Chapter 8: To Try to Defy

"ARIA!" the commanding voice called out.

"Father..." she thought, not wanting to reply to her father in kind. She took her time in facing her father in the dining room, where his impatience, if not already apparent from his repeating her name over and over until she appeared before him, was shown through the furrows of his thick eyebrows.

Hardened by the spartan training he endured, to prepare himself for whatever danger may arise, his face had scars all over. He could've chosen to heal, or even conceal the scars, but he chose to show them to the world.

Whoever would be foolish enough to invite the army led by this man would experience and suffer hell like no other. He wouldn't hesitate to snuff out another living being if they disturbed the peace. They ceased to be human in his eyes the moment they attempted a crime worthy to have the army mobilized.

Because of the existence and the knowledge of Densia, crime rates had been in an all-time low. No one dared to go against the regime, lest they incur the wrath of this fearsome man.

He wasn't any softer with his own family members. Not especially after his wife, as cold and blunt as he was, got sniped and assassinated by a terrorist. Before mourning for her death, he made sure that she wouldn't be leaving this world alone, and sent her "envoys" in the form of that terrorist's entire organization. They had all been defanged, declawed, and demoralized, in the wake of his rage.

This man now sat, fuming, in front of Aria, who couldn't bring it in herself to look at her own father's face. "Slow! Sluggish! Pathetic! I did not remember raising you to be such a slothful daughter!" he smacked the desk separating them, hard. She flinched. "What is your excuse, Aria?" he stared a hole through her face. She still averted her line of sight.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU!" he boomed, with a voice appropriate to rally a massive army in a war. There was no war, and the army was training outside of the boundaries of the four walls they were in.

Trembling, Aria meekly acquiesced. She tried not to let the fear of his father's figure intimidate her too much. She had been preparing for this day. She had steeled herself, or so she believed. What one thinks and fantasizes might not go so smoothly in reality.

"Father..."

"You are aware that this day is a special day for you, are you not?"

"Yes..." it was her birthday.

"You will come of age today, and I expect that you follow tradition and start training posthaste, the ceremony will begin shortly, at 12. Sharp," he turned his back on her, having gotten his point across.

She didn't expect him to celebrate her birthday. Of course. Why would he? He didn't in the years before this one. She understood, but she couldn't help but felt her throat choked. She had to hold it in, she couldn't show weakness now.

"Father... I... I won't be part of the army..."

"Pardon me? What was that?" she was positive he heard her. He turned his head in a menacing manner, giving her the evil eye, seeing if she was brave enough to say it while he watched.

"I... I don't want to be a part of the Densia army!" she raised her voice, realized what she did, and ran off without looking back. Her father was enraged, but chose not to give chase to her, nor to drag her back in to rebuke her. He chose to simply punish her with a curse. The curse to have a separate life in her body, one that's wrought from her, yet not her. It's within his rights to do so. From that day forward, Aria Densia was no longer his daughter. He flipped the table with tremendous strength out of frustration. The training that day was more extreme than usual, with more blood and sweat shed by the soldiers, but never tears.

Aria, on the other hand, finally let out all that she had been holding in, she cried uncontrollably while trekking the hazardous land. She had direction, and adrenaline brought her there with nary a worry or care towards the excruciating pain her bare feet were experiencing.

Aria couldn't believe she made it out of that continent and crossed over to the boundary line between Kuqala and Densia, where she collapsed, not due to her exhaustion, but because of the throbbing headache that attacked her without caution. She vaguely heard concerned voices, but couldn't find the strength to answer them.

The officers in charge of the boundaries informed the local ambulance, to treat the girl that collapsed with bruised feet from the harsh grounds of Densia. There were no boundary officers from Densia. Anyone with enough sanity wouldn't waltz in the military continent asking for trouble and hope to leave in one piece.

---

When she came to, she had bright lights shining on her. She regained her vision as she regained her consciousness, gradually. The only word she could muster was, "...where...?"

A smiling nurse entered her periphery, aware of her coming to, and answered her question, per the norm, "You are in the Global Research Center's private clinic, there's nothing to worry about, your body condition has stabilized. Just make sure you get enough rest to recover."

"...okay..."

"Incidentally, do you have a family member that can help pay your medical bills?"

Aria collected her thoughts that led her up to this point, then answered, "...no..."

"A guardian, then?"

"...no..."

"Oh, dear... I'm sorry, it must be difficult out there, especially since you came through Densia..." the nurse said in a sympathetic tone. Something about her pity made Aria felt pathetic and second-guess herself, and she felt a sharp pain in her head.

"I... I'll pay..."

"What was that, dear?"

"I'll pay... for my own medical bills..." she brought up her ID to check her bank balance. She was surprised to see that it read 0.00. "... Father.... no... that man... wastes no time at all..."

The nurse caught sight of the balance, and became even more sympathetic, "You don't have to force yourself, dear, it's all right... we'll discuss how you can pay back for our services," she smiled, "Until then, don't think about it too much, and get some rest."

When the nurse had exited the room, Aria thought to herself, "...how could I... not think about it...?" To her surprise, a voice hissed back in response, "What kind of nurse... asks that from a patient... money-grubber..." her headache got worse, she rolled over to her right side and closed her eyes tight, tried ignoring the voice, the piercing pain she felt in her head, and, heeding the nurse's words, attempted to get some much needed rest.

She consoled herself by changing that she "did it," she managed to run away, she managed to survive getting away from Densia, whatever happened from that moment on would happen because of her decisions, not of the man who she once called "Father." She had tried to defy, and she succeeded, in her first, and only try. Not a lot of people could manage that. There's the matter of the medical bills, but she assured herself that the nurse couldn't possibly have feigned the sympathy in her voice. She would get a chance to redeem herself and live life her way from now on. Apart from his power and influence. With that acknowledgment, she relaxed her muscles, calmed her breathing, and fell asleep.

---

"...Roger...Roger... Jolly ol' Roger...." the voice sang as if to mock him, then laughed in ridicule. "How long... do you plan... to keep up this façade?"

Again, he woke with a start, with the same symptoms as the last time he had the nightmare. However, this time, the nightmare followed him into consciousness. He could hear the voice whisper, in his head, all around the room, "... Won't be long now... Roger..." and with a haunting laughter, it faded out. Roger took a deep breath, clapped himself awake and cried out with vigor, "GOOD MORNING, WORLD!" towards the window, waking up most, if not all of the guards who were not on shift and were sleeping in the Guard's Chamber. At that moment, they all unanimously thought the same thing, despite being in different rooms, "Ugh.. it's Roger again..."

Roger looked out towards the sunrise from his room, puffed his chest, and showed a giant smile. He was up and ready for his job, ready for another day of once again trying to shut out that imposing voice.

It had migrated from his nightmare and nestled itself in his mind. It whispered, "...the world won't greet you back, because the world sees not who Jolly ol' Roger truly is... because Jolly ol' Roger chose to hide behind a mask," a mischievous laughter echoed in his head. He kept smiling, disregarding the pain, smiling and laughing it away.