I know, I know. I suck at updating. But hey, this is the furthest I've ever gotten on any of my fanfic stories, so that's an accomplishment. Anyways, thank you for the reviews and positive criticism, I truly need it to keep this story going. Hopefully things will start to pick up from here. You're all readers, so I'm sure you know it takes a few boring chapters to introduce everything. Trust me, I'm one of those people that gets bored for the first few chapters. Whatever. Enough babbling. Here's chapter 3!

"That's not my name." I say, confused about the strange name Brother Evander addressed me with.

"My name is Jayde Arthor."

I look to my parents with my eyebrows raised to clarify for me, to tell Brother Evander that they gave me that name at birth. They only give each sad looks, and my dad gently nods his head. "She needs to know, darling."

Her eyes are sparkling with unshed tears and she takes a deep breath while wiping at them. "Please understand, Jayde. Before we tell you what you need to know, just realize that we both truly do love you." Despite rubbing her eyes, I notice a teardrop making a shiny wet trail down her cheek. I'm now dreading whatever information they're about to give me.

My mother looks to my father, hoping he'll continue. He takes a deep breath to gather the strength to say whatever comes next. "We're not your biological parents, Jayde."

Oxygen may have ceased to exist, since none of it is able to enter my lungs. It's too much. This is just too much. First the bus accident. Then the dream. Then the absolutely foreign terminology. Now this. The only two people in my life who chased everyone else out, using the facade of protective parents as an excuse. It was all a lie. Are they even related to me? I don't know what to believe anymore. So much has happened in such a short time, and now all I want to do is get away. Away from this strange place. Away from the apparently imminent danger. Away from the people who lied to my face for the 16 years that I've called them mom and dad.

Without thinking, I throw the thin white sheets off of me, briefly shocking the two people whom I used to call my parents. My father-or whoever he is-jolts forward to grab me, but I'm too agitated to be caught that easily. I bounce onto the neighboring bed, then roughly drop to the floor before bolting for the large wooden doors. Everything is spinning and it feels as if my head is about to shatter, but I force one of the heavy doors open enough to slip through.

I find myself staring down a long, dimly lit hallway lined with unique tapestries of angels and humans. I don't gaze at them too long though. I hear someone forcing the doors further open, so I give an extra burst of speed to make it down the hall and I turn toward the first side hallway I see. There at the end is what appears to be an elevator shaft. Barely any time passes before I'm shoveing the gate open and throwing myself inside of it. Obviously I didn't think this through.

How the hell does this thing work? I think to myself as I attempt to decode how to get the ancient elevator to move. I don't care if it goes up or down, so long as it goes somewhere. In my panicked state of mind, my eyes failed to notice a few small buttons nestled on the side of the front right panel.

This place is ancient, yet there is an almost normal functioning elevator, I think to myself before hurriedly pressing a random button. It emits a dim blue glow as the cables creak. It's going up. I heave a big sigh of relief that I'll at least have time to find another escape route before they catch up. They'll also have to determine which floor I'm going to be on-if this place is really as large as I imagine. I'm jolted out of my worried thoughts by the jarring motion of the elevator as it stops. I shove the gate open and rush to the first set of steps I see. Unfortunately, these only go up. Of course they do, I think to myself angrily.

Not seeing any other choice, I hurry to the staircase and go up the steps two at a time. I'm out of breath by the time I reach the top, but I can't stop to admire the room-or rather, the garden-that I've just entered. I rush through large colorful blooms that smell better than any flower I've ever encountered. I startle a grayish cat who had been only seconds ago lying underneath one of the large leaves. My gaze follows it until it scampers down the staircase that I just used.

I give myself a minute to catch my breath and study my new surroundings. A rainbow of delicate-looking flowers are scattered around the atrium. The winter sunlight is pouring in from walls made almost entirely of glass, causing the dewdrops on their petals to glisten. Taking up most of the space in here and definitely one of the most bizarre plants I've ever seen are large buds-some larger than my fist-sprouting from equally huge dark green leaves. Botany is certainly not my favorite subject in the world, but with colorful blooms like these, I can understand why someone might enjoy it. I'm startled from my flowery thoughts by a loud meow coming from behind me. Turning, I see the same gray cat from a few minutes ago. It stares at me and then looks toward the staircase.

My heart rate picks up again as I hear multiple sets of footsteps climbing up to where I'm currently located. I hadn't seen a suitable hiding spot while surveying the area, so I make a quick decision to slide into damp mulch underneath the large leaves. My body is barely covered by the heavy sloping leaves by the time the group reaches the top of the staircase and steps right into the atrium. I hold my breath as one person after another walks past me. I count four different pairs of shoes. I recognize those that belong to my used-to-be-parents, but I don't know whom the other pairs belong to.

Just when they are all about to leave and I think I've successfully evaded them, the cat walks over to where I'm hidden. It sits down near my face and blocks the fragmented view I have of the people's lower halves. It gives a long meow and flicks its tail, tickling my nose.

Seconds later I hear an unfamiliar man's voice. "I think Church found something." A set of footsteps approaches. They get louder until they are right where the cat had been. Bright light that had been almost completely blocked out by the dark leaves pierces my vision as my cover is blown. It brings back my stabbing headache, and I clutch my head, willing the pain to stop.

Opening my eyes enough to see who had found me, I find myself looking at a man with black hair and bright blue eyes. He can't be more than a few years older than my "parents." His face held signs of stress, but his overall structure hinted at a young athletic build.

I don't know what I should do. Should I attempt to run even with this man towering over me? Could I even do that? Most of the adrenaline that had gotten me thus far had been used up, and now my body feels drained. As I think of any possible way to get out of this situation, the man above seems to scrutinize me for a few seconds before taking a sharp intake of breath. His voice when he responds sounds sickened. Disturbed, even. "Damn. Blond hair. Green eyes. She is that sick bastard's kid."

It's not a very long chapter, but I'm hoping that as things start to pick up in the story and hopefully it gets more readers, I'll have more motivation to work on it. I'm also going to try to put myself on a schedule so I'll update every few weeks. Please tell me how often you want me to update and I'll try to meet with your demands. Anyhoo, take a wild guess at who found our main protagonist. Besides Church of course, that little devil. Let me know how you're enjoying/not enjoying the story so far. I shall hopefully give you more content in the upcoming weeks, so Aufwiedersehen for now! (Goodbye, for those who don't know German) ;)

~.~Desiderium~.~