Born In Flames by Candace Knoebel

IN MY dream? And where are we?” I demanded as I spun in circles inside a crystallized cave. The rushing, quaking sound of the waterfall concealing the entrance, echoed off the walls, crushing out the sound of my voice.
Light shined through the cascading ripples of water and reflected off the giant crystals, casting tiny rainbows through the fine mist.
I thought I was sleeping, but I didn’t know why Lady Eve was standing next to me. “Is this going to cost extra?” I asked thinly, realizing that my voice adjusted to the volume of the waterfall. It was my dream, after all, so why not make it convenient?
“No, this won’t cost you anything,” she said un-entertained. “And you aren’t dreaming, Aurora. This is where you must go in order to return home. It is a placed memory that you weren’t meant to have until now. In order for us both to see it, you need to let go of what you think is real.”
“What—are we in the Matrix? Are you going to ask me now if I want to take the red pill or the blue one?”
She stalked over to me and forcefully grabbed both of my hands. I stepped back in defense, but she held me firmly in place.
“There is a lot you don’t know about yourself. A lot that has been kept hidden in order to protect you.” Her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Uh…yeah,” I remarked under my breath.
“Beginning with the day you were dropped off at your foster mother’s house. I assume you have questioned why you have no memories before that day.” She let the assumption sink in as her brows lifted in expectation.
Okay, now I was convinced. I hadn’t told anyone that besides Fenn.
“Well yeah,” I stammered awkwardly, “but what does that have to do with us being here?” I felt my muscles tensing, my brain suddenly aching.
“Everything. The choice you have been given cannot be taken lightly. You must know everything before you can make a fair decision. You must be prepared for the future you have been fated.” She put her finger to my forehead and tapped it lightly. I felt my body go numb and fall into her arms as the ache in my head disappeared.
“Look inside your mind, Aurora.” Her voice was distant, like she was standing on the other side of a door. I could see inside my head. How is this possible? It looked like the hallway back at Mily’s.
“Go to the door that you know is right and open it.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about nor do I know how to open the doors inside my head.” This was so ridiculous. I walked over to the nearest door and reached for the handle, but the knob didn’t feel right, the handle dissolving in my hand. I huffed and then walked over to the door next to it and tried the handle. It was locked.
“This is not going to work. The door is locked. This is crazy.” I didn’t bother trying to shield my frustration as I grimaced. I wanted to be back with Fenn. I wanted to know that I wasn’t losing my mind, and quite frankly, the situation I was in wasn’t ensuring a positive outcome. They were probably hauling me off to the loony bin while I was stuck inside my head.
“You’re not trying hard enough,” she called impatiently, annoyance lacing her words. “Forget what you think you know. Believe that the door will open and it will.”
I took a deep breath and tried to listen to what she was saying. I tested the doorknob again, imagining the feel of it turning, jumping in excitement when it worked. I stepped through the open door, only to find myself right back in the cave next to Eve.
“Good, see, you’ve done it. You’ve unlocked the magical barrier that shielded this memory.”
I still didn’t understand what she was talking about.
“I’m in the same place I was in before. This is a bunch of bologna.”
She spoke without acknowledging my tantrum. “Before The Fates show us what you need to see, you need to understand a couple of things. This may be hard to digest, but there is another realm of time coinciding with