Sappho's Locket

Prologue - Adira

My parents were ripped away from me when I was a small child. Their love was forbidden. For 8 years, I have learned to live on my own. The streets have become my domain. I’m like an alley cat - I prowl and I hunt and then I attack with vigor.

When I was a child, Phil told me about the golden years - before the Republic collapsed. She spoke of a society which accepted all walks of life, all forms of love, and treated all races with equity. I don’t know what that’s like. I never got to experience that. I was born and raised during the Red Legion. The world had no sense of love and security. Everyone lived in fear. They lived in fear of The Commander and his harsh and irrational sense of justice and order.

My parents lived in hiding, afraid to show their love to the world. Afraid to lose me. Afraid to lose each other. Their fears were finally brought to fruition when they were betrayed by my father.

I don’t know where Phil and Dru are. I know that they are separated from each other. I know they haven’t seen each other for 8 years. They haven’t hugged each other or laughed together or even cried together for 8 years. If it wasn’t for the locket that I wear around my neck, I would have forgotten what they looked like. My heart-shaped locket is all that I have left of them.

Philomena

Eight long years. I haven’t seen my wife or my child for eight long years. Adira is now 16. I don’t know where she is. I know she is alive. She is strong. I can feel her presence beating in my own heart. But, I cannot feel her emotions or perceive her state of being. Is she safe? Is she in pain? Is she scared? Is she hungry? Is she alone or does she have friends on whom she can rely?

I wish I knew these answers. I wish I could help her. Then I would feel more at ease. I don’t mind my own monotonous existence, as long as I know that Adira and Dru are alive. I can withstand the torture, the starvation, and the isolation as long as I know that they still breathe. I can withstand almost anything.

Sappho’s Locket has been in my family for generations. Each generation, the mother receives the locket at age 16 and is in possession of it until she passes it down to her own daughter. Since there is only one daughter in each generation, that daughter is sacred and cherished.

I gave the necklace to Adira when she was only 8 because I knew that we would be separated- the authorities were at our doorstep. We ran out of time. I didn’t have the chance to explain the magic to her or how to wield her gift. And now that she is 16, her powers will begin to materialize. I only hope that she is able to figure out how to harness her powers and how to stay alive.

Drusilla

Zagan was my first love. And what a love he was. I was dazzled by his beauty and charisma. His laugh could silence a room full of people. His smile made me melt inside. He was everything to me and I thought I was everything to him. But I was wrong, so very wrong.

Adira

Today is my 16th birthday. Like every other day, I take out my locket and look at my parents’ smiling faces and I try to remember. Try to remember the good days. The days before my father knew I existed. We were happy once. I love my parents. I miss them. I think about them everyday, hoping that they are also thinking of me. Hoping that they haven’t lost their own hope in the years that they have been imprisoned.

Both my parents are dreamers, who believe in the goodness of everyone - at least they did until my father came along. Phil is the strong one. Dru is the eye to Phil’s storm. And who am I?

I am lost. I am an alley cat. I am on my own.

My foster parents, Bunny and Hugo were horrible people. It took me 2 years to escape from them. Everytime I tried, they caught me. But, I finally broke away from their clutches. They never treated me like a child. They never loved me. They fed me and made sure all of my basic needs were met because they had to make sure that I stayed alive. They were spies for my father. They watched over me like a hawk. They reported everything to him. His wrath at losing track of me must have been terrible.

I have never met my father, Zagan Doyle. He prefers to acknowledge me from afar. I had to escape from his all-seeing eye. I always knew that he wanted something from me, but I have yet to figure it out. It’s like he’s waiting for something. He’s a very patient man and he is willing to wait until I give him what he wants. So that is why I hide. That is why I’ve never tried to track down Phil and Dru. I’m afraid that if I try to search for them, then Zagan will find me. I’m afraid that he will hurt my parents. So, I hide.

Philomena

The first time I ever saw Dru, I knew. I knew that I would marry her. I knew that she was my soulmate, my partner in all things. She glowed with happiness and joy. Her smile lit up the entire room. She was the new barista at the Mocha Bean. I was the artist in residence, trying to make a name for myself. She was still learning how to make all of the drinks and she bungled up my order pretty badly. But I drank the disgusting concoction anyway, because I didn’t want her smile to turn into a frown.

For weeks, I drank that awful latte because Dru had taken it upon herself to memorize my order and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was wrong. Over those weeks, we became fast friends. Our souls were overjoyed at finding each other and connecting with each other. For the first time, someone finally saw me. And I saw Dru. Our connection was magnetic - we were drawn to each other - she was the moth to my flame. Each day that I saw her, my soul was recharged with love and purpose.

We were so very happy. When Dru found out that she was pregnant, I knew that I was ready to be a mother with her. But we couldn’t tell Zagan. We couldn’t let him know that he had fathered a child.

Drusilla

A monster. He had turned into a monster. And I had to escape. Phil was my escape. She was the one thing in my life that made sense. And yes, Zagan was my first love, but Phil, Phil was my true love. When I found out that I was pregnant, I was terrified. Zagan would never let me go. At first, he was so loving. He was prince charming. But, he lulled me into a false sense of security. By the time that I realized his true character, it was too late. He had already warped my mind and made me feel as if I was worthless. That I was nothing. That I would never amount to anything. I could handle his unslaughts of terror, but I could not bring up a child in that environment. And Phil, she saved me. She was my savior.

Phil taught me to love myself again. She believed in my goodness. She believed in my worth.

The first time that I met her, she walked into the cafe in overalls splattered with paint, her glasses askew, and her hair in a messy bun. She was so carefree and alive. Her spirit was imbued with passion and energy. As soon as I saw her, her spirit lifted all of the burdens off my shoulders. For the first time, I remembered to breathe. I didn’t need to hold my breath in anticipation of protecting myself. I knew that she would never hurt me. I could see her kindness and love emanating off of her body. She was surrounded by light and laughter.

Working at the Mocha Bean was my only way to escape. I was happier making lattes than I had ever been at home with Zagan breathing down my neck and towering over me with his threats. I was happy that I could exist someplace without him hovering over me. Even though making lattes was a difficult task to learn, my shifts always went by so quickly because I was surrounded by warm and organized chaos. The cafe was its own machine - everyone had their tasks and worked symbiotically. The cafe hummed with contented work. And even though I sometimes got the horrible customer who loudly complained about their order, their temper was never as bad as Zagan’s. They left after a few minutes and I could go on with my day. But Zagan never left.

He dropped me off for my shift and picked me up right when my shift ended. I never got to meet up with friends before or after work. Even convincing him that I should get a job wore me down to my bones. He finally agreed to let me have a job because he saw the benefits of extra income. And even though I didn’t earn a whole lot of money, I was proud of myself for finding a way to escape for a few hours each day. Of course, my paychecks were always deposited into Zagan’s account and I never actually saw the money. But, he didn’t know about the tips. He never bothered to come into the cafe or he would have seen the tip jar. I kept my tips in an envelope at work. And every Friday, I would buy mint chocolate chip ice cream from the shop around the corner. Zagan never let me eat sweets of any kind. He wanted to make sure that my figure was always fit and thin. I wanted to save up enough tip money so I could buy a bus ticket and get out of town.

I was finally brave enough to lie to Zagan. I told him that my shifts had changed and I worked 7 days a week. So, every day, he would drop me off. But, on the days that I didn’t work, I did things for myself. I went to museums and libraries. I walked through the park. My coworkers were my only friends, but I couldn’t spend time with them while they were working. Luckily, Phil walked into my life shortly after I began working “full time.” She took me to her studio and taught me how to let go of my inhibitions and be creative. Every afternoon that I spent with her was magical. I miss those days. I miss the laughter and the love we shared. And Adira. I miss my baby girl.

Adira

I had the strangest dream last night. My locket opened and whisps of light surrounded me. A voice called out to me. I tried to follow the voice, but I kept getting lost and taking the wrong turn.

Something is different. I feel different. Instead of feeling empty, my chest feels full of light. My body feels stronger. I can run faster across the rooftops and no longer be out of breath. My fingers tingle with anticipation, as if something more is coming.

I don’t know what’s happening. My locket is thrumming against my chest.

Zagan

My daughter’s powers have awoken. Now is the time to find her. Now is the time to track her down. The Legion is at my side.