OMG! I finished most of Burned today. (Well, all the parts with Stevie Rae and Rephaim) And now, I can truly say, THEY ARE MY NEW FAVORITE COUPLE! I anxiously await for Awakened, but before it comes out, I am gonna do some fanfiction! Whoo!

And for the record, I TOTALLY called the idea of Rephaim becoming human. I CALLED it! And when he friggin almost dies for Stevie Rae and they confess their love in the last possible second, and then Nyx swoops in and saves him and turns him human JUST before he dies, I'm gonna be like, "I F---ING CALLED THAT!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Stevie Rae or Rephaim or any other characters from the House of Night series. I only own the plot of this fanfic.

Tale as Old as Time

Chapter One

Rephaim

"My father returns."

"So does Zoey."

"And for us that means we can't be together," he said.

She shook her head. "No, Rephaim. It only means that if you let it."

"Look at me!" he cried. "I'm not the boy in the reflection. I'm a beast. I don't belong with you."

"That's not what your heart says!" she shouted back at him.

His shoulders slumped, and he looked away from her. "But Stevie Rae, my heart has never mattered."

She stepped close to him. Automatically, he faced her. Their gazes met, and she saw that the scarlet was, once again, blazing in his eyes. "Well, when you decide your heart matters as much to you as it does to me, come find me again. It should be easy. Just follow your heart." Without any hesitation, she put her arms around him and held him tightly. She whispered, "I'll miss you," before she left him

As she started walking down Gilcrease Road, the night wind brought to her Rephaim's whispered, I'll miss you too…

This moment replayed in Rephaim's mind over and over, like a broken record.

He remembered the pained look in her soft blue eyes and the feeling of her arms around him before she had left him alone.

He stood still for a long time, he wasn't sure how long. The breeze ruffled his feathers and the leaves danced around him as he continued to stare after a ghostly form of Stevie Rae, walking away from him over and over again.

At last, the sun came up and warmed his side and it was then that he finally allowed his wings to unfurl and beat the air, lifting him up into the welcoming sky. But instead of comforting him like before, it left him feeling empty and lost.

He flew away from the spot, he didn't know where. He didn't know why. All he knew, was that he was leaving her behind him and that feeling of pain slowly began to consume him, leaving him a hollow shell of the once, proud Raven Mocker.

"Why, father?" he thought as he continued to fly. "Why does the heart of a human beat within my breast? Why does it beat for her and her alone?"

Stevie Rae

She walked down the road, moving quickly until she finally broke into a run. She could feel tears stinging her eyes and it felt like her heart was being split into two, aching pieces. The pain worsened as she ran farther and farther away from him.

Finally, she stumbled and fell to the ground and started to cry into her beloved earth, tears absorbed by the soil.

She stayed like that for a while, sobbing heavily into the ground and hiccupping. After she started to calm, she sat on her knees and wiped at her tear stained face, sniffling. The sky was a black tapestry of stars that hung overhead, beautiful and endless.

Wishing she could simply let it engulf her and trap her, she stood up shakily and continued walking down the road, sniffling slightly and trying to let her heart recover from the blow dealt. Leaving Rephaim had been the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

Harder than dying and then undying.

Harder than confronting Neferet and Kalona with Zoey.

Harder than hearing her BFF might die because her soul had been shattered.

Even harder than confronting Dallas and having him call her a whore and a liar to her face before embracing Darkness.

Rephaim had become her world. After all they'd gone through – saving him, him saving her, their Imprint…

Now, his blood circulated through her veins. He was a part of her, and she him.

She was tied to him. To his humanity. And, perhaps, she loved him. Stevie Rae stopped and put a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening with the reality of it. She thought of Rephaim. How he had appeared to her when he'd saved her from the disgusting white bull.

Beautiful. Powerful. Her heart thumped powerfully in her chest at the memory of it.

She remembered hold his hand, how right it felt for his fingers to intertwine with hers. She remembered seeing his reflection change to that of a human, and it had made her heart flutter all over again. It was him. It was Rephaim.

His heart, which meant more than anything to her – whether he was a beast or a man, was there. She wanted to keep his heart safe, keep it close to hers and never let anyone else touch it. She wanted his heart to be hers.

"Isn't that what love is?" she wondered briefly.

"Love is whatever you want to see it as, my daughter," Nyx's sweet voice echoed in her ears, and the comforting sound made Stevie Rae want to cry all over again. She collapsed to her knees and sent a silent prayer.

"Forgive me, my Goddess! I am bound to a creature born in this world as a monster, but I see the humanity and his heart."

"There is nothing to be forgiven, my daughter. Love can be born from everywhere, and it can give you strength or cause you pain and weakness. Follow your heart and allow the path is forms to lead you."

"Yes, Nyx. Thank you." Stevie Rae opened her eyes and stood with a newfound strength. Her goddess's soothing voice still buzzed in her ears and brought a comfort that she needed to sooth her aching heart.

Now was not the time to mull over her confusion over Rephaim. She'd given him the choice, and time would tell them if he would make it. Now was the time for action.

As High Priestess to the red vampyres, she understood she had to tell them all the truth and beg forgiveness for her mistakes, even if it made things difficult. Then she had to explain to them Dallas's embracing of Darkness and how they should prepare for a conflict with him and any followers he might gather.

All at once, she grew nervous. The rogue red fledglings were still around and needed a red vampyre to stay alive. If Dallas found them, not only could he keep them alive, but he could recruit them to create a small army of his own to rise against the House of Night.

They had to be ready.

So she ran for the House of Night as quickly as her feet would carry her, praying to Nyx for the understanding of her friends and former professors and that she wasn't too late.

A short chapter, but I'm proud of it. I think it came out very well. Well, review, let me know what you think of it, and I'll update as soon as inspiration strikes again!

No flames, please. Flames are going to be used to make smores! Smores I will share with my fans who send nice reviews.