END ROADS

CHAPTER 77: A LITTLE REUNION

Flora finished narrating her story, I stared at her like she was an enigma. She was standing there like a woman of nobility, who had fought hard and made it out to the end victoriously. Yeah that was the case, but there was still a lot more I didn't understand.
I looked at Regina, indeed she resembled me. And Xavier had once mentioned it like a joke...
... maybe you are twins...
We had dismissed him since he was often speaking a lot without thinking much about what he was saying. That means Regina knew all along that she was my sister and Flora my mom. But why was I the only one who was fooled?
"Why did you leave me? You saved her, and left me behind. He mistreated me, he..." I paused feeling helpless " at some point I thought he was not my father. I thought you were pitiful because he mistreated you. I starved for days in that freaking basement. He was never a father to me. You did nothing about that, you only submitted to him. Remained silent , all we did is cry together and soak in misery. Yet you are a princess, the daughter of Lothair for heaven's sake!"
"Calm down" Grey tried but I was not ready to calm down.
"You could have summoned your power and did something. Like the other time when he tried to kill me, I remember very well... You are the one who erased my memory. You were capable... I suffered!"
"There was nothing I could do, if I took you away to the vampires, he would have known. And killed the vampires, you and I as well. There was no solution other than what I used "
"So this vampires are more important to you than your own daughter?"
"What are you trying to imply" a young vampire threw the question at me. I glared at the emaciated beast, did he know how mad I was right now?
"Know when to keep silent little creature!" I sent him flying across the room, slamming into the wall then collapsing onto the floor.
"Don't do that" Flora warned
I chuckled glaring at her "then explain or I will squeeze life out of this beasts one by one. I know you know I can. So you better tell me what sin I committed to live like an unwanted creature with my own parents"
"I will tell you!" She panicked for the first time in front of everyone
"Good, please go ahead!" I sat back waiting for a sensible explanation
"When you turned eighteen, I heard him talk to someone. He was going to lure the prince in and make him abduct you that is after he has given you the last dose of his wild inventions. I was annoyed and angry at the same time. So I had to be a step ahead of him. So I called Steele and told him about the plan. So when the van rammed into our car, your father ran away. I was injured, I could not move. So when you escaped, I managed to summon my powers back before the car burst into flames. The moment you escaped, I asked Steele not to let Grey kill you. Instead, he should take you in as a hostage instead. It happened a little earlier than your father anticipated, so he didn't get the chance to give you the last dose. What happened afterwards I don't know much, only you can tell"
"When did you know Grey was my mate?"
"Steele told me, when he found out the man was going berserk when you almost escaped "
"Why would you even trust that man?" I was becoming restless "he tried to kill me a thousand times "
"It is his way if keeping you out of the picture and protecting the vampires. If you died, David wouldn't bother them"
"You say those words with ease, have you ever loved me?" I was too pissed off to even think through what I was saying.
"Don't question a mother's love "
"I wouldn't " I said slowly standing up and walking around the table "out of the three, I was the only one who suffered your husband's wrath. indeed, I should not question my mother's love. You have a point "
I left the council room and went back to my room. This day was so sick, it sucks. Why me? All arrows were aimed at me from birth. Was I wrong for being born? Did I even choose to be born? If it was a choice to be born, then I would not chose to even exist at all. She saved Regina, she hid Angela and only left me under the scorching sun to die there while she watched pretending to be helpless.
It made me sick! I slammed the bedside lamp against the wall but that did not seem to be enough to quench my anger. I was still feeling sick all over. I wanted to tear the world apart and find that damn goddess and crush her into the dirt beneath my feet.
Chosen?
Why choose me out of thousands in the world? Why would she hate me this much. What wrong did I do in my past life to be condemned this much in my present life? Why would all this happen to me?
But I wouldn't cry, I was tired of it. I have cried enough,I have bee crying since birth until now. I will cry no more, the world had seen me as a weak giant a lot already. I will cry no more and I will not be the good girl everyone wants me to be.
"You can't change the past Becky"
"Even if I would, I won't" I retorted.
"Try to understand mom, she was desperate to save her children. She did what is best for us all"
That sounded very irritating. Best for who? Me? What best did she do for me? Crying outside the basement door with me? Is that what we call the best for us all?
"It is easy to say that because you lived a safe life with nothing to worry about"
"At least you lived a life while enjoying a mother's love, I didn't enjoy that. I was alone... I was not even breastfed. Not even once, Becky"
That hit a nerve. I remained silent.
"I had to learn to take care of myself from a very young age, it was hard since my fangs came too early. They are so itchy and I wanted blood all the time. I bit a maid, I caused trouble. I had to lock myself up too until I learned how to tame my thirst and endure the itching.
I had no friends, the others called me the lost one, because I was found in the forest. It was pretty hard until Grey became my best friend. But yet I thought I was an orphan. I yearned to have a blood relative. It was scary when David captured me, I didn't even know he was my dad. It was painful to be forced out of your own body. What was worse Is watching people suffer and you can do nothing about it. You think it was easy Becky?"
She sounded emotional and I was out of words. What was I supposed to say? I stood behind the door my forehead plastered on the door, I didn't know what to do in this kind of situation.
"My birthday passed like any other normal day. There was no one to bake me a cake or tell me grow old to blow a thousand candles, no one. When I was sad, no one read me a story or sung me a lullaby so I could sleep. No one taught me how to behave like a girl or what to do here and there. I had to learn everything on my own "
"Am sorry "
"Even in hiding she had to find you, bake you a cake and make sure you celebrated your nineteenth birthday. At that time, my body was losing colour in the casket as I roamed around hopelessly. Despite all that, when she came to me in the cabin and told me everything. I forgave her and focussed on counting my blessings " her voice broke "we got to appreciate the little things in life, at that moment I didn't think of the days she was not there or the loneliness I felt all those years. All I thought about was... At least I have a mother... At least I have two sisters... Now I have a family. I have people who can love me unconditionally. That was what I thought about " she sniffed and whimpered "why don't you count your blessings as well Becky?"
"You grew up with a mother by your side, even if you wept, she was there so you will not be alone. She comforted you, risked her life so David does not use you as a guinea pig. She had to run miles to keep your sister safe so you will not be alone in the future. She shielded you from the harsh reality of life. Are those not good blessings, Becky? Why will you count evil alone and leave behind the blessings "
I felt like I was being chocked, why was Like that? Why was I seeing only the wrong? Tears leaked from my eyes, I wished to speak but I could not. Reality had hit in hard and heavy and I could not handle it.
"She also counted the blessings, Becky. She had a choice of abandoning us as well. She could have aborted and ran away from the abusive husband. She could have left you alone in the house and left. She endured for the both of us. She didn't see the pain of the beating or being neglected. She only saw her children and was willing to endure the suffering for us. Don't you think she had suffered enough as well? Her step mothers and sisters wanted to kill her for being the child of a fairly. She was also young when she had to survive in the wild on her own. She didn't want us to suffer, she only wanted a man who would be there for her and love her. Don't you think she has suffered enough to come and endure rejection from her own children? She let down her glory as a princess and suffered for us, do you still think she hates you?"
I pulled the door open staring at my own reflection. My twin, my sister. Why did such a sensible person have to look like me? I am not worthy it, she was very optimistic and wise ... Way too wise, much wiser than I could ever be.
"Can you please hug me now and stop looking at me as if you have fallen in love at first sight"
I smiled bitterly, she was a crying mess and was still in the mood to joke around. I opened my arms wide and she hugged me tightly. This was it, I had a sister, and a mother. I had people to call family. On top of that, I had a man who loved me wholeheartedly. Why not enjoy this blessings?
"You are so mean Becky" she said slowly.
"I know, I have always been mean, but it's good you are not as mean as I am. There is someone who can keep me at check"
"And you can stop me when I become too kind with people" she giggled making herself too comfortable.
"Sure I'll do so"
We held each other, eyes closed and just listening to the silence around us. It was nice, it felt like home.
"Do you know Sandy?"
"Of course" she stepped back "how is she?"
"She's fine, she often persuaded me to bring her sister back"
"We were close. Not for long though. She had to go to Spain. So I let her go, she called me big sister"
"Regina!"
We turned at the sound of a relieved man panting loudly. We turned to look, Clark, Grey, Ethan and Xavier were standing there grinning like idiots. The girls arrived afterwards.
"Regina...
"Clark...
The two embraced each other and we watched in awe. Clark was very happy, he kept looking at her as if she was some kind of treasure.
"You look more beautiful, very beautiful. Am so happy to see you"
"A man doesn't cry in public" Regina wiped his tears with a smile "am also happy to see you"
"Hey, stop being the love birds in front of us. We also missed you" Xavier whined.
"Alright, come here big guy!"
Xavier walked into her arms gladly, the others followed and the excitement in air was so pleasant .
Then she walked up to Grey with a smile.
"Did you cry? Did you miss me?"
Grey grinned staring down at her. He pat her head as if she was a child.
"Even if you look like her, she alone can make me cry. But I was depressed when you were gone, and I was sad for a long time and I missed you so much. That u can confess"
"Poor boy" she hugged him and Grey's eyes lit up even more than before "you don't have to worry about someone weeping for me. He's crying already"
"You really are good at adding salt to the wound" Grey pat her head again "be careful from now on, your lovers have increased. Now you got a bigger family"
"I will be careful"
"Regina?!" Adelyn rushed over dragging the girl into her arms "goodness I was out at the borders when I heard the intruder we were chasing was actually you. How are you back?"
"My sister revived me weeks ago. Now am back"
"Amazing, the resemblance was more than a coincidence. Are you twins?"
"Yes, she's the first I come second and we have a younger sister too" Regina seemed to be really happy telling the world that she had siblings.
"Where is the little...
"Here ...
Angela suddenly appeared and everyone panicked. "What? You can camouflage?" Arianna who was clinging to Ethan asked
"Something like that, it's fun being invisible. I can watch all the drama without being seen"
"How long?"
"Since long ago, u followed Becky but she banged the door in my face "she rolled her eyes "she has a bad temper"
"Wait, who are you?" Xavier who was always left behind with all the conversations suddenly asked. Everyone looked at him as if he had grown a second nose.
"I am Angela Gala hue, the two big girls are my sister's and Flora is my mom... Oh our mom. Not to mention our wicked daddy"
"You really speak a lot, Sandy will love you" Abigail complimented
"Sorry, but am straight"
We looked at each other and burst into laughter. What was this little girl thinking.
"We meant she will love to be your friend" I explained to the girl who was stranded.
"Oh, that will be nice" she finally said awkwardly.
"Why don't we celebrate our little reunion?" Ethan the party boy suggested.
"Sure, I will make a fountain of wine. Who is with me?" Regina yelled and Arianna gave her a thumbs down.
"Old habits die hard"
"Come on guys let's rock the coven together " they ran off yelling with excitement.
"They completely forgot we are under threat "
"They get excited too easily, we'll be eyes for them."
He took my hand and we went after the noisy fellas. The club was full already, Regina was swaying her hips and hair around while teasing her mate. I have never seen  Clark as happy as he was today. His face was so bright as if had suddenly found his moonlight in the dark night. It was lovely to see them happy, in the other hand Ethan and Dom were competing taking shots, Adelyn and her Best friend Megan were chilling together as well. It felt so good to see all of us together and now it felt like the rituals I often saw in ancient movies. Where the warriors drunk a lot before war. Yeah, this fit the situation, because it was certain that war was coming. A very ugly war.
Grey and I sat down watching the others enjoy themselves.
"You want a drink?"
"No, I will be sober today... You can go have fun"
"Are you kicking me out?"
"As if you would be easily kicked out!"
"Are you mad at me? And your mom?"
"No, I am fine. My optimistic sister wouldn't let me be mad at anyone" I answered.
"I didn't know she was your mom, but I thought of it once when I found out you can use the spell book. I dismissed the thought and reduced it to someone who knows your mom, but later when she dragged me to the Northern crescent castle I was very confused "
"She confused me as much too, but I am alive, I should not dwell in the past "
"You are becoming so smart " he poked my cheek  "should I get you anything? U am in the mood of drinking a cocktail "
"Get me an energy drink, maybe "
"OK, I will be right back "
Grey left the table, I sat in place scanning the surrounding quietly. Everyone seemed to have loosened up from the tension that was thick in the atmosphere before. It was good, anxiety is not the best choice at all, they should be happy and relaxed. They loved Regina a lot from the look of things, she went along pretty well with everyone including Adelyn the girl I hated to the marrow.
"That is too deep "
"What?"
"You can't hate someone that much "
I looked at Flora and smiled softly "that is a bad habit "
"I can't help it " she shrugged "sometimes it happens without my knowledge. I once told you I happen to know even what I shouldn't "
"Yeah "
"Do you still want to tear my head off?"
"Your goals are pretty, but your strategy sucks"
"I know, you know when we are desperate... We make desperate decisions "
"Yeah, and sorry for yelling at you earlier. Seems like I can't control my emotions well this days "
She leaned in and asked me to lean closer "you are pregnant!"
"What?!"
"Yes, three days "
"What?!"
"Yes I can feel the second heartbeat "
"Does everyone else know?"
"Maybe someone with a higher rank like me or further"
"So Antonio knows?"
"Probably "
"Don't tell anyone, until this war is over. Especially Grey "
"Alright, if you say so " she grinned  pointing at the ring on my finger "the man is head over heels for you. I wish I was as lucky"
I blushed feeling embarrassed, we had just married each other while sitting on the bed alone, at night. I didn't want to talk about that, and she seemed to have read that already. I changed the topic diverting it to her "Why don't you try falling in love again?"
"No, I won't "
"Try, there must be someone who will really love you a lot"
"Maybe in the future, but for now, let me be the mother I was not "
"You are the best mother "
"I failed in many ways "
"It's your husband who failed you, not you!"
"That makes me feel better "
"Don't be guilty, he should be "
"I love you "
"I love you mom" she embraced me and kissed my forehead.
"I'll be out there if you need me "
"Alright "
She walked a few metres away and vanished into thin air. It was a little strange to see her use her powers in front of me. But I loved it, she was alive and healthy.
"Honestly, your father has a good taste in women"
"You think so?" I asked taking the can from his hands
"She's the most beautiful among all of Lothair's children"
"Oh, he then has a fine taste" I sipped my drink.
"So do I" I chocked on my drink coughing uncontrollably. "Send signals when you want to flirt, your highness "
"There is always a next time " he grinned playfully.
"For a moment I thought I was talking to a teenager!"
"But it actually your ancestor "
That caught me off guard, I laughed until my lungs felt sour.
"Seriously? Ancestor?"
He grinned looking at me intently as if his eyes had seen something very interesting.
"Don't look at me like that "
"How am I looking at you?" He tilted his head knowingly.
"Just don't "
"You look very beautiful when you are laughing like that "
"Oh, Grey don't do that to my poor heart"
He laughed slowly and took my hand, rubbing it slowly with his thumb.
"I really love you " he kissed my hand sending butterflies around my stomach. I looked at his face, his beautiful face and his green eyes. Then I looked at his strong hand that was holding mine. I felt him, the fear buried deep down within him. A fear he was unable to express was eating him from inside.
"I want to kiss you" now it was his turn to choke. "Come with me" I took his hand and dragged him out towards the dim area of the club where the lodging rooms were located. I pushed the door of the empty rooms open pressing the red button. The red light indicated the room was occupied.