{•Lynette•}

"How long was I out?" I mumbled as I rested in bed, Remington sitting next to me.

Remington looked up at me. "You were in that dream state for about 13 hours.... Give or take...."

I took a deep breath and nodded, hugging my knees to my chest. "It felt like ages... God, my head still feels all fuzzy....."

He looked at me worriedly. "Here... Leda made your favorite lavender tea... To help with any shaken nerves...." I said as he placed the cup in my hands.

Once I had calmed down a bit, everyone decided to give me some time to pull myself together before asking me anything at all, though I was able to say some things before I was stopped.

Apparently though, I accidently said Remington's name, so its lead to a few questions from allies who were there and had no idea, so Andrew had to help take care of that...

I gulped and nodded. "Thank you..." I mumbled.

I let the cup warm my hands, looking down at it.

He was quiet before sitting up on the edge of the bed next to me.

"Lynette.... What did you see in that dream state?" Remington asked softly. "And don't say you didn't see much, because it wouldn't have made you cry like that..... You were so terrified, a-and then reacting to your trauma while you were unconscious...."

I gulped nervously, and looked down at the tea, watching the steam slowly rise from the leafy liquid.

"Because.... Alexander was in my dreams," I added.

His eyes widen a little, and I sighed

"I-I.... I learned things in there... Thankfully nothing concerning, until.... U-Until... " I mumbled.

He frowned. "Until what?" he asked.

She closed her eyes as a stray tear fell.

"My family is innocent.... They never meant to hurt you, hell they never did...." I said. "They were trying to help you, cure something that you were suffering from, and also trying to protect you and your brothers, but... Something went wrong...." I said. "All because of the Visigoth's...."

He frowned but nodded. "T-That's good then, their names our cleared.... Right?"

I sniffled and wiped my tears away.

"What else is bothering you?" he asked.

I sniffled softly before looking up at him.

Those dark brown eyes.... So full of love and kindness.... Eyes that see me as a part of his heart....

... Did those eyes ever see me as something ugly, however?

"C-Can I ask you something?" I asked softly.

"Anything, my love," he murmured, holding my hand in his.

i took a deep breath and looked at him.

"Remington.... When you guys found out I had the Visigoth mark...." I asked, looking up at him. "Did... Did you think at.... At any moment that I... That I was evil...? Like them?"

His eyes widen in shock. "What? No! N-No, Lynette, where.... Where is this coming from?" he asked.

I pursed my lips and looked down before the door opened, Samuel walking in.

"Pardon me, my lord.... Duchess Lynette's uncles are here, along with the king and queen," he said.

Remington looked back at me worriedly, still shaken by my question.

"B-Bring them in," Remington said.

He bowed before walking back out, and then Alister and Hermes walked in.

"Our dear niece, thank the Void you're awake," Alister said as he approached us.

I took a deep breath and looked up at them, nodding softly.

Hermes was about to step up before Sebastian spoke out.

"Carefully," he warned, making him stop.

"Sebastian, " Larisa scolded.

"I-Its okay.... I.... I know now they're not responsible for the mental estate and shipwreck...." she said. "The Lieseil's and Warhol's are innocent...."

I looked at her questioningly, Sebastian and Larisa doing the same before she nodded at Sebastian.

He sighed, before stepping back.

"Very well...." He said. "However, I still ask for an explanation if you can, Lynette..... Whatever you experienced clearly left you shaken....."

She let out a shakey breath. "Remington was suffering from something..... It wasn't clear what, its in my mother's notes, but.... It wasn't to hurt him..... The Visigoth's used Amadeus to infiltrate the mental estate, attack and capture them....." I said.

"So the Visigoth's infiltrating Lieseil Inc. is what lead them to discover not only their children and granddaughter, but us...." Sebastian added.

"And then when my mother helped you, Emerson and Remington escape on that ship, Amadeus and a spy snuck in to kill you all," I said. "However..."

"He didn't expect me," Hermes added with a sigh. "Making me miss the voyage along with Amadeus, and the spy was left on the ship with the boys...."

"Who in turn slipped vampire blood into them before causing the shipwreck," I said.

Everyone was quiet.

"So the Lieseil's were only helping my brother, along with you two...." Sebastian added.

"Yeah.... My parents and my uncles are good people, but... My grandparents are still some evil incarnation... They're still related to me...." I said with a sigh.

"Lynette, not once since I've met you did I ever thing you were evil, let alone a threat, just because you have that mark on your hip," Remington said sternly.

"Wait, what?" Larisa asked as she and everyone else looked at us in shock.

"Face it, Remington, no matter how many name tags we slap over it, I am still a Visigoth, and people can't just ignore that," I snapped.

"My dear, just because you're branded on the hip by that bloody mark like us does not make you evil or meant to be," Alister said with a scoff.

"Look at the facts!" I exclaimed, almost spilling the tea in my hands. "I-I tortured a fallen angel without hesitation, I fought and killed guards, rebelled against Sebastian, I-I murdered Amadeus, drove a stake through Alexander-"

"You had good reason for all of those things, Lynette," Larisa argued. "Hell, anyone would have done them, that does not mean you are the root of evil!"

"Still!! Torture, rebellion, vengance, anger, murder.....!! Everything that makes a Visigoth who they are, and I checked out all the boxes!!!" I argued. "Okay, Sebastian had every reason in the beginning to fear me, he was right since the start!!"

"Sebastian was under a lot of pressure and scared at first, just like everyone was," Remington said. "Now, he trusts you with his own life, Lynette! We all do!"

"He's right. I admit, I regret my actions in the past, since I did not know the truth of things, but you are without a single doubt a part of our family, Lynette," Sebastian said.

I sighed and looked down. "I don't want to be like them....."

"You won't be, ever.... You had reason for all those things, and it was because you were in danger, or to protect someone you love...." Remington explained. "Lilith and Alexander and hell, even Prophet, they only killed for power, for pleasure, for fear..... Or even just because....."

I pursed my lips and looked up.

"You are brave, strong, kind.... Unfortunately very stubborn, but still very caring and puts everyone's needs before their own, Lynette," Sebastian assured. "Which makes you a far better person than those demented tyrants could ever be.... Don't you ever question that...."

I took a deep breath as Remington held an arm around me.

I leaned into his embrace as I calmed down.

"Thank you...." I said softly.

He nodded as Larisa smiled at Sebastian, kissing his cheek.

"I.... I learned something else.....Prophet killed every family of mine...." I added.

He furrowed his brows as everyone was confused

"Any family that took me in after I was abandoned on Earth, always met a mysterious death when I was little.... Five in total...." I said.

Everyone looked at each other before Larisa gasped.

"Oh god..." She sighed.

"What?" Hermes asked.

"Prophet came from a flock of five, and each fallen angel was killed by him because they didn't agree with following the Visigoth's," Larisa explained.

"Delianthus was the first one, he was the angel that doubted them since the beginning," he said. "According to what I was able to question Alexander, he didn't trust the flock serving under the Visigoth's, and then Prophet suddenly caused the boat my first family was in to capsize and drown them in the ocean...... Delianthus was going to leave before Prophet stopped him.... Cut him up and took his wings....."

"Meaning that killing those families was mostly between Alexander and Prophet.... He saw the others as expendable and ordered Prophet, who was easily manipulated, to kill them if they ever hesitated...." Alister said.

"And they stopped just as soon as Prophet was discovered and Dream was sent to another state," Hermes added.

"Then.... Then this was going on much longer than we all thought... Probably since Amadeus first infiltrated the mental estate and discovered the Warhol's and everything...." Larisa added. "He must have known since the start, it... It was all too late..."

"So the plan to keep our niece safe was ruined no matter what," Alister grumbled in anger, gripping his cane and turning away.

"Brother, she was still saved from Obsidian's fall, she's even returned home," Hermes tried.

"Bloody good it did anyway!!" Alister snarled. "Dream was still put in harm's way because of them!!! All the abuse, the pain, the death she was exposed to!?"

I frowned as we were quiet and he sat down.

"My poor sister died protecting her child..... Yet it was all in vain in the end...." he said, his voice almost broken.

My eyes widen at his words, which almost echoed Alexander's.

"No," I said sternly, standing up.

"Lynette," Remington said in confusion.

"No, I won't let it go that way," I snapped. "I won't let it look like my mother failed me or anyone else!!"

Everyone looked at me with wide eyes.

"Alexander won't get the last laugh, I won't let it happen!!" I snapped, then turned to Alister. "Okay, I'm still here!! I made it out of the Earth realm and back to my home! Just like my parents wanted, and now I make things right for them!!"

Alister looked up at me.

"I am the future queen of Obsidian.... I decide when this ends and how, and I won't let Eloise Lieseil's legacy and fight end in shame......" I said sternly.

Alister looked at me before smiling and standing up.

"You remind me so much of her.... That same grit and bravery...." he said.

I pursed my lips and looked ip at him.

"You all still have her notes... Let me see them...."

Alister looked down at me, rhen jodded.

"I'll get your robe," Larisa said.

***

"We combed through all of her notes, but no matter how hard we tried to crack the ciphers, its no use," Sebastian said as we stood in Eloise's office.

He handed me a notebook and let me skim through it, hut it was all a mix of different codes for each section.

The titles were always in the regular Latin alphabet,  but then everything was written either in different types of ciphers and codes, such as Phoenician for one.

Another in what looked like binary. In one section, I swear was like the Zodiac Killer's left my mother a note, too. There was even another in complicated hieroglyphs that would have even given the ancient Egyptians a migraine.

"You two weren't able to break it?" I asked my uncles.

"Not even we could... Bartholomew taught our sister better than we thought," Hermes added. "A real bloody brain scratcher, these things..."

"She altered the codes in a way that would make it hard to crack, only for her eyes or your father's...." Alister said.

I sighed. "I'm guessing my mom wasn't the kind of teacher to provide a cheat sheet either?"

"Victoria scoured the whole vault. No luck," Remington added.

"I may have found something," a voice said, and we turned to see....

"Emerson," I gasped, surprised to see him standing.

His hair was all tangled and mess, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a while.

They told me how he helped me overcome my mental trauma, and exhausted himself beyond his limit in the process.

"You should be resting," Sebastian scolded him as he walked over and sat him down.

"Oh calm down, I'm fine, just a little drowsy," he scoffed sleepily. "Plus, being sleep deprived-ish helps me concentrate more on a part of a cipher in Eloise's notes."

"What did you find?" I asked as he held up one of her notebooks.

"Eloise left another simple cipher in one of her notes on Patient X, similar to her Eye in the Sky trap for Amadeus," Emerson said, showing a page of the notes along with his scibbling handwriting on another page.

A part of the cipher was highlighted and written in strange symbols alongside what I believe was binary code.

"She wrote it in Theban this time," Emerson said. "I translated it and look what it said."

Remington looked at what Emerson wrote and read it.

"Seek the messenger at... Eternity's Gate?" Remington asked.

"What?" Sebastian asked.

"What's Eternity's Gate?" I asked.

"Call it the city's town square," Hermes explained. "At the very heart of Obsidian."

I nodded in understanding.

"Fun fact.... Its also where Sebastian arrested Alexander, before the fires," Emerson added.

My eyes widen and I looked at him, his face stoic and his arms crossed.

"Its also where Bartholomew proposed to Eloise...." Alister said softly. "And where.... Where Eloise told him she was with child...."

My heart cracked at his words, and then felt Remington hold my hand in comfort.

"This is more than an endgame for Lilith then..." Sebastian said.

That's when wheels in my head turned and I realized something.

"The beginning of the end...." I said, looking up at them.

They all looked at me questiongly.

"I'm sorry?" Hermes asked.

"This may have started with trying to cure Patient X, but Alexander's arrest is what triggered the fires, my mother's death, all of this...." I said."Now, I am not saying its Sebastian's fault, of course, but that event is where the scales tipped for everyone here... Its a trigger for the Visigoth's as well as Obsidian as a whole.... The moment that everything changed for everyone in this story....."

They seemed to understand what I meant.

"Lilith is starting the war at the heart of everything....." Remington added.

"Exactly... The beginning of the end...." I repeated as they understood what I meant.

Emerson faked sniffled as he smiled proudly, wiping a fake tear away. "I did have an influence on you...."

"Barely... You still ramble nonsense, no offense," I sighed at him.

"None taken. In fact, I accept it as a compliment," he smiled cheekily.

I scoffed a soft laugh as Remington shook his head with a smile to his little brother.

"What about this messenger?" Sebastian asked. "Who could that be, and how is that messenger going to help us?"

"That is a very good question," Emerson said. "Couldn't figure out anything about another player in this game, though. So it could be anyone."

"Could it have been another trap for Amadeus?" Remington asked. "I mean Eye in the Sky, that obviously meant that she was on to him, right?"

"I don't think so.... This is dated a few days before Eloise gave birth, well after the harassment and the mental estate incident," Emerson added.

"Then who could it be for?" Sebastian asked as we all tried to think.

"What about for her daughter?" Alister suddenly added.

I looked up in confusion. "Me? I-I wasn't even born yet...."

"No, but your mother knew what was at stake once our parents learned you were going to be born and came up with your escape plan.... Yet she and your father always believed you would come back here in the future," Hermes said. "For all we know, there's something there that she left for you...."

I furrowed my brows and looked over the message again.

"If that's true then.... Then maybe there's something at Eternity's Circle that can help us," I said. "Someone connected behind the scenes, or some sort of clue.... Something my mother wants us to find.... Maybe something that can help us somehow.... Anything....

"A scavenger hunt, in the middle of a war," Sebastian scoffed quietly. "Just what we needed."

"Its the best time to have a scavenger hunt, lad," Alister snickered.

"Its just like a Lieseil to do that," Emerson scoffed with a smirk.

Sebastian gave them a look as I took a deep breath.

"Okay... I lost a couple of hours, so.... Gentlemen.... How are we at preparations for the fight?" I asked.

"We've got teams ready to take every corner of the town, and Genevieve is almost done helping with our armor," Sebastian nodded.

"I'll also be working on alterations for your outfit," Emerson smiled.

"And all allies are on standby," Hermes said.

I nodded and stood up straight. "Let's do this then... For the Void."

"For the Void," Everyone repeated after me.

Sebastian then looked over to the door of the office where Austin stood.

"Austin, send word to everyone... We fight at dusk, on the day of the Winter Solstice...." he said.

Austin bowed before running out.

"That's 3 days from now..." Alister assured me.

"Excellent," Emerson smiled as he and the others walked out. "I'll get my good coat."

"What you are getting is more rest," Sebastian said sternly to him, leading him out of the room.

Emerson pouted with a grumble as they left.

I pursed my lips and looked at Remington, who looked up at me.

I then held his hand in mine, nodding assuringly to him, which helped him relax and grip my hand back.

We'll be okay.... We have to be...

{•Narrator•}

Jay ran as fast as she could, clutching the harness and message in her arms.

Once word was sent, Samuel ordered her to deliver this to Wismont Island as soon as possible so they could prepare.

She soon arrived and hurried into the Council Room.

There, now perched in his cage, was the white hawk.

The young blue haired maid walked over, letting him out before walking over with him to the large windows and opening it.

Horus chirped curiously at her as she set him down on the edge and then carefully proceeded to putting the carrier harness on him.

"This is your chance to make up for your mischief from earlier with the princess," she said, holding up the message.

He cried out as Jay slipped the message into the pouch.

"Get this to Lord Dominick on Wismont Island, Horus," she ordered. "As quick as you can.... And be careful...."

He let out another cry before flapping his wings and soaring into the skies.

She took a deep breath as she folded her hands over her chest and closed her eyes, face to the sky.

"For the Void..." she murmured to herself, then ran off to help others prepare.

This is it.

~~~~~

Been working on something new behind the scenes for this, but I wont reveal anything just yet... 😉🤫

Also, still obsessing over the Oblivion video so much. Its so beautiful, and such a cinematic masterpiece!! 🖤🤍

Next chapter coming soon! Thank you all for reading! 🌻

📻 Currently in Sapph's playlist:

Mod Sun ft. Avril Lavigne
"Flames"

♡~ sapphire.