Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch Page 12

  I smiled back at Cole and waved at Elise and Adrien as they made their way to us, carrying bags of snacks and drinks. As soon as they were standing in front of us, I saw Adrien reach into his pocket and fished out a small box that was about the size of my hand. He reached for my hand, turning it around so my palm was facing upwards and gently placed the box on top of it. I ignored the little electric signals his small action sent and thoroughly focused my attention on the box. I frowned, looking at it.

  “What is it?”

  “Open it, silly,” Elise said, chuckling.

  I slowly opened the boxy and gasped at what laid there. Inside it was a beautiful, vintage-looking necklace, its chain completely made of silver alloy. It was a simple necklace, but what caught my eyes was the pendant it was carrying. A teardrop crystal holding the same color as my marble tree was comfortably resting on the black velvet cushion of the box. I felt my mouth drop open as I slowly traced the crystal with my fingers. “It’s wonderful,” I mouthed out silently.

  “Belated Happy Birthday, Sky!” The twins chorused.

  “Happy Birthday,” Adrien quietly said.

  “Thank you so much!” I enthusiastically said as I hastily but carefully took it out of the box and hold it up to the sun. I smiled in awe as the crystal sparkled and started twirling around, casting out a mixture of blue and green lights everywhere as the sun caught it by its rays. As I laid it on my lap to unclasp the lock, Adrien hurriedly reached out and took it from me. I instantly looked up at him with both a puzzled and annoyed look on my face. He held mirth in his eyes as he twirled his finger in a circle motion, signaling me to turn around. I grinned at him and did as he told me to. I hurriedly lifted my hair out of the way so he could easily put the necklace in place. When he was done, I turned back around and bent my head down until my chin was touching my chest, frowning when I couldn’t get a good look at it.

  He chuckled. “It’s beautiful,” he smiled one of his crooked smiles as I turned to look at him. I instantly felt my cheeks warm up when I saw him.

  “Should we leave you two alone now?” Cole suddenly said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I turned to him and playfully slapped his arm. He just waggled his eyebrows to which Elise shook out in laughter. I turned back to ignore them both and saw that Adrien was slightly blushing as well, refusing to look at any of us.

  After a few hours in the park, Adrien decided that it was time I go home. So we now made our way to my house. As soon as he parked the car, I saw Nana waiting outside the porch. I smiled and waved at her. The moment the car came to a full stop, I felt something. Someone was watching us. I immediately stiffened as my eyes started scanning the surroundings. Nothing.

  “Sky?” Adrien called out as he laid a hand on one of my shoulders.

  I turned to him and shook my head. “I thought I felt something.” I said quietly. His jaw immediately tensed and before I knew it, Cole and Elise were out of the car. They happily waved at Nana, but I noticed that they both weren’t as relaxed as they pretended to be. I knew enough by now that something was definitely wrong. I tried to calm my galloping heart as I attempted to locate where that presence was coming from. I couldn’t do it, calming down was impossible in this situation.

  Adrien opened his door and swiftly went to my side, opening the door for me. I stepped out of the car and we all went towards the house together. They all surrounded me, making sure I was securely in the middle of the small procession.

  Once we were safely inside the house, I immediately hugged Nana. I started panicking as I held her tight. If something happened now, she shouldn’t be here. I couldn’t afford to have her in the middle of any of this. She smiled and hugged me back, saying a greeting to everyone behind me.

  “How was the party, Dear?” she asked as I loosened my hold on her. I tried to calm my frantic breathing so I won’t alarm her. I instantly felt Adrien’s aura soothing me, and I felt the anxiety slowly leave my body.

  “It was a blast, Nana. We totally had fun,” I lied through my teeth, but she didn’t seem to notice. She just smiled as she motioned at everyone else to sit down.

  “Gran, it’s nice seeing you again.” Elise hurried over and hugged her tightly, turning her around to face the opposite direction as she winked at me. I thanked her with my eyes as she slowly led Nana inside the kitchen. “I really didn’t get to taste what you baked last time. How about a rerun? You can let me help you this time, right?” she happily went on and on as she linked her arm on Andrea’s.

  When Nana was finally out of the room, I turned back to Adrien and found him nodding at Cole. Without any hesitation, Cole instantly disappeared. I gasped, right away forgetting about their teleportation ability. “Be careful,” I called out when I was able to recover from my surprise, hoping he heard me.

  I let out a ragged breath and slowly made my way to one of the couches in our living room. I immediately sat and felt Adrien sitting right beside me.

  “Adrien, my Nana… if anything happens… she’s here,” I began, not looking at him while I let the words slur their way out of my mouth.

  “Calm down, Sky. Breathe deeply and block out all thoughts so you can focus,” he said calmly. I looked at him and felt that he was displaying a tranquil presence around him, totally the opposite of how he was feeling just a minute ago. “You can do this,” he said in an assuring, firm voice. I nodded and did exactly what he told me to. I took deep, calm breaths to relax and slowly closed my eyes to focus. At first I felt nothing, but I wasn’t about to quit. I repeated the whole process again as I told myself to give it another shot.

  Everything was peaceful then. I suddenly felt particularly sensitive to everything around me. I felt and heard Adrien’s steady pulse and even breathing beside me, making me blush as I hurriedly moved farther away. I saw the kitchen and smelled what Nana was actually baking in the oven. I saw her happily rolling out a fresh sheet of dough as Elise sat on one of the chairs, contentedly looking at her as she poured more flour on the board. I saw her stiffen and smile almost at the same time. Did she feel my presence? She slightly nodded and I gasped. This feels so unreal. I ordered myself to go on farther, out of the house. I saw the trees surrounding our neighbor’s house slightly bend their branches as the wind briskly passed by them. I saw a cat purring and stretching out on the floor mat directly outside that house. I slowly went further still, trying to find something that was out of place. I immediately stopped as I saw Cole leaning on one of the neighbor’s fences, calmly but intensely surveying that part of the neighborhood. He suddenly smiled and made a small salute as he felt my presence.

  I tried going farther away, feeling myself going around in circles, almost getting myself dizzy in the process. I whirled past every house, every yard, every parked vehicle and every flower bush but still nothing. I was about to give up when I caught sight of two mysterious shadows lurking in a nearby neighborhood. They tried to blend in with a small crowd of families who were spending the rest of the afternoon in a playground. My breath caught up in my throat as I saw Rhiannon and Alastor calmly walking through the crowd, their eyes watchful of anything suspicious. I felt myself frown when Alastor suddenly stopped in his tracks and slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them, I instantly froze as he stared right back at me, his eyes alight with anger and amusement.

  Chapter 12 - Cornered

  I wheezed as I immediately opened my eyes, wanting so bad to get away from him and that place. I was instantly back in our living room, breathing in and out violently as I felt Adrien’s aura calming me down. He scooted closer to me and held both my hands as he continued to work his magic on me, forming small circles on my hands with his thumbs. I instantly calmed down after that.

  “Adrien, I saw him in a playground near here. He actually looked right at me like he knew I was there,” I narrated as my breathing gradually returned to normal.

  “I know, Sky. I saw and felt everything,” he said quietly. “You did well,” I turned to look at him. He smiled at me before his b
rows furrowed as he was intensely trying to concentrate on something.

  “What is it?” I asked as my face instantly crumpled with concern.

  “Nothing,” he replied, still with that focused expression he had on earlier. I nodded, trying to ignore that feeling that he was hiding something from me.

  He still held on to that expression as he released my hands. After a few moments, he let out an exasperated breath but still said nothing. “Adrien? You’ll tell me if something’s wrong, right? Especially if it involves me,” I quietly said. He turned his attention back to me then, and I fixed my eyes on him, reading his face. And after awhile, he just nodded.

  “Sky, you’re not going to like hearing any of this, but I think we should take you away from here,” he said grimly.

  My eyes instantly widened with what I just heard. He can’t be serious. I looked at him to study his expression. Oh my God. He was! “Adrien, if I leave, they’re probably going to hurt everyone I care about. I can’t live with that,” I began. “Don’t make me.” I looked straight into his eyes, pleading him with my own.

  He looked like he was about to argue, but he let out a ragged breath after a few moments. And I knew then that I’ve won. If Alastor and Rhiannon were coming for me, they can come and have me. I gulped. I can’t believe I just said that. But it’s true. I wouldn’t risk Nana or any of my friend’s safety by leaving Rattford Cliffs. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I just ran away. I know I had to do something.

  “Then you’ll have to agree to be watched all the time,” he suddenly said. I gasped. “You are not allowed to be alone, Sky, especially now that Rhiannon already saw you—” he explained.

  “What do you mean by that?” I interrupted him mid-sentence.

  He sighed. “They haven’t seen you yet when they came here. All they know is your eye color. They must’ve used a location spell to find you, and that’s hard with only the color of your eyes to use as a basis. Even if they have teleportation abilities like us, they still need an article that belonged to you or must have already seen you in order to picture you in their minds and find you.”

  “That’s how they found me here at Nana’s,” I pieced in the puzzle, looking right at him.

  He nodded. “At least one of us should always be with you.” I opened my mouth to argue but then he continued on. “It’s either that or I’ll take you away from here by force.” I frowned and searched his face, trying to see the truth in his words. I groaned when I realized that I had no choice.

  “Fine,” I replied as I flicked my hand at him. I can’t believe that just happened. He just cornered me, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I crossed my arms over my chest as I leant back on the couch. I instantly felt annoyed with him for being so adamant all of a sudden. I risked a glance in his direction and noticed that he had that frown back on his face again, probably trying to figure out ways on keeping me caged. Then something popped into my mind.

  “Adrien, you didn’t mean 24/7 watchdog, right?” I asked. That would be ridiculous. He didn’t answer me right away so I turned to face him. My eyebrows shot up instantly when I saw a grim expression on his face, immediately answering my question. “Oh my God! You can’t be serious!” I whisper screamed at him so my Nana won’t hear us from the kitchen.

  “Even when I sleep?” I inquired, widening my eyes at him. He just nodded and I desperately wanted to shriek at him. I clenched my hands and sat on them to prevent them from scratching his face. It would be such a waste if that happened.

  Just then I felt the couch dip in the middle. I turned to that direction and saw Cole comfortably sitting there. He smiled at me and I couldn’t help smiling back. At least he came in at the right time.

  “Nice work earlier,” he said and raised a hand to me. I happily slapped his hand in a high five.

  “Thanks,” I grinned.

  Adrien cleared his throat then, and Cole immediately turned his attention to him.

  “Did you see anything?” he asked.

  Cole shook his head, instantly transforming his once playful expression into a serious one. “I haven’t. Were you able to see them?”

  “They were in a playground near here,” he replied. “We’ll all have to take turns guarding her,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Cole just nodded in reply and I raised my hands in exasperation. I can’t believe even Cole agreed to babysit me.

  I stood up and hurriedly made my way to the stairs, thoroughly ignoring both of them. I closed the door to my bedroom and grabbed my towel as I headed straight to the bathroom. I was just turning on the shower when I suddenly felt Adrien’s presence. I immediately closed the shower and was about to turn the knob on the bathroom door when he knocked.

  “What?” I asked, my voice not hiding the irritation I felt for him.

  “I’ll wait for you here,” he replied.

  I snapped. “For real, Adrien? Even in my own room? Get a grip, okay?”

  “Whatever. Come out when you’re done,” he replied, sounding extremely bored.

  “Ugh!” I stomped away from the door and went back to start showering. I didn’t take the usual fifteen minutes it took me to shower, knowing that he was right on the other room waiting for me. When I was done, I quickly dried myself and went out the bathroom.

  I was about to give him a long lecture when I saw him standing by the foot of my bed, staring at the masterpiece on my wall with that gentle expression I saw him wear when we were on the Art room. I leaned on the door frame and crossed my arms over my chest, clearing my throat when he still didn’t notice me. He immediately turned to me and looked away almost at the same time, furiously blushing as he did so. For a moment, I was afraid that he’d snap his neck by doing that. I raised one of my eyebrows at him, wondering what he was flustered about.

  “I’ll wait outside. Call me when you’re uhm…dressed,” he said and instantly evaporated out of sight. It wasn’t until I realized that I was just in my towel that I felt myself blush feverishly. Oh, crap! I’m so stupid. I was totally infuriated with him that I completely forgot I was only wearing this. I hit myself in the head and hurriedly grabbed the first clothes I got my hands on. I hastily put them on before wrapping my towel on my wet hair. When I accidentally caught sight of myself in the mirror, I abruptly stopped in my haste and just stared back at the necklace hanging on my neck. I grinned as I was again taken by surprise by its beauty.

  “I’m done,” I whispered, strangely knowing he would still be able to hear me. Without any wasted moment, he was back in my room. I turned to him and saw that he still looked uncomfortable, completely avoiding looking me in the eyes. I smiled and knew that I needed to ask him something. “What do you think of my tree?” I asked, tilting my head to the side, pointing it to the direction of the masterpiece above my headboard. He brought his eyes to the art piece and I instantly saw that serene appearance back on his face.

  “It’s wonderful,” he simply said and my smile broadened at that short answer.

  “Thanks. Yours was amazing, too, even if it was only halfway done. Not only that, but your sunflower paintings were also great.” I walked to his side and we both just gazed at my tree. I threw a side glance towards him and saw him nod with a smile tugging at his lips. “Adrien, will you tell me how you knew about this tree?” I asked in a soft voice as I dragged my eyes back to the tree on my wall. I felt him tense a bit before he let out a breath and relaxed. There’s something about this tree that he’s just not telling me. “How did you know about my tree?” I asked when he didn’t reply. I motioned for him to sit on the swivel chair at my study table as I went to sit on the bed.

  “That tree’s very special to me,” he began as he made his way to the chair. “It was actually under that tree that I first saw you,” he said so softly that I almost didn’t hear him.

  “Oh,” I replied just as quietly as he did.

  “You were with your parents then, picnicking under that tree,” he said with a far-off look, like he was actually picturing the scene. “
You were sleeping in your father’s arms when I first saw you.”

  The moment he said that, I immediately remembered the vision I had of my parents. “Was that the same time as that vision I recently had with my parents?”

  He nodded. “That was the exact one. I just stood there, hiding behind one of the trees. I knew that Princess Celine realized that I was watching you, because she turned to smile at me. When I was already old enough to understand, it shocked me that she was still able to sense my presence even though she already married a normal human and lost all her powers. I guess she was just like you in some way. She has that natural ability to sense people, reading and understanding their emotions and feelings.” He looked at me then. I smiled my appreciation as I lifted my hand to wipe my eyes before tears started streaming down my face.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I immediately knew it was Cole. “Come in, Cole,” I said as he peeped in and instantly raise an eyebrow at us with a mischievous smile on his lips.