January 25, 2001
Sequel to 'Have You Ever...'
Standard Warnings and Disclaimers apply.
"Well, well, well. Look what I found."
Jack froze, the color draining from her face, her blood running cold, her stomach falling. Her hold on the smaller girl behind her tightened, almost eliciting a surprised yelp from Carina, had she not swallowed it back.
"What the hell are you doing here, Val?" Jack rasped.
"I could ask the same thing of you," the dark haired young man replied, standing up from his desk, a drink in hand. "You see, this satellite is supposed to be deserted, which is why I chose it." He smiled at the glare she shot him, relishing it, drinking in her hate for him as if it was ambrosia. "I'm here overseeing the final touches on a pet project of mine. A project, might I add, that will restore our family to the riches our brothers so carelessly squandered away!"
"You bastard!" she hissed. "You son of a---You made a deal with those murderers!"
"On the contrary!" He walked around the desk and then chose to lean back against it. "I made a deal with White Fang!"
"You--!" Anger flew her across the room, ready to attack him.
And then, suddenly, she stopped, three feet away, blistering to hit him, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides, her fury written clearly across her young face.
"Would you like to hit me, Jacqueline?" he taunted, leaning forward so his liquor-soured breath could assault her. And then he backhanded her; the force snapping her face completely to the left. Inch by inch, she turned to look back at him, hatred burning her eyes as the tears burned her cheeks. "Would you?" he asked again, leaning in closer, punching her this time in the side.
"They can't possibly be serious," Lady Une murmured in fascinated horror as she watched the large ship sail towards Libra. Awe and admiration laced her words and as she watched, Peacemillion merged with the battle ship Libra.
"Ma'am! Shuttles from Peacemillion are requesting permission to dock!" one of the young lieutenants cried out.
"Granted!" Une replied without hesitation. "Hurry! Make sure each one of those ships makes it here safely! I don't want any more casualties!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
'How noble,' she thought, staring at the bright fireworks created by the collision. 'How beautiful and noble.'
***~~~Flashbacks~~~ ***
'Remember, Jacqueline,' the old wizened man had told her at one of their many afternoon talks since she'd been sent away. 'Family is something sacred. You may always choose your friends, but you may never choose your family. They are who the fates have deemed them to be. It is your responsibility as a young warrior and woman, to watch out for them, especially those who are physically and mentally weaker than yourself. You must never raise your hand against a family member...'
'I miss mama...' the little dark-haired girl had replied, cuddling up closer to the man who was like a grandfather to her.
The little child huddled into a ball on the ground, shuddering with pain and sobs as the belt arched down through the air and made a loud crack, slicing across her exposed flesh.
'You dare to raise your hand against me?'
'Daddy! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!' the child had screamed.
'You little whore! You're no better than that slut that birthed you! Don't you ever, ever, EVER raise your hand to the head of this family!'
'Aba! Aba, stop!' her mother had screamed, throwing herself over the child.
The child whimpered in the warmth of her mother's embrace, sniffling pitifully.
'Family is sacred,' the dark-haired woman whispered, petting the child's head in her lap. 'Sometimes, we are forced to sacrifice ourselves for the good of our families, and sometimes, there is no choice for us but to live through the unpleasanties of life.'
The child clung to her, refusing to let go. 'Why did you marry such a mean man?' she whimpered, hiding her face in her mother's long dress-like shirt.
'You must never say such things about your father, dear, please,' the woman urged. 'One day, you will understand the sacrifice made for one's families.'
'But,' the child sniffled, pulling away to look up into her mother's dark angelic-like face with wide dark eyes, 'Did you *want* to marry Daddy?'
A look passed the woman's face that the child could define as no more than sadness. 'No,' the mother whispered, brushing back the dark bangs from the child's forehead. 'But the choice was not mine to make.' She leaned over and kissed the bared forehead.
The child was quiet for several minutes, content just to lay there in the safety of her mother's arms. And then another question plagued her young mind. 'Are you happy here, mother?'
The woman smiled, sad and loving. "I am not unhappy, my darling. After all, I have you and your sisters whom I love dearly with all my heart.' She kissed the child's forehead again. 'And you are my family now; I promise not to let anything bad ever happen to you--I would die first.'
She held the child tight, as if to crush her to her and make the child a part of herself forever.
The dark haired woman laid on the bed, nothing more than a battered, broken doll. Her cheeks badly bruised, her lips cracked and cased with blood, her eye swollen shut, her bloody, mangled body limp.
'Never let them know,' she whispered, her voice hoarse and cracked. 'Play the role they would have you play; give them what they think they want--but never let them know.'
'Never let them know what, mama?' the young gathering of girls asked, eyes brimming with bitter tears.
'That you are better than them... smarter... stronger... That you will live longer then them and better than them... That you will survive even when they are dead--through your daughters... and her daughters... and their daughters... That you cannot die.'
The woman coughed, blood sputtering across the lily-white sheets. The oldest of the girls, only thirteen, jiggled the wiggling two-year old in her arms, trying in vain not to cry like her other sisters.
'You see,' the dying woman went on. 'They think they can control us, that we are weaker than them because of our sex. They underestimate us... and that is their mistake.' Her eyes drifted shut, but her lips continued to move. '"Our life is a war... and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country... Live Life with your head in the lion's mouth... overcome with yeses, undermine with smiles, agree them to death and destruction, let them swallow you till they vomit and bust wide open..." and never forget the power of invisibility.'
She coughed again and tried to move her hands out, to touch her children. They all pulled nearer, desperate to feel her warmth, to reassure themselves that she was still alive. Tiny hands slipped over her arms and legs, touched her shoulders and face, squeezed her weak but loving hands. 'Find Kiell,' she whispered, dark eyes trying to focus on the faces of her beautiful children... beautiful creatures of her flesh and blood. 'If you're ever in trouble... ever need help. Find the shining prince of the desert sun.'
They were her last words.
Almost half an hour later, when the doctor finally arrived with a frantic husband and father, all that was to be found was a cooling corpse surrounded by seven nestling, sleeping little girls.
The blows rained down upon her head, her shoulders, her stomach, until the pain forced her to her knees. And then he started kicking her, forcing down to the cold floor in a dummified state, mind blank and detached so that when the distasteful body fell over her, she was already miles away.
End of Part 28: Be A Good Girl
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com