Chapter 5

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Talia's POV

"Give me your Amulets, Talia." Owen said.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're not allowed to use them outside of practice yet." He said.

I pouted.

"That doesn't work on me and you know it." He waited.

I gave them to him unhappily and left. I sat on grassy bank of a pond with Elisa, chucking rocks and stones into it.

"Talia, where are we?" She looked around. "I thought you were grounded."

"I am. But this is what David said about going outside, and I quote, 'The castle is fine, but anywhere else you have be one of us or Elisa.' I'm following his words to a t. And this is my dad's old friend's place. We used to come here a lot. Dad wanted me to play outside in the fresh air." I explained.

"Lucky." She smiled. "Why are we out here?"

"Dad, Owen dad, not birth dad, made me give him my Titans." I tossed another rock.

"Talia, you know he doesn't like punishing you. But you worried us all when you ran away." She told me.

"I know." I rested my head on my knees.

"Owen was going to kill David." I looked at her. "He was getting frustrated because you hid yourself too well. If your luck hadn't run out, he'd probably be in jail right now and Alex would be without his dad."

"It's just not fair. I get stuck shitty parents twice and I get blamed because no one taught me right." I frowned. "My birth parents loved me, but couldn't care for me. And David and Fox care for me barely, but don't show anything. They don't even try." I scowled. "Puck… cares. Owen loves. They're enough." I paused and smiled.

"I'm glad we worked this out." She smiled.

"Don't tell him I said that." I chucked one last rock in the water and stood up.

"Never." Elisa dusted her butt off.

"Do we gotta go back so soon?" I asked.

"Probably." She said.

I took us back and David and Dad were waiting for us in the main hall.

"I didn't disobey." I told them.

"You left the house." David said.

"I took Elisa with me so I didn't break your rule about going outside." I explained. "You said 'The castle is fine, but anywhere else you have be one of us or Elisa.'"

"You can't leave the house without our permission while you're grounded." He told me.

"Fine." I walked off.

I went up Goliath's tower and flew up high enough to where nobody could disturb me easily. I concentrated and I was back at the pond. I wasn't really, I had just made an illusion, but it was a very realistic illusion.

I got up from my spot and walked back through the forest. The many year old evergreen trees towered above me, leaving spots of sunlight on the tractor worn path. The scent of dirt and pine filled my nose. I missed this place. I passed the hay field and old strawberry patch and then it lead back into more forest. I followed the pale tan dirt to the end, pausing only to listen to the creek.

The filbert trees were almost bare this time of year, being so close to winter. I walked through the evenly spaced trees and missed the dogs. I used to go on walks and his dogs would come with me, but I started out the wrong direction. Going past the large open shed holding pretty much all the equipment, I stopped as I noticed the brick house. Did I want to go inside?

Dirt turned into gravel as I made my way to the house. Maggie, a Yellow Lab, and Cookie, a mini Australian shepherd, barked and greeted me. I petted and rubbed them.

"What're you two so exci- Talia, it's been too long!" Uncle Peter, Dad's friend, greeted me.

"Hey." I smiled.

"Is it just you today? Bet you worried your mom driving here all by yourself." He grinned.

"Yeah." I walked in and washed my hands.

"How's high school going?" He asked, pulling out a can of Coke for me.

"It's fine." I sat down at the table.

"You're grown so much." He moved some papers out of the way of his coffee. "I remember when you were a baby."

"It's only been a…" I frowned.

"A few years, but time goes so fast for us old people." He joked.

I was 14 when I last saw him. Three years ago…

"I guess coming here just slipped my mind with everything else going on." I smiled.

"You still dating that Adriana girl?" He asked.

"It's complicated." I frowned.

"Do you like her or not?" His eyebrow quirked up.

"I… don't really know anymore. I kinda do-" I said.

"There's your answer. Now what are you gonna do to fix it?" His brown eyes looked in mine.

"Sort out all my bullshit." I sighed.

"Do I need to get the soap?" He asked.

"No." I shook my head.

"Now, what needs to be sorted out?" Uncle Peter leaned on the table.

"… Mom and Dad are barely paying attention to me again. I lost my memories a little while ago and broke up with her then, but now I have them… I was mad and upset that I couldn't remember her, but now I dunno. I still like Adri, but it's been a rough year." I sighed and tried to lift the heavy can.

"Well, it sounds like you need someone to talk to. That's what girlfriends do. Listen to you. Look, you remember her now, right? Search those memories of yours and see if she'll forgive you for your little oppsie. As for your parents, you better talk to them. They probably don't realize what they're doing." He thought.

"Thanks, Uncle Peter." I smiled.

"Anytime. Now, after your punishment's up, why don't you visit me in person? The dogs miss you." He smirked.

"I will." I sipped my Coke.

"I always wanted to punch Xanatos in the face." He told me.

"I can't wait." I smiled.

"Get going, Tai. You can't stay in a bubble forever." Uncle Peter and the bubble faded away. I was still floating above Goliath's tower and saw him break out of his stone skin. I landed.

"Talia, where did you come from? And where did you get that soda?" Goliath asked.

"Tai home!" Alex squealed.

"What exactly did Talia do?" Goliath asked.

"I went home. If only for a little while." I smiled.

"An illusion." He said.

"Your stab wound is partially open." Owen frowned and Puck fixed my wounds.

"Talia, I know you want out of the house, but your punishment will be over soon. Then we can do whatever you want, ok?" He looked at me.

"Ok." I said.

"Now, that was goddamn impressive, kiddo. Your uncle actually sounded genuine. It started to break if you looked too close to the horizon or sky, but it was really good." Puck praised.

"It worked because I wanted it to work." I told him.

"We'll go visit him soon. It's been awhile since I've been to the Pacific Northwest." He smiled. "C'mon, Sweetheart, it's dinnertime now."

"Ok." I followed Owen and Alex.

Talia's POV End

Puck's POV

I snapped my fingers and Sophie turned visible.

"You may be the Casterwill's princess, but she's Avalon's princess." I told her. "So, answer this next question very carefully. Why did you watch my daughter for 2 hours?"

"Her magic." She said.

"Explain." I frowned.

"It's powerful. How do the other Seekers resist it?" She asked.

"Most of the time we keep it small." I said. "And I'm Owen."

"Surely a native Casterwill must have noticed her power before…" She thought.

"You stop that thought right there." I glared at her.

She eeped.

"I'm only being nice to you because that human puppy of yours would haunt my nightmares if something happened to you." I said.

"Lok?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna send you home now. And don't ever sneak in here again." I sent her away.

"You have nightmares?" Goliath asked.

I sighed. "Yes. I better get back to the kiddos if- No, wait, they already discovered that I'm not the one they followed. Oh, they really don't like that…" I frowned as I left.

They beat on the Owen specter slapstick style. If he'd been real, he'd be dead by now. Like guts on the pavement kind of dead.

"Where's. My. Dad?" Talia huffed between swings of her folding chair.

"Sweet Jesus, Talia. I leave you alone for 5 minutes…" I said and got swarmed.

"Daddy!" She nuzzled my neck.

"'Uck!" Alex gurgled.

"I had to take care of something." I told them.

"No more ghost Owens." She said. Alex blew a razz.

"Next time, I'll tell you if I need to make a ghost Owen, ok?" I smiled.

They looked at each other. "Ok."

"You two are violent." I gestured to the battered Owen specter.

"I panicked." Talia looked at her feet.

I laughed before turning into Owen.

Puck's POV End

Owen's POV

I took Alexander from Talia and kissed her forehead. She pouted and looked away. "Talia, Sweetie…"

She ignored me for a minute. "It almost smelled exactly like you, moved like you, but Puck forgot who he left the ghost with. Alex got upset when "you" wouldn't smile at him. Puck's scent is a bit like garlic. Clings to everything, but nicer… sometimes."

"We promise to tell you if we ever need to do that again." I said.

"Good." She said curtly.

I kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart. That was the last thing you needed."

She looked at me. I kissed her again. And again. She smiled. "There's my good girl. C'mon, we're late for dinner."

Owen's POV End