Enchantress (Rewritten)

Whatever It Takes

Chase POV.

I hated seeing her cry. I hated the  way her multicolored eyes would widen her and nose would crinkle up as she tried to hold back the tears. I hated myself for what I did, but it had to be done. 

"I didn't know how to tell you." I explained, still cradling Rachel in my lap. God, Rachel was so hot. A part of me didn't feel any remorse for putting Valerie through this, and a part of me was disgusted with myself for stooping so low. 

"You're cheating on me?" I tried not to shudder at the pain in her voice. I didn't want to hurt Valerie, but I had to if I wanted to protect her. Keep cool, Chase. I told myself. This is what the Elders wanted. "I think we should break up." I spat the words out before I lost character. 

"Couldn't agree more." Valerie nodded, dumping her Diet Coke onto my head. Rachel shrieked as she jumped off my lap, the coke had spilled onto the white t-shirt she was wearing. I wiped the fizzy liquid out of my eyes and spit out the bit that had seeped into my mouth. 

"She is seriously going to regret this." Rachel whined. She continued to rant on, but I tuned out her nonsense as I replayed the elder's orders in my mind.

"Your relationship with Valerie is preventing her from discovering her abilities. You are her protector, not her boyfriend. You are supposed to be training a warrior, not asking her to prom. Mr. Whitmore, do we have to remind you about the number one rule? Don't fall in love with your Enchantress. So break up with her, make her hate you, whatever it takes."

Whatever it takes.

"I think I'm going to head out." I told Rachel, interrupting whatever she was in the middle of saying. 

"So soon?" She pouted her lips. "You said that we'd finally be able to spend time together now that Valerie's been taken care of." 

"We will." I said, taking her hands in mine. "Just not tonight." I brought her hands to my lips, kissing them gently. Rachel's cheeks flushed bright red and she fluttered her eyelashes graciously. She made it so easy that I almost felt bad for her. 

"Text me?" Rachel called after me as I headed out of the theatre. 

I am such an asshole. I ran my fingers through my hair and prepared to head home. That's when I saw Valerie run out of the bathroom. She looked around the theatre with panic in her eyes as if she had just seen a ghost. I pressed my back against the wall in order to remove myself from her line of sight. Her long blonde hair fell messily in front of her multicolored eyes. She clasped a hand to her chest, grazing her fingers against the scar that she tried to cover up with makeup. A tingling sensation erupted from inside of me. I lifted my shirt slightly, to see that my own scar--almost identical to hers except was placed just underneath my ribs--glowing a faint golden color. It looked as if the skin surrounding my scar was cracked, allowing the golden light to pour through it. I lowered my shirt and gulped uneasily. This couldn't be good. I grabbed my cellphone from my back pocket and dialed her number, which I had memorized by heart. 

"Hello?" She answered, her voice trembling when she spoke. She was out of breath and practically panting. 

I didn't know what to say, all I knew was that I had to keep her on the line. "Valerie, please hear me out." I begged. My scar was no longer tingling. It was stinging. Valerie hung up the phone and stormed out of the theatre, not bothering to give me a chance to explain myself. Not that I blamed her. 

So I sent a text out to her Aunt Jennifer to let her know something was wrong and followed after Valerie. 

 A man, who moments ago had been standing at the concessions line, suddenly bumped into me. He too, was heading to the parking garage. He brushed into my shoulder and for a second we made eye contact. His black eyes were what gave him away. "Sorry, man." He muttered, following after Valerie. He was one of the Lawless, I was sure of it. I reached for my dagger which I always kept in my back pocket, and held it's blade to my jeans. My heart fluttered in my chest. I had been training for years for a moment like this, and now I finally had the chance to prove myself.

"The Lawless are powerful beings. You must protect your Enchantress from them at all costs." The words from the Elders repeated in my mind. 

 I stalked after the Lawless, but stopped myself before intervening. I couldn't just chase after some random guy and stab him. I had to wait for him to attack Valerie, so that she could better understand the situation. As much as it hurt me to do so, I watched as the Lawless cornered Valerie before she reached her car. She didn't deserve to go through any of this, she was so clueless. I gripped the blade tightly between my fingertips, drawing blood from pressing my finger too hard into the sharp edge. 

Suddenly, Valerie started to run. The Lawless threw her into the air and she landed roughly on the pavement. "Get up, Val." I whispered to myself as he stalked towards her. "Get up and fight." I urged her on. But she wasn't ready. She didn't even know what she was capable of. So I exited out into the parking garage with my dagger glistening in the fluorescents. Showtime.

"I wish I could tell you this won't hurt." His velvety voice mocked her. I walked towards him silently, maintaining a low crouch to the ground. "But it's going to." He chuckled as his claws emerged from his fingertips. 

Not my Enchantress. "So is this." I replied, hurling the dagger at him. The blade pierced into his shoulder without spilling a single drop of blood. 

"You're going to have to do better than that." He challenged me, yanking the dagger out of his shoulder and tossing it the ground. This was going to be harder than I thought. 

"I'm just warming up." I forced a smile, trying to keep my cool. I slowly lowered myself to the ground and grabbed my dagger that he had carelessly dropped. I wiped the blade of the dagger against my jeans and licked my lips together. 

"I was wondering when her Protector would show up." God damn it. I wanted to be the one to tell Valerie, not this low-level Lawless scum. Valerie's face was filled with pure horror. She looked between me and the Lawless without a single clue as to what was going on. 

"Get to the car. " I ordered her, twirling the knife. She just looked back at me, completely dumbfounded. "Did I stutter?" I said more forcefully. Valerie struggled to her feet and began to run. 

The Lawless came towards me, with his claws protruding. He swiped his hand at my face, but I dodged it easily. I swiped my dagger, aiming for the throat, but he was faster than I predicted. He grabbed me by the wrist, digging his claws into my skin. "Is that all you've got?" He chuckled darkly, twisting my arm back violently with his inhuman strength. A whimper escaped my lips, and I could feel my knees buckling from underneath me. Without missing a beat, he tossed me into the air. I flew thirty feet before landing on the top of a parked car. The car's alarm sounded as soon as my body slammed against it's hood. I could feel my bones crack from underneath me. My scar was glowing so brightly now that it could be seen through my shirt. I was still holding the blade in my hand, but I couldn't move my body. 

Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the parking garage. 

He was going in for the kill. I had to get up. I had to protect her. With all the strength left within me, I pressed the tip of my dagger into my scar. I bit my lip, holding back the scream that was rising in my throat. After a moment of pain, I could feel my body slowly regenerate itself. My bones shifted and cracked into shape and I was gaining back sensation in my legs. I slid off of the hood of the car and limped towards Valerie--my body still not fully recovered. Without doing anything, the wolf was tossed into the air and landed onto a car. I could feel a smile forming on my lips. Valerie's elements had finally kicked in. 

"Not bad for a rookie." I told her, holding out my hand to help her to her feet. She was staring at her hands with astonishment and fear washed over her face. She had so much to learn. This was just the beginning. "Now get to the car." 

I limped towards the wolf--who was lying still--and raised my dagger in the air. No one messes with my Enchantress and gets to live to tell the tale. Using all my force, I slammed the blade into the wolf's chest. The wolf's body crumbled into a pile of black dust until nothing remained of the beast. A surge of pride rippled through me, I couldn't wait to rub this into the Elder's faces. But my mini victory party was cut short when I turned back towards Valerie. 

She looked at me like I was a monster. Maybe I am, after what I did to her. I lowered the dagger to my side. It was time I finally introduced to real me to Valerie, and told her the truth about what she really is.