Gallows of Transgression (ON HIATUS)

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Remi let out another quiet sob; she hadn't seen her father since, and had no idea where he was. His lack of resolve was frustrating and his overly dramatic personality could be irritating at times, and while she was growing up he often made her feel so helpless and alone when he wouldn't stand up to his brother for her. However, despite all his flaws and shortcomings, Remi knew he loved her in his own way, and she couldn't help but love him with all her heart. She missed him dearly, and wished she knew he was safe.

"Come here," Soren whispered, pulling Remi back into him as quiet sobs racked her body.

In the midst of her crying and all the tears and sniffling, it made her heart swell to know the Soren she grew up playing with was still there, even though she hadn't seen him in a long while. Even when he delivered the chip to her so she could fry Killure's, she'd received it from a worker in the casino, and not from Soren directly. Shaam's men were everywhere, and there were too many eyes watching for them to meet up and have fun together as they used to.

As she had told Killure earlier, the last time she and Soren had gone against the rules and spent time together, her Uncle Fahrem found out and severely punished her, personally. He had been in a terrible mood because of what Shaam had done prior to that.

It was right after the huge falling out between Shaam, Levi, and Fahrem. Shaam was so furious about what had happened that he sent his men to ride by on horses, tossing grenades at their estate that went off in a series of explosions that devastated their yard and killed some servants. Blue and Bliss, Remi's twin cousins and Fahrem's children, were outside on the lawn sleeping at the time, as they often were, and ended up getting gravely injured. Blue's legs had been blown off below the kneecap, and Bliss lost an arm. Being Designers, Levi and Fahrem had been able to regenerate the skin, bone, muscle, tissue, and everything else they needed to create new legs for Blue and a new arm for Bliss. However, in the time it took for them to get out there and bring them inside their operating chambers, Blue had died from blood loss. Despite knowing he would be brought back to life through her father and uncle's powers, seeing her twin die before her very eyes was heartbreaking and extremely traumatic for Bliss. She and Remi had cried together, huddled in one another's arms as Levi regenerated Blue's missing body parts and Fahrem got rid of infection and helped out in other ways. Bliss had hardly left Blue's side since, though it had been years; they became inseparable. The entire situation was absolutely horrible.

And that was why, when Fahrem found out about Remi sneaking off to her cousin's house while Shaam was out, he had punished her in such a horrible, terrifying manner. She had had nightmares for well over a year after that incident.

Remi didn't know how long she was there in Soren's arms; for all she knew, it could have been half a minute or ten minutes. However, it was exactly what she needed. They didn't have time to talk about it all right now, Remi knew, but even just taking this time to let out some of the emotion she had pent up inside her made her feel monumentally better. Her heart was beginning to feel a little lighter.

Pulling back from Soren's hug, Remi sniffled quietly, wiping away most of the tears at her eyes. She could feel how puffy her cheeks had become, and knew she wasn't a pretty sight. She thought of Killure, who she desperately didn't want to see her like this. She didn't want to look red and splotchy in front of him, or make him feel awkward when he met her puffy, red eyes and saw she'd been crying.

Soren seemed to read her thoughts. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her to the bathroom attached to his art room, separated by a white, newly painted door. There was a stack of clean, neatly folded white face-cloths, typically used for when he needed to refresh himself after posing for long hours. Taking one and unfolding it, he dipped it in a nearby basin of icy water that a servant had left earlier on, and wrung it out. He lightly pressed it to her cheeks, her forehead, and her eyes, repeatedly. The cool cloth was refreshing against the burning of her tight, tear-stained cheeks.

A couple minutes later, after Soren assured her that she was looking much better, he dried her face with a new, dry cloth that smelled fresh from the laundry.

He gave her a handkerchief to blow her nose, then held up a glass mirror to convince her further. Remi saw that the whites of her eyes and the tip of her nose were slightly red, but other than that, she was back to looking like her usual self. She ran her fingers through her strawberry blonde hair a few times until it looked less like a rats nest and more like human hair.

It wasn't like Remi to fuss over her appearance, but she understood the uncomfortable position in which those who saw her with a red face and red eyes would be put in. Additionally, she had worked hard to become who she was today—someone who stood up, whenever she could, to those going against what she believed in. And now, especially since she was about to be speaking business with her uncle, she didn't want him to look at her as a petulant child who would cry if she didn't get her way. Remi wanted her uncle to see her as she was—someone who would fight with every fibre of her being for what she wanted until the very moment she got it.

If Shaam refused to help her, she would not cry or throw a tantrum as her younger self once may have. No, she would show him that 'no' was not an answer she would accept.

Infamous drug lord or not, she would make him help her. No matter the cost.