*The Chronicles of F.R.E.E. Atania's Knight - Raquel Festow* Part 1

Chapter 13 - Connections

*Raquel Festow POV*

Dean led us down the stairs, stating that Rebecca and Natalia Donton had arrived along with Watson and another person called Hodgson. We followed her warily down the stairs and through the first room into the big room where everyone was. As soon as we saw the two women in Atanian armour, we couldn't help but scream and run to them.
Natalia was beautiful! Long, midnight black hair with the bluest eyes like Clara's sapphire's. She had such a pure Aura, I felt overwhelmingly happy to see it. She squealed with delight too when she saw us running towards them.
We couldn't help but bombard her with questions about the stories we had grown up with.
"Is it true you met Rebecca when you were doing a Tension Release?" Xavier asked.
Natalia laughed, her laugh was like bells. "It is. I had to throw something at her head to stop her staring." She winked at Xavier.
"Did Rebecca really survive ten years on Deathea?" I asked, excitedly.
Natalia nodded, looking proud. "She did, she made a sword out of the lava on the realm and used it to keep alive. It's a very disgusting story though. I'll leave her to give you the details." She made a face and I laughed.
"Did Clemency Moreno really work for you?" Clara squealed.
"Oh Clemency is my best friend. She was very good friends with your naraz, Clara. I was back in Atania for a while when Salihn and Clemency were young. Your mother was about ten years old I think? Yes. I went to stay there for a while when Rebecca and I fell out about some subjects that had come into Astrovia after the Ruby had finished her training. She was being a right grumpy boots about it, and I wanted to send them all home, which wasn't an option in her opinion, so I went back to Atania for a couple of years." She beamed at Clara. "We had so much fun together!"
Clara started dancing around with me and I excitedly joined in. This was turning out to be perfect. They were here. They had come to take us home.
I suddenly noticed that another of the latches, that had latched when we saw the Knights in Atania, had become visible. Watson was here. I turned to focus on the new arrival and it was the knight who was wearing the black armour. The golden Aura shone around her, gleaming. It was wonderful to actually meet the Watson I had heard so much about. She was speaking with Rebecca when I realised I hadn't really focused on Rebecca at all.
I looked at Rebecca's Aura, a slow, pulsing rich red colour like the colour of blood just as it leaves a wound. Her Aura was indeed latched to Natalia's. I was surprised that Natalia hadn't been able to change her Aura yet, because the latch was very strong and thick. But there was something wrong... Rebecca's Aura was patchy. Not a fluid haze like all Aura's are but it had gaps in it meaning she was sick and she needed help too.
"Rebecca," I walked around Xavier, who had come closer to me, towards Rebecca.
Rebecca arched her eyebrow and unfolded her arms as I stepped towards her. "What is it, Raquel?"
"You're fading. You're starting to forget." I said slowly, and her face morphed into horror.
"Wh-What?" She stammered, thrown by what I said.
"Your Aura is starting to fade and there's gaps. You're starting to forget. It's not that bad now, but it can get worse. Have you only ever had purple and red as your Aura? If we can change it to gold before it's too late, then we can mend it." I explained, walking around her and focusing on her Aura that was starting to shimmer because Rebecca was feeling uncomfortable. She had already noticed that she was sick but had tried to hide it. "I want you to think hard, what would make you happy?"
"Tiana's fucking head." Rebecca snarled immediately and her Aura flared up, along with her sword as it glowed red.
I knelt down and studied her sword. there was a gold haze behind the red glow. It had an Aura too! Why did that have an Aura? Why was that gold, yet the owner red? I looked at Rebecca before standing and facing her right in front of her. Everyone else was watching in tense silence, watching me work out how to fix Rebecca's Aura.
"You need to rid yourself of that sword." I told her.
"WHAT?!" Rebecca moved her blade away defensively, like a stubborn child being asked to hand over what they had in their hands. "I am not giving you my sword. I will not get rid of Cometfell."
"You have no choice. Get rid of the sword and it will mend your Aura. It holds some happy memories in there Rebecca. That's why your Aura is patchy, it holds some of your Aura." I looked at it but then realised she had another latch coming off her sword. No person should have more than one latch, let alone a sword, so why was there another? I knelt down again to look closer, but infact there was three additional latches coming off and they were actually attached to her weapon. I squinted to follow one of the latches as it trailed past me to...
Watson's sword.
"Watson, you need to get rid of your weapon too." I said, standing up straight and putting my hands on my hips.
Watson did the same as Rebecca. "Nah-uh! No way!"
I sighed. "Watson, your Aura is purer than Rebecca's. She has somehow managed to put her Aura into her weapon, but strangely it's latched to yours and two others."
"Ruby and Rhianna..." Watson whispered in realisation. She pulled out her large black blade, almost the same length as her waist to her toes, and looked at it, longingly. She looked up at Rebecca, sadly, then sheathed her weapon away. "Can you remove the Aura without taking away the sword?" She asked me.
I shook my head. "I don't know."
"No one is taking any swords away. Raquel, stop being a brat." Rebecca snapped. I turned to her and her Aura was shimmering and trembling, she was panicking.
I sighed, trying to shake off the feeling of frustration. I was only trying to help her. "Rebecca, calm down." I said to her, soothingly. "There's still time. But the sooner we get rid of those swords, the better."
I turned to Clara and Xavier. They were staring at Rebecca and Watson, trying to figure them out for themselves. When they saw me looking at them, they both rushed over and linked their arms with mine, wanting to comfort me. I placed my head on Clara's shoulder as she stood beside me, facing Rebecca and Xavier squeezed my hand. Then a thought came into my mind. Clemency Moreno had the Aura Reading gift too and she had known Rebecca for a lot longer than I have.
"Is Clemency Moreno alright?" I asked Natalia, knowing she would be the first to know.
Natalia beamed. "She is! Although, she's currently stuck at HQ thanks to Mrs Grumpy Boots, there." She sharply tilted her head to Rebecca, smirking. "I am so glad I showed her and Salihn how to use a sword when we were younger. They really proved themselves."
"Can I speak to her?" I asked.
"Of course!" Natalia pulled out her phone and put it to her ear after looking at it for a second. "Clem?" Natalia said. "Raquel wants to speak to you."
Natalia handed me the phone and I held it to my ear.
"You're safe! I knew you would be! I'm so happy they found you!" Clemency's voice squealed through the phone.
"Iez. Thank you for helping us, Clemency," I said, and started shuffling my feet. "I'm sorry I threw a bowl at you..."
Rebecca and Watson found that hilarious. They were bent over, clutching their stomachs as they howled with laughter. Rebecca then quickly marched over and grabbed the phone off me, tapping something before speaking.
"Please tell me it was a hit!" Rebecca wheezed, struggling to speak from laughing so much.
Clemency's voice came from the phone a lot louder, meaning everyone could hear her. "No, it wasn't. She was upset I was on the phone to Natalia because-"
"Welcome to my world!" Rebecca cried out to me, flinging her arms open. "They're always on the fucking phone to each other. Drives me mad. Hadn't thought of throwing a bowl at her before. Thanks for the tip."
Watson found that even funnier and collapsed to her knees, slapping the floor. Everyone else was laughing too.
After a while, they all started to sigh themselves calm again. Being careful not to start them up again, I spoke to Clemency seriously.
"Clemency, you can see Rebecca's Aura too, can't you?" I said.
Rebecca's face fell. "Why are you always concentrating on me, for?" She complained.
"Because you have a damaged Aura." I explained. "No one should have a damaged Aura, and no one should have a weapon that has an Aura purer than theirs! Weapons aren't souls!"
I was starting to feel angry with her. How could she do this to herself? How did she do this to herself?
Clemency's voice came from the phone, still loud. "I can. But it wasn't always red. It didn't turn red until after she rescued Watson. She had a gold Aura when she visited me in Swindmore."
Rebecca cocked her eyebrow at the phone before looking at me, waiting to hear what I had to say on the matter. She looked incredibly uncomfortable at the way I was looking at her and she kept shooting worried glances at Natalia too.
Hunter's phone started to ring and he left the room to answer it. Watson's soulmate, Hodgson, left after him. I watched them go with a pang of sadness. I knew who was on the phone. Gerri would now be far away enough to break free of my possession on her Aura. It only worked if they were close enough for the possession latch was visible, otherwise it snapped when they got too far away.
"Did her sword have an Aura back then too?" I asked her seriously.
"I've never seen an Aura on her sword." Clemency answered, sadly. "I'm not a hereditary Aura Reader like you, I'm a trained one."
I frowned. Rebecca had been pure but then rescued Watson and it all changed. What happened?
"Ok, rac iai, Clemency." I said, and handed the phone to Natalia, who tapped the phone and put it to her ear before turning away from us.
"I'm sorry for interrupting," Came Watson's voice from beside me. I turned to her. "But Rebecca and I need to speak with Rhianna and Ruby about what's going to be happening while we're away."
"Yes, right." Rebecca looked relieved for a distraction, and stepped forwards looking at her Bracelet. "Natalia, stay with the kids. We won't be long."
Watson and Rebecca disappeared through the door into the other room. Everyone else was silent.
Perkins cleared his throat. "Robin, shall I get my mum and dad to look after the kids for a while?"
"We're going to nanna and grandads?" His little girl, Taylor, squealed.
Green smiled at her. "I think that may be the best plan. I mean, we need to see this through. I couldn't go back knowing that Watson was here. Give them a call and ask. If they say no, I'll call my parents and ask them."
Perkins nodded and walked out of the room. As he opened the door, he spoke to someone.
"You alright, H? Hodg, we're going to-"
He was cut off when the door closed.
I sighed, feeling very weighted down from trying to rectify Hunter's and Rebecca's Aura's. I looked at Clara and she seemed to know how I was feeling from the way I looked.
"I think we need to do a release." She said to me.
I grinned at her. Someone squealed loudly, making me jump out of my skin, and I looked at Natalia.
"Which one shall we do? I haven't done a group one since I lived in Wacchica. This is going to be so much fun!!" Natalia squealed excitedly.
"NO!" Bellowed Sawyer's voice. "No fucking way! They're teenagers!"
"So? What has that got to do with it?" Natalia asked, looking thoroughly confused by what he said.
"Clara is still fifteen, Natalia." I explained. "And we prefer to do Tension Releases because the last time we did Emotional, I lost my voice for a week."
Natalia giggled. "You really went for it that day, didn't you? Ok. Dean, would you have a room where we can do a Tension Release together?"
Dean was staring at us in terror. "Are you really wanting to do one now?"
I nodded, vehemently. "I really need to. I haven't done one since the day before the attack."
"Same." Said Clara.
"Hang on! What about me?!" Xavier blurted out, annoyed. "I want to do a Tension Release, but I can't do it in front of girls!"
Dean looked around at us, panicking. She wasn't the only one either. Sawyer, Ashdown, Green, Edwards and Ryder were also looking at us anxiously.
Before Dean could answer, Ruth's fiance and Hunter came back into the room. Hunter's Aura had grown darker again in the time since he had left the room, and I felt my heart ache with sorrow. I was back to stage one.
I was so busy studying his Aura, I didn't realise he was walking towards me. It wasn't until he was standing right in front of me that I noticed and gasped.
"Can I have a word?" He asked me flatly.
I looked around at everyone else to check if he was actually speaking to me, then nodded slowly. I followed him into the back room and up the stairs.
"Hunter? Why are we going upstairs?" I asked, nervously.
"There's something I want to show you." He replied, his voice emotionless. "I know you have already seen it, but I want to show you and explain myself."
He led me to the room where I had come to have a private talk with Clara and Xavier, and told me to sit on the 'sofa' while he went to get something.
I sat down on the cushioned bench and waited for him to come back. He returned holding the drawing I had looked at earlier when I found out that I was a doppelganger.
He sat very close beside me and showed me the drawing. My breath hitched at being so close to him. I could see his Aura reaching out towards mine, but it was so painfully slow.
"This is Goodwin." He said, pointing at the dark skinned girl in the drawing.
I looked at her smiling face next to his. They looked so happy.
"What happened to her?" I asked very quietly.
"She had come with us to Mournstead when Watson had been kidnapped. When we arrived, we were ambushed by loads of the Orders followers."
I gasped and covered my mouth with both of my hands.
"She got into a fight with a particularly nasty one, and before I could get to her... he... he had..." Hunter broke down and I quickly wrapped my arms around him. His Aura was wavering and turning darker by the second.
"He may have killed her, Hunter, but she never left you. You were soulmates. Your Aura's had been latched. She will forever be a part of you." I told him quietly.
He sniffed loudly and looked me in the eye, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Do you really mean that, or are you just saying that to try and make me feel better?"
I sighed. "She told me her name, Hunter. When I was telling you about your Aura before Gerri attacked me, Goodwin's Aura told me her name to tell you she was there. She doesn't want you to turn a darker shade after today's events with Gerri, and neither do I. Sadly, you have since gone back to a darker shade, but we're not giving up on you."
"That makes no sense." He said, flatly. "Latch? Darker shades?"
I frowned, but took my arms away from his neck and held his hand. "Remember I told you about your Aura? Clara actually lied and told you it was a rare brilliant gold. Truth was, it was more a shade of dark orange, but you had a patch of gold, right here." I placed my hand on his shoulder where Goodwin's Aura was. "That's Goodwin. It's still there. When you met Goodwin and you confessed your feelings to her, your Aura would have already been latched onto hers, creating a connection between the both of you. It was obviously a strong connection if she is still here for you." I paused watching his face scrunch up to stop another flood of tears. I put my free hand on his cheek to make him look at me. "You shouldn't be sad about it, Hunter. You should be happy."
"I-I miss her so much." He bawled out, lowering his head to try and stem the flow of tears. I pulled him back towards him and let him cry until he was ready to talk more, stroking his back.
After a moment, he had calmed himself down enough to make eye contact with me again. "Did I have that connection with Gerri?"
I flinched. I didn't want to talk about Gerri in case it upset him more, but he looked persistent.
"N-No you didn't, but I think you knew that yourself, didn't you?" I said, carefully.
He seemed to think for a moment before, very very slowly nodding. "I thought I did at first. During the first month, but then she... changed. She seemed to be ideal, but then she kept asking me about why my friends wanted to keep gathering every few months and why I hadn't taken her. I lied to her, saying that we had gone to Astrovia together and that it was a far away place on Earth where some of my friends still lived. But she kept nagging me to tell her the full story. I was with her for four years and I never told her."
"Were you happy though?" I asked, quietly. Even though he had kept secrets from her, be must have felt something like a connection.
"I was. She and I had the same interests, and the same sayings... Now that I think about it... She was... Too perfect. It was like she had picked up a book of how to be my perfect girlfriend. That was her on the phone when you were talking with Moreno. Said that you had hypnotised her or something. Anyway, she was asking me to come back home but I said no because my friends were here. She just completely flipped. Told me I was to choose between her or my friends. I mean, why? So I chose my friends." He said, frowning. "Looking back, I can see it was all fake. No one is ever that perfect for you, there are always flaws."
I nodded, eagerly, glad he was realising this. "Exactly. Even though our Aura's latch onto our soulmates, there will always be parts of that person that we don't like. If you look at your friends, there are parts of their relationship that isn't all good. Rebecca and Natalia are perfect examples of that."
He chuckled at that, making my heart flutter. "Yeah, that is a very VERY good point. They're always arguing."
"Exactly. With my parents, my firez hated that my naraz wouldn't let him watch her Tension Releases." I chuckled.
He burst out laughing. "That must have really pissed him off."
I laughed with him. "It did. But he stopped complaining when I started doing them with her."
"Perkins mentioned your parents had disappeared before the attack in Atania. Do you know what happened to them?" He asked me, putting his other hand on top of my hand that was already holding his.
I looked down, concentrating on the latches to my parents, but he seemed to think I was hesitating or knew otherwise.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was being a fucking idiot and-"
I put my finger to his lips and looked into his eyes, smiling.
"They're still alive. I still have their latches. The thing is the latches are so stretched because they're far away, so I can't follow it nor see where they are." I lowered my hand and placed it in my lap. "Rebecca will find them for me, or at least help me find them. I just hope we can get to them in time. It's been three months now, but they're still holding on. I am worried, but know that we will get to them soon."
Hunter took his hand off our clasped ones and cupped my cheek. I felt reassured by his gesture and smiled at him warmly, but I wasn't expecting what he said to me next.
"I will help you." He said, softly. "I'll help you find your parents."