1 Prologue
The trees in the woods were forever tall, green, and fresh. The healthy leaves on the branches danced for joy, while the dead ones fell off from their branches and followed the lead of the wind peacefully. Below those tall trees was a young boy and a man who were being protected by the shades of an old oak tree from the ray of sunlight, but the sun still managed to pass through the shade, leaving mild kisses on the boy's skin, making his white skin glow, giving him a positive outlook.
"Maybe today I'll be able to do it right," the young boy's mind hoped.
He stared at the bow and arrow in his small hands, before turning to his left hand side. By his side was a man standing 6feet 3inches tall and built like a tank, sternly staring at the target that was a couple of metres away from them. He was the little boy's father, a man that couldn't be messed with. He taught his son archery every weekend far away from home because it always ended in flames.
Being an eight year old with superpowers of hypnosis, diseases, and medicine, it was quite difficult for him to fit in, especially when he had no clue why or how he became the only one with such powers in his family.
"Son, today you shall learn the act of concentration," his father said firmly. "If you fail again we'll give up completely this time."
"I understand, father." He sighed. "You have tried so many times to teach me how to keep my superpowers untriggered during most activities but I keep on disappointing you, so I understand and I'll try not to fail you today."
The smile on the man's face was a symbol on how pleased he was with his son's brave words, even when deep inside he didn't completely believe his son would get it right, but it was worth giving a shot. He leaned closer to his boy and helped him position his weapon, though he knew the young boy could easily get it done himself.
"Now focus, but not too deeply. That will only trigger your powers. Take a deep breath, keep your powers trapped, aim your target, and release," he instructed.
Bravely, the boy took a deep breath, focused, but not too deeply. He drew the bowstring backwards and released. As he did, his eyes shot red; blazing red like a raging fire. Deep down, he cussed his superpowers as they both watched the target burnt down. The boy and his father let out a sigh almost at once.
"This is useless, father," he said. His father let out a sigh as a response. "If only you would tell me how I got this superpowers, it might be possible for me to know how to control it or at least how to break the curse."
At hearing the word 'cure', the frustrated look on his father's face immediately changed into a fierce stare. The new look on his father's face troubled him because it wasn't in his intentions to get his father angry with his words right after disappointing him.
"Curse? It is a blessing, son. Haven't I told you never to say you are cursed? And never you ask again how you got it, have I made myself clear, Blaise?"
"Yes, father. I'm sorry, I almost forgot I wasn't in the position to ask that yet." He bowed his head in a remorseful manner. His father moved closer to him, patting his back.
"I didn't mean to upset you, son."
"I know. There must be some activities that I could focus on since bow and arrow has proven to trigger my superpowers, right?"
"Yeah, there has to be. It is just that you're really good at archery, but it is such a shame that no one will ever see how good you are at it, other than your mother and I." He let out a sigh of disappointment. "But, alright, son. You know the rules, no one must-"
"-ever find out I have superpowers," he quickly took over his sentence, gaining a smile as bright as the ray of sunlight from him.
"Good. But If by chance someone found out, you leave me no choice but to take you to your grandfather. Don't you dare let this make you refrain from telling me." His smile was instantly replaced with a strict stare.
"It won't, father. I promise."
**********
Blaise sat himself on a tree that had fallen ages ago, waiting for a friend who was running late in meeting up with him.
"Blaise, there you are!" a perky feminine voice came from behind. Blaise smiled and turned backward.
A beautiful girl who was adorably dressed in a blue baggy blouse, that the wind blew to different directions and a white shorts to show off her skinny glowing legs, bounced towards Blaise in a white pair of sneakers, as her long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, followed the cadence of her feet.
"There you are, the pretty girl that always snuck out because she wants to see me," he said with a smile. She rolled her brown eyes playfully and took a seat beside him.
"In your dreams," she said, smiling. "By the way I'm sorry I came late, karate practice took longer than usual today. Plus, I started having this crazy dream when I was wide awake. Lord, I think I'm going insane!"
"No, you are not, it is called daydreaming. I used to have it and when I told mum about it, she said it is called daydreams. It is nothing to worry about. It is quite normal to have it. What were you daydreaming about?"
"Hmm, nothing really."
"I can feel the hesitation in your words and… fear. What did you see in your daydream?" he asked, a little bit worried. She sighed and stood up, facing her back at him.
"I don't know, but I saw you being consumed by a dark smoke and your eyes" -she paused and took a look at him- "they became red. You struck me with your hands and I fell to the ground. You, you watched me struggle for breath… You laughed and you-" Blaise stood up and wrapped his hands around her waist from behind to calm her down because he could feel her fear already consuming her. She was quite settled but she calmed down.
"Don't worry, don't be scared, just keep in mind that it was a daydream. Nothing could ever make me hurt you, I promise," he whispered into her ears, soothing her.
"I'm not scared of you hurting me, I'm scared of watching you being consumed by demons or whatever that was. Promise me you won't give room to let anything evil consume you."
"I promise, Amarantha. Now relax, okay?"
"Look what we've got here. Two lovebirds made up of a weakling and a karate kid," a familiar voice clacked from behind them.
Blaise let go of her and they both turned around to see the speaker, it was two boys who found great pleasure in bullying Blaise. Blaise had wanted to use his powers on them a few times, but the promise he made to his father always held him back.
"Look what the cat dragged in, two retards. I'm sorry to inform you but we ain't got time to chit chat right now, beat it!" she warned.
They scoffed and started walking closer to them but neither Blaise nor Amarantha were perturbed by the presence of two teenage boys who were much taller and bigger than they were and appeared twice as strong.
"Looks like I didn't kick their asses more than enough the last time," Amarantha mouthed.
The bullies attacked Blaise, but she took the war into her hands and lowered the boom on them. When she thought she had kicked their asses, an unexpected group of six boys kicked in, making them uncomfortable.
The six boys rushed towards them and they got the beating that they had expected, but the boys refused to stop hitting them after seeing what Amarantha had done to their friends before they came. They promised to give her twice as much beating and in the process to complete their mission, she passed out. The group of hoodlums ran away, leaving Blaise to face the heat of the music alone.
"Ama, wake up. Please, wake up!" he cried, shocking her body but she was still. He was instantly clothed with fear but he managed to shake it off and placed his right hand on his forehead, after making such they were alone.
"Shine, let my powers shine. Heal what was once healed and happiness will be mine," he whispered, releasing his superpowers of medicine into her. His eyes were raging in flames and his palm was glowing as the injuries on her body slowly healed. She opened her eyes and their eyes met. The gray eyes she knew was now a flame.
"Your eyes," she managed to say before passing out again. He removed his hand from her forehead once he felt she was fine.
Blaise, who could not think of a better way to take her home before her parents started looking for her, decided to carry her on his back. He knew it wasn't the best idea but that was all he got. He carried her and struggled to get to her house in one piece. When he got there, he snuck into her room through her window, the same way she usually snuck out. He laid her on her bed and placed a blanket over her.
He leaned closer to her ear, whispering; "Ama, since you saw something you shouldn't have seen, my father is gonna send me far away from here. But I'll be back when the time is right. I'll learn to fight, so I can protect you. I promise to protect you even if it costs me my life. I love you."
He pulled himself away from her ear and kept his eyes on her pretty face. He tried holding himself from moving back to her but all was to no avail. He gave in, planting a passionate kiss on her forehead, before leaving the same way he had snuck in.
