Cursed Guardian

Chapter 5: Lady in White

When I opened my eyes, I saw Miss Aurora speaking, but I couldn't hear what she was saying to the woman in front of her, who seemed to be Miss Violet. When they noticed me waking up, they stood up and approached me. They were speaking, but I couldn't hear them. I just felt more dizzy. I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and then suddenly, I heard a sharp voice approaching my ear.

"AHHH!" I screamed while covering my ears as if my eardrums were about to shatter.

I slowly started to hear noises. "Kim, open your eyes," Miss Aurora said with concern.

"Is she okay?" Miss Violet asked seriously, shifting her gaze between me and Miss Aurora.

"She seems to be okay now," they breathed a sigh of relief as Mr. Klein said. When I opened my eyes again, the three Ultrons were in front of me.

"Can you hear me?" Miss Aurora's voice sounded concerned. I was about to get up, but she stopped me.

"Just rest," she said calmly.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to remember everything.

"You passed out! You've been asleep for six days," Mr. Klein replied bluntly.

"What did you and Zero do?" Miss Violet asked sharply, making me anxious.

I just shook my head, "I can't remember." I winced as my head started to ache even more when I tried to recall.

"Are you sure?" Miss Aurora clarified. I nodded in response. They all looked at each other.

"Uhmmm... okay, we'll just talk, you stay here, don't try to move, or else I'm going to break all your bones," Miss Violet threatened as I nodded again in response. They left me in my room. I felt a slight pain in my neck, and it was bandaged. I winced as I tried to move my right hand, and looking at the bandages, all the memories flooded back. From attacking Zero in a trance to being thrown away due to the strong and blinding power of my katana.

"I remember now," I whispered to myself. I saw the three Ultrons returning when they heard my whisper.

"Do you remember everything?" Miss Aurora asked.

"Yes," I replied softly.

"That's good if you do, we thought you might have a brain condition," Mr. Klein smiled, shrugging off his words.

"I don't have that," I weakly replied.

"Are you sure? I think you're even forgetting your own name," Miss Violet's cold gaze met mine, making me gulp nervously.

"What do you mean?" she raised an eyebrow, from my question and Miss Aurora and Mr. Klein was watching her, clearly waiting for her response. She crossed her arms before answering.

"Your real name is Snow Flame Stanford," her words almost made me dizzy.

When did I become Snow Flame Stanford? I can't recall having that name. I closed my eyes as a sudden headache hit me.

"I think we shouldn't force her to remember her past. Let her remember it on her own using her own methods," Mr. Klein suggested, probably noticing my sudden wince.

"Klein is right, Violet, pushing her to remember might worsen her condition; let her recover first, then we can discuss this matter," Miss Aurora agreed.

"Fine!" Miss Violet raised an eyebrow and added, "When you're better, I'll be the one to teach you. I'll show you how I molded your knowledge of everything I know. Okay, I'll leave you for now," she turned and left.

The three of us were left in the room, and I watched as the door closed.

"Violet was your Ultron Master before," Miss Aurora mentioned. "Now, close your eyes because you need to regain your strength," she added.

"How is Zero, Mr. Klein?" I asked softly, shifting my gaze between the two of them. Mr. Klein smiled.

"He's okay now, he just passed out for two and a half days, and only his hands were injured," Mr. Klein replied. I felt guilty for what I had done.

"What happened to his hands?" I asked curiously.

"They were burned, and he said if your thrown katana didn't break with your own strength, it could have ended worse," I felt a pang of conscience.

"I-I'm sorry," I whispered, realizing I was already crying.

"Kim, don't blame yourself because we know you didn't mean for that to happen, and we know you really forgot how to use your power," Miss Aurora said, shaking her head.

"I don't have amnesia, believe me, and I know it's my fault what happened to Zero," I pleaded with them, tears streaming down my face. Miss Aurora just smiled at me and gently touched my forehead.

"Rest for now, Kim, you need to regain your strength," she said, but I was insistent.

"I-it's not my fault, please believe me, Miss Aurora!" I sobbed.

"It's not your fault, Kim, just rest for now," she whispered, then she murmured a word in the air, causing my eyelids to feel heavy, and I fell into a deep sleep.

****

When I opened my eyes, I was in a wide, hardened area. I quickly looked around and saw a woman in a white cloak still facing away from me.

"What do you need from me?" I asked curiously.

"You're the one who needs me, aren't you?" I was surprised by her words. But she was right; I had questions in my mind that I wanted answers to.

"Y-yes? How did I gain that power? When I threw the katana, it glowed with snowflakes with a strange force," I explained to her.

She slightly turned to me, but I still couldn't see her face because of her cloak covering it. "I have only one answer to that, because you have royal blood."

"R-really? But how did that happen?" I asked in disbelief.

"Find the answer for yourself because you need to calm your mind to face the truth about the past war." I was confused by her answer.

"I don't understand you," I responded, feeling puzzled.

"Because of that, I will just give you a little bit of advice; train yourself to reach your full power, strength, unlimited stamina, and, of course, the technique of how you can control your guardians' power. Be careful of your limitations during training. It's good to start with gradual improvements," she added before stepping away from me. As she walked, she suddenly stopped.

"If you need to know a small thing, I'll wait for you here to answer your questions," she said, and a cold wind blew, carrying her away. She slowly turned into petals of different flowers after being carried by the wind, disappearing from my sight.

I immediately felt dizzy. I instinctively held my head and closed my eyes as my vision started spinning. I suddenly felt myself falling and darkness enveloped my sight.