The alarm went off, the girl's eyes were slowly opened as the light of day dilated her pupils. She rolled the side of the bed and turned off the alarm, yawning she stretched out and walked over to her dressing room, grimacing at seeing how big it was, Athena never felt like she needed much but her wealthy father insisted in that since she had to always make a good impression and look good. Which for him meant expensive clothes of course.
She did her best to choose something that would be of her father's liking but wasn't as ostentatious for her to be uncomfortable, once she's was done the girl made her way downstairs giving her mother a short peck on the cheek and stroking her father's shoulder; whom simply smiled softly at the sight of his young and beautiful daughter.
"How was work?" She asked bluntly to her father as she sat down in front of the colossal dinner table
"Same as always, those freaks are still keeping their mouth shut"
"Well they might have their reasons..." she murmured below her breath, but her father still managed to hear what she had said
"As we do honey, if they keep their mouth shut about this Imperial Prince or whatever the fuck, they call this kid they're putting the whole world in danger"
"Imperials can't be that bad, my god they just have powers, what's so wrong about that?" She huffed, ignoring her mother's worried look, the patriarch punched the polished white marble dining table provoking a loud thud to echo the room, but women could not help but jump slightly at such bang
"They killed thousands of us Athena, you cannot understand-"
"Well only because you've killed thousands of them! Haven't you thought that maybe they're just fighting back? You can't expect them to sit around and wait to be killed" she was raging at this point, both were
"Maybe we did wrong in naming you after the goddess of wisdom, because I see nothing but an ignorant teenager before me" he spat, the mother looked at her husband in disbelief, while their young daughter seemed to somehow shrink to his words.
Somehow her father always seems to strike a nerve deep within her guts, it was hard to define her relationship with her father, indeed she felt certain affection towards the man that procreated her, but she did not agree with him. Sometimes she inevitably wondered how she could be raised by him and still have so different morals nor beliefs.
As hard as it was to come to terms with it, she was not really surprised with her father's words, he always managed to belittle the girl, whether it was through actions or rather harsh and spiteful words-like in this specific scenario-.
"Balthazar!" His wife exclaimed firmly, they both exchanged a long-lasting glance, before her gaze fell upon her daughter whose shoulders fell low ruining her posture, she looked at the ground trying her hardest to keep holding onto the nerve-racking storm that grew inside the pit of her stomach, her heart seemed to skip a few beats as she sat on the wooden chair wanting nothing else but to disappear.
Metiah's gaze softened and her heart shirked "Athena, get ready for school, you'll be late otherwise" the teenager barely looked at her mother in the eye, but she did not argue to her mother's commands as she grabbed her backpack and slammed the door closed.
For a moment the echoing of the door was the only thing that could be heard around the house itself, but tension grew as the older woman clenched her jaw "You will not disrespect our daughter. Specially not in front of me"
"She's out of control Metiah! You cannot let her defy my authority" he said rather angry, his wife stood up abruptly as she stared into his eyes with an iron gaze
"I will NOT punish my daughter for having an opinion." The chair was loudly moved to the side as the woman walked away, it had been so long since they had a stable marriage.
On one hand, Balthazar was far too gone, the military lifestyle had taken over him. He was never the same when he came back and Metiah knew that, from the moment he put a single foot in the house; that nothing would ever be the same.
Walking to school helped Athena clear her thoughts but it certainly did not stop the lonely tears from falling onto the ice-cold pavement, she hated that. Because, and even though it sounded quite cold-hearted nor unbelievable she was somehow used to being constantly verbally abused and belittled by her own father.
As geek as it would sound school was Athena's escape from the reality within her household. In here, people smiled and waved at the sight of her and didn't point out her mistakes in her littlest actions, and well... then was Emilio.
The cute and mysterious foreign boy she so evidently fancied, even when they hadn't talked as much, she could find herself falling for him and she was also attracted to the shell of coyness around him, it was as if he was trying to hide something and Athena couldn't help but wonder what that could be.
What she didn't realize is how lethal it would be to unravel the secrets of the Spanish boy.
Her bright eyes managed to spot him from across the room, she called out his name from across the hall and waved, the boy waved back and walked over to her.
"Uh hi Athena... listen I'm sorry about last time like if I scared you or something" he said awkwardly scratching the back of his head, the girl couldn't help but find his shyness adorable as she smiled
"It's alright, but are you okay though?" Emilio's cheeks turned slightly pink, he was so nervous whenever the redheaded girl was with him, her mere presence made his heart flutter and all coherent track of mind seemed to jump out the window. He had a massive crush on this girl.
"Oh yeah. I'm all good now"
"Would you like, want to go for a walk or something? If you're not busy of course" The poor boy stood there frozen in a shock, what this beautiful girl really asking him to hang out with him after he ran out? It felt so unreal to him.
His twin, at acknowledging the lack of response from his brother, he decided to give him a little push, literally. With both hands on his shoulders, he pushed him a little forward and smiled at the girl who expectantly waited for a response.
"He would love to" he said smiling, Emilio looked at his brother who glared at him and made a small head motion, telling him to just go. He turned back to Athena and smiled
"Yeah, let's go" there was not much to say after that.
The pair walked around campus, but it was silent, it wasn't necessarily and uncomfortable one, but it was odd for Emilio to see her so quiet, when looking over at her, her arms were grabbed around herself and looked down, she seemed so thoughtful, like she was just going over and over about something.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, and her eyes quickly where laid on him as she forced a life
"I'm just a little cold, that's all" she responded, and her companion didn't hesitate before taking of his sweater and handing it to her
"Take mine"
"But what if you get cold?" he shrugged
"I never do really"
At first, she didn't think it was right but looking into his sweet blue eyes, she just couldn't refuse so she put it on. Nevertheless, Emilio noticed her mood didn't change for the better. She looked down at her hand and decided to softly hold it in his, enclosing his palm on her perfectly, Athena looked up at the boy as such action was taking place.
"Sorry, does it bother you?" she shook her head as she squeezed his hand tighter "Listen, I, uh, know that don't really know each other and all but, are you okay? You look sad" she sighed
"It's just my dad... he's a little hard to deal with sometimes" she murmured
"You don't get along?"
"We just see life differently, but I sometimes can't stand being in my house"
There was a small silence, as Emilio thought of some way to make her feel better or at least get her mind of things.
"Why don't you come with me after school, I know a cool restaurant not far from here, you could tell your parents and then we'll go in my car if you want"
"Is it like a date?" she teased, and the boy turned bright pink in the blink of an eye, this girl had him weak to his knees
"I- um, well only if you want it to be, I mean I would never force you into anything you don't want to do" the girl giggled at his nervous, to her eyes he was indeed one of a kind.
"That sounds amazing Emilio" she said "I'll see you later then" she said hopeful, kissing his cheek briefly making his skin to be covered and goosebumps even as he watched her go.
Sensing a weird but familiar smell, Emilio wrinkled his nose, to soon find out that there were small flames on his feet, getting caught off guard completely he gasped and stopped the fire, but it was too late for Emilio's shoes, specifically his soles that were singed by the flames, the boy sighed in defeat.
No, he wasn't going to let his stupid lack of control on pyrokinesis ruin this day, he wanted everything to be perfect for his date with Athena, determined to give her a time she wouldn't forget. In some way, he did give her an unforgettable evening, but not in the same context he would've liked.
The rest of the day was all too slow and seemed unending, and not in a good way. Emilio couldn't stop looking at the clock and torture himself with the ticking of the second hand of the clock following its every move.
A clear image of the girl invaded her thoughts, her long smooth orange locks, her mellifluous and sweet personality and the perfect smile adorned with her small dimples, the way she always stared at him intently or whenever her gorgeous smile would show at his words.
Daydream about her was the only thing that eased his anxious manners, like a cure to all evil or the honey to its honeycomb, she represented not the complement to something, but the outcome of everything.
See, Emilio didn't feel whole with her, because he was already whole. Instead, Athena made him feel part of something an important piece in the means to an end, rather than the malfunction within the process.
"You may be excused now" the teacher instructed, and the Spaniard did his best to not let his jumpiness show as he picked up his stuff and left the class, where-to his great surprise-Athena was already waiting for him, when he stood in front of her, the girl rubbed her arm.
"I hope you don't mind that I waited here, I just couldn't wait to see you" she explained apologetically; his heart fluttered at her simple and yet, quite meaningful choice of words. She couldn't wait to see him? That sounded like music to his ears because that meant she showed interest in him as well.
He could not hold back onto his goofy smile, even so as he took his hand in hers again, Ivan already knew what plans he have had made with Athena and he obviously knew his mother wouldn't mind it either. In fact, knowing her, she would be all happy and jumpy that Emilio was finally hanging out with someone that wasn't his twin brother, much more if she found out it was a girl.
Dear god... he thought, his mother would go crazy if she knew he was on a date, silently, he prayed Ivan wouldn't slip out the word date when talking to their mother, if he was already nervous about it coming home to his mom wanting to know even the smallest detail would not be the greatest thing in the world.
The ride was a bliss for Athena, she left her window open and enjoyed the California breeze that hit her face, she stretched out her hand and felt the wind dance around in her tiny palms wildly, she felt the sun rays cover and heat up her skin, sometimes, with everything that happened at home, she could easily forget how amazing this place was. Sunny and full of life, people on the streets, dogs, the perfect blue sky, the clean sidewalk or the fresh smell of the sea in the evening.
This place was an ounce of heaven in earth, at least in her eyes, because to Emilio, the piece of heaven in earth was the girl carelessly sitting in the passenger seat.
"Tell me more about you" she said making him smile
"What do you want to know?"
"Dunno. Your family perhaps?"
"Well there's my twin whom you know, of course"
"Of course" she smiled
"...And well we have an older sister, but she left after she turned 20"
"Because of the charter?"
"Yeah"
After the Imperial race had been wiped out, and the borders of the city weren't enough to hold onto the younger generations, new laws were established, and The New World reform was implemented, this charters stated that every twenty-year-old who was picked by the government, male or female; would cross the gates that led to the rest of the world outside the system.
So they were no longer the government's responsibility, they could finally be free, with the condition they never spoke about Imperials to the rest of the world. Everyone wondered what it was like, being outside of such oppressing political power.
So, at it would be hoped any person over the age of twenty can appeal to being chosen for such reform, but not everyone achieves the permission, in fact, people rarely ever do but that has never stopped many from giving it a try.
Thinking about the New Reform made Emilio nervous, his stomach twitched as it filled with worry, only a small group of twelve people was chosen, the odds of both twins being picked was extremely low and getting the state's approval could take years and by that time Ivan could die.
Shaking his head, Emilio got all those thoughts out of his mind, he was just being paranoid, and no matter what he had to remain hopeful when it regarded Ivan's future because there were days where his brother doubted, he had any. Days where it all appeared to be hopeless, so Emilio and his parents had to give him the best smiles and encourage him to move forward.
Although, some days were harder than others and keeping hope alive seemed like an impossible task, but he tried his best to imagine his brother's future, without the heart monitor and all the restrictions that he had. Yet again, he found himself, remembering what he repeated when looking at his brother.
He's going to get through all this, he's getting the heart surgery he needs and live until he's old and grey, he must live. "You okay there?" she asked
"Oh yeah, I just zoned out I think, the place I told you about is around the corner" he explained as he turned to the left corner and parked. His companion undid her belt, but he quickly stopped her. "Wait, let me do it" he told her before getting out of the car.
Soon enough, he was on the other side, opening the door for her and giving her his hand to hold, which she did. Quite gladly.
They both went inside the casual place and as it would be expected, Emilio held the door for her to come in first, they decided to sit on a booth together and look at the menu to figure out what to order.
Some milkshakes and burgers were served to them and they thanked the lovely lady who looked at them with a mischievous smile upon her lips. They were sitting as Emilio thought of something to talk to her a little bit more, maybe find out more about her.
"So what about you?" She frowned
"What about me?"
"Tell me something about you"
"Uh... well I feel kinda out of place at times"
"You? Out of place? Nah, I don't buy it"
"I'm serious! Like everyone here is so reserved with opinions and they have such a straight path on how their life should be and I just think. No! That's not how it's supposed to be! Life is about all the good and bad, the mistakes and achievements it just doesn't make sense to me how people here think they have their lives sorted out or that things are always supposed to be one way. I don't know it's like everyone sees life as something grey and I see it on full color"
Emilio looked at her intently and listened quietly to her every word. Which obviously made her subconscious of what she had said. Rolling onto the tip of one of her brilliant locks she inevitably giggled out of nervousness.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that I just ranted" she excused herself
"No, no. It's okay I get how you feel, more than you think" he said, it was true. There were times were he simply did feel like an outsider. Not just because of his powers, that was part of the reason, of course. But here, he just didn't feel as he was ever part of the society and finding someone like Athena who felt the exact same, was like a breath of fresh air, suddenly he didn't felt so alone anymore.
Hours went by, and the two teenagers sitting in the leather booth were still enjoying themselves, Emilio made his date laugh and forget about whatever that it was that upset her in the early morning.
When staring at each other, the Australian beauty noticed that the boy had a bit of whipped cream in his cheek, she pointed it out with her finger, but the boy didn't seem to get it, giggling she grabbed a napkin and gently rubbed his cheek. She was so close to him that she could devise the different shades of blue in his orbs, see how his pupils dilated in the smallest bit.
Their eyes locked into each other, with the closeness they both shared they were left speechless, only admiring their mere presence, their hearts beat faster as Emilio took a huge risk standing out of his comfort zone and tangling his fingers within her hair, she pulled closer as he did so, for a single split of a second Emilio hoped his powers wouldn't make an scene just now. His eyes diverted to her lips, those rosy and smooth lips he dreamt about for days, Athena slowly closed her eyes and Emilio just went for it, before he could overthink the situation like he always did.
Barely grazing her lips, his heart fluttered as he went on, slowly trying to find a pace and feel comfortable with his actions, the kiss turned more passionate but still slow. At one point, Emilio could feel his body temperature rising, so he reluctantly pulled away before his nature got the best of him.
They were both smiling widely, this fulfilled the expectations laid on this casual date, to ensure they both shared interest into each other and enjoy their company just a little bit longer.
The Spaniard felt on the very cloud nine, he wanted to kiss her repeatedly, get lost in the sensations and forget that the world outside this simple venue even existed. But it was getting dark, and the couple knew it was time for it to end and wait for the next day to come.
"I better take you home" he said in a low whisper, almost as if he didn't want to say it so they could stay here, frozen in time.
"Yeah" she said a little disappointed, making a soft grin flash upon Emilio's face.
When leaving the place, the two hair a heartbroken plead to the distance, they both looked at each other confused
"You heard that?" Emilio nodded, he hated using his abilities, but he sensed danger, so he sharpened his hearing and listened closely.
"Please don't hurt me!" Emilio's heart raced as he heard the sobs of the helpless stranger, obviously scared
"Give it to me!"
Without being able to help himself, he ran after the voices into a dark alley, Athena called out his name, asking him what he was doing and where did he think he was going, but all her worried questions were evaded, and she had no other choice but to follow him.
A few blocks from the restaurant, he reached a lonely alley, a poor middle-aged woman was curled up in a ball crying and pleading to be left alone, a male silhouette dressed in all black and covering his features with a long hood, approached her dangerously.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" he exclaimed stepping closer. The guy turned at hearing his voice, his skin was white as porcelain, face was long-diamond shaped, the nose bridge was long, and the tip was broad, his hair was platinum blonde, curly and slightly grazed his arched eyebrows.
"Step aside, hero" he mocked with an arrogant smirk on his face
"I said. Leave. Her. Alone" he said stepping firmly as the woman began shaking out of fear
"You really wanna do this, don't ya?"
"Emilio, please let's just go" Athena pleaded scared to death
"Athena, step aside, please" he murmured, the stranger showed his palms that were now blue, and a minor smoke exuded from them. Emilio stared at him in shock, his eyes were now a pale shade of blue, but they still shined like diamonds. An imperial? No, it couldn't be. They were all dead, he was the only one, yet, he had an ice imperial in front of him.
"Why don't 'cha backout already?" he tempted the boy, who remained silent as he stared at the stranger "Well... enjoy being an ice statue" he said throwing his hands forward, huge blasts of ice came from his hands and Emilio crossed his arms over his face, a heat wave was blasted in response, turning the ice into nothing but smoke.
He looked up and the assaulter was startled, to put it lightly, he stared at Emilio's orange orbs as he came dangerously close, he tried to stop the Spaniard by sacredly throw ice in his direction, but it was no use as Emilio was obviously stronger. His hand provided a forceful grip onto the shirt in the guy's collarbone, gradually burning it.
"I thought you were a myth- "the albino man blurted out
"What are you talking about?" he hissed
"You're the Imperial Prince" Emilio's rage couldn't help but be fueled with the stranger's words as he thought he was just blabbering out of fear
"Your name"
"W-what?"
"Your. Fucking. Name."
"Tyler Hosterman" he barely managed to say
"Listen Tyler, I have no idea who do you think I am, but I tell you who I know I am. I'm the one person who will hunt you down if you keep hurting innocents. Am I making myself clear?" the poor boy nodded frenetically "Go" he growled as he finally set him free, letting him run away.
Once he was gone, Emilio approach the terrified woman who whimpered and silently prayed as she stared at Emilio's unnatural orange shade. At such thing, Emilio showed his normal bright blue eyes, trying to calm her down.
"I'm not gonna hurt you ma'am. I promise, you're safe now" he helped the woman to stand back in her feet and she gave him a warm hug, that's how Emilio noticed the small shakes in her body. She thanked him as she cried relieved.
"Please just don't tell anyone about this" the woman nodded as she left and ordered a cab in the sidewalk.
Then, Emilio was left to face a very shocked Athena, if the date was amazing, this just ruined all the magic. Literally. "Athena, please don't hate me" he said in a low whisper
"You're an imperial?"
"Can we talk on the way to your place? It's really not safe for us to talk about it out here"
As he had promised, Emilio had spent the whole car ride telling the truth to Athena, about his powers and how he didn't understand their limits and specially how, until tonight, he had thought he was the only one left of the Imperials and it was hard for Athena to admit, but she had suspected it. She simply wasn't sure. Besides, what were the odds? On the brighter side, a lot of things made sense now and for a moment she couldn't help but feel bad for Emilio, feeling scared of being hunted down and the constant loneliness he must feel daily; Athena could just wonder how he managed to live through all this and still have a smile to offer the world.
Her hand laid in his in a sign of comfort, and Emilio looked at her. "Does this mean you're not gonna pretend I don't exist after tonight?" he asked innocently, and the girl's heart ached at the sincerity with which he spoke
"Of course not. You're still Emilio no matter what" she said reassuringly before placing a soft peck on his lips "Thank you for today, and also for being the hero" Emilio helplessly blushed at her words but still chuckled as he said goodbye.
The girl waited until Emilio's car left the block before going into the house, she could see her mother in the kitchen across the hall but there was no sight of her father whatsoever.
"Where's dad?"
"Working late again" the mother replied simply, the girl let out a relieved sigh as her mother finished speaking, she closed the door behind her, kissed her mother and went upstairs to the bedroom as she wasn't hungry and just wanted to sleep the previous events off, calling it a day for now.
Another punch was attested onto the man's face, his whole mouth was covered in blood and his clothes were spiked in a mixture of saliva and blood, he hadn't showered in days, prisoner in the government installations, the ruthless general Balthazar watched as the man's body begged for mercy and yet he found himself chuckling wickedly.
"Torture me all you want Balthazar... you won't stop the Prince's arrival"
"You're just a senile old man"
"If you really thought that was true, I wouldn't be here. Or would I?" irritated by the man's mocking manners he kicked his ribs, throwing him to the ground.
Before the military chief continued his torture to the delusional prisoner, screams were heard, and soon Balthazar realized it was Tyler who was sprinting at a monstrous pace, when he stopped at last, he took a moment to breathe enough for him to form coherent sentences.
"The prince- "Tyler gasped
"What? SPEAK!" he roared
"It's true. I saw him, he's alive sir" he said, another persistent laughter drew everyone's attention back to the old man who was now sitting on the floor, legs crossed as he continued to laugh.
"Oh silly men... he has come for all of you sinners"
"Tell me how to stop him Hephaestus" the man smirked
"There's no stopping him. He's going to destroy everything you've built Balthazar. He will burn it to the ground and resurrect the imperial race and form his kingdom under your ashes. The imperiums will rise once he proves worthy."
"I've taken down whole generations of you freaks and you think I can't take one man down"
"It's nothing like you've ever faced, but you're blinded by ambition my friend. You should run for your life cause once he finds all of us, He's coming after you and no military artifacts will be a match to his rage"
Balthazar clenched his fists "THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO STOP HIM" he screamed at the top of his lungs
"It's all written. Fate is an undeniable force Mr. Dumuzi, you should know that by now"
"Stop bluffing, you know a way to stop him, don't you?"
"I am just a prophet. I say what will be, not what could be" he continued to talk "Born in a modest home, the prince will free us from our exile, build a new world. He will have the strength of the inferno, master of fire element, he will dissolve the oppressing system and guide us to the peace. When he masters his abilities the rebellion shall begin. Every imperial would bow before him and join his army, oh... it will be like nothing humanity has witness, he will surfer till his tears turn into flames and only then we will see the Prince in all his glory. Guided by one young love, he will lead the way onto a new age of enlightenment"
The man went on with the prophecy, but the military chief has had more than enough of it, so he closed the door behind him and reached the ear of one of the security guards "Shut him up. But keep him alive... barely" the man nodded, and the general stomped out of there furious.
There was absolutely no way just one man would destroy everything he and his father had built. His legacy and his city weren't going to be under behalf of a freak. No, he would never let it happen. Regardless of the costs, he would defeat the Imperial Prince, no matter who he had to kill or what he needed to do first. He was determined to hunt down the infamous prince, subdue him and kill him to end the last bit of hope there could ever be for imperiums; the prophecy would never succeed and Balthazar Dumuzi would do anything in his power to take down the Imperial Prince.
For good.