At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Lalia Azali hides more than most. She's not just a surgeon-she's this universe's Scarlet Witch, a title whispered with fear and awe, tied to a power she never wanted and a fate she can't outrun.
Logan sees t...
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-Lalia
I woke up to the sun gleaming through my curtains, casting a warm glow across my room. But the warmth did little to chase away the chill that had settled deep within me. Nightmares had begun to plague my sleep, vivid flashbacks of my time under the control of the Darkhold, visions of unknown territorie. Each night, I relived the terror, the helplessness, as if I were still trapped in that dark place.
The most haunting vision was something about a destiny. I kept envisioning a woman with a crown rising, surrounded by a scarlet light. It was as if she were calling out to me, an envision of power and the destruction it could bring. The dreams felt like a shadow looming over my every waking moment, a hint of what I could become.
I laid there for a moment, just staring out the window, trying to gather my thoughts. The events of the previous day felt like a heavy fog clouding my mind, and I knew I had to face everyone at the school eventually.
The thought of seeing my students again filled me with a mix of dread and anxiety. I was scared they had heard about what happened. The whispers, the rumors – it was all too much to bear right now. I wasn't ready to jump back into my old schedule, to pretend everything was fine when it clearly wasn't.
I remembered the Professor's kind offer. He had said I could take a break from teaching, and for that, I was incredibly grateful. The idea of standing in front of a classroom, trying to focus on lessons while my mind was elsewhere, seemed impossible. I needed time to process, to heal, to figure out everything.
After a few moments, I forced myself to get up. I needed to take things one step at a time. I walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back, letting the full brightness of the morning flood the room. Everyone else's world was so normal and unchanged, while mine felt like it had stopped completely.
I decided to take a shower, hoping the warm water would help clear my mind. As the steam enveloped me, I tried to focus on the immediate tasks ahead, but my thoughts kept drifting to Logan.
I wanted to talk to him, to be near him, but I understood why he was cautious. After everything that had happened in the last few days, and my inability to express how I truly felt, his hesitation made sense.
I got dressed, and made my way to the kitchen, trying to shake off the lingering fog of yesterday's emotions. I needed to eat, to do something normal. As I started to make breakfast, the familiar scent of toast and eggs filled the air. It was comforting in a way, a small piece of normalcy in my otherwise chaotic life. Just as I was plating the food, I heard footsteps behind me.
"Something smells good. Is it actual food, or are you just channeling your chaos magic again?" Jean breezed into the kitchen, radiant as ever, like the last few weeks hadn't been apocalyptic. She grinned at me—wide and real—and for the first time in days, something in my chest unclenched.
