Forgotten Memories

Chapter 15

Charlotte woke up to the sound of Sean's heavy breathing from the bed next to hers. All of the rebels slept in the same massive room, set up similar to a summer camp cabin or hospital.

She sat up groggily and leaned against the wall that her bed was up against. The only reason she even managed to fall asleep was because of how long her day had been. Her thoughts had been running wild since Sean had told her that he wanted her to be the face of their cause.

She still didn't understand why they would want her instead of someone who had been a part of the cause for longer than a few hours. She didn't know what her response to Sean's question was going to be. She hadn't thought she could be queen, so how was this any different?

Charlotte's eyes flickered towards Sean's bed as he started to wake up with a yawn. He sat up and immediately looked towards her. "What's that look for?" he asked her with a sleepy grin.

"I don't have a look, but I could ask you the same thing." She joked back.

"How long have you been up?"

"Not too long, just long enough to question my entire life, but not long enough to have a complete panic attack." She said, trying to laugh off her racing heartbeat and muddled thoughts.

"Let's go get some breakfast."

Charlotte followed behind him grabbing a plate of food from the cafeteria-style line.

"So, have you thought about what I asked you? I mean, you haven't run off yet, so that's a good sign."

"Very funny, but I actually still have questions."

It was still early so it was only the two of them and the lunch lady. They found a seat farthest away from the line and continued their conversation.

"Yeah? Ask away." He responded with kindness in his voice.

"Well, first off, you really worried me when you didn't show up for verification day. Why did you leave? And without saying anything?" Her words caught in her throat as her eyes started to sting.

"I wanted to tell you, you have to believe me. I never wanted to hurt you," he turned away for a second to quiet the emotions filling his voice, "I wasn't allowed to tell you and I couldn't have just taken you from the castle. It had to be planned out and I honestly didn't know I was going to miss your verification day, it was kind of a last-minute thing. That must have been really hard for you, I know how worried you were about doing well."

"I understand, I really do, I just wanted to know exactly why and everything. I thought you might've been hurt, or worse..."

He slides over to her side of the table wrapping her up once again in one of his signature hugs. "I'm here now, okay. You don't ever have to worry about that again."

He let them both calm down again before continuing the conversation, "Any other questions?"

"Yeah..."

"And..."

"I don't want to ask, I'm afraid of the answer. I just don't think I'm ready to ask, but at the same time I feel like I have to know for everything to make sense."

His eyes softened, and he kept her in his arms, giving her the time that she needed to decide whether she should ask him or not.

"Sean?" he raised an eyebrow in response, "How did I get in a coma?"

"Oh, hey Scarlet."

"Hey. What are you guys talking about." Scarlet walked over to the side of the table opposing Charlotte and Sean and set down her plate of food.

"I was just telling Charlotte more about—"

"He was just telling me more about the rebels and what it would mean to become the face of you guys." Charlotte cut Sean off.

"Oh cool! What all do you want to know?" Scarlet asks.

"Everything," Charlotte says with forced enthusiasm.

"She isn't exaggerating on that one," Sean adds with a laugh. "She's like a sponge with a thirst for knowledge."

Charlotte shrugs but Scarlet beams with pride. "Well to start, I think the name 'rebels' is a bit of a misnomer because while we are rebelling against the current leader, we aren't rebelling against everyone at the castle. We do need a symbol though if we ever want to stage a full-blown rebellion, and we do want that."

"I totally understand that, but I don't understand why you want me to be that symbol. You would be amazing for that job and I'm sure there are plenty of others here who would do much better than me."

This time Sean's the one to answer, "Char, you have to believe us, and you have to start believing in yourself. You did this when you were brought in as crown princess, and you are doing it now. You are so clearly made to be a leader, and everyone sees it but yourself. You would not have an entire group backing you up if they didn't believe in you." Scarlet nodded along with Sean's words.

"But that sketch...It didn't look anything like me. She was strong...brave...fierce. All I can do is over analyze everything."

"Char, listen to me... that wasn't just any sketch. I didn't just whip it up with some random person in mind. That was my drawing of you, I drew it with you in mind. It's how I see you, how everyone sees you. That girl can't be replaced with Scarlet or any other rebel here." He lifted her chin up with his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. He smiled deeply, as honest as the day is long. "It's you, it's always been you."