Anna

I stared up at the night sky, frustrated. Why does the sky have to be so cloudy? I want to watch the stars! The gradually increasing winds and the scent of growing humidity were clear signs that rain was swift approaching. I glanced over to Mom, who was still sleeping. I should wake her, soon... I feel bad for having to do so in the middle of the night, but we have to find shelter.

Drawing in a deep breath, I went to shake her awake. Before I could touch her, however, her face twisted into one of anger, shifting away. "N-no... Won't let you -- no! Stop!"

"Mom?!" She must be having a nightmare! I really have to wake her up, now! I placed a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her. "Mom, it's me, Anna. I'm here."

Her response was to slap my hand away. Her breathing quickened as she thrashed more violently. "No! Let us go! Anna, no! I'm so sorry!"

My heart started to race out of control. What's going on?! Why isn't she reacting to me? I tried once more. "C'mon...you can do this...wake up..." My voice was thick with tears.

She began to tremble, giving up in my touch. "N-no... Let her go. I won't let you have her... Va-Validar..."

That name struck some chord deep within me. Validar...

"N-no!" With one last shout, Mom's eyes shot wide open, quickly sitting up. She frantically looked around as her breathing settled. Then, she turned to me. "A-Anna...?"

"Shh... It's ok. You were having a nightmare," I whispered, rubbing her back. "We're safe. I'm safe. Don't worry."

She nodded, swallowing thickly. "Th-thank, love. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

I shook my head. "It's all right. We all have nightmares every once and a while." I drew in a deep breath, being careful to choose my next words carefully. "Mom... You mentioned someone by name during your nightmare."

Her face paled. "Wh-who was it?" she asked, voice shaky.

"Validar."

She gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth and tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "...Validar..."

She's never mentioned that name before. It sounds like someone she's not very fond of, though; like they brought her pain. Could he possibly be...? "I-is he...?"

Mom nodded slowly. "Your father? Yes." She bit her bottom lip. "Your father's name is Validar. I can't believe you went almost seventeen years of your life not knowing your father's name..." She took my hands in hers, squeezing tightly. "Don't take that with sadness, Anna. That man does not deserve to be called your father. The only thing he ever did to give him that title was being the man to sire you."

I stared into her pleading eyes. I can't believe this... No, I won't back down this time. I need answers. "...Mom, please, tell me what you can. I deserve to know."

"You do. You absolutely do." She wiped away her tears. "Validar is the leader of the Grimleal faith and the current patriarch of a very ancient bloodline that is said to share the blood of the Fell Dragon, Grima."

"Wh-what does that mean?"

"Do you know how the Ylissean Royal Family is supposed to have the blood of Naga flowing within their veins?" she said. "Well, I suspect it is a similar case with your...bloodline. Why or how, I could not tell you. Not even I know how such a thing came to be."

My temples began to throb. "All of this is so confusing," I muttered.

Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. "As it should, love. It is understandable that you are confused," she sighed. "The main religion of the Plegian people is that of Grima. I won't go into all the details of the religion, but just know that they do not wish for him to destroy the world. The Grimleal faith is a group of Grima extremists that do wish for him to destroy all life."

I gasped, covering my mouth. "Oh, gods..." But if Validar is the leader and has the blood of Grima, thus making me have it... What does this mean?! I lifted my right hand, trembling as I beheld my mark.

"For thousands of years, the Grimleal have tried to resurrect the Fell Dragon. Supposedly, they needed someone to be born who would be worthy enough to aid in the resurrection." She fought to find her next words. "T-to know who this person was, they would be marked. For thousands of years, people of Grima's bloodline showed no marks. Not even Validar or his forefathers."

I began to tremble more violently. "B-b-but - I... Oh, gods... I'm marked... Does this mean that I'm Grima?" No. No no no no no no! I can't be! I'm not Grima! I'm Anna!

"Absolutely not," Mom reassured me, pulling me into a hug. "You are not Grima. I cannot stress that enough." She kissed my forehead. "I always assumed that the reason they needed you to resurrect him was that they wanted to use you as a sacrifice. To raise you in their ways only to slaughter you for their own gains. Even if my theory is incorrect, I would not allow them to assign you to such a fate - to be used like that. That is why I ran away with you. I couldn't let them murder my baby girl."

She hugged me tighter than she's ever hugged me before. "I have had a rough, rough life. There were times where I felt there was no light at the end of anything. However, when I had you, all of that changed." She began to stroke my hair. "You are my light. You made every single thing I've done so extremely worth it. And you are not Grima. You are who you want to be."

...She's right. She's absolutely right. I am not the Fell Dragon. I'm not some lamb that can be sacrificed. I won't let them. My whole life, I've followed Naga and her ways. I know she's up there protecting me to the best of her abilities.

Mom pulled away, keeping her hands on my shoulders. "Anna, I need you to promise me that you will never fall victim into the hands of the Grimleal and that you will not trust Validar ever. Do you hear me?"

I nodded, determined. "I promise."

"Also," she took my right hand in hers, "that you will always keep your mark covered to the best of your ability. We cannot risk someone in the Grimleal finding out who you are."

I clenched my fist, swallowing. "I will. I promise that I will."

She smiled at me. "I'm glad. I'm very, very glad."

Just then, water began to splash around us. I gasped, then that soon morphed into a giggle. "Um, I forgot to tell you, but I think it's gonna rain."

Mom laughed as more raindrops hit us. "I think I'll have to agree."

We managed to gather up all of our supplies and find a cave to take shelter in. As I looked out at the rain pelted forest, a feeling of lightness came over me. I'm so glad I know more about who I am, now. I won't let this bother me. I am Anna. The Grimleal will just have to try harder with their next victim. Hey...maybe I can aid in some sort of way to make sure they never achieve their plans! I'm not really sure how, but I know I can help in some way! But, that's for the future. Right now, my place is with Mom. I can't imagine ever leaving her side. We'll figure it out togeter.

*****
Woof. Sorry this was late. I got super distracted this morning (and by that I mean I was making baked French toast sticks XD). Anna finally has some answers! Hurray! And yes, your theory is incorrect, Evelina. I decided to go with an approach more like "Hey, I know you're this thing but I don't really know how or why you're needed" because I felt it better fit with my theories. I personally think that the Avatar knew that they had some connection to Grima, not necessarily knowing what that connection meant or how they were needed to bring them back. But ya know, that doesn't really matter in this timeline cuz she loses her memories. XD Another thing! I'm expecting my schedule do be a bit hectic pretty soon (I'm not sure when) because of a million different things. I STILL haven't finished my exams because of school cancellations so that's still a factor in my life. Yay, stress. And that's a mini update on my life. XD Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!