Chapter 15 – Answers

Angel kept a tight grip on the sack she hugged to her chest. The sack held three books, each one contained a secret that should never get out. Angel's eyes stayed fixed on the floor in front of her. She was on her way to see Cassandra. Sid and Sully had been sleeping when Angel was summoned to bring the books to Cassandra. Angel was grateful her weapons weren't with her. It would have made asking Cassandra questions even more difficult.

Cassandra's lair was painted in various shades of purples, pinks, and blues to create a sort of childish feel to it. The windows had curtains in shades of yellow and green that were pulled back to let in the sunshine. Fresh flowers decorated each windowsill and table Angel walked past. The floor of every room and hallway was polished white marble. The walls had paintings of butterflies, open fields, and sunrises. To Angel Cassandra's lair felt more like a storybook castle than a witch's hiding place.

Angel stopped in front of the double doors leading to Cassandra's private quarters. The doors were white with brightly colored butterflies painted on them. The butterflies reminded Angel of the way Cassandra looked the very first time she saw her, beautiful yet fierce enough to stop anyone in their tracks.

"Are you going to knock or stand there all day?"

Angel jumped at the sound of Kyoki's voice. She spun on her heels wondering if he had been following her or if he just happened to be heading the same direction she was.

"Just admiring the butterflies," the lie came out easily. She didn't want him to know she was building up the courage to face Cassandra.

Kyoki smiled, "I painted them."

"Really?" her eyebrows rose in surprise.

"I have a thing for art. Cassandra asked me to decorate after she saw some of my work." Kyoki rubber the back of his neck. "I think I over did it with the whole butterfly theme, but Cassandra loves it."

Angel's next sentence was cut off by the doors slowly being pushed open. Cassandra's voice beckoned, "Come in, Angel."

Evan groaned as a soft melody pulled him from his sleep. He opened his eyes then quickly closed them watching yesterday's events play before him. His hands grazed the bandages on his chest that covered the wounds Angel had given him. His hand drifted up to his lips where he could still feel her lips against his. He kissed her and she shot him. It might have been funny under different circumstances.

The melody that had woken him was coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Evan got out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and went to investigate where the melody was coming from. He had been sleeping in the dispensary because Stein had wanted to keep an eye on Evan's stiches. He stopped at the beginning of the hall, he wasn't sure of what to think about the sight in front of him. Mark was lying on the couch, he held a small photograph in one hand, the other hand stroked the photo, and he was singing a song in French. At least Evan thought it was French.

Mark suddenly stopped singing and sat up. "Ah, Evan, you're awake."

"Was that French?"

"Yes." Mark wasn't going to say any more about his singing. "Maka and Soul need to talk to you. They're in the library."

"Okay." Evan left before Mark could weird him out any more.

Groups of students littered the halls of the Gallows Mansion. Evan walked past the groups noting their hushed whispers and quick glances. They whispered about Angel, their eyes were filled with pity as they watched him, and some even dared to give Evan their uncensored opinion about Angel's actions. Evan walked past them all without uttering a word. He had promised Angel that he would trust her no matter what happened. He hadn't known what his promise entailed, but he would not break it. He trusted her.

Evan arrived in the library. The librarian pointed him to a private room in the back where his parents were conducting research. Maka was seated at a table bent over a book, and Soul was bringing a stack of books to the table. Soul touched Maka's shoulder and nodded in Evan's direction.

"Evan, Soul and I wanted to talk to you." Maka gestured at the seat in front of her, "Please sit."

Evan sat. His eyes drifted to the white paper cup in front of him.

"It's for you," Soul said.

Evan smiled a little, but it quickly faded. It was a cup of steaming coffee. He usually only drank coffee with Angel. She's the one who taught him to appreciate it. He sipped the coffee doing his best to keep his face blank and waited for his parents to speak.

"It's time we explained why we left," Maka said.

Evan didn't dare say a word.

Soul sat down next to Maka. "At the risk of sounding like a cliché we left to protect you. Nothing about our decision was easy, but it was necessary."

Evan fought the urge to roll his eyes. He would listen to what they had to say. He owed them that much.

"Three years ago, my mother was killed," Maka said. "Soul and I left for the funeral and were only supposed to be away from you for a week. But things did not happen the way anyone had planned."

"You never said Grandma died," was all Evan could manage to say.

"There never felt like a good time to tell you," Soul said.

Evan sipped his coffee.

"When we arrived at her house to clear her belongings we found a note." Maka's eyes darkened as she spoke, "The note was a threat against her life. The more we cleaned the more notes we found. There were hundreds."

"The most recent note made threats against Maka and you." Soul looked from his wife to his son. "Someone had harbored a grudge against Maka's mother for years. From what we could tell whoever it was succeeded in killing her, and you and Maka were next on his list. Maka and I knew you would be safe in Death City with Spirit and Kid looking after you while we hunted the monster that wanted you dead. Spirit and Kid were asked to never say anything to you about our whereabouts of wellbeing."

Maka swallowed. "We tracked down every lead we could. Chased after every rumor that popped up. We traveled everywhere my mother went. A majority of the leads we followed lead to dead ends. Until three months before you found us when we learned the man's name."

"His name was Rick Sawyer," Soul said. "He had many alias which made it hard to track him down and why we had run into so many dead ends. We gathered information on him. We knew everything he liked to, where he went every day, and what he ate. We knew him better than he probably knew himself."

Maka and Soul looked at each other.

"Then what happened?" Evan asked, breaking the long moment of silence.

"He found us." Soul placed a hand on Maka's shoulder as he talked. "We thought we had found him and were a step ahead of him. We were wrong. He had given us his name, gave us the way to find him, and allowed us to follow him for weeks."

Maka said, "It had been a fight unlike any other. I realized that the fight between Rick and my mother had been won not by chance but by Rick's skill. There were moments when I thought we were going to die. The thought of never getting to see you again helped us to push through and survive the fight. We were still recovering when you found us."

"We know we hurt you," Soul said. "It was never the intention. We just wanted you to remain safe. We've always tried to protect you."

Evan nodded as he stared at the empty cup in his hands. "Thank you for telling me. I've changed a lot in the last three years so if someone wants to kill us I expect to be told." He smiled at his parents.

Maka and Soul smiled back.

Angel cautiously stepped into Cassandra's room. Cassandra was seated at a small circular table, she wore a beautiful lilac dress, her pink hair softly framed her face, and her purple and pink eyes were warm. The table held a platter of pastries, a black kettle, a cup in front of Cassandra, and a cup in front of the seat next to her. Angel's breathe hitched in her throat. Whatever she had expected to see it had not been this.

"Please sit with me." Cassandra's voice was like the melody of a calming song.

Angel crossed the room and sat next to Cassandra. She hugged the backpack to chest unsure of what to do with it.

"May I?" Cassandra gestured to Angel's bag. Angel reluctantly passed it over. To her surprise, Cassandra set the bag on the floor next to Angel's chair. "Better?"

Angel nodded.

"I had the chef prepare a light breakfast. I know it has been a hard few days for you so I would like you to feel at home here." Cassandra picked up the kettle, filled Angel's cup with a steaming dark liquid first, she filled her own cup, and returned the kettle to its former place. "I thought we could speak about your mother."

Angel spooned some sugar into her mug. "My father told me what happened to her."

Cassandra smiled as she picked out a pastry. "I'm sure he has. I am also sure he has not told you everything. I will tell you what I know of your mother and my side of the story with your father. It is, after all, the least I could do for you."

She looked at the older woman with curiosity.

"Did he tell you she was a witch?"

Angel stopped. The mug hoovered an inch away from her lips. She felt shock filling every part of her. Kid had never mentioned that.

"As I thought." Cassandra's eyes clouded with sadness. "In fact, she was my sister."

Angel returned her mug to the table. The thought of eating or drinking anything turned her stomach. She wanted so badly to look away from those pink and purple eyes, but she couldn't.

"My sister's name was Sibella. She was not particularly talented in casting spells, but she made up for that with her ideas. She had so many fantastic ideas that could have changed the way witches lived. She never got to see any of those ideas unfold. Her life had changed completely the moment she met Kid. To her Kid had been the love of her life. He was her everything. She was convinced that with his help they could make a world where meisters and witches could coexist." Cassandra took a drink from her mug. "As you know that world never had a chance of forming."

She did know because she was the reason it never happened.

"Sibella became pregnant. Not with you as you may be thinking." Cassandra popped a small piece of pastry in her mouth and chewed it slowly. "She lost her first child a month into the pregnancy. Her life spiraled into a darkness I had never before witnessed. She nearly took her own life, the only thing that stopped her was your father's love.

"I loved Sibella more than anything. Watching her struggle to overcome that loss broke my heart. I did the only thing I knew that could save her. I researched ways to help her have a child. I searched for what felt like a lifetime to find a way that Kid and Sibella could have a child. A child born of a Grim Reaper and a witch had never occurred in any recorded histories. I did find a doctor's notes on a human and Grim Reaper child. However, that child and the mother did not survive the delivery. With those notes I was able to form a plan that had the potential outcome of giving my sister the child she desired."

Angel clutched the coffee mug in her hands. She needed something to hold onto to keep her hands from trembling. Kid had lied to her about her mother. Lied about her mother being human. Lied about his involvement with Cassandra. Angel should have felt anger towards him, instead she felt understanding. She understood that the truth of what had happened was too much to face and that he had tried to shield her from it.

"When I brought Sibella and Kid news of what I had learned they rejoiced. I saw hope and happiness return to Sibella's eyes." Cassandra gave Angel a half smile. "She became pregnant with you. I put Sibella on a strict diet. I monitored her daily progress. I was at her side for every moment of her pregnancy. There were a few times where I truly did not think you would make it, but you did. Some days it seemed like you fought to live just for your mother's sake.

"Those nine months she carried you seemed like a walk in the park on the day of the delivery. It's the day that haunts my every nightmare. It was the day I lost the only person I had ever loved with all my heart." A tear fell from Cassandra's eye. "All the things I thought that could go wrong, went wrong. I did everything to save her. Everything."

Angel reached out to hold Cassandra's hand as more tears fell from her eyes.

"My attempts were for nothing. In the end, I don't think anyone could have saved my sister from death." Cassandra squeezed Angel's hand. "The first month of your life were a struggle. I was never sure if you would breathe your last breath while you slept. In that month, I learned that your witch and Grim Reaper genes were at war with each other. Kid allowed me to have complete access to Death's library and with it I found a spell to suppress your witch genes. After I preformed the spell your health took a turn for the better.

"I asked Kid for samples of your DNA to see if I could find a way to harmonize your witch and Grim Reaper genes. I asked for the books you have brought me for the same purpose. I know I can find a way to give you everything your mother would have wanted."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. The story Cassandra had told sinking into Angel's heart. Angel longed to ask question about her mother but held her tongue. Now wasn't the time for them.

Angel spoke softly, "He never told me any of that."

Cassandra pulled her hand out of Angel's. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Kid didn't want to risk losing you like he had lost your mother. Kid wanted to leave the witch side of you buried."

"Thank you for telling me the truth," Angel said. "When can we begin?"

Cassandra smiled.

Author note:

Thank you Kazuto Satoshi for never giving up hope! Your review made my heart so very happy! Thank you for reading!