Ultimatum et initium

I stood in front of a pair of marble plaques, a rampaging storm shoving raindrops ripping down my face.

To the plainly marked gravestone, I offered a can of Cola. To the lavishly gilded one, I offered a can of Genetian Broth. To both, I offered my words of prayer, hoping for their tranquillity beyond death.

On the plainly marked gravestone, written were the words:

“Lt. Yuuki Kazamatsuri. London. E.F. Navy. 2160 – 2178.”

On its opulent counterpart, listed were the accolades:

“Kante di Aqua. Sage of the Kexteran Archivist Institute, assistant of Archon Indigo. Grand Merchant of the Genetian Corporation, Grandmaster of the Earth Region of the Corporation. Member of the Genetian Chamber of Commerce, Honorary Chairman of the Interstellar Trading Association...”

At the bottom of the gravestone where Kante’s accolades had gotten too long to list, the Corporation etched a QR code pointing to the rest of his titles, along with a special page linking to products he once used in his lifetime. Kante’s insistence to return to an ocean in death --- which the Bibliotheca had none --- seemed to pay unexpected dividends. Literally, as the Regional Grandmaster gave me a cut of it, crying and thanking me as she handed it over.

…But in death, his accolades would avail him not, as the loved and celebrated Kante di Aqua lay equal to the unknown sailor Yuuki. They were both dead, gone from our world forever.

“What a terrible day for rain.” I muttered.

“That line is only works when it is not raining.” A familiar voice called out to me. “Come on, you’ve watched that old anime with Tom enough times. You should know this.”

I looked up, and Jason Goodenough stood in front of me. His eyebrows no longer locked against each other, his wrinkles and white hair no longer betrayed an age older than his heart’s. He was like the Jason I knew, before my abduction drove him onto a life of guilt and hardship.

“President Jason Goodenough. Good job finding me in this appearance. But have you got the free time to wander around here?” I smiled, the puddle on the ground reflected a lavender-haired Elf girl. It was an appearance I took to shake off the media.

“It counts as entertaining guests, doesn’t it? I’d say I deserve a break after you made me work hard for two months nonstop.”

“You need to tell that to your secretary. I am not sure he will agree to your argument.”

“And you need to be less insensitive.” The President talked back like a little kid would. “But Constance, you really put me through a lot. It was heartbreaking to see you break trillions of dollars of military hardware like that, not to mention the invaluable ancient starship. The Parliament had a mental breakdown, you know? It took me a few weeks to get them under control.”

“…That you are still in your job at all is amazing. You’ve certainly learnt to be cunning. But good job on picking up my signals.”

“That was a tough one. You implied we would be only facing one ship, so you were practically inviting us to attack.” Jason sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. “But why? Why did you declare yourselves allies of the Elves, but only demanded the artefact? Surely you could have simply destroyed Earth if you were truly on their side. Or you could have stolen the artefact.

“There was also a question about why you were the one delivering the ultimatum. Archon Burgundy or Amber could have done it too, one being the commander of armed forces and the other being an Elf. Then, it was clear that it was a show of force that you were after, probably to calm down the war hawks and maintain the peace. You had to deliver the biggest shock possible to make that happen.”

“Good answer; it would be quite problematic for us if the psionic-capable Elves were to die en masse, after all. But you were just 90% right.” I created a can of Genetian Broth and took a sip of it. “I was just being polite. If we didn’t get our way, I would have glassed Earth and took the artefact.”

“You really aren’t human anymore.” The President quipped, but his face conveyed a sense of satisfaction.

“And you now lead the organisation that sold me out.” I chuckled, and Jason reciprocated.

“Well, you are right. In any case, I should keep going. It seems that unexpected guests are arriving, and I’d better not stand in your way.” Jason stood up and prepared to leave.

“Did you also pick up psionic detection?” I joked, as I sensed the same.

“Of course not.” He pointed at the earphone in his right ear, his eyes smiling.

-------------------------------------

The rain had stopped, and a rainbow now arched over London’s skies. Sunshine pierced the clouds, bouncing off puddles or droplets of water as it hit them, creating a world of sparkly light. The sunlight itself, however, was as lazy as England’s sunlight is wont to be. Wrapped in its golden luminance, I looked past the plaques of marble, towards the very much finite and busy horizon London had always been known for.

I felt a warmth from my heart, even though I no longer had one. I wiped off the droplets from my face, even though I was no longer capable of tears. I gulped down the Genetian Broth that was once Kante’s favourite, even though I no longer needed food for subsistence.

I knelt down and spoke to the graves.

“I fulfilled my promise, Yuuki. I lived. I made a lot of friends. I even achieved something no one has done before. And I will continue to live. So, please watch over me.

“Kante, you really managed to sell me that stinky fish water. You were truly a great merchant, a great Archivist, lived your full during your fleeting life. I will not let your legacy go to waste --- I promise, as the one who hold the Seat of Lavender.”

My final parting words spoken, I suddenly felt a pair of little fists hitting my back. I stood up and turned around. A little girl, one of her ears sticking out like an Elf’s, was hammering me with all her might, her honey-coloured hair waving with each hit. Her face, filled with antagonism, was cutely pouting.

I couldn’t help but to put on a bright smile. “Are you OK, little Miss? I am sure if you have problems, big sister here can help you.” To her, I uttered my first words.

The kid stopped briefly. “Big sis… are you an Elf?”

“What if I am?”

“Elves are bad people, they hurt me so much! Big sis is bad!” The young child yelled while she continued to hammer me with her little fists.

“…Madam, I am sorry! Aria is half human and half Elf, and we just got driven away from Elves’ homeworld.” A young lady of university age ran towards me, obviously worried about the child. “As you could guess, she suffered a lot of discrimination. Please forgive her.”

“It’s fine. Is she your child? You seem to be quite young.”

“I guess for you, Ms. Elf, all of us are quite young.” The young lady replied, her kind smile bringing warmth like the sun in the sky. “But no, she’s a war orphan I picked up during volunteering work. Her family were killed by an Elven mob during the war, and she had nowhere to go. I convinced my family to adopt her, ‘so I can have a cute sister’ was my excuse.”

The young lady suddenly realised something and apologised again. “Sorry! I forgot to give my name. My name is Christina --- Christina Rainsford. A student at the Federal Institute.”

A drop of water fell from the edge of a leaf into small puddle, the sound resonating in my head.

“No worries. I am Constance.” I replied.

“Conz..tans?” Aria was unable to pronounce my name, but her hostility had cooled down entirely.

“It’s Constance, Aria, the same name as my sister.” Christina’s bright attitude dimmed slightly as she picked up Aria. “Lady Constance, I have a sister that I have never met. She always had a frail composition and was a bit shy, and my parents gave up on her. By the time I was born, she was already sent to a boarding school, and she never returned home. I wanted to meet her back then, but when my parents finally allowed me, she had already set off to an alien world and lost contact. She returned now, but I have no way to meet her.”

A hint of regret and sadness flashed over Christina’s face, as she lowered her head. “…She must have hated me. I stole my parents’ love from her, after all. And in her eyes, I must had been the girl who replaced her role in her family, just because I was fortunate enough to have a healthy body. Even if I had no intentions of doing so.” Christina’s mood darkened even more.

I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Christina. Your face is too pretty to be sulking. I can tell you are a kind soul that have done nothing wrong, so hold your head high and smile; look, you don’t want Aria to be sad too, right?”

“…as you said, Lady Constance. Sorry for the rambling. And thanks for your kind words. It really helped.” Christina raised her head. “My parents are here to pick Aria up,” she pointed at two figures in the distance, “so I am free now. If you have time, could I treat you to a coffee?”

“No need, Christina. Your words helped me a lot too. I need to go now, but please take my business card and let me know if you have any troubles.”

“? If you say so… ah, thanks.” Christina took my card.

“Conztans iz good Elf?” The innocent Aria asked.

“I am not an Elf, Aria.” I hid my face with my hand for a brief moment. Elven features disappeared from my face and I returned to my original look, with only my eyes remained in an amethyst colour. “As you can see, I am a human, through and through. Or, was.”

Christina’s parents, seeing what happened in the distance, began to dash towards me, tears of guilt and regret dripping from their eyes. Christina herself was speechless, her left hand covering her wide-open mouth, her gazed affixed to me. Only Aria, the innocent child, was calm.

“Then, Christina, Aria. Please give my parents their greetings. If fate should allow us, then we shall meet again. See you then.”

I disappeared into the jungle of concrete, away from my parents and my sister. Though no longer having the blood to share with them, I nevertheless felt that somewhere deep inside, beyond the nanite façade, the luminance of psionic powers, and the entanglement with another dimension, I was still human.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

The title means “an end and a beginning”, or it can also be taken to mean “the last (words) and the first (words)”. I found it appropriate for a chapter that is essentially the about wrapping up the loose ends and setting the future in motion.

The next chapter would be the final chapter of the novel.