Author's note: Hi ! Welcome back guys ! Today we have another flashback chapter ! We will focus a little bit more one of the new VKs, who will turn out to be very useful for our heroes (who are looking for Mal...)

This chapter is really short and goes hand in hand with the next one, so I will post chapter 20 tomorrow.

Enjoy !

Chapter 19 - Friends on the other side

Celia had never been an ordinary girl. Ever since she was little, people would run away from her... while other things seemed attracted to her. She had the ability to see things. Things she wished she could ignore or forget.

In the orphanage, she didn't have any friends. Most of the kids didn't stay here long. Babies were the easiest to adopt. They would come and go like puppies in a pet shop. But once you had passed the age of five, your chances of finding a family were extremely close to zero. Celia was only four, but - wise for her age - she knew she would never get a family. Any adult coming here would gladly take any child - six, eight or fourteen years old - if it meant not choosing her. And she did not blame them. Who would want to adopt a girl like her ?

To put it out clearly: she was scary - creepy even. Even the maids of the orphanage avoided her. People said she attracted bad luck - and she wished they were right. Whenever she was near, weird stuff would happen - objects would move on their own, people would find themselves in unprobable accidents. The girl herself did not really help her reputation. She often talked to herself or stared at empty spaces - as if she had imaginary friends - and spent most of her days drawing in her sketchbook. Nothing close to cute drawings from an average child, her drawing were dark, full of weird shapes and scary faces. It was the only way she knew to externalize her constant state of terror.

Because, her friends were everything but imaginary. Just because normal people couldn't see them, didn't mean they were not real. She knew this very well. Whenever she would try to ignore it, they would make sure to remind her. In fact, her "friends" were actually more like bullies. Spirits were not the friendliest creatures and Celia had learned this lesson very young. With them, everything was an exchange; everything had a price. Usually, an expensive price. Celia had never asked for any of her capabilities, but according them, the simple fact that she was able to converse with them meant she would always be indebted to them. And she had no way to escape them. No way to flee them. No way to protect herself from them.

Until finally came the day someone decided to adopt her.

She was drawing, sitting in the corner of her poor bedroom, on the bare floor - when he entered. In front of her, the page was full of ink. Around her, the voices were talking - as always. The man squat down before her.

"Bonjour mademoiselle" he said.

And all of a sudden, silence fell on her. The voices had faded away. She looked up at him, surprised. The man was skinny, bony - with a slim face and eccentric jewelry. Something about him inspired fear… or mistrust. His voice was smooth, as if he was used to lying and tricking people. But he was no ordinary swindler. He had made the spirits quiet. They respected him. He was someone important.

"Who are you ?" asked the little girl

"Your dad."

Without really knowing why, she nodded - as if it meant total sense. To be honest, their features were pretty similar. Their skin were almost the same tint and their eyes had the particular depth of people with unordinary gifts.

"Now tell me" said the man "Did you shake their hands ?"

"What ?"

He rolled his eyes, and glance around him. Behind the door opening, the orphanage maids were staring at them as if they were both crazy.

"The spirits!" he hissed "Did you shake their hands?"

Celia shook her head.

"Never ?"

"Never" she repeated.

And so, the man smiled. He stood up and she noticed that he was incredibly tall for someone so thin. With slick and dancy gesture, the man took out a card from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Doctor Facilier" she read "Tarot readings, Charms, Potions.""

"Come on" he said "Let's go home, babygirl."

And just like that, her life changed from one day to another. After she met her dad, nothing was ever the same.

He taught her how to control her powers. In under his lessons, she learned how to close her third eye. Now, she could only see spirits when she wanted to. She grew confident, sure of herself. Her dad helped her see all of her potential. He taught his daughter to never be scared of anybody - except him when she disobeyed - and told her she was the beautifulest little girl the Earth had ever seen. Now, spirits spoke to her with respect and care. They needed her more than it was the other way around, and her dad showed her how to take advantage of it. Just like him, she became a master at tricking the trickers and fooling the foolers. She learned how to read the cards, how to use voodoo and create amulets. But her dad also told her the dangers of the dark arts. These creatures, claiming to be their "friends" were only waiting for a slip, a mistake she would make to swallow her alive - and when it came to magic, everything had a price.

Celia grew up to love her powers - as they were part of who she was. But most importantly, she grew to love her dad and all the things they had in common. They got along even better than she ever expected. He was the only family she needed. Bloodline or not, she would forever be proud to call herself the daughter of Dr. Facilier.