Renaissance of Chaos

XIII

The moment the door of her bedroom closed behind her, she fell to the floor. Tears stung her eyes, and her breathing was heavy. Her mind was cloudy, her heart torn apart between two people whom she loved dearly. The woman who raised and cared for her, and her own daughter. In the past, she had been too late to act and protect the later. And when she finally found out about the abuse her grandmother had put her youngest child through, it was too late. (Y/N) didn't remember anything, having forgotten even the tales she so happily chattered about all day long. She didn't know what to do back then, so, under pressure, she lied. She hid the truth and pretended everything was alright.

But now (Y/N) remembered, and she couldn't keep up the lie. Not anymore.

She looked up at the empty bedroom, grateful that she was alone. Her husband was in another room, still speaking with his sister on the phone, his voice echoing loudly through the whole house. If he were to see her now, she knew he would get worked up and fuss over her and she didn't need that at that moment. Yet loneliness didn't do her well either.

Gathering her strength, she got up from the floor and walked over to the nightstand where her phone was. She picked it up and dialed her brother's number, the only other person who knew about what had happened back then. It rung 3 times before Eliot answered, the mere sound of his voice helping soothe her a bit.

"Hello? Hey Martha. How are you doing? Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes-no... it's... it's complicated, I'm afraid." She answered, sitting down on her bed, head in her hands. "(Y/N) remembers."

There was a long, heavy pause before he answered, and she could feel the tension in his voice.

"Are you sure? What makes you think that?"

"She told me. She asked me what actually happened when she was little with her and nana." Martha answered, sniffing her nose. "What do I tell her Eliot? I can't lie to her anymore, but I can't tell her the truth."

"I know, Martha. I don't want to lie to her anymore either... I... I think..."

Another pause followed, each sibling weighting the options they had. To tell the truth or keep the lie. To maintain the illusion of a somewhat united family, or shatter it, and confront the dirt that had been kept under the rug for too long.

"I'll come over as soon as I'm done with work. We'll talk more in detail then. I have to go now. Take care." Eliot said.

"Alright. Take care as well." Martha bid her brother goodbye before closing the call.

Left alone once more, with only her husband's voice in the background, she finally let loose of the emotions she tried to bottle up, fat tears falling down her cheeks, weak whimpers echoing through the hall.

She hadn't noticed the door being slightly creaked, and the shadow standing still behind it, listening to conversation.

℘♦℘

She never intended for things to turn out this way. All she wanted was to save her great-granddaughter, to shield her from the forbidden fruit the Lord of Chaos wished to give her. As discreetly as possible, she tried to coach (Y/N) and guide her towards the right path, so that should that fiend ever try to sway her again, she would know better than to give in to his temptation. Nothing more, nothing less.

That day, when the deal was struck and the child's memories had to be stolen and replaced, Elena and the King of Ilek-Vad enlisted the help of the Spider Goddess, Atlach-Nacha. The Outer God refused at first, calling them "despicable fools" and declaring her disgust towards them, especially towards Elena. The woman still remembered the sharp edge of the spider's words, the venom of her accusations and the damnation. It took hours of debate to convince Atlach-Nacha to aid them, but even then, it turned out that she hadn't done what they had requested her to. They should have figured something like that would happen.