~ Helena ~
Victoria locked me in prison. I was alone. But, wait a minute! A woman lay next to my cell. I stared at her figure. “Mom? Is that you?”
The woman touched her forehead, and then she sat down slowly. “Helena?”
“Mom, what happened to you?”
“Please, don’t talk first. My head hurts.”
I reached out my arm through my mom’s cell. “Mom, don’t be afraid. I’m here. You will be alright.”
Then my mom tried to stand, but her body was unstable, and she almost fell to the ground.
“Mom!”
“I can’t see clearly! What happened?”
I bit my lower lip. It hurt me to see my mother’s condition like that. “Mom, hang on. You will be okay soon. Please lay down and take a deep breath. You will get better afterward.”
Slowly, my mom followed what I said. Then a fog covered her body.
“Mom!”
But then the fog disappeared. My mom touched her head, and then she sat. “Helena?”
“Mom? What happened?”
“I don’t know. A second before, my head pounded so hard that I wanted to remove it from my body. My eyes were blurry too. But then, when the fog surrounded me, in an instant, I felt better.”
“Oh, thank goodness! I’m so scared to see you like that. What happened until you could be here?”
“I was tricked.”
“What?! How?”
My mom hugged herself. “A police officer came to our house shortly after talking on the phone. He told me you and Ethan had an accident, and your condition was critical. He asked me to go with him to the hospital.”
“Oh, no!”
My mother let out a long sigh. “After I brought clothes for you to change, I searched for the police’s car and went out of our house. But then I was smothered and then unconscious later.”
“They are evil.”
“They?”
“It’s Constantine and his mistress, Victoria. She tricked me until I believed you sent me a text message.”
“No, I didn’t.” My mother shook her head. “I lost my consciousness and just awoke when you called me.”
“Victoria must be brilliant since she could follow your writing style. It was weird that you went to your friend’s house for three days, but since the writing was the same as your usual style, I believed it.”
“What should we do now?”
“I will contact Ethan. He will save us.”
“But what if Constantine harms him?”
I bit my lower lip. “You’re right. What should we do?”
“We should think of a way to escape.”
“But how? I came from the front door, so I know how big this castle is. Even if we can reach the door, Constantine and Victoria may catch us.” I took a deep breath. It was a critical situation, so I didn’t have any other time to tell my mother, but now. “Mom, I want to tell you something, but please, don’t be shocked.”
“What? Are you pregnant?”
I grinned. “No! It’s about Ethan and Constantine, mom.”
“What about them?”
“They are not human but werewolves.”
“What?!”
“Mom, I love Ethan. It doesn’t matter to me that he is a werewolf. But, please, mom, say something.”
My mother laid her head on the wall and closed her eyes. “I should tell you from a long time ago, but I didn’t want to break my promise.”
“Tell me what? What promise?”
My mother opened her eyes and walked toward me. She reached out her hand, and I held it. “Helena, it’s about your parents.”
My heartbeat was fast, but I tried to stay calm. “What about them?”
“Mia, your mother, was not an ordinary human.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She was a witch.”
“What?! You must joke!”
“No! I told you the truth.”
I took a deep breath. “Why did you tell me just now, mom? Why?”
“Because I may have no time left. We are captured here. Who knows if Constantine will kill me?” My mother closed her eyes again. Then her tears moistened her face.
“Oh, mom, don’t cry, please! I don’t blame you. It’s just that I was shocked to hear it.”
“I like Ethan. Being a werewolf means he is powerful enough to protect you.”
I nodded. “I’ll try to contact Ethan.” Then, touching my neck on the bite mark, I took a deep breath. However, I couldn’t reach him. “Strange.”
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t contact him.”
“Maybe because we are in the dungeon.”
I nodded. “What should we do, then?”
“Let me finish the story about your parents. Let’s sit first.”
After sitting on the floor, my mom continued her story. “At first, I didn’t know Mia was a witch. We were orphans, and we lived together. Then, when Mia met Jack, she moved with him. After that, I didn’t see her again until that fateful night.”
“The fateful night?”
“The night when your parents were killed.”
I closed my mouth with my hands. I didn’t know that my parents had been murdered. I thought I was an unwanted child all this time, and Mom Freya adopted me.
“Your mother came to my house with you on her chest. She was weak since she ran out of blood.”
My tears flew heavily to my face.
“She said, ‘Freya, Jack is dead. They killed him, and they chased me. Please, save Helena! You must promise not to tell her about Jack and me. Let her know you as her mother.’ Then she said, ‘But you must leave now since they are after me. They will be here soon.’ So she stayed in the house.”
“What happened later?”
“I hugged you and ran away, hiding in the bushes outside the house. Fortunately, you slept well, thank goodness. But, then, many people came that night. They burned my house. Mia died because of saving you.”
I shook my head and sobbed. “Why did they want to kill my parents?”
“Because they wanted to have your mother’s power. Your father died to protect your mother and you. Then your mother died to save you.”
I cried because I knew my parents’ identity, history, and death simultaneously. “Did you know that my mother was a witch?”
My mom shook her head. “No, Mia hid her identity so well. Only after her death did I hear from the people who burned the house that she was a witch, and they told each other what happened to your father. I kept my promise to Mia since I knew it was the best for you. I’m sorry, Helena.”