Long Lost Princess

Chapter 1

Screaming.
Loud bangs.
Glass shattering.
Faces swirling around me. A flash of a gun as it's shot by an unknown hand. The barrel turning to point directly into my face. The hand holding it slowly pulling the trigger until.
    I sat straight up in bed, gasping and pouring sweat. The lingering fear of the nightmare causing my heart to pound within my chest.Looking around, I took in the familiar covers of my bed, clenched in my hands. The dim glow of the alarm clock casting an eerie green around the room. My heart rate began to slow down, allowing me to take a deep breath and try to relax. You're not there, Megan. It's just a dream.
    I took a closer look at the clock and groaned when I saw the time shining back at me. 2 minutes before my alarm goes off. No use trying to go back to sleep now.
    Sighing, I flung the covers off of me and swung my legs down. I grabbed my robe  from where it hung on the bedroom door and shuffled down the hallway to the bathroom. At least I don't have to worry about his highness Jeremy kicking me out this early. My older brother had just started college and he used every moment in the mornings, hogging the bathroom to make himself look decent for the girls in his classes.
    I locked the door behind me, stripping out of the old, ratty t-shirt and cloth shorts I used as pajamas, then stepped into the shower, letting the water flow over me. Soon enough, the warmth began to relax me, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw brief glimpses of the nightmare.As I washed my hair, visions began to swarm back to me, the flash of the gun, the dark shadows all surrounding me, the gun turning toward me as the trigger was pulled slowly back.
    BANG!
    A loud noise shuddered through the bathroom, causing me to jump, still caught in the fear from the dream. I slipped on the soapy bottom of the tub and fell, knocking down shampoo bottles and whatever else was perched precariously on the edge of the tub. An awkward landing and a bruise beginning to form from where I hit the water spout completed my acrobatics for the day. Well, at least I'm clean.
    I toweled off, swinging my hair into a towel on top of my head and tying my robe tightly around me before I opened the door.
    Smiling sheepishly in front of me was Jeremy, an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry Bug, are you okay?" He questioned, using the nickname he had for me as a kid. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"Yeah, I'm all good" I replied, "Just a bit jumpy this morning. Bathroom is all yours." I smiled at him.
He smiled back at me, then rushed into the bathroom, shutting the door forcibly behind him. Back in my room, I was finally able to keep  my heart from racing and started getting dressed. An old pair of jeans and a soft black t-shirt made up my typical outfit for school. I applied a little bit of makeup and stepped back from the mirror, taking in my reflection. Starting back at me was a 17 year old girl, black curly hair starting to frizz already, steely grey eyes and a scar stretching across her right cheek. It was my most identifiable feature, running from my cheekbone and disappearing into my hairline. A red line that showed the skin pulled tight from where the stitches had been.
Even the best makeup in the world could only hide the color, but not the part of my cheek that looked like it had been dug out. A car accident. That's what I had been told growing up. Mom and I had been in the car, catching on black ice and helpless as we spun into a tree, a branch hitting me in the face and the force putting me into a coma, wiping any memories from before the accident.
    I shook myself out of the daydream and flipped my bangs to cover the scar as best I could. Finally satisfied with how I looked (able to blend into the background), I grabbed my backpack from the floor and headed to the kitchen.
    My usual breakfast of a bagel and juice was waiting for my on the counter, my dad sitting at the table, watching the news while he ate. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before I began devouring my bagel, half-heartedly listening to the TV as well.
    "Today marks the 15th birthday of Prince James of Lidane as he begins the day by embarking on the traditional tour of the country, in the midst of protests demanding information about the death of his family. As you may know, his parents, Prince Vincent and Princess Chiara, along with their eldest child, Princess Ellia, were tragically killed 10 years ago this November 12th. The 3 members of the royal family were on their way to the winter residence, when their car hit black ice and went over the bridge. Prince James had been delayed and was traveling with the nanny. The family had been slightly ahead of their guards in a personal vehicle. Long live the family, may-"
    The TV clicked off before the anchor had finished and just a moment before my mom breezed into the room. She had always kept up with the news about the royals and dad had told me the deaths of the family had been difficult for her. Apparently she had known Princess Chiara from school. I had also been the same age as Princess Ellia and my accident had happened only a week before. 
    She smiled at me, placing her hand over my scar as she kissed the top of my head.
    "Morning Megan! How did you sleep?" She asked, pouring herself a glass of juice. She went and sat next to dad and stole a bite of his bacon.
    "Not too bad most of the night" I said, grabbing the last of my bagel and finishing it. "But I had that nightmare again and it woke me up."
    Her smile dimmed a bit. "Well it might be those shows you keep watching. They might have triggered it again."
    I shrugged, my mouth full. The dreams had been haunting me since I had gotten out of the hospital.
    Since the accident wiped my memory from before, I didn't have any clue who my parents or my brother were. I had to learn everything about myself all over again. But sometimes I get glimpses of things that seem like memories, even if there's no way I could've experienced them. A big dog running around a grassy field and playing with me, crouching on stairs as I looked through an ornate banister onto a foyer while people below spoke quietly. And that nightmare, all things I can't explain.
    I wrenched myself out of my thoughts just as mom grabbed her keys. "Ready to head to school?" I nodded, swallowing the last bite and grabbed my stuff and following her out the door.
    The ride to school was fairly normal, some kind of pop music being played over and over. But mom seemed off, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. And when she saw some large black SUV's in front of the school, the tension in the car built. But she pulled up in the normal place, just outside of the front building. A steady stream of students were coming off the buses and heading into the gates. I said goodbye and scrambled out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.
"Megan!" I turned to the voice, seeing my best friend Lila run up to me, sliding her arm through mine.
"Did you hear? There's some kind of government people here today" So that's what those SUV's were.
"They're probably here for some kind of safety lesson like they usually do" I replied, shifting the weight of my backpack.
"Nope, not the police, some other kind. They look like the royal guard. Maybe the prince is making a visit!" she squealed.
Even though the prince was 2 years younger than us, Lila, like every other girl in the country, swooned whenever there was anything to do with him. He was handsome, I guess, just how most people with money are attractive.
"Lila, why would he come to some run down high school in the middle of the country, when he has to visit everywhere else? Besides, I thought the news showed him starting off in Myra" I mentioned.
"Well, Lyness is only the next town over, it would make sense that he wants to visit the place that IT happened. The anniversary is only 2 months away."
I shrugged. The bridge where the royal couple had gone into the river was one of the roads that connected our town, Mysell with the next one, Lyness. It was infamous and a total tourist destination. A plaque stood there and the road had been memorialized for years. People were pretty respectful to the site, but recently some protestors had damaged the facade.
At that moment, the bell rang, signaling us to get to our homeroom. I waved to Lila, and headed down the south corridor, about to turn into room 114, when I suddenly got pushed by someone from behind. I went flying towards the ground, putting my hands out to catch my fall. The bruise on my arm decided at that moment to make a protest and I groaned.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you were there, are you okay?" A soft voice came from above me as strong hands helped to gather my things that had fallen out of my backpack. As I looked up to see who had bumped into me, I saw Luke Jones.
"Y-you're good" I stammered, "I'm okay".
Luke Jones was the most popular guy in our school, the star sports player, the nicest guy and in the top 2% of the class. He was also extremely handsome. He smiled at me and handed me the things that he had gathered.
"I'm Luke by the way, I don't think I've met you before."
"M-megan," I stuttered. "My name's Megan."
"Nice to meet you Megan. I'll see you around." And with that he winked, then walked into his own homeroom, the one next to mine, while I practically floated into my seat and sat down.
I can't believe he actually spoke to me. Why would he talk to me?
The morning announcements began, the timid voice of the secretary reading off the news when suddenly the room phone began to ring. My teacher slowly grabbed the receiver, allowing the noise to interrupt the sheer volume of people talking to get them to quiet down before she answered.
"Miss Cerenes" said my teacher as she hung up, "you're wanted in the front office"
Suddenly every face turned toward me, some giggling, some looking sad for me, most just wondering who I was. Not so surprisingly, I'm not like Luke Jones, not popular, not extraordinarily beautiful, just ordinary.
"Should I take my things?" I asked quietly, not liking the attention.
"Yes, dear. The call said to bring everything with you"
I nodded, heading toward the door with my backpack over my shoulder.
As I left the room, I was suddenly surrounded by people, tall men dressed alike in black suits. I took a step back, hunching against the wall outside the door.
"Miss Cerenes?" asked one of the guys.
"Y-yes?" I said warily, seeing the slight hint of a weapon under the jacket of the man to my right.
"You're to come with us, please stay in the middle of our circle"
"But they told me to go to the office..." I trailed off as they started walking, the entire group surrounding me. I obviously was not going to be getting any response from them any time soon. But off towards the courtyard and since I was currently surrounded by obnoxiously large men, I was herded slowly to the front office.