Ticklish pleasures

Chapter 19

I grin at the three of them and they all glance between each other, then back over at me. "So what happened afterward?"

"Well, I honestly don't remember much of what I was told happened after my birth... But apparently, when I was born, my eyes were purple. Pure, deep purple."

"I presume that's one of the signs of a human-born witch?" Cynthia raises an eyebrow and I nod in reply. "But were your parents aware of this fact?" I shake my head this time.

"No, but one of the nurses that took care of me was a witch herself. A pure witch. Obviously she was curious about it and asked my parents, and when they told her what they had done, she explained it to them. Obviously, they were shocked. They had no idea that supernaturals existed, as most humans usually don't, and weren't really sure what to do about it. So the nurse contacted her mother, who of course got in touch with their coven's matriarch to decide what the best course of action was to take for my protection... Unfortunately, word had spread outside of the witches circle, and into the ears of a supposedly incredibly powerful vampire. As I had said, human born witches are incredibly rare, mostly because people don't tend to believe in such things, and it doesn't always work when they do. And because human-born witches come from the gods, their powers are more pure than linear witches. Obviously, the woman came to my family in hopes of offering great amounts of wealth and power to my family for them to give me to her to raise. But when they refused, she turned violent. The nurse very quickly managed to hold her off long enough for her family to come in and rescue us and bring us to a sanctuary."

"Did she get injured?"

"Not severely. She had some scratches and bruises, but nothing that they couldn't easily heal. There was only so much they could do for us, however. As precious as my life seemed to be to them, they were putting themselves at risk keeping us there. So, they took us to a vampire hunter camp, and put us in their protection instead. It wasn't the worst thing in the world. They were really good to us, me especially. We lived there for a couple years before they figured we would be safe. Not that they left us alone, mind you. We still had hunters posted at our house and some at my mom and dad's jobs..." I slowly start to drift off of my sentence, letting out a sigh at the end of it. I clench my eyes shut and shake my head as bad thoughts start to enter my mind again, fighting them away and doing my best to hold back tears.

Cynthia immediately jumps from her chair and pulls me into her lap, cradling her arms around my waist and pulling me against her. I lean into her a bit and take a moment to compose myself, before opening my eyes again and wiping at the corners of them with my thumb. "You don't have to finish this if it's too painful, Jennifer. We understand the rest."

I sniffle and shake my head as I wipe my tears again as they continue to fall. "No. You don't... I can finish... I just...." I take a deep breath in and let it out slowly before turning around to face her. "I was seven-years old when it happened. I was playing in the living room with my parents when they heard a commotion outside. They quickly told me that we needed to play the "hiding game", something they supposedly came up with as a quick run-to resort in case what happened happened. I ran into their bedroom and closed myself in the closet. I heard the door slam open and my mother screaming... I wasn't supposed to come out. I was told that when we play the hiding game, I had to wait until one of them came to get me. But... I couldn't help it. I heard the scream and I snuck out and hid in the next room... I don't remember much... My mother and father were arguing with a woman and a couple of men... And then... Then they..."

I throw my arms around Cynthia and sob, clinging to her as tightly as I can. "It was horrible! The woman grabbed my mom and the other two grabbed my dad... She sunk her fangs into mom's throat and... she... she just ripped it out! There was so much blood, my dad was screaming, and then they cut off his FUCKING HEAD! I couldn't help myself. I screamed. And I cried. And the woman... her eyes just... they glowed and they looked so angry. But she calmed down when she saw me and tried to talk to me, but before she could get close, the hunters ran inside. The three of them ran. They only managed to catch one of them. But one of the hunters wrapped me up in a blanket and took me out."

I feel Cynthia's arms tighten firmly around me, her body trembling violently, and I slowly raise my head. The fury in her eyes unmistakable as they swirl in colours of a deep blood red and glowing orange. I flinch slightly at the sight, but I immediately find comfort in knowing the anger isn't directed at me. I bury my face into her and I feel her relax, her grip still firm, but not as much as she rubs her hand up and down my back. "I see... At least they got you out of there. They were most certainly better protection."

I quickly shake my head and look up at her, my eyebrows furrowed in anger of my own. "No. No it wasn't. I was safe from the vampires, sure. But what happened in that damned fortress was probably far worse than what I ever would've gotten from them. They spent the first few years turning my trauma in their favour. I was a mess in the beginning. Inconsolable, drawn into myself... Afraid. And hurt, and scared. And they offered me no comfort. No coddling. There was no 'everything is alright now.' There was no 'You will never be hurt that way again'. They took my fear and told me it was stupid. That I was stupid for feeling that fear. It would be of better use turned into anger. That my nightmares were telling me that I was too weak to protect them. They taught me to hate. To turn all of those feelings of fear into a weapon of anger. When I was young was bad enough. I started training immediately and every failure was met with harsh verbal abuse. Honestly, thinking back on it, all I can think is "I wish they would've hit me. It would've been easier." But they never laid their hands on me. They tried to turn me into a fighting machine, and it only got worse when my powers finally started to kick in. It was after a particularly strenuous magic training session that I burned my one and only friend. And when I was afraid of hurting someone else is when they really started getting angry. So one night, I snuck out. I ran as far as I could as fast as my legs could carry me. I found myself on the streets of New York, cold, alone, and hungry. Fortunately, I was quickly taken in by a group of other homeless people. I think I was thirteen when that happened. I lived on the street for about a year before I found out I had an aunt. I found her and she quickly took me in and raised me, until I moved out at seventeen. And now, I think about a year and a half later, I'm here with you three. It's funny how the cycle is, huh?"

The three of them stare at me and I awkwardly rub the back of my head. "Anyway, I told all of this to Anjennica. She knew about all of this, and yet she still brought me to the three of you. Which, now, I understand. I was being raised to believe all vampires were evil. But now that I've gotten to know you guys, I realize that was wrong. But the nightmare, and all of the memories... It just brought all of those bad feelings back to the surface. That's why I ran. Not because of the three of you, but because of my conflicting feelings."

They sit in silence for a few moments, simply gaping at me, before Cynthia finally pulls me in close to play with my hair. I take a deep breath in through my nose and find comfort in the touch. "I'm so... so sorry, Jennifer... I swear to you that the three of us would never do anything to hurt you. Not like that."

"I know you wouldn't. At least, now I do. None of my issues are your guys' fault, and I know that. You've been so patient with me. And now that I've gotten all of that off my chest, I feel so much more free. And I love you guys."

"We love you too, sweetheart. And like I said, we would never hurt you like that, and will do our best to protect you- no matter what." She gives me another squeeze and then lets me go. I reach my arms out to the other two. Karin grins and immediately rushes in for the group hug, but Sienna simply stands there and rolls her eyes... Before making her way in to hug us as well.

I let out a deep sigh and close my eyes, enjoying the hug and accepting everything will be okay.