“Would you let me see beneath your beautiful?

Would you let me see beneath your perfect?

Take it off now, girl, take it off now, girl (take it off now, boy,take it off now, boy)

'Cause I wanna see inside

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight, oh, oh, oh, tonight?

See beneath your beautiful, oh, tonight.

We ain't perfect, we ain't perfect, no.

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight?”

“Ha ha very funny. You got me so serious just to play a joke. So what’s your real name?” she appreciated the fact that he was trying to lighten the mood by making a joke but this was not the time or place. She was already on her guard, letting a complete stranger roam around her house was beginning to seem like a really bad idea.

Wincing slightly Ian looked at the ground. “Most people just call me Hades since I’m next in line to take over the family business. I know it sounds unbelievable but I’m telling the truth. I’m not joking.” His tone of voice was serious, his face was serious and his stance was serious. He would hide nothing from this woman. If she would still have him, he would make her the happiest woman ever.

A little giggle escaped her lips, it was nervous a gesture that she immediately hated and regretted. She dragged her eyes from the pattern in the carpet. She needed to see his face. Maybe then she could relax and accept this as a bad joke. She dragged her eyes over the contours of his body till she reached his face. One look at the harsh lines etched there had her fainting dead away. ‘Yeah, he wasn’t joking’ was her last coherent thought.

Angela was floating on cloud nine. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this good, all she knew was that it was the first time in years. It was as if all her worries were gone, earlier in the night something strange occurred but now she was sure it was just a bad dream. After all who could meet the devil and still be this happy and she was happy, probably. She couldn’t explain it but every bone in her body was happy, maybe.

She sure howvever that she was in no way ready to face reality, instead she was content to drift in the haze a little more.

He smoothed a lock of hair away from her forehead, a worried frown pulling the muscles on his face taut. He had given her a scare, one bad enough that her mind made the decision to shut down instead of face the reality. Should he really stay, was the question that bothered him the most. He was sure this was the only woman for him. Since the day he first laid eyes on her, he was always protecting her, always watching over her. Maybe that was how he should have remained, a nameless, faceless shadow, restricted to the dark where he belonged.

In truth he was content there, just watching her, hoping for her happiness. Then one day it became too much. The man wasn’t her first boyfriend and he doubted he would be her last, but the way she looked at the guy named Ron had stirred feelings of utter and uncontrollable rage in him. Yet, still he chose to remain in the shadows, to watch her be happy with someone else. Then the last straw came, he’d watched as the man named Ron broke her heart and Ian with all his anger and hatred broke Ron in return. It was then that he decided to seek her out, to see where the proverbial chips would lie. However he hadn’t prepared for the raw feelings she invoked in him. The simple act of touching her hair had brought him immense pleasure.

As was the norm these days, there were conflicting emotions inside of him. His mind and body that were usually of one accord were all over the place and it was her fault. On one hand the simple act of touching her hair brought him great joy and he wanted her to keep her eyes closed for a little while longer. On the other hand he wanted her to look at him, to see him. Not for his name or the man he might represent, no he wanted her to see him for the man he truly was.

“Rise and shine,” he whispered in a low voice, his tone was seductive and playful. “Do not deny me the pleasure of your eyes any longer. I am not sure I could take it.” Ian knew his words fell on deaf ears but he said them anyway, hoping against all odds that she could accept him, that she could love him for who he was.

In her dream she was a princess and if there was one thing Angela didn’t want to be it was a princess.  They sat and waited for people to rescue them. She was tired of waiting. It was time she saved herself. These past weeks she had finally taken the first step and it was all thanks to him. Her life wasn’t what she wanted it to be and he’d helped her to bring it in to perspective. If only he wasn’t lord of the underworld.  Who told that to someone right off the bat anyways? Wasn’t that something you usually saved until you were married at least 5 years?

Angela shifted on the bed, rising through the fog of unconsciousness. She felt cool fingers gently running along the side of her face and that soothed her. Then she heard his voice, a rhythmic low sound that crooned a song about love and loss. Her heart twisted at the lonely note in his voice, she lay as still as possible. She wasn’t ready for him to know she was awake. Instead she was content to listen to him sing. As she listened to the song the lyrics finally struck her, it was a ballad and not just any ballad. It was there’s.

 He sung about a his love for a girl who could never love him back, he sung about watching over her since she was a child, he sung about watching her with other men and being happy because she was happy. Then his voice broke slightly as he sung about her pain and her loneliness and how he watched as her heart was broken and how it broke his in turn. Then he moved on to the next verse and he sung about when the time came, the moment in which he could no longer watch her live a zombie like existence, he wanted her smile back, her laugh, her happiness and in return his.  Finally he sung about the letters he wrote to romance his love, about the hope they had given him and about the futility of his love. Then he sang of what was yet to come, how he would leave and return to the shadows where he belonged. To watch over her for all of her days, waiting until she found happiness, removing all those who would harm her and protecting all those who she would come to love.

Tears rolled down her face and she really looked at him for the first time. Not what he was wearing, or who he was or how he looked. No for the first time she looked past that and she saw him. For all he was and with the little she knew about him so far she decided she wanted to know more. At that thought her tears started running faster and a giant sob escaped her lips. She cried for the fact that because of the preconceived notions blinding her she had almost thrown away what could be the greatest love of her and she cried for the loneliness she heard in his voice but the main reason she cried was because of the loneliness in her that answered his. A feeling so deep and desperate, what shocked her was the fact that this was the first time she’d realised it was there.

Ian was so caught up in the song that he hadn’t realised she was a wake. He was pulled back to reality by a strangled sob that tore at his heart. He turned to face her, a slow and deliberate move. He was afraid of frightening her. He was finally facing her and what he saw ripped his heart out. She was bent over with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, holding them tightly. Her head rested on her knees as giant sobs broke throw her lips and shook her shoulder. Streams of tears flowed down her face as it contorted in pain. Her eyes seared his and what he saw there had him shaking in disbelief. Angela wasn’t crying for herself, she was crying for him and his mind couldn’t process that.

“Don’t cry for me little on. I’m not worth your tears.” His voice spoke of a myriad of emotions that he was barely holding in check. At the rate this was going he would soon be in tears, while there was no shame in crying he didn’t know if he would be able to stop once he started. All the emotions he had buried for so long were bursting to the surface and he didn’t know how to deal with them. Reaching out slowly he put his arms on her shoulders and gently tugged her towards him. There was no resistance on her part so he pulled her firmly into his arms and held her as she cried.

He gently rocked her until all her tears were gone, until the shaking had stopped and then until she drifted off to sleep. He rose slowly, carrying her with him. He moved slowly and purposefully until he reached her bedroom where he gently tucked her in and sat by her side. Watching her, content to have these final moments, he waited by her bed as long as he could but when dawn came he slowly stood and walked into the shadows where her belonged. He made a vow to himself never to darken her door again.

Angela awoke feeling alive and refreshed. It was a blissful feeling that she had never experienced before. Last night seemed like a distant dream but her nerves were still raw from the emotional rollercoaster and that reminded her that it was real. She stretched slightly and peeked from under her lashes half expecting to find him there. When she didn’t see him and heard no sounds except her own breathing she sat up and looked around. A chair was right beside her bed and she knew he had sat there all night watching her. She reached out and touched the seat, the unconscious action brought her in contact with the cushion and it was still warm.

She jumped out of bed and sprinted down the stairs calling his name as she went. There was only answering silence in reply. He was gone, she slowly walked around the entire house searching every closet but he was nowhere to be found. She made her way to her bed room, a dejected feeling settling in her soul with each step she took. When she opened the door she saw it sitting on her pillow. A single black rose, with a note.

she frantically swung her head from side to side looking for him but only she stood in the room. She called his name softly, praying for a reply but none came. With a heavy sigh she made her way to the rose and note. She brought the single rose to her nose and sniffed the delicate fragrance. Closing her eyes she enjoyed the smell, wondering why it was so familiar to her. Slowly she opened her eyes and read the note.

The note was short and simple. ‘Goodbye and I’m sorry’. That all that was on the note, it was written in strong, bold letters. The same hand writing as her precious letters and she knew he was gone for good. All she had left of him was a note, some letter and a single black rose. She climbed back into bed, curled in a ball and cried. This time for the fact theat she let him slip through her fingers.