NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Chapter 63 - Carlisle's Gift
On the night of Tuesday, February 8th, 2005, Xavier woke in the same bed where he had previously been hooked up to medical equipment.
Even in his addled state, he was not confused about what landed him back in the bed.
"I won't be flying for a while," The Eternal commented.
It was not that he lacked the energy to fly but fear of the fall permeated The Eternal's bones, shaking loose a sense of morality he had not felt in many years.
This time, there were no tubes or machines, just the gentle warmth of the blanket and the soft of night settling outside.
For some reason, possibly due to vampires' strong senses, the blanket carried a pungent scent of cinnamon.
Xavier felt a calmness he hadn't known for a long time, a rare moment of peace that he savored as he floated out of bed.
Peace came in bits throughout his day…
The Eternal was so enraptured with his temporary state of inner peace that he effortlessly glided out of the room, down the hall, and the stairs, his bare feet hovering just above the floorboards.
Xavier had forgotten the months of training his body had endured to walk; luckily, all it took was a change of mindset for his feet to kiss the ground.
The Cullen family was gathered in the living room, their postures inhumanly rigid, which could be interpreted as a vampire's relaxed posture.
Still, their eyes were alert and watchful.
As soon as Xavier's feet touched the ground, The Cullens started to fidget, adopting their human tendencies to make The Eternal more comfortable in their presence.
Golden eyes, and one darker, Jasper's, settled on Xavier's face as he made his way across the living room.
The Eternal took a seat across from Carlisle, who leaned forward, his expression filled with a wary concern. "What is happening, Xavier?" he inquired gently, his voice soothing but also slightly threatening.
Carlisle knew nothing of Eternals and that made him assume the worst, such as Xavier could spontaneously explode, taking half of Forks with him, or, at the very least, several members of the Cullen family.
Xavier took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his unspoken thoughts. "Old memories are returning," he began, his voice steady but laced with fatigue, "Maybe because I am surrounded by your family, I don't feel much out of place but the fact remains, I am sixteen years old."
"Truly?" Carlisle furrowed his brows, "You present yourself as much older," He voiced.
"Exactly because I interact with your family," Xavier mentions, "You were all turned at young ages so you do not recognize age as change as much as the passing of time. This is why you see me no differently from yourselves… but—"
"You are much too different," Esme finished the thought.
Xavier nodded. "Think of me as a child with memories too big for his head," The Eternal revealed, "And if my memories are too big for my head, then my powers too are—"
"Too big for your body," Alice frowned, her expression hardening, "It will not be good if we allow this to continue," she hissed, clearly seeing hints of a very unpleasant future with the wrong decision.
"I am not yet strong enough to bear the burden of my future responsibilities. Right now, my maximum strength is around five tons, whereas it should be close to a hundred tons with ease. My cosmic vision rapidly depletes my energy, which shouldn't be possible. My heart is supposed to be a cosmic furnace of infinite cosmic potential, but something is wrong. I'm still growing into the power I should have."
"Most of this is going over my head but I do understand ecosystems," Emmett voiced, his brows scrunched in deep contemplation, "nothing exists outside of nature. So, I am thinking, if you have someone as powerful as Xavier, there must be something equally powerful to combat him…"
Everyone shivered.
Carlisle listened intently, analyzing and putting pieces together faster than every other member of his family; the entire time, his gaze unwavering. "We will help you in any way we can," he promised.
The Eternal hesitated – this was a part of the conversation he didn't want to have until he was absolutely certain but with Emmett's rare showing of intelligence, Xavier knew there would be no better time.
"Your help is the problem," he revealed, "Specifically, you are the problem for what is wrong with me, Carlisle."
Esme, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett turned to Carlisle as if hoping to glean some hidden information but to their surprise, The Olympic Coven Patriarch seemed just as confused as they did.
Alice stared at the wall for a couple of seconds and when she regained her wits, both her and Edward's eyes widened at the information they had gleaned.
"Impossible…" Edward hissed, "I mean," he frowned. "How come we didn't notice before?"
Alice sighed. "It's hard to notice things that have been in front of your eyes for years and years," she admitted, "this will require a longer discussion."
"Care to fill us in?" Rosalie bristled.
What she hated the most was being left out of decisions, especially if men were involved in said decisions… even if said man was her brother and father.
"Even before I met you guys at school, I would go to the hospital for checkups and meet Carlisle as passing acquaintances," Xavier revealed, closing his eyes to center his chaotic thoughts, "that's when my headaches and bodily aches started."
Carlisle frowned. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Everything," Xavier voiced. "After prolonged meetings with you, I would always suffer from headaches and muscle aches so it took me a while to notice and I was not able to confirm it until now."
"Confirm what?" Jasper spoke, highlighting the importance of the next bit of information.
"Your gift, Carlisle," Alice rasped. "You have a gift. I believe everyone in our family does due to you. Your gift is to empower the gift of others."
Everyone was shocked.
Carlisle, in a rare showing of losing composure, stood from his seat in a blur.
It was only Esme's guiding hand on his shoulder that stopped the couch from flying into the wall and shattering into a thousand pieces.
"No, you don't empower the gift of others, though that is not far from the truth," Xavier analyzed all his encounters with Carlisle and finally decided to share his suspicions. "I suspect, very early on in your life as a Vampire, you realized the monster you were and wanted to be the best person you could be even if you were a monster."
Carlisle slowly nodded, half-dazed, half-expectant.
"After all, sometimes, the world doesn't need heroes, but monsters to fight monsters," The Eternal's explanation was slow but detailed. "And that Carlisle became your gift. Even as a monster, you were able to be the best version of yourself… your gift is for those you encounter to become the best versions of themselves."
"The teacher you treated at the hospital stopped cheating after meeting you."
"The little girl you played dress up with at the hospital lived several months longer than she should have…"
"The cyclist who suffered from Parkinson's. You stopped him from committing suicide and he went on to design bicycles with unmatched safety features."
"If you want an example closer to home," Xavier gestured to Jasper, furrowing his brows in disgust as he did, "I dislike Jasper because I can smell the blood and trauma on him. I have seen many vampires in my long life – those like Jasper would never be able to subsist on animal blood. The only reason he can is because you bring out the best in him each day."
"This is… this is a lot to process," Carlisle voiced somewhat weakly. "But it still is only a theory, right?" he sounded hopeful but also afraid of the hope.
"If 90% sure can be interpreted as suspicions, then yeah," Xavier replied. "But… Esme has lived with you for a long time, each time unlocking a better version of herself until…"
"She developed a gift of her own," Alice completed the thought, "Her gift is to grow flowers?" she pondered, clearly confused.
Alice had always noticed the signs in her visions, noting the many times Esme gave her beautiful flowers but it wasn't until now everything was adding up.
"Not grow flowers exactly," The Eternal corrected, "Esme's power is a beautiful gift. She has the gift of nurture. As long as something is growing, she can shape it into its best possibilities, such as a flower not meant for a specific environment but blossoming beautifully anyway."
Rosalie locked eyes with Xavier.
Xavier nodded. "I am certain you have developed a gift as well, Rosalie," he rolled his eyes. "While I am fairly confident about what your gift is, I would like to invite all of you to my home for further testing."
"So, if I am understanding this right," Carlisle took a deep breath. "My gift to bring out the best in those I come into contact with, has coaxed the gifts out of Rosalie and Esme?"
"And me…" Xavier wore a cramped smile, "Much earlier than should have been possible. Being around you has made me more powerful than I should be at the age of sixteen. Now, my mind and body are struggling to keep up."
"That is a problem," Carlisle sighed, "And if I understand you well, you are sharing this because simply staying away from me will not help the situation."
The Eternal nodded. "There is an imbalance within me. Being near you makes it bearable but also more uncontrollable. I am telling you this so we can schedule weekly appointments or something, just until everything is under control."
"And in return, you aid us in understanding our gifts," Edward voiced, gleaning just this bit of information from Xavier's chaotic mind.
The Eternal nodded. "You're adapting," he admired, looking at Edward for the first time since their Bella conundrum, "I will probably need to take you to some places with me. Some savants have trouble completing research," He pondered aloud.
Edward turned his head away, clearly expressing his unwillingness.
"As I understand it," Rosalie's eyes narrowed, "We need you so we need to stay in Forks. We could abandon you but right now, the world is too dangerous and you are purposefully not giving us new information to navigate it?"
Xavier was a bit startled that Rosalie could think that far ahead but many of her points were mute when Alice could see the future based on the decisions of others.
Any trouble that came their way could be avoided with haste.
"We will aid you if only to save ourselves," Esme concluded, settling the matter for the last time.
Her voice was, sometimes, more authoritative than Carlisle's.
Xavier appreciated Esme's candor.
He was not naïve enough to believe The Cullens cared about him beyond what was necessary to ensure their own secrecy, and hence, survival.
Especially when Xavier knew, at any point in time, Jasper could lose control and Alice, the friendliest amongst The Cullens, would clean up the bodies of all the students he would slaughter upon losing control.
And Alice would do so without flinching.
Carlisle and Edward were, perhaps, the only Cullens who still possessed raw humanity, not bound by anything other than genuine care.
Xavier smiled gratefully at Esme, his mind drifting back to the afternoon spent in her garden. "I had a wonderful time in the garden," he said, his tone lighter. "It was a welcome distraction."
Esme's face brightened with a smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's my sanctuary."
The conversation died as Carlisle leaned into Esme's embrace, whispering comforts between themselves, discussing gifts, the soul, and topics essential to the survival of the coven.
Alice twirled and hopped towards the balcony, causing The Eternal to smile since he was graving a bit of outside air and moonlight – obviously, Alice meant to show that a discussion was pending.
Xavier sighed and shot Rosalie a look and she belatedly realized that Alice was looking to discuss something regarding prom; she grabbed the nearby laptop used for her designs and followed the duo onto the balcony.
The moonlight bathes them in its silver glow.
It brought a comforting warmth that trickled from Xavier's chest to the rest of his body, reminding him of a time before all the buildings, lights, and even humans.
"So…" Xavier turned to Alice and Rosalie, "Tell me about the preparation for the music video fundraiser at the school. How is that going?" he questioned.