Love Is Never Ugly

Chapter 27

Charlotte was twelve the last time she had known the joy of swinging. When she was five her father had one built in the garden of their manor just for her to play on but then seven years later Helsa cut the ropes of the swing and smashed the seat with a shovel. Charlotte cried and Helsa had slapped her, threatening to do it again if she ever told their father the truth. Afraid, Charlotte lied and told Lucifer that she had broken the swing with her weight which resulted in Lucifer concluding that she had gotten too old and too big for swings so he didn't have another one built for her. It made her very sad because she loved to swing so very much. It was the closest she would ever get to flying. 

The very moment Alastor pushed her on that swing she felt as if she was a little girl again, sitting on that swing on her family's garden, and pumping her little legs so she could go up as high as the birds. Of course that could never be accomplished but she couldn't help but try. Sometimes she would close her eyes and imagine that she was bird soaring above the clouds, her destination she did not know because all she cared about was the journey. The journey that would allow her to see so many things and places. Oh what she wouldn't have given back then to be a real bird and to be able to really fly away. 

It was funny that she was thinking of birds at the moment because suddenly she noticed two doves flying around the area. The male was chasing the female as mating technique and that gave Charlotte an idea. Without warning she leapt off the swing, landed on her feet, and started to hurry off.

"Charlotte what are you doing?" Alastor asked confused.

"Try and catch me!" She cried while flashing him a playful smile.

"What?"

"It's a game! I run and hide, you find me and chase me! If you catch me then you win but I warn you I'm a fast runner!"

"Dear I don't think that's a good idea. You see I-"

But she was already long gone. Run away to hide somewhere in the garden. Alastor didn't show it but he was nervous about this little game Charlotte wanted to play. Nervous because it was a chasing game and whenever Alastor chased something that's when his predator instincts kicked in. If lost control during the game then he might ended up hurting Charlotte.

"Charlotte I'm not too fond of games like these." He said walking around the garden and searching for her. "I find them to be very silly and a waste of time."

"I knew a boy from the city who said that once." He heard Charlotte call. "But he only said that because he couldn't win one game. Is that why you don't want to play?"

"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work. I am not some immature little boy who will respond to mockery. Now come out."

"Not until you catch me."

"Charlotte this is childish."

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" She teased repeatedly. "Alastor's a slow poke! Alastor's a slow poke!"

He tried not to give in to the juvenile urge to accept her challenge but in the end he couldn't resist. As soon as his advanced hearing caught hold of her footsteps running about, he bolted to find the source. Forward, back, side to side, all around they ran. Charlotte giggled as she did everything she could to stay out of Alastor's sight. She would stop to hide in one place and when she sensed he was getting close she would run to find another hiding spot. Alastor was about to give up but then he thought of a very clever idea on how to win.

After his ears picked up which direction she was going in he ducked among some bushes and waited patiently. She ran by and he jumped out, grabbing her by the waist.