Finding Myself Again, Part 3

         Inside, the cottage is bigger than you expected.  There is one big room divided into a living room and kitchen.  The far wall has another two doors, one on the left side and one on the right.  To the right is the kitchen with an ancient looking stove for cooking, a small sink, some cupboards, and a bare wood table with two chairs around it.  On the left of you is the living room area.  The left wall has a fireplace built in with a small fire going.  On either side of it are bookshelves with many books, some looking hundreds of years old.  In front of the fireplace are two couches facing each other with a coffee table of the same wood as the kitchen table in between them.  A few paintings of landscapes and fauna decorated the bare walls, but the room is very sparse otherwise.  Rambiar shows you to a couch, and takes the opposite one, facing the two of you.  “Okay, now tell me about this problem.”  He seems transformed again, from the loving grandparent to alert and ready for action, a professional attitude radiated forth.  “Princess, will you please start, how did you get back home?  Please start at the beginning.”

         You are still jarred, and do not know what to say. “Well…I think the first thing I remember was two mornings ago.  I saw Elliott running through the trees being chased by these ugly and mean-looking men…”  Rambiar interrupts you,

         “You do not remember anything before that?  How you were lost?  Did someone take you?  Did you fall down somewhere?  Anything?”

         “No, that is the problem.  I cannot remember anything before that!  I did not remember my name until Elliott told me.  I do not remember the castle, my parents, my friends, anything.”  You were getting into this, just want to get everything off your chest, “but, there are these things that I slightly remember, like a dream.  There are these pictures from a place totally different from here, almost like they are from a whole different universe or time.”

         “Interesting,” Rambiar says, “please, Princess, tell us about these pictures.”

         So you tell them about all of the things you have seen-the tall buildings, the masses of vehicles, the tarred and concrete surfaces surrounding you almost, the little kid going in front of the traffic, you running after it.  After your explanation of your dreams and thoughts Rambiar just sits there staring off into space.  He does this for almost five minutes, then seems to shake himself out of it and look at you again.  “I think I might know.  First, I have another question just to make sure it is the right theory.  Have you had any instinctive feelings towards anything here?  Is there something here that you know is familiar but you cannot remember anything about it mentally, however, from you body, somewhere inside of you, you know that you recognize this thing?”

         You look down into your lap again, you know the answer to his question, you know it right away.  It is Elliott.  You remember Elliott not from memory but through your body and sole.  He is just right.  You look up and right into Rambiar's brilliant eyes, “yes, there is something here that I recall from somewhere inside of me, not by memory.”  You take a deep breath to steady your nerves then just simply say, “Elliott.  I remember Elliott.”

         Elliott immediately looks over at you, surprised, then happily.  He reaches out and takes your hand.  Looking at Rambiar, he almost looks shocked for a moment too, then recovers and smiles, “Ah yes, the magic of true love.”  Then he chuckles as you and Elliott look down at your interwoven hands, “I should have known that, the bonds of love can survive almost anything, even death.”

         Both you and Elliott look up at that word, shocked.  Elliott almost gets angry, then demanding, “what do you mean by death?  No one died!”

         “Well, I have to make for certain about the events that occurred, but I think we are all in for a shock.  I am going to go see about it, I should not be very long, but feel free to make yourselves at home.”  Then he gets up, walks to the back wall, and goes into the door on the left side closing it behind him.

         You both just stare blankly after he leaves the room, not sure what he meant by that statement about death, and unsure if you really want to know what it is all about.  Finally, you recover and say in a tight voice, “what you do you think he meant by that?”

         Elliott replies, “I am not really sure.  I mean, whatever it is I have a feeling it is not going to be something we are going to like, but nevertheless, I am sure whatever it is we can survive.  Hopefully it does not take too long, I don't like waiting.”

         Suddenly you remember your parents and exclaim, “Oh my gosh!  My parents!  They must be worried about me again!  I did not tell them we were leaving!”

         Elliott surprises you with a big grin, “Don't worry, I one of the servants to tell them where we were going.”

         “Oh, good.” 

“Yes, do not worry Jade, I am here to take care of you!  Well…what shall we do while we wait?”

         You smile again, “Thank you, that is wonderful.  Hmm…I would like to check out some of his books,” you tell him as you get up and walk over to one of the bookshelves.  Elliott soon follows and you both spend the next twenty minutes or so just looking at the titles and once in awhile carefully taking a book down to flip through it before putting it back up.  After doing this for a while you get a little bored so you go stand next to Elliott to see what he is doing.  Elliott is deeply into one book in particular, he does not even seem to realize you are standing next to him.  Taking that to your advantage you slink behind him and run your hands around his waist to encircle it with your arms, and press your cheek against his back, your body pressed against his.  At first he freezes, seemingly in shock, then he loosens up and turns around in your arms to face you.

         Looking up at him, your breath catches in your throat as you gaze into his eyes.  They seem to get darker and almost dangerous looking-passion burning from within.  Almost in slow motion he leans down as he pulls you toward him at the same time.  His mouth crushes yours in a possessive and exploratory kiss that sends electricity from the top of your head down into your toes.  The kiss seems to go on and on, and at the same time is over way too soon.  You both are breathless and surprised that something seemingly so small can have such an effect.  You do not know what to do, how to react, and cannot bring yourself to look up at him, so instead you stare straight ahead at his chest.  For a while neither one of you says anything.  Finally, you get the courage to look up at him and when you do he is looking down at you like he was waiting for you to look into his eyes.  He stares into your eyes with only tenderness.  You want to say something so finally you just say, “that was interesting.”  For a second there is surprise in his eyes and then he bursts out laughing and grabs you in a big hug.

         “You are always interesting!”  He says laughing.  Then suggests, “Why don't we go wait for Rambiar on the couch,” while he is already leading you over.  He sits down and then pulls you on the couch right next to him.  Once again no one says a word for a bit, each of you in your own worlds.  Then, the door opens and Rambiar walks out and sits across from you and Elliott again.

         For what seems like ages he just stares first at you and then Elliott all the time with a tint of sadness looming in his eyes, you know the news cannot be good.  Finally he speaks, breaking the mounting tension, “well, I am very sorry to say this but there is no easy way to get around this situation.  It is what I thought, I am afraid.  Unfortunately, there is going to be nothing but sadness and trouble for everyone here.  Hopefully, though, in time people will accept the circumstances.  They will have to because there is no choice in the matter, things are done and cannot be changed.”

         Finally Elliott could not take it any longer and burst out, “what is it Rambiar?  What happened to Jade?”

          Rambiar sighs then continues, “First of all there is a little background information.  What you are probably not aware of is that there is an alternate universe where things are very different from what they are like here.  And in that universe there is a double for each of us, identical in appearance only, they do not have the same lives or acquaintances.  Sometimes personalities are pretty similar as well, but that does not matter as much and does not always occur.  Anyway, we have a double, and in very rare occurrences if something happens to either our double or ourselves unexpectedly or early, the spirit of the deceased person will travel to the alternative universe and occupy their doubles body for a very short time before moving on.  So, for a short time two spirits are in one body.  I cannot explain why, just that once in a great while that occurs.”

         “So you think my double died and came into my body?”  You interrupt incredulous. 

         “Actually, no.  In your case something very different happened that I have never seen before.  What happened is that the body in the other universe died and the spirit came into this body.  At about the same time the spirit of this person died and went into the dead body of the other person.  Therefore, the dead body and spirit are together and the alive body and spirit are together, the sprits switched places.  That is why you are remembering things from the other universe, that other universe is where your spirit is from, the trauma of the shift keeps you from remember everything right now.  Being in this body suppresses some thoughts of the other place as well.  Also, this body remembers things from around here and that is why you have all the conflicting emotions and thoughts.  You are unbalanced right now.  However, with some time and adjustment things will get normal for you.  But, I am afraid it might be pretty strange and complicated for a time.  I am really sorry Princess.  And Elliott, this must be a huge shock to take in for you as well.” He stops talking, looking very upset. 

                   No one talks for awhile and Rambiar seems to gather his thoughts enough to continue, “I have thought this through and it seems we know how your body died in the other realm, your dream of running out in front of the bus for the little child seems to be the cause.  However, for a little I could not understand how Jade's spirit died.  Then I remembered The Reuters.  These individuals are barely seen because they live in an especially deep part of the forest.  However, they have a grudge against the elves of Everland because your ancestors, Princess, drove them off this land.  The Reuters have the ability to kill someone's spirit while leaving the body alive, they feed on a person's sprit.  Without the spirit the body will die in a very short time.  It seems, though, that your and Jade's death occurred almost simultaneously so right away your spirit engulfed her body.  You must have wandered around, dazed, until you found your way to the Ochu Forest and saw Elliott, that brought you back to the present seeing another person.  I am sorry both of you, but that is what occurred, I am positive.”

         You do not know what to say for a long time.  Next to you Elliott seems to be frozen as well.  You finally shake yourself out of it enough to speak, “so…you are telling me…I am not me?  Like, my…my mind is from another place, but this body is from here?  I…I…I just do not know what to say about that!”

         Elliott finally speaks, but this time it was in a dull and lifeless voice, “my Jade is dead…Jade…dead?  I…I cannot take this,” and he suddenly stands up and walks out of the house.  You get up to go after him but cannot move fast enough and watch him out the window walk quickly away back towards the castle.  As he walks away you see shiny tears streaming down his face.  Observing his breakdown you burst into tears as well.  How can this have happened?  You were just getting along with Elliott so well, even with your supposed 'memory loss' and now it is over!  Why do all of these things happen to you?  It seems that just as everything was getting better, things just get worse!  You do not know how you can go on without the strong, sturdy, reliable support of Elliott.  He is your one rock, the one thing familiar about his unfamiliar place, and he is gone.  Turning away from the window with the room blurry from your tears you slowly walk back and collapse on the couch again.  You put your head on your lap and just rock from the sobs.  Faintly, you feel the couch sink down from weight and feel a hand on your back. 

         After a great while later you stop sobbing and try to think logically.  Things between you two could not work anyway, how could it?  He loves Jade, who you are not internally, but externally you and she are exactly the same.  It would be terribly hard for him to see someone he loved, even though he did not say it to her, everyday, while knowing her spirit was gone forever.  You are just going to have to distance yourself from him and learn to deal with things alone.  Slowly, you try to thinking of him, but it is almost like turning away from a man you know you are suppose to spend the rest of your life with.  It pains you to do so.  Finally, you look up at Rambiar with tear-stained eyes.

         His eyes are soft now, with an ever-present layer of knowledge and wisdom.  “My dear, I am sorry about this,” he leans forward and takes one of your hands in his, “you must understand what a shock this is for Elliott as well.  I am sure once he calms down and can think clearly he will come to terms with this.”

         “I don't know,” you tell him as you struggle to keep your composure, “but it is just that I feel like I have lost him forever!  Not just Elliott, but the person I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with!  However, I know that is not true because how could he ever stand to be around me knowing this is his love's body but her spirit-basically her-is dead, gone forever?”

         Rambiar smiles sadly at you, “you must have faith, faith in him to work through this by himself.  And,” he says putting a finger under your chin and raising your eyes to meet his dead on, “faith in his love for you.  Not her…you.  But, you must give him the time he needs to work this through in his mind,” and he takes his hand back down.

         “That's not a problem,” you say letting yourself smile sadly, “I do not even know where he lives or where to find him!”  Rambiar smiles too.

         “I guess that is true.  However, now you should the take time to find yourself.  I would like to help you with that, to recover your memory if you want.  Once you find that you can work on your future here.”  You think about that then say,

         “Well, there is no time like the future.  I do not think anything else could really make me sadder, might as well get started now since I seem to have some time to myself.”

         Rambiar smiles again and moves over to the adjoining chair, “wonderful.  Just lie down on the couch and get comfortable.  I will guide you with hypnosis.”  So you lie down on the couch, close your eyes, and try to relax.  Rambiar slowly begins talking in a gentle voice.  You find yourself relaxing and slipping down into a half conscious and half un-conscious state…

         Suddenly, it is like a damn that blocked all of your memories breaks, and they all come flooding out in a rush of water-your smiling mother, laughing father, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  You remember birthday parties, Christmases, Thanksgivings, and other parties.  Also, vacations, little events, and special moments came clear in your mind.  You remember graduating from high school, from college, moving to New York, getting your own apartment, starting your new job there.  You also remember the day you died…when you saw a little boy almost walk in front of rushing traffic so you ran out to throw him aside and got hit yourself.  Next, you see yourself in a hospital bed with both your parents together, this time no smiles or laughing, just tears and hugging.  Then, all of a sudden you see yourself in a casket all dressed up but looking un-natural all the same.  All of your relatives are there, and people you remember as friends and ex-boyfriends from high school, college, and co-workers from your new job.  They are all wearing black and mourning you.  You start crying yourself, missing all of them, remembering all the good times you had, but you start feeling a pull away from there…

         You open your eyes and sit up, totally alert.  Turning, you see Rambiar sitting and looking down at you, “you remember it all now, don't you?”

           “Yes, everything!” You say, almost feeling strange with all your memories now.

         “Why don't you tell me about it?”

         “I had parents, Judy and Paul, no siblings.  We lived in the rural area of New York, about three hours from New York City.  I grew up in that house, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, split-level yellow house.  There was a high school only a few blocks away that I went to and had a lot of friends there.  My best friend, Lynn, lived just down the block and we hung out almost every day after school.  I had an after school job at the local hospital filing records with another friend.  After school, I was in the dance team in my junior and senior years.  I graduated there with honors and went on to college in New York City.  I had a great time there, went to some parties but still got really good grades and had a ton of friends that I knew around college.  My boyfriend, Mitch and I broke up our senior year after going out for three years because he wanted to move clear across country for work and I wanted to stay in the city.  After I graduated there with a major in Business I got a job right away in the city.  My parents helped me find a good apartment, and I started working right away.  I was moving up the ranks in my job quickly because I did good work.  After working there for six months my accident happened.  My parents were devastated because I was their only child, and because of the manner in which I was killed, helping someone.  I liked helping people, and had volunteered in many animal shelters and homeless shelters throughout high school and college.  I had had a big scare at one of the homeless shelters when a man brought a knife in and threatened me with it after I wouldn't give him more food, which I couldn't.  They wanted me to stop after that but I knew I had to keep on helping people because that was the only way to make the world a better place.  My parents knew I had died doing something I thought was right, but did not make it any easier for them.”  You stop and take a big breath, trying to digest all for this yourself still.

         Rambiar looks at you for awhile.  “You left something out, you know.  A very vital piece of information.”

         You look back at him thinking.  Then you realize what he is talking about and say, “and…my name is Kira.”

         He smiles at you, “that is right, your name is Kira, not Jade.  That is a very important first step in making a life for you here.  Yes, you look like Jade, but you are Kira.  It is kind of like you are the long-lost identical twin of Jade's, looking the same but are your own person.”

         “But I thought that this is her body.”

         “That may be so, but does not matter.  You, along with everyone else, should think of it as being identical twins.  And I'm sure before long people will begin to see you as Kira, just like twins.”  You and Rambiar talk a long time about people distinguishing between 'you' and 'Jade' and he gives you more support and encouragement.  After awhile you think you should probably be getting going back to the castle. 

         “Thank you so much, Rambiar,” you tell him, “for everything!  I do not know what I would do without your help.”

         “Feel free to come back anytime you have any questions or need help.  I will always be here for you.  Would you like me to show you back to the castle?”

         “No, I think I will like to have some time to think everything through.  Now that I remember my past, it is not just a big hole, which makes me feel more complete, but now thinking that I will never be back there is strange.”

         “Yes, that does help,” he pauses, “now, about your parents.  Would you like to tell them yourself, or would you rather I tell them these new developments?”

         Oh wow, you did not even think about them, telling them, how they will react.  If Elliott reacted like that, who knows how your parents will!  They just thought they had gotten their daughter back and now to realize it was not really she, it will be heart breaking!  Strange, though, even with finding out you had a whole other life, you still think of them as your parents.  You ask him, “Would you mind telling them?  I am still struggling with this information, and I do not know how I could tell them.  I do not totally understand it myself, plus, I do not know if I want to be there when they find out I am not their actual daughter.”

         Tenderly now again Rambiar replies, “of course, Kira, I will tell them before the end of the day.  But remember, and I will remind them as well, you are their daughter, just a different one from Jade.”

         You smile sadly again, “thank you, that you so much.  I wish I could do something for you.”

         “No repayment is needed, I just want you to be happy and content.”

         Walking back is a daze.  Here you let go and the tears fall freely for everything, your original life, your original parents, Jade's death, and Elliott.  Finally the tears begin to slow and you try to sort things through.  You are sort of getting used to the idea of Jade being a sister, but that you had lived in different places from each other.  That in itself is still hard to think about, but having had an identical person is even more confusing.  How is it that you can switch bodies?  Get a whole new life? 

         Then you move your thoughts to your new parents.  How are they going to take this?  Terribly at first, probably, but will they eventually accept you as a child?  Even though you are technically an adult, you want them as parents.  What will you do if they do not accept you?  But you tell yourself not to think like that, Rambiar will make sure things work out.

         Suddenly, you find yourself facing the back of the castle and realize you have no idea how to get from here back to your room.  Coming from Rambiar's house was easy, just following the path, but navigating the castle is another thing.  Tearing up again you think how you always followed Elliott before, he was your guide.  Shaking your head you clear your eyes and think to yourself, “you have to get it together and become independent.  You can do this by yourself.  Just remember how you dealt with finding your way around New York by yourself, if you can do that you can do this.”  So you move forward towards the towering fortress.

         Inside, you try to remember the way through but end up just wandering around, and finally find your way to the front hall that you first came in with Elliott.  The memories of that day flood back and tears almost flood your eyes: when you saw him coming up to you on his horse to rescue you, when you had stopped on the trip back and he was resting and you kissed, how his eyes light up when he smiled at you, the time he told you he loved you.  Emotions are overpowering you so you force yourself to stop thinking of that and wipe your eyes with the back of your hand.  Trying to forget Elliott, which you admit to yourself is probably an impossible task, you tell yourself you can find your way back from here.  Climbing the stairs you see things you recognize and manage to find your way around this maze to your bedroom.  Smiling at your triumph, you open the door with the intention of getting a piece of paper and something to write with to draw the floor plan of the castle.  Going over to your desk you try hard to ignore the pictures on the desk, and open the top drawer.  You find a notebook and pen and go back out of your room. 

For the next hour and half you wander around the castle mapping out the floor plan and scarcely seeing anyone.  The castle design ends up being simple once it is all down on paper.  Basically, the main hallway inside the house is square-shaped.  There are two other hallways encircling that one of the same shape.  Then, there are a few smaller hallways perpendicular to those, kind of dissecting the squares.  The entryway is an addition in the front.  And all the floors are basically the same design.  You are very proud of yourself for getting this done so you can start finding your way around the “house” by yourself without confusion.  Since that was taken care of you decide to go back to your room to rest a little after a very eventful day.

***

You are sitting outside under a leafy green tree next to a crystal clear pond.  Green grass is under you and a blue sky with a few puffy white clouds above you.  You turn around and see someone on horseback riding towards you.  Once the person is closer you see that it is Elliott!  He jumps off the horse and races towards you as you run towards him.  You reach each other at the same time have a big hug.  You just hold on for awhile and enjoy the comfort of being near him again.  He finally lets go and looks down at you with love and worry in his eyes.  “I am sorry about what happened before.  I will never leave you again.  It is true, I did care terribly for Jade, but I fell in love with you the moment I saw you.  Inside I knew you were different but just did not want to admit it right away.  It took some time, but I figured that out myself and I hope you can forgive me.”

         “Of course I can!  I am extremely sorry for all the hurt and pain that you had to go through.  This is so incredibly difficult, I know, but I am glad you came to terms with this…I do not know if I could, truthfully.”

         “Yes, it was not easy, but everything will work out for us now, I just know it,” he pauses and then adds with his devilish grin that is incredibly sexy, “so now, how about a swim?”  That grin turns into disbelief when you turn around, run towards the pond, and dive in without a second thought.  The water is perfect and just deep enough for you to be able to touch the sandy bottom.  After resurfacing you brush your hair back from your eyes and look up at him.  You laugh because he looks so shocked!

         “What's wrong?” you ask.  When he does not answer you ask in a girly voice, “I was planning on swimming before you got here.  Well, aren't you going to join me?”  That shakes him up and he starts laughing.

         “Wow, you are something!” he tells you smiling while taking his boots off.  The smile leaves your face when he takes off his shirt to reveal his tan chest and ribbed abs.  He dives in and you watch him below the water swim to the other side, resurface, then dive down again, and come up right in front of you.  His hair is slicked back, face wet, and eyes light up.  Elliott grabs you around the waist and falls back pulling you under.  Surprised, you struggle under the water and manage to get free.  Deciding to get him back, when he resurfaces you jump up and push him down by his shoulders.  For the next half hour the both of you play in the pond.  Afterwards, you both lay out on the grass under the sun drying off and talking about everything.  It is perfect.

         The next thing you know you are in a dark dungeon cell.  The walls are all stone and almost slick with grime and moss.  Only one blanket is spread out on the floor for you to lie on.  One of the walls is open except for metal bars that line it from floor to ceiling with a few running horizontal.  Just as you are starting to get hysterical wondering what happened two men come up on the other side of the bars.  They are tall, looming way above you.  Both have long stringy black hair, faces that eerie and full of shadows, and black eyes that are blank.  Both are wearing black leather clothes that look well worn and dirty.  Both also have swords strapped to their sides and tall leather boots.  They just look evil, you cower away from them even though the bars separate you from them.

         Without a word, one of them opens the cell door while the other walks inside and grabs your arm pulling you along out of the cell and into a dimly light and damp hallway.  The arm that the person holds feels cold and in an unbreakable grasp.  The footsteps of them get louder and louder, almost like someone knocking on the door.

***

         The door knocks again and you sit up in bed.  What was that?  There is another knock on the door and someone calls, “Hello?  Are you there?”  Quickly, you get up and move towards the door still contemplating what that dream means.  As soon as you open the door those thoughts leave your mind because three girls immediately pounce on you all asking questions at the same time!  You realize these must be some of Jade's friends.  The girl that finally takes charge in making the other two back up is a little shorter than you with short dark hair framing her face and hazel eyes.  She has a few freckles dusting her nose and cheeks, and is full-figured they way guys seem to like.  The girl on her left is very tall and has long blond hair.  It is presently in a few braids with the top braid in a coil on the back of her head and the other long down her back.  She is very thin, almost stick-figured, with green eyes and a pale complexion.  The last girl has curly bright red hair, brown eyes, and is also pretty pale.  She is a little chubby, not overweight, and still very pretty.

The brown-haired girl finally gets the others to quiet down and they all face you in a line while she speaks for all of them, “we know what happened, and want to say that we are really sorry for everything that has happened to you, Kira.  We just want you to know that we are here for you and hope to get to know you better.”

You do not know what to say!  So for a little bit you just stare into their searching eyes with a blank look on your face, just thinking through how to respond to that.  They must see that something is up because the blond comes forward with care in her eyes, takes your hand and says, “is something wrong?  You know you can tell us anything, we are here for you now.  If you want to talk about it, we would love to hear what happened, if not, that is fine too.”  You just smile sadly at her, that is exactly what you need to hear, someone to bounce things off.

“That is so sweet of you guys.  Why don't we sit down?” you say as you lead them over to the fireplace.  “First of all, I know this is going to sound weird, but what are your names?”     

This time it is the redhead who speaks, “oh, I am sorry!  I am Janine, this,” she says pointing to the brunette, “is Ashley, and she,” to the blond, “is Samantha.” 

“Janine, Ashley, Samantha, this means so much to me that you would come here so accepting even though your friend is gone.  How can that be?” you ask, close to crying again over all the emotions flooding your system. 

Samantha answers, “well, we had already accepted that Jade was not coming back, it was almost three months that she had been gone and in those months we mourned her.  Then, just today, we were called here by Rambiar and he told us all you, how that you look like Jade but are really Kira from another place in Jade's body.  We know she will never come back and he told us you need support, so we talked and decided to come meet you.”

Rambiar again, you think, getting just what you need. “I cannot believe this, I was really in need of some company right about now.”

“So, do you want to tell us what happened, or do you just want to talk about whatever?” asks Janine. 

“What do you guys want to hear or talk about?”

“We would not mind hearing about what happened, and maybe it will help you talking about it,” Ashley says, “but we are up for whatever.” 

“Yeah, talking might help,” you agree so you start at the beginning when you first saw Elliott running through the trees getting chased, and then him coming back for you but remember nothing of him from before.  You leave out all of the extremely personal details, those you can add later if you feel like it.  They never interrupt as you tell them about Elliott telling you about your identity.  Then coming back here, meeting your parents, seeing your room, and going with Elliott to Rambiar's house.  You tell them how you got your memory back from the other universe.  “So, like Rambiar said, it is like I am Jade's identical twin, I look the same but have a totally different personality.  This is such a shock, I know, it is a huge shock to me too, and Elliott did not take it well at all,” you stare off into space and say almost to yourself, “we were just getting along really well again, forming something.”

You finally look up at their faces and see amazement.  Ashley finally remarks, “wow, that is such a story!  How hard this must be for you!  First thinking you are Princess Jade, and then finding out you are actually another person from another place, and remembering all of that but never being able to go back.  I am so sorry for you!”

“Yeah, how terrible!” Samantha adds, “and for Elliott, this must be hard for him!  He and Jade were really getting into their relationship right before she disappeared.  Jade told me she thought he was going to tell her he loved her any day.”

You think about that, and decide to tell them some more, “well…he actually did tell me that,” you say hesitantly. 

“What!”  They all lean forward at once, “tell us everything!” Janine says encouraging you on.

“Yeah…this morning in fact,” you think back, how long ago it seems, remembering how wonderful just last night and this morning was.  “He had come to my room to tell me he was going to be staying the night in the room next door incase I needed him.  He was the first person I met and the only person I trusted and was slightly familiar with here.  It ended up…well…we fell asleep on the couch in my room.  We woke up later and he moved over to his room while I stayed in mine.  I could not really sleep, so I decided to go through my desk to see if anything could help me remember.  I ended up seeing the pictures of Elliott and me and could tell we were more than friends, and then I realized I remembered him.  Not actual memories, but physical remembrance, it is hard to explain.  Anyway, remembering those things I decided to go over to his room and we slept together, actual sleeping,” you say to their shocked faces to make sure they understand that nothing really happened.  “This morning, as he was helping me pick out clothes to wear he told me he loved me.”  You think back to that special moment for awhile.  His face, his alluring eyes, the way he touched your face.  It was all so special and so perfect.  You could not believe it was never going to happen again.

“Well, what happened after that?” Ashley asks, impatiently interrupting your thoughts.

“I said something like I wish I could remember him telling me this before.  But he told me he never said it to me before.  It was so…I don't know…important to me in a way.  Like he was telling that to me, and not just the old memory of Jade.  This was before I found out I am not actually Jade, though.  I am sure it is all different now,” you stop and look down, unsure of what to do or say next.

“Wow, that is pretty incredible.” Samantha replies carefully, “you are so lucky to have him!  Isn't Elliott just so hot!  He is just too perfect!  Gorgeous, plus he is sweet and kind!”