Since I made u guys wait a week 4 a new chapter, i'm trying 2 return 2 my usual routine. All though, due to my scheldule there'll probably b times wen the time between chapters will be prettty long. . .but, wenever i have time I'll make sure 2 write as much as possible. Anyway, now I'm giving u 2 chapters in 2 days. . .aren't u lucky? Anyways, hope u like it n plz review! :)
"Speches"
I stood in the middle of the room for a long time, feeling extremely awkward. It took a while for things to calm down. After all the sobbing and melt downs were over, we were able to get things moving. My mother was still crying when her advisors led her upstairs to lie down, but she wasn't sobbing any more at least, just sniffling. My father left the room to be alone, I had no clue where he went, the house was huge, he could be anywhere. Everyone who was crying or broken up left first, off to be alone I assumed. The people who were only slightly shaken left next, but they left in groups. And the people who found this shocking, but weren't spazzing out, handled things. Mrs. Kardigan seemed centered (but I had a feeling the fact that her two youngest children were unconscious kept her head clear) and Mr. Kardigan did too. Alex seemed alright, as did Domingo, Raziel, some witches I didn't know, and some members of the Council.
Raziel was dispersed to go check on Vitani, along with Athan. Domingo had lifted Kate onto a couch where she could rest, and then brought Austin back upstairs to his room. Mr. Kardigan went with him, while Mrs. Kardigan and Alex stayed with Kate. In the end, the room was completely cleared. The only ones left were me, Alex, Kate, and Mrs. Kardigan. As Mrs. Kardigan knelt by her daughter, Alex came over to me.
"You okay?" he asked, seeming concerned . . . I'd admired him for not being freaked out.
"Yea" I said "I've seen worst."
"I bet" he said "Mind if I ask you something? Do you feel . . . different now?"
"Different? Hmmm . . . . . . no" I decided "No not really. I'm still me; I've always had the same personality, only in different settings."
"Interesting . . ." he mumbled, as I wondered why he wanted to know.
"Well, I'm going to check on Austin" I told him.
"Oh yea, okay" he mumbled, turning back to his mother and sister. I diapered out of the room, ignoring the people I passed, and up the stairs. I was about to go up the next staircase, when I suddenly stopped. My eyes locked on the door at the end of the hallway; it was my old room from when we stayed at the summer house. I had to see what it looked like now, if it had changed in the last four hundred years.
Immediately, I walked down the hallway towards my room. As I passed Vitani's room, I could hear her screaming at Raziel.
"Leave me alone!" she screeched over the crashing sounds, "I don't want to talk to anyone!"
Deciding to prolong the discussion I was going to have to have with Vitani, I picked up the pace and hurried to my room. I paused in front of the room at the end of the hall, my room. The door looked normal, it looked as if it had been opened yesterday, maybe it had.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open. The room was in perfect condition. My lacy pink canopy bed was in mint condition, my favorite china doll placed in the center. It was a beautiful doll that I was in love with until I was twelve; her name was Mary. She had curly brown hair and wore a silk blue dress and a lace headdress. More china dolls lined the white shelves installed into the pink walls. A white dresser with detailed flowers painted all over it had knick knacks on top of it. Paintings of me from every year of my life lined the walls. Everything was completely preserved and there was no dirt or dust on anything; I wondered if it was some kind of spell my mother used.
I drifted over to my dresser and picked up a little glass figure of a tiny princess. Aurai had given it to me for my fourth Christmas, telling me that it was a charm that made everyone adore me. I think that one worked a little too well. I toyed with it before placing it back down. Then I picked up a figurine of a black wolf, it had the words "I bambini della luna la proteggeranno" carved into the side, which I now knew was Azimon-Italian for "The children of the moon will protect you." It had been given to me by Lupo (Werewolf Representative) for my eleventh birthday, he told me it was charmed and would protect me . . . well, clearly that wasn't very affective . . . maybe it had an expiration date.
Sighing, I placed the little figure back on the dresser. Then, with one last wistful glance around my old room, I turned and left. I made my way quickly down the hallway, speeding up when I passed Vitani's room; I'd deal with her later. I went up the second staircase and into the infirmary. I noticed there were less patients in the infirmary now, but not that many less. I headed for Austin's room; ignoring the whispers and wondering stares that followed me.
I opened the door, and the room looked pretty normal. Austin lay in his bed, sound asleep. His broken arm lay over the sheets in it's set position, while his other arm lay limply on the other side. His eyes were closed, his dark eyelashes brushing against his high cheekbones. Bruises and cuts dotted his skin, but the two most noticeable were the slashes on his cheek and forehead. He was breathing softly and evenly, his plump lips slightly open.
Mr. Kardigan stood by the window, glancing back and forth between the scenery outside and his sleeping son. He looked up at me when I entered the room.
"Oh, hello Becca" he greeted me casually, and I was shocked by, yet another, Kardigan's ability to act like nothing had changed.
"Hi Mr. Kardigan" I said, resisting the urge to call him Vulcan like I did when we first met some four hundred years ago, "How's he doing?"
He shrugged helplessly, "I don't know" he admitted "Alright I think. The nurse just left, she believes the shock of your speech combined with the virus is what caused this."
"Oh, well, that doesn't make me feel responsible . . ." I muttered dryly.
"Sorry" Mr. Kardigan apologized sheepishly "I didn't mean it like that; I'm sure this discovery was just as hard on you."
"No actually" I admitted thoughtfully "Once my memories were back this discovery felt perfectly normal."
"Amazing" he mused "Would you mind if I ask you something, uh Princess?"
"You don't have to do that" I told him; despite the fact I was used to it in my first life, I was not used to the title in this life.
"Sorry Becca" he apologized "Anyway, I was wondering if you remembered meeting me?"
"Of course I do!" I exclaimed in a whisper, not wanting to wake Austin up . . . he needed to sleep, "We met at Lady Cyebele's yearly banquet. Hera-I mean Mrs. Kardigan-brought you with her. Her and my mother were great friends . . . which reminds me, nobody ever told me, how did Mrs. Kardigan come into all that money? I mean, I know that when she was human she lived in a simple little village. . . but after her transformation she came into Hades and was immediately excepted into upper-class society . . . how was that?"
He smiled, as if recalling a memory, "She met Countess Aurai at the seamstresses she worked in after first moving to Hades. They struck up a conversation with her while they looked for Aurai's wedding dress. Well, the two became friends and Hera helped Aurai plan her wedding. Apparently, it was so spectacular that Aurai's rich friends begged Aurai to recomend them to her planner. So, she did. And, thus, my wife became the biggest wedding planner in all of Hades."
"I went to Aurai's wedding!" I exclaimed, still quiet, "I was like two! But I remember it perfectly! It was amazing!"
"Did you go to Dutchess Agata's wedding?" he wondered.
"Yes, I believe I was about fifteen" I said "That wedding was beautiful; did Mrs. Kardigan plan that to?"
"Yes" he announced, proud of his wife.
"That was a beautiful wedding" I mused "But, umm, can I have a minute alone with Austin?"
"Oh, yes, of course" he said, heading for the door. He paused outside the door, "I'll see you later, Prin- Becca" he caught himself.
Then, as I rolled my eyes he slipped out the door. Then, I drifted over to Austin's bedside, and knelt down. I grabbed Austin's hand where it lay limply by his side. I held his pale warm hand, covered in scratches, and pressed it to my cold cheek.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in years" I told him, even though he was unconscious and couldn't hear me.
"I've missed you so much" I whispered. I was sure I could only say some of this stuff to him while he was asleep.
"It feels like we never get to spend any time together anymore. You're always at Council meetings, and I'm always having magic lessons. And then there's school, and friends, and you have sports practice and I have dance . . . and it just seems like we never get to be alone anymore. And it's about to get even worse. I mean, now we're both going to be stranded in the spotlight. Papparazi and media will harrass us day and night! You said it yourself, and that was before you even knew I was Aella! I remember what it was like when I was Aella, and that was long before the invention of cameras and TV's, . . . .and-and tabloid newspapers! And all that other stuff. It's gonna be a nightmare Austin! You and I; their going to target us like freakin' vultures! You said it yourself; you called them parasites. You're the prince, they already target you! And I'm the reincarnated, long-dead, Lost Witch of a formerly beloved Princess! Not to mention, we're a major couple. The press'll just eat that up . . . they're going to make life hell for us, Austin. And that's not even the worse of our problems!"
As I rambled, Austin breathed softly and remained asleep, but I just kept talking. "The Arthasians, Austin, the Arthasians are still after us . . . Aurora's still after us. Aurora wants me dead, and she wants to make you her own little-little love toy! And you know they have the means of making that happen, Austin. You know their capable of killing me . . . they've done it before! And their most definitely capable of kidnapping you . . . they've done that . . . what? Three times already? How are we supposed to stop them!? The only way we could possibly be safe is by living under the constant supervision of the Council, like you used to. And you know that's no life! Ha, it isn't even that safe! You've got multiple burns by being near them, not to mention nameless emotional scars. . ."
"But without their protection we're both vulnerable to the Arthasians torment! I mean-look at you! They starved you, and hurt you, and made you sick. . .That's much worse then anything the Council ever did to us-either of us. So what are we supposed to do?"
I was on the verge of crying, everything was just so stressful. I could feel tears stinging in my eyes and my throat getting sore, "I don't know what to do Austin" my voice coming out in a bit of a sob "It's so-it's just so god damn confusing! And I don't know what we're supposed to do-how we're supposed to be safe . . . how we're supposed to be happy. Everything is wrong, Austin. It's all so wrong. Everyone is either hurt-or angry-or cripplingly sad . . . nothing is like it should be! The Arthasians have ruined everything!"
Suddenly overwhelmed by my anger and hate towards the Arthasians, I jumped to my feet, releasing Austin's hand roughly. It fell back to his side limply, and he didn't wake. "They ruin everything Austin!" I shouted, and I was amazed it didn't wake him, "They killed me when I was eighteen! They left me to rot in a basement! And they left you to rot in the same basement four hundred fuckin' years later! And they tortured you! You may not remember it, but I do. It was like being locked in that dungeon all over again! They are sick, cruel bastards and I hate them! I wish they would go die in a fuckin' hole! I-I-I. . ."
I needed to stop, I was losing it, getting out of hand. If I didn't stop soon, I would be in hysterics; I would launch myself into temper tantrum like Austin always did. And then I'd be screaming and yelling, and that would wake Austin up. And I couldn't do that; Austin needed to sleep. It was my fault that he got hurt in the first place (what with me and my stupid party) so I had a duty to do everything I could to help him get better.
I took a deep, cleansing breath and closed my eyes. After regaining my composure, I apologized to the sleeping Austin "Sorry" I said quietly "I guess it's not that bad. . . we'll get through this . . . and then we can be happy again . . ."
I knelt back down next to him and brushed the back of my hand against his cheek, "We can be happy like we used to before this mess. Back when it was just Austin the jockish player and Becca the gothic dancer. When the only things I were worried about were the tests I had to take and not looking stupid in front of you. I'm sure you had a lot more to worry about; what with the blue fire and all . . . but I know that you were happier then you are right now. I want to go back to that Austin; I want to go back to being happy. . . I-" my voice broke when I said the next part, "I want to go home."
Then, after wiping away the frustrated tears that had escaped my eyes, I kissed Austin lightly on his forehead. "Love you" I said quietly. After that, I turned away and left his room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me I heard Austin's voice, "Love you too." For a moment I feared that he had been awake to hear my entire speech, but then I just assumed that the door shutting had woken him up, or at least I hoped.
With a sigh, I decided that what I really needed to do was watch TV and then make arrangements to go home. I began walking silently down the quiet hallway. Once I was back into the main room of the infirmary, it was very quiet. The witch receptionist stood at the desk, flipping through the pages of a magazine, while several others hovered in the halls quietly. I headed for the stairs; my shoes clicking against the hard floor were the loudest sound in the room.
Just as I almost made it to the staircase, Kate whirled out of nowhere and grabbed my wrists; a feverish look in her eyes.
"Oh Kate" I breathed "I'm so glad you're awake! I'm so sorry that I sprung the Aella news on you-"
"I couldn't care less about that!" she hissed.
"You . . . don't . . . care?" I asked, confused.
"No" she said through her teeth "It's not important, not right now. There's something much more important going on."
"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.
"You have to help me."
