Seven

A blaze erupted in a flash of orange and amber, the large house bursting into flames. A wave of oil stench suffocated her as tears started streaming down her cheeks from the intoxication. She couldn’t breathe as she inhaled the smoke and hacked out coughs, crumbling down. The blazes surrounded her until-

“NO!” Hibis gasped then lost her balance on the bed, tumbling down her covers and onto the cold rug with a thud. She sat up immediately, ears pricked up to see if she woke her mother up from next door. Nothing. The blankets unfolded upon the girl as she groaned from the pain that had settled, rubbing at where she hurt her head, the girl feeling sore just from having another vivid dream. This time, a village on fire. It felt so real; black melting walls and inferno luminous flames that clung onto the surface and the ground. Sweat trickled down the girl, yet shivers ran down her spine. Hibis clutched onto her messed duvets and watched her knuckles turn white before glancing up into the moonlight from her opened window.

The vision was so familiar to her, and that only creeped her out even further. Hibis sat there in silence, staring at the silver sphere as it shone brightly behind the fluttering translucent curtains. It reminded her of Ace for unseeing reasons.

Just then, a shadow landed on her windowsill, and Hibis yelped, trying to clamber up the bed but slipped, her back pressing against the frame. Her will to scream was stifled when the shadow moved closer to reveal itself in the moonlight-Ace.

“Ace? What are you doing here?” Hibis whispered loudly as Ace nonchalantly moved closer, his cloak flying. Hibis tilted her face to look up at him brushing his disheveled hair backwards. He looked strikingly handsome even when standing up.

Wait, what?

“Well, what are you doing here?” He asked back, then laughed softly at his silliness, oblivious to Hibis’s red ears. “Sorry, I forgot you lived here.” Hibis rolled her eyes at the comment and shifted to allow Ace to shuffle down next to her, warmth radiating off from him.Hibis watched his figure tighten the cloak binding against his body, his face the only thing illuminated by the moon. Ace clasped the clip tight, then turned to see Hibis raising a brow, questioning his visit.

“I just came to watch you sleep.” Hibis blinked pointedly and Ace laughed softly, waving a hand to shoo away any suspicion. “Fine fine, I’m just joking,” he confessed. “I usually check on my clients when they’re sleeping to make sure they’re in a good state. I guess I caught you awake.” It was a strange routine for the boss of elements to do so, Hibis thought.

There was silence as the girl brought herself to nestle her head on his shoulder, ignoring the feel of his breath on her head. A few seconds passed as Ace leaned his head on hers, feeling his cheek pressed against her head. It was a comfortable and warm position, despite how close they were.

Hibis pursed her lips and blurted out “I had another dream again.” Ace froze his position in adjusting his clasp, and leaned back to stare at the girl, surprised as his mouth went agape. “What? Dreams are supposed to stop by now . They’re only supposed to go on for a few days to show your elements.”

The girl feverishly explained the scene animatedly, and watched his face as he tried to come up with an explanation. “I…think you can tell the future then,” Ace hesitated.

Hibis gasped. “I can?” She enquired again, and Ace nodded. “I suppose you have two powers, though be careful, for telling the future is an endangering power. It is said that those who can are more likely to be in higher danger than those who don’t have such an element, seeing that they could avoid the future danger from their vision.” Ace paused, silent. “My father told me that.”

In such a short time that Hibis had met him, she knew that he was not a talker of his family, unless necessary. She placed a comforting hand on his knee and rubbed her fingers against his patella Ace didn’t budge and resumed his position of pressing his cheek against her scalp. The silence was making Hibis squirm, so she decided to change the topic. “So…you say you’re a Lunar. What exactly is a Lunar?”

Ace cleared his throat. “A Lunar is one who has elements of everything that can be concluded as powers. Such as telekinesis, creative manipulation, zero gravity and et cetera. Usually only one kid becomes a Lunar once a year, unless both parents are powerful Lunars, then there is a chance that even if another was already a Lunar, there’s still a possibility that the child born by Lunar parents will become a Lunar too. Kind of complicated.” He grimaced.

“Is there a chance that a Luna doesn’t get all powers?”

“Only when taken away from them by a guardian or parent. Just like my elements of telling the future and flying. Rare powers that seek out more poachers that know of our kind.” His breath started to grow haggard, and Hibis helplessly tried to soothe him down. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she mumbled.

Ace shook his head, mussling her hair. “No, I should tell you.” He drew a slit breath, and continued “The elements were taken away by my parents to keep me safe. As a family of the top 1, we were the most targetted and most likely to get poached first. They were so right…on the third of my birthday, they sacrificed themselves for me.” His voice cracked and he shuffled his knee away from Hibis’s freezing fingers. “I-I never got to do anything for them. They perished on the best birthday I had ever had…and to face another birthday in just a few weeks without them is so painful-”

Hibis felt him shuddering slightly under her head as liquid water dropped down on her forehead. She hurriedly glanced up to see fresh tears run down his face. A boy like him would have been thought to be hard shelled, but he really broke down at the mere endearing thoughts of his family. Hibis sat up to stroke off the salty teardrops from his face, brushing her hands against his cheek as she watched Ace cry silently.

“Shh, they did this because they loved you. And now because of them, you can continue their prophecy. Right?” She unconsciously tilted his jaw to face her. Ace’s rover blue saddened eyes met her crystallic ones. “Right,” the boy smiled softly as he leaned against her hand, staring right at her.

“Thank you for being here for me.”

The strong chemistry that had formed between them in the few days was unmistakable as the two teenagers smiled softly. Their faces and lips were inches away from each other as they drew closer.

Hibis looked away, breaking the charm. “Oh-oh, I’m so sorry.” They chided in unison, then laughed before settling down again, both their faces burning from what had almost happened, or at least…what they thought might have happened. Ace embarrassed from his sudden outburst, turned away to rub the rest of his dried tears and coughed.

“Hey uhm, nice house,” he pointed out, lifting the awkward tension. Hibis waved a hand away from the compliment. “My mother’s a fashionista. To not have a mansion right now is still fascinating,” she joked. “What about your father?” Ace asked, then regretted it as Hibis nonchalantly said “I don’t know. He died before I got to know him well.” She frowned, deep in thought. “We really are a duo of losses, aren’t we?” Ace winked. Despite how tragic that was, Hibis laughed at his dark humour. It was nice to know she wasn’t alone and especially bonding with her boss.

Hibis’s heart thumped loudly as she bid him goodbye. “I’ll see you in a few days, Hibi,” he called to her as he leaped back to the window sill.

Before she turned away, Hibis swore she saw Ace blow a slight kiss in her direction.