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❤️ He is awake and War (Part 2) ❤️

"Don't you get it, I don't love you anymore, you have to please respect my wish. Whatever we had is now in the past. You will see someone else who loves you, but for me, we are done." Gwen told him through the door as he continued to bang on the door hard.

"Gwen, don't do this to me, please."

Gwen ignored him and went to freshen up.

___

As soon as Rumi steps her feet inside the Palace, she sees Morgan walking towards her. Deciding not to stop, she continued her walk, heading towards Emera's room but Morgan blocked her path.

"Can you help you, please?" Morgan asked.

"Help you? If I am not mistaken- which I can never be- this will be your first time you are talking to me and seeking my help, Morgan." Rumi reminded him. "I hope whatever you want to tell me it's worth my time."

"Yeah, you're right but this is urgent and I think you are the only one who could help me talk some sense into her." Morgan told her.

"Who?" Rumi demanded, slightly curious about what he wanted to tell her.

"Gwen, she is pregnant with Kando's child and that made her think she is in love with him. Would you please tell her that it's the pregnancy that is making her think she is in love with Kando and not with me anymore." Morgan said to her. "I see you are close to Emera and Gwen, please make Gwen love me back again. Can you do that for me?" He asked her with high hopes.

Rumi was literally jumping up and down in her mind. Cando wasn't responsible for Gwen's pregnancy even though the guy doesn't love her, probably one in the future. She hopes.

"Well...?" Morgan's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"First of all, I am not close with Gwen, that should be Juno, and me and Emera- I mean my father- are still patching things up and I don't want to ruin it. And one piece of advice, leave her alone, I don't think you are both meant to be together. She told you she is in love with Kando, I think you should respect her wish." Rumi told him sincerely.

"That is more than one piece of advice Rumi," Morgan said touching his forehead. "If you don't want to help me just say it instead of jumping around the bushes." he added and left her.

"Well I helped in my own little way by advising you," Rumi said with a shrug and quickly covered the distance to Emera room.

Emera was surprised when he saw her and didn't fail to hide it. Kira snorted loudly when she saw her and Storm didn't say a thing.

"You are back so quickly." Emera said to her.

"I told you I will come back or you don't want me to?" Rumi asks.

"No one asked you to come back." Kira told her rudely.

"Juno stop that," Emera chided her then smiled at Rumi. "Of course I want you to come back but I thought you'd be coming back in the evening not one hour later." he explained.

"Oh, I finished with what I was doing in Dean Palace and decided to come here." Rumi said.

"Dean palace? As in Kudarma?" Emera asked with wide eyes.

"Yes father, I went there," Rumi said, nodding her head. "I went there to do business with him." she added. There was no way she could lie about seeing Adaoh in the palace without them asking what she was doing there in the first place. So she has to be a little bit transparent with them.

"Business with Dean? Are you planning with him to get me back or kill us? Was that your agenda all along when you came here to beg for forgiveness?" Kira asked with tightening lips.

"If you don't have any meaningful thing to say just shut up. Shut the fu.ck up Juno. I wasn't talking to you!" Rumi yelled out, surprising Kira. "I am just trying to help okay and I am sorry if I will never be perfect like you or ever been forgiven by you. But you've got to stop seeing me as a bad person here and stop forcing words into my mouth and also stop accusing me of what I am not thinking of." By the time she was through, she was breathing fast.

"Yeah whatever," Kira said, rolling her eyes as both girls stared at each other.

"Why did you visit Dean?" Emera asked, bringing Rumi attention once to him again.

"I was in search of someone and didn't know when I walked into the palace, put on a show which brought Cando attention to me," Rumi answered a bit truthfully. She can't tell them the mysterious unknown man had made her do it. She has to find out who he is before speaking about him to them.

"And you want us to believe you?" Kira furrowed her eyebrows at her.

"Well Juno I didn't say you should believe me, I am just answering the question thrown at me." Rumi narrowed her eyes on her. "Anyway," she said, bringing her gaze back to Emera. She could feel Storm's eyes on her. "I discovered he was being controlled by someone when he nearly killed Kando and I met Adaoh, my mother." She added the last part carefully.

"Dean is being controlled by someone and he tries to kill Kando?" This time around Storm asked.

"Yeah," Rumi nodded her head.

"Why?"

"Apparently, he gave Gwen to you and that angers Dean, though I have managed to remove the controlling spell from Dean and he is still asleep when I visited."

"So it happened today?" Kira asked.

"No, yesterday but for today, I met my mother." Rumi answered. "Besides, it seems both brothers were under a magic spell that would make them forget who they are, I removed it and it turns out they are Aelfric creation," she added. "Our real father's creation." she said when she saw Kira's confused eyes. "They now have their memories back."

"Why is Dean still asleep?" Kira asked.

"I don't know, probably the spell in him was too much for him to handle, plus it depends on how long the spell has been in his body." Rumi replied. "Probably it weakened him." She added.

"So who could be controlling him?" Storm asked. "Do you know who it is?"

"I don't know but I am trying to find out." Rumi lied.

"And Adaoh?" Emera asked.

"I tried to unlock the chains but it didn't work, my magic couldn't penetrate it so she told me the only ones who can do that are Sarah and Dean and before you say anything yes, I went to meet Sarah again after I left the palace. She said it's only when her magic is back and flowing in her veins can she be able to unlock the chains that binds my mother. And I can't give her back her magic." Rumi explained. "Unlocking the chains requires their blood, any one of them." she added a second later.

"What about Dean, he is still sleeping, why don't you steal his blood?" Emera asked.

"It won't work like that father, we all have got to say a magic word for our spell to work. He has to say it himself."

"So what are we going to do? We can't fold our arms and wait for him to release Adaoh he couldn't even do that for me when I asked him once." Kira said. "I suggest we all go to Kudarma since he is still unconscious and-"

"It will be too risky," Rumi interrupts her gently.

"And why is that? You just said that Dean is sleeping." Kira said with raised eyebrows.

The mysterious man might be watching.

Rumi thought but didn't say that aloud. "I will go back to Kudarma tomorrow to see things for myself. I will also ask for Kando and his brother for assistance," she said.

"And you think they will help a traitor like you?" Kira snarled.

"Yes," Rumi said calmly. "They will because I helped them remember who they are. They will no longer be told what to do anymore because whatever spell that was placed on them has been removed." she added a second later. "That is why I will be needing their assistance since Dean won't know he no longer controls them. And also whoever it is that was controlling Dean might be watching." she added.

"Why do you say that?" Emera asked.

"Dean wasn't angry when Kando told him about Gwen's disappearance; he only became angry and nearly killed Kando after he had gone to his room. If not for my timely intervention, Dean could have truly killed Kando. We had to trend with caution, we don't know who we are dealing with yet." Rumi responded.

"You're right." Storm surprisingly agreed.

"And what if you are the one Rumi? Making it look as if there is someone else who is controlling Dean when that someone is definitely you, right?" Kira said. "I am out of here because staying in the same room with you makes me want to tear you from limp to limp." she added and left the room infuriated by Rumi presence.

Storm went after her.

"Will she ever forgive me, father?" Rumi asked once she was alone with Emera.

"She will, just give her time, time is all you need with her Rumi. You hurted her the most so this is the only way she could pay you back by hurting you with her words and her aggression, but do not take it to heart. You know Juno, she will come around soon." Emera said with a smile.

Rumi nodded her head and heaved out heavily. "I am really sorry for what I did. I don't know why she wouldn't forgive me." She apologized once again.

"I know and I have forgiven you, but this is Juno we are talking about, you and I know that she could be stubborn at times so give it time. It's better she forgives you herself, from her heart, willingly and not me forcing her too." Emera told her. "So don't overthink it, okay?"

"You're right father," Rumi said, nodding her head in agreement. "Sarah has done a lot of things that I feel like strangling her to death but I feel I will be needing her soon."

"How was Adaoh when you saw her?" Emera asks.

"She looks fine to me but I doubt it. Being chained and caged in one place for a long time, it can never be the same."

"I wish the way I heard about her being alive will also be the same way I will hear about Phoenix." Emera said sadly.

"You believe that Phoenix is still alive?"

"Yes, you see, some years ago my late friend Ariadne had confided in me about Storm's observation the day they saw the dead body of a burnt woman whom he thought was Phoenix but Storm told him that was not his mother. So I believe Phoenix might be alive and even though Storm doesn't say it, he hopes to see his mother again." Emera explained.

"I still have a question for you though, father."

"What is it, Rumi? Feel free to ask me anything." Emera asks.

"Who is Edgardo?" Rumi asked and when she saw the shocked look on Emera's face she smiled. "You do know him, right?"

"Of course I do know him," Emera replied and opened both of his palms. "I had carried him on this palm of mine."

"Really?"

Emera nodded his head sadly. "Edgardo was dangerous, a very dangerous Prince who sees himself as a god. He is dead luckily for us all. Why do you ask about him?"

"Cando made mention of him after I removed the spell from them." Rumi answered. "He is the prince of which kingdom?"

"Of Ashland Kingdom, of this very kingdom we are in Rumi." Emera revealed.

"Does it mean Ariadne and Dean also have another brother?" Rumi asked, her eyes wide open.

"No Rumi, you got that very wrong, Edgardo was not their brother, he was Ariadne's son."

"What?" Rumi said with her hands over her mouth.

Nodding his head. "Yes, it happened a long time ago when Ariadne was young, we were young and magic was golden at that time until Edgardo destroyed everything."

"Was it Empress Rose who gave birth to Edgardo?" she asked, still in shock.

"I am under an oath Rumi, I can't tell you who his mother is, but I can assure you, it wasn't Empress Rose." Emera answered. "He is dead so there is no need for that conversation anymore." He added.

Rumi smiled but she was thinking of ways she could make Empress Rose talk.

"Rose doesn't know who Edgardo's mother is just in case you are planning to ask her." Emera told her, surprising her with what he said.

"How did you know that was what I was thinking?"

"I have seen your look Rumi. That terror is now in the past my dear, let it remain in the past. Unless Edgardo himself is alive, which is very impossible because he died and was burned right in front of our eyes and his ashes were buried underneath this palace before this building was built."

Rumi didn't say anything, she let that sink into her head.

"I will be going home now, father. I will see you tomorrow."

"Won't you stay the night here? Storm wouldn't mind."

"And have Juno scream down the roof? No way, I will see you tomorrow." she promised and kissed him on his left cheek and left the room.

Emera sighed and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Rumi walked out of the Palace in a faster stride, she didn't want to encounter Juno and once she was out of the gate, she breathed out in relief.

And left for her home.

___

"Must you agree with what she says?" Kira asked in anger as she entered the old training ground.

Storm who followed her watched as she began pacing around.

"But what she said there was true so I aired my opinion."

"By agreeing with her? Even my father sees nothing wrong with her." Kira said. "Why is nobody seeing her the way I do?" She asked.

Blocking her path and hugging her.

"Calm down Juno. She is just trying her best to right her wrong. Please try to look at her in another view and you will see that she has changed a lot." Storm told her.

"Change indeed. She is just doing that to make you guys trust her so that she can betray you all just like the way she did to me."

"She has changed," Storm said, standing in his words. "The Rumi I know would have been throwing herself on me but since the scales of what Sarah had put in her eyes had fallen off, she is a changed person. Please I know it's hard to forgive but try to."

He was right about Rumi throwing herself on him but still...

"But you were angry at me because you thought I was the one who gave you the scars in your face." Kira reminded him

"Yeah I thought so, please forgive me my love. But now that I know the truth, should I still be angry at Rumi when clearly she was also a victim? She only did what she thought was right at that time and now she is trying to correct it."

"I have heard you." Kira said, resting her head on his chest and relaxing her body. "I am sorry I shouted at you."

"It's okay, I understand your feelings, my love," Storm said, kissing the top of her head.

Breathing in his scent, "Did you talk to Morgan?" she asked instead.

Maybe with time she will forgive Rumi but not now.

"Yes, I talked to Morgan but I don't think he will leave Gwen alone. What do you think we should do?"