Chapter 1: Blood
'Blood–everywhere.'
'Not again–please not again.'
The scarlet liquid ran red out of Alexis's thin veins and dripped onto the tiled floor below him, staining the innocent bright white a deathly crimson. Everything was covered in his blood, everything. The warm liquid flowed out of the small cut on his wrist and down his arm onto his sleeve that was already soaked.
'This sickness–stop it now–please–someone–anyone––stop–it.'
His breaths came out in a short, rapid quickness, his bright blue eyes widened and in a dream-like state. His chest hurt, seeming to collapse on itself. His bloody hand was drenched in scarlet that was clutched to his chest, attempting to control his pounding heart. Blood seeped into his white gown and made it cling to his skin. He seemed to be drowning in his own bodily liquid. Why him? Why now of all times?
'Please–stop–please.'
Alexis fell to his knees, holding his wrist, blood gushing through the small cracks in his fingers. It was all an accident, just another accident. Such a small cut had placed itself into his wrist, but oh how dire it was for him.
It didn't event hurt anymore. His pain was in his heart. This sickness–it did this to him–it made him have to stop–again.
Alexis's hand reached out again, but this time it was reaching for a small white piece of plastic and metal lying on the floor, also soaked in his own blood. His Beyblade was his life–or worse yet–what could make him loose his life. It was all that mattered to him though–and he would gladly give his life for it. Blading was all he had to get by. But something stood in his way.
His hemophilia.
His disease.
His—'special condition'.
Alexis finally gripped the small blade and he held it close to him.
'I'm sorry–Wolkig–so–sorry.'
The blade itself was a bright white with blue spots of sapphire dusting its surface, the edges shaped into claw-like forms dipped in shades of blue, and the attack ring was curved with sleek outcropping spikes. The center held a small Bit chip that contained Alexis's only friend–Wolkig–his Cloud Leopard Bitbeast. The large cat was a pure white with blueish purple spots covering it. Silver bangles covered its tail and paws where large threatening claws protruded from its paws along with the long white fangs in its mouth. Big blue and purple wings sprouted from its back and most of its body was covered in a white satiny cloth. So small the Bit chip was–yet so much power it contained, just like the cut embedded into his wrist, the curse placed upon him.
Alexis stared at his Bitbeast with sorry eyes. Sometimes it seemed like he didn't have anywhere near the ability wield to power of Wolkig. He knew he didn't have the right.
He wasn't a normal child, like most sixteen-year-olds. He was Alexis Romanov–a royal–the heir to the Romanov dynasty. He was the last of his people–other than his father–who hadn't been killed in Russia so many years ago in the Romanov Massacre. When he turned eighteen, he would follow his father's footsteps and become the leader of Russia. His family had a secret though, they were all hemophiliacs. Most of his family had died from that, and all the others were killed in the massacre–along with his mother, Reina.
'Mother—'
He gripped his blade tighter, knowing this was all a shattered dream of his. He would just fail and end up drenched in blood and sadness. This was all a curse, a wretched curse placed upon him. He knew the curse of hemophilia was a bad omen in itself because he had obtained Wolkig the day he found out he had hemophilia, the day the massacre occurred.
He remembered when he was only two or three, the incident had happened.
It was raining that day, hard. Lightning scattered the sky and thunder resounded throughout the castle's courtyard. He was staring out his window, watching the rain splatter against it. He saw some boys playing in the rain. They ran around in little circles and splashed in puddles. He wish he knew what it felt like to play with other people.
He had never been outside the castle's gray walls.
And he didn't know why.
He turned from his looking place by the window to see his mother. She was a beautiful woman with long blond hair that was pulled up into a bun. She wore a long sparkling lacy light blue dress that swayed back and forth as she walked nearer to him. He was the spitting image of his mother. He had her blond hair, big blue eyes, and her loving determination.
'Momma, why can't I play outside with the other boys?' he asked.
Her bright blue eyes flickered with a hint of sadness. She told him, 'Because you're special. You have a 'special condition' called hemophilia. It means that your blood is different than everyone else's. When you get even a little bitty scratch, you can loose all the blood in your body and die, and I would never want that to happen.'
Salty tears poured from his eyes in light of this.
It hit him then, for the first time, and it stung.
He would never be normal.
'It-it's not fair!' he screamed, 'why me-why!'
He turned his back on his mother, and started to run up to his room. His small feet raced up the marble steps until he missed a step, and came crashing onto its edge. He reached his hand out, and it was pierced by something sharp. A white-hot pain raced through Alexis as he screamed.
'Alexis, dear, are you alright?' He heard his mother call. She ran to where he was and saw him lying on the steps, holding his hand, 'Alexis, no! Are you bleeding, anywhere at all?'
He quickly got up, and saw that blood was gushing out of the center of his hand form where he had hit the pointed edge of the marble. He stared up at his mother.
'No! Your hand, it's bleeding! Quickly, you need to come with me!' she cried.
'You're special dear...'
'You have a special condition...'
'Hemophilia...'
Alexis looked right into his mother's eyes and shouted: 'No!'
'But Alexis, you may die!' She pleaded with the boy.
'I–I don't believe you!' he shouted and took off–somewhere––anywhere—nowhere—it didn't matter—just away from his mother and her lies about his 'special condition.'
'Alexis, come back!'
He ran as far as he could; the blood was dripping on the floor now, gushing through his fingers.
He reached a dark room and shut the door. He stopped and put his ear to the door to hear if his mother was still there. He didn't hear anything. He lightly opened the door to see no one around. He noticed he blood trail he had made and started to follow it. Maybe–maybe she was right–no–she was wrong–he would be normal.
Just like everyone else.
He suddenly heard a noise. It was the sound of an opening door. He peeked out from behind the wall he had ducked behind.
'Mother?' He said as he started to walk out form behind the wall.
But it wasn't his mother at all.
It was the Imperial Soldiers.
Coming to kill his family–his mother–and him.
He looked to see his mother in the main room with six or seven men running after her. The men were very unfriendly-looking. The wore green uniforms with black shiny boots. They had guns–and knives with them.
'Alexis, there's no time, run!' She shouted to him as she was backed into a corner.
'Mommy, NO!' He shouted as he saw one of the men pull his knife out of its sheath.
He turned away.
A murderous scream was heard throughout the mansion–his mother's scream.
He looked back and saw it–
Blood.
He couldn't take it anymore––no more blood—no more.
'No more!' he shouted as he saw the men face him.
Before they could move–he ran. He didn't stop until he was back to where he was hiding before, the dark room.
He reached around the dark room for weapon–any kind of weapon.
He suddenly found something–a Beyblade.
'A blade.' he said in wonder. Suddenly, lightning crashed outside the window and a bright light started to engulf the room.
Alexis closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the room was fully lit for a few moments, and better yet–he could see his blade.
'Wow.' he said in wonder, looking at the white and blue blade with a Cloud Leopard in the center.
Suddenly, the door was being slammed on by the men.
Alexis gasped and looked around the room. He saw something glint in the corner. A blue and white launcher. He grabbed it and attached his blade to it, and waited for the guards.
The door was broken down, the guards came in, and he launched his blade.
It started to glow a bright white.
'No more blood, NO MORE!' he shouted.
Suddenly, he saw it– the Bitbeast Wolkig. It looked so powerful–power which he didn't have before. He narrowed his eyes. He'd make them pay for what they had done to his mother.
'Make them pay, make them ALL pay!' he shouted as Wolkig's eyes turned a bright blue, reading the command—the command to kill.
The entire room turned white, and Alexis felt lightheaded.
He stared down at his bleeding hand.
'You were right mommy, I'm sorry.' he said.
He felt something drench him, blood–the soldier's blood. Darkness clouded his vision.
He saw the blade had stopped and he picked it up in his hand.
'Thank you, whoever you are.' He said.
Then he head something so faint, less than a whisper, yet louder than a yell, so powerful, yet so humble. A voice breathed a word into his ear:
'Wolkig.'
'Thank you–Wolkig.'
Alexis fell to the ground as his eyes closed and he could feel nothing more.
Hope ya liked it! R&R please!