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| Everything has to end at some point. |
Act 2 Prologue 1: Silver
The double doors to Lily's fathers office slowly pulled open as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her knee long dress. His room was big and spacious looking, lit by a chandelier along with a massive window about 15 feet wide. Lily never got why mansions always had such big windows compared to the typical home, but it was always pretty cool to have the entire horizon before you without even having to press your face up against the glass like at Maria's house, or the academy.
The large chair slowly swiveled back around to face his desk, a glass of wine was sitting on a table along with some papers. A man in his early 50's quietly took a sip, before looking up at the teenage girl standing in front of his desk. She looked a bit uncomfortable, yet had a face that looked like she was familiar to the feeling. “So Lily, are you done with your sabbatical?” He asked her, Tilting his head. He was wearing a white suit with folded back cuffs and a lifted collar, along with a red buttoned undershirt and tie. His hair was a shiny silver and there was barely any deep wrinkles on his face besides the ones on his forehead.
“I guess you could call it that.” Lily said, walking up to his desk and sliding a wooden chair to sit on, but first placed a cushion on top of it to make sure it was comfortable. He crossed his hands over one another. “I can't believe you would just abandon everything I've set up here for you for nearly 9 months, Lily.” He scolded, but Lily frowned a little bit. “You grew up here, you were my princess, I gave you nearly everything you wanted, yet you just... act like you can walk out and pretend like all of this never happened?” He ranted some, Lily sighed and looked at the floor.
“There's a lot of reasons, dad.” Lily countered, rubbing her shoulder a bit as she didn't want it to turn into a confrontation. He stood up a bit, pointing at her now 8 month old scar on her face. “You go and join Spectrum instead of finishing your classes and moving to the university I SET UP for you.” He complained, Lily looking at the floor with a sigh. “It only takes a couple of years, you would get a masters degree in economics or business and you could easily take my place and keep this whole ship running.” He explained, Lily leaning up a bit and shaking her head quietly.
“Yet you join an academy for gung-ho violent thugs, staining your hands with blood and destroying your body for a cause we pay other people to do instead.” He ranted, Lily looking up and furrowing her brow. “Why say that? Spectrum is pretty much our best chance to help society out, you even fund the weapons for Spectrum after the council instituted the law barring any group not approved by the government to be unable to distribute Ash.” She argued, but he sighed a bit, sitting in his chair. “I don't hate Spectrum, but there are people meant to fight and people meant to lead or manage.” He started,
“You have everything at your disposal to learn how to become a leader, yet you want to fight with all of the grunts instead. You weren't meant to get your hands dirty..” He tried to justify it, but Lily just looked a bit upset at him, balling her fists and standing up from her chair to place her hands on the table. “Maybe because I just want to feel like I'm actually helping in a tangible way instead of just 'Sterling funds this!' 'Sterling funds that!' throwing money at things isn't always the way you fix a problem, dad...” She replied, but he gently started to stroke his chin with one finger.
“The Riftfallen victims fund is one of the highest grossing charities, helping people across the world. Don't you think investing in that is enough 'help' for one day? Why kill yourself doing more work when you have to? Work smart, not hard.” He said openly, Lily closing her eyes and gently pinching between her brows before looking at him. “Do you know what would be the best way to help the victims of Riftfallen? Protecting them. If there was no Riftfallen then we wouldn't NEED that fund.”
He lightly began to shake his head,
standing up and crossing his arms around his back as he walked to
her, leaning down a bit so they can be face to face. “Yet you still
get hurt, that massive scar on your face shows me that maybe you're
not cut out for a life of action. Why do you do it? Are you getting
some kind of thrill off of risking your life?” He questioned her,
She gently reached up and felt the scar on her own face. Her smooth
skin elsewhere contrasted the coarse scar tissue, it still felt
sensitive and sore even after all this time.
“I just want to be proactive for once. I want to stop feeling like a third party and finally take on an issue head on, instead of skirting around it.” She answered, but he just turned to stand facing his window yet again, walking back behind his desk and looking at the sunset. “If you are so desperate to be proactive want to be proactive, then buy a private military. Sterling's are meant to lead, not follow.” He demanded, she quietly walked beside him, looking at him. “I made friends for once, dad... I felt like a bird stuck in a cage, easy to make fun of. Even if everyone called me superior, I felt like I never got to experience the feeling of having people depend on me as a person, not as a figurehead.” She replied, but he looked at her dismissively.
“I got the papers of their current recruitment roster. That red headed poor girl I always brought over for you signed up 2 weeks before you did, even though her paperwork took longer to process. Was this a coincidence?” He asked, Lily looking away a bit as he shook her head once again. “No... I learned from Sienna that Maria was trying to join, I followed suit.” She replied, but he grabbed her by the shoulders to look down at her.
“So you did all this just to be with your friend?” He asked, Lily looking up at him since he was a couple of inches taller than her. “That Roth girl... She's a parasite in human skin.” He said, Lily's mouth opening slightly along with her brow as she couldn't believe he just said that. “The only reason she was friends with you is because she wanted the perks of being friends with someone better off than her. She's a leech and the longer you spend time around her the more entitled she will get about it.” He stated, Lily gently grabbing his hands and pulling them off of her, she was somewhat offended by that statement.
“How the hell could Maria be a parasite...? Her parents died, she needs as many people who care about her as she can get...” She said to try and justify it, but he just furrowed his brow, folding his arms across his chest. “And you act like losing your parents is SPECIAL? It's nearly the fucking apocalypse... So many people have lost their parents from this. She has enough people she can empathize with, you shouldn't coddle her with our money just to make her happy.” He said calmly, Lily growling in frustration and pressing her head against the glass of the window.
“You have no idea how any of my friends think of me... They actually respect me and listen to my input on things... Sometimes I even forget I have money, I even sometimes forget that you're my father when I'm around them.” She argued, he looked down at there, tilting her brow. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, Lily looking up at him, trying to grow enough of a spine to speak up to him. “I mean exactly what you think I mean, dad... You are barely there for me, it feels like you just want to turn me into a younger version of you.” She complained, he raised a brow, placing his hands on his hips as he turned to her.
“And I'm pretty much the richest man in this whole damn republic. Is being like me really so bad?” He asked her, She looked at the floor, slowly turning around and walking back to the other side of the room. “And you wonder why mom divorced you..” She said somberly.
“I just want to be proactive for once. I want to stop feeling like a third party and finally take on an issue head on, instead of skirting around it.” She answered, but he just turned to stand facing his window yet again, walking back behind his desk and looking at the sunset. “If you are so desperate to be proactive want to be proactive, then buy a private military. Sterling's are meant to lead, not follow.” He demanded, she quietly walked beside him, looking at him. “I made friends for once, dad... I felt like a bird stuck in a cage, easy to make fun of. Even if everyone called me superior, I felt like I never got to experience the feeling of having people depend on me as a person, not as a figurehead.” She replied, but he looked at her dismissively.
“I got the papers of their current recruitment roster. That red headed poor girl I always brought over for you signed up 2 weeks before you did, even though her paperwork took longer to process. Was this a coincidence?” He asked, Lily looking away a bit as he shook her head once again. “No... I learned from Sienna that Maria was trying to join, I followed suit.” She replied, but he grabbed her by the shoulders to look down at her.
“So you did all this just to be with your friend?” He asked, Lily looking up at him since he was a couple of inches taller than her. “That Roth girl... She's a parasite in human skin.” He said, Lily's mouth opening slightly along with her brow as she couldn't believe he just said that. “The only reason she was friends with you is because she wanted the perks of being friends with someone better off than her. She's a leech and the longer you spend time around her the more entitled she will get about it.” He stated, Lily gently grabbing his hands and pulling them off of her, she was somewhat offended by that statement.
“How the hell could Maria be a parasite...? Her parents died, she needs as many people who care about her as she can get...” She said to try and justify it, but he just furrowed his brow, folding his arms across his chest. “And you act like losing your parents is SPECIAL? It's nearly the fucking apocalypse... So many people have lost their parents from this. She has enough people she can empathize with, you shouldn't coddle her with our money just to make her happy.” He said calmly, Lily growling in frustration and pressing her head against the glass of the window.
“You have no idea how any of my friends think of me... They actually respect me and listen to my input on things... Sometimes I even forget I have money, I even sometimes forget that you're my father when I'm around them.” She argued, he looked down at there, tilting her brow. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, Lily looking up at him, trying to grow enough of a spine to speak up to him. “I mean exactly what you think I mean, dad... You are barely there for me, it feels like you just want to turn me into a younger version of you.” She complained, he raised a brow, placing his hands on his hips as he turned to her.
“And I'm pretty much the richest man in this whole damn republic. Is being like me really so bad?” He asked her, She looked at the floor, slowly turning around and walking back to the other side of the room. “And you wonder why mom divorced you..” She said somberly.
Alexander slammed his fist on the
table, spilling the little wine in the glass left over. “You
couldn't possibly comprehend the reason she left! You wouldn't
understand something like that for at least another 15 years!” He
shouted at her, Lily frowning as she shook her head. “That's where
you would be wrong... You don't trust with anyone and you act like
everyone in the world just wants to be like you just because you
happened to find a formula that got you power. I feel like you don't
love me, and I bet mom felt just the same way.” She said, hoping it
would sting, and it did. His stubble covered face gritted his teeth a
bit as he glared at her.
“And where has all this come from? You have never complained about this before, have you? I've taken care of you and raised you, haven't I? You're not dead on a street, you're not struggling to make ends meet... you have fairly reasonable morals and you still act like you're being mistreated? How much more could you possibly want?” He asked, Lily slowly turned around to open the door. “I wanted you to give a shit about anyone else's feelings, dad.” She said, turning back to him. He was kind of surprised by her cursing at him, the Roth girl must have been rubbing off on her.
“At least I remembered you were turning 18 today.” He stated flatly, Lily frowning even more. “And you yelled at me for showing up!” She complained, before sauntering back up to place her hands on the now wine stained table. “I'm an adult now, and I'm choosing to stay away from you for a reason. I'm sorry dad... money doesn't fix every problem.” She said, a bit sad. He sighed and sat back down in his chair.
“Fine... Just go.” He said, admitting defeat. Apparently his love wasn't the thing she wanted in her life, and since she was old enough he couldn't really hold her hostage over it. Suddenly, all the lights in the house turned off. “W-what the hell!?” He said out of confusion. Lily tilted her head, walking back up to the window and looking out at the clear sky. “That's weird. All the years I've been here I've never seen the power go out.” She stated, he turned to the window and stood back up out of his chair. “We had a backup generator, something somehow cut both our main power and the back-up as well.” He said, before a faint orange glow began to flicker near the ground. He looked down, confused at what could be causing it. They were on the third floor of the manor and he couldn't see what was happening near the front of the courtyard.
Lily turned around, running out the door and not waiting for him. “I'm going to check what that is, follow me if you want!” She said, running down the darkened hall, using her memories of running down it as a little kid to take a sharp turn and swiftly head down the stairs, her physical training making her able to do it in a record time. She grabbed the huge double doors on the bottom floor and shoved them open.
Sitting on the bricks of the courtyard was a pile of weapons, swords, knives, spears, shields, crossbows and many others. It was stuck between piles of wood and other flammable objects, it was lit on a massive bonfire. She was confused, walking around it as she saw a red arrow painted on the ground, behind the fire a couple of feet. Her father ran out as well. “Who lit this bonfire?” He asked, out of confusion. Lily pointed to the ground to see the red arrow facing toward the house. They both quietly walked up to it, before turning around just as the arrow said to do.
The white walls of the house were defaced with red paint in words written over the window of the third floor.“What the hell...?” He asked quietly as he read the words in the pale orange light of the fire mixed with the sunset. Beside it was a stylized picture of an animal skull, with something looking like blood pouring out of it's empty eye sockets.
“And where has all this come from? You have never complained about this before, have you? I've taken care of you and raised you, haven't I? You're not dead on a street, you're not struggling to make ends meet... you have fairly reasonable morals and you still act like you're being mistreated? How much more could you possibly want?” He asked, Lily slowly turned around to open the door. “I wanted you to give a shit about anyone else's feelings, dad.” She said, turning back to him. He was kind of surprised by her cursing at him, the Roth girl must have been rubbing off on her.
“At least I remembered you were turning 18 today.” He stated flatly, Lily frowning even more. “And you yelled at me for showing up!” She complained, before sauntering back up to place her hands on the now wine stained table. “I'm an adult now, and I'm choosing to stay away from you for a reason. I'm sorry dad... money doesn't fix every problem.” She said, a bit sad. He sighed and sat back down in his chair.
“Fine... Just go.” He said, admitting defeat. Apparently his love wasn't the thing she wanted in her life, and since she was old enough he couldn't really hold her hostage over it. Suddenly, all the lights in the house turned off. “W-what the hell!?” He said out of confusion. Lily tilted her head, walking back up to the window and looking out at the clear sky. “That's weird. All the years I've been here I've never seen the power go out.” She stated, he turned to the window and stood back up out of his chair. “We had a backup generator, something somehow cut both our main power and the back-up as well.” He said, before a faint orange glow began to flicker near the ground. He looked down, confused at what could be causing it. They were on the third floor of the manor and he couldn't see what was happening near the front of the courtyard.
Lily turned around, running out the door and not waiting for him. “I'm going to check what that is, follow me if you want!” She said, running down the darkened hall, using her memories of running down it as a little kid to take a sharp turn and swiftly head down the stairs, her physical training making her able to do it in a record time. She grabbed the huge double doors on the bottom floor and shoved them open.
Sitting on the bricks of the courtyard was a pile of weapons, swords, knives, spears, shields, crossbows and many others. It was stuck between piles of wood and other flammable objects, it was lit on a massive bonfire. She was confused, walking around it as she saw a red arrow painted on the ground, behind the fire a couple of feet. Her father ran out as well. “Who lit this bonfire?” He asked, out of confusion. Lily pointed to the ground to see the red arrow facing toward the house. They both quietly walked up to it, before turning around just as the arrow said to do.
The white walls of the house were defaced with red paint in words written over the window of the third floor.“What the hell...?” He asked quietly as he read the words in the pale orange light of the fire mixed with the sunset. Beside it was a stylized picture of an animal skull, with something looking like blood pouring out of it's empty eye sockets.
"THIS MUST END"
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