3. THIS STORY IS ABOUT A KNIGHT

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A small seaside village, approximately 220 years ago

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This was Alice's last day on this earth.

She knew it from the moment she opened her eyes this morning.

She wasn't scared; not for her at least. What she was worried about was her family. She didn't know how Brennan would cope with her death and how he'd manage with...

With their kids.

Their little miracle kids...

She knew them so well, she already knew how'd they react.

Well, mostly.

Liam, her first child, the one that changed her life...He would try and appear strong to his younger siblings and help his father as much as he could, but Alice knew he'd cry when the others couldn't see him. She knew his pain would be the quiet kind.

Killian, her little troublemaker...His would be a loud pain. Like the sea during a storm. It would swallow him whole and he would lash out because he never quite learned how to manage through those kinds of storms.

But she knew they'd make it through. One day, the pain would be little more than a memory.

Amelia however...Little Meli was always unpredictable, ever since she came into this world.

And she was just a small child, unable to explain the weird things that always seem to happen to her. Alice was always scared she'd die before she got to explain them to her, before her little girl was able to comprehend the gravity of their situation.

But she was left with no choice. She didn't have much time left; she had to tell her now, even if Amelia couldn't quite understand yet. She would, one day.

And then she would know what to do.

With greater difficulty that usual, she got up and went outside and found her little girl gazing out into the sea.

She did that a lot, Alice had noticed. The sea seemed to calm her down.

"Meli," she called out.

Amelia turned around, a smile adorning her face.

I can't do this to her, she thought.

But she had to.

"Come here."

Her daughter run up to her, immediately trying to reach up and hug her.

Alice kneeled down and smiled at her. "Do you want to hear a story?" she asked.

"Yes," said Amelia excitedly, always happy to spend more time with her mother.

Alice guided them inside and they sat together near the fireplace.

"What's this story about, mama?"

Alice looked at her, at those blue eyes identical to hers, and her heart ached.

My beautiful girl, I'm sorry...

She cleared her throat and held back the tears that were threatening to spill over before she said, "This story is about a knight."

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Boston, 2011

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"I'm hungry. Wanna stop somewhere?" he asked, from the back seat.

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