Ch. 5

“Well, I seem to be admitting a lot of things lately, so I’ll just spill the whole story. Yes, I was born here. Fourteen years ago, there was an incident here. My mother was being followed by, yet again, Veripema.

“You see, Veripema was looking for something, and only my mother knew where it was. I can’t tell you what it is yet. It’s too risky. My mother was running away from her. She was in labor with me, which made everything worse.

“My mother hid here. She stayed here for only an hour before Veripema found her. Then they fought. In the middle of the battle, my mother gave birth to me. Veripema, in her first life, was good. She had reincarnated a decade earlier evil. But a small part of her was still good. She stopped the battle, and helped my mother. I bet she’s regretted it ever since.

“I was born here, during a battle, but after I was born, the battle continued. They fought well into the night. I saw it all. I remember it all, too. It was terrible. The pain my mother suffered before she finally died, it was unbearable to watch. But I had no choice. Let me show you exactly what happened. I know how to do that, too.”

Rosemary put her hand on Michael’s temple. Then, images flashed through his mind.

~ * ~ * ~

It was raining. The moon was half hidden by clouds. Two women were standing in the middle of the street. One of them had long black hair. The other had short, dark brown hair with hints that the hair once was curly.

“Margaret, why won’t you just tell me where it is? I’ll make your death much more painless if you do than if you refuse,” said the one with black hair.

“I will never tell you, Veripema! Even if you are my sister!” Margaret yelled. She wavered a little, dizzy from something.

“But why not? Like you said, I’m your sister. We used to tell each other everything. Why won’t you tell me now?” Veripema asked.

“Before you reincarnated, we told each other everything. But after, you turned evil. I can’t tell you anything without you repeating it to the King and Queen, Lord Batwings and Miss Darkness,” replied Margaret, now almost fainting.

“Fine. You leave me no choice,” said Veripema. She turned her arm into a bow and let an arrow sink out of her other arm. She drew back the string, and fired, but not before Margaret withdrew her wings and disappeared.

“She’s gone. She remembers my weakness. I can’t see anything while I’m taking out my bow and arrow. I’ll have to find her,” said Veripema, withdrawing her own wings, which were now black and tattered when they used to be like the wings of an angel.

Margaret wasn’t far ahead. She couldn’t go as fast as she could before. She didn’t tell anyone. She was expecting a baby, but she can change her appearance, and that made her look thinner.

“Don’t worry, my love. We’re almost safe. I go here often, they know me there. But they don’t know my two secrets. We’ll be safe there, for now,” Margaret told her stomach. She flew into an open window, the window of a church, and sit to relax.

But Veripema found her after only an hour. Margaret was almost unconscious when an arrow hit her arm. When it did, she jerked awake from the pain, and ripped the arrow out. She healed herself, using a spell that you can only use once every twenty-four hours. That was her first mistake.

Her second was standing up to fight.

“So, you do want to fight me, Sister, do you?” Veripema slurred.

“Yes. I’ve been ready ever since we reincarnated, and the darkness took you. Even if we are fraternal twins, I’m ready to kill you,” replied Margaret.

“Even if I’m older.”

“Like three minutes will count in a battle like this,” Margaret said. She withdrew her own claws and sword, and got in the battle stance.

“Fine. If you really want to die young.”

“We’re 1,022 years old. A human dies much earlier than us,” Margaret pointed out.

“Can we just get on with this?” Veripema asked.

The third mistake was making the first attack. Margaret took her sword into both hands and ran up towards her sister, swinging the sword, trying to hit Veripema. But Veripema dodged gracefully and took out another arrow.

“I thought you had better aim than that. I guess I was wrong,” said Veripema slyly. She drew back the string and fired. Margaret dodged, and it only hit a very small portion of her hair.

“You don’t have the best aim, either,” Margaret replied.

And the battle continued. They didn’t hit each other at all, they were both good at dodging. That was, until Margaret went into labor.

“Oh!” Margaret yelled. She fell to her knees and held her stomach tightly. She took the spell away, and showed how big her middle really was.

“Margaret! You’re pregnant! Why didn’t you tell me?” Veripema asked.

“I all ready told you. You’re evil, remember?” Margaret shot back.

“Let me help you,” said Veripema. She did some things, it was too quick to tell, 
and once she was done, Margaret was holding a baby girl.

“I’ll name her Bloodrose. But, if she ever wants to hide, and be with the humans, I’ll tell someone to call her Rosemary,” Margaret whispered. She was too weak and too tired to speak any louder.

The fourth mistake was trusting Veripema to let her have her moment. As soon as Margaret finished speaking, Veripema seized the baby and set it down on the opposite side of the room. Then she lifted Margaret and threw her at the wall.

“Sorry about me being nice. I don’t know what came over me. It was something, but don’t worry. It won’t happen again,” said Veripema cruely. She walked over to her sister and the fought again. Margaret wasn’t fairing to good. She was still weak, and had many more injuries than Veripema did.

Then Veripema bashed Margaret’s head and Margaret fell to the ground. Margaret got up right away, and that was the fifth, last mistake. Veripema was 
ready. She had an arrow in her hand, and stuck it straight through Margaret’s heart.

Margaret froze. She couldn’t move. It was too painful. Her eyes went wide, and blood gushed out of her mouth and soaked her clothing.

“Why?” was all Margaret could say.

“I have my reasons, but it’s nothing that would matter to you,” said Veripema. Then she turned, and left her sister to die, slowly and painfully.

Margaret crawled over to the baby. Then she said, “I want to give you something. You need it, and I want you to open it when you’re older. It’s a locket, and it has images of everything that happened tonight. I have a letter, and I’ve all ready told Bodoleck to come and get you. He will be here soon. Don’t worry.”

And then she died. She fell to the ground. Her skin was completely white. The door opened. A nun walked in. She had herad the noise.

“Oh! What happened here?” The nun picked the baby up.

“Please, leave her. I have someone coming to pick her up. She will be fine with him. Her half sister is married to his brother. She will be fine with him. There is nothing you can do for me. Just walk leave now, and come back in the morning,” said Margaret. The nun nodded and stepped back. Then, Margaret died. She fell to the ground. The nun left, as she had been instructed, and a man walked in the window when the door closed.

“Margaret. Veripema won’t live this down. I’ll make sure of it. You wrote me a letter, how thoughtful,” the man said. He picked up the letter and the baby, then left.

Author's Note

I wrote this a few years ago and I haven't edited it since then so please point out any mistakes you see!