Lilia Wilde trailed reluctantly behind her mother,wondering why exactly she let herself leave the house, and why she had expected any form of small talk with her mother as she walked. Was she a masochist or something? Why did she give herself false hope that she and her father might just change one day and actually look up from their various skincare regimens and focus on their 17 year old daughter? Or foster daughter considering how they treat her, she thought with an eye roll.

She looked up at Susana Wilde's gently sashaying figure, ignoring the pointed stares she got from the people in her town. They'd been living here for as long as they could remember,but nothing could change the fact that they weren't exactly *welcome*.

See, Chanville was a very secluded town. It had this ridiculously efficient way of managing on it's own with very little export from the country it was legally a part of. But anyone who lived in it would know that Chanville was its own country.

Even when she had been going to school(like 6 years ago), she could tell that the town had it's own clique of some sort, like a secret newcomers like she and her parents weren't in on.

Naturally,she'd been curious as a child, cause she was always curious and information hungry. She devoured information and processed it in the fantasy machine that was her brain. But did her parents even notice what was up in their town? Nooo. They were too busy dying their grey hairs and freaking out over the smallest blemish to see what was happening around them, which was ironic. Could you blame her for being curious of what's outside her gilded cage?

They lived in a *mansion*. A swear-to-God mansion with all these servants shifting about like aurae: not seen, just heard. And how did they finance it all when they weren't too busy preening? She had no idea. No, really. They did nothing at all, but the money never seemed to stop. It wasn't stocks because she had continuously asked them until her father had snapped, saying, "What's a bloody stack of cards got to do with anything?" Yep,a daily dose of emotional neglect with a side of stupidity and secrecy; the recipe of her relationship with her parents. She felt like a Chinese empress in a cold palace: all luxury but no love.

Even right now, she could see Susana stopping in front of some car's window to check out her reflection. She rolled her eyes at the sight,instantly reminded of a video where there was actually someone on the other side of the window. Wonder how the driver would feel seeing this wanna be Madonna in his mirror. She walked up to Susana, the heat of the summer sun loosening her senses.

"So,where exactly are we going, mother dearest?" she asked, her tone turning sardonic at the last part. She had long since lost any sense of filial affection for her mother.

As usual, the object in question did not pick up on the subtle emotion and answered,"we'll get there soon." And continued looking at her face, seeming to find her features more interesting by the moment.

"Not with you looking at your wrinkles",Lilia muttered. She was acting like some Aphrodite, she thought with an eye roll.

"What was that?" Susana asked absently.

"Nothing. Nothing at all", Lilia said in a louder voice. Because she'd learnt the hard way that such remarks would only result in a dress down of how ungrateful she was and how long they'd given her a home and shid(like who tf was supposed to do that, the neighbours?). She felt she was adopted, but wouldn't one care more about a child he or she _voluntarily_ took in? What were James and Susana about then? Was she a sorta surprise baby? Or was it that between loving themselves and each other there was nothing felt for her? Or was she dropped off by a mafia family who got wiped out by an opposing triad and they took her in because of her inheritance or whatever?(yes,maybe she'd read too many webnovels.Maybe)

James and Susana Wilde. Him with his limestone skin, hazel eyes and greying hair he kept dying black again and beard to hide his jaw(or lack there-of), her with her sand toned skin, blue eyes,blonde hair and trim figure. Both were diet and workout extremists. Both had ridiculously extensive skincare routines(more is less,remember?). Both were so obsessed with their looks that it seemed to be fated that they find each other. Both were neither business savvy nor employed but were very metrosexual and shopaholics to the point of obsession. 'Keeping up with the Jones' and all that ostentatious nonsense.

And then there was her. Auburn haired with honey skin, who only worked out as much as she needed to without having it in mind to have specific measurements. She who only used Curology and sunscreen. Jade green eyes that she doubted she doubted she got from any recessive gene.She was really interested in becoming a financial analyst and was so interested in learning that even after they stopped her from going out to school, she bugged them until they agreed to give her her own separate bank account and credit card, under the illusion that she would buy shoes and clothes or something but she had actually been using to learn online and get her degree(as well as binge on ebooks and buy a house in Chanville she could move into when she _finally_ turned 18). All in all, about the only good thing they'd done for her thus far, and they only did it to get her out of their hair.

"So where's the store again?" Lilia persisted, drawing to put their trip back on trap, and squeeze some purpose out of her limited time out.

"If I knew you were going to be so noisy,I wouldn't have let you come out", Susana said in an annoyed tone. Yes, Lilia barely went out. No amusement parks or anything, just sitting home with them keeping info away from her and telling her to go upstairs to her room once they remembered she existed. She would've liked to have been chill with the servants,but alas, they'd been warned off her. "It's up ahead", Susana said, waving her hand obscurely ahead of them.

Lilia looked ahead,seeing only residential buildings and no stores in sight. Was this woman going senile, she thought, all sense of filial attachment erased by the coldness and possibly human right abuse(*cough cough* right to freedom of association or so, but she didn't feel like going to court). When she was younger,she would go all out trying to please them,until when she was 10 or so,she just accepted that they weren't gonna change (queue 'tolerate it' by Taylor Swift). She should've done so earlier. It would've saved her a lot of disappointment in her younger days.

Lilia just walked about a few feet ahead of them,and turned to see her 'Mother' still looking at her reflection. "Is that a skincare shop I see?" Lilia said in a very loud voice.

Susana rushed with amazing haste, much faster than she had when 5 year old Lilia burnt her hand on the stove, blurting out, "Where? Where?" After receiving Lilia's pointed look as a reply, she grabbed her hand and smacked the wrist like she was still a 'stubborn' five year old. "Don't joke with important things", she scolded," your father wanted a different neck cream". Lilia gave a sickly sweet smile,merely to grate on Susana's nerves than anything else, and thrust her out hands in a 'after you' gesture.

Susana turned her nose up, and Lilia wondered why this grown woman insisted on acting like she was her sister and not mother. The day someone would scam them with some fake immortality potion... but them again,it was very possible that it had happened before, and that it wouldn't even have any effect since the money seemed to never stop.

She could see people's pointed stares after her mother,who was as always oblivious to anything other than her looks. But she felt them, every single time. And she couldn't ever figure what the hell that was about. Was there some rumour going on about them? It was always this caution and slight horror in their gaze. And that was the most annoying thing, outsiders seemed to be aware to some fact about them even *she* don't know. Of course, it would've been different if she could've managed to sneak in a friendship under their noses. But nope, it didn't work out. They didn't want to get near in the first place.

A little girl looked at her mother,then whispered something and held on tighter to her father's hand. He soothed her and looked up at Lilia with some caution in his eyes. She tried giving him a small smile, but his widened eyes and blatant stare were her only response.

Lilia looked away from him,wondering if she'd accidentally revealed some of her... special traits. She doubted it, but it wasn't like she knew it's full extent,so...

"We're here",Susana in a loud tone. Lilia turned to see... nothing.

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?" Lilia asked in a tone she used when she felt like irritating her. Which was more often than should be allowed.

As usual,her ploy worked as Susana narrowed her eyes and said, "We're at the shop." Lilia looked at the older woman and thought, yup, she's officially mad.

"But there's nothing―" she paused mid-speech as she noticed an old, shabby looking shop. It had brown and looked like it would have a perfectly square plan view. It had no sign at the front nor were its windows open. She could've sworn that it hadn't been there a minute ago. Interesting.

Lilia narrowed her eyes at her mother,wondering what sort of shady business she -heck, her parents- were dealing in. Susana snapped at her impatiently."Are you coming in or not?" Lilia walked in after her,figuring that the only way to get answers would be to walk in.

The store... was as rundown inside as it looked outside. There was no way this store had a lot of customers. Or was it rather they were trying to steer away potential window shoppers, and invite the actual buyers? So many questions to answer. Oh-so-glam Susana looked so out of place in the shop, but she walked with this a sense of familiarity, which made Lily wonder how often she came there, and why.

At the counter was a tall, good looking man. He had greying hair,but he looked so graceful and well suited with his age that Lilia wondered why her parents couldn't just learn *his* secrets and quit with their shenanigans. Until he opened his mouth.

"What's *she* doing here?" he said in an irritating voice that his features seemed to belie. Lilia frowned,but figured it would be rude to barge in the conversation. Mostly because she had no idea what it was about. She looked around the shop, sometimes pausing at the label of some bottles, only to look away again in disappointment because it was in a different language(English and French: all she could read in sadly.)

Her 'mother' waved her hand in her general direction and said, "Ignore. I'll deal with it later." Did she just use 'it' to refer to her, Lilia questioned internally with narrowed eyes, inches away from arguing. Already she could feel the man's persistent stare, his eyes seeming to tell her to get away only in a much more colourful way.

She reluctantly stepped back and said,"I'll just look around and leave you two to..whatever," and walked off deeper into the store towards some bookshelves, hoping to eavesdrop in at some point later. Why hadn't she ever gotten curious as to why they were so secretive? Like *her*, Lilia Wilde, constant information seeker, had never gotten curious?

*You have*, a whisper said.

Lilia froze and looked feverishly behind her. Who was that? Or was this some other ability she had going on?

There was no one to be seen. She looked in the direction of the other two people in the shop. Meeting the cold gaze of the man at the counter,she walked in deeper into the bookshelves. Of all the abilities she could've had,it just had to be a defensive one, she thought as she looked through the shelves. Maybe she was a witch and she'd find a magical spellbook. Her fingers itched at the thought of the spells she could pull off on her parents if she was a witch. But she'd been wondering for so long, was she thinking to much into what Miss Smith had said? Was she too hopeful?

As she looked through,her eyes fell on a book, and stayed riveted on it. Curious, she drew it out from its place. It was a small book, seemingly unimportant. it drew her attention instantly. Her hands were shaking as she held it, her blood rushing through her veins. In spite of how normal it looked, she had a deep, primal instinct that she had to know what it contained. Even her body seemed to know how significant it was.. She tried opening,but right before she could -

"What do you think you're doing?" the man's harsh voice sounded behind her. Are you kidding me right now, she thought. Right at the climax, he just had to step in.

She lifted up the book and asked, "How much?" whilst wondering when the heck he had sneaked behind her. Everyone has specialties in this town, she thought, what wondering how complex hers could be.

"It's not for sale", he sneered at her."Your mother wouldn't even get it for you." He snatched the book out of her hands. Briefly, Lilia wondered if it held a secret he knew of, but she felt he would've reacted the same way for any other book.

Now normally,Lilia would've just let it go. But this time, she couldn't. The book beckoned to her, and as he seemed to try placing it back on the shelf, she felt like it held all her answers, and that giving it up would be denying herself of the truth. 'This is your chance', it seemed to whisper to her. 'To find the truth.'

She could walk away, pass it off as a weird feeling brought up by the sinisterism of the shop. She could go back to her usual existence as The Wilde's ignored daughter, and continue questioning herself without being sure if she would get an answer. Remain in her cold palace until she could leave this town. But that was something she was tired of doing.

She grasped his hand in an iron grip one would never expect from a normal femme. But then again,she wasn't just any girl.

The shopkeeper's gaze met hers. Big mistake.

"What do you...", he trailed off as he met Lilia's clear green eyes. His face went slack, and his pupils dilated as his irises turned green. The same green as Lilia's eyes.

As usual, she felt the mental rush as her mind subdued his, the taste of his dominant feelings sweeping into her mind: rage, confusion and...awe? Why's that, she wondered. But alas, her powers weren't enough to completely own his mind. Or anyone's really. They were just enough to scratch the surface of his consciousness. And to do what she wanted to.

When she had his mind under submission, Lilia said in a low, hypnotizing tone,"You're going to give me this book, and you'll forget it even existed." Once she felt the order had imprinted on his mind, she took the book from his hands,keep it in her pocket and broke eye contact.

His eyes turned back to normal, and he sneered at her and said,"why are you doing in my shelves?"

"I was hoping to find something interesting to buy."

"There's nothing for *you* can buy", he said contemptuously. "Your mother has finished with her purchases. So you can leave", in a sacking tone that contradicted his seemingly polite words.

She smiled mysteriously and left him to his ignorance. This hypnotism thing was fun, but she still don't know what she was. Enchantress? Sorceress? Aphrodite cabiner? She looked at her mother who had her eyes on this mirror. Curious, she stood next to her to check if she hadn't gotten slanted pupils(black witch) or something. Normal circular pupils, she noted,all clear on the black witch note, though that didn't cancel out enchantress.And then she realized that her perfect enchantress/Aphrodite cabiner looks didn't exactly reflect well on Susana's trying-so-hard-to-be-glam looks. Susana's face was contorted with fury as her eyes shifted between her reflection and Lilia's, finally noting that she was still woefully inadequate.(Mirror mirror on the wall much?)

Lilia backed away cautiously,allowing the spotlight to return to the woman. She definitely didn't want to get scratched by this woman. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before. It was about when...When...When...

Wait,what had she been thinking of,Lilia wondered, as her mind drew to a blank.

"Let's go", Susana ordered. Lilia rolled her eyes(the best means of communication in her family) and followed after her mother, oblivious to the facts that:

1. Susana bought stuff but she wasn't holding anything at all.

2. The people of the town were looking at the shop with disgust in their eyes,some even making the sign of the cross over it.

3. The book was pulsating warmly in her pocket.

4. She had just recalled a memory, only to lose it again.