A Father's Dread [Closed]

It would feel like an eternity starting from the very moment they stepped inside the office. Time wasn't wasted as the numerous stacks of paperwork, lying on the desk, were beginning to dwindle on one side and surge on the other. There were agreements, negotiations, and even debate crossing between them and each signature made. They were blissfully oblivious of what was happening downstairs. How could they be otherwise? Though, their work wasn't a Herculean one and they made remarkably good progress, enough to have finished much earlier than expected. "Take a breather, you've just survived a desert raid a while back. You haven't even touched your tea. All the ice inside melted."

"Maybe I like my tea that way." Serenity coolly narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms before staring at the cup and abruptly taking a sip from it. It tasted almost watery as the condensation set into her palms on its cool sides, but she didn't care. There was nothing better than going back home and leaving this place. Nothing about this city was great, overrun by demons and criminals of all walks of life. It was absolutely nothing like the pristine system Endymion possessed, instead Domiona stood as its stark anti-thesis.

A quiet pause lingered, not a single word passed to each other as Serenity busied herself through her phone. But her attention was diverted away back towards the only other person in the room. "How's Julius, your brother?"

"He's had business at home. Mother wanted me to go in his stead. He's doing fine, still leading the Cadets and actually instilling order and discipline." She lifted an eye at his direction to answer. It was to be expected. Serenity knew her father regarded his son more than his own daughter. It was always Julius, repeatedly expected to hold up the burden on his shoulders as the man of the family. Now it was the City that expected their Prince to hold his burden for their sake.


"I see. That's good. I was worried about all of you after that broadcast. The Platinum Playhouse, was it? I thought the worst happened when this individual showed up on screen." His Highness leaned against his chair as he idly watched the cigarette burn. He remembered the shock plastered itself onto his face when viewing the spectacle. It was surreal to see the thriving city Isla built with her own very hands begin to crack under pressure after all this time. But, it was certainly the limitations of her vision beginning to surface for all to see. Sebastian eyed Serenity's face contorting into a visible frown. But she would find no disappointment drawn on his face nor would she find any relish. "When your brother and you stayed behind under that thing, I was under the impression Endymion was going to be under good hands. What happened?""

"It is in good hands. What happened then was an accident, a lucky shot from them. It won't happen again." The Princess replied flatly as her grip on her cup tightened. The news of one District Head falling was already shocking enough, but another? It was inexplicable, something changed. With every victory the Cadets claimed from the jaws of defeat, their enemies were kept evolving. Slowly, but surely they bid their time for an opportune moment to strike as they have in that previous night. But she had to remember the look on Julius' face when he came back home after coming from work after the broadcast. Ever since then, he got even busier and perhaps even more driven by it...


Sebastian quietly took a moment to take another drag from his burning cigarette and hit its singing end against the nearby ash try. It took another moment for him to dwell on Serenity's promise. From the ashtray to his daughter, his eyes quietly regarded her. She scowled at his gaze, feeling at ill-ease. The silence broke when he propped up his arm against the arm of the chair and leaned against it. "For yours and your brother's sake, I hope so. What happened last time half a decade ago, that was the lucky shot. You of all people must realize it too. When I left Endymion, I had my reservations. In these few years afterwards, at a time, I was beginning to think they were right. But that broadcast has brought back my fears. The madness. The insanity. The depravity. They weren't able to lock it away its entirety. It will always seep through the cracks and there's always an opening. This chaotic nature will forever be a part of Man and to suppress it wholesale in the way they planned will not end well. I warned them this."

"Despite your concerns, you didn't even bother to stay. You left us behind to the city." Was Serenity's reply as her eyes drew accusatory daggers at her father's slumping figure. She noticed the look on Sebastian's face turning grim as he shifted his weight around on the chair, she took it as a cue to continue while her father drew another drag from his cigarette. Serenity grudgingly admitted. "Even after you weren't there when we needed you most, Mother still wants you back. Julius took it upon himself to do as much as he could where his hands could reach to help everyone."

His grimace fell and averted his gaze to the carpet. "I know, Serenity. Julius is my boy. He'll do whatever he can to help and save everyone, just like his Mother. Stepping up to the plate when I'm not around... I'm proud of him for that. I know it isn't easy. I miss him. You and your Mother.."

"Then why--"


"Because she is not the woman I know. Can you really call that 'thing' your Mother? After all the time you spent with her? The way I see it, she's changed--No, it's like she was replaced. Even with change, there would still be something recognizable left. I don't know who replaced her, but she is not her at all." He abruptly cut her off before squishing the leftover cigarette into the ashtray. The silence after his words told him enough as Serenity bit her lip in frustration. He finally heaved a sigh and hesitantly confessed. "You have no idea how much I want to come back. But how could I come back to someone who isn't even her? And besides, I don't even agree with that thing's approach to the city. All of that suppression will only build up to another Divide and it shows."

The austerity in her visage was bare. She dared him to answer. Her Mother wasn't the villain here and neither was she the monster. The cup was left long forgotten on the coffee table that lay between them. But the Princess took an angry sip at it before dropping it down into its saucer. Yet, even as she waited, Sebastian only sighed and remained silent. When it was clear that she was still glaring at him for an answer, he finally replied. "I don't know. Maybe it's still her and she changed. But there's something wrong with her, you can't deny that. Does she still stay locked up in her room? Does she even do anything, but talk to herself?"

"She's been... better. Getting better." She said as her eyes narrowed, hating to agree with him. Now she was hoping this incoming jab could be felt, but she felt a tinge of guilt for bringing an unrelated person into this personal drama.  "We've had a guest last night and she was far more talkative with them than with you in the last half decade."

He gave a pointed look at the Princess. His brows furrowed together, but his calm was not compromised as much as it exasperated her. "I see... I'm happy for her. I was worried she would be far too friendly with her... cohort. Tell me, is she still using that woman as a bludgeoning tool to get her way? Like with all of these people she killed since that Miracle?"

"You know it was chaotic even after she sealed it all away! The City needed stability! There were people who wanted to exploit that moment to rule over it. You should know that if you took over Domiona. It was... necessary for her to do what she had to." She fervently argued. But there was a slight pause as she spoke, like a wince at her own words. The surveillance state and the existence of the Cadets, they were all necessary for Endymion to function. It put an ominous shudder in her spine should they fail in their work, or if they never existed. But yet... blood was spilled to ensure the City's future. The bloodthirsty Nameless Guard was certainly efficient in her work, but all too brutal. Was it really worth it?


Serenity fell silent, tightly grasping the fabric of her skirt as she sat. Sebastian rose from his seat and began meandering around the room. Each step brought him further away from the Princess before reaching his desk and grasping a small picture frame to look into. "I tried helping her. Asked her to reconsider. Told her there would be consequences. But none of it mattered. I can't go back to that, not now... Maybe not ever. If I did, we would kill each other eventually."

"You really think she would do that?" She asked wearily as she rested her head against her hand propped against the chair's arm. They were going in circles at this point. Nothing could convince him other than himself. That stubbornness caused her exasperation to smolder. At the same time, all of these claims against Mother kept that fire going. However, it was dying out of exhaustion. "Would you really do that?"

The King hesitated. That really was the question, wasn't it? He gently put the frame down back to the tabletop and stared at the ceiling. But finally Sebastian looked straight and square into her eyes. Serenity's shoulders slackened and she shook her head at him while beginning to rise from her seat. "I should've made Julius come instead. This was a waste of time."

The King didn't move to stop her and remained by his desk. By the time Serenity grabbed for the door knob, she could hear Sebastian speaking. "It wasn't. I missed you."

She paused and wordlessly looked at him. In the next moment, the door slammed shut behind her and he heaved a sigh. He looked back at the picture frame of a couple and their children, each and everyone of them with smiling faces, while bringing out another piece of a cigarette to his mouth and lighting it with his zippo lighter. After one deep puff from the burning white stick in his fingers, he only uttered one word.