The Mutant Showcase

Epilogue

"What is it?" She swallowed, launching into her tale.

"I didn't want to say anything too soon-didn't want to give anyone false hope, especially not poor Yvette and Will, you see, but I just couldn't keep it in anymore and-" The girl was becoming hysteric. 

"What? What is it?" He repeated, his heart rate picking up. Her big eyes looked nervous.  

"Well...I'm practically death incarnate, see. I...can sometimes sense when a soul is gone. Yours was, for a while, in between that limbo stage. Katya compelled me to kill you and I did. You died. But then you came back." Cedric sighed.  

"Ella, I know that."

"No, no, there's more. When...when Charlotte died there was...blackness. I didn't really sense anything. Just blackness. So I thought, perhaps her soul was simply still traveling. And at her funeral, it was still the same. But recently..." She shook her head, looking pale. Cedric grabbed her by the arms, lightly.  

"What? Go on, please." His heart throbbed in his ears.

"It's impossible. I do not understand it. But Cedric...I can sense it." His breath caught in his throat. He'd seen her lifeless body. She healed, but she couldn't survive death. She was no immortal.  

"What can you sense?" He breathed, his world spinning. She swallowed again, looking even more nervous.  

"Her soul never really left. She's still here, Cedric." ~*~

Death was something Charlotte had never given much thought to. She'd always burned to live for the moment, not the future. But now, as she sat in the familiar field behind her cottage, she realised it wasn't that bad at all. She'd never gotten tired of riding Arwen, or sipping the cool water by the lake. She was alone, but she was content. The sky was forever clear and blue in the day, and exotically studded with stars in the night. She was always alone, until one day, she wasn't.

She saw the figure dance behind the cottage, teasing the edges of her vision. She stood, her skirts swaying around her as she hurried after it, almost running as she circled the cottage. No one was there.

"Hello?" She murmured. Was it Yvette? No, she realised. She was dead and Yvette was not. She thought the truth would make her sadder, but in a place like this, she could barely feel more than a hollow ache. She heard a laugh. She followed it, searching desperately. There. Where she had sat minutes ago by Arwen, was a woman. She was turned away, stroking the horses back as her long black braid lifted slightly in the breeze. Charlotte walked forward cautiously.

"H-hello?" She said again, frowning. The woman turned, and like a slap in the face, recognition bloomed in Charlotte's heart. She was beautiful. Lines of age fanned around her eyes, but they only made her lovelier as she smiled.  

"Who are you?" She said, thought she already knew. The woman came forward, cupped Charlotte's face in her hands.  

"You know who I am, my girl." Elaine murmured, looking sad and happy at the same time. Tears were frozen on her lids as she stared at the older version of herself.

"Mother? How are you here?" She whispered, unable to believe it.  

"I've always been here. Well, not here. I do not know where you are, but I am somewhere else. Something's keeping you here, I think." She said, letting go as she looked around.  

"At least it's beautiful." She breathed.  

"What do you mean?" Elaine sighed.

"You remember your exit. When you leave, you are supposed to stop somewhere, somewhere like here. A memory. And then, when you're ready, you pass on to something greater. You have not passed yet. I didn't know why until now." That same sadness crept up on her face, aging her further. Yes, Charlotte remembered. Despite the beauty of where she was, she could never forget what she'd left behind. Every day, she grew further from it, but she wished she could see what was happening.  

"Why?" She wasn't capable of more than one sentence replies, too stunned.

"I gave my magic to you when I died. You already had your own underneath. You gave Cedric your life, your power. But not mine." She waited, her eyes glittering until Charlotte understood.  

"But...Pasqual died. He cannot die unless-"  

"Unless you die. Yes. But you did die, Charlotte. Your esscence died but mine remained. When you were born, I made sure you had as much power as you would need. It sounds impossible but there are always loopholes with magic. Always. I can help you get back." She looked despaired at the mention of Pasqual, but her eyes were hopeful.

"That is...if you want." She said, watching the way Charlotte's expression didn't change. It would be so easy to say no, to walk onto the next life completely by her mother's side. So peaceful. And yet, there was a reason she was still here. She couldn't leave. Not yet.

"I want that very much." She admitted, croaking as tears clogged her throat. Elaine nodded-she'd been expecting it.  

"It'll be a difficult transition. Remember, you run on my essence now." She nodded. Charlotte would deal with the consequences later. She turned back to her mother.

"What of you?"  

"Me? My girl, I can't return. I can live on in you, and that is certainly more than I could ever ask for." There were tears in her eyes but she smiled anyway.  

"Now. Get on your horse." The order was odd, but she did it anyway. She looked down at Elaine.  

"Thank you. I...I wish you could come with me." Elaine reached up to touch her hand.  

"I suppose I am, in a way. Now-follow that dirt path. Arwen knows where to go."  

"But-"  

"You will do great things. You're a special child, Lottie." Elaine murmured, seeming nostalgic as she said the words. Charlotte wanted to reply, but the words were some sort of trigger for Arwen. The horse took off down the dirt path. When she looked back, Elaine was no longer there.

Back in the crypt, all was silent, an eerie whisper bouncing off the walls. The air seemed to be charged with something, preparing for a long awaited return. In the crypt filled with the dead, the piercing sound of newly found breath echoed.

~END~