Poison

by J P Anderson

  "Will you now? Do tell." Acruz grabbed Genevieve into the darkness before any of them, especially Genevieve herself, could fully react.

  "Sorry my dear but this is for your own good." he whispered into her ear. The black handled blade went through her back and out her stomach with such gut wrenching pain she fell to the ground and gasped for some sort of relief. As she fell to the ground she could hear the cry of sadness that did not belong to her before everything went black, unfortunately for the moment, her favorite color.

  She fell down a vortex of black and red falling for what seemed like forever, the pain killing her, crushing her with the pressure of a thousand weights. When she thought she could endure no more she was violently yanked into a meadow.

  It was the most beautiful place Genevieve had ever laid her eyes on. It was simply dazzling with simple tranquility. The rolling hills where covered with soft flowing grass that seemed to hug your feet, though you would hardly notice the grass when the every hill was cover with wild red poppies in full bloom. She could hear the trickling of a running spring in the distance. She twirled in a circle marveling its beauty. Behind her was a tree, a large weeping willow. She walked over to it with absolutely no caution. She strolled around the exterior, lazily hitting the draping limbs until she came to a giant rock. This was no ordinary rock. It was square and had writing. She squinted, wondering why she was having such difficulty thinking normally mundanely easy things. The rock read, "Here lies Genevieve Desiree Grave, a sister, a daughter, a friend." She screamed. It was no ordinary run of the mill scream. This was a horror movie. Freddy just wound back his chainsaw mixed with the grudge just popped out of a dark place plus the entire movie of Drag Me to Hell super scream. The tree rustled, the flowers leaned away and the skies turned dark and thick.

  "I'm dead, really? I go through all of that and then I die before I get to see what happens? This is bullshit!" she screamed.

  "Come on? Someone's got to be running the joint, lay it on me all mighty one." Gen yelled, now sauntering around the tree looking for someone.

  "Of course there isn't anyone here Genevieve, what do you think they let anyone in this place. Sheesh." a woman said. Genevieve looked all around running around the tree trying to find who had just spoken.

  "Where are you? Show yourself!" her voice cracked. Probably from all the screaming, how does Andria do it? Maybe I should ask the basic questions she is more likely to answer.

  "Am I dead?" she asked softly.

  "No sweetness, you most certainly are not dead." the voice answered. Anger swelled inside of Gen when memories of the only person she had ever known to use that word flooded into her retinas without warning.

  "Acruz" Genevieve snarled. The phantom laughed a light, mesmerizing laugh. It was the kind of laugh that made you want to laugh, addicting and compelling all at the same time.

  "I had a feeling he was the one that would bring you to me." the woman told Gen.

  "Yeah via knife in the back, the same knife that killed my mother is now my demise. I suppose it fits in a twisted way." Gen babbled.

  "Well if you think of it like that! Try to think of it as it really is, he saved you. He did what he did to protect you." the woman preached.

  "Protect me from what? Himself? He did a bang up job! Brava" Gen mocked.

  "Or what he saw." the woman noted.

  "Oh yes, him and his ever troublesome vision of doom and gloom and things that go boom." Gen laughed.

  "They're a curse he has had to deal with for many years. You would know that if you would just listen to the man that has them instead of everyone else!" the woman yelled.

  "So you know him well, eh? Gen asked, hinting at a possible twenty questions game.

  "Very I'd say. He was one of my most loyal and trusted friends for, many, years." the woman said. Genevieve thought of everyone she had met in the last three days and she couldn't think of single living soul that thought Acruz was a loyal and trusted friend.

  "Do you give up?" the woman teased.

  "Yes for God sake, show yourself already!" Gen complained. The rumble of thunder made Gen look up. A dark cloud was alienated from the rest of the perfectly white fully ones and was causing somewhat of a ruckus as it boomed a rumbled. The light cool breeze turned into gusty gale force winds as it collected dust and blew it into a tornado like swirling vortex in front of her. The tornado grew stronger and stronger blowing all kinds of debris into its churning drain until it all started to calm, evaporate even until there was nothing but a woman standing in a field of poppies in front of her, no remains of what just was to be seen. The woman was gorgeous. She wore a white flowing dress that came down like drooping flower peddles. Her curly dirty blonde hair was in a stunning up do. Her blue eyes were so clear. Gen swore she could see down to the very core of her soul.

  "Wow, I mean, wow."

  "Was the entrance too much? I mean, I tried to make it dramatic, but I don't know if causing the dirt to cloud the air was too much. Did it clog your nasal passages at all?" the woman asked. If Gen thought she was an angel, sent to help her with all her problem, she was not completely convinced God hated her.

  "If I'm not dead then why am I here? Wherever here is." Gen asked.

  "Some call it, the other side, some call it heaven. I call it paradise." the woman told her.

  "You said I wasn't dead! People that are alive don't see their own graves in heaven!" Gen screamed.

  "I'm using my favor with the big guy to save you." the lady tried to explain. Genevieve didn't look a bit convinced so the woman tried a more laid back approach.

  "Look, Acruz had a vision that if he didn't marry your sister she would die." she told Gen.

  "And what do the fates say about me?" Gen couldn't help but ask.

  "You are to be his apple, the forbidden fruit, as it where. The one thing he can never have but always wanted."

  "What do you mean always wanted?" Gen asked, now intrigued and fully listening. The woman sighed.

  "When I was a teenager, a bit younger than you are now, Acruz had a vision of a beautiful woman. He fell instantly in love with her, and she came to him every night, taunting him with promises of all his wildest dreams becoming a reality if he just let what was going to be, be." Alison told her.

  "And?" Gen asked.

  "And he did as she said. But when I came, everything changed. Things started to move faster and faster and it was harder for Acruz to "go with the flow". Finally Acruz had to make a choice between, someone's, reputation as a person and a mythical love who he practically worshiped, he choice to defy his one desire and save that someone from a fate worse than death." Alison's eyes where watering at this point. She sniffled in the rest of her fluids and continued.

  "So what did that someone do after her reputation was saved." Gen asked, even though it was painfully obvious who that someone was, she didn't have the heart to make her mom say that Acruz saved her.

  "She died." Alison choked. "It was stupid, and childish, and she regrets it every day. But she died, and because of Acruz, I died honorably." Alison continued, wiping her nose with her wrist and leaning against the tree. "So, because someone gave up their "live" to save me, I was sent here, it sort of the VIP room of heaven I suppose. I can change it any time I want, but I usually keep it like this." Alison told her. "This is the view from my grandmother's house. I use to love it there. I would sit at this tree for hours, in this very spot, and dream about getting away. Who knew that not even that far down the road I would get away and it would be the death of me." She laughed a dry giggle that was pleasant to the ear but almost sad to hear. She was Gen's age, they looked almost the same except her mother's hair was a beautiful silky blonde with beautiful round baby blue eyes which were just a little puffy from crying.

  "So Acruz lived with being accused with murder even though he was doing you a favor for what reason?" Gen finally asked.

  "Because he didn't want to lose the one he loved." she answered simply.

  "The one he love
d being?" Gen asked dumbly.

  "You, the one he loves being you my friend. He waited in exile for eighteen years, trying to find you. When he finally gave up the search, he went back to Ranicus. His father told him that he was to marry the princess of Akadia to redeem himself as a son." Alison leaned her head back against the tree and closed her eyes.

  "So what the problem, did I miss something? Why did he just stab me?" Gen asked, pointing to the two inch knife wound in her stomach and blood stained dress.

  "Acruz had a vision upon his arrival to Akadia." Alison continued.

  "Oh great, another oh so helpful hallucination from our neighborhood psychic, lay it on me and make it quick I'm starting to feel a little woozy from the blood loss." Gen ranted. Alison looked at her for a moment, perhaps trying to see if Gen was being her usual comical self or she really was feeling faint from lack of blood to her head.

  "He saw that he had to marry Andria, or she would die and if you where at the wedding, you would die." Alison flinched when she said her own daughter's death. Well that explained why Acruz wanted me gone in the beginning. He was trying to save me from myself, again. It also explained why he told me he had to marry her. Great, now I feel awful for guilt tripping him about it constantly when I was really just making something he was being forced to do even harder to do. Way to go Gen.

  Genevieve could see how people would think she was her mother. They looked similar. Their angular boney jaw lines, light fair untannable skin tone and curved nose where one and the same. Genevieve and Andria had their fathers black hair, olive green eyes, and fat rounded lips. In personality Gen was mostly her father, which was frightening to her more than to anyone else. Her selfish nature and lack of attention where identical to her father but her since of humor and attraction to the unusual and hopeless was completely her mother. Andria was mostly her mother in a lot of ways. For example, her good hearted nature towards all but her inner self torture reeked of Alison while her narcissistic nature and desire for attention is the genes of her father.

  "But they didn't get married, she ran." Gen said, stating the obvious.

  "Which is why Acruz had a vision this morning that stated that either he or you would die, and he was allowed to choose, but one of you would die today." Alison stated. Gen said flabbergasted. How dare Acruz kill him to save himself, what a self involved asshole? Was her first thought and then she cleared her head and tried to remember to know the whole story before you judge someone's character.

  "He killed you, knowing I would bring you back, therefore cancelling out the vision." Alison explained. Gen nodded. "Come, we have to get you back, your needed right about now. Genevieve," Alison paused.

  "Yes mom." she answered for the first and last time. "I love my boys, Alister and Acruz I mean, could you watch over them for me? Alister has such a big heart, I don't want him to get hurt. And Acruz, well, he's gotten himself into yet another pickle he thinks he can solve but can't, try not to take it too hard. He is very hard to get rid of. Goodbye Genevieve." she said reaching for Gen's heart.

  "Mom," Gen asked looking into her eyes.

  "Yes Gen." she stopped.

  "Henry loves you. He always has and always will." Gen told her "And Andria and I, we love you, we love you so much." Gen finished.

  "I know honey. Everything becomes very clear when you pass on." she told Gen.

  "I love you all too, be happy my darling, and don't settle." where Alison's final words to her daughter before she swiftly grabbed Gen's chest and pumped it. Gen breathed in a sharp breathe from a familiar forest. She was back in Akadia in the arms of Alister. She sat straight up startling him so fiercely he yelped and fell back onto the ground, wide eyed. She grinned at him, she couldn't remember why she was here or why Alister was on her, but she had this burning feeling her gut to get up and go to where she heard voices yelling. She got up with no problem, leaving a baffled and speechless Alister Grey on the ground sputtering for words.

  "But you were, I felt, and you weren't, I don't understand. So much blood." Alister stuttered.

  "I feel fine." she answered honestly. She was a little tired, and she was craving a Mountain Dew but other than her unnatural love for carbonated sugar she was completely fully functioning and normal. She wandered away from him, out of the shadows and into the tiny clearing. Acruz stood alone on one side, facing the direction of the door, Therius and Andria where on the other side of the invisible line. Gen felt a slight twinge in her back. She reached behind her, patting blindly before she felt a stick of some sort sticking out of her back. She pulled it out in an awkward angle and looked at it. It was a standard issue black handled blade with the initials A.A.D.

  Without thought, she threw the knife as far away from her as possible. It flipped thought the air, careened a few inches away from Acruz's nose and stabbed deeply into the tree right next to him. She shivered when he turned his head slowly to look at her and went a little fuzzy around the edges when a smile of pure joy flickered on his face for just a second. Just a second of recognition and happiness for her safety was enough to reassure her of everything her mother told her. That was, of course, until that beautiful second of love and admiration ended and Acruz put of his pompous "I own the world" attitude on and she couldn't help but wonder if making her presence known was a horrible mistake that may be the death of her for the second time in one hour.

  "So nice of you to join us sleeping beauty, did you have a good nap? Have any dreams? Nothing too scary, I hope." Acruz hissed. Gen just flashed him a sarcastic grin.

  "Very good, learned a lot although there was a part where I saw my own grave, that was pretty freaky." she told him honestly.

  "Now you know how I feel." Acruz joked. Now it was Gen who looked intently into his eyes.

  "Yes, I do." she hinted.

  "Why don't you come a little closer Genevieve and we can discuss it." Acruz asked.

  "Don't listen to him Gen, he's majorly evil. Acruz this has nothing to do with Gen, this is between you and I, now let Gen leave so we can end this!" Andria yelled. Acruz laughed, it wasn't even an evil laugh per say, it was a whole hearted, full body shake, laugh.

  "This has nothing to do with Genevieve?" he laughed. "This is between you and I?" he giggled some more. "Honey, this couldn't be any less about you, you selfish little girl and I have no time to pretend to care about your problems right now." Acruz dismissed her. Anyone with eyes could see Andria was about to explode, she was so red faced and infuriated she couldn't even speak. Therius, who had been oddly silent, finally spoke up.

  "Don't talk to my sister in such a manner Acruz." Therius ordered.

  "Ooh, I'm scared now, the second rate, Audrae want-to-be, runt of the Caunell family's going to cut me with his blunt, sixty year old, blade, I'm shaking in my hand made leather boots. Or are you going to call your girlfriend in to kill me like you do with everything else?" Acruz mocked. Gen walked over to him and slapped him so hard across his white face there was a hand print on his cheek. When he moved his head back to look at her his mouth was open wide with shock, like he had, well, like he had just been slapped across the face.

  "Shut up, God, you could be more full of crap but I don't know how. Why don't you just leave and do us all a favor?" Gen asked. She wanted to get Acruz out of here safely and swiftly and if she had to pull an Acruz and be a total heartless jerk to make it happen, so be it.

  "Maybe I wi-" Acruz began, grabbing her arm.

  "Miss. Genevieve what happen to you?" Joshua screamed, running in with a bow in his hand and in arrow holder strapped to his back. He pointed to the blood staining her arms and dress and the identical hole on either side of her corset.

  "How did this?" he asked, his eyes drifting to her arm where Acruz had a firm grip on it. His eyes widened as he pulled out an arrow from his reserve. It all happened in a second, but for Acruz and Genevieve it was ages. He looked at her one more time as he whispered;

  "I couldn't stop it from happening." By the time she opened her mouth to
scream no and take action the arrow had already left Joshua's bow and was careening by Genevieve's face as she watched it go through Acruz's temple. He shook, his hand crushing her arm in his last electric shock before his hand went cold and slipped away. A single red tear fell down his cheek with his last blink of his blue eyes before he fell backwards and made a large thumping sound on the dense forest floor. Genevieve fell to her knees as the reality of the last hour sunk in. She no longer felt fine. She could feel the hole that went all the way from her back to her stomach. She could very much feel her crushed bones in her arms and the tears running down her face as she looked upon Acruz's limp body for the first time. She let out a wail of pain and grief before she passed out from the pain beside him.

  Chapter 20: Medicine

  "Shh, you're going to disturb her!" Genevieve heard a high pitch angry voice whisper.