An Instant in Time Chap 2
Flick
They say time heals all wounds...
They lied.
Whoever said that does not know the extent of mine. Does time heal wounds that have ravaged the soul? Can it mend together a piece of you that has been ripped apart by your very own hand?
I think not.
Flick
Time. Yes, I will tell you precisely what time can do.
Time makes you remember. It strips you of your will, holds you shivering in its merciless embrace as it chokes down memories of her, images that have haunted your cold existence. No, it won't free you, even if you're forced to confront the blackness that has hidden, waiting for your moment of weakness.
It plays a cruel game. Teasing you with hope and making you believe that if you wait long enough you might possibly be redeemed. That maybe, she will come, and grant you your deepest, most feverant wish...forgiveness.
But time is just playing. And you haven't even begun to understand the game. Because when you think you can't live with the pain, time will show you just how much more you can endure.
Flick
Two hundred years I have waited in this world.
And I am tired.
I have seen a great many battles won and lost, blood spilled needlessly, pain and starvation. And I wonder if there is any point to living in such chaos and mayhem where so few find any pleasure at all. For you see, doubt has set in and has planted its veined roots deep within my mind.
Flick
The brandy in my hand glows amber in the light of the fading sun. I am sitting in my library, surrounded by the riches I have gained throughout my many years. The money which I have acquired in abundance has gained me the title of Count.
Count Lucian Rothgar.
A formidable title and one that has gained its usefulness. I find that in this world, people believe you are nothing if you don't have wealth or power. But they too are wrong. It is money and power that become nothing when you are gone from this world, when your bones turn to dust and your name lost in history. For nothing in this impermanent world is permanent.
Nothing except love.
Flick
Love, I am told, transcends time and space. It has no boundaries, limits or restrictions. It clutches onto the soul wooing you so sweetly. Love did catch me in her arms. Not a love that grew from the slow budding of friendship. But a love that was fierce and passionate as the storms. A love that had took only one second to acknowledge it was there.
Flick-
I stop twirling the dagger in my hand. It is a beautiful piece of art. Made of ancient Gosmere wood and it cuts like the finest steel. But tonight I have another purpose for it. I take another long, deliberate sip of brandy.
My love, I have waited too long in this world without you. If you won't return to me, I will return to you.
I put the brandy down, and angle the blade towards me. And I smile. A weight of sorrow lifts from me as I realize I will not have to carry this burden any longer. This pain.
But love had other plans for me.
Like a fragrance that drifts upon the wind, a tingling, a knowing races up my spine. A knowing that I had begun to believe would never come. My hands begin to tremble. The knife falls, the glass of brandy shatters. For now it has become more than a knowing...it has become a certainty.
She has been born.
And my world has changed.