Chapter 6 (Unveiling)

  "Kaliah Deligan has possessed a large Red Core." The crowd would gasp as the Officiator of the ceremony announced aloud. I found the faces of my mother and father among the crowd. Despite their disappointment, my mom continued to smile through her tears. She, with my father, clapped supportively, followed by the pitied claps of the rest of the attendees. “T-to Lady Deligan and her purity” the officiator offered to which someone in the audience yelled. "She'll need it.” A few groans followed the distasteful comment and I myself felt my heart twist.

  At the very least seeing my parents react warmly brought a smile to my face as I turned and walked off the stage.

  "Hah! A RED CORE! Just like I said. You're such a pathetic Zeffan." Melina would bark like the disgusting dog she presented herself as. I though, had no cause for denial. If it were as serious as I had learned, my core being red was only going to lead to a wide variety of challenges down the road. I was in no way ready for what was in store for me.

  _____

  The rest of the ceremony came to an end as The Officiator thanked all in attendance. All of us children were called back up to the stage where we were released back to our parents and families. Mom didn't hesitate to entomb me in her warm and loving embrace. Father and Tobias joined in as well. I'm certain Tobias understood just as well as I did what this meant for me. I couldn't help but hope he would be better off than I was a year from now.

  The trip back home was surprisingly quick. The difference maybe being we'd only stopped for a break once while on the road. Regardless, the trip gave me time to think about the vision I'd seen. Upon arriving home I ran up to my room. Mother and Father left me alone, likely considering my need for space at the moment.

  As I ran into my room I closed the door behind me and began to take off my dress. Looking into my standing mirror, I finally saw it. The emblem stretched across my chest with a deep black color which seemed to absorb all light. Its design was that of a diamond seemingly intersected by two others. This created a central diamond being surrounded by the others. The outside of the main shape was surrounded by two other sets of brackets, each progressively shrinking in size. And distance from the main emblem. Although it seemed to absorb all light, the mark on my chest had depth within. As I looked into it I could see stars flickering within like it was the night sky.

  As I stared at the emblem in my mirror's reflection I could feel the warmth of the emblem radiate into my chest. Focusing on the warmth, I could feel it pulling energy from my sternum. That's when I first realized it was my core. I would exhale as sweat dripped from my face. I hadn't even realized how much I'd been focusing. Focusing on my core again, I'd take a deep breath and relax.

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  As I stared at the emblem, my chest began to feel warm as it glowed with energy that didn't seem to be my own. Then that's when I first heard it. A voice like nothing I'd ever heard before resonated within my mind.

  Three diamonds you possess, a rare occurrence indeed you are…

  "Who are you?" I asked the voice Slightly panicked. It felt as though my mind was on fire, causing my entire body to sweat profusely.

  The voice would continue. "Concealment, Understanding, and Infinity lay at your fingertips.” As the voice burned in my mind, each section of the emblem on my chest would glow. Concealment caused the two outer brackets and the leftmost inner diamond to glow red. Understanding caused the second set of brackets and the right inner diamond to glow orange. And Infinity caused the entirety of the emblem to glow A fiery orange, with a hint of yellow. The light radiated outwardly from the central diamond with a vibrant intensity. This light faded slowly as well as its warmth leaving me feeling cold and tired.

  “This voice… it's my own?” I thought to myself. The way it melted into my thoughts made it feel nearly alien. The same feeling you get when you realize something new for the first time, but with an immense amount of clarity. I couldn't tell if everyone had some kind of inner voice to walk them through their new gifts, or if it was my gift of understanding that gave me this unique and early insight.

  I didn't really have the energy to divulge into this matter any further. All I knew is that it was hard enough as is to stand. Next thing I knew my body had hit my bed.

  ____

  I awakened to Melody gently shaking me awake. Her face had matured as she became an adult. It was quite nice to have someone as sweet as her wake me every morning.

  " Good morning Melody. " I would say rubbing my eyes as I awoke.

  "Good morning sweetheart." She would respond cheerfully as I got out of bed. Turning she grabbed some clothes out of my wardrobe and laid them on my bed before taking my hand and leading me into the bathroom. After washing, I would return and get dressed for the day. Melody would tie my curly hair back. I couldn't help but laugh at how much I looked like Tobias despite my being his sister. It made sense why some mistook us for twins.

  She would dress me in some casual clothes which were comfortable to run in. They were really Tobias' clothes, but no one ever seemed to mind that I stole them. After getting ready for the day I headed downstairs to eat breakfast. My parents sat drinking coffee, my father also read a newspaper. Mom smiled softly as she saw me take my seat.

  "How's my big girl this morning?" she'd ask, setting her coffee aside.

  "I'm good, a little tired though." I'd say as I began eating the eggs In front of me.

  "Hah! The purification Ceremony is known for being pretty draining." Dad would say. I could see mom kick dad under the table before he smiled brightly and put the newspaper down.

  The look on their faces were ones that wanted to handle me with caution. Dad seemed to have been hiding his own worry behind the paper. I could tell he was just as nervous as mom was.

  "I have three gifts." I would say casually as I took a sip of my milk. seemingly slicing through whatever awkward tension there was.

  "TH-THREE?" My dad would exclaim before jumping up from his seat. It wasn't but an instant later that he was holding me up in the air with my milk spilling to the floor. "OH THATS MY GIRL!"

  "WE KNEW YOU WERE SPECIAL!" My mom would say excitedly. As she sighed with relief before slouching down into her chair.

  "We know at least one of them is red, but what are the other two?" Dad would say as he tried to calm himself down.

  "Both of them are orange, but one has a yellow tint to it." I revealed while grinning triumphantly.

  "Incredible!" Both of my parents would exclaim. My mother would jump out of her seat now and hug onto me too. Tobias seemingly just going with the flow would stand up in his chair and jump around excitedly too. I couldn't be happier, now I knew my parents would have one less thing to worry about.