8So I updated again... I know it's been over a whole month.
But I've been occupied with other stuff...
Aka Final exams for the semester...
And...
Life.
It's been pretty hectic lately.
This is...the last chapter of Washing Away the Blood.
Aren't you all so sad?
I am...
Well anyways, please review... begging you, please!
Just tell me you read it. That takes, what, four seconds?
But I'd like to dedicate this to... 2 people.
Brandon – You are so encouraging...and, hell, guess what; you make the day a hell ova lot livelier. I thank you for all of this, inspiration and all, and everything else. I don't know what I would do without you XD.
Gabriel – I REALLY don't know what I'd do without you. Love you a ton and everything else I could possibly thank you for... Again, love you lots... XD... And you're always an inspiration, and always my guardian angel... (At least you play to be mine)...
Happy New Years everyone!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Washing Away the Blood
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter Nine: We Will Always Remember That Day
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Raisa's POV
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"It's done."
Those were the first words both Mikhail and I heard. It was a Saturday. We were still in Europe. It was a week after we had escaped the boat, a week, though it seemed more like an eternity.
Rays of sunlight drifted in, touching the tanned skin of Mikhail's face. For a minute Mar's words didn't seem to register with either of us. I had fallen asleep on the couch, while he had fallen asleep on the floor. This scene reminded me so much of the day nearly three months ago. It was ironically alike, peaceful but with an unreal tranquility.
Finally, Mikhail pushed himself up, his arms tense, but almost flawless. He cast me a tired smile, but turned his attention to the tall female. I could only see her silhouette for the sun was behind her, but her voice had been solemn.
"What's done Mackintosho?"
None of us had seen much of her since the day we got back. Most of us had mostly slept, ate, and then slept again. A pretty much endless cycle.
"All of it."
I tried sitting up, but in failing miserably, instead leaned on Mikhail's shoulders. He shifted to lean his head against mine. I fought a blush that crept onto my cheeks, but it won over.
Chuckling quietly, Mar turned around and tugged the curtains partially closed so we could see her. She, walking over to the couch I had fallen asleep on, sat on the end, sighing with an edge of amusement.
With a quizzical glance at me, Mikhail shook his head once. "I'm not following you, Mar. What do you mean?"
She sighed, raising her left eyebrow in a somewhat surprised fashion. "All these kidnapped children. You, Raisa, the red-haired Verona, and even Dimitri were held prisoner. And Mora as well." She paused, though her voice was steady. "Rackov Alamastar was arrested yesterday at around 10 for the capture, torture, murder, enslavement, and containment of human beings, amongst about 50 other things, but that's the only one that applied to you."
I stared at her, that's all I could do. Mikhail found his voice before me. "How...?"
Mar looked at us, meeting both of our eyes in turn. "I have connections here in Europe that had noticed these frequent disappearances of young children. Before I got on the ship, I had told all this to these people, sorry, I can't say who, and they followed a good distance away and took some former guards to interrogate... without violence obviously. They found the location and charted paths of where they were going. They found a slave mine. That's all they told me as well."
"It... really is done?"
Mar smiled. "It really is."
I hugged Mikhail, though nearly falling off the couch in doing so. "We're free."
He hugged me back, burying his face in my hair. A tear streaked down his face before he opened his eyes again.
I had to wipe the tear away but it triggered my own emotional collapse. All the years of pain, running away, fear; they all hit me an instant. Tears streamed down my face, but they were happy tears. They dropped onto Mikhail's shirt, leaving marks where they dropped.
Mar's voice came back to my ears. I just barely managed to take notice of the envelope she dropped in front of both of us.
"You better hurry up. The pilot isn't going to wait for you forever." She paused at the door. "And Raisa, you look like a tomato."
We stared as she left, before Mikhail, almost tentatively, picked the envelope up. Tickets fell out, drifting to the floor.
I met Mikhail's eyes after a moment. "Once, a moment was a moment, now, those moments are forever..."
"But now, Mikhail, they are just memories. They will never haunt us anymore."
"Time to face the past Raisa."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Our feet sank into the soft snow. It had been nearly ten winters now. Ten layers of snow piled on, each by year, and then each winter's snow melted away. The snow was lightly falling, but not much had fallen onto the area.
I ran my hands along the remains of a hut. A smile made its way across my face as I recognized my childhood home. Touching the ashen wood made flakes of ash fall to the ground. The whole area had been burned.
Tears filled my eyes again as I ran my hand along the boards that had once held one house together.
"Raisa..."
I looked for Mikhail as his voice sounded. I saw him a fair distance away, crouched by a burned down house. I jogged over to where he was crouching and settled on my heels next to him.
"It hasn't changed."
I nodded. I ran my hand down a collapsed pole. The light coat of snow fell off revealing the blacked wood. I knew some of that was blood, but all of it was our past, bloody and horrid as it was.
I took his hand, carefully though, for he seemed in a shocked state on what his old home had become.
"Come Mikhail."
He followed almost blindly, his movements almost heavy, not at all like his normal graceful, nearly elegant, stride. We walked through the forest, his hand still in mine. The cold air was crisp, but calm, and the great firs loomed over our heads, giants in the coat of white.
I led him to the edge of the cliff, stopping a foot away from the ledge. Below us a waterfall still roared with its own power. The lake was encrusted with ice, a blanket of white. "This place is beautiful. It hasn't changed. Not in the whole time we have been gone."
Mikhail took my other hand gently, to my surprise, seemingly finally shaken out of his shock.
"If you can move on, so can I. I won't let this haunt me anymore, Raisa. I thank you for everything," he said quietly, his emerald orbs watching the water pound against the rocks below.
I stared at him. He was the most beautiful thing here though. He was perfect. He was all that I had. He turned to me again, his eyes bright, stunning. I looked back out at the lake, trying to pretend that everything actually was perfect.
"But I need to tell you something Raisa... something I should have told you years ago."
I felt his warm lips on mine, gentle and calm, before seconds later the warmth vanished. He seemed nervous at what I might say. Now my lips felt cold, but inside I was ready to explode with joy.
"Raisa... I... well... I... I love you, always and forever."
I couldn't resist a giggle, which made him flinch out of apprehension. "Mikhail... always, forever... that's an awful long time." He shifted again. I was drawing this out longer than he wanted me too. "But I like the sound of that."
He stared, bewildered. "What?"
"I love you Mikhail."
His pure emerald eyes shone as if all the wrongs in the world had just been righted. He kissed me again, less carefully than before. A warmth I hadn't felt for so many years spread through me again. After all the lies, the deceit, the pain, now all that had past didn't matter. The present was all that stood between the past and the future.
All the while the snow steadily dropped, gently, slowly, as if the world would wait for it. This was our world and from now until the end, we will be the keepers of our fate, for eternity.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
OMG...
...I...
...AM...
...DONE...
...WITH...
...ANOTHER...
...STORY.
It's amazing!
I'm too stunned too speak.
Well I hope you liked it.
Happy New Years everyone!
A brand new start for all. A clean slate! Make the best of it .
Yeah...
And please review!
I'd like to know what you all think.
I'm sure not all of you think like I do...so, please take a few seconds to submit a review for me.
Well, I think I'm done for today.
Again, happy holidays.
-TAD/Phoenix-