"Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us."

──┅┅┄┄*ೃ:.✧✲ﾟ*｡⋆─── ⋆✩⋆

Flashback

S N O W was falling from the white clouds in the blue sky as the cold weather gets with each day colder while the nature was covered in a white blanket.
Close to the forest was a city where people lived peacefully even as Grisha's and one of the people was Ira who was walking down the street to get something for herself in a small shop not far from where she lived.
Her brown wavy hair tyed to a ponytail was gently swinging left and right while she walked towards the shop.
Her legs were leading the way and she had a soft and warm smile on her face.

Not far away was a young man standing at the door from a library - he was eighteenth years old who admires the girl walking across from him.
The way she walked, her soft hair was dancing with the wind gently in a elegant way while she shined a warm aura in her being.
Onyx eyes had seen her often going to this shop where it has everything from food to books even jewelry.
Aleksander continue to watch her until she was inside the shop and wait for her to come - maybe he could talk with her this time.

After a few minutes she came out with a basket full of flowers and a bright smile. She waved the cashier goodbye and walked towards the forest.
Morozova followed her quietly but it didn't work since the young girl stopped and turns around to smile at him.
"Ah, this isn't a nice way to treat a lady, no?"
She says a bit sarcastic and watches him who was surprised that she catched him.
Aleksander rubs his neck shyly and steps closer to her - yet slowly not to scare her.

He just stood there and didn't say a word.

Ira raised a eyebrow and looked confused at him while asking;
"Why are you just standing there?"
The young boy shakes his head and looked at her with a nervous smile.
"Oh, um...because I wanted to ask you something. Which is...whats your name?"
He asks her hopefully and watched her while the girl shakes her head at him with a small smile.
"Not one you'll ever need to make use of."
She turns around and starts to walk again.
Aleksander immediately tried to stop her from walking away.
"Wait! I wasn't ready. I was planning to be very charming. And funny!
Can i just have a second chance?"
She turns around to see Aleksander who had put his hands together as if he would pray and begs her to give him silently a second chance.

The brunette was amused and let a giggle out while she turns away and continued walking away to the place she wanted to go.
His eyes were still on her but sighed while he rubs his face frustrated with himself.
Thinking about to fix this between them and getting a second chance from her.
But how? He didn't know.

Numerous days later he thought of a way to talk to her but it never came since he haven't seen her since the say in the woods.
It was weird and he doesn't liked the feeling it came with it.
His instincts were right, Grisha hunter were in the city and he could guess that they got her.
After following one of the hunters to their main place - where they stayed.
His eyes catched a familar brown hair who was in a cage that its used for animals.
Aleksander used his shadows and got her out of it quickly without getting notice.
His hand grabbed hers gently but tight and run with her fast away from all this hunters.

Few hours later they arrived at a river who was iced from the cold temperature and snow. Few metres away was a large house where light was shining through the windows. It was the home of Ira where her father and brother waited for her.
Ira took a deep breath and looks at their hands.
"Thank you. This was very kinda of you."
She thanks him and looks at the young man in front of her who turned towards her.
His eyes seemed concerned and looks at her face while asking;"Are you alright?"
Ira nods 'yes' ; "I am now...You asked for my name before few days. Its Ira."
She said softly and watches him lifting my hand up to kiss the back of it.
"Its a pleasure to meet you, Ira. I'm Aleksander."
He introduced himself and still holds her hand in his.

Amber eyes shined bright in the winter night and the girl let a giggle out while she smiles at him.
"Well, Aleksander. Looks like you got yourself a second chance."
Her body got closer to his and she got on her toes a bit to kiss his cheek and let go of him.
She smiled the last time at him and walked towards the house a bit faster yet slow in her walking.
Aleksander watched her walk back to her house and smiled brightly the first time - finally realising he has her name now and also a second chance.
"Ah, by the way you shouldn't treat a lady like this. Stalking is creepy."
She says loudly so he could her hear and smirked while she winks at him.
He shakes his head and chuckles at her words while he lifts his hand to wave her goodbye;"This woman..."

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Present Time

Aleksander was getting his things ready while he thought about the weird memory he got from Ira as if he knew her from a very long time before this.
He furrowed his eyebrows while thinking about Ira and the small memory. Darkling got on his horse and sighed; "Maybe I should start to sleep more."

The sun was shining and it was still day time while Alina and Ira were sitting in the Carriage with Fedyor and Ivan.
Being in a carriage was nice but being with the red Kefta monkey was a different story.
She was quiet until he starts to talk with Alina.
Fedyor explained her Keftas and how important she is since she uses sunlight while also telling her that Grishas were a dead sentence before Little Palace exist and thanks to General Kirigan they survived until now.

Ira looked out the Carriage window bored but when her ears catches something that Fedyor said.
"But it's bigger than that. You are hope for the country, yes, but a myth come true for a Grisha. It was a Grisha who created the Fold.
If a Grisha destroys it, maybe..."
He sighed and continue to talk.
"Maybe we wouldn't need those high walls to protect us anymore."

She turns her head towards Fedyor and raised a eyebrow at him.
"Its a beautiful dream yet still a dream."
She told him when he was confused by her statement.
"What do you mean?"
He asks her irritated and she turns fully her body towards him.
Ira takes out the map of the world and points at the Shadow Fold.
"Have you ever wondered in your small brain why the Shadow Fold is there?"
She asks him and taps at the black thing in the map while everyone was confused by her.
"Is a curse who kills everything what it enters."
Ira furrowed her eyebrows and taps again on the Shadow Fold.

"Listen, so your sparrow brain will understand too."
Fedyor got angrier at her but stayed quiet when Ivan looks at him.
"Yes, it's dangerous as hell because of the monsters but think of the stragety way of the Fold.
It protects the Grisha from other countries who wants you all dead.
The walls you hope to not have its your only safety even the Fold.
Grisha's will always get hunt no matter if peace is for 100 years or 500 years, there is no guarantee for it. Drüskelle will always hunt them because they are not human in their eyes - what is understandable since humans shouldn't have magic power yet having the naive dream to live freely is stupid.
Grisha will never live freely no matter what they do,you wanna know why?
Because non Grisha will always fear them, that's the fact - no matter how good of a person you are if you use magic in their eyes you are the bad guy."
Her hand showed them the points where Enemies were and stopped her talking while she puts the map back in her backpack.

The Carriage stopped when they hear that the road is blocked and Fedyor told them to stay here.
Ira could hear a unknown language and guessed who it was.
"Drüskelle...its Fjerdan. Alina stay here, I will act as you."
She tells her and puts her cloak over her head to seem like she wanna hide and run away.
"Wait here, you will be safe."
She whispers and told her to lay down in the middle of the carriage.
Alina did what Ira said and the brunette got out the Carriage while she runs towards the forest away.
She could hear footsteps behind her and also a arrow was flying over her head.
"Damn..they really wanna get my head."
She mumbles and continues to run until it was far away from the Carriage.

As she turns around and saw Eight men standing in a circle around her.
"You witch, we have you now."
One of them said loudly and Ira looked through her cloak that was on her head who was covering her face.
She lifts her hands towards her face slowly and waves them two times in a elegant way while bright light was shining through her hands and blind them.
Making a symbol with her left hand and her sunlight turns into sharp light arrows with her right hand who laid flat open - she made the movement forward and all sharp arrow lights movement in a fast speed towards the men and pierced through their bodies.

Blood was covering the brown earth as the men fall slowly down from the impact of her light arrows. All dead laying in a circle around Ira who took her cloak off and put it how it was.
"We could have talked it out but you wanted violence instead of a conversation."
She sighed and rubs her forehead while she turns towards a scream came close to her.
Ira run where the scream came and saw how Darkling killed the Drüskelle without thinking twice or showing sympathy.
"Are you hurt?"
He asked Alina who got up from the ground.
"No, not really."
She replied and looked at Darkling as he took her with him on the horse.
"The others will have fled now they know I'm here. You ride with me."
Aleksander told her and start to ride away not aware of Ira who stood next to the trees and saw everything.

Amber eyes watched them ride away as she huffed.
"Thank you Ira for saving my life. No problem, it was my pleasure to get circled by old men who wanted to pierce my head in a spear and show it everyone around."
She let a sassy remark out and went back to the Carriage where Ivan and Fedyor were.

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Little Palace. A large castle who seemed like a interesting home.
The brunette watched everything and everyone when Ivan came to her.
"Ira, you will stay at the Lyra Suite.
I will show you it."
He told her and starts to walk inside the building with her who followed him around.
Passing many rooms and also the library - they made it finally at her suite.
Ivan opens the door for her and let her get inside of it.
He nods and closed the door behind her to give her privacy.

A large bedroom with a makeup desk, a king size bed, a window and a bathroom next door.
"I love it but isn't that to much?"
She was suspicious about all this friendly acting around her and sighed as she sat down on the bed.
"Maybe I should write a letter to Eugene since Alina and Kirigan haven't arrived yet."
Ira stood up and sat down on the desk to search for papers and a pen.
After finding the items her hand starts to write about what happened until now.
She closed the paper and put a signal on it while putting the letter in her backpack first to be safe and hiding it under her bed.

G

etting back on her feet she got out her room and walked around the hallways until she arrived at the library curious to find something out.

'The investigation begins..'

Amber eyes were in awe at the large library who had so many books, she could bet there were books who didn't exist anymore.
Her eyes searched for interesting titles when an older man with short black hair and brown eyes who was wearing a brown large cloak? - he must be a priest.
"Can i help you?"
Ira asks him since the older man stared at her with a unreadable expression of surprise and shock.
"Saints..are you Ira? Ira Kradea."
He whispers asking her and she raised a eyebrow while she looks back to see if there was another girl with the same name as her and turned back to him.
"Yes, in flesh and blood."
The priest had a small smile on his face and nods.
"Come with me."
He told her and start to walk while Ira followed him even she hestitate first to come along since he knew her name weirdly enough.

The priest walked to a hidden part of the library and put a key in a symbol on a wall.
A door showed and he walks inside as she follows him close.
After some rights and lefts they arrived at a forbidden section of books.
"Here, I regonize you immediately when you stepped inside the library."
Older man opens a book in front of her and showed her a very old picture of a young woman.
Her face got closer to the very old book and saw her face in the book.
"How..? Is this some kinda of weird trick?"
She asks him sarcastic and reads what's on the chapter.

"No, no. That's you before 1000 years, you are the Twins of the prophecy.
Here your brother and that's you, you are from a old nation called "Ilioros" that came from the South.
Your nation is older then the Ravka but you got perish from the history and your nation is gone. This is book and few others are the last who knows about your existence. I kept them save from others since I, The Apparat be a true believer of the old religion."
The Apparat told Ira who was confused as heck and just stared at the side where she was with her brother.

"It sounds unbelievable but it's the truth. You can read it all in these books and if I may ask, can you keep this section as a secret?"
He asks her while the brunette looked at him with a serious expression.
"I will but for this secret - I wanna that you tell me everything about the people here and their secrets."
She told him and didn't seem to joke around while the Apparat seemed to understand her.
"I promise on my honour as priest."
She accepted it as she looks back at the book.

"Who knows about this and me?"
The brunette asked curious and flips the slides gently.
"Only Baghra the mother of Aleksander Kirigan and me."
He told her truthfully as she sighed and turns towards him.
"Good, I will visit you everyday to find out more about all this but now I will go back - I don't wanna seems suspicious."
Ira told him as both walked out the forbidden section and upstairs to the normal library.

The Apparat went to his desk in the library and Ira walked out of it with serious expression.
"What and who am I?"
She whispers to herself as she got some terrible headaches on the way towards her suite.
Her amber eyes filled with tears from the pain as she got fragments of pictures.
"I need to sleep a bit."
She mumbles when she arrived at her door and opens it - her body almost gave in.
Ira kept her body up with the help of the wall and closed the door behind her.
She slowly went to her bed and without a second she fell asleep.

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It was always the same, seeing Eugene crying over a dead body that was himself in the dark in a unfamiliar place, Eugene turns to her with red eyes and evil smirk and Ira says;
"If only I could have helped you."

Then Eugene says very loud with tears running down his face; "Help me!"
as her reflection in his eyes gets bigger while she sees herself shocked full with worry and sadness. His eyes showed that the true Eugene was alive inside of this false facade of red eyes monster who stood before her.
Every time she touch him two children appear who were the younger self of Ira and Eugene who holds both their hands and grabs the hands of the older Eugene and Ira and say in unison:
"Wake up! Save us!"
Everything becomes black.

The loud voices of her younger self and her brother could be heard from afar as the young girl sit up in her bed - her body was full of sweat and her breathing was heavy while her heart was beating fast. Her hands were on her head as she closes her eyes - trying to calm down.

"Why always this dream? What does it mean?"
She asks herself and crying quietly at her miserable self.
Pushing her hair backwards and taking deep breathes after few minutes of silence - she opens her eyes and looking towards the window.
The moon light was shining through the window of her room and brights the night.
"Atleast I have you moon and stars."
She whispers and stood up while she takes of her uniform slowly.
Ira wore only a pair of pants, boots and a shirt as she looks out the window.

Calmed down, taking the letter for her brother and walked out her room to the balcony of the building.
It seems everyone was asleep at this time of the night, maybe 2 am? Who knows.
Ira knew to get the letter fast to Eugene since she misses him already.
Stepping out on the balcony her amber eyes saw the hawk of her brother who flew over to her.
"Hey, Peanut. Take this letter for Eugene, will ya? I will give you next time snacks."
She whispers to the bird and rubs his head while she gives him a soft smile.

After few pats she watches the Hawk fly away towards the location of her brother.
She leans her elbows on the railing of the balcony as she stares at the night sky.
It was quiet and peaceful until a voice scared her.
"I'm not surprised to see you awake since you took a long nap."
A smooth male voice said as he stepped out the shadows and stood next to her.
"My mother told me to follow my dreams, so I took a nap."
Ira replied sarcastic and didn't bother to look at the person next to her since she knew it was Kirigan.

A chuckle could be heard that quickly fade away as he grabbed the hand of Ira to tightly for her liking as if he could break her fingers now.
Aleksander was crushing her fingers as he told her in a deep voice;
"I swear Ira if you do anything to the Sun Summoner or work with the enemy, I will not spare you."
His onyx eyes locked with her amber eyes as she furrowed her eyebrows and sighed.
"Kirigan with all due respect, I cannot even stop you from breaking my fragile human fingers. Do I look like someone who has the power or productivity to make some elaborate plan and go after the one most powerful Grisha of the world?"

Ira hasn't the nerve to argue with him or have herself on his blacklist.
She just wanted peace and sleep but she couldn't get anything from it because of this man next to her.
General Kirigan eyes widen a bit surprised but this got quickly away while he let go of her hand.
"..well I suppose that's fair."

It was quiet between them as the young woman rubbed her fingers and was thankful that they weren't broken.
"Ah, you really know how to make a woman fall for you."
A sassy remark could be heard next to him as he watches her from the corner of his eye.
Nothing was said after this as the girl turned around to leave and finally getting some sleep while Aleksander watches her walk away.
"Why she gets always under my skin?"
He whispers and was irritated by the feelings and how easily she could get under his skin without trying.
Maybe he was to harsh on her?
He knows now she is to weak to be a danger in his eyes.
Kirigan turned back towards the stars as sighed thinking of the memory of his eighteenth year old self who met a girl who seemed to be the perfect clone of Ira.

'What does this mean?'

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──┅┅┄┄*ೃ:.✧✲ﾟ*｡⋆─── ⋆✩⋆

Hey beautiful people, i hope you like the third chapter!

What do you think? What will happen next?

Will Kirigan gain more memories of Ira?

Why was Aleksander mean towards Ira?

Will the Priest help Ira?

Last but not least will Ira find the true out about her ancestors?

Comment down below what you think and what you like.

Thank you for your support beautiful readers!