White Roses Bloom

Chapter Twelve

     Anna sat in the palace gardens, feeling the sun’s embrace upon her shoulders. A small melody left the girl as she hummed, the notes echoing around the surrounding area.
     Carvar and Vidro were off to the side, both wielding swords and trying to fence each other. Carvar was strong, his movements smooth and mighty. He hit hard, and defended quite a lot. Vidro was fast, agile, the strikes of his sword swiping quickly, cutting through all that he desired. He hit fast, and spent very little time defending himself. Anna found watching the two boys fight quite captivating.
     In the corner of the gardens was a tree with a swing hanging down from it. Analise was sat on the swing, smiling as the breeze rocked her back and forth. The princess, thankfully, had been recovering quite well from her previous injuries. Off to the side, Anna’s dearest brother, Jack, unloaded carts full of supplies.
     Since Anna had first helped Analise, she and her brother had become workers of the court. Anna spent most of her time caring for Analise and making sure her recovery went well. Jack brought supplies into the castle, and waste out of the castle. He didn't mind the manual labour, since it meant an actual paycheck for him. This was the first time that Jack had found himself a steady income since his mother had passed.
     As Jack finished unloading his cart, his eyes darted to Anna. He sighed heavily before walking to her side. “Anna, we need to talk,” he murmured. Anna tensed, surprised by her brother’s sudden approach. She patted the ground next to her, gesturing for her brother to sit by her side. He hesitated then sat down. The young man refused to meet his sister’s gaze, leaving Anna uneasy as to what was about to happen.
     “Anna, you know how there’s a lot of blanks in your memory? Especially with your early childhood?” Jack asked. Anna hesitated then nodded. She was intrigued as to what her brother could say to her now, but had no idea why he was bringing her memory loss up after so long since they last spoke of it. “Those blanks are because…..you weren't born into my family. Mom and dad….they aren't your real parents. We found you one day, floating down the river on a piece of driftwood. I pulled you out. You had no memory, at all, so I named you. I named you Anna, and we took you in. We raised you as our own, but you, you aren't related to us at all,” Jack explained.
     Anna's eyes widened. How could she believe such a thing? Jack's parents had always treated her as their own, how could she believe that they were not her parents? If this was true, how come no one had told Anna before? All Anna felt was betrayal. She found it cruel that she hadn't known who she really was all these years. Seeing that Anna said nothing, Jack spoke. “This isn't going to change anything Anna, you're still going to be my little sister, I promise. This just means that we're not blood related, and that somewhere out there could be a family that's desperately trying to look for you,” Jack muttered, sliding his hand under Anna's chin, trying to force her to stare at him.
     Anna hesitated for a moment, then slapped his hand away. “Don't you dare call me sister, not after lying to me like that,” she hissed quietly, her voice bitter and full of venom. Anna turned away and ran towards the gate that lead out of the gardens. Tears filled her eyes and quickly overwhelmed them. The salty liquid ran down her cheeks in a stream and soaked into her shirt. “Anna wait! Come back!” Jack called. Carvar dropped his weapon and tried to grab onto Anna. His hands just barely missed her as she ran by. Despite the healing bite wound on her ankle, Anna could move quite fast.
     Vidro sheathed his sword and turned to Jack. “What in hell did you say to her?” he demanded, anger bubbling inside him. Jack shot a glare at Vidro, feeling challenged by his older brother like protectiveness and demands. “I told her the truth that she deserved to know, that she's adopted and we don't know where she came from, but she's not related to us. Something she has deserved to know for years now,” Jack spat back, his voice holding a strange cruelty that no one would have expected out of the simple farm boy. Vidro closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying his hardest not to tear into Jack like a starving lion would tear into an antelope.
     After a few seconds, Vidro turned and ran out of the gates, desperate to catch up to Anna. As a child of adoption himself, he felt that he may be able to coach the young woman through her stress, and help her clear her mind of any doubts she carried. As her adoptive brother ran, Analise stood and limped as fast as she could to chase after him. Whimpers of pain left her mouth as she stretched out her injuries beyond their limits.
     Carvar grabbed his sword from the ground. “Jack, go to the kitchens, see if they have any trash for you to take. I want you gone by the time we get back,” Carvar ordered before turning to run after the prince and princess. Together the three citizens of the castle ran into the kingdom, desperate to try catch up to Anna, and save her from whatever she was going through in this overwhelming moment.