Good morning, loves!
Thank you so much to Mel and Pamela!
XVIII
BELLA
3 December 2351
Nouveau Stockholm, The United Republic of Nye Europa
Bella couldn't sleep.
She was supposed to be in bed two hours ago, but her mind was restless. Beside her, she could hear the gentle breathing of Lucas, signaling to her that he was passed out, and outside her room, she could hear the soft murmurs of her parents talking in the sitting room.
Bella wanted to be where they were, to know what they talked about when she wasn't around. She was dying to know.
Slowly, she crept out of bed, not bothering to be silent as it was unlikely she'd wake Lucas, who was a heavy sleeper. Still, she practiced exhibiting caution as she plucked her way across the room and carefully opened their door.
Down the hall, Maman and Pappa were entertaining neighbor friends, festive drinks in front of them all as they played a game on the holo-screen.
Bella heard the warm tones of Maman's laugh, and she was pulled forward, enchanted.
"Oh, hello," Mr. Renault said with a chuckle. "I do believe we have a visitor."
Everyone turned to look at Bella, who was standing in the hall in her pajamas, wishing she could run to her pappa's lap.
When she realized everyone was smiling at her, she rushed forward, hugging her father's arm. "I want to play games with you," she whispered into his ear.
"Sötaminn," Pappa started, "It's late and you must be in bed."
"But I cannot sleep," Bella whined, her eight-year-old voice growing louder as she complained.
"Bella."
Bella turned to Maman, anxious. But Maman wasn't trying to scold her, instead she was offering her hand to Bella, who took it happily. "Come," Maman said. "I will lie with you."
Bella wanted to protest, but lately, Maman hadn't been spending any time one-on-one with Bella or Lucas. She'd even paused Bella's lessons, something she'd never done thought of getting Maman to herself was too much to resist.
Bella bid goodnight to the neighbors as Maman led her to her parents' room. There, she climbed on her parents' comfy bed while Maman crawled in beside her and tucked her under the covers.
Bella slid into her maman's arms and sighed, content.
"How come you haven't come to play with us in a long time?" Bella asked once her cheek was pressed against Maman's heart.
She felt Maman's lips press against her hair. "I'm sorry, ma belle fille," Maman murmured. "There is something I must tell you."
Bella looked up curiously. Maman shifted gently and traced a hand over Bella's cheek. "I am pregnant."
Bella frowned. She remembered the last time Maman had been pregnant with Lucas. "Will it be a boy again?" Bella asked with a scowl.
Maman let out a soft laugh. "No, mon cœur," she said with a smile on her lips. "A girl."
Bella thought about that. A girl? Would that mean her sister would have to travel too one day?
"Maman?" Bella said, her voice small and contemplative.
"Oui?"
"Will my sister have to travel too one day?" Bella looked at her maman's face fast enough to see her expression fall.
"No," Maman said, her voice soft. "No, Bella. That is for you alone."
Bella's eyes filled with tears and she pressed her cheek back to her maman's heart. "Why?"
Maman sighed. "It is the way of things," she said, her voice soft. "You are the first born, so you must carry on our family's legacy." She pressed a kiss to Bella's hair.
"It's not fair," Bella whined.
"No, mon cœur, it's not."
Bella was surprised to hear this from her maman. Usually, Maman told Bella to stop complaining, that whining would get her nowhere.
Never did Maman agree with her.
"Why is it this way?" Bella asked, wanting to finally ask the questions she always kept bottled up.
Maman let out a long breath and rubbed her hand over Bella's back.
"It has been so for all of my family as long as I can remember," Maman said slowly. "My own maman was a traveler, and her maman before her. There must always be a traveler."
"Why?"
"I do not know, mon cœur. It has just always been so."
Bella frowned and thought about it. "But you do not travel anymore, and I am not yet thirteen," she pointed out.
"Oui," Maman agreed. "When I became pregnant with you, the traveling fell to someone else in my family, a cousin or aunt who had not had children."
"Do they get to go back home?"
Before Bella had even finished her sentence, Maman was shaking her head.
"No," she whispered. "They travel as we do."
This struck Bella as even more unfair. At least she was prepared to travel, even if she hated it. She couldn't imagine being grown, building a life for herself, only to have it all snatched away from her unexpectedly.
"Why do we walk through time?" Bella asked, her brows furrowing. "Is it to change history?"
"No," Maman said sharply, and immediately Bella realized her mistake. Maman was always stressing the importance of traveling and leaving no trace behind. "We are to be ghosts," Maman explained. "Silent witnesses to history, until it is our time to stay."
Bella scowled. She didn't know much about boys, but if they were anything even somewhat like Lucas, she wanted nothing to do with them. She never wanted to get married or have babies.
"Maman?"
"Oui, ma belle fille."
"Did Pappa know I would be like you?" It had never occurred to Bella to ask before, but now that she thought about it, she was curious. She couldn't imagine her kind pappa giving her up so easily.
"Oui, Bella. He knew, even before you were born."
If Bella were older, she would be able to hear the heartache in her maman's voice. She could hear the sorrow, the regret, and even the fear.
But Bella was only eight years old, and she was safe and warm and loved, tucked in her mother's arms.
All her worries were for another day.
