The Assassin's Conquer (Book Two)

Chapter Twenty-Alexandria

I couldn't sleep that night. I knew that the nightmares would haunt me. I always had bad dreams. Never good ones. After hours of tossing and turning in my bed, I got up and decided to walk around. I walked down the hallways of the castle, admiring the photos on the wall of my ancestors. Suddenly, I heard a voice say, "Alexandria? What are you doing up at this late hour?"

My brother, Rowen, stood at the end of the hallway. He walked over to me. "I might ask you the same thing" I said. He smiled and said, "I couldn't sleep". "Same" I said. We looked at the picture of our grandfather on the wall. "I still don't understand why Ryia pushed us all away" Rowen said. I sighed. "It doesn't matter. She's gone now" I said. Rowen didn't respond.

"I'll always remember that day.....the day when she was taken from us" Rowen said. I looked at him and said, "stop." He looked at me. "Stop torturing yourself. She's gone. Out of our lives. Over with" I said. "Yeah. And sometimes I feel that it's my fault" he said. He slowly walked away. I stared at him, then at the picture on the wall.

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The next day, I went horseback riding with Terrin and Aaron. It was nice, and relaxing. We had a picnic at lunch, just sandwiches. For once, it was a relaxing day. I barely even thought of Ryia. "So, the wedding is postponed again, right?" Terrin asked. I nodded. "That's good. You guys have more time together now!" Terrin said. I didn't respond. Just how much time did I have with Aaron?

I tried not to think about it. Aaron kept silent the entire conversation. I could tell that he didn't want to think about it. We needed as much time as we could. But I knew deep inside, I would never marry Laithen. I hate him. I would die before I would marry him. "So upsetting that poor Laithen didn't come with us today" said Terrin. He chuckled. We all laughed.

"When is he even going home?" Aaron asked. I was glad that he was speaking up. "Not sure, but I hope it's soon" I said. "Don't worry my dear, we all do" said Terrin. We all laughed again. Suddenly, I heard a loud scream. I gasped and turned to the sound of the scream. It was coming from the woods. "What the hell was that?" Terrin mumbled. "It sounded like a child" I said.

I smelt smoke, and saw some coming from the woods. Then, I saw two figures run out from the woods. As they got closer, I saw who they were. It was Leo and the little girl that Ryia was with. Leo was running with the child in his arms. As he got closer, I saw that the fire had burnt her. I stood up. I had practiced the power of healing with shadow magic, maybe I could help.

"Help! Please!" Said Leo. I walked over to him as he ran. The child was alive, but her skin was singed. She cried in pain. "Shh. It's going to be alright" I said. Terrin and Aaron walked over and stood next to me. The little girl looked up at me. ".....Ryia?" She croaked. I lightly put my pointer finger on her forehead. Shadows consumed her. They disappeared, and all the burns were gone.

She looked up at me and gasped. Leo sighed and said, "thank you, Alexandria". I smiled, but said nothing. "You.....you look exactly like Ryia!" The child said. "Niamh, are you alright?" Leo asked. The child nodded and pointed at me. "Look at her! She looks like Ryia!" She said.

The little girl stared at me and said, "is it you....Ryia?" "Uhh...." I said. I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't the best around kids. The little girl ran over and hugged me. I gasped. "Ryia! Oh Ryia, I'm so glad your ok!" She said. Terrin looked at me sympathetically. So did Aaron. "Niamh, she's not Ryia. I'm sorry" Leo said sympathetically.

The little girl let go of me and said, "your....not?" "No Niamh, I'm sorry. We should get going, ok?" Leo said. The little girl nodded and took Leo's hand. She couldn't take her eyes off of me. "We need to find a place to stay, ok?" Leo said. She nodded, still staring at me. "I-if you need someplace to stay, you can stay in the castle" I said. Leo smiled and said, "I don't want to be a burden".

"You won't be! It's fine, I promise!" I said. Leo nodded and said, "thank you, Alexandria". Together, we all walked back to the palace.