Charles could not sleep.
He'd sent Hank to bed hours ago, knowing that the younger man needed the rest as much as he did. But even as he laid there in the darkness, something continued to gnaw at the back of Charles' mind, growing more persistent with every minute he spent awake.
Raven had a child. A child. I'm technically an uncle.
The thought seemed so out of place, considering the fact that his niece had arrived at the school alone. As far as he knew, she'd never seen the school, and Raven had not contacted him since Katarina had arrived in any way. What troubled him most, however, was where his former foster sister was, when her child was alone and frightened.
When he had first met Raven, Charles had been on the verge of believing he was insane. All of the voices floating around in his head, they had seemed like a figment of his imagination to his impressionable mind back then. Seeing Raven, knowing that he was not alone, had given him a sense of belonging in a world that grew more wary and hateful towards mutantkind with every passing hour. Raven had just been the beginning.
"Where are you?" He breathed out, the sting of alcohol still fresh in his mouth, his tired eyes refusing to close despite how much he wanted to sleep.
As he closed his eyes and heaved another heavy sigh, Charles was startled from his troubled calm by the slight creak of a door opening. He sat up, reaching for the switch to his bedside lamp, and the room was instantly flooded with a warm light. Despite normally being composed, Charles felt his heart fail slightly at the haunting sight of Katarina standing in the doorway, her yellow eyes stark in the darkness. She wore a large white nightshirt, one that Hank had pulled from storage in the basement, which made her seem even smaller than she actually was, more vulnerable to the world she had inherited.
After a few long moments, Charles finally spoke.
"What is it, liebling?"
Silently, Katarina shuffled her way over to the side of the bed, wasting hardly a second before she climbed up in one smooth motion and sat down besides Charles. With a closer look, Charles realized that there were tear tracks streaming down her small crimson face, and quickly pulled her into a hug that enveloped her trembling body.
"Wo ist meine Mama? Wo ist mein Bruder?" She asked in a small, quivering voice, that sent pangs to Charles' heart, reminding him far too much of her mother the first time they had met. He held her tighter, doing his best to project soothing thoughts into the room until she finally quieted down and looked up at him.
"Du bist Onkel Charles." She whispered, the constant back and forth of her eyes sending out waves of anxiety and fear.
"Did your Mutter tell you who I am?" Charles asked her in a soft tone, and she nodded quickly as she fidgeted subtly in his arms. He let her go and she sat back on to her legs.
"Ich bin…ich bin erschrocken…die bösen Männer sagten, sie würden Mommy töten. Wirst du sie nehmen mich zu lassen?
Charles frowned. Someone had planned to kill Raven, and Katarina was beyond frightened of the men who had done so. It was possible that humans had finally found the Brotherhood and attacked, but it still did not explain why Katarina had arrived at the mansion alone. A slight hitch of breath drew his attention to the young girl once again, and he clucked his tongue slightly as he brought her once again into a tight hug. Her tears wet his shirt, but Katarina was the only thing in his mind that mattered at that moment. His niece, the daughter of his sister, was alone and scared, and wherever Raven was, he was the only one who could help Katarina now. As Katarina began to still and quiet down, her breaths evening out into the telltale sign of sleep, Charles sat back and looked down at the marvel in his arms.
And as he sat there, one thought burned in Charles' mind, even as he drifted off and joined Katarina in the welcoming embrace of sleep.
I will protect you.
Hey guys, sorry about the excessive use of Google Translate and the short chapter. The next chapter is going to be longer and have more of Katarina POV. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading my stuff, you have no idea how happy it makes me.
To me, my X-Men!