Chương 2: Welcome Back, Little Tiara

Tiara coughed as the nurse placed the glass of water on her lips. Drops of blood dripped into the water, coloring it pink. She was in the patient overalls so when she looked at herself and saw that her red gown was missing she looked up at the nurse, her eyes tearing up.

"What happened to me?" she rasped, trying to remember how to speak. She tried to sit but it felt like all her bones were stuck together.

She could only move her head. Feeling even more suffocated, (the worst feeling in the world) she screamed. And screamed. She tried to kick her legs but they were stuck, they refused to listen and lay limp on the hospital bed.

More tears flowed from her eyes, "What did you do to me? Mom, where's she? She did this right?"

The doctor entered again with a stethoscope around his neck and asked her to calm down. "Your parents didn't do anything. Tiara, you've be—"

"I DON'T HAVE PARENTS! Just one lousy old mom!" she screamed at the ignorant man.

The doctor nodded, "Don't you want to know what happened to you?"

Tiara nodded and fell quiet, acting like the 12 year old she had been, all those 8 years ago. The doctor motioned to the nurse and she nodded. She walked over to a tray and picked up a mirror and placed it in front of Tiara.

She couldn't speak. Her eyes met her reflection in the mirror. Tears threatened to form again and she coughed in confusion, "Wh-who is this?" she asked, looking at herself in the mirror.

She saw a woman of 20 years in that mirror. With a toned, serene face and long black hair curling around her shoulders. Her eyes were the same but it had grown to become more cat like rather than cute and chubby.

"That's not me," she breathed in disbelief when the doctor answered her question.

"THIS ISN'T ME!"

"You've been in comatose state for 8 years, Tiara. You're 20th birthday is next month."

Tiara turned her head around to look outside the window, "But I'm 12..." she saw the flowers on the trees in full bloom. "And it's winter, why are there flowers outside?"

She cried then, and she did it quietly without a fuss, because she couldn't move.

"Why can't I move?"

The doctor nodded sadly, "Only your consciousness has returned, a miracle. But your body is still incapable of movement. There is a chance you will move again, but it's very low."

"Leave."

The nurse looked up at the doctor when Tiara said that.

"I said leave," Tiara ordered again, looking away.

Reluctantly the doctor took his clipboard back and left along with the nurse.

"We'll be back, Tiara. We'll need to run some tests. Don't go anywhere."

"It's not like I could, anyway," she mumbled under her breath and pouted.

8 years of her lives. All gone, flown away like dust and her eyes were closed all that time. She missed school, growing up, first loves, getting a best friend, 8 years of birthday parties and girly gifts from relatives. That hurt her, stabbing her from inside out.

She closed her eyes and cursed her state, 'Why couldn't I have looked properly before crossing the road?' The mirror was still on the table, kept upright so that she could still see her reflection on it.

She couldn't stop staring at herself. 'What have I become…'

The door swung open again and she tilted her head to see a tall unfamiliar face enter. He was dressed in dark clothes, a tattoo on his arm and wore black ripped jeans. His hair was double shaded, black at the roots and blonde at the tips, like a rotten pineapple.

"Who are you?" Tiara asked, looking him up and down, "Do I know you?"

He placed a hand on his heart and smiled crookedly, "I never thought this day would come. Welcome back, little sis."

Tiara's eyes widened in shock and looked at him up and down again, "Mitchell?"

He had grown to be a totally different person. And the last time she had seen him, he was so tiny, so dangerous looking yet so huggable. But right now he was just dangerous looking.

"Don't worry, Mom's not here. She doesn't know you're awake yet."

"Are they going to tell her?"

Mitchell nodded lazily, dragging up a chair and sitting next to his sister, "Yes, probably. But it's not like she would care anyway…"

Tiara frowned. However bad she may have been, she was still her daughter. "Why not?"

Mitchell looked down at Tiara in sadness, he didn't know how to break it to her.

"I tried to stop it…after a year of your accident, Mom decided to stop waiting. She thought you'd never open your eyes again and she took you out of the family register, handing 100% of the property and rights to me and her husband."

Tiara gulped. "She…she did what?" she could feel her hands trembling, but they weren't actually. That's when she learnt feeling your hands shake, your head pound, they were just feelings rather than actual physical pain. Just feelings.

And to mom, she was just a doll. Disposable, useless.

"What if it was you in my place? Do you think she would have done that?"

"I—"

She shook her head, "No. She wouldn't have. Because you are a boy. But because I'm a girl and only made to look pretty and smile at our guests, she gave up hope. Scratch that, she probably didn't even have any hope."

Mitchell shook his head, "You're being too emotional Tiara. You're 20 now, not 12."

"So what? So what, Mitchell? Will you give me 8 years of my life back? I'm stupid. Why did I even think of running away? You told me that you'd see me for dinner that day…why didn't you make sure that I was there? Who was there for me back then? Nobody. Then why care now?"

Mitchell looked up through his long hair at me in a deadly glare, "You're wrong." He frowned, "There were people who cared about you. You were just too blind to see them."

"Really now? Who were they, may I ask? I'd love to know," Tiara asked sarcastically.

"You won't believe me if I told you…" he said reluctantly.

"Oh come on, just say it," she snapped back at him. 8 years had passed, she lost a huge part of her life, but still hadn't lost her temper. Funny world.

"Valentine."

Her parched mouth went shut at that name. She had heard it before, but only once. Because it wasn't thrown around very much. Everyone knew him by another more common name.

"V?"

Mitchell nodded, confirming her thoughts which were exploding right now. The gang leader from back then? He cared for her?

"Was it…just care or something more?"

Mitchell stood up and laughed nervously, "That's for you to ask him."

"Wait—" Tiara tried to stop him but Mitchell had placed a hand on her mouth.

"Tiara. I came here to tell you something. Can I just say it and get it over with?"

She nodded and looked down at Mitchell's hand. He let go and dug his pocket, not taking it out yet.

"That accident. It wasn't your fault. It was a planned kill."

"What?" Tiara whispered in shock, "Why?"

"I'll tell you, but not here," Mitchell said looking around before taking a syringe out of his pocket. Tiara glanced at the syringe and stared at it in shock. "Wha-what's that? Mitchell!"

"Shh!" He held Tiara's arms and she couldn't resist. She screamed at her brain to withdraw her hand but that part of her head had just completely shut down. She watched helplessly as Mitchell injected the fiery red sparkling liquid into her main artery.

Without her realizing, the liquid burned like fire inside her arms, turning the cells in its way to ashes as it travelled down the inner arm and to the heart. The fire element took action as it conquered its path inside her body, later to be known as the Yume Fire Channel…

She felt her vision go blurry and she tried to look at Mitchell. His face was all mixed up in her sight as everything started to go black. Before she totally exited consciousness, she heard Mitchell's words which sounded like bubbles in her brain.

"You will have 15 minutes. Meet me at the Hush Fountain, Valoria Province. Take…" Tiara didn't hear the rest as she fell into somewhere unknown.

All the feeling she ever knew came rushing in at once everything so vivid and stark. Like in a dream.

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