Page 16 of Royal Lies

"Mother! I made this for you." A boy with a smile as bright as the sun beamed up to a woman whose hair shone like that of a lion's mane. The woman turned her golden brows arching as she frowned down at the boy. Her discontent with his actions was clear. Narrowing her eyes down at the drawing she sighed, seemingly exhausted at the beaming little boy. The woman was ready to get back to looking at the map she had laid out on the table behind her, "Eli, I highly doubt this is a useful endeavor of your time. Now go bother someone else. I'm quite busy. Besides, did I not get you five nannies for this? Don't tell me I have to get you another. We can't have our warriors waiting on your hands and feet, Eli. Now hurry and go back to your room. I haven't the time for this." With a flick of a hand, the woman shooed the boy away as if he were a pesky fly on the wall.

The boy's brightness dimmed as he nodded back. His wintery blue eyes frosting over, "I understand moth- I mean chief." Bowing his head the small boy ducked away into the little cave that served as his room.

The woman watched the boy from the corner of her eyes.

As the boy disappeared behind the folds of sheets the woman focused back on her map. At her feet, a picture of a boy and a woman stood in front of a hut smiling and holding hands. Noting the fallen paper the woman picked it up. Tearing it into pieces, she watched it burn in her hands gazing back at the smallblue eyes hidden behind the curtains just as the scene started to waver.

A girl and boy stood together, their hands clasped as they watched their parents binge on the luxuries of a conquered kingdom. The two kids stood peering out at the massive piles of motionless sphinxes. Brother, why did this have to happen?" The violet-haired girl squeezed her elder brother's hand tightly. Her free hand clutched onto a small paddle doll.

“Because it's the natural way of things. Nothing lasts forever." The red-haired boy squeezed his sister's hand back his gaze firmly set on the red blaze in the arena. The chard smell of burning flesh still clung to my nose even in this vision.

Suddenly the scene changed once more like a ripple in the waves.

Fire.

There was so much fire, and there in the center stood the boy with chestnut-colored hair, his eyes glowing black with crimson blood in its depths. "We're finally free, dear sister." The boy pronounced to the purple-haired raven as she stared down at the woman beneath her foot.

"Yes, finally." The girl loomed above a woman bending down just as she ripped out the woman's heart.

So similar was the girl to the woman below her, the girl hated it.

"No more cages, no more beatings," The girl snarled her lips curling in disgust, closing her eyes as the woman beneath her closed her inky violet gaze.

Falling through the floor I was once more in another scene.

Blood.

Pools and rivers of it as agonized cries echoed all around, "You can't do this! He's my fiance!" The violet-haired woman was standing atop an altar now. The dark brown-haired boyrolled his eyes, plunging the crimson-drenched dagger into the man before him despite the woman's desperate rebuttals to stop.

"Please, if it wasn't for me he wouldn't even be here. Now, I have corrected that mistake." The boy spat, his malicious drawl tone echoing through the holy chamber.

Stepping over the motionless body on the marbled ground leaving clear imprints of his chunky black boots indented against the chest of the blooded corpse.

"I thought you wanted to be free." The boy frowned puzzled, a question lingering in his eyes, offering his blood-soaked hand to the violet-haired woman with eyes that seemed to resemble that of the night stars.

The girl closed her eyes, taking the offered hand, knowing she had no other choice. She had to otherwise she too will die tonight. Why die when she can take revenge on her brother for killing what was hers?

"Yes, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking, '' the woman relented. She feared the promise of death in the red-haired man's gaze. If she hadn't taken what was commanded of her to do, would her brother have killed her too?

Ripple.

There was nothing and then there was something.

There was a girl, her smile was said to light up even the darkest of rooms. And there was a boy whose sword skills were unmatched. The boy would do anything to save the girl, but then she betrayed him.

Black… darkness… nothing.

Then there was life again. And then there were two boys, then one, "Everetta, this isn't you, not the one I know, not the one I grew up with. I'm sorry, but I will not place my kingdom endangered because of your ... hunger!" The boy with hair as green as the forest trees and eyes as rich as emeralds bellowed."Goodbye." Then a floating piece of rock, with greenery finer than that on the ground, and a sky, a sun and moon of its own.

Nothing.

Ripple.

Groaning, I awoke from the sudden onslaught of memories and visions. Too entwined to make out. What was the past and what was to come? The throbbing pain beat like drums against my ears slowly fading into the air. Panting softly I tried to gather myself and reclaim what was me.

"These memories are not all mine, they arenotall mine. Calm your emotions and dispel what is true and what is not. What is yours and what is theirs? Relax and calm yourself." I chanted in my mind over and over until what was true separated itself from the lies.

Brown and red waves, that was my brother, those were my memories, blond hair, blue eyes, those of the boy, Eli, green eyes, who was that? No, there was also a blond girl, Everetta, with him, so those must be her lost memories. Or they could be visions. At least I think so.

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