Euthanasia

Chapter Seven- Myths Begin with Blood

George sleeping in my room was becoming something that just happened most nights and waking up next to him brought a comfort that I didn't know I needed. He told me to stop ignoring my feelings, but it was dangerous to let them in. I knew this, and he must have known too, but still he insisted. And even then, I still managed to push him away, even when all I wanted to do was be close to him.

At first, I wasn't going to tell George about the upcoming Blood Moon festival, but the word spread like a blazing wildfire, and soon enough he had somehow heard about it. There was going to be a festival, like it happened every year. But this time it was going to be different.

People didn't know much about the war; all they really knew was that Iaspis was ready to invade at any second. No one could know about our plan, except those who were involved, so the people in the city only knew of their inevitable deaths. This was not only a celebration of the blood moon, but of the lives to be stolen in the war. Because of this, the festival was planned to be grand, something unlike all the previous celebrations.

And with only a week until the meeting with Iaspis's emperor, George decided that he wanted to go.

It was in the garden under the purple willow that he asked about it. He had never really been to see the festival before. Of course, he knew about it and had seen it from a distance, but never had he been involved, been in the heart of the excitement. Truth be told, I hadn't either. It was always something my father told me was better from the great distance of the palace.

So, every year I would watch, from my balcony, the thrill below, meanwhile George would sit in the grass, among the red wild mushrooms and gaze at everything he was forcing himself to miss out on. He never gave me his reasoning for not going, but I assumed it had something to do with the pain he suffered from his family's death. Because of what I had done.

This year though, everything had changed, and as the purple flowers swayed around us, he took my hand and pulled me out of the gardens. Something about the way he so easily took my hand in his, made me nervous. But I let him take me inside, through densely lit hallways. The sun was just beginning to go down, the Blood Moon festival about to begin.

Soon the city would be filled with noise, and once the stars speckled the night, and the moon was in the middle of the sky, there would be the Blood Ball, a dance that was said to bind lovers' souls. Of course, there was no real evidence of this, but it was a legend many people chose to believe in. I couldn't say whether it was true or not, as I had never participated, but I had seen from a distance that it was a very grand scene, where hundreds of people gathered to watch or join in.

Soon George pulled me into my room, gently shutting the door behind us. I watched him as he let go of my hand and opened my old, wooded wardrobe. "If we are going to the festival, we have to find something grand to wear," he said happily, shuffling through the clothes. I rolled my eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, "I can't go. People would recognize me. They hate me, I have hurt everyone in that city in one way or another." George turned to look at me, his gaze burning into mine.

I studied his face for a moment before continuing. "You go," I whispered, "I want you to go without me." For a moment the room was silent, his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. His eyes trailed away, landing on my mask in the center of the table, surrounded by loose papers, and small lit candles. A smile filled his face as he looked back at me, "we can find masks. When there is so much going on, no one will know that it's you if you have a mask. It will be like a masquerade." He turned back to looking through the wardrobe, and I smiled at his excitement.

"Okay, I guess you got me there, I'll go." I let George find me something to wear. It ended up being a white undershirt, adorned with golden buttons, covered by a red and black satin doublet, and silky black pants. Then he pulled a black cloak over my shoulders, pulling the gold clasp together around my neck.