Make Your Move Katherine

Testing It

[Don’t fight me, Katherine. I am protecting you. I healed you from the toxin in your body, don’t you know that you could have died? Everything I do is for the good of you. Your benefit.]

Kat knew. Just as she and Ju had suspected. But who had been the one doing it?

[Not our husband. It’s someone else within these walls. I can sense it was from the very first day thus making you weak. That’s why I was so slow to awaken, I had to heal you from the inside.]

She was in the company of the former king, who seemed to be improving in his health. He no longer needed the assistance of the guards or caretakers and walked around by himself, getting back into his wheelchair himself. Of course, a guard pushed him out, just as a guard will do to get him back inside. Former king and all.

The morning air was refreshing and a beautiful sight as the plants, trees, the low-cut grass- everything was covered in the light rainfall from earlier. Even the sun wasn’t as harsh as it usually is around mid-morn. Birds chirped and butterflies fluttered from flower to flower.

The highlight of the morning had been the sight of hummingbirds. In all her life Kat had never seen the birds in real- always in books and documentaries. Even Drago seemed to be mesmerized by the tiny colorful birds himself and stared as they flew back and forth, hovering in the air.

“They’re native to our island,” he had whispered to her proudly and she responded by nodding.

Now, Drago was standing next to her as he threw broken pieces of bread into the pond. The fishes eagerly swam and ate them up excitedly as if they did indeed enjoy the taste. In no way was Kat going to inform the former king that they cannot digest it as it contained yeast and gluten. In no way was she going to say that it could lead to constipation, swelling, and bloating.

Kat had learned in the past three days that the phoenix was alive inside her all this time but was going through a birthing process. Since Kat was inside her mother’s tummy, the firebird dwelled within her- even before that, it had said but it took an encounter with Oscar to awaken it.

So why not when they knew each other in high school?

Well according to Lilith, Oscar was not a being as yet- no she didn’t mean a ‘human being’ as Kat had stated to her in sarcasm but one of a special nature.

“You mean supernatural?”

[Oh, that’s what we are called now? I like it. Super]

Kat had rolled her eyes inwardly and she could feel Lilith copying her movement strangely enough. Knowing the demon bird could feel what she felt Katherine tried her best not to think about the things bothering her and since no comment was made about her thoughts she was smothering, she figured she was successful in concealing them.

Lilith informed her about how magic works and how confused she is by this new era. How cell phones scared her but somehow music didn’t. She loved the music videos although she didn’t understand the art behind some of the artists. [I have ancient tastes]

The firebird didn’t comprehend how aeroplanes worked and why are people on the flat mirrors. She didn’t like that reporters talked about everything and talk show hosts gossiped about other people’s lives. But for some reason, Lilith loved the fashion world. She adored Kathrine’s closet and spent too much time trying on clothing and squealing about shoes that matched even the accessories.

She dislikes perfumes as she said they overpowered everything else and made her head hurt. Kat figured she meant the high scent caused her a headache.

‘Spending time with my father-in-law, check.’

Her legs tremble and not from the cold as she could sense the phoenix learning and absorbing everything she could. She longs to step back inside her quarters and Kat feels relief when she realizes that Lilith is preoccupied with her surroundings. This means that the phoenix was not over her hot-blood feelings for Oscar and she still didn’t know her thoughts as Katherine could not feel the firebird warming her up.

She has a lunch appointment with the mage now.

[Yes, I have a feeling that Ju and I will be close friends. Get your mind out of the gutter, our husband worships me and will not harm me. We are one so he will not harm you either.]

Immediately Kat is alarmed that her mind was read but soon her worry eased when no acknowledgment was made of her previous thoughts. She rolls her eyes, ‘That’s because you don’t know-’

[You keep forgetting that I know what you know. I understand that he was mean to you and you developed some rather deep not nice feelings for him as a result of this but Katherine why do you deny me?]

Kat sits down on a large rock and thinks of herself sinking beneath the floating ice blocks as if to numb the voice inside her head. But she is testing Lilith.

[Don’t you realize by now that nothing here is frightening to you?]

‘I am scared, are you crazy?’

[I mean in the general sense. I am a being, set to live for five hundred years and you know this and it does not bother you.]

Yes, Ju had informed her of this, prior.

[My husband is a vampire. There are dragons and werewolves that you never knew existed before and you seem to take it on pretty well.]

Well, it was a bit terrifying but Kat knew what she meant…wait. ‘Did she- she referred to Oscar as her husband?’

Ignoring her thoughts again, she chooses to focus on the other words recited to her instead. Why hadn’t she even questioned her own sanity about it and why she was so accepting of these creatures that came out of a bad bedtime story to her. Of why she had not freaked out like a mental patient when she knew Oscar was a vampire. Or worst when he had sliced the air with a sword and appeared in another country altogether. Of how she could have just appeared in her own apartment at will. Witches and werewolves, dragons…and how she could be so accepting of a voice that spoke to her- one that she just named- INSIDE HER HEAD.

The sword!

[What are you thinking? Stop it!]

Hah. As if the phoenix could stop her. What would she do, control her legs? And as if to prove a point Kat’s eyes widened when her hand came up and stroked her father-in-law’s shoulder.

Oh no. Kat stared in horror at her hand then held it in as Drago turned to her and smiled. He patted her hand which was still on his shoulder and turned to sit on his chair.