Clinging To The Shadows

Prologue

~March 18, 1838~

As Alice stumbled down the hall with arms full of books, her mind kept spinning. Her parents just revealed her a secret, the day after her 16th birthday, about the Ashdown family.

Why had her parents hidden this from her? Why had they waited for so long? Was of to protect her? Was it to see what happened? Did she always have those powers? Were they saying the truth? Or was it all just a prank?

Alice was thinking too much, and kept making herself confused. She took a right turn and opened the doors to her room. She dropped her books on top of the fine maple wood desk next to her and sat down on her dark violet chair.

Alice grabbed the first book and opened it. It was a collection of old papers, each stating names Alice found familiar. She looked at each of their photos, careful not to harm the papers. They all seemed like normal people, so she wondered if what her parents had told her was true.

The closed the book, and went on to the next one, trying to find what job they had, and their secret power, if they had any. She did this all day and night. She was feeling extremely confused and really tired, so she ringed her bedroom bell and asked for some tea.

A couple minutes later a maid came in with her cup of tea. The delicate cup of tea was placed on top of a shiny silver tray. A brand carved into the tray caught her attention. She then realized she had overlooked something crucial. She calmly thanked the maid, and set her cup of tea on top of the desk, and waited for her to leave.

She then vigorously opened all the books and saw that every single document was branded with that same imprint. She had overlooked it. It was so obvious now. It was completely true.