The Fallen Alpha

Chapter 65: Beginning And End Library

The next day
Sloane got out of bed, performed her morning routine, and headed out of her room; towards the training field. On the way, she had asked for directions to the palace library and told the maids to move her meals there; as she would be eating there from then on. She also told them to never tell anyone that she was there even if they were looking for her.
   Seeing that nobody was on the training field, she breathed a sigh of relief. She took the same path as the night before and easily found the metal gate leading underground. If anyone were to see her, they'd be able to recognize the dark circles around her eyes and the exhaustion written on her face.
She opened the gate, walked in and shut it behind her. As she went down the steps, the voices in her head got louder and she began to see blood splattered on the walls. She rested her head on one of the prison door cells and took in deep breaths.
'Don't... don't leave me...behind' she heard in her head 'Stop pretending that I don't exist when we're one and the same'
"I'm not a monster...I'd never kill anyone" she recited as she stared at Rielle's laboratory door 'Me and you aren't the same' she thought with a sigh as the voice was finally silenced and she headed to the door of Rielle's lab. She opened it and entered inside.
  To her surprise, other than Priya, nobody else was in the lab; not even Rielle. She had always envisioned Rielle as the type of person who could get married to their work and research day in and day out.
"Sloane?" Priya let out surprised "What are you doing here? You look terrible. Are you okay?"
Sloane pursed her lips before grabbing a seat next to Priya and resting her head on the table
"You already said I looked terrible. How can I be okay if I look terrible?" Sloane asked with a giggle
"I'm sorry. The questions just came out randomly when I saw you" Priya said before walking over to a cabinet and pulling out a pill bottle and a bottle of water. She looked at the pill bottle's labeling before putting it back in the cabinet while asking "Is there something you need Missu- I mean, Lady Rielle for?" she brought out another pill bottle and silently nodded her head before returning back to where Sloane was seated
"I've been hearing voices...in my head" Sloane said as she sat up "I can't sleep because of them"
Priya handed her the pill bottle and water "Well, I choose this exact pill for it. Just take two"
Sloane gazed at the pill bottle for a while before opening it and taking two pills. After swallowing them, she handed the pill bottle back to Priya "Thanks" she said and Priya smiled
"If you need anything else-"
"Can you inform Rielle and Dante....I'm not going to be attending training anymore" Sloane interrupted
"Why?" Priya asked
"I'm not going to learn anything training with everyone" Sloane justified herself "Nobody wants to help me get my lost memories back...so I'll just do it myself. And while I'm at it, get impeccable knowledge"
"But Prince Nathan-"
"Nathan isn't stupid. He already guessed what happened to me yesterday. He has good eyes and his hearing is top notch" Sloane said "And I'm not stupid either. Do you really think I won't find out there's a seal on my memories and I'll die immediately after it's released?" Priya lowered her head at this "Even Nathan knew he couldn't do anything about it. He apologized last night but I kicked him out"
'It really is impossible to keep things from her' Priya thought 'She's just like the rumors at the university. Just because she's quiet and kind, doesn't mean she's a kitten'
"I also learnt something about Kenzie's father, Mr Connor" Sloane continued "Just tell Dante, the other demon type, was an incubus. Kenzie feeds on me and Nathan's nightmares whenever she's with us and she does it subconsciously. If she's not with us, our nightmares continue" she looked at the wall clock hanging to the left side of the room and stood up "It's about time. Bye"
"Sloane, wait" Priya said as she immediately stood up and grabbed Sloane's hand "Let me help you" she said but Sloane looked confused "You're going to be staying in the palace library, aren't you? You don't want the others to start asking you questions as soon as they see you, right? That means you can't step out of the library. How about I help you to bring the clothes, food, and anything you need from your room? I can also help you search for what you're looking for.... the maids will give away your secret as soon as Nathan asks them but he wouldn't suspect me"
Sloane sighed "You certainly have a point....Fine"
"Also, there's a passage from here to the library. Apparently, magic can't reach the library so even if the others were to use a vast spell, they can't find us"
"Thanks...let's go" Sloane said and Priya began to pull her to the back room
"It's this way"
As soon as they closed the door to the back room, Priya moved to an open space and took out a bronze key before placing it in a key shaped hole on one of the tiles and turning it. The part of the ground ahead of the keyhole, began to sink further down into the ground. Priya picked up a lantern, took out the key, and started heading down while Sloane followed after her. Above ground, the back room had returned back to normal.
******
"How did you find this place?" Sloane asked while walking side by side with Priya
"Timothy became an annoyance yesterday, he started yelling at me and complaining, I got tired of it" Priya said "I wanted to find a place to forget I'm the only human here. And as I was moving some books, I tripped and a key fell out of one of the books. The book had 'Beginning And End Library' on it with a lock in the center. When it touched the floor, it became the lock that opened this passage. I explored this place throughout the night and found a door that led to the study in the library"
"That's amazing"
"We're here" Priya said as they stopped in front of a tall concrete wall. Priya pushed a block inside and the concrete wall created a crack at its center before opening.
The two walked through the opening and were now in a large room with tables and chairs at the sides. The room was brightly lit and there were even a couple of shelves with scrolls in them, pens and papers.
Sloane walked up to the table and grazed her hand against it. There was a thick amount of dust on her fingers which made her smile
"It's been years since anyone's used the library. This can work" she said while Priya dropped the lantern on the table
"Lady Rielle once said, 'It's rare for werewolves and vampires to want to read' and elves have infinite memory, to need books. They just need to read the book once and after that, it's useless to them. They just keep them because they like the book covers" Priya said
"What a waste. I hope the pages aren't already gumming together"
"I know, right?" Priya let out "So, what do we look for first"
"The spirit world has knowledge on everything that's happened from the very beginning" Sloane said "We'll start with the history of demons, to better understand what's going on in this civil war" she opened the doors leading to the main library and a gigantic room with many levels and several shelves with books, greeted her
"Well, I did say I'd help" Priya sighed as she looked over Sloane's shoulder and rolled up her sleeves "Let's get to work"
******
Later that morning,
Nathan came out from the bathroom fully dressed and noticed Mackenzie laying like a starfish on his bed, with her eyes closed.
"Why is it you never sleep in your own room?" he asked
"Eh? Don't tell me you don't like it when I'm here, dad" Mackenzie said as she opened her eyes and sat up "The bed in my room is too big and I feel lonely easily. That's why I need you and mum to always be by my side"
"Are you a kid?"
"What type of question is that?" Mackenzie let out "I'm nine. I have nightmares too"
Nathan walked towards the door, "Sloane is probably still in her room" he said
"She's not there and the old man said none of us are eating until we go up two levels today" Mackenzie said as she took Nathan's hand and left the room with him.
On the training field,
Everyone was present except two people; Sloane and Priya
"Hey, Nathan..." Alexa called out
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen Sloane?" Alexa asked and Nathan's eyes widened "No...you haven't seen her either?" just then, Timothy ran to the training field
"Priya....Priya is missing too" Timothy said "I thought she would be in the lab but she's nowhere to be found"
"They're not missing" Rielle said "They left a note"
"They both said they're quitting" Dante said "Sloane also left something about Mackenzie's biological father...something about him being part incubus"
"What?" everyone let out
"Have they both gone mad?" Allen asked "Quitting just like that-"
"Sloane isn't stupid" Alexa said as she looked at Nathan "My guess is she figured out something"
"Sloane knows what's going to happen to her if she unseals her memories" Nathan said "She also knows Lady Rielle's powers. She knows Lady Rielle can create, destroy, adjust, implant, materialize and recover memories"
"How did she-" before Rielle could say more, there was a sudden outburst from Mackenzie
"You could do that all along?" Mackenzie shouted before snatching her hand from Nathan "And you knew? Why didn't you just help my mum?"
"Mickey, it's not good to yell at your elders" Alexa scolded
"I don't care. I just want my mum" Mackenzie said while crying "I don't want her to forget about me. I don't want her to stop caring about me. I don't want to be left alone, just give my mum back her memories"
"If I do that, she dies" Rielle said
"You don't know that. All you guys have been doing is building stuff that you yourself aren't even sure about" Mackenzie said before running away "All of you are a bunch of liars. Nobody wants to help my mum. None of you want her to be happy"
"Kenzie!!!" Nathan shouted but she didn't answer
"I guess we can count her out of training too" Lilith murmured
"She's a dragon keeper. I'm not that worried" Dante said "Even if she were only to hear about how to do anything, I'm sure she could do it"
"But-"
"As far as it doesn't affect her....I'm fine with it" Nathan said and that was the end of the conversation as Dante began to explain the lessons for the day's training session.
.......
I turned fifteen on the tenth of August this year and wanted to celebrate. I couldn't think of anything, so I just wrote this chapter instead.