The Return

Chapter 2

(Slight examples of Zuke's hair)

Just as Autumn felt herself fading into blackness, a strong voice sounded from the back of the room. "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER JAUQUÉ!" Suddenly, a single shot rang out in the air and the room filled with screams. Autumn scrunched her eyes shut as she began to fall forward. The girl landed on the floor with a thud and came face-to-face with open, empty eyes. Autumn quickly pushed herself to her feet, but they were still numb. Before she could fall over again, strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her up. The girl looked down at her clothes and gasped, realizing that they were covered in the silver-haired man's warm, sticky blood. Before the shock of the dead man and the blood could register, she was spun around to face a handsome man. He had thick, black hair that was done in a side part and partially slicked up in the front. Warmth radiated from his slightly tanned skin, and his face was neatly shaved. He was quite tall so Autumn had to look up at him to see his face. The thing that really got Autumn's attention was the man's eyes. The outer edges were black, but as it got closer to the pupil, it changed to bright red and finally, flaming orange. His grip on her was strong, but reassuring. Autumn could tell that he was well built and looked to be about 18, which was much older than her. The girl was only 14 and quite small for her age. He gently grabbed her chin and positioned her face so that she was looking into the man's eyes. They seemed to scream with hope and joy for some unknown reason. Autumn got so lost in his amazing eyes that she forgot they were in the class room until he spoke. His voice was warm and gentle, making her go weak in the knees (even though she couldn't feel anything waist down). "Mary, is that you," he said as he gently stroked the girl's face. She expected someone to object and speak up and say that her name was Autumn, but it never came. Everyone was still scared from the death and Autumn's crazy scene. Autumn slowly felt his face start to surface in her memories as his name just seemed to come to her lips. "Z-Z-Zuke," she stuttered. A smile spread across his handsome face like a wildfire. Zuke swept Autumn into his arms and buried a kiss against her messy curls. "You're choking me and I still don't know who you completely are," Autumn gasped. "Sorry," he said, looking a bit sheepish. Just as he placed her down, they heard a shout over the audience that Autumn forgot was there. "Hey Zuke, I found another bastard who worked with Jauqué. He was trying to get away." That was when the stranger that had just arrived looked down at the body of the man named Jauqué. "Looks like you put a bullet in him. I ought to do the same to this maggot," he said as he slammed the man he had captured to the ground. The man who appeared to worked with Zuke was tall and pale with slicked up blonde hair and squared, dark, thick-rimmed glasses. They seemed to suit him, and being completely honest, seemed to make him much cuter. Zuke and his partner were wearing the exact same clothes. Black boots and pants with an ivory colored shirt that tied in the front and long cloaks that trailed to the floor. What made them both scary were the gun belts at their waists that were filled to the brim with futuristic-looking devices of torture. Autumn knew that sitting among the weapons was the device that had killed the man who's blood stained her clothes. That was when Autumn and everyone else directed their attention to the man on the floor who appeared to be begging for his life. He had dark skin and spiky blue hair. He appeared to be short and thin. The man used the sleeve of his brown robe to wipe tears away from his yellow, cat-like eyes. "What's your name and why are you here," the blonde haired man barked. His tone sent chills down Autumn's spine. "My name is Vosk. My master sent me here to kill princess Mary, b-but I just couldn't bring myself to do such a thing. " That was when he crawled over to Autumn and bowed with his forehead touching the floor. "Please princess Mary, I After a few moments of silence, Zuke spoke up. "Now that that's taken care of, I think it's time to give the princess her memories back." "Why are people calling me a princess," Autumn shouted at the strange men. Everything that was going on was beginning to make her crazy. "Sit down so me and Zuke can explain. We don't want you to get overwhelmed when we give you back your memories." Jordan cleared his throat so that he could begin. As he took a seat in one of the chairs, everyone in the room seemed to press closer (making sure to avoid the body of Jauqué) to hear the tale he was about to tell. "First of all, your name isn't Autumn Yoxell, it's Mary Otakar. You are the daughter of Jerum and Kirsten Otakar. You have a sister named Anne and she is your twin. You were both placed into hiding so that your uncle and his army couldn't kill you. We believe that your parents are still alive, but we came to get you and your sister so that we could save them before it's too late. You come from a place where magic and powers are a part of daily life, but a chip has been placed in the bottom of your right foot so that no one can track your magic. Now we must head to the planet Shina right away. It is a dangerous place where Magic Trials are hosted. Your sister could be the next victim so we must go get her and her protector before one of them is put to death. Everyone born to the Royal Family of Otakar is given a protector. They are like your other half. A Royal child and their protector are born on the same day and share a similar birth marking." That was when Zuke rushed over to Autumn and pushed her hair away from her neck. It revealed a mark underneath her right ear that looked like a surgical scar in the form of a perfect x. That was when the girl noticed that he had the same mark in the same place. "So, you're my protector," she questioned as the man replied with a nod. "Can I ask you both a few questions," she pressed. To the girl's delight, they both nodded. "First off, am I really 14? Is this how I look in real life? Lastly, how long have I been on earth?" It made Autumn happy that the two men didn't really have to think about the answers to her questions. "I'll tell her," said Zuke. "You are actually 18, you do not appear this way in real life, and you have been on earth for 2 years. Does that answer all of the questions that you have," he said simply. Even though it couldn't begin to answer all of the questions that Autumn had, she nodded in agreement. "You said something about giving me memories, right?" "Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me," Jordan jumped up from his seat with a chuckle.  The name Mary felt strange on her tongue, but she liked it. For the first time in a while, she smiled. Her first smile in two whole years, probably. Mary smiled because she always new that she was meant for something more, and this was it.