A harsh winter

Celeste ~

Pain ripped through my abdomen, making me writhe about in blinding agony until everything just felt numb.

Then, my mind started spiraling in, collapsing into a fierce wave of emotions. The swirling storm of memories roared and as each second passed, the storm raged more violently until I finally blanked out. By then, none of my memories made any sense, and I could no longer feel my soul. I felt empty, alone, lost - something so important to my being was gone.

The unrestrained wailing of a newborn child began to resonate inside the awfully blue canyon. I looked down below me to find a bloody mess, in which there laid a baby. Taking heavy breaths, I tentatively cradled her in my arms, afraid my shaky arms would betray me at any moment. I ran my hand across her back, whispering in a soft voice, "Your name will be Evelynn", as her features relaxed and the crying stopped.

A heavily armed soldier appeared at the other end of the alley, and they swiftly advanced towards me. I opened my mouth to speak, but the latter beat me to it.

"Your Highness, the kingdom of Hydra is under a terrible raid and our chances of defeating the enemy troops are growing dire. May I escort Your Honour to a safer area?"

Just before I was about to nod, I heard some thuds from behind. I turned to see another soldier arrive.

"She is coming with me."

With a wave of his hands, a trail of blue mist followed, illuminating the otherwise fathomless pit of despair. A flash of white evaded my vision, causing a momentary headache as I lost my conscience and the last thing I knew was I had been floating somewhere between heaven and earth.

A crisp wintery breeze brushed against my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I blinked everything back into focus as my pupils constricted to adjust to the brighter lighting conditions, capturing sight of a slim young man with porcelain skin and chocolate brown hair slumped on the ground with unkempt hair. His watery eyes were emerald in colour, glistening with unmasked emotions, and they were slightly red at the sides.

Then the scene panned out, revealing the hazy white environment in which he lay. Powdery white stuff drizzled from the grey sky, occasionally accelerated by the chilly breeze. The fragile brunette was sprinkled with the white flakes, and a bright scarlett painted his shirt. My eyes widened as realisation dawned upon me. I tore my gaze from the crimson seeping through his clothes at his chest. And at that moment, a tear trickled down my cheek, splattering to the whiteness beneath.

"Crossbreeding is a high act of treason, Your Majesty. Humans are not meant to be involved in our world in any way, so we must rid our kingdom of such entities-"

I cut him off despite my faltering voice, "We need to save this man. I don't understand all this..."

"Your Majesty, our army was unable to track the leader of the raid, but we have discovered that they only wanted one man. Your husband, to be precise."

"Couldn't you have informed me of this earlier?" I exasperated breathlessly, as another involuntary streak of warm liquid slid down my cheek. I felt my heart beat erratically with an instinctive urge to save the man now known to be my child's father, and my former lover.

But then, my palms became warmer, and when I lowered my gaze to my hands, I saw them radiating the same blue light the soldier before me had wielded to teleport me here. It was a strange feeling, like energy flowing from my torso into my hands.

I shifted my line of sight back to the injured man who was slumped over on his stomach. Although his eyelids were now shut, his features were still breathtaking. His chocolate coloured hair instantly reminded me of Evelynn.

"Where is my daughter?" I hastily asked, as worry suddenly crept upon me.

"She is this human's offspring, we must kill her, Your Majesty." He answered monotonously.

"P-please...let my child live. She has a whole future ahead of her, she can't possibly die for being what she is." My eyes searched frantically for any conflicted emotions in the man I had supposedly trusted, but all was in vain.

"I'd rather die with her than suffer a life knowing that I could..." I inhaled a sharp breath and started again, "I could have tried something." I collapsed on my knees and clasped my hands in front of him. "Please sir, this is all I ask of you."

"I do not like this." He said apathetically, and just before all my hopes vanished, I saw something that looked like heaven to me.

In the shimmering blues, Evelynn appeared in the soldier's arms. He motioned for me to come forward, and when I did, he handed me the most precious being in the world. Then he disappeared in his mist of blue sparkles, leaving me staring into the whiteness behind where he had once stood.

I broke out of my hazy trance and quickly but carefully made my way to the man on the ground. I felt his wrist for a pulse, but there wasn't any. I shuddered with fear of this humble man being dead, but shook my head defiantly. I refused to believe he had succumbed to death - if he had, Evelynn would miss out on his fatherhood.

Once again, the nostalgic flow of energy coursed through my veins towards my palms. I laid my hands softly onto the man's chest, and as if on cue, I could make out a faint glow at my fingertips. Please work, please heal...I chanted desperately as beads of sweat began to form at my temples. I continued letting the magic pour from my core to his, hoping he would breathe again. I couldn't recall seeing him before, but I felt obliged to save him. Just because someone had so mercilessly wiped my most beloved memories didn't mean I wouldn't innately love him anymore.

I glanced down at Evelynn who eased in a foetal position in my arms. She had fallen asleep and was breathing peacefully, completely concealing her cruel fate from unbestowing eyes. Her adorable little face was adorned with wet tears but they brought a somewhat heightening effect to her unparalled beauty.

"Mother will always love you, no matter what the others say about you, Evelynn." I quietly whispered.

I widened my eyes in horror as I noticed that my wrist was becoming slightly purple and a little numb. Had I used up all of my magic? I tried to cast the energy out of my fingers again but all was in vain. I glanced back at the man beneath me and saw no change in his restless expression. There was still no rising and falling at his chest...was it really too late?

I started to feel an overwhelming surge of weariness overtake me as my vision started to blur. The vast expanse of whiteness ahead somehow made me begin to feel claustrophobic. I felt as though the whiteness were coming in on me, but my ears detected no avalanche rumbles. The pounding in my chest was all I could hear and I couldn't tell whether my heart was trying to leap out of me. It began to hurt like it really was tearing me apart again. If my lungs had collapsed from my panic attack, I wouldn't really mind since all I wanted was for the pain to stop. A strangled cry escaped my lips as my head crashed towards the ground.