The Chimeric Ascension of Lyudmila Springfield
Intermission – Niva – A Trigger Pull from Death
INTERMISSION – NIVA – A TRIGGER PULL FROM DEATH
“It’ll be some time before we depart for the forest. I must prepare the coordinate crystal. That will take longer than before because I must navigate the castle’s barriers. It’s protected against teleportation magic, although it is nothing I can’t handle.”
“There you have it,” said Mila, sipping a cup of tea. “What do you want to do until then?”
“…” I looked out the window. Requiesta was big. The city thrived on the arts. Tilde had said places like this only came to life at night. “I don’t know. Maybe… Maybe I can go for a walk?”
“A walk, huh? Any reason?” Mila asked.
I shook my head. “Not that I can think of. Is that okay?”
“You don’t need my permission.”
“Umm… Can Surtr and I come?” Yew jumped from the bed with a toy-sized Surtr held between her arms. “Ah—is that okay? I forgot to ask you.” She looked at the lion.
“A late-night stroll will not unnerve me,” replied Surtr, his tail happily swaying back and forth. I raised my hood as I stood.
That’s that, then.
“Be careful, okay? I’ll send Surtr a message when the crystal is ready. Oh, and take this. It’s a badge that says you’re a guest of Gloria’s. I know—it’s ironic as hell. You probably won’t need it, but just in case.”
I put it in my pocket.
“Are you ready?” Primrose asked Lei, who jiggled like a dog. He hopped in circles before leaping to Prim’s arms. We left Mila’s room, retraced our steps, and emerged outside the castle.
“Traveling, dear guests?” An old butler stood beside a readied carriage. “Would you care for a ride?”
"Thank you, but we’d rather walk. We’ve no destination in mind,” answered Primrose.
“Of course. Please, take care, would you?”
I nodded, knowing that no one else in Requiesta was safer than us. Tris was watching us at this very moment, along with either Arella or Glintfang—with the latter two unaware of my identity.
So, we wandered, leaving Gloria’s symbol of oppression behind. Upon further thinking, I…didn’t want to remain there longer than necessary. Anything related to that awful woman made me queasy—uncertain, even. I was surprised I was even able to take a nap.
Our walk was silent, with nary a spoken word. Only music escorted us to nowhere, with laughter and side conversations adding background audio. Eventually, we found ourselves near the Artisan Market. Most shops were beginning to shut down for the night, although if you wanted to experience nightlife fun, the city had ample options—some of those were preparing to open in this very place. The sun may have gone down, but gold would never stop changing hands.
“Do…” I didn’t know what compelled me to speak. Maybe it was that little boy crying about messing up his song. In a city filled with music prodigies…I knew how he felt. My circumstances differed, but did it really?
“Do you see any potential within me?” The words finally left my mouth as a whisper. “Tilde says I have a lot. I…don’t see it. I really don’t. Even with Aetos’s training…”
“I do.” Yew’s answer was so straight to the point that I didn’t expect it. “I saw it then, too.”
“Do you mean when I was born?” asked Primrose.
“Uh-huh. It’s your perseverance, Niva. It’s what I really like about you. You survived for so long while being all alone. Back when Mila saved you… You were so close to…you know. Except you didn’t give up. You were stubborn. Almost like a tree, haha. And I should know that because I used to be one. Being rooted in one place was my purpose. I endured cold winters…hot summers… Even when I wanted to falter… I had Aetos. You’re a survivor, Niva. It’s like you don’t know how to not
pick yourself up. Even if you stumble, I know it won’t be for long because you’re not the type to give up. You being here is proof of that.”
“Is that enough to not feel what I feel?” My mind went to the conversation with Sekh. I came so, so close to saying something incredibly dumb.
“It is not rare to feel diminished when likened to aspects greater than yourself, but comparison is the theft of joy,” added Surtr, his tail dancing from side to side, his eyes looking at everything. “It is a poison that can suck happiness from anyone. Even still, it is mortal nature and even a deadly sin. Everyone is beholden to envy—so no one can fault anyone else for that.”
“It’s not my fault. It’s my responsibility to deal with it?”
“Correct, Niva.”
“Do you sometimes feel the same, Primrose?”
Lei wiggled in her arms as she answered Yew. “I do.”
“I think that’s a good feeling.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Inherently experiencing something negative you don’t want to accept is the first step to overcoming it,” Surtr answered in Yew’s stead. “Failure begets progress, which is companion to almighty time. You cannot have one without the other.”
“Uh-huh. Surtr’s right. Patience is the best friend of hard work.”
Best friends? More like…
I thought about their advice as we found ourselves near Harmony Plaza. Someone was performing on stage, but I didn’t know who it was. The surrounding crowd was too dense to satisfy my lack of curiosity.
“Are you thirsty? We still have those thingies from Gloria. Buying a drink won’t cost us anything. Hmm… Do you see anything?” Surtr moved from Yew’s arms to her head, standing on his hind legs like the icy gophers that used to terrorize my family’s produce.
“A café. It shouldn’t close for another hour. I see an empty table on the third floor.
“Okay, then. Is that alright with you?” Prim and I nodded. Lei approved the choice with a happy squeal. We walked to the café. An old man initially turned his nose at Surtr and Lei, yet he sang a different tune when I showed him the card the tour guide had given us.
“There’s a spot on the third floor. Can we take it?”
“An excellent choice, ma’am.” He laid it on thick. Nonetheless, we followed him up the stairs to an empty table. He took our orders before walking away.
“I can see the stage better from here. Umm… I think the performer is that Mesalitos girl.”
“Are you okay? Should we leave?” Primrose touched my shoulder.
“No… No. I’m fine. I have my breathing under control. If I can’t even do this…how will I face tomorrow?” Primrose supportive smile gave me strength. That and Lei’s cool, blubbery body.
The old man returned with our drinks, so we enjoyed them while watching the performance. It was just Lillian—alone up on that giant stage. She jumped, dodged, ducked—acrobatically dancing in its entirety while never missing a note.
…
Time passed until the theatrics finally ended. The crowd dispersed. Not long after, a group of workers began cleaning the stage. The store owner soon stopped by the table.
“Forgive me for interrupting your evening,” he said, his hairy arms behind his back. “But our store is about to close. Might I—”
“Aww, you don’t have to be like that, sir.” The voice was unknown. I looked over my shoulder as my jaw almost dropped—it was the daughter of that bastard—she just stood there with the violin case strapped around her shoulder. “Can you stay open just a little bit longer? If you do, I’ll pay triple what the store made today as my thanks.”
“I cannot deny a generous request from the Mesalitos’s eldest daughter, Lady Lillian. Allow me to prepare my finest tea and desserts.”
“Why did you do that?” I forced out the words. Lillian sat, stretched, then answered.
“You were here earlier, right? Did you enjoy that performance?”
“We did,” answered Yew in my stead. I didn’t trust my voice. “How did you know?”
“It’s not every day you have three High Elves in attendance. I didn’t know what to think when Lord Gloria asked us to perform at the last minute.” Lillian looked at my arm—my biological one. “It wasn’t that, though. What initially caught my eye was you.”
“Why? What’s so special about me?” I had to reply—to find my voice if I wanted to grow.
“You don’t see that many with blue skin. I have good eyes, so I saw it when the wind fluttered your sleeve. Okay, this might be weird, but seeing you reminded me of a ghost that used to haunt my family’s estate. At least, I think it was a ghost. It was a few years ago. I was in the garden with my mother when I happened to look up. Do you know what I saw? It was a blue-skinned girl looking out from a window in a room I never knew we had. Mother didn’t know anything. My father took me to a dozen healers because he thought I was sick. They denied the ghost for months, but I swore I saw her. Not just once, though. It wasn’t often, but I saw her a few times.”
“…”
“I searched the house from top to bottom, but I could never find that mysterious room. It’s like it… I don’t know how to explain it, but it existed and not exist simultaneously. Ah! Sorry, I went off on a tangent, didn’t I? My friends call me the chattiest chatterbox in the institute!”
My sight was almost gone by then-- if it hadn’t already been stripped. The memories of that time were hazy, so the less important details were lost amid the fogginess. Only the genuine details remained, though—like Lillian's father commanding his soldiers to cut down my spirits after summoning them. Everyone ignored my pleading cries like I didn’t exist.
If there was a window, I didn’t remember. Except why couldn’t the room be found if Lillian searched for it? Unless the hallway was hidden by magic? The same could be said for the room, but why risk letting me be seen by others?
On the other hand, I was added to the registry. Maybe that was in case I summoned whatever those bastards desired? If successful, they could point to the rumors of me being seen as proof I was on the estate. Adoption laws, rules, and regulations were beyond me, but maybe that would’ve sped things along? Was that even necessary, though, because Gloria could’ve bent the rules to suit whatever she desired. Why go through the official channels if she’s not above exercising her power to remain unbeholden to the law?
Then again, it doesn't matter. Nothing came to pass.
“Any—whoops!” Lillian shifted in her chair, accidentally tipping her violin case. It fell over, the lock barely opening. She turned around to secure it, and...
No one was around.
No one could see us…
It was dark. The café’s owner had already delivered the food during Lillian’s story.
So….
Primrose kept the gun Mila had given her in a holster on her side. Her skin had grown to conceal it from plain sight, but I had it in my hand before I knew it.
The next moment?
The suppressed tip was an inch away from Lillian’s head.
One pull…
That was all it would take to splatter her brains. She’d die—her story cut drastically short.
Yew frantically shook her head. Her watery eyes leaked tears that evaporated when they reached Surtr, who locked his gaze on me. He neither shook his head nor nodded. Primrose bit her lips. Her conflicted expression didn’t approve.
I…
My hand quivered.
I don’t care.
I’d already killed before, so what’s once more? Lillian was a Mesalitos. I wanted Thaddeus—that bastard father of hers—to suffer. So, what better way than to deny him the life of his daughter?
No one would know. I knew Tris was watching, so if she hadn’t acted…
It meant no one would know if I applied pressure to the trigger.
Pressure.
Not that much… You didn’t need a hero's strength to kill when you had a gun…
Suddenly…
Lillian spoke.
“You’re not a ghost, are you? I know you can’t possibly be her. Still, your arm is the exact same hue. So… This might be weird since we just met, but I apologize for never finding you. I know my father does…things that he never tells me about. My mother does, too. That extends to a lot of people. It’s not exactly a closed secret, especially for a family as famous as ours.”
She jiggled the lock, but it wasn’t aligned with the clasp.
“So… Maybe that girl wasn’t a ghost. Maybe she was really there. I just wished I could’ve…I don’t know…done something? I guess that’s why I approached you—because… Well, my friends have always called me selfish, so this is me being selfish and pretending you’re her. I hope the tea and sweets are enough of an apology gift! Oh, but if you want anything else, all you have to do is ask. I know this amazing restaurant that sells the most delicious cut of beef. It’s not that far away, either. I think the old woman should still be there. Ah, she has insomnia, so she’s always up late. I don't think she sleeps more than a few hours a night.”
Click!
“Ah—finally. You don’t know how irritating these things can be, haha. Guess it’s time to get another lock. I’m glad the violin’s okay. Anyway—” Lillian turned around to see…
Nothing.
“Where did you go? Hello?”
Lillian still wouldn’t have found us if she had looked over her left shoulder because we were invisible. A waypoint message from Tris had informed us someone would arrive within three minutes, then Mila’s clone—a bird—flew above us as it cast an invisibility spell that silenced our noises.
“Come on, where are you? Hello?! Ms. Girl with a Blue Arm, are you there?”
Lillian pouted, sitting with a dispirited sigh as she crossed her arms and legs. “Maybe… You really are a ghost. That explains the disappearing act, right? Why show up now? I’d almost forgotten about you, so…”
Lillian dejectedly grabbed her case. She stood as a group of armored soldiers approached.
“You were to return to the institute immediately after your solo performance,” said the tallest. “That was your condition, my lady.”
“… I know. I’m sorry.”
“Please, follow us. We’ll escort you.”
“Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry to be so much trouble,” whispered Lillian.
I watched as she walked away with the others, silenced gun still gripped tightly. It’d be risky from this angle since her death would splatter blood across her guards. Consequences would extend to them. Maybe even their families—if they had one—should Thaddeus not stop his anger at the guards’ failing to keep her safe.
I can work with that. Let gripping madness tear the family apart. I can do it… All I have to do is…just…
I didn’t raise my arm. The daughter of my target got away without harm befalling her. I didn’t know if I made the right choice in sparring the flesh and blood of my enemy.
Have I really turned that hateful?
Primrose hastily returned the gun to its holster. Yew’s watery eyes had turned happy—so did my spirit, who wrapped her fingers around my hand.