White Roses

Prologue

It just ended. There was no specific time, no special click when the realization hit me. Not even an announcement with a proper explanation of the situation before I was left to figure life out by myself again. I remember staring at it, seeing it play out in front of me without having the power to change anything about it. I saw her take a step, turn around, show me a big smile that could brighten the mood of every person on this stupid planet if they took the time to look at it. I felt happy, completely and utterly happy. And then it ended. The arrow came out of nowhere and her body hit the ground before I even understood what had just happened. People shouted at me to run, but my body wouldn't move, couldn't move, I could only stare at the lifeless shell that once was Kate, but now was death.

My scream of agony came first.

My knees hitting the ground followed.

A strong grip around my bicep and someone dragging me away from her was the last thing I fully comprehended before my mind shut down and the autopilot forced my feet to take one step in front of the other and run away from the place I would never be able to visit again without feeling the intense grief that was from now on integrated into my soul.

'Aiden, we have to go!' I heard her, I just didn't answer. Vaguely I noticed the hint of regret in her voice, but I wasn't able to understand why that was the emotion she went with in a time like this. Fear, pain, anger, grief, those all seemed understandable. But regret? I couldn't place it and due to the sudden confusion I was able to break through my mind-numbingly sadness, even if it was just for a moment.

'What's wrong?' My voice was barely a whisper, but I saw that the woman had heard me. I was hoping Sheila wouldn't give the obvious answer – I knew we were under attack, I was heartbroken, not stupid – and after a short pause, she did.

'Kate is not the only one that died.'

'Obviously. I have eyes, Sheila.'

'Aiden, it's Daliah.' An entirely different kind of grief hit me with a strength that forced me to stand still to prevent myself from falling down again. My mind didn't seem capable of forming a full sentence and kept playing with different ways to talk back. The baby. How. What now. Where.

'Take me,' were the only words I was able to put into an order that would at least emphasize the urgency of the situation. Death was written all over me. I barely had had the time to fully realize that I would never hear Kate's laugh again, when this was thrown at me. The news of my best friend, the only person besides Kate I fully trusted, had died. The person that had carried the child that would save us all.

I was vaguely aware that my legs had started moving again during the time that my mind had wandered away. We were back in the city, near Daliah's home, and even from a distance I saw the people standing outside of it. I noticed some of the other Levirem and Sheila walked straight towards them.

'The child? How is she?'

'Surprisingly strong and healthy, considering the birth she just went through.' The man that answered Sheila's question seemed to have noticed me. 'Ah, Aiden... My deepest condolences. There was nothing that could have been done, Daliah went into early labor and there were complications that we hadn't foreseen. I am so, so sorry.'

'The child is alive?' I was not ready to let myself fully comprehend all the information that was given to me. The initial shock had passed and I had to force myself to focus on the importance of the situation; there would be years and years to grief the ones I had lost today later. He smiled kindly at me and nodded.

'Yes, she is alive. Come, I will take you to her.' I followed him inside the building and heard her cries before I even saw the baby, but when I did, for just a second, everything else ceased to exist. She lay in a crib next to a bed where a body was covered with a plain, white sheet that I didn't look at on purpose. Her eyes were brighter than any kind of eye color I had ever seen and her gaze seemed to intelligent, so full of understanding, that I would've believed it if you had told me, then and there, that she fully understood the situation of her mother passing away, and that she, too, was crying tears of grief – the same ones that were just moments away of spilling from my eyes and finding their way down my cheeks.

'What is she called?' Again my voice was barely a whisper, but besides the crying of the child, the room was quit.

'Her name is Neviah. Daliah told us what she wanted to call the child before she passed away.'

'Neviah...' I slowly pronounced the name. 'I like it.'

'Aiden, there is another reason why you were called here so quickly, besides the death of your friend. I'm assuming Daliah told you about the elixir?' I nodded. 'Good, then you know how important it is to keep Neviah safe and secure, something we are not able to do here, not while she is so young and vulnerable. The attack of tonight was not a coincidence and we believe that someone has infiltrated our inner circles and tipped them off when the labor started. We need to get her out of here before they find out that she is alive. Ilerian will never let that happen, not with what she will be capable of.'

'Where do you want me to take her?' It wasn't something I had to think about. This child was the only person left in this place that I considered family and I would never let anything hurt her, not if it was in my power to stop it. My gaze shifted to the man. He was looking at the bed and I saw a glistering of tears in his eyes. He, too, seemed to be affected by her death. However, after he sighed and turned around, his gaze was steady again and his smile as kind as it had been before.

'I am glad to hear you say that, even though your destination might startle you. Aiden, you will be taking her to earth.'

- - -

Hi guys,

This will be a translation/slight alteration of the story 'witte rozen' that's already been published (yet never finished) on my account. I figured it would be time to get back at writing it, but didn't feel like continuing the way I left it. So, time to change things up again, write in a language I've grown familiar with over the past years (which doesn't mean I won't still make mistakes... apologies if I do, please point them out so I can change  and learn from it!), and overall just create stories again. I hope you liked the prologue, more will be coming soon!

Love, Judith