I was in a trance. Looking at him, fighting off the monsters surrounding us, I couldn't move a single muscle.

  "The night skies are beautiful, that's why I always love looking at them." Nox said. A contented smile spread on his face as he gazed at the moon and the stars, taking the sun's throne in the sky.

  He was no fighter. He loved nothing more than to travel the world and put every sight he saw on a canvas. An artist such as he had an audience from every corner of the globe, but I was his biggest fan. Every stroke of color his hands brushed, every sigh he gave when he was slumped, every inch of his perfect smile when he finished a piece that he liked. I had been there with him since the beginning, I'd seen it all. I loved it all.

  "Ah!" Nox cried out, a wound on one of his arms making him lose his grip on his sword. With a swift movement, he switched the sword to his right hand and continued fighting, buying me time to run away. But I... I couldn't move. There he was, risking his life for me, and I...

  "Stella?" He said, snapping me back to reality. I'd been staring right at him, my mind running off to thoughts of the two of us and thoroughly distracting me from my modeling.

  "Sorry, I spaced out." I replied, a little flustered that I was caught staring. Then again, Nox was kind of dense when he wasn't holding a brush, so he wouldn't know I liked him even if the gods told him so.

  He smiled at me and chuckled lightly. "It's okay, just stand right over there." He said, pointing over to beside a beautiful tree.

  "Should I make myself pretty for you?" I asked, preparing to act cute for his drawing.

  "You're already pretty." He said a-matter-of-factly, prompting my cheeks to turn a bright red.

  Nox had bought some time; the monsters weren't upon us yet. Seizing the opportunity, he took my hand and sprinted away, taking me somewhere safer. We walked quite a distance, and we saw the small hints of smoke above the trees. We were almost to the village, almost to safety-

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  A shrill cry erupted from behind us. Nox tugged on my arm harder as I turned around to see the hounding figures of the undead, gaining on us once more.

  "Is something wrong?" Nox said, stopping his painting to look up at me. Was he worried about me? I mean yeah, how could he not be worried? I was blushing like crazy, I could feel my face heating up. But could you blame me, after what he said?

  He walked up to me and suddenly put a hand on my forehead, saying "Woah, you're hot! What's wrong, Stella? Do you have a fever?"

  "S-stop worrying!" I said, pushing him away gently. "I'm fine, I swear, just... I just wanna see the drawing already..." I added, trying to control my breathing.

  "Alright then..." He said, walking back to his painting. Seeing that, my heart suddenly ached. Would I always be like this? Just an admirer from afar? A muse to his talent? Nothing more?

  "Nox!" I called out, making him turn. "The thing is... I like y-" I started to say, but a horrifying sound pierced the air. We turned to the source of the sound to see a horrific monstrosity of flesh and bone; creeping from the trees were an approaching horde of monstrous undead.

  Nox pulled a small bottle from his pocket and gave it to me. He was shaking. There were tears running down his face, but he looked into my eyes with a strength, a determination, about him. A finality.

  "Stella." He called my name out. His lips quivered, but his voice was steady and spoke clearly to me. "This is a recall potion. It'll take you back home. Drink it now."

  I nodded and unstoppered the bottle, putting it to my lips before realizing-

  "H-home? Nox, I can't! I'm not leaving-"

  "JUST DRINK IT!" He screamed at me. Was he so desperate to save me? He was trying to save me, even if it meant leaving him here to die.

  The screams of the undead were getting closer. Nox turned away from me and held the sword in stance once more, preparing to hold them off one last time. In that moment, he stopped shaking. The tears stopped coming. He greeted death with dignity. With beauty. With grace.

  I put the bottle to my mouth and drank the potion. Immediately, my body begin emitting a bright blue light, and I felt a blanket of safety envelop me. It felt like seeing your house after a long time of travel. The nostalgia and longing for home. I closed my eyes and-

  "Goodbye, Stella." I heard Nox say.

  I felt a pair of arms wrap around me as I stood my ground, preparing to attack. I looked down and saw Stella's hands hugging me tightly, and I could feel her body pressed against mine. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the magic glow of the potion fading from her.

  "Stella?! What are you still doing here?!" I asked, raising my voice higher. "I told you to go home!"

  "" She yelled back, and I felt my grip on the sword wane. She was crying, crying so hard, and I couldn't care about anything else but her. "I... I am home..." She said, in between chokes and cries.

  I let the sword fall and turned around to embrace her fully. She sounded a bit surprised, but she moved into my hug, crying and sobbing into my chest. My tears began streaming again too as I saw the monsters reappear from behind the trees.

  "I'm home. I love you." We said.