INSIGNIAS: THE ABECEDARIANS

CHAPTER XXI: TESSA

Tessa never likes being in the spotlight, but she did everything to make her dad proud and to prove to everyone that she is not just the "mayor's daughter". Since she started attending school, people around her praised and said good things about her. "You are really smart", "You are so nice", "You are the best". But she never liked the attention, especially when she knew they were faking it. People knew that she is the daughter of the mayor and the only heir to his successful company. They thought she held their lives in her hands. After praising her, behind her back, they cursed her. Slowly, she lost trust in anyone, except for her dad and Steve.

She knew that it wasn't her dad's fault. It was her fault, for being weak-minded. She wasn't able to face the people and instead, chose to stay away. She chose the easiest way not to get hurt. She was afraid to look at them in the eyes. She should have told them that she is not perfect. She should have told them that what she needed is a friend.

Now, as the two stared at her, her mind imagined many scenarios. They would probably laugh or brush her off.

But their eyes didn't show humor or doubt. Rather, they seemed to be curious. They believed me? No one said a word for a few minutes. The cold wind whistled. The hairs on her arms stood and she unconsciously rubbed her left arm. The gesture broke the trance and Skhy was the first one to speak.

"Who is she?" His bright blue eyes darkened. They looked like the color of the deep sea. His eyes held seemed to hold many questions.

Her stare faltered and she looked at the ground of a second before looking back at him with a resolution.

"I don't know", she said without taking her eyes off his orbs. His eyes furrowed, confused.

"But you said your guardian told you about her?" Lei intercepted. She looked at her for a moment and nodded.

"I will tell you while walking. I think you don't have any time to spare", she said as she walked past Skhy and Lei. They silently followed. She thought that even if they still can't consider themselves as friends, at least they can be comrades. The thought made her smile.

"Her name is Margarette", she started. She was suddenly mesmerized by the scene in front of her. Sunlight peaked between the leaves creating spotlights on the ground. The cold wind carried the fallen leaves in the air before slowly letting them lay on the ground.

"I'm not sure if that is her name," Tessa continued.

"How so," Lei asked.

"In her diary, she said that she wanted to protect me so she wanted to keep things secret, particularly her identity. However, she said that the information on the diary is true", Tessa replied. She desperately wanted to know her mother. She remembered all the parents and teachers events'. Their butler was the only one who usually attends these events since her father was always busy.

"The Mortemians was already on her track," she swallowed the lump in her throat, "because she knew about the Seven."

"The Mortemians are trying to stop us from forming the Seven," Skhy said. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"The problem is, she and her comrades know about it even before the Seven were born", she continued.

"What?" His head snapped towards her. They all stopped walking. They were under the shade of two intertwining branches.

"How? The prophecy was announced after the Eschaton War, five years ago." Skhy looked troubled. If everything written in her mother's diary was true, there were others who knew the prophecy before the War.