Becoming Nyx: Lissie

His name was Leighton Sekemoto, but he much preferred to be called Lee. He always said that Leighton was an old man’s name, and he was the farthest thing from old.

He called me Lissie. He liked to say that neither of us should be tied down by the sort of clunky names reserved for senior citizens.

He didn’t work for my father. I think that was probably the first thing that made me love him.

His father was one of my father’s right-hand men, but it was clear at first glance that Lee had no idea what his father did for a living. Even if he had known, he would have convinced himself that it wasn’t true. I loved his determination to see good in even the worst sort of people.

We were first introduced because my father thought he would be a good match for me. I had never much liked the thought of an arranged marriage, but if it was with Lee, I knew I’d be happy.

Sadly, he did not feel the same way. I loved him, but as soon as he met me, he also met her.

Ilyana was my bodyguard. She was the same age I was, but unlike me, she was strong. She could beat a grown man to death, and I was pretty sure that she had. That didn’t seem to matter to Lee, though. I loved that he saw the best in people, but… did he have to see the best in her?

They fell in love at first sight. I hated it. I resented both of them for it, and I was (secretly) thrilled when they vowed to stay apart because they would both be severely punished if anyone found out they were together.

I hoped that this would be the end of it. Lee would realize that he was meant to be with me, Ilyana would accept it because it would be obvious to everyone that we were meant to be together, and we would all live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, it gradually became clear that both of them were miserable.

As jealous as I was, I liked to think that I was a good person, and a good person would never let anyone she loved suffer this way. So I made a plan. I was always great at making plans.

Lee and I would go on “dates” in preparation for our inevitable marriage. Ilyana would come with us as my bodyguard and our chaperone. As soon as we were sure we weren't being watched, Lee and Ilyana would slip off for some alone time.

It was a good plan, and it worked for a while.  A pathetic part of me was dying inside, but another, even more pathetic, part was just glad that I was spending time with Lee. He always made an effort to make me feel included.

Before he and Ilyana slipped off, he would sit with me and talk. I learned about his favorite things, his talents, his weaknesses, his relationship with his parents… everything. He learned just as much about me, but I tried to keep the conversation focused on his life. I desperately wanted to know what a normal childhood was like.

“What was it like, living with your mother?”

He frowned. “Different.”

“Different how?”

“It was kind of stifling. My mother loved me, but she was always strict. Even beyond that, the town, Sunset Valley, was tiny. Everyone knew everyone. You couldn’t do anything wrong without the whole town knowing about it, and there was nothing to do. The police spent most of their time dragging home teens who stayed out past curfew.”

He paused and smiled at me. “I like it much better here.”

I privately thought that Sunset Valley sounded like a dreamland. In Bridgeport, my father’s crime empire succeeded mostly because no one really cared what he did, and everyone was to busy to do anything about it even if they wanted to. A place where people were held accountable for actions, where the police had nothing better to do than make sure kids were safe, sounded amazing.

But I just nodded and smiled, because I didn’t want to disagree with him about something so silly. It didn’t really matter, and I didn’t want to ruin our precious conversations with a stupid argument. Those moments, sitting with him in the sunshine, were the best of my life.

Everything was fine until…

It was an accident. I privately thought that it was stupid of them to let it happen, but what did I know? Apparently it was easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment. I hadn't had a heated moment my entire life, so I didn't really understand.

There would be no more sneaking around. Instead, they left, slipping off like thieves in the night. I desperately wanted to go with them, but they insisted that I had to stay behind and make sure that no one knew I had been involved. I tried to tell them that it was too late for that.

They didn't listen.

Author's Note: I'm not a huge fan of Lissie as a person. As a character, though, she's fascinating (if a bit frustrating) to write. Hopefully by this point, you can see what I mean by that. If you can't, I guess I've been overestimating my writing skills. One more part to the prologue, and then the legacy really gets started!