Life For A Life

Genève slowly opened her eyes. Her head pounded, and the slight movement was excruciating. She quickly shut her eyes again. Trying to regain her composure, she remained still, and concentrated on breathing in and out.

She had no short-term memory. She didn't even know where she was. As she struggled to maintain focus and stay awake, Genève realized she was not alone.

She took a breath and tried again to open her eyes, focusing all her strength on seeing through the fog, clouding her vision. When the other person came into view, she relaxed. It was her Aunt Adonis, so she must be at home.

As her surroundings became clearer, Genève became increasingly panicked. She recognized Talon's living room, and the reality of the situation smacked her in the face. Those poor little boys. She opened her mouth to scream again, but Adonis walked over to grab her hand.

“Hush, my child. There was nothing to be done. You mustn’t fall apart.”

Genève looked into her aunt's eyes and cried, “Mustn’t fall apart? First, I suffered the loss of my father, and now I’ve suffered from losing the best part of myself. Every man I have ever loved is gone. I will never be whole again.

Yet you stand there with nothing lost and ask me not to slip into pieces? How could this have even happened? I do not understand. They were all fine when I left them.”

Adonis took a step back, and Genève could not help but notice that she appeared nervous. A thought occurred to her.

“Aunt Adonis, not to appear ungrateful, but why are you here?”

“I have a terrible tale to tell you, and it is certain to break your heart. I have to know that you are strong enough to hear it,” Adonis said, looking Genève directly in her eyes.

Genève straightened her back and returned her aunt's stare. “I am as steady as I will ever be. I give you a fair warning, though. If you had anything to do with this family’s death, I will end your life.”

Her aunt shook her head and replied, “I did not, but I know who did. If you think about it, you will recognize who it was.”

Genève’s back stiffened, and she could feel the anger boiling in her veins. “Are you telling me that this was the work of my mother? Why would she do this? How did she do it?”

Adonis began pacing backward and forward, choosing her words carefully. “I am sure that you are aware of the fact that certain flowers are deadly to most sidhe. It's one of the few things that can kill us.”

“Yes, yes, we have been told that since infancy. What is your point?” Genève asked impatiently.

Adonis took a breath and gave Genève a meaningful look. “Your mother and I come from an ancient bloodline that has never been tainted with the blood of a lesser lineage. It is an extensive process to marry into our clan."

"One must not only be born into the right family, but they must also complete a medical screening, at which time blood is taken and examined for compatibility. Our bloodline enjoys the benefit of being immune to poison. This is the one thing that is scrutinized when the blood is drawn."

“We are not allowed to have children with bloodlines that dilute this favor in our blood. Your mother has always been stubborn and refused to get the analysis performed when she started a relationship with your father. Before our parents could force her hand, she was already pregnant."

It was too late to do anything about it, so the test was never discussed again. If it turned out your blood was tainted, they would have stigmatized you in the community, and that would have been unacceptable."

"So, our parents arranged for it to appear like your father had the necessary testing done, but we never found out whether you carried the immunity.”

Genève looked at her aunt with a confused expression on her face. “This is fascinating information, but what does it have yo do with, what is going on here?”

Adonis watched as the look on Genève’s face changed from confusion to realization to horror. Genève thought about her mother’s sudden interest in helping her that afternoon.

She remembered becoming restless, and anoyed, at the amount of time it took Oleander to go into her chamber to pick up the ground amber. She was suddenly sick to her stomach. Before she could move, Adonis came close and wrapped Genève in her arms.

“I saw the empty jar of ground oleander in her suite, and I realized right away, what she had planned. I got here as quickly as I could, but it was too late.”

Genève's face was filled with horror, her voice tinged with sadness. “She poisoned them not knowing whether I would live or die . She has never loved me. I have always known that, I just never wanted to admit it. What will happen to Talon's soul? I know when we lose our lives, in Anwyn, we either become gods or demons, but what happens if we pass away, in the human realm?”

Adonis ran her fingers through Genève’s hair, trying to comfort her. “His spirit will go to the world of dreams, the place where humans wait for all the pieces of their lifeforce to reunite, before they are reborn."

"Unfortunately, because he does not have a human soul, he will be stuck there ,waiting, for eternity. Please do not let your guard down. Having mixed blood, you will need to stay on your toes. Just because you are resistant to oleander does not mean you are safe from every poison. Your body definitely reacted to this. it could be worse, next time."

Genève stared at her hands, she noticed little red dots were starting to form, all over them. Compared with the alternative, she was having mild affect. She wondered what it would be like to have a mother who loved her. spending time together, having conversations, showing affection. she imagined it would be wonderful. She would have settled for one that didn't play a role in the deaths of everyone she ever loved, one that didn't try to murder her. As all of this ran through her head, she sobbed, unapologetically, and Adonis waited patiently for her to quiet. She wiped the tears from her own eyes, and looked at her niece.

“You are correct about your mother. She is a ruthless woman without a shred of decency. I think you know, what you must do. She needs to pay for this with her life. I will find you a place where you can begin again, far from here, once you have gotten your vengeance.”

They struck a deal. As her aunt concocted a deadly plot for revenge, Genève shook her head and smiled. Nothing would please her more than ending her mother’s existence.

She stood tall, brushed herself off, and walked purposefully toward the woman who had given her life. Oh, what a pleasure it would be to take hers away.

She grabbed Talon's sword, and rushed home. Her mother opened the door with a smile on her face.

"How could you? Do you even know what you have done."

"Hush my child they were just going to hold you back. Love weakens you. You need to be strong like me."

"What about me, mother? You could have killed me don't you even care?"

"You wouldn't have died we are immune to the poison."

"Except that you weren't sure if I carried the immunity. LIAR!"

She plunge the sword she had been hiding into her mother's stomach.

There was a gurgling sound and blood formed in the corner of her mouth.

"We had the test, when you were five...You're resistant you'll just get sick. Adonis was there she'll tell you, we had the test."

She spoke so softly, she could barely be heard, and then the light extinguished from her eyes. Geneve Panicked

"What did you say? Mother?"

She shook her mother violently.

"Oh no what have I done?"

She began to sob silently. She didn't know what to believe. She told herself her mother still deserved to die.

She would have to decide what too do with Adonis.

"She deserves do die too."