"Looking at me like he was king of the damn world," the man gruffly grumbled. His voice was loud and booming, and even in a hush, the bass carried through the room. "If only he knew - ignorant f-" His words were immediately severed, the older woman in the room casting a sharp yet wary glance from the other side of the tiny kitchen, "watch your words. You're noisy."
As the young girl at the table breathed out a subtle snicker, the man resigned his rage in a breathy huff.
This has become a strange normality. In such a land as Marley, where the oppressors ran free and the oppressed had to cover their every questionable track, this family stomped on those rules without care.
The man of the house - a large, burly male with shaggy blonde locks that fell into his eyes and around his face, even when it was attempted to be cut short-, and his wife, -a woman with tight, dark brown waves that she kept snatched into a tight bun at the base of her head-, they lived in this small home in the Eldian Ghettos. It was small and cramped, with barely enough space to sit down at the table without looking straight up into a light or backing your chair into the claustrophobic walls.
The rooms were more comparable to tiny boxes than anything, enough room for a bed and a little corner for clothes. The ceilings were low, and the furniture was crammed in together, but they managed to make due.
Here, in this little home, they managed to bring a young girl into the world: Viveka. She was a little fighter, a little troublemaker, and above all, she was their little princess. With barely anything in their possession they pulled together to make sure she would grow up strong, healthy, and brave in the face of adversity.
They succeeded.
Though she didn't strike up a rebellion, or lead an army in the name of her beliefs, she stuck to her guns.
In this particular situation, she just laughed at her parents whilst they stuck to theirs.
"The walls are thin," The woman reminded her husband, her dark brown eyes narrowing considerably at mention of the notion. "The last thing we need is someone hearing you." She took up a cup, sipping lightly at the tea Viveka had put on just a while ago.
"Ain't nobody gonna hear me, woman," The male huffedly replied. He took a rough seat at the table, haphazardly plopping down in a way that forced him to stop a moment. "Hhuu," He breathed out, a quiet hiss following. For such a large man, sitting under a table like this was like scooting under a child's play thing. It bumped his knees and crumpled his legs every time, but it didn't stop him from making the same dumb mistake each time.
"Will you quit your bickering?" Viveka chuckled as she scolded them lightly. As a now fourteen year old girl, her responsibilities had begun to plateau along with her more blatant speech patterns. She cared for the house, kept it tidy, did the cooking, and things of the like, so in her parents eyes, she was more than mature enough to speak up in regards to sharing her opinion. She earned her keep.
To the sassy comment regarding her parents bickering, Viveka's mother developed a somewhat smug look, watching her husband across the way as if silently casting the blame. "The walls are quite thin," She added in agreement.
The man roughly gripped the teacup, throwing down its contents with no concern for the heat, "Right, right."
"And enough idle talk too," Viveka slid the newspaper she had been skimming through off to the side, roughly dropping her chin into her hand as she looked between her parents. "Am I finally going to get an answer on what's been going on around here?"
They had been lightly discussing it for some time, hinting to the idea that something was going under the cover of shadows. They had become more confident and confrontational, with a new air about them that had been rightfully perplexing. Every time she asked, they would say that they would tell her soon, or when the time was right, or when they felt certain - things like that. Finally they gave a little insight into when - and they spoke as if it would be right then, right there.
It wasn't as if she were excited... but the curiosity had been eating her alive.
The man and the woman looked at each other, mixed expressions lining their faces before they passed those same wary glances to Viveka. Following a few moments of silence and Viveka's intensely returned stare, a subtle sigh escaped her mother's lips.
"I'm sure I don't have to tell either of you to keep your voices down." Her dark eyes were intense, an eerie light piercing through them and turning her whole gaze ominous.
Viveka felt a chill through her spine that instinctively caused her shoulders to pull in together, "'Course not. We do that anyway."
Her father didn't bother to respond.
With the thin walls seeming to close in, the room's tension rose. Not a joke from her father, nor a quip from her mother. It was unusual to see them so silent and contemplative. Everything felt heavy, suffocating, as if just the very simple act of breathing was suddenly becoming difficult. She squeezed her own jaw in the hand that held her chin, looking between the two of them seriously. "Well..?" She eased out through clenched teeth.
"Things are changing right now," The woman began simply. She didn't make eye contact, only peered deeply into her cup that was held in a way that covered her mouth. "Things with our lives are no longer a constant. There are more chances for we Eldians now - more options."
"Options?" It left her lips as more of a statement than a question, a string of disbelief following closely behind. Her brow quirked sharply, lips pursing whilst her teeth bit against the inside of her lip, "Like?"
Silence lingered over them once more, the two adults letting their eyes roam and catching sight of every opening: every window, hole, and door.
"Hear us out on this," Her father began, segmenting his words as if to make them even more clear and concise, "Something's coming, Vivi. Something bigger than all of us." His eyes glistened, a glimmer of hope glossing over the dark undertones of revenge.
"Have you lost your damn minds?" Viveka let slip in a hush. She narrowed her eyes - it wasn't what they were saying, it was the way they were saying it. "That's the kind of thing that gets people killed." Responsibility teemed in her heart - she was used to being that way. It was her job to look out for things, for people. It had been her job for years, but at this point she was beginning to feel more like the parent than the child, and that concerned her.
"Typically, yes," Her mother contrarily responded calmly. "Most acts of rebellion here in Marley are unplanned. They're spurred on by emotion and acted on in the moment with no regard for consequences. This is sense; If you ignore a chance for change, change will never happen."
"I just don't understand what makes you so confident." Viveka now sat leaning forward, her palms pressing loosely against the sides of her neck while her pale green eyes took to alternating between them both.
Of course she wouldn't understand. She was still young - but as her parents believed her to be, she was mature. If they could just put this in a way that she could grasp, then there was no doubt in their minds she would see their perspective. These walls had no secrets when within them - and they wouldn't start with their daughter.
Her father's hand crept across the table, settling atop hers with reassurance, "We may finally have the chance to make this work. There are people that know more than us - that can do more than we can. We'll be able to fight off this control and be at the peak where we were meant to be."
But to Viveka, it all sounded nutty.
That there was some society below society that spoke of working in the shadows. That they had managed to make the puzzle pieces fall in line so perfectly that they actually stood a chance against the Marleyan society. She wanted to blindly have faith that all of that would just sort itself out perfectly, but it was the exact opposite of what she was taught: always ask questions, always be cautious, always think realistically. She couldn't believe that her parents were so taken by this fantasy.
"It's not like I can stop you," Viveka trailed, huffing a piece of her dark brown hair up and out of her face. "Just be careful, yeah? I don't want to be involved."
It was understandable. She would hold their secrets, and pretend like everything was normal, and whatever else they chose to do was completely their business. It wasn't a problem, and if handled in an ideal fashion, it wouldn't bring any problems either. If at a point she decided she would aid them, or change her mind when she grew of age, then the option would be open to her. It was an ideal plan -
- but then... nothing was really ever ideal.
There were but a few weeks that they could continue their peace - or their definition of it, at the very least. With her mother's ill reputation as an intelligent, but particularly harsh woman, and her father's as a confrontational troublemaker, their standings were not high in Marley. It was no surprise that Marleyans in the higher authority were looking for reasons to discard such pests.
It was suspected that her mother was too smart: that she tiptoed around sensitive information and would be able to very easily cover her tracks if necessary. Her father, on the other hand, was a strong man that knew it. He liked to throw his weight around , and that never did bode well for his superiors.
It was as if they were all waiting for a chance to be rid of them.
And so it came without surprise that Marleyans of a higher authority invited themselves into the home one night - with their guns drawn and with their intentions brandished.
It came suddenly and without much warning save for the choir of panicked footsteps one could hear in the neighboring homes through those thin walls. They were aimlessly moving in a simultaneous frenzy, echoing at every side, should one quiet their adrenaline enough to focus and listen for it. It had happened before, many times to be exact. When the Marleyans came in their brigade and every Eldian heart sank in silence, wondering if it would be the day that it was them they came for.
The footsteps from the walls fell silent over the echo of the Marleyans through the ragged stone streets.
They held their breaths, covered their mouths, prayed for mercy...
...Hushedly.
...Quietly.
...Silently.
The stillness of the night was shattered - broken by the thunderous sound of metal on wood. A door was thrown open, the knob crashing so roughly against the low quality drywall that it was sent through it. They flashed bright lights in the home, sent their Marleyan officers in with their weapons at the ready.
Though it came with a fight, with the sound of terror enveloping every Eldian home in the area, and the sound of shouts and obscenities in the air, converging with the echoes of gunshots and chaos, the silence soon returned. Just as quickly as it had began, it was already over, and the sounds of their footsteps could once again be heard in retreat.
Two great Eldians lost.
"Was there not a third?" One man spoke up, having remained at the home after the fact.
One could hear the sound of boots crushing shards of glass underfoot, carrying pieces from a trampled picture frame.
"According to the records, they have a kid. Search the rooms."
"Already did. Most-likely a girl, and no young one either."
"But no girl... You think they knew we were coming?"
"I doubt anyone tipped them off. Check the surrounding area, she could have run off somewhere."
"Crafty devils..."
Crafty indeed... Viveka listened to their conversation, closing her eyes to make sure she was hearing everything correctly. They hadn't known the officers were coming before, only when they were already on their way. Without knowing how many officers were coming, where exactly they were going, nor where else they were stationed, making any sudden movements a bad idea. The last thing anyone needed was to run out of the house and straight into a hoard of Marleyan officers.
That didn't mean that there was no plan, however.
In the dark, damp cold, Viveka lied in wait - her body cramped tightly together beneath the floorboards. Her knees were pushing into her ribs and chest, her feet crammed against the bottom of the tiny bunker. She kept curled up, her hand gripping tightly against the latch to ensure it wouldn't be easily opened. Frigid water dripped from the piping , running down her arm and dripping into her hair and face, which sent shivers down her spine.
'Come on, damn it... leave...' She thought bitterly to herself, biting her lip. Her current positioning was the furthest thing from comfortable, even if it had only been a few minutes. The bunker could only have been made but so big - otherwise it would be too noticeable and interfere with the pipes that ran beneath the house.
She could still feel the vibrations of the footsteps, and every time they passed directly overhead, she could feel her breath catch in her throat.
Hours, hours of investigation passed on, and at all times, it left someone in the home. By this point, Viveka's legs felt numb, her arms heavy and tired, and her dress nearly soaked from the leaky plumbing.
'How much longer..?' She only thought, not daring to let word pass through her fastened, bitten lips. At the time, there was no telling how long it would be, but with her disappearance becoming such a relevant topic and her parents' capture spreading all over the town, there was no doubt that hours would turn to days.
Her brittle fingers hooked against the latch, her tired eyes peeping through the space that she had created by raising the floorboards just enough to see. No traffic, no people, no sound, it was completely silent.
"Five days," She finally murmured to herself. Her voice was barely audible, and her tongue attempted to wet her cracking lips, but alas, it was just as dry. Her eyes were tired, her body stiff, and at every inch of her, from her head to her toes to her fingertips, she felt a tingling sensation that forced her movements heavy and uncoordinated. If she were to tell it by simplicity, she was on the brink of death, but finally she was able to leave.
She dragged her body quietly across the floor, shutting the floorboard bunker opening back. If it hadn't been for her biting the plastic piping open, she probably would have been sniffed out by the dogs for sure.
It served its purpose, but now she was both soaked and cold. It would be no surprise to her if she would fall ill, but at least deceiving the dogs alleviated the Marleyan suspicion. They were probably looking for her elsewhere though. She would have to stay careful.
Viveka clawed her way through the room; that small distance suddenly seemed so wide to cross. Not only that, but it felt like her memory of the place had been distorted.
"God, this place..." She muttered, looking at the overturned furniture and torn up materials that were still left the same from the invading officers. She knew her father would put up a fight, and even though her mother was a trifle more passive, Viveka could only imagine the vicious verbal assault that was laid upon those officers. Even if it seemed amusing to her, she couldn't bring a smile to her face - she was lingering, and she hadn't the time to do that.
Her hand gripped the edge of the window, hoisting herself up into a sitting position. It was open. Her parents often kept the windows open unless they were talking about something serious they didn't want getting out. Her mother always was a fan of fresh air.
'It does the body good.'
She could remember her saying that, even when Viveka and her father rolled their eyes.
Viveka lied down on the window sill - half of her body easing through the window space itself. With all the water weight she had lost, it should have been an easy fit. She pushed herself through, her hands barely able to support her body enough to keep her from crashing onto the ground outside. Immediately upon reaching the outside, she scurried behind some junk. People often left things outside - old mattresses, broken frames, and things like that. It was usually for convenience purposes, if someone wanted or needed it, they would take it, saving them the trouble of having to discard it themselves.
Usually it was something that her mother insisted on doing, in case someone fell on hard times.
'I guess that's me now, huh?' Viveka rummaging through the pile she lied behind. Some old sullied fabrics, a couple of torn pillows, a few things like that seemed salvageable.
She discarded her own clothes, picking up some of the old fabrics left behind and pulling them around her, along with an extra piece she could wrap around her head. After a few attempts at swaddling herself in it, she sighed heavily. Her body collapsed against the junk, sharp corners and rigid metals jabbing into her sides, but she didn't care.
Her adrenaline was fading, and suddenly everything seemed like a chore - even breathing seemed to be hard labor.
As she lied there on her side, eyes staring through the space in the piled junk at still nothing at all, her brows knit. Being strong - it was all a chore, wasn't it? Staging a rebellion and going through life with that brave face, look at where that had gotten them. Arrested - and probably sent to that "paradise" everyone talked so much about and dreaded.
How silly... Was it all worth it?
The warmest, yet most bitter tear seeped out from the inner corner of her eye, matching her breath in struggle as it crept down her face.
She wanted to cry about only being a kid, and now being alone. Or how she wasn't as responsible or mature as they thought she was. She wanted to lament about how much of a burden life was, and how it would be so much easier to throw strife to the side, but a part of her couldn't find comfort in knowing those five days of struggling to survive would be for nothing.
Her fingers dug into the dirt, pushing her body up into a sitting position. That momentary weakness was just what she needed.
She began hurriedly stuffing the pockets of the new clothes with whatever she could - anything she could deem useful: a large shard of glass, old kitchen utensils, and things of the like, and in her arm, she stuffed one of the pillows. Her hands kept seeking, going through every nook and cranny until she lifted her hand and stared at the thin metal razor she had discovered.
It looked comparable to a blade - but very small and thin, but all the more sharp in the process. That would come handy...
When she had what she needed, she did a quick once-over from hiding, pulling the fabric over her head much like a hood, and beginning on her way. She would survive - she didn't know how nor how long it would be necessary to in this way, but there would be no doubt that she would make it.
A/N: Helloooo everybody! So when I started doing this long Canon x Oc challenge, I actually had forgotten about Kruger. LOL one day I suddenly got the idea to make a ship story for him, and I actually completed it before I completed everybody else's.
So I wrote this story probably over a year ago, I think. I still love it SO MUCH Tho. So I decided that I'd start posting it! I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!