The lost shapeshifter

Chapter 5

"Gav!" Erica said calmly while they walked down the hall to the throne room. Her twin was walking faster than she thought he could, but not fast enough to run away from her. "Seriously!"

"Yes, seriously," he hissed at her. "You left for fucking 5 years..."

"Auntie Aelin left for 10..."

"...and you only come back because dead are coming back..."

"If I had a choice..."

"Choice?!" Gavriel laughed. "Yes, Erica, you don't have a choice. We all know that dad put a dagger to your throat so you can run away..."

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" she almost screamed.

Five years ago her father hadn't put a dagger to her throat, he hadn't made her to run away, but he gave her no other way out of the only nightmare she had ever had.

Chains.

Yes, he planned on making her an empress of the Southern continent (if Sorin survived after his father's death), but that was another type of chains, another role she had to play and another man she had to make happy. All of her life she had to make people - men - happy. It didn't matter if the said man was Tern or Aedion or Gav. They all expected something from her and most of the time that something had to do with their own happiness.

"Oh, don't I?" Gavriel the second (A/N: Erica's brother will be referred to as either Gav or Gavriel Ashryver) laughed. "The person who has no idea what they're talking about is you, Erica. You have no right to come back home and pretend to be a victim. Dad wasn't harsh just on you, you know?"

He didn't want you to marry Sorin just to get rid of you, Erica wanted to say. Yet she stood there just watching her brother the way he had when they were children still learning to change the color of their hair.

"Did it work?" she would ask him for hours and the answer had always been yes until one night when she was 3 and a half.

"Let's see what the queen wants," Erica said slowly.

********
Their aunt looked as she was the sun itself in her throne. Her head lifted proudly, Aelin had her long blonde hair floating down her back as it was a golden waterfall. She was dressed in a simple white shirt and brown trousers, yet Erica felt like a big compared to her aunt.

Their eyes met in a second.

"I suppose that you know why you are here."

Unlike his wife, Rowan Whitetorn wasn't so calm. He looked at Erica as he was looking at the most dangerous creature on Earth, which by the way was ready to kill Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius.

No one, monster or human, was stupid enough to try to kill Aelin Galathynius.

"Yes, Your Royal Majesty," Erica nodded. Gavriel just stood next to her, watching Aelin and Rowan. "And I am happy to inform you that me and my... Prince Gavriel have already decided that it's best for mother to..."

"Wrong," Aelin took a deep breath. "You and Gav haven't decided anything. And you never will. I am not that stupid, Erica."

"And you aren't that smart either," Erica said before she could stop her words. "A smart queen would have left her niece where she wants to be."

"See, aunt Aelin! All Erica can do is offend us!" Gav said.

Aelin however didn't seem offended. She just looked at her niece. "Gavriel, do you mind leaving me and Erica alone for a bit? You too, Rowan."

Erica rolled her eyes.

She wanted to hide the truth from her aunt, yet she knew that Aelin- the fire-breathing bitch- knew her better than most people. While Rowan would just assume that Erica was nothing more than a spoiled brat, the queen knew that her niece had motives far deeper than spoiledness.

She knew that deep down - where Erica hid her heart - there was fear, there was sadness and most importantly there was a broken little girl, who had been tortured from memories. From the sight of her dead mother and the green eyes that would never sparkle again as Lysandra sang that ancient song.

Aelin stood from her throne, "Come here. I don not bite."

"Uncle Rowan might think otherwise." She said before she could stop the words. Aelin didn't respond. She just stared at her niece. "You didn't care back then. Why do you care now?"

"Let me tell you a story," Aelin took deep breath. "About a powerful Ashryver warrior or at least she was supposed to be a warrior. However her father - what an idiot, don't you think - wanted to marry her off."

Erica knew where that was going.

"And, believe it or not, that warrior believed that she had some control over her destiny and so she slept with a elf. You know where your grandmother is now?"

Erica didn't bother to answer. She knew the tragedy yet she didn't know the whole story, the whole truth. And it was strange that she had to hear it from Aelin.

Not that her aunt was strange or something. It was just that... Aelin thought that she did know what had been going on the past five years. She didn't. She didn't know what she had been through and she didn't. She didn't know why Erica had run away.

And she would never know.

"I know that Aedion had not always been a... great father, but... he loves you. He came south only because of you."

"He could have drown me too, you know." Erica's voice was cold as Lysandra's body five years ago. "He drowned my sisters. Which now are your problem."

Aelin's gaze landed on Erica's fists and she went completely still.

"That's why I am here. Not because you love me. Not because he cares for me. But because you need me. Because Bellatrix and Alina are your problem now. You're afraid that I might become your problem."

"Don't you dare using that tone with me, Erica Ashryver!"

"Oh, auntie Aelin," Erica laughed coldly. "Would you rather lock me up and throw away the key?"

"You know what?! Fuck you!" Aelin hissed. "All you do since I found you is being ride to me, my children, my mate and my nephews..."

"And I am your niece!" Erica took a step forward. "You were supposed to protect me when my mom died. Not just leave me..."

Aelin shook her head.

Erica took another deep breath. She wanted to go home. She wanted to drink, smoke and fuck just like she did for the past year and no one had said anything to her.

"Erica, please. Let's keep it civil. Your father may hear about it..."

"Already did." Aedion Ashryver's voice almost tore her ears. His broken words hit her like broken glass, cutting her on so so many places. "Hello, darling. It's nice seeing you again."

Stupid Gavriel Ashryver.

**********
Five years ago...

"You're going to be just fine," Lysandra whispered in her daughter's hair. "Everything is going to be just fine. Your father is going to take such good care..." she stopped for a second. "If there was a way for me to now live and not leave you with him... here's some advice, my love. Whatever happens after today, you will always have a place with Tern. You know Tern?"

Erica nodded.

"Good. Now. If you go there, he will give you a choice. I want you to become an assassin. Not a whore. Whatever you do, do not become a whore. You will be great, like your aunt Aelin... not like me."

"I will be great like my mommy," Erica whispered and suddenly jumped. The ground had shaken for a second. There were tears in her eyes, a broken soul shining from them.

"Sh. Come here. Everything is alright, my darling Erica. So. Tern. He will protect you as long as you bring money. He will hide you and care for you as long as you bring money. You kill, you get money. You fuck, you get money. Understood?"

Erica nodded.

"Good. I love you. Never forget that. And when you avenge your sisters, remember to strike a third time. For your mommy."