Niviene Larethian

Sacrifices - Tesclina Kotara

"It started when I was a child. One of my brothers dared me to walk along the banister of the third floor landing, I did and then I fell. I died. Obviously the priests were able to bring me back but my legs were in pretty bad shape.” Tesclina shrugged her shoulders, “Father sent me away to a sanitarium where I was taught to walk again.” she narrowed her eyes, “It was there that they started, the voices.”

Tes turned away from her audience to pace across the rough floor, “I tried telling the doctors but that was a bad idea, they all thought i was crazy. I told father. I thought he would make the voices go away. That’s what daddies do after all, take care of their little girls.” she gave a self deprecating smirk, “Not my daddy though. “He stopped visiting. And he prolonged my stay, said the doctors would help me get my mind right.”

She gently tucked a fiery lock of hair behind her ear, “Mother visited as often as he would let her. She would bring me books and play the piano in the solar while I sang.”

The woman who sat listening shifted slightly, “How long were you there?” she asked.

“Six years.”

“And did your mother visit you the whole time?”

Tes continued to pace, her hands clenched into tight fists at her side though her voice did not betray her emotions, “No. She died a year before I got out. There were no visitors after that. Not until my sixteenth birthday, then father’s attorney arrived, checked me out and took me home.”

She stopped her pacing, her back turned to the woman, “By then my brothers were working in the family business and my sister had been married off to a shipping magnet. Father and I avoided each other as much as possible once he figured out that no one wanted to marry me because they’d all heard I was borderline insane. Musn’t let the madness pass on to the heirs you know.”  her voice had an almost merry tone as she reached up to adjust the gardenia blossom that adorned her hair.

“I kept to the library mostly though I did spend time in father’s study while he was away on business. I read up on his books and learned his accounting system. I spent time in the offices, pestering his staff until they’d get tired of my questions and send me on my way.”

She straightened the lace ruffle on the bodice of her gown, the pale green silk turning her hazel eyes to jade, “I thought I could make him love me. I should have known better. I don’t think he knows how to love anyone.” she lowered her head for a moment, her shoulders slumping, “What he saw was opportunity so he sent me off to various places to expand the business.”

Tes sighed and straightened, her voice once more matter of fact, “It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. He got more money and I had freedom.”  she turned to look at the woman, her petticoats crinkling beneath her skirts. She tilted her head to the side, “I really do get tired of having to repeat this story every time. I don’t know why I feel compelled to explain myself. Suffice it to say freedom is something your kind never gave me. The voices didn’t stop on their own.”

She raised a hand, purple mist flowing from her fingers to envelope the succubus who’s eyes widened in shock. With a satisfied smile Tes flicked her wrist and the demon crumpled to the floor, the mist lifting to encircle the red head, seeming to cling to her skin before fading away.

Tes nodded, lifting her pink rosebud embroidered skirts as she stepped over the succubus’ broken body, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this it’s to make the most of my sacrifices.”