Mi Preciosa

Chapter 2: Esteban

It had been a few weeks since I arrived here from Peru and the term was starting here at Mystery Spell, which meant Sebastian and Matao were both busy during the day, so I decided to make myself useful on campus in the archives and off-campus at the museum. It was on a trip towards the museum that I met a vision so lovely I was convinced she was an angel. 

She was small of stature, with gentle and rounded curves and a delicate heart-shaped face and full lips. I was so distracted by her dark curls that I actually bumped into that Samantha girl that likes to hover around me.

"Oh, sorry chica!" I apologized, "My heads in the clouds!"

"Oh, it's fine Esteban!" she gushed in her nasal tone, pressing up against me, "are you going to the museum?"

I nod, looking at the woman with the goddess legs out the corner of my eye discreetly, "Yes, I need to look at some of their artifacts."

The girl walked into the library with a big pile of books after putting her earphones in and I excused and extracted myself from Samantha to go see her. Once I was in the library I couldn't see her, so I looked around for a short time before finding her reaching for a book on the top of the shelf. I moved to help her when she managed to grab it, only for it to fall out of her grip and onto the floor. I picked it up, taking in the supple flesh of her legs while I was at it before looking her in those mesmerizing green eyes and handing it over.

I opened my mouth to say something but found I couldn't speak, so I swallowed hard and tried again but she beat me to it.

"Thank you," she smiled, showing her cute dimples before disappearing to another part of the library, leaving behind an intoxicating scent of fresh flowers and sea salt that made me nostalgic for the coastlines.

I stood there frozen for a few moments before shaking my head furiously to return to my senses. It looked like she was studying hard, I shouldn't bother her. As I moved to leave I saw her studying hard with the Sarah girl from the last exhibition. I wonder if they're classmates...? But if that were true, wouldn't Sarah have said something during the Peru trip? She spoke so fervently about her other friends, why wasn't this girl mentioned? None of the others match her description...

I left after casting one glance back at her before going to the museum. I felt like I was in a daze for the rest of the day. Who was she...?

Vivienne's P.O.V.

I was with Sarah, who had kindly taken me under her wing. She told me about the summer trip she had taken with Myths and Legends prior to the term starting in Peru, and how the guy who had helped me earlier was Esteban.

"How did you end up on a school trip before the year even started?" I asked as I wrote down some English Lit notes.

"My GPA from high school and work experience from earlier on this summer made me qualified enough to help with the dig," she replied.

"Ah, I see," I smile.

"What did you do over the summer before coming here?" she asks.

My smile falters a bit but I shrug before going back to normal, "I spent a lot of time as a mechanic, driving around LA, sooking up the sun."

"Sounds glamorous," she grins, "break any hearts?"

I laugh but it comes out a little forced, "Something like that, yeah..."

She looks at me questioningly, but I remain tight-lipped. She looks like she wants to ask more but she realizes she won't get any more information out of me. I finish my reading and notes on the books from the reading list about 4 hours later and I head to the history section for the myths and legends reading. I wanted to be ahead plus, I needed to research for some...personal...reasons.

I found the books I was looking for both for the class and my personal agenda and checked them out before heading home. Mataeo texted me to say he wouldn't be home from the museum until late. Perfect. In the house, I closed the curtains and got out my wooden box and set everything up in front of the small silver mirror according to instruction from the books. I lit some incense sticks and cast my circle according to the books I'd found, arranging myself in the centre before the mirror. I could feel the pull from the 'necropolis' and the shadow woman appeared in the mirror before me.

"It's good to see you again, child," she said, in her whisper tone.

"I need answers," I say, "what's happening to me? Why am I going through this? "

"Your powers are only just beginning to awaken," she says, "they slumbered deep inside of you until your near-death experience."

"The books knowledge is inconclusive about what I am," I say, voice shaking, "the array of abilities and...symptoms are too vast!"

"It's not a disease child..." she says, "it is a gift!"

"It doesn't feel like a gift!" I sob, "It feels like a curse! I don't want to be some freaky cryptid!"

"My time is up," she wheezes, "I look forward to seeing the rest of your progress."

Before I can protest, she disappeared. I clutched at the necklace Carter gave me before he died, tears spilling over as I choke on a sob. It's his fault I'm in this mess. His and the other members of the gang. Only a few of us made it out alive after the ritual, but I still can't help but love him...we married in Berlin in front of all our friends when I ran away. That ring was the seal of my doom. I loved him, and yet he did this to me...who does that to the person they love...?

I wipe my eyes furiously and clear everything up. Colt, Toby, Kashka and Skye were the only ones from that old crew I kept in contact with. After everything went south, Carter's death and the gang disbanding...they were the only ones there for me. I know they're going through something similar to me, as well as the ritual survivors, but we're keeping it quiet...each of us gone our separate ways until the dust settles and we're stable again. I chose to come to Mataeo because I knew he was the only person who wouldn't judge me or ask questions, plus being around him made me feel calm, safe and stable, which is what I needed if everything was going to spiral out of control. I needed something to ground me, which Mataeo's presence always did.

I picked up my phone and messaged the group chat;

'I'm no closer to figuring out what's going on with me. I've just got more questions than answers. I hope you guys are all doing better. I miss you all.'

With that, I put my phone down and start skimming through all the books I'd gathered. One perk of this situation was that I was able to read a lot quicker and absorb the information. Which was very good, because I loved reading and learning new things. The gang always made fun of me for it but my addiction to knowledge saved our asses more times than they'd care to admit.

Mataeo came home late like he said he would and immediately crashed. I decided to do the same, even though I didn't really need sleep anymore...