The Hayllie | A White Rabbit Warren short

Chapter One

"We fight with honour, we strive towards success, we're assembled by fear, and we are dead in the eyes of our enemies, but they are in ours. Soldiers, friends... what we don't know is how... what we don't know is what... um..." Jared Kolt trailed off from the lines he had only gone over twice. He drew his attention to his wife, Arida, laying on their couch with a comforting smile on her face.

"What we don't know is when the enemy will strike, but that we'll meet them in no man's land and in hell. Make Earth proud," Arida read from the script situated between her fingers.

She held the compiled papers out to him, offering the chance to go over his character's speech but he only leaned back against the windowsill.

"No." Jared shook his head. "I'm expected to say this without difficulty."

"You've been learning your other lines," Arida reminded him. "Jay, you only need to know this by Thursday. You still have four whole days to still go through this."

Jared smiled and approached the woman he cared so much about.

Ten years they have been together and not a single day passed where she was nothing but supportive of his work - which he never took a break from. As an actor, he took his roles seriously, even if it got in the way of interrupting his family's time together. He wanted them to live a happy life and never worry about financial problems like he used to.

He had everything he wanted: a home, someone he cared for, a child, and he remained at the top of his career. He could not ask for more.

"Did I at least come across as being militant?" Jared questioned and sat down beside her at the end of their leather couch.

"Hmm?" Arida put the script down on the floor and pulled her legs onto his lap. "Oh, yes! It was quite convincing."

"Don't lie to me. I wasn't even trying!" Jared laughed and took Arida's hands in his, gently pulling her up into a sitting position and then against his side. "How are my girls doing?"

"How sure are you that it will be a girl again?" Arida stared down at her stomach, smiling down at the slightly swollen bump.

"Gut feeling," Jared assured her and removed the hair clip from her brown hair.

"Your gut feeling also told you to take on the role of a fictional character from your childhood and look at you. You're a bloody train wreck." Arida cocked an eyebrow.

"You're imagining things, woman," Jared joked and stood up. "You're in your prime but everything else is going south."

Arida's mouth gaped open and grabbed the pillow resting beside her before briefly hitting her husband's chest. "Watch it. The couch is already your best friend."

Jared let out a laugh as he walked out of the lounge and made it upstairs. He heard his wife's heels clacking against the marble tiles, making her way to the kitchen.

Jared walked past his study, his and Arida's bedroom, the shared bathroom, and then stopped outside his daughter's room.

He quietly pushed the door open to Celestia's room to find that she had fallen asleep over her covers, her bedside lamp on, and she held onto a children's book.

Jared opened her cupboard and removed a thin blanket out from the top shelf. He unfolded the purple material and placed it over Celestia's body.

Slowly, he removed the book from her grip and closed it, placing it down on her bedside table.

He placed a kiss on the Celestia's forehead and watched as she rolled onto her side. Her tiny hands reached out to her stuffed animal and embraced it in her arms.