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▎ BEAUTIFUL CRIME ▎
»»————- act one. a hero's journey
CHAPTER SEVEN ━━ childish dreams
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♯ ❝THIS SESSION IS OVER! ❞
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MAGGIE HAD FOUND IT ODD AND VERY PECULIAR, HOW THESE PEOPLE SHE HAD KNOWN FOR ONLY A COUPLE OF DAYS, could so easily becomes the ones she would learn to trust as much as she did. Subconsciously or not, the chesnut haired woman had opened up more in the last couple of hours as a resident of Charles' manor than she had ever done in her whole adult life. And now with the sun creeping through the beige curtains in her own room, highlighting the bedframe and her face, she felt truelly at peace.
Never had she talked so freely about who she was with anyone, but as she and Erik had been up in the early hours yesterday morning, it appeared she had felt comfortable enough to let it all out. She noted how he remained guarded however, not explicately sharing any details of his childhood. Only the recent years had he discussed— after some bribing and pleading on Maggie's part.
A yawn escaped her chapped lips, the warmth of her duvet giving her a sense of comfort, and for a moment, she froze. Home— she felt a sense of safety here. She could feel joy bubbling, but the same feelings of losing a home raced through her mind.
What has been given, can be taken away, she remembered bitterly, pushing herself up and throwing the duvet aside, the cold morning air touching her skin, and the hairs on her arms rose.
With a soft sigh, Maggie's feet hit the hardwood floor and she rummaged through the small amount of her belongings to pick out some clothes and turned towards the bathroom floor to take a shower.
As she stepped inside and the hot water cascaded down her skin, she let the memories of yesterday settle back in.
"You must play all the time!" Maggie exclaimed in utter desperation, glancing at chessboard on the table in defeat before looking up at Erik. His face remained passive and hard to read, but she could see the small twitch at the corner of his mouth as he surpressed a smile.
"I thought you said you knew how to play?" He countered smugly, leaning forward in the armchair he was sitting in.
"Well, that was a lie, obviously." She breathed out, leaning back in her own chair, "I didn't think it was that hard."
"Are you strategic?"
"No?"
"Then it is hard."
Silence follows, and neither know what to say in that specific moment. They still are complete strangers, both likely with some trauma hiding behind their eyes they don't want to speak about out loud.
But for some reason, as the silence continues and stretches on, Maggie feels the urge to say something about it. She nervously tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and repeats the action on the other side. "I found out about my powers when I was ten years old." A nervous breath escapes her lips and she can see she clearly has Erik's attention on her by the way he is staring at her. "I don't really remember much from when I was little, but that day has always been with me."
Once again she tucks a piece of hair away from her face, and she tries to mirror Erik's comfortable position and rests her hands in her lap and straightens her back slightly before continuing, "It was a hot day in summer, there was this small lake near my home, but no one really came there unless the weather was great. And this kid, he couldn't swim, but he accidentally fell into a much deeper part, and went under."
She swallows, trying to calm her racing heart down,"A couple seconds turned in a minute and nobody but me had seen him go under, and I acted on instict. I ran towards him, and I lifted my arm up for some reason and snapped my eyes shut— it's kind of a blur really, and when I opened them, the lake had parted and the kid was safe."
"After that, everything changed, for the worse. My parents and I had to leave town, we never really stayed anywhere long. My parents were frightened someone would felt out about me."
"I ruined their dreams because of what I am and this stupid curse I was born with." She stated bitterly, eyes casted downwards towards her shaking hands ans she clasped onto the rough material of her jeans.
"You're powers are a miracle."
Maggie notices how sure he sounds of himself, his voice does not waver nor does he hesitate to say it out loud, and for a single moment, and unfamiliar feelings swells inside of her stomache.
"I wish I could see it like that." Maggie whispers softly.
"you—"
Hard knocking on the bathroom door startles the chesnut haired woman out of her thoughts, heart jumping down her throat as she shuts the water off and she quickly wrappes a towel around herself. "What is it?"
"Charles wants to see you outside," Hank sounds out of breath, like he has been running before coming to her room.
"I'll be there in a minute!"
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THE OUTSIDE OF CHARLES' MANOR IS JUST AS BREATHTAKING AS THE INSIDE, WITH A VASTE LANDSCAPE STRETCHES OUT AS FAR AS SHE CAN SEE, WITH BEAUTIFUL OAKTREES GROWING TALL, but what catches Maggie's eye immediately is the large lake that almost glitters in the sunlight. It looks peaceful and welcoming to her and subconsciously her feet carry her down the gravel path and to the lake.
She is not surprise to find Charles arleady standing there with his hands clasped behind his back gazing out ahead of him. He can't see her coming, but she has a feeling he knows she's there. Maybe it is the telepathic x-gene or maybe it is just something that comes natural to the man. She envies his gentle nature and ability to trust so easy. She knows she shouldn't, his unbringing was very different from the likes of her, alex and Erik she knows for sure. He has no reason to be cold and distant to protect himself.
"Morning." Charles speaks up as she stops next to him, her own eyes fleetingly looking from the man and back to the lake.
"Mornin'" She greets him, "It's beautiful out here." She closes her eyes, the warm sun on her skin feeling liberating and a sigh of relief passes her lips before morphing into a large smile.
"It certainly is, isn't it?" Charles nods, eyes traveling towards a large oak tree across the lake. "My grandfather planted that tree when he was five years old. I used to swing from those very branches as a kid. It is my favorite place here."
Maggie chuckles, putting her hands in the pocket of her jacket, finally turning her full attention on the man next to her. "How's training coming along?" She wonders, hazel eyes alight with curiousity.
"As well as could be expected." He replied carefully, tilting his head to the side as if in deep thought and she can see the concern he is trying to hide. She knows the look well-- her parents always looked at her like that.
"It will get better." She does not elobarate, and Charles can easily pick up not to question her about it.
"Should we get started?" He asked instead, a hint of excitement in his voice as he holds his hand out towards the lake.
Maggie feels her heart sick into her stomache at the suggestion, and her hands twitches at her side in fear. "I-I don't know." She speaks breathlessly, "Shouldn't we start a little bit smaller?"
Charles watches as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, eyes darting around like she is expecting someone to pop up any moment. "There is nothing to be afraid of here."
She doesn't say anything to him, and Charles takes this as an opportunity to continue, "I want you to freeze the lake."
Maggie frowns, her hand clenching and unclenching by her side as she mulls his words over before hesitately lifting her right arm up, her open palm faces the water and she closes her eyes in concentration.
She can feel Charles' watchfull eyes on her frame as the familiar feeling of her powers run through her veins and she lets out a shaky breath, but the all to haunting memories of that fatefull july day, she can see flashes of the hateful faces of the towns people vividly.
Maggie abruptly lowers her hand, any progress she had made on the water immediately vanishing. Her breathing becomes ragid and her eyes are wide and glazed over when she turns to a surprised looking Charles. "I can't do this." She shakes her head rapidly.
"Maggie." His tone is soothing, but it doesn not penetrate her chaotic mind as he steps closer to her. "you can do this."
The encouraging words do nothing for her, "No, I can't do this Charles, it is too painful."
The man frowns at her words before cautiously lifting his hand to his temple, "May I?"
She contemplates it for a moment, but after spilling her guts to Erik yesterday morning, she feels like she has nothing to lose and nods quietly.
Once again all the memories flash before her eyes, the parted like and the looks of horror she received from her friend Lily and the merge together before turning into the scene of her and her family leaving their home in the dead of night to escape the wrath of the people they once considered close friends and neighbours.
Tears are threatening to spill, but she does not give in. She never show that kind of weakness again, she promised herself.
"I know for certain Maggie, what you did that day was absolutely incredible." Charles starts not noticing how her face twists into an passive mask. "A moment you should be proud of, those people were wrong to make you afraid of your own gifts."
"They're not gifts." Maggie replies coldly, not even close to grasping what Charles is saying to her. "I ruined my parents life that day, their friends, my friends turned their backs on me because of this. I should not be proud of them." The volume of her voice grows louder, before she is almost shouting at him.
"I know what you've been through" Charles cuts in, "I seen it all in your mind, and Maggie you have such great potential, and all I wish is for you is to trust yourself."
At this, the anger inside her grows and her eyes narrow to slits, "Well Charles just because you've seen what is in my mind, doesn't mean you understand what is in my heart. And not to be rude, but I don't trust myself, I don't want to risk hurting people, because I want to fulfill my childish dream of becoming some sort of hero."
"this session is over." she spits out, turning on her heel.
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