Maddest of Minds

TW: Violence, loss of a loved one, blood, emotional trauma.

Her first mistake was being born.

Her second was being multilingual.

Her third was being proud of it.

The assassination of Luna Elliot occurred four hours before Freyja Lovetta murdered 10 army officials, 30 assassins, and set 20 authorized buildings on fire.

She was arrested for second degree murder, arson, property damage, and as a traitor to the army. Her received punishment was a death sentence.

The next day, Freyja ran and was never found.

At the age of 12, while Luna lived a happy childhood, Freyja killed a man.

At the age of 15, Freyja realised she was not a good person.

At 17, Luna convinced her otherwise.

At 19, Luna Elliot was murdered.

At 19, Freyja Lovetta only watched.

At 19, four hours later, Freyja Lovetta proved Luna Elliot wrong.

4 HOURS EARLIER – UNNAMED WAREHOUSE.

Year 102, Yuki District.

Her throat was tired of screaming. Her eyes were out of tears. Her ribs were bruised because of the kicks she’d received for all her shouting. But they never silenced her. They wanted to hear her scream.

But Freyja did not cease screaming and cursing and crying as Luna got tortured before her. She struggled against the knots around her limbs until she drew blood.

Stop, stop, stop, stop.

Please, please, please, please.

Luna is not dying tonight. Luna is not dying tonight. Luna–

“No!” Freyja screamed as they started to unclothe Luna. She shook her head as more tears blurred her vision. “No, no, no. Please. It’s me! I’m Luna Elliot. Hurt me. Hurt me instead. Please...” her voice broke as Luna screamed.

Maxim laughed from beside Freyja. “She is gorgeous, do you not think?”

“Please spare her,” Freyja begged. “Spare her. Take me. I will do anything, so please–”

Maxim stared back. Luna screamed again. Freyja screamed with her, out of helplessness, out of rage, out of pain. Tears kept dripping down her face and collecting at the base of her neck.

“Tell me what to do to make you stop this,” pleaded Freyja, holding back a whimper as Luna started to sob.

“I’m following my orders.” Maxim informed her. “It’s nothing personal.”

Freyja turned away and shook her head, which was already pounding because of all the crying.

“Give her some burns. It’ll make it more painful.” Maxim suggested to the thugs who had wronged Luna in barbaric ways.

Freyja’s knees buckled. She was choking on horror. She was dying.

“No.” She snarled. “Stay far away from her, all of you! Leave her alone. Leave her…” she trailed off as one of them lit a cigarette. “…alone.” The word was a sob.

“Cut her next… wait, no.” Maxim hummed in thought. “We’ve already slit her wrists and ankles. Just kill her. I have places to be.”

Luna Elliot is not dying tonight. Luna Elliot is not dying tonight.

Freyja shrieked as they lifted Luna’s limp body and threw her across the room. There was a crash and a crack sounded that synced with the breaking of Freyja’s heart. Something broke inside Freyja and she violently tugged at the knots. Her limbs creaked in protest, and the cuts at her wrists burned, but the knots held.

There was no one coming. No one cared for two reckless girls. No one bothered to look for them if they went missing.

“Let me go! Let me go, release me this instant!”

Maxim snorted. “It’s rude to leave before the show is over.”

They grabbed Luna by her hair. Freyja took in her best friend’s swollen face, with shut eyes, split lip, and bruised cheeks. An ear was missing. An eyebrow was burned off. She was rendered immobile.

Freyja tugged ruthlessly on her bonds. The lamppost she was tied to rattled.

“Get your hands off her, you filthy street scum!” she shouted at the thugs, who were deaf to her screams.

They tugged Luna’s face back. One of them unsheathed a butcher’s knife. The horror engulfed Freyja and grabbed her neck. It choked her. Freyja begged and begged and begged, but there was no one there to help them. No one had come. No one had cared.

“Luna Elliot is not dying tonight.” Freyja whispered to herself.

They slashed Luna’s head off.

Freyja screamed.

She was sure she did, but no sound came out of her mouth. Her ears rang so hard sound became unfamiliar. She was bleeding. She was sure of it. Time slowed to a stop.

“Wake up.” She told herself. Because this was a nightmare. Because Luna Elliot could not die. Because she was invincible. Because they were supposed to die together.

Because they had plans of having Chinese for dinner.

“Dump the body and get rid of it,” Maxim stood up. “Don’t bother untying this one, she’ll be found soon enough.”

Time was now moving, hesitant to face Freyja but still doing its job.

“Kill me now.” She told Maxim.

He gave her a smile. “Those weren’t my orders, pretty Freyja,” He crouched to meet her dead stare. “Do you wish to know why Ten sent me for this task?”

Freyja said nothing. She did not care why he was there. She wanted to die. Why wasn’t he killing her? Why wasn’t anyone torturing her? Why, why, why was she still here when Luna wasn’t?

“It was because he wanted you to recognise me and know it was him who issued the order,” Maxim told her. He leaned closer and his breath blew over her cheek.

Maxim licked a tear off Freyja’s cheek. She wanted to pull his tongue out, but she was too numb to feel anything. “It was because he likes the idea of being in danger,” Maxim whispered. “This is our little secret, yours and mine.”

“Kill me now, Maxim,” Freyja said. “Do not blame me for what will happen if you don’t.”

Maxim laughed and straightened. “Until we meet again.”

Freyja felt something building up in her. She broke out into laughter that could only be described as insane. Sanity had left her in the hours she’d been forced to sit and watch and watch and keep watching the torture inflicted on her best friend, on Luna, on the only person in the world she gave a damn about. And now she was gone.

“You will pay,” She was laughing hysterically now. “You will pay in ways no one has before. I will make you regret ever crossing paths with me. I will make you wish you never knew me.”

Then she violently vomited all over the floor. Her limbs gave up completely, and she hung lifelessly from the lamppost. A few minutes later, Freyja lost consciousness.

Luna Elliot died that night and so did Freyja Lovetta.

There were two murders on the night the first snow fell.

One of Luna Elliot, who had no grave to her name.

One of Freyja Lovetta’s mind, that then experienced a rebirth and didn’t quite heal right.