Blood & Roses

A Day In The Light

The sunlight would spill its joy into Sivana’s eyes, making her squint, the sun’s golden rays blinding. Its warmth was very welcoming, as if being embraced by someone that loves you.

After the long night and being nervous, scared, and tensed, she was still tired, wanting to sleep in some more, but the day would refuse it, the light getting brighter in her face. Letting out a slow breath, she sits up, her body feeling heavy like an elephant.

She didn’t always get these kinds of days to relax, not having to worry about hunting or being hunted. She didn’t have to watch her step, and didn't have to worry about anyone else.

Just a normal day.

Or at least, as close as she could get to it.

Sivana would walk towards the window, drawing the curtains back all the way. She looked at the city among her, sighing to herself a little. She watched the people walking, taxis weaving through traffic, the loud hums of the roads and the people.

Sivana kind of envied it.

To be blind, to let someone else solve the problem, to not take the pain, to not have to worry about losing anything, to be normal…

Then she knew that the city was built on blood, crime, tragic endings…

That is Grimhold City for you.

Grimhold has a rich history, but what comes with riches comes with violence. Grimhold has been built by war, betrayal, and the demons and angels that rule over us. Sometimes, you can even see them in the clouds, their eyes always watching.

Before humans came into existence, angels and demons fought over who would rule the planet with humans. More like would humans want to fight with God or would humans want to fight with Lucifer? The war between them had gone on forever, until the humans arrived, dumb, naked, and didn't even know how they got here.

The angels and demons had to do something, so roses became the good and bad. You can tell if the rose was sent from an angel if it had no thorns, and if the rose did, then the rose came from the demons. The fight still lingers on, but more at closed doors, more like we do the fighting, more like Sivana does the fight for both worlds.

Even with that being said, no one even knows if that stuff was true. Just passed down and wrote in history books to teach children.

What they do know is that the roses grant the wielder great power if they know how to use it, or can learn how to use it properly. In some cases, people can have contracts with two different entities, which in this case, would be Sivana. What is dangerous about this, is that she could get killed on sight, because people don’t take two kinds of people having more than one rose. It poses a threat.

Sivana would yawn, before stretching her muscles. She would then look down at her arms, analyzing them. Her arms would be covered in scars from the battles she went through, even her own battles. She could remember all the scars and their stories, but there is one that sends her back to when she was ten years old.

When Sivana was ten years old she would wake up to a rose, which would be an angelic rose or, in other words, a peach rose. The symbol of justice, she wanted to serve people. The peach rose will turn into two types of blades. One of the blades is called the Holy Cross Blade. It would be huge, the handle forming into a cross before the blade began. The other blade is called Burning Cross. It's smaller but just as dangerous. It can kill demons and the demon contractors with ease.

When Sivana woke up the next day, she was granted the demon rose. The rule is you can’t deny the contract unless you have a death wish at 10 and most 10 years old don’t. So she accepted the offer, but instead of the angel contract being over, she wielded two contracts with an angel and demon. The demon rose or also, in other words, the purple rose, is a dagger. The dagger is able to take people’s soul energy, taking some years from a person, but as it does, it charges up the attack. This dagger is usually for just plain out murder.

Sivana didn’t believe in all this, but she also knew better not to doubt it. She also didn’t want to accept it, but it was a part of her now, whether she wanted it or not.

Sivana stepped away from the window, not wanting to waste the day by remembering things she didn’t want to.

A warm shower chased away the thoughts and the remnants of sleep, the steam curling around her. Sivana doesn’t like the cold very much, so she would prefer a warm temperature or hot temperature, and today she wanted a scalding hot shower. The heat grounded her in a way that words never could.

When she stepped out, she felt lighter than ever.

She would throw on some casual clothing, put her curls up in a loose ponytail, and grab her bag she keeps in the corner of her room. Today, she was just Sivana Vale—not the hunter, not the killer, just a woman walking the city like everyone else.

Sivana decided to head out towards a small café nestled between two brick buildings. It was one of the few places in Grimhold untouched by the weight of corruption, a pocket of peace in an otherwise restless city.

The scent of fresh coffee and warm pastries greeted her as she stepped inside.

She would sit down in a booth, looking up at the menu. When she was ready, she would stand up and order herself a simple black coffee with extra sugar and a croissant, then go back to the booth, next to a big window, watching the world move past.

Sivana liked the quietness.

It was nice.

A waitress would place the coffee down on the table along with her croissant, sitting in a small but cute platter. She would sip her coffee, she found herself lost in thoughts—What is love?

Even though Sivana fought to protect the people, she still wanted a life of her own. A life full of love, not having to worry about losing any more people she already had.

She always dreamed of having a big happy family of her own, falling in love, to get married, and having many children to teach, to take care of, to love them.

Sivana sighed, setting her finished cup of coffee down.

“No use thinking about things that could never happen.” Sivana mumbled to herself, finishing the rest of her croissant she was eating while her thoughts wondered.

Sooner or later it was the afternoon. Grimhold tended to make the day shorter and the night longer for some reason. It was no use getting lost in thought about why things do what they do.

Sivana would pay for the little meal before leaving the café, she wandered through the city streets, letting herself breathe. She stopped at a bookstore. She would walk over to the old wooden shelves, her fingers gliding over the worn spines of novels she might never have time to read. She would then walk through the park, listening to the laughter of children playing by the fountain.

For a moment, she allowed herself to exist outside the war she fought in the shadows.

But Sivana knew peace never lasted in Grimhold.

As the afternoon sun dipped lower in the sky, she caught something—a flicker of movement in the reflection of a storefront window. A man was standing very still, watching her from across the street.

She didn’t react.

She didn’t turn her head.

Instead, she reached into her pocket, fingers brushing against the cool metal of her pocket knife.

The moment would soon pass.

The man was gone when she looked back at the window.

Sivana’s grip on the dagger loosened.

Maybe it was nothing, and she was just overthinking it but then maybe it was everything because she was a danger in criminals eyes.

Either way, her day of peace was over.

And somehow, she knew it wouldn’t last.

Sivana would travel home and go straight to bed for the new day ahead.