Reborn As Queen Luna

CHAPTER TWO: DEJA-VU

Theia Varro alighted the Mercedes and took in a deep breath. The surroundings were not very familiar, but she had a sense of déjà-vu when she stared at the Stone Castle towering in front of her in its imperial take.

From where she stood, the wall looked a uniform dull grey color, but she could remember what it looked from up-close. True to its name, the was a mosaic of magnificent stones of varying sizes and shapes, each one unique. Maybe she had seen pictures of them somewhere?

As she put on her sunglasses, she realized that her hands were trembling, and mentally chided herself for being such a freak. She frowned as she recalled popping her pills that morning. Her meds hadn’t been forgotten, so why were her memories blurry and confusing?

Theia shook her head to clear the familiar fog and took another deep breath for courage. As she advanced towards the entrance, a plump woman hurried forward to greet her. At first glance, she looked like a nice red-faced lady with a likable face. Something flashed in Theia’s mind showing the same woman with a nasty snicker, and Theia blinked the image away.

“Welcome, Queen Luna,” the woman curtsied with utmost respect, oblivious to Theia’s state of mind. “The Luna Iliana awaits your arrival.”

Luna Iliana – even the name sounded familiar. Theia pushed the dark thoughts at the back of her mind and strolled forward towards the stone staircase. Somehow, she knew there were thirty-three steps before she even started the ascent. How was that even possible?

The woman who introduced herself as the maid Olivia showed her the way inside the castle, and Theia was too busy taking in her surroundings to be offended by the fact that the Luna hadn’t bothered coming to greet her. In fact, the interior of the castle also had a familiar look and by now, Theia was quite certain that she had forgotten to take her pills in the morning.

Her mother had warned her that forsaking her pills would cause hallucinations, and Theia wished she could be more careful about her dosage. How many times had her maid Aurora reminded her that she needed to take her meds on time? Without them, illusions that her mind conjured tended to obscure reality.

With a shaky breath, she followed the maid through the elegant design of the angled foyer until they reached the grand staircase. Theia forgot to draw her next breath when she caught sight of a woman descending the stairs in all her majestic splendor. Something in her gait made Theia pause and she gasped as another depiction of the same woman flared in front of her eyes. It was another time, another dress, but definitely the same person.

When Luna Iliana approached, Theia felt the cold grey eyes landing directly on her the moment freezing her as the other similar foggy image became clear in her subconscious. In the flashback, the Luna Iliana had been wearing a black dress, with thin straps to outline her creamy white shoulders, and a plunging décolleté. Her long dark hair had been flowing freely around her stoic face devoid of any make-up.

This time, the Luna was wearing a dark green tulle dress with matching jewels. It was clear that she had dressed for the occasion. A head band decorated her updo coiffure with beaded jewels making it look like a very expensive crown. There was a welcoming smile adorning her face, making her features less scary than the last time.

The only similarity were her graceful movements.

Theia blinked and the reminiscence faded way in a jiffy allowing her to concentrate on the present.

“Welcome, Queen Luna,” she greeted in a voice which lacked the luster of a welcome, and Theia resisted the urge to hug herself to infuse some warmth into her. There was something spooky about the woman which was scaring the sh*t out of her.

However, Theia offered a smile and watched as the woman flipped her finger to dismiss the maid. The latter scurried off like a frightened rabbit, and Luna Iliana bestowed Theia a bright smile. Which was as counterfeit as the woman herself.

She didn’t like the woman, Theia decided on the spot.

“I am Iliana Stone, Luna to the Blood Stone pack. I welcome you to our humble abode,” she cackled shrilly, and Theia shuddered as goosebumps puckered all over her skin. “It’s such a great honor to finally meet the queen in person. How are the Varros?”

Theia plastered a smile to her face as well. That was her parent’s friend, she reminded herself in order to shoo away the bad feelings surrounding her. “My mother misses you of course,” she replied politely. “My father will invite you over soon, I presume.”

The woman’s hands went to her mouth in an overtly caring gesture. “Oh that adorable little Theresa. I was always so fond of her. You send my regards to Iakob – he’s such a sweetheart,” she commented flippantly.

Theia had had enough of the facetious woman, but she could barely leave from the castle without offending her parents. Iliana and her mother Theresa were best friends since high school, although it was the first time that Theia was officially meeting the woman.

That flashback must have come from a picture she’d seen with her mother, or a video she couldn’t place right now. Was she reading the woman wrong as well? There was no way her mother would have befriended a phony person.

Theresa Varro was a wonderful lady who always strived to be fair and loyal to her friends and families. She’d often wondered at her good luck of having been sired by the two most wonderful persons on earth. Her parents were her pride and strength – they’d never showed her any pity or disgust with respect to her illness.

Dementia – that was what she suffered from. Her doctor Zoe had diagnosed her after the unfortunate accident, saying that her memories would eventually come back. Theia wasn’t utterly convinced though, the way things were going after almost two years, she was still struggling with huge mental voids and stress.

It hadn’t always been like this, her mother told her so many times. There was a time when she’d been totally healthy and athletic. She’d seen her past pictures when she’d been younger, and she’d looked different in them. So different in fact that it seemed like two distinct persons altogether.

“I sure will,” she replied the cranky Luna with another pinned smile.

“Oh how impolite of me,” the Luna scoffed flippantly. “Come, let me show you your room,” she said, her hand taking hold of Theia’s arms. At the first touch, Theia gasped as the breath went out of her body and she had to grip the golden rail of the staircase to steady her body. That hand had a familiar feeling, one which didn’t sit very comfortably with her.

Theia managed to straighten herself and followed the Luna without protest, although a single touch seemed to have crippled her body. She was showed the Sun room, which according to its name had a blaze of sunlight shining through the window. The décor was light prune, with curtains of a darker shade of same hue pulled back in perfect pleats with tiebacks.

“Here you go, darling. I’ll send Ruby up to help you with the unpacking. Ask the maid to look for me when you’re done. We’ll go to the foyer. I’ll light a fire and we can have a chat until dinner. Sounds good?”

Hell, no! Theia wanted to exclaim, but she swallowed the unwarranted words in a gulp and offered a saccharine sweet smile. “Sure, I would love that,” she replied, hating the way she became with the woman. Everything was fake.

Sighing once she was left alone, Theia removed her diary with fumbling hands to check on the date and the pills intake. Everything was in place. The remaining pills in her medical kit were in the right number.

Frowning, she perused her surroundings in an attempt to force her memories to conjure any of the familiar flashes which had been bursting inside her mind. Her mind came up with a complete blank. Nothing about the room was familiar to her. Which didn’t make much sense. The castle and the people talked to her but not the rooms.

Sighing, she pushed the morose thoughts out of her mind and started unpacking.

A few minutes later, there was a timid knock on her door, and she stopped her actions to open the door to a girl who looked no younger than fifteen years old.

“Queen Luna,” she curtsied with a bubbly disposition. “Ruby at your service. Let me do that for you,” she hurried towards the pack of folded clothes folded on the bed and placed them in the closet.

“Oh, please. Call me Theia,” she told the girl in a friendly way, glad that she would have an ally in that household.

“I wouldn’t dare,” the girl giggled excitedly. “You are way too high in the rank for me to address you so informally. I am an omega, you see,” the girl was shame-faced when she revealed her rank like it was something she should be embarrassed of.

It didn’t mean anything to Theia. In her parent’s castle, everyone was treated fairly, even the omegas had the right to education with equal opportunities as the other high ranked. The only difference was that the omegas wolves were weaker, but the onus was on the Alphas and Betas to protect them.

She would never look down upon an omega though.

“That’s okay, I guess,” she replied stealthily. “I do have some omega friends back home,” she told her in an exaggerated whisper, but was shocked when Ruby gagged in stupefaction.

“You do?” she repeated dazedly, appearing fascinated by the mere prospect. “Do you sneak out to meet them?”

Theia frowned. “No, we meet up at school. Now that I have graduated, I see less of them though. That reminds me, I should call them tonight and tell them about this place,” she said with a look around the room once again. Her analepsis crisis seemed to have deserted her.

Ruby opened her mouth wishing to say something, then thought the better of it and shut it promptly. “Your clothes have been arranged. Do you want to refresh yourself for dinner? I could run a bath for you?”

“Please,” Theia agreed with another sweet smile, feeling much happier now that her blurry memories were gone, and she didn’t have to pretend anymore. The prospect of a phony dinner with that woman wasn’t something she was looking forward to, so she took her time to dip in the tub, using the wonderful shower gel placed exclusively for her. They smelled like peaches.

When she was properly refreshed, she made her way to where the foyer would be. From what she remembered, the room she’d been allocated was to the left, and so she wandered to the right to look for the illustrious stairs.

It took her some minutes to figure out that she was lost.

The décor was so similar that she must have lost her way. However, she would have sworn that the stairs were to her right. She passed a room which looked like a pantry and moved further down the corridor to a large study. Curious, she peeped inside to find a huge row of books staring at her. Tempted, she strolled inside before making sure that the room was empty.

Eight volumes of Harry Potter. The original version of the Moby-d**k. Theia gasped in delight when she saw The count of Monte Cristo, and she removed the paperback from the shelf.

“Jealousy is a vice,” a grave voice sounded behind her, making her jump and the book fell from her hand to fall to the ground with a thud. That wasn’t what caught her attention though. That voice, she would recognize it anywhere.

It was that of Ace Lucky Stone!