Lost
:Turns out it was not her that was lost, but you instead.:

"I cannot tell you where it began, only where it ended," she warned, crossing her legs under her satin white skirt.

"I don't care," he said, his voice strong and full of confidence that she never knew he had.

"Without the beginning, the story may not even make sense," she went on, shaking her head. "It is not right to start a story without a once-upon-a-time."

"And what is right?" he challenged, narrowing his eyes at her in accusation. "Not telling a son the story of his mother because it has no beginning?"

Her pale lips parted to reply, but she let out a sigh instead. "Alright. I shall tell you the story, but it is not a pretty one."

"Real life ones never are."

She nodded. "It ended very nobly, I shall start off with. She had given up her life to save two children."

His eyes hardened in disbelief. "But that does not sound like her."

The tips of her lips were curved upwards, and she nodded. "I suppose it does not, but it is the her she hid from everyone but you."

He let out a scoff and almost spit if it were not for his manners. "If she cared, she would not have left."

Her eyes softened and she continued. "It was her duty to kill the children she had gave her life saving."

He laughed harshly, and smirked. "That sounds like her now."

The petite girl examined the boy with a slight frown, and went on after a short pause. "You do realize that she loved you -"

"You shut up," he snarled, glaring at her.

Her jaw was set in determination however. "Do not block her out - it will be your demise. No matter what Isabel has told you -"

"Isabel is our leader! Do not speak of her that way!"

"Vikram is our leader," she reminded him, settling down slightly, though her eyes were still hard. "Isabel is the one who told you lies about your mother. She was not the villain -"

"Because leaving your child isn't a crime," he laughed harshly, his eyes turned to the ground in pain and anger.

"I didn't finish my story," she finally said. "May I?"

He did not reply, but she continued anyway.

"When she was killed, you were not notified, were you?" she asked calmly.

Again, he did not reply and simply scowled downwards.

"Why would you have been? After all, you were told she had ran away, and she was told -"

"What? That her son was abandoned? And she could care less, right?" he belted, his face flushed red.

Patiently, the girl uncrossed her legs, ready to leave as soon as she finished her story. "All her life, she was told the same thing you were - that the one person she loved was gone, never to come back again." She watched the boy across from her's reaction carefully. "She was told that her son had died from an illness." The boy's face turned pale, but still he made no sound.

"And do you want to know what she was holding as she heard the news?" she asked softly.

He crossed his arms.

"The toy monkey her son wanted," she finally answered.

Before she could say anymore, he stood up, ignorant and frightened. "Lies," he spat, his voice hoarse. "Isabel warned me about your lies. I should have known."

"You may have been blinded your whole life by the Kabra's and their deceit, but I am telling you the truth," she said, her voice holding finality. "Nikolai, Irina was told that you had died. She never would have left you."

He stormed out of the room, and she watched as he did. Victory in her eyes but defeat in her heart, she pulled out a book without a beginning, and began writing about a boy and his toy monkey covered in withered rose petals...

A/N: I admit that I had not known who the two were in the beginning, but as it progressed, characters came to mind. Nikolai, Irina's son, is the boy in the story, a teenager now. The girl is a Lucian, of course, but she is not as important as the rest of the Cahills, even though she knows about Irina. Nikolai did not die, in this - instead, he was taken away by Isabel to "strengthen" Irina. Now, Nikolai finds this girl and asks for the story of his mother. And, ta-da...? Hope you enjoyed and please point out any mistakes.

"The ending is not where the words end and the pages stop - it is where the adventure ends once and forever."
- Another Artist

NOTE: Fixed the "never left you" line. Thanks to practically EVERYONE who noticed it :D