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PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
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The tale begins with the mundane.

A daughter sat at the dinner table with her parents in the beginnings of another eve. With the prongs of her fork, Natalie pushed the food around her plate. Her chin rested on her hand, still stained with oil from the day's work and brandished with a scar running down the back of her thumb to her wrist where she'd caught herself on scrap metal while scavenging for parts from a ship long past its expiry date.

The ship would never fly again, but that didn't mean it couldn't help another into the skies.

As much as she loved her mother, still sat at the table was last place she wanted to be. There are promises she'd made that nag at her mind. Breaking them was not part of the plan.

Her mother, Tiana, noted the look on her daughter's face. She wished Natalie wouldn't frown. Not because she always expected her to smile, but because, when she did, the smile she bore was beautiful.

"The quicker you eat, the quicker you can go," Tiana said. A gentle smile accompanied the words and served to reinforce the kindness her mother always, no matter what, possessed.

Naz had always wondered what her mother had been like when she was young and free of the ties she'd forged for herself in marrying Fletcher.

A marriage she'd committed to for love, but only clung to for the sake of her daughter. The flesh and blood she'd brought into the world, who she would die for. Maybe one day she would be free, but, for now, there she sat, chained to a work-obsessed, brute of a man.

"She's not going anywhere tonight," Her father said lowly. His authority rang through. "She's washing up."

If Tiana had not been present, Naz would have kicked up a fuss. Argued with the man until they were both blue in the face, gasping for air, spit spotting from their mouths as they lost control in the fury.

They were very much alike in that way.

When Tiana is nearby, they swallow down their flames and save them for later. Tucked away right inside their lungs just waiting to rush out to meet the other in yet another screaming match.

But her mother always knew when they had been arguing. She could just sense the disappointment. The quietness that veiled her away from them both. As if she were a woman in mourning.

Naz cut up the final pieces of her meal, pushed them all onto her fork, and ate it in one mouthful. Her mouth was pulled, as far as the mouthful of food would allow, into a humorous smile. One which neither parent seemed to appreciate, though for different reasons. She chewed and swallowed what should have been two, or even three, bites.

Fletcher puts down his cutlery. "Just because you have eaten all your dinner, doesn't mean you get to leave." He took a gulp of his water, dabbed his mouth with the cloth napkin, and then continued by adding, "It is polite to wait until everyone has finished their meals before you leave the table, Natalie."

Even the way he said her name made her blood simmer.

Naz sighed and leant back in the metal chair, already regretting eating her food as quickly as she did, but she was not about to let him know that. She watched him as he finished his food. Glared as he did so purposefully slowly. So slow that even Tiana noticed and exhaled in despair of her warring family.

Finally, Fletcher finished his food.

He barely had a chance to set down his cutlery before Natalie was up on her feet. She swept the plate from him and stacked it onto her own. Kindly, Tiana passed hers across and earnt a grateful smile, one she cherished, from her daughter.

Naz whisked away to the sink and proceeded to wash the plates in such a short amount of time that she wasn't even sure they were hygienically safe to eat from again.

But if she'd cared that much, she might have washed them properly in the first place.

They were all chipped anyway. Mismatched and old. What did it matter if they weren't exactly clean?

As she wiped off her hands, Tiana came around the corner into the kitchen and wrapped an arm over her daughter's shoulders. Even with such a simple touch of affection, warmth soaked into Natalie and chased away the twitching anger her father had poked to life inside of her.

"Were you intending to go out to see Cassian and Eldos this evening?" She asked, though she spoke quietly to shield their moment from the father who would curse them for their minute conspiracy. If Natalie hadn't adapted to the way she spoke as she'd grown up, she wouldn't have heard a word.

She nodded. "Yes," she replied, "they're waiting for me now."

Tiana took the tea-towel from her and folded it neatly over her arm. "You should go." She reached out and slipped her hand around Natalie's. "Just don't be back too late, okay? You know your father doesn't enjoy being woken up in the early hours."

"Thank you," She said and yanked her mother in for a hug, wrapping her in her arms tight. "You're golden," She whispered into her hair.

In response, Tiana squeezes her around the middle.

Natalie released her and held her at an arm's length. "I promise to be back soon," She said. "I love you."

"I love you, too, angel," She returned, smiling thinly when her daughter kissed her on the cheek and hurried to the door in a flash, barely pausing to pull on her jacket as she exits their quarters.

Silently, she prayed for her daughter to keep her promise, but she knew that wouldn't happen. From the glee on her face as she'd left, Natalie wouldn't be back for a very long time, if only to infuriate her father in retaliation for keeping her for so long.

Natalie had never been one to let something go, no matter how small or insignificant.

And she wasn't about to start.

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The thrum of the eve beginning its shift to night filled the air. It had been a while since Naz had been amongst it due to her workaholic nature, but she had to admit, she'd quite missed it.

When she entered the make-shift bar, it was a relief to see her closest friends stood at the bar. Both of them already had drinks in their hands, but there was a third on the bar they had clearly bought for her. They could be sweet sometimes.

As the door shut behind her, the two of them turned and grins rose onto their faces.

"There you are!" Ely exclaimed at her sudden appearance and wrapped an arm over her shoulders when she was close enough to be subject to his affections. He had always been the sort with few boundaries. He'd not grown up with them, so why would he forge them now? "We thought you weren't coming."

"Of course, I was going to come," Naz replied. Her eyes darted over to Cassian with a glint of enthusiasm that shone as bright as any star he'd ever seen. "If anyone's ever going to bail on our weekly tradition, it's going to be him."

"What d'you mean it'll be me?" He protested, with his free hand clasped to his chest, feigning insult. "I'm always the first one here."

He was used to the jesting digs Naz often dealt out. He'd known her long enough to understand they were never personal. Just jokes meant to spark a little light.

The two of them locked eyes, neither backing down. One of her dark brows rose, but she wouldn't shy away. She never did and she never would. Naz was far too vibrant and daring for that. The day she backed down from a challenge was the day Naz became her mother.

"I'll hold you to that," She said, unhooking herself from Ely.

She snatched the drink from the bar and guzzled half of it down in one. Cassian and Ely shared a knowing look. When she was satisfied, she drew back and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket she'd stolen from her mother. Tiana never had the heart to ask for it back so she'd kept it.

"Was it him again?" Ely dared to ask; his voice quiet as a mouse as if to match the mousey curls atop his head.

Naz stiffened and was suddenly extremely interested in her drink.

"I don't want to talk about him," She bit out. "Not now, not ever."

"I'm sorry, I—"

Naz cut him off with a glare fried with anger. "When we gather like this, he is not a topic of discussion," She snapped, fingers clenching around the glass so hard it's a wonder it didn't shatter in her palms and send a shower of shards tumbling down to her feet.

Cassian placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. He didn't mean to upset you, we're just worried about you, that's all."

"I was just trying to be a good friend," Ely mumbled and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jumpsuit, eyes turned to the floor.

Naz sighed. "And I'm grateful for it, really, but I just don't want him to win by invading every part of my life." She ran a hand through her choppy black hair, suddenly overcome by a wave of fatigue. The shadow she'd carried around for her entire life now weighed more than ever.

Fletcher had already taken too much from Naz for her to be able to afford surrendering more.

And yet he consumed her thoughts for the rest of the evening, despite the efforts of her friends to pull her back into the moment. She was stuck. Locked in her own head while the universe moved on without her.

"I think maybe we should call it a night," She said, breaking her silence. "I'm exhausted."

Ely and Cassian could do nothing but agree, knowing the night was lost.

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1695 words
9.1.20

i wanted to update this sooner, but i've been too busy with uni work so here it is at last.