I watch in silence as this terrifying moment plays off in front of me. I have never in my Vampire years encountered such a thing. I guess this is the result of playing with a power that one does not know of. It is unpredictable. Most of all, it is dangerous. It is something that we have not taken with the seriousness that it deserves.

This is not fair on the Vampire Hunter. He has innocently lived his life without any knowledge of the powers we were playing with. To have him suffer the consequences is unjust. Watching the pain that he is suffering brings a sting to my heart. Yes, the pesky little man can get under my skin. But this is not something I would wish upon him.

My beloved has just informed him of his fate. There is nothing as horrifying to hear that you are staring in your face the end of your life. Yes, the man is half Vampire, but not enough to make him survive. I know that in just a few hours, the inevitable shall happen. It will tear my beloved apart.

I have seen this earlier, and now I see it again. I am watching as someone is dying. Not a pleasant sight at all. But the worst is being absolutely powerless. One would think that after so many years that a Vampire would have mastered all power. But there are just some things that can not be controlled. One cannot play with life. It is either given or taken.

And to have to say, a life for a life, that sounds the worst thing that one can say. It is as if one is being forced to choose who is the strongest one to survive. I did put it quite bluntly. I know that the words came harsh as I explained to my beloved. But that is the situation that we are now faced with.

…Zachariah POV…

Pain, what lies in the word? The torture your body feels as it is playing a cruel joke. Well, I have laughed my laugh. Now can this not come to an end. Of course, not the true ending, but a different outcome. Death. What a thing to face so young. Can I say I have lived my life? Not even close enough.

But here I am, I have only but a few hours left; there is nothing I can do within such a short time. I guess, and I can gladly say that I am grateful to have Anastasia here with me. Now, that man that lacks manhood, now he is not one I would have expected to be here. Well, he does, after all, follow her around like a lovesick puppy. But is it no something that I have been doing?

The true thing that does come to mind as my insides are twisting and turning. The way my body is shifting out of place, through my body is dying; there is one thing left to ask. Why does such a powerful creature such as Sebastian not know how to take this away? Do I even dare to ask the question? Now, if I take what they said much earlier, Anastasia met the same fate. She died. He could not save her. What an awful thing to experience. Well, I am going through the exact same. It does pain me that I cannot have her in my arms.

But she is next to me, and she is concerned; as she lays her hand gently on my knee, I can feel her body shake, "Zachariah, how are you feeling."

"Let me think of that? Like Sebastian losing his manhood."

Well, I just had to go say that for I have left the door open for him to make a smart come back, "Well, my little friend, define manhood, for from I am standing yours are becoming somewhat wrinkled."

Anastasia gasps in shock, "Sebastian! How can you say something like that at a time like this?"

"But my beloved, he started it, and I am only pointing the obvious."

"Sebastian, why are you even looking at him?"

"I am waiting to slap the very life out of him if he as much as find him getting aroused by your touch."

"Sebastian!"

Well, putting aside how inappropriate, I do say that the humor does lighten the somber mood. What I also feel starting to lighten is the firmness of my skin against my body. I am rapidly turning into the very thing that I have always feared in my life. I have never had a desire to grow old. And now I am facing it, and I can sadly say that it is a battle I had lost even before I had the chance to fight it.

…Anastasia POV…

A man that I care for dearly is slowly busy dying in front of my very eyes. I can now say for sure that I know exactly how Sebastian felt as he watched me fade away. The first word that comes to mind is helplessness. It is agonizing to think that there is nothing that one can do. But what heightens this feeling even more, is that it was my wrongdoing that has brought this onto him. I craved beauty; I craved something that makes one vein, that makes one greedy, but most of all, something that truly, in the end, makes no difference. Sebastian will love me no matter how I look. Now Zachariah has to pay the consequences.

So it is with deep regret that I look him in the eyes, I can see the pain; I can see that he is on the brink of bursting into tears. But he is a strong man; he shall not falter for one second. Once more, I take his hands in mine; I can see the slight irritation grow in Sebastian's eyes. That this man can be so green of envy. Then again, they do both hold the same love for me. But there is the very clear look of fear in his own eyes.

"Zachariah, please, I beg your forgiveness. If I knew that something like this would have happened, then I would never have played my hand in the magic of unpredictable spells."

"Oh, Anastasia, I know you had your good intentions. I guess we have been fated. Even though we were supposed to have been together, it never seemed like it was meant to be. I was going to live my life without you, as it is. But I can truly say that I am thankful that you are here now."

And as I squeeze his hands a bitter firmer, he cries out in pain. His bones are turning crooked. The tears that threatened to burst its bank come crashing like a waterfall down his face. I gently run my hand through his air, but as I pull away, there is a chunk full that remains in the grip of my hand. He watches as I try to hide it away from him. The mere sight of it brings a loud roar deep from in his belly.

Then all of a sudden, very much unexpected, that is a knock at the front door. We all look confused among ourselves, "Zachariah, are you expecting someone?"

"No, I have asked them at the pub to leave me alone for the day."

He tries to rise from his seat, but the pain is too much to bear; I call for Sebastian to go check whom it could possibly. From in the lounge, I hear him speaking, "What are you doing here?"

A few seconds later, he comes walking in with no other than Elloise. I look at her very much confused, "Yes, what are you doing here?

She fumbles over her words as she takes a piece of paper from her pocket and hands it to Sebastian. I watch as the anger sweeps over his face, "Where did you get this?"

"I…I took it from the book."

"And you did not feel the need to hand it to me?"

"Well…?"

"Well, what? You purposely held this away; why would you even do such a thing?"

"She…she is just in the way."

Sebastian slams his hand against the table in front of him. The rumble of his voice carries the sound so far that the windows start vibrating.

"In the way with what?"

As I immediately realize what has happened here, I turn to Sebastian with irritation in my eyes, "You told me there was nothing between you two?"

"There has never been my beloved, I promise you. I have never laid my eyes on her in such a way."

"Well, she is surely laying it on you." Then I turn back to look at Elloise again; I can almost swear that she has a wicked smile on her face. Well, she has another thing coming to her, but first, "Can you perform this spell on him?"

"Yes, I can."

"And what are the consequences."

"Nothing, he will be as he was before."

"You better not be lying to me."

Sebastian follows my answer, "Elloise, I shall have your head on this Vampire's stake if you as much as say a false word."

"Sebastian, I promise you."

"I do believe that you have not the privilege of such a word. You have deceived us twice. Now, will you get on with it? The man is in agony."

She lays her greedy eyes on Sebastian for far too long. The woman obviously has a stupid schoolgirl crush on him. How desperate she must be to have been wanting for it so many years. I do feel the need to applaud her; she sure has a world of patience. She does seem to believe that she has had her luck to stand such a chance. But then I came into the picture. I guess killing me will leave open the gap that a grieving man would need.

"Elloise, get your damn focus on Zachariah before I pin you glance in place."

So I watch as she places the page in the middle of the table. She begins to chant, a spell in a language that I do not understand. And all the while, she walks in circles around Zachariah, who is lying dead still; it is as if he is in a deep trance. With the scent of vanilla essence filling the air, she carries on.

The worry is now beginning to fill every fraction of a corner in my body. I have never felt so much distress. And as I see Zachariah's body jolt, my heart breaks on come to a stop. Whether it is from the spell or his body dying, that I do not know.

Then she retreats and sits down. Her calmness makes me gasp. I look at her and only but shake my head, "Is that it? Is that going to help him?"

"Yes, all we can do now is wait."