The child danced underneath the large, warm sun, and Mère laughed into a white folding fan. It was a hot day, the kind of day where work was impossible, and so people fled from their jobs and laid back in the sun, enjoying life. The kind of day where she'd leave her post, and her murder, and plans and watch the child she stole play in the nice cool water. It was a day for a family, for love and adventure.
"Mère, Mère," Rouge I1 shrieked as she danced in the waves, "It's so cold." The sea was bitter and it nipped at her legs, the icy water scaring her every time it crashed into her.
"You are so brave." Mère made a dramatic swooning movement with her fan, fluttering for the young child. She smiled into the sun, for her child no longer called out those who were dead, she no longer looked for ghosts, no longer went by Persephone. Her child determinedly had joined the Bleeding Hearts, a mere Rouge, but a place in the large family Mère created nonetheless. She smiled because the excitement was contagious, and I1 would look for Mère every time she discovered something shiny and new, grinning at her find.
The child giggled, and attempted to jump over the waves, but she didn't make it over, crashing into the sea. The waves pulled her down and she disappeared into the water. Mère stilled, her eyes were sharp, and she waited a second, but there wasn't any movement besides the brush of waves on the sand.
Quickly, she shot up. "Marionette, Are youe well? Where are youe?" She reached the edge of the shadow she had been lounging under, not quite ready to reach into the sun. And if she passed the looming shade, there would be repercussions for her child. She wouldn't leave the protection of the umbrella, not unless she had to, and if her child forced her out before she was ready, then I1 would face her wrath.
Her hat was in her large bag, tucked away. The beach was deserted, private, just for the two of them.
She clutched the fan tightly, fanning her face, worry lines crossed her forehead, but she hesitated.
The waves broke as the child slowly made her way to a standing position, wobbling the whole way up. "Iy'm okay." She smiled and waved, and Mère sighed a breath of relief. Rouge I1 waddled out from the sea, leaving bubbles in her wake. She trailed up to Mère. Her hands reached up, and made little grabby motions.
She was getting too big for something that childish, but she still tried anyways, dirty, grit holding onto her bathing suit.
Mère sighed, "Youe are wet," but as the child pouted, she reached down to pick her up, her nose wrinkling at the sea water. Her heart fluttered.
"Iy love youe, Mère." The child laid her head on Mère's shoulder.
Mère kissed the top of her head. "And Iy also. Iy love youe, too."
Her mind raced with the words, I love you. I love you Iloveyou Iloveyou.
Mère placed Rouge I1 back down on the sand, who giggled the whole way. She patted her child's back who took the cue and raced back into the sea, smiling into the sun, shrieking when her legs hit the water.
Mère lounged once again in the safety of the shade, and she mindlessly hummed a happy tune. She pulled out her cross-stitch, and started to work, stabbing each point perfectly, and she smiled at her progress. Cœurvianne barely crossed her mind, she had been replaced with a brighter joy.
And she loved her. With every heartbeat.
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Science FictionNo one breathed. No one blinked. The only thing Ileia could hear was the sound of death. It was going to happen, There was nothing she could do except keep Kallen safe. -------- Feelings are useless, they get in the way of her job, in the way of the...
