Riot

Before I knew it, it was my 23rd birthday, and my third year of living at the factory. Duke delivered the usual cake and letter. But he had more to add this time around.

"Your mother was quite insistent that I get her gifts to you as soon as possible."

"Why? Did something happen?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. She seemed certain that something bad was going to happen. The villagers have been quite displeased with her as of late."

"What could they possibly have to be upset with her about? They've already harassed her enough about the 'curse' nonsense."

"Maybe it has something to do with her current occupation."

Occupation? Surely it wasn't about saddles. That meant...

"What the hell is Heisenberg making her do that's got them so upset?" I asked as my nerves revved.

"Perhaps you should ask him."

"Trust me, I've tried. He keeps avoiding the topic."

"It wouldn't hurt to try again. A lot can change in three years."

He didn't have to tell me that. But Heisenberg's attitude toward me had definitely shifted. Maybe he was in a more divulging mood now.

"I'll give it a shot. Thank you, Duke."

"Be careful, Lipa."

As Duke turned back to the bridge, I went to the building and found Heisenberg in his office.

"What are you making Mamă do?"

"You're really stuck on this, aren't you?" he replied through a cigar.

"Yes, since it's apparently putting her life in danger!"

"Relax, buttercup. She's fine."

"How do you know?"

He grunted and removed his cigar. "It doesn't matter how I know. All you care about is that she's safe, right?"

"Please, I just need to know."

Heisenberg turned around and gave me that long stare. "You don't trust me."

"I… I do, but−"

"Not taking my word means you don't."

Shit. I didn't want to get on his bad side. This wasn't a trust issue. "I'm… I'm just worried about my mother. I haven't seen her in two years. You get it, don't you?"

He just raised his eyebrows.

"Right…" I sighed. "Please, can I at least talk to her?"

Heisenberg replaced his cigar and turned back to the table. He grabbed the radio that rested there and tossed it to me. "Knock yourself out."

"Thank you."

I pressed the button. "Mamă? Mamă, it's me. Can you hear me?"

Nothing. My palms started to sweat as I feared the worst. As I was about to try again…

"Lipa?"

"Yes! Yes, it's me!"

"Oh… oh thank Miranda… It's been so long. How are you?"

"I'm… I'm all right. I got your cake."

"…And my letter? Have you read it?"

"No… I'm sorry, I was in such a hurry, I−"

"Oh, that's all right. I understand. You haven't been causing trouble, have you?"

"I think I'm the least of Heisenberg's problems."

She laughed. A tear fell down my cheek. I wiped it away with my right thumb. "How… How are you? Duke told me you might be in trouble."

"…Really? What gave him that idea?"

"He said you wanted me to get my present quickly. Are you OK?"

"Oh, that… Yes, yes, I'm fine. No need to worry about me."

"That doesn't sound fine to me. What's going on, Mamă?"

"Nothing you should fret over. I'll… I'll be alright." There was a deep sigh. I thought I heard a sob. Her voice cracked when it returned. "Lipa, promise me something, OK? No matter what, don't come back here. Don't think about this village or these people anymore, OK? Just stay with Lord Heisenberg."

"Mamă?" She wasn't making any sense. Where was this coming from?

"I'm fine, honey. Really. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to come see you. I love you, Lipa."

"I love you, too."

The radio went silent. I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes. I handed the radio back to Heisenberg. I thought he would smirk and say, "I told you so", but he just looked at me evenly.

"I'm sorry for doubting you," I said softly before going back to my room.

The letter… Why had Mamă asked me about it? If she'd bothered to bring it up, then... I hastily went to my room and opened it.

My most precious Lipa,

It feels like only yesterday when I sent you with Lord Heisenberg. You've become so strong

since then, haven't you? I realized as I sat down to write this that I never thanked you. You saved my life that night when Lady Dimitrescu's servants came to get you. I was so caught up in protecting you that I never stopped to consider how you felt. You are so incredibly brave… much, much braver than me.

I'm relieved that Lord Heisenberg has kept you safe all this time. I put on a brave front for you, but I wasn't sure that he would keep his word. All I could do was hope that whatever he had in store for you would be less cruel than what Lady Dimitrescu planned. I… honestly can't tell if that risk paid off. It pains me that I could not tell you all this in person. I've spent every night praying that someday I might be able to hold you in my arms again. But I think fate has other things in store for us. You, my brave, incredible daughter, have so much left for you in life. You will do great things. Please, don't let Lord Heisenberg take your values away from you. Remain true to who you are: my daughter and an incredibly strong woman. I love you more than I can put into words. I'm afraid… this may be goodbye. If it is, then know that I am with your father in a better place. If it's not, then I will cherish every moment we get together.

I love you more than anything, Mamă

I was right to be worried. This wasn't Mamă's usual optimistic check-in; this was farewell. But why? What danger was she in? Was she planning on leaving? Did she think she was going to die? Either way, I couldn't sit any longer. If we had to say goodbye, I wanted to say it properly.

I ran back to Heisenberg.

"Heisenberg… please… please, I need to−"

"Whoa, slow down. The hell's gotten into you?"

"Mamă… something's going to happen to her."

He took a deep breath. "Lipa… you can't save her."

"…What? You knew?"

"Call it a hunch."

"Then… Why haven't you done anything? Why aren't you helping her?!"

"I can't just−"

"What do you mean 'you can't'?! She works for you just like I do! You keep saving me!"

"But she's not you."

My throat clenched. What was that supposed to mean? Those fucking sunglasses… Because of them, I couldn't even venture a guess.

"What makes me different from her?" I finally managed to ask.

Heisenberg turned away, and started to pace. "You're worth saving; she's not."

"What?" How dare this man insinuate that my mother's life had no meaning.

"You have ambitions beyond what's going on here, Lipa. Open your fucking eyes! Your mother's been eating the same bullshit the rest of them have! She'll be stuck here forever because she can't see that there're greener pastures! Whether it's today, tomorrow, or a year from now, she's going to die here. But not you, right?"

What was I supposed to say to that? Was I supposed to think that because my beliefs didn't align with Mamă's she wasn't worthy of living? No… I wouldn't accept that.

"Sure, Mamă and I disagree on a lot of things. Fundamental things. But she protected me. She's the reason I'm standing in front of you now. If it weren't for her, I would've died in that godforsaken castle! Just because I disagree with her doesn't mean I don't love her! Yes, I want to leave this village, so fucking bad. But I told you, didn't I? I'm taking her with me… whether she likes it or not."

There was a pause. Heisenberg's posture softened. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning his back. "Fine… go. See her, watch her die, whatever. But promise me if she does die, you won't die with her."

Heisenberg… You would've made my life so much easier if you had just been open with me. But that was never your forte, was it? No; you liked to keep me guessing. You're such a pain in the ass.

"I promise," I replied.

Heisenberg nodded and reached out his hand. In a flash, Tată's rifle was in his grasp.

"No," I said firmly.

"If you're going out there, you're taking it with you," he said.

"No. You promised."

"This isn't a negotiation. You're taking it or you're not going."

"…Isn't there anything else I can use?"

"I'd offer the hammer, but that's slightly above your weight class."

"No you wouldn't," I gave a slight smile.

He smirked. "Take it."

"…OK. If it'll make you feel better."

With the thing I swore to never touch again, I rushed out to the bridge. It was still light out, but if I stuck to the brush, I could avoid being seen. Thankfully, hardly any one was around. I pulled my hood over my head and kept the rifle tucked away.

What would I find once I got there? Would I be too late? What if she wasn't home? No… I couldn't slow myself down with questions. The only thing to do was move forward and hope it would be enough.

After winding through the paths, I finally made it home. I mentally prepared myself for a fight, but… everything seemed peaceful... Though some people seemed to be lurking around the front, leering at the door. I snuck through the back.

"Mamă?" I called softly. Best not to attract attention, I thought. I had no way of knowing what people in the village thought of me since my current employment started. Had they even been apprised of my whereabouts?

"Lipa?" Mamă emerged from her room.

I threw my arms around her. Relief washed over me as she stroked my head.

"Oh, Lipa… Why have you come here? I told you to stay put!"

"I couldn't let you get away with tricking me like that."

"I wasn't trying to deceive you, I just−"

" 'Didn't want you to worry,' " I finished.

Mamă pulled back but kept holding my arms. "But you really shouldn't be here. You're safest with Lord Heisenberg."

"And my safety takes precedence over yours?"

"Please, Lipa, leave me. I don't want you to be here… in case…"

"In case what? What's got you so sure that something will happen?"

"I can't talk about that now. What matters is that you shouldn't be pulled into it. They're my sins, not yours. Now go, quickly!"

"I already told you; I'm not−"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

We both jumped as knocks assaulted the front door.

"Open the door, Constanta! Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be!"

That voice…

"Isn't that… Mr. Ardeleanu?" I asked incredulously. Why would Oskar's father be upset with Mamă?

"Lipa, go, now!" Mamă urged.

"I'm giving you to the count of three!" Mr. Ardeleanu yelled.

"I'm not leaving until you do!" I grabbed her by the arm.

"1!"

Mamă's feet stayed planted on the floor. I tugged her.

"2!"

"Mamă, please! We can leave together!" I pleaded.

"3!"

Mamă, I'll never understand your need to resolve issues alone. We could easily have left together and never have had to face what that mob had in store for us. But no, you were convinced that running wasn't an option. While I could sympathize with your need to face things head on, I know when to let go of my pride. But was it pride for you, or just fear? Were you scared that some eternal hell would wait for you if you ran from what you perceived as destiny? Oh, Mamă, a deity that punishes you for wanting to live isn't worth your devotion.

The raid on the door began. Without hesitation, I grabbed and aimed the rifle.

"Lipa, put that away!" Mamă cried.

"You really wanna die like this?! I'd rather shoot them than let them lay a finger on you!" I retorted.

My words were harsh, I know, but can you blame me? What did I care if they disapproved of me for wanting to defend myself? They were scum, every one of them, and I'd had enough.

The door gave way, and the intruders made no apologies. We were greeted with several angry faces that turned to shock when they laid eyes on me.

"…Lipa?" Mr. Ardeleanu took a step forward. I kept the gun pointed towards the others.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked firmly.

"We… we thought you were dead," he said, a slight smile coming to his face. "It's good to see you."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I know what this looks like," he calmly raised his hands, "but it has nothing to do with you."

" 'Nothing to do with me'? You've broken into my home! You threatened my mother! I'd say that has everything to do with me!"

"She's committed unspeakable crimes! She has to pay, Lipa!"

"Crimes…? What crimes?"

"…You didn't tell her?" he turned towards Mamă. She just looked away. "She…" he continued, choking on his words, "she took my boy…."

"…Oskar?" I tipped the rifle down .

"Yes. She took him from us!"

No! I wanted to repent. It was me, not her! I'm the one you want!

"I couldn't bury my own son because of her!" He pointed an accusing finger at her.

Wait… If he really was talking about Oskar, then shouldn't he have been…

"Mr. Ardeleanu," I started softly, "I think you're mistaken−"

"No. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. This woman stole my son!"

"...Mamă?" I turned to her. She just cowered.

"It wasn't just Oskar!" Another man started, "She took my wife too! I saw it with my own eyes! She was dragging her away when she thought no one was looking!"

"Oskar went missing," Mr. Ardelanu explained. "At first, I thought he'd turn up in a day or two. 'Even if he's dead', I thought, 'someone will find him. It's impossible for him to go far'. But he never showed up. I asked everyone and they all said the same thing: even your mother." He glared at her. "But then, just a few months later, a rumor started going around. People said that some of their deceased loved ones had gone missing. After a couple of years of investigating, nothing. That is, until a few days ago. Thomas, here, said he saw the unspeakable; he saw Constanta dragging his wife away in the night."

After hearing those words I went completely numb. I didn't try to protest or defend Mamă. Because I knew; I knew he was right. There was no proof, but it makes sense, doesn't it? It was all connecting into a dark, horrifying picture. I guess my questions had been answered after all. Why else would Mamă do such horrible things? Let's just say… I had some words for Heisenberg.

As much as I wanted to rat that bastard out, I knew it wouldn't help. They all revered him (or feared him at least). There was no way any of them would believe or accept what I said. The only thing to do was try to get us out of there alive.

I positioned myself between the crowd and Mamă. "Please," I begged, "just let us go. I promise you; she didn't do it by choice."

Thomas lunged forward as if to grab me, but Mr. Ardeleanu put his arm up to stop him. "Lipa, please. I know she's your mother, the last family you have, but she deserves to be punished," he cautioned.

The crowd was growing restless. I gripped the rifle tighter. "Then you understand why I can't let you take her."

Mr. Ardeleanu gave me a pitying gaze. "I'm sorry, Lipa." He put his arm down.

I yanked Mamă's arm and ran for the back door. But they'd spread to cover all exits. In moments, the rifle was ripped from my arms, and I was knocked onto the ground. In a daze, I struggled in vain to get back on my feet. The mob picked me up and restrained me with rope as I thrashed.

"We're ending this cursed bloodline once and for all!" someone yelled to the roaring approval of everyone else. I heard my mother's muffled screams as we were taken away.

Is this it? I thought, Am I really going to die here? After all I've been through? In a way, it was hilarious; I had survived two attempts against my life by two Lords, and yet there I was, about to die at the hands of mere peasants.

A couple of the men tossed me into a boat. We waded out into the only body of water in the area. After several agonizing minutes of struggling against my restraints, we finally reached our presumed tomb. I was swung two times before I went flying. A second later, I was fighting against a rush of water. Cowards. They didn't even have the courage to look us in the eye when we died. But it was easier for them this way. Why would they kill us themselves when they could get a Lord to do their dirty work?