Chapter 47

Before they knew it, morning and lunch had come and gone.

The sun was setting on the horizon and it was time to move out. Melyssa had braided her hair to hang over her shoulder, wanting it out of her face and had a dark blue skirt on with white leggings beneath and a dark blue and white short-sleeved shirt that had a V neckline. Crow was on edge, she could feel the tension from him and wished there was some way to alleviate it somehow. When it was time for them to depart, Melyssa stuck the ear bud in her ear Machias presented and Rean had the other one, their eyes locking. She hadn't meant to reject him, but…she was scared and now wasn't the time to get involved with her Instructor when her hometown was in danger. When they were ALL in danger. Together, she walked out of the warehouse with Crow and headed toward her family home, both ready to get this over with.

Crow was definitely on edge. They were walking into the literal lion's den and even with the protection and security measures in place, there was still a lot that could go wrong. He sighed as the Brackett house finally came into view, stopping to look down at her. "Whatever happens in there, whatever is said, you can't lose your temper or your control, Lyssa." He was already slipping into 'battle mode', his face slipping into something serene and resolute.

"I know, and I won't." Melyssa had to remain cool, calm and collected in order for this to work, in order to get the answers to her questions. Regardless of what her father said, she would not lose her temper. Control is part of the way of the sword. You've already disgraced yourself once by losing your temper, do not do it again, she mentally chastised, nodding at Crow to continue on.

His entire demeanor had changed – he was back to being the cold-blooded killer C, the leader of the Imperial Liberation Front. Right now, Melyssa needed that cold-blooded killer within him if they were to survive whatever came in this meeting. Arriving at the house, neither were surprised to find the door was open and nightfall had arrived. Looking at each other one last time, they stepped inside.

Crow had a million and one recovered memories of this house. Of this family, his family. Of him and Melyssa. Of Miranda cooking and putting them to bed. Of Robert telling them stories about the 'olden times' in Jurai and how far it had come from those early days by the fire after a long day down at the docks. He had been taught how to be a 'man' by Robert, and it turned out he was learning more than just that. He was learning how to be… something terrible, something traitorous. His mind wanted to start pinning Robert for HIS bad decisions and he shelved all that, knowing it wasn't true.

They stepped inside, the door closing behind them.

"Hello, my children."

Dad, Melyssa gasped in her head, congratulating herself on not actually saying it, but the emotions in her eyes were clear as day.

He looked perfectly fine and healthy, not a scratch on him. This was the man she had looked up to, besides her Papa, the one who gave her life. She wanted to hug him and had to remind herself he was the enemy. Robert had dark blue hair, just like Melyssa, and acidic green eyes. Miranda had the teal eyes, which is where Melyssa got her eye color from. She was a mixture of both people, though she looked more like Miranda than Robert.

"Mr. Brackett." Her tone was all business, not a hint of love or adoration anywhere in her voice.

Even Crow seemed surprised, though he remained silent and just nodded stiffly at the man.

Robert was looking his daughter over, satisfying himself that she was indeed all right. She had grown quite a bit in a year, and not just physically. The mental changes were very present, the adult's stance and the inkling of a promising warrior was announced in her stance. She was perfectly calm, even her teal eyes, eyes that her mother possessed and he had stared into for hours, were even, not giving a thing away. His gaze shifted to Crow, not surprised at all that there was nothing given away in those blank eyes and expressionless face. He hadn't seen Crow in years, but he had heard the stories.

"My, my how you have grown." He murmured, not surprised Crow was now taller than him.

"Cut the chit-chat, POPS, we're not here to hear your mediocre one-liners." Crow folded his arms in front of his chest, not taking his eyes off the older man for a second.

"Considering you haven't seen me in over a year, I had to grow up sometime, father." Calling him 'Dad' was not an option and Melyssa managed to keep her voice even. "You know why we're here, so Crow's right, why don't we skip the formalities and get down to business? You've been lying to Mom for YEARS about who you really are. You've kept the fact you're an Enforcer in Ouroboros for years away from the woman you supposedly love. You…" She could feel her emotions rumbling through her and shut her eyes, managing to hold them back. "You had Papa killed. Forget about me and Crow, this is about Mom. So, I really have only one question for you – Why?" That summarized everything she needed to ask him in one small, yet loaded, word.

Robert wasn't surprised by the question, but he really didn't know how to go about answering it. He decided to go with the simple approach. "I have been a member of Ouroboros since I was a boy. Around Crow's age when he decided to leave Jurai and everyone behind, after his grandfather's death." He walked over to stare into the lit fireplace, the house cleaned up and looking normal from the ransacking Shirley and her minions did a few nights ago.

"So…"

"Before I met your mother, yes. You don't know this about me or my side of the family, Mely girl, but…you have Noble blood in you."

That made her take a step back, the calm demeanor she had going on shattering into pieces. "W-What?! What are you talking about?"

Robert heaved a sigh, turning to fold his arms in front of his chest. "You heard me correctly, Melyssa. I am a noble and you are a noble by birth being my daughter."

"But…then how did you…?" Melyssa's mind was blown and she couldn't form words due to her shock.

Crow stepped in. "How did you become a fishmonger then, if you are nobility?"

"Thanks to the Imperial government, my family was stripped of their nobility years ago. The Emperor, at the time, had decreed that all nobility was to be ruled under the Four Great Houses. What you DON'T know is there were once FIVE Great Houses. House Brackett of North Ambria, to be exact."

"N-North Ambria…"

"Oh my Goddess…" Sara whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and couldn't believe what Robert Brackett was saying. "I KNEW his last name sounded familiar!" North Ambria used to be her home before the salt disaster struck.

"Quiet and listen!"

"Yes, before North Ambria was turned to salt, House Brackett ran that part of the country. The Emperor stripped our family of its title of nobility, simply because we were part of North Ambria. He believed we were the cause of the disaster happening, which is not true. Now, North Ambria was also where Ouroboros originated from." Again, not many knew of this. "The Grandmaster swore to my father to wreak havoc and vengeance on the Imperial government and promised revenge for what happened to the Brackett family. There was no reason to strip the family, but since our home was destroyed…the Emperor swept it under the rug and called it a day. My father died shortly after and I was taken in by the Grandmaster and raised into Ouroboros. I was 10 at the time of his death and my mother, your grandmother, killed herself to join him. She couldn't live without him and it left me an orphan. Papa wasn't my biological father, therefore, he wasn't really your grandfather. He raised me from a boy and he was also a member of Ouroboros, something Miranda did not know."

Melyssa's heart broke for her father, for her family, and part of her was angry at the Imperial government for allowing this to happen and not fixing it. "Dad, I…I had no idea…"

"Of course you didn't, Mely girl. Why would I tell you something like that? Not even your mother knows, though I'm sure she will now once you tell her." Robert sighed again at the thought of his beloved Miranda. "When I met your mother, I was 16 and full of so much anger and resentment at the Imperial government. I did little jobs for the Grandmaster and…my hands are stained with blood, I won't deny it. However, when I met your mother, she was 16 as well and…she opened my eyes to a new world, to the light Erebonia had. Her father didn't bat one eyelash at me when I met him for our first date. Two years later, we were married and took over the fish market that used to belong to her father. And I stopped my ways with Ouroboros for a time, but whenever they came calling, I would tell Miranda I had to go on business excursions in order to deal with whatever Ouroboros and the Grandmaster asked of me."

"So then why…why did you have Papa killed? Why do you want to help Heidel Rogner, of all people, take over Jurai? If you're nobility, Dad, why haven't YOU tried taking it over instead?" Melyssa didn't mean for the questions to fire out of her mouth one right after the other, but she couldn't help it.

"I didn't want Papa to die. I loved him like a son to a father, but I had no choice." Robert frowned, actual tears forming in his eyes.

"And why is that?" Crow demanded, staying right by Melyssa's side and didn't show her affection because it would show weakness to the enemy in front of him.

"Because he wouldn't back off! He wouldn't stop badmouthing Heidel Rogner to the people! He nearly destroyed the election, Melyssa!" Robert shouted, his own anger and pain surfacing as he tossed his tumbler into the fire. "They told me I had a choice – they would kill one of their own to send a message or…Miranda would die. I couldn't let my beloved die, so I had no choice. I spoke with Papa before it happened and he told me to choose him and to save Miranda's life. So I did. I watched McBurn…burn him alive in the middle of the square and I could do nothing to stop it. I had to hold onto Miranda because she wanted to run to him and I still hear her sobs in my ears to this day. She still didn't know I was involved, so when I disappeared later that night, I wondered if maybe she had an inclination it was my fault it happened. That I killed a man she deemed a father."

Melyssa blinked, huge tears sliding down her cheeks and felt her heart clench with pain, staring at her father while he cried as well. "So it's true then. Papa died because he tried to stop the election from happening."

She wiped her tears away angrily, but managed to keep her temper in check and didn't bother looking at Crow. He wouldn't show his emotions like her. Naturally, her Papa chose his own daughter to be saved instead of himself – he had sacrificed himself and died in the most horrible way by the most horrible man in existence.

"Why did McBurn come after me in Crossbell, Dad?"

"He wasn't supposed to come after you. And I still don't know why, but he KNEW you were there when Crossbell was invaded." Ouroboros had been thwarted in their plan to take over Crossbell City and Robert hadn't been there at the time since they hadn't contacted him. "Ouroboros deems you a threat because you ran away from home to pursue the way of the sword. They thought you and Papa had this plan to take over Jurai once you were of age and I tried to tell them it wasn't true, but the Grandmaster didn't believe me. He…put a bounty out for you and sent McBurn to do the job in Crossbell. I begged and pleaded with the Grandmaster to listen to me and we struck a deal – McBurn would leave you alone if I joined up with Ouroboros again. So I did, right after Papa was killed…" Robert had to protect his girls somehow, someway, even if it meant they would hate him forever. "I never wanted this for you and Mom, Mely."

"But…McBurn is still coming after me. I overheard him say he wanted to…strip my spirit away piece by piece…"

"You showed him spirit that day in Crossbell when you planned on sacrificing yourself for those civilians. He saw something in you and now…he has an obsession that I'm trying desperately to quell." Robert suddenly walked over to her, taking her by the shoulders. "You have to get out of Jurai. You have to go back to Leeves and don't come back here again, Melyssa. Tell your Instructor, Rean Schwarzer, this is only the beginning and I'm powerless to stop it. Please, I can't lose you or Miranda and take her with you. Get out of this town before the election or you will all die."

Crow finally understood what was going to happen and felt sick to his stomach. "Ouroboros plans on destroying Jurai, don't they?" It wasn't a question. He could tell just by the way Robert held onto Melyssa he wasn't lying. Jurai really was in danger in more ways than one.

"Right after Heidel Rogner is made the new mayor, destruction will follow and you can't be here when that happens!"

Rean, what should we do, Melyssa thought, wishing she could telepathically communicate with him the way Emma did. She wasn't a witch though. "Dad, we can stop Heidel Rogner, but you've got to tell us everything you know…"

"LISTEN to me, Melyssa, you can't stop this! Disaster is coming and if you don't leave Jurai, you WILL die! Just like everyone in North Ambria did when that disaster struck! This is all part of the Grandmaster's plan and it can't be stopped!" He shoved his daughter back toward the door, pointing at her and Crow. "Crow, you know I'm not lying about this. You've been on the other side before and you KNOW how dangerous the Grandmaster is. When I say Jurai is done for, you know I'm not lying to you. And when I say NOTHING can be done to stop this disaster from happening, you KNOW I'm not lying about that either."