Glitches (Book 1)

Chapter 44: Claire

"But...why were my memories erased?"

"You were getting too powerful, so they sent you away," Amanda sighed. "They tried to destroy your memories forever, but I managed to snag a copy of the file before they did. Just wait, you'll understand everything soon," she smiled, opening a drawer of her desk and pulling out a blue helmet with a few weird nodes attached.

"Wait!" I yelled as she began untangling the cords. "I don't trust you. What if you're one of those people who wants to use me."

"What makes you think that?" Amanda asked, narrowing her eyes. "Listen, they hurt me more than you will ever know," she spat viciously, her happy demeanor instantly fading away.

"They destroyed my family's home and banished my mother from the planet, then they forced me to serve them for life. It's their fault I'm like this! They killed me on the inside, slowly and painfully!" Her voice faded to a whimper. "And the worst part is...my father is one of their leaders. My little sister joined them a month ago. I had every opportunity to be one of them, yet I chose not to. If that doesn't make you trust me, I don't know what will."

"I trust you," I nodded. I had never seen Amanda so tired and sad before, so vulnerable. Her eyes held so much pain that it took all of my willpower not to cry for her. Nobody can fake that.

"Good," she smiled weakly, placing the helmet on my head and attaching the nodes to my forehead and the back of my neck. "When I turn this on, you are going to go through a series of flashbacks, which will reflect the most important parts of your life before the memory wipe. Your less significant memories will be stored in your brain for you to access later."

"Wait, before you start," I asked. "Who are they?"

"They are the Icehearts," Amanda said the word quickly, as if the very term disgusted her. "They're the most power hungry, evil, wretched beings you could imagine. And they're all after you."

"But why?"

"You'll see," Amanda nodded and clicked a button on her desk and the world slowly faded into darkness.

..........................

I sat on a couch in a sumptuous room, next to an older girl who I somehow knew was my sister. We both wore stiff, expensive dresses and fur lined boots and vests. The room, though richly decorated, was frigid.

A woman in a stunning green dress and crystal shoes burst through the door, a wide smile on her face.

"Mother is back!" I called excitedly in my young, high pitched voice as I ran up to her. I couldn't have been more than six years old.

"Yes, I am," the Queen of Lessaenes smiled. "And I have great news for you!"

"What is it, mother? Did you get me a present?" My sister asked excitedly.

"No, Tara, she got ME a present!" I yelled.

"I'll get you as many presents as you want later, girls," she laughed. "But what I have to tell you is so much better."

"Oh, Uncle Airel's visiting, isn't he?" I piped up. "Yay! We get to play with our little cousins!"

"It isn't that either," the Queen shook her head. "We won the war!" She exclaimed with a smile.

"Really? Does that mean no more bombs and attacks in the palace?" Tara asked excitedly. "Did you kill the man who killed Father?"

"Oh, with what's happening to him right now, I'm sure that man wishes he were dead. And this means so much more than just the end of hostilities."