Hidden Gifts

Ten

Run.

Someone had mouthed her those words but she didn't fully understand.

"You see, this place is a sanctuary." Devon starts as they enter a small airy room. It's the only wooden structure here with a few stairs leading to the door.

There's a table and two chairs on either side. He sits first and Talia follows suit.

"A long time ago there were many of us. A civilization even. We lived in peace were we where before foreigners came to our land. Our motto was peace and that was all we knew how to do; it was the single rule we lived by. When they came our ancestors welcomed them with open arms. They showed them around and made them feel at home. The foreigners were pleased at how welcoming they were and did the only thing they knew how to, the only reason they had even come here in the first place; they destroyed us. They noticed that we had abilities and they were scared. Our ancestors promised them that there was nothing to be worried about that they would never turn on them and for years they never broke that promise but the foreigners still decided to take everything they owned.

They started their destruction from a small scale by killing the children and poisoning the adults. When the elders realized that the foreigners were behind it they still refused to fight with them rather they decided to talk to them and ask them to leave. The foreigners... Did not want to leave. Their plan was to get a scope of the land and gain our ancestors trust and our ancestors were just so... Naive they didn't realize what they were getting themselves into. They killed them and took everything they had until one day, our ancestors had had enough.

They decided to use their powers in ways they would not like too. There were some who could control people, animals, objects, vegetation, the elements and even the weather. Although those who could control humans aren't so popular, only ten percent of manipulators can control humans. They used all the strength and power they had to eradicate the foreigners but they could only do so much. They were out numbered and some of their best members were already dead. They had to go into hiding so they retreated. Some of them lived amongst the foreigners and some even married the foreigners. Over time the number of us decreased but now we are more and we can rise up again." He with determination in his eyes.

Talia looks at him, dumbfounded.

"What?" She whispers. "I don't understand. Why are you saying our ancestors? Who are these foreigners and why did they kill who they killed? What abilities did they have?"

He sighs. "They were called elenktés myaloú which is Greek for mind controllers or cei puternici which is Romanian for the powerful ones. The foreigners are the humans, homo sapiens. They decided to call them the manipulators. The humans were afraid and jealous and assumed that the people who had accommodated them for years were threats. Can you believe the utter stupidity?" He grinds his teeth together.

"I'm a human and I don't appreciate you calling us stupid." She says and he laughs.

"You are not a human. Not in the slightest. You are a manipulator. A special one at that. When you had told me to die I assumed you had done that before because of the way you had forced yourself to be angry. You see, we have the ability to make people do our bidding and our hair changes with our emotions which is hard to keep I'm check some times. Tell me, what happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?" She back away.

"You know what I'm talking about. My friends told me you were crying when they–"

"Kidnapped me?" She crosses her arms.

"Yes, sorry about that."

"They weren't wrong. I... I... I don't know what I did." She hides her face in her palms as she remembers the awful incident.

"The first incident was with a girl at my school. Her name was Natalie. I hated her and she hated me back even more. I would never purposely do what I did but... She was saying all these horrible things about me and I just said that I wished she was dead so she could leave me alone. And then... She killed herself. She kept smashing her head on one of the lockers till she died and then second incident was... Ugh, it was with her parents and some officers that I think I killed this time. I also told them to die and they killed each other. It was horrible." A tear slides down from her eye and she immediately wipes it.

It wasn't my fault. She lied to herself.

He placed his hands on hers and pulled them down gently. He cupped her hand in his and used his thumb to wipe away a tear that had slid down against her will.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. It wasn't your fault so don't beat yourself up for it. I'm not going to lie this doesn't happen frequently but it's not your fault. You never knew how to use your powers and up until now you never even knew what you were. Hey, please tell me what's your name."

She bit her lip not because she was afraid to tell him but because she was afraid that if she opens her mouth she would just start crying again and she did not want to do that in front of him.

"T– Talia."

"Talia." He says her name like a spell. "That's the most beautiful name I've ever heard." He smiles at her but she doesn't know if to blush or to cringe.

"Well, Talia, I'll help you take control of your powers that way you can blend in more easily. You can't afford for your hair to turn red every time you get angry." He gets up.

"Why don't we go outside? I love the night and the stars. It's so calming. Care to join me?"

She doesn't say anything but she just follows him.

They sit on a log together and she looks at every one. They move to the semi sad music played by a group of adults and even though there is food and music they still do not look happy but Devon, he looked ecstatic as he looks into the sky.

"Hey Talia?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry for kidnapping you. There's no excuse for that. They say first impressions are everything and I'm pretty sure I gave the worst first impression ever. I just hope that we can be... Allies if you are not willing for us to be friends."

Talia nods her head slowly after some thinking. He had just told her what she was and helped her solve the bulk of her problems but that didn't mean it was over. Kidnapping someone was more than a wrong first impression but she had just killed five people; he could be forgiven.

He smiles as she nods and says, "the fire makes your skin glow, do you know that?" She shakes her head and looks away. She was going to blush at his flattery and if she was fair she would be best red.

"Are you trying to hide a blush?" He teases.

"What? No! Stop deceiving yourself." She rolls her eyes at him.

He gently touches her face and traces the outline of her jaw before leaning in and kissing her.

She had never kissed anyone before, she had but it wasn't romantically.

It was Sharon that had been her first kiss but it was because Sharon had never kissed anyone and needed someone to practice with so that she wouldn't make a fool of herself. After that Talia had sworn not to ever kiss because of the amount of tongue she felt and the idea of sharing saliva with someone didn't turn her on.

She didn't pull away as she thought she would have but rather wrapped her hands around him as he gripped her waist.

She opened her eyes for a second when she sees the same woman that had mouthed her those words when she came here with him.

Run.