Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4234743.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M, Multi
  Fandom:
      Mad_Max_Series_(Movies)
  Relationship:
      Immortan_Joe/Original_Character(s)
  Character:
      Immortan_Joe, Original_Female_Character(s), Original_Male_Character(s),
      The_Organic_Mechanic, The_First_History_Man, Rictus_Erectus, Miss_Giddy_
      (Mad_Max)
  Additional Tags:
      Suicide_Attempt, Suicidal_Thoughts, Cutting, Implied/Referenced_Torture,
      Miscarriage, Forced_Pregnancy, Suicide, Drugged_Sex, Rough_Sex, Forced
      Marriage, Bondage, Stockholm_Syndrome, Depression, Post-Traumatic_Stress
      Disorder_-_PTSD, Chastity_Device, Branding, Whipping, Forced_Bonding,
      Forced_Masturbation, Rough_Oral_Sex, Non-Consensual_Oral_Sex, mother
      figure, Angst_and_Hurt/Comfort, Graphic_Description, Vaginal_Fingering,
      Finger_Sucking, Fingerfucking, Drug_Use, Explicit_Language, Biting
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-06-29 Updated: 2015-11-13 Chapters: 5/? Words: 17850
****** The Lachrymose ******
by AiyanaNyx
Summary
     Bathed, hair brushed and touseled. Cheeks pinched into a blush, lips
     darkened with soot and skin whitened with talc. There was a reason
     Immortan Joe wanted his future wives prepared in this manner...
     WARNING: This story has dark elements (suicide, cutting, ect.) that
     may be triggering to some viewers. Reader discretion is HIGHLY
     ADVISED.
Notes
     This story, which has been floating around in my head for a long
     while now, will take place many years before Mad Max: Fury Road and
     will draw references from both the comics and the movie. It's safe to
     say that this is a bit of a "What If" fic for reasons that will be
     explained later on in the story.
     I do not own any characters in or mentioned from the Mad Max Series.
     The rights to them are solely those of their creator. All characters
     you do not recognize are ones of my own creation. Please do not reuse
     them in artwork or stories without my consent.
     With that said, please enjoy The Lachrymose.
***** Prologue *****
The very world outside raged into a fury storm, something that was seen often
enough to be disregarded. It was accepted, especially in the Wastelands. One
could do nothing about it, only go inside and wait it out for however long the
storm decided to last. Inside the dome, they were safe. The storm could not
reach them, but the words of the History Man’s stories could. Children and
their mothers- the vast majority of them anyways- gathered around the tattooed
man, listening intently as he finished his recanting of the tales from the
past. Children sat wide eyed as he spoke of the great liberator Furiosa and her
traveling companions, the Great War that ended years of tyranny.
Once he’d finished, quiet claps from the hands of the little ones filled the
dome, some scooting closer to the History Man.
‘History Man,” one particular young one spoke up after the clapping died down.
‘Tell us the story of the Lachrymose!”
‘Yes! The Lachrymose Legend!” Another added until all of the children were
chanting Lachrymose, their mothers sharing smiles with one another as others
attended to their babies cradled against their breasts. The History Man
chuckled and smiled at the thirst for knowledge displayed within these little
lotus flowers, some of whom were once treadmill rats and War Pups, others that
came from the Wretched down below (Though Wretched was a long since forgotten
term for them all). So many younglings… All of them were either born or stolen
away to this place, none of them yet knowing or understanding what life was
like outside of the Citadel.
‘Ah, the Lachrymose Legend,” the old man said, readjusting himself on the rim
of the clear pool of water before them. ‘That is indeed one of the oldest of my
tales."
‘How so?” A girl child asked, her blue eyes big and round. The man smiled
gently at her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
‘Because it was a secret legend amongst the first of us,” he added. ‘At one
point in time, it was forbidden to even speak of the Lachrymose, for fear that
she would be angered by the words people spoke about her.” The children and
women looked to him in wonder, curious at his words. ‘A time ago, indeed before
most of you were born, there was a beautiful maiden that lived far from this
place; a woman of great white beauty both literally and figuratively. She was
the vision of loveliness; hair and skin white as ash, lips so maroon they were
almost black, and eyes dark as the midnight sky. She was born of a Snow Mother-
an albino- and a Sun Father, but could pass for one of the Snow. After seeing
the struggles people had, she came to the Citadel to take away the women and
children born below, taking them to a beautiful place far to the East so that
they would never know the horrors of fighting for survival in the most
unforgiving of landscapes.”
‘Was it the Liberator Furiosa?” a boy piped up. The History Man shook his head.
‘She was like the Liberator, yes,” he laughed. ‘But no, she was not the Great
Furiosa. You will not find her in books, no pictures, no marked grave bearing
her name. But you can find remnants of her kind spirit all around you.” This
caused a murmur to pass through the children who leaned forward in interest.
Even the women present in the room were captivated. ‘Listen well, do you hear?
Sometimes you can hear her soft voice in the wind, her laughter in the
crackling of the fire, and see her loving smile when you gaze into the stars
above. She watches over all of you, protecting you from harm, and whispers
softly so that you know she's always there. Some would call her a saint,
martyred for trying to save who she could. Others would say she was just a
pretty face staring out at them from the glass of this very dome."
‘The Lachrymose lived here?” A girl exclaimed in shock. The History Man shook
his head.
‘No, little one. The Lachrymose came here to rescue people, not to live. Even
so, some say that she lingers here; why, just a few days ago, someone claimed
that they saw a woman staring down at the people below, watching over them, but
when they glanced away and looked again, she was nowhere to be found. But yet
there was the lingering scent of flowers that once were here. It's said that if
you smell the fresh scent of flowers, it means that you are in the presence of
the Lachrymose, even if you cannot see her.
‘Once every two months, the Lachrymose would come under the cover of darkness
to this place with her brother- also a half blood- to find those willing to
travel into hostile lands with the promise of a better life, a free life
without knowing the struggles of this one. They would smuggle them out in any
way that they could, even if the threat of death was always lingering over
their heads. But little did the siblings know that their bi-monthly trips to
the Citadel were attracting the unwanted attention of the tyrannical Immortan
Joe and his War Boys.
'One night, coming to collect those who wished to leave, the Snow children fell
into a trap set by the Immortan. He interrogated the siblings as to their true
intentions, but neither spoke the truth. Instead, they managed to trick him
into believing they were traveling arms dealers, bringing new guns for his
inspection.” The History Man paused, letting his words sink in.
‘What happened after that?” an older child asked as she balanced a young boy on
her lap.
‘Immortan Joe fell for the ruse and bought the guns that siblings had brought.
In return, he gave the Snow children water, and they made away to their vehicle
before disappearing into the East. But little to anyone’s knowledge, the
Lachrymose had stowed the people that were brave enough to follow them within
the other crates that supposedly contained the rest of their wares into the
back of their rig. While her brother drove, she cared for them all by
medicating and bandaging their boils and wounds, feeding and clothing them and
guarding them with her life. In that manner, they returned to freedom where
they were never seen again. And so the Lachrymose lived on in the hearts of
those that followed her, remembered always for her courage and kindness in
putting others before herself.” The History Man finished. The children cheered
for the victory of Lachrymose and her brave brother. All except for one.
‘But History Man,” the blonde child asked. ‘If the Lachrymose escaped, why did
her spirit come back to the Citadel? How did she come to live here with us?”
The History Man’s eyes grew quite shiny at the innocent question.
‘The legend is just what it is, a legend. A story that isn’t true,” he
admitted. ‘The real story is not at all as happy as the legend is. You see, the
name Lachrymose means "shedding tears easily". The legend got this name because
that is what the world did when the woman of the Snow returned for the last and
final time.”
‘She came back?”
‘Yes, children. For you see, the Lachrymose Legend isn’t a legend at all,” The
History Man explained. He hesitated for a long moment.
‘The Lachrymose was real. And this is her story.”
***** The Liberators *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The air was foul and putrid, a sharp contrast from what they were used to as
the two hooded figures snuck their way through the slums, taking care to avoid
anyone who looked to be of authority. Their brown attire helped them to blend
in with the dry environment around them and the shadows served to further
camouflage them from sight. You’d think that having done this as many times as
they had that the fear of being found would be long gone by now. But no, that
wasn’t the case. Tonight was one of those nights that the tension was so thick
you could cut through it with a knife. No matter, they were here now and they
would get what they came for. The goal was simple; get the runaways out of the
Citadel unnoticed and hightail it back to the East. In and out before anyone
knows they are there. Simple as pie, as their father used to say.
Given that everything that could possibly go wrong had, however, the smaller of
the two creeping figures wasn’t so sure.
‘Are you absolutely positive that this is a good idea?” a female voice asked
the other in their native tongue. The bigger stopped and turned to the female,
placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
‘We’ve done this enough times to be able to work around it,” a soft yet deep
male voice replied. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get everyone home safe and be gone
before morning.”
‘That’s the problem, we’ve no way home! The engine blew, remember?” The male’s
eyes glanced away from the black eyes of the female. He didn’t outright admit
it, but she had a point; they’d taken a different route than usual this time,
one that was supposed to have been cleared of any hostiles only to be ambushed
by a motorcycle gang in the canyons. A makeshift grenade had seen to it that
they make the rest of the journey on foot. And God knew how traveling through
the Wastelands in the middle of the day could be… they were fortunate to have
made it here when they did. But there was no time for either to rest, not even
for a moment.
‘When we find the informant, I’m sure he’ll have a vehicle for us. He owes us a
favor, remember?” The black eyes of the female stared deep into his icy blue
orbs. Her brown bandana hid her face from his view, but he could tell that she
didn’t believe him.
‘I hope you’re right.” The male’s eyes smiled at her before he turned and
continued on to a secluded spot behind a makeshift dwelling, the female hot on
his heels. While the woman watched for any danger, the male went to back wall
of the dwelling. Glancing to his companion who had given him a thumbs up to
signal that the coast was clear, he raised a hand and rapped his knuckles three
times against the wooden shutter. All was silent. The male furrowed his brow
and knocked again. This time, the shutter rose up a bit.
‘Who calls for me?” a gruff male voice whispered. The male glanced to the dark
eyes of the female.
‘The children of fire and ice come to provide safe passage to the East.” The
male replied, smoothly transitioning to the common tongue. The shutter opened
completely and the head of an old man popped out. Both the male and female
outside had to hold their breaths at the foul stench that wafted out into the
night. As if the air isn’t bad enough,the man thought, but he said nothing out
of respect for the elder in front of him.
‘Well, well, if it ain’t the half-bloods again,” he said, grinning widely at
the two. ‘You both look right as rain as always.” The woman smiled under her
bandana and nodded in his direction before resuming her watch, content to allow
her brother to deal with old man Pit. Even though they’d been working alongside
him for the better part of five years now and it’d been two months since their
last run to the Citadel, Pit looked like he’d aged by double that amount; his
gray hair grew on the sides of his head leaving a big bald patch down the
middle. One eye was long gone for reasons she never asked. A plethora of scars
decorated the man’s hands, neck, and face that looked like old leather thanks
to the harsh sun. And there, if you looked hard enough, there were telltale
signs of boils on his chest under his shirt. The woman cast him another glance,
this one full of sympathy.
She and her sibling had been fortunate enough to not have whatever diseases
happened to be floating around nowadays. It was one of the many perks of not
living close enough to any major settlement. She found herself wishing suddenly
that she was back home in the East, surrounded by the lush plants and flowers
that her mother before her grew. Black eyes closed slowly as she remembered the
marigolds and the daisies her mother was so fond of that surrounded the fields
of grass, the tall trees heavy with fruits, crops growing out back of the
simple house she shared with her brother. It was a hard life, but a good one.
There was no need to fear anyone back home. They could go outside and there
would be no reason to take a gun (though there was still one hidden in one of
the pots outside just in case). It was so peaceful... She missed it something
awful and she hadn’t been here for all that long. You’ll be there soon
enough,the black eyed woman assured herself. Just get the hell out of here in
one piece and all will be well.
She must have spoken aloud
‘You’re here for the shipment, I take it?” the elder asked, his words followed
sometimes by a whistle since he was missing several of his teeth. The male
nodded.
‘We are,” he replied. ‘Is everything in order?”
‘Aye tis,” Pit answered. ‘I’ve got everything ready for ya in the clearing as
agreed. 20 boxes of firearms and a little something extra as well.” He said
with a wink, his wrinkled brown face smiling at the man. The hooded male nodded
his head.
‘Have you by chance procured a vehicle for transport as well? We had a slight…
mishap on the way. We could use an extra set of wheels to get out.” Pit
scratched his chin with long yellow nails, clearly thinking.
‘Well... now see that’s a crying shame. I don’t quite have the reach ‘round
here to get such things.”
‘Do you know someone that does? Someone we can trust?” The man with the
piercing ice blue eyes asked. Pit paused, thinking, and it was then that the
young one before him noticed that the old man was sweating like a pig. It's not
that hot out here tonight. he pondered. If anything, it's a bit chilly. Not
that it bothered the blue eyed man. He and his sister found that the cold was
quite comforting, not to mention easier on their sensitive pale skin.
‘Not anyone close by, if that’s what you’re wondering. I don’t have much reason
to go to the garage above, not that they would take me up anyways.” The young
man’s eyes narrowed.
‘What do you mean “above”? You’ve not a garage on the ground level?”
‘Afraid not, my lad. They’ve moved everything to the above. We’ve no way of
reaching it.” At the cool stare of the Snow child before him, Pit quickly
added, ‘But I might have an idea on how youcan get up there.” The man spared a
glance to his sister behind him, who was looking at Pit suspiciously.
‘Go on,” he said. Pit rubbed his sweaty hands together and wet his lips with
his tongue. This did not go unnoticed by the young lad before him. Why does he
look so nervous,he wondered.
'Are you alright, Pit?" he asked. The old man was taken aback, then laughed
quietly.
'Oh yes, yes I am," he tried to assure in a shaky voice. 'Right as rain!
Nothing wrong with Pit the Reliable." Blue eyes looked once more to his sister
who had turned more fully to peer at Pit. Did she notice the same things he
did?
'Very well then," the hooded man said. 'Continue, please. Tell me more about
this "above". What's so special about it?"
‘Ya see they let down this big platform during the day when they send out war
rigs and cars for supply runs. Sometimes they take people up like merchants,
slavers, and pretty women. Especially pretty, healthy women,” Pit explained,
nodding in the direction of the woman standing behind the ice blue eyed man.
She only snorted in response, black eyes averting themselves. ‘Course, that’s
only during the day. Never seen them let it down in the still of the night, so
that will complicate things.” He paused for a second. ‘Tell ya what; lemme go
find one of the workers near the lift. Pretty sure he can get ya up there if
you’re looking to barter for a car.” The young man shook his head. 'It's
perfectly fine, I assure ya." Another shake of the hooded man's head. He's too
insistent. I don't like it.
‘Let me converse with my sister on the matter. I will be back shortly.” He
turned away from Pit and approached the woman leaning against one of the stone
walls beside her, giving him a concerned stare.
‘I don’t like how any of this sounds, brother.” She spoke, sensing what her
brother was about to say.
‘And here I thought it was just me that was getting a bad vibe,” he replied.
‘Something’s off with Pit tonight. I don’t know why, but he looks nervous as
I’ll get out. I’ve never seen him act so fidgety.”
‘Neither have I,” The younger of the two answered. ‘You don’t think he’s hiding
something, do you?”
‘Would make perfect sense, but we have no way of knowing for sure. Still,
doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable with taking my chances with a man I
don’t know. I’d rather wait and get the rig repaired first.” His sister’s eyes
widened.
‘And leave the people we promised to rescue behind?! Brother that is not our
way!”
‘We’ve no choice. I cannot risk taking them out on foot and I don’t much fancy
carrying 20 crates around. We’ll come back for them later.”
‘AndIwill not risk them not being here when we finally do return. We’re here
now, we’ll take them now,” the woman argued. After seeing the look on her
brother’s face, she sighed. ‘How many people are supposed to come with us
tonight?” Her sibling glanced up momentarily before looking back at her.
‘Fifty, maybe sixty the last I checked.” Her brother responded. She placed a
hand on his shoulder.
‘Then we have fifty, maybe sixty reasons to take them away from the Citadel
tonight, with or without a vehicle.” The elder of the two siblings didn’t say
anything, only stared into his sister’s face. He could see in her eyes the
steely resolve that she had, and there was nothing that he could possibly say
to deter her.
‘Mother would be proud of you to hear such courage in your voice,” he mused
aloud, patting her head gently. His sister’s black eyes smiled at him. ‘It is
settled. We take the people along with whatever supplies we can carry and get
back to the rig. Hopefully no one has run off with it yet before we can do some
repairs.” Ice blue eyes looked back at Pit, who was watching the siblings speak
to one another.
‘Have ya come to an agreement?” the elder called anxiously when he realized the
man was looking at him. ‘We’ve not much time to sit about talking, ya know.”
‘We have, Pit,” the young man answered, walking back to him. ‘We’ll not be
needing transport after all.” Pit gave him a strange look. ‘My sister and I
will take what we can carry as well as those willing to leave tonight on foot.”
‘A-are you sure? I’m positive that I can get my mate to procure-”
‘I said it is no longer necessary,” came the older Snow child’s voice a bit
more forcefully, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a piece of
paper. ‘Written on it is the name of the merchant who will handle your
compensation.” He turned back to his sister, calling for her to follow him.
‘W-wait-”
‘Goodnight, Pit. Until we meet again,” the sister called back, both
disappearing into the dark. Pit watched after them, fear gripping him in a
vice. He pulled down his shutter and locked it tight.
‘It’s done,” he muttered guiltily. ‘They are heading towards the shipment
location.”
‘You're sure it's them?” asked a dark voice, the owner of such a man with half
of his face painted black.
‘Yes.” Pit admitted, not turning to look at the man sharing his home currently.
‘Tell me more about them. Leave nothing out.”
‘They are children of the Snow People, a race which once lived in ice caverns
deep in the mountains years ago.” Pit explained. ‘Hybrids born from their
father’s union with a Snow woman; an albino. Very rare if I remember correctly.
A healthy lot too, not like most of the people that you see here. Albino women
are highly sought after, I've heard. She would make a fine addition to the
Immortan's collection. The man is strong and able. His blood would be good for
the sick ones.” The painted man smiled darkly.
‘Good, very good,” he replied. ‘The Immortan will be pleased with this gift you
offer him. If they are as valuable as you say, he will surely grant you
anything your heart desires.” The man thumped Pit on the shoulder. ‘You're
doing a great thing, old man, helping us nip this problem in the bud before it
gets worse. You wouldn't believe how frustrating it is explaining why dozens of
guns suddenly go missing every two months. On the Immortan's behalf, I offer my
thanks. I’ll personally see to it that you are justly rewarded. If you'll
excuse me, I have some guests to attend to. I'll make sure to give them a warm
welcometo the Citadel.” With those words, he disappeared out the door of the
small hovel. Pit remained where he was, the realization of what he just did
sinking in. They’ll never forgive me, he thought sadly, sinking to his knees.
‘What have I done?” the old man cried, bitter tears falling from his eyes. ‘Oh
Lord, what have I done?”
 
===============================================================================
 
‘Why do I have the feeling that this may not have been such a hot idea after
all?” the eldest asked as they crept along in the shadows.
‘Because of Pit,” His sister said simply. ‘His behavior was off. Usually he’s
joking and laughing with us. Something’s not right,” she added. The brother
nodded.
‘I know, I saw,” he replied. ‘It doesn’t make much sense. It’s strange… before
we left, he acted like he wanted to tell us something but didn’t.”
‘You cut him off, remember?"
'I didn't do it to be rude, you know," he answered. 'We've a lot to accomplish
tonight and not a lot of time to do it."
'You don’t think something’s happened do you? He appeared to be afraid of
something.”
‘With so little information, who can say, little sister. We must not pass
judgement upon him, regardless.” He paused and placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘But after this, just to be on the safe side, we're going to lay low for a
while. We can’t have anyone catching on to what we’re doing.” She sensed that
there was something her brother wasn’t saying, but the black eyed woman chose
to say nothing further on it. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.
Maybe later, after they’d left the Citadel…
That was the beauty of their relationship; close, with no secrets between them
and never one without the other. It’d be as such since they were children.
Their mother had been outcast from her people when she formed a union with an
outsider (Sun people, their mother had called them), and their father’s family
had been killed off one by one by disease. Her brother had been the one to meet
them both, had spent nine blissful years with them until a fiery crash took
both of their lives. The rest of his childhood was spent caring for his little
sister. It was touching to her that he was willing to sacrifice so much for
her. How he managed to care for her on his own while learning to care for
himself, she’d never know. But he gave up the things he loved for what she
needed. It would be unfair of her to ask anymore of him.
She loved her brother with all her heart. He cared for her like no other human
could. But there was another that had her heart. Another that was hiding in her
jacket…
Wait... why did the left side suddenly feel lighter?
‘Monoxide?” she called, taking care to keep her voice low while reaching into
her jacket. Her movements stilled when she did not find that which she called
Monoxide. ‘Brother, stop. We have a problem.” Her brother obviously didn’t hear
her because he kept moving. ‘Big brother, wait!” she hissed. Still her brother
kept moving. ‘Glacier, for fuck's sake, listen to me already!” she grumbled,
grabbing Glacier by his hood and jerking him back, an action that caused his
hood to fall and his snow white hair to be revealed.
‘Sister, what are you doing?” her brother said, swatting her hand off his hood
and pulling it back over his head.
‘He’s gone,” she said simply. Glacier’s blue eyes blinked in confusion.
‘Monoxide! He’s gone!” Her brother’s face fell.
‘Oh shit,” he groaned, looking around them.
‘Oh shit is right,” she replied, mimicking her brother’s actions.
‘How long has he been gone? Where could he have gotten off to?”
‘I don’t know, and I don’t want to think about what could happen to him out
here. God only knows what these people like to eat around here.” She added.
‘He picked a damn good time to run off,” Glacier mumbled, looking behind some
rotting boxes. Even though there were people waiting for them, both knew that
they couldn’t leave behind Monoxide. They had to find him because, well, he was
part of their little family. What remained of it, that is.
When they were younger, Glacier had taken his sister to a merchant in
Bartertown to trade for seeds when they saw a cage full of what the owner of
the stall had called water lizards. There was one in particular that had caught
their attention; a pink and white lizard- which they would later learn from one
of their mother’s books was an albino- that was smaller than the rest. The
merchant had said that they were good to eat when other meats weren’t so
plentiful, a notion that had caused her to cry to Glacier, begging him to save
the poor creature so that he wouldn’t be eaten.
When they brought the little fellow home, Glacier and his sister couldn’t bear
the thought of raising him only to kill him for food later, so they kept him as
a pet. She had been the one to call him Monoxide. They didn’t know why, just
knew that the name seemed to fit him perfectly. Monoxide came everywhere with
them, acting as a companion most of the time and a watch dog at other times. In
all truths, he proved to be better than a hound. And so when he went missing,
they knew that they couldn’t leave him behind. He was too precious to them.
Needless to say, even after all these years, he and the seeds were well worth
the loss of five gallons of water and guzzoline.
‘Monoxide,” Glacier called quietly. ‘Monoxide, come here boy!”
‘Come, come sweet boy,” his sister coaxed. ‘I have a tasty treat for you if you
come here.” Scuttling sounds nearby made both Snow children freeze, fearing
that they had attracted the wrong attention they sought. Neither moved or
seemed to breathe for a long moment. When the sounds came from above them,
black met ice blue slowly before looking heavenward. Suddenly, a dark shadow
fell directly upon them, causing Glacier to gasp and his sister to cry out in
surprise at the feel of scales brushing against them.
‘Monoxide!” his sister exclaimed happily, holding the near three foot long
lizard in her arms lovingly. The white lizard climbed out of the crook of her
left arm and instead went to his usual spot on her left shoulder, raising his
head in enjoyment as he was scratched under his jaw. An even bigger smile came
to the girl's face as his red eyes closed in enjoyment. ‘Where did you get off
to, my boy?”
‘You are in big trouble, mister,” Glacier scolded, wagging his finger at him.
‘You know better than to give us such a fri- hey!” Monoxide nipped the wagging
finger, thinking it was the tasty treat he was promised. His sister giggled in
response.
‘Oh stop, Glacier,” she said at the icy glare from her brother. ‘You know he
didn’t mean it.” The albino lizard’s tongue flicked out in response as though
agreeing with her.
‘Still, that hurt like hell,” Glacier whined, shaking his hand back and forth.
‘No rats for you, you little shit. Put him back in his pouch, sister. We have
work to do.”
‘Yes brother,” she replied with a smile. She reached into her coat and pulled
out a large bag. She made a clicking sound as she opened it. Obediently,
Monoxide left his perch on her shoulder and scurried into the bag, settling
down easily. ‘Good boy,” she praised, replacing the bag to her side. The
comforting weight let her know that their precious friend was more than likely
sleeping. Patting it softly, she turned her attention from Monoxide to her
brother and followed him once more as they continued on their way.
 
===============================================================================
 
There was no light for which to see the path save for some of the fires that
flickered out in the distance like beacons, reminding her of a picture she’d
seen in a book. What was it that her brother called those things that used to
show massive floating cars- no, ships- on the sea the safe way to go? Light
towers? No, that wasn’t it. Light poles? That didn’t sound right either.
Lighthouses? Yes, that was it. Lighthouses. That’s what the fires reminded her
of. Faintly, there were sounds of people chattering amongst themselves in the
common tongue, something that was foreign to her even if she could speak it
fluently. She preferred the soft and gentle words of the language of Snow. It
was comforting and reassuring like the way her brother is.
‘There they are,” Glacier said, stopping suddenly and pointing in the direction
of a close fire surrounding by a group of people. From the light of the fire,
she could see that their skin was brown like leather, not pale and soft like
her own. Some had boils on their faces that looked swollen and painful, others
too skinny compared to them. Glacier saw the look of concern in his sister’s
eyes.
‘We’re going to get them out of here,” he promised. ‘We’ll get them food and
water and they’ll be better in no time.” He knew that was a bad thing to say.
Some of these people looked too weak to attempt such a journey and Glacier was
beginning to wonder if making the trek on foot would be wise. ‘Remember, we
have fifty to sixty reasons to carry through with this.” He said in an attempt
to put her mind at ease. The black eyes of his sister looked up at him.
‘I know,” she replied, looking back to the emaciated people before her. ‘I’ll
go talk to them, see if they are ready for what is to come.” Glacier nodded in
consent, watching his sister’s lithe form walked forward to the would be
escapees. As she walked, the girl pulled her bandana down to her neck,
revealing her pale skin and angular features. Her dark lips and black eyes gave
her the look of a phantom, but the kind smile she mustered attested otherwise.
Her hood followed her bandana. As it fell, the sheet white locks of her hair
cascaded down her shoulders to the middle of her back, floating behind her as
she walked.
A few people had turned in her direction at the sounds of her approaching, but
slowly all heads turned to see her, the chattering trickling off like drops of
water. She stopped a few feet away from them, observing all quietly.
‘Good evening, brothers and sisters,” her soft voice called to them. ‘I trust
you’ve been told that you are to leave tonight?” No one answered her. ‘It is
alright, my friends. I am not your enemy. I have come forth to lend my aid to
you.”
‘How do we know that?” an old woman asked, her skin more wrinkled than Pit’s.
‘How do we know you won’t have us killed on the spot?”
‘If I was to kill you, don’t you think I would have already done so?” she
replied.
‘She looks like one of them War Boys,” one of the men said. ‘She could be
working for him for all we know.” She had no idea what these “War Boys” or even
“him” was, so she ignored the barbs.
‘I assure you, I mean you no harm. I can see just by the looks on your faces
that your lives are hard enough as it is. But I come to offer you the chance to
live as free men and women, to know a life that doesn’t have to be in poverty.”
‘And how do you propose to do that? We don’t even know who you are!” The girl
smiled.
‘I am Smoke Fire-Born and I have come to liberate you.”
Chapter End Notes
     To get an idea of what Monoxide looks like, please Google search
     albino water monitors. (They are really cute! =) )
     Please feel free to leave critiques, both good and bad. If you see
     something that you feel I should change, don't feel bad to say it. I
     welcome it all. =)
***** Betrayal *****
Chapter Notes
     I was very, very tempted to not contribute further to this story due
     to it being stolen, but feel that that was being unfair to those who
     were reading it solely due to the fact that they liked it and had no
     ill intentions for it. I will no blame all for the actions of one
     person. That person is still out there as we speak. But I will not
     allow them to scare me away from this story. Instead, I'm going to do
     this:
     I'm going to post this chapter today so that those who have been
     waiting for it can read it. HOWEVER, taking the lead of another
     writer whose planning to do the same, if this chapter is taken or the
     story is posted on another site, I will lock this story PERMANENTLY
     and you will only be able to view it if you are a registered user.
     I'm well aware that my hits and kudos will be affected. But I will
     not continue to entertain a little troll that thinks its hilarious to
     steal people's hard work.
     That said, please enjoy the next chapter!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The people before the girl, who they now knew to be known as Smoke, didn’t know
what to say. Looking at her in wonder, a few of them hardly dared to believe
what they were hearing. Others became filled with hope that it was indeed
possible to live outside this wretched place. The rest didn’t believe it at
all. Black eyes wandered to each, the kind smile on her face never faltering.
One elder looked to all the people surrounding him and stood up shakily,
separating from the others to come closer to her. Smoke did not move.
‘I used to hear stories in my youth,” he started. ‘Of people who dwell within
ice caverns far away from here, people who were known to be the kindest and
gentlest in the entire human race. They called them the Snow for their hair and
skin were pure white, and their skill in the healing arts was second to none. I
never believed the stories because it was impossible for such beings to be able
to live in the harsh sun, much less dwell within ice. I thought that I never
would believe until I saw one with my own eyes. And now, that day is today.” He
smiled, reaching to touch her before he hesitated. When Smoke made no move to
stop him, he touched her gingerly as though to be reassured she was real and
not a figment of his imagination.
‘I am glad to have proved those stories true for you,” she replied, touching
him in return. The man stared into her face with wonder, watching how the light
of the fire reflecting in her dark eyes and giving them a pinkish hue. Even her
skin itself appeared to take on an ethereal glow in the light. Her eyes broke
from his to motion for her brother to come forth. The others peered around to
watch Glacier approach and stand beside his sister, mimicking her actions and
removing his hood and bandana to reveal his handsome features. The man looked
from Smoke to Glacier, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing before he
turned back to the crowd behind them.
‘They are real,” he said. ‘They are friends. They are here to help us!” At his
words, the people shared a glance and then stood up one by one, coming forward
to see the Snow children. Both siblings stood perfectly still as the people
began to touch them as the old man had. Any other time, they wouldn’t have done
so. But being albino had that effect on people, especially those that had never
seen one before.
‘I think they like us, brother,” Smoke said with a grin. Glacier nodded.
‘Never gets old, does it?” he asked, to which his sister shook her head.
The curious touching from the people continued for a long while it seemed until
they all decided they were convinced that this wasn’t a dream. Glacier took
that opportunity to address the throng that surrounded them.
‘Brothers, sisters,” he began. ‘I can see from the look of you all that your
lives here have not been kind. I see the scars of your oppression, the boils of
your illness, and the starvation of your suffering. We are not your cruel
overlords; you have a choice. You can come with us this night and live as free
men and women. But the road to freedom will not be easy, and we can make no
guarantees that all will be with us when we reach our destination; there is
great danger out there beyond this cursed place. I will not sugarcoat the
obstacles.” At Glacier’s mention of danger, a small portion of the people who
were standing there turned and left. Smoke’s eyes grew sad as she watched them
go.
‘Those who do not wish to follow may stay behind; we will not take you by
force.” Smoke assured. “You can go back to your homes but I will tell you now
that if you go, you may not get this opportunity again.” Two men, who had moved
to leave, stopped at her words. ‘But if you follow us you will suffer no more.
Anyone who dares to hurt you will die screaming. No one will make slaves of you
again, I swear it.” All was silent and still. When no others made a move to
leave, Smoke looked to her brother.
‘I think we have our answer.” She noted. Glacier nodded.
‘Then it’s settled. We’ve a distance to go before we reach the rig. Pick up
what you plan to take with you.” He paused and glanced to one of the crates
nearby. ‘If there are any men who are good with guns, come with me. We’re going
to need some extra lookouts.” Glacier added, walking with a purpose to one of
the crates. Smoke started for the crate as well, but a hissing sound stopped
her. Movement inside her jacket alerted her that Monoxide was stirring. Judging
by how violently he was moving, the lizard was clearly unhappy about something.
‘Stop boy,” she muttered, trying to calm him. ‘Calm down, already.” Usually,
when Smoke put her hand in the bag to pet him, Monoxide would calm down right
away. But something was different this time. Monoxide leaped out of the bag
like a white bullet the second the flap was opened, almost going out onto the
sand before Smoke caught him and helped him up onto her shoulder. Glancing at
him, she could see the rows of sharp teeth in Monoxide’s mouth as he openly
hissed in the direction of the crates. It was almost as though he sensed
something that she couldn’t…
‘What is it boy?” she asked, petting the albino reptile. His pink eyes were
trained on Glacier who was just feet away from crates, swaying his head side to
side threateningly. He's never acted this like before,she thought. Not unless
he saw something that he didn't like.Smoke looked from her brother to her pet,
before something moving in the shadows caught her eye and the smell of smoking
coming from that same spot…
‘Glacier, move!” she screamed, catching her older sibling’s attention just as a
spark appeared from behind the wooden box. Time seemed to freeze until the
crate exploded in a fiery blaze, the force of the detonation sending everyone
nearby through the air. Screams of terror broke the stillness of the night.
Smoke barely had time to grab Monoxide and hit the ground using her body as a
shield for him in an attempt to avoid any shrapnel. Though Smoke had
fortunately been far enough not to be hit directly, her ears were still ringing
from the intensity of the blast. Slowly, she rose up and looked over her
shoulder. A hand rose to cover her mouth, her black eyes wide in shock. The
smell of gunpowder and blood was thick in the air. Smoke’s blood ran cold as
she finally realized what it was that Pit had been trying to tell her brother
before they left.
The Snow children had walked straight into a deadly trap.
Where is he, she thought frantically, scanning the crowd that had rushed to
pick up the wounded.Where is Glacier?Smoke almost panicked when she couldn’t
find her brother right away. A lump began to form in her throat, but she
refused to cry. No, this was not the time for tears. Only when she knew the
fate of her brother would she allow herself to do anything of the sort. But
with all the commotion, it was hard to pick out if Glacier was among those that
had fallen or if he was wounded. Please be alright, big brother,Smoke pleaded
inwardly. Please don’t be hurt!That wasn’t a good thing to be thinking,
especially since he was so close to the blast…
The comforting weight of her pet on her shoulder gave her an idea. It was no
secret that his species relied heavily on their sense of smell, and they’d been
working on training Monoxide to find things around the house…
‘Monoxide,” she said, catching the reptile’s attention. ‘I need you to find
Glacier, now!” Smoke didn’t have to say it twice; just as he had been trained,
Monoxide leaped from Smoke’s shoulder and ran forward to the fallen bodies, his
ivory form scurrying past the people that were gathered. Smoke took that moment
to assess the damage.
Blood littered the sand beneath her feet, and the smell of burnt flesh mingled
with that of the gunpowder, threatening to make Smoke gag. She was sure that
she could see body parts scattered here and there as others moved to get the
wounded away from the dead, everyone speaking in frightened tones. A blast like
this will have attracted more than just a few people’s attention,she thought,
looking behind her. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of someone
approaching- scratch that. There were a lot of someones coming this way. Smoke
bit her lip in anxiety. What elsecould possibly go wrong tonight?
Sneezing like sounds caught her attention suddenly and Smoke recognized it to
be Monoxide calling for her. Like a bullet, she took off towards them,
squeezing past the people attending to the wounded, black eyes scanning for
signs of her pet. The sneezing sound came from the right this time, towards a
sand dune. Smoke followed them straight to Monoxide who was standing next to
her brother’s unconscious form, nudging him with his nose in between calling
for Smoke.
‘Good boy. Good boy,” she praised the reptile as she rushed to Glacier’s side.
‘Glacier! Glacier, brother, please wake up!” Smoke called, not realizing that
she was speaking both the native and the common tongue at the same time as she
raised her brother’s head up a bit. Thankfully, there were no visible signs of
injury on her brother save for the blood that was trickling out of one ear.
‘Glacier, please get up. Please,” she begged, her voice thick with worry and
tears prickling her eyes. ‘Don’t leave me now! I need you!” Monoxide, sensing
something was wrong, came forwards to Glacier, his long tongue flicking out to
touch his other owner’s hand which jerked in surprise. Smoke saw this and
looked back to her brother’s face, seeing that he was opening his eyes.
‘Glacier!” she cried in relief, the tears that had been forming now falling in
joy. He’s alright! Thank you God, he’s alright!Glacier sat up more fully the
best he was able, blinking his eyes slowly.
‘Smoke?” he asked in a hoarse voice. ‘What happened?”
‘There was an explosion,” she explained. ‘I saw someone in the shadows just as
you were getting close. Monoxide saw them too.” Smoke petted the albino water
lizard’s head gently. ‘I thought you were hurt…” she couldn’t say anything
else.
‘I’m fine, I promise,” Glacier admitted. ‘Just can’t hear anything out of my
left ear. Otherwise I’m alright.” He tried to get up, but almost fell right
back down were it not for Smoke catching him.
‘Easy Glacier, you could have a head injury,” she stated, holding onto her
brother’s arm. Monoxide climbed up Smoke’s leg and resumed his perch on her
shoulder, watching Glacier like a hawk. Glacier shook his head and stumbled a
bit before getting back into the motion of walking.
‘No, I’m good. If I was hurt, I’d let you know,” he assured his sister, taking
his arm away gently. ‘What about everyone else?” Smoke looked back to the
crowd. ‘How many have we lost?”
‘I don’t know,” she admitted. ‘I was so worried about you that I didn't…” She
was cut off by shouts and shrieks of fear from the people that remained.
Looking in the direction they indicated, Smoke could see a large group of
shadows coming directly for them. Black orbs met blue in that instant.
‘I think that’s our cue to run,” he said. Smoke nodded and clicked to Monoxide
who dove into his bag. ‘Go! Everyone, scatter!” Glacier shouted to the crowd.
They didn’t need any encouragement. All of them took off in different
directions while Glacier grabbed Smoke by the arm. ‘Come on!”
As one, the siblings dashed away from the sight of the explosion, ignoring the
shouts from their pursuers to stop. No, they hauled ass as quick as they could.
Smoke and Glacier worked together to put some distance between them and those
chasing them, knocking over anything that could slow them down.
‘Don’t stop running, no matter what,” Glacier ordered. Just as they turned a
corner, a group of young boys covered in white charged towards them, screaming
in sadistic glee at the siblings. She couldn't make out what they were saying,
but judging by their behavior, Smoke had a feeling it had to do with the demise
of the two siblings.
‘Shit!” Smoke cried, turning heel and heading another direction. Her lungs
burned as she ran, but Smoke ignored them. Air wasn’t important to her at the
moment; right now all she needed to do was escape. On and on she ran, until
everything around her was almost silent save for the far off shouts in the
distance. Smoke took a chance and stopped, practically gasping for air. She
fell down to her knees, coughing violently. Her chest heaved harshly as Smoke
tried to catch her breath, her head spinning.
This wasn’t supposed to happen, she thought. None of this was supposed to
happen! All their careful planning, gone up in smoke!
‘What do we do? What are we supposed to do now,” Smoke asked Glacier, looking
to her right side. To her sudden horror, Glacier wasn’t there. ‘Glacier?” she
called, looking back for him. ‘Glacier!”
Oh. Shit.
Smoke became all too aware that she was now on her own in a place that she knew
nothing about. Her brother and she were separated and Smoke had no way of
knowing where he could possibly be. I can’t just leave him, she thought. I have
to go back for him!Even if she didn’t know her way around, she had to at least
try to figure out where he’d gone. Given that those maniacal boys had seen to
it that they were making themselves scarce, however, Smoke hadn’t the slightest
clue as to how to get back to the last place she saw her brother. It wouldn’t
be too smart to risk going back at that.
‘Standing here isn’t going to solve anything.” She declared, reaching to touch
Monoxide’s bag. When she didn’t touch the rough leather, her face dropped. The
bag was gone, and with it, her last chance to find her brother. Monoxide is
gone, so is Glacier,Smoke thought, thinking fast. Glacier had my left arm,
which was the same one that Monoxide’s bag was. He must have grabbed him
thinking that it was me, Smoke deduced. She hoped that was the case. She
really, really did.
But what was most important, right here and now, was for Smoke to find a hiding
place. And fast.
Looking around her, she realized that she recognized this area as being the
closest to Pit’s humble dwelling. But all of her instincts were screaming for
her not to go to the man’s house. There isn’t much choice,she reasoned.
Ignoring her gut instinct, Smoke sprinted down the familiar path to the
ramshackle hovel, hoping she got there before those white men found her first.
 
===============================================================================
 
Glacier's heart raced and his lungs burned something awful, but he refused to
stop running even for a second. The weight in his hand alerted him that he
still had hold of his sister, that she was keeping up with him easily. The
shouts behind him sounded like they were getting farther away, but even then,
Glacier refused to stop moving. No, he didn't stop until he could hear nothing
else except for the blood running in his ears, something that caused the pain
in his left ear to increase. The pain was enough to make his head hurt...
Glacier released his hold on Smoke's arm and hit the sand on his knees, one
hand coming up to press against his hurting ear. He sat there for several
minutes, waiting for the pain to subside to a dull throbbing. Must have burst
my eardrum, Glacier thought with a grimace. This wasn't going to be fun to deal
with, especially since they'd no way of doing any proper inspecting of it. He
heard his mother chiding him in his head; here he was concerned about himself
when it was his sister he needed to focus on. Glacier rose to his feet, gulping
in large breaths of the cold desert air which helped to cool the raging fire in
his lungs to a certain degree.
'Are you alright, Smoke?" He called, looking from his left to his right when he
didn't see her. But Smoke was nowhere to be seen. 'Smoke?" He called once
again. Perhaps she was hiding and waiting for him to find her? 'It's alright,
little sister. We're safe now!" Still no answer. Fear gripped him in a vice
grip when he realized in horror that his sister was still back at the Citadel.
Oh God, no! I have to go back to her!Glacier started to run that way, as per
his protective nature, but rationality stopped him. He was already in bad shape
after that blast that busted his eardrum. Not only that, he'd only ever
traversed the Citadel at night when there weren't so many eyes on the lookout
for him and Smoke. Even if he somehow managed to find her, there would be
little chance of getting out of there undetected.
'Dammit!" he cursed, kicking the sand in anger and was greeted with the loud
hissing of a very upset lizard. He glanced down in surprise to see Monoxide
sitting on top of his bag, staring up at the older Snow child. His heart sank
even more; the weight in his hand hadn't been Smoke. Even so, at least their
friend was alright. 'Monoxide! You're a sight for sore eyes," Glacier
exclaimed, genuinely happy to see the albino reptile before him. He knelt down
to Monoxide's level and reached out a hand to scratch the top of the lizard's
head, earning himself a content puff from Monoxide.
'Don't get too used to this, I still haven't forgotten about you biting my
finger." Glacier added. Monoxide's long black tongue flicked out in response.
Glacier rolled his eyes. 'Yes, I'm well aware that you got called a rather
colorful name, but that's besides the point. I need your help, my boy." The
lizard's red eyes looked to him knowingly. 'Smoke is still back at the Citadel.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not in well enough shape to go track
her down. Besides, I think you'd do a better job at getting in undetected than
me." He petted the water lizard affectionately again. 'Plus I think sometimes
she prefers you over me." The ghost of a smile crossed Glacier's pale lips
before fading away. He knew what he was about to tell Monoxide to do, and there
was a tiny voice inside his head that was telling him that it was a bad idea.
But given the circumstances, there weren't any other options available to him.
'I need you to track down Smoke, Monoxide," Glacier began. 'I can't go with
you, you understand? You have to do this on your own. It's not going to be easy
and I know you've relied on us for everything, but this is what has to be
done." he paused for a long moment. 'I'm going to rest here for the night. But
in the morning, I'm going back to the Citadel. When you find Smoke, stay with
her. Keep her safe until I can get back to both of you." Glacier removed
something from around his neck and put it around Monoxide's instead. When it
simply slid off, Glacier undid the cord holding it together and wrapped it
tight enough around the lizard's neck that it wouldn't fall off but didn't
obstruct his breathing. There, dangling from the black cord, was a white
pendant in the shape of an icicle, a treasure he'd carried with him since the
death of their mother. 'Don't lose that, you hear? Smoke needs to know that I
was the one that sent you." Monoxide blinked at Glacier, who picked him up and
hugged him. He didn't know why, but Glacier had a foreboding sense that this
would be the last time he would see Monoxide. He hope that wasn't the case.
'Go safely, my friend, until we meet again," Glacier murmured to him. 'Now go,
go find Smoke! And stay out of sight." he ordered, putting the lizard back on
the ground. Monoxide looked at his owner one last time before obeying his order
and rushing off into the night without a glance back at the eldest Snow child
behind him.
 
===============================================================================
 
Smoke reached the door just as the mad shouts and laughter headed her way. She
banged on it frantically. When there was no answer, she did it again.
‘Pit! Pit, please open up! Please!” she called, half tempted to break down the
door had Pit not opened up when he did.
‘Smoke? What is it child? What are you doing back here?” He asked. Smoke
ignored him and pushed her way in.
‘I… we… Pit everything happened so fast-” she tried to explain, but there
wasn’t anything coherent coming from her lips. Pit put both hands on her
shoulder.
‘Stop, child. Take a deep breath and collect your thoughts.” Smoke did as she
was bid, taking several shaky breaths. ‘Atta girl, Smoke. Now, tell me what
happened.”
‘It happened so fast…” she began, running a hand through her white hair. ‘We
went to find the people and Glacier went to one of the boxes with the guns.
Then… it exploded.” Pit’s face went sheet white at her words. ‘Both of us were
alright, but then these boys came out of nowhere, ambushing us. We were forced
to flee… and now I can’t find Glacier.” Pit dropped his hands from Smoke’s
shoulders.
‘You said that you were chased by boys? Were they abnormally white, by chance?”
Pit questioned. Smoke nodded.
‘Yes,” she said. ‘They almost looked like Glacier and I.”
‘Then it is just as I feared,” the old man muttered under his breath. Smoke
looked at him curiously.
‘What do you mean?”
‘He said it was just guns and ammunition… he didn’t say a word about there
being explosives.”
‘Pit, what are you talking about?” Smoke asked, grabbing the man’s arm. Pit
refused to look at her. Her eyes grew wide suddenly. ‘You knew, didn’t you?”
she added, releasing him. The elder kept his eyes averted from Smoke’s black
eyes, further infuriating the young woman. ‘That’s what you were trying to warn
us about before we left. You set us up.”
‘Smoke-”
‘You betrayed us… you could have gotten us killed, you stupid son of a bitch!”
Smoke screamed, shoving the man to the floor.
‘I had no choice, Smoke,” Pit claimed. ‘They said that if I didn’t tell them
why so many guns were disappearing, they would kill me and my kin. I had no
choice!” Smoke laughed at the sheer stupidity of his statement.
‘Really? That’s the best excuse you can come up with?” She asked, glaring down
at him. ‘You had no choice? You could have warned us! We would have helped you!
If you are any sort of friend, you would have said something to us instead of
throwing Glacier and I straight into the lion’s den. Now, because of your
silence, my brother is out there!” Smoke exclaimed, pointing in the direction
of his window. ‘My brother is out there, hurt or worse because of you. After
everything we did for you. We gave you food, water, clothing. We protected you
from being discovered and this is how you repay us?”
‘It wasn’t supposed to happen like this!” Pit argued.
‘Damn straight it wasn’t supposed to happen like this! Glacier and I should be
on our way home but you saw to it that we may never see home alive again. We
gave you our trust, Pit!” Smoke shot back. A long moment of silence came upon
both of them. Pit stared up at the angry albino half-breed standing above him,
her eyes no longer looking at him but at the wall. Angry tears were falling
down her pristine white cheeks, her dark lips trembling. It was a disturbing
sight to him; someone as beautiful as this delicate creature who had already
seen much suffering in her short life should not be weeping tears of betrayal.
I should never have told anyone, Pit thought mournfully. I should have let them
kill me. This is all my fault.
‘You have shown me much kindness in the past, Smoke,” Pit admitted softly,
averting his stare. ‘You and your brother have shown compassion,
thoughtfulness, and generosity to a tired old man with nothing to offer in
return.” He stopped and looked back up to her. ‘I cannot change what has
already transpired this night, nor can I take back what I have done. But… I am
truly sorry, Smoke.”
‘If you were any other man, I would have killed you here and now without a
second thought. But I don’t want your blood on my hands or anywhere else.”
Smoke said, those words coming from her too easily. ‘I don’t know what the
conditions of this deal were nor do I give a flying fuck. Go back to the person
you sold our secrets to, collect your reward if you can.”
‘Smoke-” Pit began, reaching out to her. Smoke jerked back as though she’d been
burned.
‘Don’t ever think to touch me or speak to Glacier and I again.” She glowered at
Pit. ‘For your sake, I hope your path nevercrosses mine again. Because if it
does… I will kill you, mother's morals be damned.” Smoke walked around him and
to the door. She couldn’t stay in this shack a second longer. If she did, Smoke
was positive that she really would kill the man behind her. This is not the way
of the Snow, her mind scolded. Your mother’s people would never hurt anyone. At
this point, Smoke didn’t care.
She didn’t look back at Pit when she heard him stand up or even when his
footsteps approached her quickly. But when she felt something hit her neck
followed by the feeling of something being injected into her, Smoke gasped in
surprise, her hand coming up to touch whatever had hit her. Long fingers made
out the slender shape of something sticking in her skin, something that was
making her feel sleepy all of the sudden.
‘Forgive me, Smoke,” Pit’s voice echoed, the strange object in her neck
disappearing. ‘I have lived in poverty too long without enough to keep myself
alive. Even if it means sacrificing my friendship with you and your brother, I
will not pass up the opportunity to live above.” Smoke didn’t hear his next
words as she fell down to her knees, her eyelids heavy. Everything’s
spinning,was her last conscious thought before everything else on her mind
faded away like the morning mist.
The door in front of her opened, letting someone in. Smoke’s hand weakly
reached out her vision swimming.
‘Well, well, it’s just as you said.” A voice she didn’t recognize spoke. ‘She
really isan albino. Pretty young thing, too.”
‘I’ve done as you’ve asked.” Pit replied curtly. ‘Where is my payment?”
‘Patience, my friend. We don’t know yet if the Immortan likes her. We’ll have
her checked over by the Mechanic and get word to you about what your reward
will be.” Smoke felt someone tug on her hair, causing her head to loll back.
‘She’s a tough one, that’s for sure. Usually anyone that gets this particular
cocktail is out cold in seconds.” A cruel laugh caused foul smelling breath to
waft over her face. ‘He likes ‘em tough. Makes it that much more enjoyable when
they finally break.”
Smoke tried to jerk away from this newcomer, tried to fight. Let me go, she
wanted to say. Leave me alone. But she could do nothing to stop the stranger
from stabbing her in the neck again with something that felt eerily similar to
what landed her in this position in the first place.
‘This should finish the job off,” the voice returned, sounding smug. ‘We can’t
have her trying to run off prematurely, now can we?”
‘Please, just don’t hurt her any more than necessary,” Pit’s voice returned,
echoing in Smoke’s sleepy mind. ‘I don't believe she's yet seen her eighteenth
year.”
‘Younger than eighteen?” the stranger’s voice called. ‘That’s alright. Joe
likes them young. Long as she’s ready to breed, there won’t be any issues. In
her current condition, I’d say she’s worth at least fifteen gallons of water
and a motorbike with the bare necessities. Should be enough to hold ya over
till you get to Bartertown. A shame we can’t find the brother. If you’d had him
too, then you’d probably get twenty gallons of water, two gallons of guzzoline,
andthe motorbike. But, beggars can’t be choosers, right darling?” The stranger
with the half black face asked, bringing his visage mere inches away from
Smoke’s…
Her world faded to black.
Chapter End Notes
     Thanks again for the kudos! ^w^/
***** First Encounters *****
Chapter Notes
     I've never written a scene where a character is drugged and how
     things are from their perspective, so hopefully it turned out
     alright.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The world faded in and out of darkness for Smoke. In between passing out, Smoke
was vaguely aware of being carried over someone’s shoulder, bouncing up and
down as they walked. She heard people talking around her, but her foggy mind
wouldn’t focus long enough for her to figure out what they were saying. A sharp
jolt woke her up just a bit, and then the sensation of something rising up with
her on it assaulted her. There was the loud clinking of very large chains on
either side of her, what for, she didn’t know.
‘A gift for the Immortan?” a voice said. Someone’s head brushed against her
side in the same manner a head would move if a person nodded.
‘Aye,” another voice replied. Judging from the proximity of the voice, it was
most likely the person who was carrying her like a sack of something. What was
the expression again? A sack of tumors? Pine cones? Her sleepy mind wasn’t too
keen on working. A cruel laugh came next, this time from directly in front of
Smoke.
‘A pretty one, she looks like,” said the voice, lechery dripping from every
word. ‘He’ll like this one, I know it. If he doesn’t, maybe he’ll give her to
us.” Smoke felt a hand reaching over her head, then heard the sounds of blows
landing.
‘Keep yer filthy hands off her!” A deep voice came opposite of Smoke and her
captor. ‘You want a filly so bad? Get down there to the Wretched and raw dog
one of them. This one is property of the Immortan until we know his decision.”
Everything went black again.
Next time, things were just a tiny bit more clear, but not entirely so. She was
still on someone’s shoulder once again, getting more of an idea of how things
must look and feel from Monoxide’s perspective. Monoxide…her mind tried to
concentrate on her pet lizard, tried to stay awake long enough for her to hear
the sounds of someone conversing with the person who carried her.
‘Hey boss,” a man called. ‘Got something for ya, I think you might like it.”
Smoke tried to lift her head to see what was happening, but her body refused to
cooperate with her.
‘What is it, Imperator?” A guttural voice replied. Smoke fought to at least
raise her eyelids, but even that was difficult. Whatever she’d been given was
certainly doing a damn good job in making sure she was incapacitated. Her world
started to fade away…
That is until she was dropped unceremoniously onto the hard floor.
Smoke made a sound of discomfort, but otherwise did nothing, even when she was
grabbed by the hair roughly.
‘A pretty young thing compliments from one of the Wretched down below,” said a
voice from behind her. ‘He wants to trade her in return for water and safe
passage to Bartertown. By the looks of her, she could be worth a healthy bit.”
Heavy footsteps approached her, but Smoke’s vision was so blurry that she could
barely make out the shape of anything, let alone an actual person. Her eyes
must have closed again, for the world faded into darkness as her head lolled
forward.
The feeling of someone running their fingers up her slender throat caused her
to frown slightly then make an irritated groan erupt from her when her head was
raised up and her small chin gripped rather roughly. Smoke’s eyes opened and
her vision focused for but a moment…
But that moment was all Smoke needed in order to see death staring her straight
in the face.
She wanted to scream in terror, but all sounds were caught in her throat as
piercing sapphire blue eyes stared into her dark orbs, sending chills down her
spine. White hair so much like Smoke’s own fell over the shoulders of the man
in front of her, his skin equally white with what looked like powder. Most
frightening, however, was the mask about the lowermost part of his face that
resembled a skull. Hissing from it alerted her that it must have been some kind
of breathing apparatus. Smoke suddenly wished that she would pass out again,
that her world would drift away so that she would not see the frightening
visage before her, but she was firmly locked into consciousness.
‘The man said she came from the East,” the person behind her spoke, but the
white haired man before her didn’t seem to be listening as he continued to
stare into her dark eyes. ‘He made mention that she wasn’t eighteen yet… but
she’s perfectly healthy judging by looks alone. Makes ya wonder what kind of
children she’d give you.” That last statement made the blue eyes of the
frightening man before her sparkle with a strange light that scared Smoke even
more. Everything was silent save for the white haired man’s breathing.
‘What’s wrong with her?” he asked in that cruel voice.
‘Nothing, Immortan, she’s just a little out of it at the moment. Once the drugs
wear off, she’ll be just fine.” Those piercing eyes looked away from her for
but a moment to look at whoever stood behind her.
‘I can see that." The man spoke in a low tone. "Why is she so pale? Did you
bring me a sickly woman?”
‘Of course not, Immortan,” the man behind her quickly said, a tremor going
through his body. ‘The man I got her from, he says she’s an albino. A tough
one, she is. It took two doses to knock her out.”
‘A tough one,” he repeated, more to himself than to anyone else as his eyes
looked back into her own. He raised his free hand and stroked Smoke’s right
cheek, noting the softness of her skin. Judging by the look in his eyes, this
“Immortan” was interested in her... at least, she thought he did. Smoke’s head
suddenly dropped as he drew his massive hand away.
‘Bring her to the Organic Mechanic,” his voice ordered. ‘And bring one of the
History Men. I want to know more about these ‘albinos’.” He said something
else, but she couldn’t hear him anymore. Smoke’s vision swam and then
everything went mercifully dark.
 
===============================================================================
 
Smoke didn’t hear or see anything for the longest time, which wasn’t all that
bad to her, in complete honesty. After that terrifying man showed up, Smoke
really didn’t care if she ever opened her eyes again. Everything remained
comfortably black and numb until she picked out the sounds of people talking
all around her followed by cool air wafting over her bare skin. With that
sensation came also the feeling of cold… metal under her back?
‘-perfect. No signs of disease.” A man said somewhere to her left. Smoke’s head
lolled in that direction, but her eyes remained closed. ‘It’s a good thing that
you got this one when you did; with skin this pale, the sun would have dried
her right up. That’s the trouble with these albinos.” Smoke want to speak, but
her  throat felt dryer than the desert itself… how long had it been since she
had a drink of water?
The touch of hands on her chest, specifically on her breasts, caused her breath
to hitch in shock. The calluses on the hands caught her sensitive skin,
dragging across it. She almost- almost woke up completely when those hands
squeezed her mounds, a pained cry escaping from her. What’s happening, she
thought fearfully. Why are they touching me?
‘Full breasts,” the man’s voice returned. ‘She’ll hold a lot of milk.” Smoke
wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, much less what to make of it. The
hands removed themselves, thankfully, and moved down to her stomach and hips,
goosebumps rising on her skin at the sensation. ‘A strong set of hips and
stomach,” he added. ‘Well fed and kept, should add. I haven’t seen one in this
good of shape in a long time.”
‘What about her other parts,” came the guttural voice of the frightening man.
‘Is she fit to bear children?” The rough hands left her hips and stomach and
instead moved to part her thighs.
‘Spread ya legs for me, little filly,” said her examiner. ‘Let’s have a look at
ya.” Smoke lay motionless, not able to move on her own accord even if she
really wanted to. Instead she tried to force herself to wake up from what she
perceived to be a nightmare. I’m going to wake up soon, she told herself.
Glacier will wake me up when it’s time to attend to the garden. He’ll take care
of the crops and I’ll take Monoxide to the flowers. We need to weed them out
before the sun is out all the way. You remember what happened the last time you
were caught in direct sunlight…Smoke found that the more she took solace in the
idea that this was a dream, the more she believed it to be true. Her head grew
hazy, much like it did when she was dreaming.
So out of it, Smoke didn’t realize that there was something pressing against
her most private area, something she most definitely shouldn’thave been
feeling. She had but a moment to draw in a breath when she was shocked into
semi-alertness once again as a pressure so intense it was painful invaded her,
a pain that was intensified when she tensed up. Smoke began to whimper in
discomfort, almost on the verge of tears.
‘Easy there lass,” said the man touching her. ‘Relax. Don’t want to hurt ya on
accident.” How? How am I supposed to relax,was Smoke’s last coherent thought
until her mind swam once more. The unpleasant feeling between her legs,
however, didn’t. Instead it seemed to move, warm breath coming from whoever was
examining her in this positively humiliating way…
‘Well?” the menacing voice returned after what was seemingly forever. Whatever
had been inside her was removed and the hot breath was taken with it.
‘She’s intact,” replied the man she knew only as “Mechanic”. ‘Intact and
nearing ovulation by the looks of it. She’ll be a week behind your other girls
once she does. You’ll have about three days before she comes into optimum heat
and then a two day window to take your chances with her.” Smoke wasn’t entirely
sure of what that meant. She didn’t think she wanted to find out, at that.
‘How old do you estimate her to be?” Smoke felt eyes looking her up and down.
‘Looks and body development alone, I’d put her around sixteen, maybe seventeen.
She’s jest a young thing, but that’s always good. Besides, you don’t see
albinos all that often. They’re pretty rare from what I’ve heard. It’d be some
pretty damn good bragging rights to say that you have one.” The Mechanic
laughed above her. ‘So, shall I throw her back to the Wretched or-”
‘No,” said the harsh voice, quickly cutting off the Mechanic. ‘No, she’s not
going anywhere.” A hand was in her hair suddenly, fingers combing through the
windswept locks possessively. She muttered unintelligibly; the touch was
nothing like that of her brother’s. It spoke nothing of comfort and safety,
only of danger. Smoke silently thanked God that she wasn’t coherent enough at
the moment. ‘Take her to the Vault with the others.”
Everything faded away like morning mist for the final time.
 
===============================================================================
 
There was almost no light when Smoke’s eyes fluttered open for but a moment
before closing again. A groan escaped from her as her head lolled to the left,
a hand coming up to rest against her forehead. She was laying now on something
soft and a warm blanket was covering her body. Behind closed eyes, she could
almost make out the flickering of a candle. A fragrant smell filled the air,
and for but a moment she thought she was home again… Wherever she was, it
wasn’t in that scary room and- judging from the smell of the place- she wasn’t
outside. Smoke wasn’t sure she should take solace in either.
‘It must be morning by now,” Smoke said aloud, her voice scratchy and her head
throbbing painfully. Her brow furrowed, and the hand that had been against her
forehead was joined by her other hand to rub at her temples. Smoke stopped
suddenly, every muscle freezing. Her black eyes opened up, trying to determine
just what it was that made her do so. Then she heard it again; faint
whispering, coming somewhere to her left. Slowly, she began to sit up, her
hands dropping to help support her. Smoke listened hard, trying to decipher the
soft sounds.
‘See? I told you she looked like one of them!” she made out. Smoke’s brow
scrunched together more in concentration. A scoff came to this.
‘And you think that makes her like the others?” another voice added. ‘Why would
she be in here if she wasn’t healthy like us?”
‘What does it matter? She’s just another piece of meat for him to use as he
pleases,” said a harsher tone.
‘Enough,” came the final. ‘We’ve no right to judge. We don’t yet know her, so
no one act all high and mighty. And for the love of God, stop it with that
peering around the corner. We’re still civilized beings.”
‘Civilized? You call living in a cage civilized?”
‘Well it’s certainly better than being down there with the Triumvirate.”
That statement sparked a debate between the four voices she heard about whether
they were civilized or wretched. Smoke had to roll her eyes and sigh in
annoyance. Women- four of them, to be exact- whispering and bickering like
children as though no one could hear them. She never understood people
sometimes. Then again, when you live isolated from people with only your
brother and a lizard for company, there really was no need to try. No matter,
Smoke really didn’t like that they were whispering about her.
‘Who’s there?” Smoke asked, just because she didn’t quite know anything better
to say. The whispering abruptly stopped. ‘Hello?” All was silent until the
owners of the voices finally came out from where they were hiding. Four women
indeed, but all of them seemed older than she. And all of them were dressed in
white.
The eldest of the bunch (she assumed her to be anyways) was taller than the
others with unruly dark hair that was covered by white gauze, but tumbled over
her semi-broad shoulders. Her skin was tanned, but not quite as dark in the
manner of the people down below. Her stormy blue eyes bore straight into
Smoke’s black orbs, reminding her in a way of a disapproving mother. The
clothes that draped her otherwise willowy form exposed her long limbs but
covered her breasts and lower body modestly.
The next one seemed a little younger, possibly by a year or so. She had pretty
brown hair and doe like eyes that didn’t seem to match her round face but
seemed to suit her nonetheless. Unlike the first, she was almost as pale as
Smoke save for the golden hint to her complexion. Her clothes were just a
little different from the first; she wore a white shawl over her hair but wore
a complete dress that was slit partially up the right side. She didn’t seem
unfriendly, but rather just curious about Smoke. If she had to guess, Smoke
assumed it was because of her appearance.
The third was glowering at Smoke from the doorway, sharp green eyes looking at
her suspiciously with her burgundy locks falling into her angular face. Her
skin was darkest of the four women, but still wasn’t quite the shade as someone
like Pit. Smoke didn’t say so aloud, but it made her look both unique and
beautiful. She wasn’t sure she should say such a thing anyways as the woman
didn’t look like the type to accept compliments. This one wore a thin strip of
white cloth over her breasts and then a longer bit of fabric that hung around
her waist before falling to the floor.
The final appeared to be closer to Smoke’s age, her blue eyes glittering in the
candlelight. Her olive skin and black hair gave away that she wasn’t from this
region (Is she from the East like me?). Her form was lithe and fragile looking,
but she wasn’t quite as tall as the others. Her attire was almost like the
green eyed woman, but differed in that she wasn’t wearing a shawl over her
straight hair.
As her black eyes looked from each woman, Smoke caught herself looking down at
her own body and realizing that she too was wearing all white; white cloth
crossed in the shape of an X over her breasts that almost left little to the
imagination were it not for the fact that Smoke rearranged it quickly, her
cheeks burning. The skirt she wore was long and was slit all the way up both
sides leaving only a little bit of gauze holding it to her hips. Like the black
haired woman, Smoke wasn’t wearing something over her head.
The feeling of being too exposed took priority over her appearance however.
‘Are you alright, child?” The eldest of the women spoke in a heavy voice that
made her sound just as cross as she appeared to be. Smoke met her gaze and
nodded. The look in the woman’s eyes was making her wonder if talking was a
good idea. ‘Good. You didn’t sleep well. In fact you tossed and turned so much
that the Mechanic had to give you a sedative-”
‘Do you know where you are?” the olive skinned girl interrupted, coming closer
to Smoke. At the look in her eyes, she quickly added, ‘I know, it’s a stupid
question. I was just curious if you were aware of what’s happened to you.”
‘Of course she’s aware of what’s happened to her, foolish little girl,” the
woman with the burgundy hair snapped. ‘She’s not stupid, at least she doesn’t
appear to be.”
‘And what would you know about stupid, Lilith?” The one standing closest to the
eldest asked. ‘You were in her position once too.”
‘So were you, Temperance. As was Constance and Hecate. It matters not. Now
she’s a slut like the rest of us.” The woman, now known as Lilith, retorted.
Smoke bristled at the word slut and sat up a little straighter. Even if she
wasn’t entirely sure what that word meant, the manner by which she said it cued
Smoke that it was something offensive. The elder saw this and quickly put
herself between them.
‘That is enough, both of you. Lilith,” she spoke, meeting the angry green gaze
of Lilith. ‘If you don’t want to be in here, I suggest you leave. The girl
doesn’t need any of this right now.”
‘Gladly, Hecate,” Lilith scoffed, retreating out of the room, her white
headscarf flowing behind her as she went. Hecate sighed and looked down at
Smoke.
‘You’ll have to disregard Lilith. This… hasn’t been a good month for her.” she
explained to Smoke. The air of irritation was gone from both her face and voice
making her sound a little more likeable and friendly like the other two. Just a
little, anyways. ‘A proper introduction is needed, I suppose. I am Hecate, as
you probably heard. This is Temperance, and she is Constance.” Hecate spoke,
indicating the brown haired girl as Temperance and the black hair one as
Constance. Smoke looked to each, but otherwise said nothing.
‘What’s your name?” Constance asked, sitting down beside Smoke. The Snow child
looked to her cautiously, scooting away when the girl came too close. ‘Where
are you from?”
‘Constance, leave the girl in peace. There will be plenty of time for questions
later,” Temperance spoke, grabbing Constance by the wrist and pulling her away
from Smoke.
‘Both of you leave us. I wish to speak to her alone,” Hecate ordered. Both
girls left without hesitation. Smoke watched them leave and then looked back up
at Hecate questioningly. ‘This must be frightening to you, being in a new place
with new faces.” The elder began, taking a seat on the bed closest to Smoke.
‘But we were in your place once as well. The fear will go away but it will soon
be replaced with something else.” Smoke drew in her lips to moisten them and
then chanced speaking.
‘I… don’t know what you mean,” she admitted. Hecate nodded.
‘As Lilith implied, you are now a prisoner here as the rest of us are,” Hecate
elaborated. ‘Some would say we are freer than those that live in squalor, but
we are prisoners nonetheless. We cannot leave and cannot walk about as we
choose. We are as birds in a cage, but not without our voices. In time you will
come to see what I mean.” Smoke’s eyes widened. Prisoner… this must be about
Glacier and I helping people to leave.
‘Why am I a prisoner?” she inquired. ‘What have I done wrong?” Smoke left out
the reason why she was in the Citadel to begin with. The less people that knew
about her and Glacier’s visits the better. Especially after Pit’s betrayal…
‘You’ve done nothing child, save for being healthy and beautiful. But I’m
wondering… have you been told yet what is expected of you?” Without giving
Smoke a chance to answer, Hecate continued, ‘No, I suppose you haven’t. You
were barely coherent when they brought you here late last night. I will do so
myself.
‘Listen well because this is the only time that I will tell you; you are not as
you once were. You are now a wife of the Immortan. You will entertain him at
his command and sleep with him when called. You have three chances and one year
to give him a healthy baby boy; miscarry and it will be your first strike. Have
a stillborn or deformed child, and it will be strike two and so one until you
reach three. After that, you’ll be thrown to the Wretched below. And don’t
bother trying to lie about not being able to have children; the Mechanic
wouldn’t have given you the green light if you weren’t. And if you try to run
away, commit suicide or try to abort your children, God help your soul.”
Smoke sat there for a long moment, unsure what to make of what she just heard.
She was brought here, not as a prisoner, but as something like this? She was
supposed to entertain and sleep with a man she didn’t know and wasn’t married
to at that? This is a nightmare, it has to be!Smoke must have spoken aloud.
‘He will call you his possession, his wife,” Hecate continued. ‘The name you
have now will be forgotten to you. He will give you another that you will come
to know as your own. Whatever life you had before will become a distant memory.
He will break you down until there is nothing left but a shell of who you once
were. And there is nothing you can do to change any of that.” Smoke looked away
for the first time in the conversation, biting her lip.
‘If there is nothing that I can do to change any of this, then what am I
supposed to do from this point on?” Hecate gave her a long hard stare before
she spoke frankly:
‘Survive. By any means necessary.”
Chapter End Notes
     Concerning where the other wives live, I haven't read or seen
     anything that would contradict the idea that the first wives were
     kept in the same way as they are in Fury Road. I know in the comics
     that the they were living in the Dome, but since this is many years
     before the movie and I couldn't think of any other possible places
     that they would live, I went with the idea that they are living in
     the Dome. (Some of the other MMFR stories I've read seem to go along
     with this as well.)
***** A New Life *****
Chapter Notes
     I apologize for the long wait for the next update. I've had a bout of
     bad health and spent quite some time in the hospital. I'm alright
     now, and ready to keep the story going.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Smoke didn’t answer Hecate after that. Survive by any means necessary…The way
that those worse were spoken made Smoke wonder just what it was that was
supposed to mean. It was true that she’d managed to brave the unforgiving
landscape of the desert outside this place, but it was only because of her
brother warning her of the ever present danger that was away from their home in
the East. Peaceful though it was, one never got too overly comfortable.
Especially when surrounded by strangers.
‘Do you understand what I’ve said as I’ve said?” Hecate asked, catching Smoke
off guard. The white haired girl stared at her for a moment and shrugged her
shoulders.
‘Do I have much more of a choice?” she replied in the same tone that Hecate
had. This made the older woman sit a little straighter, but otherwise she said
nothing.
‘Then I expect that there will be no problems unless you prove to be a
nuisance. We haven’t had a foreigner like you come in for quite some time.”
Smoke blinked at those words. If she wasn’t the first foreigner, then where had
the others- ‘They failed in their duty to the Immortan, so I suspect that they
are long gone by now. They don’t last long down there amongst the Wretched.”
Oh, right. That threat of being cast out if she didn’t produce a son. In that
case, there was little hope that they would be out there to lend assistance if
she somehow managed to escape. Still, she had to ask…
‘How am I supposed to be his wife if I’ve never served a man in that manner?”
Smoke asked, a blush coming over her face. Hecate gave her a strange look.
‘You’re a virgin?” Smoke nodded.
‘I haven’t had much contact with another man except for my brother.” A lump in
her throat made Smoke stop talking. The idea of being away from her brother,
not knowing where he was or if he was still alive… it was almost too much.
Hecate stared deep into her black orbs, studying her carefully.
‘Under different circumstances, I would ask how that is possible but it’s clear
that that’s a soft spot for you. As it is, I can only say that I wish you were
not untouched. No woman should have to have him as their first, much less their
husband.” She said finally. ‘You’ll see what I mean in due time.” Smoke could
do little more than nod in acceptance.
Time, it appeared, was all she had for now.
‘Now then,” Hecate spoke, standing up and making her way to the doorway.
‘Enough talk. Sitting in bed all day isn’t going to make your situation any
better, so I suggest you make what you can of it. If you please, come out into
the impluvium with the others. I’m sure they have questions of their own-”
‘How bright is it out there?” Smoke asked, catching Hecate off guard. She
received a strange look from the older woman. ‘How sunny is it today?”
‘It’s alwayssunny here,” Hecate replied. ‘We’ve never had a cloudy day, at
least, not since I’ve been here. Why do you ask?” Smoke groaned aloud, running
her hands through her hair. Not only was she trapped, but the sun was out. Sun
and albinos don’t mix, Glacier’s voice said in her head. Still, to say Smoke
wasn’t curious about what lay beyond that door would be a lie. Perhaps just to
the edge of the doorway would be a safe enough distance.
‘No reason,” she lied as Smoke slowly stood up, eyeing the doorway in
trepidation. Hecate saw through that quickly.
‘There must be some reason if you’re trembling like a leaf.” She pointed out.
Smoke scarcely realized that she had been shaking, much less whether her voice
betrayed such knowledge. ‘If you’re worried about one of us-”
‘It’s not that, I assure you,” Smoke said, knowing what Hecate was about to
say. ‘It’s… something else: a complex issue.”
‘What is it?” Hecate pressed, her voice not losing its harshness. Smoke looked
to her and then the doorway, noticing that the bright rays of the sun almost
made it impossible to see what lay beyond. Smoke nodded towards it.
‘The sun,” she began. Hecate looked out to what she called the impluvium (Smoke
had not the slightest idea of what that could possibly mean) and then back to
her.
‘What about it? You’re making not the least amount of sense.” Smoke hesitated.
The last time she was caught out in direct sunlight- which, she still insisted,
was not her fault in the slightest. In all honesty, it was Monoxide’s fault,
since it was him who had captivated her with his basking. - Smoke had received
severe burns to her shoulders that made them blister. Were it not for Glacier
running to save her, things could have ended worse.
‘You can’t go into the sun,” he had chided after spreading soothing salve on
her blistered back. ‘And neither can I. If you absolutely have to go out, do it
at dawn or towards dusk when it’s not so bad. Mother would have been scared to
death if she saw this.” Smoke never forgot that harsh childhood lesson and
since then avoided direct sunlight like the plague. She didn’t have to ask what
would happen the second she came out there, and most certainly didn’twant to
experience such pain again.
‘The sun… hurts,” Smoke finally admitted, shaking herself free of her memories.
‘I can’t- at least not for long- go into the sunlight. It burns… If I go out
there right now it will most likely scorch me until there’s nothing left.” She
hoped Hecate accepted this as a suitable explanation. The stormy eyes of Hecate
observed her in a manner that made Smoke wonder if she even believed her until
she walked back over to the bed they had previously sat upon and picked up her
blanket.
‘Put this over your head then.” Hecate said, handing the blanket to her. ‘It
will protect you… to some degree anyways.” Smoke looked from her hand to her
face before taking it, still not entirely sure she should be taking anything
from this or any of the other women. Smoke draped it over her head and
shoulders in the same way Hecate had hers, holding it in place with a death
grip. The elder woman said nothing, only proceeded back to the doorway and
leading Smoke out of it. Smoke followed until her feet touched the stone floor
that was in the sun, its warm surface not the least bit uncomfortable. For but
a moment, she wanted to run back into the dark sleeping chamber, knowing it was
safer. But instead, Smoke took a deep breath and stepped out into the light,
bringing up a hand to shield her face instinctively. Smoke closed her eyes and
then opened them back up slowly, letting them adjust to the brightness. Once
they did, her breath was almost taken away by the sight before her.
The room she exited opened up into a wide dome the likes of which she’d never
seen before. There were two stone staircases towards the far right of the dome.
One curved towards the left, but what lay atop them was concealed by a red
curtain. The second led towards some plants and trees off to the side. In the
very center of the room was a large pool of water that was being filled thanks
to a small crevice in the floor. Where the water came from apart from that,
Smoke didn’t know. A piano sat off to the side with a stack of books next to
it. Actually, there were many stacks of books, so many that it made Glacier’s
meager collection look even smaller. Five chairs sat in front of a strange
board that Smoke had never seen before, with even stranger symbols scribbled
onto it. A long table and chairs was towards the left side of the dome, already
set with plates and eating utensils and a bouquet of bright flowers sitting in
a vase of water placed in the very center.
Smoke glanced this way and that, looking up in wonder at the strong steel and
pristine glass that enclosed them within this place. There was a strange sort
of beauty to the stone interior that Smoke had never beheld before, much less
stood within. It was both interesting and frightening at the same time. Like
birds in a cage… Hecate’s words echoed in her mind. Smoke fought back the tears
at that notion. I willnot stay here, she fiercely vowed, biting her lower lip.
I will not be caged like an animal, not while my brother is out there.She
looked around again, a dark doorway leading to the strangest door she’d ever
seen catching her attention. There was no visible way to open it from the
inside, which was a pity. Unless she could somehow find a way to keep it open,
that escape route was out of the equation.
And unless she found a way out of here, seeing her brother again was out of the
question.
The sounds of something heavy opening caught Smoke’s attention, snapping her
out of her reverie. Her head jerked in the direction of the noise, realizing it
to be a strange door she didn’t notice before. Smoke couldn’t explain why, but
for a moment, her heart was filled with hope that it was her brother Glacier
coming to save her. Her hope was short lived when a man with half of his face
painted black entered instead. She looked away, feeling stupid for having let
herself believe that it was as easy as that. But surely Glacier was looking for
her. Surely he was out there, somewhere waiting for Smoke…
Surely it would take a divine intervention to find her brother again.
From the corner of her eyes, Smoke saw the man with the painted face turn back
towards the door and make a strange sign with his hands. With his back turned,
she couldn’t tell for certain. The way his head was bowed reverently, Smoke
guessed that it was a sign of respect to someone. She turned her head back to
the door curiously only to see a much larger and more imposing figure pass
through the open door and come into the light. Her very breath caught in her
throat as she recognized the massive man that had just walked into the room.
He was no less terrifying than the first time she’d seen him; he overtopped her
brother by a foot or more at least and dwarfed her more than she already was by
everyone else. He wore armor that was decorated by hanging ribbons and medals
the likes of which she’d never seen before. The armor itself looked as though
it had been molded to give off the appearance of muscles for a body that had
long since gone soft with age. All of his remaining clothes with the exception
of his boots, which were as black as her eyes, were white as snow. His skin
itself was ashen and his eyes were darkened with black soot. The same could not
be said for his eyes which were the most piercing shade of sapphire that Smoke
had ever seen.
He almost could pass for an albino like Glacier and I,Smoke thought. Then her
eyes settled on the frightening mouthpiece he wore. Teeth arranged to look like
a skull’s mouth made chills run down Smoke’s spine and the strange contraption
on the back of his head didn’t help either. Judging by the wooshing sounds it
made followed by hissing, Smoke guessed it was something to help the man
breathe.
The other women in the room, however, did not share nor take part in the young
albino’s wonder and gawking. They instead regarded the white haired man with
disgust and contempt. Smoke didn’t understand why until the tall man turned in
their direction.
‘Hecate,” he said in a harsh, deep voice that was made even more terrifying by
the way it resonated in his mask. Hecate flinched visibly, but otherwise
steeled herself and came forward.
‘Husband,” she replied.
‘Has my new wife awoken?”
‘Yes, Immortan.” Smoke’s blood ran cold. ‘She is here.”
No, no, no!Smoke thought, wanting so very much to run away, to find an escape
and get away. But her feet felt as though they’d been anchored to the floor all
at once. Smoke became precipitously aware of the tall man, who’d been addressed
as Immortan, staring at her. Smoke began to tremble especially when footsteps
came up behind her and the blanket being gently removed from her head. She
wanted to protest, but once her dark eyes locked with the sapphire eyes of the
man Hecate addressed as their husband, all other thoughts slipped away as her
paleness and ethereal beauty was revealed to the cruel person before her.
Time seemed to stop as they stared into one another’s eyes. No words were
exchanged, just one observing the other. Smoke’s breath came out slowly, her
lips slightly parted as her chest rose and fell slowly and gently, a
counterpart to the harsh sounds emitted from the breathing apparatus worn by
the Immortan before her. Small as she was, Smoke had to tilt her head back to
keep the eye contact.
When one of them finally moved, it was the man who lifted a hand upwards to
stroke her soft white hair that had fallen into her face, twisting the strand
in between his fingers.
‘So you are the albino who’s been added to the rest of my treasures.” It wasn’t
a question, just a statement that disturbed Smoke in a way she couldn’t
describe. ‘Have your sister wives been gracious to you?” She could do little
more than nod mutely. This seemed to please the man before her. His eyes
crinkled, hinting that he was smiling. Whether or not it was a good smile,
Smoke wasn’t sure.
‘Good,” the massive man rumbled. ‘They will see to it that you adjust well here
with them. As for me, I will replace all that you’ve lost. You’ve no need to
fear the Wretched down below any longer.” He glanced at her clothing- what
little there was- and then back into her eyes. The hand that had been toying
with her hair moved instead to touch her cheek. Smoke forced herself to be
still even though every instinct was calling for her to do otherwise. The
calloused touch spoke nothing of safety, or that of comfort. His palm was so
rough that Smoke was afraid that it would cut her cheek. She glanced from his
chalky white hand and then back to the vividly blue orbs, unsure what she was
expected to do in this type of situation.
After a few more agonizing minutes, the hand was removed from her cheek, much
to Smoke’s relief. The look he was giving her now, however, alerted her that he
had much more darker intentions for her.
Intentions that threatened to overwhelm Smoke with absolute fear.
‘Miss Giddy,” the Immortan called, finally turning his attention away from her.
Footsteps coming down from the stone staircase caught Smoke’s attention as she
followed his gaze, seeing an old woman dressed in brown descending rather quick
for her age.
‘Yes, Immortan?” the woman- who Smoke realized was known as Miss Giddy- replied
in a light voice.
‘Has my new wife been told of what shall be expected of her?” he asked. From
the corner of her eye, Smoke saw Hecate start to say something, but decide
against it as Constance, Temperance and Lilith stuck close behind her.
‘Not yet,” Miss Giddy replied, glancing to Smoke with a warm look in her eyes.
‘She’s only just arisen.”
‘It had best be done by the time I come for her again,” he growled into his
mask.
‘Yes, Immortan Joe,” Miss Giddy said, ignoring the tone of his voice and coming
to Smoke’s side. The cold blue eyes of the Immortan looked back into Smoke’s
dark orbs, his hand rising to stroke her cheek one more time.
‘I look forward to our time together,” he muttered, more to himself than to
Smoke. Thankfully, he drew his hand away and turned to leave the women. Smoke
watched him disappear through the Vault door before it swung shut, locking them
once more inside their prison. She didn’t move for several moments until she
felt a comforting squeeze on her hand. Smoke made a confused sound and looked
down to see her hand being held in Miss Giddy’s tattooed hand. Her eyes
followed the words on her skin up to her kind face, seeing the woman smiling
reassuringly at her.
‘I am sorry we had to meet in this manner, dear,” she began, her voice pulling
at a memory Smoke couldn’t place. Her mother’s voice, perhaps? No, that wasn’t
possible. Smoke’s mother died after giving birth to her. She couldn’t possibly
have heard her voice save for the time she spent in the safety of her womb. It
seemed impossible that she would even know much less recognize anything
resembling such a comforting sound. ‘I know Hecate must have already told you
what is to be expected (‘I did, Miss Giddy,” Hecate’s voice affirmed.), so I
won’t bore you by going over it again. Now then, let’s get you out of the sun.
Your kind can’t stay in it for very long, correct?” Smoke nodded, returning
Miss Giddy’s kind smile. She couldn’t help it; she was speaking to her in such
a comforting and reassuring way that Smoke felt more at ease than she had when
she first awoke. Even so, she still longed to hear Glacier’s voice once more,
to see her brother and run to him once again.
Please be alright, brother, Smoke thought. Please be safe wherever you are. And
please come find me soon.
 
===============================================================================
 
 The world, from a lizard’s perspective, wasn’t at all what humans perceived it
to be. It was filled with interesting smells, tastes, and sounds, but even with
lightening quickness and smarts that surprised and frightened humans, there was
danger all around.
A long black tongue flicked out every few seconds as Monoxide ran along his
merry way, avoiding all the humans. He was smart enough to know that not all
humans were as friendly as his masters, particularly his favorite Smoke. Master
Glacier’s voice had told him that secrecy was needed, but also said that Smoke
was in trouble and that it was up to Monoxide to help her. Red eyes blinked as
he took shelter under a fallen bit of tin for a moment. Running on the hot
ground didn’t affect the reptile’s tough clawed feet, but the unfamiliar scent
of the humans was unnerving. And they smelled horrible. Keen eyes watched a
particularly large group pass. His tongue darted out once they were gone,
trying to pick up on the scent of Master Smoke. His head itched suddenly as he
thought of the reward he would get for finding her. Surely she had a tasty rat
or two for him and loving scratches as always.
Though his sense of smell was indeed strong, there were just too many
conflicting scents that it was hard to pick out which was his master’s and
which was someone else’s. When was the last time that he’d smelled her? No
matter, he’d been running all night and he was tired. A good basking in the sun
earlier had made him sleepy, but now the shade was making him more so. Flicking
out his tongue one more time just to be sure that Smoke was nowhere nearby,
Monoxide resolved to curl into a little ball and sleep. Perhaps when the sun
went down he’d be able to resume his journey.
Chapter End Notes
     I've never written in an animal's perspective, hence why the last bit
     of this chapter is so short. I figured it would be an interesting
     idea to see how Monoxide sees and experiences things in his
     perspective. That's what happens when you love reptiles so much and
     own two leopard geckos (Wyvern the Mack Snow and Spectre the Lavender
     Stripe). =)
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!