Princess of O'Khasis (OFFICIALLY DISCONTINUED)

Discovered?

(MELODYS POV)

I watched as my twin stalked off into the village, everyone staring at him silently. There was an awkward pause until I cleared my throat and addressed their lord.

"Um, sorry about that, we kinda have some....history together." I gave her an awkward half-smile. She smiled back at me, even if her eyes looked wary.

"It's fine, we all have pasts. I'm Aphmau, the lord of Pheonix Drop. What's your name?" She asked me as the rest of the villagers looked on.

"I'm Mel. I was just hoping to visit with Donna for a bit, but if it's a problem I can leave." I replied, adding on the last part to just be polite, from what I heard about her from Zoey, Aphmau was very kind and hospitable.

"Oh no that won't be necessary, Garroth is just tired from our trip, that's all. I'm sure seeing you just, ah, shocked him." Aphmau assured me. Though I could tell I would probably be asked for more details later. Specifically about the part where Garroth said I died. As a group we all began to move away from the docks, one of the other guards grabbing the wooden planks Garroth dropped. I chatted with Donna and her new husband, Logan. He seemed nice enough but he did look a little ragged. They guided me to the house they shared and we talked more over some cakes Kawaii~Chan brought over.

"I swear, if Kawaii~Chan keeps making sweets I'm  going to get so overweight." I said jokingly. Donna chuckled and nodded in agreement, but Logan just grunted and looked at me.

"So, Mel, what was all that with Garroth earlier?" He asked. Donna turned to him with a frown, probably about to scold her husband, but I interjected.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Like I told Lord Aphmau, we have some complicated history together." I replied. He just raised an eyebrow at me.

"What, did you guys have a messy breakup or somethin?" He asked. My eyes widened and I felt sick.

"No! No no of course not! It's not like that! I would never!" I exclaimed. Both Donna and Logan flinched back at my loud response.

"Wow, okay then. Is there something wrong with him then?" Logan pressed. I sighed

"No, it's just not like that between us. Never has been, never will." I said, shuddering at the very thought.

"So you guys are just friends then? He had a very strong reaction to seeing you today." Donna asked me, taking a bite of her vanilla cake.

"Yeah. He just ah... heard a rumor I was dead and I guess he believed it." I said, pushing around a piece of strawberry on my plate with my fork.

"I see, so when you said that it was all fake, you were referring to the rumor then?" Logan asked me. I wasn't looking at him, but I could hear in his voice that he didn't believe me. I still didn't look up as the couple exchanged a meaningful look.

"Mel, remember when you first showed up at my village? The story you told me about how you jumped into the ocean?" Donna said gently. I looked up, sensing where this was going.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Did Garroth have anything to do with that?" We had all forgotten our cake by then, and I looked at Donna, debating on what to tell her.

"Um, yeah. I guess it kinda did." I replied. She gave me a sympathetic look. "It's not like he caused it or anything," I continued, "I just suppose that if he had been there, I might not have taken such....drastic measurements." I felt odd. It was good to get some of my secret off of my chest, but I had been hiding it for so long that it feels weird to do so.

"Listen Mel, I don't want you to feel pressured here, but I can tell there's something your not telling us." Logan said. I stayed silent, not sure what to do. "You know...you two do look alike." He said gingerly. I stiffened, and they both noticed.

"Melody, is there a reason you shortened your name? That your wearing a mask?" Donna asked  me. Again, I stayed silent, looking down at the table. I didn't know what to do or how to react, they were figuring it out and I had no way to stop them. 

"Your hiding from someone aren't you? Your hiding your identity from Garroth." Logan said bluntly. I slowly raised my eyes to meet their gaze. I nodded, knowing that there was no amount of lying I could do to get myself out of this mess.

"Well, okay then." Logan said dismissively, grabbing our plates and moving to the sink to clean them. I was shocked that he didn't press me further. Donna moved to clasp my hand in hers and I looked at her confusedly.

"Melody, don't worry about telling us everything. All I care about is getting to catch up with you before you have to leave." She told me kindly. I actually wasn't surprised that Donna wasn't pushing for details, she had always been so understanding. I smiled, thanking her for the cake and company. I made my way out of the house and went straight to the water. One might think that I would be afraid of water by now, since almost every time I'm near it I'm running away from something, but I'm not scared of it. I find it peaceful, the waves and the way the sun reflects off its surface. I closed my eyes in content as I let my worries slip away. Instinctively, I moved to touch the scrap of blue cloth on my wrist, and the stone on my choker. They were still precious to me, even after all this time. But I sobered when I remembered Garroth, his reaction to me, and my promise to explain. Peace and serenity long gone, I ran my fingers through my long blonde hair as I thought up more lies to tell him. I was growing tired of lying.