Daughters Of Pierce

Edwardian:     Wasteland. That is all that is left of what I once called home. The earth is so dry here that it's cracked, rippled with barren burnt-out life. There is nothing left. Pierce mountain, the edge of the world as we had once called it, is gone. I can't even describe what's in place because there is simply nothing left.      Darkness is dead and long forgotten. There are stories, mockeries of what I am, what they were. Our culture has been twisted and turned into kink fantasies that are displayed on T.V. screens all over the world. None of these mortals realize that the world they have trampled in our absence doesn't belong to them. They live oblivious mundane lives. Every single one of them has been domesticated. Dumbed down so much that they believe the pages of a book that created by a man that has successfully taken over an entire existence without them noticing.      "E?" I looked over at the little girl who had pulled me out of a fate worse than hell. How do I show her just how much I owe her? How much we will all owe her?     "Do you need something, Rayna?" I asked. She shook her head staying at the entrance of my chambers. I waved her in.     "Nothing specific. I just want to know if you're feeling up to it, maybe you'd like to take a walk with me. I know it's a lot to take in right now. Waking up to all of this but it's not healthy to stay barricaded indoors like this,"      "The air out there is heavily polluted. It aches to breathe," she nodded understandingly. Did she understand or does she just get that this isn't the air I want to be breathing?     "It's the only air there is right now. Until we can do something about it, you'll have to get used to it. Gwen told me you have a sweet tooth. There's a candy shop in town, it's run by Thios' mom. She makes the best taffy I have ever had. Come out with me. Let me teach you how to live in this time so when they come back, you can show them,"     "You are too pure," I scoffed.     She laughed as if were a joke. Her expression is beautiful. She's made things bearable for me since my arrival. She's kept everyone from crowding me. She's asked them to give me space so that I can adjust to being among the living once again.     Edith, a young Luna has taken to teaching me the technology of this world. It's a bit different compared to what I'm used to. The engineering of this world is something else. Edith knows Cassian. My goddess, Cassian has had to suffer in a changing world alone. She's had to adapt to a world that is filled with emptiness. A world without Abbadon, without us.      I sense her in the wolf. Cassian's brilliance and arrogance are portrayed perfectly in the girl's demeanor. The way she approaches things with fearful kindness, the fire in her eyes, the determination, the passion. It's all there.      "Ah, you come out for her but not for me?" Edith playfully nudged me when we walked out of Rayna's packhouse.     They've become friends. These two females together are an amazing team. They remind me of my sisters. Carter, the newest addition to Rayna's ranks, he reminds me of my brother. The three of them are always together. They laugh. They live. They conquer.     "Lady, Edwardian. You grace us with your presence," Carter called out as he ran in our direction.      "I was promised sweets," I joked. They all beamed at the small bit of information.      "Well, we know just the place," he growled playful poking Rayna in her ribs. She spun around smacking him lightly on the chest. If she had intended to hurt him, I'm sure Carter would no longer be standing on his feet.      "We should get going," she laughed.     "Actually, Edith can take the queen. Arthur needs you for something that has to do with the alpha's training. They're down by the docks," he informed her. Her expression falters and it flatters me that she'd want to spend time with me.      "Okay, but when I come back I want to introduce you to someone. I want some feedback on a decision I have to make regarding her. Just an outsider's point of view. You know Queen to Queen?" I smiled at her.      "I would be honored to pass my counsel," she grinned.      "Great, give Luna Montgomery my regards," she excused herself before she and Carter walked back in the direction he had come from.      They began to playful shove each other as the went. Their laughter pleases the others around them. They're really good at leading their people. I can't help but feel a little envious. I never got the chance to fix the mess my parents had made. I never got to show them I could be their Queen and not just a soldier.     "You ready?" Edith asked.      "Lead the way," I nodded. She motioned me to follow. I noticed how she falls into step with me. How she never attempts to step ahead of me. This is a trait passed on from my uncle. A trait my mother had to beat into him when he tried to surpass her. He made sure that my younger sisters knew their place. Cas must have taught her this. "Edith, tell me about your time with Cas,"     "She is all I know really," she shrugged. "I resented her a lot at first. I get it now. Why she isolated herself, why she tried so hard to remind me that I was just another soldier to her,"      "I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like the Cassian I know," she let out a stifled giggle.      "I really don't know what to tell you. If I'm being honest, and I am. I don't know s**t about Cassian. I didn't even know she was half vampire until a few years ago when I caught her feeding on one of my officers. She hid everything from all of us. I held on to the small intimate things she did for me growing up,"      "She favored you?" she shook her head.      "As her champion, she was harder on me. She favored my little sister. Sam is her baby. The only reason Sam was out on that battlefield was because Sam wanted to be. If it were up to Cas, Sam would have been very spoiled. Not that she isn't,"      "Where is Sam?" I asked.      "She's not far. She's a Luna. Her mate has laid the world at her feet. I want her to enjoy that for as long as she can. It's what mother- I mean, Cassian would have wanted,"      "How well do you know this world?" I found myself asking.      She looked up at me. The golden elixir of her eyes is tantalizing. Yet, that isn't the original color of her eyes. I can see the blue on the left and green on the right under the gold. I can't help but wonder what Cassian did to this girl to make her this powerful.     "I know enough of it to know that it's only going to break your heart. You don't owe this world s**t. Whatever you're going to do, do it. At the end of the day, the mortals you are trying to save will be the same mortals that will point at you and tell you how much of an abomination you are. There is close to nothing that scares them anymore. They've sexualized monsters, they think sacrificing one another to the dark lord is funny, those who are meant to lead the lost ones are the ones who inflict the most damage.      "You can't win this world. There is no good and evil anymore. s**t, male and female aren't the only genders anymore. What made them unique has been exploited. So, if you're asking me if I think this world will accept what you have in mind, my answer is who f*****g cares. It's not like they can stop you,"  I laughed at her cynism. That's such a Cassian thing to say.      "You may not be her blood daughter but you are definitely hers," she smiled like I had paid her a compliment.     "You don't look like her. She has black hair. Her skin is basically paperwhite,"         "My skin changes colors depending on how far my brother is from me. We're twins. Since we aren't on the realm, my skin is dark. It's dim because of the magical circuits that keep us connected. My hair is this shade because it favors the cold right now since it's winter. We're elementals. Cassian is a water elemental. Katherian is an earth elemental. Dominion is a wind elemental. Philip is a fire elemental. We get these powers from our father. He is what Darkness refers to as the Elder Elemental. We don't look alike apart but once we're together, you wouldn't be able to deny the similarities," I'm rambling and I don't know how to stop.     "How are we going to get them back?" she asked.      "We have everything we need,"      "Then what the hell are you waiting for? She's waiting for us. They all are," my chest aches. She is just like her.     "Edith, releasing Darkness from purgatory is not as simple as it sounds. The summoning spell, not only will it bring the barriers of Darkness back. Everything that has ever been locked away inside of purgatory will come with it. Darkness and the world you know now aren't the only lifetimes this earth has lived. There are darker more monstrous things down there. There are six houses that house species from six different stars. That's what Darkness is. There were twenty-six stars. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"     "There are twenty other kinds of monsters down there,"      "Precisely. Twenty other kinds of monsters that could potentially kill us all. Not just mortals,"     "What do we do then?"      "You've been to purgatory. What did you see?" she swallowed.     "A prison," she sighed before we stopped in front of a small shop. "You know how they say animals sense things most can't pick up on? My wolf would rather watch this world burn than to go back there,"