Alex lay on his bed tossing. It wasn't because of the uncomfortable hardness of the bed so much as it was Vasiliki that kept him awake. Well, thoughts of her, really, not the woman herself. 

It had been three weeks since his conversation with Vasiliki in his bedroom. He had been struggling with his feelings about her ever since. She had occupied his thoughts every minute she wasn't with him, and he was beginning to wish it wasn't so. He knew what it was. He was in love. And the realization scared him. He'd never been in love with anyone before. Oh, he'd liked some of the girls back in England, but he hadn't loved them. Compared to Vasiliki, they might as well be mud.

He sat up, tired of tossing. He wrapped his arms around his legs, shivering. Glancing at the moon in an attempt to guess the time, he stood up and pulled on the clothing Vasiliki had given him a week ago. Apparently she'd gotten tired of looking at the same clothes every day and after tree months in the same thing, he guessed he hadn't smelled very good.

When he had finished pulling everything on, he went to stand by the window.

It didn't appear that he was going to get much sleep tonight. 

***

Vasiliki stood in front of her window, restless and discontent. 

She longed to tell Alex the truth about how she felt, but she was afraid. Afraid of what he might do or say. Afraid of what might happen if someone found out. Because her feelings might put them into a lot of danger. 

And if Alex died, it would be all her fault. It would be her fault for saying something to him about her feelings. It would be her fault for not stopping the feelings before they went any further. 

She wouldn't be able to bear that. It would be too much for her. She'd already lost so much. Well, not so much lost as never had. She was missing out on so many things in life that should have been natural experiences for a woman of her age. 

She couldn't bear to lose Alex too after all the things that had been going wrong lately. She needed Alex even if she wasn't able to tell him the truth about her feelings. 

She collapsed onto the cold floor of her room, the hot tears sliding down her cheeks and glittering in the moon's light. 

You should just tell him. Her mind whispered. 

She shook her head in a physical response to the whispered desire. I can't... I can't... I just can't tell him... If I do... If I tell him... I risk everything... I risk losing him. I risk killing him accidentally because of what I felt. I risk killing us both. I risk our friendship. I risk it all. And I cannot lose. If I risk it, I cannot lose it! She screamed back, weeping. 

Someone's soft footstep on her rush-covered floor alerted her to the intruder. 

She turned, the tears streaking her face in the moonlight. 

Her mother stood in the doorway, her nightgown billowing in the light breeze from the open window in Vasiliki's room. 

"What is it that keeps you from your rest and has you showing such emotion, my daughter?" Her mother murmured. 

Vasiliki turned away. "Love..." She whispered. 

Her mother walked over to her, standing beside her at the window. "Love?"

"You would not understand. I will not tell you. And you would have no desire to know." Vasiliki answered, keeping her gaze fixed on the tree-line of the forest as she tried to keep the tears at bay. 

"Perhaps I would. You must give me a chance to understand... Otherwise, how can I ever understand?" Kyrene asked, smiling sadly. 

Vasiliki gazed down at the window sill, a lone tear splashing onto the adobe of the window frame. "I cannot tell you. If I did, you would be disappointed and more than likely, people I care for would be hurt even if I was not."

Kyrene sighed. "Perhaps not. But do you not think that you should speak to the one who is causing such sadness? Tell her what is wrong? Explain how she has hurt you?"

Vasiliki smiled. Her mother assumed that it was a problem with one of the tribe's women. An argument or problem of some sort that had her in tears. But it wasn't. It was nowhere near such an assumption. 

Yet in one aspect, perhaps, her mother was right. She should speak with Alex about how she felt. Tell him what was wrong and how he made her ache and mourn. It was best that way, whatever hurt the truth might cause. Because she couldn't do this all alone. 

She nodded. "Perhaps I should... Thank you for your advice, Mother. I will bear it in mind."

Kyrene patted her daughter's shoulder. "Why don't you take a walk? I know it is late, but wander the halls of the house quietly to ease your mind. Tomorrow, you should speak with the person you have this struggle with."

Vasiliki nodded, biting her lip. "Very well... I will take a walk, then."

Kyrene backed away, leaving the room. "I am retiring. Please go quietly so that you do not wake anyone, daughter."

Another nod. "Of course."

Kyrene smiled. "You will figure it out. You are one of the brightest, kindest women this tribe has to offer."

Vasiliki didn't answer, but stood, waiting in silence for her mother to disappear. 

When she did, Vasiliki turned back to the window, thinking about what her mother had said. Even though she wanted to tell Alex, her feet almost refused to carry her from the room. She didn't know how to tell him what she felt, and anyway, she wasn't sure that he would like it if she did. 

If he rejected her, she knew she would be broken. Or at least, terribly cracked. And she didn't know if she could survive such a thing. Not after the things she had recently come to see and understand. Not after all the fighting and division between her and her mother. 

But she had to. She had to tell him. 

For once, her mother was right. She needed to tell Alex because she needed to be strong to get through the remaining days and weeks. She couldn't do that if she was distracted and distraught because of him. 

Nodding resolutely to herself, she wanderd out of the room, heading for the little room where Alex was staying. She was going to tell him. She had to tell him. 

***

A slight rustle of fabric alerted Alex to the presence of another person. He spun, looking wildly for something to defend himself, worried that Queen Kyrene might have changes her mind and decided to kill him after all.

But it was Vasiliki who stood before him.

He frowned, taking in her disheveled hair and lightweight sleeping robe. "What are you doing in here?" He whispered.

"I can't sleep because of you, Alex Hallyra." She whispered.

He started at her use of his full name. He had mentioned it once when they were talking about names and his life. But she'd never used it before. "What do you mean?"

She walked to the window, standing only inches away from him. She was breathing heavily as though frightened. She gave him a glare, pointing her finger at his chest, almost as thought she was annoyed with him. And maybe she was.

He was beginning to worry now. What was wrong? What had he done?

She sighed, turning away, unable to look at him as she spoke. "Alex, I've denied my feelings for nearly two months. I can't sleep at night because I'm thinking about you and when I do manage to sleep my dreams are of you.

"I always feel nervous with you, and when you're near me, my heart pounds as though I am in danger. It frightens me. You frighten me." Her voice lowered even further. "But it draws me too. The feelings, you... I don't understand what is happening to me." Tears glistened, cold and wet upon her cheeks. "I want to hate you for it, but I can't... My own heart betrays me, and for once, my logic is at odds with my heart. You are doing this to me. And I both hate it and need it... I can't explain it, and I hate that! But inside, deep down, I know that if I don't have it, I'll break." She looked away, breathing hard as though speaking the words pained her. 

Alex shifted uncomfortably. "It's... Its called being in love." He blushed.

She frowned, looking at him again. "Being in love? So I love you?"

He shrugged, face ablaze.

"It doesn't feel like love. I love my mother and tribe... Is it like that?" Vasiliki looked into his eyes, fear sparkling there.

"Yeah... Well... Uh... No, it isn't like that..." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from her. "This is a different type of love." He struggled for an explanation. "When you're in love, that's the way you feel." He shifted again, clearing his throat and drying his palms on his pants.

"Alex, do you feel this...this love for me?" She looked down, face tinged with red in the brilliant moonlight.

He felt a blush creep up his neck and into his face. "Uh... I... Should I?" He stammered, unsure what to say.  

Her face fell, and he knew immediately that it was the wrong thing to say. "I... I'm sorry I came, Alex. I shouldn't have come. I should've stayed away and said nothing..." She stuttered, backing away from him, eyes filling with tears. 

"Wait... Vasiliki... I didn't mean to... I mean, that is... You and I..." Alex stumbled over his words, trying to get out what he was feeling, but finding it hard to articulate it. 

"Alex, don't. I get it. I understand that you do not return whatever feeling this is... You are not...as you say it, in love, with me. I will go." She started to flee the room, but Alex stopped her, spinning her into his arms and holding her tight. 

Her tears were flowing down her cheeks with abandon as she stared into his face. 

"I'm sorry... I'm not good at this. I didn't mean... That is... I didn't want... to hurt you. I didn't mean that I didn't feel... feel that sort of... of love for you, but... I just..." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Ugh... This is coming out all wrong."

She frowned when he opened his eyes. "Alex, just tell me that you do not love me back - that you are not in love with me - and I will not speak of it again. I will let it go, and we can be just friends." She whispered, her voice hoarse with emotion and pain. 

He knew he was hurting her, but he wasn't sure if it would be the right decision to tell her the truth. "What would happen if I was in love with you, Vasiliki?"

She looked down. "We would... We would need to keep quiet. If you got caught, the tribe would kill us both for this. It is an offense and an act of the highest treason to fall in love with a man."

He nodded. "And you are willing to risk death just to be honest about your feelings with me?"

She nodded slowly. "My mother told me that... that she noticed how miserable I have been. She told me to talk to the person causing the problem - though she assumed I'd had an argument with one of the other women - and fix it so that I could be happy again. Her advice, though somewhat misguided, was wise. She was right. I need to be honest with you about what I feel, about what I think."

He bit his lip, thinking as he stared into her eyes. "Alright... If you can be honest with me, I'll be honest with you..."

She looked up at him. "You will?"

He nodded. "I will answer the question asked me, if you still want the answer."

She nodded again. "I want the answer. Are you in love with me too, Alex Hallyra?"

He smiled. "Yes."

She grinned, eyes lighting up. "Honestly?"

"I promised I would be honest." He murmured. 

The moonlight glowed behind him as he looked down into her face, savoring the smile spreading across her lips. 

The moonlight fell onto her face, illuminating the curves and hollows of her delicately boned face and glowing in her green eyes. 

Alex traced his fingers down the side of her face, caressing her cheek softly. He was rewarded with a sweet smile from Vasiliki. 

She wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. Her dark black hair rippled with her movement, spreading down her back and also across his chest as she relaxed, letting out a soft sigh. Her silky locks were smooth under his touch as he ran his fingers through them. 

She shivered against him. 

"Are you glad you told me?" Alex asked, anxious that she might regret it. 

She shook her head. "Are you?"

Alex smiled, shaking his head. "I feel relieved that I did... Thank you for telling me, Vasiliki... It... You don't know what a relief it is to know that you feel the same way. I thought for sure that you would be angry or hate me for feeling like this about you..."

She laughed softly. "It is very hard to be angry or hate you for long, Alex. I know that from experience."

He grinned. "I'm glad that's the case, then... It makes life a whole lot easier for me."

She sighed. "I wish I could stay the whole night and just watch the stars with you, but I have to go... If I don't get to bed soon, my mother will notice that she didn't hear me return and come searching. She would be furious if she discovered us together."

Alex nodded. "But... Just one more thing before you go..." 

She moved away. "What?"

He cradled her head in his hands gently, twining his fingers through her hair. He pressed his lips against hers for a few moments, gentle and undemanding. She gave a soft gasp of surprise when he did so, her fingers going to her lips when he released her. 

"I've been wanting to do that for a while now..." Alex whispered, blushing.

She smiled. "You kissed me..."

"You knew what a kiss was?" Alex asked, confused.

She nodded. "I read about them... In the forbidden tomes..." She blushed. "You kissed me..." She repeated. "I... I..."

"I wasn't horrid, was I?" Alex was suddenly worried that perhaps she had hated the kiss or wished he'd never touched her. 

"I've been wishing to know what that was like for years... It's everything I imagined it would be..." She murmured in awe. 

He laughed, relieved. "I'm glad it was. But, I think that perhaps we ought to keep this a secret."

She snapped out of her reverie, then nodded vigorously. "Yes... It must never be known that I love you. If it was, I would be killed, and so would you. It would break the highest of our laws." She turned her face up to his. "We shall keep this a secret between us, then?"

"Aye. We shall." He paused. "Vasiliki, did you ever think about leaving this place?"

She shook her head. "I had no reason to."

Alex looked into her beautiful green eyes. "Listen to me, I don't think we're going to find a way out of this place. From everything we've seen, it was supposed to be a one way street to get here. No way back. Do you understand?" He cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face so that the moonlight illuminated it.

Her brilliant green eyes glittered with unshed tears. She nodded. "I understand. But Alex, there's a way back. The Way is broken, but not unfixable. There's a way out. We just have to find it."

He shook his head, despair in his brown eyes. "I want to believe that too, but just in case there isn't, we need to be prepared for the worst."

She nodded, eyes wide. "What do you want to do?"

"Look, Vasiliki, if I fail, your mother will enslave or kill me. No questions asked. And I think that we will fail to get what she wants. So I'm asking you now. Run away with me if we fail. We can take your brother too."

"What, how...? How did you know about Daedalos?" Her lips seperated slightly, her eyes wide.

Alex smiled. "I've heard people talking about him, and I saw you sneak off to meet him." His smile faded. "But that doesn't matter. Will you go if I have to flee to stay safe?"

Vasiliki looked down, thinking. Then she looked up. "I'll go." She whispered.

He kissed her again, whispering back. "I thought you would say that."

 ***

When Vasiliki left an hour later, he felt better, satisfied. They had talked about the texts some, about each other.

He had told her all about his world, explaining to her what it was like and telling her that if they ever got back, he would take her to see his home, England, and to meet his parents.

She had listened in rapt silence, smiling and unconcerned about anything now that the two of them understood each other. She seemed to have had some great weight removed from her shoulders in knowing that he felt the same way she did.

He had kissed her again just before she slipped away around one.

Now he was laying on his bed, oblivious to the discomfort of the bed. A soft smile was on his lips as he lay there, thinking about how much it meant to him that Vasiliki returned his feelings. He felt light and hopeful for the first time in months.

And that in and of itself was a relief to him.