This sad ending was very unexpected. It shouldn't have been, considering the character set-up, but an unhappy ending still rarely happens. I appreciate the more realistic angle.

Author's Response: Yes well, I'm kinda sucker for happy endings but somehow this just didn't feel like it should have one, since it would become too much like a fairy tale and not at all realistic. I'm so happy you appreciate it, since my intention was to make this seem like it could happen in real life and unfortunately happy endings are very rare in our world. Thanks so much for reviewing and I'm sorry it took such a long time for me to respond! :)