Merciless

3: Long Conversations

All of the group were shown to their own rooms. The rooms were all along the same corridor, and mostly identical inside. A double bed, a dressing table with a mirror, a wardrobe, a bedside table with an energy lamp, and a small washroom on the side. They were told that a full bathroom was just down the hall from them, but it did mean sharing between themselves. Considering they had the same situation back home, it didn't bother them in the slightest.

Nemesis argued with Erebus over the room closest to the bathroom, though in the end Coeus took it. Metis assigned the two of them rooms opposite each other while she and Apollo took the last two furthest from the bathroom. Taron offered to have their luggage brought up, but they refused and got it themselves. He protested about it, but when he realised their luggage was actually mostly weapons he shut up.

They unpacked the few things they had brought. Metis told them to meet in the entry hall once they were done, so Nemesis quickly tossed her clothes into the wardrobe, locked her case full of weapons and slid it under the bed, then headed down to meet them. She was first there, so she leaned against the wall while she waited. She was aware of the maids standing on the opposite side whispering about her, but she ignored them. Eventually, Coeus came downstairs, soon followed by Apollo then Metis. Erebus was last to show as usual.

" Okay guys, since we didn't expect to be staying here for so long, I'm sending Coeus and Erebus to grab anything we left at the base. Don't forget to set up the security too, Coeus. I told Rydel and he's arranged a ship to take you there and back as quick as possible." She said. Coeus and Erebus nodded before the set out. Metis turned her attention to Nemesis. " I think you should go talk to your niece, Nem. The next two years will be a lot harder if you don't try to connect with her."

" Yeah, yeah, I got it." Nemesis huffed as she ascended the stairs to the throne room. Apollo shouted good luck at her and she waved her hand dismissively. Luck wasn't what she needed right now.

Estelle was sitting on her throne with a solemn look on her face as she stared at a photo in her hand. Taron stood awkwardly in front of her, his head bowed. When he heard Nemesis's footsteps coming towards him, he turned to look at her. She thumbed over her shoulder towards the door and he took the hint and scurried out. Once the door had closed, she approached the throne casually, perching herself on the arm and looking down at the photo in Estelle's small hand.

It was an old photo of the family. The photo had been taken by Rydel while they were in the garden on a summer day. Her father and mother, King Argent and Queen Hannah, stood at the back. Their faces were smiling, though it was obvious that the Queen was sick, with her skin icily pale and her normally glittering green eyes dull and tired. The stress of life was also noticeable on the King's face too, with bags forming from lack of sleep and deep set wrinkles showing his age. In front of them stood the two children. Kyo, her older brother, stood smiling as well, the sun catching his green eyes and making them seem even lighter coloured. The Queen's hand rested on his shoulder, and in his hands he held a football that he and Rydel had been playing with. His trousers were stained with mud and grass, but he didn't care. He was a fourteen year old boy after all.

The obvious odd link in the photo stood next to him, slightly further away from the group. Nemesis, or as she had been known back then, Jolene, was only eight years old, but she looked hollow. She was the only one not smiling, instead her expression was flat and somber. Her eyes were dull like her mother's, but not because of illness. Rather, they lacked all emotion, empty grey coloured and half closed. It was painfully obvious that she was the broken link in this almost sweet family moment.

" You look so different." Estelle suddenly said. It was true. Jolene had long, honey blonde hair with straight cut bangs and flawless, milky skin. Nemesis on the other hand was tanned from living on a desert planet, with various still-healing cuts and bumps on her skin. Her hair was now cut to her shoulders and dyed chocolate brown with red streaks through it. The only thing that never changed was the round face, slightly turned up nose and thin lips. Even her eyes seemed to shine more compared to her previous self.