Anything For You
Chapter 187

"I think we should tell Scarlet about her mother." Bob, Scarlet's father suggested sitting at the breakfast table. He had surgery to perform early in the morning sparing him no time to eat. He came back and now the couple was having food. Jessica, Scarlet's mother

looked at her husband wide-eyed. Shock passed through her body.

"Bob, you realize what you are suggesting? She is our baby. We raised her. We love her. She loves us. She is our daughter. We can't let her know about anything else. I won't allow you to." Jessica was bewildered since the moment the couple got news about Scarlet's birth mother is alive. She lashed out almost immediately keeping the fork in the plate that clattered hard. She was angry.....and emotional too.

"I understand, dear. I know." Bob patted his wife's hand affectionately, eyes holding love and determination. Love; for his wife. Determination; to reveal the truth to his daughter. Jessica denied. Tears started spilling from her eyes.

"Jes, you knew this since the first day we had Scarlet. You know this now too. Nothing will change even after we tell her about her mother. She loves us way too much. She would never leave us." Bob tried to assure his wife, but his voice receiver him. He wasn't that confident. "But..." Jessica was interrupted.

"Think about her mother. That lady....she separated her newborn baby from her. Why? To protect her and give her a healthy, loving environment. Do you think that she would never encounter Scarlet? What if Scarlet gets to know this truth from someone else? She would never trust us again, Love. We need to tell her. We need to. It's her right. Besides, I am starting to feel some difference in Scarlet's personality." Bob muttered, his mind wavering to some old thoughts.

"What difference...!" Jessica questioned, surprised, not understanding.

"You remember Uncle Shala!" Bob asked Jessica, who simply nodded not getting where her husband was pointing to. "He met us on the way back home that day, right? We had never seen him. He explained to us about his personality. Scarlet had never known him. Ever. She met him that day for the first time. How did she call him Grandpa Shala?"

Jessica thought for a while, "She said I took her to my sister's house once and met uncle Shala there. She..."

"Jes, Do you have any sisters?" Bob asked. Realization hit Jessica hard. Ridiculously hard. She was the only child of her parents. No siblings. She looked horrified. Her eyes darted at her husband who nodded assuring.

"She used her powers on you. She made you believe you had a sister and all that. She knew Shala from..." Bob was suggesting when Jessica interrupted, "...previous life! Do you...!" Bob just blinked his eyes. He knew this was going to happen sometime. "She is like her mother, Jes. She has powers. Her mother told you that Scarlet is way more powerful than she had ever been. But this is also the truth that she is a child. She doesn't have much control over her powers. She needs help. As much help, she can get. She needs her mother and everyone else." Bob had successfully convinced his wife. The look in her eyes was enough to let him know that she was now ready.

"Wh at about Emerald...?" Jessica had insecurities.

"He knows about this. He is also...." Bob muttered.

"No..." Jessica gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes searched her husband's and he just said a word, "Werewolf. Alpha."

The couple was whispering all the things when Scarlet entered the house and started to move towards her room upstairs. Her movements were strictly coordinated as if she was walking according to some orders; which she was. Indeed. Jessica hushed Bob immediately when she saw Scarlet. For a second, Jessica felt like the girl in front of her eyes was a stranger to her. Bob happened to see through her worries and gripped her hand, rubbed it gently to soothe her emotions.

"Scarlet? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be attending your classes?" Bob asked Scarlet who was walking. Her movements made Bon think as if she was sleep-walking. Her eyes were focused and somewhat drawn together. She was not paying attention to her surroundings.

When Bob's voice landed in her ears, Scarlet paused kn her tracks. She didn't turn in the direction of her father, rather kept glued to her spot facing the stairs.

"I have an important assignment. I forgot it. I am here to fetch it." She said in three sentences.

"Oh, I see. I have cooked some shrimps for your father. Do you want some, dear? These are your favorites." Jessica approached Scarlet with a bowl full of freshly minced and roasted shrimps. But the girl didn't even spare a glance. Scarlet was about to move ahead when Jessica stopped her grabbing her shoulder.

"Scarlet, Are you alright, dear? You are behaving strangely." Jessica peered at Scarlet's expressionless face. Her motherly concern was taking over. But Bob was watching the girl from the corner of his eyes. He had figured that Scarlet was not herself. Too bad. Shala was also not present in the house. Or he would surely have helped the girl.

Eating his throat, Bob gestured for Jessica to let go of Scarlet. The girl repeated the words, "I have an important assignment. I forgot it. I am here to fetch it."

"Alright, take your time. I will be keeping some of the Shrimps for you. You can have them if you wish to." Jessica said and joined her husband who just nodded and gestured her to continue with the meals. But he knew something was off with the girl. Scarlet took slow steps and entered the room. She started looking for the book. Her eyes turned dark. Black. Round pupils, pitch dark. Soon, she turned in the other direction and opened her cupboard where she used to keep all her notes. There was present a book; an old one, with a strange cover and a dagger, tucked over with some different golden patterns and dried rose. Weird. This was the word that would have popped in Scarlet's mind if she would have been herself. But she was not.

Taking the book, Scarlet analyzed it and felt a sharp pain in her heart. The book dropped over the floor and opened emitting strong dazzling light that pierced through her eyes. She was feeling a strong pain in her heart and her head started throbbing. But composing her leaning figure, she held the book again and stuffed it in the bag.

Exciting the room, she rushed downstairs at the same pace; slow and coordinated. She left the house without even saying goodbye to her parents.

"She needs help. I am certain now." Bob muttered and Jessica kept on looking at the door which her daughter left ajar while leaving the house. She kept looking at the disappearing figure of her daughter as if she had already her precious baby girl. "Very good. You are on time." Dankein hauled up from his seat and grabbed the nag Scarlet was carrying. He peeked inside and found a ridiculously huge book covering almost the whole of her backpack. He was about to touch the book when Evanora's words reverberated in his ears,

"Don't touch the book with your hands. If needed, use a cloth. There must be a barrier between the book and you. The only people allowed to touch it are Scarlet, Emerald, and the Old Dead Emperor kn this material world."

Dankein immediately retracted his hands and featured for Scarlet to take the seat. The girl was still under the spell that was going to either away within some minutes. He needed to hurry.

Forwarding the heavy bag towards Scarlet, Dankein ordered her to take the book out of it. The girl implied. The moment that book came into his view, his eyes were in shock. A wave of strong emotions passed through his body. He recognized the prints on that book. The golden patterns were nothing but all the seven lives of Scarlet meeting each other at some point making a map.

There lingered a snake of green color which he recognized in a millisecond. He had seen that snake. He lived that day. The day when he lost Estella. The snake was Estella: Scarlet. Everything was connected.

"Scarlet, I want you to take the dagger out of the book and unlock its power." He ordered Scarlet. The girl's hand approached that shining dagger, its sharp edge and ridden hinge. Her fingers curled around the dagger and she took it out from the holster in one go. A loud thunderous sound reverberated throughout the whole university campus making people wonder.

Dankein covered the knife with a fresh piece of cloth that Evanora had given him and fetched a bag from his side drawer; big enough to hold the book. He secured the book and danger inside the bag. Alfie, who had been watching everything with narrowed eyes leaped from her spot and jumped into Scarlet's lap.

Scarlet came out of the daze and said, "...thankful for your help." She said the words as if she had an exceedingly long pause in the middle of her talks and noticed Alfie snuggling close to her. The girl busied in scratching the cat's fur while Dankein huffed and sighed. He just had a minute escape.