Episode Seven Part 3

The door opened revealing Rebecca. "Anna...oh my god. Stephen!" Stephen came rushing out just as the figure Anna fell into her arms.

"Oh my goodness. Anna? Are you alright?"

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked.

"Please...I need help. I'm...pregnant. I have nowhere...else to go," Anna was exhausted and out of breath. Her hood fell off revealing blonde hair similar to Aurora's.

"Of course. Let's get you inside," Stephen and his wife helped Anna into their house. The door closed.

The image dissolved and Aurora could see another image forming.

Oblivious to what was happening upstairs, everyone was caught up in a conflict of arguments.

"What right have you to keep something like that from her?" Marcus snapped at Emily and Sarah.

"Watch it, young man," Sarah warned.

"Hey. I'm over 200 years old you know," Marcus argued.

"Sarah, Em...you both may think you're protecting Aurora...but keeping secrets does more harm than good," Thomas tried to reason. "She's old enough to know where she comes from," Just as he was speaking, Marcus felt his skin hairs tingle. He turned his head up to the ceiling.

"Marcus?" Miriam's concern made everyone turn to him.

"I'm detecting Aurora's heart rate rising and a drop in her bloodstream," he grew worried. "I think she's seeing something," He made for the stairs.

"Hey. Stop right..." Sarah was interrupted by all the vampires and Diana followed after him. They entered the spare room where Marcus could sense Aurora. The moment they entered, they found themselves standing before an apparition which would forever change Aurora's life.

Standing five meets in front of them, Aurora glanced at a vision of the woman Anna in Diana and Matthew's large double bed. Anna had dark eyes, firm cheeks and a slender posture. Just like her. A child was in her arms. The child had hair that glowed in waves of colourful cold colours like the Northern Lights. As it cried and laughed, little sprinkles of winter magic flopped out of its hands.

"She's beautiful," Rebecca said proudly as she sat on Anna's side. A young Diana stood next to her. She looked happy seeing the newborn child.

"She's perfect," Anna said in tears of joy, not taking her eyes off her for one moment.

"What are you gonna name her?" Stephen asked.

"Aurora," Anna said.

At that moment, Aurora's world turned upside down. Her tears left her eyes and she breathed in and out slowly.

Everyone behind her was flabbergasted. That woman Anna was her real mother.

Hearing Aurora cry softly, Diana approached her from behind and touched her shoulders tenderly. Aurora didn't turn to her. She was too grief-stricken and paralysed by what she was seeing.

Before she could break out and fall to her knees, the image changed again. Everyone was back outside again. Anna was still cradling her baby whilst Stephen and Rebecca stood worriedly in front of her.

"You can't leave Anna. You can stay here with us. We can protect you," Stephen begged.

"No! The Congregation will find her here if I stay! I must leave now," Anna was already crying. She regretted this decision already save for the tears raining down her cheeks.

"What if you're captured?" Rebecca argued.

"Then it's a price I'm willing to pay. Just promise me you'll keep her safe. Promise me," she begged.

Stephen and Rebecca shared tearful glances. They hated to allow her to leave. They prayed they wouldn't regret that decision.

"You saved our daughter Anna," Rebecca said. "Even though it cost you all that you had. For that, we will love yours as our own and protect her,"

"Nothing will happen to her," Stephen promised.

Anna warmly smiled at Rebecca and Stephen in tears. "You must promise to never reveal any of this to her. Not until she is ready,"

"I have a feeling she will do great things with Diana in the future," Stephen said. "She can make a big difference,"

Anna stared down again at her baby. Her child gazed up at her with eyes of love. Her heart broke so much to say goodbye. All she wanted was to sing one final song.

Sun goes down and we are here together
Fireflies glow like a thousand charms
Stay with me and you can dream forever
Right here in my arms tonight

Anna took one last glance at her baby who she loved more than anything. Her twinkling eyes and hair seemed to radiance hope. She believed in her heart that her child would one day make a huge difference in a world of oppression and prejudice. Feeling guilt and regret crashing down on her shoulders, she drove the car away and it disappeared into the distance.

The image disappeared and all was normal.

Aurora remained still as stature where she was.

"Aurora..." Diana tried to speak. She didn't turn to her.

Marcus tried but still, she refused to address any of them. It was as if she had drifted away and she could no longer react to anything in the physical world.

"I think it would be best if we left her alone for a while," Thomas spoke up.

Matthew nodded in agreement.

Thomas and Miriam gently guided Marcus away though his eyes were wet. He had never felt so sorry for anyone than he ever had before.

Matthew touched Diana's shoulders. "Come on. She'll be alright,"

Diana allowed Matthew to pull her away, but like Marcus, she took one last tearful glance at her sister who remained where she was.

For three long hours, everyone sat quietly in the living room with sad and tearful expressions. Diana refused to make eye contact with either of her aunts who were just as tearful as she was. Not a word was spoken. Diana finally broke the silence.

"You had no right to keep this secret from her," she turned her head and glared at Em and Sarah.

"We hated to do it," Sarah said remorsefully. "After...Anna left, and Stephen and Rebecca told us everything, we hated the idea of keeping it secret. But all we wanted to do was honour her wishes,"

"What exactly was she?" Thomas asked. "If Aurora turned out the way she is,"

"We don't know exactly," Emily confessed. "But she was neither witch, vampire, daemon or human. We didn't know her as much as Rebecca and Stephen did,"

"What did she mean when she said she saved Diana's life?" Matthew asked.

"We don't know. They never spoke much about Anna and how they met," Sarah said. "I hated my sister keeping things from me but Anna's lineage needed to be kept secret. Not just for Aurora's safety. But for the safety of everyone,"

"Sounds like whatever she was, she was endangered by the Congregation," Miriam said. "Perhaps she comes from a race of beings who have mixed genes which leads to alternated genetics in creatures. Like Aurora,"

"Whoever she was, Anna must have been very brave," Marcus said solemnly.

"What exactly did she lose...when she saved my life? What did she do?" Diana was very curious.

"I promise you we don't know honey," Sarah regrettably. "All we knew was that we all owed her for saving your life as an infant. That's all that mattered to Rebecca and Stephen,"

Diana turned away again.

"Should we go and check on her?" Miriam asked.

"We should," Marcus said. "She needs us all now more than ever,"

They all shared glances of agreement. Suddenly Thomas shot up to his feet. "She's not in the house. I just heard her feet on the soil,"

"What?" Diana was scared.

"She's still nearby. But the wind outside makes it extra tricky to know where from here. I'll try outside," Thomas walked outside and took in a deep smell, closing his eyes. Everyone watched him tenderly. "I can smell her on a hill just past that forest," he pointed up at the forest lying not too far away from the drive.

"We used to go and play hide and seek there when we were kids," Diana said sadly. "And it was where she'd go to be alone,"

"Go and talk to her," Matthew encouraged.

"I don't think she'd respond," Diana said sadly. She knew how equally grief-stricken she was just as her to learn they were not biologically related. And she didn't respond to her attempts of comfort earlier either.

"Why don't you try brother?' Thomas asked Marcus.

"Me?" Marcus asked. "I don't know,"

"Come on Marcus. She'll listen to you," Matthew encouraged.

"Okay. But I don't know if I can be convincing enough," Marcus turned and sped off in a blur.

"You really think she'll come back?" Diana asked.

"Don't worry Diana...if there's anyone who can talk to Aurora, it's Marcus," Matthew assured.

"They grew quite close whilst you two were at Sept Tour," Miriam said admirably. "He'll get through to her,"

On the cold grass, Aurora stared out into the distance, shedding silent tears and quivering. She felt her entire life had been a lie. The image of her doppelgänger remained stuck in her mind. Her lullaby rung through her head like an echo of the past long-buried in her head. There were times when she had heard it singing in her head but she never knew where it came from until now. For the first time in her life, she felt truly lost.

Marcus walked slowly up the hill to approach her gently. He sighed despondently seeing her slouched posture. He could hear her crying silently. "Aurora..." he spoke up. She didn't turn to him. He sighed. He came to her side and sat down next to her. Still, she refused to look at him.

"Aurora...whatever is going on I'm here for you," he said.

"They lied to me," Aurora said glumly. "My whole life has been a lie,"

"No, it hasn't,"

"Don't you get it?" she asked as she turned to him. "I'm adopted. All this time I thought I was just a witch born so differently. But now I know I'm a freakish mutant of random creatures who don't even know who she really is or where she comes from. I don't even know what my...birth mother is...or who my real father is,"

"Don't you dare say that about yourself,"

"Baldwin called me a freak. He said I wasn't like any other witch he had ever seen. And so did all those other witches," she turned away from him. "I think maybe they're right,"

"You're not a freak," Marcus consoled. "Don't ever say that about yourself. You're not defined by where you came from. You're defined by what you choose to be,"

"But I don't even know who I am anymore," Aurora's face shrivelled and she cried into her hands, unable to look at Marcus. He allowed her to cry before she pulled her chin back up a bit. He reached a gentle hand forward and raised her chin softly. Not willing to push him away, she allowed him to raise her head so she could look into his eyes.

"You're Aurora Bishop. You're Diana's sister, your parents' daughter and Em and Sarah's niece. You are the creator of beautiful ice magic. You're an artist who brings out the best creativity. You're a woman who is never afraid to stand up for what she believes in. You're a woman who fights to protect her loved ones and stands up for what is right. That is who you are. What you learn today, doesn't make you any less Diana's sister or your parents' daughter. You are part of their family, adopted or not. Your parents loved you so much. Your aunts love you. Your sister loves you. Their love is unconditional. They don't care where you come from or what you are. Only that you are truly special to them,"

With those words, Aurora's fragile mind bounced back to everything she and her family had experienced together. She remembered Stephen, Rebecca, Diana and her playing in the snow one winter and she made a winter wonderland which they all loved. She remembered Em and Sarah taking her and Diana to New York and she and Diana played in the park together. She remembered how happy she and Diana were together in Oxford. She finally saw that whether related by blood or not, her family had given her what she had always needed. Care, devotion, and love.

No matter how shocked she was by seeing visions of her true mother, Aurora saw that she needed to fight her trauma and rise. She would always be despondent from the revelation but that wasn't going to stop her from protecting her loved ones. "Thank you, Marcus,"

Marcus smiled, happy to see that her grief was dissolving away and her fractured heart was starting to heal slowly. To his surprise, she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. He hugged her back and it was just the two of them alone under the sun that was rising over the dark trees that had towered over them.

The others waited patiently for them. Diana had another cup of tea. Matthew offered her biscuits but she refused.

Thomas and Miriam stared out into the distance patiently. "You think that what Anna was it's related to creature genetics changing?" Thomas wondered.

"Probably. But whatever she was, and whatever Aurora truly is...it would be catastrophic if the Congregation knew about it. She really must have been in grave danger to have to leave her child behind," Miriam said grimly.

"To think that the Congregation would stop being so prejudiced," Thomas had begun to lose faith in that governing council for a while now. "In all the centuries of his reputation, I've never realised up to this today how oppressive it has become. This was not what Phillipe formed to be. It's as if its generous persona died along with him,"

"You alright honey?" Em asked Diana. Diana didn't answer. Her eyes remained glued inside her cup.

"It hurts so much...knowing we're not related,"

"Of course you are. You're both sisters. Not by blood but by love. You've been the best sister to her. You always helped her up when she felt down. You made her feel happy about her powers,"

"I just wish there was something I could do to make her feel better," She said sadly. "It's not fair that she couldn't grow up with her biological mother," She turned away slightly. "I think this is my fault,"

"No honey," Emily refused to see her blame herself. "Your parents chose to take her in because Anna wanted her child safe. They were proud to raise her alongside you, for you two to be sisters,"

"But maybe she would have been safe elsewhere if Anna hadn't lost everything she had, because of me,"

"Darling...Anna made her choice," Sarah spoke up. "Whatever it was that she did, she did because she was selfless. Just like Aurora. Aurora needs us more than ever. And we have to protect her. No matter what,"

Determination covered Diana's face. "I am not going to let anything happen to her,"

"What if the book of life could answer questions about her?" Matthew spoke up.

"It could," Thomas agreed. "It's the key to our history so it is the key to keeping her safe,"

"It's the key to keeping all of us safe," Matthew signified. "And if the wrong people got their hands on it, it could be the end of everything we hold dear,"

Thomas nodded slowly in agreement.

Silence came between everyone again. To Diana and her aunts, it felt like hours but to the vampires, it felt like several minutes. Time was very different to them in terms of waiting. Thomas went inside to fetch some wine per Matthew's request. Miriam joined him. Emily and Sarah decided to be alone for a while, leaving Matthew and Diana alone.

Diana heard footsteps. She saw Aurora walking towards the house with Marcus's arm around her shoulders. Her face was stained with tears but her rose lips formed a small smile. Overjoyed and sniffling, Diana trodded quickly off the platform and jogged along the driveway.

Seeing her big sister run towards her, Aurora released herself from Diana's arms and in mere seconds she was engulfed in her arms. "Diana,"

"I was so worried. I'm so sorry,"

"I'm just really glad you're here now,"

Diana pulled back and cupped her cheeks. "No matter where you come from, you always will be my sister no matter what," she kissed her head and Aurora embraced her tightly.

Marcus walked past them and followed a smiling Matthew inside. They joined Thomas and Miriam in the kitchen with some wine.

"Well done Marcus," Miriam said proudly.

"I'm proud you went through with it," Thomas said. "I know how difficult it was for you to reveal what we found out..."

"But she needed to know," Marcus accepted. "Keeping it secret wouldn't keep her safe at all,"

As the brothers talked, Matthew pursed his lips and remain silent.

"She's still rather traumatised. And she's got lots of questions about herself,"

"But at least she hasn't lost sight of the family who loves her," Miriam consulted,"

Another part is done. One final part then episode seven is done. I hope you all enjoyed it. See you all soon. Also, the lullaby doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Barbie as the Island Princess. Could not resist using it.