Rose’s face almost softened as she watched the prince’s face soften into the mask of eternal sleep. Then she stood straight and looked around the streets, the anima had since evacuated completely, and bodies lay in torn clumps and piles across the deserted streets. Slowly vampires started to emerge from houses to sift through the corpses of friends and family, many crying or walking numb, no more alive than any of the slaughtered. Alec watched as these once inhuman creatures turned into nearly humans.
A small handful of cheers were heard as some victims were found alive, bloodied and mauled, but alive. Alec and Rose were statues in the throng of semi-hysteria, but neither could bring themselves to move. Only now did the effects of the battle set in, Alec’s throat burned with every breath which was almost impossible to take. Rose had scald marks on her arms and legs where Oleander had landed sound hits. Finally Alec took a shaky step forward, almost collapsing as pain radiated from his leg as he moved; no doubt something had been pulled out of place. But still he walked closer to the dead body of the prince. He looked down and couldn’t believe one creature had been the cause of so many deaths without the use of a bomb or some other such human creation of destruction.
Before he noticed Rose was beside him, the whip back to smooth leather curled up in her hand which seemed barely able to hold it. “I hope his soul is destroyed.” The venom in her voice surprised the human to the extent that his head snapped around to look at her. But she didn’t notice as she stared at the corpse, her eyes red and watering, and teeth sharp. Alec sighed and wrapped his arm around her, unable to hug her completely as his other arm had gone numb. She turned and hid her face in his chest while breathing deeply, as if trying to hide her face from her followers while she calmed down.
Within 20 minutes the street was already being cleaned of bodies, mostly by family members who were taking children and lovers away to be prepared for funerals. When the vampires had mostly ebbed away several of the strange humans appeared, they seemed less upset then their blood sucking captures, few wept, and even fewer retrieved the bodies. Neither of the seeming heroes could watch this sad act of humanity, instead they looked only to each other or the back of their eyelids. Finally Rose pulled away and turned, looking at her castle. “We should get some clean clothes.” She said lamely as if she just couldn’t stand the stench of the dead any longer.
Alec followed as they entered the castle, and when they were once again in her room he collapsed onto her bed, forgetting that he no doubt was sullying her sheets with blood and dirt. But Rose only put down her weapon and went to the bathroom, soon the shower was running and Alec had fallen in to a blissfully numb sleep.
