Jupiter remembers death at the tender age of four and a half. It is her firm first memory of Seraphi Abrasax. More than just feelings and vague scraps, but true and vivid memory. She is next to her mother, heading towards a cleaning job, going up the stairs. It is in the middle of climbing these stairs that it flashes in her mind, as her mother, Aleska hums some old Russian lullaby that feels so achingly familiar, if not in sound but in a tender tone. Her hand, small and holding her mother's hand large and callous, slips out of that precious hold and she falls back with a quiet gasp.
She is humming, gently, as she looks to Earth, beautiful Earth, such a small, glorious planet. She had begun its Seeding long ago and had dismissed it. But now she realizes how… Gorgeous it is. How blue and wonderful its ocean, how vivid and remarkable the turn of evolution had become in such a place. It makes her ache, ache in ways she forgot she could ache. She forgot the beauty, forgotten how… Wonderful it was to relish such a thing. Not glittering clouds of jewels or things so shallow. But this… Life that she has made, with her hands, carefully made and cultivated to her exact specifications. It had been long ago when she had to do such a thing with her Harvesting planets, she had people to do that. And it was not until she had been looking through her holdings had she rediscovered Earth and fallen in love.
And found something upon its soil so much more precious.
"Mother?"
She turns. Balem is there again, he comes so frequently, as he had never had. Oh, he doted on her, loved her as none of her other children did, but he had always been so independent. His frequency is due to worry, no doubt. He has grown ever worried, ever agitated with her these two hundred years past. Shifting uneasily in his twinkling mass of white fabric, beautiful jewels sewn across his lithe body. She wonders why her stomach turns at his youthful face, at the unwrinkled flesh adorned with freckles… He had just Bathed than, in the waters of life, in Nectar without abandon. Recently.
She blinks, something deep in her throat thick, her eyes feeling suspiciously close to tears. The splice a, lycantant, there on some business or another from the Legion over the increased threats to her life over her recent policies, shifts uneasily at her turn of emotion…
Sensitive creature.
"My son," she says, her voice is hoarse, hoarse with age.
Balem flinches at the noise, nose wrinkling with disgust before he turns to the splice messenger, and dismissing him with a flick of his long fingers. The splice doesn't move, looking to her. She smiles at the poor thing, walking forward uneasily with arthritic limbs. She does not think her smile gives much comfort- she is all teeth and cold promise.
"Leave splice," hisses her son, disdain, and anger coloring his fair face.
Seraphi smiles again. It is not kind. It is sharp. She thinks, in the wake of his concern, that her son has seemed to have forgotten who is Queen.
"He is at my disposal, Balem. He only leaves at my command. Do you presume to take it?"
Her son turns red a harsher, darker, red in rage and what she thinks is shame.
"Forgive me, my Queen," he says and he bows as he should have when he enters the room. Low and subservient, her perfect prince, "I had forgotten myself."
His neck flushes with embarrassment and rage. She relishes, allows herself to savor the control for a full minute before she turns to the uneasy splice.
"SkyJacker," she says, calmly, ignoring her still bowing son, "Leave my son and I in private, if you please."
"Your majesty," he bows, respectfully.
Seraphi is amused, as he leaves the room, silent, those bronze wings glistening in the pale light. She turns to Balem, and signals with fingers just as dismissive for him to come up from his bow. Balem does so with little grace, her prince's red brows furrowed.
"What is a Skyjacker doing around you, Mother?" his voice is filled with a slight rage that amuses her.
"A concern of the Aegis, I am sure over my security. Something about those that call me outrageous or another."
Her voice is calm. But her heart is heavy. Her alternatives to Harvest should be enough. Have to be enough, but everyone is fighting her, even her own family. The research, though promising, is not allowed to be more than that… Research. Not to mention the alternatives- Balem huffs.
"They are calling you a radical. If not senile."
She purses her lips. She supposes after nearly ninety-one millennium she can own the title.
"Do you think the same?"
Pale hands, delicate and smooth grasp hers. They are a stark contrast to the wrinkle, curved hands she owns.
"Mother. Surely you can see that you are not well. You haven't Bathed in… In years."
The thought of that liquid, beautiful and glowing with life is so tempting. Had been since she had stopped two-hundred years ago. But it makes her shudder in disgust.
"I am fine. As soon as my research is passed I will use the alternative- Be the first to lead the way, Balem! Make so much-"
"You can not stop using the Harvests as they are," says Balem, harshly, those pale hands on her's tightening, almost hurtfully, "Why mess with a perfect system? You will weaken our stance in the market and make us appear weak. You risk your life with such foolishness-"
Something snaps. Something breaks in Seraphi in that moment.
"I HATE MY LIFE!" and her scream is true, so damn true that it breaks something in her further because she is so tired.
Everything is hazy after that. Her son reaches out, screaming at her. They struggle, they scream and cry. And they beg. There is so much begging on his part. Then she begs. Because she is… Tired. Nearly ninety-one millennium weigh down on her so much.
What has allowed her life is killing her.
"JUST KILL ME, JUST KILL ME BALEM!"
And he does. Her neck is broken and no RegenX is on hand at her orders within her Alcazar. She thinks Balem might have brought some, but her perfect heir just stares at her in horror as she grasped fruitlessly for breath.
"Mother? Mother?"
Seraphi falls to the dark.
At the bottom of the stairs, her mother crying in horror, Jupiter Jones does as well.