The Untold Truth

"You are a hybrid of two special creatures, Elaina," Sebastian stated while staring straight at her.

"A hybrid?" she repeated, unsure of what she heard.

"Yes, you are a hybrid of Phoenix and Wolf," he stated.

Elaina heard her father's full words but it registered in her memory as,

"For your safety, I can't tell you what you are a hybrid of,"

"Your dominant trait is of the Phoenix and what you experienced is called an awakening. An awakening of the powers dormant within you. It is a trait attributed to the phoenixes. Phoenixes wield the power of the sun in the form of fire. They are the polar opposites of the night creatures," Sebastian narrated.

Though the words that registered in Elaina's head filtered all mentions of Phoenix.

"What causes the awakening?" inquired Elaina.

"An awakening doesn't have a specific trigger. It can be triggered by a sudden change of emotion, extreme pain or pleasure, or even sleep," he answered.

A feeling of immense heat swallowed Elaina's senses and she shivered in trauma. "That isn't good," she commented. If the awakening was like what she felt right now, it meant it was dangerous. "That much heat can kill a person, can't it?"

Sebastian's eyes narrowed slightly, the aftereffects of the awakening were still lingering in her system. That wasn't good. Broken memories like that could end up affecting her other memories.

"The main attribute of the phoenixes is fire but even they cannot handle the heat of the awakening, so they lose consciousness temporarily to allow them to pass through it safely.

The awakening you experienced was an abnormal one that tried to happen while you were conscious which is why it took a great toll on your body. An awakening also erases all traces of itself."

"Why?"

"'Tis only when the powers have been fully awakened will the erased memories return,"

Elaina leaned back in thought. So all the times when she woke up in a new place was because of an awakening and the one that happened to her was an abnormal one. This gave rise to another question,

"Does the awakening happen often?"

"No, there is a significant relapse in between awakenings to give the body time to recover. Another reason for your prolonged unconsciousness can also be that your awakening happened twice in a short span. I was informed that it happened at the king's castle,"

"It did?" Elaina was surprised. She did remember waking up in Alex's arms without knowing why. That must be the difference between a normal awakening and an abnormal one. A normal one was suffering-free while the other one wasn't.

Her head throbbed and an image of a raging wide darkness around Alex popped into her head. She held onto that image knowing that she would forget the moment she thought about it.

"Dad, I remember seeing darkness around Alex, what was that?" she asked. Her heart raced, the fear she had felt covered her like a blanket.

"Take a deep breath, Elaina," Mya placed her hand on hers and she relaxed.

Meanwhile, Sebastian thought of the answer to sate her curiosity. This was more than the information he intended to divulge but it was better to reveal it than to let it grow into misunderstandings.

"Take a look at my hand, Elaina," he instructed and she did as told. "What do you see?"

Elaina stared at his hand which looked fine and she was about to say that there was nothing when she saw the darkness that slowly slipped out from his hand and surrounded it like an aura.

"I-I see darkness," her voice trembled. "I-it isn't a bad thing, is it?" She was scared, darkness usually meant suffering and death, they weren't going to die, were they?!

"The darkness isn't a bad thing at least not in this case," Sebastian spoke.

Elaina relaxed when she heard him and she saw darkness slowly disappear, "T-then what is it?" she asked.

"As a result of the curse placed on the night creatures, darkness clings to us like an aura. It is a symbol of the curse and also to an extent, it represents the darkness that resides in the heart."

Elaina sighed, the darkness wasn't a bad thing but, "Alex's darkness was a lot," she stated. Did it mean that he had darkness residing in his heart.

"Wolves are creatures loved by nature but that love can be a blessing or a curse depending on the point of view. A category of wolves have been gifted with darkness, a blessing and a curse,"

So Alex was a wolf gifted with darkness, she realized. He said that the darkness could be both a blessing and a curse. "Does the darkness hurt?" she asked while looking at Alex who laid on the bed with his eyes closed.

"Depending on the mental state of the owner, the darkness can be a double-edged sword and a shield,"

That meant Alex had to be of the right state of mind constantly to control the darkness. That was amazing, Elaina stared at her brother with respect. As someone who was controlled by her emotions, it was something that would prove difficult for her. She couldn't see his darkness which meant he could control it just like her father and that led to a realization,

"I couldn't see the darkness before, does that mean I have awakened a part of my sight?" she asked. 'Part' because she saw the darkness in her right eye only.

"You are correct," Sebastian beamed. He was impressed by his daughter's wit. "A part of your sight has awakened. Keep in mind that all your powers will awaken so tough times lie ahead of you, Elaina,"

She pondered over her father's words, tough times were ahead of her but what was she to do when her power awakened. "Do I have a purpose to fulfill with my power?" she asked her father.

"Your question has multiple answers but unfortunately, I only have one answer which you will find out in due time. Only you can find the answer to your question, Elaina." he answered.

"Despite the peacemaking efforts of the council, special creatures are not accepted and are only viewed as treasure troves so there is a constant hunt for them. That is why a special creature will always keep their real nature hidden lest they get killed,"

"Does that explain why your hair is different?" Elaina asked and he nodded.

"You are a hybrid of two special creatures, which makes you more of an abomination than the rest of us. That is why your powers were sealed but now that they are awakening, many will come after you with bad and relatively good intentions when they learn of your existence, so you have to tread with caution.

It goes without saying that I will always try my best to keep you safe but my actions are limited, all of our actions are. So you have to protect yourself, Elaina,"

"How do I do that?"

"Learning how to harness and use your powers is the most important but until you can do that, keep your glasses on at all times especially now that your sight has awakened. Do not trust strangers blindly and most importantly, keep your necklace on at all times," Sebastian concluded and silence fell upon the room.

Elaina felt like a huge burden had been placed on her shoulders. She carried powers wanted by power hungry people and her existence was considered an abomination. Ignorance was truly bliss, she sighed internally.

She felt a hand on her head and she turned to see Alex smiling at her. 'Leave all the burden to me' was written all over his face and Elaina felt her worries subside.

Her eyes moved to her parents who also had reassuring smiles on their faces. That's right, a smile curled up her lips, she had her family with her. They all carried the same burden as special creatures in this world, she wasn't alone.

"You must be hungry," Mya hooked her arm around her daughter's. "Leave the heavy subjects for later and let's go have a meal," she chirped and stood from where she sat along with everyone else.

"I am starving," Elaina chuckled but the moment she stepped out of the room, all information she learnt faded into a distant part of her memory.