Cassandra Cillian was a happy.

Her grades were always perfect. Her parents were always so proud of her. Her father used to take her fishing. He used to pick her up and twirl her around, He used to laugh as she giggled in his arms. Her mother used to wake her up every morning with an extravagant breakfast. She used to hug her whenever she could. She would help her put on bright sundresses that matched her own. She didn't have a great deal of friends, but the few that she did were fond of her. Really, everything was good. The world seemed like it would never run out of smiles and warmth. Cassandra Cillian, the sweet summer child, was always very happy.

Then she got hit by a tumor.

It happened so fast, so suddenly, she barely registered it. But she was forced to notice it in manners most cruel.

The summers she had always grown so fond of had turned cold and bitter. Everything did.

First to leave were her friends. When they heard of her illness, they bluntly abandoned her. Telling her the couldn't afford to hang around someone who was at constant risk of dying. To Cassandra, it wasn't that much of a bother.

Her father? Thrown so far into his work he barely recalled having a daughter. He was barely seen at the house she been so enamored with. When he did, he was drunk. He reeked of alcohol. He ranted and raved until he passed out. That was the end of fishing boats and laughter.

Still, Cassandra endured. She convinced herself that it could be worst. She began to lean towards her mother. She desperately reached her hound out. For some time, it worked

Then her mother left her. She made use of her her degree as a journalist, and became a reporter. She made many friends. She barely thought of her sweet little daughter, who had a death sentence hanging over her head. That was the end of matching sundresses and hugs.

Cassandra endured. She worked harder in school, participated in so many competitions (which was a melodramatic lie, she really was quite good at math), she could barely count them all. She won trophies, medals, certificates, and scholarships.

That was gone too, one day. In a rarely shown, misguided display of affection, her mother decided her winnings would be too depressing to look at, due to her tumor. She was promptly pulled out of school, and attended high school from her bedroom. That was the end of her excellence.

For nights on end, she cried herself to sleep. She mourned for her old life. She yearned for it. She loathed it.

For a time, she turned angry, depressed, and bitter. Gone were her days of sundresses, gone were her lovable sweaters. She began wearing solid black. Black skirt over black leggings, black jackets over black shirts.

If she were to meet her executioner soon, she may as well dress like it.

She got a letter from a library, inviting her for a job. Instead, she was in the hospital. Then, she decided to work there. Becoming a part time janitor, part time manic-depressed neglected daughter.

Then popped in two complete strangers. One was a tall, blonde haired woman, who looked like she could take apart an average wrestler in three seconds or less. The other was a eccentric, quirky man, dressed like an explorer, who looked like he could be having the worst day of his life and still keep smiling.

He spoke six words. Six words that he would never know how much they meant to her. Only six words, to change her life forever.

"You need to come with us."

Depending on perspective, things could have gone very downhill, or things could have been changed for the better.

To Cassandra, everything became so much better.

That day, she went home to her room, to the very back of her closet, and pulled out something she thought she'd never take out again.

It was a simple outfit really: a cream-colored sweater, a floral shirt, and an orange skirt.

She met two more strangers. A charming cowboy with an extensive art-history background and a high-level IQ, and a world-class Australian thief.

Time passed almost to quickly for her liking, but she knew she was on the best adventure in her life.

They were brought into probably the biggest library ever built, discovered magic was real, found the crown of King Arthur, fought the Minotaur, recovered Ariande's thread, met dragons. They even robbed the Royal Family, and broke into Vatican. She supposed the White House was next, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

Ezekiel was a witty fellow by nature. He was charming in his own sort of way. He was funny, smart, and devious. He was always the first to bail, but never when it mattered. She knew that his solitary nature was slowly crumbling. Ezekiel cared about their little group. He was like a brother to her.

Jake was a little rougher around the edges, but then again, everyone was. He was distrusting, skeptical, but he had a heart of gold. He had willed himself to look past her betrayal and in doing so, she hoped he had found a friend in her. Sure, he, Ezekiel, and herself would always bicker, but in the end they were inseparable.

She met a cynical old man (she suspected him to be much older than he looked), named Jenkins. He was their mentor, and really the brains behind the group. Well. More of the brains. She grew fond of his grumpy attitude, and caught him smiling at the team's antics more than once. It was decided, she liked Jenkins.

Then there was Eve Baird. When they first met, Eve was an intimidating woman. She still was an intimidating woman. With a truly impressive background as a terrorist-hunter, she had every right to be. It was fitting that the library chose her, of all people, to be their guardian. She showed them all affection in very strange ways, mostly including (but not limited to), grabbing, pushing, shoving, smacking, manhandling, and her signature, occasional tough-strong hug. She stuck up for all of them. Really, it was like having a mother all over again.

Finally, there was Flynn. By far the most eccentric, or "Weird" as Eve decided, of the group. He called their group his band of "LiT's" and if she were honest with herself, she found it a an honor. Flynn was just like what she wanted her father to be. In the moment when he was dying, after she had betrayed him and his life's pride and joy, he attempted to save her life. He wrapped her in tight hugs and spun her around, just like her father used to. It was like she was living her childhood all over. Except with a great deal of magic, evil brotherhoods, apocalyptic disasters, and of course, lots and lots of danger.

Each one of them had they're own clever little quirks, but at the end of the day, they were the best people she ever met.

But aside from adventure, thrills, and saving the world, she found something else.

She found a family.

Cassandra wiped a stray tear from her eye as she thought about what became of her life.

She loved every second of it. Even all the moments that she could have died.

Her whole life she had lived in fear of dying. Dying with regrets, or dying unsatisfied.

But now, now when the probability of her death was at it's highest, she felt the happiest.

If it were to end tomorrow, not a moment would she lament, not a second would she change.

Cassandra Cillian was happy.

She skipped around the cluttered main room of the Annex with a plate of cake in her hand, admiring it. The place where so many good memories were. Some in the past, but many more in the future.

She she smiled.

Cassandra Cillian was happy.

And in the end, that's all that mattered.