Two decades ago...

12-year-old Tianna Feather hugged her knees tightly to her flat chest. She was experiencing a panic attack in the middle of the night in her cold, dark room. It wasn't because she'd just had a nightmare. It was because of the soaring anger she could sense.

Her parents would have thrown a fit if they'd discovered she was still awake. They didn't want her to find out about the disgrace her older sister, Tabitha had brought upon their family name. Her mother had drugged her evening tea, turning her back briefly to bring some muffins for her to eat along with it.

Luckily, they had a large potted plant in the dining. Tianna had dumped her tea there, yawned, then pretended to go to bed.

Tianna had initially thought she would have to struggle to hear what was being said which was why she'd left her bedroom door open by just a crack. It turned out she didn't need to. Her parents were too furious to control their anger. The house practically shook with their fury.

"When were you planning to tell us?" Mr. Feather screamed. Although Tianna couldn't see her father, she could tell his forehead was red with his suppressed anger. The same way she could sense he wouldn't be able to keep the lid on the boiling pot of his anger.

Tabitha Feather, Tianna's older sister, didn't reply. Tianna's lips curved upward in a smile. No one could be as silent as Tabitha if she didn't want to speak.

Her smile bled away when she heard the unmistakable stinging sound of someone getting slapped. 

"You will answer when I speak!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"What would you have me say? I never intended to tell you. I was waiting for you to find out yourselves." Tabitha said calmly.

That was the strange thing about Tabitha. She never got ruffled or upset. She seemed to exist in a world no one else could reach—not even her little sister who loved and idolized her. Tabitha was always calm and absent-minded. She had always been like that and they hadn't known why, until...

Tianna shook her head to get the vile thought off her mind.

"You cheeky little brat! You think you can talk to me anyhow you please!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"I apologize. I mean no disrespect." Tabitha's voice remained calm.

"You have brought shame upon our family! You're just 19! We sent you off to improve your magic so you can get a government position, not this!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"Calm down, dearest. You know shouting isn't good for your blood pressure." Mrs. Feather said pleadingly.

"I wouldn't have to shout if you had raised your daughters right! What would our neighbors think! You had such a bright future, Tabitha! You had big plans...!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"No, I didn't. I've never and I will never have big plans. Those were your plans." Tabitha said.

Tianna admired her sister's bravery. She would never have dreamt of talking back to their father.

"You fool! We'd be a laughingstock." Mr. Feather shouted.

"I assume we will. You like to air people's dirty linen. It's only fair that you be on the receiving end for once." Tabitha said.

"Why, you little...."

"Hush, dearest. Let me handle this." Mrs. Feather said.

Tianna pictured her mother smoothening her silver-grey hair. Mrs. Feather liked to touch her hair when she wanted to calm down. Although her hair resembled that of an old woman, Mrs. Feather was relatively young. She'd had silver hair since she'd been twelve.

"Tabitha, how did this happen?" Mrs. Feather asked.

"You had me and Tianna. Do I have to go into biology?" Tabitha asked.

"Don't be cheeky! You know exactly what I mean! I didn't even know you had a boyfriend much less this!" Mrs. Feather screamed.

"You never know anything!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"Shut up!" Mrs. Feather hissed at her husband.

"There's no point blaming mom. There's no way she could have known." Tabitha sighed.

"What on earth are we going to do now? I invited Kevin and his parents for lunch tomorrow! You were going to be introduced and engaged to the boy!" Mr. Feather snapped.

Tianna made a face. She knew Kevin. He was a jerk. The boy had groped her a few weeks ago on her way back from school. Ever since he'd noticed she and her friends had started growing breasts, he and his goons liked to waylay them.

It had hurt badly when Kevin slapped her breasts pretending it had been an accident.

"Tough as rocks." He'd laughed.

He knew Tianna wouldn't be able to report him or defend herself. He was bigger, a Magi, and his father was powerful. The bastard.

Tianna couldn't believe her parents wanted to arrange a meeting between that vile boy and her beautiful sister.

"That's not what's important right now. My major concern is who the father is and why I can sense an aura of death around his seed." Mrs. Feather said wisely.

"If you're sensing an aura of death, how sure are you that it's not from me? Or are we all going to pretend I'm not going to die soon?" Tabitha asked.

"Shut up! We don't know that!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"Perhaps you don't, but I do. I'm dying. That's a fact." Tabitha said.

"Perhaps it's the baby that's killing you! I demand to know who the father is! I demand to know who planted that demon seed into your body! Who did you give your body to?" Mr. Feather demanded.

Tabitha didn't speak. Tianna heard a loud slap. And another. And another.

"Slapping me isn't going to somehow loosen my vocal cords. It doesn't matter who the father is. The baby is mine. I only need to know if you'll support my decision to keep the baby." Tabitha said.

"Keep...! You must be out of your damn mind! I will not raise that demon seed in my home! A child with the powers of Telepathy! Who's heard of such nonsense!" Mr. Feather shouted.

"This is not a time to be stubborn, Tabitha! Tell us who you spread your legs for! What you carry isn't natural. That child isn't like us. I can sense death all over it. Anyone who comes in contact with that thing would die a miserable death. I can tell!" Mrs. Feather said.

"It's my baby. It doesn't matter who the father is." Tabitha said.

"You little cunt!" Mr. Feather shouted.

After that, Tianna had to thrust her fingers deep into her ears. She broke into a fresh wave of sweat. Despite how hard she covered her ears and eyes, she could still hear the sound of breaking glass and the blows her father rained on her sister in an attempt to discover who the father of the baby was.

After an hour of this abuse, the noise died down. Tianna remained still and tried to even her breathing. Sure enough, she heard her parents whispering together. Her door opened.

Tianna smelt her mother's jasmine perfume. She heard the unmistakable sound of her mother's bunny slippers connecting with the tiled floor. She canceled out every thought from her mind. Her mother could sense emotions—no matter how small.

Tianna felt her mother lean in to study her face. She felt her mother's musky breath on her cheek for about five seconds before Mrs. Feather retreated.

"She's asleep." Her mother whispered hoarsely to her father.

Thirty minutes later, Tianna heard the thunderous sound of her parents snoring. She pushed back her covers. It was easy to tell when Mr. and Mrs. Feather had fallen asleep—they could snore the house down.

Tianna slipped on her night jacket as she gently turned her doorknob with her little hands. Out in the hallways, the sound of her bare feet on the cold floor was inaudible.

A few sexinds later, she stood in front of her sister's large wooden door and listened. Surprisingly, she didn't hear Tabitha sobbing. She couldn't sense any of the forms of emotions she'd thought she would from her sister.

Placing her small hand on the door to strengthen the connection, she realized the only thing she sensed was determination. Rapping her small fist gently on the door five times, she alerted her older sister of her presence.

Two seconds later, Tabitha Feather dragged her into the room before closing her door firmly with a click. Her sister snapped her fingers and a light source formed above her hand. The light flickered on Tabitha's slightly swollen face.

"He hit you." Tianna was horrified even though she had heard the sound of her father tossing her sister around.

"Nothing I can't handle. We both know dad has an awful temper. I'd have healed my wounds by now, but I've been distracted." Tabitha said.

"Aren't you always distracted? Sometimes it's like you don't even live in the same world as us." Tianna regretted uttering the words as soon as she said them. She bit her lip, hoping her sister wouldn't be offended. Tabitha merely gave her a distracted smile.

"I thought you'd be asleep. Didn't mom drug your tea with a potion?" Tabitha asked.

"I sensed it," Tianna said.

Tabitha chuckled.
"You're smarter than we give you credit. With a little training, you'll be even more powerful than mom. It's a pity she's too focused on me to pay enough attention to you." She said.

"You say it like it's a bad thing. I could tell they'd found out about the baby from the way mom's veins kept showing on her neck. How did they find out? I barely did." Tianna said.

Tabitha sighed and shrugged. As her shoulder moved, the light source moved with them.

"They were bound to find out soon. They also found out about my baby's powers. I'm sure you heard how freaked out they were." Tabitha said.

"Can you blame them? We haven't had a Telepather born in over a century. I get scared whenever I read the stories of how powerful and dangerous they are." Tianna said.

Tabitha chuckled again.
"You're powerful too. I don't think you have anything to be afraid of."

"I do. I'm only a Senser. You're a Magi! Your eyes have already started getting lighter too. I'm pretty sure they'll be completely golden in about ten years..." Tianna started to say.

"I'll be dead before then." Tabitha had a blank look on her face.

Tianna's heart sunk.
"We don't know that for sure. Just because The Diviner saw it..."

"Don't, Tee. You're better than that." Tabitha shook her head at once.

Tianna's head sunk. Tabitha bent down so she could lift her sister's chin. When they were at eye level, Tianna saw the look on her sister's face. Tabitha Feather had wisdom in her eyes that surpassed her age. They were the eyes of someone who knew death was knocking on their door.

"I've always known I don't belong here. I don't think I was supposed to live this long. I'm going to die before my third decade, Tee. We both know that. You can sense death around me." Tabitha said.

"Perhaps it's not you. Perhaps it's the baby." Tianna said with her voice quivering.

"I've known since I could walk and talk. I don't want you to be sad about it. Don't Necromancers say that death is an adventure? I'll watch over you when I'm no longer here." Tabitha kissed her sister's forehead.

"So what are you going to do now? And why didn't you tell them about the father? I know it's Isaac's." Tianna asked trying to change the topic.

"What's the point?" Tabitha asked.

"What's the point? Isaac comes from a respectable family. He's been in love with you for four years. I'm sure he'll want the baby too! You could get married." Tianna said.

"I don't want to marry Isaac."

"Why not? I thought all females like to marry their crushes." Tianna asked in shock.

Tabitha chuckled softly.
"Females? You should hear yourself sometimes."

"I've never felt any of these so-called feelings. I've never had any desire to cultivate a romantic relationship and I don't think I ever will. But we're not the same. You can be with Isaac. You can be happy." Tianna said.

Tabitha smiled sadly. She looked ahead like she couldn't even see her little sister again.

"I had a dream, Tee. About this baby. Mom and dad are right. There's death around her. At the same time, there's hope. There's something special about my child. That's why I have to leave. If I stay, she'll get killed." Tabitha said.

"She? It's a girl?" Tianna blinked in shock. Her sister sounded so sure.

"A pretty girl. I'm going to name her 'Selene'. I'm going to raise my baby in one of the alternate universes. Earth. That's where she'll be raised." Tabitha said.

"Well...Isaac can go with you..."

"His destiny is not with me. This is where our destinies separate."

"But he loves you!"

"I am meant to be the one who got away. His path no longer collides with mine. I can see my destiny clearly, Tee. I know what I have to do. I have to have this baby. My little Selene. She'll have one of the purest auras in the world. She'll have a lot of tragedy in her life but she's the only hope. She's the only one who can avert the disaster that will happen on Black Day." Tabitha said.

Tianna opened her mouth to argue but she saw the look in her sister's eyes. She knew what it meant to know your destiny. Tabitha had found hers.

Tabitha moved away from her little sister. Clutching her gold necklace, she whispered some words to lighten the bags on her bed.

"You're leaving! You can't leave me! Please! Take me with you!" Tianna begged.

"I wish I could. But your destiny isn't with me. You have to stay here." Tabitha said.

"But if I do, mom and dad will try to marry me off to some guy." Tianna made a look of disgust. Her sister laughed

"I'm sure you'll find a way out of it. Perhaps by that time, you'd even want to marry." Tabitha said.

The two sisters made a face. They both knew Tianna wasn't the matrimonial type. Tianna had never understood the concept of romantic love neither did she desire to understand it.

"So you're really going to the alternate universe. At least heal your face before you go! I heard Earth has some really nice men!" Tianna said.

"I don't think I want to live long enough to be forced to marry," Tabitha said. The bruises on her face began to heal slowly.

"But how will you survive? I don't know much about Earth. We haven't gotten there in any of my magical classes." Tianna said.

"I have all I need. Don't worry about me. I only have one request." Tabitha said.

"What's in it for me?" Tianna asked.

Tabitha slapped her hand on her forehead.
"What do you want?"

"Your purple magical ring."

"Done."

"And your cute pink top."

"You can have that too."

"And your black hat."

"Ok..."

"And..."

"Tee!" Tabitha complained.

"Hey! Nothing is free!"

"Don't you even want to know what the favor is?"

"What is it?"

"I want you to look after Selene."

"Ewww! No! I hate babies. They poop a lot and their barf smells like rotten eggs." Tianna made a hideous face.

"She won't be a baby by that time. I'd be lucky if I can live to see her tenth birthday. When I die, I don't want her to end up alone. I don't think mom and dad will look after a Telepather." Tabitha said.

Tianna pouted. She couldn't deny that she wanted to see what an Isaac and Tabitha baby would look like.

"Fine. I'll do it. Only because you asked nicely." Tianna said.

Tabitha hugged her sister tightly. Ordinarily, Tianna hated hugs and any form of physical contact but she hugged her sister back like she could never let go.

When they pulled apart, both of them had tears in their eyes. Tabitha walked over to her open window. She hesitated when she touched the window sill.

"I love you, Tabby," Tianna whispered.

"I love you too. Till eternity and beyond." Tabitha said. She jumped out of her open window.

Tianna ran to the window to see where her sister had landed. Tabitha Feather had disappeared. She had left Rodia.

Tianna Feather closed the window, went back to bed, and fell asleep not long after.

Before she slept, she whispered into the night:
"I'll protect you, Selene. I'll protect you, child of Black Day."

#M.M💀🖤