There were a few subtle changes i made to this chapter. Nothing major at all, and i wonder whether or not they are even noticable. But I just neede to make them, so i did! If you spot one, i'll give you a cookie!

Oh, and for those of you who read chapter five on saturday and were kept from reviewing, i also encourage you to please go back and review this chapter, for my sake. I really truly appreciate them and i missed not hearing from some of you who were no doubt prevented from giving your opinion by the quirk in the system. So please, if you were not able to review on saturday, do so now. Please? Thanks.

Beautiful Revolution

Hello, all. Thank you for the wonderful reviews and support. I really appreciate it...seriously...you have no idea.

a few things that have come up in the reviews...

No, i am not Hungarian. But Alexa is, so i have had to do my research for her character. Alexa is speaking Hungarian, and Luka speaks Hungarian too. i use a translation service which has been very helpful. The way i figure it is if you are in a country where the native tounge is not your own, you would still use your native language in private. does that make sense?

It does take place after the fire (which is why he is so despondant and feels so alone.) But patience, Grasshopper...all will be explained in time. :

Um...that seems about all i can say about that, except for another BIG THANK YOU to all the reviewers...i love you guys...

This chapter is short, but it needed to be done. i hope to have chapter six written soon, and i promise that it will be longer...much longer. Okay? Okay!

Her tears spent, Alexa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, catching the hem of her skirts and brushing away the tears that had pooled onto her chest. The dove had sung itself to sleep with its forlorn cries, and Alexa now sat at the table with the weight of her shattered life pulling her down. I don't understand, her heart cried. Oh, God, I don't understand. What did we do?

She searched the room for answers, hoping that she would find the sign she had been praying for. But it didn't come. It never came. God, what do we do? She knew that her prayers for a happy life were pointless; it was too late for that. Now all she could hope for was a sheltered life for Luka, for the strength to protect him from the world that she knew awaited him. At this internal revelation she felt the familiar sting of tears threaten to break the stoic barrier she had so fragilely created, and screwed her eyes tight against the cruel, bitter world.

She laid her head on the cold wood of the table, cooling her burning cheeks. What do I do?

She took a deep haggard breath and stood up, making her way back down the hallway and into Luka's room. She leaned against the doorframe as she watched him sleep, his weak body curled up on his side and his arms drawn tightly across his chest. The blankets had slipped down, and Alexa quietly walked to his bed, adjusting them to once again cover his body. She brushed the hair from his eyes and, placing a gentle kiss on his flawed forehead, left him to his dreams, quietly closing the door behind her.

She went past the kitchen and into the living room to blow out the candles that had illuminated the empty room, and felt her tired body being pulled down by the welcoming advances of a respite that had eluded her for so long. She looked down at her clothed body and decided that sleep was more appealing than a nightgown, and without pause Alexa grabbed the tattered cover that lay sprawled across the chair and wrapped it around her cold shoulders. Looking around the room once again, she slowly sat in the chair, drawing her knees up so that her feet rested against the faded material. Dragging her hand across her red and swollen eyes, she began to feel the whalebone crush against her ribs; but her tired body did nothing to relieve the awkward pain. She stared into the empty fireplace thinking how wonderful it would be to have a fire again. Closing her eyes, her mind wandered to the life that once had been; to all of the simple things she had taken for granted, to all of the joys of life she would never again experience. Alexa cursed these thoughts from her mind, telling herself that there was no hope in dwelling in the past.

I have Luka, she reminded herself. I have him. Her last thoughts were of the little boy who slept in the next room, and her worries were suppressed by the knowledge that no one would harm him as long as she had breath in her body. The impenetrable silence that invaded the room lulled her to sleep, and her troubled thoughts were ended by the dreamless oblivion that removed all memories and bitter reminders of a past that had haunted her for years.