ACCISMUS || [m. aleksander]

prologue.

"MUST OUR ACTIONS ALWAYS BE JUSTIFIED?"

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

THE COLD NIGHT air intruded upon the safety of her tattered clothing, sending a collection of shivers down her spine. The young girl raised her fingers, curling them carefully to regain whatever warmth she had left. She could already no longer feel her body.

She shut her eyes tightly, hoping that the cold will go away. It was all she could do as a child-- surviving on empty hopes and dreams for she was too helpless to act.

She longed for her mother's embrace, yet she still swiped away her tears, knowing that they would freeze on her pale cheeks and cause further pain if she did not act fast enough. A moment of silence passes and the girl brings her knees to her chest, finding the largest amount of warmth possible. It was dark and the winter wind was merciless, but she did not dare light a fire.

In her lonely silence, she pressed her small fingers against the Earth. She allowed energy to flow through her body skillfully, knowing the extent of her ability. Once she knew she was done, a delightful giggle escapes her lips and she opens her eyes, admiring the beautiful flower she grew out of the cold, hard ground. She distracted herself from the fear by continuing this action again and again until she began to feel light-headed from the energy-consumption.

Standing up shakily, the little girl beams in satisfaction at her work, the snowy ground now brimming with the colorful life of flowers. A frown quickly replaces her smile after she thinks of how her mother would scold her for using her power so blatantly.

Emelyne sits back down, shaking her head and poking a flower petal with her small fingers. Her mother would surely forgive her if she witnessed the prettiness, she thought to herself quietly.

She opens her hands and lays them down on the Earth one last time, connecting herself with life itself as she grows one last plant, her favorite of all time. She feels slightly better, now overflowing with energy. Her eyes are captivated by the plant she just created, widened in anticipation. One of its violet petals spread, revealing the golden light within the center. The golden light glowed, warming up the air around her vanquishing the dark which she was quite admittedly terrified of.

 Emelyne felt a sense of pride at her accomplishment, excited to show her mother her new creation. At the same time, she couldn't help but worry. Her mother had been gone for a number of hours already. Though it was not the first time, there was a twisted heaviness in her stomach that whispered horrible possibilities into her mind.

No. She shut her eyes tightly. My mother will be back soon.

She had been diving pretty deep within her mind when a shrill scream drew her back to the gravity of her reality. Emelyne jolted up, startled. The flower before her flickered before shriveling up and succumbing to death. But now was no time for disappointment. Fear crept its way into her mind as her entire body tenses, waiting for a scream again.

Another scream sounds from somewhere deep in the woods.

The girl quickly clamps her hand on her mouth, biting into her flesh to prevent herself from making any noise. They've found me. And soon they'll-- her eyes flutter shut as she prayed for her current reality to be nothing more than a nightmare.

"Emme," warm fingers wrap around her own, relieving the tension in her arms. Emelyne didn't even know when she had started to tremble. "Shh... be quiet, my dear child," her mother looked at her with wide eyes, holding her hands tightly in her own.

For only half a second, the little girl felt the warmth of safety from her mother... not before another scream sounded in the forest. She felt the hands of her mother shaking from fear as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of her pale face. She heard the rhythmic thump of her heart thundering against her ribcage, heavy to the point it hurt to breath.

She was too scared to even breath now.

Within the moment, she lost everything. Her mother was ripped from her side as their location was discovered. Shadows of the people towered upon her, backing her to a corner. Their words were a muffled jumble due to the roaring of her ears. She heard her mother's whimper as an Inferni summoned a flame close enough to graze her skin.

Another man grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from her mother. Emelyne didn't need to hear to see the dagger on his belt-- the dagger he was reaching for. Dread sunk into her veins. Her legs and arms were numb as she stood, paralyzed on the spot.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what I did wrong!" she wanted to plead so badly "I'm innocent!" But no, they would never listen. In their eyes, she was an abomination-- a monster, even if her only crime was being born with an abnormal ability. They looked at her with fear in their eyes even as she was the one who was sobbing on the ground, her body caked with dirt and face etched with tiredness despite being only ten years old.

She heard her mother scream for her as she saw the man pulling out his dagger, telling her to run. A sharp slap echoed in her mind. As she looked up into the eyes of the man, she saw only fear. Who is afraid of whom? She couldn't help but wonder.

They would never stop hunting her, even if she chose to run. They either covet her power or see her as a monster. Either way, Emelyne shut her eyes tightly, awaiting her fate in silence, Death is the better option. She waited for the whistle of the blade and the metallic tinge of blood.

But it never came.

Her mother gasped breathlessly from behind her and fell gently to the ground with a thud.

Emelyne's eyes flew wide open in shock. A burning feeling erupted from the depths of her heart as a crimson spot spread across her mother's shirt. She gagged, the scorching vomit threatening to burst from her throat. Her knees gave out, bruising against the Earth. Endless tears streamed down her chin as sadness and fear were soon replaced by a blazing fury.

Fire danced in the Inferni's hands as he closed in on her kneeling figure.

In that moment, her mother's cold, dead body sank into her hands, guiding her back to reality. A single thought surfaced in her mind, inflamed with determination. She wanted to live.

She took one look into the Etherealki's eyes before giving into her instincts. There was no regret, no sorrow. And what had she done to deserve this? A broken cry echoed through the forest before the ground rumbled, her power rippling. It was no longer the beautiful power of life moving through the plants of the forest but the raw untamed fury of a Nature Grisha.

Emelyne Ivetta was ten years old when she made her first kill.