For the love of Charlotte or Carcais

Charlotte arrived in Carcais, hoping for peace, a place to heal from the chaos of Braga. It was 18:46 when Charlotte’s flight touched down at O’hare International Airport in the Northwest of Carcais. The summer air of mid-August seemed like a good day to see fascinating monuments around the city but her mind was preoccupied with the joy of seeing her niece Sati. She wore a sleeveless top over her denim pants, a radiating smile over her oval face that could lighten a football stadium. Her long red hair fell over her shoulder, giving her the look of an adorning young woman. She walked with a feline guile that would make one mistake her for a bimbo, but she was far from that. She'd fought bravely in Braga as a combat soldier, which had given her the prerequisite skill to adapt to fighting and defend herself. As she looked up towards the terminal, she saw a multitude of people walking around trying to catch their flights or find their luggage. To her, this seemed like the busiest airport terminal in the world. After she thought about how busy the airport was, her mind drifted back to Sati. She had had a lot of conversations with Sati on her Motorola phone over several weeks before she decided to leave Braga for good, and now she’s finally meeting with her adorable niece, who promised to take her to the Navy Pier theme park just across town. She went through the necessary checks at the terminal and waved for a taxi when she arrived by the roadside. In a heartbeat, a cab had pulled over. She was walking up to the cab, looking a bit unsure. "Hi, can I get a ride downtown?" Charlotte said to the driver. "Sure, hop in. Where exactly are you headed?" "Umm, I think it’s the Hyatt Regency on King Street. First time here, so I’m not familiar with the area." "Welcome to the city! You’ll love it here. The Hyatt, right? That’s a popular spot downtown. It should take us around 25 to 30 minutes depending on traffic." The Cab Driver said as he started the meter and drove out of the airport. "Just visiting,” Charlotte said as she tried to turn down the window to feel the cozy fresh air in. “I’ve heard good things about the city, so I thought I’d finally come visit or maybe stay a while here." "Lots to see in Carcais, ma’am” said the driver “How long are you planning to stay here? Will you be staying downtown while you are in the city?" "Yes, I will be staying downtown, and I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying yet. It all depends on what the city offers and how it treats its guests. Any recommendations on what to do or go first?" she asked the driver reluctantly. "This time of year? Well, too bad things have changed a little bit now. It’s usually the best time to see the Buckingham Fountain on Columbus Drive, but it can get wary downtown now, especially in the evenings. You might want to carry a Glock with you, just in case." His cold words sent chills down her spine. Silence deluged them after the driver's words. A few minutes had gone by when the driver pulled up to the entrance of Mikel’s convenience store and said to Charlotte. "Alright, we’re there. Mikel’s convenience store is just up ahead. Do have a great time in the city from here on." "Here you go. Thanks for the ride and all the tips. I appreciate it." She said to the driver as she highlighted the cab. As Charlotte approaches the store slowly, her footsteps falter as she notices the glass shards littering the sidewalk. Shelves inside are toppled over, and the door swings open in the faint evening breeze. Then, she sees her uncle Mikel, kneeling in front of the store, cradling the small, limp body of Sati, his seven-year-old daughter. His hands shake as they try to hold onto the child who is no longer there. Mikel’s voice cracked, low and broken. “She was just outside, Charlotte. Just outside.” Charlotte’s voice trembled, barely a whisper. "Uncle…?" Her breath catches as her legs feel like they might give out as she rushes forward. "What no, no, no! This can’t be real. Sati? Sati!" Her voice cracks as she drops to her knees beside him, her hands hovering over the small body of her niece. "She’s—she’s not—" a stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. Mikel nods slowly, his face pale, tears spilling down his cheeks as he grips her tighter. "She’s gone, Charlotte… she’s gone." Charlotte was shaking her head in disbelief, her hands covering her mouth as she stared at Sati’s lifeless body. "No, no… this isn’t happening. She was just… she was just here, she was—" her voice fades. "What happened? Why… why Sati?" Charlotte said nothing. There were no words for this kind of loss. A robbery? But Charlotte knew better. It seemed to be more than that—she thought about the chilling advice the driver had given her on her way from the airport, and now she was engulfed in an existential rage that had made her leave Braga. This was another casualty in the violence that consumed Carcais. As they tried to get her to the hospital, Mikel called 911 in a stench of desperation. Siren echoes clung to the streets in the distance, a faint but constant reminder that Carcais was no safe place. On the day that followed Sati’s death, Charlotte was eager to learn more than she wanted to about Carcais and its war. She had woken up early to make breakfast. She had little sleep with a heart full of grief and mourning. How could such a thing have happened on the day of her arrival in the city she had come to for refuge? If she had been here earlier, would she have protected Sati? She walked her way to the kitchen with a sad look and hesitated about everything, but she would need to be strong for her uncle. Now he needed her more, now than ever, to go through this pain. This pain is damn too heavy for anyone to bear. The pain of losing Sati would be too much for him to bear alone. She knocked on the door leading to his room in a bid to check on him. “Hey uncle, I’m making breakfast”, Charlotte called out from the door. “I will be right out in a few minutes” he answered cheerfully from inside his room. “They said it was a robbery,” Mikel muttered as he walked into the kitchen while Charlotte was making breakfast of scrambled eggs with bacon, his gaze distant. “But… it wasn’t. This city—it’s tearing itself apart. The packs… they don’t care who gets hurt.” “Uncle… you haven’t told me everything. What’s going on here? Sati didn’t just die because of some random robbery. Did she? I feel there’s something else, something bigger.” Mikel pauses, looking emotional and running his hand through the newspaper he held over his face, exhaustion seeping into every movement. “You’ve always been sharp, Charlotte. I tried to tell you, but I couldn’t tell you before you got here, I couldn’t say anything over the phone, and now that Sati is dead, I can’t hide it anymore. The city's at war. Two warring packs of werewolves had been locked in a brutal conflict and their rivalry is ruled by bloodlust and terror. The streets of Carcais are their battlegrounds, each corner a potential death trap. Not the kind you hear about on the news, not with soldiers and tanks… but a war just the same. It’s the pack. This city… it’s their battlefield.” Mikel mumbled these words with a trembling voice, tears rolling down his eyes. Charlotte widened her eyes, confusion mixing with disbelief. “Packs? What do you mean, packs? Like… gangs?” Mikel shook his head, his voice lowering as though speaking the words aloud might summon danger. “No, not gangs. Werewolves, Charlotte. The Phoenix Pack, they’ve been here for generations, watching over the city in their way. Keeping the peace, if you can call it that. But the Blooded… they came out of nowhere. Ruthless, bloodthirsty. They’re not just fighting for control. They’re tearing this city apart.” Charlotte’s face hardens as the truth sinks in. Werewolves. A war raging beneath the surface of the city she now called home. It sounds impossible, but she feels the truth in Mikel’s words, in the unspoken fear that has loomed over Carcais since the moment she arrived. Charlotte pondered on her uncle’s words as they ate their breakfast in complete silence. Why now? Why did they come for Sati? Right there and then, she made up her mind to get to the bottom of it all. She cleared up the table as they finished their meal, and then Mikel got ready by pulling over his trenchcoat and headed for his store. “I will come work with you at the store when I’m done with cleaning,” she said to her uncle as he headed towards the front door. “Alright Charlotte” he replied warmly, “but you know, you don’t have to do this. You can’t babysit me all day, you know. I’m still your uncle.” “You’re my uncle quite all right” she replied with a smirk on her face. She moved forward towards him, adjusting his collar, as he had not worn his coat properly in a bid for him to hurriedly leave the house. “You see. You need me more than you can want to admit, uncle, and glad to be here to babysit you” When Mikel had left the house, Charlotte sat by the dining table, in a long pause thinking about everything her uncle had told her about the werewolf war, the phoenix pack and the blooded. How they’ve made Carcais the violent city it has become. How would she uncover the death of Sati? Who will be the next victim of their raging war? Mikel, her uncle? She, who would have just arrived in the city? She continued her thought as she made her way to clear the dishes. After she was done with the dishes, she headed to her room to prepare for her new life in this violent city.