Twisted Legacies: A kotlc au

Chapter 16: AND THEN THERE WERE 3

GLIMMER

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Glimmer shifted uncomfortably on the plush cushion, not quite sure how to start her story.
Keefe's arm was still wrapped around Sophie's waist. She looked like his touch was all that was keeping her from breaking.
Glimmer liked them together. After so many years of seeing Keefe sad, it was nice to finally see him happy.

She leaned forward and slowly started.

"It all began when I was seven. My parents and I lived I a shabby apartment complex in New York. They were always working, though, so I took the subway to Central Park on my own most days."

She watched as Sophie tried to hide the curiosity flickering across her face. Yes, Glimmer was human. Or, used to be.
But that part of the story was yet to come.

"One day, in the summer, I was walking down the path when someone grabbed my shoulder. This was nothing new as other people had tried to snatch me before. Usually, I'd be able to scream and run away. Not this time. The person who grabbed my hand had a melder. They said they'd kill my parents if I didn't come with them. I didn't believe them..,"

Glimmer looked out the window, taking a a deep breath.

"That's when I heard the snap. One of their Conjurers conjured my parents. Right out of thin air. I've never seen someone able to conjure people before besides them. And then Gisela took off her hood. She looked me right in the eye when she said, 'Now dear, this is what happens when you take our threats lightly,'. She smiled at me when she shot them. Both in the chest. And before I could scream, two other people snapped their necks. Right in front of me...,"

The memory burned behind her eyes. Like a fresh cut wound that'd been open for years.
Somebody took her hand. To her surprise, the hand holding hers was the Moonlark's.

Glimmer was not used to physical touch. Her abuse held part to her uncomfortableness to it. There were only two people who's physical affection she'd grown used to; one being Alvar's, as he'd been her one source of comfort from the torture. There'd been many long nights of shaking in his arms as she recalled the insufferable pain.

The other would be Keefe's, as she'd pretty much grown up with him, if only from afar. Sometimes after he'd fallen asleep crying, Glimmer would stroke his forehead, listening to him mumble in his sleep thinking that the touch was that of his mother's.
It was sad to think that all of Keefe's early memories of affection from his mother were all from.. her.

Glimmer looked up into a pair of gold-flecked eyes they held no pity.
Rather empathy. Kindness.
She'd forgotten that Sophie had watched people be murdered in front of her as well.
Councilor Kenric. The Black Swan's leader. Umber. And now, Cyrah Endal and her own father that she'd never get to meet.
The reminder gave her strength to continue the tale.

"I cooperated after that. Apparently, before I was conceived, my parents had been drugged with the elemental fertility treatments used by Keefe's parents without their knowledge. We were a test drive. An experiment. After killing my parents, they tested me. My ability triggered after they singed my skin with a sample of Stellarlune they'd found. After it was accessed, they hooked me up to a machine created by their telepath. It locked into my hands and sucked out all the Stellarlune that they'd discovered I could produce until I was drained. And then they'd start the next day. Again and again. But somehow, each day the power was still there. I didn't understand then why they wanted it. I thought they just wanted to free me of it. So I could be normal. It made me feel a little better, thinking that the struggle was for my benefit. But no. If they wanted me gone, they could've just killed me."

Hatred rimmed her vision with red.
It took every ounce of her sanity to remember that somewhere out there in the world, somebody cared for her.
Glimmer recollected herself before continuing.

"Around the time when a Keefe turned ten, Gisela told me the full extent of her plan for her son. Well, besides the part about turning him into a Stellar.. the goal was to unlock more powers than any other elf before. She told me that the elements of light and dark together could trigger the effects of the fertility treatments. They gave up on trying to harness my power. I later learned that others could not wield my Stellarlune as a weapon, so ultimately I was a lost cause. But they thought they could wield Keefe's, considering he was an elf. And I fear that now that they know of his transformation, they will attempt the same feat as they did on me.. and we cannot let them. So I come to you now, as we are all the ones created by elf, the ones tweaked by technology, the freaks. We must band out. No organization can hold so much power. Whether good or bad. We're a force not meant to be harnessed. Another species. If we leave this place, go somewhere far, far away, train to fully understand the extent of our abilities..,"

Glimmer looked the pair right in the eyes.

"...we have a chance at creating a world where no physically altered children and rebellion groups will be needed."

She knew she was asking them the impossible. To defy their creators. But Glimmer had. And although her and Keefe's circumstances were different from Sophie's, considering her group had treated her well, Glimmer still hoped Sophie would harness that defiance burning inside her. Glimmer could see it. Waiting to break free.
Now all she needed was a little motivation.

Keefe stood up, gently letting go of Sophie.

"I'm coming."

Glimmer nodded at him. She'd had no doubt that he would.

Both of them glanced down at Sophie.

She looked.. conflicted.
And for a second, Glimmer wondered if the doubt had won over the ambition.
But Sophie reached out, taking Keefe's hand as she stood.

"I am nobody's Moonlark."

So the three freaks left the councillor's castle that day, two in one direction and one heading in another to pack up.
Because they were no longer anyone's science project.
They were of their own breed.
And they were going to war.