Tulips of Truth [Ⓗⓤⓝⓣⓔⓡ Ⓧ Ⓗⓤⓝⓣⓔⓡ]

Chapter 1: Cassandra's x First x Task

In the land of Esmington, there once stood a secluded village. All of the people were kind and loving to one another, not daring to break each other's hearts. Their homes were made of a mystical stone called Alableite, which could take on the form of any existing mineral; say that someone wished for their house to be made of a sustainable mineral, but there was none in sight. They'd use Alableite to transform the mineral into said wished-for mineral. It was a miracle that not many got to see. In the town of Ballymena, miracles happened left and right. The blinded people were healed. The disabled people were able to walk and move their bodies. The people unable to speak were then able to speak to receptionists and people who waved hello.

The grassy meadows were constantly trimmed, looking fresh as day. The skies were cloudless, but when it rained, it brought blessings to the crops and flowers. But one day, all of the miracles and good feelings stopped. An evil presence swept through the town, killing everyone in sight. However, one person remained alive. A 5-year-old girl. She had been hiding in her family's basement, afraid to leave. That was until a man covered in blood opened the basement door, coming down the stairs to see the little girl curled up in a corner, tears streaming down her face. Her chest heaved as she stared at the man in front of her. She tried to cry, but nothing came out of her throat. "Fear not, little girl," he said.

"I'll take good care of you."

...

"Come on, Cassandra!!"

"We wanna play with you!"

"Yeah! Come down from there!"

A young girl with extremely long red hair in a braid and gorgeous dark blue eyes with round glasses looked down from where she sat in a tree. She wore a light green plaid dress with a white apron at the front of the skirt, white socks, and black Mary Janes. She held a book on her lap and wore a bracelet of flowers. The kids watched as the girl hopped down from the tree, moving all of her hair to the side. This was Cassandra O'Sullivan. "Madam Chanaret said that she wants you to write a story for us! And if you gain her approval, then she'll let you join the Hunter Exam," one kid said.

Cassandra's eyebrow arched as she smirked. "Fine by me. But I can guarantee a good story," she replied.

The kids giggled and ran back into the orphanage where Miss Chanaret stood, watching through the doorway. Silver Willow Orphanage was a building located in Yorknew City; and like Esmington's village of Ballymena, the orphanage was secluded from the city. Trees surrounded the area, blocking the city's view. Cityfolk wasn't able to easily pass through and into Silver Willow; it would distract the silence and the children. Birds sat in their nests that stayed in the trees. The orphanage had two stories and was built from bricks and concrete tiles for the roof. There were few windows on both floors, allowing not a lot of natural light to flood the rooms. "Cassandra, the kids want a new story. They're tired of your old ones," Madam Charanet said.

"But I've never retold them any of the stories I've already written. I've told them the story of the girl getting taken away during a war. I've told the story of the boy who hated his body. I even told them about the teenager who wished for adventure but was stuck in a world of isolation," Cassandra replied.

Madam Charanet rolled her eyes and entered the orphanage to tend to the other children, leaving the redhead outside, slightly frustrated. She always made excuses for the girl to expand her creativity. But was she complaining? No. It happens every month. Cassandra went to her bedroom and sat on her bed, taking her favorite floral-themed notebook out. She had written tons of stories that all, in some way, looped into her past life. For example, when she was 10, she had written a story of a little girl getting taken away from her family amid a war. It reminded her all too much of the man who took her away from her homeland, how having been erased off the map. After flipping to an empty-lined page, Cassandra began to generate some ideas. If she couldn't use any of those ideas, then there was one left. And this would be one that would get her to take the Hunter Exam.