07-11-2020, 09:19 PM
Not Immigration Detention (Olivia Pierre Part 3)
Unknown Location, Lauchenoiria
11th July, unknown time
Olivia Pierre sat with her head against the wall as Xia slept with her head on Olivia’s shoulder. They’d stopped arguing amongst themselves, it was pointless and they were stuck here together. As more time passed, and they both lost track of it, Oliva was less and less convinced they were in immigration detention. Everything she’d heard about Lauchenoiria indicated their immigration centres were nothing like this. No, something else was going on, something much worse.
She could accept that Lauchenoirians were warier of Kerlian immigrants after the whole Aurora affair, but this didn’t match with anything she’d heard of them. This was more akin to something her own government would’ve done before reform, or of something the Chaher regime would’ve done in the month or so before the war began in 2018. If these people were actually Lauchenoirians, then they were clearly Lauchenoirians who did not support the present government, Olivia thought.
Of course, there was a chance that she’d never actually managed to leave Kerlile, that this was some complex plot by her mother who’d hired males to pose as Lauchenoirian border guards to throw her off. It seemed far-fetched, but she’d read some of the files in the Council archives and some of her ancestors had very much enjoyed playing with dissidents before arresting them. Power seemed to drive the Council a little crazy.
“You awake?” whispered Xia suddenly, causing Olivia to jump.
“Yeah, Jia’s still asleep though,” she whispered back. Xia nodded and gently lowered her daughter onto the floor from her lap so her movement didn’t wake her.
“I’m due in a couple weeks, I’m scared what’ll happen if they still have us detained here.”
“I know,” winced Olivia, “but there’s no way we can attempt an escape with you heavily pregnant and Jia here. And the more I think about it, the more I question who has us.”
“Chaherians?” mused Xia. “We know there were people in Lauchenoiria who were as disgruntled with the outcome of that war as your mother was.”
“Possibly,” Olivia replied, “if so…”
She fell silent as the sound of locks being turned sounded. Jia woke up as Xia hurriedly picked her up and sat her between the two adult women, who held hands. They did this every time, to prevent their captors from managing to take the 5-year-old without a fight. Not that their captors had shown any signs of wanting to, but there were certain things detained Kerlians did as mere instinct.
Two men appeared at the door, dressed in uniforms Olivia didn’t recognise. Gone were the probably-false Immigration Department badges, and the way they looked at her made her stomach lurch as she realised whatever act they were putting on, they’d decided to drop it. As a Kerlian, she knew what that meant – something worse was about to happen. Something much worse.
“Which one should we take?” one of the men asked another. “The kid?”
“You will not take my daughter,” hissed Xia and then added something in Mandarin which neither Olivia nor either of the men understood.
“Take the mother then,” the other man shrugged, pointing at Xia.
“No!” yelled Jia this time, grabbing on to her mother’s arm.
“Leave them be,” Olivia said suddenly, standing up, regretting her decision immediately. Nothing good would happen to whoever they ‘took’. She stepped forward in front of the other two, but couldn’t quite bring herself to say the words she’d planned to say next. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they understood her meaning without them.
“Looks like we have a volunteer,” jeered the first man, then slammed Olivia against the wall and cuffed her arms behind her back. She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, afraid of what would happen next.
Her eyes met Xia’s, both equally frightened, though Olivia tried to give a falsely reassuring look to the other woman. Jia was sobbing, clutching her heavily pregnant mother as Olivia was led out of the cell. It was only once the door had locked behind her and Olivia was being dragged down the corridor herself that she began to struggle.
“Bitch,” one of the men snarled, gripping her arm so tightly that it hurt.
“Who are you and where are you taking me?” Olivia said. She tried to sound strong and demanding, but the words came out as a frightened squeak.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” the other said. “You better hope that she listens to our demands, little Daughter of the Council, or you’ll find yourself in a grave soon enough.”
With those words, Olivia felt a wave of terror wash over her. They might kill her. They definitely didn’t work for the Lauchenoirian government, then. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t. If she died, her sister Eva would be next in line for the Pierre seat and it would embolden the traditionalists. Her death would greatly hurt the cause of Kerlian reform. This is why she’d tried to get pregnant, but her problem was she didn’t enjoy… that very much.
“Please don’t kill me,” she said. “Please don’t kill me! PLEASE!”
Unknown Location, Lauchenoiria
11th July, unknown time
Olivia Pierre sat with her head against the wall as Xia slept with her head on Olivia’s shoulder. They’d stopped arguing amongst themselves, it was pointless and they were stuck here together. As more time passed, and they both lost track of it, Oliva was less and less convinced they were in immigration detention. Everything she’d heard about Lauchenoiria indicated their immigration centres were nothing like this. No, something else was going on, something much worse.
She could accept that Lauchenoirians were warier of Kerlian immigrants after the whole Aurora affair, but this didn’t match with anything she’d heard of them. This was more akin to something her own government would’ve done before reform, or of something the Chaher regime would’ve done in the month or so before the war began in 2018. If these people were actually Lauchenoirians, then they were clearly Lauchenoirians who did not support the present government, Olivia thought.
Of course, there was a chance that she’d never actually managed to leave Kerlile, that this was some complex plot by her mother who’d hired males to pose as Lauchenoirian border guards to throw her off. It seemed far-fetched, but she’d read some of the files in the Council archives and some of her ancestors had very much enjoyed playing with dissidents before arresting them. Power seemed to drive the Council a little crazy.
“You awake?” whispered Xia suddenly, causing Olivia to jump.
“Yeah, Jia’s still asleep though,” she whispered back. Xia nodded and gently lowered her daughter onto the floor from her lap so her movement didn’t wake her.
“I’m due in a couple weeks, I’m scared what’ll happen if they still have us detained here.”
“I know,” winced Olivia, “but there’s no way we can attempt an escape with you heavily pregnant and Jia here. And the more I think about it, the more I question who has us.”
“Chaherians?” mused Xia. “We know there were people in Lauchenoiria who were as disgruntled with the outcome of that war as your mother was.”
“Possibly,” Olivia replied, “if so…”
She fell silent as the sound of locks being turned sounded. Jia woke up as Xia hurriedly picked her up and sat her between the two adult women, who held hands. They did this every time, to prevent their captors from managing to take the 5-year-old without a fight. Not that their captors had shown any signs of wanting to, but there were certain things detained Kerlians did as mere instinct.
Two men appeared at the door, dressed in uniforms Olivia didn’t recognise. Gone were the probably-false Immigration Department badges, and the way they looked at her made her stomach lurch as she realised whatever act they were putting on, they’d decided to drop it. As a Kerlian, she knew what that meant – something worse was about to happen. Something much worse.
“Which one should we take?” one of the men asked another. “The kid?”
“You will not take my daughter,” hissed Xia and then added something in Mandarin which neither Olivia nor either of the men understood.
“Take the mother then,” the other man shrugged, pointing at Xia.
“No!” yelled Jia this time, grabbing on to her mother’s arm.
“Leave them be,” Olivia said suddenly, standing up, regretting her decision immediately. Nothing good would happen to whoever they ‘took’. She stepped forward in front of the other two, but couldn’t quite bring herself to say the words she’d planned to say next. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they understood her meaning without them.
“Looks like we have a volunteer,” jeered the first man, then slammed Olivia against the wall and cuffed her arms behind her back. She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, afraid of what would happen next.
Her eyes met Xia’s, both equally frightened, though Olivia tried to give a falsely reassuring look to the other woman. Jia was sobbing, clutching her heavily pregnant mother as Olivia was led out of the cell. It was only once the door had locked behind her and Olivia was being dragged down the corridor herself that she began to struggle.
“Bitch,” one of the men snarled, gripping her arm so tightly that it hurt.
“Who are you and where are you taking me?” Olivia said. She tried to sound strong and demanding, but the words came out as a frightened squeak.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” the other said. “You better hope that she listens to our demands, little Daughter of the Council, or you’ll find yourself in a grave soon enough.”
With those words, Olivia felt a wave of terror wash over her. They might kill her. They definitely didn’t work for the Lauchenoirian government, then. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t. If she died, her sister Eva would be next in line for the Pierre seat and it would embolden the traditionalists. Her death would greatly hurt the cause of Kerlian reform. This is why she’d tried to get pregnant, but her problem was she didn’t enjoy… that very much.
“Please don’t kill me,” she said. “Please don’t kill me! PLEASE!”
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