Amaryllis

Chapter Three: Fiery Hearts

A/N: Not edited. Vote/Comment please.

 

Chapter Three: Fiery Hearts

 

                   Tears ran down her cheeks. They weren’t to be noticed in the dim light, but she wiped them away, afraid that her brother would see her weakness. She couldn’t risk being seen as a weak being in front of her brother – he would despise her, and it would matter to her, despite what he had committed. There was bad blood between them, their relationship was ruined by the past… and the present. He betrayed her. He ran away from her. He was alive, yet he didn’t return. And to top it off, he killed her friend.

 

                   Malice ran through her mind, clouding her emotions. She had dreamed of being reunited with him in so many variations, but never one that led to her to hate him with every power she had. Ascelin peered at her, recognition showed on his face. He let out a breath, which set a cloud of mist into the distance between them. He stepped closer, unbelieving.

 

                   “Is… is it-?” he stuttered, his shaking hand reached over to touch her cheek, but she shoved the hand away, not ready to forgive him for his actions. Possibly never ready to forgive him for his actions. Mistakes happen in life, but never ones as great as murder. They were never mistakes, they were driven by pure intention.

 

                   “Don’t talk to me,” she replied pathetically. She flinched slightly on how she sounded – so vulnerable, so scared. She took a couple to steps back, attempting to widen the distance between them. She couldn’t trust him no longer. I could be his next target, she thought, frightened, I’ve seen too much, I know too much. She glanced at her long-lost brother for the last time before running into the night.

 

***

 

                   The run wasn’t as peaceful as it was before, rather it was a run filled with over burdening emotions – mixed emotions. Grief, pain, loss, anger, hatred, confusion… excitement. A guilty part of her soul enjoyed the action, wished for it to continue. She was interested in the feelings that affected her heart. The pain was not like pain that she had felt before. It was a different sort of pain. One filled with a form of desire.

 

                   She paused, leaning against a tree for support. Her breathing was uncontrolled. She felt her body ready to collapse under the pressure. It was too much. She couldn’t take it anymore. Her slow death was no longer desirable. She wanted it to end now.

                   She cast her eyes over her surroundings. She knew the forest like the back of her hand, but with her current fractured mind, she was lost.

 

***

 

                   She ran north. North. The direction that was always chosen as a first resort. Follow the stars that shine bright. Watch out for the constellations. Admire their beauty. They’ll protect you. They are part of the night. The stars – your path. The moon – your saviour.

 

                   She trusted her racing heart - the heart that claimed her home. The heart that was slowly dying, yet pumping on. The poison was in her veins, she could feel its effects. But she was not pathetic, she reasoned, she was strong. She was a warrior of time.