13- year-old Elliot Ryan raced through the mall trying to avoid the security guards. She had a $300.00 pair of sunglasses in her jacket pocket. She sprints out the doors of the mall and into a parking lot. Suddenly she feels a strong grip on the back of her shirt collar pulling her down to the ground. She was certain she was about to be pulled to her feet and put into handcuffs. Instead she hears the sound of a car door open and finds herself in the back seat of a car. As she begins to sit up, she feels the force of a hand push her back down.
"Stay down!" A woman's voice commands.
Elliot hears the sound of the security guards outside fade away. Suddenly, she is released from the grip of the strange lady.
"Wow, thanks lady." Elliot breathes a sigh of relief as she straightens her shirt. She begins to open the car door and is once again pulled back.
"Oh no, you are coming with me." The blonde woman start the car.
Elliot huffs and pulls the handle of the car door. The door doesn't budge.
"Child lock? Are you crazy lady? This is kidnapping." Elliot searched around the car for a way out.
"Whoa, I am NOT kidnapping you. Actually, I'm pretty sure I am the person who just saved you from going to jail. Again."
"Yes, well thank you so much for that, but I really must be getting home now. Wait- how did you know I have been to jail before? Who are you lady?"
The truth was very complicated. Colonel Eve Baird knew that if she explained it to the kid now, she would never believe her. Aside from that, the full truth would be too much. She was in fact, the guardian of Elliot Ryan, not in the sense of legal adoption, but in the sense of the realm of magic. Eve had spent the last thirteen years closely watching over Elliot-from a distance that is. She knew the all the ins and outs of this child, many things the child did not even know of herself. Every move in the girls life had been monitored and often adjusted without her knowledge.
Elliot Ryan was a child of a goddess. Her father was a mortal, and while she had many qualities of her goddess mother, she was also born with the ability to die. She had a destiny to serve a purpose much greater than any human ever could. Eve Baird's destiny was to keep her safe and alive until then.
Many knew of the child's existence, but did not know who the child was. As an infant, she was found on the doorstep of church and placed in a home for orphaned children. Elliot had been placed in several foster homes, but always found herself back where she started. This had turned out to be the perfect place to hide a child. No one had thought to look for the child of a goddess in an orphanage, until today, which has now turned into the day that Eve becomes a more prominent part of Elliot's life.
"Elliot, listen, I have a lot to explain to you, but right now I need you to trust me. I know trust isn't your thing, but I promise you, I am here to keep you safe." Eve caught Elliot's eye in the rearview mirror, and noticed a small glimmer of hope in the child's eyes. Eve pulled into the front of her NYC brownstone.
"Where are we?" Elliot tried to pull the door handle for the second time.
"We are at my house. I am going to let you out of the car now, but I need you not to runaway. Understand?" Eve turned around to look Elliot in the eye. "Elliot- I'm not here to hurt you. Please, don't run."
Eve escorted Elliot into her home. Elliot looked around the immaculate house. She noted several military references and very few pictures.
"Here, you can have a seat in here." Eve showed the girl to the dining room table. "Can I get you some tea or water? Or are you hungry?" Eve didn't like that she had little time to prepare for this moment.
"Ummm, no. Got any beer?" Elliot smirked.
Eve glared. "You're thirteen?" She shook her head. "By the way, give me those glasses." She held her hand out waiting for the stolen goods.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Do you think you're my mother or something?"
The guardian sighed as she pulled out a chair at the table. She had thought through this moment thousands of times. However, this moment wasn't supposed to happen until five years from now, and she wasn't supposed to be talking to a kid.
"Elliot, I know what you can do." Eve grabbed the little girls hand. She was referring to Elliot's ability to control things with her mind. Elliot also had the ability to absorb other's magical powers, but she wasn't aware of that yet.
"I can do a lot of things lady. Do you wanna be more specific?"
"First off, stop calling me lady. It's Eve, or Colonel. And second-" Eve stood up and put a glass of water at the end of the table. "Push the glass off the table." She held her hand up. "But don't get out of the chair."
Elliot's heart began to race. How did this lady know about her? She had been very careful. She was afraid of what would happen to her if others found out. She attempted to make herself look more comfortable.
"Abracadabra?" Elliot loaded the question with sarcasm. The glass didn't move.
"All right, I guess we are doing this the hard way." Eve picked up a round decoration and threw it hard at Elliot. Elliot's hands flew up in front of her face and the decoration stopped in midair about two feet from the girl.
Elliot met Eve's stare. She began to stand up to run.
"Sit!" Eve commanded and pointed at the chair.
Elliot quickly dropped back down in the chair. She realized she was being forced to follow this woman's commands. She was being controlled by her.
Eve began to realize she was freaking the girl out. "I'm not here to hurt you, I am here to protect you. I know you are magical, in fact I know you better than you can imagine. I am your guardian."
"I don't understand."
The two sat at the table as Eve explained all things she thought were age appropriate to the girl. She explained that she had known the girl her entire life, and that the girl had a destiny to use her magic to protect the rest of the world from other's magic. Eve explained further, that her own destiny was to protect Elliot's destiny. This was why Eve was able to control Elliot with her commands. While Eve did not have magic herself, she could control Elliot's, as long as she was acting in the girl's best interest. There were many people that wanted the girl dead, but her identity had been protected, up until yesterday.
Eve knew that Elliot would have many questions about her parents. She explained to her that her mother, Isis, traveled to the future and met her father. They fell in love and had Elliot. Isis was sent back to her time the day Elliot was born. Elliot's birth created an uproar with the Egyptian Gods. Her father was killed trying to protect her from a community that wanted her dead. Now, Eve had to act as Elliot's guardian in more than one way, because she was no longer safe in the care of the state.
"I know this is a lot to swallow….." Eve scanned the teens face for signs of emotion. She waited for Elliot to say something.
"I've met you before." Elliot said as she finally looked up into Eve's eyes. "I ran into you at a Christmas play in third grade, and you bought cookies from me at a bake sale in sixth grade." Elliot also had a photographic memory.
"Yes, I was there. I was checking in on you…..well actually I just wanted to talk to you for a little bit." The connection Eve had to this girl was a powerful force. It was very difficult to watch her from a far for thirteen years. Every time she fell down or got into trouble Eve wanted to rescue her, but she knew she couldn't.
"So….what now?" Elliot wasn't really sure what all this meant for her. While adults have been telling her what to do her entire life, none of them actually gave a damn. This lady was very intense, but Elliot felt safe for the first time in her life.
"Now, we try to let you be a kid- until we can't anymore. I have three great friends who will help you with your magic, but no using magic until you absolutely have to. It's too risky." Eve stood up and pushed her chair in. "Wanna see your room?"
The next morning Elliot came downstairs to find Eve sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee.
"How did you sleep?" Eve smiled.
"I'm not sure… I had never slept in my own room before." Elliot sat down next to Eve.
"What can I get you for breakfast?" Eve began looking through her cabinets making note to go grocery shopping. "Actually, maybe we should just go out."
"Can I have some coffee?" Elliot put her head down on the counter. Her head was still spinning from the overload of information she received last night.
"I'm not really comfortable with you having coffee- it isn't good for your headaches or your anxiety. Let's go out and I will get you some coco."
"I drink coffee all the time. You're drinking it, isn't that a little hypocritical?" Elliot was already annoyed and it wasn't even nine.
"I know you drink it all the time- we need to talk about that. Actually, we need to talk about a lot of things."
Elliot moaned. "Lady-" She saw Eve cock her head. "Eve." Elliot corrected herself. "I don't need you to tell me how to live my life. I have been doing fine on my own for the last thirteen years."
"You live like you think you are an adult…. that wants to go to jail. I caught you stealing yesterday. At two in the afternoon, while you were supposed to be in school. What about that is fine?" Eve didn't want to push too hard too fast, but she spent the last thirteen years wanting to give Elliot some guidance. She knew the girl often acted out for attention or entertainment.
"That school is a joke." Elliot rolled her eyes.
"You're right. That's why we are going to find something for you that is a proper challenge. We have a lot to do today. You need new clothes and a cell phone."
Elliot was excited about the idea of having a cell phone, but she didn't want to seem too eager. "What's wrong with my clothes?"
Eve sighed. Teenagers really were the most difficult beings on the planet.