The Phoenix (Undying Series #1)

Chapter 7

She didn't deserve this, she told herself many times over. She didn't even want it. If she was supposed to have a pleasant outlook on this by being given to the Drizzles then why does she feel otherwise? Why does she not want to be a hero?

Charlotte wiped the fog on the mirror off and stared back at her reflection. Miserable. Aside from being the phoenix, that's what she is. Then she wished she hadn't known all of these. Maybe she could have lived her life normally in ignorance and die peacefully.

Off to bed, she goes, when she a pair of eyes watching her. Serenity flooded her being as the hymn of angels were sung to her. For the first time that day, she allowed tranquility in her mind. That same song was sung to her in her darkest moments ever since she lost her mother. She has an inkling of idea where it comes from. Now she can say for certain.

She looked out the window to see Kal playing a flute, eyes closed as he blends in with his music, seated in a branch of the tree with one of his feet raised. A breeze passed by and messed his now short hair. Charlotte excitedly opened the window.

"It's you!" she exclaimed, leaning against the window frame. Kal stopped to give her a dashing smile, "I should have known."

From the branch, he leaps into her room, their distance severely lessened. She allowed him in, leaves and twigs had fallen to her carpet but she doesn't notice, the turmoil inside of her turned to a fluffy, fuzzy warm feeling. She sat like an Indian on the bed and bounced slightly when Kal followed suit. It was as if it was only yesterday when Charlotte last saw him. He hasn't aged a bit. The only noticeable change was the stubble in his chin, but he remains handsome nonetheless.

"Antonio told me you came to visit. How are you?" he asked casually.

"I have. It was a nice place you have. And I'm good. You?"

"Happy," her heart skipped a bit at his tact but she managed to hide it, "You are the first Phoenix that I had to look after. A bit troublesome but exciting still," he teased and she playfully kicked his shin.
"The first Phoenix... This conversation is beyond weird."

"Totally."

"I noticed they avoid calling me by my name. Perhaps it's not to attach themselves but since I'm your first, please, Charlotte."

"You are one perceptive kid, aren't ya?"

"That I am," she giggled.

"Alright. Charlotte it is. I'm Kal," he offered his hand. She accepted it without hesitation. They probably knew or they probably didn't but the event wherein he visits her in her room would be an occurence of habit, nightly talks, a routine very similar to eating, "So how are you feeling about this? Your situation."

"Like I'm cursed. I don't even understand why this world still needs a hero. Demons, witches, they don't exist. I don't belong here. I've been stuck in time. Like the past has came to taunt me."

"That's not true. No matter what generation, there will always be evil. Like Barsolino."

"Barsolino? The man after me?" he nodded, "He will only be a threat if he actually gets his hand on me. See? Just me existing is the problem. Can't you undo this?" She also had the urge to kick him again, stronger this time, and tell him how it seemed like all they do is watch. Why wait for her? Why can't they cease the villain themselves? But she stopped herself. They have their reasons surely. She expects no less from her protector. Protectors.

"You don't wish to exist anymore?" she was unable to answer, not knowing herself, "A storm is coming, Charlotte. It was envisioned. Now more than ever, you have to be prepared." She looked up and met his eyes staring back at her own. Like opposite poles of a magnet, she was drawn to him. It was wrong for so many reasons. She wasn't even allowed to hope for a future.

"But I made a promise."

* * *
Charlotte came to class later than she usually does but just in time as she arrived with the homeroom teacher, to whom she even offered assistance with her belongings. When they came, everyone had their eyes on them. She ignored her prying classmates and went straight to her designated seat after returning the teacher's bag.

Her desk was soiled with dirt and wriggling worms, and it took all of her might to not burn anything. Not the chair nor her classmates. She could almost feel her face turning red from burning up. She clenched her fists in a struggle for its control. When Mrs. Weslock caressed her forearm, the spellbound was broken and she was finally able to release her breath.

It was Winston Dubois, Joanne Kleiner guessed, "There's nothing else."

"You think? Tss. That must be one obsessive chick then. Right, Char?" Dianne Paulie, who joined the table to see how she's doing, remarked, but Charlotte was lost in her own thoughts and did not hear them, "Don't let it bother you. They'll get what's coming to them."

Winston Dubois. He is everything anyone aspires to he all because he is born into the right family. Charlotte wasn't as lucky. And because of his pesky interest on her, she will make sure his world would come crashing down. It is time to practice, and with a living target.

"I don''t feel like living for long anyway," she muttered. She watched him enter the cafeteria in that confident manner followed by his cult and mentally surrounded the ground he's stepping on with fire. It came true. He was shrieking for help but no one was bold enough to step in. The bystanders were astonished yet they had not seen the main course.

From the corner of her eye, she caught Dianne immersing a table cloth in cold water and used it to cloak herself and try to get to Winston. It was too late. As he is trapped on the circle of fire she created, numbers of crystal daggers formed above him. With a blink, she made it fall down, piercing through his body. Blood splattered to the unfortunate who were within proximity, including Dianne.
No one knew what caused the freak accident that occurred to the child. No one dared to find out. They had associated it with a construction gone wrong. While some believed he was cursed. The students didn't have to be forced to transfer schools by their parents. It was shut down when the Lunar Corp. got involved.

Charlotte crossed a line that she knew she could never take back. She even failed to keep her promise to Felice about using her ability. When she returned home that same day, Brandon wasn't in, as usual. She headed straight to her room. Kal wasn't around. She was alone. Again.

She didn't want to cry, not anymore. It had just dawned on her how terrible her action was but it was too late for regret. She opened the window and let the breeze in. Then, out of nothing but intuition, she removed any article of clothing she had on. Slowly, she stepped onto the window frame, foot by foot. When she leaps, she expected to break a rib or two but no pain came. Instead, she is flying over the city, watching everything go from something to a mere part of a bigger picture. She has never felt so free in her entire life, never felt so light.

She doesn't know which is her real form, this bird made of flames or the broken girl a while ago, but she doesn't want to be the latter anymore. Did her old selves feel similarly about their true nature? Were they also as dubious and distraught? But nevertheless, all of it pale in comparison to this breathtaking experience she's having. She wished Felice could be there. She's not so much a monster as she is unique. Winston and Rainy are that something. The bigger picture is that she is the Phoenix that ought to protect humanity. Hopefully, she'll do it right.