Charlie was afraid after that, however she didn't know what exactly it was that she had become afraid of. Alastor or what he had said? Maybe a little of both? On one hand she hardly knew him from Adam and he certainly behaved very strangely and she had been warned to stay away from him. On the other hand though he hadn't exactly done anything to suspect danger and even saved her life. Then there was the matter of what he told her. As unsettling as his tone and behavior was, she knew that he was being completely sincere. And there was something familiar about what he said.
"Do not give up your heart or your eyes, no matter what she promises you."
Giving up your heart and your eyes, she read about something like that in the book Gina gave her, and now that she thought about it, things in this world looked very much like the illustrations in that book.
"I wonder."
"Hon you were fantastic!"
Her worries and suspicions were interrupted by Vaggie meeting her outside the theater.
"I mean I always figured you would be a good actress but you were even better than I hoped." She said.
"You really think so?"
"I just saw it for myself. You're probably going to become world famous someday."
"Thanks Vaggie, I really hope so."
They started down the hall and at the end there stood Levana waiting for them with a smile on her face.
"Was it wonderful dear?" She asked Charlie.
"Yes! It was great! Just as I always imagined it!" Charlie said, momentarily letting the excitement of it all overshadow her reasoning. "I can't believe you did all of it for me! I mean the spotlight, the stage, the music, the costuming, oh it was all like magic."
Levana seemed especially pleased with Charlie's reaction.
"So would you say this is the happiest night of your life?"
"Yes."
"Charlie, Vaggie, do you two like it here?"
"Yes." Vaggie answered.
"Sure." Charlie said. "It's much more interesting here than at home."
"In that case I would like to have a private conversation with you each. It's on a very important matter."
She chose to speak to Charlie first, leading her into an elegant drawing room where full-length mirrors seemed to hanging all around, equally elegant furniture, and a desk stacked with papers.
"I'm glad you like it here Charlie." She said. "Because I'd like to think that this is your home. You can stay here forever, if you want to?"
"Stay?" Charlie spoke, not expecting that offer.
"Yes. After all, this is a world where I provide a happy home for unhappy children, and from I've seen you are very unhappy living at your old home and it's not like you have a family back there."
"Well that's not true. I do have Stolas and Octavia."
"But they're not really your family. They don't act like it."
"What do you mean?"
"That man seems to only focus on his little girl, his flesh and blood. Not you. I mean he is always asking you to look after her, never even thinking about what you want or that you might already have plans for something much more important. Like trying out for the school play for instance."
"I guess- Hey wait aminute, how did you know about that?"
But Levana ignored the question and just continued.
"He really should appreciate you more, not every girl would just drop everything just to do what her parent and guardian requests of her. You're a very good girl. Very well-behaved and obedient. He asks too much of you, if you ask me."
"Can't argue with that. What really bothers me is that he doesn't ever consider that maybe I have my own problems to deal with like he does."
"Maybe he just doesn't feel that he should. Maybe he doesn't think it's his responsibility to do such things. After all, he isn't your father and technically he didn't choose to take you in. He was named your guardian in your parents's will. He probably feels like your something he was saddled with. A burden."
"Burden? Oh no, it's not like that at all. That will didn't force him to take me in. He could have always just said no and sent me to foster care. But he didn't."
"Only because the guilt would have eaten him alive. Your parents were his lifelong friends, imagine how awful he would feel to just turn their orphaned daughter away to live in some dreadful foster home. But if he had found a more suitable guardian, he would have left you with them without any guilt."
Charlie didn't like how Levana was talking about Stolas right now. True she believed that she would never be at the top of Stolas's priority list, but she didn't think for second that Stolas was guilt-tripped into taking her in or that he viewed her as some kind of burden. Stolas loved children, all children, as opposed to Stella who hated all children except her own. Then again Stella pretty much hated all living things except Octavia but that wasn't the point, the point was Stolas did choose to take in Charlie. He wanted to take her in, and there was nothing more to be said about it.
"Stolas isn't like that. We have our problems but he's never made me feel like a burden and again, how do you know all this? About my parents being life-long friends with Stolas and their will naming him my legal guardian? I never told you any of that."
She smiled and said, stroking Charlie's hair with her long fingers,
"A mother knows everything about her child."
Charlie flinched and stepped back.
"You're not my mother."
The expression on her face didn't change but Charlie had a feeling that she struck a nerve with those words.
"Oh dear what an awkward situation." She chuckled. "I'm terribly sorry for making you feel uncomfortable Charlie. It's just that for a moment you reminded me so much of my daughter Elizabeth."
"Daughter? You have a daughter?"
"I had four lovely daughters and two sons. I loved them all very much, but then one tragic day I lost them."
"I'm so sorry." Charlie said, her tone now sympathetic and kind. "What happened to them? If you don't mind me asking."
"Oh it's a terrible, sad tale. You see I was often used and abused my men and for that reason, none of my children shared a father and I had to take care of them all on my own. And no one would help me because they assumed I was a whore who got what I deserved. I worked very hard to give my children everything, but no matter what I did, it just wasn't enough. And then one day my eldest child Elizabeth, was raped and murdered by a local boy and my brother blamed me, said it wouldn't have happened if I had taken better care of her. So he took my remaining children away and nobody stopped him because he was rich and I wasn't. But he was abusive and he ended up killing them all in the end. I was left alone."
Charlie's compassion for the woman grew as she listened to her speak. It was probably one of the saddest and most awful stories she had ever heard. This poor woman, no wonder she acted so peculiar at times, it was because her whole life had been a living hell and she had lost everything she ever loved. It was a miracle that she wasn't worse off.
"That's why I created this world, not just to give unhappy children a home but so that I can once again know the joy of having a family."
Charlie went over to hug her, giving her comfort and kindness. She felt Levana hug her in return but for some reason it didn't feel like a hug. At least not like the hugs she had gotten from her parents or Stolas or Octavia or Vaggie. In fact it almost felt like a possessive clutch.
Then suddenly Levana's body became stiff when she spotted the rose in Charlie's hand. She jerked back and snatched the flower from her.
"Where did you get this?" She demanded to know. "This didn't come from the garden!"
"Someone gave it to me."
"Who?"
"Just someone who liked my performance."
"It was him, wasn't it?!" She snapped.
"Who?"
"Don't play innocent with me! You know who! It was that blight Alastor! Wasn't it?! I told you to stay away from him!"
"He didn't hurt me. Nothing happened."
"That doesn't matter! I told you to stay away from him! When I tell you to do something you are supposed to obey me!"
"Excuse me?"
She grabbed Charlie roughly by the arm and started to drag her over to the desk.
"Hey! That hurts!"
She sat Charlie down at the desk, and pulled out a paper and pen which she slammed down in front of her.
"You're gonna sit down right now and write a hundred times I will not disobey my mother!"
"What?"
"Right now! Do it!"
"No!" Charlie stood up defiantly. "I already told you, you're not my mother! What is wrong with you?!"
"Don't you dare speak to me that way young lady! You will show me respect!"
"I wanna go home! Right now!" Charlie cried.
For a split-second, Charlie thought that Levana was going to draw back and strike her in the face. But instead she smiled brightly.
"Very well, if that's what you want." She said. "I only want what's best for you."
Yet she crushed the rose into her fist.
"I'll give you more time to think on my offer. I'm sure you'll make the right choice and then we'll all be together as one big happy family."
"Yeah. Sure. Something like that." Charlie said trying to control the quaking in her voice.
"See you tomorrow evening?"
"Yeah. You bet."
Levana reached out her hand and beckoned, gently, with one finger. Her lips speaking, very quietly.
"See you soon."
Charlie turned and hurried out of the drawing room, immediately searching the hall for Vaggie. She found her all the way on the other side and bolted toward her as fast as she could.
"Charlie what is it?" Vaggie asked, noticing the sweat on her brow.
"Vaggie we gotta go! Now!"
"But Levana said she needed to-"
"Now is not a good time! We really need to go home! Tout Suite! Andale, andale!"
"Okay but what's going on? What happened back there?"
"I'll explain once we're across the bridge, for now let's just move."
Vaggie was confused but she complied. They quickly left the palace and headed straight across the bridge, not saying one word until they reached the otherside.
"Vaggie I don't think we should go over there anymore." Charlie said.
"Why?"
"Because I think there is something seriously wrong with that woman."
"What do you mean? What did she say to you?"
"She found out that I was talking to Alastor and she went off on me! She started acted like my mother and tired to punish me!"
"Oh my God, did she hurt you?"
"No. Not really. She just tried to make me write down 'I won't disobey my mother' a hundred times."
"Okay that's weird."
"Uh-huh."
"And before that she started saying things like how Stolas and Octavia aren't really my family and that he doesn't really care about me. That he looks after me out of obligation."
"Well doesn't he?"
"No! Of course not!"
"Take it easy, don't get mad at me. You're the one who's always complaining about him."
Charlie paused, taking a moment to really let Vaggie's words set in. She was right. All charlie ever really did was complain about her new family to other people. Going on and on about how he doesn't ever listen to her or so anything she wants. Or how annoying Octavia was. It was very little when she ever said anything to imply that she loved them and they loved her.
She started to feel guilty and to think that she had been behaving like an ungrateful brat. Thinking back on it, Stolas really was doing his best and it wasn't his fault that his ex was being unreasonable. And as she mentioned earlier, he always had the opportunity to send her away to a foster home but he never did. And she knew it couldn't have been out of guilt because if so, why would he do things like give her all her mother's gowns and father's journals, and take her to the theater. You don't normally do stuff like that out of guilt or obligation, you do it out of love and to make that person you love happy.
Octavia was quite spoiled and could be very annoying at times, but she was still a very sweet kid who only wanted someone to play with her. She seemed to accept Charlie as her own sister from the very beginning, going out of her way to always share with Charlie and include her in everything she did with her father. She wasn't bratty or nasty or mean, she was just being a kid.
"You're right Vaggie, I have done nothing but complain about them." She said. "But that stops now. Things are going to change around here from now on."
With that said, Charlie went home, wanting to put everything about this night behind her. Unfortunately it wasn't going to be that easy and starting tomorrow night, things were going to get worse.
