She kneels down in front of me and motions for everyone to leave the room, and I will myself to look up at her.
She looks almost exactly like me with the exception of a few details. Her hair is dark blonde, and her eyes are blue instead of green. But everything else is almost identical. Her nose, her freckles, the shape of her eyes.
It terrifies me even more, and I find tears pooling in my eyes.
"How do you know who I am?"
I notice tears in her eyes too, "You don't— You don't remember me? Avila, I'm your mother."
My brain tells me she's lying, but I can't shake the feeling of familiarity. It's weird and it's so vague, but it's there. It feels weird and I don't like it one bit.
I feel and overwhelming mix of emotions. It's too much all at once. My heart starts pounding, my eyes start ringing, tears let loose, and then everything goes black.
♢♢
-ren-
Ren had been woken up in the middle of the night by one of the other trainees and given no explanation as she was rushed to the meeting hall where announcements were given.
Nearly everyone in Oleas was shoulder to shoulder in the room. It was rare that people were in here, the King only gave personal announcements when it was absolutely vital. Which means that whatever this was, it had to be important enough for her to be woken up in the middle of the night.
She can't help but feel anxious, the suspense of everything lingers heavily in the air and everyone is on high alert.
She finds herself letting out a relieved sigh as the King makes his way to the podium at the front of the room.
"Quiet! Quiet, Please!" He raises one of his pale frail hands in the air, "I know this is unexpected, and I know you are all probably wondering what's happening. I see no point in wasting your time, so I'll get straight to the point. Early this morning a transport, carrying 2 soldiers and one soldier-in-training, was shot down by Arcane on the way to the border. Two of the soldiers were killed, and the soldier-in-training was taken by Arcane soldiers."
Ren feels her blood run cold. Avila. Avila was on that transport and Avila is the soldier-in-training. She can't help but feel slight relief knowing that she's alive, but that doesn't take away the dread of knowing she's on enemy territory. Avila shouldn't have gone to begin with, and now she was having god knows what happen to her in Arcane.
"The soldier-in-training is Avila Astor. We are doing our best to find her, however not much progress has been made. As much as I don't care to admit it, Arcane's technology is much stronger than ours. So, as of now we've not been able to locate her. I will give information to you as is needed. You may return to your rooms."
Ren clenches her fist, finding herself unable to move. Arcane would pay for taking Avila, no matter what she had to do.
♢♢
-avila-
My surroundings slowly come into place. The soft feel of a bed under me, a large window, the smell of flowers. Then the Queen's face staring at me with worry. She's seated on the edge of the bed, her fingers softly running over my hair.
"Are you okay?" She asks softly.
"Yes and no."
"That much can be expected," She smiles sadly, "Avila I don't mean to push you or overwhelm you again, but I have to ask. Do you remember anything?"
"They told me that I'd had an accident as a child. They said everything before the age of six had been lost." Saying it aloud now has me furrowing my eyebrows. I'd never questioned it, I had no reason to. Things have changed now. It doesn't add up.
She lets out a deep breath, "I think Oleas somehow repressed your memories. You were old enough to know us, and to know right from wrong. Yet, that's all gone. We have a friend, someone who could unlock those memories. Is that something you would consider doing?"
I hesitate, a strong feeling of anxiety flooding my chest. The thought of gaining something I never knew I had, something that will change everything I've ever known, It's terrifying. But I find myself wanting that, wanting my life changed, wanting something given back to me that was stolen.
"Yes. I'll do it."
She looks shocked for a moment, "Alright. I'll send for them." She stands up and walks toward the door, but turns back to me before she leaves.
"My name is Zalina. You can call me that if you'd like."
I find myself smiling, "Alright. Thank you, Zalina."
♢♢
It's been a few hours since Zalina sent for their "friend" and I find my patience wearing thin. That is, until Elson enters the room. Somehow I find comfort in his face. He was nice to me even when he thought I was a criminal.
"Avila! I heard about everything. It's kinda crazy" He sits on the edge of my bed like we're old friends catching up.
It's kinda weird in an endearing sort of way.
"Yeah, you're telling me." I scoff.
He opens his mouth to say something else but is interrupted by the door opening.
Zalina walks in, along with the person who I'm assuming is going to give me my memories back. They have a dark green cloak on and I almost think I'm not going to be able to see their face, until they take it off.
"Avila this is Fausta. They're going to give you your memories back."
I take notice of their face that's so clear it almost sparkles, their white braided hair and eyebrows and dark brown eyes. The firm look on their face has me almost cowering back, until they give me one of the kindest smiles I've ever seen.
"Pleased to meet you, Avila." Their voice and the way they speak is shockingly smooth and crystal clear.
"Pleased to meet you as well, Fausta." I shake their hand.
"Alright. We should get started." They sit a bag down on the end of the bed and start rummaging through it, pulling out a few glass bottles filled with plants or liquids that look foreign to me. They motion for me to sit up, and then they climb behind me on the bed.
"Zalina could you please hand me the bottle of blue liquid?" Zalina complies and hands it to them, only for them to hand it to me.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
They laugh, "Drink it. It's hard to explain but it helps me do what I need to do. I can't do this without it."
I sigh, opening the lid and downing the liquid. Despite the pretty color, it's horrid. It's bitter and it burns my throat.
"Sorry for the taste." They smile apologetically, then rest their hands in their lap.
"Before we begin," They say, "You must know that your memories won't come back all at once. They'll come back as you're ready. I'm here to remove the block on your mind, to help you get your memories back. I'm afraid I can't simply give them back to you at once, that part is up to you and your mind. The spell is unexpected and different with each person. But the one constant thing are the types of memories you experience. You will experience memories that have been blocked, and memories that haven't. Recent ones, ones that you created at Oleas. Ones that were created here."
They give me one more warm smile, "Now we can begin."
Their hands touch my head, and moments pass. I begin to think it isn't working, that this is different or worse than they expected. Then the memories hit. Images in my head, varying degrees of vague or vivid.
There's vague ones at first. Oleas, my father, my room. Then the vivid ones start. The ones with Ren.
Ren. Vivid memories of sleepovers, and training, and causing trouble and managing to not get caught. Me spraining my ankle during my first day of training and her carrying me to the infirmary with no trouble. Her getting mad at me when i accidentally tore her favorite shirt on accident while we were play fighting.
I expect the images of Ren to continue to overwhelm me, but it all changes. It changes to memories I don't remember.
Me in a dress running through the halls of the castle, and a man's voice yelling after me. "Avila! If you stop hiding we can go play in the garden!"
Then me in the throne room. taking a small handful of flowers to her in her throne. Her smile as she takes them from my hand.
Then me on a man's shoulders. My arms are around his neck as he runs through a field of flowers, "We're on a secret mission. We have to be extra quiet if we want to win, flower."
Flower.
The nickname triggers more memories and my head hurts horribly. I've never felt pain like this before, but I force myself to push it away. To focus on the memories.
Things flash all at once. More memories of the mysterious man who I can only assume is my father. Zalina. Playing, laughter, nicknames, sunshine, fields of flowers, and safety, and love.
I hit the brink, my head feels like it's on fire. I let out an uncontrollable yell and open my eyes. My hands fly to my head and I'm breathing so hard, so hard it probably isn't safe.
Fausta lays a calming hand on my shoulder, willing me to lay my head against the pillow on the bed. They sit beside me on the bed and run one of their hands over my hair. It takes awhile but eventually the pain fades and my breathing slows. My mind focuses back on my surroundings, and the first thing I see is Zalina's concerned face.
I look at her, expecting to feel nothing, but instead I feel everything. The memories hitting me once again, but not strongly. They're just simple memories.
"You—" I stand up and move towards her, "You're my mother. You're my mom." I find myself crying again. I should be embarrassed. I've cried more in the past few hours than I have my entire life, but I don't feel that way. I don't feel embarrassed.
She places a hand on my face, "Oh, Avila." She wraps her arms around me, and I find myself doing the same. It feels comfortable. She feels comfortable, and safe. Somehow, even if it still feels new and strange, it still feels like home.