The day of her coronation had finally arrived.
Unlike the previous ceremony four years ago, Levana had insisted on keeping it a small and private affair, limited to the lunar court and the higher ranking thaumaturges. No outsiders, no earthen; only the people who insisted on seeing their princess claim the throne. Most certainly not a ball, either. She didn't need another reminder of her sister's horrid party.
Levana had been kept up all night by nightmares of the fire, and it was a miracle that she was able to keep her glamour up at all that day. The whole morning was a rush of dress fitting and final consultations; by lunchtime, Levana wanted to stick a bullet in the next servant who dared bring her back to reality.
The feeling was only intensified as her seamstress helped her into her dress that afternoon, nattering on about trivial matters, things that Levana could care less about. The woman wouldn't stop talking. Luckily, her three handmaidens weren't nearly as chatty, leaving Levana to sulk in peace as they twisted her hair into an elaborate updo laced with pearls and soft asphodel blossoms. The scent of burning artemisia wafted through the air, the herbal concoction acting as a sedative to all in the room.
"You look beautiful, Your Majesty," one of the handmaidens said, securing the last of the pins in Levana's hair. The queen-to-be blinked, cocking her head. The empty frame of the vanity gave no hint of her reflection.
"I am, aren't I?" Levana said, a smile tugging at her blood-red lips.
The handmaidens all nodded, stepping back. Levana gently ran a finger across the tiny gems incrusted next to her eyes, enhancing her eye-shadow. Her delicate grin turned into a pout as she came upon a slight ridge in her flesh, a scar beneath the pure white of her glamour. A sudden surge of anger, or fear, perhaps, made itself known in the pits of her belly.
"Leave me," she commanded, her hand gesturing towards the door. Her handmaidens bowed and left. Even after their footsteps could no longer be heard in the hall, Levana still sat there, frozen on her settee, her lips tightened against her teeth.
"Levana?"
The monarch sighed, bunching her hands into fists. "What do you need, Akiho?"
Akiho clasped her prongs together. "I'm just…I'm worried about you."
Levana arched a slender eyebrow. "Whatever for, Akiho?" She grinned, a smile showing her pretty white teeth. "I've never been better."
"You're scaring me, Levana, you're…you're different. And not in a good way."
"Different? Of course I am, dear. I'm beautiful now," Levana said, her voice light and lyrical, like that of a siren. She put a gloved finger to her plump lips, deep and velvety with her glamour. As soon as she had awoken that morning, she had slipped into a second skin, just like her own, but without the scars, without the burns. Soft cheeks with a gentle blush, her nose no longer sprinkled with those pesky, childish freckles. The bodice of her gown was designed specifically for her figure, defining her waist and enhancing her breasts. For the first time in her life, she felt grown up, like a woman.
(ah all the men will admire me they'll want me how could they not)
Akiho's sensor flashed. "You don't look any different to me. But your attitude sure is."
Levana's head snapped back, her deadly gaze seeming to bore holes through Akiho's head. Her lips curled into a sneer. Of course, she had forgotten that the android could see through her illusion, having no bioelectricity and all.
"Not that you aren't already beautiful," Akiho added sheepishly, holding her arms behind her back.
Levana rolled her eyes, turning her back on the android. A mad grin made its way to her face, and she gently traced her fingers along the frothy silk of her skirt. "I feel pretty, oh so pretty..." she hummed.
"Levana, quit it! You're freaking me out!" Akiho whimpered.
Levana quickly bounced to feet, pushing her chair aside. "I feel pretty, and witty, and bright! And I pity, any girl who isn't me tonight!" she continued, her sickeningly sweet voice rising to a crescendo. The skirt of her dress billowed around her legs as she spun around the room, like a world-class ballerina, pirouette after pirouette.
(one step forward one step back don't be a klutz you're the most graceful in all the land)
Levana let out a shriek as her heel suddenly skid back, slipping around like it had a mind of its own. She tripped on the hem of her gown, toppling over and landing on her rear. She let out a moan, the impact surely having bruised her tailbone. "Ow…" she hissed, rubbing her backside in an effort to soothe the pain.
"Levana! Are you okay?!" Akiho asked, her voice flooded with concern.
Levana made a face, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Quick as lightning, she rose to her feet, brushing the non-existent dust from her gown. "It was nothing," she spat.
"You should maybe refrain from dancing in heels," Akiho said.
The queen-to-be stared down at the floor, her feet donning crystalline slippers incrusted with lunar diamonds. "You dare mock me?" she said, carefully enunciating each word.
"What? No, of course not, I just—"
Levana grabbed the android by the arm and forced her onto her desk, tearing the back panel off Akiho's body. "Wait, what are you doing?! Let me go!" Akiho shrieked, her fans whirring, trying to keep her from overheating.
"Don't be insolent with me, you little twit," Levana spat, staring at the android's flashing sensor.
"Levana, why are you doing this?! Why are you much like her, why are you—"
"Oh, stop comparing me to Channary! I am not at all like her, so stop saying that I am!" Levana barked, her eyes like fire.
"You're acting like a monster!"
Levana froze, her sharp nails digging into Akiho's exposed mechanics. Her breathing was heavy, making her chest heave. "A monster?" she said, her lips trembling. "A MONSTER?! Well, then, let me show you just how MONSTROUS I can be!"
Akiho cried out as Levana grabbed a pair of sharp silver tweezers, digging through the android's chest cavity until she gripped her tiny black personality chip wrapped in multicoloured wires. With a pull of her wrist the chip came free, tearing the wires out in a light show akin to fireworks. A moan of distress escaped the android's strained voice-box, her sensor slowly fading with every second that passed. Tiny bolts and screws toppled down and bounced around on the wooden desktop.
Levana didn't even realize what she had done until she stared back at Akiho's blank white face, the life gone from her glass display. Motionless. Unblinking. Her fans had stopped whirring, her internal computers had stopped beeping.
Akiho was dead, as dead as a machine could be. The exposed wires continued to spark, leaving black scuffs on Levana's pristine gloves. For the shortest of moments, she snapped out of her vengeful state, and what little remained of her heart shattered into a million pieces.
Akiho was gone. Even if she could magically reboot her, there was no guarantee that Akiho would be the same. Parts would be missing. Possibly the memories; all the good times, gone. Was it really worth bringing all the pain back?
(oh stars I'm so sorry what have I done oh you never deserved this no please don't go come back I didn't mean to)
Levana let a single tear escape before catching herself, wiping it away with a gloved hand and placing the tweezers and screwdriver down. She gently picked up the worthless personality chip and cradled it to her chest, muttering 'sorry' over and over again. With a single motion, she popped it in the ROM drive of her netscreen, her chest heaving.
Access memory? The screen read, code scrawling across the bottom.
Levana cried softly as she swiped her fingers across the screen, a far cry from falling apart completely. Her finger felt like lead as she pressed down on a single flashing button—the off switch, the delete key, the end. The end to everything.
Data successfully erased.
Akiho would no longer remember anything. Not even her own name. Everything that she was is gone. Levana let out a choked sob. Of course, it was better that way. Akiho deserved so much better than a killer.
(I'm a monster killer murderer evil witch crybaby pathetic weakling CRYBABY LEVANA)
Her body continued to tremble as she searched through the back of her new closet, amongst the plethora of gowns and dresses, amongst the army of exquisite shoes. Behind the fifth rack was a lone black box, made of some sort of cardboard. Akiho's box, the one that she had found the android packed in so many years ago. Levana didn't know why she kept it.
(someday we'll go to Earth together and we'll be happy I promise with Saito and you'll have so many friends Akiho I promise)
Taking Akiho apart was the painful of tortures, every snap of plastic and disconnected joint making Levana's stomach ache. Whether it was from sadness or guilt was debatable, but either way it made her want to hurl. She gently placed the parts in their appropriate places in the box, kissing each one as they went away. A bulbous head, a gleaming white chest, two arms, two rubber treads. The wiped personality chip was the last part to be packed, then the box was taped up and sealed. Levana stuck a blank label on it, scrawling down a simple instruction.
—PACKAGE TO BE SENT TO EARTH BY ORDER OF THE QUEEN—
Surely Akiho would find a good home on the blue planet. Surely there was some lone mechanic who would be willing to fix her up and give her a shot. As a servant, or a domestic companion, perhaps. She would be happier there anyway, away from her murderous mistress and her tyrannic regime. Levana kept thinking this, trying to justify what she what just done, despite knowing that she had just killed yet another person.
A toil of bells in the distance caught Levana's attention, and she left the box by her bedroom door before peering out a massive window. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the palace chapel, of all the court members going inside for a coronation. Her coronation. Levana quickly changed her soiled white gloves in favour of black ones. They went much better with her midnight-blue gown and ebony mantle. More threatening. More menacing. More her.
The white was the princess. The black was the queen.
Queen Levana…
Levana's palms were sweaty as she was escorted down the aisle in a similar fashion as Channary had been, flanked by a bishop and the procession of thaumaturges behind her. Sybil was cold and distant, like she should be. Levana barely bit back a smirk. She had done quite the number on her, hadn't she?
(ah finally yes the crown is mine look at it it's so shiny and pretty oh my)
Levana moved like a robot as the traditional hymn ended and the crown was placed atop her head, a heavy piece made of solid black regolith and inlaid with diamonds and crystal; a crown fit for a queen. The bishop then presented her with the gleaming orb and sceptre. Levana moved to take them, until the bishop cleared his throat, eyeing her gloved hands.
Levana barely restrained the urge to roll her eyes, a pang of both annoyance and concern making its presence known in her belly. She slowly removed left glove, then her right—the first glint of metal nearly drove her in a frenzy. With a slight gulp, she pulled off the rest of the sheath, holding her breath. But the bishop saw nothing. The congregation saw nothing.
Nothing but soft pale skin, her fingernails painted with shimmering black. Levana made sure of that. She wasn't a cyborg in their presence. She wasn't a freak of nature in their presence.
She was the most beautiful queen Luna had ever known.
Setting her gloves down on the cushion, she took the royal orb and sceptre in her hands, feeling both vulnerable and powerful.
"Hic hodie in publicam testificationem et omnes Lunares, moneo te hereditate nata cum virtute. Ego præcipio tibi, et protegens tua munus regendi populum ducere ad prosperite."
(Here, on this day, under the witness of God and all the Lunar Kingdom, I charge you with the power that you have inherited by your birthright. I charge you with the duty of governing and protecting your people, of leading them to wealth and prosperity.)
As the bishop spoke, she eyed the people with disdain, with full-on hatred.
Queen Levana…
How she longed to be human, to be loved as human, by humans. Love was something she had never known. Not really. Who could ever love something so hideous, so patched up that it was an outcast in both heaven and earth?
Queen Levana…
Oh, how long she had fought, resisted. So many years had passed before she finally fell into the cycle of tyranny that her bloodline demanded. It was so easy! There were times when she could just imagine some foul demon from within pushing out, with it's tentacles of insatiable need for sadistic pleasure. With the sufferings of others the only way to slake her desires, how long could she hold out? Would she forever be trapped in the whims of others without even a shred of respect to her name?
"Et incarnatus est penes me, et ego in hoc tibi coronam, la Regina Levana di Luna!"
(By the power vested in me, I hereby crown you, Queen Levana of Luna!)
"Queen Levana of Luna!" the crowd shouted in unison.
No. She would not go about the rest of her miserable life as a slave, a pawn. She would use the demon within her to execute a new plan to right the universe, one that would redefine the meaning of a 'lunar threat to Earth.' And she would not serve it, IT would serve HER!
Queen Levana…
All her life, she had fought against her family, her culture, her blood. She had tried so desperately not to become the very thing she loathed. She had never wanted to be a queen, to be like Channary. Although they were as different as night is from day, they were blood, and nothing, not any force in the universe, could ever change that. She had followed in her sister's footsteps without even noticing where she was going, and then she found herself there. In front of the altar, being named queen, where her sister had stood a mere three years before.
Ah yes, Channary, her big sister. She remembered their first encounter so very well. Channary had kicked and screamed, calling her 'stupid' and 'ugly'. Levana had barely been alive for an hour and Channary had already loathed her, a defenceless baby.
Queen Levana…
Channary had always treated her like nothing, like a slave. No, even slaves were treated better than Levana was. The queen would call her filth, dirt. Yes, Levana was filth alright, but so was Channary. Both were poison, only Channary's was more concentrated, refined by years of abusive glamour and scheming.
Channary had killed everyone Levana cared about, everyone she loved. She had taken everything from her, whether it be her daughter or her dignity. Finally, she just couldn't take it anymore! She snapped, and rose up in revolt, in rebellion. She became just like her sister—a murderer, a tyrant—but by that point, she no longer cared. So what if her people hated her? She knew that they would never accept her as their queen, as an ally. She knew that they would never even see her as a human being.
Queen Levana…
But she didn't care. Oh no, she didn't care at all. After all, she didn't choose to be queen. Technically, she wasn't yet old enough to assume the throne, but Channary had left Luna in such political turmoil that they had to have a monarch, lest the people rise up in revolt, which would be catastrophic. So, at the ripe age of twenty-three, Levana was crowned queen of Luna, a position which, when she was younger, would've rather died than claim. However, that was before. Before Channary killed Saito and Selene, before Akiho was destroyed.
And as she put down the orb and sceptre, folded her hands in front of her and turned around to face the people, she eyed every single one of them with masked contempt, not seeing them as her subjects, but as her prey.
She barely bit back a smirk.
Her rule would be a game of predator and prey, and this time, it was her turn to play the predator. It was her time to pull the reigns. She would tell them what to do. She would control them, and they would obey her orders without question.
After all, was it not within her right?
Queen Levana…
She walked calmly down the aisle that spanned the middle of the lavish chapel, staring straight ahead, not paying any of the people in the pews any mind. She pretended that they didn't exist, just like they had pretended that she didn't, for all those years.
A couple of guards opened the regolith doors, the entourage of thaumaturges stepping through and lining up outside it, ready to give Levana her first greeting as queen.
The sovereign walked out into Artemisia's artificial sunlight, the rays caught in her shimmering auburn hair, giving it the illusion of freshly-fallen autumn leaves. All the thaumaturges dropped down on one knee, their eyes respectfully averted from Levana's lithe figure, their resonating chants of 'long live the queen!' rising up in the air.
Her fiery gaze settled on the blue orb hanging in the sky, a prize that she was just waiting to claim. A mad grin spread across her face, and the applause seemed to roar even more.
Queen Levana. Queen Levana. Queen Levana.
The name sounded even better than she had ever imagined.