Her Rising Dawn

Part 18- Recall Bubbles

Nope I'm not going back to krewdom. I'm going to find Draco. 5 moons were almost up, and I am currently slamming my head against the door over and over again.

I want to go back home so badly. I want to apologize to Gold. I want to embrace my sisters. I want to go back to training. I want to find Draco with them. I just want everything to be normal again. Sadly, I don't think it's possible.

I spend the rest of the day pouting on the floor, kicking the walls in frustration or yelling at the top of my lungs. I am currently stuck in the cabin until the fight. I am not taking the risk to expose myself, because maybe someone will find me and boot me back to the castle, where I'll probably get locked up in my room. Wow, very bad pep talk Funneh. Very.

I was about to go crazy when something floated into the room. A clear box with 2 sheets of paper attached to it. I picked up the box and watched a small but cloudy bubble dance inside, with dark mist swirling in it. Then I checked the notes. One from a familiar handwriting, and one that looked like it came from a book until it was ripped out.

My jaw hit the floor when I saw the writing on the first note. It was Lunar's handwriting. I skimmed the message quickly.

Hi Funneh,

I heard from Alec that he kinda found you, am I right? I wanted to strangle him badly when he wouldn't reveal your location. So I forced him to send this box to you. You have to read this immediately, and be extra careful with it. I know how reckless you can become, so just. Be. Careful.

-Lunar

I pulled out the second note and read it carefully, like how Lunar wanted me to. The page was brown and old, the writing a little smudged. But I could still read it. 

"Recall Bubbles"

"Recall bubbles are a rare type of magic. No one knows how recall bubbles were made, but all everyone knows is that the bubbles can be used for either good or bad. Recall bubbles can only be made by someone who knows the target well, a close family member or a friend. When the spell is cast, the recall bubble appears. It is a cloudy and small bubble with a dark mist swirling inside. The bubble will then travel in a clear box to the recipient the spell caster wants it to go too. When the recipient pops the bubble, he or she will be thrown into a specific memory that he or she wants to forget. The memory can be good or bad. Once the memory is finished, the recipient will go back to their state of mind. But be warned. If the recipient gets distracted, not only will they be trapped in the memory, but they will also be part of the memory. To prevent this, the only way to do so is to think positive thoughts before the memory ends. This magic has made a bunch of people go crazy from it, but-"

It ended right there. Just there. No clear instructions or anything. But I had no other option, so with quivering hands, I focused hard and popped the bubble. Instantly, the cabin disappeared and I found myself spinning in a vortex of light. I tried to twist my body round and round to see where I was, but I couldn't. I couldn't' feel myself at all. Then it dawned on me. I was a blip of consciousness, floating through the realms of past and present. Coldness prickled across my senses as I plunged deeper into the void, and dark blobs stabbed into my consciousness.

But I kept focusing.

Eventually, I hit the bottom and the dark nothingness morphed and twisted into colors and shapes. The scene shifted to a box of a room. I saw a door at the far end and I walked there with imaginary legs. Then, I opened it. The room then faded into another black void, with only 4 people, an armchair and a fireplace flickering with flames. I saw it then. I saw myself. Standing in the center trembling. Draco- who was most likely 10 at that time- was seated on the armchair with tears in his eyes. A guard stood at the fireplace and...the last person killed me a lot.

It was my late mom.

I realized this scene. The world blurred with tears in my eyes and I covered my face with my hands. No, not this memory! I don't want to see it! I screamed as the memory began before me.

"Kat, Lady Gisela told me that you and Allen had skipped her class again, and I find you 2 in the woods shooting this?" my mom said angrily, raising her gloved hand to reveal a bow and a quiver of arrows. My 12 year old self tried to grab it. "What have I been telling you Kat? This isn't what you are supposed to be. You should be a lady, not some rabid animal like thing! Look, your dress is torn and your hair is a mess! If you keep this up, your dream as a guard will vanish before you can even say your own name," continued my mom, pacing back and forth. Her jeweled heels clacked against the floor as she did so. I put my hands on my ears to block out the sound, but I could still hear it.

"Mom, it isn't fair!" my 12 year old self yelled. "I don't want to sit fancily around and dress in a stupid gown! I want to fight and combat! Why should men only have the fun?" My mom's eyes flashed with anger. "Fun? Really Kat, combat isn't some game. It's war. You have to be the princess you were born to be." My 12 year old self glared at my mom. "Well, I am not," my little self proclaimed. "I am joining the guards when I'm older mom." My mom sighed. "If I don't change you now, you are never going to learn Kat." She turned to the guard. "Felix, hold her down."

Me and my 12 year old self screamed as Felix swiftly pinned my little self to the wall. She screamed and struggled against her restraints. "LET ME GO!" she yelled. "MOM! TELL HIM TO LET ME GO!" My mom ignored her and walked towards the fireplace, holding the bow and arrows over the flames. "I am giving you 1 more chance Kat," she warned. "Do you want to be a guard when you grow up?" My 12 year old self was still young, and shutting up was probably the best answer. But she shook her head. "I am going to be a guard." My mom flared her nostrils. "So be it."

My mom dumped the bow and quiver of arrows into the fire as my 12 year old self shrieked in horror. Draco was on his feet, jaw hanging and skin pale. Little me finally kicked off Felix's hands and ran to a small table. She grabbed a pitcher of water and threw it at the flames. It didn't work. The fire consumed the pitcher, bow, arrows and my heart that day.

Little me sank to my knees and sobbed so hard it looked painful. Draco knelt beside me and rubbed my back, whispering words to her. "I HATE YOU MOM!" she screamed. "I'LL HATE YOU TO THE DAY YOU DIE! I'LL PROVE THAT I AM STRONGER THAN YOU, YOU HORRIBLE WOMAN!" Draco shot the guard and my mom a nasty look and they filed out. But I watched a small tear drip from my mom's eyes down to her skirt. It was followed by another. And another. I felt my face burn as more tears slid down my own cheeks. This memory was the one I hate so much. And after that, my mom was- I shot out the thought before it could torture me again.

With agony in my heart, I slunk away from the room. Then I heard it.

"I. Am. Sorry. Funneh."

I gaped and whipped around again. For a moment, I saw a brief glimpse of my mom standing before me, with tears in her eyes and her arms crossed. "Mom?" I gasped. I ran over to tackle her in a hug when suddenly, she disappeared and I fell down the void back into the cabin. The tears in my eyes were spilling over again and again. My mom had never called me Funneh ever. It was either Kat do this or Kat do that. I crumpled to the floor and sobbed my heart out.

Why...me?