It's hard sometimes, she thought, sitting along and watching the world drift by. Here, she sits alone on a bench designer for two, her face as buried as one can be in a datapad. Her mother had only recently given her a few notes on the history of Thessia. When her mother suggested that they make a trip into the city to visit the shrine to their goddess, Liara jumped at the chance. It was so clearly not fit for children, so for her mother to offer that to her. It was... astounding.
"How are your studies, Liara?" Benezia asked, approaching her daughter and resting a hand on the top of her datapad. Liara looked up, her eyes brightening at the sight of her beloved mother. She moved with such a superior elegance, even down to the way her fingers lingered along the cool steel of the datapad. Her mother was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.
"Good. Amazing, actually." She finally replied, an excited smile along her lips. "The Asari have just started to further surpass other council races, particularly in infrastructure and military strength."
"Why do you think that is?" Benezia asked, lifting the pad from her daughter's hand and turning it so she might read its contents. Her eyes glanced over a few lines, and she chuckled to herself. Liara became puzzled as to why. History was anything but humourous. She allowed the thought to fold into nothing.
"We have abilities that other races do not; the first race to master interstellar flight and claim the Citadel. And our biotics! They're so natural that we begin with a higher level of understanding of how they work." Her mother looked to her, as if encouraging her to continue. That glimpse of approval her mother gave; it was worth dying to achieve. But they thought in such a different ways. Liara wanted to know more; to learn and fill her mind with history's facts. Her mother wanted her to think; to speculate and plan or plot answers with no basis in fact. With no guiding proof; that could come along later. "I..." She began, her voice wavering, "-I suspect that despite our advancement, there are many reasons why one might not consider us a threat." Liara hypothesised.
"Brilliant." Benexia said, handing it back to her. "There'll be a diplomat of you yet."
"Not yet, I hope." She scoffed, placing the datapad in her bag. She turned her eyes away to avoid the disapproving gaze her mother would place on her. The skyline of Thessia seemed like an expertly planned painting; hues of pink, purple and yellow entwining along the landscape of curving high rise buildings. These buildings, all chrome and silver with thickened glass, allowed the colours of this wondrous world to glide across its surfaces, displaying a mirror image of the world before one's eyes. Liara could lose herself in the image, were it not for her mother's voice calling her away.
"Liara, come." She called, and Liara joined her, reaching over to take hold of her hand for guidance. Her mother accepted the gesture without thought; for a girl who spoke so far beyond her years, it was hard to envision her daughter as still being so young. "One day, my child," She began, as they walked, "You'll understand why I wish for such a future for you." Liara was unable to get away with her comment, it seemed.
"I know, mother." Came the stock response, in a monotone voice from the unimpressed child. Her mother always did this; Benezia would seem to push the order without actually pushing, as though something held her back from just forcing Liara to choose the path she wanted her to take.
They approached the temple; the closer they were, the more Liara could see of the statue of the goddess. When finally in full view, her feet just... stopped moving. Her grip on her mother's hand ceased to exist, and she lost herself in the eyes of Athame. Benezia turned back, her daughter a mix within the vibrant background. "There's more." She called, a smile piercing her forward demeanour as she held her hand out to her daughter. Liara landed back in the world, her entire existence briefly overcome with the shear power of the sight before her. The way the entire building was built to lift to the heavens, yet fall at the feet of the goddess was overwhelming. She ran to her mother, gripping onto her hand tightly so she would never lose her. Her body would not, but her mind wandered, eyes taking in every image possible as though it would be the last time she saw that place. As they moved inward, they passed Athame's sword and shield. Benezia pointed towards them lightly, "These weapons belonged to the goddess." She said, as though she were telling a children's story.
"Her actual weapons?" Liara asked, her blue eyes wide with interest.
"Yes." She replied, almost brashly, "She used them to protect our world from the jealous gods who threatened our ancestors." Benezia spoke as though this were a recital; but Liara was too enthused to care. To be within inches of something so important to her world... It was so hard to process.
"I wish I could touch them." She said openly; foolishly. Her hand clasped over her mouth straight afterwards. Her words proved only that it was so hard for her mind to comprehend these moments. Benezia chuckled lightly; too often would her daughter stumble over her own words.
They approached the statue slowly; Benezia showed Liara different artifacts, highlighting their importance with precise answers. But as they stood before the goddess, the Asari child would swear in that moment that she felt the eyes of Athame looking down from above; watching over her as if to guide her in the right direction. There were so many things about Athame that she could learn, and so much more she could discover.
"When I grow up," She began, letting go of her mother's hand in earnest as she reached over to the base of the statue, "I want this life."
The memory abruptly cuts short on the image of Liara's eyes glowing with newfound fortune.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shown you that." Liara said, standing before her love once more in a world of stars.
"Why?" Shepard asked. Liara's intentions were so unclear; nothing within the vision was worth taking back.
"Because I was foolish and naive. I believed in things that weren't there. Thinking a goddess was looking down on me, giving me her blessing and telling me to live my own life is-" She began her tangent, eyes wandering for something other than Shepard's face to rest her gaze on. Her tone of voice shifted, tension rising as she worked herself into a frustrated mindset.
"Liara, don't worry about it-" Shepard began, but Liara refused to finish.
"-And Benezia. My mother. She was-"
"Calm down, Liara." The Commander seemed to order. "No one in this universe is perfect. I want to see more." She said, her hand touching against the Asari's cheek; the feeling begged Liara to look back. This was time they couldn't waste with such worry.
Liara seemed to know this, too, as she looked back to her love with uncertainty. "You don't think I was foolish." She stated, reviewing Shepard' perception within her eyes. But there were no words to give; Shepard only smiled at her statement. There was no need to worry; Liara took comfort in that. To throw herself into the deep end completely with these memories came with a level of caution and fear that she never thought she would feel.
More to come. And thank you for your reviews!