Felix Graham De Vanily

Chapter 1

(This one's out early 'cause I couldn't help but get excited about it but the rest of the posts are going to be following the schedule in the description)

I was born on April 24, 2006. It was a little chilly for springtime, but otherwise, the day was peaceful. It was in the afternoon. A little past two forty-five, if I remember correctly. My mother told me that as soon as I opened my eyes, the entire room lit up. She claims that I glowed like the sun, but I'm pretty sure she was just so exhausted after many hours of labor. The story gets better though. 

Across the hall, my mother's sister was also giving birth to a little boy. He too apparently glowed. We were born on the same day, the same year, only two hours apart. The universe was playing tricks on our families though. They named him Adrien. It means from Hadria, Italy. To this day I have no idea what that has to do with him. 

Me though? I'm Felix, and my name also has absolutely nothing to do with me. In fact, there is absolutely nothing about my life that is lucky or happy. 

Remember how I had said that the universe was playing tricks on our families? Though Adrien and I were only around the age of seven at the time, a certain day will stay in our hearts for the rest of our lives. On that fateful day, we were at the park. The sun peeked out from the many clouds that covered the sky. His father, my Uncle Gabe, and my mother were watching us from a distance. Aunt Emilie and my father had business to attend to in a neighboring city. 

The wind played with our hair like a gentle hand as we played together on the swings. A familiar little girl came up to us and asked to join us. We often played with her in the park but never bothered to exchange names. She would protect us from our parents when we got our clothes dirty or wrinkled to the point of no return. She was sweet, kind, and caring. To be honest, I had grown to love her. As a friend or a girl? I was too young to distinguish the feeling properly.

Her slick, raven hair seemed blue upon her fair head. Adrien, living up to his little ball of sunshine stereotype accepted her proposal and hopped off the swing. Following him as I usually did back then, I got off as well. With her, the little girl had three dolls. The first one I noticed was obviously homemade. It was a little knitted kitten with striking green eyes that rivaled my own. The one next to it was also a knitted kitten, but this one was a crisp white with electric blue eyes. It looked a bit wonky if I had to be honest though. Lastly, a little fairy that wore a red dress. The lining and sewing were all done with a black thread.

"Which one do you want to be?" The little girl asked as she set the characters done. Looking at the two she continued speaking with her best manners as always. "If you don't mind, I wanna be the fairy princess!" She giggled a little at the thought.

Adrien gave her a warm smile and picked up the black cat. "I'll pick this one then." He examined the little toy and began to play with the tail.

Out of nowhere, the little blue-eyed girl handed me the white cat. She was reluctant when handing it over but offered it to me. "I hope you don't mind this one..." She trailed off.

I looked at the knitting job on this doll. It was clear that whoever made this wasn't the best in the craft. As I turned it over I turned my attention to some writing. It read Lady Spot.

"I made it!" She blushed as she hugged her doll tight, I could tell she was embarrassed.

"It looks like a cat, so I would say that you did well," I reassured her before continuing. "Do they have na-"

I never got to finish my sentence. A hand covered in an elegant leather glove grabbed me by the arm and quickly raised me to my feet. Another hand in the same glove appeared and lifted me up and into their arms. The arms quivered as if they were going to give out as we ran away from the park and into my uncle's car. A few seconds later, Adrien appeared next to me with tears in his eyes. My immediate reaction was to look back and search for the girl, but she too was gone. Among the craziness, I had later realized that I still held the little white kitten in my hand. Adrien had apparently had his toy ripped from his hands by his father. It was given back to the girl before they had left, but he tells me that his father was in such a panic that the seams and yarn were torn.

"Mom?" I questioned.

Almost immediately, Adrien grabbed my sleeve with one hand and tugged slightly. With the other hand, he rubbed his eyes as an endless stream of tears ran from his face. He shook his head in jerky movements and sobbed. "They're gone..." Adrien had whispered.

It only took me a couple of seconds to understand what he had said. My dad was gone for good, and I would never see him again. But... Why couldn't I cry? All I did then was sit in the back of my uncle's car in utter silence. Why didn't I break into tears as Adrien did? I too was extremely upset, but I didn't cry.

A year later, we left Paris and moved to London. My mother decided to go live with her mother in London. She told me to only take what I thought I needed. From what I could tell, nothing would ever seem right again.

At least... That's what I thought.