Rose of Anarchy


The sun was high and bright as birds chirped though the swaying trees and wind danced lively across a grassy field. It sang as it rushed by, ruffling a girl's bouncy golden curls. She attempted to hold onto the shining locks as they whipped in her face. She bit her ruby lips in frustration and continued to trek down the dusty path to familiar blue-painted cottage, intent on getting there before it blew her white ribbons away.

When she reached the door, she gave a soft knock and smiled as it opened. A bright boyish face and warm blue eyes greeted her, whom she immediately threw her arms around. "Nathaniel!" She cried out in greeting to her dear brother. Nathaniel chuckled and hugged her in return. "Rosemary! I'm glad you had a safe trip! I want you to meet Alyssa!"

They went inside and Rosemary hung up her white lace sweater on the hook, before her brother led her into his comfy, well-furnished living room. A beautiful woman with long red hair and honey eyes got up from a chair to greet her. "Alyssa, this is Rosemary!"

Rosemary gave her a curtsey, and Alyssa smiled giving her hand to shake, resting her other on her swollen belly. "I've wanted to meet you for a while now. It's wonderful you could come down for the shower." Her voice was elegant and sophisticated with her British accent.

Rosemary shook it. "It's wonderful you could come back with Nathaniel to America." Alyssa continued to smile, but her eyes seemed slightly downcast. "Indeed. I do miss Wales quite a bit, though."

Nathaniel put his hand on her arm reassuringly. "This summer, we are going back for a couple months to visit." Alyssa nodded, resting her hand over his own. They stayed like that for a moment, and Rosemary remained quiet not wanting to interrupt their moment. Then after a bit they broke away and Alyssa took Rosemary's hands in her own.

"I am happy here though, I really am. It was the right decision to marry Nathaniel, and now I am going to be mother to a beautiful little girl."

Rosemary gave Alyssa's hands a squeeze. "It's so wonderful. Have you picked out a name?"

Nathaniel chuckled. "Not yet. We were thinking Scarlet, or something like Evangeline."

"Only Scarlet if she has my red hair, though." Alyssa joked.

The three continued chatting, until the sun started to set, and then they got in Nathaniel's car since it was time for them to head to the diner for dinner. Rosemary tipped her head to look out the window, looking out at the sparkling water and the drove by the large lake on the way to entering the small town. "It's such a beautiful place you found out here in the country, I don't think I'll ever get over it."

"There are some houses for rent at a pretty good price right on the lake, if you are interested in moving up here yourself. it would be closer to us." Nathaniel said, glancing back at her hopefully from the front.

Rosemary shook her head apologetically. "Sorry, this is just too far out. I need to be close to my College when the semester starts."

"You got accepted? Wonderful!" Her brother said, and Alyssa nodded in agreement. Rosemary gave them a nod, but she felt more anxious than anything else. She had chosen fashion design as her major, something her family viewed as risky. Nathaniel had gone to college for ecology, which was the reason he had been living out this far for a while.

"Hey, what's that on the side of the lake?" Alyssa asked. Nathaniel frowned turning his eyes to it, and Rosemary craned her neck to look, her eyes widening.

he stopped the car as they approached it. "What the heck? How strange, that looks like-" "A whale!" Alyssa gasped.

"No it cant be, a whale couldn't move in this lake. It's too shallow, and how could someone put it here?"

"That's a whale, Nate. You know it." Alyssa said seriously. Nathaniel parked and bounced out of his car, rushing over to the shore. Rosemary got out as well, and stepped with her white dress-shoes through the mud and reeds, approaching it. Alyssa too got out, taking careful steps.

Nathaniel got up close to it, kneeling to inspecting it. "No surprise, it's dead." The whale was huge, it's body marred with slashes. "Someone brutalized it before it died." Nathaniel stated. His voice was quiet, yet full of vehement. "They obviously left it here to be seen. What sick point were they trying to prove?"

Alyssa looked away, her hand cupping her mouth, while Rosemary stared at it's wide-eyes. "There is some sort of blue liquid leaking out of it's abdomen." She said straightforwardly, her body clenched with horror.

Nathaniel cursed under his breath. "Utterly sick. Did they experiment on it?" He got up from the shore, stalking back to his car. "there isn't reception out here, we need to drive closer to town and call the authorities."

"Wait, Nathaniel, the blue liquid is glowing!" Rosemary shouted. "Don't touch it, we don't know what chemical that is." Nathaniel shouted.

Rosemary nodded, and she back up a step only to have her foot press something into the mud. She raised her foot an frowned at the strange gear shaped object, reaching down her hand to pick it up. It looked like the gear was carved out of bone, a strange black symbol engraved on it. "Brother, there is also this." She ran through the muck back up to the car, and held it out. Nathaniel cursed again. "This is a whale bone."

"Do you think this can be a clue for tracking down the culprit? Maybe the culprit is an artist that carves this stuff, and they left it behind as a signature mark."

"Possibly." Nathaniel pondered. He turned his head back towards the whale and he gasped. Rosemary whipped her head back around. "It's gone!"

What the hell is happening!" Nathaniel exclaimed, rubbing his temples in shock. Alyssa just blinked and shook her head stunned. "Is it aliens?" She whispered. "No, don't jump to that conclusion." Nathaniel said sternly. "It has to be, Nate! What else?"

"An outsider." Rosemary whispered, her mind feeling far away. Nathaniel and Alyssa both looked back at her. Suddenly she lurched forward, and and she let out a scream of pain as searing heat ripped through her left hand. Light came off of it, as a black mark, not unlike the symbol was burned into her skin.

"Oh my God!" Alyssa cried, and Rosemary, dazed, suddenly felt her brother lifting her up. "Rosemary! Are you alright? This is freaky." His voice was ramped up with confusion and shock.

"I'm fine." She said, her body limp, Nathaniel entirely supporting her weight. She raised her shaky hand and looked at the mark. It looked like a tattoo. "Could it be ...black magic?"

"No!" Nathaniel cried angrily. "It's not aliens, and it's not black magic! There has to be some kind of logic to explain this!" He was trembling all over. Alyssa wrapped her arms around him soothingly.

Rosemary was silently panicking as she felt a strange sensation surge through her body, almost like a charge. it balanced itself out through out her body, and felt like power. The black magic.

"Nathaniel, let go of me, I can stand." She said firmly. She nodded encouragingly, and her brother reluctantly let go of her, and she got to her feet, swaying slightly. She knew something disturbing was happening within her, and she faced him and Alyssa, her face deceptively calm. "Please, step away from me."

"Rosemary." he protested. "I think I'm dangerous. Step away from me." She had never been more serious. "Rosemary, you're not."

"Step away."

He back up, and Rosemary looked down at the mark on her hand, her blue eyes wide as it began to shine again, the light blue. She wrapped her other arm around her body. "Whatever is doing this, whatever is happening, please just stop!"

Suddenly, Rosemary heard them both shriek. "Rosemary! Behind you!" Alyssa screamed.

She felt an immense pull behind her and her body was suddenly hurled around. She faced a gaping, swirling portal, and screamed. The shouts of her brother and Alyssa were the last things she heard as she was sucked through.


So that's the first chapter. The rest of the fic is going to take place in the Dishonored universe.

- Graceful Peony