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Chapter 15
Another Rude Awakening
Blinding light was the first physical sensation that welcomed Aseria to consciousness, the second being the pain in her leg. Panic shot through her system faster than the pain could once she remembered the events before she passed out.
With the safehouse in view and her mother in the doorway, she let out a relieved huff of breath.
“Thank the gods, just the woman I needed to see.”
With her vision fading out, she found herself panicking a little more, unsure if she could make it to the door in time. She wasn’t sure why her mother wasn’t coming to help her, especially after watching her get wounded. But before she could register the features, she heard the voice of the woman she just escaped from.
“Welcome home, Aseria.”
Marisol, the woman she loathed more than words could say, peaked her head into the doorway.
“Ah, you are awake.”
Aseria moved to the corner of the broken down bed as she tried to shrink herself to the smallest she could be. She took a moment to find her voice, but let the venom sink into her words the very second she found them.
“Get the fuck away from me.”
Marisol leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms after letting out a tiny huff.
“That’s no way to talk to your fiance”
Aseria rolled her eyes so hard she believed she could read her mind like the pages of a book if she tried.
“Ex fiance. Don’t act like you care now.”
“I do care.”
“You seemed so quick to make a run for it earlier. Why come back now?”
Marisol took a step inside the room and looked around. The walls were a chipped pink, reminding her of the flowers she first proposed with. The furniture still had tiny M and A’s carved into the wood, reminding both women that they were just reckless teenagers that were painfully in love, willing to spend forever together and show it off more proud than anyone had ever seen if that is what the world despised the most.
“That’s not how I wanted our reunion to go and I really needed to apologize for it .”
Marisol angrily forced her face into her hands and sighed as Aseria shook her head.
“Don’t try to lie and tell me you wanted a reunion. I’ve had enough of your games.”
“I’ve wanted more than anything to see your smile again Aseria.”
Said woman let out a bitter laugh as she tried to stand, carefully leaning back on her heels, wincing at the pain in her leg.
“There is no way you wanted to see me again. There is no way in hell.”
She walked on her injured leg to jab her finger to Marisol’s chest. Marisol grabbed her hand and glared at the taller woman.
“How could you be so sure that it didn’t tear me apart to leave?”
Aseria stumbled and felt the fire shoot through her injury, she let out a gasp.
“Maybe the way you left me? The way you traded me for power, or maybe it was all in the way you made sure to tell my mom exactly how you felt about the whole situation just hours ago. ”
But as soon as their eyes met, Marisol felt the love that she suppressed forcing itself back up to its original power.
“Please. Let me explain.”
“You had your chance to.”
“I had to look stronger than I was in front of them. There are other forces at play here that you don’t know of. If I showed just how much I cared and how much I love you, they would’ve killed you on the spot.”
“Maybe you should’ve just let them.”
“Please, Ase… please let me explain.”
“You have five minutes.”
Chapter 14
Suspicious Sacrifices
Reyna didn’t want to admit that she was worried, but she couldn’t help it. Both maternal instinct and the side of her that was the commander worrying over her soldier kicked her adrenaline into overdrive. She had to finish this fight up, and she had to do it quickly. Her daughter’s safety was her first priority, with her own being a second, but nowhere near close. Knowing that Marisol making a run couldn’t be good news, she decided to do what she could to get out quickly.
The first blow she could land was a quick swing with nothing but adrenaline backing it, Reyna found herself able to distract the tallest of the lot, just as she planned. She knew it was a dirty way to fight, but she had to get out. She swung for the knee and slashed the goon’s achilles. The first bellowed in pain as she fell, then there were the remaining three surrounding Reyna.
Her hand felt the wood of the sword’s hilt splintering, giving her the sign that it would be giving out soon.
“Damn it.”
She huffed to herself as she adjusted her bloodied grip.
All of the years she led armies and allowed herself to get struck to get the upper hand taught her to pick her battles, literally and figuratively. If her weapon was going to give out, she either had to run or fight with her hands. She didn’t mind, but she knew it would take longer.
There’s only so much a person can do when they’re faced with certain death and a hard place. Reyna released a brief breath and gave a curt nod, more to herself than anyone. This was a dance with death that she wasn’t supposed to take a chance with so soon.
She led with a stab to one’s side, connecting solid metal and breaking the sword off into the oppressor’s side. Using all her might to swing them into each other, she decided to make a run for it while they cut their losses, and the metal out of the middle goon’s side.
It was time to run and it was time to get to her daughter. She needed nothing more than to make sure her daughter was at the very least alive. Judging by the conversation and the last moments Marisol was in the room, there couldn’t have been any good news.
No, Marisol would never kill Aseria, but a certain pulling in her chest made her believe that the estranged ex-fiancé wouldn’t mind getting a little more physical to get to what she wanted. There was a certain line that she knew not to cross, but another line that she didn’t care about crossing when it came to Aseria. Marisol would never kill her, but she would rough her up to make the bluff of killing her look a little more believable.
As Reyna got to the door, she hears a loud voice thunder from behind her.
“You know where she is.”
She froze in her tracks as she grabbed the handle of the door
“I highly doubt Marisol would be that stupid.”
The goon couldn’t help but to let out a chuckle.
“Go look for yourself then. Marisol wants Aseria to join our cause.”
Reyna felt herself cringe at the confirmation that she didn’t want to hear.
“Her words don’t back that statement at all.”
She heard one of the goons stand from their spot at the other’s wounded side.
“Maybe it's not from a romantic standpoint.”
Another chimed in, willingly pushing her buttons.
“You raised quite the soldier.”
Finally, the wounded one coughs up a laugh.
“We’ve been watching for quite a while.”
Reyna’s eyes widened. All those times she believed they were being watched but she brushed it off as a paranoid leader, all the times Aseria would wake up in a panic saying something felt wrong, it really was her biggest fear.
“Then I’d better take my chances on getting home so I can speak to her.”
“That’s not your home anymore.”
“Not the one you’ve watched us from.”
With that she made a run for the safehouse, the last place she would expect Marisol to be so stupid to go to for a confrontation.
Chapter 13
Dangerous Distance
Ordonez wasn’t particularly excited to follow the trail of the two boys that ruined his chances with the woman he was dangerously infatuated with, but he would take this opportunity and run with it if that is what it would take to get her to grace him with another kiss.
There was no kindness in the way she touched him or kissed him, he knew he was only being used. He reminded himself constantly for the sake of wedging away from the feelings he held for her. It never worked in his favor, though. He was in too deep and he overstepped the line he danced between, the line of falling in love and the borderline obsession he fell in.
“I need to find those runts and get back to her. That is all. That is all I need right now.”
He repeated his words to himself over and over, praying to whatever higher power was watching him that he could make her happy.
However, if the terrain in front of him could give any hint, it would say that he was in for a wild ride.
The mountains twisted and turned in ways that only hills or valleys should. The clouds seemed to be caressing the tips of the snowy peaks as he began his trek. His location was undisclosed to everyone but Ximena, and he truly wouldn’t want it any other way. A creature’s ears bright and an angry red in color made him stop in his tracks.
“Last time I checked, I wasn’t supposed to come this far.” He muttered to himself.
This was a dragonborn child. Oftentimes, they travel in packs to ensure safety. If this one is alone, they are probably being tracked or watched from the trees for backup. They aren’t violent creatures, but they can do some damage if they need to. But this one looked like they were alone for good, no trees around to keep him in check.
Typically speaking, dragonborn creatures weren’t supposed to be near the mountains. They were found closer to volcanos or even deeper in the jungles. Due to their typical build, they can’t handle the cold.
‘If this small one was out and about in such an area, there were greater problems at hand than catching the boys.’ Ordonez thinks to himself.
“Oi, are you lost kid?” He hollers.
The pointed elven ears shoot to attention as the creature looks at him. Bright green eyes on a pale face met his eyes quickly. He couldn’t help but muse that their eyes matched Ximena’s.
“You aren’t supposed to be here.”
The androgynous voice replies, clearly frightened that they had been discovered.
“I was going to say the same to you. I thought your geographical location was supposed to be the opposite of here.”
He put his sword away, not even aware that he had drawn it. It must be instinct that he was so quick to react violently. Instead of lashing out, he sat on a nearby rock and held his hand out, offering the dragonborn to sit with him.
“We are supposed to adapt to changes.”
Hesitantly, the creature sat in front of him, still unsure if there was safety with this strange masked man.
“How did your kind adapt so quickly?”
Red ears twitch in fascination. No one had ever asked them questions about their kind, much less had they known things the way Ordonez did.
“Forced survival of the fittest I suppose. Put in camps to reproduce the strongest heirs.”
They cringed at the words they spoke, obviously ashamed.
“Can’t say that worked out very well with the fact that I am the only one that survived the walk here.”
They look back at the way they came, surprisingly the same way Ordonez did. He couldn’t help but wonder how they didn’t run into each other sometime sooner. These creatures aren’t exactly easy to miss. With their large stature and their bright ears, they stick out like a needle in a haystack.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Sincerity laced the words he spoke as he took off the mask adorning his face. Perhaps a travel partner wouldn’t be a bad idea, they know the land well due to their natural instinct afterall.
“What is your name? I’m Ordonez.”
“Finalcalon, but my family called me Fin. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The dragonborn reached their hand out quickly for Ordonez to shake, which he did with ernest.
“Would you like to join me on my adventure?”
“I don’t have anything to lose, yet an adventure to gain… Yes, I think I will join you.”
“Then let’s be on our way. We’re going to the Lost City.”
“Lost?”
“Only to time.”
Chapter 12
Ever Yours, Ximena
My dearest love,
There are no words that I can use to explain the pain I feel every day that we are apart. I understand that I have made a horrible mistake that I cannot take back. I understand that I have torn our family apart. I understand that our son is banished and the other is nothing more than essentially a pawn because of me.
But YOU have to understand that I know what I’m doing now. I have re-evaluated and formed a better plan. While it hasn’t played out the way I expected it to… the cards will fall into place accordingly, I’m sure. I didn’t mean to involve you or the boys in this mess. Truly I didn’t mean to let myself get so carried away in my cravings of power.
There is a certain ache that my soul feels when I think of you and I can never tell if it is longing or utter hatred. Oftentimes I try to convince myself that we are still madly in love. Other times I have to remind myself that we cannot be in love and we cannot be together due to my own selfish ways. You deserve so much better than me. You deserve so much more than the pain I have brought to you, our family, and our villages. If you are ever to forgive me, you know where to find me.
Every yours,
Ximena
Ximena,
I find myself smiling at the fact that you even remember where I am. It’s been years since we have last spoken.I hope that you are doing well.
I will go ahead and say this, I do not hold any ill will towards you the way I did when things first ended. While I wanted to ask why things ended the way they did, I couldn’t find myself asking questions that I probably do not want the answer to.
While I would like to believe that you truly have changed your ways and we could try again, however your final paragraph has shown me that you simply haven’t changed at all.
One day I hope you find what you are looking for and I hope that you find yourself happy and healthy, but I cannot be a part of the picture when this is the lens you shoot from.
I will find the boys and I will take care of them if they need it. All I ask is that you do not put them in any more danger than you already have.
Nevermore,
Ignacio
Chapter 11
Family Fortune
As he looked around the surrounding room, Axel realized some of the weapons held more familiarity than he believed. Something in the way the walls reminded him of the broken down home they lived in made him believe that the weapons adorning them held nostalgia as well.
For the first few moments that light filled the room, he believed they were relics of the past or maybe something he saw in a dream. He was nothing but shocked as he took in his surroundings. Weapons as far as he could see, but a clear path to another door. There was organized chaos, something that Griffin THRIVED in. Upon a closer inspection, Axel found there was no way the door could actually work, it was too mangled for use.
But an even closer look at the actual weapons themselves would open multiple doors in his memories. One item that he stopped in front of made him stop in his tracks. Something about the bright blue hilt struck a chord of nerves that could only be described as bittersweet nostalgia. As he picked the weapon out of the broken barrel it was sheathed in, he realized what it was that made him remember the item.
“Wait, I had a fake sword that looked just like this when we were kids! The blue hilt, the streaks of green that look like lighting in the middle… all of it- how did you remember the exact look?”
Griffin nodded as he picked it up, then carried it to the back of the room where the broken door stood.
“You wanna know how I remember? It never left me. I never let them out of my sight.”
The closer the men got to it, the closer the details became more clear.
“Let them..? I don’t think I’m following.”
The door looked like it was about to fall off its hinges if he simply placed a hand on the termite-ridden wood, but as he opened it, Axel’s eyes widened as they found the treasure trove created out of their childhood toys.
“You kept it all… The bows, the swords, “
A choked bark gained both brother’s attention as Axel glanced between the small dog that was the exact breed and the robot at his heel as the dog in question began to walk over to his ‘blueprint’.
“The first toy we ever fought over?”
Griffin held his hands up defensively.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta reminisce on the happy things. Especially when your only happy place is taken away from you.”
As the small toy let out another scratchy bark, Enforcer jumped out of surprise and picked up the toy in his jowls, breaking it in his grasp. A quick gasp left Axel as he watched the literal break-neck speed in front of him.
“Damn…”
Griffin let out a short breath
“Just another memory wasted huh..
“I’m sorry, Grif. I wasn’t expecting him to do that.”
Griffin didn’t reply. Somewhere between angry that the memory was taken, but relieved that he wouldn’t have to listen to the crackled box of the broken toy anymore, he settled on indifference.
Then, in the silence, Axel cracks another joke to ease any possible hard feelings.
“Do you think he felt threatened?”
Griffin looks between the ribbons of the toy and the animatronic in front of him, then turns back to Axel. He knew the younger brother was just trying to keep him on a light note, so he nodded.
“Oh he totally did.”
The brothers let out chuckles as they looked at the shattered toy below their feet.
“He was too quick with that attack. You’ve got him trained really well, how many dummies did this dog destroy?”
“None, I actually took him hunting with me and THAT’S how he learned to attack things quickly.”
“Holy shit..”
Axel nodded “He’s a badass. Taught him to be a lone wolf like you if the time ever came to it. He can’t be lost if he loses me.”
“Don’t say that. He’s not going to lose you, I’m making sure of it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared to lose me a second time.”
“No, I’m scared to be alone with that thing.”
The robotic dog in front of him let out an angry snarl, teeth already sharpening themselves and red irises darkening in a shade to make him more intimidating than he already was.
“Point proven.”
“He’s just showing off to assert fake dominance, don't worry. Animals in the wild do that too, to make themselves too scary to fight.”
Looking back into the room, Axel did a double take as the gleam of his brother’s bow nearly blinded him. The double pointed edges made him shiver at the realization that his bow could be used for both long range and short if it needed to be. Pulling him from the thoughts swirling in his head, Griffin spoke up.
“So, has the initial shock subsided?”
Griffin couldn’t help the smug grin that crossed his features. For once, he felt finally had the upper hand on his brother’s wit. Axel let out a scoff of his own that matched the disgust his brother’s usually carried and he offered a small smile.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s shock at this point. More so amazement that you did all of this by yourself.”
Griffin shook his head, knowing that he would be at least a little surprised in his skill.
“What can I say, I have a genius for a brother and a workaholic for a father. I had to do something with those skills.”
Axel let out a tiny huff of a laugh.
“You flatter me.”
“Eh, just wait until I screw it up somehow.”
Griffin looks away to the corner of the room, allowing himself to remember that it was always a matter of time before he (or something he created) messed up the situation at hand.
“Ever the optimist. C’mon, lighten up.”
Axel gave him a playful shove to his shoulder, something that he would do even when they were children to get Griffin to play back.
“Trust me, I try.”
“I doubt that.”
“Lightening up like a lightbulb.”
“Missing one of the main conductors I bet.”
“Rude.”
Silence took over the room once more before the brothers broke out into laughter. There weren’t many times like this, so they knew to enjoy it while it could.
Griffin was the first to bring himself back to composure and keep the task at hand in the forefront of their minds.
“Regardless, we’ll get what we want and then we have to make a small four day trip to see our monster dearest.”
A brief look of shock and annoyance flashed across Axel’s face. While he didn’t mind the exercise, four days sounded a little excessive.
“Ah, right. I forgot the promenade is over.”
He leaned down and picked up as many weapons as he could, then handed some to Enforcer to hold on his back. The duo loaded with bows, swords and a rifle if needed.
“There was never a-”
“Let me have this moment.”
“Right.”
Chapter 9
Masking
Ordóñez had considered himself a haunted man. He settled for the ghosts of love that he would find in the graveyards he dug. He could never consider himself a merciful man after the things he went through. At one point in time, he was the most gentle man in the world. From a young age he was pushed around by the people that could push. A doormat to anyone that would take the first step.
After the war started, Ordóñez changed for the worst. Isolation had become his closest ally as he caught himself clinging onto the sword he brandished as the lifeline rather than the very human company he craved so much. Now, Ordóñez saw people dying on a daily basis and couldn’t find it in him to care very much. If anything, he caused more pain than he had truly seen.
It only felt fair for him to cause so much pain, especially after everything he had been through. He would never admit it to himself, but he did everything he did out of fear. Ordóñez often questioned if Ximena was the same, but he highly doubted that was a possibility.
Rather than ask her any questions, he simply observed her instead. He watched the way her green eyes cut across the room like the glass shards they resemble. Observed the way she moved so swiftly in battle without a question of her agility. Kept a close eye on the way she would fidget with her blades during meetings with other leaders when she was nervous.
Ordóñez watched everything from a distance. He refused to let her know by the looks on his face just how much it hurt to see her destroy herself every day. So instead, he kept every little thing he could say hidden. Hidden behind the eyes of the mask with a disgustingly tainted smile.
“Ordóñez; would you mind bringing my boys back to me?”
Ximena’s voice was a mix between the sweetest sugar and the scariest monster he could conjure in his mind, but he found himself drawn to her like a moth drawn to a flame.
“Of course, madame.”
“You won’t disappoint me this time, will you?”
“Not purposely.”
“What do you know of the location of my Griffin and Axel?”
“I haven’t changed anything from my last run in with them, I wasn’t aware you still had their locations considering-”
His words were stopped as a card embedded into the wall next to his head, only having sliced his cheek slightly. He knew this was meant to be a warning shot. Ximena doesn’t miss unless she is making a point.
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I was you. I know what I did, I reflected on my mistake. Now that I’ve faced that truth, I need to get them both back before it is too late. Who knows what they can do with that jewel if they learned the power behind it.”
Ordóñez felt his breath hitch in his throat. He never felt threatened by Ximena, only threatened by the lengths she would go through to prove a point or make herself look like she was better than she actually was. He would never say it out loud, but maybe that is one of the things that draws him to her so quickly.
“Yes ma’am, I’ll watch my wording next time.”
He nods, dropping his head slightly. The library that they resided in was silent with tension, enough to the point he decided to leave before he got too overwhelmed with the taunting pages of the books sitting still while his heart hammered in his chest as if it was being put to work.
“That’s better. Now, when you do get them, I want you to call me with this device,”
she began, holding a small chip-like device in her hand, something she must have created in the days that she locked herself in her library to ‘clear her head’
“It will slide here and sit inside your mask easily.”
Taking his mask, she placed it right where she pointed and then looked to meet his obsidian eyes. Part of Ordóñez wanted to believe that he could lean forward and press his lips to hers. He knew that if he tried he would be something close to beheaded.
“You aren’t paying attention.”
Ximena makes a point of his unfocused expression. He shakes the thoughts from his head and forces a smile as gently as he could.
“I’m only paying attention to you, madame.”
“Then you should tell me what I just said again.”
“The chip goe-”
Within an instant, she pushes her lips onto his, dropping the mask she was holding onto his lap. He was frozen in shock, but finally getting what he craved all these years seemed to make the moment all the sweeter to him. The strongest woman in the world, finally his, even if only for a moment. Finally close enough for him to hold, to kiss, to savor as he wanted to.
Lost in the moment, he allowed himself to put his arms around her waist gently. She laces her hands in his hair, all too soon, he realizes that she clipped the back of his mask on and slid it over his face.
“Now, please go get my boys.”
Ordóñez tried to calm himself down as he stared at her, bewildered gaze not once leaving her.
“Right. I’ll do that.”
It came to his realization that he wasn’t much more than a pawn in her game. But he didn’t mind being a pawn if that meant that he could stay by her side the way he currently was. Wrapped around her calloused fingers, there he sat. Masked in appearance but his devotion unmasked completely.
I just realized I never actually added chapter one of ‘Not your Hero” here- I-
,.Description
There are plenty of words a mother could use to describe her son. Dashing, witty, handsome or strong. If someone were to ask Ximena Armstrong, however, only one of her boys would be introduced in such a proud light. If they asked about the other one, they would receive a strained compilation of complaints that he is vile, twisted, or a hateful beast. There are two sides to every story, though. What made a mother turn her back so quickly?
No one has ever gotten close enough to either party to ask for their side. One thing is for certain, Griffin Emiliano is a dangerous man, and Ximena Armstrong is a pathological liar.
Yet on an uneventful day in Betrothal, a group set out to find the answers to all the possible questions anyone could ask. When they find two boys, an anklet and a pile of bodies, there are too many questions to ask and not enough time for the answers before the doors are busted in and everyone is a suspect.
Chapter 1
“I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but if you run any slower, the snails will escape before we do!”
A bellowing voice echoes through the halls of the underground chambers. Clambering behind him, a much softer voice rang out.
“I’m sorry! This is my first time performing illegal acts, so sorry I can’t keep up with your vigilante lifestyle!”
Turning on his heel, Gryffin casts a stone cold glare to his brother.
“Don’t forget why we’re in this mess. You thought it would be a good idea to find the anklet, now three guards are dead and the blood is on your hands, kid.”
Looking to the floor, Axel shrinks into himself;
“I didn’t mean to…”
“doesn’t matter the intention. It is the result that everyone will see. Remember that in everything you do.”
Before another word was said, a loud crash brings the brothers out of their tension and drives their attention back to the situation at hand. Escaping certain death and bringing the anklet home to their mother, the smartest archeologist in their village. The winding chambers seemed to be getting slimmer and turning into simple tunnels, but with that, the duo noticed that the end of a tunnel was in sight. With reinforcements hot on their trail, Gryffin roars
“Ximena will kill us if she finds out people died for that thing.”
“Can you just call her mom?”
“Not when she won’t call me her son.”
“Well maybe if you-”
Axel’s voice is cut off with another crash, the barrels in front of them breaking, causing whatever fruits and vegetables to scatter across the floors and stain their shoes more than the mud could.
“Not another step, thief. Such a shame that I’ll have to tear such a pretty face to shreds.”
A masked man with a gentle but firm voice says, backing his words with a sword pointed to Axel’s face. The mask was unsettling at best, sporting a crooked smile with red teeth and white eyes, it’s a wonder the man could see through it. Though unsettling, he was right about Axel’s face.
Unlike his brother, his face was pristine and untouched, his pale skin was a perfect target for a sadistic man such as the one in front of him. Questions hung on the tip of the blade as well as the tip of his tongue he realized it was getting closer, but he hadn’t taken a step.
“If I can’t take another step, why can you?”
“If I can’t take the anklet, why can you?”
Comes the quick retort.
“Well, technically you could, you just didn’t take that leap that you needed in order to actually grasp it.”
With his sharp words and the tension rising, Gryffin grabbed Axel and made a mad dash for the light they witnessed moments earlier. Axel thrashed wildly, kicking the boxes of fruits and vegetables down to make more of a mess for the masked men to clean up later on.
“I’m going to drop you if you keep doing that.”
He warns with a scowl.
“Right, sorry.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was nothing fancy about the village the boys lived in. Past every market on the left there was an alley that the homeless would find themselves digging through, praying to whoever was out there to spare a little mercy for one more day as they cling onto what little humanity they hold. For the homeless that couldn’t fight their way through, the market’s right side would hold the bodies.
It seemed everywhere one turned there was another person riddled by disease and famine. When the people in command were brought to the village to speak their grievances, they were brushed off, laughed at and then given one day’s worth of food for the women and children. Proving that they were simply sitting with another government that couldn't care less for the people under their control, but gave the bare minimum so there were still people able to BE controlled.
Griffin hated everything about the village. He could never wrap his head around why so many people still lived in such a ghost town. The people were reduced to nothing more than beggars and thieves with nothing to live for, but had the fight and the iron will of soldiers with the world to lose. Under heavy lids, he drags himself into a makeshift shack, calling it a house for them to stay in as the night ticks by. Axel stared at the ceiling, wondering how long it had been since he saw his brother.
His once soft features now hardened with the years of war and murder, tanned skin now scarred and hands calloused. Those green eyes that once shined like stars now cut like emeralds that were thrown to the ground by a child throwing a fit. Black hair that was once short and well taken care of has now grown unkempt and matted.
“What is going on in that head of yours?”
The man in question growled out.
“How old are you now, Grif?”
“Twenty three, but you didn’t answer my question. What is the issue?”
Axel shakes his head quickly.
“I was just wondering what went wrong with us… Why did our family fall apart the way it did? Why did you leave? Why-”
Griffin cuts him off swiftly
“You ask too many questions, Ax. That will be your downfall.”
A deep silence settles across the room after Axel nods
“Mom says that too.”
Griffin lets out a heavy sigh after a while and asks something that he sounds like he has been dreading for a long time.
“Where is dad?”
Axel stands with a speed like no other and starts for the door.
“Ax-”
“If you can call that monster our dad but can’t call her our mother then you are no brother of mine.”
Confused, angry and a little hurt, Griffin throws the closest object at his younger brother’s feet.
“Are you gonna tell me what happened or are you going to let me believe that he was a good man and she was the monster, kid?”
Not Your Hero - Chapter 4
Rude Awakenings
Reyna found herself smiling at Mauve as quiet music played from the speakers he was originally built with. Sometimes, it seemed like he truly had a mind of his own.
“You know, classical music never did fit a motorcycle. But I don’t think I was expecting electro-pop either.”
Aseria couldn’t help but laugh to her mother as they made their way through the ruins of their home.
“Well, rock sounded too cliché and I think he wanted to stand out from the other models just in case I lost him in a crowd.”
Reyna winks as the music stops. An accented, yet robotic voice cuts through the quiet humming of the engine.
“I simply enjoy something more upbeat in the morbid times we are living in, madame.”
Aseria nods at the statement.
“I can’t blame you at all for that. You think one day we will be able to listen to that music in the street as a village again rather than just the three of us here?”
Reyna sighs and kicks a particularly large rock out of their way as they approach a large, broken down house. Nothing they hadn’t seen before, just off putting since it was the ruins of family memories and childhood wonders.
“One of these days, can’t say it will be soon, though. I think there will need to be a rebirth before we can officially rebuild this city for good. There has been enough destruction here on both sides to last a lifetime. Now we need to see the opposite.”
Kicking in the front door, Aseria finds herself angry that so many good memories were buried under the rubble and ash. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was someone, or maybe many people, hiding in the house for cover from the soldiers that ravaged the streets as of late.
“You said you were going to tell me about dad, why bring me here? I don’t recall him being here very much. Though I guess that was a good thing if he was as horrible as everyone made him out to be.”
Reyna didn’t say very much to her daughter at first as she whispered something to Mauve, most likely a ‘keep watch for soldiers’ as the two women took a walk down memory lane.
“He wasn’t the one that everyone was worried about. He was the scapegoat that didn’t mind having a bounty on his head if it meant keeping you, the boys and myself safe. He would do anything for all of us.”
Aseria let out a disbelieving laugh. There was no way that her father, a man that only showed up in the evenings for a bed to sleep in and only ever sent telegrams on birthdays and holidays could have possibly cared about his wife, children or anything that had to do with their well-being.
“How interesting that he was never really around yet claimed to care for us,” She sarcastically muttered under her breath and she shifted on her feet as she continued “he died on that battlefield with nothing but guilt and anger in his heart and you know it too. He was plagued by a very human disease called greed.”
She heard a deep sigh come from her mother as she decided to sit on the floor as her mom sat across from her.
“Hey, look at me.”
She glanced up at her mom only to see tears in her eyes. She grabbed her mother’s hands, something her mother used to do when she and her brothers were upset or in pain when they were younger. Her mother was always there to comfort her, now it was her turn to return that favor.
“He may not have shown it, but he really loved you all. He still does.” She paused, almost as if she was considering what she was going to say next. After a moment of silence, she nods to herself, finally accepting the truth of the situation. “He still asks about you all the time.”
Aseria’s eyes widened at the end of the statement. A man that was originally missing in action, later passed off as killed in action, still asking about her?
“You commune with the dead?”
“You truly believe he died?”
“I would rather believe that he is dead, would make the pain a little more bearable. Especially if he hasn’t made the effort to reach out to me.”
“He can’t exactly reach out to you if you won’t let anyone communicate with you unless they physically track you down. You’re not the easiest.”
Aseria dropped her head in defeat. Her mother had a point. After throwing away any communication devices for the sake of not hearing another report of her friend’s or families bodies being found dead or wounded beyond repair.
“Guess he and I have that in common then.”
Reyna stands from her position on the floor and gives her daughter a hand on the shoulder as comfort.
“When the dust settles, he will come home. That’s a promise he made to me years ago that I have no doubt he will keep.”
“So who is he the scapegoat for?” Aseria’s voice trailed off with slight fear regarding the thought of who the mastermind could be that used her father as a pawn.
“Your grandfather, actually.”
“It would be the man I’ve never met, wouldn’t it.”
“He’s not a man you’d want to meet. He wanted to destroy all the progress that everyone has made and create it in his image like a god would.”
“It’s going to take a lot more than just wishful thinking and the will of an elder to restart the villages that were destroyed by Betrothal. The ones that weren’t fully destroyed are still struggling to rebuild themselves.”
“I think we should just burn it all to the ground. That might be the only way we can truly restart.”
Both women freeze in their tracks at the new voice. It’s familiar, in any other circumstance it would be very comforting, but now it was just as haunting as the very first time they heard it on the other side of the battlefield.
“You’re not supposed to be here, my love. But it is so great to see you again, Reyna.”
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