In Her Dark Eyes

Chapter 1

There is a philosophical question that many have contemplated and all have been incapable of answering. The question is whether humans are inexplicably good or bad. Whether humans are born corrupt or are corrupted by the harsh realities of the world. Whether humans internally are selfless or selfish.  I used to believe that humans had to be good. That beneath all the hatred and cruelty lay a moral heart that simply needed to be given a chance. It had to be that way. How could we live in a world fuelled by narcissism and depravity?  Now I realise I was just naive. That humans are driven by self gain and that every act comes with a motive. Yet a part of me still longs to believe that people are truly good, despite all the evidence showing otherwise.

One year earlier

I traced my hand along the rough, peeling walls, dust rubbing off onto my fingers. The decaying room was completely empty, not so much as a fingerprint indicating a past life having lived there. The room looked rather tedious and lonesome. Yet beneath the dust, a rich sensation filled the room, so strong I could almost see it flickering, an emerald reserved only for places filled with the use and moulding of Lux Industria.

I knew the furniture would soon be air-spelled in, but the empty room filled me with a home sickness I had not expected to feel so soon. In fact I hadn't expected to feel home sick at all. How could I long for the love and care that I had never received from my mom? And my dad... well he was sweet but quiet, always waiting for the appropriate cues from my mother. He catered to my mom like a servant to a master. I had never seen a person so in love, no, so in awe of a woman like my father was of my mother. It was only my sister, Azura, whom I had expected to feel a pang of longing for.

I had only been gone from home for a few hours, having teleported in. That wasn't the problem. The problem was knowing I wouldn't see my family for a few months. I had left them to attend Spectrum, one of the most prestigious schools for children gifted with Lux Industria in the world. Now I was wondering whether that was a mistake.

When I had been accepted, my parents had beamed with pride, urging me to accept immediately. My sister, Azura, however, had simply looked at me with envy. Envy that I was living out her dreams, envy that I was born with an advantage and envy that she would always be considered beneath me.

Suddenly the door opened behind me, breaking my trance.

"Hi, I'm Dianna Miller." A southern drawl greeted me.

I turned around to see an exceptionally beautiful girl walking into the room . Golden hair cascaded down her back and sharp cheekbones accentuated her face. She was tall with a natural smile gracing her face and a charming innocence proliferating out of it. Perhaps her most prominent feature, however, were her large violet eyes. Both beautiful and an indication of power.

She must have come from a powerful family, violet was the third strongest Lux Industria. Lux Industria, was the energy within us that gave us our abilities. Generated by light a person could control anything that required energy to exist- basically the entire universe. A person's eye colour as well as their sparks of Industria, indicated their power and was on display for all to see.

I smiled and walked over to Dianna, sparks the same violet as her eyes, radiated out from her in a wild and violent manner, indicating she had not yet learned to control her Industria.

"I'm Sienna Williams. I guess we're roommates."

Dianna paused when she saw me, large eyes widening even more in surprise.  In appearance, I was nothing remarkable. In fact I believe the words average described me best. I was short with dark hair, pale skin and a face that couldn't be described as ugly nor beautiful. It was my eyes that made me special. Black as coal and extremely rare. Most people could live their entire lives without encountering black eyes. Some believed they were a myth. Black eyes were the most powerful of all the eye colours, with Avery the founder of a society fuelled on Lux Industria, having had black eyes. My Industria proliferated out from me in sparks that although still violent and uncontrolled like Dianna's, were pitch black and much more cautious, as though they thought before thrashing out wildly.