‘Where am I?’ Eloise woke up abruptly to find herself by a small pond, in the middle of a very large garden. The cool evening breeze blew wisps of her dark red hair into her face.
She looked down to find herself in a beautiful white gown. She slowly stood to her feet confused.
‘My wedding day?’ But that was two days from now. She quickly touched her stomach to find no stab wounds. She found no blood in her palms either. She swore they were filled with blood minutes ago
The scene of Cole stabbing her was so vivid now. 
She died......
Yes, she died. She would never mistake the fear she felt while, Cole pushed her off the balustrade. It was real. She knew what she felt. The sharp piercing pain from the cold iron knife, he stabbed her with. The satisfaction in his eyes while he stabbed her multiple times. The hate.
 Pure hate, she thought.
But why?
Why would the love of her life kill her? 
Most importantly, why wasn’t she dead yet? Yes, she was the Phoenix. She could rise from the ashes every time she died but not this time. She was sealed.
Yes, by that woman. She’d seen that tattoo on her hand before, but where? 
Oh, she remembered it all perfectly now. There was a witch circle, the seal of the condemned, a bright red moon and her blood.... 
 She fell from a three-story building, right to the bottom of the pool. She spent her last breath drowning because she couldn’t swim. 
What a terrible way to die, she thought. Or maybe not.... She was alive, wasn’t she?
Some terrible dream that was......

INTO THE FLAMES.

“How is Annie doing?” Claire asked in a sleepy tone. 


Eloise patted her head gently. “She is fine, sweetheart. You must get better, then you can see her,” she told her. She had a bandage on her head because of a head wound from the attack the day before. Unlike Corianne who had already healed, Claire’s wound was slowly healing. 


“You want me to give her a kiss for you?” Eloise asked with a smile. Claire nodded with a smile. Lu purred and moved closer into Claire's arms. Her wounds were already healed as well. 


“Good night, Claire!” Eloise placed a kiss on her cheek and kissed Lu’s head. She tucked her in and walked toward the door. 


“Lady El!” Eloise stopped at the door and turned back to her. 


“Are you… can I call you mother?” Claire uttered shyly. 


For a second, Eloise stood speechless. Was this it? Was she going to stay here forever? Was it time to finally settle? Honestly, she had reservations about going back to the future. 


Chapter 30(Our first time)