She couldn't remember how she got here. The last thing she remembered was a big flash of light, bright and blinding. And now here I was, fancifully dressed, occasionally smiling and waving, just as I was told. They told me I was the wife of the wealthiest man in the city. We had a big portrait of our wedding in the great room, the first thing you see when you walk into our mansion. This all felt strange, like this was not the life I lived before. My "husband" fetched me from the hospital and took me home after I was discharged. No one wanted to tell me what was wrong with me or why was I in the hospital. The only thing they told me was that I lost my memory and that I shouldn't worry about it. That I will be fine and I will remember. It bothered me so much that I couldn’t remember anything, not even when I was a child. Who were my parents? Did I have any siblings? Even my name Amanda felt really strange. It was painful seeing how old I was, but yet knew nothing. I was being taught everything like a baby, but my mind knew I was old. I was grateful that I didn’t lose my ability to lean and understand. Although my speech was affected, at least my understanding of things was not.
"Sorry, excuse me, Mrs. King; the mayor would like to bid you farewell."
My assistant said looking at me with so much adoration. Like I was the best thing to happen in her life. Well, those were her exact words. I nodded and went to this tall, slim man who was introduced as Cllr. Coleman, the mayor of City Deep. It seemed the man really took a liking in me. It seemed everyone did; I couldn't help but think it was because of the King family money. Everyone wanted to be acquainted." Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Cllr." I was talk how to speak in a polite manner. It's been difficult; saying big words was an achievement on my part. My speech was affected. "Thank you for hosting us, Mrs. King. We are honoured. I wanted to personally thank you for the wonderful work you've done for the small communities. I understand the difficulties you are currently facing, but the people would love to see you every once in a while."
I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just smiled and nodded. They’ve shown me more photos of me in different settings, but still nothing came back to me. Guests were leaving bit by bit after the mayor, and we had to see all of them off. By the time we went to bed, I was exhausted. King, my husband was touchy and needy, but I had no energy for him. He knew I didn’t pretend, and I told him how unfair it was for him to expect me to act according to what he wanted, knowing my state of mind. He felt it was unfair to him that he was denied what he always got. Well, tough luck. After being in high heels and smiling all evening, I really couldn’t entertain him. It was exhausting. I didn’t even know why he hosted so many parties. King King was really living up to his name and wealth. His parents must have run out of names to use his surname as the name too. Apparently, he had 8 siblings, all older than him and all deceased. I wonder what happened to them; I’ve asked but have been denied answers.
I was sitting down; the tap pouring water over me. “Arora, turn it off. How many times must I tell you? You know you’ll be getting sick in the evening.” That was my mother; she was right. I was be going to get a cold from this. I knew it, but I still played with water. I knew that she was going to nurse me. I turned the tap off and ran when I saw her coming towards me with a big wooden spoon, she was stirring her pot with. She wouldn’t hit me, but this was us; always doing this. “I’m not your grandma, Rory; gosh, you are exhausting.” She said with a smile, we looked at each other and both smiled. An idea just hit us. Going to grandma. Dad would find us gone; he will eat alone and sleep. He didn’t mind; he was used to this. We packed our overnight bags; not that we needed them; Grandma had everything. Mom dished for dad and left him a note. Grandma knew we were coming; she always does. She was waiting for us by the gate. She helped mom with the bags, and we went around the back. This was routine; we never entered her house before this ritual. She didn’t want us bringing in any spirits. She drew a circle, and we put the bags in and stood around it holding hands. She chanted something I haven’t learned yet. They said when I’m older I will know; every witch does.
King’s alarm sounded and jolted me awake. I was in bed with King. He turned it off and turned to me, smiling. He knew I hated it; maybe he enjoyed torturing me. He saw my frown and mumbled a good morning as he went to the bathroom. I pulled the sheets over my head. That dream, that was me, but that woman called me Arora. She must be my mother and, grandma. They looked so much alike. I was like eight years or so. Was I remembering, or was this just a dream of a woman who so much wanted to remember her past? But there was an error somewhere; I am Amanda, not Arora. I must be making things up. My subconsciousness was recreating my wishes. The doctor told me this would happen. I just didn’t think it would feel so real.
I bathed and looked pretty, that summed up my life. King’s wife was not supposed to do anything. I guess all the energy must be reserved for hosting parties and banquets. I wanted more, I needed more. I couldn’t explain the feeling of yearning. My life could not just be this. Being King’s wife. I had no idea what I could do to keep myself occupied while King worked. I made a note to ask King about the charities I apparently ran. I needed to get back to that at least. When King returned, I was just a potato on the couch, the television watching me instead. He looked concerned and suggested we take a look at my old photo collection, with a hope that it would jog up some of my memories. That was a great idea, which I greatly appreciated. I wished I could look at them anytime I wanted to but no, only the doctor could authorise such. They did not want me to be overwhelmed unmonitored. They said I could harm myself or others, if that happened.
I asked King to be in a different room though. I wanted no narration of where and why the photo was taken. I wanted to remember all the details myself. He didn’t argue, he told me he would check on me in a while. I went through the photos, one by one and nothing came to me. Then a strange thing happened, my hand went through the photo like it was a veil of fog. The photo was slowly fading right in front of my eyes and in its stead, there was nothing, not even the table it was on top. There was a hole there. Shocked, I put my hand in and I felt cold water kiss my fingertips. I heard panicked voices. I couldn’t hear much except “Close quickly! How did she do that” I pulled my hand fast but the next thing, the hole was gone and the photo was back on top of the table. What just happened? King walked in, seeing my ashen look, he embraced me, asking me what happened. I could not put it in words because I also did not know what happened.
King took me to bed after that and made sure I took my medication. He sat with me and told me how everything was going to be alright. That even if I didn’t remember, he would still love me. His voice was soothing, like a lullaby and the medication was making me drowsy. I felt his cold hand caressing my head, moving a strand of hair off my face. Then I felt cold water splashing on my face. I gasped and opened my eyes. I was in the water. When I looked around, I saw nothing but water, endlessly. Ocean? But how, I was just in bed with King now. And where was King? I felt hands, pushing my head down the water. Was I being drowned? Then I heard that voice again, “How is she doing this? This shouldn’t be happening. It’s too early. If it can’t hold her for longer than a month, how are supposed to keep her here forever?” I was drowning, then I gasped again, felt air fill my lungs. Opened my eyes and King was holding me. I was visibly shaking and I felt ice cold. “It’s ok, you are ok. it was just a dream sweetheart” he kept chanting. But no, that was no dream. I felt that water, and that voice? I fell into a dreamless sleep after that.
A few weeks later, the doctor cleared me. I was told I could go back to work, that I could go back to living like a normal person. I started by learning about my charity work and went back to working with them. This was the footing I needed. This was the start I desperately needed, it kept my mind off wondering too much and worrying about whether my nightmares were real. The love I’ve received from the communities I help was wonderful. It had been refreshing and I finally felt like I belonged here. Yes, I still didn’t remember my old life and I had finally accepted that maybe my memory loss could be permanent.
I had made a new life for myself and it was good. I warmed up to my husband and we became close. I still had nightmares, but the doctor said those were normal. After all I nearly drowned. When King thought I was ready to know the truth he finally told me what had put me in the hospital. I was driving, something distracted me and I veered off the rood. My car rolled and deep it went into the dam, along the N1 South. Luckily, I did not suffer any physical damage. But I was in the water for quite a while, which resulted in my brain being without oxygen, hence the brain damage and memory loss. It finally made sense why I dreamt of drowning so much. In a way, my nightmares gave me comfort that my memories might return one day.
It’s been over two years already. King and I had been talking about having a baby. Apparently, we’ve been married for 5 years now. Our anniversary was coming up and we were planning a big celebration, like we’ve done the past two years. I wanted a baby girl and King wanted a son, an heir to the King Empire. He was very excited that he was already talking about working on a nursey. I was not even pregnant yet. I smiled, just thinking about how far we’ve come. King was rich, extremely rich and you could tell. But he didn’t behave like you would expect. He was very humble and generous. He was the financial backing for all my charities. I knew my child and I would always be taken care of. I fell in love with him. He was so sweet and considerate. He has held my hand through all the terrible times over that last two years and I truly appreciated him.
I still longed for my memories, especial when they were talking and referring to “that one time you did or said that”. Our anniversary was finally here and the event promised to be spectacular. On this day in particular, I was reminded that I didn’t remember the day I said “I DO” to my wonderful husband. The scar of memory loss was still brightly visible. We’ve made great new memories and I think having a baby would completely heal me. I will have him or her as my entire focus. The memories I will make now would be greater than the ones I’ve lost. I was going to make sure of it.
Our theme was simple, it was “Just love”. Everyone was encouraged to express themselves and how they see love. People came in all colours and splendour. It was truly a beautiful sight. We were renewing our vows. This was exciting especially for me who did not remember her vows before, was about to make new ones. We set up in the garden. The weather was on our side, just beautiful. Everything was going well until I went to check on the caterers, there was no one there. Where did they go? Oh my gosh, it was not just them gone, everything was. There was nothing there, just empty space. It didn’t make sense. Then a big wave hit me and threw me on the floor. Suddenly I was drowning, I tried screaming but water just made it hard. I tried swimming and found that I could. I swam for shore and when I reached, two women pulled out. After catching my breath, I looked up to say thank you. I was met with two pair of identical eyes which I knew very well.
“Arora, we’ve been trying to reach you with no success. You need to fight this. There is nothing much we can do from our side. You need to break the spell and come back to us” I stared in confusion as the older woman spoke. “The spell they bound you with is that of water. You must remember your training. Counter the spell and break free” I had no idea what she was talking about. I could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke. “We don’t have much time, if they could figure out that we made contact, they will be able to trace us. You will know how to find us.” I wanted to ask who they are but I knew, deep down I knew. My mother spoke, “Your name is Arora, my dawn. No matter what they tell you, do not forget your name and do not allow yourself to be pregnant, you’ll never be able to live. Me and your grandma are waiting for you. That baby won’t be real”.
Then I was back in my kitchen and the catering crew went about their business as I walked out. The name Arora kept ring in my head. It sounded familiar. It sounded like home. I went out and continued with the festivities, although my excited had long dies, I did not show it. The vows I had written and memorised suddenly vanished and I had to read them from a paper. My husband thought it was just nerves. The event was not as joyous for me as I had intended it to be. I kept seeing flashes of the two women on the shore. I started seeing them I different settings too. In the kitchen cooking and laughing. In the garden or in a footpath walking in the forest. I could no longer see or hear anything around me. I saw them again in a clearing in the forest, holding holds with me, performing some ritual I couldn’t make out. I could no longer be n front of people. I told King I was feeling ill, since it was late in the late, he had no problem with me biding goodbye to the guests and retire to our room. He was to stay out until the last guests left.
Their words kept ringing “You must remember your training”, “Your name is Arora, my dawn”. What training were they talking about? She said I must counter the spell and break free. According to these women I was beneath a spell, this was not my real life. I remembered feeling strange that time I came from the hospital. I remember the dreams of drowning I always have. Could this be true? Everything was just attacking me at the same time. Things I’ve seen in my dreams and things I’ve never seen. Were these my memories? Were they coming back? I felt tears itching. If these were indeed my memories, they were nothing what I’ve been told. I was tod my parents died when I was 18 and I was alone till I met King, we dated for a while then got married. That I’ve been with King most of my adult life. But here now these vivid experiences of a mom, a dad and a grandmother. If I was trapped with a spell, why? What did I do to deserve such? Was I a bad person people felt I needed to be prisoned?
“We are witches, very powerful witches Arora. But being a witch comes with great responsibility. The powers we poses are magnificent. You will learn your own as you grow and train. We use it for protection, growth and prosperity. You should never use your powers to harm others or they’ll turn dark” I was sitting in a high chair and grandma was cooking as she told me this. “Aren’t witches’ bad people? I heard witches are burnt; I don’t want to be burnt”. A 11-year-old me asked. “There are bad witches, dark witches who hurt people to take things by force or just for sport. Then there are good witches who fight for those who can’t fight for themselves and protect them, we are those witches. Dark magic is associated with witches, hence the stereotype that all witches are bad”. I was getting intrigued. I told grandma that I wanted to start training right away.
By the time King came into our bedroom, I had remembered everything. I could see cracks in everything, including him. He wasn’t real. He could have been a silhouette of a real man but I wouldn’t know. I never met him. I thought of confronting him but I thought maybe he doesn’t know anything either and my biggest fear was, my captors would be alert that I now know everything. The spell I was under is deep, dark and one of the strongest. I wonder who was powerful enough to conjure it. As far as I knew, no witch was strong enough to hold such a water spell for this long. My eyes were glazed, I wasn’t here mentally. I was hoping between memories of my life. King thought I was really ill but I could see the confusion on his face. Now it makes sense. I should not be feeling anything other than what was scripted for me. He didn’t understand how could I be sick in this fantasy. And yet, he could not ask. So, I did my best to seem present, unsuspicious but just physically ill.
The days that followed revealed how much a lie this life I’ve been living is. I was not sure if it was really two years, or it’s been more. Time under a spell was very different because it was controlled. I have felt the two years I’ve lived with King; I wonder how long I’ve been under this spell. I was able to see through the façade put up for my imprisonment here. I knew I was in water but I thought let me learn to manipulate the area I am in before attempting the water. I was able to freeze King and the others and basically everything around me. I practised my spells whenever I was alone. I made sure to block all view from the real world. To them everything was as it should be. I needed to know about y captors and the place I was kept in. I recalled a spell for staying under water without drowning. I casted that spell so I can leave the simulation and be present in the real world without moving. I didn’t want them to be privy to my presence, not until I was ready to get out of this.
“Anton why are you here? You know the witches have been feeling strained lately. You should be with her before she questions where you are all the time and start wondering much” a voice I didn’t know said. Then the voice I’ve been listening to for the past two years came on. King! “Relax Johnas, I’m at work as usual. The strain is probably because she’s been sick lately. That girl is not going anywhere, she has fallen in love with me, she is not thinking of anything else. I am tired though someone else must take over. I can’t babysit her forever”.
Johnas: “We can’t take that risk. You know how powerful this girl is. You know no one besides you can handle this task. And what it changing you creates a lop hole, we cannot take that risk”
Anton: “The spell is tight and besides we have reinforcements all around this cave, even if she came about, she wouldn’t be able to leave.”
Johnas: “You have time for nonsense, well this is your job until dad says otherwise. We can’t have this girl disrupts the plans dad has for this place. If she escapes, we are finished.”
Anton: “You like panicking too much. You all are hell bent in believing she is THE GREATES, but what if she isn’t? “
Johnas: “and you like taking risks too much. She is THE GREATEST. That white light we found her in proves it.”
Anton: “It doesn’t prove shite; we shouldn’t have been able to capture her if she was. Any way I’m going back. I need to make a baby and seal this forever”
Anton? His name is Anton? And he was talking to Johnas. Who are these people? And what plans do their father have? It sounded sinister. My protector instincts kicked in. I didn’t know I still had them. Everything has been lying dormant for so long. King walked in and found me looking extra pretty today. I had no plans except to make it ease up, pretending to be sick was getting suspicious. He looked surprised; this is how he usually found me prior to my illness. I could tell he was relieved. “I’m glad to see you up and looking this gorgeous”. “You know I was thinking, what are the odds that we are trying for a baby, all of a sudden I’m getting sick” I said this with a suggestive smile. He wanted us to test, but I convinced him that I knew my body and I was indeed pregnant. This was my way of sealing the cracks I opened on my side. I was not letting him get me pregnant for real and trap me here forever.
While working on my escape plan, I made sure to make him the happiest husband alive. I was back to my old self. The one I was before our anniversary, before I woke up to my reality. I kept following him to “work” to learn more about their plans and the cave I was in. I needed to make contact with my grandmother. I’ve been practising water spells but something was lacking with the counter spell. I could lie still in the water and listen in but I was not sure if I could get out. I needed some tips from the old lady. I have been able to go to the dreamland and just watch things from the outside world but I have not been able to interact. I now knew that King slash Anton has been clocking out at night. He waited until I fell asleep then he left. His apparition would lie next to me lifeless until he came back in the morning to resume his duties as my husband. As soon as he left, I started casting my dream spell. I landed in my grandma’s bedroom where she slept. I saw her yellow throw that she never slept without. It was a spell, only a witch could tell. I sat then to her and shook her shoulder gently, waking her up. She smiled surprised; I could see relief in her sleepy eyes. “Hey grandma, we have little time. I need your help with my counter spell.” She said, “I am so happy to see you. You really are THE GREATEST, our family treasure. It pleases me deeply to see you remember who you are and what you are capable of.”. “I remember grandma, but how long have I been beneath?” I couldn’t help but ask. She told me I will have enough time to ask the questions once I was back. I wanted to know about THE GREATEST, but there was no time. She helped me with the counter spell and promised to be waiting for me with the gateway car on the day.
The dream spell took a massive toll on me. I was exhausted. Nothing could hold. King was agitated. He was not supposed to go to work today but he made an excuse about an emergency at the office. I made no fuss but made sure to follow him. They were panicking and there was an old man shouting and cursing about how they were careless. I guess that was their father. Johnas and her brother Anton seemed to be the ones catching bullets more because they were in charge of “Mission imprison THE GREAT”. What I could gather from all the shouting and cursing was that the dream spell I cast caused so much damage around here and the witches who were holding the spell are all ill. They had to get replacements to be able to keep me beneath. My dream spell exposed me. They knew what I did. I needed to escape right away because after this they would make sure the security was mad tight.
Anton was to come back and mange the situation from within, then he would later come back to give an update. I was weak from the dream spell but I had practised enough to know I can the tame them. I hade to evade as many I can and fight little to escape. I was not going back there. I could not afford King to find me here and trap me from inside. They know I tried something but they are not completely sure. They believe I was kind of protecting and trying to find a way out and that I how I hurt those witches. Surely, they are not expecting me to escape now. This presents an advantage for me, but grandma won’t be the with a car. I will have to find another way of getting of the mountain. I could feel their reinforced spell pulling me in but I fought to keep myself present. The fake King won’t find his queen in the castle anymore.
When I felt the room clearing, I countered the spell that allowed me to float up in the water. When my head left the water, I opened my eyes to scan the environment. The was no one but I was in tanklike structure filled to the brim with water. I didn’t have to break; the top wasn’t sealed. The floor was far down but I could reach. I floated and landed next to a table which had papers. Glancing at them, I did not see anything worth my attention. In a tub like container I saw King, I mean Anton. He looked rather pale and frail lying there in the water. He looked nothing like my big muscle dark husband King. Either way I could tell it was him. The facial features were the same, but his were of a young boy, not a man. I wondered how old he was and what it took for him to play such a big role. Responsibility, I guess. I stared at this sickly-Iooking boy longer than I should. I couldn’t help but pity him.
I looked around for something to wear and found what I remembered as my clothes in one of the drawers. Putting them on, everything came back. How I was captured and tied and transported here. I had no idea where this place was because I was unconscious due to the holding spell, they casted on me. They knew I would fight them and possibly defeat them if I was conscious. I got flashbacks of the lightning that struck when they countered the spell I was practising. I was temporally blinded, enabling them a chance to tie me. I was moving cautiously, looking for an exit and trying to not alert anyone. I knew King I mean Anton would soon realise I wasn’t there and come back to warn them. I needed to get out now before that happened.
The place was surprisingly empty. I thought it would be heavily guarded. This was suspicious, but I could not let my suspicions slow me down. I found my way out and boom, everyone was waiting for me. I should have known. My instincts were down, couldn’t blame them. I mean I was under a heavy, life altering spell. Five real years in there, the body begins to shut down. You get sick in simulation and die, then you die for real. Without ever knowing or remembering the real you. I don’t know how long I’ve been here but my wrinkled and pale skin told me a lot. They thought they could take me down. They underestimated my power because of the water. They forgot one thing; the sun was still up and gosh it felt marvellous. I felt my blood melt and my skin thaw, after this I need a day in the beach.
I knew I could not defeat them on my own, so my best option was to use the sun and run. The spell I used was I was hoping to use to escaped, didn’t work out, seems they already anticipated that one. I had to bide my time and ensure I stay in the sun to recover. I had to stall so I decided to engage Lawrence, the leader of the Vermilion cult and father to Johnas and Anton. I know Lawrence, everyone does. He is the cruellest person you can find on earth. His cult has grown and survived all these years, not because he was a nice man. I walked towards him slowly with my hands up to show I meant no harm. “Lawrence, I wish I could say it’s nice to finally meet you in person but after my involuntary water stay I cannot. Your son though was a great companion, well trained I see.” He was looking at me suspiciously. “How did you pull yourself up? No one in the history of witchcraft has ever rose above?” I smiled a little, “But you of all witches know I’m not just any one.” I saw his eyes shift from dark to a lighter grey. He was engaging and loosening his defences a bit. “Even THE GREATEST witches ever lived, all perished this way, none ever survived the water.” His eyes returning dark again as if realisation was dawning on him.
I felt the sun, I did not look up because I didn’t want them catching on. It seems for all they knew about THE GREATEST, they didn’t know that the sun was everything to our power. “I have not posed any danger to anyone, yet I’ve been prisoned. Here you are, having have harmed countless witches and humans but walking free. Isn’t that something?” I was trying to reach out to my grandma in my head but we didn’t connect, something was off. I tried my mother, and the same thing happened. It was like a ball bouncing off a wall, not going through. Was it their protection spell or were they tied? I saw Lawrence smiling as if he was reading me. “Arora, or should I say Amanda. I mean you are going back to being Amanda anyway so I might as well. You know how powerful a name is. It took me all your childhood to find a fitting name, a spell on its own.” I felt something grab at my right ankle. He was using the name spell. Ugh Lawrence never learns. He just gave me a sword.
His name on its own was a sword against him. He was supposed to be one for light but here he was swimming in darkness. A darkness he inherited by force when his father wanted something different for him when he learned that dark magic eats you from inside. I was getting there, so I called his name with the intention it was given upon. “LAWRENCE” then I started chanting his name and the brightness from that spell surrounded them. They looked at him for instructions but he was incapable of thinking as light swam in his senses, incapacitating him. I was not fully ready but the sun was going down, I had to take what I got. I floated in the air and called upon all the names of light and positivity. These turned against their owners and paralyzed them. I didn’t expect them to be this weak, but then I am THE GREATEST. I then fought off a few that were not affected by the name spell. After all were down, I tied them and ran down a mountain side. When I reached the road, my gran and mother were there waiting for. I got in at the back and my dad took off driving. The two women at the back sandwiched me and we wept. We kept looking back to see if anyone was following us but there was no one. I was so happy to finally be with my family. Getting home, grandma reinforced the house protector spell as usual. I freshened up and joined the family for dinner. The taste of grandma’s cooking brought tears to my eyes. I knew I was home and I could finally relax. We spoke of how we should ready ourselves for an attack from the Vermilion, but we knew we could handle it. There was no catching me off guard this time around. I was alert, unlike last time we didn’t know the threat was near.
Two weeks later, while I was training outside by myself, I saw a flash of light by a tree nearby. I went closer to check it out. I saw little a hole open up, I moved back expecting something or someone to stretch it and come out. Nothing! It crackled and sparkled, then opened up and I was hit by a wave of water. I was drowning. Why did this feel familiar. I struggled for air and the next minute I was pulled out. My dad was there helping me up. He looked concerned, “Hey sweetie, you fainted, are you feeling alright?” he asked helping me up and we walked back into the house. I sat down while he was getting me water, then I saw it, just like before. A cack in the construct and I knew. I was still beneath. They intercepted my plans and made me believe I had escaped so that I can stay in this construct with the people I know and I love. So, I could be content, living with my family. Training for a threat from the Vermilion that would never come. They knew King couldn’t hold any longer they come up with a better plan.
I never escaped; it was all scripted. Now it makes sense why escaping was so easy. It makes sense why my parents were waiting for me with a gateway car that day even though they shouldn’t have known I was coming. It makes sense why my dad was here this whole time. Dad was never there. Mom and I hardly saw him although we lived together. He worked crazy hours and most of the time he came home when we were already at grandmas. Mom would cook and prepare his clothes for him and we left. And now he was here and not even going to or talking about work. It has been said, the water spell was the only way to defeat THE GREATEST. I thought I was the first to escape it, to make history, but no. I was still trapped. How did I get here? My only comfort was my awareness of the situation. I will not give. I don’t know how long its been in the real world but I will leave this prison alive. This time I will make sure no one suspects a thing. I will not die beneath the spell.
THE END.
THE GREATEST.
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