Abbie's POV
(A FEW DAYS LATER, three days before the king's ball)
I hummed a song as I made my way through the hallways of one of our elementary schools. I can't tell you how excited I get each time I visit a school. And the kids are so amazing. They have all welcomed me with open arms. The day went by so fast that I didn't feel time passed. It was now a few minutes after school, and most kids had already left for home, so I was on my way to pick up Anthony in the teacher's lounge, where I asked him to wait for me.
"Luna Abbie!" I hear someone call for me, making me turn. "Yes," I said, smiling.
My heart skipped a beat when I noticed it was my stepmom and her daughter, Chloe. Her tiny hand grips her mom delicately, and she smiles as she looks up at me. Chloe's eyes resemble her mom's big blue eyes, but her hair is long, with natural waves and black like her dad's. But I'm glad she looks more like her mom. She's very pretty.
"Uh... hi," I said, a bit nervous. Nervous? Why am I anxious? I don't care about them; I shouldn't care... right?
"Abbie. I... I'm sorry to bother you. I know I have no right. It's just that... Chloe has been begging for us to introduce you to her. Could you please spare me a few minutes?" she says, knitting her brows and lowering her head.
Chloe bats her lashes, looking at me, anticipating my reply.
"Sweetheart, what are you doing? Luna Abigail is busy. I'm... I'm sorry, Abbie. We didn't mean to disturb you." Armand says as he comes dashing.
"But, Daddy, I want to hug my sister, Abbie."
"Baby, I know. But she's busy, we shouldn't bother her,"
"But Daddy!"
"It's fine," I say, looking at Armand and making him stop as he tries to grab Chloe, making her pull away.
"You don't have to. Abbie, we don't deserve your time. We don't deserve your forgiveness, we don't..."
"You're right," I say, making him look at me sadly.
"But I want to meet Chloe too," I say as I look at Chloe, who is on the verge of crying. I lean down and smile, holding my hand out for her. She timidly reaches out, grabbing my hand.
But something odd happened, making my eyes widen; it was like a vision catching me in a trance.
I see a baby crying, lying on a small crib, wearing a blush pink dress and covered in a blanket. She's small; she couldn't be more than a few months old. I can hear loud growls and wolves fighting.
The baby continues to cry; a man with dark brown hair is fighting with another man with dark black hair. The one with brown hair tries hard to get to the baby, but the other man stops him, fighting him off until he can't anymore.
I gasp, eyes bulging as I see the man with dark brown hair take out a blade with a wolf-like amulet on the end of the blade and stab the one with black hair. The man grips his stomach, yelling in agonizing pain. The other man takes advantage, grabbing the baby off the crib as it cries.
"The poison in the blade is doing its job, but we can't be too sure. Finish him off. I want that bitch to suffer when she comes back and sees her precious mate dead. Regina estara orgullosa de nuestro trabajo!" he says, partially in Spanish, making me cry as two men walk into the room and kill the man with black hair. (Regina will be proud of our work.)
I shut my eyes as if I'm taken to another scene. The man with dark brown hair holds the baby, who no longer cries but is sound asleep. "Make sure you get rid of it. She can never find where this brat is. If she does, I'll find you and make sure to kill you myself. Understood?" he says, making my eyes widen in shock as I see the man's face... Armand.
I pull my hand away from Chloe, shaking my head with my eyes closed, and snap out of my hallucination with a gasp, standing up abruptly.
"Daddy, big sister doesn't like me," Chloe says, making me feel horrible. But I have to leave. I can't stay. I'm so confused the fuck out. What in the hell just happened to me?
"I'm sorry, honey, it's not that. You're beautiful. You are... but I, I, I have to go. Sorry." I say as I feel my heartbeat speed and turn on my heel. I begin to walk away, but Armand comes behind me and pulls me by my arm, making me spin around and growl.
"Abbie, wait. What happened? Are you ok?" he asks, making Merida growl. "Let go. You have no right." I sneer, making Merida growl. He gives me a pained look but lets me walk away. "You found it. The amulet... you found it." he says with a worried expression, making my eyes widen in shock.
"What? What amulet are you talking about?"
"The one with the wolf. You... you had it on you when I... when you were a baby. It was your mom's." he says, stepping back. His eyes filled with tears as he closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame.
" Abbie, I did horrible things that I'm not proud of. I wish... I wish I could have treated you better. I should have treated you for what you are... a princess. But I was so blind, I... I took my anger out on you so unfairly. I was so bitter because my mate had left me and rejected me that I became angry. I took all my frustration out on you and Jen... I'm sorry, dear. I'm so sorry." he says as he tries to grab my hand, but I pull away.
I'm still in shock. Everything is out of its wits. Nothing makes fucking sense... nothing.
"Don't touch me. It's too late for your stupid apology. I'm not as naive as Jen has been. She may have forgiven you, but I never will." I say as I look past him toward my stepmom, Jen. She held Chloe in her arms, rocking her softly. I feel horrible for acting this way in front of Chloe. It's not her fault... but what Armand did to me all those years is unforgivable.
I turn on my heel and walk away quickly, fisting my hands as my heart beats profusely.
"What the hell just happened, Merida? What was that? Who was that baby in that vision I just had? And since when am I able to fucking have these visions?" I ask, making Merida whimper.
"If you have something to tell me, say it now. What happened back there?" Merida whimpers, lying on the floor as she sighs.