Her eyes bolted open and she forced herself up. Her legs kicked the duvet off herself in panic until they bunched on the foot of her large bed. She panted and her body shook from the scenes which passed through her mind in her slumber.

She stopped a sob from escaping her lips from the flashes of a horrid past and ran her hands through her long hair and the blonde locks spilled over to her front. A few days after her birthday for the past 15 years, it always happened. Memories of fire, screaming, crying, running, fighting, and blood would haunt her in her sleep.

She hugged her knees to her chest as she leaned back on the headboard. Her breaths came in pants as she calmed herself, eventually turning it back to normal. Looking up and around her green room, she saw the light coming through the gaps of her curtains and heard the birds twittering outside.

When she heard the knob of her door rattle, she made a grab for her covers and she lay back down, pulling it over her while pretending to sleep.

The sound of light footsteps flitted to her ears as the person crossed the soft carpeting of her room. A few moments later, she heard the sound of rustling before light landed on the lids of her eyes. She ended up groaning and covering her head with a big white pillow.

"Rise and shine, Nika dearest," she heard her aunt's voice.

"Later please," she said. A soft chuckle filled her room and she felt a presence move closer to her. The right side of her bed sunk before her aunt pried the pillow away from her head. Her eyes fluttered open and the light from her open window caused her to shut it again. She blinked a few more times before her eyes adjusted. Sitting up while rubbing her eyes, she yawned.

"Good morning, dear," her aunt said.

"Good morning Aunt Orelia," she said. She fixed her eyes on the beautiful woman sitting on her bed. Warm brown eyes met hers and she smiled at her aunt as best she could. She couldn't allow her to see the pain she felt from waking up from the memory again. It always saddened Orelia, and she didn't want her feeling any more sorrows and worries. She had already enough of it in her 44 years.

"What do you have planned for today, Anika?" Orelia asked. Anika pursed her lips before looking up at the ceiling, trying to recall what she had planned for the day. She only looked back at her aunt when she remembered.

"My group is one of the troops responsible for the security for this month's Market Week," she said.

"I see," Orelia said. "Be careful and come home early."

"Why?"

"We have a guest arriving from Scinan City," Orelia said. "The skycarrier he took will be arriving later this afternoon. I'm sure you'd be delighted to meet him."

"Who is he?"

"You'll know soon."

Anika paused and squinted at her aunt's face. There was a huge beam on her face and it looked like nothing could take it off her face. By looking only at the smile, she knew what was running in Orelia's mind.

"I already have Mike, Aunt Orelia," Anika said. "I thought you already understood that."

The beam on Orelia's face widened and her face glowed as she stood and twirled. Anika got a peek at the blue doll shoes that matched the color of her simple dress.

"I'm just saying that you'd be delighted to meet him," she said. "I'm not implying what you're thinking right now."

Anika gave out a sigh and threaded her fingers through her hair. She knew very well that her Aunt Orelia had doubts about her relationship with Mike. The young man was a Rovine and she was a Versal―on her mother's side. The two families had a very long and rocky history together, so she understood why Orelia had tried to convince her to end their relationship.

Anika got her to stop and change her opinion after shedding a few tears and straining her voice from yelling. However, Mike apparently changed too.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" Orelia snapped her out of her thoughts before they grew gloomy―gloomier. She only nodded before getting up from the bed.