Hidden Talents (Book One)

Hidden Truths

This Chapter is a little rushed but important. Point out any mistakes.
I woke up at the same time I did every morning and immediately went over to my computer to search Rowan. All I got were trees. Grumbling I headed down to the kitchen to see my mom sitting in the kitchen. "Good morning Ceri. I thought we would talk about what you want for your birthday." I sat down across from her. "I want answers." You can tell she is startled. I don't blame her. I am not usually this frank. "Wh-what?" I blinked, solemnly. "I want you to answer all of my questions." She grants my request, albeit wearily. I take a deep breath, a slight wave of nervousness wracking through my body without my permission, and I rip the band aid off. "Why did you never tell me I was adopted?" My mother chokes and I wait. "Why would you thi-" I cut her off with a wave of my hand. "I am five foot zero with black hair and hetero-chromium although our family has no history of it. I started guessing when I was twelve and I was just wondering when I was adopted." My mother looked at me with a bit of awe in her eye and I let a half smile cross my face. My mother took a deep breath. "I never told you because you have always been my daughter. Just because I didn't give birth to you does not mean you aren't mine." I smiled at he fierceness. "Do you know my birth parents." My mother paled and shook her head. "No and I don't want to." Her tone tells me not to push and I immediately dismiss the topic. "D-do you know why I have um, visions?" My mother sighed. When I fou-when I adopted you, no one knew anything about you so I have no clue." I took a deep breath. This last question would reveal if she had been lying or not. "When is my real birthday. We celebrate a time in labor that doesn't exist, so when is my actual birthday and why do we celebrate today?" A beat of silence passed. Then another. "Well, today is your birthday darling, it's just a date we picked for you." Her voice was soft and I grimaced. How dare she. All I asked for was the truth and I had to be petty and ask around it for her to still dance around it. "We celebrate on May 29th at 3:45 a.m. because that's when you found me on the side of the road, abandoned in a ditch." My voice is dead. Liar. Liar. Liar. Repressed emotions are bubbling up and I have to fight them down. "All I asked for, the literal only thing, was for you to be one hundred percent honest with me." My voice cracked and I had to clear my throat. "And you couldn't even manage that. I want the actual truth. You know something about my visions. I can see it in your eyes." My voice had gone hard once more and mt mother opened her mouth, but my brother's voice saved her. "Morning you two, what's for breakfast?" My mother blinks, both startled and relieved and pushes back from the table. "Eggs and toast. Do you want some Ceri?" I shake my head and mumble an excuse before shoving back from the table and going to my room. Huddling in a ball on my bed, I think about my latest visions. Three in one day is not common, especially when they are about me, and I usually hate having even one a day but I wanted to have another one. In those visions, even the one I was angry in, I felt like I actually belonged. I wanted to go back. Sitting up a take of my iron necklace and my coal ring. Sitting criss-crossed on the bed I close my eyes and empty my mind and wait.

And wait.

And wait

"Ugh." Face planting I groan into the pillows I question why life never gives me what I want. A soft knock sounds from my doorway and I look up to see Candice with a guarded look on her face. "Careful people might think you're feeling something." Unable to help myself I snap back. "Not now Candy. I'm not in the mood to deal with even more B.S." At first she looks rather affronted and then she gets a big grin on her face and comes running forward. "You were just mad! That's amazing!" I roll my eyes and can't find it in me to hold back all of my emotion. "It was a few words Candice." My voice is considerably less alive than before and she deflates a bit. "Why are you bummed?" I sigh and shake my head. "I got mom to admit that I was adopted but she lied again when I asked her about-" I cut myself off and shook my head. Candy doesn't know about the visions. "About who I was and who my parents were." Candice's face softens and I know she understands, because she is the one who came up with the thought that I was adopted. "How'd you get her to tell?" I smirk a little at her attempt to change the subject. "I asked for honesty for my birthday." Candice laughs and I have to lock down the urge to join her. Until the idea hits me. I get visions when my emotions slip past my walls. I imagine my head as a fortress, locked down tight and a key sliding into the locked gates and clicking open the heavy lock. I open my eyes and do something that makes Candice fall off the edge of the bed. I laugh. I haven't laughed more than a slight snort of amusement in three years. Candy gapes at me as my laugh fades and she screams. "Finally!!! You're back!! You were like dead for three years!" I fight the habit of locking down my amusement and smile again. Please please please I just want a vision of him. Please.
The man, Rowan, gave me feelings of belonging. I just want to belong. The full impact of my want, my need to belong to something or someone, hits me like a truck and I deflate just a bit. I never have belonged here. I never will either. Candice pulls me down stairs with a flourish and announces. "She's alive! She laughed you guys. Laughed." Candice's giddiness is a hard thing to ignore but my family just looks lost. My mother stands up. "Ceri about earlier, I am sorry I lied but you don't need to know." I frown and feel my brow furrow. "It's me. Of course I need to know." My mother's hands go right to her hip, a sign that I should stop arguing. "I am your mother and it's not something that you need to know to be happy." I freeze. "Do you think I am happy Mother?" My voice is low and my mother startles. "Of course you're happy. You have a great life. You love your job and your house." I shake my head to stop her. "No mom I have a great image. I have the perfect one actually. I hate travelling alone. But I have to do lest anyone see my eye act like a god damn lighthouse. I hate Glasgow. But it's always foggy there so no one see's the girl who is muttering about bad things that will happen. I hate being a dead husk of a person but limiting my emotions means not as many visions. I am anything but happy and ask for the truth on my fake birthday and you lie again. Yeah Ma I am so happy." Everyone is speechless and I scoff. "You still can't bring yourself to be honest with me."
The room explodes all at once.
"Now listen here young lady."
"What do you mean visions?"
"What the hell are you talking about Ceri?"
"I'm sorry Ceri."
The last one being from Tommy. Of course. He's the only one who actually knew what I was going through. I sigh and turn to mom. "Do you know when my real birthday is?" My mom sighs. "There...was a note in the cradle with you. It said you were um, not like us and that iron and black tourmaline would stop your um powers." I rolled my eyes. "Real birthday mom. Not the dumb note." She huffed. "April 8th 1997." Oh great. My birthday is nine days after I was raised to think. "Well I guess this is a great time to tell you. I am moving to Alaska." My mother stares at me aghast and my brother and Candice just nod. They knew this was coming. "Okay. What the hell is going on!" Kian exclaims. I sigh. "I have visions whenever I do, well basically anything human." Kian scoffs and shakes his head. "Yeah because shit like that exists." He turns to leave and I call out to his back. "Does this mean we aren't dating anymore?" My only answer is the slamming of the screen door. I was hurt but years of practice helped me lock down tight on the emotion and store it in the back of my mind to be dealt with later. Candice inched towards me. "I don't understand. What do you mean you have visions." I shook my head. "I mean that if I let my emotions run loose I get visions. Of what will happen." I took a breath and tried to continue but Candy cut me off. "Why didn't you tell me." My eyes flashed to my mother and back and she scoffs in understanding. "Your mom said not to. Do you know how much it hurt to see my kindred spirit turn into a stone cold bitch overnight?" I winced but said nothing. She scoffed and turned around. "Happy Birthday." She spat over her shoulder before leaving in a similar way to Kian. I sighed and shook my head. There would be a time for all of these emotions. "I want to see the note." I said, turning to my mother who hadn't moved at all throughout this entire ordeal. My mother automatically shook her head. "You don't need to see it. Tommy and I are your family." At the mention of his name my brother stepped up beside me. "And we will still be her family after she sees the note Ma." Mom looked at us for a few moments before her shoulders drooped and I knew we won. "Alrighty. Let me go get your basket."

She had meant an actual wicker basket. Inside was a silken gray blanket and and an aged note. As soon as she set the basket down I grabbed the paper and unfolded it.

To whomever it may concern. This beautiful baby girl is my daughter. I am unable to provide a good life, a safe life, for her so I must let her go. This beautiful girl is very special. She was born on April 8th, 1997 and is a Seer. Black Tourmaline and Jade will stop her talents but silver and silk will aid her wonderful gift. I must warn you. If you so choose to stop her gift, it will be impossible to do so after her twenty first birthday. As I said, my baby is a Seer, so she will live with her gift until there is no future or she is killed. Thank you for taking her and I must ask that you love her as mush as she deserves to be loved
-Maybellene

I look up from the note and take a breath. "Okay." I set the note aside and grab the blanket, blinking in surprise when it clanks. My mom winces. "When I found you... you were wrapped in silver and the silk blanket. Necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings. A circlet." I nod before setting the blanket down again. "I need to think." My mother nods and eagerly reaches for the basket but I pick it up before she touches it. Nodding at both of them I go to my room, locking the door behind me. Settling on my bed, I take of the rings and bracelets that my mother had given me before taking the time to put on each silver accessory. After this I start filling my minds with what I learned about the man, Rowan, from my visions. Maybe a heartbeat passes before I am rocked into the liveliest and most vivid vision I have ever had.

"Who are you?" The scene shows a garden and I look up to see a man up in a nearby apple tree. Cocking my head I ask, "Who are you?" He smirks. "I asked first." I just look at him and wait. He sighs good naturedly and bows low. "I am Sir Bartholomew James Johnson the Third, Son of Sir Bartholomew James Johnson the Second." I blink a few times and he laughs. "Just Kidding. I'm Rowan. Pleasure to meet you." I lean forward. "What are you?" He frowns. "That is not a polite thing to ask." I just tilt my head and wait once again. He shakes his head, smiling faintly. "My mother was a Succubus and my father was a Demon." I nod and turn away, heading back towards the castle. "Aye!" I hear him call out behind me. "Ain't it fair that I get to know something about you in return?" Without turning back I toss one word over my shoulder. "No."

Coming out of the vision I gasp and smile. I pull my laptop towards me. I have a castle to research.