Chapter 24

**Merianna**


I leaned over the bed to see them better, frowning down at them in puzzlement. Their names rang a bell, but they looked so young… younger than I thought I remembered. Were they really the same people as I thought they were? “Uhm…” I said looking down at them. “How well should I know you two?” I asked. Knowing of course that they would take offense.

They both gaped at me and Raska who had switched to sitting cross legged on my floor let her head hang down, her long ponytail hair falling to the one side of her face. Jasnine was still on her hands and knees and kept gaping at me.

“Raska…” She said softly, turning to the dark brooding witch. “My soul. I think she just ripped it out of my chest.”

Raska didn’t move but replied nonetheless. “Like that concerns me. I think she just removed my heart with a spoon.”

I blinked rapidly at their reactions. This was … so strange.

“I probably should have explained the circumstances to the two of you before you went flying out of the kitchen in a mad dash.” Came Noch’s bored voice from my doorway. I looked up at him and frowned.

“What circumstances?!” Raska exploded, moving in a vicious wave of shadows, suddenly appearing next to Noch trying to stare him down into a grave, even though her head only reached up to his shoulders.

He sighed and took a sip from his coffee cup. Thyrion had snaked an arm around my waist and was looking at me worriedly like I might have hit my head or something.

I gave him a perplexed look and pulled my gaze back to Noch who was looking at Raska with one eye open over the rim of his cup. He sighed and gave Raska and Jasnine his full attention.

“The brat got herself caught in a soul spell after she died, so her memories and her power are a little haywire now after not having access to them for the past two thousand odd years. Every time she was about to remember during that time the spell was activated, it would kill her only to keep sticking on her and hiding her every time she got reborn.” He explained in a bored tone as if it wasn’t the shit storm that it actually was.

Jasnine and Raska both gaped at Noch in disbelief. “So she doesn’t remember us?” Jasnine asked fearfully turning back to look at my baffled expression, her eyes misting over with tears.

“Not quite.” Noch said. “We removed the spell not too long ago and she will be able to remember now without dying at the sight of us.” He explained like I wasn’t in the room with them. He noticed my peeved expression when he looked up at me and chortled into his cup of half-finished coffee.

Raska and Jasnine however moved over to the bed and sat on the opposite end that I was on. “You should remember us. I was your self-proclaimed Aunt when you came into the Order.” Jasnine said smiling at me with those tears in her eyes.

“And I was your stealth teacher here at the Order. You were my star pupil.” Raska said, smiling sadly at me and taking one of my hands in hers.

A memory was tickled to the surface.

*Taking a walk with Janine and Nelia into the forest to go and pick some herbs, having a picnic in the clearing close to a shrouded waterfall.*

*Playing hide and seek and a twisted version of tag in between shadows and throwing knives with Raska laughing from the darkness every time I was about to pounce on her.*

I shook myself from the memories and looked at the two much younger versions of themselves. “But you look so young!!!” I exclaimed, staring at the two of them. In my memories the both of them were just about in their mid-forties. Here sitting in front of me, they didn’t look all that much older than me at all! If I had to guess I’d say that they were both around 25-ish.

They both blinked at me for a second. Raska burst out laughing first. “Is that what made you look so confused?!” She giggled with obvious relief in her voice.

Jasnine smiled and shook her head chuckling. “You do remember that we go through a whole life cycle every time we get reborn right?” Jasnine asked smiling at me with just as much relief as Raska.

I looked down at the bedspread and mumbled that yes I did know that but I still didn’t expect them to look this young when I saw them again.

Jasnine and Raska looked at each other and Jasnine burst out with. “She’s still so CUTE!” Then she lunged and hugged me fiercely. Raska came over to Nelia’s side of the bed and shoved Jasnine away once she finally pulled back so she could move in to hug me too.

When I looked up after the hug from Raska I saw that Ara and Fog had also moved into the doorframe and was looking at the whole scene with endearing expressions.

“How are you feeling?” Noch asked as he sauntered deeper into the room.

I did a quick internal scan. “My energy feels more settled now, and I feel stronger, strangely enough. But most of all,” I said, and right on cue, my stomach let out a squelching and demanding growl “hungry.” I finished with a grimace.

Thyrion laughed and kissed my brow, Hezerial let out a relieved sigh with a smile and turned back to the breakfast he had brought into the room with him earlier. He took off an extra plate and glass from the tray and carried it over to me.

“You better eat and build your strength up. With the way your energy is running around at the moment I won’t be surprised if you eat all of us out of the castle before long.” Nelia chuckled to herself and walked back towards the door.

I smiled as I accepted the tray of food Hezerial placed over my lap, then squealed in delight at the sight of the French toast with thick rich honey and cheese shavings in separate little bowls of glass, along with a glass of juice that smelled like a divine blend of mixed fruits.

Everyone laughed at my reaction and then Noch spoke. “Come now infidels, let’s leave the little demon in peace while she devours her toast smothered in the perished future children of helpless birds.” He drawled as he started turning around with a smile.

A familiar tick raced through my body just when I had picked up the butter knife and fork. Without really thinking about what I was doing, my right hand pulled back and sent the butterknife flying for Noch’s head. The butt end of the knife hit the back of his head dead center and he whirled around with big startled eyes like he really didn’t expect anything to come flying towards him from my direction.

“Don’t you dare ruin my first breakfast back at the castle you old fart! I’ve been missing this place for forever and never even knew it! I ain't going to let you ruin that now by making remarks about eating toast smothered in eggs!” I glowered with my fork aimed at him accusingly like a sword, my clenched fists shaking in indignation.

He stood there for a second just blinking at me. So was everyone else in the room I noticed…

Then Noch burst out laughing, nearly doubling over as the fit struck him. I didn’t expect him to keel over laughing, I expected a smart ass comment, an insult to come flying, hell even a dagger to come flying at my head in retaliation. But definitely not this. Now it was my turn to blink at him.

Thyrion and everyone else wasn’t far behind Noch's laughter though. Thyrion laughed and hugged me close, seeming proud for some bizarre reason. Jasnine had plopped down on my desk chair and was fanning herself she was laughing so hard, Raska’s whole body was shaking with one of her hands covering her mouth, Nana Ara was cackling like a demented hag, Fog was trying to contain himself and failing brilliantly, Nelia had picked up the knife and was looking and laughing at the thing like it was the funniest object in the world, and Hezerial was smiling so broadly that I swore his face might split.