The Lonely Stable Boy....

This story is told from both of Emilia's parents. When they first fell for each other.
Alexandra's POV
Dear Diary,
Life in Malvania is rather complicated. Mother constantly insists on me finding a suitor. But, I don't think I can go through with it. I want to marry for love, not just any love, true love. I don't want to marry for riches or for the approval of my family. No, I want to find love, and perhaps someday, go on an adventure.
Father agrees with mother always. I thinks it's because he's afraid of her. One never knows. I do hope someday, that I can sway him, to not marry me away.
That reminds me, today one of my closest friends, Matilda got betrothed. She didn't seem to pleased, but she can't go against her father's wishes, it is law. I just don't see how much longer I can follow law, it's too constricting for my liking. Anyway, she tells me that I am to be a bridesmaid at her wedding ceremony. How fantastic is that? And I just know she'll ask Jo to be one to. Jo (Josephina) is my other closest friend, we have been the best of friends since what seemed like forever. Mother doesn't approve of her, but then again she never likes anything. To take my mind off it, she wants me to go riding. Like riding will clear my head. My mind wants what my mother can not provide for me, imagination. And just letting me be me.
Well, diary hopefully we will meet again soon. Until next time. Au Revior! (Goodbye.)
Alex.

I left the black leather journal under a board in the floor. You can never be to careful. I ran out the door. Stomping down the stairs.
"Alexandra! Stop running this instant." Mother said, furiously.
I stopped right in front of the door.
"And look at you. Your hair is a mess. The only thing your actually doing right is your clothing."
"Mother, please stop nagging. I'm only going to be seen by Richard and the other stable boys. Besides, only blondes worry about their hair so much. And I'm a brunette. Nothing to worry about." I say. Edging closer to the door.
Mother gasps at my blonde comment. I would assume as much, because she is in fact a blonde. Her hair falls down to her waist in honey colored ringlets. She always wears her hair in an ancient Greek style braid. It seems a little odd to me, but that's coming from someone who is currently wearing a dismantled braid. Mother's eyes are always cool and glassy. I can't tell what she is feeling ever. It's like she's purposely locking me out.
"Well, see you later." I say as I open the door.
"Oh and Alexandra, be sure to come straight home after your done. Your father and I have some thing to discuss with you." Mother calls after me.
"Sure," I yell over my shoulder. And I run of to the stables. When I reach the stables, Richard is waiting for me.
"Your Highness," he says, after a slight bow.
"There is no need to be formal Richard, call me Alex." I say. He smiles.
"Well, Alex. I believe that Rose is waiting for you. And what's that other name, Matti and Sislencé are waiting for you." He says.
"What?" I exclaim.
"They are by Zaem Forest."
"Thank you." I say, hugging him.
"Your welcome." He says, pulling away.
"See you later," I say.
"Yea. See you."
I rush out to Zaem Forest,

Sealed and Broken....

Emilia's POV

Tears were all over my face. I screamed. Elias' arms were holding me a second later. He rocked me back and forth.
"Hush now. It's okay. Your safe now." He crooned. I sobbed quietly into his chest. Clutching him tight.
"Terrifying..... They hated me." I said between breaths.
"Sshh. Don't talk right now, just sleep." he said soothingly. The rocking was so comforting, that I forgot all about my dream before. I soon found myself sleeping in his warm embrace.

I awoke for the first time at 2 a.m. I heard shuffling downstairs. I looked around for Elias, he wasn't here. I got up and went to look for him. I peered through the door to see if anyone was there. No living being could be seen. Carrie must still be asleep. After that, I crept quietly and swiftly down the stairs. The light in the kitchen was on. Elias just probably wanted a snack. But that did not seem to be the case as I edged closer. Elias was indeed there but not alone. Nate was there with him. They were arguing.
"How could you let her back into our house?" Nate was whispering.
"Nate, you now as well as I that you don't deny family from your home." Elias said.
"She is not family. She is the farthest thing from it. She abandoned us, Elias."
I became aware that they were arguing about me.
"She didn't abandon us. She went and lived her life, is that so bad? And besides you at least in one part of your life called her your family."
"Shut up!" Nate shouted.
"Shh. You'll wake up Emilia and Carrie."
"Why do you care about her so much anyway? Do you love her?" Nate snarled.
"She is my family, same as you and Carrie. Now be quiet and go to your room." Elias whispered very crossly.
"You do, don't you."
"That's enough Nathaniel. Go to your room."
"If father was here he would never do this."
"If you remember, the one we used to call father beat us half to death."
Nate stormed of. He almost ran into me as he went to his room. I pressed my back against the wall as far as I could. Nate turned for a second as if he knew someone was there. Then shrugged it of and began his storm once more. I let out a sigh, but I hadn't realized that Elias was still there.
"Emilia?" He had gotten a glimpse of me.
I came out of the shadows.
"Did you hear everything?"
I nodded. There was no point in lying to Elias.
"He didn't mean it you know. He's just angry."
"I know," I said.
"Are you feeling any better? You had a pretty nasty nightmare."
"Yea." I said yawning.
"Geez, what time is it?" He said staring at the oven's digital clock.
2:37.
"We better get you to bed." He said as he scooped me up and walked up the stairs.
He laid me in his bed once more.
"What about you?" I whispered.
"Don't worry about me. I'm going to stop any more nightmares from hurting you." He said smiling.
"How do you plan on doing that?" I say sleeply.
"With my bare hands of course."
I let out a small laugh as sleep cocoons me once again,

The second time I woke up, I think it was around 10 a.m. Carrie jumped on me.
"Up! Up! Time to get up!" She shouted.
I got up.
"Carrie, stop it. She's trying to sleep. She had a rough night." Elias shouts from the doorway.
I sit up and rub my eyes.
"Sorry if I woke you up. You can go back to sleep if you want." Carrie said sadly.
"Don't ever apologize for that Carrie. And why would I ever want to go back to sleep when there's fun to be had?" I asked.
She giggles.
"Breakfast is ready." She says.
"Good, because I'm starving. We need to get to get dressed, though."
She nods.
I stand up with Carrie's hand in mine. I wave my hand around us. And magical little pink orbs float around us. Carrie is fascinated. A minute later, we are dressed. Me in a pink dressy shirt, dark blue jeans, and tan knee length boots. Carrie in the exact same thing.
"Let's go then, shall we?"
We walk down the stairs.
The table holds only one plate.
"I already ate." Carrie says.
"Well then, why don't you go get a book and well go read outside." I say.
She runs of. I sit down and begin to eat. I get through about one piece of my pancake before Nate enters the room.
"Well if it isn't the little witch." He says.
I ignore him. I will not let him get the best of me.
"What are you really doing here? You're not here for a "family" visit, I know that. What are you hiding?" He says.
"Nothing. I'm hiding nothing." I say.
"Your lying, Emilia. I've known you since we were 5. I know when you lie. So tell me what are you hiding?"
I stay silent, it's not any of his business.
"You ran away, didn't you? You hiding from your perfect world of magic."
Again, I stay silent.
"Coward. But don't worry I'll keep your little secret for now." He says, as he walks of.
I wait until he's gone before I breath again. He can't possibly know what my secret is. He did know when you were lying. That's different. My mind began to wonder if Nate did know my secret. He said his lips were sealed for now. But if anyone knew Nate at this time in life, he would break his word. Sealed and Broken.

Trapped...

Emilia's POV

I continued to see faces. Grotesque faces. They scared me. They spoke and wept of guilt. And each time I saw a face, I began to feel more and more guilty. I saw my parents' faces. My mother's face was stern and stricken at the same time. My father looked upon me with hatred.
"Mother, Father, it's me Emilia." I said.
"Who's Emilia? Do we know you?" My mother looked at me confused.
"I'm Emilia. Your daughter." I said.
They still seemed confused on who I was. The worse possible thing imaginable was that your own parents don't remember you.
"Oh yes. That piece of scum that I gave birth to. I remember a little to well." My mother's eyes were as cold as Alaska.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I failed you." I say.
"You should be. I expected more out of you. Everyday, you continue to waste your potential more and more." My father said.
I words stung my skin and my heart. Disapproval from those you love more than anything, hurts more than any other. Suddenly, they began shouting at me.
"...pathetic little girl."
"I hate you, you never helped me at all."
"Nobody wants you."
"Who could ever love you?"
"Stop it!" I shouted. I began to crumple as they shouted.
When I looked up again, they were gone. Instead standing in front of me was Sonya.
"You left me Emilia. I hate you!"
My mind was filled with images of all the people I loved. They hated me. Coward, they called me. Demon sent from the deepest parts of damnation. It pierced my skin. Until then, I saw Elias.
"You abandoned us. For what? Your stupid school for freaks?" He said.
"No. Never,I would never leave you guys. It was an opportunity I couldn't afford to turn down. I was going to be free." I said.
"Free? Free of who? Us? You abandoned us and your just making up reasons to justify it."
"That's not true. I care about you guys."
"Then were do your loyalties lie? With those you share blood. Your pathetic sister, Sonya? Or those who understand you? Your kinswomen. You can't have both. You'all have to chose."
However, the voice didn't belong to Elias but Azarius.
Then, he appeared. He looked more malicious than ever.
"Chose. Chose or someone will pay the price for your stupidity. I will contact you again Emilia, and when I do you will have a choice to make. Chose wisely." He said as he disappeared into a faint trace of fog. I had a choice to make. But I couldn't. I was trapped.
I awoke gasping and spulterring for air.

Nate...

"It's alright, Carrie." I say.
"You shouldn't comfort her. Comfort, Love they are for the weak." Nate says.
He leaves the room. I hold Carrie close to my chest. I rock gently back and forth.
It seems like several hours later, when Carrie falls asleep.
"Were is her room?" I ask Elias. He points to up stairs. I pick up Carrie and follow him to her room.
All of Carrie's walls are bare except for pictures of Elias, me, and Nate.  I smile.
I lay Carrie in her bed. Pulling the covers up to her chin. I kiss her head softly.
"Goodnight, Carrie. Sweet Dreams." I whisper.
I exit the room.
"What happened to him, Elias?" I say.
He stays silent.
"Elias, obviously something happened. Carrie just cried herself to sleep at the presence of her brother. What happened to all of you?"
"Follow me and I'll tell you everything." He says taking me by the hand. He leads me to a small room. It's his bedroom, I think.
I sit down on the bed.
"After you left to were ever you went. Nate began to change for the worst. He would keep to himself and pull away from me and Carrie. He would spend all of his time in his room. Then, he started to be more violent. He was constantly getting into fights." Elias says.
"Why when I left?" I ask.
"I believe it was because he missed you. He wanted attention from us and mostly you." He says.
He's in love with me, I think. It's not possible. Is it? I had known him for a long time. We did have a deep emotional bond that not a lot of people had. But love, I think that is a little extreme. Nate however was known for taking risks and exploring the unknown. Was it that impossible that he had chosen to fall in love with me? I guess not.
"Where did you go anyway?" Elias asks.
I begin to tell him great extravagant tales of my life. I told him about West Ville and Sonya. And the best part about Elias, is that he believed you no matter what. It made it easier. He just kept shaking his head and laughing. It made me laugh too. We had changed so much over the past 6 years, we were almost unrecognizable to each other. But sharing our memories with each other was like being reacquainted with the other. Stranger meeting stranger. It was beautiful.
Eventually, we forgot about Nate and the threat he posed to us. It was just us, nothing mattered. Almost nothing. The night was dawning on us and we were falling, falling into the night's peaceful arms. I was vaguely aware that Elias was next to me. All I wanted was to sleep. And in that moment I gave up on staying awake. I just began to dream. But, the dreams were not sweet and peaceful as they should have been, instead they were terrifying and gory. Grotesque and monotonous. They never seemed to end. I slipped into the satanic void fearing what laid ahead.

The Middleton's....

Emilia's POV

I orbed to the closest place, that I could be safe. To my old family, the Middleton's. I had kept in contact with them through letters. Now, it was time to see if they still kept me close, close enough were they would let me stay with them for sometime. I found myself drifting back to when I'd first met them.

I was a small 5 year old with not much fat on me. I had just been kicked out of my foster home for the 3rd time. I was sent to Mary- Beth's Home for Children. I wandered through the bare hallways very lonely. All of the sudden I heard voices and shouting. I turned to find the source of the noise.
The voices belonged to an older woman and a small boy about 7. The boy was holding a handful of bread. The woman was shouting and pointing at the bread.
"You've already had your bread for the day! Now give me that slice you stupid rodent." She shouted.
"Please Miss, it's for my little sister and brother. They are starving. If you please just let me give it to them."
"No. That bread stays here. Give it to me now!"
She leaned in and grabbed for the bread, almost successfully getting it. Except for, I stepped on her foot as hard as I possibly could for the age of 5.
The woman yelped. And dropped the bread. I caught it and handed it to the boy. He grinned.
"Enough you pesky rodents. You, no food for you for a week." She said pointing directly at me.
I did what any decent child would do when a adult threatened them, I spit right in her face.
She shrieked again. I grabbed the boy out of there.
We just stared at each other for a while.
"You didn't have to do that you know."
"I know. But you needed that bread for your family more than that evil witch did."
"Thank you," he says. I nod.
"Oh, I'm Elias by the way. Elias Middleton." He says.
"I'm Emilia, Emilia Vanquek." I say in a small voice.
"C'mon," he says gesturing me to follow.
He leads me through several hallways. Then, it to a small room. In the room, I see a boy my age and a little girl about 2.
"Welcome to the family." Elias says. Leading me towards my new family.

I knock on the door of the mansion. They've done well, I think.
The sound of footsteps coming towards the door startles me out of the thought. The door opens cautiously. A girl pokes her head out. Her blonde hair is longer and more fine then, the last time I've seen it. Her cool, sea blue eyes are startled and excited at the same time.
"Millie!" She shouts wrapping her arms around me.
"My dear Carrie, oh how you've grown." I say.
I hear more footsteps coming. I see through the open door, Elias. Elias with his dark brown hair and his chocolate brown eyes. He's older now, and more muscular.
"Emilia, what a surprise, please come in." He says smiling.
I nod and me and Carrie go inside.
"I've missed you so much." She says, looking up at me and beaming.
"And I have missed you to. And look how much you've grown. How old are you anyway?" I ask.
"Guess." She says simply.
"Let me think. 9? 10? 12?" I say.
"Nope. 14."
"14? My your practically the woman of the family."
Wow, 14. I've been gone 6 years. So much has changed.
Carrie giggles.
"Now, were's your grump of a brother?" I ask.
"Huh? Oh you mean Nate? He's lurking somewhere."
"I see."
Carrie has me sit on the couch. She sits on my lap. I stroke her hair.
"Will you tell me stories of your life?" She asked.
"Of course. Tales of dragons, fairies, and magic?"
She shakes her head with excitement.
A cold breeze seems to fill the room. It's nothing just ignore it. I look over at Elias, he's smiling as I talk to Carrie.
"Stop acting like such a baby Carissa. Get of her lap." A cold threatening voice pierces through the happiness.
I look up next to Elias and see a tall blonde haired boy. Nate.
"Hello, Nate." I say.
Carrie winces as she sits next to me on the couch.
Nate's stormy gray eyes haunt me as I try to comfort Carrie.
"Emilia." He says.
And my stomach does somersaults as it tries to get away from Nate's evil gaze.

Alone... (Emilia/Sonya's Story)

Emilia's POV

The wetness on my cheeks alerts me that I'm crying again. Seeing Sonya and Marvin come after me like they did, reminds me of the old days. And I find myself going back to the days when things were perfect. At least as perfect for us as they could have been.
"Z! Wait up!" I shout to Zanabell. I was 11 again when I was first at West ville Academy. Zanabell, Marvin, and I wanted to go to on a picnic in the woods. School wasn't canceled at all, we just needed a break. 
West Ville was tough on kids, they were always trying to get us to our full potential. As usual we were being our usual rebellious selves.
When we got to the valley we just ran and ran around. Not caring if anyone saw us. Just feeling weightless and free. I just let my hair blow in the wind.
We basked in the sunlight. Just us. Our own family. Together. Always and Forever.