Three parts of one

Chapter 1

Sunlight streamed into the room as the incandescent ball of flame rose higher into the sky. The light illuminated the room from within revealing a small cage-like square with a tiny desk and a small bed. Someone was in that bed. A teenage girl, with long brown hair and skin the color of soft brown bark. She moved this way and that until she sat up in bed and stretched luxuriously. She was dressed in a simple sleeveless nightgown of soft lavender. She hopped out of her bed and started to dress. She slipped on a marine-colored shirt and black jeans. Her hair was combed out and put up in a simple ponytail. After pulling on some combat boots, she left the mini cage in which she slept in. The courtyard was covered with many orphaned children. The girl ignored the children and ran to meet two boys.

'What's with the energy sis?' The elder of the two gave her a grin.

'Maybe she's finally lost what little intellect she had?' The other one suggested.

She made a face, 'No I did not!'

He laughed, 'yeah sure.'

These two boys were the girl's elder brothers. The elder one, Elric, and the younger one, Andrew. The girl herself was named Star.

"Well, anyway I overheard Mrs. Carter talking to Oldman Al." Star hurriedly told them.

Andrew and Elric grew attentive. This might be something interesting. Star, her eyes glittering, recounted the conversation between the two adults.

"So I was helping Mrs. Jay put the toddlers to bed, after I'd helped her I was on my way to my room. Mrs. Carter was with Oldman Al. I stopped by the door to listen and would you believe that they are planning to send us to the city?" 

 Andrew and Elric stared at their sister. "How do you know that they were talking about us?" Elric asked. 

"El, they were talking about the three siblings, and as far as I know, we are the only siblings." 

"We are walking on shaky ground here Star."

"I know that, but it's something anyway." 

 "Stop worrying you two," Andrew crossed his arms, "all we have to do is snoop about a little and then run away."

Elric and Star stared at their brother. Then Star gazed at her elder brother with a look of disbelief painted on her face. Elric sighed and put one hand on Andrew's shoulder. "Let's have a talk, Drew." He said wearily.

As they both talked the sun rose until it was right above them. The sunlight illuminated her brothers' faces. Elric had dark brown hair, almost black, that always found its way over one of his eyes. His skin color was slightly darker than Star's and you could see that those two were siblings.

Andrew on the other hand had brown hair tinted with a rough brownish tone, and his skin was quite a bit darker than his fellow kinsman. His face was rounder and his shoulders were quite a bit thicker as well. Unlike his siblings who had rather delicate jawlines, Andrew had a rather hard jawline that gave his face a rather violent look.

All three siblings had chocolate-colored eyes, that could melt another's heart. The bell for breakfast clanged, its steely sound shattering the silence. Star turned to look at the clock. Exactly twelve in the morning she read. She turned and followed the crowd into the center building. The Cauliflower orphanage was a well-known home for guardian-less children. Rather than having one building, it had three massive buildings surrounding a courtyard. The buildings on the sides were the male and female dormitories, the central building was the place where adoptions took place, and where they all ate their daily meals. Star had to sit alone during these times. Her brothers were at an age where they had to help Oldman Al in the fields. Star was only fourteen, while Andrew was eighteen and Elric was nineteen. The age gap between the three was of five to four years. This made Star spend a bunch of time on her own. During that time, she studied in the orphanage library. Unlike most girls at the orphanage, Star had learnt how to read and write. She spent most hours of the day in the musty-smelling library, going through the documentaries and history books.

Star sat in the library, looking for a new book to indulge herself in. As she strolled through the columns of books, something caught her eye. A black book with a leather cover had been placed on the end of the column. Star's curiosity got the better of her. She reached out and pulled the book from the shelf. 'Exorcism and its secrets'

It seemed interesting. Star decided to read the book with her brothers. She turned and walked off, in search of her two siblings.

Elric and Andrew were sitting in the isolated garden at the back of the orphanage. They seemed to be in a heated argument. 

 "I'm telling you! We should run away!" Andrew said irritably. 

 "And I'm telling you that it's too risky!" Elric argued back. 

 "Ummm, is this a bad time to show you guys something?" Star asked. 

 "Not at all, I'm just trying to knock some sense into this thick-headed idiot," Elric said. 

 "Oh shut up Elric. What did you bring now sis?" Andrew asked. 

 "Well, look at this." Star showed them the mysterious book. 

 "What's so special about this book Star?" 

 "I dunno, I thought we might want to read it together," Star replied.

Elric took the book and had a look at it. "It doesn't have the author's name on it." 

 "What?" Andrew took the book from Elric, "that's weird." 

 "Maybe it's written inside the book?" Star suggested. 

 "That's highly unlikely sis," Elric replied. 

 "Let's see and find out!" Andrew grinned. 

 "Andrew wait, don't- !"

Too late, Andrew opened the book and changed their lives forever.