(Vitalion)
As Sky disappeared into the portal Julian held Bloom close to his chest… Knowing now, that his life long friend, had in some unidentified way, betrayed him.
Bloom stared into the abyss, seeing her long lost boyfriend had made memories swim across her vision. A tear made its slow path down her cheek, and as it dropped silently to the ground she slumped against Julian's chest, and pictured herself as she used to be… A kind soul, without a care in the world to what went on around her as long as she was with Sky.
Seeing his face had made her feel as though a poison tipped arrow had lodged in her chest… With the fatal toxin slowly seeping into her life blood until she no longer cared to live… No longer feared death, until all she really wanted was for the pain to end… So she could slowly slip into the grasp of the unknown.
Julian let her stand there, for a minute, in his arms. Letting her keep her feelings bottled up inside of her, until he could no longer stand seeing her go through the pain alone.
"Bloom, how long has it been? Since you last let your honor have a break, and just let yourself weep? How long has it been since you last put your life in another's hands, and let them take your agony away for a few moments? And how long has it been… Since you trusted someone?" Julian said and pushed Bloom away to arms length so he could look into her eyes.
"It's been a long time Julian. But you didn't go through what I did." Bloom looked down for a second then looked directly into Julian's eyes and let him see what she had gone through.
He was mesmerized for a moment. Startled by the intensity of her sapphire blue eyes. Then without warning all of what had happened to her, played across her vision and seeped into his permanent memory, by way of magic. Until the pain was as much his as it was hers.
He saw Bloom and Sky's first kiss, all of their battles… He saw them holding one another tightly in each other's arms as if they would never let go. He saw them laughing on the beach; and he saw the moment when she had came out of the Dark Bloom's grasp, and held Sky as if he were priceless.
Then the visions changed from those of happiness, to those of sadness beyond his belief.
What he saw scared him. He saw Bloom running to be in Sky's arms. Then he saw them walking up stairs to a beautiful room. Then everything changed and he saw them sitting on a bed... Bloom with a horrid look on her face.
Bloom let him deeper into her thoughts then, and he heard what Sky said to her.
Bloom, there is someone else.
Your best friend Bloom.
I am leaving you Bloom.
I don't love you anymore Bloom.
It's been going on for months Bloom.
She forced him out of her mind then and looked down.
"Bloom, I didn't know." Julian stuttered as her memories flew across his vision again and again.
"I know you didn't… But now you do." Bloom said and was starting to pull away from him.
"No Bloom, you've suffered too long. It's time for you to let yourself free." Julian then pulled her close to him as she let herself weep for the first time in over half a year.
"You...you...know…you...don't...have…to.. do...this right?" Bloom said in-between sobs that made her whole body shake.
"Yes, and I don't care, because I love you Bloom," he kissed her forehead and became silent.
"The last person...that said that...to me was Sky." She said and continued to cry, soaking Julian's shirt with tears.
"Well, at least I mean it," with that he took her over to a bench so they could sit down.
Her tears finally slowed down as Julian stroked her hair.
"Most people wouldn't put up with a crying girl," she said, her voice still quivering a bit.
"Ya know, I am not like most people. And I want you to know Bloom, that I'll never leave you."
"I think I can finally believe that." Bloom said and let her head rest on Julian's chest.
(Vitalion two days later)
"Have you seen Queen Bloom?" Julian asked the nearest man at arms.
"No yer majesty. Haven't seen the young Queen since she was snooping around th' armory." The knight said and looked away sheepishly.
"What's that look for Seamus?" Julian said to his old friend suspiciously.
"Well, ah, we found the people guarding the armory taking a wee nap sir." The knight replied and prayed for his life, knowing that the prince had a temper like a time bomb at these times.
"What! You're telling me that trained guards, our guards! Let the most important person in this castle escape their sight, right under their very noses too!" Julian yelled and started to pace up and down the long hallway. "Where would she go with whatever she took out of there?" Julian asked himself, settling down, but feeling anxiety grow every second he didn't know where his one love was.
"Sorry sir," was the knight's quiet, if not silent reply.
"It's not your fault Seamus," Julian said and placed his arm around the old knight's shoulders, gave him a slight squeeze, let go, and walked off in search of Bloom.
As soon as he rounded the corner he let his deep voice ring out of his chest and fill the hallways, it boomed back to him in an echo and he called again.
"Bloom! Are you ok? Where are you!" His voice reverberated back to him once again and he was about to call out for the third time when all of the sudden he heard a loud ka- boom.
The halls were abruptly filled with the sound of guard's running feet and the maids panicked screams.
Then as quickly as the first, another boom sounded, larger then the first, but this one was different. For after the sound dimmed, a brilliant orange light filled the entire palace and without warning Julian yelled out in panic himself.
"Bloom! Where are you!" He started running towards the other side of the palace where the blasts had come from.
He stopped abruptly as a door wrenched out of its frame and whizzed over his head, nearly accomplishing the feat of burning off his eyebrows…
It burst into strange red flames and burned to ashes within seconds.
No ordinary flame could do that. Julian thought to himself. And no ordinary flame is red either.
He stepped silently over to the now door-less opening and looked through.
A gasp escaped the confines of his mouth as he saw Bloom floating in mid air, surrounded by the strange red fire. As she floated, she chanted strange words that Julian could not understand. But all the same he could feel the strange power of them rumbling around the entire stronghold.
"Bloom?" Julian whispered and slipped carefully through the doorway. The idea of stepping on one of the many strands of red fire snapping out around Bloom like whips did not excite him.
"Are you ok?" He asked, worried that she was in danger and was not controlling this weird power.
Bloom hardly heard this but hear it she did and her eyes shot open so she could look at him.
His eyes widened in return as he saw how the normalcy sapphire blue irises now glowed an orange-red.
"What's going on!" He shouted and Bloom closed her eyes again, she chanted a few words, ending the spell and her concentration.
Her eyes still glowed with the Dragon Fire as she walked over to him. They slowly lightened to their normal color, yet a luminosity remained, making her eyes one shade lighter.
"Could you not of waited a minute longer?" She yelped.
"Sorry! What are you doing in here in the first place?" He asked back, a little miffed. "No, that's not my first question… What were you doing in the armory in the first place? And knocking out guards with spells for goodness sake?"
"This," she said and took out a spiky root.
"Harmoine, but why do you need that herb? It's dangerous, that's why we keep it in the arsenal in the first place." Julian said.
"It is the key ingredient to that potion." Bloom replied, pointing at the cauldron she had been pouring her magic into when he showed up.
"What does it do?" He asked, his curiosity pricked.
"If I had finished that potion it would of been able to save one life, no matter how close they are to death." Bloom said and looked down, the root had pricked her finger, a single drop of blood fell from the tip.
"Wow, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I wish I could go back and change the past..." Bloom cut him off then.
"No use in wishing." She said and let him go on.
"Either way, I'm sorry. How long did it take to make?" Julian asked.
"A year, I started it in case I had to save one of my friend's lives, or even Sky's." She said and then continued. "I left it be until now, I didn't care if anyone was in danger anymore, till I met you… So I decided to try and finish it. I had a renewed purpose."
"Wow, can it be fixed?" He asked.
"I think so, but it'll take a while." Bloom replied.
"I'll support you, but I think you should go outside next time you try to finish it." Julian said and looked at the door.
Bloom cracked up laughing and the couple walked over to sit on the floor by the hearth… Bloom began work on reverting the thing's power so that it would heal instead of kill… Little did she know how soon she would need it, for if she had known, she would of made it faster…
The first half of this chapter is one of my favorite parts in this story, personally I feel it's a new beginning... Or maybe it could be a new end.
Little Ammore- Still, thanks again!
Crystal Hauntress