Love Lines

Prologue

Prologue

“Are you sure about this?”

She shrugged. The last thing she needed was to show weakness in front of him. He would sniff it out like a hound does a fox. So she stood stock still and nodded.

“I’m sure. I’ve thought it over and I’ve come to a decision.”

“You realize it will spread. You won’t have long to live afterwards. You’ll die eventually.”

She would take it. Anything would be better than doing what she was now. She didn’t care if the poison would spread through her body, eating her organs and making her sick. All she wanted was a simple life. A happy life.

And she couldn’t do that here. She couldn’t do it with these people. She couldn’t do it knowing someone out there loved her. She’d never had that before. And she was going to hold onto it with both hands and never let go. No matter the cost.

Even if it was her own life.

“Alright then. Acton, bring it to me.”

A boy she’d known most of her life stepped from out of the shadows. He was still pleading with her with his eyes to stop this. Out of all of them, he knew why she was doing this. He was alone just like her but when they met, that afloat feeling went away a little. But for her, that feeling wasn’t truly gone until she was in the arms of someone else, someone human.

For that feeling, she’d give this up, even her friend.

“There’s no turning back,” the man who’d been like a father to her said. “Once I do this, it’s over.”

She nodded, more than ready for this silly ritual to be over and done with.

“You’ll have no access to the Schola, no way of contacting us if you need help. You’ll be truly on your own from this moment forward.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“Then give me your left arm.”

With care she held it out, hoping it wouldn’t hurt as much as turning did. She breathed out just as he placed the sharp edge of the blade against her skin.

“By cutting the ends of the lines that mark you as Elite, I’ll be severing your connection to us and our place of safety. Lyris Silva,” he traced the blade down a very important line, “you are hereby,” he dipped his pointer and middle finger into her blood, “disconnected from the Assarions. No longer my daughter.” He painted an ‘A’ onto her forehead.

There was no pain other than the cut. Just the last burst of quick movement from her multicolored lines as they stilled, only to move again with the changes in her future. She looked up at him, seeing the slight glistening in his eyes. Guilt flooded through her at that moment. How could she feel so happy when everyone around her felt and looked so sad?

“You’re free now.”

He let go of her arm and took a step back, hiding the obvious tears in his eyes with the cover of shadow. She could still see him from the chest down but she already missed his face. More than likely, she'd never see him again.

“I’ll miss you,” she whispered.

“As I you.”

She bowed her head and without saying anything else, left through the doorway he opened for her, with nothing more than a smile on her face.

~ * ~

A/N: So...I felt bad. That's why I decided to post the description and the prologue early. I know this may not quench your curiosity but I figured it's better than nothing. Next chapter should be up in the next couple of days, sorry if this one seems a little on the unedited side because it is. Completely unedited. Five points to the first person who guesses right who the girl is.