The Battle Within

When All Becomes Dark

The soft glow of the city at night had always been what she loved most. The way the street lamps glowed beneath towering buildings lurking in the shadows. The quiet thrum of the city, that was still alive but subdued in some way. 

She wanted it to always be night. She wanted to explore through each crevice of the city, witness all that made it so very beautiful in her eyes. She wanted it all, yet she wanted nothing at all, she wanted to preserve it, keep it perfect and part of her wanted to take it away so it was only hers. 

Running her fingers across the coarse brick walls, letting herself feel each nook and cranny. She could dance in the darkness as long as no one else saw her. To live and breathe the city at night was all that she wanted. 

It became cold, she shivered slightly but ignored the breeze, focussing more on the winds melody, the hidden symphony made just for her. The lamps began to fizzle out, just as she had timed, the moment it turned midnight the darkness made her elated. 

She thought she was alone, that the city was hers alone whilst she wandered in the darkness. 

"So you think this city is your own?" a smooth voice called out to her through the abyss. She stilled, her heart pounding as she felt the presence. It seemed to her that it was a brooding figure, from the voice alone, that long drawl that demanded she listen. 

"The city has always been mine," she responded a tilt in her voice as she sounded confident in her statement. 

"Is it?" She couldn't see him yet but she could feel him there. She could imagine the bored look on his face, his self important stance leaning against a wall. 

"It's mine and you can't take it," her voice was a a whisper in the wind, quiet but somehow still powerful. 

"And what if I want to take it?" he had edged closer, she could feel his cool breath against her face. He smelt like mint and smoke. 

"When all becomes dark, the city and me will never part," she repeated with fluency, the binding verse that mean the city was hers to keep. 

"I think you mean, When all becomes dark, the city and me will have to part," he amended the rhyme with confidence that made her fists clench.

"That is not true," she adamantly refused. 

In one swift movement, he was in front of her, a calloused palm cupping her cheek and  tilting her head so she had to look at him. She fell into those eyes, so dark she wondered how he even saw out of them.

An abyss meant to suffocate, meant for control. 

His thumb drew soft circles on her cheek, "Can't you share, love?" that deep voice enthralled her. 

She swallowed the lump in her throat, her own eyes glittering a stunning gold, it was his turn to fall into eyes that yearned for control.

"Ethereal," he murmured edging ever so close. A breath away from her, lips one movement away from touching. 

"What do you want?" her voice wandered through the cold night air too his ears, a sweet symphony he was addicted to.

"Isn't it obvious, love?" his brows furrowed slightly. Creating crows feet on an otherwise smooth face. High cheekbones catching the darkness and perpetuating it further. 

"I want everything," he whispered faintly in the air. She shivered, the close proximity causing her breath to quicken. 

"I can't give you that," her voice was small, inaudible to anyone but him. A fragment of the confidence he expected. 

"The city is your everything," he explained, still running lazy circles on her cheek, "You should give me your everything,"

"Why...Why would I?" Her face was rushed with confusion. Her soft lips curving into a faint frown, perfect bows now pressed together and ready to shoot. Her eyes becoming glowing jewels that stole the light from the world and refracted it, bent it to her will.

Something akin to satisfaction crossed his face, as he placed his other hand on her waist. He felt the slight curve of her hip that fit perfectly in his hands. A light to his darkness. 

"We could rule together," his tone was softer now, as though he was afraid to scare her away but it still held the same domineering tone, a tone of confidence and nothing more. 

"Rule what?" her breath hitched as he pulled her flush against him. So close that she could feel the staccato beat of his heart. Each thump, rhythmic and forceful, a steady beat in an oh so confusing world. 

"Everything," and then he leaned forward capturing her lips in his own, a soft caress and nothing more. 

"You are my everything."