most influential—and dangerous—organizations
To exist after the Crystallization.
This does not, it would seem, save
some of the branch families from
presenting themselves as weasels.
—Abel Bouvier, Overheard
Violet was sore when she woke up, but less sore than she’d expected. She still had a broken rib, apparently a fractured clavicle, and half a dozen smaller hairline fractures throughout her body. But the adrenaline that had kept her going the day before had been replaced by painkillers. They had an oddly pleasant effect, and one Violet had never been a valuable enough member of the community to earn before. She had bandages and ointments, as well, and Stephanie thought they’d even let her use one of the healing crystals to accelerate her recovery. Recovery, which was already improved by her new constitution. She’d be back in shape in a week, at most. Even if sitting up in bed felt a bit like trying to fit her torso through a cheese grater.
She did it anyway, noticing her mattress had been replaced with something far more comfortable. This was a detail she’d missed in her drug-induced state when she’d finally made it home. The night before was still something of a blur. She knew she’d brought the heart back to Roseville, and it had been passed off to the council. But she’d been exhausted and had barely spoken to the guard who’d debriefed her. She’d survived. Against all odds, she’d survived, and she'd made it back home. She knew three things clearly. The first was that she finally had a calling. She may have wanted to reject it, but on some level, she liked it. The second was that she was getting out of Roseville. And the last? The last was that she was going to kill Stephanie. However she felt about her calling, she needed it to grow, and she only knew so many people who definitely deserved to feed it.
She had to find people who deserved it. Because she could already feel her internal monologue rejecting that requirement. If she went too long without satisfying her calling, that monologue would win eventually. She climbed to her feet. She had to groan through the pain, but it would have hurt far worse at category white. She moved slowly through her room as she collected her things. She was relieved to find the shower unoccupied, even if she knew that showering would be something of an ordeal in her current state. The mist had been gross, and the blood had been sticky. Violet didn’t like feeling filthy. She didn’t mind doing the work that got her dirty, but it was important to her to regain her sense of control as soon as that work was done. She vaguely remembered some woman giving her a sponge bath just after the drugs had set in, but such a thought made her skin crawl. The idea of being powerless as someone else cleaned her.
For a brief moment, she wondered if she should find and kill the woman in question. Even as her mind wandered, she caught herself and shook her head. It was disturbing how quickly such ideas were drifting into her mind. She managed to get the shower going and clean herself as she reflected. Even as she awkwardly dressed herself afterward, she realized she was wrong. The fantasy wasn’t new at all. It was just more real. Such intrusive thoughts were normal, and not just for her. Perhaps the amount of time she let them linger was more unique, but they’d never been more than thoughts. But once she crossed that line and actually had the power to act on them, the flavor of the fantasies had changed. Like dreams of wealth change when they start to look possible. It was the promises she was making to herself that were new. She needed to police that more carefully. She wouldn’t actually kill everyone who saw her in a moment of weakness. She was certain she’d never let it go so far.
She was also certain she was going to kill Stephanie. And that made it just a little harder to think of the other deaths swimming through her mind as simple fantasy.
She pushed it to the back of her mind as she left the bathroom, an enticing smell drawing her to the kitchen. She was surprised when she was met with the sight of her parents, working together to prepare an extravagant breakfast. None of Violet’s siblings still lived at home, and only a couple even still lived in Roseville. Her parents had a lot of ambition, and always pushed them into the type of important job that would get them out of such a small town. That meant the two either planned to eat all the food themselves, or they were actually cooking for her.
“Oh, uh, hi, Mom! Dad! You two aren’t usually here at this time of day, it’s good to see you!” she greeted. It was a testament to her willpower that she managed to maintain a cheery persona for these two people in particular. Her mother looked up from the pancake batter she was mixing as Violet spoke. At the same time, her father briefly neglected the eggs on the stove to glance at her.
“Of course we are, sweetheart!” her mother responded. “We wouldn’t risk our little hero missing breakfast, would we?”
Didn’t seem to give a fuck for the last six years or so, but whatever you say, Scarlett, Violet thought. “Oh, that’s so nice! I could definitely use it after yesterday. You wouldn’t believe what they had me eating out there!” Violet laughed.
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“I can imagine,” her father chimed in, “that must have been awful. But nothing will keep my little girl down!” Violet didn’t flinch externally. She didn’t even glance at the kitchen knives right next to the foul man.
Whose little girl am I? Or did I earn the rank because you can’t remember my name? It has gone unused for a good while now. Violet maintained her smile as she sat on one of the stools lined up against the kitchen island. “Well, it wasn’t so bad when I finally figured my calling out. Turns out I just needed to enter the mist all this time!”
“I thought that might be the case,” her father nodded as he returned to the eggs. “It’s why we agreed to let you go when the council asked.” Violet managed to choke down her reaction, focusing on the placemat in front of her instead of the various weapons in the room.
“Oh, she doesn’t want to hear about that, Indie dear,” Scarlett said, attempting to prevent any follow-up questions from her daughter.
“I just thought she should know we had faith in her! It's good for a child to know her parents believe in her!” Indigo protested.
“Oh? What do you mean, Dad?” Violet pressed, spinning the fork set out for her around in one hand. Her father beamed.
“Oh, your mother is right, dear,” Indigo said, course-correcting at his wife’s silent glare. “None of that matters. Here, have some eggs, and tell us what your plans are now that you know your calling. Storm Scout, was it? I haven’t heard of the type of scout before, which makes it unique!”
Violet allowed the moment to pass. It sounded like her parents may have been involved in the plan to sacrifice her. It wouldn’t exactly have surprised her. They’d barely spoken to her after they’d decided her calling would never come. They’d focused all of their money and resources on siblings Violet had never gotten the chance to really know. They had potential, after all. A requirement Violet found laughable, considering her parent’s callings. Scarlett was a ‘Manager’ and Indigo a ‘Dancer’. But they were a branch of the Asher family, so that was enough to force their noses in the air, apparently. It didn’t matter. Knowing if her parents had sacrificed Violet wouldn’t do her any good. Not yet. It wasn’t like she could kill them. That would be too obvious. She wasn’t stupid, and she didn’t plan to get caught. Just as she was realizing she’d been talking herself out of murdering yet another pair of people, Scarlett spoke up.
“Violet, dear, your father asked you a question,” she said. Violet jumped, realizing she’d been stuck inside her head for too long.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she apologized immediately, eyeing the eggs in front of her. The so-called omelet from the day before had sort of soured her on the idea of eggs for a while. But, of course, the girl she had chosen to present wouldn’t be so picky. So she shoveled a large bite onto her fork. “I was just thinking, the country is short on lancers, and my calling is really only good for exploring the mist. I thought I might go to Chromatic Academy and try to join them, if that’s alright.” Scarlett was now the one facing away, the stove open for her pancakes. Indigo, on the other hand, was finally facing her. He failed to suppress his moment of glee before he managed to paint concern over it. He was very excited to have such a promising and quickly advancing lancer with the Asher name, no doubt.
“Oh, are you sure, honey? A lancer’s life can be dangerous!” he protested weakly. Violet smirked internally. He had nothing to be excited about. The only way she was letting him get credit for anything was if she was caught. Again, she realized she was taking it for granted that she would keep doing what she needed to do to grow. She sniffed, choosing not to think about it for too long.
“I just want to help as many people as I can,” she replied.
“That’s so good to hear, sweetheart,” Scarlett replied. “Although you have already helped Roseville quite a bit. Will you be okay if you get assigned somewhere else? We’ll still hear from you, right?” Violet understood what she meant. The answer to the question she asked was yes. They would hear from her again—when she was certain she’d be in complete control. When everyone could finally drop their masks. The answer to the question her mother meant was no. She would not be sending any money home to maintain their lifestyle, and she would not be referencing them as the source of her success.
“Well, it doesn’t matter to me what the name of the city is, just so long as I’m helping people. I want the whole world to know my parents raised me right,” Violet beamed.
“That’s really good to hear, Vivi,” Indigo said. Violet nearly lost her composure at that one, and Scarlett actually did. Both women realized a new pet name out of nowhere was a bridge too far. Indigo, however, was oblivious to the fact. “You’ll be glad to hear Chromatic is recruiting. Pretty desperately, at that. They’d welcome you in their ranks. You, and whoever else the council chooses to go.”
“The council?” Violet asked through a mouthful of egg.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full, sweetheart, it’s unbecoming,” Scarlett reprimanded idly.
“Oh, with how many lancers we’ve lost recently, and with the green heart protecting Roseville for the foreseeable future, we’re required to send at least three new recruits to the academy. They’ll be ecstatic we have a volunteer, and such a promising one at that!” her father beamed. The wheels in Violet’s head started to turn.
“Well, I’m more than happy to help!” she replied. “It’ll just be hard letting poor Alex down. Has he been around at all, while I was sleeping?”
“Yes, actually,” Scarlett answered. “With a whole bouquet of violets, actually. It was very sweet, but I told him you needed rest.”
“Thanks, Mom. You were right. Besides, I need to figure out how to tell him I’m leaving. I doubt he’ll be one of the other two new Chromatic students,” Violet mused.
“Well, you can go see him after breakfast. He should be home still; he didn’t have the stomach for school today,” Indigo assured. Violet smiled.
“Oh, well, that’s perfect. I can’t wait to see him!” Violet said. And she was being completely honest. She wasn’t ready to commit to killing anyone but Stephanie, but she thought there might be another way to feed her calling. The same way she had started feeding it before she ever wrapped a steel cord around a man’s throat. And she had the perfect opportunity to test it on Alex. And to get back at his mother in the same breath.
She knew exactly who would be traveling to become a lancer with her.
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Here are the current goals and rewards, as well as how close we were to each at 10:40 CST the day this chapter was published.
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6k - 15k Bonus Chapter – 3,000 Followers
71 / 3,000
Description
Starting at 3,000 followers, I will write a bonus chapter between 6k - 15k in length every 2k followers. This may be a side character, this may be an AU, or anything else. Who decides? You do! When a milestone is reached, I will ask for suggestions and put up a poll of the most popular ones!
Webtoon Chapter – 6,000 Followers
71 / 6,000
Description
This is also a bonus chapter, but I will have it commissioned as a fully illustrated webtoon!
Spin-Off Novel – 15,000 Followers
71/ 15,000
Description
I will write a novel of at least 120k words focusing on Kiera, one of the prominent side characters. This spin off will remain on Royal Road as long as I am, no matter what.
Visual Novel – 20,000 Followers
71 / 20,000
Description
I will commission art for and develop a full length (and free to play) Cruel Violet visual novel. (This is something I know how to do, ftr.)