--Sorry that it has been so long but life gets in the way. Between school and life in general, my story took a back burner.--
"I might be a what?" Rhiannon couldn't help sounding incredulous. She didn't want to believe Natasha but how else could she have these thoughts and feeling. Could they be from a previous life? She had heard about previous lives before but the people who had experienced them had always died, "What do you mean? Reincarnated. You know what happens with past lives. They kill people; the forces cause the body to overload. No one I have ever read about has survived," she started pacing across the ground, "Why are you telling me this?"
I told you this because you have a right to know. I also knew the woman you were reincarnated from. Her name was Tanya. I saw you one day and thought she was back. It was a jolt to my system," Natasha turned from Rhiannon and wiped the tears from her eyes, "Would you like to know more?"
"Yes, I would, please." Rhiannon answered.
"Then follow me," Natasha started walking across the cemetery at a fast pace.
Rhiannon had to walk at a slower pace because she couldn't see the low headstones. She took a step forward and felt herself start to fall, but she never hit the ground. Instead she felt a pair of arms around her waist and felt herself be put upright.
Natasha felt Rhiannon's body against her own and wondered if she would be able to keep her hands to herself. "Are you ok?" she asked.
"Yes, I am. Thank you. I'm sorry. I seem to be slowing you down." Rhiannon told her.
"No, it's my fault. I forgot I was with you. I can see the stones so I don't trip but you can't see without the moon or sun." Natasha explained.
"So, it would seem we are both at fault," Rhiannon replied.
"Yes, it would seem so. Come on, take my hand. I know of a way to get there faster," Natasha held out her hand.
Rhiannon placed her hand in Natasha's and felt a flare of heat right to her core. "Where are we going" she asked.
"You'll see. Just trust me." Natasha thought of Alina's castle and seemed to disappear from the cemetery and appear somewhere in the mountains. A select few knew exactly where Alina's castle was. Alina had a spell put on it to make sure that anyone who was there that was uninvited would forget the location as soon as they left the land and they had no way of communicating it to anyone outside of the property line.
Rhiannon stumbled as her feet met the ground and a queasy feeling entered her stomach. She felt like she had just gotten off of an upside down roller coaster.
"Did you have to run so fast?" Rhiannon asked.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't risk being followed. Many would love to overthrow Alina and take her place as queen or king of the vampires. I can not risk it." Natasha replied.
"Alina...My mother, Alina." Rhiannon felt as if the air had been sucked from her lungs.
"Yes, Alina. She is the only person who can explain all of this." Natasha turned to go inside.
Rhiannon followed at a slower pace, looking at her surroundings. Her mother didn't spare any expense. The yard was full of many different types of flowers and shrubs. They were in bloom which was confusing being on a mountain surrounded by snow.
"Are you coming or are you going to stand there staring?" Natasha asked from the doorway.
"Yeah, I'm coming. I was just looking around. It's so beautiful." Rhiannon told her.
"I know. It never fails to amaze me that she made it this far." Natasha replied. "Come on, this way. We have to hurry. If I know Alina then she already knows you're here and why."
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"You would guess right, Natasha. I knew you were here before you ever crossed my borders. My seers told me to expect a special guest." Rhiannon turned to see a beautiful woman with long auburn hair with red streaks through it, walking toward them. As the woman got closer, Rhiannon saw aquamarine eyes and a small, sloping nose. She looks just like me, Rhiannon thought.
"Rhiannon, come here, child." Alina asked her, not knowing what was going on inside her head.
Rhiannon walked to her mother, wow, her mother. It didn't seem real.
"You seem troubled, child. What is going on inside that head of yours?" Alina asked her.
"I didn't know about you. Now looking at you is like looking at my reflection. I could be looking at a mirror for all I knew. Why did you agree to keep me a secret? Do you know what I had to endure from her? Didn't you love me enough?" Rhiannon couldn't help what she was saying. It didn't dawn on her that you don't talk that way to royalty. She was too pissed to care.
"Never think that I didn't regret my decision every day of my life. I loved you. I didn't want you to grow up ridiculed and laughed at. You are different. You can walk in the sun whereas most of our kind is pushed to the darkness. Your friend here" gesturing to Natasha, "is one of the lucky few who can bask in the daylight and not die. I wanted you to have a different life."
Alina turned to walk away, "Wait, I need your help." Rhiannon called after her.
Alina turned back, "I know. Follow me. There isn't much time. Midsummer is almost here. That is when all will unfold."
Rhiannon knew that Midsummer was one of the most powerful days of the year and that it multiplied a witches and vampires power almost tenfold.
Rhiannon followed her mother into the solar where she saw tempered glass. So that is how many vampires were able to sit in their houses with the windows uncovered. Rhiannon felt a presences behind her, turned and almost walked into Natasha.
Natasha put her hands on Rhiannon's arms, "Are you Okay?"
"Yeah, I wasn't paying any attention. I thought I saw something in the windows. Almost like a shadow or something you see out of the corner of your eye and when you turn to get a better look, it disappears." Rhiannon told her.
