A/N: So I'm currently freaking the FREAK out! The amazing Evilevergreen left a super sweet review for this story! She is such a talented writer and inspires me so much! *heart eyes* Thank you for the reviews you guys it seriously makes my whole day. And now back to our scheduled programming.
*this chapter has been updated! please enjoy!*
Chapter Three
Jake woke up with a start as he hit the floor. He quickly sat up and looked around when he remembered that he had fallen asleep on Trixie's couch last night.
"Look who's finally awake," Trixie teasingly announced from the kitchen. He yawned as he got up off the ground and crossed the living room to join her, cringing as he saw her cracking eggs into a glass bowl.
"Look who's trying to kill me," he mocked in reply. Trixie cursed under her breath as another eggshell fell into the bowl.
"Why are you so mean to me?"
"I was about to ask the same thing when I saw you was cooking," he said, laughing. She shot a glare at him and he put his hands up in surrender. "All jokes, Trix, chill."
"Anyway... I had to thank you somehow," she stared into the bowl as she spoke.
He gave her a confused look as he pulled himself up onto the counter.
"For what?"
"You know, for last night," she said as she looked up at him. "For every 'last night' really. And even though I can take care of myself, thank you for being there when I need you."
"Don't thank me for that," he firmly stated, shaking his head. "I'm just doing my job."
"Of course," she said as she went back to fishing for the shell. "It's your job to make sure the citizens of America are safe."
Jake placed his hand gently on top of hers, causing her to look up at him.
"It's my job to make sure my best friend is safe," he told her with a serious expression. She smiled and nodded.
"Well, you're doing a great job of that."
He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. She turned her attention back to the food as she poured the eggs into a pan and cleared her throat.
"So, speaking of last night. What was up with you anyway?" She leaned against the counter near Jake, crossing her arms as she looked up at him.
"What are you talking about?" Jake asked as he grabbed the handle of a pan, that held what used to be bacon, and looked down at the charcoaled sight. "You know, Trix, if you really did wanna thank me for something... this definitely ain't the way to do it."
"What I'm talking about," she said, as she snatched the pan away from him, placing it back on the stove. "is that last night Papa-dog called me and told me how you disappeared. Then he asked if you were with me, which, of course, you weren't. So I told him you were supposed to be out with Rose, but he told me that he already talked to Rose and she hadn't heard from you all day. So I rush home, worried completely out of my mind, and the next thing I know, you're dropping from my roof, trying to kill my boyfriend."
Jake internally cringed at the fact that she referred to Kyle as her boyfriend after what happened last night, but decided not to say anything about it.
"Aw, you were worried about me," he said with a sly smirk. Trixie glared at him in return.
"It's not funny. You had us all freaked out, Jake. I completely forgot about that after... Anyway, tell me what happened."
Jake took in a breath and slowly let it out. As he did, his stomach made an involuntary gurgling noise. He whined as he realized he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.
"Fine, but I need some food in my system first."
Trixie rolled her eyes but pulled a couple plates out of the cabinet.
"Fine, go set the table then."
"Uh, Trix. I said I need some food. Not some ashes."
"Ashes? I know you ain't talkin about my cookin, boy."
As if on cue the fire alarm went off and Trixie turned around to see the eggs had caught on fire.
Jake quickly grabbed a lid and covered the pan, extinguishing the flames.
"Oh yea, what was I thinking?" he overstated with a laugh. "You're a whole chef up in here."
"Okay then, Gordon Ramsay, how about you cook?" Trixie challenged.
"I've actually got a better idea."
oOoOoOo
The morning sun peaked through the window of Minnie's Kitchen, where Jake decided to take Trixie for breakfast. It was a cozy diner in Soho that was run by Minnie Daly, an Elf. All of the workers at the diner were also magical creatures who could "pass" for human, as well as most of the customers. Jake looked around and saw all the people that filled the tables and booths at the diner, thinking to himself how it was nearly impossible to tell who was a human and who was a magical creature.
In a booth across from where he and Trixie were sitting, a woman bottle-fed her baby, wrapped up tightly in a blanket, while the father tried to console their crying toddler. For a moment Jake thought it was just a regular family. Until the man flicked his wrist and made the syrup dispenser rise from the table and float in front of the young boy who instantly stopped crying and stared in awe. Once the boy started giggling, the mother looked up and quickly grabbed hold of the floating dispenser in horror, before whispering something to the man that caused him to frown. Jake frowned along with him.
"This is insane. I can't believe you didn't tell anyone about this before," Trixie said, pulling him back to their conversation.
Jake tossed back the last bit of his coffee and set the mug down on the table. He had just finished telling Trixie about what really happened the night they were in the hobgoblin dimension. He told her all about the vision he had and how he thought he had been attacked by a banshee.
"I know, I know. I just didn't know how to explain it. I never encountered a creature like that before and everything pointed to it being a banshee but I didn't know how to get G to believe that. See, banshees are usually harmless, I've never heard of one that acted the way it did that night. I figured he would just tell me I imagined it."
"Oh, of course, that makes perfect sense," she embellished. "I'm sure that your grandfather, the ancient Chinese dragon who lives with a 600 year old, talking Shar-Pei, would have a real hard time believing that story."
Jake smirked and nudged her foot with his.
"I don't need the sarcasm okay? I know it sounds dumb now but it made sense at the time. I didn't want to worry everyone if I was wrong about it. And I mean my dad had just found out about us being dragons not long before that and he was still having a hard time with it. I didn't want to freak him out more than he already was. So I thought if I just kept a close eye on my family that I would be able to protect them without telling them exactly. When some time passed and nothing happened, I guess I started slacking off. I had a lot going on and I kind of forgot about it for a while."
Trixie nodded, slowly processing everything he told her.
"So what made you start thinking about it again?"
Jake sighed and pressed his palms against his eyelids, still not feeling awake enough to talk about that part of the story.
"That's the thing, there's kind of a new baby coming..."
"A new baby?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's baby?"
Before he could answer, their waitress approached with their food.
"Okay here we go, for two of my favorite customers," the older woman said with a smile as she set a plate of pancakes, sausage, and eggs in front of Trixie.
"Thanks, Dana," Trixie said with a smile.
"Would you like another cup of coffee honey?" the red-headed woman asked Jake once she set down his plate, noticing the slight bags that had formed under his eyes. "Or maybe a whole pot from the look of you."
"Wow, so you're saying I don't look good today?" Jake asked with a smirk causing her to laugh out loud.
"Of course not sugar, you look just as scrumptious as always. Isn't that right girl?" She winked at Trixie who for some reason began to blush and looked down at her plate.
Dana chuckled as she grabbed his mug and headed back towards the kitchen.
"So, who's baby is it?" Trixie repeated, once she gathered herself. She got no response from Jake who's eyes were suddenly glued to his phone. She noticed a slight grimace on his face.
"Jake are you listening to me?" she asked as she leaned forward and peeked at his screen. She watched as Jake scrolled through dozens of text messages and noticed they were all from his girlfriend. "Uh-oh someone's in trouble."
He quickly touched the home button and glared at her.
"Jiàndié," he said as he unwrapped a napkin from around his knife and fork.
"Yea, yea. You know, you should really call her and let her know you're okay."
"I know," he sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying to repress the headache he felt coming on. "I just... I can't talk to her right now, I'll call her later."
"Well make sure you do. Even if you can't tell her everything yet, she's gonna want to hear from you."
He nodded as he put a forkful of waffles into his mouth.
"Wait a minute. Jake, when you said a new baby," her heart sunk as a sudden realization hit her. "you don't mean..."
He shrugged as he went to cut another piece off his waffles.
"I don't mean what?"
"Jake, are you trying to say that Rose is pregnant?"
Her question caught him off guard and caused him to push down a bit too hard on the knife and the plate broke in half as he looked up at Trixie, who was giving him a blank stare.
"Say what?!" he said with a laugh.
"Somehow, I thought that might happen," came Dana's voice as she held up a new plate, handing it to him with a wink. She waited for him to move his food onto it before setting down his coffee and collecting the two halves of the broken one. "I'll save this for Minnie. She'll be honored that one of her plates was broken by the American Dragon."
He snorted and apologized as she walked away, telling him not to worry about it. He turned his attention back to Trixie who sat with her arms crossed, waiting for his answer.
"Trix, no, Rose is not pregnant I swear."
She nodded, a feeling of relief washing over her.
"Okay, well then who is?"
He grabbed his coffee mug and downed the hot liquid in seconds only feeling slightly more awake before answering her.
"It's my mom, Trix. She's having a baby."
Trixie's face lit up and she practically started bouncing up and down in her seat.
"No way! That's so amazing Jakey. I can't believe you're gonna have another baby sister or brother-" As she spoke she realized what it all meant. Her heart dropped once again as she looked up at Jake who nodded slowly. "Oh, Jake."
She suddenly realized what he had been trying to tell her and why the vision had upset him so greatly.
"I've dealt with so much crazy stuff Trix, but this is the first time I've actually been really scared. I mean I been scared of some of the monsters we've run into in the past but, this time it's different because... it's me. I'm the monster and I'm scared that I'm gonna hurt this baby." Tears began to roll down his cheeks. He couldn't handle the thought of hurting an innocent child, and not just any child but his own brother. He looked away, not wanting anyone to see him cry.
"Oh, Jake. Don't worry, it's gonna be okay," she assured him. He looked at her in disbelief.
"How is any of this gonna be okay Trix? I saw this boy die in my arms and I know I was the one who killed him." His voice cracked as he spoke and more tears fell from his eyes.
"There's no way that's gonna happen. You could never hurt a child, that vision was a mistake."
"Visions always come true eventually. This kid Trixie, he had the exact same eyes as me and Haley. He looked just like us. It had to be my brother."
"Jake there could be a million people in the world with the same eye color as you. And did you really say that visions always come true?" Trixie smirked. "What about when Kara had that vision about me and Spud? I tied that boy's shoes so tight the laces almost broke so I could get her to tell me that's what she meant by "tie the knot". But a year later she still insisted she saw us getting married. Only she left out the part that we were gonna get married in our ninth-grade school play, remember? She really had me convinced that my last name was gonna be Spudinski."
"Trix, whether it was literal or not, it did come true."
"Well, yeah but not in the way we thought right? Who's to say that what you saw isn't just some kind of crazy misunderstanding as well?"
"What could I have misunderstood about seeing a dead boy in my arms, and blood on my hands?"
Trixie bit the inside of her cheek as she thought, trying to come up with an explanation.
"I don't know yet... but Jakey, listen to me. I don't care what that stupid banshee or whatever it was made you see. I've known you my whole life and I know you're not a monster. You would never do anything like that. Trust me."
He gave her a weak smile.
"I hope you're right." He said before taking another bite of his waffles.
Trixie leaned forward and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"I know I am."
Her words made him feel a little better, knowing that someone believed he would never do something that horrible was reassuring. If only he could get himself to believe it.
The two of them finished eating and after a quick debate over who would pay the bill, Jake winning and paying for both of them, they headed out. He said a quick goodbye to Dana and headed out the door, holding it open for Trixie.
Once the two of them stepped outside, his phone vibrated in his pocket as it rang. He sighed, knowing exactly who it was by the ringtone.
He fished it out and looked at the screen for a moment, debating on whether or not to answer, before deciding against it.
"I really don't think you should keep ignoring her calls, Jakey," Trixie said as she watched him place his phone back into his pocket. "She's probably worried out of her mind about you."
He crossed his arms in front of himself and kicked a pebble out of his way as they continued walking toward the subway station.
"Yea, I know. But I just don't know what to say. There's no way I can explain all of this right now."
"Then don't. But at least let her know you're okay. When I found out you were missing, I was going crazy wondering where you were, if you were okay. I didn't know if you were either dead in a ditch or sliced up in a lab somewhere," she quickly shook the image from her mind. "The point is, it's no fun to worry. You already called your parents, already talked to Spud, you know what you have to do."
He gave Trixie an apologetic smile and nodded.
"Yea, you're right. I'll call her when I get home."
oOoOoOo
"Don't worry, I'm fine?!" Courtney turned to her friend, her mouth opened in disbelief. "Is that seriously all he said?"
"Well, no that's not all. He said he was sorry for being gone all day yesterday and that he would make it up to me." Rose said as she reached up and pushed open the doors to the ice cream parlor in Chinatown, a cup of red bean ice cream in one hand, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Courtney fell into step beside her.
"I hope that means he's not only gonna make it up to you for ditching you yesterday, but for that sorry ass apology he just tried to give you." She shook her head in irritation as she delivered a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. "Because first of all 'don't worry' as if you weren't already up all night long last night worrying about that loser. And then 'I'm fine' like that's the only thing that matters right now is that he is fine."
Rose clicked her tongue and looked over at her friend.
"I really don't think he meant it that way, Court."
"And did he even tell you what he was doing?" She gave her friend a knowing look before adding, "or who."
"Or who?" Rose stopped in her tracks and gave her an annoyed look. "What are you implying?"
"Do you really need me to say it?"
"I know what you're thinking, and that's not it," she said before continuing to walk. Courtney gave her a gentle nudge.
"Rose, I love you, but you are so clueless sometimes. You know exactly where he was last night. He was with her, like he always is. Now what you need to do, is figure out what he was doing with her."
"Look, I told you, I've already had this conversation with him a million times okay? He told me they're just friends and I believe him," she looked into her cup as she spoke, slowly swirling her spoon around in it. "He can be annoyingly protective of her, but, he wouldn't have just ditched me all day to be with her."
Courtney sighed and had another scoop of her mint chip.
"If you say so. I still say you should find a way to get him away from that girl. There's something about her that I just-" Courtney was cut off when her phone started, loudly, playing a Jaren Macarthur song. She quickly fished it out of her bag and silenced the alarm. "Oh shoot, it's already 11:30? I gotta get my butt to bed. You ready to head home?"
Rose looked down the sidewalk and back at her friend.
"You know what, you go ahead. I think I'm gonna walk a little further."
"You think I'm gonna let you walk around here alone?" Courtney asked incredulously.
"Don't worry, I'll be home soon. I just wanna be alone for a bit." Rose gave her a hug and after a few more 'are you sure's from Courtney, headed down the sidewalk.
She enjoyed walks like these a lot, Chinatown was the most comforting place to her, with all the lights and the aroma of a dozen different restaurants that filled the air, it gave her the secure feeling of being home. She finished the last bite of her ice cream and tossed the paper cup in a trash can as she passed it.
As she walked, she found herself subconsciously reaching up to grab her necklace. The action made her heart begin to tighten as thoughts of Jake flooded her mind.
Her eyes started to glaze over with unshed tears but she quickly shook it off, not wanting to lose it in the middle of the crowded area, and made her way over to an empty playground. She felt sand crunch beneath her shoes as she approached, the only sound being the creaking of the rusted swing set as the wind gently blew the swings back and forth. She had just sat down on one of them when the tears began to fall. She covered her face with both hands as she finally allowed herself to cry.
Her tears were a mix of sadness and anger. The whole time she had been here, she couldn't shake the feeling that Jake was pulling away from her. She couldn't bare the thought of losing him, the one constant in her life, the one person who, ironically, made her feel the most normal. And when Courtney's words echoed in her mind, she couldn't help but feel anger. Not because she had suggested that Jake had feelings for Trixie, but because she herself knew that it was a definite possibility that he did.
"You know, it sure isn't very smart to be out here all by yourself." A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to hop out of her seat and search for the direction it was coming from.
"So jumpy," said another voice, seemingly coming from the opposite direction. "Don't worry, it's just us."
She spun around but all she could see, besides the playground equipment, were trees and darkness. She felt a chill run down her spine that wasn't caused by the cool temperature.
"Where the hell are you?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"And so rude what happened to that sweet girl we used to know?"
She felt a tap on her shoulder and quickly turned around.
In front of her stood two teenage boys. One boy had dark skin and stood a few inches shorter than her. He had a very muscular build, his black hair was styled in a bald fade and he sported a goatee which made him look a little bit older than he actually was. The other was taller than her but appeared to be a bit younger than she was, his face was dotted with faint freckles that trailed across his nose and his rust-colored hair was pulled back into a bun.
Both of them wore dark hooded tank tops and they each had a number tattooed on their left shoulder. The shorter one had the number 88 and the taller, 89.
"Kairo," she nodded to the dark-skinned boy. "Nathan," she glared at the other.
"Nice to see you too, Rosie," spoke Nathan. He gave a sinister smile, exposing the slight overbite of his upper front teeth. His hand reached out as he ran his fingers across her bare shoulder that had unknowingly been exposed. "Very nice indeed."
She smacked his hand away and yanked on her sweater, covering up again.
"Don't ever touch me. How the hell did you find me this time, anyway?" She looked them in the eyes, wanting to appear unintimidated, although the sight of her former cohorts was a bit unnerving to her.
Nathan sucked his teeth and shook his head.
"That language Rosie, there's just no need for it," he replied, mocking disappointment.
"Look, enough fooling around," Kairo began. "We-" He was interrupted by Rose putting a hand up, stopping him.
"I'm gonna stop you right there, because I already know what you want. Just like I told you last year, I don't stand with you guys anymore and I never will. So just go back to whatever hole you two crawled out of and leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you or anyone else that belonged to that abhorrent clan."
"Ooh 'abhorrent' look who's using her big girl words," Nathan jested only to receive a scowl from Kairo. The shorter boy once again turned his attention to Rose.
"Please, Huntsgirl-"
"Don't call me that!" she snapped. "As far as I'm concerned, 'Huntsgirl' died along with the rest of those maniacs."
She was caught off guard as the red-headed boy reached out and grabbed her, slamming her back against the cool metal frame of the swing set.
"Yeah? Well, one of those 'maniacs' was our father." Anger radiated off of him as he slid his hand to her throat. "You had all of his attention from day one. The man raised you better than his own kids and how did you pay him back?" He squeezed her throat tighter with every word he said.
A familiar feeling of dread washed over Rose and in a flash, she grabbed his wrist, flipping him over onto his back and dropped down, landing her knee into his chest and causing him to grunt in pain.
"Now, I thought I told you not to touch me. I guess I'm the one who needs to jog your memory this time." She raised her fist, ready to strike him.
"Enough!" Kairo bellowed. His deep voice got their attention and Rose let the boy up off the ground. "Hunts- Rose, can you at least hear us out?" He paused, waiting for her to object, when she didn't, he continued.
"Our father may have taken his duties as Huntsmaster to the extreme at times, but his intentions were noble. You know how dangerous magical creatures are, and the thing is, there are way more of them than there are of us. Any day now they could decide to destroy the entire human race and the world would be completely run by them."
His words made Rose feel defensive. In her time being with Jake she had learned to care about and even respect many members of the magical community.
"The huntsclan was all about hunting, killing, and making money off of magical creatures. Yea, real noble work." Rose said with a snort. "Why can't you just leave them alone? They are only trying to live their lives just like you and me."
"This is rich," Nathan said with a laugh as he stood next to his brother. "Dragon boy really changed you."
Rose felt a lump in her throat that she forced down as she continued to speak to Kairo.
"Just forget it, ok? I'm not going to help you." She turned to go when she felt a gentle hand on her arm. She turned around and was surprised when she saw Nathan, a softened look on his face.
"Look, as much as I hate to admit it, we do need you. If we could have done this by ourselves, we wouldn't keep coming back trying to change your mind. And we damn sure never would have found you and helped you regain your memories."
"Yea, remind me to thank you for that later," she said sarcastically as she pulled away from him. "Why do you need me anyway?"
"Because, your... association with the magical community can be of help to us. And, honestly, you have the most training between us. I know he didn't mean anything to you, but our father was all we had. We failed him once by running away when we should have stood with him. We can't fail him again...This is just something we have to do for him." He looked down, his voice began to falter. Kairo walked up, putting a hand on his shoulder and continued for him.
"Our father wanted to protect humans from the magical creatures in this world for a good reason. I know we've gone about this the wrong way in the past, but, if you would just hear us out, I'm sure you'll agree with our ideas."
As Rose looked back and forth between the two boys, who she once saw as her annoying little brothers, she couldn't help but feel for them. They had lost their entire family and, as Nathan wouldn't let her forget, it was her fault. But she knew how they were and she knew there was nothing in the world they wanted more than to slay the American Dragon. She had to believe that the main reason they kept trying to get to her was to try and harm Jake.
"Kairo, Nathan, I understand that this is important to you. I really do, but I can't help you. I won't do anything that could put the people I love in danger."
Rose noticed how Nathan's vulnerable demeanor changed instantly. He was silent for a moment but then he shook his head and gave a sardonic laugh.
"I get it. You're worried because you think we might hurt your precious American Dragon, Jake Long. Right?"
Rose's eyes widened as he said Jake's name. "How did you..."
"Nathan." Kairo's warning tone went unnoticed by his brother.
"I mean, it's just nice that you're so loyal to him even though you hardly ever get to see him. What with you living in Hong Kong and him being here. And then you come visit and he's always gone." As he spoke, he took a few steps closer to Rose, who instinctively took a defensive stance. "Then when he's actually around, you're still upset because the only time he spends with you is when his friends are around."
"What are you doing, Nathan?" Kairo reached out to grab the other boy but he quickly stepped away from him and continued talking, unfazed.
"Well, I guess you don't really mind all his friends being around. It's mainly just..." the corners of his mouth slowly turned into a malicious grin. "Mainly just Trixie, right?"
Rose dropped her defensive posture. Anger rose in her chest as she realized the only way he could have known all of this.
"You've been following me this whole time. Haven't you?"
Nathan shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, yes. But not physically, that would take a lot of time and energy. We have something a lot easier."
Nathan quickly reached a hand up to tap on his watch, once again ignoring his brother, who tried to get him to stop, and soon a holographic image popped up in front of them.
Rose gasped as she saw herself, standing outside of the ice cream parlor with Courtney. Before she could say another word, the image began to move and audio of her whole conversation with her friend from earlier played. Nathan chuckled at her stunned expression.
"If you like that, you'll love this part."
He quickly tapped on the watch a few more times and a new scene appeared before her. This time it was her walking to the skate park where she met with Jake the other day. Once he entered the picture, the image froze, Jake with his arms wrapped around Trixie. Rose looked away as the image disappeared.
"You see, Rosie. You led us to him a long time ago. We know practically everything we need to know about Jacob Luke Long. Age 17, attends Jefferson High School. Lives at 182 Shorn Eagle Drive with his mother Susan Amy Long, his father Jonathan Robert Long, and his sister Haley Kay Long. She is adorable by the way, I'm pretty sure I still have a mark on my arm from where she bit me before."
"Okay!" she felt her throat constrict a bit as she spoke. "So, what? You're gonna try and hurt Jake's family if I don't help you? He will kill you."
"See, you're still not getting it," Nathan said. "My point here is that we already know everything we need to know about him. If we wanted to do something to harm him, don't you think we would have by now?"
"It's true..." Kairo spoke up. Rose looked over to him, his arms were crossed and he spoke to the ground. "We have no intentions of going after the dragon." He raised his eyes to meet hers, no emotion behind them. "Anymore."
Something about the way he said that made Rose feel uneasy. She wondered if she had imagined the hidden meaning behind his words.
"See? So you can put your mind at ease," Nathan said as he leaned against the swing set. "There are much bigger things at stake right now. There's no reason for us to waste our time by endangering your little boyfriend."
Rose looked away and shook her head.
"Are you seriously that naïve? As long as you're still hunting the creatures that he's sworn to protect, you are endangering him. Because he will do anything to keep them safe including putting his own life in jeopardy. And I won't have anything to do with that."
"Woah, you're calling us naïve?" Nathan seethed. "This is coming from a girl who's willing to risk the lives of every human on earth because she's in love with a guy that's destined to be with someone else."
If it were possible, the look she gave Nathan would have killed him in an instant.
"What did you say?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"What? Have you forgotten already?" Before she could reply, he ran his fingers across the face of his watch once again and a new image popped up.
"Stop it! I don't want to see-" Rose began but was cut off by Nathan pressing a finger to his lips.
"Shh..." Nathan shushed as he smirked once again. "This is the best part."
The blurry image started to clear up and soon in front of her, Rose saw a video of herself walking down a familiar street. Jake, Trixie, and Spud by her side along with two red-headed girls she knew all too well.
Tears stung her eyes as the video went on and she was forced to relive one of her most painful memories.
oOoOoOo
"Ooowee yea baby! That's the best news I ever got!" Trixie yelled.
"So, let me get this straight." Sara said, her head tilted to one side. "In the human world, you can get married with vows and a ceremony and everything. And it's all just... pretend?"
Trixie laughed and wrapped an arm around the other girl's shoulders.
"Yes, girl. It's called acting. What, y'all never heard of movies?"
Kara grunted as she kicked an empty soda can out of her way and into the street.
"Of course we've heard of movies," she said over her shoulder as she walked a few steps ahead of them. "I imagine it would be difficult to sit through one with hundreds of thousands of other images flashing through your head, though."
As if on cue Sara's eyes lit up and she turned to a girl who passed by them.
"That was a super cute dress! Try the dry cleaner on 17th!" she said in her usual chipper tone.
The girl gave her a confused look but before she could say a word, a truck rushed by, splashing mud all over her.
Sara turned her attention back to Trixie. "Well, I guess we can't get it right all the time."
"I'm sure glad you got it wrong this time." Trixie giggled with joy while Spud pouted and gave her a sad look.
"You're way too happy about this Trix. Would it have been that terrible to marry me?" he asked.
Trixie restrained herself from doing a celebratory shuffle when she saw the hurt expression on his face. She toned down her happiness to console her friend.
"Of course not, Spud, you're an amazing guy, but it would have been way too weird. You're like a brother to me." Her saying that brought the smile back to his face and he nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I say we celebrate. Is anyone up for pizza? I'm buying," Trixie said, grinning from ear to ear.
Once they made it to Familio Festevedro, the restaurant run by Spud's mother, the group ordered their food quickly so Jake, Trixie and Spud could take off like children to the arcade area. Rose decided to stay behind and sit with the twins. Back when she was in the huntsclan, Rose was never able to associate with any magical creatures, so this was the first time she had the chance to actually talk to an oracle.
"So, I have to ask," Rose started, "Are your visions always like that? Like you see one clip of something happening but you don't really know what it is until it happens?"
Kara shrugged a shoulder as she rested her head on the table, not looking up as she responded.
"It's different every time. Sometimes, we can see exactly what's going to happen. If it's like right before the event takes place."
"Other times," her sister continued. "there are the moments we don't see anything at all. We just get a feeling that something is about to happen. But, normally, we can only see like a short clip of something or even just one image. Especially if it's something a bit far off."
"Like with the lovebirds over there. I just saw an image of Trixie at the altar with potato boy, not exactly the whole ceremony. Simple mistake."
Sara scrunched her nose at her sister. "Probably should have tipped you off that they didn't look much older though, no?"
Kara gave her a deadpan look and Sara suddenly became very interested in the table cloth.
Rose chuckled as the waitress arrived and gave them their drinks. Once she was out of earshot, Rose turned her attention back to the girls.
"So I know Jake said something about your bloodline kind of 'thinning out' over the years. Do you think maybe that's why you haven't been able to quite perfect your abilities yet?"
"Most likely," Sara said thoughtfully. "I did notice that each year we get a little more control over what we see, Kara more than I. Before, we could never choose who's future we saw, it would only come to us randomly. We still get the random flashes practically all the time, but now, we can look at someone and if we focus enough we can have a vision about that specific person."
Kara finally raised her eyes to look at Rose.
"You want us to tell you about your future. Right?"
Rose clutched her hands together and nodded tentatively.
"Did you have a vision about me asking you that?"
"No," she said in her usual bored tone. "Just, everyone always asks. Plus you've got that pathetic look."
Rose blushed a bit and smiled. "Busted. So, what do I do? Do you have to touch my hands, or-"
Kara's eyes lit up for a moment as she spoke.
"I see you as a teacher with a room full of students who love you. Barf. And I don't know how you do it on a teacher's salary, but, you'll be living in a large mansion where you spend your nights in a plush white robe eating chocolate covered strawberries and watching some lame soap opera. Whoop-de-friggin-do." She sarcastically twirled her finger in the air.
"Woah," Rose sat back in her seat, smiling ear to ear. "That sounds awesome. Are you sure that's right? I'm not just gonna be playing the part on T.V. am I?"
Sara doubled over in laughter while Kara looked away once again.
"That's what I saw princess you can either believe it or shove it."
"I'm so sorry Kara. I was only joking," Rose said with a chuckle. "Do you think you could tell me one more thing?"
Kara loudly sighed. "You want to know about Jake Long."
Rose looked over to where her boyfriend was and nodded gently. "I have the feeling that Jake might be the one. I just want to know if I'm right."
At the mention of Jake's name, Sara's eyes lit up for a moment and then she spoke.
"No, he's definitely not the one. You guys are gonna break up over another woman that he's in love with. You're gonna be so heartbroken!" Sara blurted out in her usual chipper voice.
"Wait, what?!" Rose felt as if all the breath in her lungs went out. Sara's usual smile went away as she realized what she just said.
"Uh... I mean... Kara?" She turned to her sister, hoping to change the subject but the somber redhead simply ignored her.
"What do you mean in love with another woman? Who is Jake in love with?" Rose prodded. Sara sunk down in her seat a bit, realizing how much this news upset the girl in front of her. "Well?!"
"I don't know, it was so quick, I mean," Sara stumbled over her words, wishing she could lie to her and take back what she said. "I kinda, think it was... It was her." Sara sighed and pointed across the room. Rose quickly followed the direction she was pointing and once she saw who it was, her heart sunk.
"Tr-Trixie?" She looked back to Sara who lowered her gaze but nodded. Rose turned back to the other girl and watched as Jake leaned over and said something in her ear that made her throw her head back in laughter. The sight of it made Rose feel nauseous. "No, no, there's no way. There's just no way that's possible."
"I'm so sorry Rose. I don't know maybe I saw it wrong. This whole play situation is making me second guess everything honestly." Sara gave her a hopeful smile. Although she knew exactly what she saw, the expression on Rose's face made her hope she was wrong. "Hey, Kara, why don't you tell her more about the mansion. Or maybe she's gonna have a pet, like a little kitty cat." She turned to her sister, nudging her. "Does she get a cat?"
Kara stared blankly at the ceiling. "Why would you ask me? I only see good things."
Rose couldn't take her eyes off of Jake and Trixie. Suddenly every time his shoulder brushed against Trixie's or if he even so much as looked at the girl, it felt like a shot to her heart. For the first time, in a long time, she felt an overwhelming sense of jealousy.
But once the three returned to the table and Jake took Rose's hand, she knew the vision must have been a mistake. The twins had been mistaken about Trixie and Spud, they must be mistaken about this too. Jake would never break her heart, he loved her.
oOoOoOo
"Okay, Nathan, that's enough." Kairo reached over and pulled the watch from his brother's arm, killing the video feed. He looked over at Rose, who stood there staring where the image once was, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks. He glared at his brother and spoke to him through his teeth. "Go wait in the car."
"Come on Kai, I-"
"Now!" he shouted. Nathan looked as if he still wanted to object but turned to leave instead.
"Hey." Kairo placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I had no idea he was gonna to do any of that. I've never even seen that footage until this moment, I swear."
She wiped her face with the sleeves of her sweater and turned to face Kairo. Although his words were consoling, she could see the curiosity in his eyes.
"I don't condone what my brother just did, but, he brings up a good point. Why does your loyalty lie with someone who you know is going to hurt you?"
"Why should my loyalty lie with you?" she snapped.
He looked around as if trying to find the answer in the air before shaking his head. "I don't have any reason why it should."
Rose nodded. "Then this is goodbye. And I mean it. No more stalking, no more drones or hidden cameras or whatever you've been using to spy on me. Do not come looking for me again." She pulled her sweater closed in front of her as she walked past him.
"What if we can stop the vision from coming true?"
She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around.
"You should know better than anyone that I've already thought of that. The only way I can think of is to get him away from her."
Kairo slowly nodded. "That's why you want Long to move to China with you."
Rose groaned in disgust. "Seriously, you guys better stop watching me. But yes, that's why. Although, I highly doubt he would ever do that."
"Listen, I know of a way we can help you, but only if you're willing to help us as well."
She scoffed and tilted her head to one side. "How would you be able to help me?"
He put his hands in his pockets and looked at her with a stern expression.
"How badly do you want this girl out of the picture?"
"What do you mean?" she wondered. He scratched the back of his head as he spoke.
"Well, it isn't ideal; taking the life of a human and sparing the life of a dragon, but if it's the only way we can get you on our side..."
"Woah, woah, what do you mean, kill her?" she asked quietly.
Kairo gave her a confused look. "Don't you want to make sure that vision doesn't come true?"
Rose is quiet for a moment and Kairo's lips curl into a slight smile.
"Listen, take this," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone holding it out to her. "The offer stands but not forever, if you decide you want to do this, call me. I'm sure you can guess what numbers to dial." He said with a smirk as she took the phone into her hands.
"A flip phone? How Cov Ops of you." She looked down at the phone and after a moment of hesitation slipped it into her pocket. "Don't expect me to call."
"Of course not."
"Goodbye Kairo."
The younger boy watched as she quickly walked out of the park and down the street out of eye sight.
"See you soon, Huntsgirl." he said under his breath. He turned and walked to the street behind the park, pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and pressed a button. With a small beeping sound, a black, compact car appeared seemingly out of nowhere, with Nathan sitting in the front seat.
"You seriously let her go?" he whined as his brother slid in behind the wheel. "Why didn't you give me the signal? We could have just taken her!"
"First of all," Kairo began, turning to face him. "After what you just pulled with the surveillance video, you don't get to say a damn thing! And since when do you have extra footage that I don't know about huh?"
Nathan looked out the window.
"It wasn't relevant. I just wanted to get under her skin that's all."
"Not relevant?! If you would have told me about it sooner, we would have known to look more into this Trixie girl before. We could have got Rose to join us months ago, maybe a year. You being in charge of surveillance doesn't just mean you hoard videos. You discuss everything with me and we decide if it's relevant together! Is there any more that I should know about?"
The taller boy felt heat rise to his neck and he shifted awkwardly in his seat.
"Nathan..."
"No!" He turned to look him in the eyes. "There's nothing else."
Kairo studied his face for a moment before nodding. He pulled the watch out of his pocket and handed it back to his brother.
"This won't happen again or it could be very bad, for both of us." Kairo leaned over and opened the glove compartment, pulling out a phone and after a moment, it began to ring. "Hey boss, we're on the way back."
"Do you have the girl?" A distorted voice came from the other end.
"No, we don't yet. But I'm sure we'll be hearing from her."
"Stop wasting my time Kairo!" the voice bellowed. "If you numbskulls can't get her then I will do it myself!"
"We can do it, I gave her the burner phone, I know that she'll call."
"And if she doesn't," Nathan cut in. "We can bring her by force."
"Boss, it will go much better if she comes in willingly." Kairo said, throwing an irritated glance at his brother. "Please, trust me, I know her, I saw it in her eyes. She will call."
There was a long moment of silence before the voice spoke again.
"You have 48 hours more. If you fail to bring her in there will be consequences and I'm sure I don't have to remind you what they are." Before either of them could respond, the line went dead.
Nathan sighed and leaned his head back against his seat.
"You're sure this will work, Kairo?"
Kairo tapped his fingers on the wheel for a moment before pushing the button that started the car.
"I guess we have 48 hours to find out."
A/N: Thank you for reading you guys! I know the huntsboys being brothers/the Huntsman's children seems a little far-fetched, I just always wondered why he kept the two of them as his apprentices when they were clearly incompetent. You can't fire your kids, right? Well you can, if you're a jerk. But anyway I hope you liked my little twist. Let me know what you think of this chapter. xoxo