As the slow realization settled in, feeling their link growing quiet beneath the vampire's control, she looked over in a fit of curiosity when her hand was let go of. It didn’t last long, though—feeling skin against her flushed cheeks, she naturally looked up to the vampiress. Her hands quickly clamped around Ren's forearms, her earthy eyes shimmering to a golden brown, always keeping her gaze fixed on Ren as they drew closer together. They were so close she could feel her companion's breath against her lips, her heart quickening in its beat, the world around her fading as she focused solely on the haunting beauty before her. Renaissance’s features were such that she resembled a marble statue glistening in the sun, her black hair in sharp contrast to her pale skin—a view Lys could never tire of.

[i]“But it’s real. I feel you. I feel you everywhere, in everything I do. My soul has submitted to you, to knowing you, to protecting you for as long as we are together. From this moment, right here, just as the sun has risen another day I know…”[/i]
Real—a word she repeated in her mind as she tried to grasp the reality of it all. She had only ever dreamed of hearing such words, like some fairytale she’d pieced together while lying in bed, hoping for anyone to save her from being alone. A small voice in the back of her consciousness whispered, trying to convince her that a vampiress did not have a soul, that this was all some elaborate trick to turn an enemy into an ally. It was something the Vigil would have said, regardless of the experiences and emotions now surging through her being.

[i]“I will love you. I will love you now, I will love you then and I’ll love you forever in between—”[/i]

[color=#9BA7C3][i]'Love?'[/i][/color]

[i]“This is the beginning for us both. Which means it’s the end of all we’ve ever known. It’s time to abandon reason where experience has failed us. This is something unlike anything we’ve felt before and it’s taken me until now to decipher exactly what it is…”[/i]

She watched as a single tear rolled down the ancient’s cheek—a sight she was certain she had never seen, nor something she ever thought she would. Since when did vampires cry? Saying such things within the Vigil would have been heresy… and yet here it was, happening right in front of her eyes.

[i]“It has to be love, Lyselle. It has to be… I’m sure of it.”[/i]

[color=#9BA7C3][i]'Love…'[/i][/color]

Lyselle barely had time to truly process it all as Ren moved closer, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull away—actually noting that she was leaning toward the kiss herself. A gentle gasp slipped from her lips as they touched, a strange warmth radiating through her entire body as the vampire pressed forward, gently coaxing her own lips apart. She had never been with anyone like Renaissance—the gentleness, the confidence, the honesty, the command. It was like witnessing a painting come alive in her mind, a queen of porcelain floating down to take Lys into her arms. Her heart sang a song that filled her very core, and that was when she realized it.

[color=#9BA7C3][i]'I love her…'[/i][/color]

Her hands slipped to Ren’s lower back as she pulled her closer, gently, submissively, letting the vampiress know she not only accepted the kiss but wanted more. Parting with her sweetheart felt impossible now—not even the gods could separate what the two of them had become in such a short span of time. Somehow, Lyselle knew they were simply fated for one another, that time and reality itself were on their side, forever entwined.