The Petaless Rose
Hollow.
That's how he felt.
Everything was hollow, his mind, his soul, his heart. Everything was empty, even his eyes.
Emptiness overwhelmed him, leaving him a broken shell, drowning in a black sea of endless sorrow and despair.
Staring blankly at the wall, while the feeling of nothingness surrounds him, loneliness widening the cracks.
His handsome face nothing but a cold and emotionless mask.
His heart becoming a cemetery, where demons and ghouls roam with no intentions. Tombstones of misconstrued memories, crushed dreams & hopes.
Slowly losing sanity; consciousness slipping within the endless pit of quicksand.
Lost.
Broken.
His mind holding no memories of his actions, yet he couldn't block away the evidence of his deed.
Of his crime.
Feeling the coldness of the heavy burden hanging around his neck, resting upon his chest, the life and soul forever gone from the jewel's heart, its warm glow no longer an existing presence, the tragically beautiful jeweled black feather, surrounded with a dark aura of emptiness and sorrow, acted as proof, proof that he had lost her, that because of him her heart was now broken, shattered into a million small pieces.
And the blood, her blood that colored his hands and lips.
He could never dare face her after what he'd done, but spending even another second without her presence was worse than death, it was worse than torture, he needed her more than he needed blood.
Inside his chest his heart was beating painfully, unable to accept the loss of her presence, her love, her heart.
He couldn't bare it, reaching his hand and grabbing one of the bed posts, and breaking off a large piece, making sure to break it in a way that one side would be edged and sharp, he sat on his bed, eyes closed, the wooden stake positioned at his chest, aimed to his heart, he moved his hands, slowly moving the stake closer, feeling the sharp edge of the stake starting to cut him…
"Stop!" the person moved in light speed, moving from the door to the side of the bed in a flash, his hands gripping the other side of the stake, pulling it back away from Syaoran's heart.
The voice was familiar and Syaoran slowly opened his eyes, still trapped in a hypnotic daze, his eyes met a pair of night blue eyes and glasses.
"Eriol…" he gasped out, feeling him pull on the stake and feeling his grip on it slip until it was safely in Eriol's hand who tossed it into the fireplace, the small flames slowly feeding on the wood.
"Syaoran, before you make up your mind about anything, answer me this. Do you love her?"
Syaoran's eyes were fully open now, his eyes deep and serious.
"Yes I love her. I love her more than anything else in this world and there is nothing that I would like better than to hold on to her forever. But I know it's not for the best. So no matter how much my heart is going to break, I've got to let her go…so she can forget about me…forget about the pain I caused her….move on with her life and be happy, I no longer care about my mission, my father can place whatever punishment he wants on me, as long as her life is safe it won't matter…I wish I could change her memory, help her forget, but no amount of power can erase such painful thing…I can't bring to words just how much I love her, and always will. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get another chance someday, maybe not in the near future or even in this life, but no matter how long, I'll wait as long as it takes for my soul to be forgiven, but if not, I can make it through this, I must, because I deserve every pain I am feeling right now, as much as I want it to stop, I wish for it to always hurt, so I won't be able to forget, so that whatever pain she is feeling, I will feel it too. And until the day our souls will meet again, I will bare the pain, until then, I will do all in my power to protect her..."
Eriol was speechless, the image of Tomoyo, HIS Tomoyo, flashed in his mind, filling him with a weird feeling of warmth, he shook it away, his vampire self was clueless to those words, but deep down, he knew exactly what Syaoran was talking about. He simply nodded and swallowed.
"Eriol…how did you know I was here? How did you know to find me?"
"I could feel something was wrong, your spiritual energy suddenly dropped and a strong presence of holy water energy filled the air, but when I reached your door it was closed shut, locked and had a shielding charm on it, it didn't take long to break the first charm, but it seems someone placed more than one, and a wave of charms, no matter how weak in power, together are as strong as first class magic, I have every book known about the affects of holy water, but there's something I don't understand…"
"What?"
"Well…do you remember anything? Anything at all?"
"That's the weird thing, I don't. I have no memory of what happened, all I remember is coming back to my room and taking a shower, after that…everything is black, all I remember after that is waking up in my bed, feeling the stinging of the holy water slowly disappear, but the evidence are all around me, I had her blood on my hands and lips."
"Well…No where, not once, is it mentioned that holy water can cause memory loss…" he opened a big old book that he brought with him, the cover was black with golden letters, and he opened it in the middle and started reading.
"…contrary to most beliefs, Vampires are immortal but not death-proof, there are ways, though very few, to kill and, or subdue them.
In the older times when the hysteria over vampires was in its highest rate, many so called 'Vampire Hunters' and bible workers found many ways which they believed could kill a vampire, most of them being useless against the vampires, for example, vampires do not have any fear or reaction to garlic.
But some of the methods were dangerously correct, even if it was not common that they succeed in finding and hunting down real vampires, but when they did, many of those vampires had found their death.
Many studies, most of them actually made by the vampires themselves, were made in hope to find their weakness before the hunters did.
In the year 1487 a vampire named Esmeralda Al Basti of the northern vampire clan (unknown-1693), she discovered maybe one of the most powerful and deadly weapons that could easily kill a vampire, she found that Holy Water had very strong effects on vampires, depending on the amount, from her study vampires have learned to be more suspicious and careful about whatever water they encounter.
Drinking, washing, injecting and splashing are the best known ways to force a vampire to encounter holy water, it seems that from all those ways, drinking the holy water is indeed the deadliest, while having it injected into the body is the lest deadly.
In a large dosage the holy water is strong enough to kill the vampire, literally filling it with power of gods light, making the vampire burn in the slowest and most agonizing and painful way possible, turning him into nothing but ashes, the only known way to stop the process is by feeding on the blood of a virgin and having another vampire suck the holy water energy from your blood, something that is still doubtful, for it only leads to the death of the other vampire, thus making it not commonly used.
In a small dosage, the holy water acts as a very strong, very powerful, paralyzing and sleeping drug, thus making the vampires soul and body vulnerable for who ever wishes to break in, when under the affect of the holy water, the shields around the persons mind, body and soul are temporary gone, giving anyone access, the vampire's mind and thoughts can be read, every memory, every dream, can be read as well, while under the spell of the holy water, the vampire will have no power to resist or control his or hers body, a thing that with holy water alone can't be of any real risk to the vampire, unless mixed with petals of the rare white rose, dragon blood, silver and more…
The dangers of the wooden stake were publicly known, after it was discovered in the year 1578…"
"Wait!" Syaoran shook up; Eriol stopped reading and looked up from the book.
"What's wrong?" Eriol asked with a confused tone.
"Go back to the holy water, at the end…what does it say? Read it out load again."
"…a thing that with holy water alone can't be of any real risk to the vampire, unless mixed with petals of the rare white rose, dragon blo…"
"There! That line, about the white rose…"
"What about it my prince?"
"I'm not sure, everything is still blurry, but the words seem to ring a bell…" his voice slowly drifted off and then became quiet.
"That's it! It was so obvious!" Eriol jumped out of his seat and stood up quickly, the book falling loudly on the floor, Syaoran looked at Eriol with sheer confusion.
"I'll be right back my prince." And before Syaoran could reply, Eriol was gone, running in light speed, not a minute had passed and he was back, carrying another large and old book, this one was also black but the imprinted letters on the cover and side were silver.
"Another book?" Syaoran asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.
Eriol merely shushed him and opened the book, the title at the head of the page read 'The White rose' and under it was an old sketch of the rose.
Eriol cleared his voice and began reading.
"With its pristine appearance, the white rose has come to symbolize purity, innocence and secrecy.
Early traditions also used white roses as a symbol for true love, an association which would later become the hallmark of the red roses. However, white roses continue to endure and retain their symbolism of innocence. White roses are now used to express a number of different sentiments.
Also known as the bridal rose, the white rose is a traditional wedding flower. In this sense, they are a representation of unity, virtue, and the pureness of a new bond of love. White roses are also a symbol for young love, which further strengthens the association, and makes them ideal for marriages. Bridal bouquets are often comprised of white roses and other white flowers.
White roses are also associated with honor and reverence, which makes them a fitting memorial for a departed loved one. Funeral and sympathy arrangements traditionally incorporate white roses as a part of the tribute. As a symbol of remembrance, the white rose represents heavenliness and is an expression of spiritual love and respect.
While most of the long-established meanings of white roses are still quite commonly used today, others have become less prevalent. White rosebuds, for example, are a traditional symbol for girlhood and carry an underlying message of one too young for love. While perhaps no longer falling into the realm of common knowledge, this is still very much a part of the language of roses.
White roses can mean many things to many different people. They can symbolize new beginnings, or be a sign of farewell. They can convey feelings of love, friendship, respect and hope. Underlying all of these messages is the impression of innocence and purity with which white roses are now synonymous. An arrangement of white roses is not only beautiful; it can carry a complexity that belies its simpler appearance. Whatever the reason white roses are given, it can be assured that they will be deeply appreciated by their recipient.
There are plenty of myths and legends behind the white rose. As one myth has it, the first rose on Earth was a white rose, and it miraculously transformed to other hues. The pure white rose was said to have been tainted by blood, making it red; and it was also made to blush from a kiss, making it pink.
Another myth came from the Ancient Greeks. It was said that roses were originally white until one day Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty pricked herself with the thorns of a rose. The blood that dripped from her finger turned the white roses red.
These myths indicate the loss of innocence, which is the absolute opposite of what the white rose symbolizes – innocence and purity.
The rose has both medical and spiritual qualities, which, alongside with its immense beauty, made it very popular. There are many kinds of white roses, but the true white rose is extremely rare, its beauty and power far greater than its fellow white roses. The white rose is most known for its strong healing powers, and its ability to block, and in the harder cases, even erase memories. Its affect on the memory is strongest when mixed with holy water, it is untraceable spiritual energy wise, and won't appear in blood tests. During battle it is wise to have at least one white rose, crushing one of its petals and eating it is a safe way to heal low to medium wounds, but if even a single drop of blood touches the flower, its petals will immediately turn red, and it will become useless, making the wound worse rather than healing it.
If touched with bare hands, hands of a wicked creature, the rose will turn black, and die, this applies to all roses. If touched by a pure soul, such as an angels soul, the flower can be touched with bare hands, but if touched by a wicked soul, such as a vampires soul, the flower will die and turn black, preventing the vampire from using the flowers healing abilities…"
"Eriol please stop reading, I've heard enough." "Syaoran?" Eriol gently closed the book, looking at Syaoran with a worried face, only now he finally saw how bad Syaoran really looked. Syaoran's face was white as chalk, paler than usual, making him look even more like the dead, he had large dark circles under his eyes, his eyes were no longer the beautiful shade of brown, they were darker, black almost, Eriol felt a shiver go past him, trying not to look away. Syaoran was holding his face in his hands; he was still sitting on his bed, haven't moving an inch since he first sat up and broke the bed post. "What are you trying to say Eriol? What does all this have to do with what I did? What difference does it make? She's gone, she probably hates me now, if that's what it takes for her to forget and move on, then I hope she despises me, I never deserved her, I was foolish to think otherwise, to hope. I should have never let my feelings interfere; your words and silly books don't change anything, discovering that I was injected with holy water and white rose petals doesn't tell me the things I need to know, what I need to know is the identity of the bastard who injected that stuff into me and had me…" Syaoran flinched slightly, hesitating on his next words, "…rape her…" those words came out in a tired voice, almost a whisper, Syaoran's lip shook, his eyes unfocused, he went on, "The only thing the discovery of the holy water and white rose petals has done, is make me curious wonder, and even more confused, seeing as how dangerous holy water and white roses are to the vampires, alongside with several other matters, possessing those things is banned, it is forbidden to have these matters anywhere near here, let alone inside the vampire kings castle, whoever breaks these rules, his or her fate is torture…to the unlucky, death. The only vampire whom my father allowed to break the law and possess matters such as holy water and white roses for research purposes is…" Syaoran suddenly fell silent, his mouth open in shock, the words unable to get past his lips, his eyes widening in pure terror, his heart beating fast, he jumped out of the bed in a flash, his bare feet now on the wooden floor, his movements faster than light, letting out a beastly growl that echoed against the walls, Eriol was frozen in place, his face turning white at the scene before him, Syaoran was slowly disappearing in front of him, he could see him trying to fight back against his inner demon for self control, but the darkness was becoming stronger, Syaoran's rage and desires overpowering his clear thinking, convincing his mind and body to submit and accept the inner demon. Syaoran threw his head back and let out another shrieking snarl before two large black bat wings burst out of his back, his body surrounded by black flames, his hair blowing violently, five chains made out of red flames appeared on his neck, hands and legs, the room was suddenly filled with a burning heat, with one last hiss the creature lowered its head, fixing its gaze on Eriol, who in turn stared at the being before him with pure terror, the eyes were pure blood red, the fangs were three times longer than they used to be, Eriol could hardly even recognize the creature before him as Syaoran, it looked more and more like a demon of hell, than the person Eriol knew, his oldest and closest friend. The creature let out a shrieking scream and Eriol felt himself being knocked down by the extremely powerful wave of Syaoran's spiritual energy, the shriek was horrifying, he had to cover his ear, the power of the spiritual energy and the chilling scream smashed every glass objects in the room, including Eriol's glasses, Eriol looked up at the beast, looking it straight in the eye, trying to hide his fear, reminding himself who the person in front of him really was, it was Syaoran, his best friend and prince, he needed him, to help him come back from the dark.
He slowly got up on his feet, limping slightly, grabbing his now useless glasses and pulling them off, tossing them to the side. "Syao…" he started to speak, before he was cut off by a cold and chilling snake like voice. The speaker was Syaoran's demon side. "It wasss you!" Eriol froze his mouth open in awe. He was barely able to blink before Syaoran lunged forward, throwing himself at Eriol, prepared to attack, to kill.
Hey! Please Read and Review!
Ok, I made a really really really really, and I mean REALLY, stupid, and big spelling mistake.
Ok, here is what I need you guys to do, I fixed the word in this chapter, but, its too late for the other chapters…so…everywhere I wrote the word Holly ignore it and know that I actually meant the word Holy.
You know, as in holy water, holy spirit, etc…
So if you got confused in older chapters, I hope this clears things up.
See you in the next chapter!
Nadeshikoblossem