Katrina's 20th birthday would be here in 5 days time, but unlike most girls she wasn't excited. It would be another day where she wakes up to sit by her window and stare at the vast forest in front of her. She had always wondered if there was an end to the forest, or if she was sent to some unknown uninhabited island. Either way she wished at least that she could go outside. In her 19 years of living she couldn't tell you what dirt felt like, or how the pines by her window smelled. She had read about them, but had never once experienced the sensations those objects brought on. She wondered if she would ever be able to step outside this room and experience more than captive life. A light knock on the door pulls her from her thoughts. She turns but does not move to open the door.

The knocking continues, but she sits still just watching the door. Finally the person gives up on knocking and instead enters the room. There stands the woman who brings her food, who taught her math, and English, the only other person she's ever interacted with. But it was not her that held her attention. It's the smaller framed woman behind her that keeps her focus on the door now. The woman was in no way familiar and yet Katrina felt something from her she'd never felt. The woman nods towards the maid and she leaves in a hurry. The woman stares at the girl as the girl stares back not understanding what could be happening.

The lady standing in front of Katrina is well groomed and obviously rich with all the jewels adoring various parts of her body. But they're tasteful enough not to seem gaudy. The lady seems fairly young, no older than thirty Katrina assumes though she's never even seen her own reflection so her ideas on age could be skewed. She seems delicate, and yet there's a fierceness about her.

"Who are you?" Tumbles out of Katrina's mouth before she can stop herself.

The woman looks a bit shocked as if not expecting the girl to speak. But her look of surprise shifts to one of bitterness as she fidgets with a large diamond on her middle finger of her left hand. Katrina holds her breath hoping she'll hear this woman speak. Hoping this woman will tell her she is free. The woman looks up and her eyes seem tearful though Katrina doesn't really understand the sentiment.

"I guess you could call me Mom, though after all these years I'm sure you assumed you had none."

"I have to have a mother. The only way I could be born is if I had one. I just always assumed maybe she and my father didn't want me."

The woman tightens her grip on the diamond ring obviously hurt by the words, but she knows the girl lacks empathy because of how she was raised. How she let her be raised.

"Well I've come to take you home. Your siblings are all waiting to meet their older sister."

"What about my father does he not wish to see me?"

She grips the ring so tight it starts to dent, but immediately stops so as not to scare the girl.

"You father is no longer with us. Which is why I've come."

"So father is dead, but he never wished to see me?"

"Your father was not perfect, but in his own way he loved you."

"Love..."

The mother stares at her daughter who is lost in thought trying to think of a moment where she understood love. But there was none, her mother knew that. And she knew her now dead spouse was the reason for it.

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"What does love feel like?"

"It's hard to put it into words. You know it when you feel it though sweetheart. And it's a wonderful feeling. A feeling that can lead to good and bad decisions."

"Are you sure you're not just here to visit?" Katrina blurts out pushing past the concept of love.

"No, I'm here to bring you home. Your younger siblings want to meet their big sister. And I want my daughter back."

The woman steps closer, placing a warm hand on her daughters.

"That is only if you want. I can understand if you hate me and refuse. After all I am partly to blame for you being locked up here."

The girl sits silently pondering for a moment before looking into her mother's eyes. She had dreamed of this day for years now, but what if this was all a farce? Some phantasm her mind had created after being locked away for so long. All these thoughts sped through Katrina's mind simultaneously

"Can I see more than my room if I leave with you?"

"Even if you don't wish to leave with me, I want you to start seeing the world. The choice is yours. We'll always be waiting with open arms."

The woman starts to leave. She thinks she knows the girl's answer. As much as it pains her she only has herself to blame for this outcome.

"Please don't go...."

The woman turns around surprised to hear the girl pleading.

"Please don't leave. I don't want to be alone here. I know there's a lot I don't know, but I know I don't want to be here any longer. Can you take me with you? Can you take me...home?"

The girl stares at the car in awe. Of course she knows what it is but seeing a picture in a book is far different from seeing it in real life.

"This will be your car. In time you'll be able to drive it yourself, but for now I have a driver for you."

She looks amazed to have something of her own. She glides her fingers over one of the windows before stopping and running towards the woods. She stops at the first tree she sees and places her hand on the bark. She pulls it back not liking its rough texture, but also amazed it feels like how her books described it. After standing there marveling over the tree she finally returns back to her mother and her car. She can't tell if she looks anything like her mother, but she does think she's pretty.

"Ready my dear?"

The girl nods and she and her mother enter the vehicle. As they start to move the girl stares out the window in awe as she watches the forest she thought she'd never leave fly by in a blur of greens and browns. The trip to the house will take at least 30 minutes and Lady Arkase is unsure of what to discuss with her eldest.

"Why did you change your mind?" Katrina asks, starting her mother down.

They stare at each in absolute silence for a period, her mother unsure what to say and the daughter trying to anticipate what will be said.

"It was the only way I could keep you alive. Your father had planned on having you killed and then a rumor made up that I lost the child. But I held you. I looked into your eyes and you smiled at me. And even if there was something wrong with you I didn't want to lose you."

"What's wrong with me? Why did dad hate me?"

"You were born different and your father never liked different.."

Different how? What makes me so broken that dad wanted me dead?"

"You're not broken. Just different, you're not like your siblings or me. You have a heartbeat and we don't. But none of that matters because we all love you whether you just like us or not."

"Why does it matter so much? There are plenty of people born like me."

"Your father cared too much about what others thought. And he said I didn't care enough. But I've tried to raise your siblings not to care what others think and I hope someday you won't either."

"So they know I'm different?"

"Yes but they're all excited to meet their big sister. They've been waiting for this day just like me."

When they arrive at the large home Katrina is stunned. It's larger than she expected for one. Second is the large number of people waiting outside for her. They step out of the car and immediately three people run towards them. They run past their mother and almost tackle their older sister to the ground. Katrina is shocked and doesn't know how to react. She's never been hugged before as far as she's aware. It takes her a moment but she slowly wraps her arms around her three siblings as best she can. When they pull away there are smiles on their faces and she smiles back softly.