Mona stared straight ahead. Half kicking herself for consenting to getting in his vehicle and half tingling with curiosity to hear more. "Please fasten your seatbelt." He murmured as he reached for his own.

Mona felt a little dazed...as if she was experiencing a foggy dream. After a minute or so, Darric leaned forward and was about to reach for her belt, when Mona snapped out of it and shouted. "Alright...alright! I got it. Sorry. My mind is a jumble of confusing thoughts right now and it is a little distracting."

When he had suggested a different location, Mona had assumed that he'd had a specific place in mind. When they buckled in, he asked her where she would like to go. She thought of the first quiet and out of the way spot she could think of. She had been shooting for secluded...to appease his need for no audience to eavesdrop. However, as the car turned down a grassy path, off the already lonely dirt road...Mona began to realize that she might be laying the perfect scene for her murder as well.

This little bend of the river had always felt serene and safe to her. She could use a bit of both of those right now. When there was no more path to be seen, they parked and walked the last few dozen feet to the bank of the river. There were a few fallen trees that Mona would sit or lay upon on summer days with a good book or daydreaming in the sun. After finding a place to sit, Mona spoke with the best attempt at confidence that she could muster; "Please tell me everything that I need to know to understand what you were trying to say at the diner."

His sigh was audible even with the noises of the river and forest to contend with. "You have Magic in your blood Desdemona."

"That is not my name." She had a moment of panic now. "You might just have the wrong person." Mona felt her pulse jump into her throat.

"It was your name in your previous life and it is what I've known you by until now." He replied. "What would you prefer that I call you?"

Mona knew that her name was not far off from this but almost wished that it was, so that she could prove him more wrong. "Mona is fine," she exhaled and let her shoulders slump. "Please continue."

He ran his hands through his hair as he seemed to search for the right words. "This would be so much easier if you would just let me take you to our mother. I cannot explain everything...I am not sure where to even begin."

"Then just tell me as much as you can. As it is now, I'm not going anywhere else with you unless I have some answers." Mona thought that the last part sounded very determined and not frightened in the least. Good job!

"Alright...alright, we are of ancient blood. Our ancestors were powerful healers, shamans, conduits to the energy of the earth. Your father was of our blood. Your mother never told him that she became pregnant. We did not know of your existence until our mother's vision of you in the flames of your father's funeral pyre." He swiftly knelt in front of Mona and clasped her hand in his. "Please forgive me, I had not intended to tell you in such an abrupt way of your father's passing."

Mona wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She'd never met her father. Her mother hadn't ever really said much about him aside from telling her that he had vanished overseas and that she had lost any method of contact. "I'm not disturbed by this. I never knew him. I'm surprised to learn that he never knew of me though. My mother made it seem as though he had left her."

Darric's expression looked like she had just slapped him. "That was not the case. We cherish our children. All of them are born with some measure of power and we would never leave them to figure out how to control it by themselves. If we do not learn, from an early age, what we are and what to do with our magic, the old ones have said that some have gone mad. That is why I almost did not expect to find you alive or, at the very least, not so calm and normal." Mona thought the emphasis on the last word felt a little strange. He paused only for a moment and then seemed to realize that he was still kneeling and reclaimed the bit of log that he'd been perched on before. "Your father was one of the most powerful among us and I sense great power in you as well. How have you lived with this your whole life so unaware that you were different? Have you not had strange and magical things happening around you since you were a child?"

Mona thought about this for a while. She let her gaze travel back into the trees so that she could concentrate and really try to remember if she had a normal childhood. She remembered trips to the seaside, camping under the clear autumn skies, school days, playing in the snow with her friend Chrissy, planting flowers in front of her childhood home...nothing seemed out of place. "No, I'm sorry, I don't recall anything out of the ordinary."

His face scrunched as he leaned toward her; "Do you recall any sad or frightening memories from your childhood?"

Mona scoffed. "Why do I need to recall bad memories?

"Please just humor me and retell a moment from your past for me. Please try to find a memory where you were scared...even if only a little." He seemed more concerned now.

Mona closed her eyes and tried to think of something that had scared her as a child. When nothing immediately came to mind it frustrated her and she decided to lay back on the fallen tree and relax...opening her mind to all of her memories...see what she could find. Still...there was nothing that came to mind. "I can't think of anything. I mean, I didn't have a perfect childhood. We didn't have a lot of money. Sometimes we had to give up things...but we made ends meet and things were good."

He leaned forward and clasped her hands again. "This is troublesome. I cannot be certain, but I think I might have an idea." He again knelt in front of her to be able to look directly into her eyes as he spoke. They were still striking but as Mona's mind swam in a puzzled circle, she could look at him without additional distraction. However, it did occur to her briefly that their little scene might look like a proposal from an outsider's perspective. "I believe someone has shielded you from your own burdensome memories."

"Huh?" Words escaped her and the one syllable was all that she managed.

"If you would agree to this journey, I can promise you that our mother would give you back any memories that you wish and explain to you what they mean to you, your future and your people." His thumb softly caressed the back of her hand and he looked almost frightened as he waited for her to say something.

She had not realized she was holding her breath as she stared into those frightened, glittering eyes. The sigh that came out, when she had made her mind up, seemed too loud compared to the peaceful surroundings. "Alright. I had taken off the first few days of next week to do a deep clean of my place but I suppose now is as good a time as any to learn more about my family and maybe get a mini vacation out of it. I have to go back to the library by Wednesday for my next shift. So, you have the next four days to flood me with information. Can you promise that you will have me back here by Tuesday night?"

His eyes softened as she spoke and his shoulders relaxed. During her last question, he had clasped her hands a little tighter and smiled. "I promise that by Tuesday morning, if you wish to return, I will buy you a first-class ticket."

She didn't know if she liked the way that he'd phrased that but she let it go. "Take me home to pack a few things and let's get going then. No time to waste."