Chapter Twenty-Three

A New Life

2018

 

Years have passed since the military and police set out in search for the child with Remphelia, searching everywhere, from hospitals to homes to abandoned buildings, but she was nowhere to be found. More innocent lives were taken, and more people lived in terror.

Some civilians in Stockbridge even stopped speaking altogether, for fear that they might say something to make them stand out as guilty. Silence was beginning to loom in the air again, and Stockbridge was starting to become a ghost town. Not before long, the search for the child began to disband, with many either assuming she’d already died or believing she was never born.

The orphanage was no longer the headquarters for the government when they disbanded the search, turning their resources back to catching criminals who actually existed.

***

In the same town, about fifty miles south of the orphanage, Mara ran out into a field of flowers in the backyard of a small cabin home, giggling and spinning around in circles, before collapsing on top of a bed of roses.

“Mara, be careful, dear. You’re hurting the flowers,” Ella warned her as she walked out with two glasses of iced tea.

Ella had planned on putting Mara in the town’s orphanage when they arrived home from Jezebel. They all settled in the apartment Ella and Shawn shared while they tried to make arrangements for Mara. But Ella had always wanted a daughter. When she was twenty-one, she found out that she was infertile when she and her fiancé at the time tried to conceive. After years of trying, he eventually walked out on her for someone who could bear him a child.

Ella became devastated after that and swore to focus on herself instead. Until now. Until she experienced what it felt like to be a mother.

She’d even fought with Shawn about it for months before he finally gave up trying to convince her to change her mind about keeping Mara and kicked them both out of the apartment, forcing both Ella and Mara to sleep on the streets. He wasn’t about to play father to someone else’s child, especially not since that very same child almost got him killed.

For nearly six months, Ella and Mara slept in a tent in the woods just outside of town, foraging for mushrooms and berries to get by. Ella grew up in the forest as a child. Her father was a hunter, and so, Ella knew the ins and outs of surviving in the woods.

Luckily, Ella soon found a job working as a travel agent and was able to live off a steady income. She had more knowledge than all the agents combined, and she knew the best locations to travel for those looking for quiet, remote areas away from tourists. She moved herself and Mara into a cheap cabin and acted as her guardian for the past three years, treating her as her own daughter.

Life together was great. They were each other’s best friends. Ella taught Mara how to braid her hair and tie her shoes, while Mara showed Ella the cool tricks she could do with her eyes and hands. Of course, Ella never brought Mara out in public. She couldn’t risk anyone seeing her red eyes. It was a cruel world out there, and she didn’t trust anyone but herself.

Yes, things were going just great… until they weren’t.

***

A few months later, Ella became extremely ill and was diagnosed with terminal cancer, her doctors giving her a maximum of two weeks left to live.

“I’m sorry, Mara. I love you, but I’m afraid I don’t have much time left to live.” Ella coughed, blood spilling out onto her white sheets as she remained bed-bound.

“But I need you, Ella. I need you,” Mara cried. “I don’t want you to die. I love you.”

“I know, sweetie. I wish I could stay with you forever, but sometimes, life just doesn’t work out the way we planned. It’s no one’s fault. That’s just the way life is sometimes. Remember that, Mara. Remember that, sometimes, it’s nobody’s fault.”

Mara grabbed onto Ella’s hand as it brushed against her cheeks. “I’ll remember, I promise.”

Ella smiled. “Listen, Mara, I don’t have much time left. I feel very sick, and I don’t think I’m going to make it much longer. Tomorrow morning, Shawn is going to come and take you to the orphanage. I haven’t spoken to him in years, but he granted me one last wish. That will be your new home. But don’t be scared. You’ll love it there. You can make friends and read and even play board games.”

She coughed several times before continuing. “But people are going to look at you like you’re strange. You’re different than the others, special. But sometimes, people don’t like different. That’s why I need you to wear your special sunglasses, okay? I need you to keep your secret for as long as you can. Do it for me.”

Mara nodded, more tears trickling down her face. “I will. I definitely will.”

“Good. I also want you to take these,” Ella said as she weakly held out a bottle of pills. “Starting tomorrow, I need you to promise me that you’ll take one of these a day. These will help you feel better, help you not be so scared.”

Mara nodded again, taking the bottle of pills from Ella and putting it in her pocket.

No one ever knew, not even Shawn, that Ella was part of The Order, the group of civilians who worshipped Liliana and what she stood for, and longed to avenge her death. She was there when they broke into Elyson and tore the place down, burning every last evidence of research and pills that the lab had stashed, but not before sneaking one into her own pocket.

She had originally planned on just keeping it as a souvenir, as a reminder of the time period during Liliana’s rule. However, soon after she started living with Mara, she began to slowly connect the dots. Mara was Liliana’s successor. She was the child who was prophesied to be the next Red Queen, and her eyes really were due to Remphelia, not a vessel burst like she had originally thought.

And there were enough pills for Mara to conceal her secret until she was old enough for her powers to fully develop. She needed to keep Mara safe, however way she could, so Mara could become the world’s new leader.

***

The next morning, Ella passed away on her death bed while Mara packed up her belongings, tucking her pills in between some clothes, and walked outside, where Shawn was standing by his car to take her to Baylor. He helped her put her luggage in his trunk as Mara looked back at the cabin. She had such wonderful memories there, with Ella, and now, they were both gone. She sighed.

“You ready to go?” Shawn asked.

Mara could only nod as she climbed into the car. Her life was changing. An entirely new journey was waiting for her, but deep down, she knew things were only going to get much worse. Without her parents, and without Ella, she knew she was going to have to fight for herself if she wanted to survive.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mara

2018

 

“Hi! Welcome to Baylor! My name is Rose. How can I help you?” a woman at the front desk cheerily greeted Shawn and Mara as they walked in through the front door.

“Hi, Rose. I’m Shawn, and this is Mara. I would like to check her in, please.” Shawn placed Mara’s suitcase down on the floor and leaned over the counter.

“Of course! Hi, Mara! I’m Rose. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Mara could only hide behind Shawn, her dark sunglasses over her eyes, and her wide-brim hat on her head. She was never a fan of Shawn, especially not after what he did to Ella, but she’d much rather stay near him than the building full of strangers.

“She’s a little shy. I’m sure she’ll open up once she’s around kids her own age.”

“I do hope she does. She’ll have a blast here. A lot of kids are scared at first, and now, I can’t get them to shut up!” Rose laughed. “So, do you know what happened to her parents or legal guardian?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Oh, it’s just for paperwork purposes, but if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it or just don’t know, that’s fine, too.” Rose laughed again. “Alright, Mara, you can come with me, and I’ll show you to your room.”

“Shawn, I’m scared,” Mara cried as she grabbed on tighter to him. “I don’t want to stay here. I want to be with Ella.”

Shawn knelt down and gently gave Mara a hug. “It’s okay, Mara. It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared. You’ll be just fine here, I promise. Ella’s in a better place now, and you have to be brave, for her, okay? Miss Rose will take good care of you. Soon, you won’t even remember why you were so afraid.”

“Okay,” Mara whispered and followed Rose after giving Shawn one last hug, dragging her favorite blanket and teddy bear behind her.

***

Shawn watched, still standing by the front desk, waving goodbye as his mental confliction fought on whether to change his mind, eventually turning around, and walking out the door.

***

“Alright, Mara, here is your room,” Rose gestured inside a small pink room with two twin beds inside. “You’re very lucky! You’ll be sharing the room with one of the sweetest little girls here at the orphanage. I know you two will get along just great! Dinner will be served at 6pm tonight, and quiet hours are after 10pm. I’ll give you some time to unpack and settle in, but I’ll be back in about twenty minutes to bring you over to the conference hall. There’s a seminar on heroes today!”

Mara could only smile softly as Rose left the room. She sighed as she threw her suitcase onto the bed and sat down next to it. She then unzipped it and took out the bottle of pills, popping one into her mouth.

“What’s that?” a voice called out, Mara quickly hiding the bottle behind her back.

“What? Um… nothing,” she stuttered, her fingers wrapped tightly around the bottle.

“You must be my new roommate! I’m Stacy!” The girl walked into the room and hopped onto her bed. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Ma… Mara, my name’s Mara.”

“Hi, Mara! I think you’ll really like it here. We get to play board games, go outside to the playground, and we even have snack time! It’s great! I think we’ll be great friends!”

Before Mara could reply, Rose walked back into the room. “Come on, girls, the seminar’s starting. Grab your notebooks, and follow me.”

***

This was the first seminar of the year, the first of many. It was a cold and foggy morning. The stage was set with beautiful floral decorations, filling the room with their mesmerizing scent. Mara was given a quick tour of the building as they all walked over to the conference hall.

Standing outside was Colton, greeting and welcoming all the children as they each signed in. Seminars were a requirement for all the orphans. If they were to skip even one, they would have their leisure time taken away for an entire week.

“Welcome, everyone! Thank you all for coming to my seminar today on heroes. I’ve recently read some interesting articles on what it takes to be a hero. A hero is powerful, strong, and a leader. Can anyone give me some examples of some of their favorite heroes?” Colton asked as he walked around on stage, pointing at the projector toward his presentation.

A couple of kids in the audience all shouted at once.

“My dad!”

“Superman!”

“Batman!”

“Jesus!”

But suddenly, a high-pitched voice screamed out, “Liliana!”

The room turned silent, and Damon nearly fainted after hearing the answer. Everyone looked around the room, trying to figure out who said it, but the perpetrator could not be identified.

“Alright, everyone, let’s take a break. We’ll continue this seminar at another time.” Damon quickly turned off the projector and gestured the staff to lead the children out of the room.

“Colton! Did you plan this?” Damon shouted as the orphans continued to exit.

“What? How can you even accuse me of something like that? I’m not the one who planned this stupid seminar.”

“You’re always the one reading up on her, telling these kids stories about her,” Damon shouted again.

“They’re just stories. Just simple stories to scare them straight, that’s all,” Colton insisted.

Colton Javernick was aware of Damon’s suspicions toward him. But it’s not like he did a very good job of hiding it, either. Nevertheless, he apologized anyway and walked out of the room, his fingers crossed that he would one day stop.

As he headed toward his office, he spotted Mara in the playground as he walked down the hall. Hundreds of voices were screaming and laughing, enough to make him want to rip his own ears out.

But, for some reason, Mara caught his attention. She wasn’t like the other children. She kept to herself, not because she was shy, but because she preferred to be alone. Colton could see that in her. How? Because she reminded him of himself when he was younger. Like him, she didn’t yearn for attention or friendship; she yearned to keep them away. There was just something different about her, something special.

“Maybe it’s really her,” Colton whispered to himself as he noticed her sunglasses.

He walked out onto the playground and introduced himself as the caretaker of the orphanage. She responded that her name was Mara, and how out of place she felt on her first day.

“I get it. It’s never easy being the new kid, especially not in a place where you know you can’t leave. But you’ll get used to it, trust me. Eventually, you’ll just learn to realize that all fear and nerves do is hold you back. I never really felt like I fit in anywhere, either.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Mara whispered.

“Well, I’ll tell you what. One week. I promise you that, in one week, you’ll start to not feel so alone and isolated anymore. Just stop caring about what other people will think about you just because you’re new. And, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always here.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t sweat it! I do want to ask though, why are you wearing those sunglasses? I saw you wearing them inside the building, too. Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine. I just like wearing them so I feel safe. Ella also gave them to me before she died, and I want her with me always.” She whispered again, this time, wrapping her arms around her.

“I bet this Ella was a really special person. You know, I had a sister named Ella. We never really spoke. In fact, I don’t even know where she is or if she’s even still alive. Some families just fade out, I guess.”

“She was.”

“Can I see them?” Colton asked, trying to get the glasses off so he could take a look at her eyes. He was so sure that Mara was the successor of Liliana, and that after all those years of searching, he had finally found her, the new queen.

“Sure,” Mara replied.

However, when she removed her glasses, Colton was shocked by what he saw. Normal eyes. Just normal white eyes, just like every other child on the playground.

“Damn,” he muttered. “She’s not the one.”

“What?”

“Noth… Nothing.”

“Can I please have my glasses back? I don’t want to lose them.”

“Sure, here you go.” Colton handed them over and stood up. “I have to go back in now; take care of some grown-up stuff. I’ll see you around. If you ever need me, my office number is room forty-four. My door is always open.” He smiled and walked away.

***

It didn’t take long for Colton and Mara to become friends, Mara seeing Colton as a father figure while Colton felt sorry for Mara because he knew the hardships she was going through. She would come to him for advice whenever she felt isolated from the other children. Plus, he reminded her so much of Ella.

Colton spent the rest of his time locked in his office, still researching on ways to find the next successor of Remphelia. Day after day, he’d ponder through piles and piles of newspapers and magazines that he’d collected before the town decided to incinerate nearly everything to forget about that era.

He felt that it was his duty to find and raise the new queen to who she was destined to be, a totalitarian leader, not just to avenge the death of Liliana, but because he felt like the people deserved law and order.