"The others all know that there would be no need for all this if you could just get your memories back. The issue with the death of your cousin was more than four years ago so they can't see why it would be such a big problem for you to get over it and remember everything," she explained.
"How much can I possibly remember from a life before I was seven years old? That seems like a stretch to me," I joked.
"Believe it or not, most of our lives changed that day," Heather spoke sadness filling her voice. What did the death of Charles have to do with any of this?
"The families have had enough of it. They want the heir back, not to mention the position has been left vacant for more than ten years," Heather said more like reporting to Ryan.
"I know that. I thought I explained it clearly that I was handling the situation," Ryan said.
"I know you did, but as time ticks by, their patience is wearing thin. Some of the elders think there will soon be an uprising of sorts where they elect someone to fill in the post permanently," Heather continued.
"What are you guys talking about?" I asked getting utterly confused. It felt like I had just walked into a board meeting.
"Nothing you need to worry yourself with," Ryan said checking his pockets and getting his keys, "get in the car. And don't worry, we won't do anything you are not ready to do. At least, we are not planning to," he said. The way he said made it seem like there was something beyond his control that in the end might force him to do something he wouldn't want to. He got in after me and started the car and soon we were on the same route we had taken the day before. This time he stopped the car exactly where I told him that I had spotted the broken swing.
The four of us got out of the car and bean walking through the woods. The sun was only setting and I was going to be home late yet again. The only problem this time was that I couldn't access my magic to run back home in a flash. "This is where you and Charles made this preposterous swing. I helped of course, but the whole idea was fashioned by your cousin to get rid of your fear of heights. Of course that was all supposed to be a secret, until you fell off the swing. I don't think I ever saw you get on another swing again after that day. You were so traumatized Charles had to come up with some other elaborate plan to get you high above ground. He never got to test out his next plan though."
"So how are you related to us again?" I asked. I knew we were related in some way but I had no idea how.
"You probably heard Mindy say something about houses, didn't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, I did along with a lot of other things that didn't make sense," I clarified.
"Okay, so let me make this clear. We know about the artras and that you are the Siege," he said. Following that was silence while I let it sink in that he knew about us and our powers. This also meant they knew I had powers well before my outburst yesterday. I took the time to let it set in.
"Kevin, say something," Mindy said waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked back to reality and tried forming words, but still remained speechless.
"Now that we have got that out the way, there are other things you must know. A long time ago, to be blunt it was something like eight hundred years ago, the first six artras founded this town. The part of the town you live in is oblivious to a lot that happens within and its long history. But as you may know, eight hundred years is a very long time. When you hear the word houses, we mean noble houses. They are five to be blunt and they are each descended from a member of the first generation of the artras. The artras are six though so you must know that Jekyll married Daphne and that makes one house. It is also the most powerful one as well as the one from which descendants of royal blood originate. You mustn't trouble yourself with all of that right now as you will get the hang of it, the more your memories return." He explained. It now made sense where the descendants of the first artras ended up and how our world was affected by them.
"Does this mean my generation of artras will also start their own houses? We have never heard of this though," I said and noticed Ryan's face get even sadder than it already was.
"Haven't you noticed that you all lack memories from before you were seven," Heather asked in a low voice.
"NO, you must be kidding," I said backing away from them.
"Yes, you are all descended from these houses," Mindy explained.
"Yhen why the hell would our parents not tell us about this?" I asked them.
"Because of what happened to your cousin, of course?" Ryan said.
"If the next generation of artras was going to survive, they needed a Siege who could fight on his own. So they separated you from the rest of the houses and I was tasked with reinitiating you into the houses," he said.
"Their plan worked well too. You were all able to become friends and all for the better, build a connection," Heather said.
"Are we going to be doing this every day because I don't think I would be able to take such information on a daily basis?" I told them.
"You believe us?" Mindy asked abruptly. She hadn't spoken since they had begun their explanation and the others weren't looking too happy about her outburst.
"I wish I didn't believe you, but I feel like I can. The feeling I had towards you in my memory is one I can remember all too clearly. You guys were family to me," I said.
"True, but we are not kids anymore, Kevin," Mindy said. Ryan looked surprised by my sudden revelation. In my assumption, I would say he thought Mindy had just screwed up big time and I didn't blame him for thinking that way. One might say I was being naïve about this, but I had decided to give these guys a chance. Ever since I got into high school, I have only heard rumours about them and as far as I could tell, most of the rumours about them were wrong. Today I had dodged my encounter with Thomas which was a win in my eyes. I knew I would meet him later on, but today was not that day and all I could control was the present. I would have to cross that bridge when I came to it. I allowed myself to slide down one of the trees and sit on the ground leaning my back against the tree.
"So, guys, I have a request to make of you," I said.
"What is it?" Ryan asked.
"Can I have a ride back home?" I asked.
"Can't you just run there like you did yesterday? You would get there in seconds at most," Ryan reasoned.
"Not really, I haven't been able to use my magic for a few hours now. It is the reason I was late," I explained.
"Is it permanent?" Ryan asked.
"I'm not sure. I'll ask around for a solution," I said to him. He beckoned for me to get into the car and we went back to where we parked it.
"Are we going to do this every day?" I asked, "I don't think I can handle that kind of information on a daily basis?"
Ryan stopped walking on hearing this. Something was off, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. It was like it should have been obvious, but for someone like me who still had no memories and thus no idea how to help him, it was impossible to know exactly what I was dealing with. "Don't worry about it? We'll only be talking during the weekends," he said.
"Thanks," I told him before proceeding to the car. I needed to sit down for fear that my legs were not going to be able to hold my weight much longer. Ryan stayed quiet through the whole drive, his eyes fixed to the road but his mind completely miles away. What I said seemed to have hit a nerve I didn't know about.
"Ryan, are you sure about this?" Mindy asked in a low voice making her sound like she was poking at a bear.
"What would you have me do Mindy?" he asked her, but she never replied. I looked back and so that she had retreated and simply stared out the window at the passing trees. Her sister, Heather sat at the other side of the back seat mirroring her position. The car had taken on a sad silence. These guys had enough going on as it was.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked Ryan.
"Not without your memories. There is nothing you can do without them. I can explain everything you need to know about the society surrounding the five houses, but at the end of it, there are things that reside within your memory that would allow you to handle the situation as it is right now. I am sorry that I cannot reveal everything to you right now, but that is only merely because your reaction cannot be predicted," he explained.
"Okay then, I hope I do remember what it is that you want me to remember," I told him before the car once again went silent. We got to my place when it was pretty much dark. My internal clock had gone dark soon after I realised I couldn't use my magic and I was doing my best to mask my panic. Something was severely wrong, but I didn't know exactly who to report this issue to except Mr Bergstrom. I hadn't heard of anyone losing access to their magic since I became an artra and this was freaking me out.
The car came to a halt exactly outside our house, "How did you know where I live?" I asked him having forgotten to give him directions to my house.
"Is that still a question at this point?" he asked absentminded.
"No, I guess not," I replied.
"Is that you, Ryan?" I heard a voice behind me and confirmed it was my mother. "Are you really trying to get him his memories back?" she asked him.
"You skipped the greetings, Auntie Sarah," he said indifferently.
"Kevin, where have you been?" she asked me ignoring Ryan's comment. The tension in the air at that moment made me remember I couldn't stand for too long.
"Thanks for the ride Ryan," I said and walked up to my mum before engulfing her in a hug.
"Coach made training even harder for me today. I'm exhausted, so Ryan offered me a ride home, though I didn't know that you guys were acquainted," I said filtering the truth to suit my benefits.
"We'll speak of this later," she said before bidding Ryan and his cousins farewell and leading me into the house. I greeted my dad who was seated watching television and went up the staircase. I couldn't disregard the troubled look on my mum's face as she went to join my father in the living room. I had no idea what was in my memories that were missing, but from the looks of it, the horrors of the previous artra generation had only began to haunt me. I knew this was the case because for some reason all my troubles just kept on coming back to them. Just how badly they screwed up was beyond my comprehension.
I went up to my room and dropped into my bed exhaustion racking every last inch of my muscles. It was a marvel that I was still able to walk after what the coach had put us through. These were the few times in my life where eating was not fun since I wasn't eating to please myself but to regain the lost water and fix broken tissue. It made the whole experience of eating boring and more like a chore. This also meant that I still had to go downstairs for supper. If only there was another way... unconsciousness wrapped around me like a blanket faster than I could ward it off.
..............