Rules can be Made to be Broken

Chapter the First

As I lay sleeping, the voices return in my dreams. I've heard them often in my dreams. I sometimes hear them during the day as well. A man's voice, strong, powerful, but full of affection as well. A woman's voice also, kind, compassionate, full of motherly love and wisdom. I have no idea who these voices are, but they feel familiar somehow. I half wonder if the voices are those of my dead parents. My parents had died when I was a little girl, about 18 years ago now. I don't remember them much, but I do remember that I was very well loved.

Refusing to dwell on the past, at least for now, I decide to get ready for the day. I head up to the shopping center, to the bookstore that I work at as manager. "Lost Treasures" is a pretty decent place to work. As soon as I walk in, my boss, Emilio, the owner, comes up to me. 'Sirena, good thing that you're here. I have to leave in a few minutes. I just got called in for a meeting for our new project. Can you mind the store for a few hours?' 'Yeah, I can handle the store. Are we getting any new shipments?' I ask. ' Yeah, we are. Just a few, though, so it's not that bad.' Emilio replied. 'Alright, I got it. Go ahead and get going so you're not late.' Emilio heads out, leaving me alone in the store. I do a bit of straightening and cleaning, and then open the door at exactly 10 a.m. What business we had at the store wasn't much. It was a nice, easy day.

About one o'clock, the first shipment came in. 'Hey Sirena, got a couple boxes for ya,' as voice says behind me. 'Oh, hey Orion,' I replied. Orion sets down the dolly with four boxes of books and other miscellaneous items. 'Thanks,' I said. I sign for the boxes, and then open them up to start pricing. Feeling a presence behind me, I turn, to see Orion still here. Raising my brow in a question, I ask, 'Need something Orion?' 'A hug?' He asks. I giggle quietly, then go and give him a hug. 'About time' He says. 'Oh, whatever, you're such a dork Ri,' I say laughing. 'Hey, that hurt my feelings,' Orion says with a pout. 'Silly boy,' I tell him. 'I should get going, have other things that need to be delivered.' He says. 'I'm sure you do, talk to you later Ri,' I said. After he leaves, I take the boxes up to the front counter to get them sorted, priced, and onto a cart to be set out on the shelves.

I spend the rest of the day putting product out on the shelves and helping customers with their book choices. At five thirty, I saw to our last customers for the day. Emilio never came back to the store today. I got a call from him about quarter to three saying that the meeting was going to run longer than expected, and if I could man the store for the rest of the day. I told him of course I would. Strangely, that wasn't the end of my day in the bookstore, like it usually was. As I was getting ready to leave, a knock sounded upon the front door. Curious, I open the door to see a box on the ground. I look around, but don't notice anyone around. Shrugging my shoulders, I pick up the box and walk into the store. I move to the front counter, grab a box cutter, and open the box. Before I open the flaps, I hear a noise coming from the back, by the storage door. I go to check out the noise, and run into Orion. 'Ri! you scared me! You dork!' I say exasperatedly. 'Sorry Rena,' Orion apologizes. 'Its ok. Hey come check this box out that I just found outside.' 'Are you sure its safe?' Orion questions. 'Duh,' I answer.

Moving back to the counter, I open the flaps of the box. the first thing I notice is a letter with my name on it. "Dear Sirena," it read, 'I am so sorry to tell you this, but the time has come for you to know your true heritage. You are not, as you have been led to believe, the daughter of Max and Lucas Knox. Your birth mother is not of this world. She is a Goddess. Your birth father has unfortunately departed this world seven years ago. Your dear "friend" Orion is in actuality your cousin. His birth father is a God, whereas his mother had died during childbirth. In this box are a few clues as to who you really are. Sirena and Orion, you must be careful at all times. Your kind isn't supposed to exist in these days, but your mother and his father didn't listen, as is usual with deities. Sirena, you must use the wisdom you inherited from your mother to figure out how best to survive these trying times to come. In this box, you will find a special token, from your mother and his father. Inside is also some money that you will need in order to survive for a while. You must use this money only in certain situations, it is necessary. Good luck, Sirena and Orion. May the Gods bless you and watch over you." After reading the letter aloud, I take a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts. 'Holy shit, is this real?' Orion asked me.

'Well, only way to find out is to actually look at the "special tokens" and try this out,' I reasoned. Opening the flaps back up, I see an owl plushie and a mini trident. Orion pulls them out and underneath is a pouch. Picking up the pouch, I notice it's pretty heavy. 'Wow, wonder what's inside,' I comment to Orion. 'Only way to find out is to open it.' He replied. I unzip the pouch and open it. Gold coins shine inside. 'Holy hell, it's gold!' Orion says. Taking one out to examine it closer, I say, 'No, wait. Its not gold, well regular gold anyways. I think its some kind of old money.' Looking carefully, I can see what looks like Greek lettering on the coin. Not completely certain of the lettering, I put the coin back, zip up the pouch, and place the bag into my pocket. moving back to the two plushies, I take the owl and let Orion have the mini trident. 'Aww, how cute. I've always wanted an owl. Now I have one.' I say happily.