Chapter 7: You are not Maddie
Lucy Franklin stared at her daughter then at the Alpha's son as he stood up from the chair he sat. Maybe she didn't hear Maddie right because there was no way the daughter she knew would disrespect the Alpha's son as much as she just did now.
"We apologize on behalf of our daughter, Mr. Masters" Jake Franklin apologized before Lucy could.
"She is still recovering. Her head is not right yet" Lucy immediately provided an excuse for her daughter's behavior.
"Don't apologize to him. He doesn't have honor like I thought he did. I made a mistake. Please go away, Conrad" Defiance pointed to the door.
Conrad watched her.
He was fair. He knew that Diddy's behavior wasn't entirely her fault. She had suffered a severe head injury and was in a coma for days.
He looked at her parents and he nodded.
"I won't take anything your daughter says to heart but as soon as she is able, I would like an apology in person"
"Yes, Mr. Masters"
Defiance watched as Conrad left. She longed for a familiar face. She wondered whether Judd or Semeen was waiting for her outside.
How was she supposed to survive a year in the body of a girl who lets herself to be talked to anyhow by the likes of Conrad Masters? Or with parents who apologizes for the air in their lungs if asked to.
She watched as they came closer.
"Maddie, you shouldn't…" Lucy Franklin started but Defiance interrupted her.
"I like to be called Diddy, if you don't mind"
She sat up right and ignored the pain in her back.
"Why?" Her father asked her.
"Because I am not the Madeline you used to know, parents. And I do hope you come to know me better as you shall find me an improvement to the daughter you knew" Defiance informed them.
"We can't…" her father started to say but her mother clasped her hand over his and he stopped talking.
"She is recovering from a brain injury, Frank….if she wants to be called Diddy then we should call her Diddy" Lucy Franklin explained to her husband.
He nodded.
Defiance touched the injury on her back and she looked at her new parents.
"May I inquire of the reason why my injuries are healing very slowly? Aren't werewolves supposed to have a super healing process?" She asked them.
"We are Omegas, you know we don't heal as fast as Alpha bloods and Beta bloods. But don't worry, Madd…Diddy, in a few days, you will be as good as new" Her mother touched her hair in a soothing way.
It made Defiance miss her home and century very dearly.
"We should be out of here in the evening. Your sibling can't wait to see you" Lucy Franklin told her.
"I have…a sibling?" Defiance looked up immediately.
"Of course you do, you have a little brother, Ethan. Frank, she forgot about Ethan, Should I get the doctor?" Lucy Franklin asked her husband.
"I am fine. Can I meet…my brother, Ethan?"
Defiance had wanted a sibling but after her parents found out about her powers and how dangerous she was, they decided against having more hybrid children with the power to destroy the earth.
"Of course…honey, are you sure you are alright?" Lucy asked her.
"I am…mother. I believe I am going to like it here after all"
*****
Defiance stood in front of the door of the bedroom that had the name 'Maddie' placed boldly on the door. She wondered how dumb the girl she was occupying must be to need a name on the door to remind her of her bedchamber.
Defiance stared at the door.
It has been fifteen minutes since they came back from the hospital and yet the strange door won't open.
She has tried pulling and she tried pushing but nothing worked. She almost gave up when the door adjacent to hers opened and a child came out.
He couldn't be more than ten years old.
"You must be Ethan"
The boy watched her curiously and he moved closer and hugged her.
"You are home!" He told her.
Defiance hugged him back but she disagreed with calling the little box she was standing inside now a 'home'. Truth be told, it was not even the size of her bedchamber in Aradale and they had to pass a lot of people on their way.
"Do we like each other? I heard that siblings don't usually get along with each other or has that changed in this century?"
Ethan looked at her and dimmed his eyes.
"We don't. The reason I wasn't here when our house was raided and you were injured was because you pulled my ear and I ran away from you….but you are not Maddie, are you?" Ethan asked her.
Defiance dimmed her eyes. Who was this insightful lad that saw the truth without prying it out of her? She knew he was wise beyond his age.
"Yes, I am"
"No, you are not. You are not my sister" He took a step closer to her. "Tell me the truth or I will tell my parents"
He threatened her with mischief.
"You are excused, Little boy. I am Maddie and now I have to strategize on how to bring down the forces preventing me from entering this tiny room"
"Okay. Have it your way" Ethan took a step back and he yelled on top of his voice.
Defiance was fast to cover his mouth with her palm.
"Stop"
The little boy stopped screaming and he looked at her.
Defiance tried to figure out what to do. She decided to go with the truth even though commander Semeen had instructed her not to that she might be hauled off to a looney bin and declared insane.
"You are right. I am not Maddie. I am a hybrid imperial crown princess from the 16th century" Defiance waited for him to yell or call her crazy but the boy simply stared at her.
She was beginning to lose her patience when he jumped.
"I knew time travel was real!"
His eyes widened in fascination like he was discovering the secret of the universe and it was mind blowing.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, kind lad" Defiance answered.
"You found a time traveling machine in the 16th century?! That's awesome…but if it's time travel, then you don't need my sister's body but you do, so it's more of transmigration which is cooler!"
Defiance stared at him with a blank face.
"I haven't the faintest idea of what you are babbling about, lad but I require your help in opening my bedchamber" Defiance simply pointed to the door.
"It's called a bedroom now" Ethan opened the door for her.
"Thank you and goodbye. And may I remind you dear lad that nobody would believe you if you go about blabbering my secret to everyone?" Defiance told him.
"I won't tell a soul, I promise. But you will need my help…. What's your name?"
"I am her imperial royal highness, Defiance Isa Aradale but you can call me Diddy"
"Cool. You need my help, Diddy in pretending to be my awful sister. I can be you Robin to your batman"
"You are still talking nonsense, Lad" Defiance told him.
"I can help you fit in, Diddy but only if you tell me your mission here" Ethan demanded as he entered her room and closed the door behind him.
"Stand back! I will defend you from this awful beast" Defiance pulled out a dagger.
"Relax! Chill! It's just a teddy" Ethan told her. He stared at the one eyed human-size teddy bear in his sister's room.
"No, it's a bear!"
"It's a teddy bear. It's not alive. Here watch this!" Ethan moved closer and punched the teddy in the face. Then he lifted it up.
"Okay" Defiance relaxed
"My mother is Janessa Mildred Willow and she is a white witch, she sent us here using magic and spells to protect me until I can get my powers back"
"How did you lose your power?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Ethan" Defiance told him.
Ethan nodded. "What's the 16th century like?"
Defiance was about to answer when she saw a picture of Conrad on the mirror in her room.
"What is a portrait of Conrad doing in your sister's room?" She pointed it to him.
"Oh…Maddie has a huge crush on Conrad….worst, half of the girls in pack school do. He is also the future Alpha of our pack" Ethan explained to her.
Defiance took the picture and she ripped it apart.
"You don't like Conrad? Every girl wants Conrad! I don't see what they see in him!" Ethan was surprised.
"He is forbidden to talk to me until he apologizes" Defiance told him and sat on her bed.
Ethan laughed like she made a joke.
"You want an Alpha blood to apologize to an Omega. Don't hold your breath. It's cosmically impossible! There is a reason that Alpha bloods live in the highest floor of the pack house, they even have their own elevator. He will never apologize to you, so you may as well stop waiting!"
Defiance closed her eyes and she exhaled.
"But he will. I am sure of it"