch over him. 

She felt like she had her wings wrapped around him, protecting him from the world which wanted to harm him. But she wondered if a vampire could be an angel. Maybe, in some crazed kind of way she could be. Slowly she pulled away and looked into his eyes. He was still crying, the tears staining his face. ‘It’s ok,’ she whispered, ‘it’s all ok.’ 

She reached out a hand and gently stroked his tears away. Slowly he smiled at her and she felt herself return his smile. She stood up, holding his hands in hers. Gently she pulled him to his feet and looked up into his eyes. Then she began to lead him towards the bedroom. He smiled, almost knowingly. Seeing his smile, Dionne shook her head. 

‘Not tonight,’ she said, ‘you’re sick. You need to rest.’ He carried on looking at her. ‘No,’ Dionne said, a little more firmly but not without a smile. Moonlight shrugged with a smile, finally giving in. In the room, Dionne laid him on the bed. He looked up at her. ‘I love you,’ he whispered. She smiled. ‘I love you too,’ she replied. Dionne quickly looked around her. She didn’t know why, she just did. Moonlight watched her. 

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘Nothing,’ she said, ‘just a little uneasy I suppose.’ She turned back to him. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’ Quickly she left the room. Dionne looked around the lounge. The sword lay on the floor in a little pile of dust. She walked over to it and picked it up. 

As she did, her fingers made contact with the powdery remains of Jareth. Quickly she wiped it from her fingers. She stood up and leaned the sword against a nearby wall. Then she just stood, silently surveying the scene. It was silent, no screams, no crying, nothing. 

Sighing, she walked into the kitchen. Opening the door of the fridge, she took out a bottle. She found some glasses and headed back in to see Moonlight. Moonlight had gone to sleep by the time she got back to him. He lay on his side, his hair a mess behind him. 

Dionne smiled and placed the bottle on a nearby table. She smiled and sat down beside him. She had no idea if the nightmare was over; she was constantly listening and watching. Dionne had no idea how long she sat but soon the first rays of dawn provoked her to join her sleeping companion. As she lay beside him, she thought about their time together. 

She had never thought of him as her companion. He was more of the perfect date that had never ended. Not that she'd ever had the perfect date. Dionne knew it was bad to think back on her past, Orion had taught her that, but as she thought, she realised that she hadn’t had many dates. There had never been many men interested in her. 

Except Orion and Moonlight. And maybe that guy she’d lived with for a while when she was eighteen. There had been no dates in her mortal life. Only a black hole of depression. Now she was immortal, she felt that she had the perfect life. And then she was asleep. The next evening Dionne woke up to no Moonlight. She didn’t panic; he was probably watching TV. 

As she walked into the lounge, she realised that he was no where to be found. That’s when she panicked. She quickly searched the apartment for a note, anything that told her where he was. Then she heard something. Someone was calling her name. 

She opened the door to her balcony, walked out and looked up. Moonlight was hanging over the safety rail of the roof. He had a smile on his face. ‘Dionne,’ he yelled, ‘come up to the roof. I’ve got something to show you.’ Dionne smiled and ran back inside and out onto the stairs. As she walked out onto the roof, she was met with a beautiful sight. 

Hundreds of tiny candles had been lit on just about every possible inch of the roof. The only spare space was where Moonlight was standing. Stepping over the candles, he held out his hands to her. ‘Come here,’ he whispered. Dionne took his hands and let herself be led into the space. From this height she could see the whole city. It was beautiful. 

A slight wind lifted the hair from her neck. She felt arms wrap around her and pull her close. A hand was stroking her hair. She wrapped her arms around Moonlight’s waist and held him close. ‘Moonlight?’ she said. ‘Uh – huh?’ he replied, caught up in the moment. ‘Why did you hang around?’ He looked down into her eyes. 

‘Because I love you,’ he whispered. ‘No,’ said Dionne, ‘you see, last night I was thinking and when I was mortal, I never went on dates, never had a boyfriend, never had a relationship etc etc, while all around me, my friends were doing what I wanted to be doing. 

Then suddenly, a vampire takes an interest in me and here I am, with you. Immortal. Why didn’t you just turn away and leave me?’ Moonlight bit his lip. ‘Because I needed someone,’ he whispered, ‘I’ve told you before; I wanted to be loved. You loved me and you never left me. I needed you.’ Dionne looked up into his eyes. 

He looked majestic, the stars behind him, the wind gently lifting his hair. Moonlight gently smiled and, for the first time, Dionne realised that he understood her. Then, his hand was underneath her chin, lifting her mouth to his. It was so perfect. The perfect night, the perfect companion. All of it perfect. 

Dionne let herself enjoy it; they both deserved whatever pleasure was coming to them. Later that evening, Moonlight found himself pinned to the bed. Dionne knelt over him, pining him down. He smiled at her, laughing. Dionne laughed too. He let her tease him with soft, gentle kisses. He was so in love with her, in love with this person that was looking down into his eyes. 

Suddenly, he couldn’t stand it any longer. Grabbing the back of her head, he dragged her mouth down to his. He kissed her, hard. Eventually, she pulled away, laughing. ‘Wow,’ she whispered. Gently, Moonlight pulled her down to him, wrapping his arms around her. 

Dionne rested her head on his chest, her fingers gently stroking him. Moonlight’s fingers were in her hair, gently massaging her scalp. She found herself relaxing. It was nice. Slowly, she began to enjoy it. Moonlight ran a hand under her chin, pulling her eyes up to his. 

Gently he kissed her. It was a warm, relaxed kiss, a getting near to sunrise kiss. Dionne felt herself begin to fall into a deep sleep, Moonlight’s mouth still on hers. As she slipped deeper into sleep, she felt Moonlight’s mouth slide down to her throat. In that beautiful void between sleep and awake, Dionne pulled his mouth close into her flesh. 

She moaned slightly as his lips caressed her skin. Suddenly, his fangs entered her, pulling her out of her sleep. She felt herself smile, letting him have what he wanted. Eventually, he pulled away and Dionne drifted back into sleep. Sleep, for her, was now a happy place instead of the demonic nightmare that it had been for the past few weeks. 

She felt an arm tighten around her, pulling her as close as possible. Then she was asleep and dreaming. Her dream was a safe and happy place to be. She was there and so was Moonlight. There was no sign of Jareth. The two of them quietly danced by their pool. 

Above them, the stars shone down on them. Moonlight was dressed from head to foot in black velvet, his hair hanging loose to his waist. She was wearing a dress of blood red silk. Moonlight held her close, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. He was never going to let her go. Moonlight wasn’t asleep. He was awake and watching Dionne sleep. 

Slowly he reached out a hand and stroked her throat. It was soft and white and he could feel his hunger growing but he knew that he had to keep it under control. His fingers explored her skin, enjoying the feel of it. Gently he laid a kiss on her hair. ‘Sleep sweetly, my love,’ he whispered before drifting into sleep himself. 

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