"Mother, please", I say through gritted teeth, my eyes fluttering closed in exasperation as she straightens one of the many insignia on my lapel yet again.
"Hush, child. I will not have you embarrass me at your very first appearance as the new leader of the Movement," she hisses in a tone only low enough for me to hear as her fake smile remains plastered on, in case of any passers-by.
"You are embarrassed by everything I do, Mother. Perhaps it is not I who is the problem," I say with thinly veiled disdain, the comment earning me a backhand that snaps my head straight to the side, the sharp sound echoing through the empty halls of the manor.
My tongue darts out to remove the faint bead of blood forming at the corner of my mouth, courtesy of the obnoxious number of rings she wears on her hand, as I stare at her, my expression carefully blank.
"Did I lie, though?" I continue, unfazed by her pathetic attempt to silence me; it's not the first time she has hit me, and it most certainly won't be the last. "None of your children will ever be good enough in your eyes. None of us will ever live up to your suffocatingly high expectations."
I take a step towards her, now towering over her, "You'd think the message would be crystal clear after Sienna took her own life because of you," I shake my head slowly, letting out a short dark chuckle ", Such a shame my sister died in vain."
The venom in those olive-green eyes that I inherited flashes dangerously, "The blood of your sister is not on my hands, child. It is on the hands of those barbarians! those...those Tainted ones!" she sneers, the action transforming the beloved face of the Movement into the true Odessa Elios. "There isn't a day that I wish it weren't Sienna, but you," she says, the words slipping out before she can stop them.
The silence that follows after settles over us like a heavy shroud before she simply turns around on the heels paid by the blood of the innocent and walks down the hallway, each click and clack on the marble floors grating on my very nerves. "Trust me, mother, I know," I mutter to the now empty space in front of me.
"WELCOME, CHILDREN, TO THE DAY OF THE RECKONING!" I hear her saccharine voice call out, followed by the applause and cheers of the masses. My hand slightly trembles as I reach for the encrusted knob of the French doors before ruthlessly squashing down any nerves. I'm Bishop fucking Elios for crying out loud, I don't have time to be scared. With a final deep breath, I open the door and join the rest of my family on the grand ceremonial platform.
"As you are all aware, the curse of the Shadows fell upon our world," she begins her usual monologue with that remorseful tone, as if any of us were free from the burden of the knowledge that caused the Tainting, "and as such, the souls of our loved ones were plagued," the sympathy in her voice is so convincing, it would almost make me believe that Odessa actually cared about the Tainted. Almost.
"I know how it pained you all to give them up to the Movement, but I hope you never forget that it was for the greater good." Her perfectly timed pauses and the way the masses seem to be hanging onto her every word just go to show how perfect a master manipulator she truly is. I suppose it is rather impressive, in a twisted sort of way.
"You were all so brave, you were all so strong, and believe me, there isn't a day that the House of Elios did not feel your pain." I can't help but silently scoff at the perfectly timed tear that rolls down her cheek, "and as such, we have been working tirelessly to find a way to lift the curse...and we have finally succeeded." The crowd erupts into heartfelt cheers rippling with tears of joy. The poor fools don't even know the reality of the remedy, and they don't dare bother to find out. Odessa Elios's word is law, and you shall revere or fear her; there is no in-between. "Today marks the beginning of a blessed era, today is the day the souls of our Tainted are purified, today, children, is the day of the Reckoning."
The Reckoning indeed was a purification, but Odessa's words made it seem much less haunting than its reality. The blood that flowed through the veins of the Tainted wasn't crimson like the rest of us; it was molten gold. Odessa discovered this by accident when she had one of the Tainted, whom she believed was responsible for Sienna's death, secretly executed.
From then on, children (as they were easier to control), of the Tainted began to slowly disappear from the facility for her to experiment on. She told herself it was so she could remedy them, to understand them, but the more unorthodox her methods became, the clearer her intentions were. Odessa wanted control. It didn't matter that with each failed attempt, the children were discarded and forgotten; it didn't matter that they cried and begged her to stop. Odessa believed herself a saviour, and they were simply martyrs for the greater good of the Movement.
The masses had no idea what was happening, of course, as communication between them and the Tainted was forbidden; besides, the sickeningly blind faith they had in Odessa made no room for doubt or suspicion.
Fruition did eventually come as she found a way to suppress the Taints temporarily. The Shadow Anchor, a thin, unbreakable, golden band placed around the left ankle of every single one of the Tainteds in the facility. She convinced them that it was for their own good, that she was helping them suppress something they weren't equipped to handle, and as always, when it comes to Odessa Elios, they trusted her. All but one girl, a girl whose eyes haunt my dreams from night to night, a girl whose face dissipates like smoke in my mind when I desperately try to remember her. She ended up wearing it, of course, as it was only Odessa's will that truly mattered.
"And now, children, you must be brave again, you must be strong again, as you fulfill the Blood pact to give us permission to purify the souls of your loved ones and lead us to brighter days and the new era of the Movement." she continues, placing a solemn hand over her heart. God, I loathe this woman, "which will be led by none other than my oldest son and the heir to the House of Elios, Bishop Elios," she announces with a proud smile, the feigning only apparent to the family that stands behind her.
My siblings applaud politely as I step onto the podium by her side, "People of the masses; mothers, fathers and guardians alike, it truly is the greatest honour to have your blessing and faith bestowed upon me as the new leader of the Movement." I begin, placing a solemn hand over my chest. I am my mother's son after all. "The sanctity of the Tainted is not simply the mission of the House of Elios, but the very will that has built our foundation for generations and none of it would have been possible if it wasn't for each and every one of you." A part of me hates how easily the lies flow out of my mouth and a voice deep down, one that I suppress on a daily, tells me I'm becoming more and more like my mother than I realize, "and so here's to the new Movement, the new era and the world where the shackles of our souls shall be freed," I call out, raising my right fist in the air, the golden monogramed ring that belonged to my late father glinting ominously on my index finger. "Here's to the Revolution," I conclude as the masses erupt in cheers, raising their fists in tandem.