C6 The Unveiling: Exploring the Truth Behind Your Family History

My recovery didn't take too long. It wasn't like I had made an impact with those rocks. My bones were still intact, and my skin was flawless. Apart from the joy I felt on hearing that I wasn't human by Lycan, I was also happy that I suddenly had something to love. My father wasn't dead. He was alive, and he had saved me from suicide. And my mother. Well, I later learned that Amelia James was my de facto ma.

Then came the hard questions running amok in my head like a flock of scattered sheep.

"So you are my mother," I said when she put a cup of tea in my hands.

"Yes, I am," Amelia said.

I studied her features closely as I took a sip of my tea. Remembering my reflections every time I looked into the mirror, I realized that Amelia was undoubtedly the older version of myself.

"The mother I grew up with told me how I was found. In a museum. Why?"

"I do not think I am the right person to explain that to you, Valeria."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then who is?"

"Your father, of course."

"This is the second time you're mentioning him, but I haven't set my eyes on him. If you say he saved me, is he anxious to see me?"

Amelia said nothing in response to that. She had none. And I had to wonder what she was hiding and why.

"He will come see you in his own time and explain everything you need to know," she said, trying to placate me.

"And what shall I be doing till then?" I asked.

"Now that you have asked, I guess it's time to introduce you to the rest of the family. First, finish your tea."

As we left the confines of my monotonous ward, a thought struck me, and I marveled at how foolish I had made myself to be. Werewolves are known to live for a very long time, and thus, do not fall ill as normal humans do. All through my life, the one I've lived under the tutelage of Mr. and Mrs Gomez, there has never been a case where I fell ill. Not even once. And yet, Killian still saw me as different. A fraud. It didn't even occur to me until I stepped out of that room.

I realized that I never had a chance to defend myself. Killian was just too forward about putting me aside for good.

We step out onto a hall twice the size of Killian's study room. There are sturdy pillars and the ceiling is made of a tapestry design of the Moon Goddess. "Where are we?" I had to ask.

"This is your father's home, Valeria. The palace of the Lycan King. We are in one of the halls."

I looked back and swapped the tents. "A tent was made for me?"

"Well, your return quickly garnered a lot of attention and people wanted to see who the King's lost daughter was. So instead of putting you in one of the chambers, we put you here. Come on, let's go."

I feed my eyes on the picture before me. The hall alone looked better than any room in Killian's manor. The widows on one end of the wall were so tall that they almost touched both ends of the building. I took a peep through one of them and marveled.

"This hall isn't the ground hall," I said.

"No, it isn't. One can't put a princess in the ground hall, Valeria."

The rest of the hall was almost empty, but there were still some people who watched and bowed their heads as we passed them by. Men in armors, men in robes. Women in robes and livery too.

"My princess," was all they said in recognition.

"How long have I been brought here?"

"Since the night you jumped? Well, three days. And if you're wondering, this isn't the next morning, Valeria."

I gave her a look of horror. "How is it possible that I've been asleep for three whole days?"

Amelia stopped and turned to face me. "I don't know, Valeria. After we found and brought you here, your awakening was out of our hands. Maybe you should ask the king," and she was moving again.

"Should have thought word spreads around here quite fast," I said.

"Oh, yes. That happens. You'll come to notice that too."

Beyond the tall double doors is a lobby. We walk down some steps and turn left onto a balcony. On my left is a railing and a busy courtyard below.

"This place," I said. "Is much bigger than the manor."

Amelia said nothing. She probably wasn't my tour guide. Then I remembered that we were going to meet some people. On your way, I didn't see any flags or fabric designs depicting the name of the place. Neither were they any notable colors. People just appeared normal, like it was a free place without a ruler. Even though there was some Lycan Kong who was supposed to be my father.

We walked the entire length of the lobby and up another familiar flight of stairs I was beginning to think we had returned to where we started. Until I saw the passage and the paintings on the walls.

"Dome by our very own best," Amelia said with a hint of pride in her voice.

The paintings were all archaic.

"So you do prefer the old times to now," I commented, looking at a bare-chested man holding an ash staff and glaring into the distance.

"Those are our Lycan ancestors, Valeria. One of the oldest human presence in the world. These were the times of the Woodlands."

"How far back?" I asked.

"Too far back," she said.

"And the people who painted all these lived in those times?"

"Yes."

I decided to ask an interesting question. "Are they still living?"

"Yes. And one of them is your father."