I WAKE UP and slide off my bed, which results in me falling on the ground. I groan as a sharp pain sears through my leg. Great, I've managed to twist my ankle and it's not even 8 a.m., I chide myself. I limp across my bedroom towards the white dresser in the corner.

I come back and place my clothes on my bed. I gather my soaps and creams and enter the washroom. I am reminded of yesterday's event, sliding down on the floor and crying. I shake my head, determined to discard the memory. I take a quick shower, exit and slip into my school uniform.

It is an ugly yellow top that is paired with an equally revolting maroon skirt. Paired with a black tie, black knee high socks and black shoes, we look like runaway clowns. Our uniform is like all uniforms should be: chosen from the seventeenth century and handpicked by Hitler.

Bounding down the stairs, I collide with my brother who curses vehemently. "Cynthia! Watch where you are going, will you?" Charles says and I stick my tongue out at him.

"No, I won't, baby bro. See you at school," I say.

"You do know that it's Tuesday and we need to have breakfast together in ten minutes, don't you?" Charles says, rolling his eyes. He looks just like me; the same black hair, the same coal eyes, the same wheatish complexion. The only visible difference in our features was the baby dimple that brightened his face when he laughed.

"Oh Hades, right. I honestly forgot we had that. Where's Mom?" I ask as Charles makes his way around me. "And why are you going up?"

"Mom's in the kitchen and I-," Charles blushes. "I started talking to this girl in my class. Trixie. She's new and needs our school notes. I might have volunteered." He says and rakes a hand through his dark hair.

I burst out laughing. "Volunteered? I am pretty sure you threw yourself at the opportunity to help her. Selflessness or love?" Tears of laughter stream down my face and Charles throws a disgusted look at me.

"You are horrible, Thea. Fuck off, please and thanks." Charles turns away from me and bounds up the stairs, not throwing back a glance.

"I know you love me, baby bear."

"Yeah, right. Don't call me that. And while you are at it, get out," Charles screams from his room upstairs and bangs his door shut. I make my way to the kitchen, shaking my head at his childishness.

Our house is quaint and cozy, decorated in pastel shades as per my mom's request. She has never liked loud colours and she definitely does not like them in our house. Another reason why she hates our yellow school uniform. She went to the point of subtly gagging in front of our principal because of it.

"Mom! What's for breakfast?" I enter the kitchen to find my mom mixing pancake batter and eggs together frantically. She has flour in her hair and on her cheeks. A light pink apron hangs around her neck, fully covered in splotches of batter and flour.

"Cynthia, love, help me out, will you?" She says and I laugh, moving towards her. A deep voice rings out from behind us and I nearly jump out of my skin.

"Okay, the Pancake Master is here, guys, step aside," my dad says and whooshes inside the kitchen, wearing a chef's hat and with a ridiculous ladle in his hand.

"Dad, what the-?" I ask, a smile forming on my lips again. My family was crazy but I loved them just the way they were. I would never change a single thing about them.

"Language, young lady. Now, Clarissa, hand over the pan to me, unless you want burnt pancakes for breakfast." My dad takes hold of the pan and pulls it towards him while my mother heaves a sigh of relief.

I turn to leave the kitchen in splits, when I hear my mother mumble something about hating cooking which causes me to laugh further. Could life even be better at this point? A wonderfully crazy family, a loving boyfriend, perfect grades and a great friend circle. What more could a seventeen year old girl need?

I sit down at the table at the exact same moment when my dad comes in with steaming plates of pancakes and my brother with a whole bag of notes. My mom trails in behind my father and her eyes widen in shock when she hits the same realization as me.

"Charles? Is it about a girl?" She says and Charles turns red yet again.

"What ever do you mean?"

"I mean, you never study unless it's Ancient Archives. Today, you've got a whole bag of papers with you. A mother knows, sweetheart. What's her name?"

"Trixie," I chime in, smirking uncontrollably. Charles throws me a death glare but how can I care when I have the Elara's hottest gossip on my hands?

"That's, um, a good name," my mom says, obviously not impressed with Trixie's parents. She takes one long look at Charles and decides to leave him alone for the time being. "And you, Cynthia, how is William?"

I bite into the delicious pancake before answering. "He's good, mom, we are doing great."

"Didn't he bear the Mark of Love at the Proclamation last year?" My dad asks. He is always interested in William, forever careful. According to him, guys are horrible beings and should never be trusted. The argument that he is a guy too has never worked on him. So, I don't bring it up now.

"Yes, he did." I dig into my breakfast, lest it should cool down and deprive me of the pleasure of gooey honey dripping down my lips.

My father clicks his fork against his plate. "On that note, I signed you both up for a pre-Proclamation test. It's at seven this evening. Make sure you take it."

"Calum, you did not just sign them up for a test! They wrote one last month and another one before that. They bore The Seven Saviours in both of those tests."

"Love, it's okay to be sure. If they bore it then, they'll bear it again. It really does not matter." My father wipes his lips with a tissue and gets up. "I need to get going now. Harvey is trusting me with a most important presentation."

Harvey Lane, the Consul. The most ruthless man on Elara. All the seven continents and their governments are terrified of him. He let his own daughter be humiliated and beaten when she bore the Mark of Greed five years ago. It caused a lot of disruption but he was eventually promoted to the position of Consul.

A man who upheld the Law so much that he found an enemy in his own flesh and blood. Could Elara even ask for a better leader? I scoff at the thought but quickly disguise it as a cough. Harvey and my father have been friends forever and he wouldn't take kindly to his friend being called a monster by me.

And neither would William. After all, Harvey is his father and can do absolutely no wrong.

My father bends down to kiss my mom on the cheek. When he places his hand on the table, the Mark of Success, a circular shape with a single straight arrow passing through it, glares at me. It looks ugly, scarred and bloodied and for the second time in the past two days, I feel dread.

I am feeling a change that I cannot quite understand. It feels like being dragged through unwanted emotions all at once. This morning I promised myself I'd make this a better day. I would try to forget the uncharacteristic behaviour I had displayed yesterday. I-

"Honey, you alright?" My mom's voice breaks me out of my train of thought and I sit up straight. My dad is pulling his coat on while staring at me. Charles is least bothered as he arranges the papers in his bag.

Everything and everyone else is normal. It's okay. I will be too.

"Mhm, yes, I am. We need to leave now, there's a test to prepare for." I smile faintly and pull up Charles, who immediately curses wildly at me as the papers slip from his hands. I laugh watching him frantically chasing the papers.

And for the first time in the past two days, I feel like myself again. I just need to trust myself through this one. It's only till the Proclamation, I sigh, and then I'll be like I was before.

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