Vatra in Ruins

Chapter 1

It's not in my nature to steal. In fact, I detest the very idea. However, when someone tells me that I can't do something, I would go to extremes to prove them wrong.

Hermes Mavros, the idiot who had put me up to this, was currently standing outside the store with a huge, dorky grin on his face. Don't get me wrong, he is my best friend in the whole world. One of the only three people I trust with my life, but he has a tendency to always get me into trouble.

We met at graduation last year. At first he couldn't even look me in the eye because he was terrified of talking to girls. I always laugh when I think of how much he resembled a gaping fish back then.

It was his stupid idea that I shoplift. He had told me that there was no way on earth that I, miss-goody-two-shoes, would ever steal something. It's not like we have a money problem. Trust me, my uncle is loaded, but I just couldn't resist the challenge.

If I was going to do this, I would have to be fast and avoid all the staff and cameras. I didn't want my back-up plan to reveal my secrets...

I began to casually stroll through the cosmetic section. When I was absolutely sure that there was no one to see me, I scanned the products, in search of something small and cheap to snatch.
"Mavros, if I get arrested today I will drag you down with me." I mumbled under my breath. I decided on lip-gloss and went to place it in my pocket, when I saw the manager eyeballing me. He took large, angry steps towards me and in my panicked state, I tucked tail and ran. The angry, "Hey!" behind me fuelled my adrenalin, but I chose to ignore him. I ducked into an empty isle and set my back-up plan to action.

The manager came running and passed me without a second glance. I can't make myself invisible, but having the shifter's gene is useful. My uncle and I share this gene, however, he is Dragon-spirited. I don't have a specific spirit. That means I can change into any one or any living thing I can think of. As far as I know, I am the only one of my kind, which is spectacular. I can almost smell my own sarcasm.

Anyway, the reason he ran past me was because I morphed myself into a six-year-old. With the same brown, almost black eyes, dark brown hair and one deep dimple, I look exactly like the mini me I was fifteen years ago. I skipped out of the store and passed a frantic manager. I made my way towards Mavros. He stared at me with wild eyes. Flabbergasted.
"You cheated!" he stated disapprovingly. I folded my six-year-old arms and gave him my best innocent smile.
"You never said I couldn't change."
He took off his thick-rimmed glasses and pitched the bridge of his nose. I have to admit that Hermes is attractive. With a well toned body, ice blue eyes and black hair he is able to pull off the perfect geeky-model look. "Sneaky Melmii. Very sneaky."
"I try."
He sighed exasperatedly and folded his arms. A smug look on his face. "Wait until your uncle hears about this."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Miss Melmii Vatra, I believe I just saw you stealing." Oh, how much I hated that victorious smile of his.
"You have no proof! Besides, you don't even know what I...borrowed"
He hesitated before asking, "What exactly did you take?"
"Lip-gloss."
"Lip-gloss? Seriously? You don't even wear make-up!" "I do occasionally and lip-gloss isn't really considered make-up. It just creates the illusion that I actually have lips!"

We made our way back to the car. Before we drove off, I stared back at the store. I instantly felt like I was being sucked in through cotton. Sounds around me became distant and my vision focussed on the black, soulless eyes staring back at me from the stores' window. When I blinked, everything was back to normal. It might have been a reflection of something, but I could have swore I saw something looking back at me. Mavros was looking at me with concern when I turned back in my seat. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah."