She watched her daughterâ€™s shadow, almost nonexistent under the moon, draw further and further away from her.  Her fingers trembled; she closed her eyes, and concentrated all her remaining senses upon her darling girl.  She could hear Lilianeâ€™s footsteps, even her quiet breath, she could smell her lingering scent upon the breeze, carrying it back to the woman who was no more than a shadow, undetectable, even by a shadow user.<span style="font-style: italic">I donâ€™t want this,</span>she nearly cried out.<span style="font-style: italic">Give her back to me!  </span>But the gates swallowed her away anyways, separating them.  Doubtless she could go in herself, but it was unbearable to think of it.  They must think her dead, and to tell them differently nowâ€¦<br/><br/>Now, that was all in the past.  Once her daughter had passed out of her senseâ€™s range, the woman sighed, pain wrenching at her heart.  She reached up, unbraiding her hair, knowing that she looked the same as she had when she was last here, so many years ago.  Well, Aunt Sonia said she looked the same, but who could trust an old womanâ€™s eyes?  Anyways, this was just a precaution- with the hood up, and her hair covering her eyes, even if she was spotted they would have a hard time identifying her, and she was ready to fight if someone ended up attacking her.<br/><br/>She dissolved into the shadows, passing through the trees as a part of the shadowed world, not a human being.  No one could hear her heartbeat, or see her body, or even smell her as she traveled this way, similar to teleportation but not, an ability unique to shadow users.  She was bound for a place she hadnâ€™t seen in years, had done her best not to think about, easier with her daughter to concentrate on.  Now, however, she could not fight the urge to go to the place that still haunted her.  It lay inside the walls, but those walls could not stop her, never her, and she passed inside the schoolâ€™s walls as easily as breathing.<br/><br/>It was in the back, an area not frequently visited.  Rounded stones sitting upright, flat slabs with words and numbers carved into them.  She knew this place better than she knew her own hands, this place of death and sadness.  The graves were silent, the place deserted, and she knelt upon the one she wanted.  Her hands reached out, fingertips gliding across the surface, tracing words she knew by heart.<span style="font-style: italic">Evan Larkin.  His dates of birth, and death.  Beloved.</span>A simple epithet, not nearly enough for him, but the best anyone had been able to do.  A tear slid down her cheek, falling to the grass.  Iâ€™ve lost so much, she thought.  But I havenâ€™t lost the most important thing.  Lost in thoughts of the past, she was oblivious to the passing of time, even as the moon slid across the velvet sky.<br/><br/>Finally, she stood, not sure how much later it was, not quite ready to leave yet, but knowing she should.  She wondered if she should check the other graves; see if anyone else she knew was there.  Who else had died?  But no, that would take too long.  If anyone found her hereâ€¦they would want to know who she was.  And if it was someone she knewâ€¦she couldnâ€™t face them.  Especially not him.  It had hurt enough, fighting him, that she feared seeing him again.  Doubtless they would think of her when they saw Liliane- the girl was so similar to her mother, they would be unable to ignore it.  Especially with her nameâ€¦oh, what in the world had possessed her to name the girl that?  But no one had ever thought of her with that name, so perhapsâ€¦perhaps it would pass by unnoticed.  But they must never know, they must never suspect, so she vanished, becoming part of the shadows once more, invisible, undetectable, and moved slowly towards the trees that ringed the cemetery, pausing under a large oak to breathe, gather her thoughts, and calm herself.