Most people would say that the village was quiet.
She wouldn't.
The lights hummed, the droids, and she could hear the shallow breaths of the villagers asleep in their beds. They hummed so loudly that she could feel the vibrations in her eyes, behind her skull and teeth. The coarse dirt beneath her feet was between her toes and under her nails. Leaving the main square, she headed toward where the villager's houses lined the sides of the road.
The houses were made of metal, and even their doors were made of it. Their frames are carved with red markings.
Humming to herself, she peered into the houses observing the sleeping. Their beds were uncomfortable on their bodies, causing them to toss and turn. Only the truly exhausted would sleep without disturbances, nightmares, or dreams.
Forced by the empire, they had to work endlessly and their hearts showed it. They still loved, laughed, and cheered despite the heavy yoke on their shoulders, but their hearts were weighed down.
She admired them.
She smiled as she guided a reflection of warmth to a boy whose dreams were full of cruelty and fright.
She peered closer.
The smile dropped from her face.
White armor flashed across her vision and whimpers of pain grazed her ears. Screaming and crying, pains against her back. Stinging pains.
The empire had them stationed here. Soon the ones stationed discovered that their behavior must be checked. Violence toward the children or the elderly in the village was forbidden. Otherwise.
Snarling, and saliva dripping from jaws. Screaming and blood splattered on the walls.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She started rolling her neck in circles hearing the cracks cut through the silence in the air. Stretching out her arm and tugging on it for a deeper stretch. This continued with the rest of her body until she felt satisfied with the number of cracks and ligaments returning to their place. Finally, she let out the breath she was holding.
She loved them. They were hers to protect and nurture. There would be a time when that ended, but they are hers now. They were part of her now, just as she was taught. Once someone was hers, they were hears to protect and love. It's duty. Responsibility. Her mother ingrained in her well.
Her eyes opened and stared down at her feet. Dirt covered them in patches. Using one foot, she wiped it off her other foot. The coarse grains scratched against her skin. She did not mind them; she enjoyed feeling the grain's roughness against her skin. She never liked shoes anyway. They were too hard to take on and off.
She could never get a proper grip and they often got in the way.
She connected to the ground and the village. She paid a small price, but it was worth it.
Not to say she never wore them! She didn't hate sandals!
The girl rubbed her hands together, gathering some warmth before blowing on her fingertips.
She had never gotten cold before. It was strange to feel at this moment. Strange, wonderful, but different. It's a sign. A warning. A promise!
The young girl danced around in circles in a rhythm all her own. The lights around her blinked and hummed along with her.
Continuing her pace around the village and trying to warm her hands up, she made sure they were content in their sleep and that they were not unsafe.
Her eyes kept drawing back to the red markings on the frames of the villagers' doors. They must have carved them deeper. The beauty of their faith warmed her heart.
A grin began to grow past her lips. Teeth sharpened and face contorted.
The planet was superstitious, as both she and her mother observed when they first came here. They had stories of the dead waking up to life, and stories of gods coming as warriors to save them. The fae are tricksters and guardians. The histories of this world were in the back of their minds for so long, but they had been quiet.
Not anymore.
The villagers diligently accomplished their work. Anyone could tell with the state of their homes and the work that they've done. The sweat on their brow, the taste of their tears, the heat of exhaustion that permeated the air. They were once fearful of the stressful tasks they were given, but even when the empire dawned ten years ago, they still lived and loved and-
Something moved.
Her eyes spotted a bright light, outside and beating.
Get around this corner. Press her body against the first spot found.
It wouldn't do too much to scar-
The fae was a fearful and revered entity of the village. Even the most rational man had come to accept that there was something within the village. A mist of breath on a warm night, a gentle hand that gave blessings against foreheads, or...
Hungry… STARVING
Something else.
She wondered if it knew. They should know after all. The villagers had warned them before. They usually do, unless it was bad.
Clawing at her arms, the thing was screaming, aching, and crying to just let it go. Begging for forgiveness. She had to keep it quiet. It could not disturb the others.
She had always loved this village. They did not know her but they helped her, an orphan, with the assignments they were given. They gave her food, even if they were starving or short. They did not know it was her, but their kindness was enough to pay for their protection. Her mother told her the fate of this village the moment they arrived.
"Terror and death will walk in a black veil. He is hunting for a debtor who cheated him out of his score."
Well, her mother spoke more plainly than that. She always used to say that while the fae's poems were inherited from her, the tendency for drama was her father's. With laughs and gentle smiles, she would tell stories of another world. Her eyes filled with the lightest of love and longing. The fae wondered if that was what caught her father's eye.
Her mother loved her Other family. The nephew, the sister, the parents, and the little animals too. They all were complicated, and each had its wounds, but they all tried to look out for one another. Except for the One.
She wasn't supposed to ask about the One.
Her mother loved her father. Well, the fae would say she loved him only the way an Other could love someone in this galaxy. She was above them, and as such, they could never have been equals. You could say it was admiration or fondness. One could say even a pet, but that wasn't quite right. A pet was real.
They were not.
The fae didn't know the answer to what she was to her mother.
She didn't understand herself. Was she an Other? Was she a part of the galaxy? Was she human at all? Humans couldn't contort, and they didn't have many teeth that could grow by their will alone.
What was her father like? Did he struggle with the skin that he wore?
Her mother talked about her father. How his heart was filled with passion, that passion drove his heart against injustice and his rage following was enormous. He loved to tinker with things, he modified droids for fun and he was an amazing warrior already. That he loved his people. His master and his mother were the most important things to him. She used to listen attentively and ask questions about his people, and his culture and when he needed someone to just comfort him she had always been there. Her hand always reached out, always held his when he struggled with his anger.
It never occurred to her mother that he would pursue her. Her mother was embarrassed about that.
"He utterly charmed me. At the time I didn't remember before.All I knew was that I wanted to help him." Her mother caressed the groves on the metal locket that enclosed their remembrance.
"I floundered at his confession, to be honest." Her mother chuckled as pink dusted her cheeks. Her words were sweet like honey, with sprinkled fondness that made her mouth twang.
"I never thought that he would care about me in that way and despite any reservations, or reasons as to why we shouldn't let it go any further, his feelings remained the same. "
Despite the rules and regulations that her mother held in such high regard, she met him halfway.
"That is how you came to be, my dear." Her mother held her close and kissed her forehead. Their foreheads were pressed together, and her mother's grip on her tightened.
Teeth. Bright White teeth sinking into fl-
Her mother left him and now she-
Was this how Father felt?
There were rules her mother put in place for her when she was young. That she must never seek out her father, his friends, or the rest of her family.
"You were never meant to be, my child. Only by fate's mercy do you live and continue to exist. To interfere with fate is a death sentence, love."
That didn't make any sense to her. If her existence was contrary to fate then why was she permitted to live? Fate must know her intentions for this village and her desire for more than just music and words. She could feel the metal of her mother's locket cool her fingers despite it lying in a cave far from her. Physical boundaries feel like fog that quickly fled from her fingers.
She wondered what he looked like in real life. Mother always described her as the mini-version of him but with longer hair and obviously, she was a girl. What did he feel like? What did he sound like? Was any of what her mother said true? Or was it a lie?
Lies had not passed her mother's lips, but her mother was an Other. Maybe she knew ways to get around the feelings in the air?
Nevertheless, turning her attention back to the quivering thing before her, she reached out with her young, smooth hands toward its chest.
She wished that she could go with her mother.
"Mercy!" It screamed with the sound silenced, so only the mouth moved with red splattered across its teeth.
Mom?
"Mercy!" The white armor ripped into sharp jagged pieces, chunks of flesh along with it. The thing was praying for salvation.
Will you hear me?
"Mercy!" A beg for death
Come back.
She reached out her hand inserting it into the cavern of its chest, into the energy that webbed and ran through it. The thing had slowed in its relentless attempts in trying to escape before its strength had given out. Staring into its eyes She gently gathered the thread together, string by string, weaving it into a spool. Its eyes rolled back into its head. She heard a final breath and the quivering stopped. She tugged and untangled the last thread, removing it from the body.
The name her mother gave her came from the mother herself. Although not the first it was a secondary name.
"Annaliese" The words flowed over her lips and crowned upon the fae's head.
The steady flow from it had now pooled into the dirt and stained the rock below it red.
"Grace of God." Her mother told her those words so long ago, the meaning of her name.
Something was coming. The wind brought the message to her through its whispers. It passed by every door.
That fate knocked on the door.
No, it wasn't whispering.
It was screaming.
YOURS, PRECIOUS. OURS. RUN. RUN
Something that would change the course forever.
SUFFERING
Bringing her hands closer to her face, the fae wiped her brow. It was finished. The thing below her disappeared without a trace. Well, other than a single red mark, small as a raindrop, on the ground.
She paid close attention to the wetness on her fingers. This rotten thing had made her sweat. It was strange. She never had produced sweat before. Heard of it, yes. Smelled it, yes. Seen it, yes. But for it to come from her? It left a strange feeling in her stomach.
Was it fear? Or was it excitement?
The sun rose from its resting place and dawn was approaching rapidly. Annaliese brushed her hands off using her shirt and tucked away the unsightly teeth and appendages. She looked toward the dawning sun.
What was going to happen?
Walking past the red mark, past the village medal homes, past the square, and into the horizon Analiese shivered.
Who was coming?