Chapter Text
In the valley, there lied a small city that prospered from its trade near central and was known for its wealthy schools called Logia. In this city, there was a scandal of recent homes being set aflame, the perpetrator still yet to be found. In one home in particular, the house was set ablaze purposely to hide what the world shouldn’t see. The house was built with sturdy walls of brick and strong oak, the pride of the workers who had built it for the alchemist. From the threshold entered a young girl, copper-red locks falling down her shoulders and tied into a thick braid. Eagerness to express her day made her run to her father in the living room, only to see he wasn’t there. A black Mau whined for attention, Elena reaching down to lift the kitten in her arms. “Jacky where’s daddy?” The cat provided no answer, purring when her small fingers scratched beneath her chin.
“Maybe downstairs?” She ventured, wandering to the steps that lead further down to the basement of the house. Twisting the knob, she pried the door open by a few inches, her face flushing at the heavy frame. Jacky hissed her black fur on edge and scampering out of her arms. The girl stumbled back with a yelp of pain, sudden claws sharpening and leaving a mark on tender flesh. Jacky fled back up the steps; Elena held her injured arm delicately. The girl frowned making her way passed the cracked opening, unaware of what could have startled the small kitten so. The room had been crafted by her father’s design to be both his office and workspace. She was used to seeing the high shelves of books that reached the ceiling, normally expecting his focused back bent over his desk. Passing one tall shelf, she felt something wet seep into her sandal-was it water? Blinking, she lifted he foot to see the pale slipper stained red. Wet, but slimy to the touch of her fingertip, the color a bleary red. What was this?
Heavy breathing reached her ears, freezing Elena where she stood by the dark shelf. She raised her head, hoping that it had been some vial he might’ve concocted and dropped in one of his fits. She noticed his back, hunched over and his shoulders shaking with each ragged breath. A strange giggle made him tremble, the man muttering softly beneath his breath words the girl couldn’t decipher. From one of the deeper scratches, strings of blood oozed down her arm. It collected at the edge of her elbow, pulled by the invisible force of gravity and staining the floor in a few spots. Elena noticed then, how it matched the same bleary crimson on her sandal. Had that been blood? Why blood?
She knew only from what her father had mentioned in terms of the alchemic arts, but knew enough that any and all alchemy that involved blood was never good. So why?
“D.. Daddy?” She felt her arm tremble, feeling small and timid from the strange pressure in the air. There was something different about her father, something alien in how he had stiffened. When he turned, his dark russet hair had been tousled and disheveled, sweat decorating his brow and neck. The kind wrinkles etched by the corner of his eyes now deeply rooted along the sides of his mouth as well, but no longer kind as before. When he smiled, it brought a deeper chill down the young girls spine, her doe eyes widening then even as her father outstretched his hand.
“Kitten..” He called, using his term of endearment to keep her gaze. “Sweet child you are. I have wonderful news.. Wonderful news..” His brow drew down when she stepped closer, holding her arm. “Did you hurt yourself, kitten?”
That was father’s voice, his way of greeting her. Swallowing, she nodded solemnly. “Jacky scratched me.” It wasn’t until then that she realized tears had swarmed her vision, the pain of the scratch settling in. “It.. It hurts.”
When he turned, she had instinctively ran to his arms, burrowing her nose into his chest as a small whimper fell from her lips. “Ah.. there, there kitten. Daddy will fix that right up.” He assured her by petting her arm. Elena had been so silly, being fearful of her father. How could she have been such a fool. From his coat, he pulled out a patch, telling her to get the ointment on the shelf near them. Doing as she’d been instructed, she waited as her father applied the ointment over her injury, then placed the patch over the skin. “That should do it now. No more tears now kitten, I have the best of news for you.”
Looking up from his large palm, she watched as he smiled, exhaustion setting into the faded grey hues of her father. “What is it daddy? Did you finish a project?”
“Better than that kitten, I’ve brought back something we both find precious.” He waved to the door to the side of his desk. Small fingers clung to his coat, noting then how the ends of his jacket had a strange stain of brown. Was that coffee? He didn’t smell anything like the usual smoky tinge of it, but of something else. Something more musky and metallic to the tongue.
He moved to open the door, a mad sense of delight shining in his eyes. “I brought back mother kitten. Beloved mother!” When the door had swung open to hit the wall, the alchemists’ daughter froze in place. “It took me some time, gathering the right amount of blood and so on, but I managed on doing it!”
Sitting in the chair was a woman, wearing the familiar blue linen dress that Elena had fond memories of. Scarlet locks falling in graceful waves down her shoulders and back, enough so that for a full heartbeat, she felt it was her. “M.. Mommy..?” She whispered, choking back the urge of tears. The woman’s fingers twitched on her lap, her head still bowed, but she didn’t move. “Mommy's not fully recovered yet kitten, but she will be. And when mommy better, we can be the same as we used to be.”
Something felt wrong, oh so very wrong. Elena remembered her mother’s passing a few months ago, specifically one full month before her birthday. When she had returned home from school, Elena went to the kitchen expecting to see her mother with a prepared snack upon her arrival. Instead, she had seen crimson hair staining the floor, her mother feverish and pale. By the time a doctor had arrived to the scene, her mother was gone from the world. Lost forever by the reapers hand.
Elena had dealt with the loss on her own. Her father had isolated himself in his office and all but forgot his child. It was only a few weeks afterwards that he had began to re-notice her, commending her on cooking and apologizing softly to her for his forgetfulness. For a while, she had believed that things would be alright. She would go to school, he’d wave her off, and when she came back, he’d be there waiting with the afternoon paper and coffee. She thought they would finally heal and be happy.
Seeing the image of her mother; ghostly pale and scarlet hair a dull hue of its original vibrant color. That wasn’t her mother. As much as a part of her wanted to believe it was true, that wasn’t her mother.
“Kitten? Are you crying?” Her father laughed, petting her head. “Yes yes, it must be hard seeing mother after she disappeared from us for so long. But it’s alright. Things are better now, so much better now that mommy is back.” The tears wouldn’t stop rolling down her cheeks. He rested his hands on her shoulders, guiding her further toward the woman he claimed was mother. “Marian. It’s Elena dear, remember her? Our beloved little kitten?”
Again, the hands twitched. She watched with fascinated horror as the hand rose. Was that stitching she saw on her fingers? The fingers oddly clammy in color, as if cut into pieces then sewed back together. The hand on her head left her trembling, the girl realizing then the anxiety that overwhelmed her. Fear. It had a cold grip on her vocal chords, immobilizing her on the spot and sealing away her voice. She was afraid of this man she called father and afraid of the creature before her. It wasn’t her mother, but something more terrifying and monstrous.
Had father created a Hommunculi? She had read that in one of his books, the humans fabricated by alchemical means-but such things were myths! His earlier words lingered in her mind, echoing a loud reminder. ‘It took me some time, gathering the right amount of blood and so on, but I managed on doing it!’ She remembered the announcements in school, how the teachers warned their students to be cautious of their homes. To ensure all doors and windows were locked to prevent fires.
The missing women. The homes that were set ablazed. Everything that was on the afternoon paper for more than a few weeks now, all describing the dangers within the city. The danger of a madman or a cult, but Elena knew then there was only one answer to all these criminal activities. The thoughts raced through the young prodigy’s mind. Did her father really do all this? Could he really be capable of all this? She felt panic bubbling just beneath her chest, remembering the way he had laughed and grinned at his accomplishment. It was madness. The warmth she expected to emit from her fake mother or even her father’s palms, were cold.
It was as if when her mother died, so had her father. Something in her cracked. The young girl’s fantasies shattering with her dreams. She inhaled, and took a numb step backwards, the pieced up hand falling from reach.
“Kitten what’s wrong?” When her gaze had flickered upward, she saw her father gazing at her with concern, and yet, he didn’t look like her father. Not the kind man who often overworked himself with his studies and theories, often earning a soft scolding from mother, but always there to read her to sleep. Turning her head, the child took another step forward, a small hand lifting the few red hairs, noticing how they varied in different shades of red. When she met the woman’s eyes, they weren’t the hazel hue that shined brightly with life.
No these were the eyes of a monster. A creature of mysterious origin locked in a shell, silently screaming in pain. Tears rolling unchecked from her eyes. “See kitten? She recognizes you. She’s even crying.”
“Ah…” The voice wasn’t like her mother either, it was rough and husky, not at all soft and tender like she remembered. Elena stepped away, bumping into her father’s legs then stumbling back when she began to tremble. “Kitten? What’s wrong kitten? Why aren’t you smiling?”
Fear outweighed her panic, rushing her heart straight to her head. “T… Tha..” Her voice cracked, and again, her father turns to her with a look of paternal concern. Elena shook her head when he reached out, tears flowing unchecked down her childish face. “A-Ah..” The woman rose up from her seat, gaining her father’s attention. “See kitten? Even mommy is concerned.”
She screamed, scrambling past the desk and knocking over the oil lamp. It shattered on the floor, the wick sparking a flame over the scattered pages. “Kitten! What have you done?!” Elena stumbled, feeling numb and lost even as she crashed into several pillars of books. “Kit-Elena wait!” She couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Her father tried reaching out, to capture her ankle while pursuing her, sending more messy piles of paper to the floor. The fire began to spread even more.
“A-ah..!” The father stopped in his chase, recalling his beloved and rushing to her side. Elena watched in petrified horror as he lifted her up from the burning oils, trying to put out the flames on her skirt. A quick glance to her side, and she knew she was close to the door. The child in her wanted to go and save her father, save them, but she felt too afraid of the man sitting there and holding the woman he claimed as her mother.
“Kitten.. Why? Why did you try to hurt mommy? Didn’t you love her?” When he looked at her, Elena half expected anger, but instead, saw tears. The tears of a desperate man, the image tearing a hole through her chest. “D-Daddy.. Th-That’s.. That’s not mommy. Daddy please..” She begged him, her vision blurring between more tears and smoke. “W-We need to go.. The fire..” Elena moved further away, closer to the door.
“I won’t leave mommy kitten. I can’t leave mommy..” He smiled, “I could never leave mommy’s side.” And he cradled his creation in his arms, uncaring of the flames that began to lick at his coat and surroundings. He looked so blissed, holding the corpse tenderly and tightly.
Elena ran. She used her strength to pull the door open and ran away from the two of them. She ran away from her home and once the cool air of the outside world hit her-She screamed. She howled and pleaded to the sky for help.
When her neighbors approached, they saw the girl sobbing with her clothes ruined. Her eyes wide with fear and obvious panic. “S-Save him! S-s-save m-muh-my dadd-daddy, p-pleaze.” She quaked, the smoke from the basement rising out the windows. The girl watched the stroke of time speed up. Everything had happened so fast, yet she felt like she hadn’t moved from the spot. Her neighbor was a woman by the name of Anna, elderly but kind and a former friend of her mother. She stayed beside her even as the fire department, police and medics appeared, each rushing to accomplish their own respective duties.
Elena remembers seeing a firefighter bring out a body, the smoke veiling which-her father or the stitched woman? The nurse that had tried talking to her had checked her for injuries, but upon trying to touch her arm, Elena moved away. She didn’t want anyone touching her. Not now. When she saw the hand fall from the lift, a silver band on a thick finger, her world went black.