PRESENT

AELIN

Aelin woke from her sleep with a jerk as she heaved for air to fill her lungs. Her heart beat erratically as she willed herself to take slow, deep breaths.

It was a dream, she reminded herself. These dreams, or maybe best described as nightmares, were not new to her. They began after she had escaped the torture of Meave. The torture of the box she was held in for almost one year. Aelin woke almost every night for the past two decades with a pain that radiated throughout her entire body. It was not physical pain, even though sometimes Alien wished itwould be a physical pain. She could deal with that kind of pain- she had been trained for years to withstand such pain, but she had no such luck. The pain she felt was a dreadful ache that overcame all her thoughts and emotions.

She knew that something had been stolen from her. Something that she loved, even if it did not quite make sense to her. Even after all these years, she had yet to make sense of what felt like slivers of memories coming back to her in her dreams. She was never able to differentiate what had been real memories, and what had been the twisted mind games Meave loved to play. Regardless, Aelin knew in her very bones that Meave had taken something precious. Perhaps the foolishness of that statement alone is what caused Aelin to keep these thoughts to herself. It was simply foolish to believe that Meave had took something so important to her and yet Aelin had no recollection of it. Aelin had everything she could ever ask for, and wouldn't she know if something vital had been stolen? At least, that is what she told herself as she rose from her large bed.

It was better to tell herself that her anxiety was a product of Meave's mind games. Better to ignore the fact that she had very little memories of her time with Meave. Better to forget it all.

As Aelin padded across the wooden floors to walk into her connecting bathing room, she jumped as the light flickered on.

"Another bad dream?", Rowan murmured as he moved his hand from the light switch to take Aelin into his arms. She gripped his solid arms, taking in the strength he gave her just from being in her presence.

Aelin sighed, "I'm sorry I woke you." Usually, she was quiet enough not to wake her mate from his much needed sleep. Ruling a kingdom was quite exhausting.

"Don't apologize, fireheart", he said as he kissed her head and moved back from her arms to look into her blue eyes. "You can tell me what is on your mind, Aelin."

Aelin looked away guiltily. "I know, you buzzard. I am okay, I just- I don't- I don't know why I am still having nightmares about events that happened twenty years ago. Fenrys is fine. I want to be fine too." She admits, her voice barely a whisper.

Rowan folds Aelin once again into his arms. "Trauma is different for everyone. It is okay to still be struggling. What is not okay is for you to be dealing with it on your own. Let me be here for you," he says, his voice still raspy from sleep. "And Fenrys is still hurting too. He still believes Meave has something up her sleeve, hence why she has stayed hidden for the past two decades", Rowan admits.

Aelin narrowed her eyes. Fenrys mislead her to believe he had never been better, that he had healed. Aelin felt a wave of sadness for her friend who had gone through so much with her, who risked his life for her. But, Aelin recognized the small kernel of relief budding in her from the fact that she was not alone in her struggle to forget the past.

"I'll have to speak with him when he is back from his travels," Aelin said. She paused to look to Rowan's face, and after contemplating the question that had been brewing in her, she asked, "Do you think we are missing anything in our life?" She asked softly.

Rowan's eyes widened with surprise before realizing how serious her tone was. "When I have you, I have anything I could ever want and need. Are you needing something more, Aelin?" Rowan said with a small, humorous smile curving his lip.

Aelin laughed, her serious mood forgotten. "No," She said, smiling, "I have everything I want right here."

But, even as the words tumbled out of her mouth, her heart clenched. It was as if her own body was telling her know that she was missing something vital. She looked up to the full moon that peaked out from her bathroom window. The light aluminating around it gleamed silver. Aelin smiled to herself as she looked upon the silver moon. At least, even in her most awful nights, there was a glimmer of beauty.

PRESENT

VALLORY

Vallory looked upon the beautiful sight of the gleaming moon. She sighed as she tried to get a better view through her small window. Her view was ruined when she ended up looking down to the guards surrounding the place she called home. Honestly, it had always felt more of a prison than a home to her. She was never allowed past the gates, and was severely punished if she broke the rules that were intact to "keep her safe". In all of Vallory's nineteen years of living, she has yet to see the danger or threats that her Aunt claimed are constantly upon them. But, she knew her aunt would never lie to her. No, her aunt was too brutally honest. Vallory would know, as she is most often subjected to that brutal honesty every day.

Beside her Aunt and Vallory herself, there was only guards and house keepers living in the residence. As much as she tried to ignore her heartache, Val was desperately lonely. She had no friends or relationships, because as her Aunt liked to remind her, she was a danger to everyone around her. But, she was grateful for her Aunt, who gave her a lavish life and who tried to train her deathly powers into submission. Aunt Meave loved to remind Val how she had to put her life on hold to raise Val, and how her parents did not want her. So, while Meave was not the perfect picture of a caring aunt, she was all Val had, and Val loved her in her own way. At least Meave wanted her, which is more than she can say about her own parents.

Vallory walked over to her vanity to run a brush through her hair before she succumbed to sleep. But, as she sat in front of the vanity, all she could do was stare into the mirror. Her long, straight, silver hair that ran past the middle of her back always had her wondering which one of her parents possessed the odd color of hair. And, of course, when she started having those thoughts, many other questions arose. Where did she get her blue eyes with a ring of gold surrounding the pupil? Were her parents tall for Vallory to stop growing at 5'9"? Why did they not want her? Could she have changed their minds if they stayed longer?

Val watched as a tear slid down her eye. She sniffed and quickly wiped it away. Maybe, she thought, they knew what a disaster I would turn out to be. A disaster who has no idea how to control her own power. A disaster who as already killed with her power.

She rose from her vanity, the brush long forgotten, and made her way toward her bed. She slid underneath the covers and reached for the candle sitting by her bed. Val did not like darkness, and therefore slept with a candle burning all night long. Her index finger erupted in silver flame as she lit the candle next to her bed. She disliked using her power, but something as simple as lighting a candle could never hurt anyone. At least she hoped. She sighed as the silver moon again peaked through her window. She smiled at it, hoping there was more people in this world who enjoyed it as much as she did.