Awakening

Chapter 31

Rose looked at the man on the ground before her. He was obviously in a great deal of pain, not just physically, but also emotionally. She noted how much he looked like Victor. He was strong like him too, and smart. Blood started to pool around him. His blue eyes filled with utter defeat.

She sighed and knelt before the man on the ground. She thought for a bit, before ripping a piece of his shirt off creating a tourniquet for his chest and leg. Satisfied that he wouldn't bleed out just yet, she started to stint his leg with pieces of wood and his boot laces. She talked while she worked.

"You're a good fighter, you know, but Victor was better. That was all he was good at, though. He failed miserably in every other aspect of being human."

He looked at her, a confused look on his face. "What are you doing? This is not how it's supposed to end!" He tried to pull his leg away, but winced as the pain shot through his body.

"Then how is it supposed to end?" she asked, still working on his leg.

He breathed deeply, trying not to pass out. "This wasn't some training session between friends or a camping trip gone wrong. This was a battle of life and death. The winner lives, the loser dies. Why in the hell wouldn't you just finish me off? Why are you helping me?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Because I think you can be a greater man than your grandfather was."

Alastor looked at her, shocked. "What kind of reason is that? I tried to kill you. I would have killed your friends. Aren't you just dying to finish me off? Go and ahead and finish what you started all those years ago. Kill off my family and finish this feud."

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I was never out on some mission to destroy your family. What happened on that cliff, was Victor's fault, and his alone. His decisions led him to that point, no one else's." She gave a small smile. She could finally believe the words she spoke. She felt the weight she had been carrying for so long starting to disappear.

She looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "You were raised in bitterness, hatred and lies. That's all you've ever known. But I believe, given the chance, you could be capable of so much more. You're strong and smart. You could do great things. Or just live a normal life, if that makes you happy. As long as it's what you want, and not what others expect of you."

Alastor stared at the woman before him. The rage that had been present in her eyes moments ago, was gone now. She was carefully stinting his leg, apologizing when he winced in pain, asking how he was feeling. He was perplexed. How could she show so much mercy to someone who had almost killed her? Could Senelé have been wrong?

She finished up and admired her handiwork. "There we go, that should do it." Then she stood up. "I'm going to go now, before Max starts losing his mind. And I guess I've got some explaining to do to Emily. I'll see you around."

"Wait? You're just going to leave me out here?" Alastor asked.

She smiled. "Well, yeah. I can't let you completely off the hook for what you did. Maybe a few days in the forest will give you some perspective. If you don't end up bleeding out, use them to think about what I said."

With that she walked off. Without turning around she waved. "I really do hope you find happiness, Alastor."

#

A smile replaced the frown of concentration on Rose's face as she reached the base of the mountain. She could smell them both. They were safe. Her whole body was aching, not to mention the dizziness as a result of the blood loss. She had barely made it through the last of the brush, when a hard body smashed into hers. Suddenly she was wrapped in strong arms. She buried her face in Max's chest and clung to him like her life depended on it.