Chapter 1: Way Back When

A woman with long, gently curled, dark brown hair and strikingly blue eyes looks out onto a brilliant view of the ocean. Her hair blows softly with the wind, and although she's smiling, her eyes seem clouded with thought and worry. She holds the hand of a small girl, looking about the age of five, with medium length blond-brown hair and grey-hued eyes. The child is only interested in the worry she can sense from her parents, and not the endless blue splashing at the shoreline in front of her. To the woman's right is her husband, his facial expression hard to read. He too gazes out at the seemingly endless ocean, mouth firm. His flaxen hair contrasts with his hazel eyes elegantly, and he stands slightly taller than his wife. To his right stands their son, a brown haired child about the age of nine, with piercing green eyes and signs of maturity and struggle no one younger than the age of at least twenty should show. He too stares out at the ocean, only sometimes glancing left to look at his younger sister.

The royal family had come down to the beach for a day of fun in the sun, to escape the harsh reality that only three of them really knew, and everything was going great. Until Arete had said during their picnic lunch, "How come Chancellor Gacheru makes those big men stand outside my room all the time?" And then everyone didn't have the appetite to eat anymore. Her mother tried to pass it off as nothing, but Arete wasn't one to be fooled. So she brought it up again after finding playing in the ocean boring, which brought them to where they were now.

Trying to figure out if it was the right time to tell Arete her destiny, and if so,

How to do it in the easiest way possible.

They could leave a few details out, sure. But the Princess was a curious and inquisitive little girl, and certainly outspoken. It wouldn't be long before she demanded answers. Her mother, Lenna was the first to speak, letting out a self-calming sigh.

"You're here for a very special reason sweetie," Lenna began, her grip on her daughter's tiny hand tightening.

"Like what, mommy? Besides being your little Princess?" Arete questioned, her tiny brow furrowing in confusion.

X - - - - - - - - X

"….send word…"

Still unconscious, but now resting in the Disney castle infirmary, the teen girl's mind was having difficulty distinguishing between reality and memory. Her rational mind kept trying to wake up and to listen to the conversation taking place…somewhere around her. The rest of her subconscious wanted to drift back to what she was remembering, back to before her destiny caught up with her. Back to when they were still a family… before everything had gone wrong…

X - - - - - - - - X

The adolescent Arete jumped up and started to run; she could feel the flowers brush against her gown, the breeze in her hair. The figure ahead looked like her father, but that couldn't be, he was dead. He had been dead for five years, and yet there he was, blond hair neatly trimmed, glistening crown on his head.

Closer, closer. She was nearing him now, and could make out the burgundy shirt he was wearing; he always seemed to be wearing something majestic like that, way back when. Mother always used to say burgundy looked best on him, and she would've been proud to see how elegant he looked in it out in the sun. If she could just feel his embrace one more time, have him tell her how proud he was of her, then maybe things would get better. Maybe she could gain some closure.

But it had been seven years since she had felt any type of love from either of her parents.

The figure seemed to hear her footsteps coming closer, seeing as he started to turn.

Just then, Arete stopped, frozen in place as she contemplated just who she was running to see. It was him, the one who split them up first, the one who had listened to the Chancellor, the one who gave in….

The one who had killed her mother.

And as the one who looked like her father turned around, Arete could tell from his different features this wasn't the man she called her father. It was just a gardener, his glasses pushed up on the top of his head as he inspected the flowers he was tending to. The Princess let out a sigh mixed with relief and disappointment, as she turned to leave. The man must have realized who he was in the presence of, and called out to her to make sure everything was all right, and she merely smiled and waved, and went on her way.

X - - - - - - - - X

That was the beauty of memory; memories had no age, no time limit. They stay with a person forever. But that raises the question…

Is that a blessing? Or a curse? Is it better to be able to remember the great memories for a lifetime, or worse to never be able to forget the tormenting scenes of old?

It all depends on the memory.

"…in case….. leaks out…."

X - - - - - - - - X

Lenna has been gone for some time now, and her disappearance is still presenting investigators with more questions than answers. With every new development, there seems to be three more puzzles to make things not add up. And Chancellor Gacheru kept saying they should just drop the case completely.

And the weird thing was, her father the King seemed just fine with it.

Today, though, it was just father and daughter spending time together in his study. Arete loved the dark mahogany bookshelves and plush seating throughout; it was an ideal place to play hide and seek, or just take a nap. Not to mention, it provided a great view of the ocean and the sunset.

"You see that tower over there?"

Her father was pointing now with his free hand, his daughter supported by the other with his shoulder.

"Mhmm," the seven-year-old Princess answered, gazing out the study's massive double doors.

"If anything bad ever happens, go there as quickly as you can," Her father instructed, his voice seeming far too old for his age.

Her father was looking her in the eye now, concern in his eyes but his expression gentle.

"But why, daddy? What's so special about a tower?" Arete questioned, turning her gaze back to meet the hazel orbs studying her.

"It's not the Tower, but what's in the Tower sweetie," he explained, returning his gaze out the glass panels across from them.

"Mom used to tell me that too…" Arete whispered, trying not to let the tears brimming at her eyes escape.

Her father's expression seemed to flash from anger to resentment and finally to sadness almost in the blink of an eye, but Arete didn't fail to notice it. She thought she ought to apologize, but her father didn't lash out on her, which seemed odd. Lately, the King had appeared short-tempered, and locked himself up in his own quarters whenever possible, trying to stay out of the public eye, and out of his children's way, for the better part of each day.

But today was different, and Arete hoped she hadn't ruined the rare moment she had to spend with the only parent she had left. He was different though, he seemed burdened with something, but the Princess couldn't quite figure out what. His eyes lacked the luster they used to have, and his face seemed old with remorse and guilt. But the man was still her father, and Arete was just glad to watch the sunset with him in a comfortable silence.

"Just promise us that you'll go there as fast you can. Once you get to the top, you'll know what do. Do you promise?" Her father asked, breaking the calm of the moment after a few minutes.

Arete didn't really understand what was going on, but she nodded in agreement.

"I promise."

X - - - - - - - - X

Back then it had seemed so strange, her father telling her that if anything should happen, she should run to that Tower. And even after she found out why it was so important for her to not just go there if she were in trouble but that it would play a major role in the years of her life to come, she didn't quite understand what was so special about it.

Besides the fact that there were, well, four of them.

"I think she's coming to!" A seemingly far-away voice shouted.

As the picturesque view of her former life began to fade back to black, the view of reality began to fade back into her mind's eye. The elegant study surrounding them seemed to evaporate around them, the white room around her taking its place. Her father's image began to fade away, only instead of disappearing peacefully, his appearance began to change. His clothing became darker, his face was unrecognizable. She could tell he was sneering at her, the loving father she knew was long gone. Her younger self gasped and jumped out of his arm, and the frightening image was gone.

Tense and wide-eyed, the princess found herself sitting upright and panting hard. Once she could tell there was no threat in the immediate area, her eyes fell on a tall, young woman whose face was familiar. Still somewhat weary from the events of the past, the teen didn't dare to get her voice above a whisper, "Algæca?"

The woman in the sleek, black ISO uniform smirked and came over to her, placing a hand upon her back.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

(A/N) Filler chapter… yeah. It turned out better than before, in my opinion. I have a feeling next chapter is going to be super duper long, but it'll hopefully answer some of the randomness of the first two.

Read and review, please! Schmanks!