Chapter 3 - A knock on the door

It was past five o'clock when Rebecca looked up at the wall clock as the lone remaining client in her shop walked out.

"How about we go to an ice cream parlor?" After a long silence, Rebecca spoke. It was past lunchtime already, and she could see the look of disappointment on Victoria's face.

Victoria shrugged before rising. Rebecca kept a few things in order and closed up for the day. They walked to the roadside and boarded a cab to the ice cream shop.

They arrived at the shop after a fifteen-minute journey. Victoria paid the cab driver, and the two of them exited together.

"How are Jake and Giselle doing?" As they stepped in and took their seats, Rebecca inquired.

A server approached them and asked which flavor they preferred. After they had replied, he nodded and walked away. Rebecca locked her gaze on Victoria, expecting her to speak up.

The ice cream arrived almost instantly. "Giselle discovered I'm not her biological mother." Rebecca choked on her ice cream as the words left Victoria's mouth.

"What?" After a few coughs, she asked. "How?"

"I told Jake a month ago that Dickson (Giselle's father) was not his father and that his father had died when he was four. Then I told him how I got married to Dickson, who also lost his wife when their daughter was only two years old. 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, staring emptily at the table.

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

"I can't tell him that his father is alive. He'll go find him and then he'll realize that he is a raven." Victoria said and took a spoonful of her ice cream into her mouth. "The plan was to keep the children from knowing what they are, right?"

"Yeah." Rebecca nodded. "So, how is Giselle taking the news?" She inquired.

"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 exists, and they'll undoubtedly come after her, so yes, I'm worried."

"It's getting late, though." Victoria said, looking at her wristwatch.

"Yeah, Emily should be home by now." Rebecca said and stood up. She called the server and paid the bill before walking out with Victoria.

They both took a separate taxi and Rebecca dropped off at the nearest junction to her house, where she paid the driver before beginning her five-minute walk home; it wasn't long before she arrived.

She opened the door and found Emily sitting on the couch watching a movie. Emily's eyes drifted from the television to the door.

"Hey, mom," Emily said.

"Hey Em, how was your day?" Rebecca inquired, quickly hugging her daughter.

"Bad. " Emily took a breath.

"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?

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

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

"Rebecca, I have to give you credit. You helped our daughter blossom into a stunning young lady." He said as he turned to face Emily, his bright smile remaining on his face.

"How did you find us? And why have you come?" Rebecca was curious.

"I came here specifically 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 inquired, frustrated.

"You should know that I didn't mean any of those things at all. I tried everything I could to keep both of you safe. Do you think I had a good time? Do you believe that making such a decision is simple? Have you tried looking at things from my perspective? You were already in danger as a phoenix carrying my child, and I had to choose between letting you go and being safe or holding on to you and having you slain in the end." As Richard talked, he noticed Emily's puzzled expression. He turned to Rebecca, whose gestures to stop he had deliberately ignored, and asked 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?" Richard asked as soon as he stepped into the room.

"It's better this way. If she finds out that she is an avian hybrid, she will one day try to use her powers, and that would make it easier for them to track her down." Rebecca said as she closed the door and walked towards him.

"The ravens already know that an avian hybrid 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.

"We must not tell her about this," Rebecca stated.

"And why is that? She needs to use and control her powers. She needs to protect herself from jeopardy." Richard said as he sat on the bed.

"That's why I'm her mother. I'll protect her." Rebecca's words made Richard laugh.

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

"I'm a phoenix, and phoenixes are the strongest avians." She stated.

"Don't underestimate the ravens, Rebecca. Phoenixes could be powerful, but one cannot take down an army of ravens. And you're aware that the phoenixes will come after her too, right? "

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

"The best thing to do now is to tell her everything, including the peril that awaits her. She deserves to know the truth." Richard said as he moved closer to her.

"Emily's life is already pretzeled. Growing up without a father wasn't easy. She couldn't go to father-daughter camping. 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 rose to her feet. "We are not telling her anything!" She walked out and slammed the door really hard.

She came downstairs and didn't find Emily; she had gone up to her room. Emily didn't even bother to eavesdrop, she already filled her ears with things her mouth couldn't verbalize. Only her eyes were free, so she filled them 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 as her eyes searched 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 again and left the room.

Emily remained static, her eyes never leaving the sky. Rebecca went to the living room and found Richard sitting on the couch with the television remote in his hands as he watched the television. She snatched the remote from his hands and switched it off.

"Come on, Rebecca, that was the interesting part." Richard sighed.

"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 as she turned away from him.

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

"Leave!" she yelled.

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