Chapter 16| The Book

Hours passed and we still did not find the book that appeared in my dream last night. It was like seeking a needle that was dropped in a pile of hay. Chances are, we might not find this book.

We were only seeking it by how it looked in my dream. It was fairly large, with vines locking it, preventing it from being opened. There was this yellow glow that emitted inside of it.

Meredith and I decided that we separate ways to find this book. It has already been a while since I saw her. In this giant library, one wrong turn may cause you to get lost. I raked my eyes over every shelf but it seems that this book refused to be found. I was too preoccupied with finding this thing that I did not realize I bumped into someone.

"You scared me Aurora," Meredith held a hand to her heart in an attempt to slow the beating. I just smiled sheepishly at her while scratching the back of my neck.

"Any progress?" I asked her, hoping that somehow she found a clue. Her shoulders sagged a little, telling me silently that she did not have any progress. It was okay, even I didn't have any.

She looked at me with her doe green eyes. "Maybe it's in the restricted area,"

"Nope, I already went there," One of my least favorite things to do was crush other people's hope, and unfortunately, that's what I did to Meredith. Unintentionally, of course.

From her stature, it was obvious that she was completely drained from today's events. I was, too. I smiled at her slightly. "Let's call it a day,"

Meredith was about to protest, but I gave her a look with finality. She sighed and gave one more glance to the library before following me outside. On the way to my chambers, I can't stop thinking about Julian. Has he come back yet? or was he still upset?

As if Meredith knew what I was thinking she stopped in front of me. Her body was blocking me from the door of the private chambers.

"Aurora, just tell me the word, and I will kick my brother's arse if he hurts you," she told me, a serious glint in her eye. I laughed lightly.

"You don't need to do that Meredith," I assured her. I knew that Julian will never hurt me intentionally, and I also knew that if he ever tried, Meredith would come to my rescue in a matter of seconds.

She stepped out of the way, letting me inside. I froze in my tracks, and Meredith too. I put a hand to my mouth, attempting to stop the scream that was threatening to erupt. I took in what was in front of me with complete, utter horror.

Oh my god. Blood was everywhere, and for a moment, I was worried that it was Julian's. But thankfully, it was not. The blood-stained the bedsheets, the curtains, heck, even the floor was splattered with blood. A head was placed on top of something.

Bile threatened to go out of my mouth, but I stopped it with all of my will. Meredith ran to the head, freezing before looking at me with wide eyes.

"Aurora...T-The book. It's... It's here," she stuttered. It was obvious that she was spooked out, and I was too. But then and there, I remembered the voice that came to my ears this morning.

Every answer has its consequence. I rushed to Meredith's side. The severed head was placed on top of the book that was covered with a dozen of small, live snakes. These were no vines. Meredith acted fast, swatting the head off the book. She held out her hands and closed her eyes. Slowly, the snake turned into flowers.

By the time she was done, she quickly took it and threw it towards me. My quick reflexes caught it, my hands grasping the large material.

"By the count of three, we scream as loudly as we can," she told me with a hushed voice.

"3...2...1... AAAHHHHH!"

I screamed as loudly as I can. My throat felt like it was gonna burst at any moment now. The doors were kicked open by the guards who took in the scene with horror. 2 guards guided us out and to the infirmary.

They were relieved that nothing happened to us. They knew that if something did, their heads would be separated from their body.

My heart was still pounding in my ears do to what I saw earlier. It was unforgettable. The way the man's head was placed on top of the book I am currently holding. My hands twitched, and I was tempted to throw this away.

A life was taken just because of this single thing. But then I knew, that this....This was far from over. We are not even there yet. I looked at Meredith to see her looking back at me. She nodded as if informing me that she knew what was on my mind.

"Leave," I told the guards and the healer. This time, they obliged my order and left with a worried look. It was time to face this. It was time to know the answers that this book held.

Meredith came to my side and gently took the book from me. She tried gripping it open, but to no avail, it just wouldn't even budge. There was this invisible bind that kept the book together. I placed my hands on the lower side and helped Meredith open it, but no matter how hard we tried, it just stayed closed.

"Blood,"

A dull whisper sounded on my ear. It had the same voice from when a whisper told us about the consequences of finding the answers. "What?"

Meredith frowned at me. "I didn't say any-"

"Shh," I cut her off. I closed my eyes and focused on the voice. It sounded again.

"Blood,"

It all made sense to me. The key to opening this stubborn book was blood. But whose? Meredith kept her gaze on me, waiting for my answer. I didn't give any. I just hastily bit my palm, hard enough to draw blood.

"Aurora! W-What are you doing?!" Meredith looked at me as if I've totally lost it. She attempted to stop me, but it was too late. I gripped my palm and let the blood drop to the book. The flowers loosened letting go entirely.

I grinned like a Cheshire cat. Meredith was shocked about it, but she snapped out of it and gave the book to me. "You should open it,"

I took the book from her hands and slowly opened it. A yellow glow started to appear. Suddenly, the book suddenly opened on its own accord, and I felt my self being sucked to it. I screamed in pure terror, no understanding of what was happening.

The feeling of sucking my whole body stopped, and I looked everywhere to see that I was in a different place, with no signs of Meredith or the book. A woman screaming came from my right, and I swiftly turned around.

There was a woman with white hair that was lain on the bed. She was screaming in agony, and there were elderly women surrounding her.

"What's happening?" I asked a woman. She was oblivious from my question and when I raised my hand to poke her, it just went right through her body. I tried again, and It... My hands just went through. It was as if I was a ghost.

There was this familiar man who was gripping the woman's hands, rubbing his thumb over her fisted palms. He was really familiar. And at that moment, it hit me.

"F-Father?" I can't believe it. My father is the one holding the woman's hand. Only that he looked younger, his face free of any wrinkles. The woman looked like she was giving birth. But to whom? She had wavy white hair with black streaks and her eyes were... Purple.. Wait what?

I rubbed my eyes to make sure that my mind was not playing tricks on me. It was not. The woman really had purple eyes.

"Freya..." I heard my father say her name. Freya? Her name was Freya? This cannot be a coincidence. No. Father kissed the woman's forehead. She kept screaming in agony, and after a while, it stopped. The sound of a baby crying erupted. When I saw the child, my eyes went out of its sockets. NO...This can't be. That child was me. Oh my god.

"Aurora," The woman said weakly. Father nodded and took my baby self in his arms, his eyes full of joy. He was beaming.

Father looked at the woman. "You did it Freya... You did it my love,"

His smile faltered when she saw the woman's eyes closed and her breathing stop. His wide eyes looked at her before he sank on the floor. The elder women quickly took my baby self in their arms. A tear slipped on my father's eyes. It hurt to see him like that. "Freya..."

The familiar feeling came again. The feeling of your body being sucked to another dimension. I screamed. "NO!!!"

I was not ready to go back yet. I need more information. I need to know what happened. The feeling stopped and I felt my breath being knocked out of my body.

"Aurora!" Meredith's voice sounded in my ears. I couldn't stop my self from crying as I rocked my self back and forth.

"What happened? What did you see?" Meredith pried gently, wrapping me around her arms. She attempted to comfort me, but it was failing. The only thing that could calm me down is Julian.

I sobbed on her shoulders. "S-She is my M-Mother,"

"Who?" she asked confused.

"Freya." I looked at her with swollen eyes. "Freya is my mother,"

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