A Bitter End

1 year ago

She stood tall upon the balcony, eyes shining wide as majestic flames engulfed her city below. They hadn’t believed in her power. No, instead they had belittled her, dismissed her as nothing but a fragile and naive woman destined to remain obedient by the side of a man - a man who would be worth more to society than she ever could be. But now, as their cries of pain shattered through the air, the immense heat penetrating their flesh and dissipating every fibre of their beings, she knew she was powerful. She had finally made them see. Her hands remained steady on the railing, teeth glistening like pearlescent snow as she smiled. For the first time in her life, she was truly satisfied. It was an end, an end to the prejudice, discrimination, injustice and abuse that had plagued her city and sucked out all humanity like a leech. An end to the cruelty that had spread and contaminated the minds of the inhabitants. This would be the rebirth of a nation. Her nation, built in her vision. A nation where all would be pure and there would be no darkness. She would make sure of it.

12 years ago

“But daddy, I want to come too!” Elena wailed, tugging her father’s hand in desperation.

“No, remember what I told you, let the men deal with business. Now go on and help Maggy in the kitchen.”

Despite trying her best to not look disappointed, Elena’s pursed lips and glazy eyes revealed the turmoil bubbling within. It hurt seeing her father and brother going off to do important work for the country while she sat back and twiddled her thumbs. She may have been too young to understand the workings of a US congressman, even with her father being one of the most prominent, but she was eager to learn. Eager to feel important. Her mother had never been allowed to take much interest in her father’s work, being left to play the role of good housewife instead. Elena missed her mother desperately, that sense of loss never quite fading away since her death last year.

“Fine” muttered Elena before striding out of the hallway towards the kitchen. Except she wasn’t stopping in the kitchen. No, she was making her way to the garden, to that special spot that was hers and hers alone. As she slumped down behind the thick, textured bark of the acorn tree, she felt that familiar sense of comfort seep through her skin. Gently, she grasped the cool metal of the locket hanging at her neck, tracing its heart-shaped perimeter with the tips of her fingers. It was one of the only pieces her mother ever had bought for herself, not another one of the pathetic gifts her father had given his poor wife when he felt guilty about something. And now her mother was gone, it was left to her. Elena shut her eyes tightly, tilting her head upwards towards the expanse of blue sky above.

“I’m going to make you proud mum. I’m going to be important one day too, more important than dad or Uncle Jacob or any of them. I’m going to show them how things should be.”

Guilt crept down Elena’s spine, settling at the pit of her stomach. Her determination had started off as a tribute to her mum, a determination to claim back the voice and power that her mother had lost after marrying her father. But now, it was more than that. Now it was a slow wave of bitterness that coursed through her veins and radiated along her flesh, unexposed to the world outside. It had started off as a small seed within her, a seed which had now expanded into a vast forest of rage and resentment, casting shadow over her once cheery nature.

She wasn’t sure if this was really about her mum anymore. What she was sure of however, was that she would not rest until she had proved her worth.

Today

She craned her neck up towards the group of young hunters standing before her.

“Collect whatever supplies you can before evening and bring them back here. Now, off you go.”

As the hunters gathered their equipment, Elena swivelled, gliding out of the large hall towards her suite. God, it was exhausting laying command over the hundreds who had survived the fires. It was, however, a price well paid for the glimpse of fear in their eyes when they looked at her, that sense of unease that radiated off of their bodies as they took in her orders. It was that very fear that bought her their obedience, that bought her complete and total control.

Slowly, she strode towards her dressing room mirror, its gold, ornate border glimmering in the dimly lit room. She stopped, staring at the reflection before her. She still saw the same dark, lustrous hair flowing over her shoulders and the same pale, porcelain skin. You would almost think she hadn’t changed at all. But her eyes revealed the truth. The pale green of her irises could not distract from the crazed glint that had formed beneath them, from a stare so piercing it could almost slice those who stood before her. A stare that looked all too familiar. A stare that reminded her of her father.

Elena grabbed the locket hanging below her exposed collarbones, yanking it off of her neck. She took one last glance at her reflection before tossing the locket onto the dresser. She no longer needed the reminder of her weak and trampled mother. No, there was no longer place for weakness within her. She had eliminated that weakness just as she eliminated those who had kept her weak. And she would make sure that weakness would never consume her again.