~Aurora~

　　"ARGH!!"

　　With the loudest gasp of my life, almost like a scream, I jolted awake from my slumber!

　　No way...

　　THAT WAS NOT AN IMAGINATION!

　　The healers, by the time they got me into the van had drained every ounce of toxic hallucinogens from my body. There is no way I was imagining it!

　　My chest was heaving so harshly that I thought my lungs would rupture!

　　"What's that ruckus?" Concerned, and slightly beaten up by the events which occurred simultaneously with the incident, Beta Roman barged inside with his eyes closed.

　　"Are you alright, Aurora Fangborn!?" The panic in his voice was appreciable, but I'm nowhere close to the state of tranquility right now! I might need some alone time than be cared for right now. However, my next actions were uncalled for. They weren't from my conscious state of mind. Rather from the irritated and highly stressed part of my head. Never have I ever felt so bad for yelling at someone who was so considerate and so caring towards me.

　　Why does it always happen with the wrong kind of people?

　　First time I've done it, Prince Emeric was the victim. Now...

　　"PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE! I- I'M TOO STRESSED RIGHT NOW, AND NO, EVEN IF THE PRINCE INSISTS I WON'T EAT A GRAIN TODAY. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE!" Yelling at the top of my lungs, I felt few tears drops roll down my tightly shut eyes after I heard the doors slowly close with a click. The few seconds of gap must have made Beta Roman realize he was in the wrong for barging into my ward room this way. But at the same time...it was never his fault.

　　He would blame himself for my anger. Which wasn't the case at all!

　　However, I genuinely hoped I'll be left alone to enjoy my thoughts and dark dreams, hidden nightmares by myself. Solitude would scare me in any other case. But this evening...all I wanted was to take deep breaths and wrap my head around it.

　　Three trees behind, one to it's left.

　　That's where our hidden artifact was stored.

　　It was hidden, and that wasn't the only thing that was hidden.

　　Pulling my legs close to myself, I shut my eyes tightly once again to drain out the tears. Wiping my face gently, I came to realize.

　　The scene at the cave. In the witch's abode...

　　My parents were right outside. They were told not to interfere in her procedure at all. The witch was bound to seal a part of my memory. That was the reason why I couldn't remember where the hidden artifact was!

　　Our pack's artifact...

　　I now remember it's appearance vividly.

　　In my dreams, the part where I hadn't had much emphasis on, there was a little handmade ivory artifact which was a difficult imagination of...a wolf.

　　A strong, muscular and mighty wolf seemed to be howling at the moon. But that wasn't the only feature about it.

　　When twisted at its belly, extremely carefully, it splits into two. In its pit, there is a fondly written casting spell that would even enlighten the brightest of species, including witches and phoenixes!

　　A shudder ran down my spine as I realized how dangerous this information would be, if leaked to the wrongly aspiring people. I ought to be very, very careful with whom I talk this out with.

　　Before that...

　　I couldn't help but she'd few more tears in memory of my parents. They've gone lengths, above and beyond to seal the memory into me. I don't wish to know what kind of sacrifice they've made for them to be having assistance from a witch like her. In these days, witches find it derogatory to help someone in need without asking for a price to pay. And the worst part of their business strategy? They don't even need money. They want something more. Something reassuring.

　　That is what is so scary about these witches. They're everything but evil.

　　Trust me when I say this.

　　Not one witch or a wizard on this planet was a spawn of evil. Even devil has a purpose of growth. An attainment.

　　Taking a deep breath in, I slowly slid down onto the mattress. It's softness was like no other. This is not any random mattress arrangement in the healing ward. It is, if I'm not wrong, a VIP healing suite.

　　A memory suddenly made me scoff and smile.

　　My parents were too fond of providing me with nothing but luxury. As my hands glided against the soft bedding, I couldn't help but recall my luxurious lifestyle before.

　　But I've changed.

　　What made me more happy after a night filled with horrors I couldn't control by myself, I realized the root of it was attachment.

　　I was pretty attached to my parents. That is the reason why I always kept praying for them to give me strength from up there.

　　It's been close to three months since their passing. I have accepted their departure as well. But deep down...The child in me was very angry at them. Angry, because...

　　Never mind...

　　"Mom..." I let out a whimper. Slanting the pillow beside me, I hugged it as if I was embracing my mother. She was so warm, so accepting. Just resting by her side made me feel like a thousand hours have passed when it was just few minutes. Her presence was such a nurturing feeling.

　　And dad...he was so strong. Nothing could change his mind, except for my innocent requests. He would go to extreme lengths to get me anything that I've asked for. The hardest task I've ever given him...was to accept me as I was. As I had become, under their care.

　　However, I was also forcing him to accept the spoiled brat personality in me. There was no reason for him to accept my shitty personality! He could have corrected me from the day I started acting slightly entitled. He should have given me a good scolding when I thought everything around me, belonged to me...

　　I felt so ashamed that it was my personality a few months ago.

　　Everything had changed now.

　　I wanted to show how better for a person I had become after this revelation. But them...whom I wanted to show how much I've grown and matured...they aren't in this world anymore.

　　It hurts...

　　It hurts upon realizing how cruel this world was. Cruelty is organism's nature, coping mechanism as protection in worse case scenarios. But my parents were devoid of that quality. Not once in their life were they cruel to anyone or anything.

　　Their life was so peaceful...until they've realized something was trying to obtain our pack's artifact.

　　The curse of power had reached them as well.

　　And it took someone years of planning to find an opportunity where they could make my parents disappear from the planet.

　　Why?

　　Because they thought I would have a CLUE about where this artifact was hidden!

　　The witch who cast the sealing spell on me had incorporated one rule for its breaking.

　　The seal would be broken...when I would experience a tremendous emotional distress.

　　And the distress which broke the seal, reached the vicious threshold...was because of my hallucinations.

　　I scoffed to myself.

　　Alexia did this to me out of spite and revenge. But the poor woman helped me in unlocking my hidden memories!