Saving Grace - part 4 (655 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Kaote
Rating: 1.92 on 16 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by kaos-king (View user info) at 2005-09-20 10:38:28 EDT
Last Chapter - http://www.ubersite.com/m/75483
Grace blinked. The sunlight came glaring in through the thin white cotton drapes, particles of dust glimmering in the air. The room had become stuffy over night and the stale, humid air clung to the sheets. She blinked again. The sounds of the city came roaring up to meet her ears, the car horns and the street vendors, and the people rushing along the narrow cobblestones. It was probably noon. One o'clock at the latest. Yes, it appeared she was up for the day.
She peeled the pale green sheets from her body and rose from the double bed that sat so low to the ground. She hadn't bothered with a bed frame, just a set of box springs. She tossed them back into a pile on the end on the bed and stumbled her way into the kitchen. Her underwear had shifted during the night and she adjusted them as she reached for a new coffee filter. She rummaged around in the cabinets for the fresh coffee grounds, only to find she had but some canned left. Swearing, she scooped them out into the percolator.
After filling it up with water and flipping on the machine, Grace wandered down the hall. Along the way she stripped off her tee shirt and threw it into the awaiting hamper. In the bathroom, she splashed cold water into her face once, twice. She looked into the mirror at her reflection.
She had a long face with high cheek bones, porcelain fair white skin. Large, dark blue eyes with long dark lashes and long, slightly upturned, narrow nose. Small pale lips and a slender neck. Her hair was cut very short in a "pixie cut" and currently matted all to one side, thanks to sleep. Small silver hoops pierced the center of her bottom lip and her left nostril.
Grace leaned back and looked at her body. She was a thin girl, almost painfully so. Her boobs were too small, and she had almost no hips. A small, delicate tribal tattoo circled her belly button. She had gotten that while drunk with Ed in Berlin. A mistake, to be sure. She had made a lot of mistakes recently. Most of them concerning Ed...
She turned on the shower and waited for the water build up. Plumbing here in Tuscany was a lottery of sorts. Sighing, she gripped the pipe with one hand and focused Hellfire upon it. Soon the bathroom was steaming. Grace stepped in and let the water cascade off her slender form. She tried to imagine it washing away all of her problems. Like a flood coming to destroy all of the regrets she had built up in her short life. Thadin, Vasquez, Ed. Even her Mom and Dad.
She must have spent far longer under the streaming water than she had thought, for soon it was chilling again. She twisted the knobs back to the off position and dried off. Roaming the house naked, she idly wondered where she had cast her robe last. Then she remembered. She had thrown it at Ed.
Ed. Her best friend and almost lover. Had the wine flowed just a little more freely that night, things might be different now. But poor Ed, always looking out for what's right. She hadn't wanted a friend that night, she had wanted someone to hold her and move their hands everywhere that needed touched. She had wanted someone to tell her they loved her as well as make love to her. That night she wanted that person to be Ed. Poor abused, broken Ed.
Vasquez's death had come as such a shock to all of them. No one had known he was going through such pain being removed from the Heavenly Host. Grace thought she had known him. She thought that being with him those five months had meant something to him, had helped him in some small way. It hurt her deeply to know she hadn't. When they had found his corpse, she hadn't reacted well. She had attacked his body visciously, blaming him, accusing him. She had wept for days.
Lucinda had left for the Uhmbra shortly thereafter. She no longer wanted anything to do with the partying. No one had seen Hadrian in weeks. It was only her and Ed. She needed him, needed him to feel alive still. He hadn't understood that. No one understood that.
Grace found a clean pair of underwear in one of her laundry baskets and a large men's button down shirt. She pulled these on and went to retrieve her coffee. While stirring in her sugar, she momentarily thought about returning to Hell. Quickly, she banished the idea. There was no one down there for her. Everyone bowed down to her simply because she was the Heiress to the Throne of The Infernal Kingdom. She wanted actual companionship. If only Ed had given in to her. She knew he had always had a crush on her, always secretly looking at her with more than friendship in those brown eyes of his.
She went to her window and opened the drapes, letting the beautiful Italian spring day in to her apartment. She hadn't talked to Ed since that day last week. She had to set things straight with him. If he didn't want to be with her, that was fine. She could get a cock anywhere. But she needed Ed. She needed to know he was going to be there for her.
Grace sipped her coffee and formulated a plan.
User Reviews
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-10-26 13:48:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2006-10-01 09:54:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by RyuFu (user info) at 2005-09-28 12:23:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Magic_Monkey (user info) at 2005-09-22 05:36:30 (#)
Ranking: 2
Where does a fallen angel go when he dies ?
Ummmmmm ... that`s a hard one
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I was wondering that myself...
Submitted by Magic_Monkey (user info) at 2005-09-22 05:36:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Where does a fallen angel go when he dies ?
Ummmmmm ... that`s a hard one
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2005-09-21 05:45:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Totally fucking awesome series. I read part 5 first, and this last, but that in no way spoiled it, which is testament to your skill. Well done.
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2005-09-21 00:50:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I personally don't think this is worth less than a 2. I realise that some people have given you a 1 as an admonishment for having so many typoes. Most people who do this offer full explanations and I believe it is done to prod you towards being a better writer.
This piece from Grace's perspective was really good. It added an element of humanity to Grace which wasn't hadn't been shown before.
Submitted by a_palindrome (user info) at 2005-09-20 23:05:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-09-20 22:17:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2005-09-20 18:35:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-09-20 16:43:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 13:53:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I think you're being rough on Barnymeinhoff -- maybe he just didn't like the piece that much. A +1 is a decent rating, as long as he's not leaving it there for the sake of being a jerk.
This is my favorite of this series. I liked seeing things from Grace's perspective. I think I'd like to see you reveal more things about her and her personality that make her unique.
Also, the more I think about it, parts 2 and 3 could have been combined into one chapter -- they're both from Ed's perspective and they're both very similar in tone and setting. I thought 3 was a little redundant after reading 2.
Submitted by iradney (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:20:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
barnymeinhoff is a tool
Submitted by iradney (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:19:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Average_Dan (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:03:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Absolutely loved all of the visual here, I felt as if I was there.
I'm a huge fan of painting the scene, it just adds so much more to know where you are,
and what is around you. I would give this a +3 if I could to make up for Barneymeinhoff's
horseshit rating, this is nothing but solid +2 matierial.
Submitted by Barnymeinhoff (user info) at 2005-09-20 10:47:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
nice
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-09-20 10:43:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Yes, I've skipped ahead a few months in the storyline. New plotlines were forming in my head. A purpose for all of this was finally coming clear. Vasquez's death had to mean something, other than leaving things open for Grace and Ed. One more chapter to go before "Fallen Faith."
Because where does a Fallen Angel go when he dies???
And how will his friends react???