Aarmau: Remember Me, Remember Us, Just Remember

Chapter 66

After everyone finishes eating they all split up. Most head back to the Maid Cafe' to continue the final renovations, Lucinda heads off in search of her mother, and the rest leave for whatever jobs they took to help supplement their income.

That left Aph, Aaron, Melissa, Rowan, and Carter at the house but it wasn't long before Rowan convinced Carter to head to the store to pick up supplies for the house. With him gone Aph physically felt herself relax but it was short-lived as she watched Aaron pull the tray away from the bed and push it up against the wall.

As Melissa joins him he offers Aph a gentle smile, "We won't be going crazy at first. All we need to work on is gaining muscle strength. So for now more leg lifts and strengthening exercises for your arms."

Aph laughs, "Yeah remember how that went the last time we tried?"

Aaron blushes and refuses to make eye contact with Melissa, "That's why Melissa stayed behind."

Melissa giggles, "I guess you crazy kids need a chaperone even though I'm more than ready to see a few pups crawling around this place."

A blush spreads across Aph's cheeks and she has to stop herself from burying her face in her hands. She only hopes Melissa did not hear anything last night.

 Aaron helps Aph use the restroom before they get started. When they finally make it back into the room he sets her on the bed and then pulls a safety strap out from under the bed and then secures it across her lap.

Taking a deep breath Aph focuses her attention on raising one leg, holding it for ten seconds, and then slowly lowering it back down. She's surprised it doesn't seem as hard as it did before and smiles.

Aaron watches her smile and sighs with relief, "See it won't be long before you're back on your feet, literally."

As she repeats the same motion over and over and alternates between legs she's so focused on what she's doing that the sudden sound of Melissa's voice startles her. Her eyes fly to her face and she rolls her eyes at her own overreaction.

Melissa laughs at the look on her face, "Sorry pup, I didn't mean to scare you. So tell me about Irene. If I understood everything you have her memories. Up until now, she's been more myth than anything. What was she really like?"

Aph releases a slow breath, "Well, she was a human just like the rest of us. She had a mother and father and several brothers and sisters. She was born with the natural ability to heal but nothing more. She met Shad, they got married and had children. The other Divine Warrior's were friends of a sort. They came together to help protect the people of this world, nothing more. History obviously doesn't remember that back then this world was more technologically advanced in some areas. It was the technology that made them into gods and nothing more, people just forgot. They discovered how to turn people into relics of power to make them stronger and take on talents they didn't already have. At first, people volunteered to become a relic but something changed, and then it was being done without consent. I'm still trying to figure it all out but I think Shad went too far or Irene did something that angered him. It had something to do with their daughter. They fought him, banished him to the Nether, and then had to ultimately destroy him. The other Divine Warrior's were disgusted with what they had all become and gave up the power. They lived out their lives and died natural deaths but Irene wouldn't let go. She didn't crave the power but was afraid to leave the people unprotected. In the end, before she sent me back I was able to watch her be reunited with Shad and her daughter."

Aph looks up and notices they're both standing several feet away from her and she's been doing the exercises on her own the whole time. She can feel the burn in her muscles but it isn't a bad feeling.

Melissa shakes her head, "Aph I can't imagine what it's like to have the lifetimes of two other people in your head. That you can pull their memories and not get them confused is amazing."

Aph shrugs, "It's like knowing different stories. I know the experience wasn't my own so it's easy to tell them apart. The only problem I seem to have is getting caught up in the moment. I accidentally put myself in their place and when I imagine how I would feel I get carried away. Or like Aaron said earlier that could just be werewolf hormones."

Melissa nods, "Those things have gotten me into a lot of trouble growing up and you're new to them. So I can see how easy it would be to overreact. So what you're saying is no bad-mouthing Irene or the other Aphmau?"

Aph laughs, "I wouldn't test it. The much bigger problem is the powers I came back with. I healed Aaron and it was a piece of cake. She had other powers and without a way to practice using them, we could be in serious trouble. And her wings! I don't need those suckers popping out at random. There's no way the Guardian Force wouldn't notice them."

Aaron frowns, "Is that why you asked for Hyria?"

Aph nods, "That's part of why I want to see her. Irene knew a woman named Hyria and she was still alive during the first Aphmau's lifetime. That's a very long time to live even for a witch. Irene was still alive in her dimension this whole time until she decided to let go. One minute in Irene's dimension is equal to one year here. The last Aphmau learned that the hard way and her 15-minute trip cost her 15 years. Could this be the same Hyria? Could she be moving between dimensions to prolong her life?"