Banished

Chapter 1

"Welcome Amber!" Beamed a tall, blond woman. Her bobbed hair made her bright blue eyes stand out, which reminded me of the lake near our palace back home. She had her arms outstretched waiting to reel me in for a hug. At first, I hesitated but proceeded to hug the perky woman after a second or two. The gentlemen next to her was tall, lean, and muscular. He had dirty blond hair, and blue eyes too. However, his eyes were a darker, more navy colored blue. Instead of a hug though, he gave me a firm handshake. Together, we started walking through this unfamiliar airport towards their black Nissan Pathfinder.

"I'm Susan!" Beamed the woman. Her eyes glistened under the airport lighting. "How was your trip?" Asked the man. Before I could answer, Susan cut me off. "And he's Dan." She said. I laughed, then replied, "It was great. It went by really fast, seeing how much I had to travel." I meant that airports were unfamiliar to me, since Xandor people used teleportation. We just used the airport as an alibi. Susan winked, showing me that she understood the joke behind my response, and we all laughed as we made our way to their car. All of my baggage was transported yesterday, before me, so I wasn't surprised when I walked into Susan and Dan's house and found all of my things in the living room.

After 2 long hours, my room was finally finished. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. I collapsed on my bed in exhaustion and ending falling asleep like that.

"Honey, please don't hate us." Said a familiar voice. "Mom?" I asked. I knew it was her voice, but all I saw was darkness. "Just listen closely, Maria." She spoke gently.

"You're father and I love you so very much. Things are going on right now that you just can't understand. You're too young. But soon enough, you'll realize that us sending you away was not your fault. It's much bigger than that, honey." Her words were like knives cutting deeper and deeper into my heart. I longed to hear her voice again, though it hasn't been more than 8 hours since I last heard her soft and gentle voice.

"Mom." I began.

"Honey, it's almost time for me to go. I might be able to speak to you again soon. Please be happy there. This is all for you own good. Create a new life for yourself. You're so unbelievably lucky to be where you are now. If I never get the chance to speak to you again, just know you're my everything, Maria. Sending you away was our only choice. This has nothing to do with you stealing the king's items, just know that. I love you, and I hope you can forgive us."

I felt a tear escape my left eye and roll down my cheek. I couldn't feel my body, just my presence. What did she mean? Why wouldn't she be able to talk to me? How was she able to contact me just now? I'm well aware this is all a dream, but how come it feels so real? What if it is real?

"Mom? Mom?! MOM?!" I was crying my heart out by this point. "Please answer!" I yelled in the darkness. A light, gentle breeze came along with the words "goodbye". The breeze, along with the farewell, went away as suddenly as it had come.

"Maria! Maria, wake up!" My vision was blurred but as soon as it cleared up, I saw Susan next to me. From what I was witnessing, she was shaking me, probably trying to wake me up. Suddenly, she stood up and started to walk in circles around my room. "Oh no... Oh no... The King will never forgive me. Oh no. I've lost her." She said with a panicky voice.

"Lost who?" I said. I sat up and started rubbing my eyes.

"You're awake! Thank goodness!" She said, laughing. Her face then changed and became dead serious. "Never do that to me again." She added.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I looked over at the alarm clock beside me. "It's 3 AM!"

"Tell me exactly what happened in your dream." She demanded. Now she was, once again, on the bed beside me staring at me.

"What? How'd... What's..." After I stuttered for a solid 10 seconds, she finally said, "look. Just tell me everything and I'll explain what's going on."

It took me about 5 minutes to explain my dream, down to the very last detail. During this, all Susan did was stare at me and nod. She didn't say anything until I was completely finished.

"There. I told you everything. Can I go to sleep now, please?" I pleaded. I was desperate to sleep.

"No. Listen up, Maria. There are dark forces back on Xandor that will do just about anything to capture you. From what I heard, the person you were speaking to sounded a lot like your real mother. But close your eyes and tell me honestly. Did she move in your dreams?" She said.

I did what she said and finally answered, "No. All I saw was blackness. "

She nodded and began, "that's what I thought. Listen. People who come in and visit you during your dreams might never even show up. They will for sure never move. They are not allowed to. It's part of the "agreement" they sign before they're allowed to travel. Pay attention to your dream next time a similar one happens. If the figure moves, something's up. Don't panic, though. Don't make it seem like you know something's wrong. If or when they move, it must be because of a loophole they've found. But if they do move, they are just the enemies in disguise. Don't, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, walk over and touch them. Ok? If you touch them, they are able to take you with them."

I process everything she said and finally ask, "what if they touch me?"

"That's the thing. If they try to come at you, then take this, put in the middle of your hand, close your eyes, and you'll be back here, awake." She says, before handing me a simple gold ring. "You'll feel slight burning, but that just means that it's working. Here's the thing though, you have to be ready for this moment. If they look like they're going to come at you, do the ritual. Just to be safe."

"What if they look like Mom? Or the King?" I ask. I mentally promise myself this would be the last question. I normally ask a lot of questions but I feel like I'm annoying Susan with my endless questioning.

"Your mom probably won't come back for a while. She doesn't want you to get used to seeing her in your dreams, developing a trust, and having someone disguise themselves as her and having you touch them." She replies.

Suddenly, Dan burst through the door. "Everything ok in here? Did Susan explain everything to you?"

I yawn and then reply, "yeah. Everything that I learned is basically : never touch the figure, no matter who you think it is and in case of emergencies, do the ring ritual."

They both look at each other. "Good. That's basically a good summarization. Now let's leave you so you can get an... Almost full 8-hour sleep." Dan chuckles.

I laugh. "Ok. Tomorrows the big day. Wouldn't wanna fall asleep during roll call."

We all crack up and then Dan and Susan say their good nights. Long after they've gone, I'm reliving Susan and I's conversation. I hadn't realized that some people want to capture me so badly that they'd do it when I'm sleeping. I shake my head and then place the ring on my right hand. I don't know why, but I just feel a lot safer wearing it. I smile at the fact that I have a "protector" and then I shut off my bedside lamp and go to sleep, wary of the fact that I could be captured the moment I start dreaming.

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Author's Note :

FINALLY UPDATED!!! Sorry for the delay. School always butted in on my updating haha. Anyways, hope you enjoyed my book so far. I'll be a better author from now on and update more. It's sort of a short chapter. Took me FOREVER to write because I wrote it a couple weeks ago but it got deleted before I actually sent it in. Anyways, the next chapter will be longer. PROMISE. Ok. Bye! (P.S. if you wanna read a really good book... Read Jess's "Always Got Your Back" and "Childhood Crush". AMAZING. She's one of my followers if you wanna look her up.)