War Is Madness

Chapter Three: Rose's Lullaby

"What have you done? You're bleeding!" Rose shrieked and ran into my open arms.

She wasn't as solid as this morning, so I assumed she was partially awake.

"Shrapnel. They dropped a larger bomb."

"Actually, a small nuke. It's what I wanted to warn you about earlier. I'm so sorry!" She cried.

The ice around my heart melted a bit and my entire chest ached to see her so upset.

"It's not your fault, Rose."

"B-But. I wanted to warn you and I couldn't. I couldn't get through to you. It's getting harder to get a hold of you. Why are you dying? What happened to you? Would you please tell me!"

I inhaled sharply from the blow that did to my heart. I was lucky enough to be able to communicate with my Mate and here she was crying in my arms because of me. Up until earlier we hadn't really talked or touched. It was probably because I was afraid to get close to her.

What if I died before I got to physically see her? I figured it would be easier for her if we weren't close. I didn't realize until now how much this was hurting her instead.

"The first attack from the Humans. They used biological warfare. To prevent the loss of my Twin, I gave up my soul. I'm dying because I'm running out of time. But you know that part already."

Rose looked into up into my eyes, searching for the truth. She must have seen my sincerity because she clutched her heart and took a step back.

"Mother Goddess have mercy. T-that's horrible, Ptolemeos. I'm so sorry."

I gently wiped the tears underneath her eyes and pulled her back into my arms. After finally sharing that with her I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders. All I wanted was to take away her pain.

"Do you remember when we first met? How we exchanged names and then really never spoke again until this morning? That was almost five years ago. So, how long have you been fighting to stay alive?"

"Ten years, Rose. I should have told you sooner. But I thought if we never spoke then it would be easier on you once I passed. I didn't even think I'd make it this long to be honest."

"I felt you didn't want to talk but I didn't know why. Now that I know. I feel like I've wasted so much time not talking to you. Being able to see you was enough for the longest time. But once I overheard the Humans talking about dropping a nuke on the Demon Kingdom. I felt it was important to tell you. I didn't even know it was where you were until you told me you were at war. I got distracted this morning by being held by you that I didn't get a chance to tell you until it was too late. I'm sorry, Ptolemeos."

"Rose! It's not your fault! Please, realize this." I begged the tiny woman in my embrace.

She slowly nodded and finally relaxed into my arms. After a couple of moments, a thought came to me.

"Do you know where the Humans take their prisoners?"

"If they're important. A lot of them end up here at the lab. Why? Did some of your people get taken?"

"They took my Little Sister and probably a few others."

Rose wrapped her arms around my neck and tightened her hold on me. I nuzzled the crook of her neck and desperately wished I could smell her scent in this spiritual realm.