"We are done with Telepathy so let's-" I don't let Dana finish.
"You mean, that's it? We're done with the whole Telepathy training thingy?" I ask impatiently. I was so excited about everything and now she tells me it's done? No way, I enjoyed mind-control too much to stop.
She kicks some plastic bottle away from the grass. "Yeah, we'll continue tomorrow, I don't want to put too much pressure on you. So, moving on, we are now training your Elemental Control Legacy. It's pretty hard to master since it comes with your emotions. A Loric who bears a Legacy like this must know how to control her emotions well. So, get in the house." She commands.
"What?!" What is she talking about?
"Just get in the house and drink some water…"
I was confused. "Dana, what are you talking about? I thought we're going to train?"
She doesn't answer me; instead she heads for the door and opens it. I open my mouth to speak, but before I can start saying a word she drags me into the house. I stumble across the floor.
"Hey! What was that about?!" I angrily asked Dana. She ignores me and picks up a bag from behind the door. Dana opened it, probably to check if the contents were still in there. With a satisfied look, she zips it close.
I lean towards her and ask, "Umm… Dana? What are we doing?"
And with that, she just smiles at me and ushers me out of the house, tossing me the bag. I take a peep inside and I see a couple of snacks, bottled water and face towels. I was confused, what was Dana doing after all?
She grabs me by the arm and we walked out of the subdivision and she led me somewhere. I was busy asking her where we were going that I didn't even notice that we were walking through some sort of forest. With the look on her face, you can tell she's up to something, something pretty exciting since she's walking very fast and smiling to herself.
"Oohh! I've waited for this moment to come!" Dana mumbles to herself.
When I finally manage to push her away, she stopped and I glare. Dana pointed to somewhere in front of us. I looked. What is this?
In front of us was a field with training equipment, well-trimmed grass and cool air. I can tell we're pretty far from civilization, but I guess that's the point. I walked towards the field. I had no idea what on earth we were doing there. I was about to ask Dana when I remembered my Legacy. I closed my eyes and looked for Dana's voice in my head. Within seconds, I heard it.
Here we are… At the training field… Hope Arianna guesses what it is!
Dana's voice said. I opened my eyes and turned to her.
"Yeah, I did. I already did." I told her, shaking my head sarcastically. She laughs.
"Oh, Christ. I don't know if I'll ever get used to your Legacy! Okay, so. Moving on, this is the training field."
"I know, that's obvious." I retort. Dana shoots me a glare. I give her a peace sign and smile sheepishly.
"Again, this is the training field, and this is where we're going to train." She continues.
"Yeah, would it be called 'the training field' if it wasn't a field where we're training?" I tell her, rolling my eyes.
"Arianna… You are actually getting on my nerves." Dana tells me sharply.
I laugh and throw my hands in the air as if I'm surrendering. "Okay, fine! Continue…" she shoots me another glare.
"I'm going to train you with your Legacies, especially your Elemental Control. It is very powerful. We can no longer train in the backyard, we'll attract too much attention which may lead the Mogadorians to us." Her face hardened as she mentioned the Mogadorians. I shudder.
"Um… Dana? I don't mean to make you feel bad or anything, just being curious. But, uh… What are the Mogadorians like? But, uh, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to…" I asked her nervously.
She sighs and rubs my hair. "You have every right to know about them. Anyways, the Mogadorians are tall, pale-skinned, have pitch-black eyes and are merciless. All they know to do is hunt, torture, and kill. They attacked our planet, Lorien, years ago because Mogadore was out of resources. Since Lorien was the nearest planet to them and was rich in resources, they invaded it. They killed every Loric alive except for us, of course since we escaped. Their next target is Earth, and we must also prevent that from happening aside from us dying." I sigh, wishing I was back to my normal life.
Dana lifts my chin up, then strokes my face. "Look, Arianna. I know it's still hard for you to adjust on things. I'm not asking for you to believe me at once, I'm just asking for you to try. When I tell you to train, please listen to me and focus, okay? We need to be ready in case the Mogs show up. Don't worry much about school, it's not our priority. Remember, they're not here to simply scold at you or call you names. They're here to kill you…"
I shudder at the last words. It's terrifying. I don't want to die. I don't. Want. To. Die.
Still, I nod. Dana smiles.
"Arianna, be strong, okay? Don't be afraid of anything. One day, you will lose me, and I don't want you to feel lost after that happens. I need you to be independent. I want to see those Mog-jerks run, terrified when they see you. I want them to be scared of you."
I feel tears forming in my eyes and pain course through me. She's going to die?! No. No. That can't happen. She's joking. It can't be real, and yet I cry.
"Y- you're going t-to l-leave me?" I ask her, a tear sliding down my cheek. Dana strokes my face. I can see in her eyes that she's hurt as well, she's only trying to hide it, trying to look strong. But I know her too well.
"Someday I will have to. I'm sorry. I. Don't. Want. To leave. You. I love you, I've considered you as not only my real niece, but as my daughter. Always remember that." She says, her voice cracking at the end. We sit on the grass and I cover my face. Dana hugs me and we both cry. This is such an emotional day, I hate it. I hate being soft, I hate crying. And yet, I do it a lot.
"Are you really my aunt?" I whisper, doubting her. She sighs. "No."
I stop crying at once. I look deep in her eyes and see hurt and grief inside of her. The sky turns dark and the thunder roars. My Legacy.
My aunt, the closest thing to a family, was also a fake. I don't have parents or any relative, it was only Dana and me all our lives. And now, she too, suddenly, is not what I thought she was. What else do I have? Who is my real family? I want to know the truth, but I can't handle this anymore. It hurts. I don't have a family. I'm alone.
"I can't stand this anymore!" I scream. "Everything about me is a lie. Everything is all made up! What else did you make me believe, Dana?! What else?! My life as a kid is a lie, my parents' lives are a lie, you are a lie, my whole identity is a freaking lie! " More tears slide down my cheek as I say those words. Dana cries as well, silently. She puts her head in her hands and cries more.
I run away from her just when it starts to rain. I run, not looking back and not caring about training anymore. All I want now is to be alone.
I lock myself in my room and cry. Dana was not who I thought she was, she's just a protector with no choice but to protect me since some alien rulers told her to do so. We're not related in any way. I hate my life. I hate myself.
A few hours later…
I hear a knock on the door. I know it's Dana. I really want to talk to her but I don't know if I'm ready. Plus, what I said to her was, again, harsh. I'm just ashamed of what I did, I was easily taken over by my emotions. The door creaks open.
"Arianna?" Dana's head pokes in and gives me a bitter smile. I can see her cheeks are still a bit damp from crying. I look away.
"Look, I know you're still upset about what happened earlier, but can you at least look at these things?" I look back at her. She's holding something in her hands. It looked like some sort of treasure chest that's well decorated. I don't know how else to describe it, but I can say this. It's beautiful.
"Well, can I come in?" Dana asks. I smile at her bitterly and nod. She smiles, more happily now. She sits on the bed beside me. I can't help it anymore so I pull her into a tight hug. She winces a bit but laughs all the same.
"I'm sorry, Dana. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said to you, I was being over dramatic and I-" Dana puts a finger to my lips then strokes my face.
"It's okay Arianna, it's okay." She says. I cover my face with my hands. "No, it's not. We both know it's not. It's hard for you like it's hard for me. It's hard telling someone you love about the truth you hid from her all these years. It's hard not knowing how she'll react. It's hard trying to hide the truth in order to protect her from men who want to kill her. And most of all, it's hard seeing her get hurt. So now I realize, even though it's hard for me to know the truth about myself, it's harder for you to try and tell me everything without me getting hurt too much. Everything is hard for you, more than it's hard for me. And I'm sorry, for not realizing that earlier."
She smiles again, not bitter anymore, just happy I understood. I smile back.
"And that's why I love you more than anything, Arianna. You understand things normal eleven-year olds won't. You're mature for your age, which is just what we need. Thank you, for understanding, but I shouldn't have lied to you in the first place. I should have just told you that those memories you told me about was all real, and not have told you that you were only dreaming, that there was no such thing as a spaceship, even though we both rode on one."
My ears perk up upon hearing that and my eyes widen. "Wait, you mean… Those daydreams I had about seeing planets, about playing with other children who dreamed of having superpowers, about playing with my grand parents, about talking to my parents, about people dying in a battle, they were all real? They were my memories and they actually happened?"
"Yes." I gasp.
"My parents…" I mumble. "My parents! I know who they are! I know who they are! Rosi… Rose…" I mutter as I pace around my room. "You do? You do? What do you remember about them?" Dana asks with excitement.
"Rosin…. Rosa- Rosalia!" I exclaim. Dana gives me a questioning look. I read her thoughts quickly, Min-reading isn't really hard to master and I pretty much know how to handle it now.
Is… Is it… Does she…
Dana trails off in her mind. I shake her by the shoulders. "My mother's name. I remember it. Her name is Rosalia… She's beautiful. She has long, brown, wavy hair like mine. Her lips are red and her nose is just perfect. Everything is. But she's scary too. Her personality's strong." Her eyes widen at once.
"Do you remember your father? I don't, unfortunately. Me and your parents didn't really get on well, they thought I was too soft for you. Your father could see portions of the future, and I guess he saw this part where we both cry. Those are the only things I remember." She explains. I laugh a bit.
"Really? He thinks you're soft?" I shake my head at the thought. "No, actually. I don't remember anything. Yet. Anyways, what's that?" I point to the chest on her lap.
"This is your chest. It's somehow like your inheritance. Every one of you Loric children has a chest like this, but have different contents." She opens it. I gasp. The chest is full of beautiful stones of different colors, I wonder what each one does.
I pick one up. It shines as I hold it. It's light blue in color, transparent and is very smooth. I rub it between my palms but nothing happens. "What does this do?" I ask, finally.
"Put it on your chest and focus hard. Clear your mind of any thoughts, just think of the stone." I do as Dana says and suddenly, I feel like I'm being pulled away from where I am. I give in, of course. After a few seconds, I open my eyes and I find myself in the kitchen. My mouth drops open as I realize that this beautiful stone just teleported me to a different place. I close my eyes again and focus. I feel like I'm being dragged away again into darkness. Once I feel the light on my cheeks again, I open my eyes. I'm in my room with Dana again. Dana smiles sheepishly.
"So, where'd it take you?" I roll my eyes at her smile. "The kitchen."
"How'd it feel like?"
"Weird." I say. "It's like I'm being dragged away into darkness." She smiles and picks up another item from the chest. I put the stone back.
"That is the Teleportation stone. It helps you teleport to a place where you want to go. I guess you thought of the kitche accidentally so the stone took you there." I nod. She shows me a small, circular bottle that contains clear water. "This, is the water from the Wishing well."
"Wait, there's a wishing well on Lorien?" I ask her. She nods.
"Yeah, the water there is magical, it grants wishes. But there's a limit, only five wishes for every Loric. It won't work on you anymore once you exceed the limit." I examine the bottle then put it back in the chest. My phone rings.
"Oops, it's bedtime." Dana says. I sigh. "No, let's study this chest's contents."
"You need to get ready for tomorrow, we're gonna have to train. And for real now…" I sigh again, she's right. I do need to train. "Okay, fine. But we'll check it again tomorrow morning."
"Yes, yes we will." Dana promises as she pulls the blanket on top of me. After that she walks towards the door.
"Good night, Dana." I say.
"Good night, my dear."