Aphmau's P.O.V

"HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I jumped out of my purple bed as soon as that screaming reached my ears. What just happened? Was that a nightmare, or was someone really in trouble?! I rubbed my eyes, the tossing and turning of the night before starting to catch up to me. Wait, what if that screaming was Levin or Malachi?!?!


That thought pumped all the drowsiness out of my body as I quickly made my way to their room, which was right across from mine. I looked inside and saw Levin and Malachi were both playing with their toys. Malachi turned his head towards me, a look of puzzlement written on his face.


"Mom? Are you okay? Your face is really pale," he asked, brushing his brown hair out of his face. Malachi is my adoptive son. He used to be a ghost until something happened while he was learning how to make potions with Zoey, their caretaker and a personal friend of mine. Now, he's a human again, but, with the cost of losing his magicks that allowed him to show people their worst nightmares. I smiled at him to show him I was fine.


"No no, I just heard something and I wanted to make sure you and Levin were fine," I reassured him, trying to steady myself from the recent panic attack. Malachi looked skeptical, but Levin smiled brightly at me, his blond hair falling in his face. Levin's adoptive too, but I've had him since he was a baby and left at my doorstep when I first came to Phoenix Drop.


"Yay! Mommy's up! Play with us?" he asked, continuing to smile innocently. I smiled and giggles at his innocence. Malachi doesn't have that much innocence, since he has been a ghost for over nine hundred years.


"I will Levin, as soon as I get home, I promise," I answered, smiling. Levin smiled bigger, stood up and hugged me around my legs. Daaaaw! He looks so grown up in the clothes that Cadenza made for him, but I love how he still acts like the little boy I know and love! I hugged him back, and even pulled Malachi into the hug. The last time I remember us having a hug like this was when I had them, the other children of the village, and the other citizens of the village who couldn't fight sent off to a safe place when there was war at our doors a week or two ago.


I missed them, but I'm glad they are still safe and sound. After a few minutes of hugging, I pulled away and kissed each of them on the head.


"I'll see you boys later!" I said to them, smiling and waving as I left their room. They smiled and waved back, happiness written all over their faces. I smiled and closed the blue door to their bedroom behind me. I headed down the stairs and saw Zoey in the kitchen making breakfast.


"Good morning Aphmau! Breakfast is almost ready!" she greeted, turning her head away from the stove to smile at me.


"Morning Zoey!" I greeted with a smile.


"Oh, by the way, Laurence is wanting to talk to you! He's waiting downstairs," Zoey said, turning her head back to the stove. I blinked. Wow, it's been a while since Laurence has wanted to talk to me. I wonder what he wants. I said a quick thanks to Zoey as I headed around to the back of the stairs and went down to the basement.


It's my kind of mini storage area that also has a guest room and a room for Zoey. I walked down and saw Laurence standing in front of the large window that lead out of the side of the hill I built my house on that had a perfect view of the closest part of the village towards mine.


"Hey Laurence!" I greeted. Laurence turned around and smiled at me.


"Lady Aphmau! Good to see you. I wish I could come on more elated terms, but, I think there is something that needs your attention," he greeted, his positive, flirty demeanor replaced with a serious one.


"What happened?" I asked, brushing my black bangs out of my eyes.


"Dante found someone unconscious on our borders. I came to see you as soon as Dante informed me," he replied, leaning against the wall. My eyes grew to the size of saucers. I have to see who this is! What if Zane sent someone to hurt someone that was on their way t the village?!?!


"Lead the way!" I stated, filled with determination and worry.

*****************************TIME SKIP********************************


I was standing in front of an unconscious girl, with my three most trusted guards at my sides. There was Garroth, the head guard, with blond hair and bright blue eyes and a heart of gold, Laurence, who has brown hair and baby blue eyes and always makes me laugh, and Dante, who has blue hair and bright blue eyes. The girl was faced down, but she definitely wasn't someone from Phoenix Drop or from a nearby village. She had brown hair, and she was dressed in a blue shirt with a pair of ripped blue jeans and brown boots, and she was covered in all kinds of wounds, ranging from bruises to deep cuts. Carefully, I kneeled down and turned her over so that we could see her face. Surprisingly, it was unharmed, and it looked like she had been knocked out for a while.


Her features looked like she was around my age, a year or two younger at most, and she looked like she had just run a marathon. I carefully tucked my arms under the girl and stood up.


"She needs medical attention. I'll take her back to rest in the guest room in my house and have Zoey treat her until she wakes up and can tell us what happened," I instructed, hoping my voice wasn't filled with the worry I felt. Before they could protest, I ran off to the direction of my house. I don't know why, but something about this girl seems familiar. I can't just leave her out in the open, she needs help. What kind of Lord would I be if I left her to be killed in my own village?