The heart of Cleopatra

Railway

Chapter twenty one

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack Cleopatra?" Charlie asked as he followed her on the narrow path on the overhead train track.

"Relax Ivy league, this track hasn't been used in years, there's no threat. Unless you plummet to your death, but that is more of a you problem." She laughed, it was not mutual as Charlie looked down realising he was even higher than he thought. "Now sit." She commanded as she sat down to dangle her legs off the ledge. Charlie's eyes went wide, but with a sigh he followed her actions and eventually felt a lot better than before.

"Why did you pick this place?" He asked, wondering out of everywhere they could have gone she decided on an old train track that was fifty feet in the air.

Cleo stared off in the distance to the dimly lit road. "It's one of my favourite places. We used to play here as kids. But mostly because it's the exact spot that separates Arcane and Asterin."

Charlie eyebrows raised at her meaningful reasoning. "How did you even end up at Asterin? You clearly belong in Arcane."

"Wow, are you trying to kick me out?" She laughed. He rolled his eyes once again not being a straight answer. "I have ties in both places, if it was my choice I would be in Arcane, but we can't always have what we want."

"So what, Asterin is some sort of agreement?"

Cleo tilted her head. "I mean, yeah you could put it like that." She had restrained herself from telling him about anything remotely close to her life but he somehow manages to make her feel like she can confined in him. "Arcane hadn't exactly treated me well of recent. If I wanted to stay alive, I had to leave. It's just taken a bit longer than I expected to get back."

"What do you mean alive?" Charlie asked in disbelief that Cleo's life could be in so much danger that she would have to flee her own home.

"You saw what happened with the explosion. Compared to last year that was nothing, that wasn't even their warm up. The truth is, I'm in more trouble than I let myself believe. The Valencia's have more power than the majority of Asterin, but it means we have enemies, and these ones seem to have a problem with me." Cleo had never stopped and spoke at the situation because everyone who needed to know where the ones who were plotting alongside her.

"I want to help." Charlie said sternly. His sudden confidence almost brought a smile of Cleo's face.

"I appreciate the offer but I can't let that happen."

Charlie's serious tone remained. "I'm serious, you're in trouble and I want to help, I'm not entirely useless you know."

"I never said you were, but if the past taught me anything it's not to involve anyone who doesn't need to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned slightly backing down from his brave act.

Cleo sighed deeply as the painful memories flashed before her. "A lot of bad things happened last year. I met this girl at a race, she definitely had no clue about cars but she caught my eye, there was something about her. When I found out she had nowhere to go I decided to help her out. After a while I finally let her into the Valencia circle, she was doing well. Until it all went wrong."

"What happened?" Charlie asked as gently as he could, he had never seen Cleo so vulnerable before.

"I let her get too deep into our world. She didn't belong with us. I should have taken better care of her, maybe then she might have been able to tell you her story."

The hunger to know more was eating away at Charlie but seeing Cleo near to breaking point he stopped before he pushed her all the way. The shock of her answering even the lighter questions shocked him, he never expected to get so deep into her troubles. The talk of losing someone hit closer to home than Cleo may have expected. Charlie had his fair share of heartbreak within the last couple years after losing someone dear to him.