White Roses Bloom

Chapter Twenty Eight

     A year later, Thomas lay in the gardens of the castle. An incurable illness was claiming his body. His last wish had been to see the roses he had planted a year ago. The garden was filled with white, glowing roses. Their beauty in the moonlight was overwhelming.
     Xavier sat behind the fading king, writing a letter to be delivered to Lydia, who had gone home with Carvar, Analise, and Vidro. Thomas took in a shaky breath, struggling to hold onto his life. His eyes fluttered closed and memories of everything that had happened in his lifetime flashed before his eyes.
     Kayda stood in the doorway, crying. Servants tried to lead her away, to prepare her for her coronation. She refused to leave, desperate to stay close to her brother. She found it to be too soon, she wasn't ready to lose him. She wasn't ready to be the only member of her family left. She wasn't ready to rule. She wasn't ready to say goodbye to her older brother.
      As Thomas opened his eyes again, he noticed most the people around him were crying. He looked down to see his own body was slumped in the grass, pale, cold, and unmoving. He was dead. Kayda sank to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, much like he had done a year ago.
     A familiar woman’s hand stretched out in front of Thomas’s face, catching his attention. “I love you too Tommy,” Anna's voice called down to him, sounding complete to have finally said those words. Tommy took Anna's hand and smiled. She pulled him up to stand. He threw her arms around her and pressed his lips against hers. “You kept your promise, so I kept mine,” Anna whispered.
     The two lovers burst into a cloud of shards of light. The shards blew away with the wind, whisked away to the land of the dead, where everyone the two had ever lost were patiently awaiting their arrival. A white rose replaced where Thomas's spirit had once stood. “I’ve always loved you, and I always will, Bella,” Thomas whispered, finally complete.