Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Microsoft Word

- Text Size +

Please read Cassandradownload rammstein feuer frei and Fractures first

Mother May I?

by Rebeckah
Note: Danielle SmileyFace co-authored that story



Cassandra pondered the problem Madeline posed as they progressed down the hallway. The girl seethed with anger, suspicion and fear. She still believed that Cassandra was a threat, even more so now that she realized Miss Parker considered her a friend. She was afraid that Cassandra would hurt Miss Parker, afraid that Cassandra was some sort of a spy for Raines, and afraid that Cassandra would discover something that she, Madeline, wanted very much to remain a secret.

Cassandra was very curious just what secret Madeline hid, but she refused to probe any deeper in to the girl’s mind. Picking up surface thoughts and emotions being thrown like missiles was acceptable, especially since she could hardly keep the thoughts at bay most of the time, but to violate the mental privacy of another without permission was a definite anathema to her-----Raines had expected it of her far too many times. So, how to soothe the girl? Just how could she make the girl realize that she was not an enemy?

She peeked quickly through the girl’s eyes, spying the door to a conference room that her extra senses indicated were empty. A quick push with her mind unlocked the door---kept locked as a matter of policy, and another delicate suggestion prompted Madeline to steer them both into the room and close the door behind them.

"Look." The girl said firmly, with no preamble, "let’s just get one thing straight, okay? I don’t know what kind of a game you’re playing to make Miss Parker think you’re some sort of a good guy, but I know better. No one associated with Raines could be anything but a monster, so don’t for a minute think you’ve fooled me! And if you ever, and I mean ever hurt Miss Parker I will personally-----"

Cassandra held up a silencing hand, although it was the understanding and slightly amused smile on her lips that really silenced Madeline. The woman simply wasn’t reacting the way Madeline kept expecting her too, and that was even more infuriating than her puzzling friendship with Miss Parker.

"Madeline, you need to know some things about me before you pass judgment on my character. Will you sit down and listen to my story? With an open mind?"

Eyes still narrowed with suspicion, Madeline grudgingly nodded her acceptance. When Cassandra continued to wait expectantly she remembered that the smaller woman before her was blind and managed a "yes" that was still filled with reservations. Cassandra smiled approvingly, bringing a sense of pleasure to Madeline before she remembered that she didn’t like Cassandra, and the two sat at the conference table, placing the width of the table between them.

"Many years ago, when I was somewhere between the ages of 6 and 9, I am afraid I do not know my exact age, mi Mama decided to take me to her village in Mexico, so I could live with her family and go to school. We had no school where we lived and she wanted me to learn. But we were attacked by evil men, and she was killed and I became blind." Cassandra’s voice was husky and a lump was in her throat as she related those still painful memories. Her accent, virtually non-existent now, became a shade stronger as well, as if the memories brought back old speech patterns.

"Mi Papa, he loved Mama so very much. He was so hurt by her death that he blamed me for losing her. At the same time my Gift became apparent."

"Gift?" Madeline interrupted in confusion. Her tender heart wanted to sympathize with Cassandra’s obvious pain, but her suspicion, learned the hard way, kept her from expressing her more sympathetic feelings.

"Many women in my family have a Gift which is also sometimes a burden. We can see the heart of another, to know what they mean beyond what they say. Very few people can lie to me, Madeline. I know that you are angry right now, and worried for our friend Miss Parker. I know that you do not trust me and that you fear that I will expose some secret of yours."

A vivid image of Jarod, his eyes sparkling as he leaned across a small café table to make some point to the girl sitting across from him flashed into Madeline’s mind with that statement.

"Ah." Cassandra sat back, nodding her head as understanding dawned. "Now, I see. You do not wish anyone to know that Jarod is your friend. Do not worry, Jarod is mi amigo as well. I would never say anything to hurt him, even if I wanted to harm you---which I do not.

"Well, to continue my tale; apparently the same blow to my head that caused my blindness, or perhaps simply the blindness itself, has caused my Gift to be stronger and more varied than is normal even for my family. It was not too many months after the day mi Mama died that Dr. Raines showed up on mi Papa’s door and offered him much money if he would release me to his care. He wished to study me, you see."

Even though Cassandra spoke with calm, untouched tones, Madeline found herself even more sympathetic as Cassandra explained that her father accepted Raines offer and literally sold his own daughter to the Centre, even though he didn’t know what the Center was. She was outraged that a parent would simply send away their child, not even knowing what kind of people would be taking care of her. She was startled when Cassandra patted her hand comfortingly.

"Do not be angry for me, Tigrita," She commanded her gently. "It turned out that mi Papa’s choice was very good for me. Dr. Raines is not entirely the monster you believe him to be."

Madeline’s sympathy evaporated in an instant and her suspicions were raised once again. Cassandra sighed softly.

"Some years after I came to the Centre with Dr. Raines, his daughter Annie was abducted by a serial killer and she died."

‘Raines had a daughter?’ Madeline questioned inwardly with stunned surprise.

"Yes, he did." Cassandra answered the unspoken question easily. "And he loved her, very much. Her death hurt him deeply and he began to give to me the affection that he had formerly given his daughter.

"He has done very horrible things, this I know, but he has also been very good to me. He has protected me, provided for me, and trained me far better than I would have been had I remained in my small village in Mexico. I know what Raines is, Madeline, the good and the bad, and I love the good man I know very much. I hope that one day he will overcome that evil side of his nature, but whether he does or not, I will still love him----do you understand?"

Madeline struggled with her understanding that love truly can be unconditional and her conviction that Raines was inherently unlovable.

"No one is completely unlovable." Cassandra contradicted gently. "I do not expect you to like Dr. Raines. I perceive that he has caused you to worry much for the people you love and I understand that. But please accept that my love for him does not make me your enemy. I do not support much of what he does, and he knows that. I will not help him to hurt another, and I will never share with him anything that he would use to hurt another. I am not a monster, and I think that we have more in common than you realize."

"How is it that you and Miss Parker are such good friends?" Madeline demanded, finally with more simple curiosity than suspicion.

"She lost her mother too." Cassandra said simply. "We only met once, as children, when Angelo brought me----"

"You know Angelo?" Madeline demanded incredulously, cutting off Cassandra in mid sentence.

Once again Cassandra received an image from Madeline’s mind, this time of Angelo----not the child he used to be, but the man. Sandy blond hair, gentle, childlike blue eyes set incongruously in that sorrowful man’s face, and a gleeful, mischievous smile on his lips as he peered through the grate of a ventilation vent with Madeline.









You must login (register) to review.