Unmarked

Chapter 4

Lavina fiddled around with her necklace as she turned to her stomach on her bed. Maybe her grandparents were right and she shouldn't have taken that history course. All this talk about her mother and what she did made her really think about her mom. She held the piece of silver up to her face, so she could see it. The necklace was dawned by none other than Amilia herself, making this necklace one of the only things her mother left for her. Her mother had left her the necklace, of course, her dog tag, and a few pictures. It wasn't much, but Lavina always treasured them. Looking to the picture of her mother holding her as a baby for support.

"Lavina!" She heard Oglm yell up the stairs.

"Yeah?" She responded back to him.

"Come down, your grandparents are here!"

"Coming!" She stood up and walked out of her room, turning to go down the stairs. She used the railing to toss her body around, making her way into the living room.

"Hi." Lavina said happily as she embraced her grandparents in a hug. "What's the matter?"

"It's Saturday sweetheart."

"Oh my gosh!" Lavina said. "I totally forgot."

"Oh you don't have to come this week if you're busy, honey."

"Oh, no, no, I want to, give me a sec." Lavina ran up the stairs and packed a bag, coming back down with it over her shoulder. Lavina went over to Oglm and gave him a hug and then waved goodbye as she followed her grandparents out the back door. They made their way down to the Market and then to the palace. Leo high fived her as she went past him.

"Go put your stuff away dear." Lavina shook her head and then ran off down the hall. Every Saturday she would spend the day and night at the palace with her grandparents. She threw her bag into her room and then raced back down the hallway. Cristel caught her and laughed.

"Doesn't somebody have the sillies today." Lavina laughed along with her and then followed them to the living room. They all sat down on the huge couch that they had in there. Yxeyhfkx grabbed a book before he sat down. He looked over at Lavina and then opened it.

"You know," He started, flipping through the pages.

"Is this another scrapbook of mom?"

He laughed, "Alright, you caught me, but you haven't seen this one yet."

"Are you sure? I'm sure you've shown me all of them."

"Not this one." Lavina looked at him and then put her head onto his shoulder. "You see?" Lavina's eyes moved slowly as she looked at the pictures.

"What are these ones of?"

"Your mother as a teenager. I've shown you her as a kid, and a baby, and an adult, even teenager pictures, I confess, but these are the ones from when she was in her junior and senior years." Lavina lifted her head up.

"She looks so tired."

"She was." He flipped the page. "I have this book, but I guess I don't like looking at her this way. And I guess I didn't want you to either. But it is a part you should know about, and maybe-"

"Oh, Yxeyhfkx-" He closed the book and got up. He went over to the bookshelf and grabbed a small box from it.

"You don't have to listen to these if you don't want to." He took the top off and took out three CD's and handed them to her. "Your mother left these to me. In her note she told me to give them to you when I thought you needed them. I've never listened to them, so I don't know what's on them, but they are for you, dear." Lavina looked to the CD's with a blank stare.

"Thanks." She stood up.

"Lavina-"

"I'm going to go take a walk." Lavina left the room and brought the CD's to her room. She put them into her duffel bag and then walked out of her room again. She walked to the front gates and waved at the guards and then walked through the Market. She made her way over to the outskirts. In the midst of the many years that Amilia had been gone the outskirts had become a popular tourist attraction. There were photos and paintings, readings depicting what went on, and even carvings in the wall. She ran her hand across the wall and then ducted down and jumped through the hole in the wall. She stood up and then walked forward. Lavina was in a big room. She looked in front of her, to the chair that was above the flight of stairs. She bawled her fist and then went up to the top, turning around once to look behind her. Something she had figured out over the years is that Unora's lair was still full of magic. And that she could turn it on with a push of a button on the throne. Lavina pushed the button and then, suddenly, there was her mother and Unora, a distant vision of the past in the middle of the room. This was one of her many ways of seeing her mother. Lavina went down the stairs as the figures moved. She stood in front of Amilia, watching her. Looking at her hair to the way her mouth moved when she talked. Lavina teared up and then fell to her knees.

"Why did you have to go!" She screamed. Lavina looked up to her. "Why?" She cried.

"Because I had to." Lavina looked up again, it was almost like she was answering her. "It was the only option I had."

"Is it?"

"Yes." Lavina stayed silent watching the story unfold as she watched them talk.

"Well it's unacceptable, you know that, honey. You can't just tell people about me. They'll question and snoop, do you understand?" Amilia looked down to the ground.

"She was so mean to you." Lavina whispered. "And you put up with it. For him." Lavina lifted her hand to her mothers face. There was nothing more she wanted but to have a hug from her, even if it was an allusion, a fake. To hear her mother speak to her and her alone. To hear how proud she was and how much she loved her. But the figure passed through her, leaving her once again wishing for something that would never come. Lavina shook her head and then went back up the stairs. She hesitated a bit, looking back to her mother before hitting the button, to turn it off. Then she made her way out of the lair and walked around the Market some more.

"Hey, Lavina!" Lavina looked up and it was none other than Anghi from school, he was carrying some boxes.

"Hey." She said, waving. "Here, let me help you." She walked up to him and took some boxes from him. "You're going to hurt yourself. Where are we going?"

"Oh, to my parents' shop."

"Your parents shop?"

"Yeah they own a little grocery store, here come on." They walked for a little bit and then he opened the door for her. They set their boxes down on the table and then he let her back out and led her to the front of the store. They walked in the front and people smiled as they walked in.

"So those two are my parents."

"Those two?" She questioned. Lavina looked to him and then to his parents.

"They're not biological, I'm adopted."

"Oh, I see, sorry for my surprise."

"Oh no it's alright, I get that a lot."

"Oh I see."

"Ah yes." He said putting his hand into his pocket. "Here you go." It was her dog tag. "That's what I wanted to give you, say I'm busy right now, but do you want to hang out later? We could figure out the details later, say, Monday after class?"

"Oh yeah that sounds nice."

"Not to be pushy, but I do need to get going, so here let me help you out." Anghi showed her out and then waved goodbye to her. Lavina made her way back to the castle and then sat down on her bed. And once again she fiddled with her necklace.