SHE PROMISED ( the originals )

0001. THIS IS NOT THE WORLD I USED TO KNOW... OR IS IT?

SHE PROMISED
( part one, chapter one )

WHEN SHE FIRST WOKE UP, all she could feel was this unending numbness settled in her bones. It felt strange to move and lifts her limbs, like they'd never been used until this very moment. It wasn't even until there was something that flashed in her peripheral, a quick movement in the room, did she realize she wasn't alone. The girl opened her mouth, slowly speaking. Like the rest of her body, it felt strange to use her voice after so long, and her voice sounded so strained and weak that she was barely able to get the words out. She asked the other woman where she was, what day it was, and who she was. The woman responded in a careful tone, "Today is October twenty-first, two-thousand-ten. And as for your name, for now, you are Jane Doe."

But that didn't sound right. Jane Doe was not her name. Her name was... her name... damn it, what was it? It was something like... maybe Elle? Eleanor or Elizabeth? No, those didn't sound so right. And her last name 一 that was a bit trickier to get a handle on. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing hard but she could barely latch onto the one clue. It started with an M, maybe, but that was about it. She couldn't remember her own name, she couldn't remember anything! The girl made sure to tell the other woman, her voice so sad and quiet.

The nurse said, "I suppose we'll call you just Elle, for now." She gave the girl a smile, the pitying one that she'd eventually come to loathe.

She nodded and struggled to sit up, and the nurse quickly walked over to fluff the girl's pillow. She informed the thirteen-year-old girl that she'd been in the hospital for a long time, longer than anyone could ever remember. Hell, not even their own files could explain when and where this girl had appeared. It was almost like magic. The nurse started to inspect her for abnormalities, checking her heart rate and blood pressure and all sorts of things. "Is there someone we can call?" She hoped that the girl could answer the questions she and the other hospital staff have been wondering since they all started here. The nurse had been working that particular hospital for nearly three years and everyone she's ever asked haven't been able to tell her who this girl is.

She didn't understand the question. Call? What did that mean?

"Do you have a family?" the nurse clarified, in a tone much softer now.

Do you have a family? It's a simple question, and yet an incredibly complex one. It was an important and crucial question, one she couldn't answer because she didn't have an answer. Any and all memories were simply... gone. She did not remember her mother's gentle smile or her father's warning tone or her brothers' wildness or her sisters' cautiousness. She did not remember the games she played or the songs she sang or the stories she told. She did not remember the woods she played in or the hut she called home or the people she saw everyday. Why? Why couldn't she remember them? Why was it all just gone? When she tried her hardest to remember and imagine her family, she only ended up giving herself a big headache.

So Elle simply hung her head and shook it, looking down at her hands. Around one of her wrists was a bracelet with her used-to-be name on it: DOE, JANE. She wondered if everyone in this place had one, but when she looked at the nurse beside her, she dismissed the thought. The nurse said she was going to leave to talk to the doctor and then she left the room a bit frantically. Elle watched her leave, dressed in strange blue clothes and wondered why she wore such bright clothing.

Elle looked to her right, spotting sunlight streaming through the glass pane. She somehow managed to push the blanket off her body and swing her legs over the edge of the bed, but when her dainty feet touched the cold floor, she quickly crumpled. Her legs felt like jelly, too weak to hold up her body. With one hand, she grasped onto the bed and pulled herself up, but her arms still shook. How long has it been since she's walked? Why did doing this simple task feel so weird and hurt so bad? But that didn't stop her from trying; Elle positioned herself so she was leaning against the wall, pushing herself against it as she took step after step. Once she finally reached her destination, a plush chair sitting beside the window, she collapsed into it and touched the glass. Outside were many tall blocks, large and metal and shining in the sunlight 一 why did the word buildings sound so strange to her? The nurse had said it so easily earlier.

She could feel something humming beneath her fingertips, and when she pulled them back from the glass, it was still there. It felt like she was touching something alive, thrumming beneath her touch. It wasn't until she placed her hand on her lap did she realize she could feel it all around her, this mysterious energy buzzing around her. But unlike her new surroundings 一 the buildings, the room, the nurse 一 this felt oddly familiar. Like something her mind couldn't let go of.

A knock at the door made her jump and she turned, spotting a man wearing a long and thin white coat. "Hello," he said to her gently, as if she were a scared little doe. "My name is Doctor McLaughlin. Jodi told me that your name is... Elle, correct?"

She nodded her head and asked, "Where am I?" His voice was different from hers, just like the nurse's; hers had a different accent, a different lilt to her words.

Doctor McLaughlin stepped further into the room and said, "You're in the hospital." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He placed one of his hands in his pockets.

Elle really wanted to ask what a hospital was but refrained from doing so. She knew she must have sounded incredibly stupid asking where she was, judging from the way the doctor was now looking at her. So she looked back down at her lap, hazel eyes tracing over the skin of her fingers. Like before, she could feel the strange thrum of energy in her hands only this time, it didn't stop there. She could feel it everywhere 一 the numerous other people on the floor, the trees and flowers outside, even within herself, and it felt amazing. It felt so familiar and warm, like she could drown herself in it. What was it? Why was she feeling this?

"Jodi also told me that you don't know where you family is?" the doctor spoke slowly, calmly eying the girl as he took another step towards her. This girl, she looked so lost, like a frightened animal. When he saw her nod her head, McLaughlin grimaced. "Well... I'm sure we'll figure something out for you."

Elle nodded her head once more, chewing on her lip then turning to look out the window. She waited a few seconds before asking, "Would it be possible... if I had some water?"

Doctor McLaughlin nodded his head, grinning at her. "Of course. After all this time asleep, you must be thirsty. I'll have someone grab some food for you as well, then we'll run a few tests on you."

"Tests?" Elle echoed, brows scrunching up in confusion.

He nodded his head. "Just to make sure you're okay and healthy. I promise, we won't do anything you're uncomfortable with." There was something in his eyes that said that last part was a lie, but she felt like she could trust him. He had a certain aura around him, one that she could read and tell he was a good person.

Someone outside the room called for him and he turned to Elle, telling her that he'd be just a moment before he too left the room, just like Jodi.

The brunette looked back out the window and down at the ground below her. She saw people walking past, happily enjoying their lives. I bet they're happy and have families, she thought. Maybe my family is dead or maybe they don't want me anymore, that's why they left me. Or do they know I'm here at all?

A/N: guys i'm so excited to
be starting my originals story!
i hope you guys enjoy this and
the future chapters to come!