THE ADVENTUROUS TRAGEDY OF
CASSANDRA & DANIEL

Cassandra, a caring girl rapidly approaching womanhood, stood alone on the beach, gazing over the turquoise water with her gentle many-colored spheres. Her color-mixed hair danced lightly in the ocean breeze, tickling against one cheek as she smiled to herself with anticipation, resting her cheek against one hand as she clicked the heels of her inky boots together. She wore a jade shirt with sleeves that ran down to her wrists and a pair of onyx formal pants. Her locks flowed in an opaline torrent past her shoulders, complementing her seraphic light-colored, tinted with khaki, visage. Beautiful wings sprouted from her back. She stood, awaiting her love.

It must have been fate in a mortal form that brought them together. She knew from the moment she laid eyes on him that they were meant to be. From then on, they were inseparable. They shared every part of their life. That was how it was to this very day.

"Cassandra," Daniel said quietly with a smile on his face. His cerulean pools complimented his turquoise hair, brushing against his ears, belying his pure heart. He was dressed in refined garb befitting his station. He had a toned but slender body covered with bubble-gum-flushed milky skin. As Cassandra drew nearer, she caught a note of his familiar scent of lingering iron and steel. She smiled to herself. It always reminded her of the time they shared.

"Oh, Daniel! You came!" Cassandra said breathlessly, reaching out to take him into an embrace. He laughed and put his arms about her, holding her as they turned about once on the sand with their momentum. With that, they began to walk along the beach.

To their surprise, Cassandra was the first to speak. "I-I've never really... had anything like this." She clung a little tighter to Daniel's calloused hand, resting her head against his firm, slender arm.
"Never?" he asked.
"Oh, never," she said breathlessly. "You are my first true love."
"I love you," he replied, landing a peck on her soft color-mixed strands.
"I love you too."

They strolled together for a few moments, the beautiful clear teal sky decorated with only a few hints of loamy clouds. The sun struck her mane in an opaline halo about her face.
Daniel looked at her admiringly. "You're beautiful," he told her. She blushed.
"W-Why do you say that...?" she stuttered, still recovering from his compliment.
"Because it's the truth." Daniel placed his hand around Cassandra, drawing her nearer. "Not only that," he continued. "You're talented as well. We couldn't have saved the world without you."
"I caused a lot of trouble for you," she mumbled. "You were the one who did all those amazing things. And you're so strong..." Her eyes wandered over his face, his unblemished depths, his navy strands. "... And handsome. I'm so lucky to have met you."
"It must have been destiny." He gave her an assuring squeeze. "But I never want you in that kind of danger again."
"As long as you're by my side," she whispered, letting Daniel draw her into an embrace, "nothing bad will happen to me."
"I swear it," he affirmed.
"Oh, Daniel... I love you so much," she whispered, her hand seeking out his calloused ones.
As they walked, they came across a part of the sea that looked darker than the rest.

"What's that?" Cassandra asked.
"The locals say the lair of a sea monster lies in that ravine," Daniel said. Just as he finished talking, a roar pierced the air. "Watch out!"
The aquamarine waves swelled and surged, and Daniel ran up the seashore with Cassandra's hand in his. From the frothing alabaster, foam emerged the head of a killer whale, which let out a screech that rent the sky. It bared its glinting sharp canines at them.
"It looks hungry," she remarked with a hint of trepidation.
"It's not going to eat us!" Daniel said firmly. Ever prepared, he whipped out his weapon. "Go! I'll protect you. I'll make sure of it!"
"Wait! Daniel! I want to help!" Cassandra, too, was prepared.

"Cassandra..." he started to say, but there was no time to argue -- the whale lunged for him, and he jumped away, the whale's teeth burying itself in the sand. Then they launched a counter-strike: Daniel struck a blow first, along the beast's back, and then Cassandra second, along with the whale's exposed underside. The monster roared in outrage before slipping back into the sea.
Panting for breath, Daniel asked, "Are you hurt?"
Cassandra shook her head. "I'm fine."
"That was more trouble than I bargained for." He offered her his hand. "Stick tight. You never know what else might spring out of the sea."
Cassandra held onto his hand as the sky began to grow dark with looming storm clouds.
"Look... it's the sunset."

Cassandra lifted her head at Daniel's words to behold the dying sun's tangerine radiance. But even as she replied, "How beautiful," the charcoal clouds looming on the horizon worried her. "Daniel, I'm worried about those clouds. Maybe we should go back."

Daniel looked at her with such blameless windows to his soul and asked, "Just a few moments more? I want to savor today."
"Mm... if you want to," she relented.

They were unprepared for how swift, how brutal the coming storm was. The rain poured in torrents, leading the ocean itself to rise. Winds whipped about them and kept them from moving on the shifting sands. Soaking, shivering, they fought against the storm.

"Daniel!" Cassandra screamed against the wind. "Please, don't let go!"
"I won't!" Daniel shouted back, his hand clasping hers firmly as he struggled upward on the beach. "It's my fault! I won't fail you, Cassandra!"
"Daniel--!!"
Her scream was lost in the crash of waves against her body, the roar, and power of the sea risen to steal her from her lover.
She struggled against the water, but it was too much. The violence of the storm-swept waves forced her under without contest.
The waves had beaten the air out of her lungs. Desperately, she willed herself not to suck in the icy water about her. Will I die this way? she wondered. Will I die... like this...?

A calloused hand seized hers and she felt herself being pulled up, up and up until the cold wind hit her face again. She coughed, sucking in the air greedily. Her arms had tightened themselves around Daniel's neck without permission, and he was shouting, "Hold on, Cassandra. Hold on!"
"Daniel," she murmured. "You shouldn't have. We can't make it out here. This way, you'll die, too...."
"Don't talk like that, Cassandra," he commanded. "We'll make it through."
"Daniel..."
Thunder crashed in the distance, and the waves pitched and brought a mouthful of salty water against their faces. She coughed and held on to him, thinking, no, this isn't how it should end, this isn't how Daniel should die...

Something bumped against her leg. A shark? Fear coursed through her body. But before she could react, another wave pushed them under. Daniel slumped against her, momentarily knocked senselessly. With burning eyes, Cassandra saw a giant silhouette with a slender body and a bottle-like nose.

A dolphin, she thought. How lucky.
Summoning forth all her will, she put Daniel on the dolphin's back.
It was the last thing she did before her world went black.

Three Days Later

"She was always so sweet, so gentle. I don't think I've met anyone else so kind."
"The world is truly darker without her, without our little light."
"Don't forget what she did. How much she helped us in those dark times."
Daniel sat on a chair by the coffin, globes dry, his soul too numbed to grieve. The funeral attendees nodded to him as they passed. He nodded stiffly back.

The reception lasted hours, but it seemed to Daniel that it was only moments before the crowd disappeared. He picked himself off the chair and turned to look into the coffin for the first time since the funeral started.

Eyes closed and still, Cassandra laid inside in a beautiful forest-green dress, her hands clasped over her chest. She could have been in a profound sleep. Daniel fought the urge to reach out and nudge her awake. Cassandra was gone. Gone because of him. Because she loved him. Casting a long look at her beautiful visage, Daniel leaned in and laid a single kiss on her lips.

... Thus concludes our tale.

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