Lily's POV

It was a normal day on the street of Pakeeso in the Ku-Kai region. I should probably explain myself first. But before me or my brother tell you anything that happened in these last couple of days we need you to believe in the impossible. Because what happened was even more crazy than the people of the Ku-Kai region (and certain other regions) having magic powers. Anyways, I'm getting off track. Where was I? Ah yes, normal day in the street. I've lived on the street since my adoptive mother died in a car crash when I was 8. I'm 12 years old and my name is Lily Janus. I have hair that's so black it looks a little purple. I have also found that if I concentrate I can dye it different colors and add colored streaks in my hair. I normally keep a purple one in. I have sharp, sea green eyes and skin that's neither pale nor tan. It's kind of in between but a bit more on the pale side. Do your best to imagine it. I have one set of clothes at this time. My army green tank top, faded jeans, worn brown leather boots, and an old black leather jacket that seemed to grow with me because I've had it since my adoptive mother died. It still fit me perfectly but that shouldn't be possible. I didn't question it though. I also had a necklace that was half a heart and it looked like a fire roaring behind glass. It was fitting considering the fact that I was a hot head. And also the fact that my power is control over fire. I didn't know who held the other half. I was always curious and had asked my adoptive mother but she knew no more than I did on the matter. She had told me I had it with me when I was in the adoption center. Anyways, back to the whole normal day on the street thing. I was walking down an alley way. It was between my old apartment I had lived in with my adoptive mother and the bakery next door. I loved that bakery.  The baker, Mr.Maifer, knew my adoptive mother before she died. We would go over there often. The baker knew about my situation and understood that I didn't want to go back into social services so he let me be and gave me free reign of the place. He also stores my laptop. In the alleyway I had a big cardboard box that had been used for an office chair (it must've been one of those ridiculously big luxury ones used in board rooms)I had laid down two blankets in it for a bed, a small hand held mirror laid in the corner opposite of my bed next to a purple backpack. I had a pair of keys to the bakery and a Swiss Army Knife under the bed of blankets. It was getting late and I was tired. I went into my box home and went under the cover of my makeshift bed. I feel asleep almost instantly. When I opened my eyes there was sunlight streaming in through the closed box flaps. I opened them a little wider and got my bearings. I pressed the sleep from my eyes and picked up my mirror and looked at myself. I would needed to do something about my hair. It was a rat's nest. Hmm. I thought. Ive dyed my hair with magic before. Maybe i can brush it with magic. I concentrated. I felt a small amount of magic energy around my head. I picked up my mirror and smiled. Sure enough my hair was brushed and smooth. Awesome!  I lifted up some of the blankets on my makeshift bed and pulled out one of the keys to the bakery and my Swiss Army knife. I considered taking my backpack but decided if I needed it later I could come get it. I went to the bakery and unlocked the door using my key. The bakery wasn't open yet so I locked the door behind me. I went behind the counter and brought out my laptop and iPod from a locked cabinet. I went over to the small room behind the counter and started my laptop up. I logged in and clicked on the writing application. It took a while to load so I decided to start baking some things. Mr.Maifer had taught me to bake. I helped bake the goods for the bakery because I was an earlier riser so we could get a head start on the day. I decided to make the quickest goers when the shop opened. Mr.Maifer's chocolate muffins. It was a decent sized chocolate muffin with chocolate chips. What's better is that it's gluten free. All of the items where. It had taken Mr.Maifer a while to perfect the batter recipe and he was still editing it like an author would her books. I started making the batter. Once it was done I put it into the muffin tins and popped them into the oven at the exact temperature and time that Mr.Maifer has taught me to. After that I went back to my laptop and found the my writing application had opened. I started typing and got lost in my own world. The document I was typing was a book. A fictional one about a young woman that could talk to animals and helped solve the crimes that where being investigated at her precinct by talking to animal witnesses. I was torn from my writing when I heard a noise in the main bakery. I pulled out my Swiss Army knife and crept out silently. I saw a figure who had been coming towards the room I was in. I grabbed the figures arm and flipped him, my instincts from the street where kicking in. "I will never know how you do that" the man said. As I got a better look at his face I saw it was Mr.Maifer. "Oh my Iska!" I exclaimed, "I'm so sorry Mr.Maifer!" Mr. Maifer has blonde hair that was starting to grey at the sides. He always had his hair in a neat wedge. He was an Army veteran and always had a straight posture. His eyes where a soft grey and always had a kind look. Today he wore a black T-Shirt, jeans, blue tennis shoes, and his army jacket with his pins of honor clipped to it. He sniffed the air. "It smells like you started on the muffins Lil-Lil" He said as he started for the break room area. Lil-Lil was his nickname for me. He was the closest thing I had to a father and only he could get away with calling me Lil-Lil. The break room had very basically become my room. I still lived in the box house (even though Mr. Maifer had offered me to come live in the apartment upstairs with him). The room had a small kitchen for making the baked goods for the store(there was a main kitchen but this smaller one was just for me),a table and four chairs, and a big old armchair that Mr. Maifer had brought down here for me from his apartment. The muffins where ready so I pulled them out. Mr. Maifer put them on a plate so they could cool and we sat at the table and talked. Nothing in particular. But we ended up talking about Mr. Maifer days in the army. He had served 4 tours before coming back. His wife had died from cancer while he was serving and he had no kids. He always told me he considered me a daughter. He likes the fact that I know how to fight. I didn't have any good magical weapons like he had on the battle field but I did have control over fire. Mr. Maifer had that power to some extent. His colleagues from the Army had called him The Heater because he could control the heat in an object. He used his power a lot in baking the goods around the store. He was even able to keep the items warm so they always tasted fresh and the chocolate chips where always gooey and the bread always warm. At the end of the day we would take the left over goods and donate them food to the local food drive. There was always one setup there in Pakeeso. We always donated. This was my life up till that day. And I loved it. I couldn't have been happier if my adoptive mother was still alive. But one thing always nagged me in the back of my head. Who had the other half of the necklace? That was a thought that often occupied my mind. I was soon going to find out. Even though I didn't know it yet.