1 Chapter 1.1

"Centuries ago--or so they told--this town was but a simple and peaceful land. Though lacking in luxury, the people lived in simple ways, content with their lives. They bask in the comfort of familiarity around them; everyone knew one another, and everyone is willing to give a hand for any help they can offer."

"Well that sounds really quaint."

"Hush. So they had a peaceful life, they never had any difficulties aside the usual ones, and they all pray for this blessing to continue for generations to come. But then one day, a trial unlike any other falls upon them. An epidemic came and affected almost everyone in less than a week."

"Oh, so this is where the story gets dark."

"Do you want me to finish this or not?"

"Sorry. Please continue."

"Okay. Now where was I? Ah right, the epidemic. Hundreds died in a span of days, and the townspeople's hopes and faith dimmed even faster. They did not know if any of them could survive to see the end of the month.

"When they all believed that they had reached the end of their ropes, a young woman came to the town church to call upon the people. She knew of a way to save them from this darkness, and she has the power to cast the epidemic out of their beloved town.

"With nothing more they could hold unto, they lay down their remaining hopes to this young lady. In three days, as she had promised, the disease had left the town, and all those that were ailing had managed to get better. Grateful for her work, the whole town celebrated the young woman, hailing her as their town's protector. She was wedded to the handsome and rich young mayor, and became the most prominent figure for the people."

"Why do I sense that a 'but' is coming."

"Yeah, okay. But, in exchange for the blessing she acquired for saving her people, the young woman would have great difficulty in conceiving a child in the future. Furthermore, she can only have one child and nothing more. Truth be told, it took the young woman a long time to be pregnant, and during live birth she had almost lost her life."

"But she survied, right?"

"Eish, shh! Let me talk without interruption! Yes, she survived, but the arduous labor had her bedrested to the rest of her years, her health alarmingly bad. The people feared. Without their protector, who will protect their town for the future?

"But then, a more amazing blessing arrived in the family. The little girl that their protector carried had received a gift of her own. The people cheered for days for the young lady, as she and her family continued to protect the people in generations to come."

"Hmm," the young lad hummed, eyes down as his finger tapped his chin in thought. "So that's the family Solerna? Your family history?"

"Yep. So, quite amazing, right?" a young girl nodded, a proud and slightly smug look on her face. "Seeing as you and your family's visiting us I thought it's a great way for all of you to know. Uh. . ."

The young man laughed, "The name's Henry. And your story, well your family history, is quite interesting. I mean, I myself haven't believe my own mother when she told me were visiting a family with an assortment of magical abilities. I'm still a little light-headed from all of it, honestly."

"Well Henry, the name's Lilith Solares. And yeah, that light-headed feeling you have was probably because of my Mum. She didn't really mean it, but she's. . . easily spooked." The girl, Lilith, winced slightly. "Having the Blessing of Breath does parter well with anxiety. She usually causes small accidental tornadoes at least once a week."

". . . That sounds awesome, though quite a hazard."

Lilith sighed at that, mentally agreeing as she remembered the numerous times she almost got hit by flying furniture in the past. "Well, let's going if your done with your meal. I'll get the tab."

"Oh no need, no need!" a middle-aged man with a shining head quickly went to their table, a large smile plastered to his face. "This metal's on the house, Miss Solerna. We want to show our gratitude for you and your family for always protecting our beloved village, though it's not much."

"Oh," Lilith blinked a couple of times. Frankly, it's far from the first time this happened to her, but it still gets her everytime. "Are you sure? It's not really a bother for me."

"No no! I assure you it's fine. Thank you for your patronage to our restaurant."

As the owner was adamant of clearing their meals free, the pair exited the restaurant with a small wave. "I should bring you with me always if I want to eat here. That way I can eat for free," Henry told her with a smirk.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm not that comfortable with the special attention, honestly. I've known most of the people here since I was a kid. They took care of me and my family so it's a little awkward to have them do these special things for us. Especially since it reminds me of Sol."

"Sol?" the irritated voice as the girl mentioned the name made him curious.

"That will be me," a drawling voice came from behind as an arm swung over Lilith's shoulder. Henry studied the young lad's platinum blond hair, fair skin and light-blue eyes and couldn't help but comment that the name suited him well.

"And you are?"

Lilith all but throw the arm over her shoulder with an indignant huff before looking at Henry to answer. "This is my older cousin, Sol. She's my aunt Aula's son."

"Hey," Sol gave the other a two-finger salute. "Are you with the visiting family in our house?"

"Ah yes. Your grandmother told Lilith here to take me down the town and show me around."

"Oh, so your the son of the visiting ambassador," the blond smirked. "Well if that's the case, good luck to you, man. Our family can be a bit problematic when you're not used to them. Take our other cousin, fro example. Personally, I think her real blessing might be being such a vipress."

"Vipress?"

"Sol, could you be so kind and scram? We don't need your commentaries right now."

"Of course she is," the other continued with a fake sage nod, not listening to the girl's dismissal. "Mine's called the Blessing of the Night. Nothing escapes my knowledge."

"Blessing of the Night. . . what does your magic abilities do?"

"Well, you know the thought that all unforgivable secrets gets swallowed up by the dark? And how night is often associated with night? So that's the magic; I could hear all the dark secrets of people. The darker they are, the clearer they are for me to hear." Sol laughed at the open-mouthed reaction.

"How-how does that work? That's actually awesome."

The blond looked smug at that. Lilith rolled her eyes again. "Well there are certain conditions. One, I must know the person personally and that they have to be in a ten-meter radius from me for at least three minutes. Though, I  can only pick up those that people absolutely does not want to know, so the more they tried to bury the truth the easier for me to hear them. Like that owner of that restaurant you guys just went to. Remember him?" When the other lad nodded, Sol's smile became feral as he moved closer and lowered his voice. "Well that man had been having an affair with his wife's younger sister, while his legal wife was having an affair of her own to that man's competition."

"Honestly, you're just a gossip monger. And don't go telling those things to people! They're not your secrets to tell!"

"It's because they're such dirty secrets that make me even more itchy to share," Sol drawled to her. "But then again, for such a stick-in-the-mud like you, you wouldn't really appreciate it."

"This is incredible," Henry said, awe obvious in his voice. "Your family really is amazing! What does your gift do?" he directed his excited gaze to Lilith. Taken aback, the girl couldn't find an answer.

Sol threw his head back and laughed. "Hahaha, you're asking Lilith? She's the only Solerna that doesn't have any gift!"

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Author's Note: I'll try uploading everyday, though I can't really promise to follow it always. It's my way of challenging myself to finish a project instead of letting all my half-done books collect dust in my folders haha

Anyway, I want to put this here and ask people what they thought of it. Do you guys think it has potential? Does it need more details? Does it has any mistakes that I missed? Please tell me about your thoughts.

Second chapter of this will be up tomorrow.

If you enjoy this, don't forget to vote!

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Dialogue with myself: How about those stories you need to update?😕

Reply to myself: hmmm, I'll get back at that to you later😜