The Young and Gifted

74. birthright

Kaura was thriving with her magic. For the first time in a while, she felt fulfilled, like the pulse under her skin would do anything to protect her. But as the weeks flew past, people around her started to notice the change in her attitude. Almost as if the side of her that was able to be nice was switched off. Shoving others in the hallways, muttering mean statements to students who couldn't offer help. She was spiralling out of control and she couldn't realize it because she was too happy to see it. 

She gripped the arm of the student in front of her, ducking towards his ear. "I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say, Ryan. But I'll make it more clear because if you don't listen to me I'm going to make sure that everything you touch breaks. Whether it's a vase, your math test, your love life. It's called a hex and the moment I put it on you, there's no going back. I can't do anything for you at that point." Ryan swallowed and winced when he felt the faint tug of her siphoning. "Last warning."

She shoved him back and the student cleared his throat, shaken up by the interaction. She watched him scramble away and turned around with an annoyed sigh. But she stopped immediately when Caroline stood there, arms crossed with a frown of disappointment. "Please tell that you did not threaten that poor student."

"So what? If you want to put me in detention, don't be a coward about it," she huffed. 

Caroline shook her head. "Why?"

"He still hasn't given me what I want."

"I mean why have you turned into this person. Is it those lessons Davina has been giving you? Because if it is, I'll pull you out of there."

"You can't do that, learning this type of magic is my birthright."

"I-"

"I've always been like this. You've never realized that because you're too blind taking care of Josie, Lizzie and Ric."

"No, you're not like this. You're caring and loyal and honest and most of all, you're strong. And yeah, sometimes you have your bad moments, sometimes they last months. I don't blame you, you've been through a lot. And you've been carrying this weight on your shoulders. So I'll say it again, Kaura. You're strong. But this..." she scoffed and motioned to the hallway Ryan had bolted down. "This is not who your mother wanted you to be. I understand the mild bullying but at this point, you're abusing your power. I don't know what happened to make you like this, I don't know if it was me or if you're secretly trying to ask for help because you don't even talk to me!"

Kaura gripped her hands in a fist. "Don't talk to me about my mother, you're in no position to be speaking about her to me. You and I are never going to be on the same page when it comes to her because all you care about is talking. Well, I don't want to talk, Caroline."

"I've always told you, I'm not trying to replace your mother," Caroline exclaimed. "I've told you everything I can tell you about her, I've never really stepped over any boundaries like I do to Lizzie and Josie because I know it is not my position to do so. I let you be independent because it's what your mother has always wanted." Before Kaura could retort back, the vampire reached in her back pocket to pull out a sheet of think, beige and old paper. "She wanted you to be this wonderful, considerate and powerful woman of respect. But I'm going to let you figure the rest out for yourself."

"What's this?" She demanded, accepting the piece of paper. 

"The last thing Bonnie left for me," Caroline swallowed. "I never knew when to give it to you because I never knew when you were ready. But I'm done waiting. You're mature enough to understand the difference between unkind and polite." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the witch to stare at the piece of paper.

*

She sat on the bed, crisscrossed and stared at the paper. She knew it wasn't addressed to her but this could have been the last thing her mother ever wrote. She could tell it was within the hours of chaos because the corner and bottom left of the sheet had blood on it. Kaura was afraid to pick it up because by the sounds of what Caroline said, her mother would be disappointed in her. And what scared her even more was the fact that she wasn't sure if she could change it. It was times like this where she wished she could talk to someone and not feel like a sociopath. To connect with somebody who understood and replica'd the feeling she was trying to shake. 

Kaura sighed and picked up the letter but did not look at it any further. Instead, she brought it to a drawer that she locked with her magic and placed it in the box of papers. In there were all the letters she had written for her parents as a child. And even though she now knew the truth, sometimes she read them and felt a sense of warmth beyond her skin.

She shut the drawer and jumped to her bed, getting ready for the night.

~

"I've decided to permanently bring out my inner bitch."

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)