(Tara's POV)
After getting Emma to calm down and lay in her bed, I then followed Ceciellia back to the kitchen. She turned the stove off, and put a lid over the pot of boiling soup, before joining me back at the table. I was waiting for her to ask me to continue what we had been talking about earlier.
"I hope this doesn't start a power surge in all of the children. What a mess it would be, for them to all go through this without their parents being here. I don't know whether I should help them embrace their abilities, or contain them," She said as she hung her head in her hands.
"A child should never feel scared of who they are. They need to get a grip of it, before it becomes complete and utter chaos," I said as I placed a hand on her shoulder.
She gave me that knowing glance, and my shoulders drooped. Here it was. I knew it would come.
"Tell me. Is that how you felt as a child?" She asked.
I sighed, as I sank in my seat. The world felt as if it were resting on my shoulders. All of its weight, weighing down on me. Little me. I closed my eyes, allowing a single tear to streak down my face.
I was back at that place. My life flashing before me. A very long life. When I was just a little girl, I hadn't stopped aging yet. My life had only just begun.
I was maybe 3 years old. Alone, cold, and crying. I could see the woman who left me, as she walked away. To this day, I still hadn't known if it were my mother, or if it were someone else. I never did see her face, it had been covered by the hood of a robe.
The only thing I could remember, was her long, black hair cascading out of the hood. After being alive for over 1000 years, I could no longer remember my real mothers face. At this point, I had grown up without her all this time, it no longer mattered. It is what happened within those 1000 years that mattered most.
Her face was replaced by a woman who had saved me from the bitter cold. For a time, I was truly happy. I had almost forgotten about that day. I was living a normal life. That was until a scientific breakthrough happened.
A group of children were born at the exact same time, in a small town on the western side of the United States. They were studied for a period of time. It wasn't long, before they had gained the knowledge of what those children really were. They were the first of the Immortals. The Lost Children, is what I was later taught to call them. Annah had taught me everything I knew of our kind.
Those children went through many scientific researches and studies. Each one possessing a different ability. Abilities that a normal human wouldn't have. They were killed out of fear of the unknown, but that didn't stop the war that was to come. More and more children popped up, and precautions were taken. Bounty hunters, also known as Slayers, were sent out to do the termination of our kind. It wasn't only the children who suffered. Families were also killed off, to ensure that no more special children were reproduced.
It wasn't until I turned 10, that I started to notice the changes within myself. That's when I had begun to worry. I was scared of what I could do, but more scared of what would happen to my family and I. My walls were crumbling down, and my emotions flowed out of me. I had lost control, and messed up beyond repair. Our house went up in flames, and I almost hadn't made it.
I remembered being pulled out of the flames, and into the arms of someone. The screams of my parents and older brother, were ringing in my ears as they burned up inside that house. Yet someone saved me. Why did they have to save me? Is all could think at that moment.
They threw me in the carriage, and began to ride off into the night. I was sitting in the back of the carriage alone, as my savior rode on the horse that pulled it. We were going so fast, but at the time I didn't care. I just wanted my parents. With my knees against my chest, I wrapped my arms around my head and cried to myself.
Once again, I was alone and didn't know what was going to happen to me. The ride was long and quiet. I sat there feeling numb and unable to cry any longer. That was until the carriage came to an abrupt stop. I flew forward, and out of my seat, landing hard on the floor of the carriage.
The door flew open, and I pushed myself against the other side of the carriage. A hooded figure stood before me. I couldn't see there face, until they held a lantern up to it. I got to see that it was a woman, before the other door flung open. I expected to fall to the ground, but someone caught me. His eyes sparkled against the fire of the lantern. I felt as if I was in a trance, for I had become lost in his eyes.
"Are you alright, girl?" He asked as he placed my feet on the ground.
"My name is not girl, you fop-doodle," I said as I crossed my arms.
He smiled at me, and I narrowed my eyes at him. After studying him for a moment, I could see that he was a child, not much older than me. Was he like me though? Could he do the things I could do? What was I?
"Emrick. My name is Emrick. But fop-doodle? That's a new one," He said as he raised an eyebrow at me.
"It means insignificant or foolish boy. If you were more intelligent, maybe you'd understand what it means," I said as I brushed myself off.
"Come on, you two. The others are waiting inside," The hooded woman said as she rounded the carriage holding the lantern in the air.
"Others? Where am I even at?" I asked.
"Home," was all she said.
I didn't have much of a choice, so I followed her and Emrick into the stone building with the hidden entrance. That's when I met Raven and Baldassare. My life had changed since that day. I had started over again, but that didn't change what I knew.
This was only going to be temporary. They would find us someday, and they would kill us. So, I kept my distance, and refused to get close to any of them, except for Annah. She had become the mother figure I never really had.
Centuries, and if felt as if time was going so slowly. Every day dragged. Every day was a struggle. There were only 6 days out of my whole life, that had meant anything to me, and had left the greatest impacts. The night I had lost my family in the fire. Not only did I lose a family, which I had been the cause of their death, but I had also gained a new family.
The night I realized I was in love with Emrick. Although I didn't realize it, until I had seen him dancing with a girl, and she had kissed him. The day I had met Kira, and was told how I was going to have to give up Alice. The day Annah had died peacefully in her sleep, and the next prophet took her place. Lastly, the day that I had to give Alice away. That was the most painful one of them all.
"I am glad I finally get the chance to be here for my daughter. I never wanted this life for her. I didn't want her to be alone. I didn't want her to grow up the way I did," I said as I looked up at Ceciellia, who had been quietly listening to me tell my story.
"I can assure you, Alice knows this. She loves you and Emrick both. I don't think it's possible for her to hate you, or blame you for what happened. You're here now, and that's all that matters. She has three amazing children, who need and look up to you," Ceciellia said as she wiped my tears away.
"What if I don't know how? I never exactly got to experience the whole parenting thing. What if the children hate me?" I asked as I looked at her.
"You're not doing something right, if they don't hate you. My daughter hates me for being who I am. She refuses to accept what she is, but deals with it the best way she knows how. The life we are given is not an easy path, but it's not impossible," She said with a slight smile.
"Where do I even start?" I asked as I shook my head.
Just then, Alec came rushing into the kitchen. He stopped and tried to catch his breath.
"What? What's wrong now?" Ceciellia asked as she crossed her arms.
"E-Ez-Ezekiel. He's gone. W-we were playing h-hide-and-s-seek, and I haven't been able to find him. I checked everywhere," He said as he managed to steady his breathing.
I closed my eyes, and let myself be guided by his heartbeat. A soft, almost quiet, humming sound filled my ears. I could see him, he was alone, in a dark place. When I opened my eyes, I was standing behind him. He was standing at the attic window, watching the rain fall outside. I touched his shoulder, and he turned around quickly. He was startled.
"What are you doing up here all alone?" I asked him.
He stared directly into my eyes. I could tell something was wrong.
"Something's coming grandma," He said as he looked back outside.
I followed his gaze, to see a group of black silhouettes approaching the house. For a moment, I was fear struck. Had the Slayers come for us? How was I supposed to protect us from these unknown beings? I felt the same way I had felt when my parents died in the fire. Helpless.
(Pic is of Ezekiel)