Children of Darkness
By Mayumi Takanashi
Author's Notes: I do not own Last Exile. Last Exile belongs to Geneon and others. I do not plan on making any money off of this fanfiction, but please do not use any part of this without my permission. Thanks! This doesn't contain any spoilers, so don't worry about that. I just realized that we don't know anything about Lucciola really, so I decided that this could be why he's so quiet and mysterious. I know that there are many discrepancies with this story in comparison to the anime, but sometimes you've got to change things to make it work! Enjoy! I appreciate reviews, and a heartfelt thanks to all who have already done so!
A woman lay in a hospital bed, about to go into labor. The sweat ran down her white-powdered face as women in white uniforms rushed in and out of the room. As the woman tried to breathe deeply, she barely noticed the room's brightness, coming from chandeliers on the ceiling, the light reflecting off of the bare white walls. This was no ordinary hospital room; it was a delivery room in a Guild building.
"Just breathe, Alanpha," one of the nurses said, a little coldly.
-Children of Darkness-
There were two white-powdered nurses looking in through the window to the room. As Alanpha began to scream, the two women began to gossip in hushed tones, their eyes never leaving the woman lying in the bed.
"She has quite the dilemma on her hands," the first nurse said.
"Indeed," the second responded. "It's hard to believe she left the Guild Guard to deliver this child. A member of the Guard is strictly forbidden to engage in intercourse, much less fall in love."
"King Elaclaire was not very pleased about it either. He wanted to know who the father was, but she wouldn't say. He suspects it was another member of the Guard."
"Interesting."
The two women smirked, laughing quietly between themselves.
"It's also rumored that Alanpha and her lover separated to cover up the relationship, and so far I'd say they've done quite a good job."
"Is it true that our King Don Elaclaire is dying?"
"Yes, at least he's left an heir. His oldest daughter, Delphine, will take over the crown until young lord Dio has come of age."
-Children of Darkness-
"It's a boy," said one of the nurses in a monotone expression. "What is its name?"
"Lucciola," gasped Alanpha. The nurse looked at her oddly. She appeared to still be in labor.
All the nurses in the room turned to stare at Alanpha, as did the two women outside the window, giving her questioning looks. Alanpha gripped the bed sides tightly as she cried out in pain.
Alanpha had given birth to another, a baby girl. The nurse placed her gingerly into the same crib as Lucciola, and pushed it out the door. Many people throughout the corridor stared at the two twins with disgust.
"I'll name her Descancia!" Alanpha whispered breathlessly. The nurses all stared in amazement at her, none of them moving an inch.
One of the women stepped forward, slowly crossing the white tile toward Alanpha. The nurse raised her hand and slapped her multiple times across the face. Alanpha cried out in agony as her cheeks began to turn red, burning with the nurse's smacks.
"How dare you give birth to twins!" shouted the nurse, her beatings growing more intense. "How dare you! How dare you give birth to Children of Darkness!"
Moments later, two Guild Guards came rushing in, knocking down the door. The nurses cowered in the corner in fear, but the nurse who was slapping Alanpha never even faltered. In silence, the guards waited until the nurse's energy was drained, and she stepped away from the bed, her white hair falling from her tight bun. As Alanpha slipped into unconsciousness, the Guards lifted her roughly from the bed and carried her out.
-Children of Darkness-
Two young children were running around the house, their mother watching them with a blank expression. Lucciola and Descancia were used to this empty countenance their mother always had upon her face. They could never remember a smile on her face. She simply sat in her rocking chair all day, sewing clothes for her children, or merely watching the children. The only time she wasn't in her chair was when she was cooking meals for them or sleeping in her bed.
One time, the children had asked their mother if they could go outside, because they had never been.
"No," was her flat reply.
"Why, Mommy?" asked little Descancia, her small voice trembling with sadness.
"It's impossible."
"It's not fair!" cried Lucciola.
Alanpha slammed down her fists on the arms of her chair.
"It wasn't fair that I had to leave my love! It wasn't fair that I was forced to give birth to Children of Darkness! It's not fair that we're under house arrest!"
The two twins shrank back into a corner, gripping each other for protection. They had never seen their mother like this.
"Besides," she said quietly, "you'd be shot dead before you got over the threshold."
She stood up from the chair and disappeared into her room.
Descancia and Lucciola each had tears spilling down their white-powdered cheeks. Their white hair hung low over their eyes, casting shadows over their faces.
Descancia and Lucciola were the closest of friends. All they had was each other, and they were together at every moment of everyday in the awful existence of their house, trapping them from the outside world. They both longed for freedom, and they only had one another for company. So, they lived in a world of pretend, where dragons and knights were a reality, and spaceships explored every inch of the universe, defeating any aliens crossing their path. Whether it was running from cheetahs in the rainforest or traveling with the circus, Lucciola and Descancia lived in a world all their own, free from the confinement of reality. They shared a common dream, however, and that was to get out of that house and wander through nature forever.
There was a sharp knock at the door. Alanpha rushed out of her room, peering through the hole. Her eyes widened, and she turned sharply to her children.
"Get to your room, quickly!" she whispered urgently. "Now!"
Lucciola and Descancia scrambled to their room. Luciola opened the closet, and pulled Descancia in, closing it once they were inside. A crack between the wall and the door let the light from the hallway shine through, and a flow of voices came through as well. The children listened quietly.
"I regret to say that our King Don Elaclaire has passed on," said a man's voice.
"I'm sorry to hear that, officer," their mother said quietly.
"Your house arrest has been lifted. However, you are to come with us to meet with Queen Delphine."
"No," she whispered.
"No?" asked the man. "Well, then we'll force you."
Feet began to pound through the door. The children heard their mother scream and struggle with all of her might. Descancia opened to cry out, but Lucciola clapped his hand over her mouth.
"Find the Children of Darkness! Use force if necessary, but do not kill them!"
Descancia squeezed her eyes shut, hugging Lucciola tightly. Lucciola stared through the crack, anxiously hoping they would not come in. But the Guards, with their white uniforms and white hair, appeared in the doorway.
"Search the whole house!"
Four Guards entered the room while the others left to search the other rooms. The Guards began knocking over furniture as they looked, opened drawers and pulled out garments, and tore the sheets from their beds.
One Guard appeared in front of the closet and ripped the door off. Lucciola looked up at him in terror, and Descancia screamed.
"They're here!" shouted the Guard. He picked up Descancia and ripped her hands off of Lucciola's white cape. Another Guard lifted Lucciola, who began kicking and screaming. It was useless.
Lucciola and Descancia finally were able to be in the outside world, but were hardly able to enjoy it under the circumstances.
-Children of Darkness-
Alanpha, Lucciola, and Descancia kneeled on the floor before Queen Delphine and her Guild Guard.
"So," Delphine began in her smooth, cruel voice. "The Children of Darkness and their mother. Now, I have a little surprise for you."
One of the Guards stepped forward, pushing another in front of him. He threw him to the ground next to Descancia.
"Now the whole family can die...together," screeched Delphine gleefully.
"Are you," whispered Descancia, "our father?"
"Yes, child," he nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her on the top of her head.
The four of them looked into Delphine's eyes. She stared back at them.
"Kill them," she said. "Their last moments together..."
Lucciola let out a cry as shots were fired. He buried his head in his knees as he heard the screams of his family next to him.
-Children of Darkness-
Lucciola took a few moments before he looked up, gasping in horror at what was before him. The white Guild clothing of his family was stained with scarlet blood, their eyes wide with shock, sadness, and pain. They laid in a pool of blood, which was also splattered on Lucciola's left cheek and his cape. A smell reached his nose, a mixture of gunpowder and blood. He stared wide-eyed at his mother, father, and sister.
"You, boy, come with me," Delphine said, turning to walk down the corridor. The Guild Guard stepped forward to clean up the bodies. Lucciola took one last look at his dead family, then turned to follow their murderer.
"The only way to cleanse you of your sins is for you to serve the Guild for the rest of your miserable life," Delphine said, a smirk on her face.
"Um, Queen Delphine?" asked Lucciola timidly. "What are my sins exactly?"
"You're a Child of Darkness. Your very pitiful existence is your sin."
-Children of Darkness-
Lucciola watched as Lord Dio played in the field of flowers behind the castle. He had only met his new master an hour ago, and Lord Dio had taken an instantaneous liking to Lucciola. As Dio chased a butterfly, Lucciola was struck with a sudden realization, almost knocking the air out of him. He had imagined that this was exactly how Descancia would have behaved had she been allowed to go outside. Lucciola watched carefully as Dio sprinted through the flowers, the wind breezing through his white hair.
"Perhaps he is my new sibling, in this new life of confined freedom," he murmured quietly to himself. It was as if Descancia was now living through Dio.
Lucciola, in memory of his mother, never smiled again. He felt he owed it to her, for her life having been destroyed by her Child of Darkness.
"Lucciola! Look!" shouted Dio, pointing to a frog jumping through the field. Dio chased after, Lucciola close behind.