ꜱᴀᴠɪᴏʀ//ᴛᴠᴅᴜ

I.VII

June 21, 2005

Ryden woke up with a smile plastered on her face.

It was her dad's birthday.

The excitement that coursed through her veins had her feeling as though nothing could ruin this day.

She got out of her bed and ran straight to the kitchen. The clock on the stove read 5:15 am, which was exactly an hour before her father got up for the day.

She spent the next hour making breakfast for her family. She made her father's favorite pancakes, chocolate chip, which he loved to top with whipped cream and strawberries, bacon, eggs, and started brewing coffee for the adults.

After everything was finished, the girl went to the fridge to get the strawberries and whipped cream to top off her father's pancakes, only to discover that the container that used to have strawberries in it, didn't.

Ryden knew that she wasn't supposed to go out alone.

She knew that her father would be upset. That was, if he found out.

The plan was clear in her mind. Run across the street to the little market that has the best strawberries in the world, get some whipped cream, and then get back before her parents and uncles wake up.

It was simple, and it was all going according to plan.

Until it wasn't.

Ryden was only four steps away from the door to her apartment complex when a hand covered her mouth, an arm wrapped around her waist, and someone tugged her into an alleyway. Her heart began beating so hard in her chest, she thought it was going to explode out of it, and tears began pooling in her eyes. This felt familiar.

Almost too familiar.

Ryden let out a scream, which was muffled by the hand on her mouth. That hand, however, didn't stop her magic from lashing out to protect her.

The man, and the woman who Ryden just noticed was there, were flung across the alleyway hitting the wall with a sickening crack.

Blood pooled around them, the thick crimson liquid staining the cement.

Ryden was in shock, but the shock did not last long. All of a sudden, Ryden felt a sharp pain in her leg. Almost like it was being broken. The shock wore off and reality set in.

She killed those people.

She killed two humans.

She triggered her curse.

Ryden felt like throwing up.

Just as she began panicking about triggering her curse though, she felt a headache coming on. But it was different than a normal headache, because she felt like someone was splitting her skull in two with a table knife. She could barely see because of the pain, and she vaguely remembers retching and throwing up, and someone running towards her before promptly passing out.