1 Awakening

"Focus on one thing. Let all your feelings go, all your thoughts vanish. Pick one thought. Focus on it. Let it engulf you. Let it surround you. Let it consume you. Then let it go." Laurena closed her eyes and emptied her mind clearing all her thoughts and all the emotions she had felt since waking up from her slumber. She focused on her thoughts. It appeared quietly a murmur of crackles and pops. And then all she could feel was the heat, vivid pulsating heat, the image came up in a flash and all she could see was red and the darkest Orange. All that she felt was the pulsating heat. She threw up her hands and saw a shimmer on them. It was her wedding ring. Suddenly she knew, she was back home and this was the night of her wedding.

She looked down at herself and saw that she wore her white wedding dress, it still looked new, crisp and beautiful, each hem perfectly is done in a silver thread, each pearl fine and perfectly made. She closed her eyes bitterly knowing that the next thing she would see was her mother dead in front of her.

"Rina!" Laurena's eyes snapped open at hearing the former name. Her human name. She turned to the doorway and saw her mother, with her long dark hair that flowed all the way down to her waist. She wore a simple white dress that fell past her knees, her heavy cloak hastily thrown over it. "Mother!" Laurena heard herself say. Except it wasn't actually her. She watched in shocked silence as she saw herself run to her mother and hug her tightly. She let go of her mother to clasp their hands together.

"Mom. I woke up to the fire. I'm so scared. What's going on?" Rina said her eyes, not unlike that of a child. Laurena let out a strangled gasp, tears running down her face burning her. "Rina, your burning up." Mother said, putting a hand on Rina's cheek.

"No," Laurena whispered her head shaking as she watched her other self, the one wearing the wedding dress let out a squeal of pain. A shock ran through her body and flash out to her mother. Who crumbled on the floor in ashes.

Laurena and Rina both screamed as the world was consumed by fire. Laurena let out another gasp as she watched Rina run away, the whole vision snapped away in a flash and she was back in her nightmare world Vemos. She looked up at Simeon who leaned against his desk gazing at her, expressionless.

"I killed my mother," Laurena said her eyes filling once again with tears and falling once again. "She's dead because of me," Laurena said scrambling up, shaking her head, rising from where she sat back up against the opposite wall. Her head was full of denial, even though the vision had shown her that there was nothing left to deny. She alone had killed her mother. There was no one else. The house had been set on fire because of her. She had done it. She had killed everyone.

"Why?" Laurena said looking at Simeon.

"It was your time. Nothing would have been able to fight it. It's called Ascension. It's when you reach the peak of your potential and all your powers are released. Dorian and I went through something similar." Simeon said. Laurena tensed feeling a presence in the doorway. A presence that she knew all too well. Dorian stood in the doorway encased in another one of his three-piece suits. He was too beautiful to look at, as usual. Dorian stepped into the room towards her. Laurena tensed at his approach, moving away from him quicker than she intended. Laurena's anger snapped, "Don't touch me!" she shrieked. Gripping the table behind her she swung it at them both. They ducked quickly and when they got up again she had gone leaving papers scattered in her wake. "Well, at least it wasn't a fireball," Simeon said as he bent down to start picking up his work. "That's what I call progress."

Dorian moved toward the door, "I wouldn't." Simeon said, effectively stopping Dorian in his tracks. "I wouldn't go after her. She's rather volatile at the moment, and you'll be the last person she would want to see." Dorian looked away. "Except because of me, she has no one left to turn to."

"She has her brother."

Dorian's face twisted into a grimace. He knew Simeon was right, he was the last person Laurena would turn to. He had seduced her in front of her soon-to-be husband. Whisking her away in a dance of romance, then holding her back, and making her watch as her own real family. Her blood brother kills her fiancé in front of her eyes.

Terry fought back a yawn as he stood off to the corner listening to the court proceedings. As always there had been the talk of war brewing in the south (When weren't they at war?). Talk about the sea of decay spreading closer to the main kingdom. His eyes strayed to the window, and there he saw her, his sister leaving hastily from Simeon's tower. Terry glanced back at the court. Everyone was now standing, arguing once again. His eyes glanced at the crowd looking for pale spiky hair. He finally saw him, his half-brother Raphael. He was in deep conversation with two members of the council. Terry with the newfound silent grace of his slunk out of the chamber and worked his way down the winding steps and out to the courtyard. He already knew where Laurena would be. She sat on a rock her ruby-colored dress billowing around her in the wind. She looked every bit the princess she truly was, and looked as dangerous as she truly was, with her face etched in stormy anger. He approached her silently, stopping beside the rock looking straight off into the distance at the shimmering lake that spun whispers of fire bubbling up on the surface. "Hello, Lauri," Terry said a slight smirk on his face.

"I told you to stop calling me that." She said testily, glowering at him from where she sat. Her fingers clenched at the rock, hard enough that a sliver broke off, which she promptly threw at the lake. It skipped four times before disintegrating into nothing.

"Nice," Terry said nodding appreciatively. He bent forwards and sat down beside her on the floor, of the sloppy hill overlooking the lake. Laurena stared at him incredulously. "What are you doing?" she said, her voice almost breaking with shock.

"I'm sitting, it's not against any rules," Terry said. "You're the heir." Why would you sit below someone like, like ...well me."? She said sounding completely flabbergasted.

"I am sitting where I should be," Terry said calmly. "I'm sitting beside my older sister. The one I never knew I had." Terry said. Laurena looked back at the lake her mouth tightening. "That...Woman. She was never my mother. And she never will be." Laurena said, thinking about the mother she had never met. But had been with Terry and had loved him, his whole life. The same woman who had abandoned her on the steps of the village square. "I'm not asking you to acknowledge my mother as yours. Or asking you for forgiveness. Lauri your village...Dorian and my father chose that for my trial. It was my mission to destroy it, all of it. But when I first walked into the town square, I saw you. You wore blue silk, completely simple, and you were dancing around with children. When I saw you I knew then, as I know now, that I could never kill you." Terry looked up at her, "You're here because of me. Because I couldn't kill you." Laurena stared at him. "They didn't know about me. Did they?" Laurena asked as she finally realized why there was such an uproar when she walked into the court for the first time. No one had ever thought that the banished King of Vemos, Nathaniel could've had a daughter. Another heir. But he had. Laurena shook her head. "I was born out of rape. I should be glad my real mother hadn't decided to drown me." She said her voice breaking now. Terry scrambled to his knees, his hands going to either side of her face. "Lauri don't ever think like that. Nothing is ever truly hopeless." Lauri shook her head her hands going over Terry's. "It is for me. Your father knows I'm more powerful than you. That's why I've been marked. Once Raphael finally decides to complete the deed I'll be bound to him forever." Terry dropped his hands truly shocked. Laurena her hands to her face and broke into helpless tears. "I'll have to forget everything, my family, my village, everything."

"No, you don't. Don't ever forget what you lost. I haven't. I lost my mother to death, and soon after I was taken here and told I was to become the ruler." Laurena looked at him, her face covered in tears. "You don't understand. I didn't lose my mother. I killed her! That's what I just saw. My powers killed her! See!" She said throwing out her hands unclenching them into balls of fire burst out of her hand levitating just above her palms. She clenched back her hand the fire flowing back into her veins. Terry put one hand over her wrist. "It's cool." He said smiling softly. Laurena looked away bitterly but turned back when she felt something cool drop in her palm. She looked down at her hand and saw a band of gold with delicate wavy designs around it. She gasped softly, "It's my wedding ring." She said softly. She looked at him her eyes searching. "How did you get it?" I thought it had been lost on the way here." She said wonderingly. "I kept it for you. It's on a long chain so no one will see it, and it'll be safe. Dorian and Simeon still have to give you your power crystal to hone your powers, when you do get it you can put it in the middle of it." Laurena stared at him. "You don't have to forget being human and you don't have to forget your love." Terry smiled, lifting the chain, and the ring with it, putting it over Laurena's neck. The ring fell past her breasts making it easy for her to lift the ring and hold it. She smiled looking at it one last time before sliding it underneath her clothes. "Thank you." She said softly, looking at him warmly. Terry smiled, he glanced toward the castle. "We better get back. Before they start getting suspicious." Terry grinned, getting up and pulling Laurena with him. "Go back to court. I'm going back to Simeon and Dorian." She said lifting her skirts stepping off the rock.

Terry smiled, "Farewell Sister, 'til we meet again." He said as he watched her walk towards the tower, before turning back to the castle.