Wonder Lost

The Masquerade

“I’m Leo,” Leo said slowly.

“And how do I know you?” Leo paced the room for a few moments.

“I’ll be right back, don’t get out of bed.” Leo ran out of the room, down the steps, and into the dining room, where Beatrice, Tony, and Simon were eating breakfast.

“She’s awake.”

Those two small words everyone to get up in unison and rush to the stairs. Leo stopped them before they could stampede Isabella.

“Hold on! There’s something you should know.” Leo sighed and rubbed his neck. “Isa didn’t remember me: not my name or how she knows me. Simon, why don’t you go in first, alone, so we can see how much Isa remembers.” Beatrice put her ear against the door as Simon entered Isabella’s room.

“Hey, Bella,” Simon said nervously after sitting down.

“Hi?” Isabella tried.

“Do you know who I am?” Simon asked.

“No, not really. What’s your name and how do I know you?” Isabella asked, patiently and politely.

“I’m Simon, your twin brother.” Isabella tried to remember who he was, but nothing came up.

“I have a twin?” Isabella said.

“Yes, and you also have two younger brothers and a baby sister. You used to have two other brothers, too.”

“And who was Leo?” Isabella asked.

“He was your boyfriend,” Simon said. Isabella felt her cheeks and eyes turn pink. Her face reddened deeper the more she thought about it. “Do you want to talk to him?”

“Not right now. Can I get something to eat, though?” Beatrice came into the room and helped her out of bed. Her legs were shaky, but she tried to ignore it. Only when she started to walk down the stairs did it impact her. Isabella almost fell down after taking two steps, but luckily Leo had exited his room and caught her arm before she fell.

“Thanks,” she muttered. Isabella carefully climbed down the stairs and managed to take a seat at the dining table, where the residents of the Oasis were starting to settle in. She added toast and fruit to her plate. Beatrice sat down next to her and Leo sat across from her. Before she started eating, she realized that the residents of the Oasis were all staring at her, apart from Leo and Beatrice.

“Yes?” Isabella said harshly. She wished she could remember Simon and her other siblings. She wished she could remember her parents and her friends. She wished she could remember everything. It was so frustrating, running a blank on everything all the time. She didn’t even know where she was, or where she lived. Did she live here?

“Isabella?” Beatrice said. Isabella looked up. “Can you come to the kitchen with me?” She nodded, standing up. Taking some dishes, she followed Beatrice into the kitchen. As they washed the dishes, Beatrice asked Isabella some questions.

“What is your full name?” Isabella hesitated.

“Isabella… Sophia Jacobs.” Beatrice smiled.

“Do you remember anyone from your past?” Isabella stopped washing the dishes.

“Yes,” she said gravely. “I remember Liam Aroh.” Beatrice slowly nodded.

“Okay… anyone else?” she asked.

“No… wait, yes: his brother, Maximus Aroh.” They finished washing the dishes, which helped take Isabella’s mind off of the present. She walked back to her room, but Leo stopped her upstairs.

“Isa, look, I’m sorry about earlier. But, to be honest, I just really missed you, and I didn’t know that you lost your memory again.”

“Again?” Isabella repeated.

“Yeah, Will and I made you a cure for something Maximus Aroh did, and you lost your memory because of it. Wait, sorry, you don’t know who—"

“My brother,” Isabella said. “I know. He talked to me during my coma, but I forgot what we talked about.” Leo sighed in disappointment. He thought Isabella was starting to remember pieces of her past.

“Is there any news about Liam?” Isabella asked.

“You know who Liam is?” Leo asked hopefully.

“Yeah, he and Maximus were the only people I remembered, besides Will.”

“Well, all we know is that he is hosting a masquerade ball and Beatrice and Tony were invited. I was hoping, since we’ll be wearing masks, you and I could try to find some information about his next plan.”

“Okay… when is it?” Isabella asked, suddenly curious about this ‘masquerade ball’. She wanted revenge for causing her to lose 3 months of her life and forget 16 years’ worth of it.

“Tomorrow night. You should ask Beatrice to get you an outfit if you want to come.” Isabella turned around to go, but Leo bursted, “Oh, wait! I just have two quick questions.”

“Hit me.”

“Do you know where you lived before?” Isabella shook her head. “And do you know how you got into the coma?”

“No, but I have been wondering how. Were you there?” Leo nodded and told her about her powers from Elm Valley, the battle between her and Liam, and how he couldn’t catch her in time. “I’m sorry. I could’ve helped you with my powers, but I couldn’t focus on them.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Isabella said. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not, Isa. I should’ve been there for you.”

“It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it,” Isabella said again.

“Thanks. Good night.”

She walked back to her room and fell asleep, with no memories to help her remember even a segment of her past.

The next morning, Beatrice woke her up at 9:00 AM because she claimed that Isabella ‘needed sleep’. They tried on different dresses and masks until they stumbled upon a black dress with white lace on its front half and gold designs on its hem. The mask was black with small gold chains and black feathers. Beatrice helped Isabella disguise herself, helping her put in brown contacts and trimming and curling her hair. She also helped her apply light pink matte lipstick and fake lashes, which Isabella thought was very unnecessary.

“He knows that you don’t wear makeup. This just helps you.” Isabella took up a habit of reading while she was waiting, so she finished You and I by Frank Gerlet, a Duestrian classic, for the ball. Beatrice and Tony were already in the car, and Leo was supposed to meet Isabella at her room. He knocked on the door.

Isabella opened it and Leo was speechless. She looked perfect, compared to Leo’s plain black tux and mask. He hadn’t even done anything to his hair or face, but here was his girlfriend, wearing makeup, a beautiful dress, and had her hair cut and curled.

“What? Do I look bad?” she asked. Leo realized he was staring and looked down, his face reddening slightly.

“No, sorry. I—you look amazing,” he said. Isabella blushed and thanked him. Leo held out his arm and Isabella hesitantly took it, keeping some distance from this stranger.

When they got to the car, Leo helped her in and they drove to the masquerade.

After half an hour, Tony parked at the castle’s parking lot, something he didn’t even know existed. They exited the car and Beatrice and Tony went to the entrance. Once they were permitted access, Isabella took Leo’s arm and they walked to the entrance, where a butler was waiting.

“Names please?” he asked. Isabella looked at Leo desperately.

“We aren’t on the list, sir,” Leo said. “We are the plus ones of Beatrice and Tony, who, I believe, just arrived.” The butler nodded and let them in.

Liam’s castle looked the same as it always had, except he switched the dusty stone floor to a large gray carpet. There were many guests, which was good if they needed a quick getaway.

“Can you see Liam?” Leo asked her. She gazed into the crowd.

“Yeah, he’s right there,” she replied, pointing to a man in a gray suit drinking champagne. He was talking to two people who Leo had never seen before.

Isabella heard something behind a wall. She put her ear to the wall to confirm her suspicions.

“There’s something here. Behind this wall. We should follow that corridor,” Isabella said, pointing to a hallway. They went into the passage and walked until they found a door. When Isabella opened it, they found a pool that extended from one wall to another. In the wall that Isabella was facing, there was a door that said NO ENTRY, LIAM AROH’S PRIVATE STUDY..

“How do we get there?” Isabella asked. “I mean, without swimming.”

“You could fly there,” Leo suggested.

“And how do I do that?” Isabella asked.

“You think about a motivation and try to channel it within you. Try imagining yourself in the air.” Isabella tried to focus on getting to the doorway, but she didn’t have any motivation. She had no memory of what Liam did to her or her friends. Isabella knew he was a bad person, but she didn’t know why.

“I can’t.” Isabella admitted. “I don’t know what he did. I don’t know why he’s a bad guy, only that he is. I can’t—"

“He tortured Simon, he killed Will, he imprisoned my sister and yours, and now your baby sister is sitting in a prison cell with Liam’s partner, whom we don’t know.” Isabella stood there, trying to focus. Small segments of her memory floated together to show her a scene of Will’s death, where Liam was running up behind Will, Leo holding her back, and finally the sword going through Will’s chest and the trap exploding, leaving behind nothing.

Isabella saw the scene repeat itself multiple times in her head. She imagined herself hovering in the air and, with the help of her pain, she managed to levitate a few feet in the air with tears beginning to form in her eyes, like snow falling on her lashes.

Isabella floated across the water and tried to open the door.

“It’s locked.” Isabella said. Without thinking, she grabbed the air and pulled a translucent key out of nowhere. Shaking it in the lock, the door opened. Leo stared at her.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“I… have no idea. I didn’t even think about it. How are you going to get over here?” Isabella asked. An idea formed in Leo’s head no sooner had she asked.

“Maybe you can try to make me fly?” he suggested. Isabella visualized his body floating in the air. Beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead as Leo flew onto the ledge next to the door. She fell to the ground and would’ve made a giant splash if Leo hadn’t caught her. He helped her stand upright and when she could stand without his help, he opened the door.

Inside was a small, dark room with a large bulletin board in the center of it. When Isabella turned on a lamp on an empty desk, the bulletin board showed pictures of Isabella from when she was 1 to a picture of her chasing Liam’s flying car. Leo recognized her in most of the pictures, because her face had barely changed, but Isabella stared in confusion at the board.

“Who is that?” Isabella asked.

“That’s you,” Leo replied in shock. “But how did he get all of these pictures?” Isabella’s worst fears were confirmed. She didn’t want this to be true, but the thought that had formed during her coma had to come out.

“The Cosmos.”