Every once in a while I hear a phrase, a song lyric, a line in a book or a show, and I wonder, how did we make it this long before someone thought of that? Like the sentiment of that song - I am so in love with you that I don't even want to sleep, because I can't bear to be away from you.
Also, the line in Katy Perry's song WIDE AWAKE, when she says, "Fallin' from cloud 9 ..." Seriously? So perfect! There is SO much imagery, so much of a story, just in that simple phrase. I love it.
Maybe that's why I'm a writer; little bits of language give me such a thrill.
Prompt: For this week, we'll stick with Armageddon. Write a "good-bye" scene.
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My response:
(This is actually a piece of FanFiction. It's loosely based on the ending of a book by Jennifer A. Nielson, THE SHADOW THRONE. If you're planning on reading her Ascendance Trilogy, do not read this response - it's a spoiler. Go read her books first, then come back. :-)
I had tried so hard to die that, when it was time to fight, I struggled to find the will.
We'd been lured into a trap, which was unusual for Aarek. Usually he saw tricks like that coming, as if he'd read about them in the paper over breakfast. But not this time. We'd made the trip to Redder and back before, and this time seemed no different ... no different until the mountainside next to the road exploded in a spray of dirt and stone.
When I next came to, I could hear Aarek's voice, haughty and arrogant, as always, insulting the traitors. I felt a weight lift off me, and then a voice. "I found her. She's dead."
Aarek's voice cracked and caught in his throat.
Then I heard Harder. I'd only met him once, but his voice was unmistakeable, filled with hatred. I wasn't worried about Aarek. He would find a way to escape. He always did. But I knew, trying to draw breath with a thousand nails in my chest, that he wouldn't leave me behind, and that would be the end of him. So I prayed for death.
Harder must have been amused by the idea of letting Aarek believe I was gone. I willed my lungs to stop moving air, begged my heart to stop beating, even though, with the pain I was in, it was inevitable. But I didn't die. I was in a tent made up for the wounded when I heard the commotion, followed by Harder's angry cursing. Aarek still thought I was dead. He'd escaped and left me behind.
And that meant I had to survive. Aarek would live, as he always did, and so I would to. Two weeks later they took me to Wingsbrook - Aarek's summer palace. If Harder had taken Wingsbrook, things couldn't be going well for Aarek, but at least we weren't in Bardell. That meant Aarek was still fighting.
When they brought Will in, my heart stopped. Harder would have had to defeat Aarek's whole army to get to his little brother. Will looked awful, the right half of his face dark and swollen and blood staining his uniform. He stared at me with wide eyes.
"Annalise? But you're dead ..." Then he smiled and passed out.
Only two days later, they brought another prisoner. Aarek was chained, and two of Harder's largest men had his elbows as he came walking past my cell. He saw me. Our eyes locked. In spite of myself, I smiled. He was here. I was whole.
They threw him in the cell next to mine. Will frowned, then asked what Aarek's plan was to get us all out. Aarek didn't answer him. He just held my gaze, a wistful curve gracing his lips.
Will demanded Aarek's attention, and Aarek turned to him. "Our army has been beaten. Harder's entire army is here at Wingsbrook. Even if we got out of here, they'd have us back an hour after we leave."
He stepped to the bars between our cells, and I mirrored him, lifting my hand to meet his. My fingers touched something cold and hard. I slipped it into my palm, glancing at the guard, who leered at us. Aarek leaned in close.
"When we are gone, they will not need you anymore. You will be able to get away. Tomorrow, when they come for me."
Will couldn't have heard Aarek's whisper, but he read his brother well enough he didn't need to. "You really don't have a plan ..."
Aarek looked down into my eyes. "You have a big day tomorrow, and you're still weak from the wreck. You need your rest."
"I don't need anything as much as I need you ..." I pressed my forehead against the bars. They were too thick and too close together for what I wanted. I could feel a few strands of Aarek's hair tickle my forehead.
We sank to the floor, fingers entwined. Aarek was thin and battered from the long war; he fell asleep first. I sat in the dim light of the jail listening to the sound of his breath, studying his face, stroking his hand. His shirt and pants were speckled with small tears and blood. He had two new wounds on his face, one stitched, the other fresh. His left arm and his ribs were bandaged. Distracted by the business of war, he'd neglected his hair. It hung almost into his eyes. His beard had grown in.
I'd never kissed him with a beard. Now I never would.
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