Anybody But You

28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Vibe: Difficult by Amy Allen

Alice loved roses.

With the scent reminding her of her mother, whenever Alice was walking around the capital, she'd always be drawn to the flower carts lining the stone pathway. It had become a comforting routine for Alice—the act triggering most of her senses as she admired the rainbow of colours, buried her nose into carts and inhaled the scent, felt her skin being caressed by their soft petals, and even tasted the flowers' sweetness lingering in the air.

It always left her with a smile on her face and a bundle of flowers to bring back to the palace.

As she walked back with her head in a daze, she didn't notice until it was too late—the collision with the running individual almost knocking her off her feet. Her flowers scattered everywhere, the red and pink petals covering the stone road.

Swearing and apologizing profusely, the stranger bent down—trying his best to gather the flowers that hadn't broken from the fall. With fumbling hands, the young man flinched each time his skin came into contact with the sharp rose thorns.

Alice quickly bent down and reached over, touching his hands to stop him as the angry blood beaded along his slashed skin. "Please stop, you're hurting yourself." Untying the delicate light blue handkerchief on the small purse slung snuggly against her waist, she grabbed his burly bleeding hand.

"Don't trouble yourself, Miss. It doesn't hurt—" he tried to object, making Alice hold his hand tighter as she readjusted herself more comfortably on the ground.

Looking up at his face ready to scold him, she felt herself inhale deeply as red rubies stared back at her. She hadn't even realized that the hand necklace around her throat had long since disappeared until suddenly, in that very second, it was back.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move.

Godric seemed to slowly recognize the horror suddenly in Alice's eyes as he gently tried to pull back with a crestfallen look on his face. However, Alice wasn't the same girl she was when she had last seen Godric at Narcisse's coronation. She was stronger. More rational. Not so consumed by such blinding rage—even if it still burned and bubbled deep inside of her.

She didn't want to run from the pain anymore—she wanted to face it head on, even if it left her without oxygen and braindead. After all, this Godric wasn't that Godric, not yet at least. And if he was, maybe she could save his soul, too—before he lost his humanity on that terrible night.

Her small trembling fingers wrapped around his thick ones. Shaking her head as the vision of Godric's murderous eyes came hard and fast at her, she opened her mouth to speak passed the strangling sensation choking her from within her own mind.

"Stay... I'll be okay."

~*~*~

A.N.

Oh. Em. Gee. GODRIC!!!! This boy, guys... my heart. You'll see.

Thank you for reading!