A TRACE OF PAST

EARLIER ON: After staying low for six years, Alara was finally seen and the target of the queen, who is, her mother and the destroyer of her family, herself. Her friend, Katie, is quite a chatterbox, and daughter of motel owners. They invite Alara over for dinner, but when Alara arrives, she notices something amiss. She soon realizes that she is now a wanted person as the queen herself is dining there. Katie’s mother sends them to fetch potatoes from the storage basement and Alara finds out that the royal guards are after her. She realizes the bond must’ve been the reason she is so easily traced. She bids Katie goodbye and sneaks away from the motel to her own place. But on her way, she runs into someone wearing a royal uniform, but in fear of getting caught and in haste she does not see the person's face and scurries home. After reaching home, she realizes that she has no food and uses her magical abilities to get herself food, but just as she started her dinner, guards have reached her place, so she has to escape from there too. She jumps from roof to roof and finally into an alley and is attacked by a dosorlla. After successfully saving herself she vomits and steps forward to see if the person who was with her in the alley is there but falls on the ground and faints, waking up to new surroundings.

ALARA:

"I’m Clare James, thanks for helping me" I patted myself in my head on my brilliant acting.

I thanked him to which he nodded and was pushed aside by a girl.

"Move it Dom" She slapped his shoulder, making him stand up.

"Fine," He groaned, getting up.

"Hi, how are you feeling? I am Ivy Xander, their sister" She tilted her head towards both the boys, shook my hand.

"I am feeling fine, thank you" I smiled at her.

"Yo erm" Dom started, looking at the boy

"Yes" The boy with green eyes and black hair, who stood away from me, replied back to him.

"That's Jeremy Xander. He is the head here" Dominic introduced me to him. Dominic had golden eyes which glowed in a warm manner. He had blonde hair. Ivy was a cool girl

with black hair and green eyes. She looked like Jeremy's sister because their resemblance was uncanny.

"Who are you?" He asked authoritatively, looking straight at me. I resisted the urge to laugh in his face, which I don’t know why was bubbling inside me. Suddenly an alarm started wailing. I looked around, shocked. Jeremy took out his phone, started talking quietly while walking out of the room. Dom and Ivy looked at each other in questioning gazes. An electric buzz went through my body but I ignored it. Footsteps approached the room and I turned around to face them.

AIDEN:

We approached the Academy and an electric buzz went through my body. I gripped my cloak tightly. We had been informed that Alara was here. It would be 15 years since I had seen her. How would she be? What would she look like? I inhaled and walked inside.

“Jeremy Xander” I nodded at the head of the Academy and walked further inside. Dominic Xander and Ivy Xander stood around a bed. They backed off, seeing me. There on the bed, was someone so different then what I remember. A nod of my head and everyone was outside the room. She was still, not moving or even breathing.

“It’s allowed to breathe in here” I chuckled at her. She let out a sharp breath.

“Oh, really? I suppose it was forbidden to do so until the future heir to the throne said it himself” Her tone was bitter and she scrambled up from the bed, failing in the process and fell on the bed. A chuckle escaped as I moved forward to help her up.

“Don’t you even dare” She threatened me. I froze at my spot at her menacing tone. Something in me told me to steer clear of her but I stepped forward, chaining her with menottes. She gasped and struggled against them but my years of royal training had paid off.

“You cannot chain me. You cannot jail me. I will never bow before you. Nor your queen or anybody in the royal castle.” She spat at me.

“Don’t worry. It won’t happen” I hauled her by her arm. She backed off.

“Do Not struggle for something not worth it” I warned her.

“Yet, you did” She snapped at me, looking here and there for an escape route, unfortunately there was none. I walked towards her and she slammed herself in the wall behind her, but I was just in time to pull her forward. She moved vigorously, I threw her on my shoulder and she struggled screaming profanities at me in every language she could.

“Sorry for the chaos” I nodded at Jeremy and an astonished looking pair of Ivy and Dominic and left, the guards, following me. I stepped in the carriage and plopped her down on the soft satin seat. She now kept quiet and refrained from looking at me, instead staring at her own hands as if the menottes would magically disappear. But unfortunately for her they didn’t. We rode towards the heart of France, Paris with average speed, soon to be greeted by the sight of the large Palace. Alara in the whole three hour ride hadn’t looked up, nor her eyes sneaked a look. I was impressed by her patience and stamina. She didn’t even look up to see the palace.

“Do you want me to tear your eyes from their sockets?” She questioned, apparently still unfazed.

“You cannot do that, you are handcuffed” I pointed out. She blurted out laughing. I looked at her in amazement.

“Hasn’t your dear queen told you, Never fall for things you look at, because you can look and look but you just won't see” She whispered eerily in my ear. I shuddered as she sat back in her seat and crossed her hands. I gulped unconsciously. Scolding myself inwardly, for losing control I stepped down the carriage and behind me Alara also did, walking with least care. The valets looked at her in pure astonishment.

“What? Seeing a woman for the first time.” She snapped at them.

“Disgraceful” Someone murmured, enough to be heard of but not to be known. An arrow out of nowhere came and struck a valet standing on the far right. He died on the spot. The court lady hurried forward towards us.

“Your Majesty is awaiting for us” She panted, apparently due to the run she had taken. I walked forward but stopped sensing Alara wasn’t following. She looked at me emotionlessly before rolling her eyes and then finally following us. We walked through the large entrance of the palace as I glanced at Alara, who apparently still looked uninterested in anything. She yawned and covered her mouth and sighed in distaste. The court lady tried her best to hide her horror and so did the valets. The court lady stopped in front of the court and bowed to us, looking at Alara with averted eyes. She rolled her eyes at the court lady.

“You don’t have to act like you like me. I know you don’t and the feeling is mutual” She spoke in a flat tone.

“Don’t roll your eyes” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. “You should work on your control, it is pathetic” She spat at me before marching chin up in the court, without any care. I followed and the valets looked alarmed and horrified at her audacity.

ALARA:

I had marched inside the royal court, paying no heed to the stares and gasps because who the fuck gives a damn about them, anyway?

Suddenly the wind started blowing in, when I heard a strange humming voice, it felt familiar but I just couldn't find out who?. The humming turned into a voice, someone singing a song, a lullaby. I looked at Aiden who was looking at me, concern written in his eyes. I scoffed and closed my eyes trying to hear what the song was so I could remember it. But instead I started feeling dizzy. I opened my eyes to see everything spinning in front of me and with that I fainted.

"That's my girl" A beautiful woman stood smiling looking at a baby in her arms. She hushed the crying baby and cradled her in her arms singing a lullaby to her. The scene seemed oddly familiar to me and yet I couldn't grasp when this happened or who the people were. I walked towards them to hear it. The way she hummed was the same humming I had heard when the wind blew in. The women rocked the child and gave a tinkling laugh. She bought her lips closer to the baby ear and I leaned forward to hear what she was whispering. It was a lullaby.

"Never turn your back to where you belong,

Hush little one and listen to the song"