The Fifth Queen

by Ali House

  But in order to do that, she first had to find out the truth.

  Placing Vaughn’s hand back on the bed, she kissed him on the cheek, gave him one last look, and left the room.

  Ϟ

  It had been over a decade since Kit had set foot on Tecken. Although she’d felt like the wronged party, having been kidnapped and brainwashed, it didn’t stop the people of that island from hating her. She thought she understood why they felt that way, but now she wondered it they were angry because she’d killed Erikson or disappointed that she’d forgotten about her past and betrayed them.

  Driving along the highway in her El-car, she kept an eye out for anyone that might be following her. It was possible that the ISS had eyes on her, watching her every move. Her thoughts were the height of paranoia, but she wasn’t in the healthiest mindset at the moment. Her suspicions were already too far gone.

  She’d placed a hat over her hair and made sure to cover up her elemental Tattoos, except for the wavy blue lines of Air on her wrist. She’d considered covering those up as well, but wearing bracelets or long-sleeves would have been more suspicious than leaving them exposed. After parking downtown, she pulled the brim of her hat low over her eyes and started to walk. Not many people she passed gave her a second glance – they were all too busy with their own lives to be concerned with her.

  At first she wandered aimlessly, moving through the more crowded areas, searching for anything that might be familiar. The streets were laid in the same grid-pattern that all the other islands had, so there was no worry of getting lost. It was familiar, but she didn’t know if it was because she’d been here before or if it was because all islands were laid out like this.

  She walked through parks and neighbourhoods, but despite her hopes, all she saw were places that were generic enough to be the background of any of her memories. The park on 14th Street could be the one where she’d played with her friend Kira, until Kira’s parents had to move to another island. Or maybe that had been the park on 36th Street. Was the small library on 38th Street the same place where she’d spent so much of her time, reading book after book? If she decided to go into the library, would she see a small reading nook in the back corner? Would the layout have changed in the past decade or would it be all wrong because it wasn’t the correct place?

  She continued to walk, but her mood started to darken. This wasn’t giving her the concrete answers that she wanted. She’d thought that she would feel at home or completely alienated, but instead it felt like she was in some strange middle-ground. How many houses had been remodelled in the past decade? How many stores repainted or moved? How much of her past might have changed for completely normal reasons? It would have made sense to give up, head back to her car and drive back to Stanton, but for some reason she continued to walk. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t pay any attention to what streets she walked down or what buildings she passed. Instead she tried to think of some way to solve the turmoil that was going on in her mind.

  When she finally pulled herself out of her own thoughts, she noticed that she was in a residential area with modest houses. After finding a signpost, she saw that she was on 7th Street, which, if she remembered correctly, was the street she’d grown up on in Briton – the street she had lived on until her mother remarried and moved them in with her step-father. Kit started to pay more attention to the houses on this street, taking in the designs and colours. It wouldn’t be a big loss to find out that her mother had never married a Humanist, and that she hadn’t actually spent part of her life fighting to have her voice heard. It would be better to know that her mother was happy, maybe married to someone else who was nice to her. Maybe she had step-sisters that could be the kind of people they wanted to be and didn’t live under an intolerant father.

  Maybe, if she didn’t find any answers on this trip, then she could give up on both of her possible pasts and write one of her own. She could take a hint from the previous Six-Elemental, who’d disappeared after helping the survivors of the Last World War, choosing to live his own life free from unwanted attention.

  One of the houses caught her attention, bringing her to a stop. It was a split-level and looked similar to the house she’d grown up in, with yellow paint and a bright blue door. As she looked up at the two windows above the door, she could imagine the window on the left belonging to her childhood bedroom.

  It wasn’t a guarantee that this was the same house, after all there were only so many designs for houses and anyone could paint one in similar colours, but it had been so long since she’d seen her childhood home. A part of her wanted this to be real. Even if someone else lived there now, being able to look at it and remember how happy she’d been with her family before her father had died... It would be good enough.

  She didn’t know whether to laugh or burst into tears. Taking in a deep breath, she was about to turn away when the door of the house opened. A woman with yellow hair stepped out, but she came to a sudden stop when she noticed Kit.

  Startled, Kit quickly looked away and started to walk down the sidewalk, but the woman called out to her. When Kit turned around, the woman was moving towards her, studying her face. As she neared, her eyes opened wide.

  “Oh my gosh... Katherine? Is that you?”

  Kit looked at the woman’s face, taking in the yellow hair and the wrinkles and the green eyes. She looked very much like a woman Kit had known, but many years ago. Someone younger and happier, and sadder. Kit’s mouth fell open as she struggled to find the right words.

  “...Mom?”

  Chapter 25

  The report on their initial findings was taking forever to finish, but Zenyth was still determined to be thorough. This was easily going to be the longest report she’d ever written, and that was before any of the lab results came back.

  The team’s findings hadn’t resulted in any concrete answers. The burn mark on the back of the studio was definitely where the fire had started, but they still didn’t know how it had began. They were waiting on information about all of the chemicals found at the site, although Zenyth doubted that any of them would have caused such an explosion without a bit of help. It made more sense that someone had started the fire outside and that the heat had caused the chemicals to explode. Hopefully the evidence would prove her theory.

  There had been no clues discovered outside the studio, which could mean that the arsonist was a Fire elemental, or that the person removed any evidence when they left, or that the evidence had burned up on its own. Either way, it would be difficult to find out who had caused the fire. Zenyth tried to think of the last time they’d had an arson case, but it had been a while. Maybe she should look up some old files, for comparison’s sake.

  Vaughn’s injuries were another cause of confusion. The bruising on the back of his head could have been from him being thrown back by the explosion or it could have been from someone else knocking him unconscious. If only Vaughn was awake so that she could ask him these questions.

  “Found anything interesting?”

  She looked up to see her brother standing next to her desk. “We found tons of stuff, but nothing jumped out at us screaming, ‘I was the reason for the fire’. Still waiting on lots of lab results.”

  He nodded. “Lunch?”

  “Of course.”

  She tidied up the files on her desk before leaving. Unlike her apartment, her desk was always clean and tidy. At work she wanted to impress her colleagues, while at home she wanted to be comfortable.

  They headed to their favourite sandwich shop, a small place a few blocks from the station. The owner grew his own spices and had a new and interesting flavour every week. Zenyth and Naydir had their old favourites, but they always made sure to try the flavour of the week. Aside from the fun of unpredictability, the food was always amazing.

  “How are you holding up?” Naydir asked, once they had purchased their meals and found a table to sit at. “Working on Vaughn’s case must be hard.”

  “Well, it was pretty h
ard to go through the studio, knowing what happened to him, but I’d rather do it myself than suspect that someone else was making a mess of it.” She took a bite of her sandwich, tasting sweetness and heat at the same time. It was absolutely delicious, as usual.

  “I know I’m not on your team, but if you need any help, let me know.”

  She sighed. “Is that why you asked me here? To offer your help? Because I can handle this.”

  Naydir had been going in for a bite, but he paused and looked up at his sister, annoyed. “You really think that I would ever suggest that you couldn’t handle this? I know better than anyone how your brain works, and I think that investigating this matter is the most productive thing you could be doing. However, I don’t want you working yourself to death.”

  Zenyth gave him a flat look.

  “Anyway, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you,” he said.

  “Oh, it wasn’t because you wanted to ‘parent’ me?”

  “You do realize that friends and family are allowed to show concern for one another, right?” He raised an eyebrow and she finally relented.

  “Fine,” she sighed. “You’re being a good brother and I’m being a jerk sister. Happy?”

  He nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. “Wow, this is delicious.”

  “I know. Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m worried about Kit. I haven’t talked to her in a few days, and I don’t think she’s been to the hospital since the first night.”

  “Huh, I figure she’d spend most of her time there.”

  “Me too, but when I called the hospital yesterday, they said that there hadn’t been many visitors. I’ve called her apartment and knocked on her door, but there’s no answer. That would normally be enough to worry me, but before Vaughn’s accident he...” Naydir paused. “He asked me to keep an eye on her.”

  “He what?” Zenyth put her sandwich down. “What exactly did he say?”

  “He said that she was having really bad nightmares, and that she was starting to withdraw again. I thought it might be like that time a couple years ago, when she got really paranoid and refused to go outside for a week, but the way he talked about her made it sound like this might be worse.”

  “You don’t think...”

  He shook his head. “No, but I’m really worried. I mean, with all that stuff in the newspapers about registering Elementals and how terrible the Six-Elemental is, and now Vaughn’s accident... What if she ran away?”

  Zenyth absentmindedly picked up a stray piece of lettuce and ate it. “No. I’m sure she’s still on Stanton. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Well, I’m working late tonight, so if you could check on her after you finish work, I’d feel a lot better.”

  “Can do. And if she refuses to answer, I’ll break in.”

  Naydir’s green eyes widened. “No. Don’t do that.”

  “But I’m a cop,” she said seriously. “And if I have reason to enter a room because I suspect foul play or that someone might be injured, I can do so. It’s the law.” She smiled at him, but she was only partly joking.

  He sighed. “Just promise me you’ll knock first.”

  “I can’t promise anything.”

  Chapter 26

  The drive back to Stanton felt surreal. Kit had wanted to go to Tecken to find answers, but now that she had them, she wasn’t sure how to proceed. What was a person supposed to do once they realized that their entire life was a lie?

  Ϟ

  “What are you doing here?” the yellow haired woman asked. “I thought you were living in Stanton.”

  “I…” Kit’s mouth suddenly felt dry. “I was just walking around, and this house looked familiar and…”

  Disappointment crossed the woman’s face. “Oh, so you haven’t…”

  “I mean, you’re familiar. In a way. But not everything…”

  “I was just heading out to do some shopping, but if you’d like to come in and talk, I can put that off.” She gestured back to the house.

  Kit was hesitant, but she found herself agreeing to go with the woman. This was the moment she’d been hoping to find, and now it was here, so she had to go with it. She followed the woman she suspected of being her mother through the blue door and into the house. Kit looked around the living room, which was sparsely decorated, but comfortable and warm. She wished that it looked familiar.

  “So,” the woman said, sitting down in an armchair. “How much do you remember?”

  “Honestly, not a lot. I’ve got images and vague memories, but I didn’t realize that they were from… here. This house is the most concrete fact I have.”

  She nodded. “After they told me what had been done to you by the ISS, they mentioned that you might never remember your real life. I’d hoped that they would be able to break the ISS’s conditioning, but it was too strong.” She gave a small, wistful smile. “When you were back with us, for those months, I’d hoped that one day you would wake up and all of your old memories would have returned, but when you went back to the ISS, well, that dream was put away.”

  Kit felt sadness well up inside of her. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to know that someone you loved was still alive but had been lost to you forever.

  “There were letters sent to me,” Kit said. “I think they were meant to jog my memory. I don’t know why they were sent now and not years ago, but the letters said a lot of things that felt true to me. I mean, I’m still really confused about a lot of things, but you’re… And this house…”

  Her mother nodded. “It’s a bit big for one person, but I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, not after your father… And then when you… It was all I had left.”

  Kit wanted to say something comforting or reassuring, but she was at a loss for words. She’d been hoping for one big, specific moment that would break open the dam and send everything rushing forward, but her mind was still holding back. Maybe she had hoped for too much. Maybe this was the best she could ever hope to get.

  Her mother seemed to notice the disappointment. A large smile appeared on her face, despite her sad eyes. “Well, if all I get is this one visit, it’s more than I thought I’d ever have.”

  Tears started to well up in Kit’s eyes. She wanted to remember everything, to comfort her mother, but she couldn’t.

  “Could I…” Kit paused to collect her emotions. “Could I come back and visit?”

  “Of course,” her eyes softened. “It’s as much your house as mine.”

  The tears were in danger of falling, so Kit nodded. She took a few deep breaths. “Thank you so much. You... You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

  Ϟ

  Kit had been thinking about that conversation the entire ride home. As she neared her apartment she wondered if she should’ve stayed on Tecken instead of going back. Now that she knew the truth, she couldn’t stand to live on Stanton any longer. As soon she was back at the apartment, she’d pack a bag and leave forever. She needed to be where she belonged.

  It was early evening when Kit arrived at the apartment. She should have been hungry, but her stomach was in knots, so she decided it would be better to start packing. However, before she could get out a suitcase, there was a knock on her door. She stood in the living room, wondering if she could pretend that she wasn’t home, but then a voice called out.

  “Kit, I know you’re in there! I saw you walk in!”

  Kit sighed. Of course it would be Zenyth. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself mentally. She couldn’t let Zenyth know that she knew the truth. When she opened the door, Zenyth was standing on the other side, impatiently holding today’s paper.

  “Did you go to Tecken today?” were the first words out of her mouth.

  “What?”

  “I hope that your answer is no, because someone seeing the Six-Elemental on Tecken after this news article came out would be really bad for your image.”

  She shoved the paper at Ki
t, who somehow managed not to drop it. She hadn’t bothered reading the paper for the past few days, so she had no idea what Zenyth was talking about.

  Zenyth walked past her, going into the living room and sitting down. Kit shut the door and looked for the page in question. In the opinion page was a piece suggesting that she was a Tecken spy and was working under Erikson’s orders to gain the trust of the Council and the ISS. Once she was in the perfect position, she would overthrow the ISS and take control, as Erikson had always wanted.

  “What the hell?” she blurted out.

  “You didn’t see that?” Zenyth said. “I thought Frederick told you to keep up with the news.”

  “I’ve been a little distracted. Besides, it’s a lot to take in every day.”

  “Right. Anyway, I heard a rumour around the office that you’d been spotted on Tecken in the past few hours, wandering around. Which, in light of that piece, could be a very bad thing. It could give people the idea that the article’s true.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense,” Kit replied. “Why would I have... done what I did to Erikson if I was on his side?”

  Zenyth shrugged. “Maybe people think you’re deep undercover, and it was his plan that you kill him if you needed to, to get where he couldn’t. Admittedly, it’s really stupid. You could have crushed the entire Cambrian Forces and marched Erikson through the Segment without breaking a sweat. And I doubt that an Erikson would ever voluntarily sacrifice themselves for the greater good.”

  “Those are all very good points,” Kit said. Even knowing the truth, she found the article difficult to believe. It had obviously been written by someone who didn’t know anything about the events of the Second Invasion, and who didn’t understand that an Erikson would rather die trying to rule than sacrifice themselves to put someone else on the throne. Unfortunately that could describe most of the Segment’s inhabitants.