Enchantress (Rewritten)

Backstabber

Chase POV. 

"Have you lost your mind?" Xavier asked, as I watched Valerie step into her house. She was safe, for now. At least I could rest easy knowing that she hadn't hurt herself or anyone at that party. "Did you forget what the Elders told you? You're supposed to be protecting Valerie, but all you've done is put her in more danger." He lectured me. "You have to be more careful-" I cut him off before he could get another word in. 

"I saw you with Valerie tonight." 

"W-what?" He laughed nervously.

"I saw the way you were looking at her." As I was talking, I kept my gaze straight forward so that I didn't have to look at him. 

"What are you talking about?" 

I slammed my fist on the car horn. "Damn it, Xavier! You're supposed to be my friend." How could I allow myself to be blindsided by my best friend? All those times Xavier's asked me about her, had he just been collecting information? 

"Are you trying to accuse me of hitting on your Enchantress?" He laughed. "Don't tell me you still have feelings for the girl?" He knew exactly what words to say to make me tick. Did I have feelings for Valerie? Or was the protectiveness I felt over her being confused as love? Either way, Xavier knew how hard it was for me to break off ties with her. Of all people, he should've been the most understanding after what happened with him and Rebecca.

"Valerie isn't some toy you can play with."

"I never said that she was." He defended himself. 

"If there's anyone to blame tonight for Valerie's actions, it's you, not me." I told him.

"You're kidding, right? She's not my responsibility, Chase! I was being a good friend to you by looking out for her." 

"Why were you even at the party in the first place?" I narrowed my eyes at him. 

"Stop trying to turn this around on me, okay?" He argued. 

"I saw you talking to her by the pool. I know that you were the one who gave her the stupid idea to strip. It's like you're trying to get me killed by the Elders!" I scrunched my hands into fists. "Just let me do my job, okay?" I took a deep breath. 

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" The bottom of his lip curled into a snarl.

"It can be." 

Xavier leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath of air.  "So that's how it's going to be, huh? You suddenly think your entitled just because you have an Enchantress and I don't? Is that what this is about?"

"Of course not. You know that's not what I meant." I tried to reason with him. Xavier always found a way to let his feelings for Rebecca cloud his judgment. Ever since her death, he's been concocting of new ways to prove himself to the Elders, to show them that he still had worth. 

"Maybe Valerie would be better off with a different Protector, someone a little more experienced." He suggested. "Someone like me." He smiled at the idea. 

"Stay away from her." I warned him. 

"What's wrong, Chase? Afraid to admit that you're not a good enough of a Protector for her?"

"She's not one of your little girlfriends that you can use and dump on the side of the road when you decide you've had enough of them." Xavier had fallen into a pattern of problematic relationships. It was his coping mechanism to deal with Rebecca's death. He'd be with a girl for two weeks, and once he got her to sleep with him, he'd move on to the next. I couldn't let him do that to Valerie, not after all she's been through this past year. She deserved better. 

"It's not like you two could actually be together anyways. Remember your 'forbidden love'?" He snickered. I thought back to how his arms wrapped around Valerie's body in the pool, and the way my blood rushed to my head when I saw her look into his eyes. She would fall for him so easily, it'd be like a game for him. 

"Now listen to me, Chase." He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me towards him. "I'm older than you and that means that I've had more training. If you ever, and I mean ever, try to threaten me again, your Enchantress isn't going to be the only thing I take away from you." With that, Xavier kicked open his side door and stepped out of the car. "I bet I could even get her to go farther with me than she would ever with you." He added. "She must be feeling very insecure after catching you cheating on her. She'll need someone to keep her company." He winked.

 He had taken things too far. I put the car in park and stepped out onto the street. "Don't talk about her that way." I said, grinding my teeth together. 

"She'll be begging for more once I'm through with her." He grinned stupidly. 

"I said not to talk about her that way." I repeated, reaching for the dagger that I kept in my back pocket.

"Or what? I've got nothing to lose, Chase!" He laughed manically. 

I plunged my dagger into his abdomen, no longer able to manage the anger radiating through me. Xavier grunted in pain, clutching the handle of the dagger as it protruded out of his body. "Did you seriously just stab me?" He fell to his knees, his blood dripping onto the pavement. 

"You'll be fine." I assured him, ripping the dagger out of his skin. I wiped his blood off on my jeans and tucked the blade back into my pocket. I bent over so that my face hovered directly over his. Sweat glistened on Xavier's forehead and he scrunched his face in pain. The dagger I used was forged with the power of an Enchantress, therefore it couldn't kill a Protector. Xavier's stab wound would heal in a couple hours. 

But for now, he would have to suffer through the pain. I turned my back to him, and called over my shoulder, "Stay away from Valerie, or next time, I'll stab you with something you can't heal from."