Chapter 14 – Callie.

Fraser slowly opened his eyes. He felt strange. Like he was here, but not. Wherever here was. It was like he was just floating there, in the middle of an endless void. An endless void, in which, in front of him, stood a woman. Confident, beautiful, proud. Silky black hair falling down over her shoulders, soft pink lips and dark eyes, a smooth, beautiful face. And dressed exactly as he was.

To say that he was jealous was an understatement. She was... she was everything that he wanted to be. But that he wasn’t. That he couldn’t be. Because he wasn’t a girl. He wasn’t Callie.

Because he wasn’t allowed to be.

Tears stung his face, and he curled up into a ball, and cried.

Why? Why can’t you be?

Fraser looked up, an image playing out in front of him. Of his five year old self, a few weeks after the Source. Happy and joyful, playing Witch and Familiar with Uriah, dressed up in a cute witches dress and hat that he’d made for himself from a sheet. Okay, it wasn’t that cute, a rather crude attempt given his age and talent. But at that time, for him, it had been the most beautiful thing in the world, and he’d been so happy. She’d been so happy. Callie had been. But then his parents had found them, screamed at them, torn the dress from him, and beaten it into him that he was not a girl. That he never would be. He was their son, and that was that.

He’d cried for days after that, Uriah his only solace.

It’s not like that ever stopped you though.

Another image, a magazine of his mothers that he’d snuck away, sitting there by the tree with Uriah, the magazine in his lap. All of the ladies in it had been so pretty, as had been the dresses and clothes that they’d worn. Callie had wanted to be like them, to dress like them. To be pretty like them. His mother had not taken that so well when he’d told her though. She’d been the one to lay out the punishment.

Older again, this time a dress, Fraser, Callie, modelling it in front of the mirror for her and Uriah. She’d felt so beautiful. So pretty. So her.

But then her dad had come in...

Fraser curled into a ball again, fresh sobs wracking his body.

There was so much pain, so much hurt. So much guilt and shame.

They hadn’t even needed to intervene at times, the feeling just taking him over, and he’d just purge them himself. A continual cycle, that had been there for all of his life. Even to some of the most beautiful pieces that he’d managed to acquire.

But, when he wore the clothes, let himself be that way, for that moment in time, he was happy. He felt like her. The real one. Like he’d had when he’d brought what he was wearing at the moment. His first real act of defiance, of striving towards being who he wanted to be.

And Uriah had even given him the ring.

It was who you always related to. Who you always immersed yourself in.

The games, the books. Even his daydreams. He’d always taken on the persona of a girl. Sometimes called Callie, sometimes not. There had always been something about it though, that made the experience more relatable for him. More enjoyable. More real. He’d tried playing a boy only once. And hated every second of it. It felt too much like his life. And the books, he’d enjoyed them so much more when the protagonist was a girl. Just something about it that was so much better. So much immersive.

Especially when they kissed.

Even here, he could feel himself blush at that. And at all the kisses that he’d shared with Uriah. He just... he just wanted to kiss him again.

“You smash a mirror in frustration, yet here you stand, all pretty and proud.” Felicia was there, beside him now. He could feel her presence, but he was too afraid to look at her, to let her see what he was going through.

“That’s not me...” he managed. It sounded weak.

“It looks like you to me. And you really are very beautiful.”

“I’m not a girl, Felicia. I’m not like you.”

“This isn’t about me, Callie. This is about you. All those images, those memories, I saw them too.” Her voice was soft and sweet. Caring. She’d always been like that, even the first time that he’d heard her. Even though he’d caused her death.

“I can’t be a girl.” Say it enough times and it was true right? He’d been told it enough times.

“Why?”

“Because I don't feel like a girl! Because I'm a guy.” Those were both lies, and he knew it. She knew it. “Because they would never let me. My parents would never let me be a girl. They... shut down all feminine aspects that I ever showed...” Felicia had seen all of that. Clearly. All of the brutality that had been involved. His father was military after all, and those types of people had a certain disposition.

“You've defended me from my parents so many times. Why can't you do the same for yourself?” Felicia sounded almost frustrated there. No, she was definitely frustrated, and he couldn’t blame her. She understood all of this after all. “Ignore what they've said, and claimed about you. Just let yourself be you. You already know, even if you're actively denying it. You just have to accept that yes, you can be you. That you are allowed to be Callie.”

Could he just do that...

No, it was more of a question, why couldn’t he do that?

“Callie... Let me ask again. And please, answer truthfully. Do you want to be a girl. Do you want to be Callie?”

Did he want to be her? Callie? Fraser uncurled, and stared up at the image in front of him, of his goal. Of who he truly wanted to be. The reflection of his soul, what was really there, underneath all of those layers, what he had buried deep within.

She... she already was though, wasn't she...

She had already taken so many steps towards it, even while still actively denying it all. She knew... she knew deep down that that is what she wanted, her parents be damned.

They weren’t her. They couldn’t decide who she was. That was her decision, and her decision alone.

She was a girl. She was a woman. She was Callie.

“Yes. I do,” she finally said, her magic welling up within her. “I am a girl. I am Callie.” She stood up, reaching out to the image of her, the image doing the same back. They touched, her magic surging in response, something within her snapping, released, and now free. And then the image was gone, back to being a part of her. The part of her that she was no longer going to hide, no longer going to deny.

She was Callie.

Callie turned, and looked towards Felicia. And then stopped in surprise, her eyes going wide.

“Yup, this is me. The blueprint of my soul as it were.” Felicia was grinning at her. “Do I look pretty?”

“You... you look stunning,” Callie managed, taking her all in. And that was understating it. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The Felicia she’d seen back then was still there, it was definitely her. But this was the feminine version of her, who she would have ended up being if she had been allowed to be herself, to transition, and she really was something else. Tall, lithe, soft features and beautiful red lip, with fiery orange hair, a delicate braid on each side of her head. And an ample chest that was barely held back by the t-shirt that she was wearing under the leather jacket. She was dressed exactly as she had been then, and she was more than owning the look.

“Thanks.” Felicia blushed, looking off to the side.

Callie grinned. “You really do. Just wow!” That got another blush out of Felicia.

“So... this magical array thingy...”

The memories flooded back, knowledge of where they were, and what was going on, that had momentarily been pushed to the side as her magic had forced her to confront other things. Important things. But now...

The array flared to life under them, glowing in bright blues, whites and pinks. It was the magic of a pact, viewed as a tool by those who had crafted it, but between them, two people, it was more than that. A connection and an agreement. And a permanent one at that.

She so wanted something like that with Uriah. To cement their engagement. Something that couldn’t be broken, even by her parents. A magical bond. This array, though, wasn’t quite that. Its intent and purpose was different.

“So, we’re doing this?” Callie looked at Felicia, and held out her hand. The magic had told her what it all meant. It would have done the same for her too. Magic was a living thing after all.

“Yup,” Felicia said with a smile as she took her hand.

---

Callie could feel her magic there, within her. Strong, responsive, eager. Alive. And happy with her, that she had finally realised it all, and made the declaration. That she had finally been true to herself. She opened her eyes. Lightning was arcing over her. But it was her own magic, not of the figure that was standing down the road from them, lightning arcing from his hand and streaking towards them.

Lighting that impacted harmlessly against Felicia’s translucent shields, now bright and vibrant, cycling through blue, white and pink.

No time had passed here. It had all been in their minds, an instant of time.

And Felicia was here now as well, standing right there beside her. Tall, proud, and more than likely turning heads once all this was over.

The creatures were still coming out of the ditches, and wherever else they had been lurking, black like a tide covering the road. Where the hell the figure had managed to get all of them was another question entirely.

The commune... that’s where. It was obvious. Had it all been a trap? But for whom? It made no sense at all, but right now, it wasn’t her focus.

“Uri...” She turned her head to look at him. At his beautiful face.

“Callie?” He was smiling, happy. She couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“You want to let loose, like we did that one time?”

He grinned. A strong wolfish grin, not that there was anything wolf about him.

“Felicia, your shield still good?” Not that she needed to ask. She already could sense the answer.

Felicia smiled at her, stretching her arms. “Make him pay.”

“Then let’s do this!”

Time stopped for a second as magic surged around them. Her own, the arcs of energy that were coursing over her intensifying, and Uriah’s, a pair of ethereal fox ears and an ethereal fox tail manifesting on him, his entire body taking on a red glow. And then Uriah was off, charging into the closest creatures at inhuman speeds, Callie staying beside Felicia as her lightning surged after him, biting into the ones around him, and those who tried to attack him from his flank. Hot, intense, deadly. Both Uriah and her magic, a blanket of black mist flowing after him as they tore through them. A beautiful dance of blue and red. Of fire and lightning. They’d done this before, but that one time, their magic hadn’t been as powerful as it was now. She knew Uriah, how he moved, how he fought, how he’d act, her lightning working in perfect tandem with him, her focus entirely on him, her trust in Felicia complete.

The tide had turned.

Her arm was burning too. But in a good way. Her mark was changing again. Fair enough. She was Callie now.

She could feel the shift in the air as the creatures stopped attacking, retreating back to gather around the figure, only a small portion of what there had been, Uriah suddenly back her side. Felicia was panting a little, her shield having taken a hammering, but still there, still vibrant and strong. She let her magic settle, the searing glow of the arcs around her fading, but not completely gone.

The man stood there, just looking at her. She could sense his power, his magic. He was strong, and even with what they had just done, it would not be enough. He was definitely an original, the feel similar but different to that of Vampire.

“Impressive,” he eventually stated, as the last of the creatures gathered around him, sitting like they were trained dogs. “I wasn’t expecting one of you here, let alone two.” He pulled back his hood, the sunlight glinting off his. Short blond hair, chiselled features, a crown on his head. He’d aged, but she knew who he was. Prince. Or perhaps she should call him King now. He had gained that look.

“Who are you?” Julia’s voice rang out clear as strong. A demand of one who knew their station.

Prince grinned at her. A predator’s grin. “Prince Alyther erl Tasuriet, little lady. Pray that we never meet again.” He then shifted his gaze back to her, Callie shivering in spite of herself. “You though, Witch, we will meet again.”

He turned, and walked over to the trailer of the utility vehicle, or what was left of it, ripping open the door with far too much ease. A quick look and a curse, and then the entire thing erupted into white flame.

Alyther turned back to them, his features now twisted in anger. “Tell E’iures that he will pay for his betrayal.” She could feel the magic gathering around him, but there was nothing she could do about it, and then he was gone, along with all of the remaining creatures, in just the same way that Vampire had disappeared.

Felicia let out a long sigh, her shield dissipating. “He was scary.”

Callie turned to Uriah. There was something that she needed to do.

“Hey Uriah.” Callie stared into his beautiful brown eyes, the ethereal fox fire still lingering around him, still giving him those features that were actually quite adorable, and were making her blush even more.

“Hey Callie.” Uriah grinned. That cheeky grin that she loved so much.

“I am a girl. A woman. I'm Callie.” There. She’d said it. Told him. And Julia as well by proximity.

“Yeah, that you are.”

“Do you still love me? In the same way that you loved me when I was a... man.” She had to ask, even if it was just her nervousness talking. She was well aware of what he’d said multiple times. She just wanted to hear those words from him again.

“You've never been a man, Callie. Just a woman trapped in a web of lies and self denial. I said that I loved you, no matter who you were, and I meant it.”

Uriah gave her another smile, and then leaned in, his lips touching hers. A kiss that she eagerly returned.