I do not own Fifty Shades Trilogy

This picks up right after what happened in chap 37.


CHAPTER 38

Find the Phoenix

xxx [[[ ]]] xxx


"Ana! Wake up!"

She woke up with a start, gasping loudly, and as her teary eyes landed on Christian's, she whispered." I have to go back to the sea..."

Christian looked at Ana with worried eyes, and cupped her face gently." Ana, sweetie... the sea?" he questioned, and shook his head softly." You don't have to go anywhere... it was only a nightmare..."

Ana was breathing hard, and shook her head fiercely." Agathe... she uhmm, she came to me and uhmm" she began, but was unable to continue.

He gently grabbed her hand, and squeezed it." Ana, it was only a bad dream... you've been with me the whole night" he pointed out." Look around... no one else has been in this bedroom... only you and me, my love."

Ana got out of bed, and let out a deep breath. Then she remembered what she saw in the huge, wide mirror in the living room.

She gasped softly, and in a flash stood right in front of the long mirror in their bedroom. As her eyes landed on her own reflection in the mirror, Ana felt very disappointed. No... she was wearing the wrong dress, plus her tummy was as flat as ever.

There was no sign of that beautiful, white maternity dress... and no sign whatever of the baby bump she had seen in her dream.

'Christian was right... it was all just a dream!' were the words that swirled around her head, while tears pooled in her eyes.

He noticed the sadness in her blue eyes, and closed the gap between them." Hey, are you alright, sweetie?"

Ana cleared her throat and asked." It was a dream?"

He nodded." Yes"

She bit the insides of her cheek, and looked up at him." It seemed so real... and it felt so real" Ana confessed, and wondered if it all meant something.

Did she really have to go back to the sea in order to break the Niarxos' family curse?

Does she have to die in order to liberate Christian and his cousins?!

As those thoughts bounced inside her skull, Ana felt her skin crawl.

"Ana…" she heard Christian say." Do you wanna talk about your dream?"

She scrunched her brows together, and cleared her throat." No… it's alright, Christian… I'm fine"

"Are you sure?" he questioned, and observed Ana thoroughly.

She smiled up at him, and nodded." Yes, it's all good" Ana replied, saying it in such a convincing manner, so he did not press the matter and decided to let it go.

"What time is it?" She asked, and so they both threw a quick glance at the massive clock on the wall.

It was only 06:30 in the morning.

"Wow… it's still early, Ana… what do you wanna do?" he said, and raised an eyebrow.

Heat instantly spread to her cheeks, as it dawned on her what Christian was implying." Well… I uhmmm… Kate was go─" she began, but he cut her off by grabbing her gently and lifted her up.

"Nooo… Christ─ noo… I" Ana pleaded, and couldn't help but giggle because he had placed her on the bed and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Christia─ I cannot… don't" she kept begging, but he was determined to make her laugh.

Ana was lying in the huge bed, squirming, attempting to get free, but he was holding her tightly, and kept tickling her." Ask for mercy" he ordered, and smiled from ear to ear.

"No… I refuse. Stop it, Christian!" she said, and went on giggling.

"Beg for it" he insisted, and looked down at Ana with admiration in his gray eyes." Say it"

At a certain point Ana's tummy hurt from all the laughing and she couldn't take it anymore." OK, OK… I give in… Christia─ please, I'm asking for mercy!" She begged, while tears from laughter spilled from her beautiful, blue eyes.

He instantly stopped with tickling her, and caressed her gently, his eyes fixed onto hers." I love you, Ana…" Christian confessed." I want you to know that as long as I am breathing, I won't ever let you go…"

Ana responded by smiling up at him, and sat up on the bed." I love you too, Christian… with all my heart and soul" She confessed, and pulled him in a tight hug.

While being enveloped by his warm embrace, Ana felt a tug at her heart. As her eyes fluttered shut, all she could think about was what her look-a- like, Agathe, had said to her in her dream.." You should go back to the sea, and undo the damage I caused centuries ago. That's the only way to save your beloved and the one who's growing inside your belly"

xxx

Meanwhile, on the island Syros.

Andreas Liakos sat on the beach of Syros with his hand in his pockets, contemplating what to do next. Hours ago, he and the other 'Phoenixes' had raided the estate, and had turned the house upside down. They searched for the second key in every nook and cranny, but without any success.

Well, that is what Andreas wanted his fellow Phoenixes to believe...

When in truth, he had found the second key weeks ago and had kept it a secret from everyone. Even from his own leader, Parthenios.

Andreas felt sick to his stomach, having to betray his leader like this... However, he couldn't let Ana and Christian do it!

It was against everything he believed in.

He had kept the two important keys by his side at all times, afraid to leave it in the vault at head quarters. Cause in his opinion, there was no place safer for it than in his own pockets.

The rest of 'the Phoenixes' all went back after the search, but Andreas had told them that he wanted to stay in Syros for a little while.

Without questioning their temporarily leader, Stavros and the other Phoenixes obeyed his order, and went back to Tinos using the speed boats and the chopper of course.

As a sigh escaped Andreas' lips, he grabbed a pebble from the beach and threw it with such a force in the Aegean sea. He watched in awe at the sunrise, and couldn't help but think about the two lovebirds who he had been protecting for weeks now.

Ana and Christian.

He knew what his leader, Parthenios, and his cousin Christian have to endure, when they turned into 'the monster'. He knew it was bone chilling, painful and just plain horrific.

He didn't want them to suffer anymore, and did want the curse to be broken.

However, that meant that either Ana or Christian had to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

No, he couldn't allow that.

And yes. He was going to fight tooth and nail to keep those two alive.

That was a promise...

Andreas was just about to grab another pebble, when his phone buzzed. It was his best friend from college.

"Andreas Liakos speaking."

"Hey... why are you being so formal, buddy? It's me." the voice on the other side of the line said." How are you doing, man?"

Andreas smiled at hearing his voice." Doing well, my friend... how are you? How is your wife and son?" he asked.

"Great, bud"

"Good." Andreas said into the phone." So... uhmm... have you found her yet?"

"Yes! I found your mystery woman, buddy"

"What's her name?" Andreas questioned with a straight face.

"Her name is Demetra Marinos... Wow, what an exotic name, dude"

Andreas laughed at that." You find all Greek names exotic."

Well, that's cause they are... like yours, man" the man on the other side of the line pointed out." I have emailed you her address."

"Thank you, I owe you big... if you need anythi..." Andreas began, but his friend gently cut him off.

"Andreas, you have done more for me than anyone else has ever done... I could never repay you, bud" the man said." I'm just returning the favor."

Andreas smiled at that." Thank you"

"Who is the woman anyway? Cause I sure had trouble finding her, Andreas... It's like, she's a ghost... No Facebook, no Instagram, no nothin', man."

Without a thought, Andreas replied. "She's the great great grand daughter of the witch who cast a curse on the Niarxos' family centuries ago."

His friend responded by bursting out into laughter." Andreas, you sure are one hilarious dude, do you know that?"

"Just kidding... she is someone who can help me with something important" Andreas said.

"OK, fine. I can take a hint... you don't want me to get involved, I get it" his friend replied dryly.

"You've been a great help by finding out where she lives... thank you for that."

"You're not in any trouble, are you?" the man on the other side of the line asked worriedly.

Andreas began to chuckle." Maybe I'm already in trouble... but you don't have to worry. I'm doing this, because I want to help a couple. They've been through so much in their lives and I just have to find another way for them..."

"I'm really getting worried, bud... need some help? Should I come to Tinos?"

Andreas shook his head, even though he knew that his friend couldn't see him. "No... I'll be alright... you know me."

"OK, buddy."

After Andreas ended the conversation, he opened the email his friend had sent him.

When he read what the address was, his eyes widened." What are the chances?!" he uttered, and read the address one more time just to be sure.

Yup, his eyes weren't deceiving him.

He read it right... Andreas had been trying to find out where she lived for two days now, and was unable to do so. That's why he had asked his friend to help him with it.

Was it coincidence though? The day Andreas decided to stay in Syros for a little while, was the very day he received the email from his friend, revealing her address. The woman lives in Syros...

Who exactly?

Well, the great great grand daughter of the witch who had cursed Christian's family of course...

Was this plain coincidence or was it fate?

xxx [[[]]] xxx

~ Approximately five hours later ~

At the moment, Ana was enjoying a day at the beach at Parthenios' private estate. Of course she had 'shadows' following her, but she had gotten used to it and even felt very safe with them around.

Christian was inside the mansion, busy having a very important conference call with his staff and promised to join her as soon as they were done.

Taylor was also inside, securing Christian of course.

While taking a seat on the beach, Ana had to hold her hat, because it was a windy day. She was wearing a sea green two-piece and had her sunglasses on, and inhaled the fresh ocean air. A content smile played at her lips, because at the moment she truly felt happy.

She couldn't believe that she and Christian had conquered the obstacles that came their way...

"Are you going to take a dive in the ocean, Miss?" one of the security guards asked Ana.

She nodded and smiled at the robust man." Yes, I am"

"The sea is a bit wild today... why don't you wait for Mr. Grey?" the man suggested, but Ana shook her head.

"Don't be so silly" She remarked, and walked in the direction of the water with a wide smile." I won't swim too far."

"Promise?" the robust man questioned, while giving Ana a concerned look.

"I'll be right back" She countered and jumped into the wonderfully cool water.

As her body came in contact with the ocean, Ana felt amazing and began to swim away from the beach without realizing it.

At a certain point, she heard her security detail shout and call out for her." Miss Steele! Don't swim so far!" she heard him say.

When she realized that she had gone way too far, Ana's heart pounded in her chest.

'Shit! Gotta go back.' was what she thought at that moment.

Ana was just about to swim back to shore, when her eyes landed on something in a short distance.

"Miss Steele! Get back here now!" her security detail ordered, but it was no use.

Ana was seeing something and was unable to turn back.

It was drawing her to it, the pull it had on Ana much too strong.

She swam and swam, and at a certain point heard a motor from behind.

'Must be a speedboat' she thought and yet Ana pushed forward.

At one point, she got very tired her legs and arms protesting, but Ana was like in a trance unable to stop.

When she finally reached an unknown beach, Ana crawled forward, her eyes searching for the thing she had been following...

At a certain point, Ana finally was able to get on her own two feet. She was beyond exhausted, her breath shallow and her blue eyes were darting around in search for the bird.

As her eyes finally landed on the magnificent animal, Ana gasped aloud, while tears spilled from her gorgeous blue eyes...

Oh, God! Was it... was it... oh God. Was it a... Phoenix?!

The closer she got to the bird, the faster and harder her heart rammed against her rib-cage.

"This can't be" were the words that tumbled from her pale lips, her eyes wide.

"It cannot be a Phoenix"

At a certain point the bird locked eyes with Ana, and it was in that moment, she remembered what Agathe had said in her dream the night before.

"You should go back to the sea, and undo the damage I caused centuries ago. That's the only way to save your beloved and the one who's growing in your belly... Please, Anastasia... find the Phoenix and go back to the sea"


Note: Firstly, OMG... is Ana hallucinating, or is she dreaming again... or is it real?!

Secondly, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing.

You are the best. YOU TOTALLY ROCK, guys. :)

Someone asked me about the key Ana brought, when she spoke to Parthenios (leader of 'the Phoenixes') for the first time.

YES, you are right. There are indeed 3 keys. And they need all three to break the curse.

We will find out more in later chapters. Remember, Christian's grandmother told Galya to revise the 'book'.

Leave me a review... short or long?

Thank you in advance.

REVIEW REVIEW! ;)

xoxo,

J