The early morning wore on as a sleek black carriage pulled up beside the desolate graveyard. All was quiet. All was peaceful.
Marcia leaned back on her seat and rolled down her window, taking her time to relax in the cool five o'clock breeze. It wasn't going to be a long wait before dawn broke, and she wanted to pay her respects at the correct time.
Roughly one week had passed since she returned to her home world. Everything remained about the same; Sirius City remained a shithole and the streets remained as dangerous as they were. The only difference was that a new governor was placed in charge of her sector.
For better or for worse, this new leader was remarkably uptight and seemed determined to restore peace and order to the place. He wasn't the type to accept bribes like Kleopatra, but Marcia wasn't looking to form a partnership with him. If he decided to crack down on her gang, then so be it. She didn't exactly relish in this life anyway.
On the other hand, Governor Kleopatra was already enjoying her time as Chief Warden of Devil's Gate. Thankfully, order in that gaol was restored quickly and she did not bother to seek revenge against Marcia. She was probably too busy trying to manage the prisoners without contraband items to bargain with.
Marcia's throat constricted without warning.
She wheezed, grabbing the armrest tightly as green symbols began to flood her vision. Her gaze shifted to the corrupted spellcraft sitting innocuously in an exposed compartment beside her. It was well within reach. All she had to do was open the book—
The woman looked away and squeezed her eyes shut instead. Her eyelids fluttered with discomfort as she forced herself to stay her hand.
And after a few agonising seconds, the pain retreated from her body.
Marcia opened her eyes and cracked a small smile. The withdrawal symptoms from her addiction were a lot less intense as compared to the first time she decided to resist it, but it was still a victory nonetheless. And if she kept it up, she might actually stand a decent chance at weaning herself off this poisonous anaesthetic for good.
The woman's phone chirped the moment she stepped out of her vehicle.
"Uhm, boss?" Savvos' nervous voice muttered through her speaker. "I don't mean to wake you so early in the morning, but the new governor has just left us a message. He'll be stopping by our headquarters to 'have a talk'. He requests the presence of the 'person in charge'. What should we do?"
"Breathe, Savvos. I know it's been barely a week since you've been recruited, but you better learn to stay smart if you want to survive," Marcia replied languidly as she pushed open the gates of the graveyard. "I'm handling some personal matters here, but I'll be back soon. Tell Bard Orpheus Caesar that I accept his invitation. I'll send a raven to scout out if he's brought any friends along."
"Understood, boss."
The woman swiped her hand across her waist as the device promptly generated a raven. Her eyes flashed pink in tandem with the animal's eyes and it took flight immediately, disappearing into the rapidly reddening sky.
Marcia continued her walk down the graveyard and knelt in front of an open grave. The tomb head had been unattended for years, as evident from the dried leaves she had to clear away. But she was here now, even if it had taken her eighteen years to muster the courage to face her brother again.
"Hey, Felix. I'm... I'm sorry for not visiting all those years," Marcia whispered. "It... It wasn't my best years."
The woman took out the Euphrosyne Flower from her coat and laid it in the grave.
"But the past weeks... they have been the best weeks of my life." She smiled sadly. "And I promise, brother. To do the best I can to make you proud. To live on as you would've wanted me to."
Marcia Pagonis stood up, a renewed sense of life burning in her expression. Her world had not changed one bit, but it couldn't feel more different to her now.
She cast her gaze into the distance and smiled, slowly making her way back to her carriage.
Golden fingers of light crawled along the horizon as the moon slowly retreated, knowing that it would surely live to see the next night. The brilliant flower of the sky bloomed gracefully, despite everything that resisted its presence. Comforting warmth washed away fears of the dark and desolate, despite all that came before. Dawn had finally broken.
And as the sound of the revving carriage engines faded into the distance, a light breeze scattered the dried leaves obscuring the Euphrosyne Flower.
It rolled off the tombstone, glowing slightly as it touched the soil of Felix Pagonis' grave.
END14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDUFsneZCy
