Kevins8: whew. Finally finished this chapter. I know I kinda delayed in updating but I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it. I would now like to thank some of my most constant reviewers. You guys have been great and you don't know how much I enjoy reading you're reviews.

Helena-Jeanne-Chibi

YamiandAnzu4ever

Nakashima-Michiyo

I also thank all the other people who reviewed but were not mentioned down here. Give your selves a pat on the back

Chapter 4

The past

Dear Anna

If you're rea ing this, I'm so sor y . I hoped t is d y would never come and t at you wou d be kept out of the ho rible truth but al s, I gue s it is not m ant to be. I've been hol ing this letter for several days now, in case som thing like t is hap ened. It's t me you k ew. First of all, I'm n t your f ster parent, I'm y ur re l gr ndmother. I h d to lie to you al these years because t lling you would result with too many unwan ed question. I w s t ring to bury the past. Anna, you a e special in so m ny ways th at even you are not aware of. I l ve you so much and please for ive how I lied to y u all the e years. Just t ust me when I say I did it f r your own good. Go to Shawn. Don't worry about finding him, he'll find you. He will tell you more.

Goodbye my grand ughter

Be st ong

And re ember

Yo 're n ver alone

Anna stood there. Alone, in her house, thinking...

"Shawn..." why did that name sound so familiar? Anna tried to dig deeper in her mind but it just wouldn't come. The memory was like a dream. You realize it's there, but every time you try to focus on it, it disappears.

As Anna walked out of the house, the sun was already setting. . She looked at her house one last time and moved on. A light breeze started to pick up. The wind sent an involuntary shudder up Anna's spine. As she passed a couple of blocks a hand came out reaching for her shoulder. Anna caught the hand twisted it. A grunt was heard and a figure emerged from the darkness. Anna was about to launch another punch but suddenly, something struck her in the back of her head. The last thing she remembered was a face staring at her and then darkness...

Two voices talking

"Is she sleeping?"

"Yes"

"She looks so beautiful..."

"She's 3 months old now. We have yet to come up with a name her."

"How about Anna? It means life in the old Sharman tongue..."

"Shh... What did I tell you about mentioning the s word. "He" might be listening. I want my daughter to live away from all of that..."

"Sorry... You shouldn't worry so much about "him". It would be near impossible for him to have survived the..."

" Ah nevermind. I think Anna is a great name. It's settled. Her name will be Anna. Thank you Shawn. You always have been here for me, even when I married Dirk instead..."

There was a short silence but the man finally managed to find his voice. "I'm happy for you. You're much better of with Dirk then you could ever have been with me. You deserve him. I know I couldn't offer you much, but I'll promise you this. I will watch out for you daughter for as long as I life." The man knelt down towards Anna's crib. "Anna..." It sounded like he was going to say something else but then changed his mind. "...sleep tight. Remember, I will always be here for you. I will protect you with my life."

Anna wakes up and sees a man smiling down at her. He was all blurry but his eyes stood out. They were light shade of brown, so warm, so loving ... The three month old Anna drifts off again into a joyous slumber...

Anna woke up. Her awakening was anything but joyous. The first thing she noticed was a sharp pain on the back of her head and her vision was crowded with purple spots. She half expected to see two light brown eyes but the only thing visible was darkness.

"Ah you awakened"

Anna tensed her muscles. She looked up to see a man standing next to her. He was a male pries by the looks of it, not one to be running around and kidnapping little girls but that just proves that you can't judge on looks alone.

"Before you start deciding to try to fight me again, hear me out. I'm sorry for the kidnapping trust me, it was necessary. You were going to make too much of a racket and would have never come willingly, specially after what happened..."

Anna still didn't trust him but managed to loosen her arm a little. This man knew about the murder. She had to know more. Also, there was something in his voice that sounded so sincere, so warm, even familiar somehow... Anna couldn't help believing him a little but she still had her doubts. "Why would I trust you? For all I know, you could have been the one who killed my family!" Anna noticed the man flinch when she mentioned the murder. No one spoke for several minutes. It was the priest who broke the silence.

"Will you please just listen to me for a while. Just hear out what I got to say, and if you still don't believe me, you can leave if you want. I won't stop you. I'm here to protect you, believe it or not. I made a promise to someone, and I'm not going to break it. You need to find out about whom you really are, what you are capable of, and whom you're facing with. You're being hunted down by a great evil. I just want to help you. Please, trust me..."

All these emotions were going through Anna's head and she was confused. Her mind was torn between punching the man and embracing him. At that moment, a ray of sunlight filters throughout the shrine. Anna finally gets to have a clear look at the man standing opposite to her. His face looked familiar somehow, but then she noticed those eyes. Two gentle light brown orbs, staring back at her...

kevins8: done, so what do you think? The next update might take a while because I think I might take some time to rewrite the first and second chapter. Don't worry, the plot won't change, but you might to read over the first couple of pages to get some new insight once I updated. Also, another reason for the delay is because my apartment is having another fire drill test on Tuesday. 8am to 5pm. Shudder It's going to go off for the entire day. Help... xx