Rise

Chapter 27

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The first casualty of war

is innocence.

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"My full name is Cecily Tiberius. My childhood was..." Cecily stops, thinking for a second, and then she continues. "It wasn't the best. I had a twin brother named Kronin, and I...I think he was probably the only reason I got through my early years..." she's gently wringing her hands as she speaks. "Our parents were not--not good parents. They were abusive. If me and Kronin made a wrong move, the result would be a harsh beating," then she pauses, biting her lip before adding, quietly, "Kronin took most of the punishments for me."

I'm quiet as I stare at her, as her eyes go down towards her twisting, turning hands. To be honest, I really don't know what to say. I feel bad for her, truly. At least I'd had parents who'd loved me, and who'd cared for me.

What she says about her brother, Kronin, makes my heart ache a bit. I remember, briefly, my older brother standing up for me against bullies on the playground, when I was little. Brothers, though they could sometimes be jerks, were always your greatest protector.

"I don't think our parents ever loved us. Often times, me and Kronin had to find food on our own. Our parents merely tolerated us, and used us as their puppets in their little schemes...our parents were criminals, and they were drunk almost half the time," there's a flaring spark in her eye as she says, "God knows how I managed to keep myself in control."

As she says this, I realize that she mustn't be the tolerant, caring, patient type; no, Cecily is something different, from what I can see. She's unforgiving and dangerous, keeping herself in check only when she wants to.

But then I think about it, and I know that I, too, can be the exact same way. A brief image of Stephan's blood on my hands reminds of of this, and I blink the memory rapidly away.

Cecily looks less hesitant as she continues to tell me her past. "One thing that me and Kronin found out--while our parents weren't around--was that I was force-sensitive. Of course, we barely had any idea what that meant. We had no one to teach me about the force, nor anyone to train me in it. The most I could do was sense the feelings of other people, get their brain waves...stuff like that. It somewhat enhanced my ability to look into the minds of others."

Taking a deep breath, she plows on. "Eventually, me and Kronin grew, and soon, we managed to get enough money for some food, new clothes, and some guns. When we turned 15 we left that place, and staked out a living on the streets of Coruscant. By some miracle we both managed to get paying jobs, and within 4 years, we'd pooled together enough money to get ourselves a ship..." a faint, wistful smile flickers on Cecily's face. "The moment we got that thing powered up, we were gone. Gone from the only world we'd ever known. Me and Kronin took to being a couple of misfits, causing only little bits of trouble here and there. Nothing too drastic," her eyes narrow, and she seems to remember something. "I do remember us assassinating a Hutt; but believe me, if you'd known them, you would've killed them, too."

With a nod, I continue to listen to her. As I do, I can't help but notice how quickly she's now talking, how fast-paced her words are--it's almost as if she's reliving her teenage years through this conversation, as she tells me what her life had been like. At least her past had a feeling of hope within it, and at least it wasn't as dark as mine had been. I get the feeling that Cecily's energy, whilst describing her past, is more angry and fierce. Meanwhile, mine is sad and somber.

"By the time we were 19, we'd gotten ourselves a nice, steady amount of money--we were quite the duo. We were in Cloud City, on Bespin, when we head of the Empire." a dark look crosses Cecily's face, but she doesn't stop. "Kronin was always a very righteous guy who was in touch with his morals...he was more of what you'd call a chaotically good person, who did whatever it took to do the right thing. Meanwhile, I...." she cuts herself off, then sighs and starts talking again. "I wanted power. The thought of power, to me...it was so tempting. It was like a drug--once you have some, you have to have all of it. I'd liked being in control of whatever was happening--I still do, somewhat," as she tells me this, I silently can relate. Being in control of your environment is a nice, exciting feeling.