The long road from St. Cyprian to Sunyula's mansion in Trainmor, Fraenon Hill was not only tiresome for Lunarey but also nerve-racking. As she sat in the back seat of Samuel's car, accompanied by his two trusty, blood-thirsty associates, she couldn’t help but ponder what vicious fate might await her upon reuniting with her dear mother.
Sunyula Trife was known as many things, but lovable or maternal were never one of them. She was almost as powerful as the very men who sat in high chairs in the Segregated Quarter at the Heart, as wealthy as a company's CEO and as vicious as any Feral would allow himself to be. Many say that Lady Dread's organization isn’t that different from the Ferals, other than the fact that the Ferals don’t have any business standing behind them, and every victim of theirs seems to be chosen at random.
Samuel Butler had the appearance of a good-willed man, one that was a far cry from the stories and tales that painted Lady Dread with a crimson color of blood and a frightening tendency for torturing.
Of all the people in the world, I got to turn out as Vaikillia Trife. I now envy the innocence and ignorance I was blessed with as a girl with no memory.
After leaving St. Cyprian, Samuel drove all the way through the Heart to Morth City, and from there he drove to Basilham. By the time he reached that city, it was nightfall, and the stars bid them to call it for a night. They stopped at a local hotel, one that was only a few miles from the Maroon Bridge that connected Basilham to Loncliffe Abbey.
When Samuel was booking the rooms at the reception, he didn’t even bother to ask about the price of the rooms. He simply took out a bundle of bills from his pocket and handed them over to the clerk. Money was clearly no issue for the lieutenant.
Getting two separate rooms, Samuel's goons went off to stay at the other one, while he and Lunarey stayed at the first one. As awkward as it felt to her, Lunarey maintained a composed appearance and didn’t allow it to affect her much.
That night, she went to the balcony and while leaning on the railing, looked up at the starry skies. Dozens of shining dots painted the skies with a pleasant picture. Over at the horizon, she could see the stony mountains, the same ones that the district of Rockbury was known for, and to the north she could spot the Maroon Bridge, hovering over the Wailing Lake. The moon's light shone beautifully over the waters of the lake. The mesmerizing picture seemed to be the only thing at the moment that could calm her down and ease up her anxiety. I used to see these skies through Kelia's window all the time. She amused herself with such tender thoughts. The night was as silent as a graveyard, with only the light breezes of winds and occasional cricket sounds to flow through Lunarey's ears. This place, Basilham… it looks so different from St. Cyprian. I didn’t see any graffiti or trash in the streets like I saw in that wretched old city, she thought to herself. Perhaps Brontspil truly is the cesspool of Alataria.
Eventually, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. Before she could turn around, the man was already leaning on the railing right next to her, with a cigarette lit in his mouth.
"You know, it's funny," Samuel said. "Even before, you used to love watching the night sky like this." His voice was calm and gentle. His black, wavy hair blew softly in the light wind.
"I guess some things aren’t so easily lost," she said. Samuel smiled.
"How's your face?" he asked her. Lunarey's face was still swollen and purple from Triggen's hits. Every facial expression she made triggered small spikes of pain. Her legs also suffered from minor bruises, mostly from being tied so tightly for so long.
"It… still hurts," she said.
"I'll have someone look at it tomorrow after we'll reach Sunyula's mansion in Trainmor," he said.
That didn’t make Lunarey feel any better. "My mother… Sunyula Trife…" even though the words came out of her own mouth, she still couldn’t believe them. "I've heard so many things about her."
"And I'm sure none of them were good."
"No, they weren't. Tales of horror and unimagined brutality. The way she loans people money and then torture them when they can't repay it. The way she sells young girls as sex slaves." Samuel didn’t comment on her accusations. He merely sighed, giving away, in a sense, that it was all true. "I heard that she has a sword with two blades instead of one that she always carries with her."
"Yeah, that's true. She calls it Scarlet Thorn. She even keeps it by her bed. I don’t think I ever saw her going outside without it." Samuel inhaled his cigarette. The night was so silent that she could clearly hear the sound of crisp burning coming from it. After blowing the smoke away, he handed the cigarette to Lunarey as an offer.
"Here," he said.
"Did I use to smoke?" she wondered.
"On rare occasions. Your mother never knew. We always kept it from her." The thought of keeping something away from Sunyula invoked Lunarey's memory about a particular thing.
"You said… you would get rid of Sunyula."
"We were both going to do that."
"Why? Why would you want to kill her? And why would I ever go along with it?"
Samuel stooped his head. His eyes seemed filled with sadness and agony. He must have felt helpless watching her with no memory of whatever he or she went through in the past. "You're scared of her, aren’t you?" he said. "You don’t want to get to Trainmor and live in her mansion. Isn’t that right?"
"It is."
"Then your gut might still remember Vaikillia Trife. You were never a happy child under your mother's care. Sure, she provided you with everything a kid could ever want, but… as soon as Sunyula rose to power after her father died, she became aware that she needed a successor, just like Henrick did."
"And that's me." It was a clear guess. The princess to Lady Dread's mighty empire of human trafficking and abusive violence.
"She started having you present during some of our… procedurals."
"She rose to power seven years ago… I must have been so young."
"11 years old, as a matter of fact." It had only now occurred to her that she never really was sure of her real age. That means I'm 18 years old. Funny how only now I realize that. "At first, it seemed to be working. You understood what was going on and you appeared to be accepting it, but… not everyone can take this kind of world and embrace it as their own," he blew another puff of smoke into the chill air. "Once you grew up you and Sunyula started to have your… differences. When she feared you wouldn’t prove to be the daughter she wished you to be, she started forcing our way of life on you. She made you watch again and again as we did what we did, and… eventually, she forced you to take part in it."
"You mean… I… tortured people?" she feared the answer.
"To some degree, yes." A nauseating feeling tore Lunarey's stomach. She felt as if she wanted to vile up whatever rotten, repulsing part of her that actually did it, even if she did it against her own will. Her hands quivered and her mind became fuzzy. What kind of animal am I? What kind of monster am I? "Oh, my god…" she whimpered. Little drops of sorrow dripped from her eyes at the railing as she pictured the poor victims who suffered at her hand, and poor Vaikillia, who was forced to become the very thing she hated most. She felt as if no one in the world could truly understand her pain, her self-loathing, her wish to wipe her memory clean all over again. The girl who woke up clueless in that alley seemed like the luckiest girl in the world at that moment.
That was when she suddenly felt a warming embrace, as Samuel's wide arms wrapped around her, securing her in his hug. His arms felt like the wings of a guardian angel that had come to rid her of her pain. His hand slowly caressed her hair, stroking it gently. His mouth uttered no words, and there was no need to. She felt more comforted in his arms then she ever did. And deep in her heart, she knew that this was no hug from a stranger. She knew that these arms knew her body before, that such an embrace wasn’t the first one to ever happen between them.
She backed away from him in a flinch, wiping her tears and regaining her senses. "Now do you understand why we have to get rid of her?" he asked her with a lovely smile on his face.
"I… I don’t know…" she said. How can I kill Sunyula when I can't even imagine myself doing it to all those poor victims? And how can he smile like that when he's talking about killing his own ringleader? I can't allow myself to be fooled by his kindness. This is a man who murders for a living.
"I know you're afraid, but you shouldn’t," he said, his elegance seemingly ever-lasting. "I'm not going to leave you, Vaikillia."
"Well, forgive me, if I don’t see any comfort in that since I don’t really know you," she inched away from him. His eyes stooped once again. He was hurt with every time she mentioned not remembering him. "Tell me," her eyes had now dried up and took the form of fire running wild. "What do they call you?"
"W-What?" he seemed baffled.
"What do they call you?" she reiterated ever so slowly.
He looked defeated upon saying his title, yet a hint of pride was clearly evident. "Samuel of the Shatter."
"And why do they call you that?"
"You know damn why." His face became irritable. He was right. Lunarey did know. She read all about the three lieutenants of Sunyula Trife, about all the horrors and crimes they stand behind. Samuel Butler was the younger one of the three, being the only one in his near-30s while the other two in their 40s. He was also the only one who wasn’t a remnant that was passed on to Sunyula back from the reign of Henrick Trife. Samuel was recruited shortly after Sunyula rose to power, and was named lieutenant three years ago.
"You specialize in physical pain. Bone shattering, skull crushing, limb-dismembering—"
"Stop!" he said in a quick, yet loud voice. "Why are you doing this? Why are you saying those things, Vaikillia?"
"I am NOT Vaikillia!" she declared, her heart pumping up with fire and pride. "My name is Lunarey and the reason I'm saying these things is because I had a best friend named Kelia Hopewell, who stabbed me in the back. So you tell me, Samuel of the Shatter, why should I trust YOU?" her words flung at him like knives sharp enough to cut through metal. Her eyes penetrated his like long swords stabbing at his heart.
Samuel stood before her, his cigarette had long been but a burned out stick in his hand. His pupils trembled in his eyes. Yet, after everything said, his voice sounded as calm and gentle as it was at the beginning of their conversation. "You’re right," he said. "You shouldn’t trust me. But it's okay. I know the old Vaikillia did, and I know I can regain your trust. And until then, I'll do everything in my power to rid you of Lady Sunyula and make you free just like you wish."
Words choked at Lunarey's throat. For a moment, she almost felt bad for being so mean to such a kind man, yet she didn’t let herself feel that way. As sweet and gentle as he was, Lunarey never forgot that she was dealing with a professional torturer. Deep in her heart, riding herself of Sunyula seemed like a wake up from the nightmare, yet her ability to trust others had diminished significantly lately. In the end, Lunarey really did want to trust him, and she felt torn for not being able to do so. "I know I may be a fiend or a monster or whatever you'd like to call me, but… I don’t want you to think that of all people. This world is beautiful, Vaikillia." Samuel said in a soft voice, as his eyes surveyed the view around them. "There's gold to be found under every piece of dirt and a smile to be raised under every sob. Never forget that." I can trust him on that saying. I like that way of thinking. I have to. The world is beautiful. Whatever you may turn out to be, Samuel of the Shatter, even if I don’t trust you fully yet, I trust that you're right on that part.
With a delightful smile on her face, she bid him good night and went back into the room.
The next day started early, when the sun was still fresh in the sky. As soon as they all checked out of the hotel, Samuel, along with Lunarey and his two bodyguards, drove away from the city of Basilham. Riding through the Maroon Bridge, they made their way to Loncliffe Abbey and from there they entered the luxurious district of Fraenon Hill, as they entered the city of Trainmor.
The sudden change of scenery was evident. The sandy landscape and dusty air were replaced by lush greenery and fancy-looking houses on tidy boulevards. Lunarey saw it as the complete opposite of St. Cyprian. High-end cars parked in the driveways on every corner, children were seen happily playing at parks and playgrounds and even the random people that walked down the streets gave the impression of higher class. This is Fraenon Hill, the pinnacle of Alataria, the fanciest, most expensive and prestige district in the country. Only the richest and most powerful people get to live here. It almost seemed unfair in her eyes. To have people living in such a classy lifestyle while others in districts like Brontspil are plagued with poverty, sickness and gang violence. They say Fraenon Hill is the only district with no gang presence at all. It's as if all ringleaders somehow agreed not to poke their noses where the lions of this country sleep.
Surely, it was a lovely sight, one that reinvigorated Lunarey's mood and made her forget for a second where she was heading. Seeing happy people like that, cheerful and full of energy, instead of the gloomy and violent ones she saw in St. Cyprian made her feel like perhaps Samuel's words were true, and that the world was actually beautiful. But there could be none of that in Alataria.
As soon as the car parked in front of Sunyula's mansion she already noticed the notorious ringleader at its front, a wry smile on her face. "Welcome back, Vaikillia," Samuel said before letting her out of the car. "You're home now."
