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“Once upon a time, there was a girl named Andrael. She had dark curly hair that framed her face like a halo. She never knew her father, for he had died before she was born, killed by the organization he betrayed for justice. Though he may have taken the first step to saving lives, he left his daughter… fatherless. He left her nameless, worth absolutely nothing in the eyes of the world. Her mother, cast out by her family and left to rot, raised her girl the best she could, which was near impossible with her long hours and meager income. But we made it work. At least… for a while. I turned eight. I was nimble and easily overlooked. Naturally, as a girl of very little means, I turned to thievery to supplement our income. With my skills, as you can imagine, I was… wildly successful. My mother either didn't realize or turned a blind eye to the extra cash wadded up with her income in the glass jar that contained our fortune. But all good things must come to an end. The wealthiest man I had seen in my life had come to town. He took a call about receiving a payment at a rendezvous point. Even if I took less than one percent of his transaction, the number was high enough to keep us fed and comfortable for years. I hid in his shadow as he crept through the streets of the city. He went into an old building, up some flights of stairs, and completed the transfer. He sent his informant away, and then did something completely unexpected before I could make my move. The man reached into the shadows, and pulled me out. His eyes flashed black, holding me by the collar, and threw me onto the floor, cracking a few bones in the process. He looked at me with a smirk, and lectured me about the downfalls of thievery. He told me that he should kill me right now. With one hand, he raised a weapon to my temple. And then... he let me go. He said I would pay for my sin tomorrow, punished far worse than he could ever do. The next day, my mother died. She collapsed on the floor of our sorry excuse for a flat, convulsing. I didn't speak for a month, surviving off of what remained of our assets. I learned in that time, I had the darkness within me to kill. The day the funds ran out and I could no longer stay in the apartment, I left, beginning my hunt for the so-called prophet. Rafael Kang. He wasn't a hard man to find. Rich as a king and acted like one, too. When I appeared on his doorstep, he welcomed me back like an old friend. He told me the real reason that he kept me alive was because he foresaw me… being useful. I realized that my mother's death was inevitable, and that Kang… for all his faults, hadn't killed her. Rafa knew of my thievery, and offered to train me. With nowhere else to turn, I accepted his offer gratefully. Things went well for a while. Accompanying an eccentric member of the bourgeois is interesting, to say the least. This time, the peace lasted for a year. I always enjoyed exploring wherever we ended up. I can remember it perfectly… a bustling port city with a few distinctly nasty districts. After strolling down the promenade, treasure hunting in the marketplace, and exploring the docks, I found myself consumed by a most dangerous emotion: boredom. I followed an odd-looking man for the fun of it - mind you, I was good enough to tail anyone at this point - and followed him into the underbelly of society. A secret passcode took us into the backrooms of a shady tavern. I saw a woman tied up, and knew what was meant to be done. Furious... I- I snapped. Rafa found me. He smoothed everything over, explained to the police that there must have been something in the air – ‘See? There must have been a bar fight. No one else was in the room.' All charm and smiles and donations. He could be very convincing when he wanted to be. When it was all said and done, he sat with me that night while I cried. He told me the world was unfair, that people like us could make a difference, but only if we were careful. He told me I could never lose control again. I trained harder. I rarely strayed from the path, both literally and figuratively, so I couldn't be tempted to take action against the injustices in the world. I was a monster, and was treated as such. Everyone there reinforced the belief that I was a freak of nature, except Rafa. He became more distant, but at least there wasn't fear in his eyes when he looked at me. Eventually, Rafa told me that the time had come. His plan was to eliminate threats to the world. He was again, extremely successful. Looking so innocent, hardly but a child, I was his disguise as he took down the people the law couldn't touch. I watched him do it, believing everything he said. Rafa still sat with me every night as slowly, I cried less and less. I was fifteen when the game changed again. I was given a mark of my own. This had happened before, at least a dozen times, but never someone so... high profile. Gemini Amalia was a beautiful young woman and renowned diplomat of the Isles. I found her in a red dress drinking a bottle of Sauvignon, six inch stilettos kicked to the side, legs up on the table. When I slipped through the door, she started speaking. She told me that she'd been waiting for me, for Rafa or one of his little attack dogs to come and get her like the rest. She said while she was by no means perfect, Rafael Kang was eliminating the threats to him, and not the world. Gemma stood, daring me to kill her. I froze, the light casting a strange shadow around me, no longer moving towards her. Anonymity is a lovely shield to morality. When she saw me, she looked sick, quoting something about children and wars. Her advice to me was to disappear, because that's what she was going to do. Her final words were to tell him she was dead. She just turned and walked away. I returned to Rafa's side. Despite my five million questions, I told him she was… dead. And so my first covert operation began. It didn't take long to corroborate Gemma's claims, and then I had a decision to make. Did I confront him or not? Not to sound cliché, but it was a dark and stormy night. I selected the day with care, prepared a lovely meal, and dressed up, taking my cues from dear Gemma. When our dinner was done, I confronted him. He apologized for keeping secrets from me, and the rest of the plan came tumbling out. Rafa believed that the world could only be ruled by an absolute monarchy… he also believed he was the best for the job on account of his uncanny knack for predicting the future and… morals. He asked me if I understood. I was crying again when I immobilized him, an instant from death. I told him all the things I couldn't tell him sooner, and then killed him. Despite his supposed future sight, he had been blind to my… betrayal. And then they came for me with a fury, thinking they could stand against the monster, hoping to salvage the empire they were building. The workers in the house; the servants, the chefs, the groundskeepers – they were all in on it. I killed everyone else in that house, every servant who was secretly a part of the plan, who had and would kill for him. I was adrift again, having killed the closest thing I had to a father to protect an ungrateful world. So I found the next person who had set me on this course of action. I showed up at Gemini Amalia's mansion with a deep anger clinging to me. She had already heard the news of my recent… activities. Despite my rage, she won me over with her steady logic: we were better served as allies than enemies. Of the many things we discussed, what we mainly focused on were the few ways that females could gain power in this world. She was one of the few who was widely accepted after going after what she wanted by the throat. She offered to introduce me to someone who could help me to realize my full potential. With nothing better to do, I agreed to the proposed terms. Tirich wasn’t… exactly perfect. But as I began to train with them, I realized that they were exactly what I needed. I moved into the mountain cave that they called home, returning to a familiar minimalistic lifestyle. Tirich taught me that my life was a gift, and not a curse. They tested me, time and time again, getting me furious for no reason so I could practice control in an emotion-fueled state. Eventually they were able to impress upon me how useful subtlety and impassivity were. I was able to let go of my excess fury, and come to terms with who I was, what I was. I have lived among monsters for so much of my life. Yet I can choose whether or not I want to be like them. After extensive meditation, Tirich felt my anger no longer ruled me. I returned to Gemini Amalia’s care at the tender age of sixteen. She put me to work as an attaché in her diplomatic work. Through that line of inquiry, I met Melchiorre Carlanís, a man whose fortune made Gemma and Rafa look like paupers. To everyone’s surprise, he took a liking to me, and personally invited me to play in his competition of sorts. The prize was the fortune of the Carlanís family in the form of the hand of him, to become the wife of Melchiorre Carlanís. That's all girls are apparently good for: marrying into fortunes. Literally just leaf through history… any girl who claims power for herself is villainized. Yet looks could be deceiving, and this game… this game was deadly. I had always wanted a name to call my own, I had always wanted to be established. Since my father had died leaving me with no birthright, I sought to gain that one thing everyone had. For even commoners laugh at a bastard-child, even though I wasn't truly one. My competition preparation included many classes with Gemma. She taught me that girls like us with determination that strikes fear into the hearts of the most stalwart are always feared, and never respected. Even though I swore to myself not to kill recklessly, I ended another man’s life during that period. It was a split-second decision of justice, that I will never regret. Assault is a crime, and it I don’t forgive easily. The game consisted of three trials with galas and games in between. Anyone with half a lick of status could join, so there were… hundreds of hopefuls. The opening gala was an enormous social event in which we were dressed up and paraded in front of the world. Mr. Carlanís selected a mere one hundred girls to compete based on first impressions. He made sure we all knew the risks. He wanted a wife that would… kill for him. I was one of them. There were three trials: tests of intelligence, fitness and dedication. Eventually, there was one. Every Carlanís woman for centuries, even before our lovely AIs touched the earth, had done what I did: won The Games. I was married to one of the most powerful men in history… which was amusing. That lasted for less than a year. There were good times, interesting times, and a few ordinary ones, that fade in my mind with their easy simplicity. I won’t bore you with the… details, but I was content for once. I might have even stayed in that normal forever, if I could. It was oh so tempting. And then dear Melchiorre and his new wife contracted… a disease. It doesn’t matter which one. All that matters was that Melchiorre never recovered, and the entire Carlanís fortune found its way to a myriad of charities after the fact. It didn’t matter. A monster’s happiness is apparently inconsequential. I am forbidden to have nice things. And by law, I had lost the name that I had fought for, killed for. I was back with Gemma for a few months, continuing the assassinations to rid the world of scum. I tied up… loose ends. I realized quickly I needed legitimacy, I needed my own name to be respected. I had been spoiled in my time as a Carlanís. I needed to fade into the background. And there was only one way to do that: get a job. So I put my talents and knowledge to use, and here I am. Oh. You didn’t think I infected dear Melchiorre on purpose, did you? I didn’t. That was… coincidentally tragic. I barely survived. I lost more than… anyone can imagine.”