My first thought when I woke up was: "Who was that girl?" Her face lingered in mind. She said that she was my cousin! I bolted up in my bed, excited by this thought. I had finally found someone who might know where my parents are! But, how exactly was I going to find her again? I heard thumping footsteps from the hall.
Astrid burst into my room. "You're awake!" she cried.
She ran over and bear-hugged me before I could say anything. "Don't ever do that again!"
I smiled and hugged her tighter. "Sure, but no promises," I said.
She sighed. "Alright, I can't stop you, but please, for my sake, be careful!"
I got out of bed and stretched, my limbs were stiff from lying down for so long. Astrid made herself comfortable in one of my armchairs. I entered my bathroom and locked the door before taking a quick shower. I slipped into comfy clothes and exited the bathroom.
Astrid was browsing on her phone when I came out. She looked up. "You ready?"
I nodded my head and followed her out of my room. She walked into our meeting room where everyone was just gathering. I took a seat between Astrid and Wren. Gram seemed to be doing better. His shoulder was wrapped in bandages and he had minor cuts and bruises on his face. Luka didn't look much different. Caspian had a broken arm and Kalina had bandages on one of her wings. Theo fidgeted in his seat and Wren had a grim expression on her face, as did Archean. I felt a pit start to form in my stomach.
"Well," Archean started. Everyone seemed to be in low spirits. "200 out of the 650 prisoners made it out alive."
I heard sharp inhales and I felt the pit in my stomach grow. "It seems that most of the survivors are our agents and less of them are the innocents."
"The prison has collapsed due to the many blasts it received from the airships. This is all the information I have received from my agents. Now, does anyone have anything else to add?"
Gram went first. "Well, there were...unsuspected obstacles. For one, it seemed that Titus sent his sons to stop us, although they didn't exactly succeed, but, then again, neither did we."
"As we were just about to leave, Ryder intercepted us. Amara distracted him, while we tried to get everyone out. Unfortunately, they came prepared. We were ambushed by their troops."
Gram didn't say anything else. Luka spoke up next.
"It was a similar situation for us too. We were overwhelmed by troops and there wasn't much we could do. Caspian and Kalina got most of the survivors on board and I went back for a group that was left behind. By that time, Theo had started his attack as planned, but because of the troops, our escape was delayed. The prisoners and I had to avoid collapsed halls and we were eventually blocked in. But, Amara arrived in time to get us out…" he trailed off.
"She almost…" Wren choked out. She started to cry and hugged me tightly. I smiled sadly. I guess I didn't realize just how much I meant to the team besides Astrid.
"But, Amara how did you get out? I heard the roof collapsed before you could get out?" Kalina asked.
I gave them a mysterious smile. "Well...someone saved me. She didn't give me her name, but...she looked like me when I was in my awakened form. She had snow white hair and lavender eyes. She seemed to know me too, but I have never met her in my life."
Everyone listened with wide eyes and surprised expressions. Talia seemed the most interested. She pulled out a notebook from somewhere and handed it to me with a pencil. "Can you draw?"
I said yes. "Draw her the best you can," Talia said. I started my sketch. When I was finally satisfied, I showed everyone. "Wow, Amara, you are a talented artist," Gram said.
Everyone voiced their agreement. I smiled and blushed. "Oh, thanks."
Archean took the notebook and put it under a scanner. Immediately, the computer next to it pulled up a bunch of pictures. Archean motioned for me to come over. He started scrolling through profile pictures of a bunch of people. Some of them looked similar to her, but they were just missing something. Finally, I saw her face. Her brilliant lavender eyes stared back at me.
"That's her!" I exclaimed.
Archean projected her face onto a white board for everyone to see. He clicked on her image and a small record was pulled up. The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of question marks. The second thing that stuck out to me was her name: Lily. I started to have a nostalgic feeling. It felt like I had heard her name before, but I was certain that I had never met her in my life.
There was little information on her. Only that she had appeared from time to time on the Association's record and that her current whereabouts were unknown. She was a bounty hunter, bringing in criminals of the Association. There was no information on her race other than that she was not human. It seemed Lily was an elusive figure. I decided that I wasn't going to tell them that Lily was my cousin. I felt that it was personal information and they didn't need to be caught up in my complicated family life.
Archean returned the notebook to Talia. Everyone pondered in silence. Finally, Archean spoke up.
"I have only seen her once and she seemed like a lonely and cold person. So, I have no idea how she knows you. She is one of the Association's...special cases."
"What do you mean?" Luka asked.
"Well, from what I know, she was originally on the wanted list of the Association. She was notorious for her fighting capabilities, so when she was brought in, they asked if she wanted to pay off her crimes by becoming a bounty hunter. She accepted and, to this day, they have not been able to obtain much information on her. She appears monthly with another criminal, takes her money, and then disappears again."
I could see the gears turning in Talia's head and I could guess exactly what she was going to say next.
"Has she appeared this month?" Talia asked.
Archean shook his head. "No, not that I know of, but, Talia, I forbid you from going after her. She is much more powerful than all of you; she is dangerous. This goes for all of you. No one in this room is going to embark on a wild goose chase after a criminal of the Association."
Talia slumped in her chair, defeated. Archean turned the computer off and the image on the board vanished. Archean returned to his seat.
"Now that that is out of the way, Theo and Wren, I need you to tend to the prisoners wounds. Kalina, I need you to deliver a message for me. Astrid, you go with her. Caspian and Gram, you are excused from any tasks. Amara and Talia, I want you to help the prisoners settle in. You have your tasks, this meeting is dismissed."
And on that note, everyone got up and left the room. As I exited, Talia sidled up next to me. I saw the smile on her face and I knew that I was in for a wild ride.
"We need to find her," Talia hissed. She didn't want Archean to hear her. "He said that no one in that ROOM could try and find her, but that doesn't mean that someone else can't."
I saw where she was going with this and I did not like it. "I know someone that would totally do this for us."
I looked at Talia. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. I shook my head. "Oh, come on Talia, you heard what Archean said and I don't want to be included in your hair-brain ideas."
"But!" Talia sputtered.
"Yes, I want to find her, but I am sure that I will see her again. Especially since she…" I stopped, thinking about how I was going to say this. "Since she knows me. If she wants to see me, she will find me, not the other way around."
Talia sighed. "Just think about it."
Then, she left and headed toward the wing that was housing the prisoners. I followed her. It was my first time in this part of the mansion. It was warm and inviting as I walked through the rooms and halls. Some of the prisoners were still pretty shaken up from the rescue. I don't blame them. A lot of people had died that day.
I helped them get settled in, bringing them towels, blankets, clothes, and anything that they could possibly need. I had just finished delivering some toiletries to one room when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a young man standing in front of me. He had shaggy blond hair, probably from staying in the prison for so long, and he was dressed in fresh clothes. His blue eyes watched me with curiosity. I could tell that he was an agent of the Association.
He smiled at me. "Hey."