Chapter 39 - Luma Valentine P4
*****
I can't believe she likes me that way, both of them do! Princess Maya is going so far as to eliminate the very core of the problem. I may be overly optimistic about this.
It's too good to be true.
In only a week, I've developed feelings for both of them so deeply. My heart yearns for them. But when I look at Aira and Rhia... I feel a similar yearning. I don't know them as well, but does my heart want them, too?
It has only been a couple of minutes since Eli and Maya left. I decided to stay, too afraid to go. I feel ashamed of being afraid. I don't want my siblings to be put into a bad situation. I'd rather take it on myself and protect them.
Lars, Hannah, Reese... you're far from babies now, but big sister still wants to protect you.
Earlier when we were talking, I had a sudden rush that felt like a headache. I'd felt that a few times before in my life. Scenes of a long haired blonde woman with a curved sword standing in front of a gigantic tree.
Who is that? She looks like Eli, but there's no tree that large in the world. I was standing next to her in a uniform, I think.
My head hurt again, and another scene took over my sight, or rather it played in my mind. I held my hands on either side of my head while the scene played.
"Luma." The voice was exactly the same as Eli's. They were in an office.
"Yes, My King."
That's my voice!
The blonde woman sighed and gave her orders. "Gather the others. Maya, Adele, Adara, Lilliana, and Aliana. I need to speak with all of you at once. I'll send for my guardians."
"What about the children?"
"Yes. They should be here to listen as well. They've been grown adults for a long time now. Azalea, Lux, Kaede, Kyra, Liya, Anna, Ariel, and Adriel too then. Tell them to meet me in the table room."
That's a lot of children.
"At once."
My field of vision changed. Suddenly I was in another part of the same building, I think.
The architecture looks the same.
The person that sounds like me, Luma, walked along until she came to a door and knocked.
"Enter."
That's Maya's voice!
Luma went into the room and bowed to the pink haired cat inside. "Greetings, My Queen."
"Luma, please." The queen sounded exasperated. She shook her head and said, "What do you need?"
"Lady Maya."
Maya? That has to be a coincidence. But they look identical.
"Better. I wish you'd drop the titles entirely. We grew up together!"
"I can't. My oath-"
"Fuck the oath! At this point it feels like an excuse!" The queen stood up and walked up to Luma. "You're hurting all of us, you know. Me, Eli, Adi, Dara."
That must be Elysia, Adele, and Adara. Cute petnames. Elysia has the same petname as Elise. And they sound the same. Not only that, but Luma sounds like me, and this woman sounds like Maya.
Luma didn't respond.
"I love you, Luma."
She didn't respond again. Queen Maya lightly tapped the bottom of her fist on Luma's shoulder.
"Even if you won't accept it because of your oath, will you at least put what you feel into words? Please?"
"A knight is not permitted to speak such words." My field of vision changed. Luma had looked to the right. "My feelings have not changed."
Then I felt arms around me. Luma's vision quickly jolted back to the front. The queen hugged her.
"As long as you can continue telling me that, I can hope."
But Luma didn't move her arms at all.
Hug her back!
"Hug me back!" Luma still didn't move her arms. "I swear if you don't hug me back, I'm going to kick your ass."
Luma hesitantly pulled her arms upward and wrapped them around Queen Maya and pulled her tight.
There you go!
The queen soon pulled away and asked what Luma had come to her for.
"Elysia is calling everyone to the meeting room."
"Who is everyone? And what about?"
"You, me, your wives, attendants, and children. And Eli herself is going to gather the guardians."
"You mean Lady Evelyn, Lady Allison, and Lord Adrian?"
"We're not supposed to-"
"You say that every time, but this is in private. I'll call them by their real names."
"Anyway, she didn't say what she wanted."
"Hmm... to summon the entire family and not say why. I know why. Okay. Go get the others. I'll be there soon."
"At once."
The scene shifted again and again with Luma gathering each person. Adele looked and sounded like Rhia and Adara looked and sounded like Aira. Though, Liliana and Aliana had different hair colors, otherwise they looked and sounded similar to Serah and Stella.
Once Luma was done, we met up in the meeting room and Elysia discussed a demand for her exile.
"It's absolutely outrageous!" a purple haired woman shouted. "I will not stand for these foolish lords demanding my daughter's exile."
Another purple haired woman spoke up next, "I'll kill them, problem solved."
"Please, Aunt Allison, we can't just kill the lords anytime they revolt."
"Elysia, we've been over this countless times," a purple haired man said. "The old farts don't like the fact that everyone else was passed up when Lady Luna named you Crown Princess."
"None of them dared speak up while Lady Luna was here out of fear she'd kill them," said Elysia's mother, Evelyn. "Why should it be any different while she's not here?"
How did I know that her mother is Evelyn? Elise's mother's name is Evelyn, too. No, Lena, you're putting things together than shouldn't be put together.
"I say we remove them. Put someone else in their place and lock any exile callers into Oblivion for a few thousand years," said Queen Maya.
"I second that," said Adele, "I will not let them banish you from Eden!"
Adele and Adara were also married to Elysia and Maya, and each one of them had feelings for Luma, and Luma has feelings for them. But she won't reciprocate because of her oath. What a stupid concept.
"I third that. I do not accept their demands at all."
"The lords of every single domain outside Alexandria wants me dead," Elysia said. "They are saying they'll compromise with an exile instead."
"I'll execute every traitor," Luma said, very clearly angry. "All of them combined can't stand up to me, much less you."
"It would be easier than breathing for you to just kill them, Elysia," said Allison.
"It would be no problem at all," Elysia said. "But I don't relish the idea of killing them, and putting them in Oblivion will only be a short term solution. Lock them away for a few thousand years, and they'll simply come out with more hatred."
"Then I'll cast Serenity," Maya said.
"I also don't relish the idea of taking away their free will or emotions."
"We'd only have to remove hate from them!"
"No."
"Eli, you're giving us no options! Not a single one of us is willing to let them banish you."
Adara stood up and walked over to Elysia. She grabbed her by the collar and teleported them away. Maya and Adele immediately followed them.
"I don't want to be a fly in that bedroom right now," Evelyn said. She looked over at me, or rather at Luma, who was sitting next to where Adele was sitting.
It was a big round table. From where Elysia was sitting, to her right was Maya, then Adara, then Adele, then Luma. On her other side were the three guardians, then the children. Lux was next to me. Liliana and Aliana were the only ones not seated, rather they were standing behind Elysia's seat.
"Why are you still here?" Evelyn asked.
"I dare not intrude on their conversation."
"You are part of that conversation. Her wives are in there with her, likely grilling her. The only reason you're not on the register with them is because of your goddamn oath."
"I am not allowed-"
"Enough of that, Luma Valentine," Allison said. "This is no time to uphold that ridiculous oath the Valentine family forced on you. This is different. Your King's future is at risk. Your oath restricts you from love, but what if love is the only way to save your King? Your oath also demands you do everything possible to keep your King safe!"
"I-"
"No excuses!" Allison stood up and walked right up to Luma through the table like it didn't exist. She grabbed Luma by the throat and pinned her against the wall. "Elysia is going to send herself to a mortal world. Your King will be GONE. Get in there and save her!"
"But-"
"Fuck your family! I'll deal with that myself!" Allison took her hand off Luma's throat, but tossed her over the table to Evelyn and Adrian. She flipped a few times, making me slightly dizzy. "Convince her! I'm going to the Valentine estate to deal with this right now!"
Allison vanished, and then the other two guardians glared at Luma.
"What is it going to take to get you to understand?" Adrian said.
Somehow I knew the name Adrian belonged to this man, without order of elimination since I already knew everyone else's names.
"Get in there right now!" Evelyn said. "You have loved and cared for Elysia since you, her, and Maya could walk. The three of you had daughters together!"
"Mom, please!" Lux had tears running down her face. I could feel Luma's grief as she looked at her daughter.
But why does it feel like I'm looking at my daughter? I don't have a child...
"Your family shoved that oath down your throat, and you still chose to be near Eli. You're the Lord Commander of the Royal Guard! Get in there knowing that Allison is going to set you free from the Valentine's oath."
"Until the oath is dissolved, I can't act on anything."
"Do it anyway!"
Evelyn and Adrian grabbed my arms and teleported me to a door. They opened the door and on the other side was Elysia, Maya, Adele, and Adara. The only one not crying was Elysia. Evelyn and Adrian threw Luma inside and closed the door.
Luma looked up at them and the two redheads were taking her arm and pulling her to her feet.
"Luma, for gods' sake, talk to her!" Adara said. "She's depressed because of you!"
"Allison just told me she's going to the Valentine estate to absolve the oath by force," Queen Maya said.
"Until then, I can't!"
Elysia was looking at Luma with dead eyes.
"This is life and death!" Adele said.
"L-Luma…" Elysia looked at her with her blank eyes and a light smile. "You came."
"My K-"
Adara slapped her before she could say it. "Not like that!"
"E… Elysia."
"Yes… Luma." She held her hands out to me… to Luma. "Come."
I tried with all my might to stand up, but I couldn't control Luma's body. She didn't budge an inch.
The light returned to Elysia's eyes, and she looked deeply into Luma's... into my eyes. "Even with Allison going to stop it. Even knowing you'll be free soon. You still won't accept me. You won't accept us."
Her body glowed with black and white mana.
"Eli, no!" Maya tried to grab her, but her hands went right through.
"Goodbye, my loves."
Maya used the same mana and tried to grab her again, but Elysia disappeared a split second before her hands reached her.
All three of them turned to me, but I felt mana surge within Luma's body. She disappeared as well, before any of them could reach her.
After that, every memory Luma had rushed into me. My heart ached at each memory where Luma said no to them. To Elysia, to Maya, to Adara, and to Adele. After the oath, she never once accepted love from any of them.
I never accepted their love.
I could feel the entirety of my mana.
My memories from Luma and Lena melded together.
I am Helena Rosenfeld, but I'm also Luma Valentine.
We don't just look and sound alike. We are one and the same. I remembered everything. I followed Elysia to this world, but I couldn't enter mortal worlds as easily as Elysia. No one but the King could do that. The only way anyone else could is by becoming mortal. We remain Transcendent, but our memories are sealed away deep within our soul.
And the seal on my memories broke.
The love I felt, the excitement of looking forward to their return, and the dread of knowing I could not accept it.
If only I could still live in bliss. I could pretend not to know and accept them. I could love them and nobody would know.
Except I would know.
And the oath would stop me.
When they returned. I told them no. I told them who I am. And just as before, I hurt Elysia. And this mortal girl that looks just like Maya. She even has the same name. And I fell in love with her in only a week. As a mortal, I fell hard for both of them. And I was looking at the two elves with the same longing.
But I can't have what I want. I could still feel the oath binding my soul.
Elysia teleported away, but Maya stayed behind. She walked up to me and asked, "How did you know I knew? Elysia doesn't want mortals to know who or what she is. My guess is you just recovered your memories and now the girl I knew is gone?"
"Of course you knew. Elysia would never hide who she is from someone that has accepted her love."
"So you assumed she told me?"
"No. I assumed nothing. It was no guess. I've known her since we were toddlers in Eden. The moment I came out of that rush of memories, I knew that you knew. And no, the girl you knew is not gone. I am Lena and Luma."
"And despite your feelings toward us, you won't say yes?"
"That's right. I can't say yes. I'm bound by an oath. I suppose Allison didn't go through with her plan."
"Allison? Are you talking about Eli's aunt in Eden? What happened? I only know what Eli told me, but we haven't had time to talk about much yet."
"Allison was going to the Valentine family to absolve my oath by force. But the oath is still in place. It binds my very soul. It doesn't matter how much I want to say yes. I simply can't. I can't admit love to anyone. I wanted so much to stop her from leaving Eden. I tried to move my arms. I tried to move my legs. I tried to tell her what my heart sang. But I couldn't. And I still can't."
"She was happy, you know." Maya's expression was as serious as My Queen's that day. "She found me. She found us. Rhia, Aira, everyone here. She was genuinely happy until you said no and triggered that reaction."
I didn't know what to say. I couldn't bring myself to respond.
"Let me ask you something. Before you remembered everything, you were going to say yes to us. We just put two men in prison so that you could break off your arrangement without fear of your little sisters being forced into your place. They're safe now."
"Thank you, Lady Maya."
"I don't give you permission to use titles with me. You'll call me by my name and only my name."
"Yes."
"You were going to say yes. Is that right?"
"If not for the oath."
"Okay. So then what about if somebody you have feelings for understands that you have feelings for them and understands the oath prevents you from reciprocating. If that somebody, me for example, were to do this."
She shoved me onto the sofa and climbed on top of me. Then she pulled her tie loose and revealed much of her cleavage. "What happens? If you don't want this, will the oath make you stop me?"
"I…" I gritted my teeth. The desire for love and my oath clashed in my mind.
She unbuttoned my shirt and leaned in toward me. "So then I could circumvent your oath. If it doesn't force you to stop me, and you choose not to stop me, then that means you want me to do this. You just can't outright say that."
I could feel my cheeks heat up, but my body refused to move. I wanted to respond to her, but I couldn't force myself to do it. I grabbed her arms and held her at bay. "I can't."
She pulled her arms out of my grip and buttoned my shirt back. "It's quite disheartening." She fixed her shirt and tie as she stood up. "It feels like part of my heart has been ripped out."
She sighed and looked down at me. The longing in her eyes was the same that I saw in Eli's, Dara's, Adi's, and her homonym.
"I'm still going to call you Lena, by the way, so long as you keep your identity secret like Eli. Lena, I'm going to Eli. I don't want to leave her alone when she's like this. I don't know if I can help her at all, but I love her very much. I'm going to try my best."
"Thank you, Maya."
Then she looked at me with her eyes and body glowing pink. "Remember, I'm an empath. I can feel your emotions. I know you feel romantic love toward Eli, and toward me. I love you." She leaned in and placed a quick peck on my lips. "Until you can reciprocate. This will have to do."
She left.
I was left alone feeling more shame than ever. I hurt Eli again.
The day of my eighteenth birthday, my family forced me to take the oath that all but one son per generation was required to take. The women in our family were never permitted to love. Never permitted to carry a child. That didn't work out for them with me. I got pregnant when I was seventeen.
Maya, Eli, and I were exploring ourselves. We got so caught up in the moment, then Eli's and Maya's powers activated according to our desires. Not many Transcendents could do what they did, but they fertilized an egg in my body through her rainbow mana, and their own. All three of us are girls, so there's no way to do it biologically, but Eli's powers were second to that of Lady Luna even then, and Maya's third to them.
We had a plan. When the last of us turned eighteen, we planned to marry. They turned eighteen before me, and on my birthday, we were going to register. But my parents headed us off with a number of Valentine executives. They took me from Eli and Maya, against my will.
They brainwashed me. They completely reprogrammed my mind. I had my child six months after my eighteenth birthday, and they took her from me.
I named her Lux.
I didn't get to see Eli or Maya until five years later. My family took my baby and told me I'd get to see her if I cooperated.
What a disgusting family. My family in this world are angels, and I am very thankful for them. But my original family was evil. The only reason they didn't get caught was because they knew how to skirt the law and keep it from the King. And once the brainwashing was done, I could never speak of it. If I even try, I am struck with extreme pain and will lose consciousness depending on the severity.
I felt tears roll down my cheeks at the mere memory. So long as I cooperated, I could see my baby. But once they were done with me, they were able to make me take the oath and from there out, I couldn't fight it. Even now, I can't fight it. Even though I understand it. I can't even tell Eli my mind is messed up.
I found out later that Eli did try to come for me, but my family wouldn't let her in.
"Let me hear it directly from her mouth," she had said. "If she tells me to leave, then that's that."
The entire guard force was there to stop her, but she was far more powerful than the entire family combined. Nothing could force her to stop short of Lady Luna. She mowed them over until only the executives were left.
As she aimed her sword at them, her guardians showed up and convinced her to back down.
"Give me the child," she had said. "Give me my daughter and I will give you more time." She knew I was pregnant. Her ability to sense mana was transcendent among Transcendents. She knew as soon as we were done that day we slept together that I was pregnant. Maya was, too.
"Give her to me, or I will cast Eye of Providence right here, right now. I will find them both. And I will take them by force. So give my daughter to me now, or I will even ignore my guardians' pleas to stop."
My parents handed Lux over to her. Lux was still too young to know what was going on. She knew her name, but she didn't know who her parents were, other than me. She didn't know about Eli and Maya. And Eli knew her name right away, since she was able to read that from her soul. My family managed to buy enough time that the five years they needed were up. Eli came for me on my twenty-third birthday, and they let me leave with her.
Of course, they made everything seem like it was fine. My parents fed Eli and everyone else the story that I was recovering from an extreme sickness. I've long forgotten the name of the disease they said I had. I could never repeat what they did to me. Anytime I'd even think of speaking about it, my mind would lock up, and I'd suffer a panic attack and extreme pain, or outright lose consciousness.
They got away with it.
After that, the oath forbade me from love. The most I could do is acknowledge our past love and the child we had together. I was grateful my daughter would never be treated the way I was treated.
I'm sorry Eli. I'm so, so sorry. But why was my oath still in effect? I left Eden immediately after Eli. I followed her here. Allison was going to the source, but something stopped her.
I had no way of knowing. And now I'm here.
Maya, please help her.
*****
Revision: 2025-5-11