My father cried.

He visits my room every so often. He talks to me about what he did.

I don’t like what he says. He talks about scary things and revenge. I don’t like my new father. He used to be so caring and loving. Now, he is filled with anger and tears.

Today, he came back furious that he was not able to save me. He had left last time claiming he was going to find a way to save me. Days later, he came back saying my cure was taken away from him… and he cried.

“It was all my fault, Marie.” His sobbing stopped him from continuing.

Sometimes I wish I could speak to him, but I could not move. I was left in the dark. The accident had left me unaware of most things. I could hear and smell, but there was no way for me to see with my eyes closed. On the off chance the doctors opened my eyes, I would be blinded by white that hurt my eyes and head.

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated several times.

It was during these moments of helplessness that I felt the saddest.

I had wished many times for all of this to stop. I did not want to continue experiencing this pain anymore. Most of all, I did not want my father to keep hurting himself over me. If I could just die, he would be set free.

This was all my fault.

“No luck, huh?” A new voice I had never heard before broke through my father’s cries.

“Who are you?!” My father screamed, demanding.

“Isadal,” he said. “And I have learned of your problems.”

“Fay! Get out of here before I rip you to shreds!”

“Do you not want to save your daughter?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I rather her die before she is held hostage by your kind!”

“I do not want her, warlock,” he said before being interrupted.

“Wizard,” my father corrected. “I am not a piece of shit like those disgusting scum.”

“Language,” the stranger warned. “Not in from of a child.”

My father grunted and I felt my world rumble. I had felt this weird sensation many times, but this time I felt the sensation like a furious flame, ready to burn everything in its sight.

“You do not have the power to threaten me, child,” he said. “Not unlike the wizard you know as Avarez.”

“That scum,” my father cursed. “Don’t say his name in front of me.”

“Regardless,” he said before pausing and walking. “You wish to save your daughter.”

“Not with your power.”

“So, you say. But we don’t have a use for her. We do have a use for a talent like yours. What do you say, wizard? We have the power to save your child at the cost of your services.”

“What kind of services, Fay?”

The stranger hummed. “Opez.”

Someone walked in.

“Opez will be your benefactor. They are someone we trust within the Court.”

“You thrall, you mean.”

“Acolyte,” the other person, a radera by the sound of their voice, spoke.

Something was off when they spoke. Evil.

“Evil,” my father repeated. “You want me for evil. With this thrall of yours.”

“Acolyte, Mister O—”

“Shut your mouth, puppet. It’s not you I speak about.”

“You must have felt it, then,” spoke the stranger. “Then you must know what I ask of you.”

“And with this, you save my daughter?”

“We ask for nothing else.”

“And allied with the Cabal and the Knights…”

“As things stand, they need our help.”

“You mean, you need their help. Otherwise, the Storm will rip you a new one.”

“And they need our help with the vampirids.”

My father laughed.

“Not in a million years, Fay. Take your thrall and puppet out of here before I cut its throat.”

“I see you do not believe me.”

The man did something I could not see.

“What are you doing?!” My father screamed.

Suddenly, I felt my arms hurting. I heard myself grunt and I winced from the pain. Then, the pain went away, and I could no longer make a single noise.

“Call it payment, in advance,” the stranger spoke.

Silence stretched out for a long time before my father spoke again.

“What do you want me to do?” my father spoke.

I felt an imaginary chill running down my spine.

"There's a place off-world, we must visit," the radera, my father called a thrall, spoke.

"Space?"

"The Arks. A menagerie to be precise."

And soon everyone but the stranger left my room.

“I will be taking your father for a while, Marie,” he spoke. “Don’t worry. I will keep him away from harm. I promise. It is what I must do to pay my debt to you. For giving me the chance I needed to have him in my power.”