Chapter 25 A Shadow of the Past

A/N: Thanks to reviewer antiquevelvet, for your questions! My apologies, I didn't realize how vague the last chapter with Levi Palmer was! I didn't intend for it to be that mysterious! Hopefully it'll be much clearer in this chapter!

17 years ago...

"Hi, Stormie!" Kelista said excitedly as she petted her horse. She had run into the stable ahead of her parents.

The stable was located at the edge of the mansion grounds, near the woods, which the Native Americans referred to as the Catori Forest.

"Good day, young miss," Swihan greeted, helping Kelista bring Storm out of his pen. "And to you, Mr. and Mrs. Helmsley,"

Michael and Priya had just entered the stable.

"Hello, Uncle Swihan," the five year old little Helmsley Princess replied.

Swihan was the Helmsleys' horse riding instructor. He and many other Native Americans worked in (or around) the Iowa Helmsley mansion.

Priya smiled at him as she and her husband stood by the doorway.

Michael chuckled as he rolled his eyes at the elder man. "For the last time, Swihan, it's Michael."

"Be careful, Kels," her mother said.

"Yes, Mummy," the Helmsley Princess replied as she was helped by Swihan to mount Storm.

Once she wall fully settled, Kelista noticed an unknown man outside.

"Mummy, who's that?" she pointed to the back window.

Priya turned to look. "There's no one there, sweetie,"

Michael wasn't too concerned. The Helmsley estate (which includes a part of the forest behind it) was closely guarded by his security.

Kelista blinked. She didn't remember seeing that man before. He must be a relative of Uncle Swihan.

As the Swihan informed Michael and Priya about Kelista's progress, the Little Helmsley Princess noticed an oil can in the stranger's hand as he walked around the stable.

Michael's phone beeped and Priya sighed.

"Sorry, honey," Michael kissed his wife. "l have to take this,"

Priya nodded. "Okay,"

Michael tuned to Kelista. "Enjoy your ride, sweetie," he said, affectionately tugging on her ponytail. "I'll be back as soon as I can,"

As Priya watched Michael leave, she unconsciously reached up and touched her mangala sultra, the symbol of their marriage.

Michael traversed through the lower lawn and gardens towards the mansion. Hopefully he'll sort this matter out quickly or put someone else on it. When he reached the mansion he fired up his laptop and made a few phone calls. Michael was just on the third call when he heard a small explosion and then screaming. Turning, the businessman's phone dropped, as he took in the black smoke he could see from the ceiling to floor window.

His heart stopped. The smoke was coming from the stable!

Michael had never run so fast in his life. By the time he reached the lower gardens, he saw Seth carrying Kelista and the gardeners running up with hosepipes.

Michael immediately took his daughter in his arms.

"Papa," Kelista choked.

"It's okay, sweetie," Michael said soothingly as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

He looked around. "Where's Priya?" he asked urgently.

"She-she's still inside." Seth coughed. "She told me to get Kelista out,"

Michael gave Kelista to Swihan as the flames rose. "Take the children to the mansion!"

"Yes sir- what are you doing?!" Swihan asked as Michael headed towards the flaming stables.

Michael ignored him and subsequently threw off the gardeners that attempted to stop him. He ran towards the stable door despite the ceiling falling.

"PRIYA!" Michael's heart leaped.

A final explosion threw him back as the entire stable collapsed in flames.

Michael struggled to get up, but reality slowly began to sink in.

Tears fell down his cheeks."No, Priya..."

No one noticed the man standing just beyond the wall, watching them from a small hill covered by trees.

~oOo~

Eleven year old Seth Rollins slowly grabbed onto the gates. His lower lip trembled as he stared at the vacant Helmsley Mansion.

The young Architect hoped Kelista was okay; she didn't have burns or anything after the fire. Dr. Gaillard said Kels was probably exhausted, so she should be left to rest. So after Seth had been checked, comforted and fed he was taken home (sadly Mrs. Helmsley wasn't the one giving him sweetmeats - she must be resting too).

But now, Kelista and her family had just moved out of the city. Probably out of the state.

Seth slowly slid to the ground and hugged himself tightly.

She didn't even say goodbye.

~oOo~

Michael watched with weary eyes as Dr. Gaillard did another check-up on Kelista. It was almost a month after the fire at the stable on the grounds of the Iowa Helmsley mansion.

And Kelista hadn't woken up since.

Hunter came up and put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"She has to get up, Hunt," Michael choked out. "My baby just has to."

His beloved Priya was gone. Michael couldn't bear to lose his only child too.

Thankfully Kelista woke up a few days later. She had a fully recovery, except for one small problem.

She had no idea who Dr. Gaillard was...

Or even her own father.

"Kelista seems to have symptoms of retrograde amnesia," Dr. Gaillard diagnosed after an hour of calming down and conversing with Kelista.

Retrograde amnesia is the loss of pre-existing memories to conscious recollection, beyond an ordinary degree of forgetfulness. The person may be able to memorize new things that occur after the onset of amnesia (unlike in anterograde amnesia), but is unable to recall some or all of their life or identity prior to the onset. Amnesia can be caused by traumatic, emotional events.

"In this case, seeing her mother die in the fire," the doctor finished quietly, laying a comforting hand on Kelista's forehead, who was now fast asleep. "The poor child."

Michael never took his eyes of Kelista. "Will she get her memories back?"

After losing his wife, it was another huge blow for his baby girl to wake up and treat him like a stranger.

"Kelista's amnesia may actually be a blessing," Dr. Gaillard noted. "If she remembers her mother's death it may be too much for her and she could end up in a coma…or worse."

"Worse?" Michael repeated faintly.

The family doctor looked at him sadly. "The shock could cause her to go into a persistent vegetative state,"

Of course, Michael searched for Priya's body. But nothing remained, not even her mungala sultra, her thick gold wedding necklace. Eventually he had resolved to pushing past his own broken heart; he realised Kelista needed him and concentrated on raising their daughter.

Michael decided to keep everything from Kelista's Iowa upbringing a secret. And moved the family to South Africa, where Kelista will be cared for by her grandparents and meet her to be lifelong best friend, Alison.

~oOo~

Post-taping Smackdown, backstage, Present day

"Heyyyy, A-liiii-kins!"

Alison and Kelista turned around and looked bemusedly at Dean. Seth was accompanying him (Roman was with Sierra and Raquel).

Seth winked at Kelista. "Hope you're used to Dean's craziness by now."

"Oh, I am," she replied nonchalantly.

Alison chuckled at the Lunatic Fringe. "What's up...Deano?"

"We make quite the team, hey?" Dean grinned.

The PA blinked. "A team?"

"My bro, Seth's party," the Lunatic Fringe explained. "Was awesome wasn't it?"

Before Alison could reply, a diva bounced up to them.

"Kelista!" Brie squealed giving the GM a hug.

The Helmsley Princess stiffened at this 'stranger' hugging her. Why on earth do people think hugging and kissing strangers' cheeks are normal greetings?! Kelista refrained from rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Thank you!" The Bella Twin gushed. "Thank you so much!"

Kelista gracefully and subtly shifted herself out of Brie's hug as Alison tried hard not to laugh.

"For…?" The GM wanted to know.

Brie clapped her hands together excitedly. "Guess what happened! John told Nikki he loves her. My sister is sooo happy!"

"Then you should be thanking Alison," The Helmsley Princess said, her eyes twinkling at her best friend. "This was all her doing, the little troublemaker."

"Hey, that's Dean's nickname!" Seth laughed as the Lunatic Fringe rolled his eyes.

The Architect hardly finished talking when Brie bounced on the stunned PA, wrapping her in a huge hug, making Kelista smile brightly at Alison this time.

"This is so sweet," Dean commented casually. "I need a barf bag."

Seth chuckled. That was when Kelista noticed the Architect holding his right hand as he winced a little.

"There's an after party at catering," Brie informed Alison and Kelista. "Come on, guys!"

Kelista shook her head. "No, thanks."

"Maybe next time," Alison replied with an apologetic smile.

Brie shrugged and left.

"Seth," Kelista began, looking at his hand. "You should get that seen too."

"It's nothing," the Architect shrugged.

Kelista looked like she wanted to argue but her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, the GM excused herself to her office, Alison with her.

"It's Aunt Steph's father," Kelista informed Alison. She answered as soon as they reached the office.

This was the second call from the chairman in two days. The Helmsley Princess hoped Vince McMahon wasn't unhappy about something she did. But on one hand, she was hoping the chairman would relieve her of duty because of suitable replacement. On the other hand, Kelista would never be able to face her uncle Hunter again if Vince was very disappointed with her service.

"Good evening," she answered, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Kelista dah-ling!" Vince cooed, much to her surprise.

"Um…hi there," she replied, trying not to laugh. "What can I do for you?"

"I thought you'd favor the Shield, like my daughter did with Hunter, or have huge disputes with the Authority," Vince admitted. "But you've handled it well, not to mention that you've put the WWE into such a good spotlight with all the charity with Rollins- I mean Seth (he's my family too isn't he?). Anyway ..."

Kelista just sighed as she listened to the chairman ramble on. Looks like Uncle Hunter wasn't planning on getting a new GM anytime soon.

The Helmsley Princess smiled. On the plus side, she and Seth did do something good for the children at the orphanage. Kelista just wished everyone wasn't so narrow-minded to believe rumors and gossip…

~oOo~

Shield locker room

Roman and Dean laughed heartily at how they managed to fool and surprise their little Shield brother.

"Okay, whatever. I'm going to take a shower now," Seth declared.

"Yeah, you stink, bro," Dean waved his hand in front of his face for emphasis.

Roman rolled his eyes as Seth simply ignored the Lunatic Fringe.

"So what's eating you, bro?" Dean asked Roman once Seth left.

"What are you talking about?" Roman asked, perplexed at first. "Well, let's see. I'm the only one around here not denying my feelings, like my little brothers, so-" he grinned.

"Hey! I'm not denying them!" Dean shot back. "That's Seth! Not my fault Alison already has someone!" he said sulkily. "Of course, why wouldn't she? With sooo many of those young mercenaries in Kelista's father's company, like that-that Palmer guy-"

Roman opened his mouth to interrupt but Dean changed the subject.

"Anyway, what's more important now is what's going on with you?" Dean's voice softened. "Are you and Sierra okay?"

"Sierra and I are fine," The Powerhouse's mouth curved. "We've decided to adopt Koda,"

Dean looked like he wanted to start bouncing up and down. "Dude!" he shouted. "That's awesome bro!" he clapped Roman's tattooed arm.

"Yeah..." Roman sighed. "But Triple H might want to adopt him too, making it very difficult for us,"

The Lunatic Fringe jumped up as his smile turned sour. "That snake! It's not enough to want to destroy your career-"

Roman put up his hand to halt his brother. "Dean, it's not that. I don't think he's being vindictive. He and Stephanie probably want to adopt Koda from the same reason Sierra and I do,"

Dean leaned back against the wall muttering curses. As far as he was concerned, the toddler was already his nephew; Koda has gotten very close to Sierra and Roman after all.

They sat quiet for a moment as the minutes passed. Roman was thinking of adoption and legalities and Dean was thinking of...well, Triple H and something illegal.

Finally the Lunatic Fringe shrugged. "It doesn't matter Ro. Between Seth, you and I, we'll think of something." Dean grinned. "Especially Seth."

Speaking of the Architect...

"By the way, I just realized you two didn't have to avoid me the whole day!" Seth pouted once he re-entered the locker room. He was fully dressed but his hair was still wet.

"We didn't mean to leave you all alone for your birthday…" Dean began.

Roman grinned. "But didn't you enjoy your time with Kelista?"

"Wait- she was in on it?" Seth asked, stunned.

Dean shook his head. "No, we only told Alison."

"But that was the other present," Roman revealed. "Making sure you spent time with her. After all, for last seventeen years-"

"Yeah, yeah, best friends and all that," the Lunatic Fringe drawled. "Who cares? Seriously, I need a barf bag now,"

Seth shot Dean a furious look.

"If you care about her so much, Seth," Roman said gently, "Why don't you just ask her out to dinner?"

Seth shook his head. "She's-she's just a friend,"

Roman sighed. He understood – there was nothing wrong with waiting and letting their friendship develop more. But he had the strangest feeling Seth might lose her again.

"Then why are you trying so hard to get her to remember you?" Dean asked with a grin.

Seth sighed and turned towards the window. "It's never easy to become really good friends with someone like Kelista..."

Dean rolled his eyes. "You're kidding right? She smiles all the time and is super nice to everyone, even the Miz and Rusev."

Seth shook his head. "She is required to, much like... a princess does to her people, so does Kelista to the employees. But that never means you're in her inner circle of friends, she's very selective when it comes to people close to her. She easily trusts family, but not others."

Dean looked at Roman.

"But once you have her friendship, it's something you never want to let go of." Seth smiled. "Whether she is a five year old little girl or a young woman... the word friend means so much more to her than someone who shares your interests and to have fun with sometimes.

"Besides, you can't just ask Kelista to dinner," Seth mused. "I'd have to ask her father for permission, ensure both our families are happy..."

Dean tried hard not to laugh. "You've given this a lot of thought," his smile softened. "No wonder you're finding it so hard to tell Kelista you're pining for her!"

Roman smirked at Architect, whose cheeks had turned red.

"I was just pointing out-" Seth stammered.

"I knew you wouldn't go to the medics room,"

Seth jumped at the sound of Kelista's voice.

Shaking her head, the Helmsley Princess held up a first aid kit.

"And you two," Kelista looked at Roman and Dean. "Not even advising him to go."

Roman winked at Seth. "We'll just leave you to get patched up Seth," he and the Lunatic Fringe headed towards the door.

"Yeah..." Dean feigned cringing. "Before your wife scolds us some more!"

Kelista shook her head as Seth just chuckled.

As Dean passed Kelista, he bowed and gave her a salutation. "Sorry, your highness,"

Roman didn't know whether to laugh or face-palm at his crazy brother's antics.

The Helmsley Princess crossed the room before sitting down on his bench, placing the first aid kit between them.

Seth chuckled softly. "Ah, the first aid kit,"

"What's so funny?" she asked as he took off his gloves.

"Nothing," Seth was privately pleased at the fact she was so concerned about him.

Kelista started checking the back of Seth's hand. "Doesn't look too bad."

"Oh, good. I thought I needed physiotherapy or something," Seth sighed in mock exaggeration. "The way someone was-"

"Oh, sharrup, Seth!" Kelista pouted making the Architect laugh.

Trying to ignore him, she turned his hand over and noticed he had a tattoo on his wrist that was usually covered by his gloves.

"You have a tattoo!" the Helmsley Princess exclaimed in surprised.

"Yeah...I have a vertical one on my back too." Seth chuckled bemused. "But why the big surprise about my tattoos?"

Kelista explained about how the rumors originated when she told her Aunt Steph about dating her uncle's nemesis so they wouldn't make her GM. Only Roman's tattoos showed, while Seth's was usually covered by his vest and wristbands/gloves.

"See, it's your fault, princess." Seth laughed when she finished. This was just like old times…having fun with Kelista.

The Helmsley Princess narrowed her eyes at him and blushed a little. "Okay whatever." Of course it was her fault; perhaps she shouldn't have started that playful squabble with him in the first place!

Seth's breath caught in his throat. That look was just…too cute.

They were quiet for awhile as Kelista finished bandaging his hand.

"Oh and thank you," she said softly.

Seth was perplexed. "For what?"

"For helping me speak in public," she replied.

Seth smiled and gently brushed her hair back with his hand. "What are friends for, right?"

"You mean embarrass each other in front of thousands of people, than yes," Kelista joked.

"Exactly," Seth grinned. "That's what friends are for!"

"Now it's my turn."

Seth laughed. "What, schooling me in bowling wasn't enough?"

Kelista shrugged. "No one saw that."

"How about that Paintball Survivor Series, then?" Seth suggested/ challenged.

The Helmsley grinned. "You're on,"

"Great, how about tomorrow?"

Kelista nodded and got up to leave. "Should be fun,"

"I forgot to ask you for your number today," Seth said, taking his phone. "I can call and let you know if Dean and Roman are in,"

Immediately the Architect regretted asking. To him, it was not big deal, well it was in a sense that he was reconnecting with a friend. On the other hand, she was kind of his boss, and more importantly, she did not 'fraternize' with employees.

But Kelista smiled and said, "Sure," before giving it to him. "It's getting late, I should get going,"

As she headed towards the door, Seth decided to ask a burning question. It may reveal why she doesn't remember him. He got up and walked towards her. "Kels…do you remember your mum?" he asked carefully.

The Helmsley Princess stopped. She wasn't expecting that. To be asked about her mother so suddenly. Kelista reached up and touched the mungala sultra she wore – Priya's wedding necklace - her other hand holding the doorway wall as if she needed support.

"No," she replied quietly.

Realization finally washed over Seth as his heart sank.

Kelista turned to look at him as she tried to shrug off her own heartache. "Oh, hey, Seth, don't feel sorry for me," she chuckled. "Maybe its better that way too."

"…Why?" he asked slowly.

Kelista shrugged as she leaned slightly back against the wall. "I don't know…but I heard some people just unconsciously block out their childhood." she mused. "So I guess that's what happened to me." She would have loved to remember her mother. But it must have been really bad when her mother was sick and Priya's death may have taken a toll on her as a child.

Seth bit his lip. Kelista never merely forgot him after all. How could she, they meant a lot to each other.

But to block out the tragedy of the fire and her mother's death – she had to block out Seth too.

Seth stepped up to her. "I'm so sorry, Kels," he said, softly.

The Shield affiliate hardly noticed he was closing the gap between them. He reached out and tucked a loose lock of her hair behind her ear, before letting his knuckles slide down her delicate face to caress her jaw line.

"Seth..." Kelista felt her cheeks burn under his warm chocolate gaze.

~oOo~

HelmsleyCorp Headquarters

Michael held his head in his hands. He had watched the Smackdown taping (courtesy of his brother, of course). How could he fail to notice the brief moment of pain on Kelista's face at the party? Which was almost like the one on little Seth's birthday…

And if what Dr. Galliard said is true...

No amount of power or money in the world could help him then. Michael felt a heavy load of burden. He missed his wife. He felt his heart was burned to ashes as well that day.

And then there was Alison and Kelista's safety on one side and then…

"Mr. Helmsley,"

Michael was pulled out of his thoughts by one of his assistants.

"We got a distress signal coming from the Iowa Helmsley mansion, sir."

Michael shook his head. He knew it was Levi. Couldn't he see how much he was worrying Alison? Why couldn't Levi just give up? He gave Michael too much hope. Priya was long dead; it was just a freak accident. There was no one responsible for the fire.

Michael swallowed. No one but himself.

"Send out a chopper," he ordered. "And no word to Alison until we can confirm its Palmer."

She didn't let it show, but Michael didn't want to crush Alison's heart again before he'd seen Levi for himself.

~oOo~

Somewhere in the Catori Forest...

Levi Palmer tried hard to get up, only to fall back down. Gritting his teeth, the marine surmised his leg was indeed broken.

Why wouldn't Priya talk to him? He called out to her and she fled. Yet he was sure it was her. The older version of her daughter, Kelista.

Levi was very loyal to Michael. Kelista's father was more than his boss, having always treated Levi and Alison as family.

If there was one thing Levi could do for the Helmsley family in return is to at least inform Michael that not only that his beloved wife alive, but her location too.

In the Algonquian Village, Catori Forest.

Near the Iowa Helmsley Mansion itself.

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Chapter title "A Shadow of the Past" is from JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

To everyone that reviewed: Thank you! It's always nice to have feedback! :D