Nadya (l/n); the woman that started this all.
She was exceptionally bright; however, her family was very poor. Couldn't afford to send her to university. She couldn't get her degree. She was jobless for a very long time, opting for small repairs and shitty gigs just so she could put food on the table. So, when she was offered a job by the Syndicate 350 years ago to help build the simulacrum, she couldn't say no.
She was one of the few that received credit for the simulacrum project. Thus, she had the opportunities that came with it. She started her own company within Hammond Robotics; she designed new guns, new robots, new biological weapons. She was fulfilled.
When she died at the age of 54 from an 'unknown illness', in her will she stated that the company would fall to her eldest daughter and when she died, it would be passed to her eldest daughter.
Over the years, the women in our family were met with great fortune... but also great despair. Loosing children, fighting in wars, domestic violence... It turned them bitter, cruel. The cruelty was passed down. The need to succeed was passed down. And here we are. My mother, a perfect mix of everything they wanted. Strength, wisdom, ambition... the ability to do what must be done.
I wasn't what they wanted. I'm sure they looked down upon me and felt a twinge of disappointment. I didn't feel like a (l/n), not at all.
I walked down the hallway, the sun had set now, and I was finally allowed to see Johnny. My mother refused to walk me to his room, instead giving me the directions. This place was like a maze. Every twist and turn led you to a new unfamiliar area. I didn't remember it being like this.
After almost ten minutes of searching, I found what appeared to be his room. She told me there was a charm hanging by his door to ward off evil spirits, its strange... my mother had never been spiritual before. I debated on whether or not I should knock. My hand hesitated over the metal door. I paused, listening. I heard nothing. Was this a bad sign?
I sighed before banging my knuckles against the door. Silence. I tried again... more silence. Shit.
"Johnny!" I yelled, banging my fist against the door. The heavy metal caused my hand to ache. "Johnny! You in there?!"
"Wrong room love." Someone said, I jumped. I hadn't heard their footsteps. I spun around, it was a man in a soldier's uniform, he offered me a smile. "Madera's become so paranoid, she messed around with her house. Added new hallways, rooms... its very confusing; you'll get used to it though."
"Like hell I will." I said, jutting my chin in the air. "I'm getting my son and I'm fucking leaving this hell hole."
"Oh has she not-"
"No, no, she has. She tried to tell me that I wasn't leaving but its bullshit. I... I can't stay here. Noxus isn't my home." He sighed and looked down at the ground.
"I'll take you to your boy's room... why did you even come if you were just going to leave?"
"Because I want to be with my son"
"But you sent him here by himself... so he can live a better life..." He cocked one eyebrow.
"But he's dying."
"He is?" The man exhaled sharply. "First I'm hearing of it."
My world shattered with that one sentence. Here I stood on a planet I swore I would never associate myself with all because my son was dying... allegedly. I fell for it.
"He... hes not dying?" The man shrugged.
"No doctors have been in the building since he arrived. Johnny hasn't left his room either... Madera would've had fifty soldiers guarding his room if he was dying but none of us have received word. So, Im guessing that he's alright...Oh man, she lied to you, huh?" His tone wasn't condescending, it was empathetic. His hard eyes melted; his mouth down turned.
"I- I knew it, I knew she would pull some shit like this..." I kept my eyes to the floor; the man grabbed my shoulders. "I'll go check on him, you stay here, ok?" I nodded before sliding down the wall. I held my head in my hands... I can't believe it. Maggie... I left her, for what? I have to leave Noxus. If Johnny was ok, then I would leave. Sneak onto a ship, I could get back to Salvo. I had to.
My heart felt like it was breaking, my hands were shaking. I was terrified.
"I had to lie." Her footsteps were loud but only when she wanted to be heard. She emerged from behind the corner, her arms crossed over her chest. "It was the only way to get you here." I didn't look up at her. "(y/n), its going to kill me, you had to be here. If I didn't get you here, then they would've dragged you out of Salvo. They would've destroyed everything that you would want to go back to... This is what Nadya wanted." I laughed.
"Nadya didn't want this. YOU wanted this. You cant keep hiding behind impossible scenarios to justify-"
"Im justifying nothing! Im explaining! I lied to you because this has caused the least amount of damage!" I heard her take several steps towards me "The syndicate know how we run things. You better cut yourself away from Salvo because if they catch any wind of Maggie or Walter, they will be slaughtered... used as tokens to get one up on you... I promise, me lying about Johnny was the best thing for you." I felt her hand on the top of my head. I jumped up from the ground and backed away from her. "At our last meeting; you were brought up. They asked me when you were going to come out of hiding and take your place as heir. I told them you were messing around on Salvo, and I would deal with it shortly. A simulacrum killing members of your family is a death sentence."
"How do you know it won't kill me?"
"Because it doesn't have records on you... or well, the records will say your on Salvo. It might end up going there and looking for you, but I doubt it... Your young, whoever sent the killer knows that you will be different from me... Otherwise you and Keno would be dead by now." We both refused to speak. I stared at her, she looked... scared. The eyes of a frightened child, that's all I could see. "I... My time is up but im not going down without a fight. I renovated my entire home! Turned it into a labyrinth for fucks sake! Takes me twenty minutes to find the pissin bathroom now! All so it might get confused, so I might be able to kill it... I might be able to slow it down. Help you get accustomed..." She saw the look of desperation on my face.
"I... I don't want this. I want to go home. I want my girlfriend; I want my friends!"
"We all want things (y/n). I'm sorry, these are the cards you've been dealt."
I visited Johnny later that night, he was in perfect health... well not perfect. He still had to rely on his crutch, but he told me that he doesn't cough anymore. He could walk a mile without almost dying. I was glad. I told him the news, how I'm stuck here. He was devastated for me, though a part of him was happy. We could live a good life here. We wouldn't struggle anymore. I knew this. I knew that my sadness was selfish; this was best for all of us.
Madera would die eventually, like she said, simulacrums are a death sentence... It was only a matter of time... Then it would all be passed down to me. I would have to take my place in the syndicate... I would have to push soldiers into Salvo... I would have to hurt my home... I would have to hurt Maggie.
I stayed with Johnny for a few hours before I got a call from Madera, she wanted to speak to me. I hesitated, hung back. I dawdled to her room. This wouldn't be serious, just the same shit she had already said... or it would be a lecture on how to speak with the other leaders. A run down of who not to piss of.
Eventually, I reached her room... it was quiet. I imagined her sprawled out on that couch, shoving some kind of exotic fruit into her mouth waiting to bring more bad news down on me. I brought my knuckles up to the door and knocked. Slowly, the door creaked open. I didn't recall seeing the doorknob turn... or hearing the lock click...
I pushed the door open some more, peaking my head in. The room was dark, only the moon illuminated a small section of the floor. I heard something clunk, fall back into place. I brought my head back, took a step backwards into the hallway but kept my eyes on that section of floor by the open windows. I heard metal rubbing against metal and my blood ran cold. I knew what this was.
Simulacrums rarely ever ventured into Salvo; we had enough hitmen as is... people didn't waste their money on some hunk of metal. However, I saw one... once. A few months after my sons were born, it was brought in for Benzo. It was long, gangly, its limbs were stretched out. It unsettled me. Benzo let me take it apart with him... he admired the work... The work Nadya had put in. They frightened me.
I was frozen in place as I watched it rise from the floor. It was looking down at something... I knew what it was. It looked behind its shoulder, barely missing me with its eyes. It grabbed something from the small table before lunging towards the open window and disappearing into the night. So efficient... not even a scream.
I waited several minutes, my heart beating too fast, my breathing becoming too shallow. I had to wait. There was no more movement coming from the room, not a sound. I brought my hand to my heart, feeling the way it banged against my chest. I didn't know how long I was stood there; but it was long enough for someone to find me. The same man as before. He grabbed my shoulders, asking me what was wrong... all I could do was look into the room. He pushed me behind him before walking in... It was a blur after that.
A blur. Not a single memory. There wasn't a funeral, well not that I was aware of. Johnny comforted me; but it wasn't him I wanted.
A week after her death, I had my first meeting with the council. I didn't say a word, not out of fear or grief... but because I was advised against it. 'Your accent is... off-putting' I was told. I was thrown into speech therapy, both Johnny and I in a small room with a Noxian woman degrading my home. Savages, untamed. I felt ill.
The council themselves were unforgiving. Only thought of themselves and the other rich Noxians. I had a meeting with the syndicate in a few weeks. I was warned that I must have a speech prepared. My vocabulary was ironed out, my clothes were picked for me, my tattoos were covered up. Every part of me was erased. Well not every part. I swore that I would help Salvo as much as I could. I wouldn't be like her... No war would outbreak under my rule. No one would die because I wanted a scratch an itch... that, I was sure. I wouldn't fit into the mould my mother had made for me; I would defy her... even in death.
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IM SO SORRY. 2 DAYS WITHOUT A CHAPTER??? shocking.
Anyway, we're nearly done with this story now. Maybe 5 chapters??? But do not quote me on that (because it will probs be more).
I go back to school on Tuesday and my final exams are in 4 weeks so chapters may be a bit slow. BUT i am thinking of starting a new book before i finish this.