| meliorism |
chapter sixty-one
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When you grow up in a dark place, you become accustomed to it. You're used to seeing darkness all around, you accept its way; if this where you are now, that's where you'll live the rest of your life. Darkness was consuming, exhausting, mixed feelings of anger, disappointment, sadness, longing for something you never had.
When you grow up having a weight on your shoulders, you tend to drag it with you no matter how good things get. It was a vicious cycle that was brought upon you, one that you were most likely to repeat unless you broke it and got rid of it forever.
Rhena was about to break the cycle.
As her hands gripped the steering wheel, she thought back at her life. She had grown up between different homes, worlds that shaped her into who she was. Bouncing from her aunt's house, to her father to the compound, to whoever would take her. Everyone had given her something to remember, whether it was good or bad, it was a piece of who she was.
Her life was a mess, but so was she. It would only be fitted to go out the same way she came, with uproar.
The streets were deserted from both ways, of course, no one was taking road trips in the middle of the night. No one was supposed to go out that Tuesday night, many people had work, school, some kind of responsibility, but not her, not anymore. That's why she took the car in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep and began to make her way to the very same place that wrecked her: the compound.
From what she knew, all of them were gone, all but two. After the fight, there was no one left from that place, but that meant there weren't more. That's why she knew the only option was to do what she was good at, burning everything down. She was finally going to be their angel on fire.
Her feet stepped into the gas a little further, going double the speed limit into the ghost street. She didn't even know how long she had been driving, her mind was too busy, too loud. The only thing in her mind was anger, and even though she was not ashamed of it, she was scared of what she could do.
Soon enough, the familiar area became evident to her eyes, making memories flood. She stopped the car in the nearest place possible and turned it off, sitting there for a little bit. Was she really about to do it?
She closed her eyes, releasing a shaky breath. Her stomach turned, and she felt just thinking about it. Before any more doubts could enter her mind, she quickly got out of the car, walking into the woods.
With each step, an echo was accompanied. There had been multiple times where she had sneak out of the complex, it was either to go with Klaus, Damon, or to visit her friend who was in the city. She knew those woods by heart, the place where it had seen her at her strongest and weakest.
If she concentrated long enough, she could still hear the sounds of laughter bouncing between the trees. The vibration of the voices, the broken dreams and hopes of something that was never meant to be.
The leaves crunch beneath her feet as her hand touches the trees, guiding her in the way. Despite being so late, it was clear enough for her to see. The interior of the woods was loud, you could hear everything that was around you. A magical place if you knew were to look.
When she arrived at the clearing, a small sad smile appeared on her face. That would be the last time she was ever in that place, so despite the bad memories, she needed to let go, to stop holding on.
Truth be told, she was not going to miss it. To become a new person was to let go of the past, it was a process many couldn't finish. It was hard, trying to save yourself.
The crawling memories tried to knock her down as she arrived at the compound, but she stood her ground. The doors were open ajar, it looked like an abandoned building. What was once a place for strength, combat, honor, was now a place of shame, betrayal and bloodshed.
Rhena didn't feel anything when she entered those walls. Everything was the same, only the nature around it was gray and mistreated. It was quiet despite being at the center of woods, darker than other parts, heavier than before. She walked the same steps she had walked multiple times, it felt so long ago. It was curious how your life can change so suddenly in a matter of seconds.
There was no one there, as far as she could sense. The rooms and the halls were as empty as their promises, it had finally come back to haunt them. She walked the path to the place where she had been shattered, she could even walk there with her eyes closed because of the familiarity of the layout.
When she arrived at the door, her world went quiet. She whispered to Juliette to give her strength as her hands layer on the doorknob. With one last deep breath, she entered the office with her head high.
Out of all the times she had been in that office, it was always impeccable. There was not a stain on sight, or even dust, it was always clean and organized. But now, it was like a millón hurricanes had bargained in and destroyed everything in their path. The office was upside down, the furniture had been cut up and the walls were covered in scratches. The once beautiful chandelier was now an old memory of polish diamonds. The only thing that seemed to remain were the painting handing about the desk.
Right under the portraits, sat her aunt. She was leaning back in her chair, cigarette in hand as two empty bottles of alcohol were displayed in front of her. Her face was emotionless as she looked ahead, there was dried blood on her face and a look in her eyes that screamed anger. She had been patiently waiting for her.
In the desk, next to the bottles, were two large daggers with fresh blood in them. Her stomach dropped, coming into the realization of what she had done. The whole room was a combination of blood, smoke and rotting. Her mind ran wild with all the possibilities of how they came to be.
Rhena walked towards the desk slowly, but her aunt's eyes didn't follow her, they were centered in a frame in front of her. She stopped when she stood in front of the woman, analyzing her.
Morgana's face was bruised, one black eye, one side swallowed, probably because of the hits she gave her, dried blood all over her face and hair. She had always been clean and well maintained, but not today, it was a sign of defeat, one she hadn't experienced in a long time.
When she looked down, she noticed her hands were quietly touching something under the desk, most likely a weapon. But Rhena wasn't afraid, she wasn't the one who was going to die that day.
"When I was younger, I had dreams" the raspy voice of her aunt caught her by surprise "I knew they came from my ancestors, guiding me through my way, of success, to the top" a rigid smile began to appear in her face while her eyes ghostly wander "I trained, and prepare, I did everything they asked, and it happened"
Rhena listened to the woman, even though she already knew what she was doing. That tactic brought nothing but manipulation and chaos into lives. She knew what she was trying to do, but she let her think she was still invencible one last time.
"The moment you were born, I knew we both could rise to the top" a fainted smile appear in her face as she remembered the dreams she had of having the power in her hands "we were powerful and magnificent, there were no more sides, just one, us"
"There is no us" Rhena's whisper radiated anger and hatred, a disgust towards the woman who helped raise her.
Morgana smiled cynically "oh, dear, when will you realize that you and I are so much alike" a chuckle escaped her lips, but the girl only response was to stay rigid as she tried her best not to end her right there "the moment you had control on your powers, you became like me, and you will always be"
In a swift move, Morgana took the dagger from under the desk and gripped it tight as it directed towards Rhena's heart. It was a clear shot with the right amount of pressure. If down right, the dagger would have been encrusted in her chest, ripping away the important arteries and cutting open an irreversible wound. That would be it, the final end of Rhena Bekker, just like that.
However, Rhena did not move. She stayed in her place, unfazed by the actions of the woman. Morgana's hand was caught midair by a red mist, the dagger being inches away from her chest. No matter how much she tried to move her hand, it was in vain.
Slowly, the two locked eyes, and the woman realized her mistake when the green eyes of her niece turned red, glowing like a newborn star.
Rhena narrowed her eyes at the woman and raised her hand, slowly pushing the hand away from her, forcing her to drop the dagger. She raised her other hand and slowly closed up her fist, now having control of the woman's body. She held her tight as she pushed the chair away, resonating with the wall.
Morgana tried to reach her, to do something to prevent the inevitable. Rhena walked towards her, still having her on her grasp. She tilted her head as. Morgana choked on her own breath, but she didn't feel anything at all, no remorse towards the woman who had no heart.
The thing Morgana could do was crawl away, and it was only because Rhena let her. The woman moved away until she hit the center table, being in the middle of the office. She could move fingers, or use some of her own abilities to defend herself. Whatever Rhena was doing, it was working.
With a shaky hand, Rhena closed her fist all the way, and this time, Morgana was unable to move. The emotionless expression in her face was something she had grown used to, it was now a part of her. To save yourself, you had to let a lady of you die. No one comes out of the hole intact. To start a war, you had to be ready for defeat, for betrayal, for loss and the bloodshed. All consequences she had seen first hand.
For one last time, Morgana was able to gasp for air, helplessly looking at the girl in front of her. For a few seconds, her vision blurred, and the image of her niece changed into what she looked like as a young girl before returning back to normal. She had caused this, and there was no going back.
"I'm nothing like you" Rhena whispered, she didn't lose her temper or her mind. She slowly kneeled down in front of the woman, analyzing for the last time her face "you are hateful and vile" a quick sad smile spread across her head, her lip shaking lightly "I loved you...because you were there, you were the mother I didn't get to have, you taught me how to use my powers, how to take care of myself, after everything you did to me, I looked up to you"
A single tear slipped from her eye, a hopeless look on her eyes. The sky rumbled, and the earth shook, the deathly combination that was to become doomed of many. Morgana held her stare, not saying a word.
"I loved you, but you didn't love me back, you want to know why?" her face crumbled for a second, memories flooding back into her head as she tried to hold back tears "because you are unable to feel anything other than hate"
From the back of her jacket, she took out something wrapped in a cloth. Her eyes widened once she noticed what it was: the same dagger that had killed Charles and many more. Morgana looked up at Rhena and for the first time in her life, she began to feel what she hadn't read felt in her life, fear. She wanted to talk and say something, but the Bekker girl didn't let her, she didn't want to hear her poor excuses.
"I'm not like you" Rhena held the dagger in her hands, it felt heavier than before "I would hate to be someone who's only way of feeling something was through destruction and chaos" With that, Rhena raised the dagger in between her fingers above the woman's chest "may the gods give you an endless eternity of punishment" she inhaled sharply "goodbye, Morgana"
Rhena brought the dagger down and it quickly collided against the woman's chest, right where her heart was. She didn't let her have some last words, just like she didn't allow her father and her other victims to have some. She was going to go like she always shouldn't have been, quiet.
Being there in front of her, she watched as blood came out of the wound, dripping to let the damage have its course. From the corners of her mouth, blood became to drip down to the neck and to the ground. Her eyes were wide open, but they were slowly losing its focus.
Rhena leaned closed, managing to be in the woman's view. She wanted to be the last thing she saw before she went. She wanted to show her that sometimes, power was not the answer, not if it gave you an unfulfilled life with no love, no legacy, no peace.
The light slowly faded in Morgana's eyes, and the last thing she saw was Rhena's face before everything went black. With that, her reign of terror and malice stopped. She was gone, there wasn't anything or anyone she was going to hurt anymore.
There were tears in her eyes rolling into her numbed face. Even though she didn't know if they were tears of sadness of relief, she didn't care, it was almost over. She smiled, because this time, there was no one who could hurt her without her doing something about it.
With a last look at the woman, Rhena stood up, not even bothering to remove the dagger or close the woman's eyes. She didn't deserve that kind of remorse, and Rhena was no one to give her that.
Instead, she looked back at the portraits of the family in front of her before diverting her eyes to the rest of the office. Slowly, she raised both of her hands and with a deep breath, she began to burn everything down. Starting with the curtains, the fire spread through the walls and floor.
The fire traveled so fast, it reached the paintings. With a nod at the family, she let them burn along with the forsaken room. The hidden rooms were burning bright, the contents gone forever, along with the past.
Rhena began to walk towards the exit, lobby giving one last look around. Her eyes stayed a little longer on the laying figure in the ground, but felt nothing as she turned away.
While she walked the hallways, her fingertips touched the wall and let fire emerged from them, causing another blaze to ignite. The fire like ran through the walls and the roof, and the temperature in there began to rise as she entered the main hallway.
With her hands up high, she let the fire eat the evil and take everything to oblivion. Just like she had promised Nico, the only reason she was to come back was to burn that place to the ground.
Rhena walked backwards as she looked around to what it used to be a safe space, despite having so many bad memories of it. She watched as the furniture caught fire, then the paintings, the carpets, the windows. It traveled fast into the other hallways, and soon, the place was slowly being filled with black smoke.
Her eyes looked everywhere, she wanted to make sure no one could come back and restore the place. This was one of the many facilities where they brainwashed her kind into thinking they were better than others. That was a lie, and she needed to make sure others knew it.
Slowly, she turned around, more at peace than how she came in. However, the calmness was quickly turned down as she came face to face with a person in front of her. Around them, the roof began to break apart, causing pieces to fall to the ground around them.
Rhena locked eyes with her, sensing an overwhelming feeling of anger radiating from her. She knew what she was doing there, it was clear by the way she was looking at her, the way she held her dagger, the way her eyes were black as the night where their souls fell apart.
Odeya didn't make any attempt to leave, not even to say something. Debris was falling all around them as the compound burned down, from the halls to the rooms, to the smallest inch of memory they had. Her fists were formed tightly as she gripped the steel in her hand. Her eyes were black, ready to release her hell.
She was tired, she could feel it in every ounce of her being. But she needed to fight one last time. One last time, and she'd be free.
With a deep, shaky breath, she raised her chin and moved her hands to her hands, palms facing forward. Black and red veins began to crack under her skin, as if there was fire inside her that wanted to be released. Her necklace shined once time before she felt a newfound energy, something more fighting for. She closed her eyes, letting it all fall in place.
One last time, she was going to fight against the girl who grew up by her side. All their training had come to this, even though it was never truly training, not with her; it was always much more.
Her world started to move slowly as Odeya let out a wail and started to charge at her. Rhena waited for the right moment to fight back and win her mind back.
Before the dagger could collide with her skin, Rhena stopped the blade with her hand and opened her eyes, where her eyes were red, but now, instead of just being the iris, it was her whole eyeball, making a hellfire look in her face. She tilted her head and let a smirk appear in her face before pushing Odeya back.
Rhena raised the sleeves of her jacket and charged against the girl. Black against red collided with such force, the ground beneath trembled and the sky rumbled. The two looked at each other one last time and said their silent goodbyes before the inevitable.
And the rest is history.
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