Season 05 - Episode 10

‘for the awful’

Ri is at her post in the throne room, standing silent and still within the deep hood of her robes. In the far distance she hears footsteps approaching and narrows her eyes to peer out at the broad bright room, framed by the edge of her hood.

The great double doors, made small by distance, open inwards and a small group of people enter. First a robed woman, followed by the imposing figures of two Seraphim. Between them stumbles a figure, arms held tight on either side by unforgiving metal hands.

“Your ascendent holiness!” gasps Patience, barely managing to contain her excitement as she reaches the base of the throne platform. “The plan worked perfectly and it is with great joy and satisfaction that I present to you, the leader of The Resistance.”

As Ri watches, the Seraphim stride forwards, their metallic footsteps echoing heavy in the vast throne room. Patience sweeps her arm dramatically as the prisoner is thrown to the floor at the base of the great platform. Far above, Pho looks down, unmoved, imperious.

“We would know the heretic's name,” she says eventually, the words quiet yet icy.

“Your sublime holiness...” Patience begins only to be interrupted by the man.

“My name is Si!” he cries, springing to his feet. “I am the Commander in Chief of The First Resistance Army of The Levels and I demand to be recognised as a prisoner of war! I...”

The torrent of words is cut short as one of the Seraphim strides in, scoops the young man up and then slams him down heavily, face first flat, onto the polished stone floor. Then, as Si whimpers and splutters, The Seraphim presses a heavy metal boot into the small of his back. Pinned and prone, Si flails briefly then sags, wheezing and choking.

“You will not address The God Empress directly,” Patience hisses.

“So,” says Pho, as if nothing has happened. “This is the man who presumed to stand against our holy troops. We expected more. His fellow conspirators have been dealt with?”

“Your iridescent holiness,” Patience gushes. “They are dead. Every one.”

“This pleases us,” says Pho, without sounding very pleased at all. “Let it be known...”

There follows a speech of mercy and love however Ri isn't listening. She's heard it all before and knows how it ends. She reflects on her new life here, back in The Levels. The rooms her mother has given her are even bigger than those in the other place. She has a great open space of perfect darkness, in which she can breath and relax.

This luxury brings her little comfort however, now that her mother has put her to work. Before, in the other place, her mere presence was usually enough so that she almost never had to actually do the terrible things she was known for. The awful, red, wet things.

Back here in The Levels however, her mother commands her to do those things almost daily, to let the dread, crushing panic consume her, to explode into tearing and gouging. Then, later, in the peaceful dark, the sounds and textures and smells and tastes, they cling to her, so that even when she doesn't feel crushed from without, her heart crushes itself within.

She has tried to talk to her mother about this. She has tried to say no, that she wishes to stop, but her mother will not listen. Her mother doesn't listen to anyone anymore, not since she decided she is a god. People are just things to her now, toys or tools.

She will never let Ri stop.

“And so,” Pho drones towards the well practiced climax. “In the spirit of our holy mercy, we shall not see you publicly martyred, but rather given peace quickly, here and now.”

Ri takes her cue and mechanically lowers her hood. Instantly, the light of the room and the knowledge of all the infinite people and places and things pressing in on her from all sides, it all rushes in, consuming her, so that her heart races and her eyes bulge.

Ri sweeps down the stairs, black robes flowing, with such vehemence and speed that even The Seraphim step backwards in fear. She falls on the broken man and tears him apart, hearing herself sob as she rends him. Then it is done and she is climbing the stairs, sticky red lumps falling thick from her fingers, blood drying tight on her face.

Her mother is praising her while Patience ushers in scurrying servants to clean up the mess. As she returns to her station and stands still once more, Ri knows what must happen now. She will not do this ever again. This has to end and there is only one way to make it end.

Ri is going to kill her mother.

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