Chapter 2
Kieran and Rosemarie stayed in each other’s arms, Rosemarie ran her hands through Kieran’s black hair, enjoying his arm wrapped around her, enjoying his warmth.
When Rosemarie first met Kieran, he was a skinny, short, awkward, shy, 14-year-old boy with oil grease over his hands and face, but Rosemarie still fell for him. For his goofy smile and his babbling which ended up with him complimenting her, he fell for the way he blushed around her.
After the war and meeting again after four years, Kieran had gotten a lot taller and gained some muscle, which Rosemarie was not shy about fawning over. She loved her boyfriend then and loves her husband now. Although he had changed a bit, he was still completely in love with her, and she was just as in love with him, if not more.
Kieran brushed the hair out of Rosemarie's face, staring at her blueish-green eyes, which always reminded him of the sea, he could swim all day in them.
Kieran closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss Rosemarie. He was met with her finger, "Ah, ah, ah, I haven't brushed my teeth yet,” she said softly.
"But we just kissed?" Kieran mumbled into her finger.
Rosemarie smiled, “Well, you deserved it then.”
“Do I not deserve it, now?” Kieran chuckled, pulled her hand down, and kissed her palm.
Rosemarie pulled away, smirking, “I'll let you help me put on the dress,” she said in a sing-songy voice as she slipped off Kieran’s robe.
Kieran lit up, “Deal!”
***
Despite Alice agreeing to watch her siblings, she wasn't. Instead, she wrote a letter to the most beautiful, most wonderful, most gorgeous girl in the world, (and her girlfriend,) Aurélie Rosier.
A few moments ago, she was sitting in the lounge, while her siblings watched TV, but they had gotten restless and had accidentally ripped the letter Alice was writing. So, she picked up the pieces and hid away in her room.
Alice had just finished writing her letter and going downstairs to where Icarus XI, a robotic owl, was.
Just in the nick of time too, as Alice turned the corner to enter the lounge, where she saw Julia doing a cartwheel, accidentally kicking and breaking Oscar’s nose.
Oscar yelled, letting out a couple of curses as he pinched his nose, where blood seeped out between his fingers. "Damnit, Julia!" He ran to the kitchen, passing Alice.
"I'm sorry! Oscar, please, I'm sorry!" Julia chased after Oscar.
Alice sighed, walked to Icarus XI, gave him the letter, and opened the window, where he flew away.
"Aren't you going to do something?" Maisie spoke up, glancing at the kitchen, where Oscar was drinking a healing potion.
"No, he's fine, Mousy." Alice leaned against the window, letting the sunshine on her face. "It's a nice day, let's go outside."
The Knights lived in the middle of Ottery St Catchpole forest, a short walk from their Great Uncle and Aunt's house. It was an old-looking house, despite being built around 15 years ago. Kieran had built it, well magic had built it, Kieran had designed it. It was a cottage of sorts, made up of stone, with a blue roof, had a "Wizard tower" as Kieran would put it and every window was a stained one. The tree surrounding the area had engulfed it and vines lived the wall.
Kieran had designed the outside, and Rosemarie decorated the inside.
Maisie sat on Alice's broom, in mid-air, "How do I steer?" She shouted, a slight hint of worry creeping up in her voice as the broom wobbled.
"It's easy!" Alice cupped her hands as a makeshift megaphone. "Just point the broom down to go down, up to go up, and etcetera. To move, lean your body forward! The speed depends on the speed of your own movements, simple really."
"Oh! Simple, sure!"
"It's fine, Mousy! Just try getting down!"
Maisie pointed the broom downwards a bit too quickly, flipping the broom over and falling off it.
Alice quickly moved to catch her little sister, although she didn't need to, as she floated in mid-air, screaming until she realised that she was fine and opened her eyes, which were squeezed shut, and fell into her sister's open arms. "See? I knew you'd be fine!" Alice smiled despite her racing heart. The broom had landed in a tree.
"Are you kidding? I'm never doing that again!" Maisie yelled, squirming away from Alice and crossing her arms. "I hate flying!" She ran off, hiding behind the tree Oscar currently sat in. He jumped off the branch, sitting next to her and calming her down.
Alice covered her face with her hands, leaning back and groaning. "Why am I so bad at this?"
Julia interpreted her train of thought, by giving her a rock that she had found, "Thanks, Julia." Alice smiled at the rock and ruffled Julia's dark red hair.
"You're welcome, can I have a turn now?" Julia grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Like her dad, Julia had a tooth gap between her front teeth.
Alice pinched Julia's cheeks like a grandma would. "You are so cute! Of course, let's go get my broom and hope it's not broken."
Alice's broom wasn't too far, and she managed to get her broom out of the tree, examining it for any cracks. Then a blood-curdling scream pierced through the woods, followed by thuds and the sound of glass shattering.
“What was that?” Maisie’s voice quivered, her brows furrowed, eyes wide, and lips quivering. She cradled her hand while walking to Alice.
Oscar's blood ran cold, and the dread sank in, making a home in his gut, his heart was beating so fast, it was all he could hear. “That sounds like…”
“Mum.” Alice finished and just as she did, a blur of red passed her, and where Julia once stood was now missing one little girl. Julia had taken off running, “Julia!” Alice yelled.
As Julia ran towards the house, a shiver ran down her spine, and tears were streaming down her cheek, but she didn’t care and didn’t know why she was running towards the danger, but all she knew was that she needed to see her mum.
Alice chased after Julia, cursing under her breath, and Oscar and Maisie followed, and the forest was quiet, the only thing that could be heard was their hurried footsteps on the grass and their breaths. The noises had stopped.
Julia reached the door and swung the door open with a loud crack. She thought she might’ve broken it, but she didn’t dare check, instead searching for Rosemarie.
Which was easy since sobs were coming from the kitchen.
Her siblings all rushed inside, “Julia!” Alice panted, and placed her hand on Juliette’s shoulder, “That was so stupid...” Alice’s voice petered out as she walked into the kitchen. “Fuck...”
Everyone froze once they saw the blood, and the sight that followed took their breath away.
Rosemarie was breathing rapidly but still stood up, grabbing the counter to pull herself up, and groaned as she did so, "Don’t look!" Rosemarie cried out. Her wedding dress was cut up and stained with blood. Their mother was pale and her lips looked a bit blue. Her body was littered with many stabbed wounds but the most severe was the one over her heart. Rosemarie had stuffed a hand towel in the gash and clenched her chest.
There was so much blood. Alice could almost see herself in the liquid. The blood seeped out as if it was trying to reach out to Alice, to grab her, to haunt her. Alice’s eyes widened in shock and horror, tears slowly forming. She felt like screaming but nothing could come out.
Oscar yelped when he entered and slapped his hands over his mouth in disbelief. He backed away, running upstairs, yelling and searching for his dad. Each yell became increasingly desperate.
Maisie screamed “No” over and over again. Her eyes were wide and couldn’t stay still, moving constantly unable but trying to take everything in. She glanced at the blood on the floor, at the bloody handprint that stained the counter, at her mother, and her wounds.
Julia sobbed loudly, and the sobs were so violent, that her body jerked. Julia turned to Alice, holding onto her leg as she continued to cry.
Most of the gashes were on her chest, abdomen, and even her back. She was bleeding out, and rapidly in most spots.
"Kieran's gone!" Rosemarie sobbed, doubling over. Alice moved to help Rosemarie, her movements were slow and careful, but her body was shaking like crazy.
“Trouvez-le, trouvez mon amour, s'il vous plaît! Je prie pour qu'il soit en vie. Je l'aime tellement, je ne veux pas le quitter! Je ne le quitterai pas! Pourquoi nous a-t-elle fait ça? Je la déteste!” Rosemarie rambled, she spoke in a single breath and slurred her words so much that not even her children could understand what she was saying.
Alice reached over and filled a glass with water, “Here, Mom, you look parched.” Alice pressed the glass to Rosemarie’s lips and tilted it slightly. She noted that her mother's skin was clammy.
Rosemarie weakly grabbed the glass and drank desperately, her other hand still clenching her chest.
“Apply pressure to her wounds!” Oscar yelled, slightly stumbling over his words. He rushed to Rosemarie’s side, standing on her left. Oscar’s hands trembled as he grabbed another towel and covered a wound that was over her lung.
Alice didn’t know how Oscar knew to apply pressure nor how she’d forgotten, but she did know that she didn’t have time to beat herself up about it, instead, she did as she was told, and applied pressure to a wound that was over her kidney. "Maman, who did this to you?"
Rosemarie stared blankly at Alice, "Qu'est-ce que c'est? Répète, je n'ai pas compris."
Alice was taken aback, while Rosemarie was born in France, and spoke French, she also spoke perfect English, despite her accent and forgetting a few words here and there, but forgetting basic English was unlike her. "Maman, qui t'a fait ça?" Alice repeated her question.
Rosemarie opened her mouth to speak, but instead, she gazed blankly through the kitchen window, Alice tilted her head, to try and see what her mother was looking at, but all she saw were trees.
Rosemarie closes her eyes, "Il se trouve dans une forêt qu'il ne connaît pas. Je ne peux pas parler longtemps, je vois que ma fin approche. Je t'aime Alice, je vous aime tous, mes chéris. J'aimerais être votre maman pour toujours ou au moins pour un peu plus longtemps. Souvenez-vous de mes prochains mots," Rosemarie took a shaky but deep breath, although that seemed to have caused her more pain.
"A child who is graced with the magic of the phoenix will meet a Grave, and they will have to sacrifice to save. Houses must be on one side, worlds will collide. Unite, or we will lose a great fight." Rosemarie's voice echoed, and she spoke calmly and clearly even though Rosemarie was struggling to speak just a moment ago, but the strangest thing was, that Alice couldn't tell if Rosemarie's words were English or French. It was like the words, or rather, the intent of her words were inscribed into Alice's mind.
Alice had let go of Rosemarie, which Oscar thought was a stupid decision, "What are you doing?"
"This is important, I have to write it down before I forget." Alice searched for a piece of paper and a pen, which she found in the junk drawer. She rushed to write down what her mother had said on an envelope.
"Are you mad? More important than keeping Mum alive?" Oscar said in a way that made him sound mad, in both ways.
Alice hesitated, and she looked up at Oscar then at Rosemarie, who was hunched over the kitchen sink, "No, of course not! It's just that...I don't know, Mum said..."
"Mum is one minute away from losing her mind, she doesn't know what she's talking about!"
"And I'm about to lose mine if you don't shut up!" Alice’s head throbbed as she yelled.
"STOP!" Screamed Maisie, who moved to hug Rosemarie, "I love you, maman. I'm sorry."
Julia followed suit, crying into Rosemarie's blood-stained wedding dress. It was a goodbye cry.
"It's...it's not, don't...why? Mon ange, don't be sorry." Rosemarie's knees buckled, and she reached up. All of Rosemarie’s children hugged Rosemarie, hugging each other in the process.
Rosemarie was ice-cold.
Alice was starting to tear up again, she didn't notice that they had stopped until they started forming again. If Alice had to guess, it was probably when Oscar told her to apply pressure to Rosemarie's wounds. When she was determined to hold onto Rosemarie for as long as she could, when Oscar had given her hope, hope that their mother would survive, hope that Alice had thrown into the abyss.
Alice sobbed loudly and hugged Rosemarie, which, also meant that Juliette was squished in between her older sister and her mother. "I'm so sorry, maman! This is all my fault. It's my fault I couldn't hang on longer! I'm so, so, so sorry!" Alice blabbed, hiding her face in the crook of Rosemarie's neck.
"It's not...your fault, I can't..." Rosemarie said weakly, her eyes kept shutting and opening again, but it was a losing battle. "Find Kieran, please." Rosemarie’s chest rose one last time, before letting out her final breath. Her body leaned back onto the cabinet; her arms fell from the embrace and she lay lifeless.
"Is she..." Maisie spoke up.
Alice’s breath hitched as she tried to stop herself from sobbing. "I don't know if she's unconscious or..." Alice pulled away, pressing her fingers against Rosemarie's neck, where she noticed a bite mark. Alice pulled her hand away, sighing. "I don't know what I'm doing."
Oscar pressed his middle and index fingers to the side of Rosemarie's neck, below her jaw. His fingers jumped around and kept pressing harder and harder, so much that Alice thought he was going to bruise her skin, so she pulled his hand away. "That's enough, Oscar," she said softly.
Oscar sobbed, taking a sharp breath before doubling over, clutching his stomach, "I can't feel it! I can't feel her pulse! She's...she's gone!" Oscar scratched his arms.
Alice pulled Oscar into a hug, and Oscar hugged her tightly and all of a sudden, the world felt dark and cold.