A Chained Memory

"Nice to meet you, Aura, we are Ix's older sisters." Dixi explained "I really hope you two get along." Tix on the other hand didn't say anything, she just looked at Jennifer, slightly dissapointed, before looking away, waiting for the breakfast.

Hmph... Tam responded, uncertain as to how Adri knew what she'd said, but still.
She's right though, Tam. You haven't even met her yet. Maybe she's nice?
And maybe she's just like all the others, and is just waiting for an excuse to kill us, or torture us, or use us for some other purpose. You're too trusting. And how the hell did Adri hear me?
Jennifer didn't respond, not sure herself, but she was too excited by Dixi's appearance to put much thought into it.

Jennifer jumped up and embraced Dixi in a hug.
"Morning Dixi!" She stated, wrapping her tail around her for a moment, before releasing her. She noticed Tix's look. "Oh, Tix, Tam says hi!" She added, with a smile.
What are you doing?
Well, she looked sad that you weren't out.
Hey, no-one told you to say hi for me!
Tam... I know what you are thinking.
Sh-shut up!

Adri chuckled at Tam's tsundere act, but frowned and said, "I can read minds you know. If Aura were simply waiting for her moment to kill us, she'd have been tossed out of the Sanctuary with no memory of the place the second I brought her in."

Dixi returned the hug to Jennifer and stroked her hair for a bit before looking back at the new girl "You really look like you are starving huh, don't worry you'll love Adri's and Ix's food, they are really good at cooking." She pointed out after seeing the girls face.

"Hi, fox." Tix replied slightly less coldy and looking away like she didn't care.

Hearing those words made her increasingly tense. Did some of them truly suspect that? Adrianna reading minds, that did not surprise her at all. But Aura was fine with it, she would not keep any secrets from them, not that she had any to keep.

"I-I'm not really... hungry. B-but I love the food..." the girl turned to Dixi, before another realization hit her.

"I don't know what 'hungry' is... now that I think about it." vague fragments of countless sessions of 'disciplining' danced through her head. "I just have to tell that to anyone who asks me about food."

"Don't be like that, Aura. If you want to eat, you can eat." Adri was not going to let the memory of that man dictate her actions. "It's no trouble in the slightest, so eat your fill if you want."

The blonde tilted her head, then flashed a warm smile at the witch. She did not fully understand the act of stuffing one's face with food but Adri allowed her to eat 'her fill', whatever that meant. It appeared the raven-haired benefactor held a much different opinion than her father.

In the end, Aura decided to mercilessly gobble up everything that was placed in front of her.

"Take your time Aura, don't eat too fast, no one is going to take your food." Said Ix with a smile while serving the rest of the group that just joined "But, I have a question, how did you survived without eating?" Ix asked tilting her head when she felt something running around her feet "Huh? Oh, you wake up didn't you?" She kneeled to grab the little person that was running around "You really do like to run around don't you?" When she stood up she had a little girl on her arms that looked exactly like her and was smiling cheerfully, then the little Ix looked at the others and waved.

"I still haven't got used to that chibi version of yours, sis..." Dixi said as soon as she saw the chibi Ix, Tix nodded "She still haven't say a word?" Ix looked at the chibi version of her "Not really- H-Hey!" The chibi jumped from her arms to the table and stared at Aura with a friendly smile.

A little version of Ix was... unexpected, to say the least. She had so much more to learn about this place, and about herself. Ix's question really made her think. Survive? was that why people eat?

"I don't know. I n-never ate before." Aura gave a straightforward answer, feeling even more confused.

"Really? I mean... People needs to eat and drink to survive." Ix explained while the chibi sat in front of Aura, looking at her smiling like a little child.

"They do... It's as I thought."

With a saddened expression, Aura pushed the plate away along the table. "Father was right. If you need it to survive, I won't waste it."

The chibi pushed the plate back to Aura "She's right, this isn't wasting the food, Aura, you can eat too if you wish and if your father said that, feeding you was wasting food, he was an horrible father, sorry if I sound rough but... It's just how I feel, you can eat Aura, you are NOT wasting food by eating it."

"I agree," Adri stated. "If I had to guess, he gave you something that substituted for a meal, an elixir perhaps?" She snapped her fingers and another glass of egg nog poured for Aura, and then for the rest of those in the kitchen. "Don't worry about food supplies, it's practically endless."

Aura shook her head lightly. "This was the first time I ate anything. As for the elixirs, they're to put me to sleep."

Over the course of breakfast, the girl carefully eyed everyone at the table and made a judgement. She had realized what their 'fill' was, and that she had eaten way past that point. With an apologetic look, the blonde pushed her plate once more and stopped eating.

"T-thank you for the food." she said, rising up and trying to kneel again, before reflexively stopping herself. Instead, she copied Adri's previous gesture and bowed at everyone.

Ix sat next to Aura and grabbed her hand "You don't need to apology, Aura, you can eat if you wish, okay?" Ix said to her while smiling.

A look of surprise followed by an accepting smile graced Ix. Any doubt that Aura still had about the strange people of Sanctuary was erased right there, by Ix's boundless kindness. She was her guiding light in the new world, one that should always be treasured.

"Thank you, Ix." she said as Ix gently let go of her hand. "But I will abstain. I've had my 'fill'."

There it was again, just like last time. The words flowing elegantly into one another, the tension leaving her body for good. She turned to Adri, who was now clearing her side of the table.

"As for my father... I can't blame him." she knew by Adri's expression that the witch thought as much of her father as Ix. "I don't remember him quite that much, but he must have had his reasons."

Ix nodded, if she had her fill, there was no need to force her to eat more "So? Did you liked the bacon and pancakes?" She asked as she took Aura's plate to wash it, meanwhile the chibi Ix sat on Aura's lap and looked up at her.

"I can't know for certain unless I could unlock more of your memories, but..." She didn't want a repeat of yesterday, and neither did Aura.

"I loved it, Ix." she replied with an earnest expression.

Aura did not falter this time. She knew what happened before must have been an accident. And a certain curiosity did pique her mind: what was her father like truly? It appeared Adrianna was as curious as she, or rather, just wanted to help at all costs.

"I wouldn't...mind. I am curious as well, miss Adrianna." she bowed once more. "I am sorry for having bad thoughts about you in the morning."

Jennifer furrowed her brow, tuning into Adri and Aura's conversations.
"Unlock her memories?" She asked, with a slight frown. "Is she alright? Is that why she's here?"

Ix tilted her head wondering about that as well "Memory lock?"

Sent from Topic'it App

"Physically, she'd perfectly fine, and her mental state is otherwise normal. However, she's been forced into an amnesiac state, of which I found a way to break her free from." She smiled to Aura, happy that she understood and moved to hug her. "Thank you, Aura. I'll only do one lock a day, I don't want to hurt you if I can help it."

"If it's painful... I'll stay by your side while Adri unlocks them." She said to comfort the girl.

Adri understood the implications full well this time around. It appeared that, for all intents and purposes, Aura's mind was made into a territory by an unknown spell caster, likely the one responsible for the Locks. For all it was worth, the rules of the spell could not be defied by magic alone.

"Thank you, Ix, but I will not be awake during it."

Downing the whole flask of Adri's potion, Aura fell asleep once more. Adri gently gripped her head and began her spell. Once again, the locks stood in her way.


Condition Unmet: What Friends Are For [0/5]

- Unsealing the Second Lock: two rolls are required, either one can be even or above 75 to succeed, but not below 15.

Adrianna did not intend to bring harm to Aura again, not today. With a determined look on her face, she battled the ancient mechanism...

(90, 88)

... and without any distractions, made short work of it. Now the answer lied before them, they needed only look.



Night befell the palace of pearl. Moonlight shone through the open window of an immaculate white room. It lacked objects commonly found in rooms, especially one as spacious as that. A single bed of a dark, wooden frame was covered in white sheets. Besides a mirror and a drawer, it was the only object filling that large, empty space. And on that bed sat a girl and her servant.

"And you are all set, my Lady." said a woman wearing a black, plain gown with a white apron over it.

She carefully prepared her Lady's appearance, applying the right amount of make-up, as well as adjusting her golden, wavy hair.

"Thank you, Stella." the maiden replied, prompting a warm smile from the maid. Her thoughts then shifted to the near future, along with her expression.

"My Lady, is something wrong?" Stella asked, more being customary rather than out of ignorance.

"I'm fine. There is no need to worry about me." she reciprocated the smile.

Their conversation was interrupted by two knocks. By the looks on their faces, it appeared they both knew who, precisely, needed entry into her room. Stella rose up quickly and pried open the door.

"Lord Draja!" she bowed to the one on the other side. "Is there something you require?"

"I require entrance to my daughter's chamber." a deep voice answered, prompting the servant so swiftly side-step away from the door. "Now excuse us, Stella."

The maid vanished on his word, leaving the man with his child. His tone was as stern as ever, despite time starting to show its mark on him in the form of grayed-out hair. The girl, however, seemed to not have aged at all.

The man known as Draja approached his daughter, his imposing posture slowly fading away as he sat alongside her. His dark eyes locked onto hers.

"Nervous?" he asked in a calm voice.

The girl nodded, looking down at her held-together hands. "This is… I haven't done anything like this before."

The man gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know how this feels." he said, a slight grin showing beneath his moustache. "I, too, was once in your position. I was even smaller than you at the time."

"What happened? Did you succeed?" she asked. As redundant a question as it may have been, she needed to hear everything.

"My mother had left me alone on the deed." he reminisced, a melancholic tone accompanied his words. "I really did not do the best that was required of me that day... Far from it. But I did not let it end in failure, I did not let that bring me down.

"And neither should you." his tone turned into a hopeful one. "It is not the end if you fail, my child. It is only the end when you give up."

Her lips slightly curved into a faint smile. "Will you be there for me?"

"Of course."

She walked over to the window. Outside, a wave of people expanded as far as the eye could see. "So many… all of their eyes… on me."

Draja joined her, looking at his subjects with a weary eyes. "Yes, they will be. Your name holds power beyond imagination. The power to bring peace where war once raged. The power to hold everyone together in the face of the Midara threat. That is why they watch you. There is no one more important than you in the world."

Even from up there, their gaze pierced her soul. This task, this responsibility, this impossible burden… How could she stand the judgement of thousands?

"Take your time." her father slowly walked towards the door, before pausing. "Whenever you are ready, I am waiting for you outside."

The golden wave rushed past this memory as well. Images became blurry, words distorted. Before it ended, the fragments of one last phrase lingered on.

Let  s d  o r   st, Lag

Ix looked at Aura as she fell asleep, gently taking her hand "You can do this Aura." She mumbled smiling, then she looked at Adri "Will she be okay? It won't hurt her again, right?" She asked worried.