Hope for the Past

III

I blinked out of existence, just for a moment. My bones dusted, my muscles tore apart, and I wished for death, but the horror ended as quickly as it had begun. The forest was gone. My cabin, my home for the last 3650 days, had vanished.

But I knew this place.

And I wasn't alone.

Sort of.

The room was dark—save for a small candelabra on a dusty table in a far corner. Someone sat in a rickety chair at the table, scratching away on a piece of parchment with a feather quill.

"I was such a poser back then," I muttered.

"Who's there?" The writer spun around and stared at me. I can only imagine what she was feeling—coming face to face with myself would freak me out, too.

"It's me," I said. "You. It's us."

The younger me slowly stood up. If I had my years right, she had just discovered a whole new world — the world of magic. We were locked away in a tower, classic fairytale bullshit, to 'save me from myself.' More likely to stop me from burning down the kingdom during a tantrum, but I had only just started to explore what I could do.

Someone knocked on the door, and something stirred deep within me, a current I hadn't felt in years—like dusting off an old picture in a forgotten corner of a room.

"Hide!" Young Whitney pointed to her open window. "Out on the ledge!"

I raced to the window and poked my head out. My stomach rolled.

"Are you insane?" I hissed. "Do you know how high up we are?"

"If you are who I think you are, then a little ledge shouldn't scare you."

The look my younger self gave me was one I know I'd given countless people over the centuries, and now I knew why I had a reputation as 'kind-of-a bitch.' It was weird taking orders from myself, but I had to admit we were right.

I swung my legs out the window and clung to the side of the tower as I shuffled out of view from the doorway.

"Okay, I'm good!" I whispered.

Young Whitney opened the door.

"Kiara," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Kiara! I almost fell off the ledge when I heard that name. She was like a sister to me back then, discovering her magic right around the same time. I'd thought about little else but her and Connor for ten years, and here I was, within shouting distance. I couldn't do a damn thing about it right now, because I'd be putting my younger self in danger.

I leaned as close to the window edge as I could without tumbling back into the room, desperate for just a glimpse of Kiara. A gust of wind blew the curtains around, and there she was. The face I'd drawn in my mind, every detail etched in the forever slate of my memories. A lot younger, no eyepatch, but it was her, right down to the dichromatic eyes.

I remembered this day, this meeting in my tower. It was the first time I—

I had to do something. This was it. This was the day it all went to hell. Even if I hadn't known it at the time, I could trace everything that happened next to this day.

"Connor's ready," Kiara said. She pushed past Younger Whitney and glanced at the parchment. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."

"Kiara, I'm not so sure about this." Younger Whitney grabbed the parchment out of Kiara's hands and tossed it onto the bed. "You heard Scrim this morning."

"Scrim is an old woman." Kiara leaned against the desk, the same old 'who gives a shit' attitude she had the last time I saw her. "We're going to change the world."

"Yeah, maybe," Younger Whitney said. "But will it make things better?"

Kiara shrugged. "Not for everybody. For us? Definitely."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was the moment, the second I let Kiara run my life.

Not this time.

"Get away from us!" I snarled and leaped in through the open window. My voice sounded braver than I felt. My magic was only just waking up after a decade of hibernation. Kiara was a stronger student than I'd been, at least at first, and at this point, she was pretty damn powerful.

"What the hell is this?" Kiara hissed. "How are there two of you?"

"You know, for an empress, you could be such a dumbass sometimes, Kiara," I said.

Kiara backed up towards the door. "I don't know how you've done this, but we won't be stopped. Not by someone as weak as either of you. Connor!"

She poked her head through the doorway and screamed her stupid boyfriend's name a second time. Within seconds, he stood at her side, the tendrils of Peregrin travel magic still wafting off him.

"Connor," I said. "I wish I could say it was good to see you."

"And I wish I could say the years have been kind, but I try not to lie to my friends." Connor didn't even bother containing his smile. Something in the way I was looking at them must have told them I wasn't there for friendly chatter.

"Then you should have no problem bullshitting me," I said. "I couldn't imagine a bigger pair of backstabbers than you two assholes."

"What is even happening?" Younger Whitney squeaked.

"Remember how Mom used to say 'trust yourself?'" I asked. I put my hands behind my back and prayed to whoever was listening that I could muster one spell out of my dusty bag of tricks.

"Yes..." Younger Whitney sounded less than confident.

"Grab my hand!" I roared. To her credit, she did it without thinking twice.

I flicked my wrist, hoping that I remembered the move. "PEREGRINI!"

The world went dark, and the room was gone.