Limbo

“Evanangelique,” I turned to see my mother she had a light smile upon her face, she was wearing a sunny dress that looked too expensive for her to own, her hair- rather than being in the familiar bun she always wore it- was down, the long dark locks that I had inherited swayed in the gentle breeze. I found that I liked it here… wherever here was. Her make-up was done perfectly, it took the years of worry off her face.
She came toward me her walk like a dance, beautiful and graceful. She touched the side of my face and pushed back strands of my own hair. Mine was slightly shorter than hers, perhaps a few shades darker since I didn’t get out in the sun too much, I was surprised that it was worn down. I looked down my breasts were not wrapped down, but cleavage was showed of with the tight white dress I wore, it ran over my breasts, waist, and hips, I for the first time ever looked absolutely feminine.
I smiled and took a step back and twirled my feet were in ballerina styled shoes, thick white laces wrapped around my calves and tied into a bow. My hair twirled beautifully like it was dancing at its happiness of being finally freed from a ponytail. I stopped and looked at my mother she was smiling sweetly at me, as if she enjoyed just watching me have my fun, be free.
“Mom where are we?” I asked curiously, as I smelt the wildflowers their scent was exotic, special, but yet slightly familiar but I couldn’t place it.
“In the afterlife sweetheart,” she answered sitting down beside me patting a spot, I sat down too. There seemed to be whispers in the wind, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“You must explain,” Vincent said his voice laced in anger as he spoke to John. His Daylight Guardian, John, the one who he had protected and who had protected him. Very good friends, and yet, such a secret had been withheld, Vincent couldn’t help but shake in anger as he, John, Lucid, Griever, and Viktor stood there.
“Lucid saved us,” John said, “from the twins, brought us here, all said that our son would be the saviour of yours. We know what your kind did to all of our village. We feared for our lives, for the life of our unborn child! You say that the son, my Marianne was caring was important. How were we to react when she gave birth to a girl?”
“And in the past seventeen years, you couldn’t find a suitable time?” Vincent growled.
“And risk the life of my wife and so- daughter,” John had been covering up for so long it was hard to think of he as a she, son as a daughter, Evan as Evanangelique.
Griever looked into the room through the window, healers were around the fragile body, “Viktor… how come you never seen it… hell why didn’t I see it?”
“She’s a good actress?”
“Smart-ass, but seriously, she’s not as strong as a male fighter.”
“So she’s faster than most humans, really smart, good strategist in a fight.” Viktor was looking at the jewels on his hands.
“Your fucking callous,” Griever said as he looked at his prince, “she saved both our asses and you are staring at your rings!”
“We played in the meadow when we were younger,” Viktor’s voice was in a dream-like state, “she kept coming over to me with different things that were red, snake berries, various flowers, leaves- trying to match the colour of this jewel.”
“She gave me this one on my eighteenth birthday,” it was tiny compared to his other rings, it was the colour of the sun she had said, such a gift because she was the only one he ever told that he missed the sunlight.
Vincent was in a huff, he didn’t know what to do, he had been deceived. “What do we do now? I mean to kill you… after bestowing aristocrat status on you would put the others in a frenzy, the Daylight Guardians would riot. Probably assist the Moon Children.”
“Don’t harm my daughter, hasn’t she proved though she lied, she did no damage to your son, in fact she saved him. Fulfilled the prophecy.”
“I hate to say it John, I really do, but your daughter might not make it even with out any of mine harming her. You need to realize that the damage was extensive. She won’t survive.”
“She won’t?” Viktor asked, everyone turned to him, he looked panicked, “I always expected to loose him…her rather when she was old… not… not like this.”
“She could still survive,” Griever assured, “perhaps she was meant to survive.”
“Her purpose was to save the prince” Lucid spoke coolly, “her purpose here is finished, it is time for her to rest. And with the aristocrat thing… we could fix that.”
Vincent was listening, John tensed visibly. “An accident. Plain and simple. Died in battle, a hero.”
“No,” Viktor said sternly his eyes on the window watching the healers work their wonders. They could save him… her… they could save his best friend. They had to. He… she couldn’t have died for him.
Silvia came around the corner visibly upset, “sir John….”
John’s face paled considerably, “Silvia… what is it?”
“Oh John, I heard of your son being injured… I know it must be bad… but…” John’s eyes narrowed, his anger rising, why didn’t she just say it. He had his daughter to think about! “Marianne!” John’s eyes fell from anger to sadness, she didn’t have to say anything more. He just knew. “The Moon Children killed her!”
John straightened up and looked directly at Lucid, “I won’t beg for my life, but I ask for you to let me live. Let me kill as many of those sons a bitches of Moon Children as I can.”
Both Vincent and Lucid seemed happy with this, “let it be.”
John looked through the glass for a moment, then strode past Silvia leaving the hallway.
More hours passed, Vincent and Lucid had work to do and left Viktor and Griever waiting, sitting on supply crates as they watched the healers buzz around their friend. “What do you think are hi…her chances, surely you know human death better than I,” Viktor asked curiously.
“Her chances are bad.”
“How bad?”
“None existent… I’ve never seen a human male take that much damage and survive, much less that human be female and have previous injuries.” The two of them sat there in silence, in fear, and both of them silently trying to let go, begin grieving now so it wouldn’t be so hard on them later.
Griever stood and started pacing. Viktor had his eyes glued on the woman who had been his Daylight Guardian, he thought back to the first time they had met. When Lady Marianne had first placed the fragile new life in his arms. He had felt it then, that he… or rather she was to be his savoir, she was the true child of prophecy… it just didn’t turn out to be the way any of them expected.
“We are… dead,” my breath caught in my chest. Dead. I tried to remember my last moments, the Moon Children, Viktor discovering my most guarded secret, the blood, oh the blood, of course I died, no one could logically survive it. Still my heart ached, I was still young, I had lived my entire life as a man. I would never see the castle, never see Viktor. Viktor, that was what the flowers smelt like. They smelled of him.
“No sweetie we are not dead,” my eyebrows drew together in confusion. How could we be alive? I had seen the Moon Children enter our home. They had destroyed my body, besides the betrayal alone was enough for the death sentence. “It is not your time my beautiful daughter,” she said leaning in toward me pressing my shoulders down gently so that I was laying down flat, she touched my face gently I touched her hand begging for a few more seconds of my mothers touch. “You must go back.”
“No momma! I don’t want to leave you!” I hadn’t called her momma since I was four, yet I found myself desperate to be with her, somehow I just knew it wasn’t a dream, I was in limbo and my mother was trying to send me back to where I would probably be tortured for betrayal of the Night Children’s court. Besides the place was perfect, the sun danced through the leaves of the trees, the flowers grew tall and smelled of Viktor.
“Don’t worry my sweet daughter, I love you.”
“I love you too mom.”
A tortured scream came from the room, it caught both the Night Children by surprise. It was unexplainably female and it startled them, they still expected the rough vocals of Evan. Griever pushed the door open and stepped aside so Viktor could enter.
Viktor ran to Evan’s side… or Evanangelique’s side… his mind was all over the place, healers Night Child and Human alike were using herbs, cleaning out wounds, one was sewing her leg shut, he was glad he healed quickly. He never had to undergo anything of the sort. He didn’t know what to do now that he was beside her, but it seemed right. Griever was standing out of the way but watching.
The woman before them let out another scream of pain, feminine once more. Viktor was angered that he had never noticed. He knew her from the first day of her life and yet he never knew! He looked down, he had noticed when she was a child she had a rather cherubic face, a girly looking features. Pretty-boy they had called him for a long time. Her hair was long, that wasn’t unusual thought, her hair was barely longer than his own. Griever was one of the ones who kept a short do. He turned back to Evan…angelique. That was going to get some taking use to… or maybe not.
The wraps had kept her feminine body hidden but still, her eyes held kindness. He wanted to see those eyes again. The sarcastic eye roll of her metallic grey orbs as she told him he was a perverse asshole… thinking back of all the things he had done- in front of her. Murdered, raped, fed… and yet she still protected him. She could die because of it all.
Her eyes opened as she gasped sitting half the healers pushed her body back down and held her as her body convulsed. Her eyes closed tight blood spilled from her mouth, her eyes opened again wild, Viktor spoke, “Evan, calm down,” his voice was that of silk, he tried to make it comforting, “you will be okay, you were very brave, you are so strong… so hold on.” His hand brushed her hair back “hold on Evanangelique.”
“Vi-” she thrashed on the bed the healers fought against her trying to keep her down so she wouldn’t injure herself further.
“Shhh, shhh, I’m here,” he said holding her hand her body went still.
One of the healers touched her throat, “she’s still alive, get her sewn up.”
He touched her hair and kept his hand over hers. “Yes we will be the very best of friends,” he murmured the memory from so long ago crisp and clear in his never aging memory, she couldn’t die on him.. She just couldn’t!