New Life

They were well on their way to Loren Borough. Ruby, Alessio, and Donatello had sparingly checked in on them. Their only requests was to have their meals be delivered to the carriage and stay within their carriage rather than explore the train. Their carriage was like a hotel suite.

The moment Caramia and Orion stumbled inside, they were in awe over their surroundings. Each room had a view outside and Caramia was enthralled by the beauty. Merritt Province was a sprawling landscape of mountains and mountain spires with dense fog hiding the wilderness far below. The train tracks traveled from each mountain and mountain spire along its path. The train stopped at specific locations -- all the major boroughs and some smaller ones.

"There are other villages, cities, and civilizations below," Orion told her, glancing below when the fog thinned to reveal forest on the ground. "In Merritt Province, the Boroughs are air cities and villages, but there are ones on the ground too. The architects of Merritt Province wanted to provide an enormous place for all of the otherworldly creatures."

Caramia's eyes widened at that revelation. "Have you ever been to the world below?"

"No, I haven't." He shook his head, staring at the usual thick fog that prevented them seeing the ground below. "My life has been in the air boroughs and the above ground rather than the world below." He glanced over at Caramia. "They're thinking of interconnecting provinces to make a unified province below Europe to mirror Merritt Province. The original provinces we have now would be like the air boroughs here."

"So like air provinces?" Caramia tossed out. "Provinces are still aligned by the Council, right? The world below would still operate the same as above as it does in Merritt Province."

He smirked at that. "You know, I wish you were at the conferences, they were so hung up about terminology." He shook his head. "They were so concerned about how they didn't wish to see their provinces be downgraded and that the province's reputation would lose their imminence."

"What's wrong with the Starlet Province being a part of the United Provinces Of whichever name you lot decide as an overall name?" she asked as she gazed into his fire rimmed emerald eyes. "It's like Europe being a continent and having their own governing countries. Starlet Province is liked a country."

When Orion stared at her speechlessly for a moment, she wondered if she said something utterly foolish before he sighed and shook his head. She watched a playful smirk cross his face as he regarded her.

"You amaze me," he told her before biting his bottom lip and looking outside for a moment. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. We're leaving all that behind."

She got to her feet and approached him. "Does it bother you?" she asked, watching his eyes return to hers in confusion. "Leaving it all behind."

His eyebrows drew together in deep concentration as if he was difficult for him to speak his truth. The grim intensity reflected upon such a young countenance made her heart ache. Orion was immortal yet he was young even in vampire years. Even in his youth, he carried the weight of lifetimes of responsibility.

When he finally sighed, only the look of pure exhaustion washed over his sinfully gorgeous face. Those emerald eyes rimmed with fire gazed into hers.

*Is it bad I'm glad that part of my life is over?* he whispered in her mind truthfully as if he was afraid of saying the words aloud.

She smiled, reaching to placed a hand upon his as he nervously bounced his knee. *Maybe it was time for a change.*

"Politics is a dirty, underhanded game of chess," he told her honestly as he got up from his seat to pace back and forth. "I'm very good at it. Dangerous even." He released a ragged breath. "But I'm tired of the relentless brutality of it and the ton in general."

His eyes darted out the window and his gorgeous smile graced his face stole her breath away. Excitement danced within them as he gestured outside like a child celebrating Christmas or his birthday. The childlike wonder looked beautiful on him.

"Look," he gasped and she forced her eyes away from him to look out the window. "The Bella Trellis Arcs."

Once again, her breath was stolen as she gazed at a series of iridescent arcs hovering over the train tracks. Raising to her feet, she walked closer to the window hypnotized by the sight. The arcs started small then got larger and larger before getting smaller again. There was a dusting of stars that swirled around the arcs and some star shot across the sky to burst into fireworks surrounding the tracks.

She felt arms wrap around her. She sighed, feeling safe and content within Orion's arms around her. They could conquer the world if they were together. Orion pressed a kiss to her temple and she melted into him.

*We can,* he told her. *Together we can.*

As the train traveled beneath the arcs, the stunning display of stars and exploding stars was up close and personal. She was glad she was experiencing this with Orion for the very first time.

~~~

Where was she supposed to go now?

Persephone swallowed, rushing through the streets of Eden Borough. Panic and anxiety burned her veins. After witnessing the ruin ooc her safety net, the loss of it propelled her into a frantic state of hopelessness. She shook her head as she whipped herself around the corner into an alley.

She pressed her back against the stone wall as she squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she carried on like this. She needed a plan not run around like the frightened child she truly did succumb to. Her entire body was shaking. Her mind was racing. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She probably looked and definitely felt like a mess.

*Breathe*, she told herself. She needed to breathe and think. *In and out. Just breathe.* It wasn't like she was absolutely without any means to survive. It finally dawned on her as she realized that she had all the means to survive already on her.

Her secret identity would always remain intact. She had her wallet with her identification cards and bank cards in it and her smartphone that had unlimited charge. She took deep cleansing breaths to calm herself down. Tears prickled the back of her eyelids when she felt Delia's gemstone, but even now as she squeezed the gemstone and rolled it in her palm, her nerves became balanced. Her mind became focused and sharp.

She needed to find shelter tonight. That was the first task she needed to do. She would then need to find food and clothes or at least food. She find clothes in the morning. Tonight, she needed shelter, food, and rest. Tomorrow, she would deal with tomorrow one step at a time.

Brushing away the wetness on her face with her face, she surveyed her surroundings. She was glad nobody was within the deadend alley to witness her meltdown. She squared her shoulders, lifted her chin up, and took a deep breath before she joined the crowd moving along the main road.