"CHARLIE!" she heard Alex call her.
She broke the kiss and heard foot steps. She pushed Tala off her and she sat up.
"Is that your sister?" he asked, looking in the direction the call came from.
"Yes," she said, looking as a shadow appeared on the pathway.
She got up and looked at him.
"Go, before she sees you." She said, as he got up.
"We can tell her, you know." He said, doing his buttons up again.
"No, go." She said, straightening her hair.
He smiled at her and walked away. He turned around and looked at her.
"Where must I meet you?" he asked her.
In her mind she, wanted to shout no, but she couldn't.
"I'll find you. Now go." She said to him as he disappeared into the shadows.
She sighed. She was on this slippery slope again. This sinful, lustful, delightful, enticing and dangerous slope of pleasure. Alex appeared in the light. She looked at her and sighed.
"Here you are, come on, it's getting late. Let's go home." She said, walking up to her sister and touching her shoulder.
"I would like to stay out little longer; it's such a warm night." She said to her sister, checking the tree line for Tala.
He was still there, watching them.
"Besides, I would like my first lesson in Beyblading, if you still have the gall to teach me." She said, walking to a Beyblading dish in the center of the lawn.
"Of course, but not a long lesson, I'm hungry." She said, walking to the other side of the dish.
"Now, this is how you load your beyblade into your launcher, properly, to get maximum spin and power into it, right from the start." She said, loading her own blade in.
Charlie watched her and did as she instructed. They counted down and launched. The two beyblades span in the center of the dish.
"Good, now, call to Anukis. Ask her to come out." Alex said.
Charlie swallowed hard and looked at her beyblade glistening in the full moon light. It was beautiful. It took her breath away for a second and she was lost in thought.
"Charlie, before the power runs out." Alex brought her back to life.
"Oh, right. Anukis, come out, please." She asked and nothing happened.
She looked at Alex and she shrugged her shoulder.
"Try shouting her name." she said.
Charlie nodded and looked at her blade.
"ANUKIS!" she shouted piercingly into the air.
All of a sudden, the sound of gears grinding harder and faster filled the park air. The beyblade catching speed as the defense spikes cut through the air created a soft whistling sound that filled the air. A thin line of gold light emerged from her bit. It grew thicker and thicker and eventually a form started to fill in the beam of light. The beam faded and in front of her was Anukis, the sacred winged beast that had protected the pharaohs of ancient times. With the wings of a great eagle and the intimidating body on a lioness, she bathed the park with golden light. She opened her wings and straightened them out before letting out a mighty roar. Charlie was in awe. She was so beautiful it took her breath away. She looked back at Charlie and Charlie swore she saw her smile.
"Hello, Charlie." She said.
"Hello, Anukis." she thought back.
Anukis looked towards the tree line and saw Tala. She turned to face him and roared threateningly at him. She crouched down and pounced in his direction.
"No, Anukis," she shouted and ran toward the tree line.
She saw her looking among the trees for him, but he was gone now. Charlie sighed in relief and then gasped. All of a sudden, there was a burst of golden light. She felt something knock her off her feet. She flew back and hit the ground with a hard thud. She felt the sudden energy she had gotten when she summoned Anukis fade and she knew she had lost. Her blade had stopped spinning and Anukis was gone. She looked up and saw that a tree had been knocked over, and Anukis was embedded in the trunk.
"I guess that means I win." Alex said, looking at her blade spinning in the dish.
She hadn't seen her sister fall. She looked up at her, getting ready to gloat, till she saw her on the ground. She gasped, called Bellona back and ran to her. She skidded to a stop next to her and looked at her.
"Are you okay, are you hurt?" she asked.
Charlie covered her eyes with both hands and Alex saw tears running out from under her hands.
"I'm losing everything, my match… Kai. Everything." She said, weeping softly to herself.
"Hey, I've been blading longer, it'll take time, but you'll get better. And as for Kai, is it really worth loving someone who doesn't love himself, or even know himself for that matter." She said, helping her sit up.
Charlie looked at her and Alex smiled.
"He feels imperfect, and thus, isn't worth the time of a princess." She said, wiping a tear off her cheek.
She saw her sister wanting to cry again and hugged her tightly. Charlie hugged her back just as hard.
"If he comes back whole, maybe you'll love him more, but if he doesn't, then it's his loss." She whispered into her ear.
"I love him the way he is. I can see who he is, why can't he see it too?" She asked her sister, seeing Tala walking off in the distance.
"That's something he needs to find out himself. You can't tell him who he is, he won't believe you." She said.
She felt Charlie laugh and she knew she was all right.
"That's about right. How did you get to know him so well?" Charlie asked her.
"Communicating with someone every hour for three days will do that to you." She said to her, as she saw the shadows of the Bladebreakers coming up the path.
"Heads up, here they come." She said breaking the hug.
She wiped Charlie's tears away and got up. She walked towards the tree that had taken Anukis hostage. They came into sight and as soon as Kai saw the broken tree with Alex standing next to it, he walked up to it. Kai looked at the smoking blade and pulled out the tree. He held it in his hand and Alex walked closer to him.
"She did this?" he asked her.
"By mistake. Without even trying." She said, looking at her sister.
"She'll be strong Kai, worthy to be called your partner." She said to him, looking at her sister as the others went to her side.
"We heard the tree falling and we thought we'd come check it out." Max said to her.
"Thanks Max." she smiled at him.
They were talking to her but she wasn't getting up. Kai was getting worried. Had she broken something.
"I know. But will I be strong enough to call her mine." He said, walking towards them.
Tyson and Ray saw him coming and stepped aside for him. He walked up to Charlie and knelt beside her. He held out her blade and she took it from him.
"You keep this up, and you'll be giving your sister a run for her money in the next tournament." He said to her.
She didn't look at him.
"Thanks." She said softly, trying to get up.
She came up half way and fell back. Kai caught her but she steadied herself and pushed his hands away.
"I'm okay." She said to him, getting up.
She walked a few steps and sat down on the bench. She sighed and looked at Anukis. She was okay.
"Wow, you can really take a beating." She said to her.
"What are you doing, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Let me find him, please, just give me one minute with him." She snarled back.
"No. He's staying. He's going to be the only excitement I have for now. And he's a wolf in wolf's clothes. I know what I'm getting into." She thought back.
The message got through, because she felt like Anukis was giving her the cold shoulder.
"Fine then but don't come crying to me when the wolf bites you." She said, retiring for the night.
"Can you speak to her through your mind yet?" Kai asked her sitting next to her.
"Yes, we're getting to know each other. She's awesome." She said, smiling at her bitbeast.
She felt a subtle glow against her skin. Anukis was blushing. She looked away from Kai and tried to avoid eye contact with him.
"I'm sorry you're hurting, but imagine if I did this ten years from now, when we're married, with kids, it would hurt more than it is now. At least this way, if, things don't work out, there will someone else for you." He said.
Only two words caught her attention.
"Married, kids. Kai, you could see yourself marrying me?" she asked him, looking him dead in the eyes.
"Of course, but the way I am now, I wouldn't want you to marry me, even though it's the only thing I want, it's not healthy for you." he said to her without hesitating.
"When are you going to get it? I love you. Rough, anti-social, quiet, strong willed, stubborn you. Any other way and it won't be you." She said to him.
He sighed and looked down.
"I know." He said.
She saw that he wasn't convinced. She reached out and took hold of his hand. He looked at her.
"That's enough for me. You are worth loving and the risk of loving you is the only thing I want right now." She said, inches away from his face.
She had to make him understand. He pulled his hands out from hers and she looked down, only to see his hands coming to her face. He cupped his hands around her face and she savored the warmth of his skin.
"I love you too. But this is something I have to do, not just for me, but for us." He said.
She leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes. This might be the last time she can be close to him.
"I will come back for you. But I don't know when. And, you shouldn't wait for me. Go out, have… fun." He struggled with the last word.
She felt the anger welling up again. She got up and looked away from him. She looked a little over her shoulder at him. He got up and walked up behind her.
"As long as my heart is beating, I will wait for you." She said honestly to him.
She meant every word. He reached out and took her hand and spun her gently around. She watched his eyes as he pulled her close to him. She lifted her arms and hugged him. She felt him press his lips gently against her neck and kiss it.
"I love you. Never forget that." He whispered in her ear.
"I won't." She said.