Then (III)

The wedding was small: just the priest, the groom and the bride, and not even ten guests. Antonio and Alice didn't need —nor want— more.

Just as they had promised, Antonio's parents behaved and didn't complain about his son being too young to get married; and just as she had promised, Alice made an effort to be nice and keep her sarcastic remarks to herself while she talked with his parents. Still, the atmosphere turned a bit cooler when they were close, so Antonio tried to keep them as far away as possible. To his delight —and surprise—, Alice got along quite well with João, which made everything much easier: while he was with ones, his brother kept the other entertained.

"I'm sorry I'm not with you all the time," Antonio apologized after having managed to run away from his parents.

"Don't worry, it's okay. We're going to have a lot of time to be together from now on."

"Till death do us part," he smiled.

"Or until I get tired of you," she joked before kissing him.

The guests left early, little by little, until the only ones left were Antonio, Alice and João. The three of them were a bit tipsy, so they occasionally fell into fits of laughter as they chatted about banal things.

That was easily Antonio's happiest day ever.

It was already dark by the time they decided they should leave, too. Antonio started to make his way to his house, but João stopped him before he could go too far.

"Wait! I still haven't given you your wedding gift."

Curious, the newlywed couple followed him as he guided them to the outskirts of the village; there, closer to the forest than to any other house, stood a cottage. It was big enough for two people to live comfortably, and it was in a perfect state, in and out. Antonio knew this, for it had been João's before he had moved to town.

"You're giving us this?" he asked, unbelieving.

"Yes. Anything for my baby brother," he winked.

"But—"

"No buts! Just take it, okay? I live in town, and I'm not coming back."

Not knowing what to say, Antonio launched himself over his brother and hugged him tightly. João laughed and patted his back.

"This is great! Thank you so much, João," Alice said, briefly joining the hug.

"It's my pleasure. Well, I'll be leaving now," he pushed Antonio away, as he didn't seem to want to let go. "I hope that your first night in the house is… comfortable," he winked at them and nudged his brother, who hit his shoulder, smiling. "See you, turtledoves!"

They watched him leave, both of them smiling gently. When his figure got lost into the village, Antonio moved fast: he grabbed Alice and picked her up bridal style. She yelped, surprised, but soon started to laugh a bit drunkenly.

"You'd better not let me fall," she warned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh, such a little faith you have in me," he pouted.

A chuckle escaped from her lips as she leaned to kiss him. Antonio kissed back, and what had started tender soon grew hungry and passionate. When they finally parted, their eyes met, none of them bothering to hide a glint of lust.

"Shall we go in, my lady?" he purred.

"I'll never forgive you if we don't."

Carefully, Antonio stepped into their new house and their new life.

~{§}~

They soon became the town's official gossip topic, and they really couldn't care less. Alice had always been immune to everyone else's opinion about her, and Antonio didn't care what others said about him as long as he was with Alice. Besides, it couldn't be denied that they were an odd couple— even they accepted it.

It didn't help that they barely left their cottage except for occasional strolls through the forest. In Antonio and Alice's minds, that wasn't a problem. If they had no need to go to the village, why would they? They didn't mind what others said about them, but that didn't mean they liked being looked at, pointed at and talked about in whispers. So they stayed in their house, where they had an orchard, some chickens and, more importantly, each other.

It didn't take Antonio too long to realize that he loved watching Alice sleep. She looked so peaceful, her usual scowl replaced by a tranquil expression— sometimes even a soft smile, when she was having a nice dream or when Antonio whispered sweet nothings in her ear. He liked sleeping more than anyone, yet he started to remain awake and let Alice fall asleep first so he could look at her for a while. He took his time to take in her features, and by the end of the first month, he was certain that he could perfectly draw her face up to the last freckle just from memory. Of course, Alice knew Antonio pretty well, and she soon began to wonder why it suddenly took him so long to fall asleep. When she finally asked, he blushed and looked away.

"I like watching you sleep."

"Wow, that's not creepy at all."

"It is?"

"A little, yeah. Why do you do that?"

"You look so beautiful."

It would always be a mystery to Alice how Antonio could say those things so casually. It cost her a tremendous effort and a big dose of embarrassment to say the smallest of compliments— it just didn't suit her. Antonio, on the other hand, bright, cheerful Antonio made it seem so natural, as if he didn't even have to think the words.

Since Alice couldn't bring herself to say —or do— romantic stuff, she made up for her lack of romanticism with an extra dose of her never-ending sarcasm, sharp tongue and twisted mind.

"So I'm only beautiful when I'm asleep?"

"That's not what I said!"

His voice got squeaky when he was trying to defend himself from her fake accusations. It was so amusing. Then again, although it took him some time, Antonio always realized she was just teasing and somehow managed to turn the tables.

"Well, when you're asleep, you're not being mean to me," he retorted. "Besides," he leaped forwards and hugged her by the waist, pressing their bodies together, "when you're awake, there are other things I like to do with you in bed."

Whatever. She loved it.

"Really?" She wrapped her arms around his neck, moving closer until their foreheads touched. "And what would that be?"

Before he could answer, she closed the distance between them and kissed him; when Antonio's reaction was to lift her, she quickly surrounded his hips with her legs, hooking them at his back for extra support, and let her fingers tangle in his hair and play with his soft locks as they kissed. She absently thought that she had stuff to do, but her mind went blank the moment her back hit the wall, her body trapped between it and Antonio's. The last rational thought that managed to make its way through her fogged mind was her wondering what did Antonio have that she just couldn't get enough of.

They didn't even make it to the bedroom.

~{§}~

"Now I'm going to water you so that you grow big and strong and give us the most delicious tomatoes!"

As he spoke, he carefully leaned the can over the plant and did exactly what he had said. His family always mocked his habit of talking to plants while he took care of them, but he had never stopped doing it— he firmly believed that kind words reached the plant and kept it happy, thus making it grow faster and better. When he was little, João had fun asking him how could a plant be happy —or unhappy, for that matter—, which angered Antonio. He would yell that everyone and everything deserved to be happy, including plants, and he'd claim that his brother was stupid if he couldn't see it. Actually, one of the reasons why he had befriended Alice so fast was because she, too, believed that.

"Aren't you going to sing to them?"

Speaking of… Antonio smiled and rose to his feet, having finished watering, and hugged Alice with one arm.

"I already did that yesterday," he answered. "What are you doing here?" he asked after a while. "I thought you were inside."

"Yes, I, uh, have to tell you something."

"Okay! Can it wait until I'm done watering the tomatoes?"

"Uh— yes, it can. But don't take too long."

"Yes, ma'am!"

He quickly pecked her cheek before resuming his task. Alice told him that she'd be waiting inside and left; knowing than Antonio's eyes were following her, she made sure to wave her hips seductively as she walked. That would surely make him hurry up. She had important news, after all.

Just as she had expected, Antonio was much faster than usual. He came in only a few minutes after her, happily humming a nameless melody, and she patiently waited for him to put the can back in its place. Sat in their bed, she pondered yet another time how she should deliver the news. It couldn't be too hard, right? Just two words were enough.

"So, what's it you wanted to tell me?" Antonio asked cheerfully, taking a chair and sitting on it in front of Alice. She looked at him with a weird face and he frowned, trying to guess what was going on. "You're not going to ask for a divorce, are you?" he joked.

"Of course not, you idiot," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Good to know that. What is it then?"

Alice took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Two words. Just two. She fixed her gaze on Antonio's face, not wanting to miss her reaction, and then she dropped the bomb:

"I'm pregnant."

At first, Antonio didn't seem to react. He just stood there, completely motionless save for his blinking. His green eyes were glued to Alice's, and they remained there for an uncomfortable while until they quickly moved to her abdomen, only to later go back to her eyes.

"You're pregnant," he repeated, finally speaking. After she nodded, he left the chair to sit on the bed by her side. He nervously scratched his ear before pointing at her stomach. "There's a baby growing in there?"

"Last time I checked, that was the definition."

"We— We're having a baby?"

"Antonio," she raised an eyebrow, "I think you've been under the sun for too long. You're dumber than usual."

She was hoping that her words would make him react some more, but Antonio didn't even seem to have heard them. He was still looking at her belly, his eyes open wide and a funny expression on his face. For a couple of seconds, none of them moved. And then—

"I'm going to be a dad‼" Antonio cried out, jumping to his feet and hopping around the room. "I'm going to be a dad! I'm going to—!" He stopped mid-sentence and ran back to Alice's side. "How long have you know? Since when are you pregnant?"

Alice smiled, both of amusement and tenderness caused by Antonio's reaction. She held his hand, intertwining their fingers before answering: "I found out a couple of days ago. I just wanted to be sure before I told you." She stopped for a moment to kiss his cheek, loving the way his eyes shone with emotion. "I don't know since when exactly, though. A couple of months, maybe."

"This is awesome!"

Without even thinking what he was doing, Antonio tackled Alice into a hug, pushing her against the bed. She yelped, surprised, and repeatedly hit his shoulder, screaming for him to be more careful.

"Oh, fuck, I'm sorry!" he apologized, letting her go and retreating so abruptly that he actually fell out of the bed.

"Dork," Alice muttered, rolling her eyes. Although she couldn't help but smile when Antonio's head resurfaced, his hair full of shag and dirt, an apologetic smile on his face.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"You hurt me with your stupidity, but I'm already used to that."

"Cool." He jumped to his feet once again, too excited to remain still for too long. "Oh! I'll make a crib; it can go over there! And— I'll make wood toys! And a mobile for the crib!"

Amused, Alice laid down on bed and watched him run from one spot to another, never stopping more than a couple of seconds, happily enumerating everything he could do. She was glad to have gotten that reaction, even more considering how he had panicked the day of the picnic.

Finally, Antonio seemed to calm down. Still with a wide smile, he laid beside Alice, hugging her carefully and laying as many kisses on her face as he could before she pushed him away with a grunt.

"We're going to have a baby," he sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head on her shoulder. His hand moved on its own and caressed her still flat stomach. "I'm going to be a dad."

"Yes, Antonio, yes," she chuckled, patting his head. "You're going to be a dad."

~{§}~

Antonio used to think that regular Alice was a lot to deal with; however, he changed his mind when he began to cope with pregnant Alice. He tried to make her feel comfortable and satisfy all of her cravings —which weren't precisely few—, but taking care of her proved to be a titanic quest.

"I want raspberries."

"Alice, it's like four in the morning."

"But I want raspberries."

"Alice, it's winter."

"But I want raspberries!"

"I think we have some strawberries left."

"Those aren't raspberries."

"But they're berries."

"Okay, bring me some strawberries."

"I've changed my mind. I want an egg."

It was exhausting, yet fun from time to time, and so exciting. Antonio loved seeing Alice's belly grow: he spent a lot of time touching it and talking to it, telling his unborn child all the plans he had.

"… and when you're old enough, I'll take you to the creek and we'll bath and play and have so much fun!"

"Hey, slow down! I won't let you take the kid to the creek."

"What?! Why not?"

"The last thing you made that went there, sank."

"Fuck you."

"Oh, you already have; and I have this," she pointed at her bulging abdomen, "to prove it."

"Well," he kissed her belly to immediately after move up and kiss her nose, "I'm glad I did."

"And who wouldn't?" she said, smugly.

Antonio just rolled his eyes and kissed her.

One evening they were lying together in bed, Antonio absently stroking her stomach, when he finally asked what had been in his mind for a few days.

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"No idea," she shrugged. "How could I possibly know?"

"I don't know. It's inside you."

"Yeah, well, there's a brain inside you and you still haven't figured out how to use it."

"Auch!" He looked at her half-indignant, half-hurt. "Are you ever going to stop bullying me?"

"Nope."

He leered at her before sitting up a little so he could look directly at her belly.

"I hope you're much nicer than your mum," he said to it, earning a punch on his shoulder. "I really, really hope so."

"Oh, come on, I'm very nice," she pouted, dragging him back to lay at her side. "Am I not?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"What do you want me to say: the truth or what you want to hear?"

"It depends— do you want to live?"

"Awe, you always say the most beautiful things to me!"

"Jerk."

"Okay, can we please go back to the baby? I asked because we'll have to think of a name."

"True," she agreed. "If it's a girl…"

They fell silent, both of them staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. It was harder than they had believed— every beautiful name they could think of suddenly sounded dull and mundane.

"I like Elizabeth," Alice finally muttered.

"Isabel…" he repeated, translating it to his mother tongue. "Yes, it's great."

"And if it's a boy?"

The process repeated, but this time it was Antonio the one who broke the silence.

"How about Alejandro?"

"Hmm—" She pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alexander," she sighed happily. "That's a beautiful name."

"It is."

~{§}~

It was early in the morning when Alice broke waters. At first she wasn't sure what was going on— her mind said sleep but her body screamed WAKE UP. She slowly opened her eyes, confused, and it took her some time to finally realize what was going on.

"Oh, come on," she grunted, throwing back her head and letting out an exasperated sigh. "Couldn't you have waited a couple of hours?"

Grunting, she sat up and began to —try to— shake Antonio awake. It wasn't easy, since he always slept so deeply that she was certain he could sleep through an earthquake.

"Dammit, Antonio, wake up!"

He groaned something incomprehensible and his eyelids opened just a small crack.

"It's still dark," he mumbled before closing his eyes again and moving into a more comfortable position. Because of this, he didn't see Alice's left eye twitch, which meant danger.

Five minutes later, Antonio dressed himself hurriedly, wishing that his ear would still function after Alice had screamed directly to it to wake him up. He couldn't be mad at her, though— the situation definitely qualified as an emergency.

"I'll go get the midwife," he said while he finished buttoning his shirt, not bothering to check that every button was in the correct buttonhole.

"Don't!"

He looked at her, surprised to hear despair in her voice.

"No time," she explained, breathing heavily. She was leaning on a bunch of pillows, neither lying not sitting, and had a pained expression on her face. "Don't leave now, please, don't go, I need you here."

If her tone wasn't convincing enough, her words sure were. Antonio had never heard her plead like that; not once in the almost thirteen years they had known each other. That worried him. He quickly went back to the bed, held her hand and kissed her forehead, in an attempt to show her support and try to calm her down a little.

"What do I do?"

Panting, Alice gave him a bunch of scattered and incomplete instructions. Antonio listened carefully, not wanting to screw up, and did as he was told. He made sure that Alice was in the most comfortable position possible before starting to heat water, take blankets, and basically make sure he was prepared for any minor inconvenience. He sacrificed one of his shirts, cutting it to shreds and using the remains as bandages. Some of them were constantly being dipped in cold water and then plastered to Alice's forehead; the rest were kept in warm water.

He had barely finished preparing everything when Alice threw her head back, biting her lip so harshly than she started to bleed, and panted:

"It's coming."

Soon, the house was filled by pained screams and encouraging words. Antonio would have liked to give his hand for Alice to squeeze, but he was too busy trying to act as a midwife. Instead, he talked to her, softly, trying to sound much calmer than he felt. He couldn't have sworn that any of his words were reaching Alice's ears; and even if they did, he didn't think she would be paying any attention to them. But he didn't stop talking, not once, because he wanted his child to come into the world hearing kind words, and not only yelling and cursing. So he kept talking, reminding Alice to breathe and push, breathe and push, letting her know the wonderful, amazing job she was doing, crying out when he saw the head.

A long time passed, an eternity from Alice's perspective, until everything fell silent— except for a baby's crying. She panted, a few stray tears running down her temple, while Antonio cleaned up their kid and wrapped him in a blanket. He then walked to her, looking enthralled and the tiny new life in his arms.

"It's a boy," he whispered, his voice loaded with emotion.

Alice didn't say anything, too exhausted to even talk, but she did reach for him, smiling when Antonio carefully placed their son between her arms.

"You did great," he said, kissing her forehead. "You're amazing, did you know that?"

She nodded, biting her lip, all her attention focused in the baby in her arms. After a while, Antonio left her side and started to clean; and she took her time to look at her son, loving the way he frowned and moved his small hands, loving how his tiny fingers wrapped around her own, loving the fuzz of blondish-brownish hair on his scalp.

She absolutely fell in love when he opened his eyes.

They were a shade closer to Antonio's olive-green than to her emerald-green, but she could see in his gaze, even as a new-born, the same raging storm that shone in her own. It was beautiful.

She still couldn't decide whether Antonio being unable to see it was a shame or a bliss.

"Hello, Alexander," she whispered, gently rocking him. "Hi… Alex," she settled for the nickname. "Hi, Alex, I'm your Mama. What a time you've put me through!" She laughed softly, making the baby's lips twist into what could be considered a smile. "It's alright," she muttered, kissing him once, twice. "You're worth it."

Antonio, who had left for a moment to throw away everything that was too stained or wasn't useful anymore, came back that instant. He smiled tenderly at the scene and walked fast to the bedside.

"Can I hold him?"

"Of course. You're his dad," she winked, loving the way Antonio's face brightened at those words.

Carefully, she handed Alex over to Antonio, who took him as if he were the most fragile object in the world.

"Hola, Alejandro. Hello, little one." He lifted him so he could take a better look at his face. "He got your eyebrows," he chuckled, making Alice roll her eyes. "What? It's true, look at these two tiny caterpi— Okay, okay, I didn't mean it! Don't hit me!" he laughed, moving out of her reach. "Awe, and he's got my eyes!"

Antonio's gaze got fixed in his son's eyes. They shone full of life, with the innocence only a new life can hold, and he got lost in them. He found himself unable to look away—

—literally.

He was suddenly nailed to the spot, his body ignoring every order it was told; he couldn't move, couldn't react. His head was spinning— he was scared. It took him a few seconds to realize that what frightened him was Alex's intense gaze. How could it possibly be so deep, even menacing? He wasn't even an hour old! It went against all logic, and yet Antonio was terrified of those eyes, that stare that burnt into his and made him feel weak. He faintly heard Alice's voice, but he couldn't understand her; all his senses were numbed, as if he were under water. Everything was fading to black, everything except for those scorching green eyes; he felt dizzy, he was afraid, he couldn't breathe—

Everything ended abruptly when Alice snatched Alex from his hands, making them break the eye-contact. Feeling both weak and confused, Antonio let himself fall to the floor. His breath had become irregular and his mind was still trying to find a logical explanation for what had just happened.

"What was that?" he asked, his voice trembling. He looked at Alice, suddenly worried about her, the feeling quickly leaving when he saw her: she was sat on the bed, hugging Alex, who had started to cry, whispering to him in a language Antonio didn't understand. "Alice?" he called, standing slowly.

She stopped talking and looked at him, her eyes filled with sorrow. She bit her lower lip and looked alternately from her son to her husband; when she finally answered, she spoke quietly, so unlike herself.

"He tried to kill you."

"What?! Why?" He paused, and then asked what scared him the most: "How?"

"He…" Alice started, gently rocking Alex to try to stop his weeping. She seemed to be about to cry, and that only frightened Antonio further. "He feels you're different," she finally said.

"Different? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not like him— Like us."

"Alice…" he said, tense, unconsciously taking a few steps back, "what are you?"

A dense silence fell over them. Even Alex had quietened, leaving the house uncomfortably silent. Alice helm him against herself, almost as a shield, and an eternity seemed to pass until she looked at Antonio with guilty eyes and answered his question:

"A witch."

Antonio backed away some more, trying to assimilate what he had just been told. He was being shaken by too many emotions at once— he felt shocked, unbelieving, betrayed. But if there was one feeling that stood above all others, it was fear. Had the situation been different, he would have been firmly convinced that Alice was mocking him again; now, however, after what had happened with Alex, that was impossible to believe. Still, his whole being rebelled against the thought of Alice being a witch, because they had known each other for so long, and she didn't fit the descriptions given in fairy-tales, and she had always told him that neither faeries nor anything remotely magical were real. And yet, when she looked at him with the most pained expression Antonio had ever seen her with, he had no choice but to believe it. The truth fell on him like a thousand bricks— he felt claustrophobic, he couldn't breathe, everything was too much. His eyes watered, and he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had provoked that. It was too much. Too much.

Alex whined in protest when his mother left him carefully on the bed, but she paid no attention. He was a new-born and he needed to be taken care of; however, at that moment, Alice had to attend another matter that, if not more important, was certainly more urgent. She left the bed and took a few tentative steps towards her husband, ignoring the sharp pain that came from her groin every time she moved.

"Antonio—"

"Stay there."

She stopped briefly, more out of shock for the order and the tone in which it had been said than anything else; not even two seconds later, she resumed her walking.

"Let me explain—"

"Don't come any closer!" he yelled almost hysterically, moving backwards until his back hit the wall.

Alice gave him a heartbroken look, but obeyed nonetheless and didn't move from the spot, even though she desperately wanted to walk to him and hug him; even though she wanted —needed— to feel his arms around her; even though she felt the urge to kiss him and promise that everything was going to be alright. Despite all this and more, she remained were she was, because Antonio was freaking out and she had to prove to him that he could still trust her, that she was the same girl he had grown up and fell in love with. She took a deep breath. There was a lot to say, a lot to explain, but first of all, there was at least one thing to reassure:

"I love you," she said, looking straight into his eyes.

At that point, Antonio was torn between running to her, hug her and never let go, or running away to never be seen again.

Unfortunately, he never had the chance to do any of those.

Alex suddenly started to cry again, much louder than before, and it somehow warned Alice that something bad was about to happen. She turned to her child just in time to see a shiny ball of pure energy leave him and go straight to Antonio. She heard her husband scream behind her, and more by instinct than anything else, she moved her arm and made a screen appear in the ball's trajectory. It effectively stopped it, but Alice soon realized that she felt too weak— she wouldn't be able to stop a second one.

That's why she felt so relieved when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

~{§}~

Antonio's head was spinning. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, everything was happening too fast, and he wasn't sure he fully understood. He was paralyzed, and all he had been able to do when he had been attacked was scream. He was certain he would faint at any moment.

Then a creature came in, a small being with ethereal wings and a golden aura, and he instantly recognized it as a faery. He watched in awe as it flew to Alice's shoulder and leaned to whisper something in her ear. His wife turned, surprised but with a hopeful smile on her face.

"Arthur's coming?" she asked, her voice full of relief.

Who the hell's Arthur?, Antonio managed to think before Alex cried out again and caught his attention. He looked at the child —his child, he had to remind himself— just as a second attack was launched at him. A scream didn't make out of his throat— fear had him nailed to the spot, completely paralyzed.

He closed his eyes and waited for the blow.

~{§}~

Arthur's coming, Arthur's coming, Arthur's coming! Alice couldn't think of anything that wasn't the imminent arrival of her twin brother. He'd most likely throw a disappointed look at her and condescendingly say I told you so, but she was willing to pay that price if it meant that he could take care of Alex while she saved her marriage.

But then Alex attacked again.

At first, she lived everything in slow motion: the deadly ball going straight to Antonio; Antonio, who closed his eyes and remained still, save for the slight trembling of his body; the sudden realization that she was too weak to stop it again.

Her body moved on its own before her mind wasted a time they didn't have trying to come up with a solution.

The last thing she heard was Antonio's horrified scream.

~{§}~

He didn't know why he'd opened his eyes; it had been an impulse, maybe his subconscious deciding he wouldn't die with his eyes closed. One way or another, he wished he hadn't.

Antonio wanted to yell at Alice, tell her she was insane, ask her why she had done that; but all he could do was let out a wordless scream as she threw herself between him and the ball. His eyelids shut once again the moment she was hit— he didn't want to see, couldn't see the outcome of the crash. He already knew what it'd be, and that alone was more than he could handle.

His wife's limp, lifeless yet still warm body crashed against his with such an impetus that it boosted him backwards.

His head hit the wall, and he sank into a welcoming darkness.

~{§}~

Where am I?

His cheek felt cold, pressed against a hard surface. He guessed he was lying on the floor.

What happened?

He made an effort to remember, and instantly regretted it. His head hurt and everything was a little blurry, but the last events replayed in his mind over and over. He whined.

Now what?

Green eyes opened slowly, barely enough to see. He recognized the room— he'd been living there for over a year. It was too tidy, though, considering what had just happened. He groaned when he opened more his eyes, since there was too much light; it blinded him and worsened his headache. Then, he saw him.

Who are you?

A man stood in the middle of the room. He wore dark clothes and a robe that gave him a mysterious look. He was facing the other way, but he somehow sensed the pair of confused eyes that watched him and he turned. There was a baby in his arms.

Alejandro.

The child was asleep, tranquil and safe, and the man held him carefully against himself, occasionally patting his back or giving him little bounces.

That's my son.

The man covered his head with a hood, hiding his face; when their glances crossed, however, he caught a glimpse of two bright, green eyes. They looked sad.

Alice.

At first he couldn't see her. His eyes scanned the whole room until they landed on the half-open door. Through it, he could see a body covered by a white sheet. His eyes watered.

Why did this happen?

The man moved, catching his eye again. He had taken a step towards him, but immediately after had stopped and seemed to reconsider. Finally, without doing or saying anything, he turned and left.

The last thing Antonio saw before darkness engulfed him again was a man walking away with his son.


AN: was that heartbreaking enough? If not, stop for a minute to consider this: the last words Alice said to Antonio were "I love you"; yet the last thing he said to her was "Don't come any closer". Don't hate me :D All the blame should go to Alex though: he's the OC that started all this madness. And who the fuck is he, you may be wondering... Why, Gibraltar, of course! (You know, that rock in the strait between Spain and Morocco that Spain had to give to England in 1714 and has been trying to get back ever since. That one.)
Thanks for reading; reviews are always appreciated— feel free to curse me all you want :P Just one chapter left! (Fair warning though: the last chapter isn't complete yet. It may or may not take me longer to update it :$ Hopefully, I'll have it in time, but you never know.)