Lathonia At War

I was anxiously sweating. I was tossing and turning in my bed. I was in the middle of the greatest war of all the wars in our realm. The dream was about knights and princesses with fire-breathing dragons. A prince was about to slay the dragon, but it ended when I heard the thunder roaring in the distance. It had been like this for days; non-stop rain, no sun, no lively action, no birds in the forest trees or deer in the meadow. It was all gloom. It seemed only a moment ago when Zander, my brother, and I were playing about in the fields with the cattle and horses. I fantasize about our life before the hurricane hit our newly-miserable town of Liniyopolis. As I daydreamed about how life was then, my current life hit me fast and hard. My mother screamed for me as I rushed to the other side of the house. I heard her yell, “Adriana! You best get your whiny hiney over here!” That was her favorite comment to say. She also said she had been calling me for five minutes, and I did not believe that. I scrambled to our dining room, which was also my parent's bedroom and the living room, to eat some cold soup Mother had made. It was a day like any other. In a little house, with a little family, little happiness. These are perfect words to describe my life, up until the next five seconds when we heard someone at the door and the person at the entrance asked, “Hello? Is anyone home?” Mother pardoned herself from breakfast and checked who was at the door. I heard some soft whispering in the doorway. Something around, “Oh, what are you doing here?” I could not hear anything else. When Mother returned, she introduced me to a tall, dark-haired, slender woman named Nadia Belaine. I put out my hand to greet her and tried to speak, “Hello, my name is-” She put her finger up to interrupt me, so she could say, “I know who you are, Adriana.” She frightened me a little. There was pure quiet for the next couple of seconds. My mother broke the awkward silence, “As you should, Ms. Belaine, seeing you are the kind woman that gave me my daughter.” I was confused just as much as I was frightened. “Mother, what do you mean?” Ms. Belaine answered, “I figured you wouldn’t recognize me, seeing as you were just a baby when I gave you away.” Thunder shook the house right on cue.I hoped Mother was joking, though she was not known for her jokes, so hope was not an option for me. I backed into our little couch and paused. I croaked two simple words, “My God.” Was all of my life a hoax? Was my entire life wronging me? Was everything just a stupid joke to them? Thoughts flooded my head as if my body was submerged in the water that drowned my town. My newly-discovered mother, who didn’t show her face in my life for over ten years, showed up out of the blue. I had nothing to think about. I had nothing to feel. I suddenly get sucked into the void of reality. My mother shook me to snap me back into life, “Adriana? Come on, child, snap out of it.” I fell to the floor asking myself what to do. I had no idea where my life would go from there. My mother explained how she found me at the shelter for orphans and settled the debt of my adoption. Ms. Belaine answered, “I want you to come home.” And to this suggestion, I argued, “This is my home.” I figured she would leave it at that, but she kept pestering me. She even said, “You won’t ever have to want anything again. You won’t have to live in this pigsty anymore and lie in a bed three times too small. Just come with me.” I always refused. It wasn't until she walked to my room and I followed behind, “Look, Adriana, I love you as if I have lived with you all those eleven years. But, you need to listen.” I tried to speak when she put a finger up and continued, “I-I need to show you something. But you must come with me. Please.” She held my hand. Her face got pitiful and soft like clay with water. She didn’t look as frightening as before when we first met. Perhaps if I go with her to see what it’s like, I will want to stay. Or I will dislike it and go home. Only one way to find out. “Right, I will go with you,” She got excited and said happily, “Oh, what a good day, I’m going to pack right away.” I interrupted her, “Only on one condition. If I dislike it and want to go home, you shall take me.” She leaned in and said kindly yet almost menacingly, “Oh, I assure you, you won’t”. Thunder boomed in the distance. I started to pack right after she exited my bedroom. I assure you, you won’t? What does that mean? Perhaps it was my childlike imagination going crazy, but she sounded ominous. When I finished, my mother came to my room and said, “Come, Ms. Belaine is waiting.” I walked into my living room with my bag. We finally said goodbye. With that, I was off. “Where do you live, Ms. Beliane?” I asked her. “You may call me Mother.” Thunder shook the floor. She changed the subject, though I hardly realized it. It infuriated me that she thought I would call her mother. Because of this, I said, “I most definitely won’t call you that. I will stick with Ms. Belaine.” She took a deep breath and added, “As you wish,” I kept my promise. I did not say anything throughout the entire ride, besides mumbling to myself about how this was a mistake. Finally, the horses came to an abrupt stop. I heard the sounds of something cheery; birds, leaves, wind, water. It was the sound of happiness. I was home. When I stepped outside, everything was like I was home. The only things missing were my mother, father, and Zander. I had missed them dearly, though I knew they would be fine without me.