Chapter 17 – Sorrow and Guilt

No matter how long Aaron stared at Allegra, he couldn’t make sense of anything that she was saying. It felt as if he were being punched repeatedly in the stomach with each word she said.

He held up a hand to stop her nervous rambling. “Allegra, please,” he said.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “One moment, she was there, the next she’d jumped through. I tried to follow, but I couldn’t and the portal seems gone now.”

Aurora is gone. Aaron reached out, supporting himself on a tree. They were standing around the lake, the exact place he’d been facing Aurora just an hour ago. And now, she was gone. He scanned the area, hoping to see the little blue light that signified a portal. But it was nowhere to be seen. Allegra was telling the truth.

A dull ache settled in the pit of his stomach. He was exhausted from the healing, but he couldn’t slack now. He needed to remember everything that Shani had told him about her home. She’d been here just a few years ago, and they’d arrived in the Sacred Land safely. There hadn’t been any problems with the travelling back then.

“Allegra,” he said. “When you came here the last time… Was there any problems there?”

She shook her head. “No, sir.”

“We need to find that portal again,” he muttered. “I didn’t tell Aurora anything about the land, and she might be in trouble.” Aaron ran a hand through his hair. Frustrated, he jerked around to the small assemble of female warriors. “Lead me to Heratrix,” he said. When he saw their expressions, he added, “please.”

***

Aurora woke with a jerk. Disorientated, she glanced around the room. It took her a while before she recognized the feeling of soft satin against her bare skin. Sari was in a chair, reading over something. A dim light illuminated the Queen’s features.

“Bad dreams?” Sari asked without moving.

“How did you know?” Aurora rubbed her forehead.

“Your heart is beating faster than before.” Sari raised her head, meeting Aurora’s eyes. “Almost as if you had been running.”

“It wasn’t that kind of nightmare.”

“Oh.” Sari smiled. “I see, then. Should I leave you be?”

When Aurora didn’t answer, Sari folded something and rose from the chair.

“Don’t go,” Aurora blurted.

Queen Sari nodded and took a place in the chair again. Aurora fiddled with her fingers, glancing at the queen in secret. It was odd; she’d witnessed the Queen’s breakdown. Yet now, it seemed as if the Queen was doing anything she could to comfort Aurora instead.

The more time she spent with the queen, the more she realized that Sari wasn’t a Queen. She didn’t act, talk, or look as a figure of royalty. Of course, Aurora knew next to nothing about this land, but Sari wasn’t like any character she’d encountered over her many years.

“You can just ask, you know,” Sari said, again without taking her eyes away from the papers in her lap.

“About what?”

“You’re wondering why I don’t act like a Queen.”

“How did you know?” Aurora asked the question before she remembered that Sari had been able to read her mind. “Sorry. Dumb question.”

“So why don’t you ask what you want to know?”

Aurora shrugged lightly. “I thought it might be rude. I am fairly ignorant to this world after all.”

Sari stood up, placing the papers safely on the chair, and then walked over to the bed. Aurora scooted over, making room beside her.

“I’m not the actual queen,” she said and hugged her knees. “Shani was always the best, and the land suffered when she left.”

“Shani was the Queen?”

Sari nodded. “I’m barely legal. My powers haven’t even fully evolved yet—that’s why you had to push me away to stop me earlier.”

Aurora’s heart was breaking, but she couldn’t explain why. It made her sad to see Sari so alone and helpless. She didn’t know the girl, but she wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be all right. “I have so much to learn from you,” she muttered.

Sari sniffled and tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I know next to nothing about my people—technically your people—here,” Aurora explained. “All I know is how to serve humans.”

“We weren’t meant to serve humans—that wasn’t the original plan,” Sari said. “That’s what Shani wanted to change. She needed to save the people of Hellich.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s what made her get killed.”

Aurora hesitated, but finally placed an arm around the young Queen’s shoulders. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

A comfortable silence spread between them. Aurora’s hand moved up and down Sari’s back, offering comfort. At the same time, Sari’s presence made her feel secure. She couldn’t explain it, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Sari was the first to break the silence. “I never understood what she saw in the humans.”

Aurora frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The last time she was here she said she’d found a way to help our people.” The young Queen gave a dry, humorless laugh. “She said that the humans could help her.” Sari tilted her head away. “But the humans treat us as dirt. Why would they help?”

“Maybe they didn’t intend to help.” Aurora leaned back on the bed. “Humans are adventurous, intelligent and curious. However, they often stumble upon things they didn’t intend to find.”

“I still remember the day she left.” Sari fiddled with her blood-red fingertips. “She promised she’d be back. She promised she would make us all safe.”

Aurora didn’t speak. She had a feeling that Sari needed to let out some frustrations.

“And then she invites them into our land.” Sari clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning pale-white. “They aren’t supposed to be here, Aurora. They have nothing to do here.”

The Queen’s words made Aurora think of her dream. She’d dreamt that Aaron and the rest couldn’t follow her. “Sari?” she asked. “Your highness, I mean.”

“Don’t call me that.” Sari covered her face in her hands. “What is it?”

“You realize that I’m not alone, right?” Aurora had already explained her situation earlier, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. “

“You told me about the other Immortalias.”

“And a human,” Aurora said, then added, “my human.”

“Your human?”

“Enslaved Immortalias works in a different way.” Aurora stood from the bed and started to pace in front of the bed. “I can’t say that I fully understand it still, which is something considering the years I’ve existed. But Immortalias owe their lives to humans.”

Sari scoffed. “How can we owe anything to them? They thrive on abuse. Surely, you already know that.”

“It wasn’t always like that.” Aurora stopped and faced Sari. Sighing deeply, she held up her hands, palms out. “I’ll be the first to admit that humans can be a cruel, evil and downright rotten breed—I know that.”

“Good.”

“But it doesn’t go for all of them.” A taste of bile filled her mouth as she spoke the next sentence. “It was the humans who ensured our survival out there away from our home. Because of their curiosity they never stop trying. The majority of humanity is just trying to survive—just like us.”

“And your human is one of those people?” Sari cocked an eyebrow. When Aurora didn’t answer, she rose to her feet. “Can you honestly tell me, that this human you seem to care for so much, wouldn’t jump at an opportunity to force all of us in submission.”

Aurora hesitated. Zachary was despicable in many ways; she’d seen it firsthand. But he didn’t thrive on pain and suffering. When she’d tracked him down, he’d flat out refused to own her. He’d warned her that he wasn’t capable of owning people.

Moreover, he’d been too focused on his art. Even after he’d found out about her healing abilities, he hadn’t been tempted. In fact, he’d begged her to find someone else. Of course, she couldn’t find anyone else—it had to be him.

Aurora took a deep breath. “Zachary Thomson is many things. He is not the best example of human nature by any means, and I realize that if you based all your opinion of humans on him, you wouldn’t trust them.”

“See… You speak of your human so fondly yet you can’t—“

“But,” Aurora interrupted Sari, “he’s not the worst. In fact, as much as I dislike many aspects of his being, I can’t say that he doesn’t have his good moments. I owe him my life.” Aurora let out a long breath. “All Zach ever cared about what his art. He’s sadistic in a sense, yes, but he’s not evil. At least, I don’t believe he is—despite what I may have said or thought in the past.”

The Queen didn’t respond to that. Instead, she turned away, walking over to the chair and took the papers, hugging them tightly. She didn’t speak for awhile, and Aurora started to feel queasy.

“Do you know what these are?” Sari asked at last. She turned around and held out the papers.

Aurora was unsure of the proper etiquette. At last, she reached out without grabbing the papers. Sari placed them gently in the palm of Aurora’s hand.

“These are Shani’s letters.” Sari bowed her head. “I hope you can find some answers in them. The Gods know I’ve been searching without luck for years.” Covering her hands, she walked to the door, stopping right before she walked out. “Maybe you have better luck than I.”

Then she left.

Aurora waited a few moments before she sat down with the letters. Her heart skipped a beat—some part of her didn’t want to pry into more of Shani’s past. Yet it seemed that Aurora’s future seemed to be intertwined into Shani’s history. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape. Sighing, she gave up and started to read the letters.

The letters kept her awake for the rest of the night. They contained nothing of importance to Aurora. As the first rays of the morning sun shone through the colored glass that prided the windows, she wasn’t any closer to figuring out the truth.

Aurora now knew how much Shani loved her sister. The letters contained numerous declarations of love and longing. Shani had chosen every word carefully. There was no indication of her projects at Haw Tech. In fact, Shani hadn’t mentioned anything about the experiments or her relationship with Aaron.

Deep in thought, Aurora focused on what Shani didn’t tell. She skimmed the pages.

Fear not, for Allegra is with me.

Flipping through pages, she realized that this sentence kept repeating itself in each letter. Aurora thought of Allegra’s taunts. Shouldn’t she be here now? She remembered the dream and wondered if it had been the truth. If it was, Allegra was lying to Aaron.

Jumping up, she stormed out of the door. She had to find Sari. Several torches illuminated the cold concrete walls. She didn’t know how she would find Sari, but something pushed her towards the main hall. With swift steps, she ran down the stairs, panting hard when she finally reached the throne room.

Sari was staring at a huge painting of two women. Aurora recognized Sari, and guessed that the other person must be Shani. She cleared her throat loudly.

The Queen jerked around. “Good morning,” she said.

“I’m sorry for intruding,” Aurora said, bowing her head slightly. She didn’t know how to act after yesterday.

“Apology accepted.” Sari smiled vaguely.

“I need to ask something.” Aurora didn’t wait for the Queen’s reply. “What do you know of Allegra?”

“My sister’s warrior?” Sari frowned. “She left with Shani, vowing to protect the rightful heir with her life—I believe she was my sister’s dearest confidant.”

Aurora started to gnaw lightly on her lip. “It doesn’t add up,” she mumbled.

“Sorry?”

She looked up to find Sari looking at her with arched eyebrows. “The portal to this land… How are they protected?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because my team should be here now. Allegra said she’d lead them here after I travelled here.” Aurora scratched her head. “I think she might have done something to the portal.”

“That’s impossible. Only Shani knows the words on how to open and close a portal. That’s how she travelled all those years ago.” Sari frowned. “She always closed the portals after her.”

“But I saw the portal behind the waterfall—we all did.” Aurora started to pace back and forth. “She must have forgotten to close it.”

“Shani never forgot anything.”

“Could she have given the words to Allegra?”

“I suppose. But Allegra would need the presence of a royal to open and close a portal. It runs in our blood.”

Aurora’s heart was beating fast. “You said you could smell your sister on me…”

“Yeah, I still do. It’s as if her scent is mixed with yours.”

As the pieces started to come together inside Aurora’s mind, she could almost feel the blood running through her veins. Involuntarily, her powers flared up, the forces competing for a place on her arms. “I need you to make a portal to the Amazon Warriors,” she said through gritted teeth.

Sari took a step back, staring at Aurora with wide eyes. “What’s happening to you?”

“I can’t explain it. But I need to find my crew—now.” Aurora clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms.

“Okay, okay.” Sari turned around. “I’ll go get a gown, and we’ll go there. Just wait a moment.”

Aurora stared after Sari. Taking deep breaths, she attempted to calm herself down. Allegra had been with Shani throughout her life. When Shani died, Allegra would be stranded as an enslaved Immortalia without her best friend.

Throughout her life times, Aurora had seen many kinds of betrayal. However, she knew that the worst kind was the betrayal that rose from sorrow and guilt.

A/N: Please vote.