Wife of Vladimir ||Book One||

Her

"Caelum and I wrapped Rosetta's body in our jackets. Wherever home was next, I would ensure she came with us. I wanted to prevent the boys from seeing her like that as much as possible. They deserved to remember their mother how she was, not how she ended.

Several servants, including Franklin, volunteered to carry Rosetta on our journey. They remained at the back of our party as we made the trip through the mountains. Let us have a moment of recognition for those people.

The boys, myself, and Caelum led the group. It was hard to stay in front of everyone, to try and focus on where we would go when my mind was so distracted. Not only that, but Alistair kept asking about his mother. Shortly after, Caelum, my youngest, would ask about her. Leo, my poor boy, said not a word. He already knew what had happened. He had seen all the details unfold. It was a crushing blow to my chest knowing that there was nothing I could do to reverse the images away; to make it all better. It would haunt him forever.

I held Alistair and Leo's hands while we walked, letting little Caelum sit upon my shoulders. It was everything I could do to keep them distracted. Not one of the three asked about the mysteriously rugged blonde man that walked alongside us with a gaze that could cut through a person.

The old friend and I had said nothing to each other since we had left the mansion. There was no room to try and explain what had happened, not yet.

I led them to the closest place we could call home. There was a family mansion located in Italy. It had meant to be a summer home that my great-grandfather had constructed while in his youth. It hadn't been used since my father was first married, as he and my mother had used it right after their wedding.

It was almost identical to our home that we were all leaving, but there were many things that were just the slightest bit different. Even with all this, we all know it will never be the same.

You, my dear friends, know how long it took us to arrive here and I am evermore thankful that we all made it safely. We couldn't handle another tragedy in this family.

I knew that Rosetta's death would cause a ripple in our lives. Everything was going to change in ways none of us imagined, but it wasn't until the first night in our new home that I realized how much was changing.

For the first time in their lives, all three boys slept in my bed with me. They filled each empty space of the bed. We had started the night all on our own. I had thought myself fine, that I would be able to pull through, but the silence and the darkness was too much.

I remembered my parents, how I had felt each time one of them left me. It was a similar feeling, but more potent. It felt like I couldn't breathe. Every waking thought I had was of her.

It wasn't long until I felt completely alone in the world.

I had gone from not knowing a moment without Rosetta to being forced to live in a world that held no traces of her left within it. The drastic change was more than I was able to comprehend. Everything of hers, mostly, was destroyed in the fire.

Everytime I blinked, I would open my eyes believing that she'd be in front of me with her smile. I imagined that she'd open the door and walk in, asking why I was hiding in a room so dark. I wanted this to only be a nightmare that I was just waiting to wake up from.

Whenever my eyes were closed, I saw her limp, bloodied body. Her last words echoed in my ears and haunted me. I couldn't escape it.

I wanted to open my eyes to her shaking me in our bed, saying that I had been tossing and turning. I prayed for this to not be real.

No amount of prayers or wishes would bless me with my Rosetta again. She was gone.

As the reality of the situation began weighing down on me, I found myself sliding off the bed and onto the ground. I felt entirely numb, not having enough energy to pull myself back up. I cried harder that night than I had ever cried before.