It had been a lovely morning, if you lived in the moment that was. If she didn't think of what she had to do, and what was to come.
No, this morning was lovely. The sky was blue, the grass had the beautiful colour green, she saw Inara walking with her aunt and laughing. She heard the birds, so peaceful. Sivella felt free in that moment, she took off her shoes and slipped of the stairs to feel the slight wet grass under her bare feet. She took in the damp air of the morning air and felt her hair softly against her cheek by the slight wind that blew against her face.
000
'Grace seems like a very nice woman.' Petulia said as she stared in the distance where she saw the silhouettes of Grace and Sivella.
Inara nodded. 'Yes, I agree. I'm glad that she is willing to testify against her own brothers.'
'How horrible to have a family like that.' Petulia said sadly.
Inara nodded.
000
'The garden is very pretty.' Grace said as she bended to touch one of the flowers.
Sivella smiled. 'Yes it is. My aunt always loved gardening and her flowers. She was always very angry when I took a few of them to put them in a vase on her table.' She walked towards Grace and studied the smaller woman shortly. She was so glad that she was here.
'I can imagine that somehow..' Grace admitted as she raised an eyebrow at Sivella.
'Well I can't, how sweet is it to get flowers from a child that she has picked herself?' Sivella countered with a smirk.
Grace smiled as she imagined Sivella picking the flowers out of the garden and putting them on her aunts table.
'I bet that you were a cheeky girl.' Grace commented as she smiled warmly at Sivella.
Blood, she hated the colour of blood. Once it had been one of her favourite colours, red. The fierceness of the colour, the beauty, the colour had passion in itself. But now, all it stood for was pain, damage, hurt. So much hurt
000
'I am glad that she has you. It's so serene here, she might find some rest. She really needs it.' Inara said.
Petulia sighed sadly and nodded. 'Thankyou.' She smirked as she saw Sivella taking Grace by her arm and leading her towards the woods further away.
'At the looks of it, Sivella is going to her favourite place. We should follow her, it's beautiful.' Petulia suggested.
'What is it?' Inara asked as they walked towards them.
'It's the highest point from here, you can see over the cliff in the deepness and the rocks beneath, you can look really far. Sivella always went there as a child, I warned her not to go alone, it's very high. I suspect that she went anyway.' Petulia said in a stern voice.
Inara smiled. That was probable.
000
'Isn't it beautiful here?' Sivella asked as she widened her arms and stood near the edge of the cliff. 'I always came here as a child, in secret ofcourse, Petulia wouldn't allow me to stand so near the edge.' And she understood that now, it was a long way to fall down if you slipped. Sivella looked up at the blue sky. 'I felt so free.'
'Yes.' Grace answered in awe as she looked at the surroundings and went to stand next to Sivella.
Grace studied the rich pattern of Sivella's dress as the young woman had picked up one of her aunts flowers, no doubt to put in a vase anyway to remember old times. It was good to see her smile again. Grace noted how well the white dress stood Sivella, it made her look soft and warm. With the tiny, sweet flowers spread all over the dress. Grace frowned when she saw that a red dot had appeared on the dress. She narrowed her eyes as she moved her hand towards the dot.
000
Inara's head shot up the moment they heard a loud, alarming noise. She looked at Petulia and they both quickly ran through the small forest towards the cliff. Her mouth fell open as she saw Grace pushing Sivella, Sivella grabbed her by her arm and they both fell of the cliff. Inara swallowed, she couldn't believe it. But both woman dissapeared from her view in only an instant.
'NOOO!!" Inara shouted in horror with wide eyes as she and Petulia both ran towards the cliff.
Inara suddenly got pushed back hard and was dragged behind a tree. She fought and fought and kicked her attacker in his crotch. Without looking back she ran towards the cliff. She wanted to go there as fast as possible.
Thomas fell in the sand in pain but tried to get up instantly.
000
Sivella saw the blue sky above her and she just stared at it, motionless. As if time had stopped.. She felt the hard rocky ground pushing against her skin. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
She remembered that she was standing on her aunts meadow, the one she had turned into a beautiful garden with patches of colourful flowers.
She remembered that this had been just one day that she had wanted to relax. One day before she would go to Court on House Madrassa.
She had been standing there together with Grace, sweet Grace.
She had felt peaceful in that moment. She had shown Grace one of her most favourite places, the freedom she had felt by just the endless view from the cliff.
She remembered Grace's face, her grey blue eyes that looked at her radiantly.
She remembered how well she could always talk with Grace, how she had loved to talk to Grace when she was still on Sandria.
How Grace had taken in David and Mary instantly to help. Grace smiled as she looked at Sivella's dress.
And then...
Something changed in her face.
First she saw a cringe between Grace's brows, then they knitted further together and the look on her face became very serious, alarming almost.
Grace moved her hand to Sivella's dress and then, everything changed. Sivella felt how Grace pushed her away, pulled her arm to unbalance her, Sivella didn't understand... at the same time the back of her mind registered a loud sound, as they fell and the ground disappeared under them.
In that moment, the moment that there was no ground under her feet, the fear she felt because she knew she would fall, fall in an endlessness...
The endlessness wasn't that endless when she collided with something hard and something hard fell on her instantly, pushing all the air out of her lungs.
She registered cries and screams from the distance, coming closer. She didn't know Inara could cry so high-pitched.
It was as if she awoke again and she tried to straighten again. She registered that the weight that blocked her was Grace. She grabbed Grace around both of her upper arms and sat up slowly, pain shot through her. She didn't understand where it came from. She looked down at her dress. The pretty small flowers on the dress had dissapeared under the dominant colour of dark red. Sivella's eyes grew big as she looked at that same colour on her hands and she looked at Grace. Red, she hated that colour red. She vagely heard the screams in the distance coming closer but it was as if she couldn't register everything anymore.
'Sivella!!' Inara shouted from the cliff. She had dropped herself on the ground and was looking over the edge now. She was relieved to see both Sivella and Grace lying a few meters lower, they hadn't fallen all the way down. They were lying on the edge of one of the rocks.
A hard pull around her arm as if her arm was pulled out of it's socket and a smash in her face. Inara's face slapped to the other side into the dirt as the arm loosened her and left her there.
All that Sivella could do was look in Grace's eyes. The grey blue eyes that were filled with fear and hurt now. Sivella swallowed as she grabbed Grace to steady her.
Sivella's mind registered the shadow that had been standing far away near the trees and woods. She knew who it was. Somewhere, deep inside, she had known that he wasn't dead. Another shot ran through the air and all Sivella worried about was Grace as the pain shot through her and she slammed backwords against the rocks again. Screams in the distance.. Blood on the front of her dress, sticky. And red..
Inara looked up and registered in shock the anger filled face of Edward Blake above her. She stood up to attack him as he suddenly flew through the air. Her mouth fell open as she followed Edward's form that landed a meter further on the ground. Mal had grabbed him and jumped on top of him now. She looked up as Rogan came out of nowhere with a raised gun.
'Mal!' Inara shouted shocked but Thomas already jumped Rogan from behind. Both men fell to the ground, dustclouds forming around them.
Inara's eyes went to Petulia who was lying motionless in the sand, face down.
Grace's eyes went to Sivella's shoulder and Sivella followed her look and noticed that the blood was also on her shoulder. She then noticed the blood on Grace's abdomen. Sivella shook her head the moment she realised that Grace was hurt and she opened her mouth and formed words but she didn't hear her own voice. Her own plea that everything was okay with Grace.
Inara looked at Grace and Sivella who both sat on their knees in front of each other, gazes locked in shock, both covered in blood. They didn't take their eyes of of each other.
'Grace..' Sivella said in a trembling voice as her eyes stood big in shock. She didn't want this. She knew what was coming, what was happening but she didn't want this.
'Sivella, I'm sorry..' Grace uttered.
Inara couldn't move. She was lying as frozen on the ground with her head over the edge of the cliff, looking at them.
Thomas looked up distracted as he heard Sivella cry out suddenly.
'No!!!' Sivella shouted as she took Grace in her arms. Blood seeped from the older woman's mouth.
'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.' She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Thomas face slapped to the other side because of the hit he took from Rogan. He fell on the floor as blood dripped from his lips.
Petulia had stood up and walked with a stick towards Rogan and slapped him on his head with an immense anger. 'That one is for my niece!' She spat at his unconsciouss form.
'Why did you have to jump in front of me?!' Sivella snapped angrily. The bullit was meant for her! Not for Grace!!
Grace didn't answer as her eyes began to close.
'NO don't you leave me!' Sivella ordered her sternly as she couldn't hold Grace's weight and they both fell backwords.
'Grace don't you go! Don't you DARE! Stay with us.' Sivella cried as she frantically searched for the wound in all the blood.
'Sivella.' Grace uttered weakly as Sivella took her pulse. 'David and Mary.' She said in a hoarse voice as her hand caressed Sivella's cheek. 'Take care of them.'
Tears left Sivella's eyes. 'No, you'll be here, please Grace. Don't go. You have to stay here.'
'Sivella. Listen.' Grace stated. Her face became paler by the second. 'Promise.. David and Mary.. Take good care..'
'I will.. I will make sure they will be taken care of.' Sivella said quickly.
'No... You. You... Take care of them.'
'Me?' Sivella uttered shocked. 'Grace I am not.. I can't.. I am not a mother person.. I can't.'
Grace smiled as a tear left her eye. 'Yes you can.'
'I I can't..' Sivella stammered as tears left her eyes now too.
'Sweet Sivella. You can do anything you want.' Grace said in an even tone. Her eyes began to role away.
'Ow Grace, please..' Sivella begged as she felt the strenght slipping from Grace's body.
'Sivel..' Grace urged. She wanted an answer.
'Yes, I promise. I'll make sure they are taken care off.' Sivella promised.
Grace smiled faintly at that and then her eyes closed and her head fell to one side.
'NOOOOOOOOooooooo, Grace Noooooo.' Sivella cried as she cradled Grace to her chest and cried.
'HELP!' She shouted with a raw voice. 'Somebody HELP!' She had no idea what was going on on the upper ground but she opened Grace's blouse and began to reanimate her immediately.
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Well that was a heavy chapter!!! What did you think? Did it look in the beginning like Grace wanted to kill her? (I was trying to confuse you all a bit!!)
Next time, the last chapter!!
xxx