The Moros Murders

Cassius

The second ball in honour of the wedding was a torturous ordeal. A lavish display of wealth and power, with strangers trying to make conversation while I stood stiffly amongst them, unable to escape my mother’s stern gaze as she commanded me to be sociable. Every minute that passed felt like an hour, until eventually I found relief in numbing my senses by drinking glass after glass of alcohol. There must’ve been something wrong with my head though because throughout the night, I could’ve sworn that I saw Medea Moros. She kept appearing in glimpses but when I searched for her in the crowd, she wasn’t there.

It must’ve been the guilt getting to me. I knew that she was in danger, but there was nothing that I could do about it. I felt overwhelmed and was surrounded by all the stuffy nobles that had tried to interrogate me. I was saved by Danny O’Reilly; I knew he was an upper but that didn’t prevent me from being shocked by the sight of him. He made some eloquently worded excuse to the uppers and led me away.

I was well-acquainted with Danny, often frequenting the Royale together. He seemed to be permanently attached to Teck’s gang despite his kind nature, and I was always left wondering what dark corner of Danny’s soul had lured him in. I genuinely liked the guy and had never been happier to see him.

“Danny? Thank you,” I said once we were free from prying eyes, his silvery blonde hair fell in waves across his forehead. He had a charming smile, but I’d known Danny long enough to know that he only smiled when he was sober enough to fake it. His icy blue eyes were cold and distant, something was eating away at him but I wasn’t sure what it was.

“No worries,” he said after a moment of silence, he turned and walked deeper into the garden. I followed him, slightly confused but thankful for the fresh air. I could finally breathe. You would never get air that clean in the Dregs so for all they’ve done wrong, the uppers must be doing something right.

Danny sat down on a bench in front of the mirror like lake. I was in awe of the incredible mountain scape in the distance of the vast lake. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Danny said, turning to look at me as I sat next to him.

“It is, I’ve never been somewhere so... tranquil,” I agreed.

“You know Cass, I never pegged Cerys as your type. All of this seems a little strange to me,” he said. With the way he looked at me, I knew that I couldn’t lie, he was studying my face for a reaction.

“I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter Dan,” I said honestly, after all since Mory’s death, Danny is literally my only friend.

“I suspected as much.” He leaned forward in his seat, I’d never seen Danny act so mature before, it was a refreshing change from me hauling him back to my place drunk, “What Cerys wants, Cerys gets, no-one denies daddy’s little princess.” I was surprised by his words, and I was sure that if his father heard him say such things, he would receive a painful punishment.

“What’s going on Danny?” I asked, wondering what was going on in his head.

“I’ve been a fool. Teck’s coming after me,” he answered, seemingly indifferent to his volatile situation.

“I wish I could help Dan, but I can’t even help myself right now.” I shook my head, genuinely sorry that I couldn’t help my only friend.

“That’s okay, I don’t want your help. I got myself into this situation, I’m tired of people cleaning up my messes and treating me like an idiot. It’s about time I take responsibility and handle it myself. Because contrary to popular belief, I’m no fool.” He looked me in the eyes as he spoke. I’ve never considered Danny as a fool, he would act like an idiot and make mistakes but then he’d come out with something so smart that I wondered if he was trying to hide his genius from the world.

“You’re smarter than you let on Dan,” I placated and he let out a small laugh and set his gaze on the lake.

“I’ll be back in a bit, don’t go anywhere,” he said before getting up and leaving. I stayed sat on the bench. I didn’t mind waiting if it meant I could keep breathing.

Some time had passed before I heard footsteps lightly touch the grass behind me. I didn’t look up or turn, just kept my eyes on the lake. I expected that if Danny wanted to say something, he would. I felt a presence loom as he sat beside me, as he did, a familiar scent filled my nose. Nutmeg. “Good day for a party,” a smooth voice spoke, a voice I knew, I turned my head to see Medea Moros sitting next to me.

I had to do a double take as she reached down to touch the water. I was stunned to see her, unsure if she was even real. She looked incredible, the silver jewellery she had adorned herself with reflected the moon’s cool gaze along with the little sparkles on the skirt of her dark dress. She almost looked as though she was glowing. She was a divine beast bathed in moonlight.

“Of course, this isn’t really my kind of party,” she continued, a smirk forming on her face as she glanced up at my shocked expression. “Wanna get out of here?”

“I can’t,” I said solemnly.

“Why can’t you?” she asked, looking a little sorry for me.

“Mother wants me to stay,” I sighed.

“And you? What do you want?” Her dark eyes bore into mine.

“I want...”freedom. But I didn’t deserve freedom after all I’d done, perhaps mother was right and I did need to be taught a lesson.

“Everyone deserves freedom. Or a chance at it. It should only be taken away when you’ve done something bad enough to warrant that course of action,” she said, looking out across the lake. How did she know? How did she know what I was thinking? Then I remembered what had occurred in the Royale. She was a psyche.

“I’ve done bad things,” I said, knowing that she, more than anyone else, would understand how undeserving of freedom I was.

“You have,” Medea agreed,” “but, you have also suffered.”

I couldn’t read her face, was she trying to make a case in my favour? Why would she do that? “I deserved to suffer.”

“Deserved? You think an innocent child deserves to be abused and brainwashed by his own mother? And dare I say it, you didn’t deserve that,” Medea spoke with such intensity and honesty, I almost found myself believing her.

“I was a horror, mother said-” she cut me off.

“For the gods sake Cassius! Your mother has the maternal instinct of a peanut! She hurts you constantly, makes you do horrible things that you don’t want to do, and you let her! Just so that one day she might show you a speck of love.” I knew what she was saying was true, but no matter what she did, she’s still my mum.

“What did I do wrong, Medea?” Her annoyed expression softened when she saw the tears brimming my eyes. “Why does she hate me? Why can’t she love me?”

“It’s not your fault. Some people, like her, are just rotten. She’s incapable of loving anyone. No matter what you do, or how much pain you take, she will never give you what you want. That woman is killing you, physically and mentally. If you don’t get out now, what will you do next time she asks you to kill an entire family? Kill yourself?” Everything she said was right, but could I really escape my mother?

“Might be for the best, killing myself I mean,” I responded, taking a deep breath of the cool air.

“Could be. Or you could give living a go,” she suggested.

“I’ve been living for 16 years, not my favourite activity,” I said.

“Have you though? I mean you may have been alive, but were you really living?” Medea asked.

“Perhaps not, I should give it a go.” I accepted after a few moments of deliberation.

“Good, now, I hear you have a name for me?” Medea jogged my memory of the reason that I was so eager to see her.

I nodded, “Tarin Xavier.” As soon as the name left my lips, Medea’s face dawned a horrified expression. I knew it, she knew him.