'Ello!
Second update, finally! I am so sorry it took so long, my parents hate that I would rather write than be with physical beings.
Anyhow, the new characters in this update are for the most part original. However, Anna Howard is based off of my actual neice, and Corrie Elisabeth Forbes is based off of a school friend.
The locket above is taken by me, it was a gift from my family for my seventh birthday. The song above isn't the song that fits the chapter, but it is sung. It's called "Sleepsong," from The Secret Garden. One of the best lullabies in the world, if you have trouble sleeping this is the song to listen to.
Now back to reading!
Forever and Always,
~AF,
The Fandom Phoenix of Fantasia
———————————————————————
Aurélie's POV:
We had barely gotten eight yards from my bedroom door when I stopped, Corrie stopping with me. She looked at me, her face asking why we stopped. I chuckled lightly. Of course.
"You should be in bed, you know." I said softly.
After taking a second to realize what I was talking about, Corrie whipped around. From the room to the right of mine, an eight year-old girl stepped hesitantly out into the hallway.
"I just wanted to say goodbye." She replied in the same soft tone.
I turned to Corrie. "Go. Get the dogs in, I'll meet you there."
She smiled and nodded, continuing her route towards the elevator as I left my suitcase where it was and walked over to crouch down in front of her.
"It's not forever, you know." I promised. "I'll come and visit, Anna. As often as I can."
"I know, but it won't be the same." Anna said.
After a few seconds, she whispered,"I'll miss you."
That stung. Bad. I sighed. "Come here."
My niece threw her arms around me, burying her face in my shoulder. We hugged each other like it was the last, and it would be for a while. We had both lost close to everything, and if you forget the technicalities, I was the closest and possibly last relative she had.
"I know kiddo, I know." I whispered. "I'll miss you too. More than you will ever know. Believe me, if I could bring you along with me, I would."
Anna only hugged me tighter and sniffled, "I don't want you to go, Auntie. I will miss you, I really will."
"Shh," I comforted. "It's alright, I'm right here. I'm right here."
A few moments later, she had calmed down a bit. Immediately, a small tune came to me. I thought it would be something Anna would like to hear. And so I sang it to her.
"Just take a piece of my heart, and make it all your own, so when we are apart, you'll never be alone," I sang. "You'll never be alone."
She pulled back a bit, her eyes glistening. "Did you make that on your own?"
I smiled and wiped her tear-stained face. "Yes, just for you."
Anna offered a smile. It was small and weak, but a smile nonetheless. "Could you sing to me, one more time before you go?"
I nodded and kissed her forehead. "Of course, deliciae."
I stood up, taking Anna's hand and helping her up. Together, we walked back to her room.
⚜️
"Anna? Is that you?"
"Are you in trouble?"
"Is Raven with you?"
"Shut up, you bezmozglyye idioty! Of course she's with her, and now she knows we're awake!"
"Yes, but if you had never spoken and pretended to sleep, I might've just turned a blind eye, Claris." I countered.
The other girls oohed and collapsed into giggles before the room lapsed into silence, waiting for her reaction.
Eventually, she muttered, "Rahat."
Claris threw her covers back and swung her legs over her bunk. "Okay, good point. Now what?"
I laughed and led Anna to her bed. She climbed in and I tucked her in.
"Well, we can start with you actually sleeping," I answered as I sat on the edge of Anna's bed.
Claris mumbled, "Da, khorosho, my ne mozhem prosto skazat' «spat'», a potom prosto pokhodit' na svet." She said it under her breath, but, unlucky girl she is, I still heard her.
"I eto tozhe ne tak, kak ya mogu vas slyshat'." I replied.
She looked at me wide-eyed. "Whoa. They weren't kidding when they said you had the slukh of a krasnokhvostyy yastreb."
"Told you!" The rest of the girls shouted, before everyone burst into another round of giggles.
"Wait, are you gonna sing?" Ava, the girl in the bunk above Anna's asked, hanging her head over the edge of her bunk so she could see us. "Can you sing to us too, please Sera?"
"Only if you promise to go to sleep afterwards and be good and help out while I'm gone."
"Deal!"
I rolled my eyes at their enthusiasm. I'm not the best, yet they all love it when I sing. "Then everyone get into bed."
Once everyone had settled in, the attention went to me and Anna.
"So, what's the song going to be?" Allison, the girl in the bunk above Claris', asked.
I looked at Anna, smiling. I undid the clasp to my locket and put it in her hand. "She asked first, so her choice."
Anna smiled back, yet she gave me a pointed look. "You know that I'm not gonna keep this, right?"
I sighed. "Whenever I miss my friends, or Uncle Luke, or Papa, I look at this, and just a glance will remind me I'm not alone. I want you to know you're not alone either."
"You need to remember that you aren't alone, either. While you're gone, I want you to keep this so you know we're here for you." She replied.
"She's right, Sera." Allison chimed in.
"Keep it." Ava added.
"And if not for yourself, for us." Anna continued.
I shook my head, chuckling. "Since when did you girls grow up? You have become so wise."
Claris shrugged. "Well, you seem to have that affect. Besides, we learn from the best."
"Alright, but you're still choosing the song." I said, surrendering.
Anna smiled and placed the locket back in my hand, closing her eyes. I leaned in and she whispered her decision. I smiled and whispered back, "Good choice."
She opened the locket, and it instantly glowed, portraying a constellation of light around the room. From the locket, music began to play, and I hummed along to it. It was a sweet, yet mysterious tune. My smile grew as I began to sing.
Lay down your head,
And I'll sing you a lullaby,
Back to the years
Of loo-li-lee-lay,
And I'll sing you to sleep,
And I'll sing you tomorrow.
Bless you with love
For the roads
That you go.
It was only the first stanza, yet I could see the drowsiness in the girls. I had no idea how I was able to do that, but it worked every time.
May you sail fair,
To the far fields of fortune,
With diamonds and pearls
At your head, and your feet,
And may you need never
To banish misfortune.
May you find kindness
In all that you meet.
As the chorus came, My voice rose a dynamic, as did the brilliance of the constellations. I enjoyed the wonder and awe in the girls' eyes. They were dreamers. They only needed inspiration and a little bit of motivation to believe, and I absolutely loved it.
May there always be angels
To watch over you,
To guide you each step of the way,
To guard you, and keep you
Safe from all harm.
Loo-lee-loo-lee-li-lay.
The music's crescendo died down, and so did my voice.
May you bring love,
And may you bring happiness.
Be loved in return
To the end of your days.
Now fall off to sleep,
I'm not meaning to keep you.
I'll just sit here a while,
And sing loo-lee-li-lay.
The song crescendoed back into the chorus, and the girls couldn't keep their eyes open. They weren't asleep, not yet.
May there always be angels
To watch over you,
To guide you each step of the way,
To guard you, and keep you
Safe from all harm.
Loo-lee-loo-lee-li-lay.
I quietly sang the last line over and over again until the music from the locket faded, as well as the starry glow. I snapped it shut. By then, everyone was asleep. It made me so happy to see their peaceful faces, the faint smile on Anna's face as she slept. I gently kissed her forehead and placed her cheetah cub in her arms. I then checked on all the other girls. I pulled the blanket up tight and snug around Claris, took Ava's glasses off and put them in her lavender case, and took the book out of Allison's arms, setting it on the bed's ledge that was extended so it could be a bedside table substitute, tucking a strand of blond hair from her face.
I then walked out of the door and to my suitcase. Anna didn't want the locket, fine. But I wanted her to have something that wouldn't make her feel so lonely. I grabbed a box from one of the pockets and walked back. I took the item out of the box, which I placed on the ledge with a note inside, before putting the item on her. Giving her one more kiss, I silently slipped out of the room. I glanced once more around the room before slipping silently out, closing the door behind me.
⚜️
Just like I told her, Corrie had already gotten the dogs in and was leaning on her red Jeep Wrangler when I got outside.
"About freaking time," She teased.
I ignored her and opened up the back, tossing my suitcase and a bag in. As I shut it after petting the three dogs, Toby, Ylva, and Tikaani, Corrie asked me, "How do you do that?"
"Hm?"
"When you heard Anna. That girl can be like a ninja when she wants to, but you hear her every time. It makes you one of the worst people to pull a prank on."
I shrugged and answered, "I don't know, maybe an affect from the leak, or the tests?"
As we got in the car, she said, "Maybe. But you have the hearing of Superman, whatever it was. Seriously, do you know how unfair and not fun it is to Smack Cam you?"
"That's sort of the point. I do not want to be slapped into reality by a creamed hand."
We buckled our seat belts, but Corrie didn't start the ignition right away. Instead, she looked at me and asked another question. "You know she'll be fine, right? I mean, it's not like this is the first time you left."
"I know, but it's the first time she'll be alone without a blood-member." I replied. Blood-member is what we call genetic family members, because everyone from the GIFT's Quarters has become so close that we had to use different terms to distinguish one from the other. "Luke, Dad, Amarum, her parents, and Adam are gone, as well as just about all other relatives for all I know, the Homeboys are at war, and none were willing to bring her to Minnesota or Florida."
"She's strong, Aurie. She proved that when she went through that surgery. Sure, she'll miss you like Hell itself is after her, but she'll manage."
I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, alright."
Satisfied, Corrie turned on the ignition.
⚜️
"We aren't going to the airport, are we?" I stated it more than asked.
"Correcto." Corrie answered. "How'd you know?"
I snickered. "Well, you turned right at the last intersection. The most direct way to the airport would have you keeping straight. There are also two empty mugs. That means you're taking us to StarB's, or you just pulled a Blonde Moment even worse than when you labeled Delaware as Detroit."
"Yaaaaaassss."
We both laughed at that memory. With all honesty though, Corrie was one of the smartest people in the school and took quite a few AP classes.
"Seriously though, good gods, Corrie." I continued. "You gotta get yourself a boyfriend."
"Mhmm, care to explain how that would make a difference?"
"For starters, hopefully you'd realize there's more in life other than five lattes in the morning."
That shut her up for a good eight seconds, until she cursed after almost running a red light.
"Okay," Corrie said once the light turned green. "You got a point. But still. Pleeeeease?"
I sighed. There was no point in arguing, she'd drive us there anyway. "Fine, as long as we go to the Garden afterwards."
Corrie gave me the biggest grin and whooped with such excitement I had to remind her to keep her hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. It's unbelievable how happy this girl could be when it came to simple things like that. As rebellion, she turned the radio's volume up to a blasting twenty. To my dear friend's disappointment, I actually enjoyed it and sang at the top of my lungs.
"I, I did it allll,"
It wasn't long before she joined in. "I, I did it allllll."
I ended up singing harmony and backup when they were present, and Corrie sang melody. "I owned ev'ry second that this world could give,"
"I saw so many places, the things that I did,"
"Yeah, with ev'ry broken bone,"
"I swear I lived."
It was five-twenty in the morning, and our windows were rolled down, of course the latter of people we passed gave us unpleasant looks. And, of course, we didn't give a bloody damn. I only turned the volume down when we were a block away from the drive-thru.
"It's so good to hear a band from our state still making music." I grinned.
"Hell yeah, you go Ryan Tedder!" Corrie shouted.
We laughed as the Starbucks worker came to the window.
"Wow," He laughed, leaning against the ledge. "What's got you girls so happy on this crappy morning hour?"
"Ah, nothing much." Corrie answered. "Just excited to get our StarB's before heading off to LaGuardia."
"LaGuardia! Where to?"
"This girl's home ground." I answered, leaning over the center console and on the girl.
"Yeaaaaah, Canada." She grinned.
"Oh, Canada! There's quite a few places there that I've wanted to go to. Then let's get your orders so you won't miss your flight. What can I get you?"
Corrie ordered first. "I'll take a Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Aurie?"
"Caffè Mocha, and two bacon, Gouda, and egg sandwiches please." I replied.
The guy gave us the total, which Corrie paid. Once he left to prepare everything, Corrie leaned in.
"il est plutôt cool."
I just rolled my eyes at her typical Corrie statement. "Cool quand il était si en toi? Noooon, qu'est-ce qui t'a donné cette pensée folle, Sherlock?"
"Hey, d'abord, il vous vérifiait. Deuxièmement, Sherlock est ton surnom, pas le mien."
"Nom de code, en fait. Et il n'y a absolument aucun moyen qu'il soit en moi. S'il l'était, il serait mort maintenant, comme tous les autres."
Before she could make some sort of sassy remark back, the guy came back with our order. "Wow, speaking French. Guess that verifies it."
We laughed. He handed our order to us and wished us farewell.
"Okay, now off to-"
"The flowershop." I finished, cutting her off. As expected, Corrie just stared at me blankly.
"The Garden."
Her eyes widened. "Ohhh, right. Sorry, I didn't-"
"Corrie, it's fine. Just drive, there should be one on E 106th street."
She nodded. "On it."
⚜️
"Hi Luke, hey Adam."
I stood before two of thousands of graves. They weren't like regular graves though, not exactly. It's sort of hard to explain, so I'll let you use your imagination. I took a shaky breath before continuing. My stepbrother and stepcousin that I actually considered my brother as well were casualties of the Clade five years ago. Sorta. I placed the Blue Himalayan Poppies in their vases.
"I'm going to Canada today, you already know that I've been dying to go there. Hey Adam, remember when I showed you that video from French? I want to see if Canada really is like a girl, where everyone acts nice just to talk crap behind your back."
I laughed at the memory. It was just before Thanksgiving break and my French teacher showed us a video about Canada, and let's just say we both fell flat on our arses, dying of laughter.
"I will come back to visit you, I promise that. Just know that you won't be getting visits as often. I need to clear my head, after everything, you know?"
I took another shaky breath, fighting the tears forming in my eyes. "I don't blame you, Luke. For what happened. I never did. It's only been a week since I last saw you, and we had your funeral yesterday, but still."
I felt my flannel jacket pocket vibrate. I took out my phone and found a text on the lockscreen. My lockscreen was of Luke, Adam, the Homeboys, Anna, and I. The text was from Corrie.
Maple Blonde: We should probably be leaving soon, just a heads up
I sighed and stuffed it back in my pocket. "I got to go. Hopefully I'll be able to revisit for the holidays."
I hesitated before I turned away, choking back sobs. "I...I love you, and...I miss you."
⚜️
On my way out, I stopped by this giant obelisk in the Garden. It was made of Black Serpentine, big enough to fit all the engraved names of those from the GIFT. In other words, it's a big obelisk. Some of the engravings were filled up with something, from greens to glass to silver to diamonds. It just depends. When we lose someone from the GIFT, we filled their name with something that represents them. People say that mine would be Sapphire, or gold. I have doubts on both, personally. I'm not that flashy, or pure, and I'm not that strong. I don't really stick out or shine. Sure, I do what I want and don't think about it much, but still. To just about the whole world, I'm an ordinary girl, if there's anyone in the world that actually knows of my existence.
At the base were all these tokens, left behind by those who died or have left the Quarters, or are inside the building right now. Corrie had already left her Token of Absence and taken her Token of Travel. Now it was my turn.
I sighed and, after some hesitation, took off my shard pendant and placed it at the base of the obelisk. I'd never left this necklace behind, it's almost a part of me. But then again...everyone who gave me this was dead, and laid here in the Garden. If they were here, then so should this pendant. Besides, I lost my original Token after the explosion that took my stepbrother.
After I had laid the necklace down, I searched the base until I found my other Token; a silver ring with black etchings saying Lever i dag ... fordi vi dør i morgen, which meant Live today, for we die tomorrow in Norwegian. A leather cord connected to it.
I walked some more until I reached the top of the hill, where Corrie was parked. From there I turned around. Dawn was arriving, turning the sky violet, blue, orange, and red. It looked gorgeous, especially with the Garden below. I stared at the Garden, as it would be a long time until I ever saw it again.
"Aurie," Corrie said, breaking me out of my daze.
I finally turned around and got into the car.
⚜️
When we finally got to La Guardia, Corrie dropped me and the carry-on luggage off at the front while she drove off to load the dogs, luggage, and the Jeep onto the plane. I went through the security and took one of the seats while I waited for Corrie to come back. Boarding didn't start in at least thirty more minutes. I sighed and took out my leather journal that had a treble and bass clef on it and a fountain pen. If you hadn't guessed already, it's where I wrote all my music. It's sort of ridiculous that I can find inspiration for lyrics just by sitting in an airport, but then again, Aerosmith's "Walk this Way" was inspired by Igor in "Young Frankenstein" when he was hobbling down the stairs.
I flipped to a blank page and tapped on it with the pen, thinking. Eventually, I got a starting idea. And that was all I needed. I let my mind take control. I was so deep into it that Corrie startled me when she sat down it the next seat.
"New song?" She asked.
"Yep," I chirped.
"Can I see it?"
"It's not finished."
"Of course it isn't. So can I see it?"
I laughed. "Once it's finished."
Corrie huffed. "Okay, I see how it is."
After our little conversation, she went on her phone and popped in an earbud as she opened up Facebook and Instagram.
I went back to my writing and looked over what I wrote.
And Take a piece of my Heart,
And make It All your own.
So when we are Apart,
You'll Never be alone.
You'll Never be alone.
Oh, You'll Never be alone!
When you Miss me, Close your Eyes,
I may be Far, but Never gone.
I frowned as I hummed the tune I was thinking about. It didn't fit right with the first verse of the second stanza. It could work for the first stanza, and the part I wrote before the second stanza could be the chorus. When it goes into the second stanza from the chorus, it seemed to pop out at you, so there'd be a bit of excitement. There would definitely be a bit of a crescendo there, so maybe if I put a bit of excitement into the rhythm and pitch, it would work. I hummed it again, tapping the tempo on my knee. There, that worked.
As someone announced the boarding call for those going on our flight with special assistance or small children over the intercom, I began singing what I had so far.
"Take a piece of my heart, and make it all your own. So when we are apart, you'll never be alone. Oh, you'll never be alone! When you miss me close your eyes, I may be far but never gone..."
I realized that I'd have to make the second stanza longer. I sighed and flipped to another page, writing the music to the words. Yet as I scratched away with the nib, I realized how loud it was.
Or how quiet it had gotten.
I looked up to find people staring at me, Corrie among them.
I frowned. "Quid est?"
I asked in Latin, since some people here would most likely know French.
Still, she didn't get to answer. Right after I asked, the intercom came back. "Now boarding, all passengers 24A to Markham, Ontario. Please make your way to gate 5. I repeat, now boarding all passengers 24A to Markham, Ontario. Thank you."
I gave Corrie a glare that said this is not over before we gathered our stuff and headed over to the gate. On the way, she gave me a smug grin that said otherwise.
We got on and found our seats. As the intercom introduced the captain and announced that the plane would take off in five minutes, and that the gates were closed, I quickly got on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook before I had to turn the WiFi off. I took a few pictures of me and Corrie and posted them with the caption Leaving LaGuardia. Bye New York! All those from the GIFT: I love ya!
The seatbelt sign flashed, and I told Corrie to shut off her WiFi and buckle in. The captain announced that we were taking off. While Corrie looked like she was on a rollercoaster, I stared out the window. I was leaving everything behind. A week ago, this would've never happened. Then Luke died, an explosion replacing where he had last stood. In a week, I had packed my bags and decided to leave everything I once had.
Things were changing really fast and I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.
3rd Person's POV:
Anna woke up to the sun rays shining through the window shades. She sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes when her hands hit something weird. Frowning, Anna lowered her hands and opened her eyes. She looked down to find a beautiful necklace. A butterfly charm of several shades of blue with a silver base dangled from a black cord.
As Anna wondered where this beautiful pendant came from, she saw another thing that wasn't there the night before. She crawled out of her covers to the ledge at the foot of her bed and picked up a small black box with a leathery texture. When she opened it, a cream-white paper fell out, perfectly folded. Curious, Anna set the box down and unfolded the small square of parchment. When it was fully opened, she could tell two things. One, the structure hinted it was a letter. Then Anna rolled her eyes. Of course it's a letter, dumbarse. What else would it be?
Second was, by the handwriting and little symbol on top, that it was from Auntie Sera.
Dear my Loveliest flower,
I know you Insisted on me Keeping The locket, but That doesn't mean I'm not Leaving Something Behind for you. That Butterfly pendant Is a Gift I received from your grandparents when I turned your age. Hopefully It Gives The same hope and Family love It did for me. I love you, you are forever my Princess.
Whatever you do, Just don't forget me.
I'm right here, my darling,
Even If I'm across The sea.
You're my hope, showed me The ropes,
I'm just a girl, who'll Never let go,
Because To me, you're my whole world.
~ARSA
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Okay, I'll say it. Daaaaaaaam that was long.
Anyway, thoughts? Ideas?
So I just watched the final trailer of The Death Cure, and I want to kill someone for the decision of killing my favorite character. The fact that James Dashner did it is enough. Movie? Someone help me.
QOTD: If you could tell someone something and actually have your voice heard, who would that person be and what would you say?
K bye now ;)
Always and forever,
~AF,
The Fandom Phoenix of Fantasia