The day passed and all the attackers were handled.
Of the staff 1 combat Maid and 9 knights were killed including the one guarding my room.
Most of the attackers seemed to be bandits but the ones in my room were the leaders they seemed to be led by former Gehnan commander Graham and a few other people that held grudges against the royal family... against Lisia and Caius... my mother and father
Too much it was all too much for me. I survived the attack only to realize my parents whom I love were the very ones that killed me when I was Excella
Why them... why did they have to be my parents.
"Princess the King and Queen have arrived. Let's go see them." I was only in a nightgown but that hardly mattered. Sophie joined us and both were wearing clean maid uniforms
Thinking about it this was the first time I'd ever seen Charlene during the daytime... or outside my room at all for that matter.
I had successfully healed Sharon and Sophie but Sophie was still bruised all over so she would need to be extra careful for a while meanwhile Charlene was able to avoid losing her arm but it had a nasty scar and it seemed stiffer than before.
They were both badly hurt protecting me... I wish I could do more for them but what? I'm in this weak body I can't see and my magic seemed to only be crappy healing. What was I supposed to do?!? I was upset but also distant and out of it.
As much as I hated to admit it everything about Lisia being the Made sense and it was clear she was my mother. Even before my hearing improved I could always tell there was the same gentleness in her voice but I just felt dead inside.
What would I do now. Did I hate them? Could I still love them? I don't know
We finally reached the front of the castle to see their carriage arrive. I could tell it was different from the tacky royal carriage back when I was dark witch excella but I only knew because this one was brown instead of golden.
"Oh Lily." I could hear Lisia say as she came and wrapped me in a hug that I didn't return I didn't like all these feelings and simply wanted to check out.
"Charlene how is Lily." I heard Caius ask her.
Well at least they care about me.
"The princess was mostly unharmed aside from a couple bruises however..." Charlene trailed off before leaning into his ear
"she's likely heavily traumatized from the event. The attackers broke into her room." She tried to whisper so I wouldn't overhear
Well Charlene you're not wrong but death didn't scare me. You and Sophie were injured because of me, the guard was dead because of me, and I was reminded all too well of my fear of fire.
....................
The conversation continued but I no longer listened before I knew it I found myself in a different room with Sophie.
Asleep in a chair with her head resting on my bed. I see I passed out I supposed... wait a second
It was still fairly blurry but I could make out details I never noticed like the pattern of the blanket, the mismatched length of Sophie's braids compared to the rest of her hair.
I looked at my and and could see all 5 fingers I moved it farther away and they were still distinct albeit a bit fuzzy.
Did my eyesight improve? Sure it was still bad compared to when I was excella but I could make out much more detail now even when things were across the room. Instead of an incoherent blob it was semi distinct shapes.
"Huh... ah Princess! You're awake!" Sophie said in surprise before running to the door.
"Majesties Princess Lilian is awake!" She yelled out the door in an ecstatic manner. Unfortunately I couldn't share her enthusiasm
I'd have to see them now... Lisia and the Hero Caius
"Lily sweetie? How are you feeling? Can... you see us?" Lisia asked me sounding hopeful near the end
"It's still blurry but I can see that mother has long white hair and you have short black hair Father. I can see thing better now." I replied in an almost robotic tone.
"Oh thank goodness it worked. Our little girl won't be blind anymore!" Lisia some with relief clear in her voice
"Well we're not out of the woods yet but they did say the medicine would make her nearsighted until it gradually improved over time." I heard Caius say
So I was nearsighted now? Well I suppose that was an improvement over being legally blind
"So that's why we bought you some of these." Caius said before putting what turned out to be glasses on my face
I could see clearly for the first time since I was born. I wanted to be happy but the faces I saw were Lisia and the Hero. The last time I saw there faces I was slammed into the ground and had a sword pierced through my chest before being lit on fire.
I could feel all the emotions coming back and I began sobbing uncontrollably before running out of the room.
*************************
"Lilian!" I tried to follow my daughter to ask her what was wrong but Charlene stopped me.
"Charlene what are you..." I attempted to ask the maid but was interrupted
"I'm sorry Your Majesty but I have something important I need to speak with you and Queen Lisia about and I think it'd be better if princess Lilian wasn't present." She explained and I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of this.
Something told me I needed to hear this anyways
"Well then Charlene what is it?" I asked her
"During the attack Lilian experiences things no child should have to witness. 7 Hostile soldiers infiltrated her room with rift magic and another killed the guard outside her room." She began
"The leader of the attack was a Gehnan Commander named Graham." I didn't recognize the name but apparently Lisia did as she looked shocked
"Pardon my language my Queen but he called you a "traitorous bitch" and considered the princess to be a filthy half breed, with her blindness being punishment for being an abomination in the sight of god." She spoke in a measured tone but I could hear anger in her voice
I didn't blame her I was furious. Anyone that considered my wife a traitor didn't know a damn thing about the situation in Gehna but even worse they dared to say those things about my daughter.
"Charlene. Did you kill them?" Lisia asked
"Yes ma'am. Apologies but the fight was 7 to 1 I couldn't afford to show mercy with the princess at risk... actually that was the issue. I asked her to close her eyes but I think she saw me butcher them." She spoke regretfully
"You killed 7 enemies on your own while protecting the Lily? And you came out unscathed?" I was surprised I knew Sharon was strong but not that she could execute so flawlessly
"Ah. Not quite sir" she adjusted her shoulder to see a nasty scar a combination of burnt and cut into.
"Commander Graham used a flaming sword in combat. I had to sacrifice my arm for the killing blow... or it would have been a sacrifice but thankfully Princess Lilian healed me enough that it didn't need to be amputated." She explained to us
But Lily healed her? I was glad but when did Lily unlock her magic? I'd need to ask her eventually but not now
"Speaking of Fire." Charlene spoke up and what she said next shocked both Lisia and myself.
************
"Lilian seems to have had a traumatic event with fire prior to the attack but to my knowledge she's never had any contact that could explain that." Charlene explained to us
"So then what does that mean." Caius asked
This caused Sharon to turn her gaze to me as if she knew I had the explanation.
If she was showing signs of PTSD for an event she never experienced then that means?
"Caius. There's a belief that when a person dies young they are reborn soon after instead of going to heaven or hell. Normally they'd have their memories wiped but there's reports of children retaining memories from their past life if they had extreme feelings of pain, fear, or regret." I explained
But if Lilian had an extreme fear of fire then... oh oh god!
I dropped to my knees in the realization of what that meant.
"Lily... Lily was burned to death." My daughter died one of the worst ways imaginable
It explained why she was always so smart and never seemed to want for anything. She had memories of her past life and she died. I couldn't wait anymore I needed to go see Lily. My feet move on their own as I rushed off in the direction she ran out the room.
I heard Caius voice his concern but his words were lost on me I needed to see Lilian and know if she was ok.
"Lily. Lily." I called out while running through the castle halls.
**************************
I was just sitting in the corner my hands in my knees sobbing uncontrollably
I can't do this anymore I needed to leave
I can't do this anymore
"Lily. Lily." I could hear Lisia say
Please don't do this right now. Please don't find me
"Oh these are her glasses. Lily are you nearby!" I heard her open another door and knew she was close
Damn it my glasses fell off...
And sure enough I was quickly greeted by Lisia
Please just go away please just got away.
She quickly wrapped me in a hug but I didn't have it in me to return it right now.
"Everything is ok now Lily. Everything is ok" I heard Lisia say as she stroked my hair. Clearly she was attempting to comfort me but it only made me feel more confused and angry
Liar if it was ok then why would I have these memories, why did I have to keep my fears, why did I have to be born as your child of all people?!?
"Why did you kill me?!?" I said unconsciously not realizing my mistake until it was too late. I looked up to face my mother and she looked absolutely terrified at what she just heard.
...shit