Awaken

Viktor sat in the chair, his hand still over Evanangelique’s, she had been unsettlingly quiet for the past four hours, but Alana the Night Child healer, said it could take a good long while for her to awaken. At least in that state she wasn’t suffering, Viktor was impatient though and wanted her to awaken, he wanted his best friend to be alright. He needed it for his sanity.
Alana was washing medical supplies and hanging herbs to dry. She couldn’t keep herself busy enough, she couldn’t take the Prince staring at her, or the hard look his Twilight Guardian occasionally flashed at her. She had already washed the medical instruments twice but found herself doing it again just to keep her hands busy and her head down.
Griever was sick of the waiting. He couldn’t take the fact that he should have also been there protecting their prince, they were partners, brothers in arms… siblings in arms? Whatever. Point is he had to hide because of the damned sunlight. Evan had fought alone, and now look. Beaten, ripped apart. Yeah great partner he had been. He shifted his weight to his other foot and tried to keep a blank look on.
Xavier was walking down the hall a little nervous but kept his spine straight and his chin jutted in the air, he had been next in line after Evan and Nikolai to be the Daylight Guardian for the Prince. While it was an honour, those who were guarding him seemed to be dropping like flies these days. Garret, Nikolai both dead, and Evan in intensive care. Yeah, it was real encouraging. The light was starting to brim the sky as he entered the room, blood red eyes of two Night Children looked at him. Made him real nervous. A woman, a Night Child he was sure even though her eyes were unnaturally green for what she was looked at him and smiled. “Hello, I’m Xavier, your new Daylight Guardian,” he bowed quickly and looked back up.
Viktor stared at the new comer, he should have been expecting it, but he hadn’t. “Hello,” It had been a while since he had spoken. But far longer since he had fed, he was salivating at the sound of the new ones heartbeat. “This is my Twilight Guardian, Griever, and that is Evanangelique‘s healer Alana,” Viktor said, “Griever, could you go and get some food, I’m thinking our new ally is alive, which at this point is good enough for me.”
Griever just nodded and left the room.
“So Xavier, that’s a nice name, I like that name,” Alana said wiping her hands off on a towel, “might as well take a seat,” she indicated to the ones against the wall, “neither of them have moved much from their respective spots in hours.”
Xavier took a moment, “wait… Evanangelique?”
“You are as shocked as the rest of us,” Viktor retorted.
“He is a she!”
“Yup.”
“Are you sure?”
Viktor stared blankly at Xavier, Evan had breasts. Rather large ones too. “Yup.”
“Huh, I’ll be damned.”
Griever entered with a tray of ten goblets and set it down, “half of them are mine, stay off my half!” Griever’s voice was heavy, angry, and not the kind of voice Xavier expected a Guardian to use on the Prince. Viktor raised an eyebrow, “I mean it or your fleshlings are dead.”
“I guess I can deal with taking only my half then,” Viktor said picking up the first of the goblets cleaning it.
Xavier guessed he would have to get use to seeing Night Children chugging back blood daily now, he tried not to stare but there was nothing else going on in the room. “Why don’t you drink Alana?”
“Animal drinker,” she said, “if I drank from humans I wouldn’t be able to control myself when working on you Daylight Guardians when you are injured I would just take advantage of the weakened prey.”
“Oh,” Xavier went silent for a moment, “guess that makes… a twisted kind of sense.”
“You haven’t been around Night Children much have you?” Griever asked the last of his goblets in hand, Xavier noted that the blood eyes were gone and they were instead a black coal colour.
“No, mostly humans, a few Night Children came to help train us, but other than that… no.”
“You have a entire new world to get use to then,” Griever stated, it was non-threatening, conversational.
Evanangelique moved in her sleep, the room fell quiet and everyone stared. Xavier was a little shocked. She was pretty, he had trained with Evan before, but never noticed that he was really a she and that she was very good looking especially with nothing but a blanket overtop of her very fit body. Xavier looked to the prince who was glaring back, his eyes back to black, but still a glare was there, was he possessive of Evanangelique?
“So… you’ve known Evanangelique when?”
“Since the night after she was born.”
“Guess you two are pretty tight.”
“Yup.”
What little conversation they had died away. Xavier was kind of happy because Viktor was no longer glaring at him, instead his attention went to Evanangelique.
There was a small moan Viktor’s ears perked, he had been staring at her for a long time, but she was finally making a sound her eyes opened and she immediately found his. She swallowed, her eyes looked fearful. “Oww fucking hell,” she murmured as she sat up. Viktor looked over to Alana who just nodded, apparently this was a good thing.
~
I sat up the pain was defiantly there but a dull ache at best. I looked to Viktor, he was grinning like an idiot, I took that as a good sign, I turned my head to see Griever who gave me a slight nod, which I returned with a slight smile. Two more people were there that I didn’t know, I looked to Viktor with my eyebrow raised.
“That’s Alana, she’s one of the healers for you humans, and that fleshling is Xavier…” Viktor dropped off.
“Nice to meet you Evanangelique,” the man named Xavier said, he was tall, shaggy brown hair, nice blue eyes and a gentle smile, “Viktor’s new Daylight Guardian.”
And I automatically hated him.
My eyes narrowed but I was more worried about the fact I was holding up a sheet to cover my body and Viktor had decided to hug me tight. I pushed him off and he just grinned, “so this is why you never got laid.”
I grinned and spoke groggily, “you are such an idiot.” Yet I couldn’t really be mad, I had what I wanted, Viktor knew I was female and I wasn’t dead. Wait…my breath started to hitch to panic which caused my chest to hurt a lot, I could feel the stitches.
“Hey, calm down!” Viktor was more alarmed than calming, he took a moment and tried again, this time his voice came out smooth and calming, “hey Ev, calm down, just take a breath and calm down, it will be okay.” I listened only because I was too weak at that moment to ignore the command. His hand was on my bare back rubbing it, it was rather comforting but my panic would not be contained.
“Mom!”
Viktor looked away from me, and I knew his words could no longer command me his touch was no longer comforting. My mother was dead. She was really dead, in the afterlife that was but a dream to me now. He tried to sooth me with words, both he and Griever did. Alana at one point was even trying her voice. They gave up and let me cry.
Griever sat on the bed on my left side and touched my shoulder gently, Viktor sat on my other side his cheek against my other shoulder and his hand on my back, “your mother was an amazing person.”
“Vi-Viktor,” I sniffed, “mom… they didn’t… they didn’t…”
“They didn’t what?”
“Mass grave, noooo not mom!” My sobs were horrible, I couldn’t get enough breath, tears ran down my face my stomach ached.
“Her body is awaiting for what you wanted to do with it.”
I looked to Viktor, “but you should probably know about your father.”
“No!” I couldn’t take that.
“You insensitve idiot,” Griever growled.
“She had to find out,” Viktor defended with a snap.
“Dad… dad is de-”
“Well…” I raised an eyebrow to Viktor who had spoken, he continued, “he went to hunt the Moon Children on his own because of the news of his wife, and daughter.” His explanation didn’t make it better, if at all made it worse. “Hey lets get you dressed huh? A bath first, would you like that?” I scowled at him, “alright not yet, I understand.”
Viktor was just being Viktor, a bit self-centered but my best friend and he and Griever were there in the time when I needed the most.
“I stink” I said when the tears ran out.
Viktor laughed, “imagine how we feel with our sensitive noses.” I glared and he just grinned, “alright, bath. I’ll help.”
“Screw off.”
“I’ll help you Evanangelique,” Alana said wrapping the blanket around me and helping me off the bed. “Come on you brave woman, let us get you all cleaned up.”
In the bath I had time to think, what would happen to me now? I had no husband, no father or mother, apparently my position as Daylight Guardian was gone. Who was I now. I may be who I should be, female. But as a woman I had no identity. I hugged my injured legs to my quickly healing chest feeling dread wash over me as Alana washed out my long dark hair.
Somehow even with all that happened, I doubted that the worst was over.