Chapter 6

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The dream was different this time. I was in the palace, looking through eyes, being a human, but the person I was looking through wasn't me.

I walk over to the nearest mirror, recognizing this room as my own, and look into the tall wall mirror. It was me, but..older, I was wearing a black fighting bodice with a white shirred blouse underneath, they were paired with black riding slacks, them shaping my body very prettily and proportionate. And then I notice the eyes. They were my mothers deep green forest eyes. I gasp, but nothing came out of my mothers mouth.

There was a knock sounding through the room, my mother walked over to the white decorative door, and opened it, revealing a younger Benjamin. "Miss Lara, the Queen will see you now." Benjamin states, his hands folded behind his back. "Thank you Advisor." Lara, A.K.A my MOTHER says.

I try and do an experiment, can I control her movements, but not her voice? I try to raise her hand, but It didn't move. So I was stuck in her head, just watching the scene.

She was walking down the familiar hall, and then down the grand staircase, taking a left into the room that was wide open, it was a throne room. This was the grand ballroom I thought was behind the closed doors. Turns out it was a Throne-room. I see a woman with dark chocolate brown hair and glowing blue eyes, sitting on the throne. It was an older looking version of Amalia, this was Amalia's mother, Queen Amalie. My mother bows low to the floor, her eyes cast downward, "Good afternoon Your Majesty." she says respectfully.

"Good afternoon Lara Ivanov. It's great to see you again."

"You called for me Your Majesty?" My mother asks, standing back up.

"Yes, Benjamin, will you send him in please?" The Queen asks, waving to her advisor. 'Him?' we thought. 'Who's him?'

Lara still stares at the queen as she hears footsteps getting closer from behind me. My mother turns to look at the man, immediately recognizing him as Aliax Valakia, the purple eyes a dead giveaway. My mother glares, knowing what type of man he is. That's my FATHER! I internally scream.

"Your Majesty?" my mother asks, waiting for her explanation.

"My Husband has been kidnapped by an assassination group, they sent an anonymous letter, wanting ransom money. I haven't told the public this fact, but I need him found, and this must be under-wraps, so even your children cannot know about this.

"I don't have any children." My parents both say simultaneously. My mother looks at the man, and then back at the Queen, acting like that never happened.

"Good, then you won't have a problem. We have leads that we think are leads but my team cannot crack them." She says angrily, look at the people towards the right side of the room, most of them look down.

"So I have hired you to work on this case together."

"Together!" My mother yells just before Aliax did.

"My Queen, I mean no disrespect, but I cannot work with this...this..roughneck." My mother explodes, looking at Aliax.

"And I work alone, I'm just going to ignore your insult Miss, but there's no way I can work with this woman."

"Woman? Do you have a problem against my species?"

"No, I love women." He breaks off, realizing just what he said. My mom laughs ironically, folding her arms.

"I just refuse to work with an Ivanov." He spits.

She smile cruelly at my father.

"Then I guess I agree with you on that, I will never work with a Valakia either."

"YOU will work together, and you'll enjoy it!" The Queen yells, pinching the bridge of her nose, sighing.

"Mamma!" My mom hear from the left side of the throne-room, two little boys, twins, it looked like they were 2 or so, ran up to their mother, jumping into her open arms. "These are my sons, Xavier and Zander." She introduces, smiling at her little boys. "You will start immediately on this case, the packet of information is in the library. I don't care how you get the information as long as the civilians do not know about the King. Understand!" She demands.

"Yes My Queen." My parents both state in unison. My mother turns quickly around, trying to get out of the room as fast as possible. But clearly my father had the same thought process, so they left next to each other, trying to always walk faster than the other. Before they reach the library, I felt a hand grab my mothers bicep. "Hey, so-." He starts, my mother cuts him off, yanking her arm out of his hand, turning around, unsheathing her dagger, the hilt of the knife had jewels and another point at the end, and she holds it against his throat, the tip at his jugular.

"Stay out of my way." My mother demands. My father scoffs, flicking away the knife, stepping forward, ducking her blow from her other hand that was aiming for his throat. My father tackles her, surprisingly gently for a tackle, he places his palm under her head, protecting her from hitting her head on the marble tile. "Your dear Queen said we have to work together, so let's introduce ourselves shall we?" He states sassily. My mother grits her teeth, thrusting her hips up, making his hand go above her head, she grabs his elbow, putting her foot on the outside of his leg, and then throws him off of her, rolling on top of him, putting her knife back into her thigh sheathe.

"Hi, my name is Lara Ivanov." My mother states, watching as my fathers face pick up into a grin. My father yanks his wrists out of her strong hold, throwing her to the side. He stands up, looking down at my mother. "I'm Aliax Valakia." He says with a smirk, holding his hand out for her to take. My mother kicks her body up, not taking his hand, and throws herself on her feet. "Nice to meet you Roughneck." She winks, walking through a Green Jade door.

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I wake up with the covers thrown off of my body, the cold air nipping at my bare toes. I sit up, checking the time in my dark room, turning up my oil lamp on my nightstand. It was 1:43 am, I stand up and shake my head, knowing there was no way I could sleep after that dream.

But there's a problem, I don't think that the dream was a dream. I think that the palace is telling me my parents life before me through their eyes. I do not know how, but I didn't really care, I just wanted to know my parents before me.

I walk into the study, getting out a journal, then dipping the quill in the black ink. I start writing everything I remember from the memory, starting with the clothes my mother was wearing.

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I was currently trying to find the green jade door I saw in my parents memories, but that was proving to be fruitless, so instead I first found the closed off throne room that had been locked on all entrances, I stand next to the closed grand doors and make my way to the grand entrance, making the same turns my mother and father made, straight, right right, left, then right, and then the door was on the right. I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them, and looked to my right.

There was nothing.

It was just a white and brown wall, the brown wood coming hallway up the wall. I place my hand on the wall, feeling where I knew the door was. I feel for a doorknob, a nook, a cranny, anything! But I was just finding just a flat wall. Until something moved under my middle finger. I bend down, seeing that the top of the wood, one little piece could circle up. I push the circle around and open the flap, seeing a key hole.

I study the key slit for a second before pulling two pins from my hair. I bend one of them perfectly straight, the other bent a little. I kneel down and get to work, I closed my eyes, feeling the ways the pins fit. So far, no one has come this way, and I couldn't 'feel' Xavier's presence, so I was in the clear with the door.

After three minutes, I finally hear the signature click of the now unlocked door, I smile and push it open, looking inside.

It was the library in the memory. The huge gorgeous room that had been stacked to the ceiling with books of all sizes and colors. There were white marble columns that had built in shelves packed with other books. I found myself still turning around in circles, trying to take in the whole beauty of this library. The shelves on the walls were a black wood, the gold ladders attached to the shelves, allowing one to step on them to get a book.

After I snapped out of it, I went to work. I saw a big brown mahogany desk by tall window with the curtains drawn, for some reason the desk was drawn to me, the desk had designs and details over the legs, and on the slanted workspace. I walk over to it, wipe the dust off of the chair and sit down. I lift up the cover of the desk up, seeing that the inside was empty. I raise an eyebrow and feel the felt lined on the inside, there was a tiny little nook that I could place my nail in. I flick it back and the whole bottom flicked up. I smirk, classic Mom and Dad.

I slip out the false bottom, now staring down at my mothers gorgeous dagger. I check the rest of the false bottom, finding a black paper that one could've easily missed if you weren't looking. I flip it over, seeing gold ink spiraling in letters.

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To whoever my have found this dagger, do not touch it, this is the dagger of Lara Ivanov, I am leaving this here for my future child. I do not know if the human inside me is a girl or boy, and when the time comes my child will have found this dagger. If this dagger is still here and my child has found it, this is the letter to my child.

Dear little one, I have made a deal with a sorceress. After saving the King from the assassins group, I have realized how awful of a person he is. And his children will be the same, especially the oldest boys. The deal I made included this dagger. I cannot tell you more about the dagger, only that when in time of need, you only need to bleed.

The deal also includes a monster, I hope you get to meet this beast, and change his soul, and I do not know if I will be there to help you, but I need you to be strong and have an open mind. I'm sorry, I cannot say more, I'm under extremely strict time. I look forward to raising you with your father. If he stays when I tell him about you that is.

Love, your mother, Lara.

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When time of need, you only need to bleed? What does that even mean? I shake my head and go over the things I understood in my brain.

My mother got pregnant with me before they were married. She knew she was pregnant and she didn't tell my father right away? With the dream, they hated each other, and I'm guessing the saving the king only took a few weeks, two months at most, so what was the date she wrote this? And when did they get all close to each other?

Why didn't they just tell me their history together? Then I wouldn't have to go on this goose chase to find out who my parents really were and what this curse is. I put my head in my hands and groan. Why do my parents have to make everything so difficult?

I run my hands through my hair and decide to take the dagger, slipping out my other dagger from my thigh holster and putting the other one in it. I put my normal dagger on my belt, not caring if anyone sees it. I shake my head, taking a random book off of the shelves and opening it up, needing a distraction from my thoughts.

"What are you doing in here!" A deep growl resonates throughout the room. I snap my head up to meet the familiar eyes of the beast.