Aura Vaskov had been staring at herself in the mirror for at least half an hour. After all, she had been unconscious for twelve years, and even before that, she`d never seen a mirror. Her hair hung just past her shoulders It had been absurdly long, having not been cut in years, but she`d cut it once her fingers had been able to hold the scissors. There was a knock on the door.

"Come on in" Aura yelled. The door open, and Jax walked in. Aura couldn't help staring at him. He wasn't a pudgy four year old anymore. His dark hair was messy, and his green eyes were brighter than they used to be. He was tall and skinny, she wondered if he`d been eating enough. From what she`s heard in the brief two weeks since she`d been woken up, conditions in the outer sectors had been pretty bad. But they hadn't lived in an outer sector. Sure, they weren't living in Artemisia, but they were well off enough that her parents could afford to hide a shell. The top of the bottom of the food chain was what Astrid had called them when she visited.

"How`s being conscious?" Jax asked jokingly.

"It's going pretty well." Aura nodded. Then after a second she asked the question that had been burning in her mind since she had first woken up. "Jax…..Was I imagining it….or did you….kiss me?"

"You weren't waking up…."

"It's okay. I mean, I couldn't breathe. But it's a little weird. I haven't seen you since I was four."

"Right. Sorry. Your probably like, still four at heart." Jax was standing at her bedside table, looking at the various knick-knacks she`d acquired.

"I don't know. I think they must have done something to my brain while I was in the tank. I don't think I talked like this when I was four." Aura turned to face Jax, pulling her hair over one shoulder and starting to braid it.

"You were a pretty smart four year old." Jax shrugged. Aura shrugged, tying off her braid with one of the hair ties Astrid had given her.

"But that doesn't explain how I know nearly every world leader, even Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth, who unless I`m wrong, was crowned just last year. And is also apparently married to Queen Levana." Her face turned down at the last part. A hatred of Queen Levana was something that had been thoroughly pressed onto her in the past two weeks, and from when she`s heard, the ex-queen deserved every insult she`s heard.

"They were married. She forced him into it though. Apparently she even glamour herself into Selene. Because Emperor Kai and Queen Selene are in love" He rolled his eyes at the last part, and Aura laughed. Though, Kai and Selene had been the subject of every gossip column Aura had read.

"Do you. . . . I assume you have your gift now?" Aura asked delicately. She`d quickly rekindled her friendship with her old friend, nearly brother, though they`d mostly avoided difficult subjects like glamour's. Also, she hadn't seen him in a week, and a week ago, she`d still been bedridden. He`d gone home, to see his parents, and inform them he and his brother had survived the battle. They`d both been working at the palace at the time. Eli in the royal guard, and Jax as a medical intern. She had never known he`d wanted to be a Doctor. Or that he could be living away from home so young. He was a year older then her, but still only seventeen. Eli was twenty, the same age as Astrid.

"Yes. Yeah. I do." Jax said, not meeting her eyes. Aura nodded. "Its not like….I only use it when I have to. Not everyone`s Levana. And I do have to. You`ve heard about Princess Winter"

"Yeah. I know. It's still weird though. I guess I would understand if I wasn't a shell" Jax winced at her words.

"Maybe."

"What am I going to do now?" Aura asked after a few minutes.

"No idea. They still need people like you to make the cure for lutemosis. But there is a whole world you haven't seen."

Aura thought about the last thing she could remember before she fell asleep. The guards dragging her from her house. She remembered screaming. Her screaming, her mother screaming, Astrid screaming. But once she couldn't hear them, she forgot to scream. And then all she could see was the colors, and the sheer size of everything. The world was bigger than she could possibly imagine. And it terrified her. That in all of her existence, she had really known nothing. Her sphere of knowledge was her family, a few close friends, her closet, and occasionally the basement. She knew nothing at all.

So its been two weeks...And this is less then a thousand words. :)

In my defense, I`ve had the flu. Still. Thank you for reviewers, who motivated me to finish/post this! you guys are awesome. Dont count on me posting soon, as the holidays are crazy, but maybe next weekend...maybe...and definetly a chapter after christmas. I still need to work on, like, plot arch. Thats a thing. Also, Astrid`s her sister.

Happy Holidays!

-Ames