After breakfast, we all sat in the living room together. Even though there were 5 of us, we still hadn’t managed to eat everything that Skylar had made. Though we had tried to explain everything the best we could in the car, it was a lot to take in, and so both Mr. Mark and Uncle Ben still had questions. I hadn’t realized just how much was really going on here before. And even though my common sense was telling me that it was nothing more than a mistake, a framing, someone trying to get away with murder by framing the first person they could, somewhere deeper inside me, I knew it was going to be much much more than that.
And while I was happy that Uncle Ben was here, it freaked me out to know that my dream had come true. It looked like Mr. Mark wanted to ask a question, but before he could, I blurted out, “Uncle Ben, can you tell me what happened before you decided to come here?”
“Uh, yeah sure.” He seemed confused by my question, but he told us anyway. “Your parents knocked on my door and when I let them in they told me that they had framed you for this crime to keep you safe from Monarch. Then, Monarch kidnapped them, and that they had just escaped, but that you still weren’t safe.”
“Because Monarch is looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“And you said?”
“That I would leave to come protect you.”
“Wow.” I leaned back in my seat. “That all really happened.”
“Of course it did. What are you talking about?”
“The second dream I told you about. That’s exactly what happened in it.”
“So you think your dreams can tell the future?” Skylar asks.
“No, not the future,” I said thoughtfully, “The present.”
“So let me get this all straight,” Mr. Mark begins, “Robin was framed for the murder of Henry Dales.” We all nod so he continues. “She hid in plain sight at school as Olivia Reed. Then Sky brought her here and now she’s having dreams that are not normal dreams.” We nod again.
“Sounds about right.” I laugh. I had never expected my first year of middle school to turn out so exciting.
“Do you really think it was a good idea to run from the police?” Mr. Mark asked.
“Well, I didn’t actually murder Henry Dales. I know I shouldn’t have run, but I was scared. Besides, I would never hurt anyone, so maybe with me on the run, the police will look for other suspects?”
“Of course you didn’t actually do it,” Mr. Mark mumbled under his breath. I wanted to ask what he meant by this, but I didn’t.
Instead, I said, “So, Uncle Ben. What is this Monarch, and why do they want me?”
"Well, Monarch is a family. Instead of acting like a family, however, they function more as a group. I believe the leader right now is Justin Monarch. And as for why they want you…” he trails off.
“What is it?” I ask impatiently.
“It’s complicated,” Uncle Ben exclaims.
“Oh, really?” I say somewhat sarcastically, “I don’t know how much more complicated it can get!”
“You’re right, you’re right,” He sighs, “Going back hundreds of years to medieval times, your family was a family of warriors. They protected the kingdom from threats. The Fishers, heroes of the kingdom for all except one family. The Monarchs. They refused to believe that the Fishers were helping the Kingdom. They thought that your ancestors just wanted the attention and riches. So they made it their mission to destroy the Fisher family. They wanted the fame and fortune for themselves. So they killed them.”
“They killed my ancestors?” I gasped.
“All but one. You’re great-great-great-grandfather. And that’s when the legacy was born.”
“What legacy?”
“The legacy that the girl born at the end of the month of June would be the one who would finally defeat Monarch.”
“That me, isn’t it?” I ask. My birthday was June 29 exactly. Just like the legacy said.
“Yes.” Uncle Ben nodded solemnly. “So time went on and the Fisher family hid away from the Monarchs. Then you were born. Your family didn’t want you to know about the legacy. They hoped that Monarch wouldn’t find you and you could live a normal life, but then they did, and now it’s Monarch’s mission to find you and kill you so that they can end the Fisher family once and for all.” When Uncle Ben finished explaining this, we all sat in silence for a minute. I wanted to ask if this whole thing was a joke, but I knew it wasn’t. A family legacy? A group that wanted me dead? And most importantly, if the legacy was true, how would I defeat Monarch?
My hand that was resting on the sofa began to shake and Skylar put her hand on top of mine. I looked at her and she smiled back. “It’s okay,” she told me. “We’ll figure this out together.” I smiled back. It was reassuring to know that I had a friend who would stand by me no matter what, but it was also unsettling that I had brought so many people I cared about into my new and dangerous world. I decided to push these thoughts out of my head for now and enjoy the day to the best of my abilities.
After we finished talking about the legacy and whatnot, I went with Uncle Ben to help him rent a car and find a hotel room. “We’re going to have to deal with your helicopter too you know,” I told him as we walked to the car rental building. It was a beautiful day and I was happy to be around family again after so many weeks.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have a friend who can help me out there.” I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by this. Perhaps a friend who worked at the airport and could help convince the other workers there to let Uncle Ben keep his helicopter there. Or maybe a friend who owned a large area of land where he could keep his helicopter. Despite my many worries that kept coming back to haunt me throughout the day, I had fun with Uncle Ben. When it was time for bed he drove me back to Skyler's house, where we decided it would be best for me to stay. As I was still a wanted fugitive, a city hotel didn’t seem like the best option. That night, I had another dream.


I was in a large house. Sitting at the kitchen table was a man and a teenager who looked like his son. I stood in the doorway watching their conversation. “How was work today, Dad?” the kid asked.
“Fine, son. Just fine.”
“What did you do today?”
“At work?”
“Yes, at work? What else would you have done?”
There was a long pause as the Dad stared at his empty plate for a minute. Then finally he said, “Listen, Josh, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Alright.”
“I don’t work for an insurance company like you think I do.”
“Where do you work?”
“I don’t work anywhere.”
“What do you mean you don’t work anywhere?” Josh looked confused.
“You know how I’ve told you about the Fisher family?” The Dad asked.
“Of course. They’re very bad people, right?” This made me mad. How could this father be telling his son that my family was bad? Then it occurred to me that the father was probably the leader of Monarch, Justin Monarch. Just like Uncle Ben had told me.
“The worst of the worst. And I’m the head of the group that’s going to bring them down.”
“That’s great, Dad!” Josh said smiling.
“And you know what?” Justin said, “You’re going to help me.”

This time when I woke up Skylar hadn’t noticed that I’d had another of my strange dreams. I decided not to worry her by it now, and tell her in the morning. Although I was tired and wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep, I couldn’t. Something about this particular dream made me shiver with fear. It wasn’t the fact that I knew what the man who wanted to kill me looked like, or what house he lived in, or that he had a son. It was that the Monarch family had deluded themselves into thinking that my family was so evil. That Justin had convinced his son that they needed to bring me down.
The fact that a boy, probably no more than a year or two older than me, was so set on destroying me. I couldn’t imagine being so crazed that you would want to kill someone just for some silly drama that happened over a hundred years ago? And what made it even worse was that it was a kid, who would kill another kid who he didn’t even know? I had a feeling that at school, Josh would be the worst school bully you could think of. Someone who hurt innocent people for stupid reasons. Someone who was so disillusioned that they didn’t have morals at all.
At once I felt anger boil up inside me for Josh. I had to remind myself that if I wanted to win this ridiculous battle, I was going to have to be better than my enemy.