tiptoesims archive

“Now, let’s focus on why you’re really here.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Elsie? What did I say?”

She sighed. “No more running.”

He was quiet for a moment, contemplating how much to say.

“It’s not time for Ren.”

Oh. She did not like that! “And why the hell not?”

“You pushed him too far. You messed this up. It wasn’t how things were supposed to go, but destiny has shifted. For you both.”

“You said we can’t outrun destiny.”

“We can’t, but you can screw things up so badly that it shifts & changes, to your detriment.”

“Frack.”

“You’re fault, baby girl. You’ve made a lot of mistakes.”

“I would never have pushed my child away like she did me.”

“So you haven’t pushed away others who love you, because you fear emotions and do not know how to handle them?”

She sucked her teeth in annoyance. “Okay. Valid.”

He smiled, “Go to her, when this is over. Fix what’s broken between you two.”

“I’d rather focus on Ren.”

Morrow opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it.

“But you have so much bravery inside of you, it’s time to embrace that, to embrace all the powers you’ve been given. It’s also time to stop running from people who love you.”

Tears fell. “Ren.”

“And your mother.”

She frowned at that.

“Mom hasn’t been the same since you died.”

“I know, but she’s ready now.”

“Ready for what?”

“Have I been fighting my destiny?”

“Yes. Fighting against being with Ren, fighting against your mother, fighting against accepting your magic. All you’ve done is fight against your destinies, baby girl, and it’s time to stop.

“I’m scared.” She never admitted that before. But it was fear that drove her every move in life, she lived with fear, breathed it, let it control her for all these 35-plus years.

“Probably because she’s so rooted in logic, and is as mean as an angry snake.”

A sad smile from him. “Maybe.”

Her heart ached at that look from him.

“Have you seen Freddy and Lydia?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m so sorry you can’t be in their lives.”

“Papa Wall?”

“Dormant Werewolf. All the ancestral magic can sometimes manifest in one’s blood, creating the potential for extraordinary greatness. That’s you, baby girl.”

“But not Hedy?”

She gasped! “So that’s why people never believed his kind existed.”

“Exactly. They do not believe a Phoenix is real either, yet here you are.”

“What makes us?”

She sighed, loudly, and with her entire chest.

“Okay.” She was ready to listen.

“Yes, your fairy bloodline is… scary.”

“Scary?”

“Yeah, it’s best they never know your mom survived the accident that killed her parents.”

Well, at least her dad had clear answers, and not the riddles her great-grandfather threw at her.

“How do you know all of this? Does mom?”

“I only learned of it in death, the veils are pulled away when you enter here.”

“Mine hasn’t been.”

“Well, your alien bloodline is hidden by powerful magic, & most mages do not consider aliens as part of the supernatural races.”

“My what!?”

He laughed, and Elsie’s heart squeezed to hear that sound once more.

“I believe you met your great-grandfather.”

“He’s an alien!?”

“Oh yes, and your great-grandmother on your mom’s side was a fairy.”

“Because this is not your time. You are here only to fulfill your magical destiny. You had to die in order to rise again.” “That makes no sense. Morgyn has a phoenix familiar, he’s never died, and I’ve seen his familiar many times. He’s still around.”

“Morgyn is a powerful spellcaster, but he is not a true phoenix.”

Morrow found her inside, standing in the middle of the playroom.

“It’s never good to run away, baby girl. Problems cannot be solved that way.”

The words hit hard, very hard. How many times had she heard Ren say something similar?

Ren. Her eyes closed, pain lashing at her chest.