Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."
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Chapter 21: Back Off
Renee, Sophie, and Wilder were out in the gardens for fifteen more minutes before Renee's legs stopped aching enough that she felt like she could handle walking. Heading back into the mansion, they went straight for the ballroom, where Cherit said Lucas was.
The ballroom was large and grand, richly decorated and very well lit. Light reflected off of every surface, giving it a more heavenly glow. Opposite the door was a large sound system and DJ selecting and playing the songs that people were dancing to. On the other sides of the ballroom were round tables with chairs placed around them and long buffet tables with lots of food and drink.
Walking into the ballroom, their friends were the first to run over to them.
"Are you alright?"
"You were out there for a while."
"You want me to flatten Lucas for you?"
Renee laughed at that last one before assuring everyone that she was fine and had just needed a moment. With that, she looked around for Lucas and found him sitting at a table by himself and drinking glass after glass of champagne. Renee walked over to him and he looked up.
"Serena, I. . ." he started to say as he got up, wobbling a bit from all the drinking he had done.
"Don't talk," Renee said, interrupting him. "Just listen." After waiting for a few seconds to make sure that he did as she asked, she continued. "I may not remember you, but I have heard about you from my twin and her team. I met you a few times at the convention, though you didn't know who I was. Now that I've seen you for myself and heard what you have to say, I can make my own judgments.
"Sophie tells me that you tried to make her give up being a Seeker and a Casterwill."
"I didn't ask her to not be a Casterwill," Lucas spoke up. "That's not possible. She's a Casterwill by blood."
"She may be a Casterwill by blood and in name," Renee said, "but you wanted her to give up being a Casterwill in all other aspects. Being a Casterwill is about knowing ancient secrets and protecting them from falling into the wrong hands, about being a strong Seeker and a guardian of humanity. That's what you wanted her to give up. You said it was too dangerous and you didn't want her to get hurt. If you're thinking of trying to make me give up those same things, you can forget about it. You'll only be wasting your breath.
"I was kidnapped for an entire summer by a group of psychotic Seeker scientists, lived for eight months with one of those scientists and was almost raped by him, and then spent over a year traveling through Russia, parts of Asia, the Middle East, and a bit of Africa before finally reuniting with my father. I know the definition of dangerous. I also know that you can't hide from danger forever, even if you live a normal, Seeker-and-Titan-free life. It's just not possible. I could be hit by a bus or crushed by falling bricks or caught in a violent storm that tears up trees by their roots. I'm not safe anywhere from anything. All I can do is take the punches and roll with them.
"And as for you being the one in charge of me: also not going to work. First off, I am an adult now and am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Second, you haven't seen me for fourteen years and I don't remember you. You can't just walk back into my life and tell me how to live. You don't know me, and you can't control me, so back off and let me live my life the way I want to live it."
Having said her piece, Renee walked off, leaving Lucas alone once again, and headed for the buffet tables. All this drama was making her hungry. Her friends, sister, and father joined her and filled up their plates before finding an empty table and sitting down.
"Are you alright?" Wilder asked his daughter after they sat down. "You said quite a bit."
"I'm fine," Renee answered. "I said what I wanted to say and what needed to be said. Hopefully he got the message."
"If he doesn't say anything after a week, then maybe he did," Sophie said. "He may freak out about those two years after you were kidnapped and decide to control you no matter what you say."
"I'd like to see him try."
While they were eating, Metz and Guggenheim came over.
"Excuse me, Renee," Guggenheim began, "but the Council is wondering how you managed to bond with Alicorn when so many Seekers before you have tried and failed."
"You bonded with Alicorn?"
Everyone at the table turned to see Lucas standing there, staring at Renee with shock and curiosity. She ignored him and turned back to Metz and Guggenheim.
"I'd be happy to answer that for you," she said. "Alicorn explained it to me. All the Seekers who tried to bond with her before wanted the same thing I did: her healing powers. The legends claim that the horn of a unicorn could cure all manner of maladies and injuries. Alicorn is able to do just that. She can also give new life to a Titan that has been defeated in battle and sent back to its amulet. They wanted to use her in fights against enemy Seekers, to keep their allies in perfect health and ensure that they wouldn't run out of Titans to invoke.
"But that's not what her power is meant to be used for. The legends say that the unicorns were hunted to extinction for their horns, an entire species of magical creature wiped out because of the greed of man. Unicorns would naturally heal people who were ill, and their power never faded while they were alive, but men didn't care about that. They only cared about themselves. Unicorns could only be tamed by a woman, a maiden who was pure and fair, one who was not greedy for the power of a unicorn's horn.
"Alicorn bonded with me because I didn't have a greedy reason for wanting her power. All I wanted was for her to heal my father. I would have happily given her right back to the Huntik Foundation afterwards, but she decided to stay with me. She'd been waiting for someone like me to come along with an intention that was pure. The intentions of those who came before me were not.
"Does that explain it well enough for you?"
There was silence for a minute as everyone processed her story. Wilder, after hearing about how his daughter had searched for a way to heal him, a way that might not have even worked, was close to tears.
"It explains everything perfectly," Metz finally said. "I hope Alicorn is happy with you, and I hope that, when the time comes, you find the right person to pass her on to."
Renee smiled and nodded, then listened carefully as a new song came on. Her smile got bigger as she recognized the song: "My Little Girl," by Tim Mcgraw.
"Daddy, come on." Renee grabbed Wilder's hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, not giving Lucas so much as a glance as she passed him.
Lucas, seeing as how he was not welcome, walked back to his own table and poured another glass of champagne. Everyone else at the table watched as the daddy-daughter couple danced, talked, and laughed. When the song ended, they walked back to their table and the conversations moved to other topics. The rest of the evening went by smoothly, with no more dramatic encounters.
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This is now, officially, the longest fanfiction I have ever written, at least for one story. That's not counting sequels. I might do just one more chapter to wrap things up and then end it.
And Renee gives Lucas a good talking-to. What did you think? Will Lucas leave her alone? What did you think about the story of Alicorn and why she bonded with Renee? Please review.
Seriously, please review. I haven't gotten any reviews for the last two chapters. I don't know what you guys think of where the story is going, especially with Lucas.