Saphora: vol.1 Retention (The Athena Universe) (37 page)

Patterns began to form on the child’s back, at the nape of her neck. She was merging herself with Arol, and gaining what would be the start of her incredible power to come. Her eyes shifted their colour to a piercing white as the bounding took place. Arol’s wings finally stretched to their full wingspan, brushing up against some nearby trees and even threatening to touch the surrounding walls of the castle. Both their eyes closed as the winds began to die down, allowing the people to lower their arms from their faces. Arol’s wings returned to his back, and Saphora’s hair settled, now undone from its braided bun and about her face. When their eyes opened, they seemed to have a silent conversation with each other. Saphora smiling as her forehead came into contact with Arol’s snout.

             
“Pandemonium broke out here today at Clemming Zoo at what was supposed to be a very happy welcoming to their new dragon exhibit,” the African American woman announced as the scene cut to Arol in his cage, his eyes agitated, and his body tense. He was scanning the crowd, searching for something – for Saphora. He let out a roar every few moments, calling to her as he waited for her appearance.

“The newly discovered dragon, which was presented to the public today, suddenly
became disturbed at the opening of the exhibit,” she continued, showing footage of Arol lashing out behind the glass, and beginning to frighten the crowding people.

“The crowd, what was first thought to be upsetting the bea
st, was horrified when it started thrashing about behind its two-foot thick glass. It was later noted, that a woman, identified as a Saphora Mousescawits, was the cause of the beast’s distress.” The footage switched to that of Saphora breaking through the crowd, and stopping, as well as the dragon. The two locked their eyes, for what seemed like ages, before Saphora began walking towards the dragon, appearing to be in some sort of trance. The security tried to stop her as Fran called out to her, but when she was touched, Saphora lashed out to the side, the man who touched her fumbling back and making it appear as though she had thrown him.

“You can see as she tries to make her way to the dragon that security steps forward to pull her away safely. But when the man
attempts to move her away, she is able to throw him onto the floor, as she continues towards the glass, generating a warning cry from the dragon.” What they thought was a sound of warning was actually a greeting cry.

“More secu
rity began to storm Saphora who continued to push forward towards the exhibit. The dragon let out another cry, startling the crowd and the employees.” The scene switched to the screaming Fran, who was being held back by Brad.

“Here we see Fran Mousescawits, an employee of Clemming Zoo, and the legal guardian of Saphora. It has been confirmed that Saphora is also the leading suspect of the Jones case, which happened only a couple of weeks ago.” The camera zoomed in on Saphora’s disconnected expression, her gaze fixed on the eyes of the dragon.

“After it was determined that Saphora’s actions called for stronger forces, sh
e was tranquilized, and carried away by security, and followed by her guardian, Fran.”

Footage was shot of Saphora falling
to the ground after being shot with a tranquilizer, causing outrage from Arol, who actually began to thrash his skull against the thick glass. People screamed, and finally began running away from the exhibit once the possibility of him escaping presented itself. Arol continued, shaking the building with each thrash until he was tranquilized as well.

“The dragon’s apparent rage was made clear after Saphora had been taken away. And a total of 74 elephant darts were needed in order to bring dow
n the beast, finally calming it down. Police are eager to get a hold of Saphora, as well as the owner of the Zoo, who had this to say.” Footage switched to a very tall, and very bald man in a brown suit, sporting a red tie.

“Obviously there was some connection between this dragon and that woman. From the footage I saw, it looked like they knew each other. I mean, did you see the way she was trying so hard to get to him? And his reaction. Obviously there was something going on there that we don’t yet understand.
I’ve been working with animals for years, and I know what a bond between wild animals and people looks like. And that, is what I saw.” The camera switched back to the reporter.

“Could this woman have known this creature? If so, how? Whatever the case may be, I’m sure that this is a day that will not soon be forgotten. This has been Yoldine Carter, reporting for channel 17, eye-witness news. Back to you, George.”

Saphora’s eyes fluttered under closed lids as a soft groan vibrated her vocal cords. Her conscious had slowly been creeping forward from its visit to the past. Her head turned, as her eyes began to pry open. And then with sudden alarm, she sprang forward into a sitting position in her bed. She looked around, almost frantically. That anxious feeling soon fading when she realized where she was. Somewhere safe. And then the feeling of safety faded into a feeling of remorse, when she realized that Fran was not by her side, looking over her. Not wanting to stay in bed after what she had just seen – no, remembered, she flung the blanket from her and moved to the edge of the bed to sit up. She gave a glance to the bedside clock that read 5:47PM, before making her way out of her room with the intention of going down stairs to talk to Fran about what had happened. But as she rushed out of the door, she found herself running into Fran in the hallway – practically knocking her over.

“Oh! Saphora, you’re up!” she said with joy, springing forward and wrapping her arms around her neck to hold her. Saphora’s
body actually tensed from the sudden affectionate contact, and her body took a few moments to adjust before reacting and placing hands on Fran’s back. “I was so worried … How are you feeling?” she asked, pulling back to see her face, while her hands remained on Saphora’s arms. Saphora couldn’t help but smile. Not just from the fact that Fran was showing a bit of the persona she knew, but also because she was excited to tell her about what she had just seen. What she had just remembered.

“Fran …” Saphora laughed, moving her hands to grip Fran’s arms. Fran half nodded, waiting for her to say something about her well-being. “Fran, I remembered.” Fran’s eyes shifted to a worried gaze as she heard the words. And she was hesitant to respond.

“ … Remembered what, sweetie?”

“So much. My mother … it was her voice I was hearing. My father. He … well I don’t know about him but he was there too.”

Fran’s head spun. Her eyes dropped for a moment as she registered the information.
She remembered her parents?
Fran’s heart rate spiked, as questions and fears rushed through her thoughts. Her parents. Her actual parents. Where did that leave her? Would she leave to go find them?
She would
, she thought. Her little girl was going to go searching for her real parents, and leave her all alone. Fran shook her head slightly, trying to compromise with her own thoughts. She looked up at Saphora, who was beginning to watch her questioningly.

“Uh, where? Was where?” she asked, referring to the mentioning of her father.

“My dream. My memory.” she said, quickly rewording. “It was like … It was a completely different planet, Fran. I … I don’t think I’m from Earth,” she said with a little laugh.

Fran’s brows furrowed, as she listened. She had always known that Saphora wasn’t human. And she had always been willing to accept that and take her as she was. With all her special gifts. She had always known that she was from another world. She didn’t know how she came to be on Earth, but she didn’t care. She had always seen Saphora as the daughter that God had given her to compensate for
her inability to have children. She was never going to tell her, of course. She had done her best to make Saphora feel as normal as possible, as impossible as that seemed.

Fran looked down again, trying to hold back the emotions that were beginning to spill forward. Why did she have to remember? Why couldn’t she just be content with being there with her? She knew that Saphora would now be bent on finding her parents, and that she would have to let her go. But she couldn’t help but
fret over what it would be like if she hadn’t remembered. If she could be convinced that she hadn’t remembered, but just dreamed it all up. Her grip on Saphora’s arms grew a bit tighter, and Saphora noticed. She tilted her head downwards to try and look into Fran’s eyes.

“Fran?” she asked, a little concerned.

Fran’s mind was racing, and slowly but surely corrupting.

What if she could convince her that it was all false? That the thoughts were false. A result of her fainting at the zoo? Then maybe she would drop it. Maybe she would let it go and not chase after her parents, but continue to stay with her. Fran shook her head, putting on a reasoning smile as she looked back up at the waiting Saphora.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream, hun? We don’t want another repeat of what happened with the police.”

Saphora’s heart stung, hearing the words. Hearing the doubt. The
mockery
.

“What?” she could barely utter. “What does my
memory
have to do with involving the police?” she said, sounding offended, as she was.

“We don’t
know
if it’s a memory, hun. It could just be your mind working against you again,” Fran tried to reason with her. Saphora shook her head, dropping her hands from Fran’s arms and prying herself from her grip. She even took a step away from Fran, which caused her to frown. “Saphora,” she said with distaste. But emotion had stirred in Saphora once again.

“I can’t believe this …” Saphora started in a low voice, her head turning away from Fran for a moment. And then it snapped back up, suddenly stricken with grief and betrayal
. It tugged on the strings of Fran’s heart, but she stayed quiet as Saphora’s emotion poured over once again.

“Who
are
you? Huh?” she asked Fran. Fran furrowed her brows and shook her head hesitantly.

“What?”

“I said who are you? Because the woman that took me in and loved me with everything she had is not standing in front of me. The woman who believed me. Believed
in
me! Where is she? You’ve done nothing but doubt me, mock me, and scold me ever since that day I saw Tebias in the woods. And again when I saw him at the-”

“But
honey, you
didn’t
see-“

“
Yes
I did! You stupid human!” Saphora spat, making Fran take a step back in shock. Her hand rested gently against her chest to console its thudding beats.

“
Saphora
,” Fran stammered.

“You’re
all
the same! You never want to believe
anything
that you don’t understand. Anything you’re afraid of! You must fear me, Fran. Is that why you won’t believe me? Is that why you would do anything to keep my truth buried away forever?” she continued, taking a step towards her now, making Fran retreat a step down the hall. “Well I’m sick of it! If you’ve decided that you’re finished being the closest thing to a mother I’ve had, then I’ll go find my own.” she said, turning around and storming through the hall. Fran’s mouth fell agape at her words as she rushed forward to grab a hold of the bend in Saphora’s arm.

“Saphora, wait-“

But Saphora ripped her arm away from her as she spun around to face her again. Fran’s eyes welled up as she realized that she had just drove her baby girl away.

“Saphora, please.” she pleaded, reaching out again to touch her arm. But Saphora’s rage stopped her, almost in her tracks. Saphora’s eyes shifted into a white color, and a large gust of winds leap
t from her body, pushing Fran back several feet and making her lift her arms to defend herself. When the winds stopped, Fran’s trembling body allowed her arms to lower so that she could peek out at Saphora. And what she saw really did scare her. She saw the glowing white eyes, her hair, whipping about her head and face, the illuminated markings on her back, and the anger that seemed to be generating this immense amount of energy in the form of wind. Fran shook her head slowly, taking a few more willing steps away from her.

“… What
are
you?” she asked, barely over a breath. Saphora’s eyes faded to their not so natural, natural colour, but still maintained their ruthless glare.

“I
was
your daughter.”

Thank you so much for reading!

As a thank you, here’s a sneak peak of

Saphora vol.2 Residence!

Knowing exactly the shelf of the book she required, Artemis wasted no time scurrying in to find it. The large wooden double doors swayed shut behind her as she journeyed further into the familiar library. She had memorized every word, every photo, every map, every bent and wriggled page, every worn book jacket, every rip in every scroll, every dusty table, and every flickering bulb.