The Time Capsule

Chapter Eighteen.

Fear can be an unstoppable force. Once someone becomes afraid, it can be almost impossible to stop it from taking over. Once it takes over, it grabs their every thought, their every motive, until the person that is afraid is now questioning everything. Too terrified to sleep, waiting for something to jump out and surprise them... Fear can take many forms. But one of the worst things of all that can be detrimental to their well-being? Letting the thoughts that prowl endlessly in their mind take control.
Nadia was now sitting on the bed, her heartbeat amplified in her ears. 'I can freeze time. What else can I do? Kill? I almost killed the Councilors.' Roman and Rosamund were outside the door, arguing about her. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell it wasn't good.
All of a sudden, silence fell over the area. "Move. Now." Cyrus shouted.
"Do not lay a finger on her." She heard Roman quietly threaten. "No matter the results of her heritage, she must not be harmed in any way."
A scoff was heard, most likely from Cyrus. "You must consider me a fool if you think that I will take orders from YOU. Move!"
Nadia heard Rosa whisper to her brother, something sounding like she was trying to calm him down. The door swung open, and she gritted her teeth. Cyrus was fond of swinging doors open forcefully, it seemed.
"You. Stand." He barked at her. "We have discovered your parentage." He tilted his nose upward in a disdainful pose. "Guards! Take the two Keepers away so they won't cause trouble. The male one seems to want to cause trouble. And for that, we'll have to discuss a method of punishment." Two guards in the doorway nodded, grabbing onto the two Keepers and putting glowing handcuffs on Rosa, and then trying to put them on Roman. They only got one cuff on before he started fighting.
"Get off of me! How DARE you even touch me? I am a Keeper." He shoved against the guard, making him stumble back, the other one holding on to him even tighter. Roman tried to summon his powers, but it seemed a slight pulse in the air was all he could muster, the cuff on one hand probably having something to do with his lack of power.
"GET OFF MY BROTHER!" Rosa screamed as three other guards came running down the hall. Her magic was useless because of the cuffs, but she fought her hardest. At one point, she cracked her head against someone's skull, and you could hear something break. Hopefully, it's not the skull, but maybe his nose.
Roman Adair was trying to strangle another guard one-handed, and he was doing very badly. More guards came running, and pretty soon, he was punching and kicking and biting to stay here. "CYRUS! DO NOT HURT HER! I SWEAR-" The other cuff was forced onto his wrist, and he continued to fight.
Nadia tried to run out to help the Keeper of Time, but Cyrus blocked the door. "It's a trivial matter to help those two. Now, let's discuss your heritage. Failure to comply will result in injury. Perhaps amputation of arms and legs." She could see the slight quirk of his mouth, a hideous smirk forming on his face, making him absolutely terrifying.
"Please. Don't hurt them." 'Come on, Nadia. Use your powers." She closed her eyes, trying to summon her powers.
"If you try to harm me, I will kill you so fast you won't even be able to blink." Cyrus smiled, his long red hair looking sharp in contrast to his pale skin and eyes devoid of color.
She could see Rosa out the door being dragged off, having to be taken by five guards because she was fighting so much. Roman stopped fighting, and for a second, the guards were stunned. He barely had enough time to mouth, "The bracelet" before being dragged off.
Nadia's eyes filled with tears when she saw the two people she knew as allies being dragged off and put in who knows where for however long. 'No. I am Nadia Wolfe. I will play the long game. I will do whatever I can to survive. I am not weak. I am not pathetic. I am powerful.'
"Are you going to listen now?" Cyrus crossed his arms, glaring. "Remember the part about amputation? Failure to comply? Now, pay attention. The parents you knew were named Orlando and Naomi Wolfe. Your real parents... are Fate and Destiny."
Nadia began to laugh. A shrill, hysterical sound. "Fate? Fate is my father? That is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. Destiny? Isn't that basically the same thing?" She stopped laughing when she saw his expression.
"Foolish child. Have you no manners? As a High Council member, I never joke. Fate, or, should I say, the Keeper of Fate is your father. And your mother was the Keeper of Destiny."
Nadia's heart stuttered when she heard the "was". "What do you mean? "Was"?"
Cyrus smiled grimly. "She was murdered."
Her chest felt like it was on fire. Pain bloomed in her heart, and she sank down onto the bed. "How? Why?"
"Destiny had you. She hid the fact that she gave birth to a child by hiding it among mortals. Your adoptive parents. Once Fate discovered her facade, he killed Orlando and Naomi in a car crash and, in a fit of rage, murdered his own lover. Fate was distraught when he realized what he'd done."
"But... Why would Destiny hide the fact that she had me from Fate?" Nadia's pulse pounded.
Cyrus paused. "Fate has always been very... envious of the High Council and the other Keepers. He has expressed to us on multiple occasions that he wishes to be the only Keeper, in charge of Fate, Dreams, and Time. Which would mean we would fire the other Keepers."
"Oh." Her heart sped up even more
at the thought of losing both Rosamund and Roman.
"Don't worry. We have declined him many times." Cyrus sighed.
"Why is it that everyone says Fate is "they", like an entity that is always there?"
"He is an entity, but we also don't like to discuss him much. He gets... very spiteful."
'So much so that he murdered Destiny...'
"I see." Nadia was still confused about one thing: "You didn't answer my question, though. Why did Destiny hide me away? Did she think Fate would want to kill me? To..." Her eyes widened. "He wanted to control all of Fate, Time, and Dreams. He wouldn't want to have a successor. Eventually, he would have probably had to kill Destiny so he could be in charge. But what about... what about the High Council?"
'Gain information. Don't use the bracelet unless it's an emergency. A.K.A. My legs are being amputated.' "Why do you let him staqy on as the Keeper of Fate when he threatens everything you do?" Naida asked.
Cyrus looked uneasy. 'Does he think he said too much?'
"Because..." Cyrus paused, looking like he was trying to phrase his words carefully. "Fate is one of the more powerful Keepers, and if left to his own means, that would be... catastrophic. We keep him on as a sort of balance to the world. I'm sure you've heard the phrase about keeping your friends close and keeping your enemies closer. This may or may not be one of those instances. However, if you were to mention this to him at any point in time, I and all the other High Council members would deny ever admitting to something of such epic proportions."
"Why... How... My parents are Destiny and Fate?" Nadia was in shock.
"I just said that, didn't I?" He looked exasperated. Now. Onto more important matters, we have to decide whether or not to kill you. Or worse." A hideous grin lit up his features, looking delighted in the fear that showed on her face.