Regina

by Mary Ann Moody

  Chapter-Twenty-seven

  I woke up in a soft chair. My body was relaxed and surprisingly comfortable. Instinctively, I rubbed my shoulders. The chair was made of red velvet fabric with cherry wood handles and legs. The room was white with a blue couch and lighter blue accent pieces. The tall antique lamps cast a bright yellow light in the room. I saw a door to my right. Oddly enough, all the windows had pretty cast iron bars covering them. I didn’t remember how I ended up here until I saw the woman, Sarah, sitting to my from my left. I gasped with fright.

  “It’s alright, Regina.” She said in a soft, velvety voice. Her hand extended out with her palms out, indicating she didn’t have anything in her hands. Her brown hair was thick and wavy. It looked magnificent in this yellow light, so full and shiny. She had it pinned to her right side by a pretty blue ribbon. I noticed she was still dressed in her blue leather cat suit. It covered all of her body and most of her face. Only her eyes and lips could be seen. She sat back gracefully as if she was born with an iron rod in her spine.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “My name is Lady Sarah Lordview.” She replied in a hard, yet, smooth voice. Intimidation immediately set in. I didn’t see vampire teeth.

  “Are you a vampire?” I whispered in fright.

  “No. What you and humans perceive as vampirism is actually a curse, a curse that I and our people have been affected with for hundreds of years.” She chuckled. Then, a mix of anger and sorrow radiated from her. “Do you remember me?”

  “No. I don’t think we’ve met before.” I said politely. I wasn’t going to insult this woman for anything. My fear overwhelmed me and I couldn’t stop shaking.

  “Well, not in this lifetime at least.” She chucked at her own joke. For a moment, Sarah looked off into the distance as if lost in some memory precious to her. She tilted her hair back and touched her neck gently. Laughter danced on her lips and in her eyes. Her hand went from her neck to her collarbone as she continued to be lost in her thought. She suddenly said, “We don’t have too much time, Regina. The Law will be looking for you tonight.”

  I didn’t think the police were that efficient in this town, but hearing her mention the police brought me hope. How would they know where I was? Did someone see me and Ha-V? I sat up in my chair.

  Mistaking my actions for alarm, Sarah went on. “I know. We can’t stay here long. The Pirate shall arrive soon, we can’t leave without him.”

  “We? The Pirate?” I asked.

  “Yes. Don’t ask me who he is because I don’t know, but he is the one who orchestrated your search and rescue.” She stated with a nod of her head. My anxiety hit me like a freight train. I felt my pulse race and the heat rise to my face. She’s kidnapping me! “You really don’t remember who you are, do you?”

  “What!? Uh….” I couldn’t stop shaking. I stuttered, “Mm..m…my name is Regina Ann Roth.”

  Sarah looked at me intensely. Her bright blue eyes scrutinized mine. She searched for something. The truth perhaps? Before I knew what was happening, Sarah found the answer and said to herself, “No. No you really don’t.”

  She sat back in her chair, apparently comfortable, and began her story.

  “In this life, your name is Regina Ann Roth, but to me and many, you are Princess Anna Anderson of Delengrad, the true Queen of Delengrad. You are the savior to your people and the Whispers.”

  “Who are the Whispers?” I asked. I shuddered in fear of her answer.

  “The Whispers are the enchanted people who lived in Whispering Woods. They are kind people who live in the light and value every life on this planet. Presently, they would be called angels, without wings of course. I wish you could remember my brother’s face when he found out they didn’t fit the classic stereotype people gave them.” She giggled again, but got serious when she said, “In your first life as Anna, you were murdered by Judge Slider before you turned sixteen, and though your physical body might be gone, your soul still exists and so does your memories as Anna.”

  Okay, I was shocked. I didn’t expect this. I looked around the room again trying to keep the layout in my memory. Escape was minutes away, I knew it. The lady continued to sit in her chair, staring at me. I felt her eyes burning holes into my face while she searched it. Her body signaled ease, but her face was all business.

  “Okay.” I replied unsteadily. “Um…so I’m a queen. Sure…..okay, and I was killed before now?”

  “You were planning a revolution against the Law and no one goes against the Law.” She said ominously.

  The blood fell from my face as I put the connection together. I felt floored. This was one of those moments when my blood ran cold and I thought my heart would stop. I cleared my throat and asked Sarah, “What is the ‘Law’?”

  “Judge Charles Slider. He lords the city of Williamson Law with iron rules. He makes the laws and every kingdom is compelled to obey him. If you don’t adhere, you die. He has a large army who call themselves the Law. Thousands of evil men who follow Judge Slider like a God. They are savages who murder on the Judge’s orders. I’ve seen the Law cut people’s heads off just for mistakenly making eye contact with them. Make no mistake Regina, Judge Slider is a sadistic man who takes pleasure in brutalizing his people and his army is equally as vicious.”

  I swallowed hard. Oh my…. Instinctively, I reached for my neck as if protecting my head from decapitation. “And what exactly does this have to do with me? I don’t know you! I don’t know your Pirate or Judge or whoever they are! And by the way, what kind name is Pirate? That past life crap doesn’t fly with me. I have nothing to do with this!” I shouted in frustration.

  “You are everything to do with this, Regina!” She shrilled. We caught our breaths and thoughts while we eyed each other. I thought she was going to continue, but she waited a few minutes before continuing in a calmer voice. “As a punishment for your deeds, Judge Slider cursed the Whispers and our family to the darkness forever. Delengrad, Whispering Woods, Lordview, all of its people are forever damned to the darkness, to not be able to sustain life unless we consume hemoglobin. We have suffered for hundreds of years because of the Law! The only way we can be released from our curse is to rid the world of Judge Slider, but we can’t because the only person who can kill him is you.”

  Anger was in her eyes now. I saw a flash of sorrow mixed with anger. Instinct told me something bad happened to her because of the Law, aside from the curse.

  “Me?” I asked softly. “I have to kill this guy?”

  That seemed to smooth her anger. Her eyebrows relaxed and the tension left her eyes. She sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. “You are Anna of Delengrad, and I can prove it to you.”

  I perked up. “Okay. Prove it.”

  Sarah directed me to the wall mirror on the left. I was confused at first, but stood up to face the mirror. My legs ached as I stood. I must’ve been sitting in that chair longer than I thought. I rubbed them while closing my eyes. I wondered what time it was. When I stood up fully, I looked into the mirror.

  “So what am I looking for?” I asked.

  Sarah took a sliver ring off her finger and held it up for me to see. “Kaylee made this one just for you. Put it on and look again.”

  I slipped the ring on my finger to please this girl. I looked into the mirror and I didn’t see anything, at first. I looked over at Sarah with confusion, but when I looked back into the mirror, it was there. On my forehead, right between my eyes, something was forming. I tried to get closer to my reflection so I could see it better. In a matter of seconds, a red mark was visible on my forehead. I looked at Sarah, then back at my own reflection.

  “Only those from Whispering Woods can see your mark. That is how we knew who you were.” Sarah said. “You couldn’t see it yourself before because you weren’t wearing the ring of the Whispers.”

  “Wha…..How….How did I get this?” I was shocked, but thought it was pretty cool. No one could see it unless they were from t
his magical place.

  “A healer named Kaylee gave it to you when you were young. It is their mark indicating you are their lifelong family. Apparently, you and Kaylee were close, like a father and a daughter. When you died, it was like he died, too.”

  My head spun like a theme park ride. I felt dizzy so I sat down hard on my chair again. I looked at the ring with amazement and said, “Wow.”

  “Regina, don’t you feel as if you are being groomed for slaughter?” Sarah asked as she placed her hand on mine.

  My first instinct was to pull away from her, but I felt something. It ran through her hands into mine with such fierceness, I shuddered. Something she said rang a bell inside me. After all this time those were the words I was looking for, but too afraid to say.

  “Yes.” I breathed.

  “It’s because your family is getting ready to kill you.” She said.

  I looked up into those eyes. Did she really have the answers to my dreams? Too long have I been afraid of what my dreams meant. Too long have I let my parents lie and manipulate me. Too long I’ve to afraid to ask the right questions.

  “Why do they want to kill me?” I whispered. My eyes were closed so the tears could not escape.

  “A long time ago, a legend was written about Judge Slider. It’s called The End, and it says a young girl will wipe out Judge Slider and his Law. You are that young girl, so Judge Slider killed you, Anna, to stop The End. The Whispers say you will ‘wake’ from this life as Regina on your sixteenth birthday and your memories as Anna will return to you. Once you remember who you are and the powers you truly carry, you can remove the curse, restore us to our rightful home, and rid the land of Judge Slider.” Sarah took a deep breath before continuing. “Regina, this is not the first time your soul has resurrected. We have searched for you for hundreds of years, even came close to you a couple of times, but the Law controls your birth and your life. This is a truly special day for us.”

  “So, what about my dreams?” I asked.

  “I assume they’re replays of your previous life trying to warn you of what’s to come.” She said simply. “Your nightmares are remnants of your former lives.”

  Do you remember those old cartoons where a character will shock itself by electricity? Yellow lightning radiated from their body and their insides would be black with bones. Well, that was how I felt when Sarah explained my dreams to me.

  “Regina, the real you is inside you somewhere. Slider is very powerful and kept you here against your will with a binding spell. Subconsciously, you are trying to remember the past regardless if you know it or not.”

  Another click moment. “A binding spell? I’m under a spell?”

  “Yes, a man who calls himself Borlock Tavishaw is Slider’s right hand man, and coincidentally, a wizard. He created a spell to keep you here against your will.”

  “But why?” I shouted.

  “Oh, Regina, I wish you could understand the magnitude of what I’m about to tell you. Killing a child is a terrible crime against the Universe. When Judge Slider killed you, his punishment was to walk the land forever. Only the resurrected soul of the child Judge Slider killed has the power to destroy him. Until he can figure out a way to send your soul to the Gates of Judgment, Judge Slider keeps you under close watch and hopes you never remember who you are. You are the only person in this world that has the power to destroy him.”

  I processed that information. She made a lot of sense. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together now. The video, the dreams, my parents behavior, everything made sense. Something kept me here when I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want Steven, but I destroyed Jeff to make Steven mine. I allowed myself to live in a house where I was attacked. I felt powerful here, as if I was the biggest badass and the world was mine, but I didn’t want the world. Those backroads seemed to call me. When I drove on them, something took over me and I felt…like I belonged.

  “So let me get this straight. I am the resurrected soul of Anna Anderson, a young girl murdered by Judge Slider. Judge Slider killed me because he thinks I fit the description of the person who will destroy him and his army.”

  “So far, you got it.”

  “Then, what do we doing now? When am I supposed to ‘wake’?” I said making the quote gestures with my fingers. I wasn’t trying to be snotty, just trying to get her accurate.

  “We wait for the Pirate to arrive. As for the wake, that happens tonight, at midnight, on your sixteenth birthday.”

  It felt as if ice ran down my back and bolted me upright in my chair. “But I’m already sixteen! I turned sixteen three months ago! You’ve obviously made a mistake.”

  Sarah turned her head slowly back to me, pity was all over her face. “No, Regina. You turn sixteen today, October thirteenth. Your parents lied to you about your birthday.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I saw your birth certificate at the Will Lawson Academy.”

  “What?” I wanted to tell her she was wrong, but the truth was I never saw my birth certificate. I never had a reason to look at it before. “Why would they lie?”

  “Throw us off maybe.” Sarah shrugged. “Who knows? The Law knows we are looking for a fifteen year old girl. A sixteen year old who is alive is a much better disguise.”

  “So my parents are in on this?” I asked with shock. To have her confirm it brought the tears to my eyes. No longer did I hold them back, they dropped quickly down my cheeks.

  “Yes, everyone in this town is. Lee was once called Williamson Law, but Judge Slider moved the city and renamed it to hide you from us.” Her words bounced heavily in my mind.

  A voice called out to Sarah from the doorway. She turned and said she would be right there. She looked at me once more. I was full of shock, confusion and denial.

  “Everyone in is on this?” I asked. “My friends, school, my grandfather……Steven?”

  “Everyone, especially your grandfather.” Sarah said nodding her head.

  “Wha…Wh…..” I couldn’t speak. Everything in the room was moving. “Why him?”

  “Because George Underwood is Judge Charles Slider. I’m sure he changed his name so you wouldn’t recognize it.” Her words stung me. “And….”

  “Wait!” I interrupted her. “So they’re going to kill me today?”

  “Yes. Tonight in fact.”

  I felt faint. My mind was spun and I couldn’t see in front of me. I tried to stand up, but my legs failed me. I wrapped my mind around everything that led me here and the events that kept me here. I saw myself spinning while the events took place around me. If I put my hand out, I could pick and choose which one I wanted to view.

  I felt a pat on my hand and heard Sarah’s voice. “Just a moment, Regina. I have someone here you trust. You know you can never go back to them, right? You can’t see anyone from “Regina’s” life again, ever. They are waiting to execute you tonight.”

  I shook my head to show her I understood. With my head bowed and tears welling up in my eyes, I shook my head until I was sure she left the room. When I looked up, she was gone. I seized my opportunity and ran for the window behind me. I noticed it when I looked in the mirror before. It was the only one that didn’t have bars and an active lock.

  I feel compelled to open the window up and heave myself out onto the ground. Thank goodness I have a small body frame or I would not have fit through. I opened the window and threw myself out. My body dropped heavily on the ground. I groaned and stood up quickly. I closed the window behind me and reached into my pocket for my cell phone. I located my map application and found my house. It was only two miles east of my location. I spun on my heels and ran as fast as I could. I had no idea if anyone saw me because I kept running and didn’t look back.