fulmination (Mei x Reader)

Chapter 12~

The first thing you notice about the bridge is that it's very high up. You shiver; you're just ever so slightly afraid of heights. There are lots of people already milling around on the bridge, excitedly whispering to each other.

You try not to get seperated from Roza, Lili, and Seele in the crowd of people. Pushing past person after person, you finally find a place where the four of you can squeeze in. Roza looks up at the night sky expectantly. "When are they gonna start?!"

"Roza, be patient..." Lili mutters.

"No," Roza replies stubbornly.

Lili sighs. Seele just smiles as Roza continues to glare at the sky.

Suddenly, there's a loud cracking noise. You look up, expecting it to be a firework, but the sky is as dark as always. Then you realize that the noise was too close to be a firework.

You look to your side, and notice that everyone else had heard the noise too. What was that? you wonder.

Roza gasps. "Look at the sky!" She sounds panicked.

The clear sky is now filled with dark gray clouds. A streak of bright light flashes through the sky. People are getting visibly nervous. Children start to scream as another loud noise rings through the air. Thunder.

"How did it get stormy so quickly...?" Seele murmurs. "It was so peaceful just a few seconds ago..."

You're scared too, but for a different reason. This wasn't just a normal storm. No. This can't be happening again... You look at your friends' faces and realize they're thinking of the exact same thing as you. "We have to get out of here," you whisper.

Seele frowns. "But...these people don't know what's happening. We've got to help th—"

"Forget that, they can help themselves. There's nothing we can do." Your words are backed up by the fact that the regular people on the bridge are already bolting for it. Looking for shelter, you assume.

You turn around, ready to do the same thing they're doing, but then you hear a familiar voice. Confirming your fears.

The voice of your nightmares.

You freeze at the sound. She's here. Why is she here?!

Roza, Lili, and Seele don't seem to recognize the voice, which makes sense; they had probably escaped before you had, and therefore hadn't heard the voice. Seele sees you stop. "(Y/N), what are you doing?! RUN!"

Roza stares at you. "What? You're (Y/N)?! Like, orphanage (Y/N)?!"

"One and the same," you reply hurriedly.

"OH MY—"

"Look, we don't have time for heartfelt reunions right now," Seele interrupts. She pauses, then sighs. "Sorry for being so harsh, but I...I don't want to be separated from you guys again. We really have to go."

"You're right," you say. "Let's get out of here."

The three other girls nod silently—even Roza doesn't say anything—and start to run off the bridge, jostling the other people also trying to run away.

"Mother, what are you doing?!"

That voice you also recognize.

Mei.

You whirl around, and now that the crowd of people have dispersed, you have a clear view of what's happening. There is Mei, standing in front of a very tall woman who looks a lot like her, yelling something at her. Fu Hua and Bronya stand behind Mei, shifting around nervously. The woman looks really mad. Crazy and angry.

It feels like your heart has stopped beating. Your throat clenches. You can't breathe.

It's her. The woman. The Herrscher. It's her.

And then your fear is replaced by an inexplicable, burning rage. That woman—that monster—had destroyed your home, an orphanage where little kids had lived because they had nowhere else to go.

Your hand starts moving, of its own accord, to your pocket. Your fingers tighten around a smooth handle, and you pull out a dagger.

Why you brought a dagger to a festival, only you know.

Better safe than sorry.

You can hear people yelling at you to run. You can tell that it's Roza, Lili, and Seele. But they don't know what you're about to do, or why...You let out a breath, then run straight at the Herrscher.

-Mei's POV-

Okay, so...my mother is standing in front of me. She doesn't look very happy. She's obviously scaring my friends with her sharp-as-knives gaze. I'm still surprised that she's here...I haven't seen her in ages. But knowing my Mother, she's probably not here for a good reason.

"So, Mother!" I exclaim, fake-cheerfully. "What are you...doing here?"

Mother smiles, her eyes cold. "Well, to see you of course!"

"Oh." I freeze. This cannot be good.

"I see you've gotten over the Kaslana girl, hmm? You haven't been to a Lunar New Year festival ever since she died. Murdered, I believe? So unfortunate that happened...she was a nice one." She sounds bored, like she doesn't really care.

I stare at the ground, urging myself to not scream. And there she goes again.

My mother had never been the most empathetic person. Sure, when I was a baby, she'd been relatively tolerable, but as I grew older and more independent, she showed her true colors as a woman who would do anything to get her way.

I don't have the best relationship with her, as you can probably tell.

"Well, girlfriend murdered or not, you seemed pretty happy today," she continues.

I plaster a far-too-wide smile on my face. "Yeah, heheh..."

"Well, wonderful daughter of mine, how would you like to watch the fireworks with me?"

"I'm...I was planning to watch them with Fu Hua and Bronya. So...um...sorry, Mother."

At my words, Mother's eyes go dark, and I shiver like I can feel the coldness emanating from them. Her smile, though I knew it was superficial before, seems to freeze into place. "Ah. Is that so? You don't want to spend time with your mother?"

I back up a step. "I-I never said that!"

Mother's hair starts to float upwards and I swear I can hear a faint boom of thunder and a crackle of electricity. "Well, you certainly meant it. And your lack of affection has made me...if you will...angry. Do you know what happens when I am angry, Mei?"

Oh no.

I definitely know what happens when Mother is angry.

We have to get out of here.

I gesture slightly towards my friends, urging them to run away as far as they can. But they don't seem to get the hint. "Mother, what are you doing?!" I yell as the the clouds turn gray and lightning flashes through the sky and people run away screaming.

Her smile stretches abnormally wide. "Oh, well. I suppose you could call it motherly love."

Motherly love?

As if.

Whatever this is, it's not love.

I brace myself for what's about to happen. This is my mother. Whatever catastrophic mess she makes, it's my job to clean it up. And also to prevent the mess from happening...and to prevent the mess from happening, I have to fight like with like.

In this case, Herrscher with Herrscher.

But before I can do anything, someone strikingly familiar runs up behind me, pushes me out of the way, and plunges a dagger straight into my mother's chest.