horology | the darkling

time's a real bitch

power is power - sza, the weeknd, travis Scott

'a knife in my heart couldn't slow me down
'cause power is power, my fire never goes out
i rise from my scars, nothing hurts me now
'cause power is power
now watch me burn it down'

/

'to live is the rarest thing in the world. most people exist, that is all' - oscar wilde

-

seraphina

The Little Palace was the castle in a fairytale every young girl wanted. All the inhabitants of the Little Palace were angelic; they looked like they belong and most of them did.

Seraphina didn't care to talk on her way over. The carriage that was sent for her was, to put lightly, not to its usual standard. The horses were mean and the coachman himself didn't look particularly concerned about her well being, cracking the whip before she had even closed the door. Of course, her parents insisted on accompanying her to her new lodgings. Vladimir kept staring out of the window, fascinated by the wild forestry that seemed exotic to him since his mind was often filled with battle strategies to even notice the woods he rode by often. He tried not to think about his beloved daughter leaving him.

Dominika, in contrast, did not care one bit about the beauty of nature. She fidgeted with Seraphina's dress and hair all through the trip, wanting her daughter to be perfect. She stared into her daughter's face and she appreciated how pretty the girl was. Perhaps pretty was not the right word, the girl was extremely attractive in a way that was breathtaking. The more she looked at her daughter, the more she saw the beauty of a celestial goddess.

Seraphina's mind was tearing itself apart in a fusion of anxiety, pride, terror and childish glee. Despite what the demons in her head said, Seraphina was more than a vengeance mission to destroy a man who wronged her; she was as human as any other person.

Seraphina's enlightenment that she was a pawn in a cosmic game came to her in the bath when she was 14 years old. As she plunged her head into the clear water, she was suddenly overcome by a calling from something manifesting deep inside of her very being. It was a strange, addicting feeling; she felt like her body was melting away and being converted into pure energy. Emotions ran through her blood, coursing through the fabric of the Universe and calling out to her simultaneously; that was the show of strength of the Time goddess's power. The goddess made it clear what Seraphina was and what she had to do: get revenge. She was tasked with impossible; enamouring the Black General. At first, she didn't want to believe it; she kept closing her eyes and praying it was just a dream. But it wasn't.

Seraphina insisted that Time explained why she needed her to do her dirty work. Her explanation was riddled with plot holes; it was much easier for her to punish him herself. Nevertheless, the goddess insisted in a harsh flowing voice that she had to complete her assignment. She told Seraphina that she had been given her power specifically for that reason. Then, the time goddess left her instructions she had to follow to the syllable for kickstarting her powers. Her instructions were hesitant and monotonous, as if explaining colours to a blind person.

The last words Time said to her was a threat; a threat to her family's life if she didn't fulfil her outrageously foolish mission.

Seraphina shot out of the bath, gasping for breath. She hoped against hope that it was a dream, that it wasn't real. But she tested her powers, following close instructions left by Time and she found that the celestial being was not lying. Her basic abilities could only slow time and speed it up with a flicker of her fingers but Seraphina was not one to remain in the boundaries. She practiced, regularly, rhythmically for years and years until the extent of her control was terrific.