A.N ok yea sorry the last chapter was a bit of a filler and truly wasn't my best effort, but i needed to update seeing as i hadn't done it in so long. I hope this chapter is better. Special thanks to: xNomx, BigDaddyBall, Magieeeee and Fourwords for reviewing. You rock, thank you so much =]
I swore loudly
as i stomped down the hall. How DARE he do this to me. The lying
scumbag.
I could literally tear him limb from limb for this. I wasn't exactly
sure what my plan of action was all i knew was that i wasn't staying
in this place anymore. I didn't care about Irelands freedom, hell i
didn't even care about my brothers at that stage. I needed to get
away from there and fast.
As i stood staring out the window i
realised that it was literally my only means of escape from the life
of misery that had been thrust upon me. Without a second thought or
backwards glance i launched myself from the window enjoying the
adrenaline rush as i landed softly and took off swiftly through the
back alleys of Dublin.
It wasn't long until i reached the bridge.
I stood leaning against the railing thinking. I knew i could never
return now after abandoning. Not that they would miss me. The
revolution was to begin later that day. I couldn't leave the country
without knowing what was to become of my family. I looked down in
disgust at the uniform i was wearing and swore loudly. I needed to
blend in. Might aswell kill two birds with one stone....
Standing
in the middle of O'Connell street, my thirst satiated, i listened in
awe as the proclamation of the Irish Republic was read out to the
masses. I couldn't deny the passion and reasoning behind the words.
For the first time i had some inkling of what we were fighting for.
The words rang out clear as a bell as all were spellbound.
"IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the
dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of
nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and
strikes for her freedom.
Having organised and trained her manhood
through her secret revolutionary organisation, the Irish Republican
Brotherhood, and through her open military organisations, the Irish
Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her
discipline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal
itself, she now seizes that moment, and, supported by her exiled
children in America and by gallant allies in Europe, but relying in
the first on her own strength, she strikes in full confidence of
victory.
We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the
ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish
destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long usurpation of
that right by a foreign people and government has not extinguished
the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction
of the Irish people. In every generation the Irish people have
asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty; six times
during the last three hundred years they have asserted it to arms.
Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in
the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a
Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of
our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and
of its exaltation among the nations.
The Irish Republic is
entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and
Irishwoman. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty,
equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and
declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the
whole nation and all of its parts, cherishing all of the children of
the nation equally and oblivious of the differences carefully
fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from
the majority in the past.
Until our arms have brought the
opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent National,
representative of the whole people of Ireland and elected by the
suffrages of all her men and women, the Provisional Government,
hereby constituted, will administer the civil and military affairs of
the Republic in trust for the people.
We place the cause of the
Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God. Whose
blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves
that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, in humanity, or rapine. In
this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline
and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the
common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is
called.
Signed on Behalf of the Provisional Government.
Thomas
J. Clarke,
Sean Mac Diarmada, Thomas MacDonagh,
P. H. Pearse,
Eamonn Ceannt,
James Connolly, Joseph Plunkett"
The
spell was broken as soon as he finished reading and the first
battalion rushed forward to capture the GPO. I watched in mild
curiosity as man after man ran into the base. Shane came into view
and i lost my breath. He was magnificent. I watched as he barked out
orders.. He was commanding in his role, a figure to be respected. I
snorted. How naive and idealistic i sounded. He looked up and caught
my gaze. He quirked an eyebrow in my direction. An invitation to
rejoin my brothers in arms. I froze.i would not help a man who was so
corrupted. He wasn't the man i fell in love with. He was cold
calculating. A monster. We were all of us monsters in one sense of
the word. Mostly not through choice but upon a decision thrust upon
us. How i resented this decision...but i couldn't abandon my
family....SHIT. I stood contemplating for a few more seconds before
turning on my heel. I would watch.
It wasn't long before the
British came running to disband the rebel fighters. I stood mouth
open gaping at the carnage unfolding before me. I watched with awe as
wave after wave of British soldiers fell to the ground, their weapons
useless against the steely vampire skin of the enemy. The city was
awash with the sound of gunfire and with one deafening bang a blazing
inferno overcame the GPO. I snapped out of my reverie and ran
forward. The people i loved were in there and like hell i was going
to let them die and leave me alone again.
Running into the
burning building my senses were immediately smoke was
thick and heavily perfumed. I realised with a rush of nausea it was
the scent of burning vampire flesh. My stomach churned as i searched
the debris. The building was falling down around us. It was only a
matter of a few minutes before i would have to abandon my search.
Screams that would haunt me forever followed me as i passed burning
figures writhing in agony. The heat was beginning to overcome me. I
had to leave and just hope and pray my family made it out alive.
I
watched with anticipation as the rebels were rounded up. None of my
kind were caught, naturally being too quick to be caught. I ran
towards the wicklow mountains. Our hide out of the last few months.
There was no sign of the twins. My heart plummeted. They couldn't be
gone i refused to believe it. Shane stood guard over the door
ushering in the stragglers. Smiling sadistically i noticed there was
no Aisling hanging off his arm. I turned and left somewhat satisfied,
yet disheartened at the same time.
This war would change
everything. I already knew i would never be the girl i once was. I
needed to change to adapt. I would be stronger, more careful. I would
never trust another man again. The only one i could trust was myself
and my instincts.. I had wondered what the pooling of venom in my
mouth had meant whenever Shane and i talked about the future. It was
obvious now. It was my subconscious letting me know of his lies and
treachery. If only i had been paying enough attention to heed the
warning...
