Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Rebecca looked up at the wall clock when the only remaining customer in her shop stepped out, it was past five.

"How about we go to an ice-cream shop instead?" Rebecca said after the long silence and Victoria shrugged before standing up. Rebecca kept some few things in order. They stepped out and she locked up, they walked to the roadside and boarded a cab to the Ice-cream shop. It was a thirty minutes drive and soon, they were at the Ice-cream shop. Victoria paid the cab driver and they both alighted.

"So about Jake and Giselle?" Rebecca asked as they walked in and took their seats.

A waiter walked up to them and asked them the flavor they would prefer, he nodded and left after they told him.

Rebecca stared at Victoria, waiting for her to start talking. Instantly the Ice-cream was served.

"Giselle found out that I'm not her real mom. " Victoria said and Rebecca choked on her Ice-cream.

"What?" Rebecca said after some coughs. " How?"

"I told Jake a month ago that Dickson is not his father and that his father had died when he was four then I met Giselle's father who also lost his wife when his daughter was only two years old, so we got married so both our children would have a mother and a father. I'm sure he must have said it nonchalantly in one of their arguments, because she came to me with tear filled eyes asking me why I kept the truth from her. " Victoria said.

"Hmm... This is not good. But Jake's Father did not die, did he?" Rebecca asked.

"I can't tell him that his father is alive and he's a shape-shifting raven. " Victoria said and taking a spoon of her Ice-cream into her mouth.

"So how is Giselle taking the news?" Rebecca asked

"Not well. " She said after swallowing the Ice-cream from her mouth. Rebecca hummed then went back to her Ice-cream.

"Aren't you worried about Emily finding out what she is?" Victoria asked and Rebecca looked up at her and said. "The moment she unleashes her powers the Ravens and Phoenixes will know that an Avian with the blood of a Raven and a phoenix exist and they'll come after her. "

"It's getting late. " Victoria said, looking at her wrist watch.

"Yeah, Emily should be home by now. " Rebecca said and stood up. She called the waiter and paid the bill before walking out with Victoria. They both boarded a cab, Rebecca dropped off at the closest junction to her house and paid the driver before she started walking home, it was a fifteen minutes walk and it was not long before she got home.

She opened the door and found Emily sitting on the couch watching a movie, her eyes drifting from the movie she was watching to the door.

"Hey mom. " Emily called.

"Hey Em, how was your day?" Rebecca asked, giving her daughter a quick hug.

"Bad. " She breathed

"Aww, sorry about that honey. " Rebecca said and Emily gave no response, she just continued watching her movie.

Rebecca went to the kitchen to prepare dinner when they heard a knock on the door. "I'll go get it. " Emily said, standing up and walking towards the door. When she opened it, her jaw dropped. A dashingly handsome man, presumably in his late forties stood in front of her, She needed no one to tell her that this good looking man standing before her was her father because of the striking resemblance.

'Why did he decide to show up now after all these years? '

'Why had he come? '

"Richard?" Her mother's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey Rebecca. " He smiled brightly, stepping in as Emily gave way still staring at him?.

"I got to give you the credit Rebecca, you grew our daughter into very a beautiful young lady. " He said, turning to look at Emily still having that bright smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Rebecca asked.

"I actually came here to protect my daughter. "

"From what exactly? And how come you just suddenly changed your mind? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me or my child? " Rebecca asked, getting frustrated.

"Of all people, you should know that I didn't mean any of those things, I did what I had to do to protect both of you. You think it was fun for me? You think making such decisions was easy? Have you tried seeing things from my own point of view? You were already in danger by carrying my child and I had to choose between letting you go and be safe or holding tightly to you to only get you killed at the end. " Richard saw the confused look on Emily's face, he turned to Rebecca, he had deliberately ignored her gestures to stop what he was saying. he asked her in a whisper, "She does not know what we are does she?"

Rebecca shook her head slightly and motioned for him to follow her.

She went upstairs and Richard followed after exchanging glances with Emily. When they had climbed the stairs Rebecca opened the door to her room and stepped aside for him to enter.

"Why didn't you tell her?" He asked as soon as he stepped in.

"It's better this way. If she finds out that she is a half raven half phoenix, she will one day try to use her powers and that would make it easier for them to track her down. " Rebecca said, closing the door and walking towards him.

"The ravens already knows that a raven-phoenix exists and they won't stop until they have found and captured her because being part phoenix, they see her as a threat. " Richard said.

"But still, we must not tell her about this. " Rebecca said.

"And why is that? She needs to be able to use and control her powers, she needs to be able to protect herself from jeopardy. " Richard said, sitting on the bed.

"That's why I'm her mother, I'll protect her. " Richard laughed at Rebecca's words.

"You think you can fight the whole army of ravens that would be sent after her?"

"I'm a phoenix and phoenixes happens to be the strongest avian. " She said.

"Don't underestimate the ravens, phoenixes could be strong, but one phoenix cannot take down an army of ravens, and you're aware that the phoenixes will come after her too right?"

Rebecca didn't reply his question, the situation was deteriorating, she was baffled, She sat on the bed and buried her face in her palm.

"The best thing to do now is to tell her everything, the peril that awaits her. She deserves to know the truth. " Richard said, moving a little bit closer to her.

"Emily's life is already pretzelled, growing up without a father wasn't easy, she couldn't go to father-daughter campings, She would hide and cry secretly whenever we go out to fun parks and she sees other kids playing games with their fathers, she had few friends... we can't add to the complications. " Rebecca answered and stood up.

"We are not telling her anything!" Rebecca walked out and slammed the door really hard.

She came downstairs and didn't find Emily, she had gone up to her room.

She didn't even bother to eavesdrop, her ears were already filled with things her mouth couldn't verbalize. Only her eyes were free, so she decided to fill it with the sight of the beautiful dark blue sky filled with thousands of tiny twinkling stars.

She looked over her shoulder when she heard a soft knock on the door, her mother opened the door halfway and peeped, her eyes were searching the room, she gave a faint smile when her gaze fell on Emily before stepping in fully.

Rebecca walked to the window and stood next to her daughter, she patted Emily's back and looked up at the sky.

She thought of many ways to start the conversation, but none appeared to be good enough.

"The sky is lovely, isn't it?" She finally spoke, smiling up at the sky. Emily didn't respond, which kind of made her feel discouraged.

"I'll be downstairs, preparing dinner. " She wanted to give Emily some time alone, so she patted her on the back and left the room. Emily remained static, her eyes never left the sky.

Rebecca went to the living room and found Richard sitting on the couch with the television remote in his hands, he was watching a movie.

She snatched the remote from his hands and switched off the television.

"Common Rebecca, that was the interesting part. " Richard said.

"You have the time to watch TV, but have you tried talking to your daughter? Knowing how she feels? You need to go... " Rebecca said and looked away from him.

"But I just came. " Richard said. Rebecca walked towards the door and flung it open.

"Leave!" She yelled.

He stood up quietly and went out, and she slammed the door right behind him.