Swan Song

Hunt the Hunter

Lock was currently getting ready for his Ascension Ceremony. In other words, this was the day he would receive his task, and become the preacher, the ruler of the entire Pandora. Did he want the title? No. Still, he knew he had to go through with it. No history books ever mention what happens to those who refuse, which Lock determined to be so because the punishments were too severe to be mentioned to the public - or what you could call the regular Pandorians. He put on his white ceremony robes and cross, also making sure the knife he carried around in case of emergency was there, then looked at his reflection in the mirror.

He'd always been a scrawny kid, completely unlike the other men in his family. Whereas his father and uncle were tall, black-haired and imposing, he was just a skinny, pale blonde. The robes, which he inherited from his father, who inherited from his father, who inherited from his father - and so on - were much too big for him. It was no secret that his father was displeased to have someone like Lock inherit the title.

A knock on the door snapped the boy out of his thoughts. "Are ya ready yet? The choir already started!" It was Alice, one of his best friends. She pushed open the door without waiting for an answer, and poke her ginger-hair-covered head in. She was about as pale as Lock himself, but whereas his skin was like pure porcelain, hers was covered with freckles. Their eyes were a nearly identical shade of green, which might have made an outsider think they were related. "Wow, you look lame."

"You woo me with your kind words, madam," he replied, still looking dissatisfied. "I can't believe I'm going through with this."

"You know you gotta." Alice walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sure it's not gonna be all that bad. I mean, you'll be the most powerful guy in Pandora, right? Think of all the things we could get away with!" The attempt to cheer him up failed.

"I'm not really fit for leadership, Ali. I can barely name ten people who live here. How can I lead the very people I've spent my life trying to avoid?"

Giving his shoulders a squeeze, the redhead smiled at him. "You'll learn, Lock. No one was born a leader - not even your father, despite what he'd have you believe."

That got a chuckle out of the boy. "Don't let a servant hear you say that."

"Oh dear," Alice said, pointing at the mirror. "Could that be..? Is that..? Why, could it possibly be... a smile?" Gasping dramatically, she put a hand over her mouth. "Why, I do believe you just smiled, Lock. If you aren't careful, people might think you're liking this ordeal."

"Sod off," he replied, heading for the door.

The two headed down the long, narrow corridor, hurrying to reach the cathedral. "You can always order your dad to shut up afterwards, you know," Alice joked, doing her best to lighten the mood, as she tended to do.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to even look him in the eye." Lock's feelings about his father couldn't even be called mixed. He hated the man for always being strict with both him and his brothers, and was scared of him because of how often he yelled. One time, Oz, the youngest Baskerville, was confined to his room for a month just for spilling his drink during dinner. The boy was five at the time.

"He's really not that scary," Alice commented, and received a knowing look from her companion. "Ok, fine. He scares the bejeezus out of me. Still, I bet he'll be a lot less imposing when he's not the guy in charge."

"Well, that's only if I pass the test," Lock muttered as the two left the mansion and entered the yard. It took them a few minutes to cross the massive garden, and they finally reached the cathedral, in front of which waited the other half of the Alice-and-Rem relationship, looking nervous.