Nos Ascendemus

2

"Happy New Year, my kitten. Our pasts will no longer rule us. I love you so much."

It was January third (3rd) and the whole castle was in a massive panic. Serah and Benjamin's gender reveal party was in two days and there was so much still left to do. Elias had a team of twenty (20), along with him and his wife.

Nova was pulling out all the stops, as well as driving basically everyone but the young couple insane. She decided the way to reveal the gender of the baby was to have the two dress in all white and then three (3) of them would spray them with pink or blue paint from water guns.

It was a fun way to do it and plus Benjamin would be so excited seeing water guns, as they were his favourite kind of toy to use when playing with the kids. The soon to be parents were not allowed to raise a finger or know anything that was being planned and only asked about food or drink choices.

The couple were currently doing some paperwork for the club's finances when the door to their shared office flew wide open and in dived Elias. For some reason, this scenario felt vaguely familiar, but he could not pinpoint from where.

Looking up from his computer screen, Benjamin pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose because they slid down while he was typing. Raising his left eyebrow, he stared questioningly at his best friend, "Why did you just dive in here like a bomb just went off, Ellie?"

"Benji baby, a bomb did go off, in the form of my wife. Nova just basically exploded on one of the thralls for roughhousing in the lounge and ruining her gift for you two that she hand made."

The two of their mouths formed into an 'o' shape at the revelation, they also felt quite bad as the pair knew how long his wife spent making whatever it was she was making for them. Getting up from her seat, Serah walked over to her King and softly asked him, "Where is my little star?"

"She's up in our bedroom, possibly sulking or cooling down or both."

Patting him on his head, she thanked him and quietly, but quickly made her way out of the office and to the elevators. Placing her tiny palms on her large, swollen belly, she smiled and gained some comfort from the thought of this was her and Ben's child. Now, whenever he was not with her and far away, she had their son or daughter to be a little safe light.

Breaking out of her thoughts at the ding of the elevator, she watched as the doors slid open and she stepped in. Pressing the button that would take her to Nova and Elias' floor, she leaned against the wall, getting lost in thought.

Her mind flashed with memories of when the whole club had just found out about her little star. She was so happy that they were able to save her before anything else horrendous happened to her and that she was able to find a safe space.

Unfortunately, her thoughts lost their purity and happiness, exchanging it for something more sinister. The past she so desperately tried to run away from every day would always find a way to creep back in and sink its nasty claws into her subconscious. No matter how hard the young couple tried to suppress it and heal, it never truly worked.

Her husband was the only other person who knew what had truly happened to her and her baby brother all those years ago. The tragic story that was their upbringing and the things she was forced to do to keep Lennox safe were things she was not proud of. Serah did not want anyone else knowing, especially her brother, he had already gone through so much pain and did not want to burden him with that.

Suddenly a hand appeared waving in front of her face frantically. Blinking rapidly, her hazel orbs met the pale grey ones of Nova, who's face was full of concern for her friend. Taking her hand, she gently guided her into her living room and sat her down.

"Buttercup, are you ok? Do I need to call bubba?"

"I'm okay and no don't, he's helping Ellie do the club's finances."

Putting on a stern expression, she watched as Nova leant forward and grabbed both of her hands. Looking Serah dead in the eye, she asked a question she never thought would come out of her mouth.

"Who is Violet?"

Nova watched as her best friend's eyes widened and filled with panic. Not knowing what do, she whipped out her smartphone from her jeans pocket and called her husband. Letting him know to bring Benjamin with him, she hung up and tried to console the spiralling strawberry blonde.

Absolutely nothing she did would break through the trance her friend was in. After what felt like a million years past, the front door opened and in ran in the two men. Sagging back against the couch in relief, Nova explained to the duo what had just transpired.

Benjamin took one look at his wife and he knew nothing that they did would be able to knock her back into reality. Listening to what his best friend's wife was saying, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the question, but more than that, the name, 'Violet.'

Dashing over to where the other three were, he pushed past his friend and slammed onto his knees on the floor in front of the younger woman. Grabbing her hands, he frantically demanded her to tell him where and how did she hear that name.

"I was walking down the stairs when I heard this terrifying wail, so I ran to the front door and looked through the peephole. At first, I did not see anyone, then I noticed the elevator doors were stuck open and then I saw Serah in the doorway of it. I threw open the door, called out to her, but she did not respond, so I got closer and waved my hand in her face several times. She kept repeating the name, Violet."

It felt like his whole world was collapsing around him and there was literally nothing he could do to stop it. He felt helpless. Suddenly a heavy hand fell on his right shoulder, staring up into the emerald green eyes that belonged to his best friend, he lunged into his arms and wailed.

Elias was shocked, he had never seen his friend like this before. All of his cries were so filled with pain and they sounded so tortured. Holding his head top his chest, he slowly rocked them back and forth, hoping it could help slowly bring Benjamin back.

Catching her husband's eye, Nova used sign language to sign to him, "There's a more deep-rooted problem than what the two of them have told us and the club. This is not normal behaviour and we need to get to the bottom of it."

Nodding, he agreed and continued the rocking motion. Slowly, but surely, the blonde man came back to the present and his cries quieted down to just hiccups. Pushing himself up and sitting up, he stared at the floor, while playing with his hands.

"Benji, you need to tell me what actually happened to Serah and Lennox. I know you told me that it was not your place to say anything, but you need to because she is almost in a catatonic state."

"Call Doctor Luke, we need to move her to the infirmary. Then we'll grab Lenny and we can talk because we need to take care of my wife first. Serah will come around soon, but we need all hands on deck."

Elias and Nova stood up, turning to the unresponsive woman, their smiles were filled with sadness. The normal spitfire that they knew was gone and now it was replaced with a hollow shell of that person. The couple watched as their friend picked up his wife and they followed him out of their home, down to the medical centre.

"Hey Fang, please put her in a private room."

"Of course, I'll give her the best care I can and of course, I will keep you updated on her state, from the looks of it right now, nothing about her condition is going to change."

"Thank you and I understand."

Benjamin walked over to his wife before they placed her into the hospital room and kissed her on her forehead. Smiling sadly, he whispered to her, "Jag kommer att göra allt för att skydda dig. Jag älskar dig så mycket."

("Jag kommer att göra allt för att skydda dig. Jag älskar dig så mycket." Translates from Swedish to English "I will do everything possible to protect you. I love you so much.")