Emerald Byron
* TW: Blood *
No matter how hard I try, I can't erase the image of Sapphire laying dead on the ground from my mind. Still-warm lifeblood trickled from her slashed neck into the earth like a kindly carmine stream in the woods, while birds twittered with blissful ignorance to welcome the morning sun overhead. If not for her murder, everything might've seemed at peace; she would have smiled to hear nature's gentle song ushering her into the afterlife.
Once my shock passed, I was jarred to realize death's severity — to recognize it, even. Saliva leaked from her open mouth and her nightdress stained with a mixture of blood and excrement from her slackened muscles. The scene was graphic and impersonal; yet, with her dark hair pooling in sticky strands around her face and her glaucous eyes staring straight into empty space, she almost looked like a younger version of my late mother.
Sapphire was always the first to console others. Now, she's dead — murdered by some hit-and-run sadist — and I feel just as I did two years ago when I grasped my parents' cold hands. I'll never find compassion in her aqueous eyes again. But, oh, how small my grief looks in comparison to that which Ruby and Topaz will feel in only a few minutes.
I plan to seek out the former first; her reaction will be less painful. I can already see the drastic heartache blazing within her green eyes as she processes each emotion one by one, each more intense and unpredictable than the last. But Topaz — even after a year of profound friendship, I still can't even begin to anticipate how the agony will pan across his leonine features. Sapphire loved that stubborn boy more than anyone, more than herself; she would've condemned herself to a life of endless suffering if she could live it by his side. Perhaps, she already had, distracting everyone with her gentle kindnesses until we all blinded to her misery.
"Rue?"
From afar, I hear my own voice and the sound of knuckles rapping on wood, and a moment later the door draws away to reveal a familiar, albeit drowsy, face.
"This better be of importan— Ral, what happened?"
Her gaze sharpens in seconds, reflective of her cunning mind as she jumps from conclusion to conclusion without awaiting my answer.
"Saph's dead," I hoarsely cut off her internal monologue.
Her retort is quick, given too fast for her to really process the weight of my words: "What are you talking about?"
"She went to the garden this morning. Adelaide and I found her there; someone had ... slit her throat."
My words sound almost as lifeless as Sapphire's complexion, but the conversation would've been impossible to approach had I allowed myself some sentiment. I know I'll feel the loss deeper later, the way pain from a bad injury only sets in once the adrenaline fades. I hope she didn't die in pain.
Ruby's face shifts now in the exact way I imagined, but I turn away, unable to watch nor console her. Her footfalls echo down the corridor as she sprints outside in search of closure, a sight that will force her to believe the reality of my statement. I amble the opposite way, deeper into the house that I'll associate with this death henceforth. Topaz needs to know.
He still lies sound asleep on Sapphire's bed when I enter the room. He rarely oversleeps sunrise, though I suppose the past evening of worrying over his love fatigued him more than usual. Staring at his mane of golden locks is so much easier than meeting those knowing cinnamon eyes.
"Thank you for staying with her," I whisper to his back, sparing myself a moment to gather my strength, "I wish I had done something more. She looked so scared when I found her last night, but I never thought —''
The words catch in my throat, thick with regret.
"She always worried; I never thought that one day she would be right, but you were there for her through it all."
My smile is weak.
"How could you not have been? She anchored you, pulled your head from the clouds just enough to clear the fog and remind you of everyone who cares. She's gone now, though, and I don't know if I can hold our family together without her."
Until I spoke the words aloud, I didn't realize I felt that way. But it's true. I offer as much love and affection as possible to all my friends, but our compassion and empathy derives always from Sapphire. Saints, Ruby would've forsaken Adelaide weeks ago, if not for the quiet avian girl's defense, and I would've done little to prevent it.
"She's dead, then."
I barely discern Topaz's undertone, yet it causes me to flinch; I've never heard a voice so devoid of emotion. He remains motionless in his reclined position as if he never spoke at all, facing the empty space where Sapphire must've slept until earlier this morning.
"I'm so sorry, Oz."
Ignoring my futile condolences, he adds, "It was the person she's avoided all this time, wasn't it. He did this."
"I don't know. We found her alone."
No answer.
"Oz, it's not —"
"Go, please," Topaz interjects, his voice adopting a glowering edge that I fail to decipher; neither of us say anything more.
YOU ARE READING
Adelaide
Mystery / Thriller"My parents heard about James' mental state and worried it was a contagious disease that I would eventually succumb to as well. So, they sent me here, before I could end up where he is now. That certainly would've damaged their reputation." "You've...
