Interlude Five: The Other Warrior


    Alyx was a warrior.


    The best one there was, according to her. Too bad no one ever decided to ask her.


    The Vanguard was a nice place, the only place she felt like she was really home, with friends that truly made her feel special. Not that she hated her old home, but it had never felt like home, at least, not for Alyx. Diamond had loved the place, though, and for that one reason, Alyx remembered it fondly.


    What she didn’t remember as fondly was her parents. She loved them—what daughter didn’t?—but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be rankled by them. Her problem with them was their support, or lack thereof. They had never wanted Diamond or Alyx to be warriors, instead wanting them to be politicians. Like they said: “We need someone to end the tyranny of the mages.”


    And that was the other thing. They didn’t like mages. Most people assumed that was mostly a Valacian thing, but there it was, a couple in Magefell who hated the mages in the name with every bone in their body. Because of this, Alyx had never really associated with mages, and in fact assumed they were right when she had figured out about the Cult and Diamond’s murder, but she had never truly had the prejudice against them; she had always been open minded, so, when she met Zade, they became quick friends.


    Her parents were wrong, always talking about the wrong the mages did, never talking about the good.


    Why was she thinking about this?


    Shaking her head out of a stupor, she looked down at the letter.


    Dearest daughters,


    We haven’t seen or heard from you in a long time. Our house is open on Second Day at 19. Please come visit. We miss you.


    Your loving parents,


    Meli and Adler Reinhart


    “Whatchu holding there, Al?” Aster asked her from her own bed in the barracks. Crumpling the paper up, Alyx sighed.


    “Nothing of import, dear,” She said, forcing a smile, noting how Aster frowned at the use of the nickname.


    “What are you hiding? You know you can trust me,” The black-skinned girl told her, sitting down next to her and reaching for the paper- Alyx tried to take it from her grasp but eventually relented. Alyx scanned the paper and cocked her head at her.


    “I don’t see the problem with this,” She admitted. “Your parents want to see you! That’s incredible, right?”


    “Should be,” A?yx grumbled. “But I haven’t talked to my parents in maybe a year now. They practically disowned me when I joined the Vanguard. Diamond visited them often, though. And now, since Diamond died, they’ve been trying to reach out to me, with one of these letters every week.”


    “But that’s a good thing, right? Trying to rekindle a relationship?”


    “No, for two reasons. For one, it’s a little douchey to do that right after their other daughter stopped seeing them. Two, no one told them Diamond is dead.”


    “WHAT?” Aster shrieked.


    “Yeah, I was supposed to tell them,” Alyx admitted. “And I told the Wolf I had. There was supposed to be a family funeral for them, but I told him it wasn’t necessary. In truth, I never talked to my parents.”


    “So they’re worried about Diamond, and for good reason! Alyx, do you realize what you’ve done?”


    Alyx’s eyes blazed. “What I’ve done? Well, pardon me for not wanting to talk to the people who never support me and only reach out when their first choice goes missing! That sounded harsh., but it’s true. I hold no resentment for Diamond, but I do for my parents, and that will not change!”


    “Why don’t you give them a try?” Aster said, holding Alyx’s hand in hers. “They’re clearly preoccupied and maybe they changed and do want to apologize. You never know until you try.”


    “I don’t want to do it. What if they’re mad I’ve been ignoring them?”


    “I’ll go with you,” Aster reassured. “We can do it together.”


    “What will I introduce you as?” Alyx teased. “My girlfriend?”


    “Let’s start with friend,” Aster laughed.


    “Thank you, Aster. I still don’t know if I want to do it, but…”


    “It’s good to have a friend.”


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    — — —


    Alyx’s parents lived in one of the most infamous sections of the city, and walking through it, Alyx shook her head. Prostitutes and cutpurses lay in every corner and street, waiting for the right person to rob, so the two girls proudly showed they were part of the Vanguard to avoid any trouble. Still, she could see greedy eyes from both the villains and the whores. This section really needed to be eradicated, but the common consensus was that if this place were destroyed, the cutpurses would start invading the other sections of Magefell.


    So for now, it stayed.


    “Which one’s your house?” Aster asked, looking critically at the dilapidated and half-built houses.


    “I promise they look better on the inside,” Alyx told her. “Mine is that one!”


    “That one does look like the best one,” Aster admitted. “As little as that means.”


    Aster was right. The house wouldn’t have fit in any of the normal houses in Magefell, but, as far as Cutthroat District went, it was a mansion. None of the wood was falling off, and only a little paint was scratched. The house itself was two stories, with windows that were only slightly boarded up and a door that only looked mildly worn out.


    “How long did you live here?” Aster asked.


    “My whole life.”


    “And nothing happened to you?”


    “My parents fit in this place, which you’ll soon see.” It was another reason she was apprehensive and repulsed by them. “So much so that I can’t even be sure my father is my father. And I was under their protection, so no one would try to do anything to me.”


    “Sounds like a tough life.”


    “It was more normal than you think. I spent most of my time outside this place, especially while my parents were…working.”


    “Oof,” Aster groaned. “Want me to knock?”


    “I can do that;” Alyx scoffed, walking up to the door and pausing. There it stood, her childhood home, with her childhood—and adulthood, she added wryly—parents, and it was just a knock away. Breathing in and out, she closed her eyes.


    She could do it.


    Knock-knock.


    “Thank you,” She whispered to Aster. “You’re a life-saver.”


    “What are friends for?”


    The door opened softly, and Alyx scowled immediately. There they were, her parents, in their usual outfits that pissed Alyx off.


    “I don’t know what I expected, Al,” Aster whispered. “But this was not it.”


    Adler Reinhart looked like a generic cutpurse, knife between his teeth and beefier than a whale. He was at least three heads taller than either Alyx and Aster, who themselves were tall enough. His face was a picture of ruthlessness and he was full of tattoos, from his bare chest to his neck, arms, and legs. He scowled a little less when he saw Alyx, which was his usual form of smiling. As far as Adler went, it was downright welcoming.


    Meli Reinhart also looked like she always did, and it only made Alyx sadder and more pissed. The best word to describe Meli was her occupation: whore. As much as she’d always told Alyx she’d quit that lifestyle when she married her father, it just wasn’t true and Alyx knew it. Meli didn’t want her daughter to know, but whenever she was out or asleep, Meli was doing her disgusting job. Currently, her mother was wearing what could barely be described as clothing. In fact, Alyx didn’t even know if what she was wearing had ever been a shirt and shorts, it was just pieces of string now. Her clothing—or what was left of it anyway—accentuated all of her attributes, and Alyx tried not to scowl harder each moment she looked at her pitiful mother, who smiled widely when she saw her, her cigarette hanging lightly from her mouth.


    “ALYX!” Her mother screeched, embracing her, and Alyx felt a lot of skin touching her, too much to be decent. “Our daughter has come home! Finally!” Every sentence was an exclamation for Meli. “And who is she?” She asked, pointing at Aster. “That’s not Diamond, Diamond was less…”She waved around, “Black.”


    Alyx frowned harder, but Aster shrugged it off.


    “Hello, Miss. Melisandre. My name is Aster, and I am a friend of Alyx’s.”


    “Warrior too, I bet,” Adler growled as he saw her. “But it’s good she has friends.”


    “Come in, come in!” Meli exclaimed. “Oh, it’s so good to have you! Where’s Diamond?”


    “I’ll explain later,” Alyx shared a scared glance with Aster.


    “A bit excitable, huh?”


    “Especially in the bedroom,” Alyx replied scathingly, and Aster rolled her eyes.


    “Sure, they have horrible jobs, but they’re still your parents.”


    “Just watch, Aster. You won’t be saying the same in an hour.”


    “We’ll see.”


    The two girls entered the house, and Aster gasped as what Alyx had said before was confirmed: the house really was better on the inside. It looked beautiful and stately compared to the ugliness of the outside, like a painter had loved the details of his portrait that he’d just forgotten that others would look at it afar. There were almost no decorations, lending an almost unhomely quality to the house, but it was still comfortable with the whitewashed walls that looked like marble and the tiled blue floors.


    “What the hell is this place?”


    “Welcome to the Cutthroat District,” Alyx smiled. “Full of wonders, eh?”


    “Magefell never ceases to amaze me.”


    “Come, sit!” Meli said, bringing a tray of cups. “I have water and orange juice. Take, drink, I’ll bring the food right out!”


    “I’m sorry, I’m not hungry,” Alyx admitted, sitting on a luxurious couch too good to stay in the Cutthroat District. “I have some distressing news.”


    “Is it about Diamond? Did she get hurt?”


    “I think you should sit down for this,” Alyx replied, and soon both her parents were sitting next to her. As Aster squeezed her arm and smiled at her encouragingly, Alyx prepared to tell her parents what would shock and sadden them so much, and she was a little afraid they would hate her for it.


    “Mother, father, Diamond is dead.”


    “You could’ve said it a little lighter,” Aster groaned softly as her parents gasped and their eyes widened.