The Wanderer - 201 (Patreon)

Chapter 201 – An Abstract Form Of Art

[2009 – October]

Leaving the underground warehouse after showing Emma what Elijah had asked her to retrieve from a certain black market weapons dealer, the look in Selene's eyes changed from mildly disgruntled to pondering in the blink of an eye as if her emotions were nothing but masks that she could switch out wholly depending on her wishes.

It wasn't for nothing that she had lived for millennia, after all. At this point in her unimaginable long life, even her own emotions were nothing but entertainment for her.

The only 'real' sentiments that she still possessed were her desire for strength and her ambitions, as well as her fear of death.

Different from many other near-immortal existences, including some of the Externals that could be said to her closest kin, she had never developed any kind of weariness that would make her welcome death with open arms in the long years that had passed.

Her desires and ambitions were the main reason for that as they pushed her forward, eager to achieve the goals that she had been working towards for dozens and dozens of centuries.

Selene knew that the root of her ambition was the suffering that she had gone through as a young girl without power in a barbaric society that valued nothing but strength, their faith one that demanded sacrifice.

It had taken her decades of sorrow and pain to understand her own uniqueness and begin to use it to her advantage. She hadn't come into contact with magic until much later, having depended on her ability to manipulate, seduce, and deceive to survive.

Selene had learned to polish her mortal skills through the endless amount of time that was granted to her by her mutant ability. Though she couldn't even remember the many times that she had failed and been punished gruesomely for her attempts at deception.

In the end though, it had made her more dangerous than all the other Externals besides their leader, her cunning a terrifying weapon that even caused even En Sabbah Nur grievous losses.

Still, Selene had always believed that it was her patience that was her strongest quality.

Seeing decade-long schemes coming to fruition brought her satisfaction that was hard to compare with anything else. But the price for it was to be patient enough to wait and endure until an opportunity presented itself.

In a way, this was like an abstract form of art and Selene had undoubtedly proven her creative genius.

The reason that Emma had been able to ascend to the position of White Queen was also that Selene had recognized this same kind of talent in the young mutant.

At that time, she had only thought it would be interesting to watch and see if the young Frost girl really had what it took to excel in an environment that was as unforgiving as the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle.

Who would have thought that Emma could rise to a position that even threatened her own influence in the Club? The hollow throne of the White Queen had become a weathered monument that was deeply rooted and almost inseparable in the Hellfire Club in the blink of an eye.

Naturally, Selene had always watched this development with one eye flickering with amusement while the other was hiding a ruthless glint.

She knew that she could eliminate Emma and with some effort even mitigate the damage to the organization this would cause, which was something she had always kept in mind. She had founded the Hellfire Club after all, so there was some unwillingness to just hand it over to someone else.

Elijah's appearance and subsequent ascension to a Realm Lord had extinguished those thoughts though.

Selene wasn't suicidal enough to harm the sister of a higher being. She could only imagine how ugly her end would be if she dared to lay a hand on Emma.

At the same time though, she also realized that this development wasn't just a disadvantage for her.

Coming into contact with a higher being was something very difficult, not to mention extremely dangerous. The enormous, almost incomprehensible difference in power alone represented unknown dangers and challenges.

Even after millennia of life experiences, her own understanding of the characters of some higher beings was very limited. And even if there were some that she had a better understanding of, Selene either couldn't come into contact with them or she didn't dare to.

Elijah though wasn't hard to contact and his personality was comparatively mild. He had also advanced to a higher lifeform through his own strength which meant that he had knowledge that was simply invaluable to her.

Seeing that even Emma didn't really understand what kind of existence her younger brother was, Selene understood that there was a chance to form a deeper relationship with the young Realm Lord.

Now, she just had to figure out how to approach this in a delicate way that wouldn't result in her being killed, or worse, stripped of her power by the Lord of Darkforce.

…

Her heart was filled with a sense of exhilaration as it beat wildly while Elijah went to the limit of speed with the sports car on the open road, his movements smooth and filled with an air of confidence that was incredibly attractive.

Jean couldn't help but laugh in pure joy, the changing direction of the inertia giving her butterflies in her stomach. Her weight was pressed into the seat but her small hand still held onto Elijah's as she felt strangely liberated.

It was only when Arya, who was resting in her palm that she had held up to her chest, started to sway drunkenly sometime later that her love stopped accelerating and kept the speed of the car within the permitted limit.

The tiny owl hadn't been affected by the inertia due to Elijah's protection but instead, she had tried to follow the passing scenery with her eyes and constantly twirled around, which caused the silly little thing to be dizzy.

Caressing her head and wings, Jean helped the adorable owl to calm down and settle in beside Elijah's neck, inside his collar, which promptly caused Arya to fall asleep happily.

Afterward, she switched on the radio and the auto-search function immediately found a frequency of a radio station that seemed to play some old classics. Jean was about to switch to a different frequency when Elijah softly grabbed her hand and asked her not to.

Acquiescing to his request, she was first a bit puzzled as he normally didn't listen to such music when they were together, but then she saw the corners of his lips curve up in a smile that was somewhat nostalgic before his lips parted and he quietly started to hum and sing.

“On a dark desert highway

Cool wind in my hair

Warm smell of colitas

Rising up through the air

Up ahead in the distance

I saw a shimmering light

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim

I had to stop for the night

There she stood in the doorway

I heard the mission bell

And I was thinking to myself

'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'

Then she lit up a candle

And she showed me the way

There were voices down the corridor

I thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place, such a lovely place

Such a lovely face

Plenty of room at the Hotel California

Any time of year, any time of year

You can find it here

… “

Her eyes sparkling brightly, Jean looked at Elijah in surprise. It was usually her that sang and danced through their home while he followed her movements with fiery eyes.

It wasn't that he never joined her, as he often did join so that they could dance together. But he rarely sang with her, even though he loved listening to her sing.

Now, Jean discovered that she likewise loved to listen to Elijah when he sang, his voice low and a bit raspy. The lyrics flowed unhurriedly from his lips, his already demonic charm being further enhanced and drawing her full attention as she listened as if enchanted.

Another two songs played as he flawlessly and melodiously recited their lyrics before some advertisements were being played by the station and Jean shook off her daze to lower the volume.

"I didn't know that you liked this kind of old music. I never noticed you listen to it.", she whispered as she looked at Elijah, warmth and curiosity shining in her eyes.

"My mother loved this type of music. We always listened to them together when we were on the road to visit her parents or when we were taking the car for summer vacation.", he replied quietly, a tinge of sadness in his tone before a bitter-sweet smile appeared on his lips, "She would sing for hours and always urged me to join in."

"I don't think that there were any other times when she was as carefree and cheerful as she was on these trips. I think those were the only times when she didn't feel suffocated. When she could feel free and unburdened.", he ended.

Jean's eyes widened a bit as she listened to Elijah's words. He usually didn't speak much about his mother but it seemed that she might at least be part of the reason why he had such a wanderlust. Her love might be searching for a way to relive these moments that he had spent with her through his own journey.

"She sounds like a great person and a good mother.", Jean voiced out in a light tone, her palm coming to rest on his right hand that was loosely holding onto the gear stick, her fingers brushing over the back of his hand affectionately.

Lightly shaking his head, Elijah said while sighing, his tone forgiving and peaceful: “She had her own demons to deal with but she did her best. I don't know if she was a good or a bad mother, but I know that she loved me. And that is enough.”

He turned towards her as he finished, a gentle smile on his lips while he raised his hand to caress her cheek.

Jean knew that this was also Elijah's way of saying that regardless of what she herself remembered or didn't remember, her mother undoubtedly had also loved her.

Nodding lightly, she held onto her love's hand, her lips leaving a kiss in the middle of his palm before she pulled it into her lap, unwilling to let go just yet.

Smiling, Elijah let her do as she wished while lovingly squeezing her hand, a finger of his other hand pointing at a sign on the roadside that mentioned an upcoming gas station.

“Let's fill up the tank there. We can also eat a bite before we continue.”, he suggested while she nodded quietly in agreement.