Death For Ginger Ale

By

Tuesday-Rose

Disclaimer: This piece is my own original work and I own every bit of it.

Copyright to the author 2003

Euphiria shivered with cold as tiny snowflakes sprinkled across her freckled cheeks and laced themselves in her dark hair that tumbled onto her shoulders from under a pretty embroidered tuke.

She pulled her leather coat closer in around her body, tucking her arms under the sleek material as faceless people pushed past her, rushing to return home after long hours of endless work for a mug of hot chocolate. Euphiria silently cursed as a particular woman with a crying baby in her arms shoved her harshly into the window of Hilory's Antique Shoppe. Taking an extra moment to peer into the shoppe, she saw her Aunt Hilory had quite the business running, as most of the older folk in the town had come to see what treasures she had in her store. As Hilory smiled and waved to her last customer, her chocolate eyes caught Euphiria's silver ones. A surge of hatred swept through the orbs of brown blaze, but whether it was Euphiria's imagination or not, she could not tell, as Hilory turned back to place a beautiful vase back onto the shelves.

The streets had mostly cleared now, only a few other people were walking on the walks opposite to Euphiria. They whispered amongst themselves and started walking faster, some even turned right around the other way. Euphiria sighed wearily, as she was used to this treatment, and decided to ignore it this time and get where she had to go.

She froze. A few paces away there was a little boy sitting miserably on the edge of the sidewalk. He dangled his feet above an icy sewer and had his face buried in his hands. Euphiria cautiously stepped forward to him, black boots sliding slowly on the slush. The boy didn't look up when she sat down beside him.

"I've missed you."

Euphiria bit down on her lip to stop from bursting into tears. She watched in mortification as the boy turned his face to her. Tolo. Her brother.

Tiny crystal tears trickled across her frosty cheeks, burning away at the snowflakes. She dug through her pocket without taking her eyes off her brother. She pulled out a hand-woven handkerchief.

"Who did this to you?" she whispered in horror, dabbing the moist handkerchief at Tolo's bloodied skin, his bruised bright blue eyes. He merely shook his head in response, his bleached blonde hair framing his face perfectly, like one of those precious starving orphans who manage to keep a beautiful head of hair somehow. Maybe it was just on television. Maybe only on television did they survive the streets of Galadure.

Stuffing his mittless hands in his pockets, Tolo leaned against the lamppost. Sighing, he took out a delicious-looking chocolate chip cookie and broke it in half. Turning to Euphiria, he slipped her the bigger half without her noticing.

"Thanks," she said quietly, ashamed that she couldn't get them much more than a cookie. Moving closer to Tolo, Euphiria slowly took off her mitts and placed them in Tolo's lap.

Tolo looked at her with unspoken gratitude. As the snow fell softly outside, the winter breeze felt like it could freeze the hottest of fires. He slid the mitts on over his cold hands and rubbed them together, his face lighting up at the prospect of warm fingers. He spoke once again in his raspy, accented voice. "How long has it been, since we could sit by a fireplace and warm ourselves? You must know, I was only an small child when they destroyed our home. What has become of Mother, of Samdi? What has happened to Aunt Hilory?"

Euphiria felt more tears burn at her eyes at the thought of her family. She certainly could not tell Tolo Mother died years ago, and Samdi was burned at the stake! She could never reveal that Aunt Hilory was in a shoppe a few blocks down, hiding from the shame and terror that was Euphiria and Tolo.

Euphiria forced a smile. "Mother is living with Samdi by the Waters of Meccio. They are quite well, no one has discovered them yet," she lied. Euphiria hated herself for lying to her dear little brother, but it had to be done. Tolo's face brightened and he flashed his white teeth in a smile.

"They're okay? Oh Euphi, that's wonderful. Will....will we ever see them again?"

Euphiria dried her grey orbs with the sleeve of her lilac blouse as she draped her coat around Tolo's shivering shoulders. No matter how hard she sought, she couldn't find a lie for the future.

"I don't know, Tolo. I don't know."

Minutes passed in uneasy silence. The smile had disappeared from Tolo's pale face, eyes of blue downcast and thoughtful. Euphiria quietly reflected on her hatred of her mortal cousin Salvador, who had blurted to the entire community that she and her family were Alilories. Soon the whole world was after them.

It is said that when an Alilory is killed, the light it stole visibly spills from it's soul and dies along with them. Euphiria's father, Monaghan, was an innocent Alilory and when the townsfolk had come with torches and tempers, ready to murder the Toyolle family, her Father didn't spill a single light from his soul. He never stole a sun from any world ever, he had never brought anyone eternal darkness. The only one who had was Samdi, or that could have just been the flames licking away at her body.

Mother had dyed Euphiria's snow white tresses a dark caramel, and Samdi's a fiery red. Tolo's hair was naturally blonde, though Alilories were all supposed to be born with pearl white hair, no one knew why his hair had been slightly darker. His hair was what drew people's attention away from the family when he was born.

It had been a painful process to remove the diamonds from Euphiria, Tolo, and Samdi's skin. As babies, they had gone to a special sanctuary for their kind, to melt the diamonds out of their skin and colour their eyes. Euphiria's eyes had been left the natural grey colour because the surgery had left her colour blind and the surgeons didn't want to inflict any more damage. And on Tolo's left hand, a diamond that couldn't be removed concealed itself between his fingers.

Euphiria had been running for three years now, hiding in dark alleyways and taking shelter up in the trees. For the first time since her home had been torched to the ground, Euphiria was face to face with her beloved brother. It broke her heart to see his face had been beaten because of this terrible burden.

Tolo broke the silence. "You know what would be tasty with this cookie?" he said brightly. Euphiria looked down to her hands and realised she had not taken a single bite of her chocolate chip cookie, and nor had Tolo.

She smiled softly. "What's that?"

"Ginger ale!" he cried. "Remember when Mother gave us ginger ale as a gift before..."

Euphiria's smile faded slightly, but the thought of ginger ale kept it from disappearing completely. "I remember it well, Tolo."

~*~*~*~

Euphiria closed her eyes in tranquil comfort as she lay under cotton blankets next to the burning fireplace. She heard Samdi's whispers as she spoke in low tones to Tolo.

"...has Father returned..."

"...should have been back hours ago..."

"...what do you think happened...."

"...hopefully nothing..."

Euphiria raised herself from the blankets beside the fire and suddenly realised she was sweltering. She felt her own forehead and discovered she had a slight fever. She decided to keep it to herself as everyone was already worried enough about Father. She'd just move away from the fireplace.

"Euphi?"

Euphiria spun around to see Samdi and Tolo gazing at her with concern from their cushions as she backed away from the flames.

"Fire getting too hot for you, dear sister?" Tolo sneered. Samdi shoved him in the shoulder, signalling for him to be quiet. Euphiria decided to rapidly change subjects. "Has Father returned yet?" she inquired, knowing full well that he had not. Her heart was heavy with misery as Samdi confirmed what Euphiria had heard.

"Not yet. Oh Euphiria, I'm getting terribly worried! What if something has happened to him?" Samdi cried. Her ruby locks fell into her panicked face, her artificially emerald eyes swelling with tears. Euphiria managed a tiny sad smile for Samdi's reassurance and her own.

"All will be well, Samdi. Do not fret."

Mother's calm, soothing voice floated into the room. All attention was upon her as she stepped through the doorway, carrying three mugs and chocolate chip cookies. Her pale eyes were bleary as though tears had shed.

"Mother? What is wrong? You offer reassurance but have you received any? Your eyes, they are sad and I can see the tearstains," Samdi mused. Rushing over to assist her Mother, Samdi placed the mugs one by one onto the coffee table, and then the cookies. Mother sank to her knees before the hearth, burying her face in her hands.

"Mother?" Tolo whispered, falling beside her. Mother released a quaking sob. "Salvador has betrayed us!" she wailed. "He has told this town that we are the light thieves!"

"How could he?!" Euphiria cried. She was torn between anger and sorrow. "I cannot believe him! We are going to be murdered because of his mouth!" she shrieked venomously, a glint in her silver orbs that gave a clear message. Salvador would pay dearly for the lives he had broken.

Samdi stared at the wall in silence, eyes wide and sliding in and out of focus. Tolo took his chocolate chip cookie with trembling hands, breaking it in two as his fingers gave another unpleasant lurch just as Euphiria's heart had done. They all knew why Father was so late tonight.

Not another word of the betrayal or of the death that loomed above them was spoken as Euphiria, Tolo and Samdi chewed their cookies in silence, and sipping their mugs to discover precious ginger ale, a final gift that had never tasted sweeter.

~*~*~*~

"Would you ever drink ginger ale again, Tolo? It was the drink we tasted as Father was killed. Out of sheer respect, I don't think we should ever drink ginger ale again," Euphiria whispered, her words stinging her soul as she realised she stole ginger ale from Salvador's storage a few weeks ago.

Tolo looked thoughtful. "If it was the drink we had while Father was killed, I think we should drink it. Sort of like a memory of him. Not a good one, but one that shan't be forgotten."

Euphiria stared at her wise brother with disbelief as she contemplated his sincere words.

"Come on," she said while standing up from the curb and offering her brother her hand. "I think I may have enough coins for the memory of our beloved Father."

Tolo grasped her hand that pulled him to his feet and, wordlessly, he and Euphiria walked slowly down the dark street.

***

A faint bell rung as the door to Fiero's Coffee Shop opened. A whirl of snow gusted through the opening as two figures rushed to get in.

As merry flames burned inside the hearth in the far corner, Euphiria and Tolo brushed the flakes of white off their coats, overwhelmed by the sudden heat and the loud chatter. Hand in hand they walked towards the counter, cautious of the menacing-looking Fiero. Suddenly, Euphiria pulled Tolo backwards by his collar.

"Fiero knows me-" she hissed into his ear. "-he knows I'm an Alilory. He knows I escaped! I mustn't approach him! Here-" she dropped six golden coins into Tolo's palm. "-you buy the ginger ale, I'll wait over there." She pointed to a small, deserted table by the fireplace. "Make haste, Tolo." Tolo nodded determined, and set off towards Fiero as Euphiria tried to avoid Fiero's gaze by lifting the dark blue hood of her tattered sweater above her head and slowly making her way across to the abandoned table. Pushing her way past the oblivious people in the shop, she set her eyes downcast and locks of her caramel hair fell before her shadowed face. She tried to ignore the suspicious stares she was receiving, and continued to amble as casually as she could, though quite quickly, to the table by the blaze.

Suddenly, Euphiria tumbled to the ground as she collided with a rather large man who had been chuckling to his companions and gulping down his whiskey. The man splashed the remaining whiskey all down his front and there was a glint of fury in his eyes. Euphiria gasped in distress as her hood fell from her head, and she became nauseated as she felt diamonds growing into her skin and saw the hair before her face rendered into her natural vanilla colour. She nearly screamed as crystal appeared on her wrists.

"She's one of them!" she heard someone shout. "She's an Alilory!"

"Alilory!" Fiero roared, turning his attention away from serving Tolo, who spun around in terror. "A sun thief!" He peered at Euphiria from behind the counter with malice and sudden recognition. "Euphiria Toyolle! Not in my shop!" And, to Euphiria and Tolo's horror, Fiero slowly drew a rifle from behind the shelves.

Euphiria's heart gave a terrible lurch and she began to see black blots swirl in her vision. She felt too drained to scream as sweat beads slid down her temples. 'This is it,' she thought miserably. 'This is the end. Death for ginger ale.'

She let tears flow down her cheeks, glazing the diamonds sunken into her skin. As she released quiet sobs, the people around her were delighted at the prospect of her death. Euphiria could not bear to think of the look on Tolo's face when he sees the light she stole spill from her soul. She lied about Mother and Samdi, she lied about being innocent from stealing sunlight, and she pretended not to know if they were ever going to see their family again.

She knew they weren't.

She looked over at Tolo, who was watching in horror with two ginger ales in his hands, eyes wide and threatening to spill over with suppressed tears. Euphiria knew he was the only one left now, and musn't make a sound against her slaying, for his own sake.

As Fiero pulled back the trigger, Euphiria whispered to Tolo,

"Drink ginger ale and remember me, dear brother."