Fragile Legacy

“Enne? Didn’t think you’d want to see me so soon,” Rita chuckled. “Missed me?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a choice,” she sighed reflexively as she rolled her eyes.

Her brother observed them, knowing they were in for a lengthy debate. Considering the rising stakes of the unfolding events they summoned her to have a better grip on what was happening. The migrant crisis and the vampiric presence left. The mayor came in from her usual training, energized from her several miles-long jogs around the city.

“Can we go on with this?” Mathias spoke.

“We’ve got it handled,” the mayor responded.

“Handled?” Enne raised her voice. “People are going missing!”

“Nobody is going to give a shit about some nameless refugees. We’ve got our own problems.”

“They are our problem.”

Enne swung around, closing the gap between them. The mayor closed her eyes, flinching to the idea she’d strike her, but nothing came of it. However, when she opened her eyes, she found the loyal maid blocked off the strike. Enne ground her teeth, backing away with flaring nostrils. Rita collected herself, watching her pace toward the window. Mathias glimpsed them, feeling as though nothing would come of the conversation.

“Enough of your optics, Enne,” Mathias reminded.

“Just cancel the damn festival!” Enne insisted.

“We can’t afford to do that!” Rita yelled. “You have no fucking clue, do you? There’s a lot at stake—”

“Sounds like someone’s popularity is going down the dumps.”

Mathias cleared his throat, commanding attention from both.

“Rita, I think she has a point,” he said. “Can we—Perhaps postpone the festival until we have things in order—"

“We should have a surplus, no?” Enne talked over him.

“We may not have enough supplies for the winter,” she admitted, looking between the siblings.

“Why is that? You said we wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

“I was wrong. We traded some of it for material—”

“You what?” Mathias interjected, his eyes unable to mask his bewilderment.

“Some merchants said they wouldn’t return without additional amenities.”

“So, you give away our emergency supplies?”

“This is great,” Enne scoffed. “Had you accepted my proposal the agriculture reform, you wouldn’t find yourself in dire straits; A refugee crisis and vampires on Gardenia’s edge, it can’t get any worse.”

“The vampires are the clear and present danger here,” Mathias said. “Rita, it is your duty to inform us when these things happen.”

The siblings knew the events that happened decades ago, but Enne rarely spoke of the things she witnessed. Enne looked through the window, seeing the solemn city in the distance. She could feel her brother’s gaze, confirming it as she saw his reflection.

“These vermin need to be dealt with,” he muttered.

“But we have a treaty with them,” she reminded. “We need to investigate. See if it isn’t some rogue.”

“A—treaty?” the mayor gasped, meeting Enne’s wary eyes.

“I thought they’d hold their end of the deal,” she said. “But breaking our agreement is akin to an act of war.”

“We—Can’t defend it if—”

“That’s where I step in. Vampires haven’t appeared in over 50 years, that wasn’t an easy task.”

“How did you convince them?”

“Well, I’m not just a pretty face. I single-handedly brought them to their knees—Not that I wanted to.”

“Why negotiate with such a lowly species?” he asked. “Even before your deal, they still had their little skirmishes, killing our citizens… Bringing fear—"

“Lowly species?” her eyebrow twitched. “How many agreements have humans and elves broken throughout history? How many times have we flexed our superiority to prove a point? We’re no better.”

He snickered, leaning into his chair as she walked over. His sister leaned against his table, keeping her focus on the mayor. If there was any time Rita needed to understand anything, it would be this moment. The stakes were high, with so many things happening.

“Again,” she continued, looking over her shoulder to see her brother’s disgruntled face. “Who brokered that deal?”

“So—What now?” Rita’s lips quivered.

“I’ll reach out to them.”

“You’re looking more like a paper tiger these days,” she said.

Her brother averted his gaze from her with an unwavering scowl. A smug smile crept along her face before she moved away from the armchair lord. Rita absorbed the atmosphere with an uncharacteristic silence, watching her counterpart walk toward the double doors.

“I’d like to talk to them and see what happened,” Enne said.

“Can we really trust their word?” Rita asked as a cold sweat ran along her face.

“We could easily lift a finger and that would solve that problem. But, I don’t want any more loss of life.”

“I really don’t understand you sometimes,” Mathias said. “These are monsters we’re dealing with. Do you think our treaty was for their benefit?”

“We need the same things to thrive.”

“And what would that be?” Rita interrupted their exchange.

“Mana,” she noted the mayor’s confusion.

“Maybe it’s best to put them out of their misery,” he suggested.

His cruel words drew a strong yet restrained reaction. She clenched her fist as her fingers dug into her palm; Droplets of blood broke the silence between them. Mathias grunted upon seeing the red stains on the polished hardwood floor. His lack of foresight resulted in common debates between the siblings.

“Our infrastructure is much better than our armed forces,” she said. “I left you with building a strong militia, yet we still use swords and horses. What year are we in? 1776?”

“You are the matriarch, right? Which makes you the leader of Gardenia.”

“Elven code doesn’t apply to us. Whatever… I’ll prepare for my visit.”

“Oh, I’m sure Cassius is looking forward to seeing you.”

Enne shivered, turning to find her brother’s grimace. Cassius was the heir to the House of Drake who found the half-elf rather attractive. He disgusted her to her core, though.

“I’ll be seeing ya, Rita,” she waved.

Once the doors closed behind her, Mathias took a deep breath. He looked over at Iscah, who awaited his orders. Her expressionless, motionless demeanor made the participants involved forget she was present.

“I need you to keep an eye on my foolish sister, will you?” he ordered, being met with her silent nod.

Enne pouted as she ascended the stairs. The conversation went as expected with her brother, but the mayor’s silence posed a pleasant surprise. Alejandro poked his head out of his room, hearing her approach her room. She tried to regain her composure, but the flustered expression wouldn’t go away. He stepped out to intercept her, adding an unneeded complication.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“Y-yeah,” she brushed past him.

“En, you could—talk to me.”

She slammed her door shut, leaving him to his bewildered thoughts. He went back into his room to lie down, staring into the blank ceiling. Thus far, he hadn’t been as involved as he wanted, often following the bewitching elven woman’s lead. The concern she expressed lingered as he succumbed to his sleepiness.

He awoke late in the night, clutching his chest before it subsided. His drowsiness quickly wore off, wondering about how she felt. The wanderer never imagined he’d care, but he’d set the thought to the side as he got up. He crept through the hall toward the ascending stairs to reach the grand double doors of the library.

He was greeted with an intricate display of bookshelves. Shiny tile stretched at least halfway through the large room with a clear glass ceiling with lamps lighting between every aisle. Alejandro absorbed the pristine atmosphere while glimpsing each shelf he passed. When he arrived at the center, he found stacks of books written in an indiscernible language. The waft of citrus lingered through the book-scented air, which he trailed to the other half of the library.

He found Enne searching through a selection of books. Her reflective gray eyes painted her as a different person while she skimmed through a book. She wore her red low-cut kimono, revealing her slender shoulders. Her wavy, silver hair let barely covered her tattoo. She turned to him, sensing his prying eyes, finding him frozen by her beauty.

“En,” he uttered. “I didn’t think you’d still be awake.”

“Allie,” she spoke. “You slept well?”

“Yeah. How long have you been up here?”

“About a few hours. There’s a lot I need to read up on.”

“Like?”

“Records, for one. But, I’m just meandering at this point. There’s still time left.”

The wanderer stood next to her to look at the assortment. She looked away, feeling guilty about brushing him off earlier.

“About earlier,” she continued. “I shouldn’t have brushed—”

“It’s all right,” he responded.

“It doesn’t excuse my behavior.”

The wanderer grabbed an Elven book, narrowing his eyes to the fine golden lettering. She watched him flip through the pages as his eyes searched for meaning. He closed it not long after before looking at her with a flimsy smile.

“I have no idea what it says,” he admitted.

“I could teach you the Elven language,” she chuckled, whilst guiding him to the table of stacked books.

“That wouldn’t be so bad.”

“And here I imagined wanderers divulging information, not being taught.”

“Being taught is a method of learning, no? But, I’m not here to entertain that, not with more pressing matters present.”

Her smile faded, wondering whether she could strike another deal with the vampires. The relations between their worlds hung on a delicate balance and a lack of communication. She entrusted him with more than he could imagine.

“Our family has dealt with this vampiric group dating back to my mother’s marriage to my father,” she spoke. “There is a bit of shared, shaky history between us. Vampires don’t need human blood to survive, but—I’m noticing patterns here.”

“What was your brother’s take?”

“He’d rather see them dead. I know I might be crazy to say this, but vampires are only doing what’s natural to them. It’s easy for us to point them out as monsters, but many were once human. And Rita—Didn’t know, but we have an impending shortage. She voiced not caring much about the refugees, so there’s that.”

“Hm. That’s unfortunate. But I see you go far to satisfy everyone.”

“There’s always a peaceful solution.”

He glimpsed a pensiveness lingering in her eyes. She did everything she could to hide her reluctance on the options she had. The wanderer felt like there was something he could do to change the tide.

“I’ve seen a lot out there,” he spoke. “And I’ll tell you, conflict is ingrained within all sentient species. It could be over resources or one’s origins, but it is inevitable.”

“But—It still doesn’t hurt to try, right? If this means no one else has to die—”

“Even at the cost of your own?”

She paused, averting her eyes from him.

“I’m not for tribalistic sentiment,” he reminded. “But there are lines that need to be drawn. No one is going to be satisfied with binding contracts or anything of that sort. We can only hedge our bets on the best-case scenario.”

“Perhaps you’re right. The real question is, what is it I really want?”

Her steel-gray eyes searched into his, hoping for an answer. The uncharacteristic uncertainty added a peculiar vulnerability, something Alejandro couldn’t have imagined. Her heart was in the right place, albeit naïve to how the real world worked.

“So as long as you don’t lose sight of your idea of justice,” he said.

She sighed loudly while sitting against the table. She knew his experience was worth something. He lived in conditions that she could only imagine in the fiction she read. She wondered how anyone could live in deplorable conditions. The half-elf was aware of her position in the natural order. With a drop of a pen, she could annihilate the vampiric presence, but she would be no better than her father’s homeworld.

“By the way,” she continued. “Thank you for your help in all this. I never anticipated any of this. This is just so sudden.”

“Well, with an advisor like me, you’ll do fine, En.”

She nodded with a wavering smile.

Enne glimpsed a familiar figure sitting in Alejandro’s place. His observant silver eyes, his rested melancholy and his worn uniform were unmistakable. Her gaze remained as though she saw a ghost. But the wanderer’s attention remained engrossed in the city’s history. Once she blinked, the image went away.

What’s—Going on? she thought.

There was so much Alejandro tried to grasp, but they stayed up, reviewing the information, bantering from time to time to keep their morale high. The wanderer absorbed the intricacies of the delicate balance between Gardenia and the Hollows. He never imagined they could establish such a treaty; The vampires were more reluctant to attack since they were dealing with Elven lineage. Alejandro believed in her ability to broker another negotiation. Along with reading the simplified history of the treaty, he discovered few knew of the circumstances the city hinged upon.

It was the biggest secret.



We get a better understanding of the difference between the city's leadership and the Bouvire's guardianship.
It's interesting how they try to be civil when we know who the stronger entities are.
The idea here revolves around sovereignty and Gardenia has a say in their future as opposed to the world beyond. Of course, freedom comes with a price...
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Thanks for reading!