Forbidden Choices by Jen Weddle

  Chapter 16

  I wake up and stretch my arms upward, popping my wrists and feeling more refreshed then I have in days. Today is going to be a good day. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I’m going to try to make it that way. A soft knock at the door makes me clutch my robe tighter.

  “Just a minute.” I say, scurrying for the mirror. What if it’s Theo? Or Riley?

  I brush my hair quickly and put on a pair of slippers. I walk over to the door and prepare myself. It’s too early for this.

  I open the door and a petite woman appears from behind it with long, curly red hair and a smile that could light up any room… except mine.

  “Mother.” I sigh. “What could you possibly want at this hour?”

  “It’s noon, darling.” She squeaks. “I thought it might be fun to go shopping.”

  “I hate shopping.” I groan.

  “Fine, but we haven’t had a chance to talk about anything. And I’d really love to do that.”

  “Okay. I suppose I have to at least let you talk to me.”

  “I’m sorry I tried to kill you.” She whispers. “I wasn’t exactly myself back then.”

  “Well you looked like yourself. Especially grinning with a knife next to my throat, I mean you definitely looked like yourself then.”

  “Sit down. I have a lot to explain.” She pats the spot next to her.

  I listen to her and take a seat on the bed. She looks at her hands thoughtfully.

  “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Start from the beginning.” I answer.

  “Many years ago, there was a boy named Mathew who came into your father’s and my life. He was enchanting and charming. We both loved him dearly, but he was dangerous. He took our love for him and betrayed us by implanting false memories. He snuck into our room one evening and whispered charms into my ear so that I would burn the palace down and kill my own children.

  “Your father woke up and heard the enchantments and managed to hold him while shouting for the guards who imprisoned Mathew. He was exiled from the Kingdom and sent back to Earth stripped of all his powers, but you see he’s a Dark Elf and they can trick us. So he made one of the Elders feel sorry for him and allowed him to keep one of his powers while on Earth as a means of survival.

  “He chose to keep his Soul or what he had left of it, which gave him all of his abilities back. So now he’s on Earth, among the humans building an army to destroy the Elves and the other Beasts of our world.

  “Alison, we had to leave because you and Viktor are twins. Your powers would flow into just one of you meaning that only one would get to live with a limitless amount of power, while the other would live eternally.

  “Can that still happen?” I interject.

  “No. Once your powers have been fully developed they won’t combine. I saw that you were the one with all the power and Viktor was the one who would live eternally and rule the Kingdom miserably.”

  “I wasn’t sure if your powers would develop while we pretended to be humans. But they did.” She finishes.

  “And what about the implanted memories? Why didn’t you kill me before?” I ask.

  “I was only ordered to kill you if I realized you would gain your powers. And your father thought that you hadn’t because on your birthday you didn’t gain them at the stroke of Midnight like you were supposed to. He believed it would be okay to leave and that my memories would go back to normal and I could take care of you, while he stayed here ruling the Kingdom and watching over Viktor.”

  “We didn’t take into consideration that the time is different here and that you would get your powers on your birthday, but much later than we expected.” She answers.

  “Your brother… doesn’t have his powers yet, which means splitting you two up didn’t stop the curse from happening.” She sighs. “It was all for nothing.”

  “The implanted memories would have made me kill you, but your brother would have been unharmed. We would have forgotten you existed because of Mathew’s trickery. We have to find him and bring him to justice.” She strokes my hair. “I’m so glad you stopped me that day.”

  “I did what?” I exclaim. “The elderly neighbor woman saved me.”

  “No. You used your Healing ability to heal yourself when I used the poisoned knife.”

  “Ali, could we start over?” She asks.

  I think it over… she was under a spell. I have to give her a chance. It would be nice to finally have a normal mom and not a mom locked up in a mental institution.

  “You know, I came and visited you once.” I whisper.

  “You did?” She asks intrigued.

  “I saw you sitting outside in the gardens. You looked so happy and you were painting a portrait of the garden.” I say. “It’s the only time I remember you looking really happy and like yourself.”

  “I was painting you, my beautiful daughter. I was hoping you would come to visit one day so that I could show you that I had changed and that Mathew’s implanted memories had worn off. But you never came. And I was left alone.” She whispers. A single tear rolls down her cheek and she looks at me with haunted eyes.

  We were the same at one time. Lonely and miserable; I take her in my arms and hug her gently. We cry softly and rock each other back and forth. It feels nice. It feels familiar like it should have always been this way, instead of the way that it had turned out to be. She kisses my tear-stained cheeks.

  “You know what always cheers me up?”

  “What?” I ask.

  “A new dress!” She exclaims.

  “Mother, I have one more request we have to stop Olivia’s wedding.”

  “Olivia? Why would we stop her wedding?” She bemuses.

  “Didn’t you know? She’s Viktor’s Soulfire.”

  “Viktor connected with someone. I thought they were acting suspicious at dinner yesterday. Of course, what can we do?” She requests.

  “I think we should find father and tell him.”

  “Were you looking for me?” He asks leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.

  “Were you listening in on our conversation?” My mother demands.

  “No. I would never do such a thing.” He replies grinning looking particularly mischievous.

  “Okay, fine. I was listening in just in case something went wrong.”

  “Olivia and Viktor are Soulfires. Did you know?” My mother asks.

  “Who wouldn’t know?” He asks laughing. “After that display at dinner, I went straight to the man Olivia was set to marry and paid off her father’s debts. It’s all been taken care of, my sweets.”

  I rush over to him and he envelops me in a big hug. He wipes the dried up tears from my cheeks. My mother comes over and we all hug for a very long time.

  To an outsider it would seem like the picture of perfection.

  “I think it’s time for a new dress for both of you since there could be a wedding in the near future.” He says smiling. “Why don’t you two go out and explore the city.”