Chapter Six - Revelations

“What do you mean ‘your job is done’?” Gina’s mom asked the old man, “Can’t you see she is clearly delusional!” Gina’s mom was practically screaming.

“I’ve removed the memory block. I cannot be responsible for the memories that I unblock.” The old man pours the liquid into an empty plastic gallon container, not much unlike the ones purchased in supermarkets and hands the container to Gina’s mother.

“Now, memory block will try to re-assert itself. Just give her a few sips of this when she starts forgetting.” The old man instructed.

“How long does it last?” Gina’s mother asked.

“It’s hard to say, but when it wears off, you’ll know it” The old man assured.

“Gina, what do you mean you are a princess?” Gina’s mother asked. The old man interrupted her, “If you wouldn’t mind taking this conversation outside, I have other things to do than listen to your daughters suppressed memories!” After saying that the old man practically pushes Gina and her mother out the door they came in.

“I’m a princess in a time when there were castles and knights and wizards and stuff like that. My Kingdom was in great danger from not only from another Kingdom but from treachery within. During a great battle, A wizard switched sides and caused a lot of suffering. I was captured by this wizard, and he cast some sort of spell which not only removed my memories but sent me to this place. I need to get back to my people, but I don’t know how. It seems that magic is all but forgotten here.”

Gina’s mother marveled at how much her demeanor had changed from the girl she was before. She certainly sounded like a princess. She wondered if it wasn’t better to just let Gina forget once the potion the crazy old man gave her wears off.

Gina’s mother kept her out of school the entire day. She tried to get her mind off the apparent troubles than now beseeched her daughter, but all her attempts failed.

Gina was not looking forward to sleep, she did not want to dream about her Kingdom in distress. She felt utterly helpless, and it was her job to lead her people.

However, she did have a dream, a terrible dream …

The enemy had broken through the defensive wall that had been set up to repel them. Many men died and many more were wounded. The battle raged on and soon she would be in great peril. She raced toward a secret passageway in the wall, a passageway that was only to be used in an extreme emergency. Gina thought that this was such an emergency. She wandered through several passageways and got lost. She wasn’t as prepared as she should have been, and she cursed under her breath. It wasn’t a very princess thing to do but sometimes frustration has a way of making us forget who we are. While she was about to give up hope, she heard a voice.

“This way, mistress” The voice called. Gina ran toward the voice. It belonged to a peasant girl. At least she looked like a peasant girl. Someone who had the fortune of working in a castle rather than in the field. She seemed to know her way around and Gina didn’t see any other choice but to follow her. The peasant girl took her hand, and she followed her until they were both outside the castle and far away from the fighting. Gina looked at the young peasant girl and thought there was something familiar about her, but she couldn’t quite figure out what. It was true that most peasant girls all looked the same to Gina but that wasn’t it. It was something else.

Gina looked and she could see fires in the distance. Her Kingdom was being burned to the ground and there was nothing she could do about it. Gina let go of the peasant girl’s hand.

“You are not safe yet, mistress” the peasant girl warned, “We have to still keep moving” With that the peasant girl grabbed Gina’s hand and dragged her along the path. Soon they got to the edge of a large cliff. The jagged rocks below betrayed a fateful end to anyone who jumped or was pushed off. The peasant girl found another secret passageway. One cleverly concealed in the rocks and they both entered. After going for what seemed like forever, Gina found herself in the mouth of a cave. They were not alone. There was a young man here who was restrained by ropes. He tried to break free, but he was not successful. Gina thought she had recognized the young man as well, but her memory failed her. She heard a voice from someone else, someone she had not yet noticed. He had a flowing robe, and he carried a staff. Once she got a look at him, she recognized him as the King’s Wizard.

“I’ve brought her as requested” the peasant girl spoke to the Wizard.

“You have done well, are you prepared to meet your fate.” The wizard asked.

“Whatever you are doing, it won’t work” Gina blurted out.

“I wasn’t talking to you!” The wizard replied to Gina sternly.

“I am” the peasant girl answered smiling. Chills went down Gina’s spine. He spoke what seemed like gibberish and when he was done, the peasant girl was no more. She wasn't there anymore; she was just gone.

“What did you do to her?” Gina demanded of the wizard. The wizard ignored her and with a wave of his staff, Gina found herself tied up along with the young man.

Gina woke up in a cold sweat. She remembered her dream. She remembered what happened to her. She remembered that her kingdom was betrayed and that she herself was betrayed. She felt rage and wanted some kind of revenge. Soon the feeling weakened as her energy drained.

She got up and got ready for school. She didn’t know how she was supposed to get through school after learning all the things she had learned.

“How did you sleep?” Gina’s mother asked her when she entered the kitchen.

“Horrible. I had another dream, only this time I remembered it.” Gina answered.

“I was betrayed by a peasant girl.” Gina declared.

“A peasant girl?” Her mother asked.

“You know, one of the common people.” She followed.

“You may be a princess from wherever you come from, but here you are one of the common people. You would be good not to forget that.” Gina’s mother scolded her.

“Of course, mother, I meant no disrespect.” Gina corrected herself.

Gina was at her locker when her best friend Carla greeted her. Carla noticed the look on Gina’s face. “What’s wrong?” Carla asked.

“I remember.” Gina said in a low voice, “I remember everything, and I remember you!”

“So, you remember me, big deal” Carla responded with a smile, “You didn’t forget about Saturday, did you?”