Ivy.
A swirling light wrapped around me. A feeling that made me feel as if I was floating. All of the pain I had once felt completely slipped away from me, and I was left unsure of where I was, but I knew I had a purpose, and that purpose was to get back to wherever I was supposed to be.
If only I knew exactly where that was.
Looking around through the white space around me, I searched for anything that could help me remember exactly what had happened. I knew I had to get back to somebody very important. The only problem was I didn’t know how I was supposed to do that.
Glancing around, I freed myself from the weightlessness of my situation. My feet hit the floor of the white void with ease. There was no telling in which direction I was to go in order to get out of this place, but I knew I had to go somewhere.
A figure walked toward me from the distance. A woman with long brown hair seemed to fall down her back in waves. Her blue eyes stared at me with amusement before she stopped mere feet from where I stood.
There was no way she was from the same time as me considering that instead of normal clothing, she wore furs and linen, her appearance almost medieval, causing my confusion to fold in even more.
“Who are you?” I asked slowly, hoping she could understand me.
“I’m not stupid, if that’s what you think,” she chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest. “My name is Anna.”
Now I felt completely stupid. Of course, she wasn’t… nevermind.
“Do you know where I am?”
“You don’t know where you are?” she replied, cracking a smile. “That isn’t good, is it?”
Rolling my eyes, I groaned. “Look, if you’re here to piss me off, please don’t. I have had a long day… or well. God, I don’t even know. Regardless, I have to get out of here.”
“I know you do. That’s why I’m here.”
Was she being serious? She was here to help me, and instead, she was doing nothing but confusing me. “Well, what are you waiting for, then?”
“For you to decide to be polite for one,” she laughed. “Never did I think I would get this honor, but circumstances aren’t always what we expect them to be now, are they?”
I didn’t have the slightest clue what she was referring to, but with annoyance filling me, I pushed it aside, praying she would attempt to help me other than how she was currently acting. “Look, I’m sorry. We started off wrong.”
“Fair enough, Ivy.” She smirked as she walked past me, heading into the white void, as if she had a destination in mind.
“Wait! Where are you going?!” I called out as I ran along after her.
“It isn’t easy getting back, but it is definitely something that you need to do.”
She was talking as if she knew where I came from. As if she knew me. “How did you know my name?” I asked, hoping she would give me a real answer.
Instead of answering right away, she stopped in the middle of the void and turned to me, raising a brow. “Because you gave birth to me. Don’t you think I would know my own mother?”
Mother?!
This woman must be on something. I wasn’t her mother.
“I think you have me mixed up with someone else,” I laughed, shaking my head. “It’s obvious that you can’t help me. I do hope you’re searching—”
“He was right when he said you talked a lot,” she chuckled. “Regardless, you are my mother. Just not in this form of me.”
“What do you mean, not this form of you—”
It suddenly dawned on me the possibility of what she was saying. Stranger things had happened to me every day, and one thing I knew for sure is that if it was weird, it was probably true.
“Castor?” I whispered, watching as Anna’s eyes lit up.
“Yes, sweet darling Castor is the new version of me.”
This couldn’t possibly be happening. There was no way my child was to have a nearly identical fate to me. There was no way… wait. How can I suddenly remember them, and just a little while ago, I couldn’t fucking remember anything?!
“My memories—”
“Yeah, they are coming back, aren’t they? It happens sometimes. You really got hurt in that battle, and though Castor doesn’t understand everything because she is a baby. I do.” Her words caught me by surprise. How was it she knew?
With so many questions, my head hurt as I tried to grasp what she was saying.
What was I honestly going to do in my current situation?
She knew a way out, and I needed her help. There was no way I was going to do this on my own, and the last thing I wanted to do was stay here longer.
“OK, show me what you need to show me…”
The woman who called herself Anna stared at me, her blue eyes twinkling with nothing but amusement because of my current situation. It often reminded me of how James or even Hale would look at me, as if they knew I was being silly, and I would end up finding out the results of my actions later on.
“Before you go, there are some things that we need to discuss.” She caught me completely off guard as I was preparing for her to just magically wave her hands or something and shimmer me back to where I was supposed to be.
But no, of course, that wouldn’t be the fucking case.
“Okay then,” I said in a very dramatic tone as I waited patiently for her to explain. “What else it is that I needed to know?”
Hesitating for a moment as if she didn’t like my response, she seemed to ponder over what I said. “You’re irritated by me.”
I groaned. “Now I am.”
You would think she would listen to her mother. Maybe I can make her.
“You can’t,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest with a smug smile. “I’m far older than you, regardless if you are the mother to the person who I belong inside.”
Holy shit, had she just read my mind?
Like… she can actually read my mind! What the fuck is going on?
“Yes, I can read your mind now. Will you please stop swearing so much? It’s not ladylike.” Anna complained as she rolled her eyes, walking another twenty feet before stopping again.
“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting all of this, ya know? God, this is so aggravating that I honestly can’t remember anything.”
“Honestly, it’s probably better that you don’t.” She gave me a pointed look as she glanced over her shoulder at me.
“No one died, right? Like no one that I care about, anyway.”
Groaning in protest, she let out a heavy breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, they didn’t.”
“Well, that’s good then,” I said with a sigh of relief. “So what exactly is it you wanna tell me before you shimmer me back to wherever I came from?”
Taking a deep breath, she paused for a slight moment, as if collecting her thoughts. “Technically, you’re not going anywhere. You’re simply waking up.”
“Waking up?”
“Yes… your body never left property. You have been asleep for a very long time, but now it’s time for you to wake up.”
“Oh, okay then. Well, let’s get to it.”
“You’re so impatient,” she groaned again. “Look… before you go, you need to know that not everything is as it was. Things have changed… people have changed. Your absence cause small havoc to rip through your family, and in the future it may cause problems. There is one person who will fight against you at every turn, but you mustn’t give up on them.”
Was she talking about the guys?
“You don’t have to worry about that. Me and the guys are going to finally be able to have the life that we always wanted.”
“I wasn’t referring to your mates,” she sneered, rolling her eyes dramatically.
“OK then, who are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Castor. Things will never be the same. You’ve missed out on a lot already, and even though she’s still young, you’re going to face challenges between her and her brother. They’re not like the others, nor will they ever be like those who will come in the future.” I didn’t understand for one second what she was talking about.
My children weren’t different. They were normal and happy… thinking about them made my heart hurt, wondering how much time I had missed out on their lives.
“No matter how different Castor and Pollux are, they are my children. I will never, ever, under any circumstance, turn my back on them. I’m their mother.” I had to make her see reason.
She stared at me for a moment, her eyes boring into mine, as if she was trying to judge my sincerity. However, considering the fact she could read my mind, she should have been able to tell I was being sincere.
“You have no clue what awaits you in the future, not to mention the deal that has been made. You have to hold your part of the bargain. Even if it wasn’t a deal that you particularly made yourself.”
Now she was talking about deals.
Last time I checked, I had made no deals, and God forbid if my mates had made some kind of proclamation while I had been away. I couldn’t believe they would do something to upset me like that. They were the men who swore to protect me and the children.
Perhaps Anna simply hit her own head and has lost her mind.
“Okay, I promise. I will fulfill whatever end of the bargain I made or that someone else made for me, even though, of course, there isn’t anything like that,” I said with little enthusiasm as I gestured to her to continue with getting me the fuck out of here.
A smile crept across her face as she nodded her head and then waved her hand, opening a door in the middle of a white void that didn’t even exist.
It was literally like the white void had opened itself and become a door.
I was astonished.
I could not fucking believe it.
This entire time, there had been a magic door somewhere there, and maybe I could have just waved my hand and open it.
“Remember your promise, if you do not follow through, Castor’s life will never be her own. She needs that end of the bargain in order to survive.”
Stepping forward, I stopped for a moment and glanced back at Anna. Her words lingered in the air as I watched her concern gaze watch me leave. “I will protect her with my life. Anything she needs, she will have.”
“Good,” she replied softly. “Because one day what she needs will break your heart.
