Lafiel Tarrant

[Lafiel]

As Lafiel's father gently manouvered her from her birthday party with his hand on her left shoulder guiding her along. She became very curious to know what was going on alas her father was not giving any hints or signs as to what it was about he wished to talk to her in private. On the way to the Marquis's office Lafiel spoke with great excitement about what Lord Canning had said regarding a possible position running a new embassy to Rheinland located on planet Berlin. Her father congradulated her though with great surprise when she glanced side ways at him he almost seemed in pain or was it dread that was written across his features. It sent a shiver down Lafiel's spine to see the man she regarded as being the strongest person in the whole wide word have such a look upon his face. His features were tight as if they had suddenly began marching to their deaths.

Lafiel wrapped her right arm tightly around her father leaning her cheek upon his arm. As they arrived at his study the Marquis opened the door and gently moved her on ahead of him closing the door behind them and then turning the key in the door locking it much to Lafiel's surprise. The Marquis gestured for her to sit in the right hand side chair opposite his desk as Lafiel sat down she realised that the other chair was occupied by Sophia and that her Grandfather was also present sittin over on the lounge a lit cigar in his mouth observing everyone in the room.

The Marquis sat back in his chair his lips resting against his steepled fingers observing both ladies in the silent study his face was like an open book not the usual blank slate full of elusive meanings. In his eyes reflected great sadness and pain. Lafiel placed both her hands in her lap clasped together it was all she could do lest she reach out to him to console him of what ever might be plaguing his mind. It wasn't till her eyes fluttered to the desk did she notice the two medical syringes resting there ready for use. Lafiel turned to her Grandfather who made no motion except to tap his cigar upon the ash tray before bringing it back to his lips and looking to his son nodding grimly.

With a deep sigh Tarrant lowered his hands to the arm rests of his high backed chair his voice was unsteady as he spoke threatening to give way to an ocean of emotion, "Well my dear girls, it is time. For a long time now it has been time and I have bided it waiting on further till we come to this day when there is but one course of action left. I am going to tell to you girls about your past though indeed by the end of our meeting you will both most probably have remembered all that has been kept hidden and secret from you. Know that I have carried this secret long heavy upon my shoulders for the better part of fourteen years and it has been my burden and my heart ache everyday of those fourteen years. What I am going to tell you will most probably shock you but bare me no ill will and know from the very beginning that I did this for you both out of my deepest love as a parent for I love you both my dearest of daughters."

Lafiel and Sophia's eyes had flickered to one another but they had remained stone still and silent as the Marquis spoke.

"It happened long ago now yes, fourteen years to the day to be precise of the accident on your joint birthday. It was a particularly harsh winter the fog had clung strong to the forest and manor grounds it hadn't been till your brother Augustus had come charging through my study door that I had heard that something had befallen you both at the river as soon as he had entered I had departed the manor at a run grabbing Oliver as I ran through its halls. The three of us set out at a run through the treacherous fog I had heard your screams and lament Lafiel as you called for your sister and used it as a guide to you. Alas when I managed to find my way to you Sophia was no were to be found and you were colder than ice your teeth were chattering so badly you couldn't form words any longer you were just pointing to the river and wailing and without a doubt I knew Sophia was in the river one might call it parents intuition but I foresore with dread what had befallen the oldest of my twin daughters. I clutched you dearly to my chest Lafiel and yelled to Oliver that I was getting you indoors and summoning a medical team which had contained some of the sharpest mind I knew. I passed more people as I ran to the manner headed in the direction of the river carrying search lights. I managed to get you into a hot bath in your ensuite it broke my heart as you screamed for the warm watered burned you as if it were boiling you ended up vomiting half a gallon of river water up as you screamed. I found you suddenly taken from the bath as the medical team had finished setting up in your room. I kissed you as I let you go for in my heart I knew that that may have been the last time to ever seen you."

Sebastian Tarrant breathed heavily as he continued, "Additional medical teams had come in to take post in your room next door Sophia. When I had heard over the communication channel that they had found you alive washed up on the river bank a kilometre down river I almost fell down the river in my haste to be by your side I found you coming through the entrance hall Oliver cradling you in his arms your face was pale and lips blue. I feared the worst when I got to you and he handed you into my arms and all you could say before you passed out was is Lafiel safe before you passed out and I managed to get you to the medical teams."


"I thought I was going to die that day from heart break, Sophia had been put straight into stasis so it would buy them enough time to treat you. I had quickly been brought to Lafiel's room as it was in her room that a parents heart broke. The hardest thing a parent ever has to do is see their child in pain and this was of the worst kind you screamed for me papa and I stayed by your bedside where you begged for an end to it all your words pleaded Papa papa I feel so cold.. it hurts... it hurts... no needles... hurts its so cold PAPA! make them stop it hurts! make them stop!. As Lafiel had taken in a lot of river water and managed to contract a foreign virus, it was so foreign to the scientists and medical teams that when they came to put you under anesthetic and pain killers they had no effect. The virus just fed off of it as it combined itself with your DNA rewriting it yet maintaining the original DNA sequencing. As the needles were placed in you continued I held you to the very end in my arms when they managed to finally place you into stasis. An put you to sleep so you had nolonger to suffer the burning fire through your body of the virus or the pneumonia."

The Marquis let out a Sob as tears began falling as he remembered and spoke on, "They had managed to stabilise you both although it was clear after four months in stasis the virus in Lafiel had stopped by miracle. It was in that moment i made the hardest decision and that was to place both of your minds under a memory block to suppress all traces of the event and any links to your sister for it was in that decision the gravest betrayal and crime I could commit against you both and seperate you both from the shared childhood you deserve and Sophia from her true father. It was under my thoughts that you both would not cope with such traumatic events and should Sophia not survive it was in the best interest to protect you both as you were both so young."

The Marquis face was pained most of all to admit that but still more was to come forth, "The effects of the virus were known almost instantly within the year you slept Lafiel your weight dropped dramatically but you never became any skinnier, your immune system built up to the point were as far as we know you are immune to viruses,desies and other such ailments and by far the most noticable one you stopped aging. Sophia kept aging on the other hand an we thought she had been saved by cybernetics implaced in her to keep her body going and increase the strengh of her body to heal alas it was in years later that we found she too stopped aging and the same virus came to surface in her blood."

The Marquis's voice wavered, "Sophia was moved to be looked after by another family close friends of the Tarrants the Mertel family and it is under their last name your life was disguised and you went on to rise within the ranks of the armed forces to the level of captain your superior intellect and physical abilities made sure of this. I kept Lafiel by my side as she was the first to be brought back into the world an as she aged extremely slowly it was very easy for myself to make up six years though in truth it broke my heart to seperate you both for it was only at the advisement of others that this was thought best and you pryed from me."

The duke made a small coughing noise his eyes too were full of tears and reflected guilt to which he felt he came to stand behind the girls wrapping his arms around them both as he spoke, "Blame not your father solely for your seperation for it was the three men of the Tarrant family that brought this seperation about and least of all your father to which it almost killed to do especially after the loss of your mother. The secret has hurt him most and affected him day by day more than you could ever know " The girls looked to the oldman an in his eyes they saw both kindness and remorse.

Everyone turned as suddenly they heard the click of the lock to the study door as it was opened as Oliver entered his features firm yet not unwarm as he surveyed the room locking the study once more before he took the dukes place on the lounge he spoke his voice strong yet not unkind, "Indeed all three of us had our role to play in the decisions that were made. I as your uncle take full responsibility for my part in the affairs that took place in the cover up." Lafiel looked at Oliver incrediously he spoke before she could say anything, "Oh yes my dear I am your uncle and my true name is Oliver Charles Tarrant younger brother of your father over there. I saw it as a good idea to erase myself from both your memories as I forfeited my noble title an joined the service of MI5 and it would of been best as serving body guard to my niece that she not be emotionally attached to me should something have befallen myself she might have put herself in danger as she is deemed very unpredictable in my eyes. It was I who had also placed the story of your mothers death being at the hands of the Kusari she in fact had made it back with the refugees before the war broke out, she was later killed by a similliar virus a year previous to the accident. You can not fault my brother as a desperate parent he devoted all resources at his disposale to saving your lives. "

Sebastian Tarrant put a hand to cut off Olivers barrage of words as he deemed it extremely blunt in a time that needed tact and great care. He had regained some composure as he spoke regarding what else was known regarding the virus after effects, "It is unknown why Lafiel's age locked at the age of eighteen and why the virus in your body Sophia didnt kick in till later but at this point in time we know that time has not moved for you Sophia past the age of twenty one while for Lafiel she started aging once more it can only be an assumption that she will once again stop aging once her body has physically aged to the age of twenty one. I am afraid it is also not known why the virus affected Sophia differently but it has made her a lot stronger and faster than any human being her reflexs are tremendous it is yet to be seen but greatly hypothesised that she is stronger and faster than Oliver with his cybernetic implants."

"Now you both know the secret that has been held on for so long. Yet there is but one more course of action to be done this night before you both rejoin the party. The memory block is to be removed it is a simple thing you just require a minor injection." Said Charles Tarrant gesturing to the syringes on the desk, "If we may?"

Sophia could only nod she was shocked amazed and felt a million other emotions welling up inside of her at the moment she just offered her arm. Oliver stepped over and administered it just as Lafiel bolted out of the chair heading to the door she grabbed the handle which refused to turn just as her Grandfather appeared by her side. She almost screamed, "No I don't want an injection you can't make me." Her Grandfather went to put an arm around her to console her but she bolted back over to her fathers side of the desk. The Marquis moved like lightning one moment he was in his chair the next he had gently grabbed Lafiel lifting her off her feet in his arms cradling her like a baby then sat down again.

Lafiel's face said it all her eyes were wide as tears came down her lips contorted into a grimace her face filled with fear. The Marquis started rocking her gently he brushed her hair with one hand letting her dig her face into his chest he leant to her ear and whispered, "Lafie calm down, I am so sorry for this all to have happened and what I did there has not been a day gone by when I have seen your face and it hurt me keeping this from you, being forced to live a lie for so long. An the change that occured to you it heightened all the beautiful innocent qualities about you I am so sorry that you may never grow to be the young lady you might have been even with all your memories restored" with those last words tears began to roll down his face once more to land upon her face. She reached up to wipe at them with her hand as her beautiful voices drifted to his ears her soft melody conveyed that which she truely had feared, "Its not that, I don't care for all of this it doesn't matter I love you papa nothing could ever change this but I don't want the needle I don't like needles they hurt and what if i remember and forget all the time I have had with you."

The marquis whispered back, "I know your scared and don't like needles but please be brave for me. Do you trust me and that I your father love you that I would never do anything in the world to harm you?" Lafiel began to cry, "I love you father and I hate needles but only if you promise me this will be the last one." The marquis responded with love an care in his voice, "I promise."

The Marquis cradled her gently as her face vanished he felt her body tense he administered the injection as gently as he could. "Thats it my brave little girl." The marquis spoke with pride after a moment Lafiel felt different it was like a curtin had been pulled back and she could remember everything. Growing up with her twin sister and their older brother both visits to the Queen when they had turned five and ten. Most of all she could remember her mother, and father as well as their uncle soft tears fell down her face as she got up and hugged her dad sitting on his lap in the study like when she was little. The Marquis gestured to his oldest daughter Sophia beckoned for her to come over for she also had tears in her eyes she came over and he hugged them both in the silence of the room as a family was once again truely whole.

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