{the secret circle} coldness
Title: Coldness
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: The Secret Circle
Pairing/Characters: Cassie Blake, John Blackwell
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: The Secret Circle belongs to LJ Smith, The CW and company.
Prompts: Written for 500themes for prompt #199 (childhood's end.)
Notes: Set after the events of 1x09. I blended some elements from the book series and the TV series.
Summary: Cassie finally meets her father and he's not like she had dreamed he would be.
Word Count: 806
There comes a point when one crosses the line from childhood over into adulthood. For the most part, the end of childhood isn't easily defined, the steps that one takes tend to happen in stages. Very rarely is the end of childhood a dramatic or clearly defined event. But for Cassie Blake, the end of her childhood comes in the blink of an eye when her supposedly dead father stands in front of her.
It would be clichéd to say that John Blackwell radiated evil but he's certainly not the man that Cassie had often fantasized about while growing up. Instead of being a loving father, John Blackwell is a cold and hard man who stares down at her as if she's some sort of an abomination rather than his daughter. Cassie can't understand what her mother ever saw in this harsh man. She doesn't believe that the loss of her mother was what hardened him. Somehow she knows that whatever face he presented her mother with was nothing more than an act.
And Cassie knows that he recognizes her, that he recognizes that she is Amelia's daughter. The one thing that she can't tell is if he knows that he's her father, although from his attitude, she suspects that he knows. This wasn't how she imagined meeting her father, nor was it how he imagined that he would be. Jake's words that the Balcoin line is evil seems to carry weight as they stand there in some sort of frozen tableau.
John Blackwell clears his throat and Cassie folds her arms defensively against her chest.
"Clearly your mother was remiss in your upbringing."
"My mother wasn't remiss in anything."
His laugh is cold and Cassie wishes that she had never heard his name, much less met him. He takes a menacing step forward causing her to take a step backward.
"If your mother hadn't been so fearful or careless then maybe a member of your Circle wouldn't be dead."
Despite how she feels about her father, Cassie recognizes the truth in his words. Nick is dead because of her lack of knowledge.
"If your mother hadn't run away from who and what she was, then you wouldn't have become a mere pawn," John tells her. "Or more accurately you wouldn't have become a victim of the witch hunters."
"You don't know that," Cassie says, needing to defend her mother. "None of the others knew what to do and they grew up here."
"Don't be obstinate Cassandra, their parents also refused to impart their knowledge onto their children just as your mother refused to do so. They foolishly believed that they were the only ones who would discover the forbidden."
Cassie bites her tongue to keep from spitting out the question of what he would have done differently. She knows without being told, she knows that he would have shoved witchcraft down her throat until she was just as cold and hard as he is.
"Power is not something to be feared or shunned. It is something to be embraced, something to be used to strengthen one's self. By running away like your mother, by being fearful of it like the elders or worse by being greedy for it like Dawn Chamberlain and Charles Meade, it destroys people. You have already seen it destroy your mother and Nick Armstrong."
"What do you mean?" Cassie reluctantly asks.
"Power is meant to be wielded by the few, not the many. Charles Meade and Dawn Chamberlain are behind your mother's death and even the boy's death in their desire to wield that power. Do you think that they'll stop if another of your Circle gets harmed?"
"No, you're lying," Cassie argues.
"You know, Cassandra, that I am telling you the truth. And now you have a choice. You can run away in fear like your mother did or you can embrace who and what you are and take control of the power within you. When you're ready to do so, come back to me."
Her father walks away from her. leaving her with more questions than answers. Cassie doesn't want to believe him about Faye's mother and Diana's father but there's something in his words, in their actions, that lead her to believe there's some truth in what he has told her. She wants to say to herself that she'll go home, that she'll reject whatever it is that he's offering her. But in that moment, she knows that she's no longer a child, who can hide her head in the sand instead of confronting the truth. She no longer has the luxury of hiding from the unpleasant truth. She can't run away from the fact that the Circle needs to control their power in order to save themselves from the external threats that seem to be circling them.
((END))
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: The Secret Circle
Pairing/Characters: Cassie Blake, John Blackwell
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: The Secret Circle belongs to LJ Smith, The CW and company.
Prompts: Written for 500themes for prompt #199 (childhood's end.)
Notes: Set after the events of 1x09. I blended some elements from the book series and the TV series.
Summary: Cassie finally meets her father and he's not like she had dreamed he would be.
Word Count: 806
There comes a point when one crosses the line from childhood over into adulthood. For the most part, the end of childhood isn't easily defined, the steps that one takes tend to happen in stages. Very rarely is the end of childhood a dramatic or clearly defined event. But for Cassie Blake, the end of her childhood comes in the blink of an eye when her supposedly dead father stands in front of her.
It would be clichéd to say that John Blackwell radiated evil but he's certainly not the man that Cassie had often fantasized about while growing up. Instead of being a loving father, John Blackwell is a cold and hard man who stares down at her as if she's some sort of an abomination rather than his daughter. Cassie can't understand what her mother ever saw in this harsh man. She doesn't believe that the loss of her mother was what hardened him. Somehow she knows that whatever face he presented her mother with was nothing more than an act.
And Cassie knows that he recognizes her, that he recognizes that she is Amelia's daughter. The one thing that she can't tell is if he knows that he's her father, although from his attitude, she suspects that he knows. This wasn't how she imagined meeting her father, nor was it how he imagined that he would be. Jake's words that the Balcoin line is evil seems to carry weight as they stand there in some sort of frozen tableau.
John Blackwell clears his throat and Cassie folds her arms defensively against her chest.
"Clearly your mother was remiss in your upbringing."
"My mother wasn't remiss in anything."
His laugh is cold and Cassie wishes that she had never heard his name, much less met him. He takes a menacing step forward causing her to take a step backward.
"If your mother hadn't been so fearful or careless then maybe a member of your Circle wouldn't be dead."
Despite how she feels about her father, Cassie recognizes the truth in his words. Nick is dead because of her lack of knowledge.
"If your mother hadn't run away from who and what she was, then you wouldn't have become a mere pawn," John tells her. "Or more accurately you wouldn't have become a victim of the witch hunters."
"You don't know that," Cassie says, needing to defend her mother. "None of the others knew what to do and they grew up here."
"Don't be obstinate Cassandra, their parents also refused to impart their knowledge onto their children just as your mother refused to do so. They foolishly believed that they were the only ones who would discover the forbidden."
Cassie bites her tongue to keep from spitting out the question of what he would have done differently. She knows without being told, she knows that he would have shoved witchcraft down her throat until she was just as cold and hard as he is.
"Power is not something to be feared or shunned. It is something to be embraced, something to be used to strengthen one's self. By running away like your mother, by being fearful of it like the elders or worse by being greedy for it like Dawn Chamberlain and Charles Meade, it destroys people. You have already seen it destroy your mother and Nick Armstrong."
"What do you mean?" Cassie reluctantly asks.
"Power is meant to be wielded by the few, not the many. Charles Meade and Dawn Chamberlain are behind your mother's death and even the boy's death in their desire to wield that power. Do you think that they'll stop if another of your Circle gets harmed?"
"No, you're lying," Cassie argues.
"You know, Cassandra, that I am telling you the truth. And now you have a choice. You can run away in fear like your mother did or you can embrace who and what you are and take control of the power within you. When you're ready to do so, come back to me."
Her father walks away from her. leaving her with more questions than answers. Cassie doesn't want to believe him about Faye's mother and Diana's father but there's something in his words, in their actions, that lead her to believe there's some truth in what he has told her. She wants to say to herself that she'll go home, that she'll reject whatever it is that he's offering her. But in that moment, she knows that she's no longer a child, who can hide her head in the sand instead of confronting the truth. She no longer has the luxury of hiding from the unpleasant truth. She can't run away from the fact that the Circle needs to control their power in order to save themselves from the external threats that seem to be circling them.
((END))