A/N: Bleh
XP
"Kaida…What—what are you doing here!?" He stammered, unable to believe his own eyes, but here we were, there he was, here I was…but how? And…why?
"I…could ask you…the same question." I murmured, having to grab the table in order stedy myself. A tirade of emotions were burning like fire in my heart, emotions that I couldn't understand, that I didn't want to understand. Emotions that were everywhere, filling my mind with a buzzing sensation, choking me with the utter force of them. My father, my father, here, here!!!
"No, no!!!" He cried, grabbing his wig and tearing it off, revealing the beginnings of red hair poking out of his scalp, "I mean here, here! On this ship, on this—they didn't, oh what did they do to you!?" He exclaimed, staring at my tattoos and taking me by the shoulders.
I shook off his hands and stepped away from him, "What," I gasped out, my voice choked with newly forming tears, "You, you care? All the sudden you care about me!?"
"We can discuss this later, please, Kaida, we have to hide you! How long have you been on this ship? No, never mind, it doesn't matter, come with me, quickly! I know where you can stay and no one will find you. I'll come back for you at night and we can talk then. Please, please! I know, I know you hate me, I know you hate us, but please, these people, they are mad! You can't stay here, you can't! If you're down here working with us dregs, they'll work you till you can't get out of bed anymore, then they'll sacrifice you to their Empress. Please, you have to hide!" He said, taking me by the shoulders again and looking me in the eyes so pleadingly, that I was almost sure I was talking to another man entirely.
"We're, going, to, talk, now." I breathed out, knocking his hands and, once more, backing away from him.
"We don't have time!" He exclaimed.
"We have all the time in the world!" I hissed back.
"Please, I don't want you to die!" He cried.
I let out a scream of mirthless laughter that caused him to jump, "You!? Don't want—oh that's a good one, father! Don't want me to die!? Really!? Wow, I must have figured you out all wrong! Apparently telling me I was the devil incarnate that should never have been born was your way of bonding, was it!? Was it!?" I laughed again, but the tears were flowing freely down my cheeks, "Don't touch me!" I hissed, knocking his reaching hand away from me.
He stepped back from me, a look of anguish on his face, and then he fell to his knees, and buried his face in his hands, "I…I deserved that." He murmured, "I should have expected this…when that Seer woman told me I would one day see you again…how you would react…I should have known…you're right. You're absolutely right. Kaida I…I'm…"
"Sorry?" I snorted.
I could sense the blow this retort had made, it had hurt him, but I wasn't sorry for it. Let him suffer, let him squirm. I didn't care, I didn't! He never cared about me, why the heck should I care about him!?
"Yes…" He murmured, and then he looked up into my face, and he stood up, there were tears on his face, but I didn't care. Or so I kept telling myself. "Yes, Kaida, yes! I am sorry, and I know, I know that there is nothing, nothing I can do that will make up for what we did to you, how much our neglect must have hurt you, damaged you. I'm sorry, we're both sorry, you're mother too. But please, please understand…whenever one of us…whenever one of us tried, whenever we attempted to comfort you…the other would suffer for it.
"They wouldn't kill us," He went on, "But if your mother showed anything but indifference towards you, I would be the one they tortured for it, and whenever I did anything, your mother would be tortured for it. There was nothing we could do, it only got worse when we tried, so we stopped trying and…and when, when you got them under control…when they were gone…when they were no longer a threat…we didn't know what else to do.
"We were afraid, we knew you hated us, we knew that you would never forgive us…so, we decided it would, it would be best, for you, if, if we simply stayed out of your life. If we let you live yourself, let you take care of yourself. Because you'd never forgive us, and we would never be able to forgive ourselves…we still haven't, and we never will. I'm sorry, Kaida, I'm sorry, and saying we didn't have a choice will never be enough, I know it. But we loved you, we weren't allowed to let you know, we weren't allowed to give you any clue that we felt anything but regret at your very birth.
"Please believe me, please. When the Seer said we'd see you again…I couldn't get my mind off you. I suppose that I…that I hoped…you would see me, that I would tell you I loved you, and you would…"
"Would be so glad to finally have my daddy that I would run into your arms and forgive you for everything?" I asked in a low, even voice, wiping furiously at my tears.
"Kaida…I don't want you to be here, I want you to hide. I don't care if you continue to hate me forever, but I'm not letting you stay here, I'm not going to let you share this hell with me. I deserve it, you don't. I can get you off this ship once we reach Egypt and…and you might be able to find your mother there. She was taken as a servant girl to the Pharaoh's palace, she's been there ever since, so far as I know she's safe. And if there's one fatherly thing I can do for you before I die, I'm going to make sure that you're safe too." He told me, reaching out so he could wipe away my tears. I let him, I felt week with the emotions coursing through me. I let him take my face in his hands, I let him kiss my forehead, and I let him wrap his arms around me and hold me close.
"Forgive him, Kaida." Sabrielle murmured into my ear.
"What, just like that? You remember what he did to you? That coward, couldn't even love his own daughter."
"He did not have a choice and you know it. He loves you Kaida, he does. It was just as painful for him and your mother to watch you suffer, to be apart of that suffering, as it was for you to go through it." She told me.
But he…"Think how you might feel, watching Kassima going through something like that, but knowing that if you tried to stop it, the prince would suffer for it. They had no choice, there was nothing they could do. Your father is suffering remorse for something he had no control over. It was not his fault, it wasn't. Forgive him, Kaida, forgive him so that, one day, he might be able to forgive himself." She said.
I could hear the traces of Sacrosanct's voice arguing, but her presence was drowned out by the force that was Sabrielle, who seemed to be all around me as well as inside of me. She was in the air, the walls, the light, and she was in my father.
He loved me…my father…contrary to what I'd been lead to believe all my life, he loved me…he and mother both…they, they really did love me…
I broke down in his arms, wrapping my own around him, I was sobbing. My stomach was being twisted from the inside. I wanted it to end, to stop. Just run a dagger through my heart so I didn't have to feel this anymore!
I cried it all out in his arms, I was able to get it out that I understood, and that…I was willing to forgive him.
My hands around him, I began to work on his wounds, just the wounds. I didn't reverse time on them this time, instead I sped it up, making them heal over, stronger, tougher. That's what I should have done with my own wounds, with the others. This way, though there's a mark there that hints at the scar that might have been there, the skin is tougher and will be harder to penetrate next time.
My father straightened up, looking shocked, "Wh—how did you do that? My wounds…" He felt his back and chest in amazement, "You can heal?" He asked in amazement.
"S-sort of," I hiccupped, "Father, I have to tell you something, I'm—"
But, wouldn't you know it, our heart-felt scene just HAD to be interrupted. I heard heavy boots stamping down the stairs, and Father, white in the face, grabbed me and shoved me down behind the barrels, "Stay, hide! Whatever happens, don't rise, don't let them see you! I don't care what they do to me, alright?" He hissed. And, before I could argue, he turned around and the door swung open.
I saw a man walk in, dressed like a Keeper with the red mask over his face and everything. He had the distinct air of someone who was very pleased with himself as he sidled into the room. "Guess what Megowan!" He said, laughing. Apparently my father had given them his last name rather than his first, which was probably a good thing in any case. "The 5th Magistrate agrees that you're more trouble than you're worth! He wants you gotten rid of, and I get to do it." He said, pulling out a scimitar, "Now, make sure you scream, I do want to enjoy this, after all." He said, cackling evilly.
"Stop!" I ordered, vaulting over the barrels and coming to stand between the cultist and my father.
"Kaida no!" My father moaned, but I ignored him.
"What the—who are you? How did you get down here?" He asked, leering at me.
"Me? I am the Empress of Time, and I don't think it matters how or why I'm down here, not to you anyway. On your knees, maggot!" I ordered, and his sword fell to the ground just as he did, and he bent down over his hands and actually touched his forehead to the ground.
"E-Empress! Empress forgive me! I d-did not recognize you at first, I-please, forgive my rashness! Forgive me!" He stammered.
"'Forgive the ignorant their blasphemy,' eh?" I spat, "I know you." I snarled, "You're the very one who stole Kassima off the ship, aren't you?"
"P-please, Empress, had I but known—"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!" I roared, kicking him so that he slammed into the door.
"Kaida, what are you doing? What—" My father stammered, a look of complete shock on his face. "You're not, you can't be, you—" But I held up a hand to stop him. I didn't want to see his face, and I didn't want him to see mine as I stalked over to the keeper, ripped the mask off his head, and grabbed him by the hair.
"The point is that you allowed yourselves to believe that I was an Empress of Bloodlust, of Battle! How many other children have you taken from their parents!? How many parents have you slaughtered!? I don't care that you thought you were doing what I wanted you to, you were ignoring your very humanity! Every last one of you deserves to die for this!!! But I've half decided to show you the mercy that you've never shown anyone else." I threw his head on the ground and stepped on it, hard, grinding his ear in with the heel of my boot, "Still, the other half of me wants nothing more than to slaughter the lot of you! What exactly are you're prophets doing all day!? Sitting around twiddling their thumbs and waiting for visions to come to them!? What's the point of them if they can't even tell you that you were about to kill my FATHER!?!?"
His eyes widened and he began spluttering out apologies and begging forgiveness, but I wouldn't hear of it. "It may seem to you," I said, grabbing his hair again so I could stare him straight in the eyes, "that your prophets were not wrong. But though I am a warrior, though I am stronger than your average man, though I'm terrifying, and rightly so for I could do things to you that would make you regret ever being born, I do not glory in bloodshed! I am not some heartless warrior seeking only the heat of battle and a good challenge! I fight when I have to, I reserve my anger and wrath for those who deserve it. You're only seeing one side of me because you do deserve it! You deserve more than I'm giving you right now! Every last one of you deserves to die for what you've done!!! Now get out of my sight!!!" I ordered, and he did just that.
I rounded on my father, probably a bit too forcefully, and felt sick at the fact that he took a step back, and there was fear in his eyes. "Don't tell me that I've changed." I said evenly, "I have, I have changed, I've changed a great deal. But you never knew me in the first place. I'm stronger now, both in mind and body. I am the Empress of Time, but I'm not a god like they think I am." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, "There's a lot about me you don't know. A lot has happened…but if you don't like how I've turned out, too bad. Now come on, I want you to meet my friends." I told him, and, for the first time, I allowed myself to smile at him.
He smiled back at me, "Alright, but…" He looked uncertainly at the potatoes.
"Let one of the dregs do it. You forget, I'm the Empress of Time, I practically own these people. Not by choice, but they worship me like a god so I might as well." I said, grimacing.
He smiled, took up his wig again, and followed me out of the kitchens.
XD
"You! Dreg! How dare you!? What do you think you're doing in these upper levels!? The Empress is up here! You are not worthy to be on the same ship as her, so get back to where you belong before I—"
"Tsugara?" I approached, tapping the woman on the shoulder. She straightened up and turned around, her face white as she fell to her knees before me.
"Empress! I apologize! Please give me the chance to return this ungrateful dreg to the lower levels!" She begged.
"This 'dreg' happens to be with me, Tsugara." I told her.
"Forgive me! I did not know—"
"You don't know a lot, do you? But while we're on the subject why don't you go find him some proper clothing, hm? As for the other dregs, stop working them so hard, and stop beating them every time they put a single toe out of line. Make sure they have some proper food, and, let's say, four two-hour breaks during the day and at least 8 hours of sleep. You're not to work them to death anymore, and give them some proper medical attention too. Tonight, they get beer, and if I find out that my orders have been disobeyed in any way, you and Yuhalbis both get to work down there with them! Off you go!" I said, quite cheerfully.
Her face lost what little color it had left, and she scrambled to do my bidding, likely to find Yuhalbis and tell him what I'd told her.
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Father asked in a low, slightly tentative voice.
"Maybe." I said, smirking at him, but that smirk faded away at the rather disappointed way he was staring off into space. "Afraid you're little girl isn't nearly as sweet and innocent as you might hope her to be." I told him.
He sighed, "I know, I know. How could you be? With all you've been through…" He shook his head, "I guess I'll just have to get use to the fact that you can more than handle yourself, as well as these freaks."
"I'm not going to tone myself down for you, I hope you know. You don't have any fatherly authority over me, I don't think you ever had. I said I'd forgive you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be your little angel. Because I'm not an angel, that much, I'm sure, you already knew." I said, and I wished I hadn't. Pain flashed across his eyes, and he looked away from me. I sighed, and took his hand in mine. It was a bit of work, doing that, but I forced myself to, and I pulled him along back towards our rooms.
"Kaida!" Aizira exclaimed with relief, "Oh gods, you just disappeared! We were so worried—who's that?" She asked, her eyebrows raised as she saw the man behind me, whose own hand was in mine.
"Where did you go? And why? The prince is out there looking all over for you. And he looked pretty guilty too, what happened?" He asked.
"Oh, that's right, I'm mad at him aren't I?" I asked.
"Prince? What prince? You're friends with a prince?" Father asked me.
"Oh boy." I said, massaging my forehead. "Aizira, Keilic, this is my father, who goes by Megowan." I said.
The looks on their faces almost made this entire ordeal worth it.
"B-b-but he can't be your father!!! You're from another world! That's not possible…is it!?" Aizira exclaimed.
"I don't like this…" Said Keilic, looking almost scared now, "Two people from the same world, here, on this ship? It's too much of a coincidence! Didn't you tell us that there were thousands of worlds out there? No, this isn't right, something's going on here." He said, taking a step back. "Are you even sure he's your father? What if he's an imposter? What if he's working for that Zasalamel person!?"
"Then I would know." I said, "But you're right, this is too much of a coincidence, and I don't like it either." I frowned, suddenly realizing just what the appearance of my parents, of all people, in this world could mean.
Someone, likely Zasalamel, was trying to get to me. But it wasn't going to work.
"What do you mean, who's Zasalamel?" My father asked, looking alarmed. "We're in another world? I thought this was just another time! How can there be other worlds!?" He exclaimed.
"It's a very similar world to ours, with some deliberate mistakes." I told him, and I sighed, heavily. "I told you already, a lot has happened, and it's going to take a very long time to explain everything."
"Mommy!!!" Exclaimed a cheerful voice, and a white head suddenly appeared, clinging to my leg. Father's jaw dropped.
"And we might want to start with this!" Aizira said, looking reluctantly amused at the look on my father's face.
"M-m-mommy!?" He cried. "But, but she has to be 5 years old! You're only 19!!! You're not old enough to—"
"Relax, Father, Kassima's adopted." I assured him, picking the girl up and hugging her tingly, feeling a sense of peace emanating from her, contentment steeling over me as I held her close.
"Oh…" Father said, looking incredibly relieved.
"Kaida saved her from another band of crazy cultists who worship the Empress of Time, and ever since Kassima has sort of adopted Kaida as her 'mommy'." Aizira explained. "Well, it's nice to meet you, I guess." She said, holding out her hand to shake my father's.
"Nice to meet you too, ah…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." He returned.
"It's Aizira." She answered, "And this is Keilic. Two of our number are in the back, ah…doing stuff that should not be interrupted, and the last one's out there looking around frantically for Kaida, apparently of the opinion that he did something to seriously tick her off, though I'm still not exactly clear on what." She said, looking at me questioningly.
"Suffice it to say he got jealous over a woman who wasn't me." I said, glowering. Though it was just for show, I wasn't angry anymore, not really, but the prince wasn't going to make this mistake again.
"What!? So that's what was going on!?" Exclaimed Keilic, looking shocked.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you mean Farah!? But, but he only just met her! How can he be jealous of her and Alzik!? I mean, she's pretty, but she's not that pretty! That doesn't make sense!" Aizira exclaimed.
"Actually, that's not entirely true. He has met her before, but she doesn't remember and I'm not going to get into the details because it's a long, drawn out story, and if anyone tells you, it should be the prince himself and not me. But don't tell Farah, I don't want her to think I'm mad at her, because I'm not." I explained.
"So, wait, are you in love with this prince?" Asked Father in surprise.
"Shocking isn't it?" I asked cheerfully, but them my face fell as I realized what I'd said, "Oh gods, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that!"
"What?" Aizira asked, looking from me to Father's hurt expression, and back to me again in confusion.
"It's fine…" Father sighed, "You have every right…and I guess I deserved that."
"I didn't mean to say it like that." I told him, feeling guilty now. "But yes, I am in love with the Prince." I told him, setting Kassima down so I could go to him, I really did feel guilty about what I'd said, or rather, how I said it.
"The prince? Does he have a name?" My father asked, giving me a weak smile.
"You know, that's a good question!" Aizira said, "I've never heard you call him by name, it's always 'Prince', does he even have a name?" She asked.
"Yes, he does, but he doesn't like it very much so he prefers to be called 'prince' instead." I answered, snickering slightly.
"Yeah, I use to tease him about it all the time when we were kids, that might be why." Keilic said, snickering and grinning.
"Heh, did you know the word means 'dragon god' in Japanese?" I asked him, and Keilic's eyes widened.
"What, really?"
"His name's Ryuujin?" Asked my father, looking surprised.
"What, you know Japanese?" I asked, also surprised by this.
"Your mother didn't speak an ounce of English when we first met, of course I know at least a little. She learned fast though, faster than me, so I don't know much." He answered.
"I didn't know this, and yet, somehow, I absorbed English, Japanese, and Irish from the two of you. How does that work!?" I asked.
"Um, you're the Empress of Time?" Keilic offered.
"I didn't use to be." I answered.
"Well, you were…you were never exactly normal. Perhaps you're just good at languages." Father offered.
"I better go find my cousin and tell him you're here." Keilic said, sighing.
"And angry!" I said cheerfully, "Tell him I'm angry! That'll make him squirm."
"That's mean." Said Aizira, "No wonder we're friends." She added, and I laughed.
XP
Rhea: Ugh, you guys are lucky to even have a chapter today. I came down with some viral infection and my fever got up to 103 the other day. Luckily I'd had most of this chapter written before I got sick, and was able to get the rest of it done swiftly enough. Still, it's likely you guys won't get another chapter for another three days because of this. I still feel like crap, and I'd much rather be writing than sitting here, watching TV, and with the little gremlins in my head having a beer party. XP. I DON'T EVEN DRINK BEER!!! I'M UNDER AGE AND THE STUFF'S GROSS, I'VE NEVER HAD IT BUT I KNOW IT'S GROSS BECAUSE IT'S MADE OF ROTTEN STUFF!!! In any case, I do feel better now, but the fever is not gone and I'm still taking like 4 pills plus nasty Chloraseptic every 5 hours. So yeah, tis NOT GOOD! Still, I felt guilty about leaving you guys at such a cliffhanger, so here you are, a chapter even though I feel like crap.
Until next time. By then I'll hopefully be feeling much better. (Grimaces at Chloraseptic bottle) Ugh…