[Blacksburg, Virginia (March 2023)]
The halls of the Chapman Children's Research Hospital were quieter than Elaine MacNamara expected. It was the kind of quiet that was far too sad for a place filled with so many stories. The kind of quiet that wasn't peaceful, but careful. Like the building itself was trying not to disturb the young lives that were held within its walls.
Hospitals, in her experience, carried a constant hum of activity. Machines beeping, voices murmuring, footsteps echoing against polished floors. But here, in the early evening light, everything seemed soft, as if the building itself understood the fragility that it held.
To be perfectly honest, that kind of softness felt quite unfamiliar to the woman who had spent most of her adult life knee-deep in international criminal activities.
In her many years as an artist and entertainer, Elaine had crossed grand stages before tens of thousands of people with ease. Her voice carried like a storm across both arenas and continents the entire world over. She had stood before rows of cameras and beneath lights so bright that they swallowed shadows. She had bent the wind itself to her will. Summoned it, shaped it, commanded it with the cosmic authority that only a few would ever truly understand.
But here, in this hallway, Elaine felt small. Far smaller than someone of her social stature ever should've felt.
"She's been waiting all day." The nurse who had been guiding her down the hallway said with a small smile. "Wouldn't let herself sleep."
"I tend to have that effect on people." The green-eyed woman said with a slight smirk.
She had been told what to expect long before she had snuck into the building. She had been briefed in careful, clinical language: late-stage cancer, minimal time remaining, patient request. But none of that prepared her for the quiet gravity that seemed to pool behind these doors. Elaine had been through many things in her short thirty years of life. But this particular kind of experience was one that always seemed to tug at her emotions in a way that she could never properly put into words.
The moment the two finally reached the door, Elaine adjusted the sleeves of her long dark coat. It was a simple garment, one chosen carefully to avoid attention. But in reality, it rarely ever worked the way that she wanted it to. Even without the stage lights, people always seemed to recognize her the moment she came within a few feet of them. The voice, the face, and the presence she had spent years crafting were simply too great to hide for too long.
But tonight wasn't about her…
"Here we are." The nurse said with a polite nod. "I'll be waiting out here in case anything goes wrong."
"Thank you." Elaine returned the nod, steadying herself despite the tightness slowly forming in her chest. Then she knocked softly and stepped through the door.
The room was small; that was the first thing that the 'wind magic' user had noticed. But despite its humble size, someone had tried to fill it with life to the best of their abilities. Paper flowers with heartfelt messages were taped to the walls. A stack of CDs and movie cases sat on the bedside table. And a faded poster, one of Elaine's from her tour in Asia a few years ago, hung slightly crooked above the bed.
The girl of the hour, a youngster by the name of Florence Byrd, looked smaller than Elaine had imagined. Propped up in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines and a cocoon of soft blue blankets. She seemed almost swallowed by the white of it all. Especially with all of the tubes and monitors surrounding her, blinking quietly, marking time in steady, indifferent rhythms. But the moment the little girl's eyes met Elaine's, bright, alert, impossibly alive, they lit up like stage lights as her recently invited guest stepped inside.
It was truly such a shame that the harsh truths of life would soon snuff out such brightness. How the world could rob a child like this of a full life only further cemented Elaine's own cynical beliefs.
"You really came." Florence whispered; her voice was thin but bright with disbelief. Her thin wisps of hair gently swayed beneath her blue beanie.
Elaine smiled, stepping closer before sitting down at the stool next to the bed. "Of course I came. I hopped on the quickest plane that I could find to make sure that I got here in time."
Florence's hands trembled slightly as she tried to push herself up. Elaine quickly moved to help, gently adjusting the girl's pillows to make sure that she was comfortable.
"I…I have all your albums." The girl then said, words tumbling over each other. "Every single one. Even the live one that only came out in Europe. And I've watched all your movies. My favorite is Glass Horizon. I watched it five times with my dad and brother."
Elaine let out a soft laugh, though her chest tightened. "Five times? That's impressive. I think my brother and sister only watched it once."
"It's really good." Florence insisted, her expression earnest. "And you sing in it. I like that part best."
"Thank you. I like that part best, too." Elaine said gently. "It was one of my favorite scenes to shoot."
The sickly young girl studied Elaine for a moment, as if confirming that she was real and not some dream conjured out of longing. The 'wind magic' user could sympathize with such a thought. After all, she too had done the same thing more than a few times in the past.
"You look the same as all the pictures." The girl said finally. "Just… closer."
Elaine calmly pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. "Well, I'm glad that I meet your expectations."
"You do." Florence said, smiling. Then, more softly. "I didn't think this would actually happen. But when the hospital director told me he was friends with your mom, I got really excited."
Elaine reached out, carefully taking Florence's hand in her own. It was warm, fragile, but still full of life.
"I'm really glad I got to meet you, young lady." Elaine said. "It's always a pleasure to meet my fans."
The two talked for a while, about music, about movies, about small things that felt large in the moment. Florence asked questions with a quiet curiosity that only a child could possess, and Elaine answered them all. Never rushing, never looking away. She may have been many things, but she certainly wasn't the kind of woman who would casually brush off the wonder of a child.
But beneath it all, Elaine felt it. The ticking clock, the narrowing horizon.
Florence didn't have much left.
A day. Maybe two. And that's if they were lucky.
Elaine kept her smile steady, but her heart felt heavier with every passing minute. This was way harder than it was supposed to be. Seeing people die was nothing new to her; that much was certain. But this was different in a way that she didn't want to think about.
There were moments when Florence would pause, her breath catching slightly, her energy dipping. Each time, Elaine felt something twist inside her, something she couldn't fix, no matter how powerful she was.
Life truly was unfair. But that was something that Elaine already knew. And that was something that she and her friends were trying to fix.
As the conversation slowed, Elaine noticed the faint tremor in Florence's breathing, the way her energy flickered like a candle nearing its end. It was truly a shame.
"How are you feeling?" Elaine asked softly as she gazed up at the child before her.
Florence shrugged, her smile still present but quieter now than it was before. "Tired. But… happy."
There was a pause. Then, more quietly. "They said I don't have much time left."
Elaine's fingers curled slightly in her lap. She had faced crowds of thousands without fear, and had stood in storms both literal and magical. But this, this small, fragile truth, felt heavier than anything she had ever carried.
"I know." The woman said gently.
Florence studied her for a moment, then tilted her head. "Are you sad?"
Elaine considered the question.
"Yes." She admitted. "But I'm also… grateful that I got to meet you. And I'm happy that I could be here for you. But I'm sad that I won't be able to bring you with me to my next show. I think you would've loved it."
Florence smiled at that, as if it were the best answer she could have hoped for. The girl then leaned her frail body back against her pillows before gaining the strength to speak again.
"I wish…I could see something amazing before I go." She said quietly. "Something really…really special."
Elaine's breath caught.
Something inside her stirred. Then, a dangerous thought crossed her mind.
Sorcerers did not reveal themselves. Not to the world. Not to individuals. Not ever. The delicate balance of their existence depended on secrecy. On restraint. On rules that existed for a reason.
But what was balance in the face of a single, fleeting life? What was secrecy compared to a child who would never see another sunrise?
"Can I ask you something?" The 'wind magic' user said to the girl.
"Anything."
"If you could go anywhere in the world…right now…where would it be?"
Florence hesitated. Then she looked back at Elaine, really looked at her. The way her eyes still held wonder despite her condition, the way her smile refused to fade in the face of certain death. It almost reminded the woman of how she herself used to be. Back when she still had hope for this world. Back before the one thing she always wanted was taken away from her.
"I'd go somewhere quiet." The girl said softly. "Somewhere high up above the clouds. Where you can see the whole world waking up. Y'know…I always wondered what it would be like to fly. My dad's a pilot in the Army. And he always talks about how much he likes being in the air."
Elaine smiled, followed by a slight sparkle in her eyes. "That sounds nice."
"Yes." The girl said. "It does."
"What if I told you that I'd be able to grant you your wish?"
She squeezed Florence's hand gently. And the girl looked at her with the sort of adorable confusion that only a child could produce.
"Get some rest, child." Elaine said, her voice soft but certain. "I'll see you in the morning. I promise."
Florence smiled, trusting without question.
"Okay. Sounds good."
-(o)-
Barely an hour before dawn, Elaine returned to the hospital room.
The halls were even quieter now, wrapped in that fragile stillness that exists just before sunrise. The peaceful kind of quiet that only someone who was forced to be awake at this time would ever learn to truly appreciate.
Florence was awake when Elaine entered, flanked by one of the attending nurses. The woman, someone whom Elaine personally knew, was putting the finishing touches on their little surprise. Albeit with a slightly miffed expression on her face.
"You really came back." The girl said softly.
Elaine smiled. This may have been one of the few times she was happy to break the rules.
"Are you ready to see something amazing?"
Florence blinked, curiosity lighting her tired eyes. "…Yes."
"Good."
"Alright, everything's ready." Riley Chapman said after packing the last bit of tubing into the metallic backpack that sat at the edge of the medical cart that she was standing over. The woman, one of Nick's cousins and a fellow 'healing magic' user, had light brown skin and thick hair braided back into a tight bun near the back of her head. "This will last for about two hours. But please try and make it back before that."
"Gotcha." Elaine replied before walking over to her and swinging the device around her back. It was a neat little mobile life support system that her mother had designed for the military a few years back. One that operated somewhat like scuba gear, except for use on land as opposed to underwater.
"Alright, young lady, you ready?" Elaine then asked as she stepped toward the little girl.
"Sure." The girl nodded weakly, but without the slightest bit of hesitation.
Elaine moved carefully, lifting Florence into her arms with a gentleness that belied the strength behind it. The tubes and wires slipped free, not torn, but eased away, as if guided by the same unseen force. Riley took a minute to reattach the tubes and breathing mask to the little girl's body and make sure that everything was in its place. And once she was done, she gave the 'wind magic' user a quick thumbs up.
Then, the air in the room shifted.
It was subtle at first, a ripple, like heat rising from pavement. Then the curtains stirred, though the breeze was too steady, too deliberate to be natural. And the faint hum of the machines seemed to fade beneath a soft, whispering current.
Florence's eyes widened as she began to understand what was happening. In all honesty, she thought she was dreaming. The room felt different now, a bit cooler, as if the entire area had been touched by a faint breeze that shouldn't have been there.
"What is this?" She breathed.
Elaine met her gaze and winked. "Let's just say that I'm a bit more special than other people."
For a moment, Florence simply stared at the woman she had idolized for as long as she could remember. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her face. Wide and unafraid. The kind of smile that a kid her age ought to have at all times of the day.
"That's amazing." She whispered.
Elaine felt something in her chest loosen.
"I'm glad you think so, because I'm about to show you something even more amazing."
Florence nodded without hesitation, instinctively wrapping her arms around the woman's neck.
"Hold on tight, alright."
Then, with a gentleness that could only come from years of soaring through the skies at your own leisure, the two rose above the ground and slowly drifted toward the window.
Florence couldn't help the stunned gasp that escaped her lips.
In the blink of an eye, they were outside.
Above the hospital.
And still rising.
Below them, the city of Blacksburg lay still, its lights flickering like distant stars on a painting. Above them, the sky began to shift, with the deep indigo of the night sky softening at the edges of the horizon. Higher and higher they went as the buildings continued to shrink beneath them, the city stretching out in quiet stillness.
Florence clung to Elaine tightly, but her eyes were wide with wonder.
"We're…we're flying…" Florence whispered.
Elaine smiled. "Indeed, we are."
They drifted higher, carried effortlessly by currents only Elaine could command. The air was cool but not too cold, wrapping around them like the gentle embrace of early spring.
The world below was still asleep, wrapped in shadow and silence. But ahead, on the horizon, the first hints of dawn were beginning to glow.
And then…the sun began to rise.
It spilled over the mountains in a cascade of golden fire, painting the sky in colors too vast to name. Light touched everything from the peaks to the valleys, and all the way to the clouds before turning them into something both luminous and eternal.
Soft gold at first, followed by a pale pink.
Elaine guided them to hover above a nearby ridge, the vast expanse of the Virginia mountains stretching out before them.
At that moment, the world seemed to turn into something almost unreal. The sky blazed with color, each hue blending into the next like a masterpiece painted in real time. It was like something right out of a movie. An experience that nearly every human alive would certainly appreciate.
Florence went completely still before a slight tear began to form in her eyes.
"It's…" The girl started, her voice breaking. "It's so beautiful."
Elaine held her close. A warm feeling began to well up inside of her as she enjoyed the satisfaction of allowing this child to witness such a natural spectacle. "Yes, it is. I still remember the first time I got to see something like this with my own eyes."
They hovered there, suspended between earth and sky, watching the world awaken.
Elaine said nothing for a few seconds. She simply held the girl closer, letting her take it in.
Because this moment…
This was hers.
"I didn't know the world could look like this." Florence said softly.
"Most people don't." The woman replied. "And even fewer know how to appreciate it."
They watched in silence for a while as the sun finally broke over the lowest peak. Even for someone as cynical as the newest Branch Head of Iznana, she couldn't help but marvel at the sight. She couldn't even remember the last time she did something as pleasantly simple as this.
Then, after a time, Elaine spoke again. Her voice was quieter now, tinged with something heavy that wasn't there before.
"Hey…there's something I need to tell you." She said with a serious expression on her face.
Florence tilted her head slightly, still watching the sunrise. "What is it?"
"I'm going to do something soon…" The woman continued. "Something big. Something that will change the entire world forever."
Florence glanced at her. "Like… another movie?"
Elaine shook her head slightly. "No, child. Something…much bigger than that."
The 'wind magic' user paused for a moment. She really had no reason to tell the girl any of this. If anything, this might very well put her entire plan into jeopardy. Even if she wasn't long for this world, there was still a chance that she might tell the wrong person. After all, she had already shown the girl her powers. But something in the back of the woman's mind was desperately seeking some sort of approval for what she was about to do in the near future.
"What I plan to do is going to help a lot of people." Elaine then said. "I know it will. But…it's also going to cause a lot of chaos. A lot of fear. And maybe even some pain."
The words felt heavier when spoken aloud. It was the first time she had said that to anyone. She hadn't even told her friends about these feelings.
"I've already decided to do it." The woman admitted. "But…I'm scared. Scared of what will happen after it finally happens. I've been working toward it for so long, but I still have my doubts."
Florence didn't answer right away. Instead, she studied Elaine's face for a moment, examining the green-eyed woman with a thoughtful expression.
Then she smiled.
It was not a grand smile. Not dramatic. Not forced.
Just…warm.
"If you think it's the right thing to do…" The girl said simply. "Then it probably is. And my dad said that you should never feel bad about doing the right thing."
Elaine blinked.
"That's all?" She asked softly.
Florence shrugged, a small, fragile motion. "Yeah! You wouldn't do something bad on purpose. You're Skye!"
Elaine let out a quiet breath, something almost like a laugh slipping through. And something inside her eased, if only slightly.
"You make it sound so simple."
"Maybe it is." Florence said.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The sun climbed higher, and the world grew brighter beneath them.
Elaine tightened her hold on Florence, just slightly. Then, she looked down at the girl in her arms. This small, fragile life that had endured so much in such a short amount of time, and yet still held onto kindness, to trust.
It was truly a shame that there was nothing that Elaine could do for this little girl. And the last few minutes had only confirmed it.
Unbeknownst to the child, the 'wind magic' user had been discreetly pumping a steady flow of mana into her young body in the hopes that it would help her activate a mana core. It was a last-ditch effort to see if she could save the girl's life and give her a chance at becoming something great in the future.
Unfortunately, her efforts proved to be futile. Florence was just a normal human at the end of the day. Someone who didn't have the potential to become something greater. Just a normal little girl who was robbed of a long and happy life because of a disease that someone like Elaine would easily be able to fight off with a bit of magical treatment.
"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." Elaine then said quietly. Still sad at the fact that this was the last great moment of this child's life.
Florence leaned her head against Elaine's shoulder, still watching the sunrise.
"You're welcome, Skye."
-(o)-
The duo returned just as the hospital began to stir with the rhythms of a new day. No one saw them reenter. No alarms sounded. And the world remained blissfully unaware of their brief little excursion.
Elaine placed Florence gently back into her bed, where Riley delicately reattached the machines to the girl's body as if nothing had ever been disturbed. The girl looked tired now, but she still held that same brightness that she had before.
Florence looked at her, her eyes heavy but peaceful.
"That was the best thing ever." She murmured with a soft smile.
Elaine brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I'm glad that you had fun."
Florence smiled faintly this time. "I'm going to sleep now."
"Alright." Elaine whispered just before the girl closed her eyes.
"Will you…stay for a little?" She asked softly.
Elaine nodded. "Of course, child. I'll be right here."
Elaine stayed for a while longer, sitting beside her, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing. But when she finally stood to leave, she paused at the door, looking back one last time.
"Goodbye, Florence." She said quietly. "I hope that your next life is a long and peaceful one."
Later that evening, Florence Byrd passed away. Peacefully in her sleep, as if carried off by a gentle wind. For one brief morning, she had flown above the world. She had watched the sun rise from a place few would ever see. And she had smiled without fear in the face of something amazing.
And somewhere, far away, Elaine MacNamara stood beneath the open sky. The wind was swirling around her in waves as she looked toward the horizon.
And for the first time in who knows how long since making her decision, she truly felt ready.