The Wellerones-5

Julie made sure that the door to her room was closed before taking the vial hidden under her pillow. She poured herself a glass of water and carefully turned the vial over stopping when three drops of the black liquid dropped into the bronze glass.

She sat down on the bed cross-legged, determined to get to the end of this by today. She will unlock her memories and she will make a decision. A decision that would decide whether she would stay in the underground city or would go back to the surface.

She tipped back the glass and emptied the contents whole. Then she laid down on the bed closing her eyes, waiting for the drug to kick in.

She waited for 5-10 minutes patiently.

Sleep did not come. She rolled to one side wondering whether the drug was supposed to make her fall asleep or not. Maybe it didn't have sleep-pill properties as she assumed.

Feeling stupid again, she got up and headed towards the door, a small voice inside her head telling her that the dwarf woman Guinevere from the potion shop had tricked her and ripped off Ashrynn.

She walked down the stairs, feeling annoyed more than ever. Kale and Vellona were sitting at the kitchen table discussion something in hushed tones.

Julianna gave him a glare, her thoughts still suspicious after she had seen Kale at the market and Ashrynn had suspected Kale of betraying her.

Kale seemed to be deeply immersed in his conversation as he didn't look at her. Or maybe he was pretending not to. Looking at him made her angry anyway so she moved away from the common room.

She could hear voices from the backyard and walked towards the back trying to find Rivela.

Then she heard it.

The sound of something ripping off.

Something hurt in the left side of her brain like someone was playing pin prick with her scalp and she touched the round walls for support.

The sound of ripping was louder now and she felt herself scream. Voices, more voices filled her thoughts, and she could hear the panicked sounds of Vellona and Kale. Rivela was probably crying again. Or was it Rivela? She couldn't understand anymore. Evrything was a blurred mass of bright images.

She saw someone smile at her from a distance a blurred visual of more memories. A glass palace, her running through the maze tunnels a mixture of faces she couldn't recognise, shouts, someone fighting

The sounds got louder till she was on the floor clutching her ears and the noise didn't stop, it wouldn't stop-

"𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢?", 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦", 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴.

"𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣, 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭.

A name suddenly came to her mind. Werche. Werche Arcene.

The scenery changed.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦. 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴.

𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘺𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘌𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰.

𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. "𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯", 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨.

The scenery blurred for a minute and then changed again.

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘌𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳.

The scene changed again.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴. 𝘈 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥. 𝘈 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦.

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦-

The next scenery blurred badly. It was shaking making her feel strained. Her head hurt worse as she focused on Julianna Emore's final memory.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘌𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢nd 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨, 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳", 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. "𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮"

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘌𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘩...𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴-

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘳ov𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘑𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘑𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘌𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮

𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘯 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥.

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥.

"𝘙𝘶𝘯-

Julianna woke up gasping. She was lying on the table in Vellona Weretti's kitchen and Kale and Vell had surrounded her looking anxious.

"You!", she yelled realising who she was. She rolled over and fell down from the table.

"You're the person in the dark cloak. The one who took the heir away"

Vellona paused.

She looked at Julie with cold eyes as her mouth frowned into a sinister smile.

"It seems the little fairy's memories have returned"

Julie lunged at Vellona and halted as her neck came face with cold metal.

A sword.

And on the other end holding it was Kale.

"Don't move", he gritted through his teeth.

Julie felt the magic runes running through his mana blade. One slice and she would be dead instantly.

"How did you break the sealed memories?", Kale asked his eyes green and angry.

Julie was still breathing heavily, her head still hurting in all places. She swayed on the floor and pretended to fall down. Kale lowered his blade by an inch. Julie took it as a chance and kicked his blade away running towards the hall.

Where was the kid?

She heard the sound of footsteps scarily close and ran towards the yard where she had heard the sound of the child playing before.

Rivela, or Riler Arcane was sitting on the floor his long silver hair covering his face, his hands covered with mud. He looked so innocent, angelic even. Julie dashed towards the young heir picking him up. She need to hide him, protect him. The king and the others knew where she lived. It won't be long before he assembles his men and start infiltrating the house.

Julianna took a few steps out of the house running and stopped abruptly when something pulled at her hair. She screamed as Vellona clawed at her dark hair trying to grab the child from her hands. Julianna let go of the young heir screaming at him at the top of her voice. "Run! save yourself"

The boy stared at her in horror his muddied hands helpless. He had tears at the corners of his eyes. He really was young, way too young to be caught up in this mess. Vellona tried to grab at the kid but Julie kicked her feet. The child started to cry and ran back to the house.

The house no-

If Kale ever got his hands on the heir he would exchange the child for his freedom. That was the kind of person he was. Julianna tried to run back to the house but Vellona hit her neck in a blow and she fell down on the ground feeling numb everywhere all of a sudden.

"You need to take him away", she sobbed. "The heir is too young. The king is coming after him. Please take him away"

She told Vellona as she bound her hands at her back.

Footsteps suddenly lined upto her front. Julie raised her neck slowly to see Kale holding Riler in his hands. He had a serious expression on his face.

"She seems to have misunderstood the situation. Take her inside", he ordered Vellona.

Vellona grumbled something pulling Julie to her feet. Then she dragged her back to the kitchen.

**************************************

Julie was tied against a chair in the kitchen. Kale sat down in a chair in front of her sighing. He kept his blade close next to his feet.

Riler was in Vellona's hands. Julie looked at him anxiously worried for his safety.

"How much do you remember?", Kale asked rubbing his thumb over his fingers.

"Everything. My memory seal is broken", she said chocking on the last word.

"And you know that Rivela, or Riler Arcene here is the late King's heir? And the 12th's incident and your connection with Ashrynn Kleir, you remember it all?", he asked again.

Julie nodded shocked that he knew about all of this too. How long had Kale known about this? From the beginning?

"I got to know about this recently", he said reading her thoughts. "It was only yesterday that I confirmed that young Rivela here is a Prince and the missing heir of this country", he said rubbing his eyes. "Although it was quite clever of you to raise him like a girl, I have to admit", he said smiling at Vellona from the corner of his mouth.

Julie wasn't listening.

Yesterday he said. So what she saw yesterday was Kale visiting the King after all.

"So, who are you going to trade with the King?", Julie asked slowly. "The Young heir or me, now that I have all my memories back?"

The Prince looked at her, astonished. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and turned away trying to hide his disbelief. "I don't even know why I am so surprised that you think so low of me"

Julie raised her chin a bit higher, trying not to look intimidated. "Don't try to play with your words. Just call the knights over to take me away already. You know that's the only thing that can be done now"

Vellona came over glaring. Julie shivered slightly. She still wasn't used to seeing this particular version of Vellona Weretti.

"Can I smack this woman? She seems to have zero trust in you, who took such risks to keep her alive", she said rocking a sleeping Riler on her shoulder.

"Listen Julianna. I am not going to abandon you. Nor am I going to abandon the heir", Kale said sighing. "I don't know what you're motives and plan are, now that you're memories have returned. But I have made my decision. And if you are still willing I will take you back to Liere"

"What about the heir? What are you going to do with him?", she asked suspiciously.

Kale paused for a minute before saying his answer.

"I am going to bring him back to Liere with me"

Julie stared at him.

She thought it over slowly. The heir was being hunted by the late King's knights and would continue being hunted as long as he lived here. It was an excellent solution, to bring him back to the surface world with them. That way he can grow up without being hunted throughout his life.

But then another thought appeared in Julie's mind. What about the upcoming war? Kale Liere and the rest of the Royals had absolutely no idea that the war would happen in the near future. Where would Riler stay when war breaks out in the capital?

She choose to worry about it later focusing on the more important things right now.

"I met Ashrynn Kleir in the underground market. He was the one who gave me the antidote to remove the memory suppressor", Julianna told them.

Vellona growled at the mention of Ashrynn's name. Julie couldn't really blame her. They both were the late King's first hand in commands. Ashrynn Kleir's betrayal must have been hard on her.

"Why did he approach you?", Kale asked suspiciously. "And why give you the antidote when he knew that you weren't going to forgive him for the late King's murder?"

Julianna shrugged. She had found it suspicious too. Ashrynn Kleir had no reason to trust her in the slightest way possible. She wondered what his ulterior motives might be.

"That's not what is important right now", Vellona said lying down Riler on the sofa. "What is important right now is to ask whose side you are on Julianna Emore", she said glaring at Julie.

Julie wondered how she managed to put on a mask and act so excellently all these days she stayed with her.

"I saw the previous king die in front of my eyes. And I could feel that the feelings Julianna had for the late Emperor was not the normal affection kind. I understand these memories of mine were suppressed because they contained dangerous information about the underground city. But this information was also suppressed because Julianna Emore took the King's death more personally than she should have", Julie said slowly remembering the painful memories.

She never wanted to experience them like that again.

"Apparently I was heartbroken", she whispered.

Silence followed after her comment.

Kale rubbed his neck turning his face away.

Vellona still glared at her on spot, her silver eyes burning an invisible hole through her soul.

And somewhere deep down within her, she realised that she deserved their hate.

"So..are you coming with us?", Kale asked still not looking at her for some reason.

Julie took a deep breath thinking it over.

The underground city was unknown to the rest of the world. It was hidden, and a perfect place for her to escape. That was precisely why 'Julianna Emore' had decided to flee here.

But that didn't really solve her problems. The people on the surface would never change and they would criticise her for the rest of her life to be.

And somewhere within all this mess, Julie missed Rex and Caine terribly.

"I..I'll go", she whispered suddenly feeling a dead weight on her chest.

"What?", Kale asked. He didn't hear her lie voice. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Julie wiped her face on her shoulder biting down on her lips to hold back the sudden emotion. "I'll come back with you"

Kale exhaled and leaned back in his chair relieved. Vellona tsked loudly and went back to look after the sleeping Prince.

Kale slowly untied Julie's hands from the chair.

"I want to do something before we leave, your highness", she whispered.

Kale raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I think Ashrynn Kleir will keep hunting for the young heir, even after we take him to the surface. He desperately wants to keep the heir hidden with the 12 knights. There is not guarantee that he will remain here after we leave", she said remembering Julianna's memories.

Ashrynn Kleir was a knight before a hunter. And he still held an unspeakable grudge against the late King's family. He wanted the pure-bloods to rule. Also, there was something she wanted to confirm from him directly.

"I'll need your help with this. And if it works out, we'll be able to protect Riler"

Kale sat down with a serious look on his face. "I'm listening"

**************************************

Julianna waited patiently in front of the apple stand from earlier. She had sent a letter to Ashrynn earlier, telling him that her memories had returned and that she wanted to talk to him.

She was dressed heavily with the brown coat hiding the weight of the small blade she had stolen from Vellona. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it.

Right on time, Ashrynn Kleir strode past the crowd, his black blindfold still in place, hiding that red eye of his. He looked a bit frantic, angry even and Julianna felt her confidence from earlier falter.

"What have you decided?", he asked her grabbing her by her shoulders immediately. "You said in your letter that you knew where the heir was. That means that you will help us, won't you?"

Julie shrugged his large hands from her shoulders trying to stay strong. "Is this how you treat someone who brings you information, Ash?", she asked remembering how 'Julianna' used to treat him before.

Ashrynn took a step back looking curiously at her now. "You've really regained your memories"

"Yes. And I say, I am not very pleased. You and your crew attacked the late king, someone who was our friend and went into hiding."

She took a step towards him. "I was forced to go home."

She took another. "I couldn't even come back to search for you and the rest of the knights."

She took a last step trying her best to stand upto his height.

"And what did you do? You ignored me and left my parents to deal with me. You couldn't be bothered to come looking after me, could you?", she taunted, trying her best to look haughty.

Ashrynn covered a bit. That cowardly expression had returned on his face. "You have seen how the security around this kingdom is. I didn't stand a chance"

Liar, Julie thought.

"Where is the heir?", he asked impatiently. "We need to take him under the 12 knight's protection immediately. There is so saying what the King might do, if he manages to find him"

"Ah yes, the child", Julie said rolling her eyes. "I found out where he was being hidden the moment after I regained my memories. I sweet talked my way into his caretakers schedule and I have managed to lure them out to a secluded place. You will have to be quick although. They might suspect something and leave before you get a chance to reach them-

"Take me there", he said pulling her by her arm.

Julie tried not to wince. His grip was hurtful, unlike the first time she had met him. His change in demeanour surprised her a little.

She sighed leading the way, trying to keep him occupied with conversation.

Ashrynn kept his silence as he followed her trail. She led him through the path, that she had memorised hoping that the guards nearby wouldn't have noted her amoung the crowd.

She led him towards the guild, where she had earlier went looking him for. Her heart thundered as she led him across the bridge and towards the guild. On the other side of the bridge would be Vellona Weretti and the young heir Riler Arcene. And if things went her way, everything would turn out right and no one will be hurt and they will manage to get away without involving others.

Ashrynn stiffened beside her once he recognised the guild. It was quite secluded place for a meeting. Julie thought that she had chose well.

"I came across this guild while I was searching for you the other day", she explained taking careful steps trying to avoid the knights nearby. "It's a nice place to meet people, don't you think?"

Ashrynn paused for a minute. "I guess this explains how you got my current contact information. Are they inside there?"

"This is where I asked them to be", she said pretending to look around. "They must have gone inside", she said opening the door of the guild, inviting him in.

Ashrynn halted in front of the door. He looked at her in suspicion.

Julie held the door open, hoping that he won't see the sweat building around her neck. Right on cue, the sound of a child's laughter was heard from inside the guild.

Julianna entered as if following the sound of the child she had heard. She heard the sound of footsteps behind her and inhaled slightly in relief.

The female attendant was talking to a figure in a dark clock. Holding the tall figure's hand was young Riler Arcene. He was holding a glowing ball in his hand.

She heard the knight behind her take in a deep breath at the sight of the child. Julie moved towards the female attendant smiling widely. "Hello Miss. Hope you are well today"

Julie pretended to be stuck in a conversation with the attendant and the tall figure in cloak. She could feel Ashrynn's patience growing thin with each word she exchanged. She turned around and smiled at him, in a way of telling him to come and meet the young heir himself.

Ashrynn didn't move.

Julie sighed loudly gaining the attention of the tall figure in cloak. "I'm really sorry. But my friend over there is too shy to meet the young one", she said touching Riler's hand gently. "Would you be kind enough to meet with him outside?", she asked slowly.

Riler raised his hand towards Julie and she held onto his hand slowly leading him towards out of the door. The person in the dark clock followed closely taking not to stray too far.

When they were at the door's entrance Julie halted the dark cloaked figure trying to ask them something as Ashrynn held the child's hand and moved him towards the bridge.

Julianna watched with patient eyes as the two of them walked slowly away from them. Ashrynn looked at Julie and gave her a nod as if he would take it from here, that he would take the heir back with him towards where the 12 knights were, where they could protect him.

Then he suddenly stopped in front of the bridge.

Ashrynn bent down on one knee looking amazed at the child. He bowed in front of the young heir.

"My lord", he said, his eyes looking only at him.

Then he drove a sword right into Riler Arcene's chest.