ＯＵＴ ＯＦ ＬＵＸ discussion

Lacey's Log




Ideas

- Stargazing with her father
- Parents' deaths
- Discovering and joining the fighting ring
- Meeting Mallory & joining the Spiders
- Becoming a double agent
- Grandfather's death and revealing her secret to him
- Adopting Mika

Stargazing with her Father
Voxthain - Outer City Path
Age 7

“Dinner will be ready soon” Lacey’s mother, Sunmi exclaimed. “Don’t stay out too late, you two.” Lacey’s grandmother chimed in. “Listen to your wife, Sebastian.” Lacey’s father chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sunmi and Haneul. We’ll be back soon, I promise. Let’s go, Lacey.” Lacey rushed downstairs, a wide grin spread across her face. “I’m coming, Papa!” She looked over at her mother and grandmother, smiling again. “Bye Mama! Bye Grandma!” She noticed her sister, bending down to her level. “Bye Deedee! See you later!” Lacey and her father had agreed to go stargazing, something that they always loved doing together. She always looked forward to it every time.

Her mother chuckled, giving a small smile. “Have fun. And be careful.” Her father’s expression was more serious for a brief moment. “We will. Come on, Lacey.” She nodded her head. “Okay, Papa.” Her father opened the door and she followed, closing the door behind them as they left.

They decided to go to the outer city path, near where Lacey’s grandparents lived. It was the perfect spot to view the stars. Lacey plopped down on the grass, patting the spot next to her. “Sit right here, Papa.” Her father nodded, walking towards her direction. “Alright, sweetie.” He sat down and leaned against a nearby tree. “Such a gorgeous evening tonight. Right?” Lacey nodded her head in agreement. “It is, Papa. The stars are especially bright and beautiful.” Ah yes, the stars. They always fascinated Lacey. The shape, the brilliant glow in the sky - she loved everything about them. And moments like this with her father made her cherish them even more.

Her father smiled. “They are, aren’t they?” Lacey laid down on her back, the twinkling stars even more beautiful. They shined like diamonds, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Hey Papa, I have an idea! We should try and make out the different shapes of the stars” Sebastian chuckled. “I believe you mean constellations sweetie. But sure, we can do that. Look very carefully, Lacey. What do you see?”

Lacey chuckled along with her father. “Yeah, that’s what I meant.” She looked at the sky, pretending to connect the stars with her finger as if she was drawing them. “That one looks like a flower. Can you see it, Papa?” she asked, pointing to the constellation she was referring to.

Her father looked in Lacey’s direction, nodding his head in agreement. “Yes, I see it. And that one looks like a heart. Lacey glanced at the constellation her dad mentioned. “I can see the heart. This one looks like a bear.” She chuckled again. “This is fun, right Papa?” Sebastian gave a warm smile. “It is.”

Lacey looked at stars, a curious glint in her eye. “Papa, how are stars formed?”
Her father’s eyes twinkled as he spoke. “How are stars formed? Well, it’s a cycle. When a star dies, there’s this thing called a supernova.”

Lacey raised an eyebrow. “A supernova? What’s a supernova?”

“A supernova is basically a giant explosion. And when that happens, more stars are born and the cycle keeps repeating.”

Her eyes widened at her father’s explanation. “Stars explode when they die? I never knew that. I can’t tell if that’s really cool or really scary.”

Sebastian laughed. “The universe works in mysterious ways. That’s just how it is.” He adjusted himself to be in a more comfortable position, looking at the sky again. “Are you enjoying this, sweetie?”

“Yeah, Papa. It’s nice to have moments like these.” As she continued to gaze at the night sky, one constellation caught her eye. Suddenly, she saw a glimpse of the shape. It was vague, but she could make it out; her brother Remy. Even though he was only a newborn when he died, Lacey could never forget him. “Remy?” she in a voice low enough that her father couldn’t hear her. Then she began to cry, tears forming on her face.

Her father noticed her crying, immediately going over to her and comforting her. “What’s wrong, Lacey?”

“Remy-” Lacey could barely finish her sentence as she continued crying. “I saw Remy, Papa. When I was looking at a constellation. I saw him, I-”

Her father hugged her, trying to calm her down. “It’s okay, Lacey. Relax.” He wiped a tear from her face. “Do you want to go home?”

Lacey nodded her head, wiping away her own tears as well. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Sebastian stood up, grabbing Lacey’s hand and pulling her up. “We should go anyway. Your mom and grandma probably have dinner ready by now. Don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“All right.” Lacey grabbed her bag and stood up, a thought coming to her head. “Wait, I want to do something real quick.” She took out her notebook and pencil, beginning to sketch the constellation from memory. After finishing, she showed it to her father. “Look, Papa. I drew the constellation. Do you like it?”

Her father examined the drawing, smiling in approval. “It’s very beautiful, Lacey. It looks just like your brother.”

She smiled back. “Thank you, Papa.” She put the notebook bag in her bag, tossing it over her shoulder. “Okay, now I’m ready to go.”

As Lacey and her father walked along the outer city path, she thought of Remy. Maybe, she realized, that she shouldn’t be sad. She should be happy that she saw something that reminded her of him. And now she had something that would let her be able to remember her brother. Forever.

Death of Her Parents
Voxthain - Grandparents’ House
Age 8

Lacey looked in the mirror, satisfied with her outfit. She went in her bathroom to fix her hair, brushing it thoroughly until it was neat. She smiled to herself, quickly smoothing out her shirt before going into the dining room for breakfast.

She and her family had made plans to go to the Fablecraft Amphitheater. Her aunt was a professional singer and had a performance there tonight. They always went to all of her performances to support her. Lacey loved her aunt dearly, and thought that she had a beautiful voice. She also loved it when Aunt Hayoon would visit and sing songs to her and Deondra. Aunt Hayoon taught her how to play the piano, which resulted in her love of music. She was looking forward to her aunt’s performance.

As she walked into the dining room, she could immediately sense that something was off. She looked over at her grandparents, who seemed sad and upset. But there was someone else that Lacey was surprised to see; Aunt Hayoon. “Aunt Hayoon? What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you.”

Lacey had a puzzled expression on her face. She studied her grandparents and aunt’s faces closer. Were they… crying? Now this was weird. What was going on? “Grandma, Grandpa. Auntie. What’s wrong?” She noticed her grandmother holding the latest edition of the Seavey newspaper in her hand.

Without saying a word, her grandmother pushed the newspaper in Lacey’s direction. She sat down at the table, examining the paper. Her eyes widened as she read the headline:

Double murder! Asterathi councilor and wife dead.

Asterathi councilor Sebastian Reinhart and his wife, Sunmi Reinhart, who worked as a journalist for the Seaveys, are dead. The couple were reported to have been murdered by an unknown member of Club Serpentine last night. Beloved by both their family and the citizens alike, they will be dearly missed. An election for a new Asterathi councilor will be held to replace Councilor Reinhart.

Lacey’s heart dropped as she read the article. Their picture on the front page of the newspaper, smiling. They seemed so happy. No. They couldn’t be dead. They just couldn’t. The Seaveys were lying. Her parents would walk in through the door any minute now. She refused to believe it.

Okay, so she knew that the Seaveys tended to lie and manipulate the papers. Even as a kid she understood that. But she knew that they wouldn’t lie about this. Why would they? It’s not like it would benefit them. Or was this some cruel prank they planned for their sick, twisted games?

Lacey kept reading the article and half-expecting it to change, as if it would go away. But it didn’t. Her parents’ picture was still there on the front page of the paper, the headline still saying that they were dead. “Mama? Papa?” She couldn’t deny it any longer. They were dead. And she knew it.

Tears streamed down Lacey’s face as she read the article one last time. She immediately went to her grandmother for comfort, giving her a hug. “Mama and Papa are dead! They’re dead!” she cried. Her grandmother stroked Lacey’s hair. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

All her life, Lacey’s parents had held an anti-gang stance. She was always told how dangerous the gangs were and to never associate with them. Her father’s views on the gang were well-known, as he always spoke out against them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t agree with his fellow councilors to abolish the gangs. And this was the consequence of that. This is what happens when Asterath just lets the gangs run around and do whatever they want. Sure, there were the Blacklights. But even she thought that they weren’t doing enough to protect the underground city.

Lacey’s blood boiled at the thought. She was enraged, her sadness being replaced by anger. This is the council’s fault! This wouldn’t have happened if they just got rid of the gangs. They’re doing absolutely nothing to keep the citizens safe. Of course, Club Serpentine was to blame, too. Why would a member of the Snakes kill her parents? Well, she supposed it was because they viewed them as a threat due to their anti-gang stance. She wanted to know which member killed them. Then she would bring justice to them and avenge her parents’ deaths.

She screamed in frustration, throwing the paper on the ground and glanced over at her little sister. Poor Deedee. She’s only four years old. She probably doesn’t even understand what’s going on.

Her grandmother frowned. “Lacey, please calm down.” Lacey slammed her fists on the table. “Calm down? How can I calm down, Grandma? Mama and Papa are dead!” She froze, feeling a pang of regret as she snapped at her grandmother. “I’m sorry Grandma. I’m just upset. But I shouldn’t be talking to you like that.”

“I know, Lacey. It’s okay. We’re all upset about this.”

Lacey turned her attention to her aunt. They were supposed to be at her performance tonight. What were they going to do? Would Aunt Hayoon cancel the performance? Or would she go through with it despite what happened? Knowing her aunt though, she would probably go with the latter. She went up to her aunt and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Auntie. Your performance -”

Aunt Hayoon shook her head. “There’s no need to apologize, Lacey. I’ll figure something out. But I should get going. I’ll see you later, Lacey and Deondra. And you too, Mom and Dad.”

Lacey’s grandparents nodded. “Alright. We love you, Hayoon” they said in unison

“I love you too, Mom and Dad.” She kissed them on the forehead before leaving and walked away.

Anger flowed through Lacey’s body again as her aunt left. She caught a glimpse of the newspaper on the floor and picked it up. She stared at the picture of her parents one last time before placing her hand on top of it. I’m sorry, Mama and Papa. I wish there was something that I could’ve done to prevent this.

Her parents died from the same thing that they warned her about. There was no doubt in her mind that Club Serpentine was the most evil and murderous gang in all of Asterath. And she hated them now more than she ever did. This was the beginning of a new Lacey. Now there was only one thing on her mind; justice for her parents. One day, she will have her revenge. And it will be oh so sweet. Oh so deliciously, devilishly sweet.