Till Time Do Us Part || TUA

1|| prologue

   Fourteen years ago, a woman known as The Handler took a little girl from Norway. The girl was only four years old and in no need of rescuing. That little girl's name was Harmony, and she had special abilities—abilities that set her apart from ordinary children.

Four days later, The Handler took another little girl from London, England, also gifted with unusual powers. She raised them as her own, shaping them into powerful assets, training them to their fullest potential, all with her own mysterious goals in mind.

HARMONY||

Tonight was a special night for Harmony. She would finally prove her mother wrong by earning her badge.

It was an ordinary spring day, and she wore her usual uniform: a high-waisted skirt, a buttoned shirt, and a blazer.

For 13 years—excluding the first four of her life—she had waited for this moment. She had always been in competition with her sister, and if anyone knew the two, they'd say her sister was quicker, smarter, and the better one.

Harmony had never been able to compete with that, but she had vowed to change everyone's mind on her seventh birthday.

On their eighth birthday, Harmony had to make her wish with the lighter they used for her sister's candles. It was the last year she'd let her sister take everything from her.

"You're late, Har. Are you even ready?" her sister asked, deliberately taunting her. Harmony scowled but kept walking toward the conference room.

"Out of my way, Lila." Her sister fell quiet and followed her.

Harmony entered the room, expecting to see their mother. "Herb? Where's our mother?" she asked, already anticipating the answer.

"Well, I'm afraid she's busy, girls, but she told me to give you these." He held out two envelopes—the ones that would determine the rest of their lives.

Harmony was too focused on earning the badge to care that their mother couldn't make time for them. Again.

Her sister, on the other hand...

................................................................

LILA||

As perfect as she seemed, Lila was nervous. She wouldn't let Harmony see the stress she felt, though. Keeping a safe distance from her sister was crucial.

Given that Harmony could manipulate emotions to a degree, Lila feared her sister might see through the calm façade she was trying to maintain.

When they entered the conference room and saw no sign of their mother, Lila felt her stomach drop.

Unlike Harmony, Lila craved their mother's validation. She longed for the attention she had always received from her. Deep down, she knew it wasn't fair and sometimes felt guilty for taking it all, knowing how much it hurt her sister.

"She, uh, told me to tell you both that, uh..." Herb stared at his hand as if reading from a script. "You'll be assigned your first missions, and those envelopes will decide which one you'll train for." He finished, letting the girls open their envelopes.

Lila glanced over at Harmony, who was already tearing hers open. She huffed, looking down at the envelope in her hands. She had been expecting to get the badge. It had to be her—Harmony couldn't possibly be capable of earning it.

"You're allowed to open it, Lila," Herb said gently.

She nodded and gave her sister a quick glance before opening her own envelope. To her surprise, there was nothing but a piece of paper inside. "I'm confused."

She read the paper aloud: "Assigned: Training in order...?" Lila looked up at Herb, then quickly turned her attention to Harmony. "I didn't get the badge either."

That couldn't be possible. "What does your paper say?"

Harmony looked up and replied, "Assigned: Number Five."