Tommorow is my 18th birthday and my aunt, my mother's sister is going to choose a groom for me? Just great.
Flashback
I live in Riverdale. A flourished city with mana more than you can ever imagine. It's true that these mana from the capitol makes the city rich but half of the people are still poor because of the corrupted government. Typical Monarchy.
And here I am, living with my aunt who's now 60 years of age and boy, she aged beautifully because she always takes care of her skin and body, I look a lot like her actually. She's the one who took care of me ever since I was 2 years old and my parents decided to tour around the world for a year but wasn't able to come back.
We have no idea what happened to them actually and my aunt did everything she could to find them but still, no clue.
I brush my golden hair , fixed my sweater and shorts and read the morning newspaper.
I love reading the Zodiac Times Magazine. It contains juicy informations about the magical side of Riverdale-- Zodiac Chamber.
Zodiac Chamber is the magical place where Zodiac animals and Zodiac Bearers come together to study and coexist so that Mana will be provided for the capitol and it's people and for the safety of both creatures.
There are two kinds of creatures here in Riverdale:
The Dalians who are normal inhabitants of Riverdale that needs mana and the second one are the Zodiac Bearers:
They are the special people who are born to be paired up with Zodiac animals as soon as they reach the right age. The Zodiac bearer and the animal will work together to protect this place from intruders and provide mana for the capitol to distribute. They are so amazing! Eeeek!
Zodiac Times Magazine:
Opening Ceremony of the Zodiac University
Mana refilled by the High King and his great Zodiac Animal
Riverdale Football Cup
Zodiac Chamber castle Architecture
My door swung open and...
"Good Morning, beautiful Lady", my aunt greeted me and tried her best to stop herself from crying.
"Aunt Petunia, just cry. I know you can't stop yourself." I said half smiling.
"My dearest Lili, Happy birthday! Your mother is surely proud of the lady you have become" She replied to me, sobbing but smiling. I wanna comfort her but I know I'll just end up crying too. "Aunt Petunia, please wash your face right now and brush your hair. I'll make myself some birthday breakfast and then you can join me. Just don't cry please. It's my birthday and I don't want to cry all day" I said to her nicely and she just replied with a nod, wiping her eyes and retreating to her room to fix herself.
I woke up earlier so I was able to take a bath, fix myself and clean the house. You could say that I'm a morning person and It's the least I could do for my lovely aunt.
Aunt Petunia came down just in time as I poured her a cup of ginger tea and finished cooking everything.
"Lili dear, You prepared so much" she said as she tasted the mini pancakes.
It's not much actually. Just some mini pancakes with maple and chocolate syrup by the side, green salad, chocolate truffles that i made a day before to cool it, mixed berries dipped in melted chocolate, toasted bread with hazelnut chocolate and a mug of coffee.
Okay it's a little bit too much but I eat a lot so it's enough for Aunt Petunia and I. Aunt Petunia lit up the incense to bless the food and me for my birthday. It's sort of a ritual to thank the high Gods for the blessings and instill some mana inside the food since it's my birthday.
We, Dalians need mana to be alive and healthy and we are given enough mana by the capitol every year for our birthday, just enough to last a year. Well, we could live without mana but it gives us more power and lifespan.
"Lili love, when I accepted your mother's offer to babysit you while they tour around the world for their anniversary, I was so happy because I can spend time with my dear nephew and it was my gift for them for there anniversary but" Oh boy, Here we go again.
"But you regret it because now they're gone and I'm now alone and helpless but ofcourse I will say that I'm not alone because I have you Aunt Petunia" I replied to aunt Petunia , forcing myself to smile.
"Oh hush dear, I was going to say something else" she replied. "Oh you were, what a surprise Aunt Petunia" i said to her in a sarcastic tone.
"Yes dear. I was also going to say that tho. But what I want you to know is that you are going to get married to.."
"What?! No way aunt Petunia! I already told you. You can't get rid of me by marrying me off. I decided that I will take care of you until the day the Zodiac Heavens won't allow us. I love taking care of you Aunt Petunia, staying here with you is the most satisfying and safest place that I know and the only thing I know!" I ranted.
"Lili Heartfilia. You are born to explore more than these four walls and this little town and it's the only way you could do that.
What did you say? This is the only thing you know? Nonsense! You are an excellent cook, a skilled dancer, a resourceful lady and an intelligent gal! Any guy would want to marry you. You know that." Aunt Petunia said calmly, seems like she expected me to rant.
It's true enough that most of the men here want to marry me as soon as I graduated from the Riverdale HighSchool with flying colors and an award for being in the football team for as long as I can remember but I want to go to college first without being married to some stranger.
"Aunt Petunia I want to be a normal college girl without getting married. I want to discover more of myself. I hope you understand that." I said sadly.
"But Lili dear, If you're married, you can freely roam everywhere in Riverdale because you have a new name and life after you get married. You won't even have to go to college because you can let your husband go in your place instead. You can even have support from someone in everything that you do." she explained further.
"I can't really start a new life simply by changing my last name Aunt Petunia and besides, why do you badly want me to change my last name? I already changed my name from my real name to my nickname when I was little and we even moved to the farthest side of Riverdale. I did not ask you anything about it aunt Petunia because I wanted to believe that you're doing everything you can to protect me from being reminded of my parents. I just want a normal life Aunt Petunia." I replied crying now.
"Dear Lili, if you want to drink that cup then I have to tell you the truth. The truth about your parents,why we could afford this big house and why we live in the far away area of Riverdale" She sighed deeply.
"Aunt Petunia, you have a flower shop and I work part time, that's why we could afford this much. What are you talking about?"
Aunt Petunia sighed...
"You're a Zodiac Bearer, Lilibeth Heartfilia"
Birthday Surprise.
YOU ARE READING
Lili Heartfilia
Romance"Stop it, leave me alone Cameron!" He grabbed my wrist and tore my sweater apart, showing off my right arm. I shrugged. "Happy now?" I hissed. "So it's true. You are who they think you are" He said rather dryly. "I don't care what you think of me...
