Fighting to keep his hands off Erica, Ruby often retreated to the House of Love for release. One night, Oriana appeared at Ruby’s window.
Ruby thought Oriana was long gone, and was happy & felt wonderful for the first time in a while.
Their passionate love making was as wild as always.
Unfortunately, Erica had decided to dress up and chase Ruby down at the House of Love once again.
When Erica saw him inside with her friend Oriana, she was devestated.
Erica felt her heart breaking inside her.
She broke into tears.
Erica knocked on the door and Oriana and Ruby were shocked.
Oriana tried to hug Erica, but Erica pushed her off.
Erica was livid.
Erica sheilded herself from Oriana's outstretched arms with Ruby's guitar.
Erica tossed the guitar at Oriana. Ruby tried in vain to approach her.
Erica flew off into the night.
Erica lingered in their minds all night. They both felt miserable.
Oriana set off to look for Erica, and Ruby waited. Neither of the ladies returned.
Ruby locked himself in the dungeon of the palace & wrote to Erica about his past, his love for her, his fears & dreams.
The process of writing was especially cathartic for Ruby because he only spoke with the guitar and never with words.
He disclosed things about himself that he had never shared.. his vampirical nature, his fear that he was incapable of loving, his fear of ruining women.
He filled the entire notebook. He had never written about himself so extensively or in any revealing way at all.
Assuming Oriana would know where to find Erica and deliver the notebook, Ruby looked for her.
Oriana was standoffish. She was not only offended that Ruby loved Erica equally, but felt guilty because she had contributed to hurting the innocent Muse.
Ruby, however, could not help but seduce Oriana with his intense presence and intense lust for her.
He also could not help grabbing her and kissing her.
Ruby’s charm was irresistable because his passion was true.
Oriana agreed to help him find Erica, and tried to put her jealousy aside. After all, it was against Erosian custom to possess someone else’s heart.
Oriana knew the wilderness well but had never seen Ruby in the daylight before, vulnerable & humble. She was on a different kind of journey.
Oriana took Ruby across the magical barrier to the outer island and brought him to the place where she met Erica.
This upset Ruby terribly because he missed Erica and felt guilty for hurting her.
Oriana tried to comfort Ruby and empathize with his sorrows. She gave Ruby some tips on where to find the Muse.
Ruby cheered up quickly.
Ruby felt overwhelmed with lust for Oriana and kissed her goodbye wildly though she tried to resist.
They exchanged their last words of passion...
.. and finally, Ruby set off on his own to find his Muse.
That night, Ruby broke into Erica's bed chamber while she slept & woke her.
Erica wondered whether she was dreaming.
Ruby did not wait long to make his move. He was finally going to make love to his Muse.
Erica had never taken a man to bed before & she shivered as Ruby touched her. They kissed & touched in perfect harmony.
However, as soon as he penetrated her, Ruby could not help but succumb to his vampirical nature. He ravaged her.
The Muse weakened as Ruby drank blood from her neck in oblivion. He absorbed her soul. She fell into deep sleep. Ruby felt frustrated, hungry, unsatisfied.
Ruby’s fear that he was incapable of feeling love came true. If he could not love Erica Xenne, he could love no one. He ceased to believe in love.
Then, suddenly, Ruby disappeared from Erosia. He was exiled for failing to believe in love. The Muse was left by herself.
Erica slept for days, regenerating her strength.
Erica’s strength regenerated, but she had fallen victim to Ruby’s vampiricism. She was doomed to crave Ruby’s touch- and his heart- eternally.
When Erica finally woke up, she found Ruby’s guitar, but Ruby was nowhere to be found.
At first she figured Ruby had left the guitar to let her know he’d be back soon, and she waited eagerly.
She held on to the guitar, wishing it was Ruby and trying to play it.
She eventually fell asleep with it.
Day after day Erica woke up alone and waited for Ruby..
.. and night after night she fell asleep clutching his guitar.
She pleaded for Ruby and became more and more sad as she realized Ruby had slept with her and then ditched her.
All she could do was cry.
Months passed. Erica was so depressed and hurt that she couldn’t get out of bed.