Rule number one: Nothing lasts forever.

Not you or your family or your house or your planet or the sun. It is an absolute rule. Therefore when someone says that their love will never die, it means that their love is not real, for everything that is real dies.

That's what they say.

That's what they say.

Right?

I snap out of my thoughts. I'm still in the courtroom. I'm still on the stand. I'm still being questioned about my intentions for Eden.

“Sir...are you saying that you are going to destroy every single person in Eden,” my lawyer Wenona asks me.

Everyone is afraid. The looks in their eyes is something that once upon a time I dreamed of. Revenge was something that I dreamed about. Right now though I didn't dream about those things. Right now I dreamed about just being with JB and even in my anger all I could think about was speaking the truth.

“They say nothing lasts forever,” I tell the court, “There was a time that I didn't think that could be further from the truth. Could you imagine being buried alive? Could you imagine not being able to close your eyes? I scrape the coffin until my fingers bleed to no avail. I sang songs until I forgot the lyrics. There were times I almost forgot my name. And nights that I had to remind myself. There were nights I'd scream. Help me. Help me! Can anybody hear me? No one heard me. No one cared. I was forgotten. For 100 years I stared into the darkness...unable to sleep and unable to die. I was an immortal in pain. Forever is a long time. Could any of you imagine the pain and hurt that I went through? So did I hate Eden? Yes. I hated Eden because I screamed. I screamed Help me. Help me. Free me from this cage. Please. Remember me. I'm here. No one came...”

The jury whispers amongst themselves. A minute passes. It's the most awkward minute in the courtroom. I assume it's because in the distance there are whimpers amongst the crowd. Some cry ...others look on in confusion and some still look at me in disgust. I attempt not to cry and I hold my head up to the ceiling but that is so reminiscent of looking up at the roof of my coffin and I start to tear up without noticing it.

I don't know if any of them ever had that imagery of what it was really like.

Wenona raises his eye, “You say hated as in the past tense. Do you hate Eden now?”

“I hate things in Eden...sure. But I've found things in Eden that I love as well.”

Wenona looks around the room. He surveys the look on the face of the jury, “Jr, as you know one of your charges is kidnapping. Do you know anything about what happened to Justice?”

I look at my father.

He's sitting across the room. It'd be easy to point him out but I don't. For some reason I still want to protect him. For some reason I know that all the ed up he's been doing was in some sick way attempting to protect me.

“No. I had no motivation to hurt him. Justice and I had a very...special relationship,” I explain, “Justice is one of the things in Eden that I love.”

The room gets quiet.

I notice JB. He shoos D.J away and goes back to take seat in the aisle. He glares at me interested in what I had to say about Justice. I'm walking on eggshells right now.

“Can you describe your relationship with Justice?”

“He taught me things. He was very...passionate about teaching me to let my pain go. It seems so impossible doesn't it? How do you let 100 years of pain go? Just like that. I thought it was impossible as well. Maybe I put too much into it all.”

“Put too much into what?”

“Life. Like a child I thought everything would stay the same forever. That's not the case, you know. They say Rule Number one: Nothing lasts forever. Not your family. Not your father who promised to protect you. Not your friends who promised to never leave your side. It's an absolute rule. Not your house. Not the sun. Nothing lasts forever. That's what they say isn't it? Not even hatred lasts forever. I did hate but just like everything else...it dies. It goes away. It took Justice to really explain that to me. He gave me a black rose. Back then it didn't mean anything but the more I think about it the more I understand it. Forever is a very long time and sometimes you have to let things die. If the rose can die then my hate can die as well.”

“So would you say your hatred has died for Eden?”

I smile, “I'd say that it is dying. Slowly. I won't lie and say I am Mark the patron of Eden. No. I don't want to be Eden's hero either. However my pain isn't forever. And as I watch it die I realize that there is one thing that doesn't die. Us. We are immortals. We all sit here being these freaks of nature breaking the rule that they tell us. And like the rose is symbolic of death, the vampire is a symbol that there is an exception. The exception isn't hate though. So at the end of the day I'm ok with some things dying as long as there is that one thing that breaks the rule.”

“What is that thing that breaks the rule that nothing lives forever Jr?” Wenona asks me.

“Love. I love JB. My love for JB is the one thing that breaks the rule...just like vampires do. So when everything fades around me. When there is no sun, no house, no friends, no family, no moon, no stars and no hatred---there will be one thing left. I love JB. And when they tell us that nothing lasts forever we tell them that they were almost right. Almost nothing lives forever. We break the rule. We prove them wrong.”

Wenona smiles, somewhat happy with this.

“No more questions your honor,” he explains.

***

It's later that day when the jury convenes and come back.

“It is not our job to measure someone's hatred or their desire for revenge. It is our job to measure someone's actions. Because of this....we the jury find the defendant: Not Guilty of kidnapping, treason and terrorists acts.”

I may be the last one to hear the verdict. More words are said after that but I'm blanking out. All I see is JB in front of my face. He's holding my hands. Candy is next to him. They are celebrating in the court. There are other people I don't know who seems to be either sympathetic towards me or on the side of JB that are celebrating as well.

“Baby, baby you beat it...” JB states.

Just at that moment he grabs me. I'm shocked when JB starts kissing me. It isn't a peck either. He's kissing me mouth open, leaning me back at that moment and wrapping his hand around my waist. His tongue goes deep into my throat. The entire room seems to evaporate into ing dust.

There is no one here in this room but me and the man I love. And I know its true love. This man is happier for me than I am for myself. It's almost as though he got off on this trial. Right now he's the happiest man in the world.

I don't care about the cameras snapping. I don't care about people talking. Some people love it. Some people hate it. One thing is clear.

I'd just made a big impact in Eden.

“GET THE CAMERAS OUT OF HERE!” Ecbert commands.

His white guard is working hard at that moment. Yeatman and her people are damn near dragged kicking and screaming out of the courtroom. The superior vampires and nobles have been embarrassed. They are looking amongst one another. I watch as some high names like Countess Livia, Countess Remsen and Count Boznango hide in the shadows of the room. They are embarrassed and they don't know how to pick up their paces that I've been let off. All of them have spoken very publicly about their hate for me.”

The counts have nothing on one person though. There is one person even madder than Ecbert.

It's Mark.

“You're kissing your lover in front of me...in front of all of EDEN!” I hear Mark bark out.

Mark is standing there. As soon as the media is out he finally feels like he can speak his mind. It is all very political of him. While the media was around he was attempting to save face and act like this wasn't bothering him. Bull. He's not alone. His brother Roman is by his side. The two of them seem far past offended and I'm loving every moment of it. The twins faces are red with anger when JB doesn't even back down from the kiss.

Matter of fact...JB kisses me again right in front of Mark. He does it deeper and longer than before.

“He's your husband,” Roman defends his brother.

“Not for long,” JB responds.

“Are you threatening divorce?” Ecbert barks from the other side of the room.

JB crosses his arms, “No. I'm not.”

“Good.”

“I'm promising divorce,” JB corrects him.

I don't know what happens at that moment but Ecbert growls, “Take him. Take Jr now!”

His white guards, the defectors, are coming forward. I count 10 of them in the room.

His white guards which were stationed in the back of the room start to pursue me but with just a look JB's men storm into the room. JB's people outnumber Ecbert's this time. The past king must not have been expecting it. He must not have been expecting Nelly to not show up. He must not have been expecting me to get up on the bench and actually defend myself in a way that people understood what my true intentions in Eden were.

For a moment I feel bad for Ecbert. A part of me does believe that he isn't thinking about himself. He's not like the twins who are trying to be Eden's heroes. Ecbert just wants the best for Eden and for some reason he just really assumes that I am not the best for Eden.

“Everyone please stop. King Ecbert...” I start off.

JB gives me a hard look, “He's not your King, Jr.”

I correct myself, “Ecbert. I love JB. You have to see that.”

“That's not the point.”

It gives me hope that Ecbert doesn't even deny how I feel about JB. For some reason this guy really thinks that I hate Eden and I'm out here to destroy it. That's not the case at all. For some reason he has been sold on this idea and I have no idea how to change his mind.

“Is it the throne? Because I don't want to take Mark's place. He can have it,” I state.

“Are you not merciful?” Mark laughs, “I'm the 2nd King of Eden and you have the nerve to say that I can have the throne as though it's some sort of concession prize that you can pass on? Who are you Jr? I know you better than JB. I know you better than anyone in this room. You are nothing else but a lost little boy two inches away from the edge...about to fall and waiting for someone to come and save you.”

I'm angry. I'm so ing angry. He's talking about the night that I was about to kill myself. He's talking about the night that he came back and saved me from the human world. The fact that Mark is bringing this up right now blows my mind. He's crossed the line. That was one of the most emotional times in my life.

“You'll learn to respect him. He will take your place one day,” JB responds, “I promise you that.”

“Actually no. I'll be taking your place, JB,” Ecbert explains.

“Impossible.”

“If something were to happen to you it wouldn't be. I'd just marry Ecbert and we'd live happily ever after,” Mark explains, “Forever is a long time remember?”

JB is shaking.

“That wasn't the deal...” a voice says.

I'm confused when I see Bambam and Satyr standing there both in shock and staring at Mark.

“Shut the up Bambam,” Mark tells him, “Important people are talking right now.”

Mark is very bl