She was wearing the shortest black velvet skirt she could find, her ass just peeking out from under it making it obvious she was wearing either a thong or nothing. She had paired it with a black velvet tube top a size too small, fishnet stockings and gloves, and a short black velvet cape. Her dark brown hair was piled high on her head elegantly and her makeup was dark but tasteful. A study in contrasts.
She had wandered in and out of a few parties all night, getting dirty looks from all the girls and admiring ones from all the guys. She had ignored all of them. Looking, always looking for him. But she knew better.
It was after midnight before she went to the graveyard. Cold, nearly too much, but she didn't want to go back home. She wanted him. She needed him. But she could never find him.
She sat on one of the concrete benches in the rich section and held her knees to her chest. The wind glided down her skin and she shivered. Tonight she had been so hopeful. It had seemed so right, thinking he would be there, somewhere, waiting for her to find him. And she would find him, she knew, but it had been years now. Too long. His trail had gone cold in this tiny town and she was stuck here waiting for something, for anything, to come along.
She was dejected. Her hopes had risen and fallen too many times and now she just felt numb. Her costume was desperate, her silent call for love, affection, warmth. All the things he had given her and then taken back when he had gone.
Something moved in the darkness. Her senses screaming suddenly, she launched herself up and ran, as fast as her inconvenient shoes would allow, away from whatever was coming at her. But a tiny voice said couldn't it be him? Couldn't he have found you? No! she screamed back. No, it's not him, it's not him, it can't be him, that's not right, it's not possible!
A wall rose in front of her and she nearly smashed into it. Behind her came running feet, so fast, so strange. She turned to face the thing with her only weapon: rage. If she was going to die tonight, she may as well fight.
It wasn't him, and a tiny voice inside cried in joy and another cried in grief. "A lovely costume," mocked a voice, and she smiled dangerously. "Thanks, dark one, but yours is much better." The shadows coalesced around it. She was certain of death now, certain of an end, and she welcomed it. Too long, too soon, but mostly too much of everything being ripped away from her before she could really enjoy it. Was life worth living if you never got to live?
"A fitting finale, my sweet." And just like that, her rage boiled over. Now she was aflame, smoke pouring from her mouth, the fire scorching the earth around her. "Finale my ass," she chuckled, and she poured her rage and fear and despair into the shadows. The light blinded the darkness, and the darkness was gone.
It hadn't been her end. It had been the end of an era. She was too old to hold on to the ghosts in her head, too old to keep hoping that she would find her one true love again. "Pretty like being burned alive," she whispered, as the flames abated. Oh, she was still in pain, still hurt and ashamed and angry, but now it was less. Now was the time to move on. Not a finale, the next movement.
She laughed and smoothed her tiny skirt. This town was small, but nice. Here she could stay for a few years, maybe twenty, maybe less. It depended on how social she was. His trail had ended here, but here hers would carry on.
She sighed and started for the edge of town, towards home, towards pretending to be human again. He was still here somewhere, she knew, still bitter and hating and wonderful...
The rain started that night and didn't stop until the next evening. She hated the rain now, hated how it must be him, how this was all he would say to her. "Damn water elementals," she griped. But a package showed up on her porch, neat and small. In it was a smaller vial of water...and a note.
My Dearest, can you find me? And like that her hope and desire rekindled and she examined the vial. It was just rain...just what had been falling from the sky and still lay on the ground now.
She stepped outside and looked up sadly. No, she couldn't find him. He was in harmony with the earth while it fought her every step of the way. The life of fire elementals, the blessing and curse. The wind caressed her and she sighed. At least the wind was her friend...
And then there was a hand on her neck and she whirled to find
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