[88.5] Hazel POV: Cherish Thy Child

***Disclaimer: Descriptions of abusive parenting, gaslighting, trauma invalidation, and other terrible parent behavior that some reader's may find uncomfortable. 

[Author's note: This part of the chapter is from Hazel's perspective.]

I raced over to the Academy that was currently being besieged by Vira alone.

Why is she attacking the Academy!?

I was familiar with Vira's fighting style since I had studied it most of my childhood life as Alora.

Vira would never choose to fight unless there was some benefit.

She wouldn't waste her time with useless children unless they were arrivers or were collateral damage. But even then, she would first brute force her way into a stronghold and destroy it. Then she would turn her attention to innocents.

So there were only two reasons for attacking.

It was either a personal vendetta.

Or…

Or what?

As my mind raced, I suddenly flew over the wall and could see the garden that had bordered Reika's family's tower.

My heart stopped beating as I saw Zephyr beaten bruised and bloody on his knees in front of Vira. He had his back against the tower's wall and his body had pressed down the flowers so carefully planted by Della.

He had managed to direct Vira's attention away from the academy, but he was no longer capable of defending himself.

A sword tip was pressed against his throat, preparing to slide in at any moment.

Had I been frozen in time, I would appreciate the calm and stoic expression on his face.

However…

My eyes burned bright as I screamed, "ZEPHYR!"

A Holy beam stronger than any force shot forward and collided with the blade. Vira slid back from the blast as I jumped in front of Zephyr to protect him.

He was covered in blood and wounds, but still managed to cry out in relief, "Hazel!"

I pushed him behind me in a protective stance while I growled at Vira.

She was paying me no attention and was merely looking at her broken sword.

Not a trace of emotion was on her face.

I summoned a sword, and prepared for an outburst, but was greeted by a soft voice instead.

"You finally got here-"

My body locked up as she raised her eyes to meet mine.

"-Daughter."

My breath caught in my throat, "What… What did you call me?"

"Daughter. My daughter." Her eyes narrowed, "You were the only child I ever birthed. What else would I call you?"

A new set of fear crawled its way into my heart. I had no idea where the panic came from, but it was already deeply rooted. 

I felt sick to my stomach, but oddly hopeful at the same time. That feeling of hope quickly turned to anger.

I forced down this strange new feeling and took a fighting stance, "So?"

"You've gotten stronger." A smile crossed over her lips as she stared at me, "I think you're ready to join my side as the first Saint of this country."

I couldn't believe the words I heard, "Excuse me?"

"I raised you well."

"Haaaah!?!" My hand started trembling from rage, "RAISE ME!? YOU DIDN'T RAISE ME! YOU THREW ME INTO A TEMPLE AND LET THEM ABUSE ME! YOU LET EVERYONE ABUSE ME AND YOU ALWAYS STOOD BY LIKE IT WAS NORMAL!!!"

Vira didn't flinch from my screams and instead looked a bit puzzled by the outburst, "Abuse? That was no abuse. You were trained to be strong and it clearly worked."

Hearing her respond so flippantly about all of my experiences, filled me with so much rage it brought tears to my eyes.

"You… You never cared about me. You only ever cared about yourself. Even now you aren't listening to me. You are stuck in your own delusional world!"

She responded dismissively, "Alright. You've vented enough Alora. I don't understand why you're so protective of this demon, but if you want to keep this fox as a pet so badly, we can lock him up. I will permit you to visit him if you behave."

I grit my teeth, breathing hard as tears continued to fall. "My. Name. Is. Hazel."

She lifted an eyebrow, "You're Alora. Not Hazel."

"I'M NOT YOUR DAUGHTER!!!"

I lunged forward, unable to control my rage any longer. I screamed as I slashed at her, but she blocked it without so much as a bat of an eye.

"Why are you so angry? If anyone should be angry, it's me. It is thanks to me that you were given a life to begin with. Yet here you are, complaining the moment I ask you for something. Without me, you wouldn't exist. Be grateful-"

"I NEVER ASKED TO BE BORN! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO BE MY PARENT!"

Every slash of my sword chipped more and more away from her broken one. This time, her expression showed a bit of annoyance as she blocked my attacks.

"You self-centered brat. Do you not realize everything I've done for you?"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE OTHER THAN NEGLECT OR ABUSE!?!" 

I couldn't control my tears or the destruction resulting from our fight. Zephyr watched with bated breath, no longer caring about his pain or bloody state as he watched anxiously.

"YOU ARE THE WORST PARENT TO EVER LIVE!"

As I screamed, a burst of light caused Vira's sword to break into pieces. Her calm indifferent face finally cracked. Her eyebrows were twitching with fury and her eyes were so dark they made my body freeze instinctually. Her voice was sharper than steel, "Ungrateful girl. Don't you realize who I am?"

Behind her, a dozen swords materialized, each one covered in a golden light.

"I gave everything to you. I gave you the chance to become strong. It's all because of me that you could achieve the level of a SAINT!"

The swords blasted toward me without hesitation so I exchanged her attack with my own. Our swords collided and exploded, causing holes in the ground but neither of us stopped. I screamed, "You gave me NOTHING except misery! I am strong because of MYSELF! Not because of you!"

"It seems I've been too lenient on you."

Hundreds of swords materialized and quickly converged on my location. I rushed to create my own, but she was too fast. The air around me exploded just as I barely had time to create a protective barrier around me. I fell to the ground and coughed from the thick cloud of dust.

I suddenly felt a fist smack into my face, breaking several teeth and busting open my lip. My vision swayed from the punch and I could barely make her out as she walked over to where I had been thrown.

Her eyes were lifeless as she stared down at me, "You should be crying tears of joy that I have given you the opportunity of a saint. You should take pride in the fact that your mother is a god."

I spit blood directly into her face, "You are no god. You are just a false idol."