Feel My Soul Avenger

Chapter 1: Prologue

    Warnings: Swearing, Short Chapter

MC's P.0.V

         As a young child, I always thought that the world was full of such magical and wonderful things. Every little thing, both living and not, captured my heart and took my breath away with its own brand of beauty. From the vibrant greens of trees to the stunning yellow of the sun that would blind me if I looked at it for too long, beauty was everywhere. The flowers that would grow in the most random of places in every shape, size, and color had me wanting to spend all of my free time in my grandparents garden, just taking in and absorbing everything around me. Even the harsh blackness and texture of asphalt was beautiful in its own way to my child's mind, as you could see every bump and ridge in it without having to feel it. 

       Besides all of the things around me, seeing all the families and couples around me as they interacted and went about their day to day lives filled me with a sense of want that I was too young to really identify at the time. It wouldn't be until I was older that I would come to realize that what I was craving was a sense of love and belonging that I didn't get to feel with a single mother and no siblings. Though that thought would fill me with a sense of sadness and a good amount of longing, it didn't dampen the beauty and love that each family around me radiated. Everywhere I turned, something new and exciting would only reiterate the fact that no matter where I looked, there was beauty and love everywhere.

        Growing up, I didn't realize how truly blessed I was to have a mom who loved me as much as she did. Whenever I needed, she would have a warm hug for me and gentle kisses to place upon my brow with the words "I love you" on her lips. When I was younger, the knowledge that I didn't have a father used to upset me, but as I grew, I came to realize that there were things in life that would never be fair. My father had passed away two months before I was born in a mugging gone wrong. He never even got to hold me as a baby. Life was just that cruel. 

        Whenever I would bring the topic of him up to my mom, I could see the sadness that would fill her eyes and the empty expression that would take over her face. I soon learned that if I didn't want my mom to look like her whole world had ended, I shouldn't bring up my father in any way, shape, or form. If only to avoid the way her misty eyes would dart down to look at her blackened soulmark and how her eyes would gloss over with memories of times long past.

        Even though my mother had lost her soulmate, she didn't let that stop her from filling me with all of the hopes and dreams that every little girl should have about meeting her other half. She told me all about how my mate would protect me, love me, and see to my happiness, just as I would do the same for him or her. The thought of having an unconditional love like in the fairy tales had me waiting quite impatiently for my own to appear. I couldn't wait for my soulmark to show up, and every morning for the first years of my life, I would dart into the bedroom upon waking to look in the mirror and see if it had showed up overnight while I lay asleep. Even when I was sick, without fail, I would search every inch of my body in the hopes that the mark that would show everyone that I was destined to be loved would appear on me. 

     Finally, one morning, shortly after I turned 8, I woke up one morning to the sight of three soulmarks on my left arm. While I was ecstatic to finally have my mark or marks in my case, I was still worried about what having three marks would mean for me in the long run. But my beautiful and supportive mama didn't even bat an eyelid at the proof that destiny had seemed to have something in store for me. Instead, she gave me a hug and sat me on her lap to explain to me that while it may be different, it didn't mean that it was a bad thing. While yes, the majority of the world's population only has one single soulmark, there was nothing wrong with having three. That there was absolutely nothing wrong with being unique in such a wonderful way. It just showed how much love I had to give to those who needed it. She told me that she had always known I was special and that this was just tangible proof to the rest of the world of just how special I really was. 

     So she supported and protected me while always making sure I knew how loved I was. She held me when life got rough and comforted me when I couldn't shake off the name calling and bullying that seemed to follow me wherever I went. Apparently, having three marks made you an easy target for various degrees of bullying and harassment. My mama was my best friend and my entire world, so when she died of cancer when I turned 23, I had no idea what to do.

       It didn't take me long to make the decision to pack up and get a fresh start in life. Leaving the home I grew up in boarded up and sold was not something that I was mentally prepared to do, but something that I felt the need to do regardless. I needed a fresh start somewhere where hopefully having a red, blue, and purple rose as soulmarks wouldn't draw any extra unwanted attention my way.

       Who the hell was I kidding? Having three soulmarks on display would draw attention anywhere I went. This time, though, I was ready. I was ready to kick names and take ass, and nothing and nobody was going to stand in my way. Beyond that, I had a plan. I have a job lined up at a local cafe waiting for me so I don't have to go job hunting. It was just a stroke of good luck that the apartment above said cafe was vacant and in need of a tenant, and seeing as I was in the market for an apartment it turned out to be a match made in heaven. The nonexistent commute to and from my new job was a huge selling point in it's favor too.

        All in all, things were starting to look up, and I had something that I hadn't had since my mama passed.

        Hope and confidence. 

        I had confidence that everything would be okay and that everything would turn out alright in the end.

     I had confidence that from now on, life was going to go my way.

        I had hope that maybe, just maybe, I would be able to make some friends for the first time in my life.

        I had hope that I'd meet my soulmates, and they wouldn't reject me upon learning that they would have to share me with two others.

     Oh, who the hell was I kidding? If I make it to New York City from Michigan alive and in one piece, I'm going to call it a good day.

Media is Stella's three soul marks.

A/N: Edited as of 04/21/2024

You all are the MUSES that INSPIRE ME!!!

Until next time, my lovelies😘🥳