Sunyula's mansion was vast and complex in its structure. It had two floors above the ground floor and two more beneath it, and each one spread across what seemed to be like miles. Lunarey had trouble finding her way around so she asked Samuel to escort her whenever she wanted to walk around the mansion. However, there was another reason why she wanted him around her, one that she kept to herself. Sunyula's men were scattered all around the mansion, and each one seemed more frightening to her then the previous one. With Samuel at her side, she felt safer. He was the closest thing to a friend that she had at the moment and he was kind to her. So kind, in fact, that many times she had to remind herself that he was known as Samuel of the Shatter.
One day, Samuel and Lunarey walked through Sunyula's marvelous front garden. The green grass and light breeze gave Lunarey a sense of ease, one that the filthy, degraded streets of St. Cyprian never did. The Fraenon Hill district was such a far cry from the Brontspil district that it almost seemed like she had left Alataria and entered another country.
"Everything looks so nice around here," Lunarey commented. "Even the people who I see walk outside these metal gates seem… happy."
"I know," Samuel said. "Whenever I make the trip from our outpost in Brontspil to here I get astounded by that as well. Fraenon Hill has always been the pearl of Alataria, the one place that isn’t tainted by any sort of crime or filth."
"How is that? Why is this district so innocent of any criminal activities?"
"Well, several ringleaders live in this district, not to mention many powerful men like public officials and CEOs of various companies. The ringleaders know that if they start to wreak havoc in this district, eventually, a person of influence might suffer for that, and that would be bad for business. No one wants to be on those peoples' bad side, especially Reus Mallistrom, who has business with a lot of them. You know what they say; the Mallistroms have their hand in everything. That, of course, refers to both Reus and Joseph."
"I read that there used to be another Mallistrom," Lunarey remembered a mention of that appearing in the books she read.
"That will be Nestelia Mallistrom, Reus's younger sister. During Joseph's reign over Men of Midas, Nestelia served as his lieutenant, and she was a damn good one. Back then, Jonah Dillard was only Vice Chief of Police, and the Chief was a man who wasn’t nearly as dirty as Dillard. Eventually, Joseph and the Chief of Police developed a rivalry, and in order to hurt Joseph the most, that Chief gathered evidence against Nestelia and started a case against her. Nestelia ended up going on trial and receiving life in prison for her various crimes. Joseph later killed the Chief of Police in retaliation, but Nestelia's sentence was already delivered by then, and there was no saving her. Jonah Dillard then became the Chief of Police and quickly established good relations with Joseph. To this day, Nestelia rots in prison. I think that this is one of the bigger reasons why Reus had turned so paranoid as soon as he replaced his father. I think he's afraid of ending up like his sister one day, so he makes sure to distance himself from his identity and ringleader as much as possible."
"I see," Lunarey said. "Sunyula seems like the opposite of him. I heard that she's not afraid to take part in her organization's actions."
"That's true. Sunyula was never shy of doing any of the dirty work herself. Even the outposts are facilities registered under her name, unlike Reus's outposts."
I will never wish to be anything like Sunyula, but I have to admit, there is one quality in her that makes me envy her. She's fearless. Nothing seems to affect her. I wish I could be like that. Samuel must be fearless as well. He's not shy of violence too, but… he doesn’t give me the impression of a person who's supposed to stand behind so many acts of torture as they say. It's almost as if he acts differently around me. He seems to be protective of me. He's willing to kill Sunyula for me.
Lunarey then pondered on Joseph and Nestelia. She realized how horrible Joseph must have felt ever since his daughter went to prison because of him. It must be the most terrible thing any father can go through, she thought to herself. This made her think about her own father. "My father…" she said, "do you know who he is?"
"I'm afraid not," Samuel answered, to her disappointment. "Nobody does. Perhaps only Sunyula, but I doubt any of us will get an answer from her. Over the years, many have asked her, and she never gave anyone an answer. Some think she doesn’t know who your father is, and she's simply ashamed to admit so."
"I see," Lunarey said. "I was about to ask her about that other day when we had a talk, but… then things heated up between us and I never the chance…" Lunarey bowed her head, seeming disappointed. "This reminds me, I asked her about what happened to me. About how I ended up where I did. She told me how Harley Nation chased the two of us."
"That's…" he seemed hesitant. "That's true. They caught us both unguarded. We both ran, but… one moment you were right beside to me and the next you were… gone. I didn’t know what had happened to you. I barely escaped with my own life, so I was even more afraid for yours." His eyes met hers. "I'm so sorry I couldn’t save you. I… I should have—"
"It's alright." She calmed him down. "Besides, it doesn’t matter anymore. I'm here now. I only wish I could know what happened after we were separated. The next thing that happened was that I woke up alone in Brontspil. There are still so many questions left unanswered."
"You'll find the answers, I'm sure of it," he said. I hope so, but… are those answers something that I'm going to regret ever knowing? "This war with Fane… it's been a heavy burden on us for a long time now. Once Sunyula will be out of the picture, it'll be easier to end it for good. Fane is eager for that as well. He's been trying to end it several times over the past year."
"Even though Sunyula killed all of his former lieutenants, he still wants peace?"
"It's not that he wants peace. He simply wants to preserve his organization. Fane's sole desire is to see Harley Nation grow and expand in Alataria. You see, Fane was chosen to lead Harley Nation in this country by the organization's ringleaders in the US when they first decided to expand into Alataria. I think Fane simply wants to prove to them that he was the right choice. However, his ambition might just be the most dangerous thing about him. I've heard rumors that he would do basically anything to make his outpost grow, so I don’t know how trustworthy he really is."
Fane Hallstead… they call him the Red Rider because of all the murders he has gotten away with. He's an awful person, from what I've heard, yet he and I have something in common. We both want to rid ourselves of Lady Dread.
Suddenly, Lunarey's attention was shifted to the metal entrance gates. Jeffery of the Ravage and an entourage of his men entered the property. The hunched back old man's walking pace was slow and cumbersome. His dark-grey receding hair was swept back and his beady eyes were almost hidden behind his thick eyebrows. Once he caught sight of Lunarey and Samuel, his lips protruded and he drew closer to them, leaving his men to enter the mansion without him.
"Vaikillia, how good to see you again," Jeffery said in his creepy voice. "I've been hoping we could catch up."
"O-Okay," Lunarey said, frightened by the man. I've heard many things about Jeffery Carter and none of them were good. He's a deviant that I would advise anyone to stay away from.
"Samuel, do you mind?" Jeffery tried to shoo him away politely. Samuel seemed hesitant to leave Lunarey alone with the old lieutenant, yet eventually he sighed and left the two alone, catching one last glance of them just before getting out of their sight.
"Oh, my, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever," Jeffery said. "Your skin looks pale and you seemed to have lost some weight during your stay in St. Cyprian. Did those people even feed you?"
"They did… what little they had." Lunarey said.
"You know, when I heard you were gone, I was really worried. I even counseled Lady Sunyula that she should call a temporary truce with the Red Rider until you are found, but… well, you know you mother." To my misfortune. "I've heard that you lost your memory. That's such a shame. I hope you'll regain it eventually. You and I have shared some… experiences that I wouldn’t want you to forget."
"W-What does that mean?" Lunarey asked, fearing the worst.
"Oh, it's not how it sounds like. We didn’t…" he stopped himself for a moment. "What I meant to say was that before you disappeared, Lady Sunyula used to take you to our outposts and watch all of her lieutenants in… action." His creepy voice gave Lunarey an eerie feeling. Jeffery's tongue kept sliding in and out of his mouth, salivating over his thin lips. He almost seemed like a dog carefully keeping watch over his snack. "It was all part of your initiation. She wanted you to watch our methods so some of it may rub off on you, so that perhaps, you would grow your own style, like each one of us has."
"You mean… she made me watch as you tortured people?"
"I hate using that word… torture." He shivered as if the word actually sent a chill down his spine. "These people deserve what they get. They broke the rules and they must be… punished." Once more, his tongue slid through his lips between every other sentence. "Without rules there would be no obedience, and with no obedience, everyone would become… problematic. I hate it when people become problematic. You of all people know that best. You watched me as I was in my most intimate moments, and you dared not look away. Those people may have not known it at those moments, but their punishment made sure they would never break the rules again. I was setting them straight. And I have a very low percentage of… returning customers." He let off a blood-curdling giggle. He's insane… he actually believes there's nothing wrong with what he does. He rapes people. He abuses them sexually however he sees fit. And I… I had to watch him to that. Oh, God… those are memories I am more than glad to lose forever. "Richard and Samuel also said you never looked away as they used their own methods. You never dared to do anything that might've upset your mother. You've always been… obedient, Vaikillia."
"Well, I'm not the same person anymore," she said with confidence. "And my name is not Vaikillia anymore. It's Lunarey."
"Yes, I've heard you've been going around by that name now. I really don’t see the point, Vaikillia." He looked straight into her eyes. "You are who you are, and that is who you'll always be." At that moment, his words floated the memory of Kelia's words regarding Rosabell in her head. Kelia said that Rosabell's identity was the very thing that made her life so difficult, and that it wasn’t going to change. Could they be right? Am I really doomed to live the same miserable life that Vaikillia Trife had? "Anyway, there's a serial killer on the loose right now and we're hoping to catch him soon. And when we do, you can bet I'll be the one to set him straight. I hope you can join me when that happens. Your mother would be very pleased." With that said, Jeffery turned around and headed into the mansion.
That man… that pervert… he's demented. I don’t know why Vaikillia suffered through what she did, but something tells me that every second that she spent watching Sunyula's lieutenants' tortures felt eternal. I doubt she wanted to see it and I bet she hated Sunyula for forcing her that way. I won't act the same. I won't do it. Once Sunyula is dead, I'll make sure Richard and Jeffery would pay as well for their crimes.