A Tale of Traitors

Willow: A Safe Place

          For the next four days, our group remained in the safety of the Shadow Weepers' hideout. I was taught simple spells and fighting techniques. Adrianna practiced with me the most, and she told me about who I used to be. She said I had once trained soldiers and rescued children who had been kidnapped by Tormod's forces, but nothing sounded familiar to me.
"Adri," I asked one day, "why does Tormod want children? Adults could fight right away."
"Yeah," she responded. "The problem is, adults already know right from wrong. Children have to be trained and built up. If you don't teach a child that it is wrong to strike his sister, he'll hit her again and again without consequences. That's why you need to teach the child that it is wrong of him to hit his sister. Tormod sees the innocence of children, and he's training them to be brainless soldiers. If their only goal is to please him, then they won't fight back when he commands them because they only know that the right thing is to follow him."
"That's so messed up," I shook my head. "He's trying to steal their freedom and joy before they know better than to fight against him."
"I'm surprised you still don't remember any of this," Adrianna sighed. "You've devoted your life to the rebellion. You willingly labeled yourself a traitor of Tormod. Our allies are slim, and everyone else is searching for you, because you're a threat to his throne. How do you not remember?"
"I wish I could." Both of us were silent for a few moments.
"There's an archery room downstairs. Do you want to practice shooting?" Adrianna finally asked.
"Sounds good. Thanks," I followed her down the concrete steps and entered the massive archery room. Targets lined the walls and hung from the ceiling; some were even attached to machines that rolled back and forth or side to side. A case full of bows was upon the wall across from me, and quivers filled with arrows rested next to the cases. The floor was made of dozens of trapdoors, under which were boulders and things to hide behind. The manufacturing of the training room was most impressive, and I was delighted to get to train in it. I slung the quiver around my shoulder and gripped the bow I had chosen. It felt that my fingers were rusty; it had been so long since I fought, and my mind did not quite remember loosing an arrow. I did not know how, but the longer Adrianna instructed me, the easier my muscles recalled what to do. I plucked an arrow from the quiver and prepared to shoot, my hands tense with forgetfulness. The first arrow I shot didn't even hit the target, but something felt right. For the first time since before I could remember, I felt like I recognized myself. I was confident--I was the person who everyone claimed I was.
          We must have been down there for hours. The professor called us upstairs for dinner, although I protested at first.
"You know," Bob was saying when we entered the dining room, "cheese is the greatest thing. I love cheese more than I love any human being on the planet."
"Why?" The professor laughed.
"Because cheese." Bob nodded intently.
"You're weird," Queen rolled her eyes and set a few plates down on the table.
"Well, there you are!" Syrnafin chuckled as he saw Adrianna and me come into the room. "I was wondering where you were."
"We were training, Sir," Adrianna smiled. "Willow has made great progress. It appears her old talents are coming back a bit."
"Good!" The professor beamed at us both. "We must start somewhere, am I right?"
"Of course, Professor," Queen smiled. I realized in that moment that I hadn't seen her smile in a long, long time, and I wondered why she appeared so familiar to me. I could almost see her Elvish figure through the disguise of her human flesh, but I quickly dismissed it.
          After dinner, I studied ancient history and enchantment books until I succumbed to sleep. Tales of pixies, dark magic, and secrecy filled my mind. I wandered through a land of dying trees, but within some of them was hidden a colorful jewel. Seven trees held one jewel each, while every other tree towering above me held only death and darkness. The grass and leaves had withered, and there were no flowers under my feet. The sky was dark and polluted; there were no lights around, and the fog veiled everything before me. I was without a lamp, and I desired to sit and wait for the dream to cease, but I couldn't stop walking forward. A large gust of wind tossed my hair about my face, and I pulled my jacket closer. That's when I realized I had no jacket, only a tank top and shorts. My hair--I clutched the long braid that waved down my back.
"What's happening?" My lonely voice echoed through the unknown. A twig snapped from the force of my foot turning as I heard mumbling in the woods. "Who's there?" I yelled.
"... Helena Magdalena, yes, that's what they say. Helena Magdalena..." A woman's voice echoed through my head.
"What do you want with me?"
"Helena Magdalena welcomes... Helena Magdalena lets you remember..." A woman's figure appeared before me, but her face was shrouded in the fog.
"Was it you who chased me the night I ran away?" I trembled.
"Helena Magdalena does not chase. Vealer." She chanted.
"Ahhhh!" My screams echoed through the forest as I was sucked into the wind and into a new dream.
          I smacked down into a wooden chair, which slid off of an ancient rug and threw me into a pile of open books that were stacked into a corner. I desperately sought my breath as I glanced about the room and pulled myself out of the mess of scattered papers. Potions bubbled on a cauldron over the fire across from me in the small hut, and the bold colors of the potions wafted about the room and stained my clothes with their scents. Trinkets and herbs were crowded upon the shelves which decorated all four walls. Over the cauldron hung a massive portrait of a family which I had seen before but could not recognize, and on the kitchen table, someone had been preparing bread and cheese for dinner. A hammock hung over the table, and I realized someone was in it. My head pounded with vicious reminders of the doubt and fear that had been harbored in my heart for the last few days, and I hurriedly attempted to rationalize what was happening. Adrianna had told me that it was impossible to dream in their lair, but I was clearly dreaming. Right? I mean, what else could this be? I took a deep breath and realized that the noise I had made by falling into the books hadn't awoken the woman who lived here. I searched the wooden floor for spots that were uneven in the hopes that I would glide silently on my way out. There was an open window that was incredibly tiny, but I believed I could squeeze through. It was only seven feet away. I stepped cautiously forward, and then took another step. Six feet away. The woman's arm twitched, and I froze. She pulled the grey blanket over her head, and I could no longer see her face. I heard her breathing relax, and I dared to take a few more steps forward. My hand rested on the window sill, and just as I prepared to leap through, a bell chimed and pierced the stillness. The woman sat completely upright in her hammock, and then turned to me.
"Leaving so soon, Willow Aredhel of Tribe Three?" The young woman smiled, her copper skin glowing and her crystal blue eyes sparkling like fireworks. Her black hair was in loose curls down her back, and her cheeks were tinged with pink. Instantly, I felt that she was on my side, although I could not be sure. As I stood dumbfounded, she stepped down onto the kitchen table and then onto the floor.
"Who--are you?" I finally mustered the courage to ask.
"I am here to help you," she stirred her cauldron and flipped an hourglass. "I am an experienced Enchantress. My name is Helena." She peeled a book off of the floor in front of her feet. "I am sorry it is such a mess in here. I don't usually bring allies into my mind."
"Excuse me?" I asked in surprise. "Am I in your mind?"
"That matters not," she flashed a brilliant smile. "What matters it that you are here, safe and sound. Willow, we're at the brink of something extraordinary. You are keeping a dangerous secret that you cannot remember. It is vital that you recall it."
"I have tried many times, Enchantress." I hung my head.
"The spell upon your mind was simple but powerful, and I believe it was cast by someone who truly loved you. Once you remember this information, you will be tracked forever. Do you wish to know?"
"Can you undo the spell?" I asked eagerly.
"Easily," she smiled. "So you choose knowledge over safety?"
"Yes, Enchantress."
"Please, my name is Helena," she laughed. "There is no need to be so serious. Now, take a seat. This spell may take a few moments to complete."
I hurriedly sat down as the woman began singing.
"Close your eyes and tell me what you see." She spoke solemnly. I did as I was instructed.
"I see... an office. It's dark, and I'm alone. It's some form of a hatch in the ground, and I had to come down a trapdoor to get there. I have a desk and books, and... a key card. I'm holding it, and now I'm putting it into a computer. I can't read what it says." Every muscle in my body tensed.
"What's going on, Warrior?" Helena asked.
"Someone has come down after me. Someone I don't trust. I don't know why they are here."
"Is it a woman or a man?"
"I can't tell." I grabbed my face, as if I had been slapped. "They've struck me, but I'm fighting back. I can't win. I can hear them yelling at me, but I can't hear what they're saying. They're furious, though. I can't hear."
"That's alright. Continue."
"A man has come down after me. I trust him very much. He's fighting for me, and he's pulled the intruder off of me. He's yelling for me to run, but I say I won't leave. He's the one who cast the memory spell. I recognize those words. I need to remember to go back for the key card, because I need to know what it says. The farther I run, the more I don't know what I need. I can't remember now."
"Continue."
"A beast is after me, and he has almost caught me. I remember this. He is a beast of shadow and hate; I cannot recall his name, but it brings fear into my heart."
"Open your eyes."
I obeyed.
"I cannot stay much longer, Willow Aredhel of Tribe Three." Her voice shook the very foundation of the hut. Without warning, the winds picked up and voices blew through the open window.
"Our forces will strike two weeks from today at the north side of the castle. Our puppet stands no chance with her warrior gone." A wicked voice cackled and echoed throughout the room. Papers flew about and Helena began to vanish before reappearing again.
"What is that voice?" I exclaimed.
"Listen closely, Warrior," her voice was shaky and quickly shrinking. "This key card possessed a list of names. Names from all Seven Realms."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't interrupt; I don't have much time." She collapsed to the ground, and I sunk down next to her. "In the morning, you will wake and the list shall be in your mind." She placed her hand upon my head, and it felt like someone had struck my head with a baseball bat.
"What about you?" I yelled as the wind began to tear apart the wooden boards surrounding us.
"Helena Magdalena, that is my name..."
"Thank you--AHHHH!" I screeched as I flung back into the muddy ground of the forest.
"... Helena Magdalena doesn't forget..." The mumbling filled my head once more. "...Helena Magdalena..." 

I fell out of bed gasping and books spilled around me.
"PROFESSOR!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I REMEMBER MY SECRET!"