Heartless

by grey-eyed-goddess

There were twenty-nine heartless things Boq could have done to save Oz from Nessarose, but he only did one heartless thing to doom Oz to a life of wickedness. Second places in Best Angst and Best Bessa at some point in time .

14. Roses

Title: Heartless

Rating:k+

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Roses

The roses against the Eastern wall of the garden had begun growing, and Boq sat outside in the cooling wind to run his fingers across the petals. The scent of fresh earth was still thick in the area even after the last of the rains had carried the last of the scattered dirt away. He slid one hand into the dirt, and underneath his hands he felt the steady heartbeat that had haunted him since he'd planted the roses. He's managed to gather enough bed rolls and blankets to make a small bed among the petals, and in the night he could hear the screaming of the flowers as the thorns gripped at his hands.

"Boq, what are you doing? It's late."

"Nessa, be quiet."

"What?"

Each raindrop that fell onto his face slid across his cheeks and neck to fall onto the earth and mingle in the salty tears that had lured him into sleep. Boq's fingers tightened around the thorns as he tossed in his sleep. Her voice pierced his dreams and kept them from coming, and, as the night wore on, Boq could hear her banging from her perpetual place six feet below him.

"Boq put me down…Please, Boq! What are you doing? Boq! Please, Boq, you don't need to do this…Boq!"

The deep ditch had been dug by the revolutionaries, as they called themselves, and Boq had handed her over to them in the dark of night. In the dark of night now, he could feel the steady beat of her heart as his fingers tightened around the stems of the roses nourished by her body. He whimpered.

"Boq, please, I'm sorry! Boq!"