Post by moonwick on Nov 5, 2006 21:25:41 GMT -5
Emerald sat very still while Jade braided her soft, blonde curls, weaving a crown of tiny white flowers onto the top of her head.
“Almost done, Jadey?”
“Almost,” Jade answered, smiling. She could tell it was difficult for the spirited girl to remain still for so long, though Emerald had not complained even once.
They sat beneath a willow tree while its long, flexible branches swept the ground and stirred the fallen leaves. The late afternoon sunlight spilled like sweet honey, reflecting off the young girl’s hair until Jade could have sworn she held strands of gold between her fingers. She told Emerald the story of Rapunzel to pass the time, much to the child’s delight.
“All done,” Jade said when she finished braiding the last section of gold. “Turn around, Em, so I can see how pretty you look.”
Emerald turned to face Jade, who thought she was prepared for what she was about to see. Instead, the woman took one look at the sweet little angel who sat before her and felt her eyes fill with warm liquid.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” Emerald frowned and hung her head.
“Sweetheart, you’re beautiful. I love it!”
The little girl’s face lit up. “Really?”
Jade hugged her in reply. “Really. Wait till Vati sees you!”
They walked home from the park together, and Jade had to laugh at how careful Emerald was not to mess up her new hairstyle. It wasn’t her golden hair that made her so lovely, Jade realized; it was her purity and innocence, her contagious happiness. Emerald reminded Jade of a white feather sailing some vast, uncharted sky…precious, free, and…weightless.
What’s it like to be weightless? she wondered as she watched the daughter of Lantlas balance on a concrete parking bumper. The child stretched out her arms, tightrope-walking four inches off the ground as if her life were in jeopardy. Jade tried to remember what it was like to be a child again, oblivious to all the pains and hardships of the world. Although she was only twenty four years old, she couldn’t bring back the memory of that glorious feeling. Once you cross the line between being a child and being an adult, you can’t go back, she reminded herself sadly. Reflecting upon her childhood, she hardly remembered anything at all. She was Alice, Time was the looking glass, and through the looking glass she could see her childhood, golden and perfect like the sunlight had been on Emerald’s braids that day. But glass is glass. You can only see through it, press your nose against it, and try to remember what it must have been like to be on the other side. In a few years, Emerald will have to cross over, too. But for now…just for now…
Jade smiled warmly as the young girl took her hand and skipped – very carefully – to the door to see her Vati, who touched the crown of flowers gently before lifting Emerald into his arms and kissing her face. She was still so tiny, despite her eleven years, and he was so very large that it took almost no effort at all on his part.
“Do you like my hair, Vati? Jadey made it pretty for me.”
“I think it’s perfect, sweetie,” he said, kissing his daughter’s braids and gazing at Jade over Emerald’s shoulder. Jade gazed back. The feeling never faded. She still loved him so much that she thought she would burst, and that’s why she knew she had to fight beside him at Trauma.
The young woman was scared to death, but her excitement, her determination, her love was stronger. On Tuesday she would face Grimm, The Prophet, Kaden Keene, and Non Compos Mentis; she would fight alongside Ace Anderson, Justin Michaels, and Lantlas.
What she had seen in the ring at Deadly Intentions had surprised her. NCM could have left her unconscious with a single blow to the head. Jade was sure he would do it; she had braced herself for the excruciating pain. The monster known as the Usher of Destruction had looked her square in the eye, half-insane. But what about the other half? Did NCM have a weakness no one knew about?
Grimm had been a deadly opponent, showing no mercy. Jade remembered with a cringe how her body had felt the day after their match at Trauma 65. She had stayed in the shower so long that morning that Lantlas kept knocking on the door and asking if she was alright. Letting the water get so hot that it stung her skin, Jade had tried in vain to relax the twisted, aching muscles in her back and legs. Another match with the same opponent frightened her to no end, but she couldn’t watch the one she loved get beaten the way she had been beaten.
Kaden Keene and The Prophet were two she had not yet faced in the ring, but she wasn’t exactly eager to face them either. She heard that Kaden was fast and Murdoc was wise, a dangerous combination. Most of Jade’s opponents thus far had been big and slow compared to her, but this would be a match to remember. On Tuesday, she would be up against destruction, mercilessness, speed, and wisdom. But on her side, she would have balance, greatness, strength, and havoc. To tell the truth, Jade wasn’t really afraid of losing this match. She was afraid of being in a ring with seven deadly men, most of whom outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. She was afraid of being squished like a bug. And she was afraid of what they would do to Lantlas…
It must be hard for him to leave behind the thing he’s been fighting for all these years, she realized. Emerald is certainly worth the sacrifice, but am I? Ever since Mom and Dad died, my unfortunate relationships have caused me to feel so helpless, so weak…so worthless. Will I be the wife Lantlas deserves, and do I deserve him?
Their eyes met again when he held out his hand to her, beckoning Jade to come inside with him and Emerald, as it was growing dark. She could see herself there, in those gorgeous blue depths, his gaze locked with her own. Before she could take a step, his lips met hers in sweet ecstasy. Lantlas pulled her to him as if she were a treasure, as if she meant more to him than the belt he fought for so many times. “I love you, Emily DuPrae,” he whispered against her skin, melting away all doubt.
We deserve each other. We do, she decided, and that was that. No longer would she feel the need to question it. And in the ring on Tuesday, no matter how frightened she would be or how broken her body would be become, she would fight to the bloody end just to save Lantlas from that much more pain. All the pains in life are worth this one happiness…that he is by my side, here and now. And I would fight every day against a thousand brutes if it meant keeping him here one day longer.
“I love you, too.”
“Almost done, Jadey?”
“Almost,” Jade answered, smiling. She could tell it was difficult for the spirited girl to remain still for so long, though Emerald had not complained even once.
They sat beneath a willow tree while its long, flexible branches swept the ground and stirred the fallen leaves. The late afternoon sunlight spilled like sweet honey, reflecting off the young girl’s hair until Jade could have sworn she held strands of gold between her fingers. She told Emerald the story of Rapunzel to pass the time, much to the child’s delight.
“All done,” Jade said when she finished braiding the last section of gold. “Turn around, Em, so I can see how pretty you look.”
Emerald turned to face Jade, who thought she was prepared for what she was about to see. Instead, the woman took one look at the sweet little angel who sat before her and felt her eyes fill with warm liquid.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” Emerald frowned and hung her head.
“Sweetheart, you’re beautiful. I love it!”
The little girl’s face lit up. “Really?”
Jade hugged her in reply. “Really. Wait till Vati sees you!”
They walked home from the park together, and Jade had to laugh at how careful Emerald was not to mess up her new hairstyle. It wasn’t her golden hair that made her so lovely, Jade realized; it was her purity and innocence, her contagious happiness. Emerald reminded Jade of a white feather sailing some vast, uncharted sky…precious, free, and…weightless.
What’s it like to be weightless? she wondered as she watched the daughter of Lantlas balance on a concrete parking bumper. The child stretched out her arms, tightrope-walking four inches off the ground as if her life were in jeopardy. Jade tried to remember what it was like to be a child again, oblivious to all the pains and hardships of the world. Although she was only twenty four years old, she couldn’t bring back the memory of that glorious feeling. Once you cross the line between being a child and being an adult, you can’t go back, she reminded herself sadly. Reflecting upon her childhood, she hardly remembered anything at all. She was Alice, Time was the looking glass, and through the looking glass she could see her childhood, golden and perfect like the sunlight had been on Emerald’s braids that day. But glass is glass. You can only see through it, press your nose against it, and try to remember what it must have been like to be on the other side. In a few years, Emerald will have to cross over, too. But for now…just for now…
Jade smiled warmly as the young girl took her hand and skipped – very carefully – to the door to see her Vati, who touched the crown of flowers gently before lifting Emerald into his arms and kissing her face. She was still so tiny, despite her eleven years, and he was so very large that it took almost no effort at all on his part.
“Do you like my hair, Vati? Jadey made it pretty for me.”
“I think it’s perfect, sweetie,” he said, kissing his daughter’s braids and gazing at Jade over Emerald’s shoulder. Jade gazed back. The feeling never faded. She still loved him so much that she thought she would burst, and that’s why she knew she had to fight beside him at Trauma.
The young woman was scared to death, but her excitement, her determination, her love was stronger. On Tuesday she would face Grimm, The Prophet, Kaden Keene, and Non Compos Mentis; she would fight alongside Ace Anderson, Justin Michaels, and Lantlas.
What she had seen in the ring at Deadly Intentions had surprised her. NCM could have left her unconscious with a single blow to the head. Jade was sure he would do it; she had braced herself for the excruciating pain. The monster known as the Usher of Destruction had looked her square in the eye, half-insane. But what about the other half? Did NCM have a weakness no one knew about?
Grimm had been a deadly opponent, showing no mercy. Jade remembered with a cringe how her body had felt the day after their match at Trauma 65. She had stayed in the shower so long that morning that Lantlas kept knocking on the door and asking if she was alright. Letting the water get so hot that it stung her skin, Jade had tried in vain to relax the twisted, aching muscles in her back and legs. Another match with the same opponent frightened her to no end, but she couldn’t watch the one she loved get beaten the way she had been beaten.
Kaden Keene and The Prophet were two she had not yet faced in the ring, but she wasn’t exactly eager to face them either. She heard that Kaden was fast and Murdoc was wise, a dangerous combination. Most of Jade’s opponents thus far had been big and slow compared to her, but this would be a match to remember. On Tuesday, she would be up against destruction, mercilessness, speed, and wisdom. But on her side, she would have balance, greatness, strength, and havoc. To tell the truth, Jade wasn’t really afraid of losing this match. She was afraid of being in a ring with seven deadly men, most of whom outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. She was afraid of being squished like a bug. And she was afraid of what they would do to Lantlas…
It must be hard for him to leave behind the thing he’s been fighting for all these years, she realized. Emerald is certainly worth the sacrifice, but am I? Ever since Mom and Dad died, my unfortunate relationships have caused me to feel so helpless, so weak…so worthless. Will I be the wife Lantlas deserves, and do I deserve him?
Their eyes met again when he held out his hand to her, beckoning Jade to come inside with him and Emerald, as it was growing dark. She could see herself there, in those gorgeous blue depths, his gaze locked with her own. Before she could take a step, his lips met hers in sweet ecstasy. Lantlas pulled her to him as if she were a treasure, as if she meant more to him than the belt he fought for so many times. “I love you, Emily DuPrae,” he whispered against her skin, melting away all doubt.
We deserve each other. We do, she decided, and that was that. No longer would she feel the need to question it. And in the ring on Tuesday, no matter how frightened she would be or how broken her body would be become, she would fight to the bloody end just to save Lantlas from that much more pain. All the pains in life are worth this one happiness…that he is by my side, here and now. And I would fight every day against a thousand brutes if it meant keeping him here one day longer.
“I love you, too.”