Chapter 1 — Birthday (Part 1)

Sunlight filtered through a thick blue curtain, illuminating a small room located in an attic. Right by the door was a large wooden desk, painted white, and a swivel chair. Under the desk was a trash can filled to the brim with paper, soda bottles, and salty snack wrappers. On the desk, there was a laptop in a silver case, a pile of notebooks and novels, and a tiny lamp. Above the desk, a large shelf was stacked with books—from textbooks, to nonfiction, to romances. Here and there were photos in colorful frames and many other small ornaments, such as jugs, figurines, etc.

There was a large wardrobe opposite the desk, its door decorated with baroque carvings of flowers, angels, and animals. Next to the wardrobe was a rather big pink dressing table with a large mirror set into a wave-shaped frame decorated with tiny roses. Make-up was scattered on the dressing table, along with a small box, which probably containing the owner's jewelry. A sturdy oak bed sat by the window, with a tiny bedside table right next to it, which only held a lamp, a small alarm clock, and a telephone. The bed was made of varnished wood and was covered with blue linen that had been painted with pink and purple flowers.

The room belonged to Selene Monroe, a teenage girl with long black hair, dark blue eyes, and a slim figure. She had been named after the Greek goddess of the moon, and it matched the color of her eyes. Selene was sleeping on her bed, and from under the duvet, which was pulled literally over her head, unruly black strands of hair spread out across her pillow. Several times, the girl rolled from side to side, letting out a small moan. The sunlight was clearly disturbing her sleep. Eventually Selene gave up and opened her eyes, which were still a bit hazy with sleep, so she rubbed them with one hand and rose slightly on the other. Out of habit, her gaze drifted to the alarm clock on the bedside table, which read 9:00 am.

"God, I overslept!" The thought flashed through Selene's mind, and she immediately sprang to her feet.

As Selene nervously opened her wardrobe door, wondering why neither her alarm clock nor her aunt had woken her up, she suddenly looked at the calendar. It was July 20, 2016, the middle of summer break...and something else.

"Right, it's summer..." Selene hit her forehead lightly. "Also, it's my sixteenth birthday! I wonder what my aunt is preparing for me," she mused, falling back on her bed.

That was a very good question. What exactly was her aunt planning? Aunt Meredith was unpredictable but truly wonderful. She had taken care of Selene when her mother and father died and was like a real mother to her. Selene even called her mother when she was a little girl. But Aunt Meredith had never been angry about it; many people thought she was Selene's mother anyway because they shared same surname, Monroe, and Meredith was her mother's sister. The sometimes-funny situation occurred because Selene's parents were cousins; her father, Nathaniel Monroe, was the son of Namida and Meredith's father's brother, Lucius Monroe. (Namida Monroe was Selene's mother.) Fortunately, Meredith's age refuted the idea that she was Selene's biological mother. Meredith was only 27, which meant she would have had to give birth to Selene when she was just 11 years old. This made the whole situation clear, and many people were touched by this story; they all felt that someone needed to have a really good heart to take care of someone else's child. Meredith, however, did not think it was anything extraordinary. After all, Selene was the daughter of her beloved sister. She considered it her duty as a member of their close family, a duty that soon turned into a pleasure.

Lying on her bed, Selene continued to wonder what her aunt would do for her birthday. Eventually, however, dreams crept into her mind again, interrupting her gleeful thoughts.

~~~~~~

Meredith had been bustling around the kitchen since 8 am. She usually got up two hours earlier because Selene was typically already leaving for school at 8, but now it was summer vacation. Meredith was squeezing orange juice and spreading some jam on toast, preparing her niece's favorite breakfast, while making coffee with ham and cheese sandwiches for herself.

Meredith wasn't an ugly woman. She was of medium height, with a slim and athletic body, and had shoulder-length raven-black hair and hazel eyes that contrasted with her pale complexion, making her the spitting image of Snow White. Men were often interested in her, but she knew that was not necessarily because of her beauty. Meredith was a sorceress, and that was what she considered to be the main lure. Meredith had been born into a well-known family, which gave her a peculiar charm that no creature could resist.

The entire time she prepared breakfast, she thought intensely about today—it was her niece's sixteenth birthday today. As the protection bestowed upon Selene by her mother was no longer working, it was time for her to find out who she really was. After all, her power would be unleashed soon, and if that happened before Selene knew the truth, she would be in for a rude awakening. That couldn't be allowed to happen. Meredith only hoped her niece wouldn't react to the revelation with a hysterical scream. The world of magic needed Selene more than ever. The struggle between good and evil, Light and Darkness, had never been so fierce as in the last few years. Everyone, including demons, knew that something great was about to happen, that a decisive clash was on the horizon, one that could seriously tip the scales of victory to one side. Of course, it would not end the eternal war between Light and Darkness—this conflict would last as long as the world still existed—but it would give a significant advantage to one of the parties.

The Monroe clan was an old and powerful family, owing to its "purity of blood," which meant that for generations, no member of the clan had broken with tradition and associated with a being other than a wizard or sorceress. Namida was her sister, two hundred years older than her, and Meredith loved her very much. They practically never parted. But when Nathaniel, Uncle Lucius's son, showed up, everything changed. Namida loved him so much that she rebelled against her own family, who believed that love should never be encouraged between such close cousins. But that didn't stop her, nor did it Nathaniel. In the end, they got their way and were married. Two months later, Namida discovered she was pregnant. That was when the dark clouds began to gather over them. Five months before the birth, Nathaniel was killed by a demon named Salvatore, robbing him of the joy of ever meeting his daughter. Namida was ready to follow in his footsteps, but the realization that she had a baby to take care of prevented her from continuing down that tragic path. On July 20th, 2000, she gave birth to a baby girl, naming her Selene after the full moon, which had shone in full radiance on that night. It turned out that her daughter was special. She had been born exactly one thousand years after the birth of the previous "chosen one." Namida was aware of this, so she put a seal on her daughter that would break on the day Selene turned sixteen. Unfortunately, Namida was then attacked by a demon sent to kill her daughter. When he realized that he could not harm the infant, he got angry and killed the mother instead.

The mere memory of this story made Meredith's heart ache. She blamed herself for not being with her sister at the time. If she had been there, she would have sensed the demon's presence and would have warned Namida. That was one of Meredith's gifts. She felt completely useless at the time, but as soon as Meredith saw her niece, she found a new purpose. She loved Selene like her own child, promising never to let her be hurt, even at the cost of her own life.