Keeper's Oath

Chapter 24: Memories

Hope wasn't sure how much time had passed when she found herself conscious again. The young woman placed her hand over her warm face. She stared down at it realizing that it was visible in front of her. When looking at the rest of her, Hope saw that this wasn't the dim room where she just had been in.

"The Dark... " Hope breathed getting up from the unseen ground. She felt completely better than before passing out. The thoughts of her dying didn't comfort her. If she had passed on again, Halo certainly would be here to greet her. There was nobody that Hope was able to see. Though, she could sense there being something near her. Yet this being chose to stay hidden from her. "Hello? Anybody here?"

From the darkness something decided to show up. There emerged a large brown bear. It walked slowly towards her, the head swung side to side. She eyed the bear's large claws which scraped across the unseen floor. The intense brown eyes stared up at Hope as the bear made their way towards her.

"You... " Then the memory washed over her. She could vaguely remember the bear she had seen before. It all seemed so long ago. That dream which she had of the bear. Everything that had happened around that time, they were so far away from now. "You called me by my name. Yet, I don't know who you are."

The bear hesitated briefly as they opened up their maw to speak.

"Everything will be answered in time. Right now, that's not important. What is important now are the memories which will guide you. No time will go in the world as the past is shown to you. So worry not, Hope." The bear's voice was deep but Hope could feel there being gentleness behind the rough voice.

Hope's mind tried to process what the bear had told her. There wasn't any time for her to say anything. Even if she could have said something, Hope wasn't able to tell by what the bear had meant. It wasn't long before Hope saw that her surroundings changed. The Dark disappeared and a new surrounding greeted her.

She wondered if this was how it felt when beings would teleport. It was as if instantly, everything around her changed like a snap of a finger. Only if she could teleport back in the real world, Hope thought to herself. She would have gotten away from Hollow and not be in this exact mess.

Hope was standing on the edge of a sidewalk. She realized that next to her was the hotel where her and Livius spent the night. The snow around her was frosted over. Yet she could not feel the chill of the wind against her skin. The clouds above her were grey like they had been the day. Everything looked exactly how it did that eventful day.

The young woman was still wearing the red hoodie over her with the jeans. If she would have been wearing this out in the cold for a long period of time, surely she'd freeze. Hope shuddered at the thought.

In front of the hotel, a limousine pulled up. Hope had figured that this would happen. There had been a feeling back in Hope's mind which memory this was. It was the only one that was important. This was the one memory which mattered in her new life. After all, this memory was the one that changed her whole life.

It didn't take long for her and Livius to exit the hotel. Hope then noticed that Knowledge was following right behind her. The white werewolf stood close to her, yet she hadn't seen him at all that day. He sniffed the air and closed his eyes. Her guardian was enjoying a slight breeze which ruffled his fur. As she and Livius hopped into the limousine, Knowledge kept his eyes on the vehicle.

Moments later, the limousine took off and Knowledge followed them running on all fours. Hope realized that she had to follow as well. This memory wasn't going to change on its own. She walked and then ran for a block until turning to her guardian form. Knowledge was running on the sidewalk while keeping an eye on the limousine on the street next to him.