left the priory grounds all together, I had one last stop to make. Outside the sanctuary gate I turned left toward the priory memorial grounds. It was a three block walk past the priory capital buildings and up a gently winding road. The memorial grounds had been built facing the city below. It was monotonous walking there when I could easily fly, but the walk was a needed refuge for my mind to think and reflect on the impossible prophecy before me.
Snowflakes began to build on the sleeves of my wool coat. I kept my eyes on my black shoes, watching as snowflakes hit the cobbled street, melting immediately into the stones. I don’t know why I did this to myself when I could just as easily see Jane in the In-between, even if I couldn’t touch her. Perhaps that was the reason. Visiting her body allowed me the chance to see her as I did before, touch her skin if just for a moment, and pretend she was still here.
I arrived at the memorial grounds and another Element pixie waved me through the gate. One of his eyes was silver, the other still a fall-like amber. I approached the main pergola where Jane’s body lay among a handful of others in her same state. priory alchemists had given her a vampire potion which kept the shell of her body in suspended animation. She was placed on a carved stone pedestal among the others. Under the pergola, she was protected from the snow and rain but still exposed to the nature that surrounded her. Under the eaves, guards stood as still as the bodies they watched.
Typically, such attention was only reserved for the royal and prominent members of the priory. It was a preservation process they chose much like the Egyptians of long ago. In fact, that was where the practice was first derived. Many believed that if their earthy body could be saved, these great leaders would one day find a way to return to a life left too soon.
I arrived at Jane’s side, watching her as though she was sleeping—I wished that were the case. A part of me expected to see her wake as I’d seen her do a hundred times before. I brushed a piece of hair from her face which had been misplaced by the wind. Keeping her body in the cold weather helped the potion work. During summer months, the pergola would be enclosed in a permanent winter the Element pixie’s would provide.
I wanted so badly to kiss her, but it was not allowed. Even the touch I laid upon her skin was frowned upon. Already I sensed the added level of awareness amongst the guards around me, each appearing to stand a little bit taller, ready to intervene should I try to touch her again.
She looked so cold, her face scratched from the rocks where she fell. They were wounds that would never heal unless her soul and life was returned to her body. Luckily for me, Her soul lingered along the shoreline in the Ever After where I could visit her, but her life . . . who knows where that had gone by now. Finding it would seem an impossible task.
I stopped myself, hearing Gen’s voice in my head. She had warned me not to waste too much time on Jane. It shouldn’t be my focus at the moment. I allowed myself another minute to bask in the idea of Jane before I turned my back on her and left the pergola. I had soaked up enough memory and love to last me the three weeks I needed to convert Avery. I held this love in my nearly dead heart like an ember waiting to burst into flame. I could use this as a tool if I needed. That brought me comfort and just enough drive to move forward.
EMILY:
I’d locked myself in the bathroom the next morning, urging myself to make the necessary steps to get ready for school. I had been allowed to skip the last two weeks for understandable reasons. I had to admit it felt good to leave that place behind for a while, but there was no way Mother would let me get out of it forever. I feared what memories going back would resurface. Would I be able to handle it without the means I used before?
I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
Snowflakes began to build on the sleeves of my wool coat. I kept my eyes on my black shoes, watching as snowflakes hit the cobbled street, melting immediately into the stones. I don’t know why I did this to myself when I could just as easily see Jane in the In-between, even if I couldn’t touch her. Perhaps that was the reason. Visiting her body allowed me the chance to see her as I did before, touch her skin if just for a moment, and pretend she was still here.
I arrived at the memorial grounds and another Element pixie waved me through the gate. One of his eyes was silver, the other still a fall-like amber. I approached the main pergola where Jane’s body lay among a handful of others in her same state. priory alchemists had given her a vampire potion which kept the shell of her body in suspended animation. She was placed on a carved stone pedestal among the others. Under the pergola, she was protected from the snow and rain but still exposed to the nature that surrounded her. Under the eaves, guards stood as still as the bodies they watched.
Typically, such attention was only reserved for the royal and prominent members of the priory. It was a preservation process they chose much like the Egyptians of long ago. In fact, that was where the practice was first derived. Many believed that if their earthy body could be saved, these great leaders would one day find a way to return to a life left too soon.
I arrived at Jane’s side, watching her as though she was sleeping—I wished that were the case. A part of me expected to see her wake as I’d seen her do a hundred times before. I brushed a piece of hair from her face which had been misplaced by the wind. Keeping her body in the cold weather helped the potion work. During summer months, the pergola would be enclosed in a permanent winter the Element pixie’s would provide.
I wanted so badly to kiss her, but it was not allowed. Even the touch I laid upon her skin was frowned upon. Already I sensed the added level of awareness amongst the guards around me, each appearing to stand a little bit taller, ready to intervene should I try to touch her again.
She looked so cold, her face scratched from the rocks where she fell. They were wounds that would never heal unless her soul and life was returned to her body. Luckily for me, Her soul lingered along the shoreline in the Ever After where I could visit her, but her life . . . who knows where that had gone by now. Finding it would seem an impossible task.
I stopped myself, hearing Gen’s voice in my head. She had warned me not to waste too much time on Jane. It shouldn’t be my focus at the moment. I allowed myself another minute to bask in the idea of Jane before I turned my back on her and left the pergola. I had soaked up enough memory and love to last me the three weeks I needed to convert Avery. I held this love in my nearly dead heart like an ember waiting to burst into flame. I could use this as a tool if I needed. That brought me comfort and just enough drive to move forward.
EMILY:
I’d locked myself in the bathroom the next morning, urging myself to make the necessary steps to get ready for school. I had been allowed to skip the last two weeks for understandable reasons. I had to admit it felt good to leave that place behind for a while, but there was no way Mother would let me get out of it forever. I feared what memories going back would resurface. Would I be able to handle it without the means I used before?
I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
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