AUTHOR'S NOTE: Re-editing and a triple checking of grammar and punctuation will be done as soon as possible. Bare with me for now until I can make the changes.
From: M x
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I step into the lounge to see Aidan and his parents talking in hushed tones. They stop when they see me walk in and Aidan motions to the seat next to him on the couch, which would put me in between him and his parents. I take a seat warily, wringing my hands slightly in my lap.
All is quiet for a while then Aidan places his hand on my knee which has begun bouncing nervously and says "What would you like to know first?"
My body stills and I open my mouth to approach the first thing on my mental list. "In my first, ah....Crossover, I was in the body of someone called Ichika but then last night I was in my own body. Why is that?"
James is the one answers me. "As your Crossovers become more advanced, so they change. Any Clepsydras first Crossover is more of a repetition of a previous Clepsydra's experience, but your body and mind progress more and the better you become at controlling your Crossovers. I don't know if you did, but if you had tried to speak at all during your first real-life history demonstration, you would have found yourself unable to. You were more of a bystander than an actual participant in your first experience, it's an adaption the Clepsydra have developed to prevent unfortunate incidents with first-timers."
Hmm. Makes logical sense...you wouldn't exactly want a waitress on her first day working at a restaurant running the place. "When did you all find out about the Clepsydra? Do you all just start asking questions when you start popping in and out of history like a pop tart in a toaster or did you know all along?"
Aidan decides to tackle this question, and motions to his parents with his hands before replying with "My parents, as most families do, raised me and Clarisse from the very beginning to know about who we are. Some family's prefer to wait until the children experience their first Crossover, although I feel our way is better since it prevents situations like yours."
No need to back up that reasoning, since I would hate to impose what I'm feeling now on some poor kid. Waking up next to a Mayan princess is not the best introduction into growing up.
"Elena, if you don't mind me asking, why did you save Aidan from having his brain exploded after what he did to you last night. Surely with what you had experienced you wouldn't want to help him?" Evie questions.
Well now, that is a question I need to think about. "Um...it was the way he reacted afterwards. His willingness to explain everything to me made me feel I could forgive him, even if it was going to take a while to achieve that. Besides, he was the link to finding out more about this not to mention that he got me ice-cream with sprinkles." Everyone laughs at this, and it seems to break the tension in the air a bit.
"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't they say," pipes in Aidans mom, and I do have to say I agree with her. It was an easy choice to make between the guy with a gun or the guy who tried to make up for almost killing me by buying chocolatey frozen treats.
Clarisse joins us, laden with a tray of cups. She places the tray down, and we each take a mug which is filled with freshly brewed tea. "So, I didn't miss much right?" She queries, taking a seat on her armchair from earlier this afternoon. I take a sip, shaking my head at Clarisse before putting my cup down on the glass-top coffee table.
I lean back further on the couch I'm sitting on, crossing my legs before directing a new inquiry I had been thinking about to Genevieve. "You said something about helping me. How are you planning to do that since it's become apparent that I'm just about clueless?"
"Oh that's a simple enough question to answer dear. You're going to have to start training with us." She says it so matter-of-factly that my mind almost forgets to do a double-take at what she had just said.
"Training? What training?" I sit up a little straighter, the fluttering sensation in my stomach going from butterflies to rather feeling like I have an entire zoo crammed in there.
Aidan barely contains a snicker to the left of me, then comments with "Elena, need I even remind you about your bruised knuckles last night?"
I turn to him saying "What? I think I would have made Mike Tyson proud with the effort I put into beating you up in that forest..."
"Elena, as much as I hate to tell you this, I still need to enlighten you that that's all those punches were. Effort. You only managed to hurt yourself waaay more that they hurt me. Hats off to you though, if there was a prize for trying you would be up to win it." He says, placing his hand reassuringly on my shoulder.
I snort air through my nose, brushing his hand off me playfully and remarking with forced enthusiasm "So I'm guessing that this training thing will be physical then. Awesome."
"I will be overseeing your physical training, which will include learning different fighting styles and weapon usage. I think Genevieve won't mind helping you out with social issues and touch on a bit of our history. Both we and Aidan will help you if any Enhancements appear." James says, cracking a small, inconspicuous smile.
"Define: 'Enhancements'..." I say, adding inverted commas with my fingers in the air. If they mention anything about getting a third eye or an eleventh toe, I see cosmetic surgery in my near future as well as a life spent living in my basement.
Clarisse deals with this one. "Well, as you found out, me and my mom can talk to each other through what I like to call our 'cerebral messaging services'. This is because I have the ability to project my thoughts using my mind and in turn read the minds of others through telepathy. I find it difficult to do if they keep their heads on lockdown from me, or if the person is far away but my mom and I are blood relatives so it's as easy as pie. She can still keep things from me if she closes me off, which is totally unfair...I really wanted to see what my Christmas present was going to be last year."
I exhale a sigh of relief. I'm happy it's not a third eye or extra limb, but it's still not in the parameters of 'normal' either. "Does everyone get this Enhancement and how do you find out about it?"
"It's Enhancements dear, as in there's more than just one type. Not all Clepsydra portray it, such as me and James, but both Clarisse and Aidan have developed enhancements. Clepsydra usually learn about them during their early development, but it can present itself at any age." Evie says, planting a kiss on her husband's cheek.
I spin towards Aidan, jabbing him delicately in the stomach and putting my other hand on my hip before saying accusingly "How come I don't know what your ability is then?"
He arches his gently curved eyebrows, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he answers "You don't know about it, because I can't do it in public with witnesses who could get me sent to a secret services facility. Floating a pencil back up to my desk after I drop it on the floor will get a couple of stares from the people in class. When I could have done it last night I was unable to focus enough while running."
"Oh. My. Gosh...you have Telekinesis! That is some seriously cool party trick to have up your sleeve." I shout excitingly.
"It is pretty cool, but unfortunately I can't ever use it unless I'm around other Clepsydra or the situation is dire."
"Ok, so IF I am suddenly able to move objects with my mind or begin being able to hear the answers to a pop quiz I'm writing in my head, I'll remind myself to mention it to you all. When is all this training stuff taking place anyways?" I ask, turning to address everyone once again.
James says, "Unfortunately, you're at a bit of a disadvantage since you started evolving so late. You'll need a lot of time to catch up to everything, so I think we should start doing it at least twice a week and seeing how things go from there. If you show that there is more work to be done than we thought, we can re-assess the schedule."
"Great, so we might as well make it three times a week since the only history I know is from the select times I have to write history tests and the small amount knowledge I possess about fighting I've learnt from action movies."
Aidan laughs at this, before placing his now empty mug on the tray on the table. I take another drink from my own before he says "I'll take you home with me tomorrow so we can start right away.Tell Anna and your parents that we have a huge Science term project to do for the next couple of weeks and you've been grouped with me for it. That should be a good enough excuse for you coming round all the time until we can come up with something else."
"Sounds like a decent enough idea bro, but Elena will also need some clothes to use. She can just get something from me for school tomorrow, but she'll need to get some stuff to train in. Jeans aren't exactly flexible." Clarisse says bluntly.
I drain the last of my tea, placing my empty cup along with everyone else's on the now full tray. "We can stop by at my house tomorrow before coming here, my dad has Wednesday afternoon meetings and my mom works at the museum as part of the restoration and research team. They got a new piece in during the midterm holiday break so she's been working pretty late into the evenings on it. No one will be home and I have keys so we can pick up some stuff without any issues."
James claps is hands, sounding like a judge banging a clavicle in finality at a closed case. "Its organised then, Aidan can take you to and from school tomorrow and we can start with basic combat training. Clarisse, please remember to check that the ice packs are in the freezer before leaving tomorrow, we may need them."
Ice packs? Mentioning those is always a good way to encourage someone who is putting their body on the line for the first time. Yippee.
Clarisse yawns, stretching her arms out above her head before standing again. She picks up the tray of empty cups then says "I'll be heading off to bed then. I have a fencing match tomorrow and I plan on whipping my opponent."
"Isn't being trained in sword play already a bit of a cheat?" I jeer at her playfully as I yawn myself; covering my legs with the blanket I had left here earlier.
She shrugs her shoulders, moving the cups so that they're evenly set out on the tray. "I've been doing fencing for as long as I've been training, so I just get a little more practice compared to the rest of my team." She winks at me, then gets a kiss from Evie before swivelling and walking out the lounge.
"G'night everyone. See you tomorrow morning."
Once Clary has left, there is a long moment of silence between everyone. I stare into the dancing flames of the fire, noticing how their light seems to taint everything in the room with an orange-yellow glow. A sensitive topic I've been avoiding all night is eating away at my mind and I can't resist bringing it up any longer.
"What happens if you help me and I turn out to be an Alterate...your enemy. What about my future in all this." I barely whisper, not tearing my gaze away from the fire.
Evie takes my tightly held together hands in hers, causing me to look up into her sincere eyes.
"Your actions today in helping my son escape his death affirmed the suspicions we had about your character. A person with the tendencies towards being an Alterate would not have naturally made the decision you did to help him. Your aura may be something of an anomaly to us, but I have a sixth sense about you, and I like what I see. I think you've been dealt a difficult hand to deal with, but you are taking it all in your stride and that in itself also says a lot about you."
I'm amazed at her. She would pour her heart and soul into guiding me in all this, even if there is the slight chance at the end of it all that I will take anything I've learnt and use it against her. I don't think I would ever be able to lift a finger against her, even if that time ever came, because of the kindness she exuded to me who was a stranger to her before today.
She pats the top of our clasped hands, then says to Aidan. "Show our new initiate to a guest room, the poor dears had a long day and I think she needs some sleep." She lets go of me, cupping my face in her hands. She kisses me on the forehead like she did her own daughter and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I hug her tightly, murmuring "Thank you for everything" into her ear before standing up along with Aidan. I bow my head to James who acknowledges me in the same way before I join his son who is waiting for me just outside the lounge door.
I peer over my shoulder just before exiting, my hand resting on the door frame. I see James place his arms around Evie as she lays her head against his shoulder, a troubled expression evident on her face. I walk out, leaving them to the privacy they deserve after the revelation of my rude arrival today.
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As soon as I'm around the wall, I feel Aidan's warm, somewhat rough fingertips circling around my wrist and gently lead me away. His hand slips further down to rather engulf my hand as he leads me up the flight of stairs I took when I walked to Clarisse's room earlier tonight. He walks straight past it and continues further down the passage.
We near the end of the wooden-floored corridor, our footsteps treading lightly as to not wake up Clarisse who by now must be sleeping. He stops, with two doors to both his left and right.
He turns to the one on the left, a wooden door painted white with a brass, gilded door handle, and opens it. He steps inside and I follow behind him, relishing the feeling of a cushioned beige carpet beneath my toes.
I enter into a well lit, airy room which has a vintage theme, pulled off in a very modern and well furnished way. The bed has a white duvet topped with a baby-blue coloured blanket folded over the end. The pillows all have lacy trims and the throw over the blanket is daisy-patterned.
The cupboard along the wall is old and wooden, but is white washed with handles matching the one on the door. My favourite bit of the room is the floor-to-ceiling bay window, which has a view of the sea and white painted shutters with a flower box, containing white daisies and blue forget me not's. An elegant, vintage lounging chair is nestled in the middle of the window area.
Aidan steps aside for me, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed casually over his chest as I take a seat on the snug bed.
"Well, this is one of our many guest rooms but it's the one more suited to girls according to Clarisse's standards. Will it be ok?"
I nod my head, still too stunned at the gorgeous room to say anything. He stands there awkwardly, tapping his fingers against his arm before walking brusquely to the windows. He closes the shutters, then makes as if he is leaving the room.
"Um, Aidan?" I murmur, not quite certain of the words I'm about to say.
He stops, his back facing me with his hand raised and about to grasp the door handle.
"Yeah?"
"Ah...thanks for everything." I whisper, looking down at my feet. I can't think how to show the gratitude I feel towards all he's done today, words just don't seem to be able to sum it up sufficiently enough.
I open up my mouth, wanting to explain more, but no words slip past my twisted up tongue.
Aidan turns around, walking to crouch in front of my seat on the bed.
He places his hand on my own resting on my legs and that quietens my stammering. I raise my chin to have my face level with his and then I hear him speak. His timbre voice is soft, like a gentle caress as he whispers, "There's nothing to say 'thank you' for, Elena...I...um, we look after our own.
He bites his bottom lip, as if he wants to say more, but instead stands abruptly and says "Don't worry about your Crossover tonight, I'll Drift to help you out with anything. It's part of the training."
With that, he goes to the door, starting to close it. Just before the last crack of the door is sealed off, I hear him mutter a "Good night" so faintly, I almost don't catch it...as if it was meant for the shadows to hear and not me.
The door is shut and I crawl into the feathery, comfortable embrace of the luxurious bed before leaning over to switch off the bedside lamp. I pull the duvet up to my neck, murmuring a "Good Night" into the silence surrounding me before relenting to my lead-heavy eyes.
An uneventful night, consisting of a small visit in and out of history before getting some good ol' shut eye is all I want after my intense day...but I should know better than to expect things to go my way.
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