Courage Comes From Lies

Chapter 48: Devin

| 4:37 am, somewhere outside the Sagittarius Arrow |

Leo and I sat in silence for a bit while we traveled. While the silence captivated my mind, it also gave way for thoughts to roll in. What exactly am I getting myself into with going back? I know why I'm doing this. I know the risks. But do I have what it takes? Am I strong enough? I could feel Leo looking at me which made me look back at him.
"Is everything okay?" I asked him.
"I should ask the same of you Princess. Something on your mind?" He replied.
"You're really perceptive aren't you?" I jokingly asked as I brought my eyes back to the path ahead.
"One of the many things you can thank your mother for."
"Yeah she trained me like that too." I sighed softly. "I'm thinking about it again Leo."
"About what?"
"About if I have what it takes to pull this off. I mean... I want to get Tara back more than anything. Being without her so far has been a living nightmare. But I keep thinking about everything I lost. My father, a man who never killed even an insect. The King that took in refugees and victims of war from other kingdoms. My sister, a girl who wanted nothing more than to protect what she held dear. And she did that to the very end. Both of them loved my mother infinitely. I could feel it. But I could also feel how afraid of her they were. And rightfully so. Because in the end, she showed them just how worthless they really were to her..."
Leo watched me grip the steering handles as I spoke.
"I mean, who knows how many more lives she's taken while I was gone? While my father and sister were dead. While no one was there to stop her. And even then who's to say anyone could? If she didn't even listen to the man she gave her heart to, and ended up killing him in a fit of rage, how can her youngest daughter stop her?"
He thought about it while listening to me rant then looked at me. "Something tells me your mother would not give her time to any child of hers born with a weak Memory. Princess Amanda had the nineteenth generation Puppetry Memory. You have the fourteenth generation Past, Present and Future Pain Memory. Those are both really strong Memories. Something also tells me that's why she killed your sister. Puppetry is a very dangerous Memory if used correctly. I think she was afraid one day your sister would attempt to use it against her."
"That does make sense." I sighed sitting back. "I just don't understand Leo. I don't understand how someone can be so... callous and remorseless. How can she even call herself a leader much less a mother?"
"Do you know any stories of her time as a child?"
"All I know is how she became Queen and what my grandparents were like with the public versus when with their family."
"Everyone knows the story of how she became ruler. She killed her elder sister on her sister's sixteenth birthday in the Kämpfen Ring during a Duel to determine who would rule the empire."
"She always told me that story when I was a child to inspire me into fighting against Amanda. She always said she never wanted to kill her sister. She loved her. But I never understood she was most likely lying until I was eleven. If she truly understood what it was like to lose her older sister, why would she put me through that? She's so confusing."
"From what I recall, she was adopted into the Yolaris family correct?"
"Yes. Her original name was Jormung. She's actually my uncle Patrick's long lost little sister." At that, I heard Leo gasp so deeply he choked and started coughing. I couldn't help but giggle.
"She's what?! You mean- Patrick isn't just a man that took you in when you were a child? He's actually your blood uncle?"
I giggled more then just nodded. "I didn't find out until when I turned thirteen. He and Jasmine came to visit me while I was traveling. And he didn't seem like himself. When I asked why, Jasmine told me it was because that was the death date of his little sister Carla. I asked about her and when he was finished telling the story, he and I found out we were blood related and his little sister was alive and ruling an empire as Queen. We had a little celebration in a nearby city afterwards."
"That's.. really cute. I'm glad you were able to find more blood."
"Me too honestly. After I lost my father and sister, I never thought I'd have a family again. Then I met Jasmine and Patrick."
We sat there in silence once more before he asked, "How much longer before you think we should use the FTL action?"
"Hmm... well we've been traveling for a couple hours now. It's 4:48 in the morning right now. I'd say once it hits 9 to 10am."
"I see. So should we stop in the Capricorn's Tail to see if we can find more supplies?"
"Sounds good." I directed our GPS to the Capricorn Star Sign colony and continued driving.
"So... what were your grandparents like with their empire?"
I looked at him then thought to myself before answering. "From what my father told me about Kaitlyn and Michael Yolaris, they were much like my mother except they didn't go looking for trouble to set straight. They waited for trouble to come to them or happen in their empire and was reported to them. They were ruthless. Though they defended and fought for their rights as King and Queen, a lot of the empire didn't want them reigning."
"I see. And their family?"
"My mother only ever told me nothing but good things about her adoptive parents. They were caring, loving, protective, encouraging, you name it."
"Really? In what ways?"
"Hmm.. well she told me this one story about when she got cornered by some looters that snuck onto the property. Her parents were notified by some guards and they took it upon themselves to handle those people. They handed them a slow, painful death then pampered my mother for the rest of the day."
"That's... how could your mother have been taken in by such a loving family and end up a menace to her own?"
"I ask myself that everyday Leo. Everyday." I let out a soft sigh. "I just wish Tara knew the danger she's in. She has no idea what my mother is capable of."
"Well... knowing she took the lives of her own husband and daughter, that should tell Tara something."
"I guess. But still. I can't shake this feeling that something is gonna happen if I'm not there."
"Well then it's a good thing we're on our way then isn't it?"
I smiled a bit and nodded. "Thank you again for coming with me Leo. I know it would've been much safer for you to have stayed out of this. If my mother notices you in this little coup, you could lose your life too."
"I would be afraid of that if I wasn't trained by her best combat generals. I have the skills I need to protect myself. I would accompany you anywhere you asked of me, Princess. You are, after all, my Queen's daughter."
I let out a quiet noise in response, stuck in my thoughts. Please Father... Amanda... give me the strength I need to do this. Please look out for me when I get back. Watch over me.