Chapter 3 (part 2)

Echo knew she had shifted into her human form. She could no longer hold the form she wanted. It was her human side that was failing her, so to be fixed, she had to change into that fading form. It's just how it works. She struggled to stay conscious and finally she was jolted awake. She could feel arms carrying her, making it feel like she was flying. That is, until her back touched lightly to a warm bed.



She kept slipping back and forth from being awake and blacking out. She couldnt even remember if she had managed to speak. She thought it was a dream, but she imagined she told Dymetri that she was giving up. After that, the darkness just seemed to swaller her up that much more quickly. It wasnt long until she was plunged into the black and the painfully loud pulse of her heart in her ears slowed and stopped. 'Finally...quiet..' she sighed in her head, and disapeared.



They say that as you die, your life flashes before your eyes...



Echo was falling into the first scene in the many flashbacks.



'Echo was looking into a crib at a baby boy. She, herself, couldnt be more than three. She stared at the sleeping child.



"Mama..? When is Tobi gowing to wake up. I wanna pway with my baby brover." Her voice was high and whiny as she called out loudly to her mother.



"Shh. Let the little guy sleep. You've played with him all day Carus. It's time for the little princess to sleep too." Her mother smiled down at her.



King Zavior's voice floated from down the hall. "Where's my wife? Sanella!" He called. He was angry for some reason.



Sanella looked at her daughter fondly for a minute, an apology in her eyes. "Mommy will be back in a few minutes. Please dont wake up Tobi.." Then she walked out of the room.



Curiosity grabbed hold of Carus' attention and she silently stalked her parents. She finally found them after many minutes, in a heated argument in the library.



The library was a beautiful room, filled with thousands of shelves and many many more books. There were two huge desks at the back by the window and chairs and rugs added colorful splotches to the room. It was Carus' favorite room in the castle. And her mother and
father were in the middle of the sunlit room, yelling.



"DO YOU KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW?" Zavior shouted. "WE CAN'T KEEP HER! IT'S AGAINST THE LAW! NO HALF-BREEDS ON THE THRONE! OR EVEN IN LINE FOR IT! SHE MUST BE KILLED! THE BLOODLINE CANNOT BE TAINTED!" Finally, the king broke down. "Im going to lose my baby girl.." He crumbled to the ground.



Sanella knelt beside him. "The people dont know yet. Not even about me. Do you not think our son wont turn out the same? For Gods' sake Zavior, pull together. This is not the face of the king." She lifted his chin up so he could look up at her. "Zavior..if she dies. I will be right beside her. "



Zavior stared up in horror at his wife. "No....no Sanella. No. Please! GODS PLEASE NO!" He pulled her down and held her like she was his only lifeline. He burried his face in her hair, shaking with broken sobs.



Sanella kept her head up, not a trace of a tear.



Carus stared at her parents for a moment longer before they noticed that they were being watched. Fear flitted across Sanella's beautiful dark features and she raced over to her daughter. Sanella scolded the girl quietly. "Carus. You were supposed to be in bed."



Carus looked at her mother with frightfull eyes. "Mama...what's gowing to happen to me..?"

Sanella looked down at her only daughter, tears welling up, threatening to spill over. "You're going to go on a trip. To visit some friends of ours for a while. They'll take good care of you. But it isn't safe for you to be here right now, sweety. So just trust mommy and daddy. Okay?"

Carus nodded, tears streaming down her face. She looked up at daddy. "When do I have to weeve?"

Zavior looked down at her unsmiling. "Soon. You'll have to leave very soon. By tomarrow. To be safe."

Sanella looked back at him, startled. "Will they really want her gone so quickly? But.." She mouthed the next words. "Who will we give her to?"

He looked down at his tearfull wife. "Yes they will. And Anton will take her to her new place to stay."

"Is it wise to trust Anton?"

"He has not threatened us, he is a guard. He will be faithfull or will be releived of his duties permanently. He knows that."

"I mean...can he know about her being hidden? Wont he tell the others? It will all spread. Our efforts will be for not."

"Nonsense. Now get her to bed and pack the necesities for her. She will leave before first light."

Sanella's tears finally started streaming down her cheeks as she looked back at her confused daughter. "Come on Carus. Let's get you some sleep."

**Scene change

Anton was carrying the sleeping little girl. His master had given him the address of an orphanage. It was where she would stay until the right family came to take her home.