Don't Destroy the World

Ember felt a wave of panic but she calmed herself. Knight Vantosia was probably trying to rattle her or her persona. She scratched her cheek and leaned back in her chair. She could lie but she was talking to the knight of truth so that was pointless. Of course, her persona probably wouldn't know that but no point in making her seem like she was hiding anything.

"I have time until I have to register," she answered and crossed her arms.

She saw the knight's eyes glow before he nodded. He studied her for a while, opened his mouth, and then closed it. He looked pensive before his expression returned to its normal stoicism.

"Mister Tom that will be all. If I have any more questions, where can I find you."

Ember frowned. She hadn't thought about that. "I move around a lot. I'm staying at the Tilted Lady but you can let Justine know and she'll contact me."

Knight Vantosia gave her a clip nod and looked down at his notes.

Ember took that as her being dismissed and hurried out of the office. She felt a wave of relief as soon as she left the office. She immediately used stealth and found a secluded place to drop her illusion. She then made her way back to her room. As soon as she stepped inside, she found her brother up and starring at her.

Ember blinked and closed the door, dropping her stealth.

"Ah, that's better," her brother said. "My eyes kept acting weird whenever I looked at you."

"It's because of the stealth."

"An ability, not a magic item," Rowan stated.

She nodded and sat down on her bed. "What are you still doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Rowan said with a shrug.

She knew that he must have stayed up worried about mom and her.

"Mom is back, too. She's just helping out the knights."

"I know. She stopped here before rushing out again," Rowan said, stifling a yawn.

Ember chuckled. "Go to sleep. We'll talk more in the morning."

Rowan grunted but climbed into the mat and blankets an acolyte had brought for him. Ember climbed into her own bed but she didn't fall asleep. Her mind was racing. Thoughts scrambled through her mind about what happened tonight. She was a bit bothered by the strange feeling she had right before they ran into Priest Beslen and the knights. But no one had noticed it and she was pretty sure the two trained knights or even Justine would have noticed something wrong.

It was the same with her meeting with Knight Vantosia. It had seemed off but when she thought about it, it was just the normal questioning of a witness. She was the one on edge, probably because of all the secrets she was keeping.

Which brought her to Justine's question. Why was she keeping everything a secret? Of course, there had been a reason to keep it a secret when she was in Goros. Lord Felis claiming her as his Seedling and harming her family in the process had hung over her like an ever-dropping pendulum.

But now she was in Hekral and as soon as she was registered, she would be out of Lord Felis's grasp. Of course, she would still need to hide the full extent of her abilities but she could notify everyone that she was a Seedling at least. So why was she hesitating?

She turned it over in her mind. Was she afraid? She hated to admit it but it was possible. She didn't have access to all of her abilities. She was also having troubles adjusting to the limitations of not just her abilities but her mind and body. Her emotions were all over the place and she had a hard time controlling them.

Her empire of power she built was gone as well as the people who supported her. All this time she had thought she had never depended on anyone but maybe a part of her had. She missed Tafria and Viera. She missed the Scarlet Fists and the walls of Thralen. She had struggled to carve a place for herself and all that hard work was gone and now she felt naked.

She sucked in a breath and let herself feel everything she had lost. She breathed out.

If she built a place for herself once she could do it again. This time it would be even better. For all that she had lost, more importantly she had gained another chance. A chance to save her family. Despite her mess ups so far, her mother and brother were safe and she had a plan to save her father.

She didn't have time to be afraid. She had too many things to do. Ember smiled into the dark and she began to make plans. She stayed up planning until her mother return. Only then did she allow herself to sleep.

The next morning, Ember informed her mother and brother that she ran into Bloom Larisel on her way to her room and she wanted to meet them for breakfast. Her mother looked startled at the invitation and rushed to make herself look presentable while her brother gave her a suspicious look.

"What are you up to?"

Ember grinned at him. "You'll see."

Once they were ready, Ember led them out of the temple. She gestured for them to follow her into a crowded shop and once inside, she put illusions on them and stealth on herself. Then they were out again and walking in a different direction.

"Ugh, my eyes hurt," Rowan complained.

"Was it really necessary to go this far," her mother added.

"Yes," Ember said. "I'll explain later."

"It's always later," her brother grumbled.

Eventually, she brought the group to a modest inn and paid for a room as well as having breakfast sent up. Her mother gave her a strange look at the money she doled out but didn't say anything. She probably thought Bloom Larisel had given it to her.

Once they were inside the room, Ember gestured for them to sit down. All three waited anxiously before there was a knock on the door and a barmaid brought in breakfast. As she moved to leave, Ember swiftly stood up, told the barmaid they weren't to be disturbed and locked the door behind her.

"Why are you locking the door?" Her mother asked. "Bloom Larisel will need to get in."

"There is something I need to tell you and we need privacy," Ember said.

Her mother gave a worried look to the door.

"Don't worry," Ember said. "There won't be a problem concerning Bloom Larisel." She gestured to the food. "Please make a plate for yourself."

"Shouldn't we wait for Bloom Larisel to arrive first."

"No. She's not going to eat with us."

Rowan snorted and dug into the food. Her mother looked nervous but she also made herself some food though it wasn't much. Ember could understand because she barely added any food onto her plate. her stomach was churning with nervousness. She ate a bite of bread and cheese before finally giving up and starting. First, she sent out a trail of air, making sure to pick up on any nearby sounds in case of eavesdroppers. When she felt they were safe she began.

"There is a lot I've been keeping from you both," Ember started. "I have...a lot of secrets."

"Yeah, you do," Rowan said as he tore into a slice of ham. She had splurged on meat. They both needed more in their diet.

Her mother didn't say anything but her silence was heavy. Ember knew she was still upset about everything she had found out yesterday. It would definitely get worse by the end of this conversation. Ember just hoped her reasoning would be enough.

"The first thing you should know, is about my ability." She called up Finder. The map shown in the air and unfurled.

"You've both seen it before. It's called Finder's Keeper and it is technically my only ability."

They both looked at her in confusion.

"What?" Rowan said. "But I've seen you do stuff. Like fire and water."

"Yes," her mother agreed. "You even put illusions on us."

Ember nodded. "I know, but I only have one ability. The thing is that you can only see one part of my ability." She pointed at the map. "This is the Finder's part."

She then raised her hand and called up a flame followed by a ball of water. "This is part of the Keeper part."

"Finder's Keeper allows me to find what I'm looking for and then keep it."

Rowan looked like he was piecing things together but her mother's eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. She looked horrified.

"You can steal people's abilities," she whispered and then looked around her in fear.

Ember winced at the word steal but she wasn't wrong. She nodded. "Yes. You can see why I would keep it a secret."

"So none of these abilities are yours?" Her brother asked and his voice was heavy with disappointment.

"They're mine," Ember said and now came the hard part. "The people I got them from no longer exist."

They both stared at her, looking horrified.

Her first reaction was to reassuring them that she didn't kill them but that wasn't true either. She had killed a vast majority of people she took abilities from though not all.

"How I got them is tied to my curse," Ember said, pointing at her eye.

Her mother's lips tightened in anger. "So you did know how you got it."

"No," Ember said quickly. "I only found out recently." She took in a breath and then released it. "When I went to get Dad back I got hurt. While I was hurt I had a vision and during that vision a messenger from Akashic visited me. She told me about the curse."

Ember stopped to look at her mother and brother. They looked unsure and confused.

"She told me the curse was payment for being able to live this life again," Ember said, forcing herself to keep her voice steady.

"Again," her mother breathed out.

Ember nodded. "This is my third time living this life. The abilities I have are ones I received in my past life."

They both stared at her. Her brother looked at her like she was crazy while her mother seemed to be trying to find the right words to say to her mentally ill daughter.

"It's why I woke up with the curse on my eye," Ember said and then raised her hand. She flickered through the four elements she had. "Fire, water, air, earth." She then turned her stealth on and then off, and then she changed her illusion. "Stealth, illusion. I can even put a person to sleep with a touch."

"Last night, when the girl passed out...That was you?" Her mother asked.

She nodded. "I also have Soul and Mind Resistance. Those are my active abilities but there are more but their locked away."

"That's nine! Wait ten with the map," Rowan said excitedly. He seemed to have gotten over that most of her powers were stolen.

Ember nodded. She decided not to include soul torture. That would open up a conversation she didn't want to get into.

"With all those abilities, do you really think I would have managed to get them all in Goros?" Ember met her mother's eyes. "I've lived this life twice before. It's my third time reliving it."

Her mother rubbed her forehead. "You asked me to believe you are reliving this life."

"I do," Ember said. "I know that isn't going to be easy. It's why I hesitated in tell you. The only proof I have is that when I register, I can promise you that they will only see that I have one ability, Finder's Keeper."

Her mother looked panicked. "You can't register. If they find out about your ability."

Ember shook her head. "Don't worry." She pointed to her eye. "I'm going to tell them that my curse prevents my other abilities from being seen."

Her mother still looked unsure. "People might figure it out."

Ember nodded. "In time, I'm sure they will. I just have to get strong enough for it not to matter by then."

This didn't lessen the worry on her mother's face but at least she seemed to be taking her seriously.

"Does that mean you believe me?"

Her mother's expression shifted from worry to guilt back to worry. "I believe you about Finder's Keepers."

"But not about the past lives," Ember said and she couldn't help but feel defeated. "It's true. Haven't you noticed how different I sound and how I act."

Her mother looked pensive before nodding. "Yes, you are different but...if you have relieved your life shouldn't you have known about the river attack?"

Ember groaned. "That was new. It didn't happen before in the past."

Her mother looked skeptical and even her brother gave her a doubtful look.

"Things change," Ember insisted. "Sometimes one change can cause a lot of things to change from how they were before. I don't know what cause the river attack but a lot of things changed. Before we never came to Hekral but we're here now."

Ember sucked in a breath and then let it out. "I promise I'm telling the truth. I can tell you about events that are supposed to happen but even those might have changed a little."

"Tell us!" Rowan said, excitedly.

"The man who kidnapped Meri, is supposed to kidnap Lady Allyana. Afterwards, Count Uniar locks himself in seclusion and his noble house goes to ruin. In 7 years we'll go to war with Farru and three years after that we'll join in a treaty with them in order to fight the Shade and stop the spread of their corruption."

Rowan blinked. "Wow, the future sucks."

Her mother smacked her brother's arm. "Watch your words."

Her brother pouted and rubbed his arms.

"Despite how your brother said it. He's right. The future you say you've lived sounds dark."

Ember didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't like she had control over that.

Her mother sighed. "I have to think about that. For now, we all should keep quiet about everything Ember said today. It could be dangerous if people find out." Her mother turned to Rowan, clasping his hands. "This is very important Rowan. I know how excited you get but you have to keep everything a secret, including your sister's abilities. Especially her abilities."

Rowan nodded his head solemnly. "I promise."

Her mother smiled at him before letting him go and turning to Ember. "Now, how much does Bloom Larisel know?"

Ember winced and sucked in a breath. She then casted a familiar illusion on herself. "Um, I'm Bloom Larisel."