Chapter 1: || PROLOGUE
"Granny, I will be back soon! Chloe asked me to look for her before the sunset." Kassandra said to Granny Ellie.
She was very happy because Chloe finally invited her to their home after being best friends for a long time. Chloe was not as lively as her. She was quiet and timid. That is the reason why most of the time Kassandra initiates the conversation. If you are going to look at it, Kassandra was the one who clings onto her to work out their friendship.
"Be careful dear, please come home before supper. Today is your birthday and I have prepared all of your favorite food and sweets." Granny Ellie lovingly replied to her granddaughter.
"Yes, Granny!"
The town is very busy now. Today is Christmas Day and you could see that everyone is very excited. This day is also Kassandra's birthday. Although no one knows about it, she was still happy because yesterday, Chloe verbally admitted that she is her only friend.
"Kassandra, please come to my home tomorrow, before the sunset. You are my only friend and I wanted to see you on that day." She cannot help not to giggle whenever she remembers Chloe's invitation.
She likes Chloe a lot, though she does not talk much to her, Kassandra could feel that Chloe also considers her as her friend. Well, it couldn't help because nobody wants to play with them even before. No young lad or lady who would want to get involved in a person like them. One who does not talk much and one who has a very strange background.
Before knocking on the door of Chloe's house, she looks on the gift that she had prepared months ago.
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"Chloe, why are you doing this to your Mom?" Chloe's mother could not contain her sadness anymore. Tears are now racing down her cheeks.
"You know I want this." Chloe coldly replied.
"Celine, we could not do anything about this. This is Chloe's decision. We should respect it." Chloe's father tapped his wife's shoulder. Even though he is not happy about it, he needs to support her only daughter's dream.
On the other side of the door, Kassandra was very confused. Chloe's mother is crying over her daughter's decision. What decision might it be? She felt strange because she is not feeling good at that moment. Why did she felt unhappy about it even before knowing what it is all about? She was about to knock when she felt someone's presence behind her back.
"Are you also going inside?" the man's voice asked Kassandra.
Before she answers back, she turned around to see who the man is. "Yeah."
The man smiled before he uttered back and gestured his left hand to the side, "Please milady."
Kassandra looked at the man from head to toe. She scrutinized his appearance. He is not from this town. She concluded. His clothing seems a little different from them. He looks like an aristocrat from a faraway land. She was about to ask who the man is when a crest embroidered on the left side of his coat caught her attention.
"Noel Academy." She softly muttered.
"Have you heard about it?" The man asked her.
"I think so. But I don't know where it is." She replied.
"Oh. So, I could assume that you are not from Bion Household."
Kassandra nodded. She suddenly feels a sharp pain in her chest. She held her chest as if she is having a heart attack.
"Are you ok?" The man was about to hold and help her when Kassandra stepped back.
"Don't come near me." She said. Then she runs away embracing the gift for her best friend.
The man was left in awe and confusion. What a stubborn lady. Is he that ugly to be declined from providing help?
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"Are you sure this is the house?" The tall man in the early twenties asked one of his henchmen.
"Yes, young master." Henchman A politely replied.
"Alright, let us observe the surroundings first. I don't want to fail this mission. Chief personally came to me. Failure is not an option." The tall man smirked. "I can't wait to gain his approval."
Meanwhile, an old lady carrying a basket of red apples went inside the house that the tall man is eyeing for. "Kass will be very happy to see these red apples. This is one of her favorites."
"That is Euwan." Henchman B informed his young master.
"Very good. This would be just a piece of cake for us." The tall man smirked. His sharp eyes are full of evilness.
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"I wonder where Kassandra is," Chloe whispered to herself while getting her things in her room. She is about to leave and yet Kassandra is nowhere to be seen. She wanted to say goodbye to her before leaving their town.
"Are you ready to leave Chloe?" Mr. Lennard Gunnar smilingly asked her.
"Yes." Chloe's sparse replied.
"Don't worry Mr. and Mrs. Bion. Chloe could send some telegram to you anytime she wants. You could also send your messages back to her. Every Christmas, she could also go visit you if she wants to." Mr. Gunnar's way of comforting Chloe's parents.
"Don't worry. I am not like him. I will never forget you." Chloe said before she turns her back away.
"Shall we?"
Chloe just nodded. Though her heart is aching seeing her parents crying over her departure, she could not just let this opportunity slips away. She needs to fulfill her dream of getting admitted to Noel Academy. She is an intelligent, logical, extremely rational person, though has a foul mouth. The reason why she chose to stay as quiet as possible to avoid any conflict with other people. That's why she naturally comes off as emotionally detached and serious. Her inclination is to have little to no attachments with people especially that she sees the human relationships as a hindrance in getting to her goal.
But Kassandra is an exception. Every time she is with her, Chloe felt calm. As if she is a normal human being. She just felt relaxed that as if all the energy flowing into her body was absorbed which makes her anxieties gone for a little while.
"Kassandra, where are you?" Chloe whispered before she entered a black luxury car.
"Are you waiting for someone? A boyfriend perhaps?" Mr. Gunnar asked her.
Chloe shook her head. Of course, it is not a boyfriend, but indeed she is waiting for her most important friend in this town.
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Kassandra is standing not far away from Chloe. She could see the figure of Chloe getting inside the car. She understood everything now. The man outside Chloe's house is from Noel Academy. Chole's mother is crying because Chloe will be leaving this town to study on that never seen academy. Indeed, Noel Academy is a school for peculiar human beings. Strange beings who are different from normal people. Human Beings who have special abilities. But Chloe is a normal person. How come she gets admitted to that kind of school?
She was very confused and very afraid to say goodbye. As if she fails to say goodbye, Chloe will not be going to leave her and this town. But she was wrong. The moment of truth came. The black car is slowly driving away, but she cannot lift her feet to run after them. She is like a statue pinned on the ground while her tears are slowly running down her cheeks.
When the car is no longer visible, Kassandra slowly walks away from where she was hiding. She literally dragging her feet while wiping her tears. She couldn't think straight. Her only friend in this town was gone. What will happen to her now? No one wanted to be friends with her, and only Chloe accepted her for being who she is. A woman without a formal name. Without a proper family background. Kassandra. That is the only identity that she has. Before, she was asking Granny Ellie of their surname and family history, but the old lady was obviously avoiding the topic.
She is a meter away from their humble home when she felt something wrong. She could see a cloud of thick black smoke and she could tell that it is coming from where they live. The pain in her chest that she felt a while ago outside Chloe's house strikes back. She was getting nervous, so she ignores her chest pain and quickly run towards their house.
"Granny! Granny!" She shouted.
"No! No! No! Granny! This is not happening! Granny!"
The whole house is on fire. Anyone inside the house is surely roasted by now. Granny Ellie could have escaped from the fire. However, Kassandra could not accept that possibility, since she could see a figure of someone sitting on the rocking chair. She almost choked up because of the reality in front of her. Chloe is gone and so as Granny Ellie. Two important persons in her life left her on the same day. On Christmas day. On the day she was born.
"I hate this! I hate this day!" She shouted. She is in deep pain. A pain that slowly swallowing her heart. The chest pain intensifies. She kneeled on the ground. She closed her eyes and slowly listened to her surroundings. That's the time that she heard people conversing inside the burning house.
"Young master, I think I heard something, as if someone outside screamed." Henchman B said to the tall young man.
"No one is here except for Euwan. Maybe that is her soul screaming because of so much agony. Although we could not pull some information about her, the mission is still a success. We are able to decrease the person that might help her from hiding."
Kassandra immediately runs behind a big tree. She couldn't hear what they were discussing but she could tell that they are the ones who killed her grandmother and set their house on fire. They are not good people. She must run away first.
"Granny Ellie, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you." Kassandra runs as fast as she could without turning her glance back.
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The two young men went inside the burnt house.
"We are late, I'm sorry bro."
"It's not your fault. If I only have gotten the information first, I could have saved her." Though he is calm, his heart is on so much pain knowing that he could no longer be able to meet her.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone