Hope

Kree sat silently in the darkness of the den. His thoughts were chaotic and uncontained. He knew he should have argued with Raven and not allowed her to put her life in peril, but he hadn’t and now she was upstairs struggling to bring their child into the world. He also knew he should be up there with her; he just couldn't bring himself to seeing Raven so weak with absolutely nothing he could do to help her. Calling himself a coward again, Kree finally forced his feet under him and climbed the stairs to their room. He stopped halfway down the hallway and could not breathe when crying erupted into the silence. Running the rest of the way to the room, he was almost struck by the door when it flew open.

Elizabeth stood in the open doorway with a small bundle in her arms. Kree didn’t bother to look down at the child as he tried to push his way past Elizabeth. It wasn’t that he felt nothing for the babe, he did love it, but he desperately needed to see Raven. He needed to know she was well, that she had survived the labor and would grow strong enough to stay with him. He didn’t want to be alone in the world; even though he now had a child to raise he would still be alone if he lost Raven.

“No, Kree. Don’t go in there yet.”

Kree stopped and stared down at Elizabeth angrily. “Let me by, Elizabeth.”

She shook her head. “Take your daughter and go downstairs. I’ll retrieve you in a few moments.” He tried to argue with her, but she thrust the babe into his arms then slammed the door shut in his face. Leaving him to stare silently at the oak wood, wondering why he was listening to Elizabeth.

Despite Elizabeth’s comment, it was over an hour later before she finally came downstairs to stand before him. She held out her hands as she stated: “Raven is waiting for you, Kree. Give me the babe, I’ll watch over her while you are up there.” Without a word, Kree solemnly relinquished his daughter into Elizabeth’s hands. He then rose and slowly made his way upstairs, knowing his worst fear was about to come true.

The doctor was waiting just outside the bedroom door, when he approached it. He placed his hand on Kree’s shoulder as he stopped before him. “I’m sorry, son. I did all I could do for her.” Kree nodded softly before pushing past the man and opening the door. They all did what they could, but Raven had wasted too much of her strength forcing her ‘gift’ into Neci that night to survive this.

Kree smiled as he walked toward Raven, knowing even with his ‘gift’ he could do nothing for her either. As he approached the bed, she raised her hand weakly, wanting to feel his touch one last time. Though they both knew it would not be for long. He gripped her hand hard while staring down at her, not trusting his voice yet. With his other hand, he reached behind him and dragged the chair over to sit beside her. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he stared into hers, causing Raven to smile softly at him.

“Kree, do not be saddened over this. You have so much to live for.”

Kree’s voice cracked as he said: “I have nothing to live for without you.”

She inhaled deeply from a bout of pain. “You have Hope.”

A slight smile returned to him from that. “Yes, I do have Hope now. But nothing will be the same without you.”

Raven was happy to see him smile that last time, before her end had come. “Kree,” she whispered, drawing his eyes back to hers. “I’ll love you forever…”

Sapphire eyes continued to stare up at him, but they no longer held the glimmer of life within them. Shaking profusely, Kree reached out and ran his hand across Raven’s face, closing her eyes. He then kissed her cooling forehead as he said: “As I you, Raven. I’ll never want another.”

Kree stood at the top of a cliff face, holding a small bundle tightly in his arms. He had been here all day, remembering the time he had spent with Raven at his side. Though he had buried Raven that morning, he could not help but smile brightly as he stared down at his daughter. Beautiful bright sapphire eyes stared up at him from a small face, surrounded by wheat blond hair. “Hope,” he whispered softly as he kissed her small forehead. “My lovely daughter, I’ll protect you always.” Kree’s gaze then returned to the setting sun, before he turned around and began heading back to his small house in the woods. He was a bit worried about raising Hope by himself, but knew he was up to the challenge after everything he had gone through since he first met Raven. Even losing her would not compare to what he was sure was to come.