A Beautiful Color

I just couldn't stand it anymore.

I had lost everything to that damned woman. Every single man I had ever loved, everything that had ever made me happy, even my own children! All of them…even the ones that were yet to be given a chance. Unborn.

I wanted her dead.

I wanted to watch her suffer. I wanted her to lost everything she had ever cared about.

I wanted to kill her.

I would go about the city, scheming and planning out her gruesome demise. Skulking around the dark alleyways, my face covered by a big hood, clutching a knife tightly beneath the thick cloth of my cloak. I would pace and whisper, "Soon, soon…" again and again. I'd follow behind as she went about, boasting about how great of a person she was. "Soon, soon, I would reassure myself. Not yet. I had to wait for the perfect moment.

And I found it.

She and her handsome devil of a husband were out for the night, enjoying themselves. Seeing her happy made my blood boil. Clutching my knife, I followed them. I settled in the tree outside the fancy restaurant, waiting, waiting…

When they emerged hours later, I followed. They slipped away into a dark alleyway to kiss. When they were both completely distracted, I readied myself. I raised my knife and started toward the alleyway. My revenge would finally be taken.

But just as I was about to kill them both, a razor-sharp rose shot down from the sky, hitting her husband's ankle, piercing through one side and right out the other. I jumped out of side as he pulled it out and they ran away, down the street.

I had lost my chance.

And then I heard it. The most beautiful voice there was, like bells. Music to my ears.

"Now, now," he called, perched atop the roof of a building and looking down at me with his dark, red eyes. His long, wavy red hair was flowing in the wind, curling so perfectly at the ends. The left side was pulled back and held by a lovely red rose. Curled between his long, soft fingers was another sharp rose, its stem a point so sharp I was sure it could pierce anything. He was the most beautiful man I had ever, ever laid eyes on.

"You don't want to spoil all the fun so soon, do you?" he continued on, cocking his head. "Don't you want her to suffer? While kill her so soon? Make her suffer."

He stopped up on the edge of the roof and left himself fall, landing ever so perfectly and completely unharmed. In the blink of an eye, he was before me, circling me and whispering in my ears. "Let me help you," he whispered to me. "Let's make her suffer together. Let me show you how to make her life even more miserable than your own."

I could only say yes.

"I'm Roho," he said with a smile, still circling around me. "What's your name?"

"Aurora," I replied quietly.

"Aurora, such a beautiful name. I wonder if your face is as beautiful," he whispered, gently removing my hood and admiring my face. "Oh, I was right, you are absolutely beautiful. I have plenty to work with. I already have a plan…if you would be so kind as to tell me that woman's name?"

"Leah," I replied again.

"Ah, Leah, is it? Well, Aurora, if you would just come with me…" he said, extending his hand, "I would be more than happy to grant your wish."

I gently placed my hand in his, and his long, warm fingers curled around it. His entire hand was warm. He wrapped his other arm around my shoulders and led me away from the alleyway, down the street. His warmth was so comforting, like a soft blanket. I felt so safe. I was right at home in his arms.

Suddenly, he stopped. He reached down and ran his finger through the trail of blood on the pavement. Straightening up, he looked at the blood on his finger. With a smile, he touched my face and ever so gently traced a heart onto my cheek with the blood.

"Isn't red such a beautiful color?" he asked me. Returning his smile, I reached down and ran my own finger through the blood. Just as gently, I drew a heart on his cheek.

"Yes. Yes, it is."