The Phoenix and the Witch

CHAPTER THREE-1

CHAPTER THREE

Cat and Evelyn were both terrified and exhilarated as they hugged their parents goodbye at the airport. Neither girl had been on a plane before, let alone a giant aircraft that would be crossing an ocean.

"You have your wallet and passport, right? And your money belt? Just in case?"

Mindy McLean fussed around Cat, attempting to straighten her jacket and the strap on her bag. Cat shrugged off her mother as gently as she could, patting her hand.

"Yes, Mom, I have everything. And I have my cell and the plan that we set up for the UK. I promise I'll text when we land for sure, okay? We'll be fine."

Her mom sighed, smiling at her sadly. "I know you will. But even though I know that you're a strong capable young woman, you're still my baby. Mommy loves you and I'd keep you locked in a safe room if it was allowed and not considered child abuse."

Cat smiled at her mom, noting her suspiciously sparkly eyes, and gave her a tighter-than-usual hug. "I love you too, Mom."

Cat looked over her mother's shoulder to see her dad smiling with a hint of mist in his own eyes. He quickly blinked, replacing the moisture with a twinkle.

"I'm really jealous, you know that, right? I haven't been to the UK since I was about eighteen. Make sure you listen to the teachers while you're there. And be careful. Try not to burn anyone alive that doesn't deserve it, okay?"

He said the last part in a light, teasing tone, but Cat felt her face turn red to match her long hair and she looked around to make sure that no one was listening. Luckily, the Valleyview airport was pretty quiet at six am and there were few people around to notice her turn into a tomato.

"Don't worry Dad, I'll be careful. We'll be in touch as soon as we land."

Cat gave her dad a hug, inhaling his familiar aftershave and realizing it would be over a month until she had the chance to do that again. She felt a lump form in her throat. While generally an independent and solitary girl, Cat loved her parents and had never been away from them for longer than a week or two for camp when she was younger, or for the odd weekend when she went to visit her sister a few hours from home. She also hated that, ever since Declan had put her parents in the hospital two years earlier, she found herself worrying about them when she wasn't around. She knew they were fine without her, but the fact that she'd be far away over the ocean gave her a sharp pang with the memory of that day.

She sniffed back a few tears of her own and stepped back, giving both her parents a brave smile. She looked at Evelyn, who was giving her own mother a bear hug at that moment. The two girls said their final goodbyes to their parents and proceeded through security, looking back to see the three adults standing at the gate, Mindy and Marie-Jean giving each other a comforting hug, while Peter stood stoically beside them. With a last wave, the girls entered the first checkpoint, before their parents disappeared from view.

A few minutes later, Cat and Evelyn were looking out the window at the gate, waiting for their plane to arrive. It wasn't busy, so there were lots of seats as well as a few places to grab food and drinks nearby, but they stood instead, watching the planes as they landed and took off.

Evelyn took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "So, here we are, on our way to a new country. Don't tell anyone I said this to you because I'll totally deny it, but I'm kind of scared."

Cat looked at her friend, then leaned into her shoulder with a small bump.

"Don't worry, Evelyn. This conversation never happened. Also, I'm scared too. I'm sort of counting on you to keep me safe. You're the cool-kid-extrovert, remember? I'm supposed to be quiet and hang back while you deal with all the strangers for me."

Evelyn laughed, lightly pushing Cat away.

"Fool. You're the strongest person I know. You don't need me for that."

"Okay, how about this? We'll help each other when we get scared and overwhelmed. Deal?" Cat said, holding out her hand to shake on it.

Evelyn nodded and took her hand, giving it a decisive pump.

"Deal. Now, let's go find somewhere to sit. Our plane doesn't leave for awhile."

Cat followed Evelyn to a nearby cluster of chairs, still looking at the planes outside as they flew away. It was going to be a grand new adventure, and Cat was looking forward to spreading her own wings.

––––––––