Monday, January 21, 2013

Rosa Evergreen: Aretha

My name is Rosa Evergreen. You've probably never heard of me; I'm not very important, just a secretary for the American Sanctuary.
"That's a horrible way to start a story," I muttered to myself, quickly deleting both sentences, then retyping them because I had nothing else to write. I had always wanted to be a writer, but my life was so uneventful, and I had never figured out how to design a good plot, anyway. I just didn't know how to appeal to a reader...

I spent a few more minutes thinking of what to write next, then gave up and let my thoughts drift towards Aretha. I'd had a crush on Aretha Tesla since the first day she came to the Sanctuary. I'm an adept, and my discipline is to see emotions- they almost look like a light aura, hanging around every one of us. From the first day she came in, Aretha's was a light, soft purple. Well, hers is always different shades of purple- but the thing about hers is that it's always got that lightness to it.

Lightness- that's a terrible word. And I just used the word light in the previous sentence... That's horrible. I'll never get published if I write like that. Then again, I need a story before I can even think about getting published, and I'll probably never have one...

Anyway, back to Aretha- sometimes her aura hardens, or becomes sharp, dark, and intimidating- usually when she's just finished a job, or if she's had a bad day, and it almost looks... How can I describe it? Soggy? No, that's awful- it just kind of hangs there, like a dark cloud or something. But no matter how it looks or how she's feeling, it always has a soft light behind it. Even in her darkest days, she's just a generally happy person. She always has this underlying faith in humanity- like she genuinely cares about every human being, ever. She's nice to everyone- even offered to make me tea once- imagine, the Sanctuary's best assasin making tea for me, the boring, stupid, pointless secretary...

Oh, look- here she is now, requesting audience with the Grand Mage. Wait, where's that leather jacket she always wears? Forget that, why is she covered in scars? Those weren't there before, were they? No, I'm certain they weren't. And... Wait, no, this can't be right... Her aura is... Missing? There must be something wrong with me- maybe I should see a doctor. There's no way her aura can just be gone. Seriously, I swear- it's like she's dead. But she's clearly not a zombie...

She's waiting to see Zafria now-  maybe I'll offer her a cup of tea or something. But I'm stopped in my tracks- standing in the middle of the office for no reason, like an idiot- because I didn't notice just how many scars there were. And there's one in her neck that's kind of circular- it almost looks like a symbol of some sort- and right next to it is a smear of blood. I'm certain it's not hers. And she looks so tired... Her eyes are sort of red, like she's been crying, but I still can't get over the fact that she has no aura. All of her emotions have literally dissapeared. What the heck...?

The Administrator let her in to see the Grand Mage, and I went to get my coat. I'm too concerned to just let this be... And in addition to everything that's already wrong with Aretha- ok, I know this is going to sound crazy, but bear with me. There's this... Shadowy presence, almost- that was a horrible discription, but I can't think of anything that fits it better. Anyway, I've never actually seen it, but I could always feel it, hovering around her. Like she was constantly being watched or something. For the longest time I thought I was just going insane, but there was definitely something there. And now it's gone, too.

She's leaving the Sanctuary now, Zafria Kerias in tow. And I know it's creepy and weird, but... I can't help myself... I'm following them. She's leading us a few blocks away from the Santcuary- this is a bit strange, I don't know why we're headed down this empty street- in fact, it's weird that any street in this city would be empty. It's also weird that she hasn't noticed me yet. She's an assasin- and a good one- and she's always very alert. No one can sneak up on her. I guess it's just because she stopped caring...

Oh my God. Did she just... She did... She just pushed the Grand Mage through a mirror! I really must be insane. This can't be happening... Aretha? Betraying the Sanctuary? No, I can't accept that... She's better than that. I know it... I can't leave like this. There must be something more to the story. They're both through it now, and I can't believe this, but I'm following, watching the scene play out from the other side...

I can't hear what they're saying, but something important must be happening, because Aretha's aura just flared. And I mean really flared. Strong, intense, desperate, erratic, and blinding- I'm getting a headache just from watching. Seriously. Now there's a man in there with them- his aura is bloodred, hard and cruel. Twisted. Aretha's aura is gone again. It's like one moment she was more upset than she's ever been in her life, and now she's just dead inside.

The man with the bloodred aura grabbed Zafria, forced her to stand, placed a knife to her neck, and then said something... Then she left, and he went off in a different direction. Aretha just stood there, staring at nothing. Her face was wet with tears, but they weren't falling anymore. Those must've come from when her aura was flaring...

I waited a few minutes, just so I could make sure the man wasn't coming back, then jumped in after the lost, pretty assasin...

9 comments:

  1. Welcome back to the MC, Aretha!
    Considering your record, I will probably be screaming my head off at you in a few chapters or so.
    Apologies in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apologies accepted in advance.
      And thank you for your gracious welcome! *is slightly surprised you even want me back on here*
      Also, yes, I promise I will give you much cause to scream.

      What do you guys think of Rosa?

      Delete
  2. She's awesome!!!
    I have a feeling that she's really going to help!!!
    YAY GO ROSA!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lol or get killed off. I know better than to get attached to your characters, Ari.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
      You're learning well, dear reader. However, despite your foreknowledge, it is my job as an author to keep you guessing, force you to become emotionally invested, keep you in suspense, and then break your heart... And if I have not continually accomplished these things by the end of MC, I will have failed. So hold fast to your sanity, and I'll see if I can't pull it away again.

      Delete
    2. Aretha, I swear if you kill him, you'll have the same fate...
      *Raises eyebrow*
      Okay?

      Delete
    3. If I kill who? Sorry, I'm a bit confused...

      Delete
  4. o.O

    Empathy and Rosa would get on well.

    ReplyDelete