Ramone led me to the top of the tower. Under the glass roof was a beautiful garden, half of it gleamed under the sunlight, the other half illuminated by the moonlight. There was a fountain on the far side of the garden, a statue of a fair maiden stood in the middle, pouring water from a jug. There was an elaborate garden table in the center of the garden, with intricate carvings in its white wooden surface, along with complementary chairs. The table and chairs seemed to hover above the ground as if they were floating. On the table were various desserts on tiered cake stands and dessert baskets. There were already three people at the table.

"Summer, my dear, you've come to join us!" said Nature as soon as she saw me.

My mother sat at the other end of the table along with two other girls, one of them I recognized from before.

"You..." I muttered.

"Hello Summer, I'm Spring Seasons, your older sister," said the girl with pink hair and purple eyes.

There's no way we are related. That would explain why she seemed so fairytale-like when we met earlier. She reminds me of a fae that lives deep in the magical forest. 

"You're scaring her, silly!" giggled the other girl.

This other girl had her curly, brown hair in two low buns. She had these mesmerizing yellow eyes that sparkled and a cute, mischievous smile. She had freckles on her darker skin and a button nose. She wore a cream turtleneck sweater and a short, flared skirt in black, with black sheer leggings and brown wedge boots.

"I'm Autumn Seasons, your little sister!" she giggled and waved.

"Have a seat, Summer. There is much we have to discuss," said Nature.

One of the chairs lowered to the ground. I hesitantly sat down and it floated back up towards the table. 

"Are you alright, Summer?" asked Spring in a gentle voice.

"Just a little overwhelmed..." I replied.

"You must be hungry! You should try the Ruby Cakes, they're my favourite!" said Autumn as she offered me a small, circular, bite-sized cake covered in white frosting and a red sphere on top. 

"Thank you," I said.

I took a bite and the flavours instantly burst in my mouth. I tasted cherries that were sweet and tangy. It complemented the soft, fluffy texture from the cake and the sugary frosting. The red sphere on the top melted in my mouth as if it was the softest and creamiest ice cream that somehow doesn't melt at room temperature. This cherry jam-filled cake was tiny, yet powerful. It left such a strong, fruity punch on my tongue that I was left wanting more. 

"That was delicious!" I exclaimed.

Autumn giggled and clapped her hands together.

"I knew you would like it!" She said.

A breeze swiftly passed us, carrying brown and orange leaves. It nearly threw me off my chair.

I regained my balance and asked, "What was that?".

Spring replied, "Don't worry, it happens whenever Autumn is excited,".

"Help yourself, Summer. Would you like some tea?" asked Nature.

I nodded, still overwhelmed and stunned by my surroundings.

Nature gestured towards the teapot and it floated to my teacup, pouring a generous amount of steaming pink liquid.

I breathed in the wonderful rose scent from the tea. It changed its colour from bright pink to pale pink, and back to bright pink.

Spring sensed my nervousness and gently placed her hand on mine, "Rose tea, it's soothing,".

I carefully took a sip from the teacup and let its contents warm me. The rose was subtle, just enough to give it a fragrant scent. I felt my muscles relax and took a deep breath. Spring was right, it was soothing. 

"I believe we have some explaining to do," said Nature.

Spring and Autumn looked at her and nodded, then turned back towards me.

Nature took a deep breath and said, "This is Penumbra, our home. It consists of both light and dark, and the four seasons being Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each of you represent a different season,".

She gestured towards us and continued, "Keeper of Spring, keeper of Autumn, and you Summer Seasons, are the keeper of Summer,".

"What about Winter?" I asked.

Everyone at the table tensed. Spring and Autumn looked uneasy, and Nature looked worried.

"You see, Summer, your father and I did not agree on a lot of things. We are complete opposites. I am the guardian of light, and he possesses the dark. We protect and defend, but he wanted more. He wanted power. He left one night in hopes of exploring the extent of his capabilities. Since then, we have been enemies," she explained.

"So my father... He's evil?" I asked, shocked.

"He wasn't always. He used to be a good man, and he cared very much for all of you, but he was blinded by his determination and ambition. Soon, he will be after the light crystals. With all five of the light crystals, he will be unstoppable..."

"Wait, you haven't explained what happened to Winter. Was she my sister too?"

"Winter was the youngest. She was curious, that child." Nature smiled sadly as though remembering a painful memory.

She continued, "Your father left when you were only six. Winter refused to believe it and went searching for him. There's only so far a six-year-old could get. She went into his study and you found her. No one knew what really happened but you two fought and unfortunately, she cast a spell on you and hurt you...".

"What?" I whispered.

"Seasons are not supposed to harm each other. When she did, both of your elements switched..."

"Elements? What do you mean?" I asked, desperate for answers.

I felt like the more I asked, the more questions I had.

"We all have our own elements," Spring said, "I have the earth element, Autumn has the air element, you have the fire element, and Winter has the water element,".

"Our elements give us our powers, that's why we have different abilities," said Autumn as she gave a warm smile.

"Your elements switched when Winter attacked you by accident. That is the reason why you can now control water," said nature.

"I used to be able to control fire?" My eyes went wide.

Autumn whispered, "Yeah and Winter shoots ice!".

"Can I shoot ice?" My eyes went wider.

"No," said Nature, "You were not meant to wield another element, as you are the keeper of Summer. You both grew weak as soon as you switched your elements,".

"Fire and water are complete opposites, after all," said Spring.

"I could not save you by the time I found you. Your body could not handle it. I had no choice but to erase your memory and send you to a safe place, under the care of Henry," said Nature.

"In Corium? Why would you send me there?" I asked.

"it is a safe island. I couldn't send you to the human world, it was too dangerous. You had to grow up someplace with some magical beings still," she said.

"Why Henry?" 

"I trusted Henry. I tasked him and Ingrid to take care of you. I brought part of the population of Penumbra there and erased their memories too so no one would know who you were."

"You did what?"

I was shocked. This is unbelievable. My mother, the guardian of light, actually erased part of the population's minds and moved them to another island just to protect me?

"I'm sorry, Summer. I had to protect you. I thought that I would let you return when you were older and strong enough."

"And Winter?"

I was getting impatient now. How could my mother be so selfish? Were those people nothing to her?

"Winter ran away after she hurt you. She couldn't bear hurting anyone else, she felt like a threat. We've been looking for years and she's still missing..."

I've had enough of this. I want to go back to my normal life, with none of these responsibilities and nonsense. But I guess I can't, can I? My whole life was a lie. 

"I need to go," I said as I looked at my mother.

"I know it's a lot to take in Summer, but you just returned-"

"My whole life was a lie, mother. All of my memories were fake. Everyone I knew weren't who they were supposed to be. Henry and Ingrid only looked after me because you asked them to!" I snapped.

I was furious now. My blood was boiling under my skin. I need to get out of here. This is too much.

"But Summer, we're your family," said Nature.

"You're not my family..." I said before attempting to get off the chair.

Right, I forgot the chair was hovering above the ground. 

"How do you get off this thing?" I muttered in frustration.

Ramone snapped his fingers and the chair gently lowered. I hopped off onto the ground and ran. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. I just wanted to leave that place.

"Summer!" called Nature behind me.

I ignored her and continued running. God knows what other secrets this place has in store.