Eternal Flame
part 4
"Alright. Be honest."
"What I'm supposed to be...is looking for another job," the voice mumbled, as Paige Matthews quickly shoved a single scoop of vanilla ice cream into her mouth, glancing at her half sister with a fairly innocent gaze.
"Well, indulging in bad habits, is not going to make it any better," her sister noted.
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Have I really been neglecting Alex lately?"
"What? You mean, besides more than usual?"
"I'm serious, Paige. Work with me here!"
"Either way," she added, pointing the spoon in Phoebe's direction, "I'm going to get myself into trouble. So what makes you think I should even bother?"
"Because I want to hear what you have to say," Phoebe told her quietly, her voice set just above a whisper.
"Then maybe I should also tell you something too."
"What?"
"You promise you won't do the overreacting thing again? Because truth be told, you are known for it."
"Spill."
"I want your word," she insisted, her expression completely serious.
"And you have it," Phoebe agreed, returning her tone, as she grabbed a seat closer to her at the table- crossing her arms lightly over her chest with an intense bout of concerntration.
"She didn't want me to say anything, because she knew you had your hands full with the twins. And maybe they're not actually going to go through with it, if they can come to a kind of compromise."
"Piper?"
Paige sighed, shoving another helping to her lips. "She and Leo are thinking about the big D word," she offered incoherantly between bites. "But you didn't hear it from me."
"Divorce?"
"Dancing," Paige returned sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Of course, divorce, Phoebe! I mean, haven't you noticed the way they've been acting around one another lately? It wasn't good for them to even be in the same room together half the time."
"I didn't- I mean, I...."
"I still think it was because he wasn't helping prepare Melinda as much as he should've," she insisted softly.
"Is that why-"
"Looks like it. I think they're testing the waters again or something. But I have a strong feeling they were already shark infested long before Melinda even came along."
"You really think so?"
"Now....you and Cole are an entirely different story altogether. The passion always seemed to set you two on fire, yet you always had other complications to deal with."
"Am I hearing you right?"
"What?"
"You've suddenly decided to appoint yourself as my therapist? We are not the ones who need fixing, remember?"
Paige calmly rolled her eyes. "I was only making a comparison. In case you're not-"
"So she's away with him now, because they've been disagreeing?"
"That pretty much covers it."
"And that's why we also have Melinda?"
"In a nutshell."
Phoebe quietly pursed her lips, pausing ever so slightly. "You know....it's funny. I...I mean, what Grams said?"
"Funny how?"
"Well, she had to have known things were turning sour between them, and yet she still proceeded to tell me something bad was coming."
"Coincidence?" her sister added, shrugging briefly.
"I think it's more than that," she whispered. "I know I've been over it a million times with Cole, but I really think it's something the Power of Three won't be able to-"
"Are you even hearing yourself?"
"Excuse me?"
"Do you see me worrying about that? No. Because some of us are more in tune with reality than others. Some of us have real issues we need to face in this world."
"Are you saying I don't face-"
"I'm saying one little warning isn't the be all, end all of this tiny little planet."
"Someone's awfully moody today."
"Oh, so you finally noticed?"
"When did you get the call?"
Paige sighed. "Does it matter? I'm just a hopeless cause with nothing to look forward to."
"You're not hopeless."
"Aren't I? I've been looking for something related to social services all week, and the newspaper has still come up a total blank."
"You'll find something," her sister assured her. "Trust me. It's just going to take a little more time."
"Yeah," Paige scoffed, offering a slight pout. "But the scary thing is....I'm still wondering if it's what I really want to go back into, you know? I wasn't happy before, and I don't think-"
"So....re-invent yourself," she proclaimed loudly, giving her a small smile. "It's not the first time someone has decided to do it, and it certainly won't be the last."
"I'm not sure what mean."
"I mean....take the entire evening off. Go and find yourself."
"Um...isn't that Cole's part time job?" she quipped.
"I can get Grams to watch the twins, and-"
"Speaking of which, how do you think he's making out with the little ones?"
Phoebe just grinned, propping a hand neatly beneath her elbow. "I don't have a doubt in my mind."
"It's weird, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"How he's still so great with them- all of them. I still can't believe a guy with such an evil-"
"And I thought we weren't going to bring that up anymore?"
"And we're not."
"Then why are you still talking about his past yet? It's over...it's done with. In fact, you're the only one who ever seems to get kicks still discussing it."
"But he's overcome a lot, right?"
"Been over it," Phoebe added, holding up a hand, as she lifted herself up out of the chair, trying to hide the small grin that was slowly spreading over her pretty face.
"Don't you want to hear a story about the guy I met?"
"No, I really don't."
"Why not?"
"Because five years from now, you will still feel inclined to bring up all of his wrongdoings too."
Paige simply stuck her tongue out at her sister, jokingly rolling her eyes, as she abruptly closed the box of ice cream.
**********
"A long, long time ago, there once lived a beautiful Egyptian peasant girl. Her parents sought to educate her on proper values....hoping she'd someday find her way to the top of society. But, see, back then, it was extremely uncommon for such a circumstance to gain the kind of wealth they probably deserved. So in a nutshell, this girl had probably just hit a dead end." He paused a moment, glancing around at the tiny bodies that had since accumulated themselves around the bare floor, their eyes trained exclusively in the direction of Cole Turner's face, their hands folded neatly into their laps, as curiosity had gotten the better of them. "She was determined to make something of herself though. And one day, she found herself a job in pharoah's quarters. This was an important achievement for her, considering how difficult it was to get these kinds of things."
"Did she die a tragic death like Juliet?" Catrina piped up, suddenly cutting him off. "Because if memory serves, those Egyptian girls were really no better than folklore today. I'll bet she killed herself or saw her lover dead, didn't she?"
"Catrina, could you please let Mr. Turner finish telling the story?" Miss Franklin uttered, her tone filled with a slight impatience.
"She did die," Cole whispered. "But her lover was cursed for all eternity."
"Now, that...is really creepy," the little girl mouthed, shrinking back a little.
"Is it a true story?" Alex questioned, looking at her father with big eyes.
"It's been documented as pure speculation from the records that were kept from that era," he explained. "No one really knows."
"So what happened to that girl? How did she meet the man?" Catrina continued.
"Pharoah's son," he told her. "He was really well to do, and someone often wondered what he saw in someone like her. But there was a romance of sorts that did in fact happen between them. Supposedly, he seduced her....then turned his back on her the following day. Thinking he still cared, she made a promise to herself to always be with him, and to win him over...no matter the cost. She believed he still loved her very much, despite how he'd refused her."
"So is it a lesson in love, or a curse?" Miss Franklin spoke up once again, as she quietly narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pursed in a troubled expression.
"Both," he sided, shrugging. "Her promise led to his curse. She never knew it, of course, and was appalled at the fact that her feelings for him could pull him even farther away from her. Unless she could find a body to take his place, there was no way she could try and free his spirit in its resting place."
"Sounds depressing," Catrina commented. "Doesn't it sound depressing, Mr. Turner?"
"Did she ever find the body?" Alex questioned excitedly.
"They say he died a mysterious death at the hands of the Nile one night," he whispered.
"So she never saw it again?"
"She never found the body, but some say she's still looking...or rather her spirit is. And when she finds it, she will probably vow to let nothing stand in her way. Others claim it's hidden away- in a forbidden tomb no one has ever laid eyes on, except those that placed him there."
"Wow," the little girls breathed in unison.
"I don't believe it," a boy spoke up. "If she was pretty enough, he would have stayed with her."
Cole offered a slight chuckle. "Back then, your status ranked above everything else. Regardless of what she looked like, it still wouldn't permit him to give her the time of day."
"What?"
"His father was rich, and he'd fallen into his means of status by family. She was just a poor girl with little to nothing."
"Well, that's not fair," another girl added. "He should love her because of her."
"Yes, and if Mr. Turner would kindly tell us how this relates to Egypt-"
"I was just getting to that Miss Franklin."
"Well, by all means..."
"People say that if you lay a hand on anything that was taken as sacred from the burial grounds, that they'll fail to see the light of day again. It's a common myth on documentaries, but there have been no cases of it actually happening. When she cursed her beloved, she also cursed all and everything around him."
"The tomb then, I presume?"
"Yes. The tomb, his riches...everything."
"Impressive," she then uttered, running a hand neatly through her long blonde hair.
"I thought so."
"Mr. Turner, would you mind accompanying me for the remainder of the field trip?"
"Is that a....bad thing?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. "Because you wanted me to tell them a story, and I did. I don't see-"
"No. No, I just want to compares notes, actually," she assured him, offering a slow smile. "You obviously have quite the perception on history."
"I...do?"
As the kids got up, and began to separate every which way, Alex and Catrina tore themselves easily from the crowd, lingering a few feet behind the two adults, as they began to travel through yet another corridor of the large museum, their low giggles escaping briefly through the air. Cole calmly cleared his throat, as he regarded the young woman rather reluctantly, half expecting her to give him a lecture at any minute. But she quietly folded her arms over her chest, and let her vision wander to the floor below, a chuckle echoing through her lips.
"In all the years I've been studying fields like these, I've never quite met anyone like you, you know that?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," he admitted, his scruffy profile displaying a hint of confusion. "My guess was that I was probably too forward back there. That...is what you're going to proceed to tell me, isn't it?"
"Oh, you were anything but. I'm sure it's been quite awhile since any of them have heard something so intriguing."
"Really? Don't they have parents?"
She smiled. "Well, naturally when you come to school, you expect to take something from it- learn something you didn't know before. Whether that curse is true or not, you sure made their day back there."
"Thank you," he offered lightly, nervously clasping his hands in front of him.
She nodded her head, as her smile widened. "You're welcome." She paused a moment, as she carefully came to an abrupt halt beside one of the newer exhibits, a sign of caution perched directly above it, the yellow tape swaying briefly from a slight breeze that whistled anonymously through the hall. "Maybe I was wrong about you. And...and I'm sorry. I really had no right to go off on you like that before. I don't know you, and- well, I guess the same goes for me, doesn't it?"
"I'm sorry?"
"I know it's only my first year of teaching, but I really-"
"Yes, and I wasn't implying that at all."
"Is that right? Well....you sure could've fooled me."
"Miss Franklin, I know for a fact I could never do what you do. I have a completely different approach to life, and given past events, I know this career wouldn't work for me."
"So you'd rather have an occupation that is as dishonest as the day is long?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what are you-"
"In this case- can I please ask to be taken out of this group? Because I'm not so sure I entirely comply with its instructor anymore."
"And your wife must have quite the time with you at home," she observed, smirking.
"I really don't believe that's any of your business."
"Well, yes. As an attorney at law, you probably have some kind of secret means of protection to hide all of that too, don't you?"
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
But a low rumbling in the distance suddenly caught his attention, the noise seeming to grow deeper with each increasing minute. He examined the hallway behind them with a fairly alert sense, as his blue eyes concentrated on pinpointing its origin. But there was no one- nothing there. Nothing even remotely out of the ordinary. As it grew even more profound, he placed his hands upon his head, carefully covering his ears.
"Can you hear that?!"
"Hear what? Why are you shouting?!" she called back, only half realizing her own voice had risen another octave as well.
"You can't hear it?!"
"Mr. Turner, is this some kind of joke?!"
"Just listen!"
"Listen to what?! I can't..."
A pile of dust began to take form right in front of him- the sand raising itself as high as it could go. Chloe's eyes widened, as she finally caught sight of it, taking a slow step back, a hand falling directly over her chest, as she tripped clumsily onto the small carpet behind her, her heels gently falling off her feet. Shielding her frame of vision, she quickly threw out a hand to her forehead. The dust began to swirl rapidly in response, until it displayed a large circular portal, the intense heat drawing the two of them in against their will.
She screamed. But her cries almost instantly faded, as she was easily dragged into the vacant space, her hair blowing wildly against the great wind that roughly filtered itself throughout the room.
"Miss Franklin?!" Cole shouted. "Miss Franklin?!" He swallowed hard, as he painfully realized just what had begun to transpire around him. His thoughts immediately travelled to Phoebe. Her worries....her reluctance- maybe he wasn't supposed to have been here. Maybe he could have at least willed himself into believing her. But it could just as well be the work of a dark force entirely unpredicted by those above...a magic that hadn't been related to any of it. Something new...
He knew what he had to do. He brought himself to his feet, as he took a deep breath. "And if I die before I wake....you still won't get this ex-demon's soul to take." Smiling, he gently held out his hands. "Well, here goes nothing..." Leaping directly into the line of fire, the band of dust consumed him almost instantly within its inpenetrable walls.
"It is time," a voice whispered gleefully, among the swirling debris. "It is time."
"And you say it with such extraordinary power," her opponent confirmed, a smile trailing along the edges of his face.
"The little ones should be so very proud of themselves."
"Little ones?"
"The little girls," Celia bragged, giggling to herself. "Mommy and Daddy always tell you not to touch. But how did I know they wouldn't listen?"
"The curious eye is not as forbidden to them," Xavier echoed, shrugging. "They see it, they want it..."
"Oh, and Daddy will be so thrilled with his little daughter, I'm sure."
"He will entirely place her at fault. But no matter....it is done, and so shall it be."
"I like the sound of those words, Xavier. For once in your life, you sound entirely sure of yourself. You know that?"
"And did I ever think it would be anything but easy, your grace?"
"Do you want me to begin answering that, or should I merely choose to laugh at your stupidity?"
"You'll have him soon enough."
"And....he'll have me, won't he?"
"As you wish."
"He will. It's definitely not everyday that you get to revive yourself and embrace human life now, is it?"
"Maybe some just don't desire the pleasure. Have you ever thought of that?"
"He'll be so thankful, he won't even know where to start," she assured him quietly. "You just wait and see. The clock is ticking, and I'm only just getting warmed up."