Growing Lilies

Lhexa was assigned to the Chiasmodon Prison Facility. It was a sprawling complex on the sea floor of an ocean planet. The trial was an absolute farce. It had been carried out by the corporation that owned her agency. Unfortunately, Chiasmodon was also owned by that corporation. Actually, the entire planet it was on was owned by Wedli Corp. 

It was a resort planet. The man made islands that made up all of the land were home to theme parks, hotels, and all manner of unearthly delights. And powering that massive resort was, shocking no one, prison labor.

The Director had unfortunately lived. Not that his testimony was particularly required to send her away. Lhexa wouldn’t have been of any use as a talent to the agency after doing something like that. So, one way or another she was going to have her labor exploited for the rest of her life. In a way it was a relief that she didn’t have to worry about money anymore. Although, she would have preferred not spending the rest of her days on the bottom of the ocean. Even a window would have been nice, not that any light likely made it down this far.

She had a cell to herself. Ironically, being manufactured by Wedli, it had many of the same furnishings as her old room. It was far less colorful, but the bed was the same, the chairs were the same, the size was the same. It might have been the same room, apart from a lack of oversized plush toys, a television, and a lavish bathroom.

Really, the biggest difference between this life and her old one was that the illusion of freedom was gone. But, it didn’t matter anymore.

She had three days to herself before she was scheduled to a shift. Apparently shifts for various jobs were assigned week to week and she wasn’t going to be added to the schedule until the next one came out.

The one amenity she had access to surprised her. There was a simple communications device that could be used to speak to other prisoners. Of course, Lhexa was sure it was monitored strictly. Probably by one or several AIs meant to diagnose anything from suspicious behaviour, speaking in code, or even mental health. But, while in their rooms any prisoner could call up any other prisoner. There was also a text section that could be used one on one or publicly. Prison run social media, sponsored by Wedli.

Not that she had anyone to talk to. She browsed the public section for a while though to get a feel for the place. Truthfully, she was a little unsure. She wouldn’t have to play a character down here, so she could be herself when interacting with other prisoners.

But, she’d been playing a character for so long, she wasn’t totally sure what that meant anymore. She could probably just find a new persona that would be popular here. Make some connections and–

And what? What goal could she possibly have? No. There was no use thinking like that anymore. A post caught her eye.

Coven Superstar Lhexa Assigned to Chiasmodon

She opened it, and saw prisoners talking about her. Great.

“Lol can’t believe she attacked someone. That bitch is crazy.”

“An elf? She’s gonna be down here a long ass time”

“Think I can get an autograph? I was a big fan!”

“Wedli pushed her too far.”

“I heard she got way more popular after she killed that guy.”

“He didn’t die, stupid. Don’t you listen?”

“Wowowow dumb bitch couldn’t even seal the deal”

She stopped reading. Well, that was going to make things harder. But it didn’t matter. As someone had commented, she was an elf. She was going to be here a long time. Her reputation would only last a few years.

---

 

She spent three days in her room doing nothing. It was such an odd sensation. Doing nothing. Her life had been so stuffed full to bursting that she had thought it was going to crush her before.

For the first day or two, it felt like everything she ever wanted. But, a gnawing awareness eventually started to creep in. Doing nothing was just the opposite extreme, and in time it would start to wear at her too. She was simply locked in a box. She had stopped looking at the prison social feed after a while. It just hurt to see everyone gossiping about her.

On day four, she was assigned work. It wasn’t complicated. For 8 hours a day, every day that week she was sat in front of a computer piloting a drone. The drone was AI assisted and it was pretty limited in what it could do. The main purpose was to scour the underside of the nearest land mass, and clean or fix panels that needed maintaining. The AI mostly controlled it. She was really just along for the ride, and there to intervene if something went wrong. 

At first it was a little exciting getting to see the open ocean. A little scary at times when something shifted just out of view. But, in just hours it had become mundane. Not only did her viewpoint not often shift to point anywhere but at hexagonal panel after hexagonal panel, but even when it did it mostly caught sight of an empty abyss. 

She did learn what other jobs she might be assigned to, and the list was… well, just about as exciting. Overseeing the prison food system. Janitorial work, either in the prison or via a drone that was programmed to scour the resort for trash. Etc.

The most interesting postings were offered to prisoners who performed well and were well tempered consistently. There were a few positions for operating mascot characters in the park and actually interacting with patrons. But, Lhexa doubted she would ever be allowed to take part in something like that. Which was a shame, she thought she could do a good job pretending to be a character like that. It might even be fun.

Wake up, work, sleep. Wake up, work, sleep. Wake up, work, sleep. Technically, it was possible to get access to some more entertainment or better food, but that required access to money. The prison complex had a commissary. However, performing normal prison duties did not give you anything to spend there. Relatives of prisoners could add money to a special card that would allow a prisoner to shop there. Mostly there were just small things you could bring back to your room. It was also possible to trade with other prisoners but…

Lhexa glanced over to her comms device.

No.

She didn’t want to talk to anyone. They were still saying rude things about her in threads occasionally, and the couple times she’d been assigned to a duty that required interacting with another prisoner she’d kept it strictly to the assignment.

She was done with that. With trying to be loved. And yet.

It’s so boring. Boring boring boring. A world like this shouldn’t be.

---

 

Near the start of her second month in the system, there was a knock at her door. She nearly lept out of her skin. No one had ever come to her door before. Why would they knock? It’s not like she could open it anyways.

A cold sweat started across her body. A part of her expected the door to open and the manager to come in, or the director.

But, instead, a guard opened the door.

“Uh, hey. I have a letter to deliver.”

It was surreal! She stood and carefully walked over. Force of habit put a smile on her face. It felt like wearing a mask that was sharp on the inside, but she let it happen.

“A what? Like, a paper one? Is that even allowed?”

“Ah, it’s not normally allowed. But, truth be told uh…”

He went silent for a minute, before continuing.

“It’s just, I’m a bit of a fan. And another fan wanted you to have this letter so I said I’d hand it off. Honestly, if you could just not tell anyone I gave it to ya that’d be just swell. Name’s Renny by the way.”

Lhexa took the letter. She’d never actually gotten a message physically delivered before in her life. Aside from notes attached to physical items that were delivered. She put on her best witchy grin, although her heart wasn’t in it at all.

“Thanks, Renny. Wish I had something to give you in return, but my magic ain’t gonna do much around here.”

She looked around her room meaningfully.

“Oh don’t worry about that Miss. Although, I uh, I listen to your music with my daughter who’s a huge fan. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I get you to sign something for her?”

Lhexa happily returned the favor. Although signing something physically was also a bit weird. Normally she didn’t meet her fans in person, only over a sort of virtual presence. She generally never saw people face to face. For her own safety, courtesy of the Wedli Corporation. 

Just like that it was over. Renny left, and she had a letter. She opened it.

I hope you’re doing okay! I wanted you to know that your fans love you more than ever. We know you must have been pushed pretty far to do what you did, no matter how Wedli tries to spin it as a lover’s spat gone wrong. We still support you. Cast some sick ass prison spells!

Included was a… card? She inspected it. It was a card for the commissary. It was thoughtful. But at the same time… She felt nothing. A fan? Prison spells? She wasn’t the person they thought she was. That Lhexa was a character run by Wedli.

It was kind of whoever to care. But the girl they were trying to help was dead. In her place… Lhexa didn’t really know who she was anymore. But, despite the change in scenery and stress, she was just so bored.

Lhexa wouldn’t have called herself a spiritual person, but she did have one strong belief, and being away from the world was giving her time to really reflect on it, and remember her feelings about it.

She held the card above her head, blocking the light above her bed with it.

“Life is measured in absolute value.”

She almost laughed. It was something she’d said passionately when she was younger. But what did it mean? Life was for excitement. Good or bad mattered less than intensity.

In some ways, her life up until now had been pretty intense hadn’t it? So why did she feel like it was so boring?

“Busy can still be boring.”

That was true, but also didn’t quite capture her feelings. It was almost like a devil figure in her own personal religion. Boredom. Death. Nothingness. Suffering. Whatever you wanted to call it. Suffering could be boring. When it was like her life before now. Or even her life before that, destitute living like a rat in the alleys of the slums.

Boring. It was boring. Because it was so–

So normal. People didn’t really understand. Well, the privledged ones didn’t. In the shows and movies they showed everyday suffering as dramatic. Big dramatic events punctuating an otherwise normal day to day life.

She threw the blankets off of her bed and rose, taking on a character.

“I lived on the streets! We had our quaint little life to ourselves. Sure, we occasionally had to steal bread and scraps, but we were happy together! All until that fateful day when those thugs came knocking! We couldn’t pay our protection fees, so they burned our hovel to the ground, and Micky… poor Micky didn’t make it!”

She laughed to herself. It was so silly. Life didn’t work like that. Suffering was so much more mundane than that. If you were that poor, it all blurred together. It was just everyday. Every single day. The stress didn’t usually come in big events. It wasn’t a movie. It was just the constant struggle to survive.

She took on another character.

“My problem? Eh, ain’t what you’re thinkin’. I grew up nice and normal, see? Oh sure, I’m depressed as shit. But that’s not ‘causa some tragic backstory. I had parents that loved me, good grades, average income, set up for life in a low pressure office job. But I got the itch ya know? The bottle calls t’me. I lost everything. All ‘cause of one drunken night!”

How stupid. Real life wasn’t like that at all. Addiction wasn’t like that. Depression wasn’t like that. Poverty wasn’t like that. All of these things just ground you down day after day. That’s why it was boring. It was constant. It was death. It was boredom, pretending to be something more dramatic.

She spoke again, still putting on a face but closer to the real her.

“And when did I feel alive? In the last few years I can only remember one time. It’s when I was smashing that man’s face in. It’s when I felt his skull breaking under my hands. It’s when I felt my fingers going through his eyes.”

Did that make her a violent person? No. She didn’t think so. She could be violent. When it was needed. But that feeling of being alive? It had nothing to do with the violence.

“It’s about life. It’s about living. It’s about breaking away from the suffering and doing something. Shattering it to pieces! Taking control for even a moment! Having power! Having agency! Making a decision instead of being controlled by suffering, boredom, death! I want it! I want more of it! I want to live!”

It was bubbling up inside of her now. She wanted to live. She wanted to live. Life was measured in absolute value. Boredom was the enemy. Why did her very negative life then not feel like living before that moment?

“Because, I wasn’t living. I was just existing, and being used. It was boring. But now…”

Now what? Now. Now. Now. This rotten world wasn’t going to let her live again.

It should all just disappear.

A ringing sound came from the floor near her door. Lhexa stopped and looked at it. A small black box was on the floor, making a sound. Had Renny left it?

She hopped down from her bed and stalked over to it, slowly. Whatever it was, it had a screen and was playing a slightly robotic jingle.

She lifted it up.

Alarm

9:40 PM -Girlbage

Slide to dismiss

“Huh?”

Lhexa slid her finger along the little dismiss icon. The sound shut off. It was a touch screen. She hadn’t used one since she was a little kid, and they had been going out of style for quite a while before then. How old was this thing?

It was asking for a password, so she tried the obvious. ‘Girlbage’.

It opened. She was looking at a screen with a bunch of little buttons on it. Before she could do anything, a message popped up at the top.

EnA: Hello.

Lhexa wrote a reply. It took a while. Writing on a touch screen was so slow and her fingers were not at all used to doing things like this.

Hello? Who are you?

EnA: A Goddess, here to make your wishes come true.

What kind of corny pick up line is that?

EnA: The literal kind.

Okay, someone’s full of themselves. But, I’m listening.

EnA: You wanted to live, right? You wanted to never be bored again? I’ve granted it. But it won’t be easy for you.

Lhexa couldn’t help but laugh. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Uh. Alright. Well. I’m in a cell and nothing has changed. Care to be a little more enlightening?

EnA: Leave your cell.

So, this was some kind of prank by the guards, right? Lhexa rose, and shrugged. Couldn’t hurt. Not like the door would open anyway. She approached it, and nothing happened. It’s not like she had a handle on her side. So, she put her palms against it and tried to slide it aside. 

It slid right open. She stared out into the hall. Had Renny failed to lock it? A notification came through on the phone.

EnA: See? Go on. You won’t get in trouble, and you better get moving. Things are going to get a little dangerous.

Lhexa’s heart raced a bit as she read the words.

What do you mean dangerous? You said I won’t get in trouble.

EnA: You’re on the bottom of the sea, and everyone running the prison is gone. If I were you, I’d endeavor to not be on the bottom of the sea by the time systems start failing. You could have a few hours, you could have a few days. Don’t worry. I’ll help you.

What do you mean GONE? Who ARE you?

Lhexa took a step into the hallway, and called out.

“Anyone there? I think things are malfunctioning!”

Nothing responded. So, she shrugged and walked out.

EnA: I told you. I’m a Goddess, here to grant your wishes. <3

What do you want in return, miss Goddess?

EnA: I want you to learn to be a real witch, and live an exciting life.

That’s it? What do you mean a real witch? I’m not going to go back to playing Lhexa.

EnA: I meant what I said. I’m going to teach you magic, and you’re going to live an exciting life.

Lhexa was walking down the hallway now. There really didn’t seem to be anyone. The cells all had video feeds from the outside, which honestly was a little disturbing for her privacy. But, they all seemed to be empty. What the hell?

What do you get out of it?

EnA: I want to see you live. I want to see what you’ll do. I want to see you be yourself. I want to watch what happens when you meet someone special. I want to see what you’ll do to all the worlds you’ll see. I am letting you loose like a natural disaster, and I want to watch the excitement you cause.

Uh. Thanks?

EnA: You’re welcome. Now, get moving. It would be so boring if you died here.

Lhexa’s heart was pounding out of her chest. Was she dreaming? She was in danger. She had no idea how she was going to get to the surface. She was pretty sure there weren’t crafts capable of that for security reasons. If she couldn’t get out, she would die here. Of lack of air, or food, or just a system failure.

And yet.

She couldn’t stop smiling.

She felt alive.

 

---

Author Note:

PHEW. Lhexa's segments were important to get out before we continue on with Lily, but I really struggled to write them.

But, challenges are how you grow! Now that I'm done, I'm actually quite proud of how they came out.

I hope you all enjoy them too! For now, the writathon ends in four days and seven hours as of time of writing this, and I have a LOT to write still. Wish me luck y'all, it's crammin' time.