Departure

Elijah

When I woke up nearly two weeks ago I was in a bedroom. It was about 8 by 8 and had a small twin sized bed in the corner. I was too large to fit comfortably on the bed so I laid on the carpet. It wasn't a terrible place to be held captive. The room was dimly lit but it was warm. The bed in the corner had sheets on it and there was a small closet. It didn't have anything in it but I think I would be asking for too much if it had things in it.

In the room there were three doors. One door led to the closet, the other door led to the outside and the final door led to a bathroom.

The bathroom was quite small but whoever designed this room managed to fit a sink, a toilet and a shower. It was quite obvious to me that whoever has imprisoned me doesn't want to cause me harm. Which means they didn't really need anything from me. Lorelei however, that might be a whole other story.

Two weeks have passed and the door leading to the outside hasn't opened once. They had a slot that they slid food into. They slid in a meal twice a day and it was good food. Not entirely what I expected.

Finally, on my fifteenth day of being locked in the room, the door opened and in stepped someone I had hoped to never see again.

"Sorry for not visiting sooner. I've been busy." Alexandra smiled a warm smile at me.

It reminds me of how she used to smile at me when I was younger. Her smile, which used to fill me with warmth and comfort now filled me with bitterness and regret. I regretted not listening to Lorelei when she said that someone was in the house. I flinched when she reached toward me.

"Busy doing what?"

"Dealing with a situation."

"What kind of situation?"

"Thats none of your concern."

Alexandra was quiet for a bit .

"Come with me." She reached out to take my hand but I didn't grab hers.

"I don't particularly want to go with you."

My mom's face contorted, she looked absolutely pissed.

"You will come with me now!"

"No." I answered calmly.

"Elijah, if you have forgotten, you are my son. No matter what either of us do I am still your mother and I still want what's best for you."

It was hard to believe that she was really behind everything, the woman who raised me. I looked at her and tried to see her with the eyes of a young child. She was transformed so she looked like the mother I had but there was an anger behind her eyes that made me stop.

I tried to remember what my last interaction with her was before I knew the truth behind her origins. She looked a lot younger than my father but I guess that's because she ages a lot slower than he did. In fact she probably had looked no different on the day that my father had met her. She had a warm smile, not unlike the one she had now. Pretty much the only thing that changed was her eyes.

Back before I left Oasis to go help Sun's Peak her eyes were so warm and soft but now they've hardened. The loss of her parents and her brother and probably even me have turned her into almost and unrecognizable creature.

My mom caught me studying her. She probably knew what I was doing and she struck at that weakness.

"I probably look so different don't I?"

I didn't answer her question but I also didn't stop her from talking. I wanted to but I couldn't.

"It's shocking what loss can do to a person."

It was so strange looking at my mom. Because she ages so slowly she appears to be my age, or perhaps just slightly older than me. She is also my height which I guess is normal for brights but I hadn't noticed how unnerving it was before now.

"You look different too Elijah."

"I guess that's what happens when you get older." I responded coldly.

"Right, you are getting older." My mom bit her lip.

We stood there for a while.

"Mom, why am I here?"

"Because, while you won't admit it you are still my son and I love you."

"Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm an adult and you need to let go. This is getting dangerous for everyone. I want you to stop this madness."

"Oh Elijah, that's what you don't understand. My people need new leader."

"What?"

"Eli, I'm not trained to be a leader and it's time for a new generation. Neither me, nor my brother was supposed to rule our people. We were the off generation. My father was supposed to live long enough for one of us to have a child. And in case he didn't we were supposed to be the highest order until we had a child and groomed them into being the next highest order."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm losing control of my government Elijah. I need your help" My mom pleads with me.

"Again what does this have to do with me?"

"Elijah, do you not realize what would happen if I lost control?"

"Explain."

"My people are devoted to one thing and one thing only, the next generation. They want what's best for them, which is a properly trained leader. In their eyes, I am not properly trained as a leader. You will be. They will stop at nothing. If I lost complete control they would start another war trying to retrieve you and most likely your dear little Lorelei will most likely be dead."

I knew that my mom was trying to control me by using my weaknesses against me but she knew me all too well. She knew that I would stop at nothing to save Lorelei.

"How do I know Lorelei isn't dead already?"

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"Did you kill Lorelei?"

"Lorelei isn't here, how would I kill her. What has gotten into you Elijah."

"I know Lorelei is here."

"How would you know that?"

"Your guards like to talk while they keep watch. They kept talking about this Raven Haired Girl who kept trying to escape."

My mom's eyes burned with fury. I might've caused the death of two guards but surprisingly it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would have.

"Alright, Lorelei is here and she isn't dead." My mom sighed and offered.

"How do I know that?"

"You believe me."

"I don't know if I can.

"Why not?" My mom snorted.

"You are a proven pathological liar. It's hardwired into your brain to lie and normally you get away with it."

My mom glared at me.

"Fine, how do I prove that Lorelei is okay?"

"I want to see her."

"After you see Lorelei then will you stay here, deal?" She stuck out her hand

"Deal." I shook her hand.

"Just one more question." I requested.

"Shoot."

"How will your people except me? I am a hybrid aren't I?"

"My people are not like your people Elijah. You are of noble Extorian blood. It doesn't matter if you are 100% Extorian or 10% Extorian. You are still Extorian Elijah."