Moon and Sun

Chapter 1: Bestest at Everything

On July 24, 1897, I celebrated my eighteenth birthday. Everyone was congratulating me, saying, "You're finally an adult! How does it feel to be all grown up, big sister?" Even though I was none of these little one's sister, I let them call me that to help calm them down and keep them happy. But, to be honest, I hated turning eighteen. It meant that I had to leave because the government could only support minors, and the same with the orphanage. None the less, I told them the opposite, "It's amazing! I can't wait to see you turn eighteen." Of course I hopped that this little five year old girl turned that age in a home. It was most likely to happen though, so I was happy about that.

I've been here for the last two and a half years, after my parents were killed by a mugger. I didn't believe them though when they told me that. Sure, there have been a lot more muggings and break-ins lately, but the fact that they wouldn't let me see my dead parent's bodies made me suspicious. When I asked them about it, they said that their bodies were too torn up and it would be better for my mental health if I didn't see them. So, I ended up here. Where else are you supposed to go when your parents are dead, they were only children, and your grandparents are too old to even take care of themselves?

For the last two and a half years, aspiring to-be parents would look at me, discuss, and move on. Of course no one wanted to adopt an already teenager. They wanted the little ones that they could raise themselves. The kids ten and younger were always the quickest ones to come and go. Then the eleven to thirteen year olds were a little slower. The people that adopted them were the parents that wanted kids, but didn't want to deal with the screaming and wanting of a little one. So, they went with the kids that could take care of themselves, but still required attention and love. But in the years I've been here, I've only seen two kids who were older than thirteen being adopted. And neither one was me.

I don't understand why the parents want to choose their adopted kids by personality. It's not like you can pick a baby's personality when you give birth to it. I say to-be parents should choose their adopted kid by who needs it the most. Yes, littler kids need parents more than a teenager, but if someone has been in the same orphanage for over five years, then they should be the next one picked.

That's how it is with one of the boys here who is now seventeen. His parents past away a month after his twelfth birthday, and he has been here ever since. I feel sorry for him. Mainly because he is a really nice kid. He's really funny, but he does all of his chores here. Yet, it seems that no one wants him. I'm kinda scared to see what will happen when he turns eighteen.

It's not like the orphanage is completely cold hearted and will just throw us out on our own. They give us a week after our birthday and help us find a job in that week. So they really do help us and don't want to see us six months later in a dark alleyway in a box. I was dreading the very idea of leaving. It wasn't like I was scared that I wouldn't be able to find a job, because I was a big people person and so I would be able to find a job as a waitress or something really quickly. Also I could take care of myself. I was a pretty organized person, I liked to keep things clean, and, according to the kids, I was the "bestest cook in the world!" It is always so cute and adorable when they use a non-existent word that they thought was a real one. The reason why I was scared was them. The little ones had relied on me so much as their big sister, that I thought that if I left them, they wouldn't be able to cope with the loss. They really did depend on me. Every time they needed help with their homework, they would come to me to help them figure it out. Every time they got hurt, they would come to me to kiss it all better. I really was worried at the thought of leaving them. I know I shouldn't be. I know they're in great hands. I just can't help it.

Two weeks later…

As I thought, it was very easy for me to get a waitressing job here in Worcester, Massachusetts and I was able to get a small apartment from the money my parents left me. It was the first time that I touched it, and I only used it to pay for the place, everything else was paid by my tips and paycheck.

It was really slow that day at the café that I worked at so I was able to sit back and read my book Fairy Tales from Hans Christian Anderson in peace. (1)

When I was just about to finish, Peter, the host, came up to me. "Hey, Lianna, I just sat someone at one of your tables." He informed me.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I dog-eared the page and set it down. "Two pages, Peter. Two pages." I told him, while holding up two fingers to exaggerate what I was saying.

"Two pages till what?"

"Till I finished the story."

"Aren't you a little too old to be reading fairy tales?" he asked suspiciously, one of his eyebrows going up with the question.

"You're never too old to read fairy tales. Did you ever tell your grandparents that when they told when they read you these stories when you were younger?" I asked as I jumped off of my seat. My face then turned serious as I pointed to the thick hard-bound behind me on the counter top, "Anyone touches it, they die."

He then sat down in the chair that I was in not minutes before and leaned against the counter, "Gotcha."

I walked over and saw an older man sitting in one of the booths. He looked like he was in his forties because of the gray, bushy hair that he had and the wrinkled face. He had glasses that covered his eyes and was wearing a strange coat. It was all black except for the gold colored lining and a gold rosette on his left breast. Next to him, sitting contently on the floor, I saw a bag almost bulging because of the amount of stuff in it. When I got up to his table, I noticed that it was filled with sketch books, pencils, erasers, and other drawing supplies. By the looks of it, he was a very adamant artist. No wonder why he's here in Worcester, there's plenty of wonderful scenery that I've seen just walking around.

When I made myself noticed, we had the typical customer/waitress discussion. Not really interesting. The only thing that I really noticed about him was that he was very polite. Also, he had a very carefree air about him that almost didn't go with his proper speech, but it seemed to work. I left, got his drink, and gave the order to the cook.

I walked back over to the bar where Peter was still sitting, but this time with his back facing me, both his elbows were placed on the counter and his head resting in the palms of his hands.

"Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to have your elbows on the table?" I ask him as I walked up behind him.

"It's not a table, it's a counter." He said mater-of-factly as he grabbed my book and held it towards me.

I snatched it from his hand and sat down in the chair to the left of him. I faced towards him and saw a thin book on the counter in front of him that he seemed very into because he didn't face me throughout our little conversation. I then proceeded to poke the side of his neck.

His shoulders shrugged up and he placed his left hand over the place where I poked him. He turned towards me with an aggravated expression. "What the hell was that for?" he asked me.

"You touched." I told him simply while holding up my heavy book.

"Sorry." He replied, still irritated, but decided to drop it as he got back into his book.

I was able to finish The Little Mermaid before the man's order was called up. I walked up to the kitchen where I saw our cook and he handed me a plate.

"Here you go Anna." He told me. I have no idea why, but he always calls me Anna, and I've told him a million times that my name was Lianna.

"It's Lianna," I told him for the millionth and first time, "and thanks."

"What ever." Was his reply as he waved me off.

I took the man's food over to him and exchanged the normal "Thank you" and "Enjoy your food". I walked back over to the bar and saw that Peter hasn't moved an inch.

"It's slow." I started, trying to start off a conversation. I've never liked silences too well; they've just always made me feel uncomfortable even when I'm with someone that I like.

"Yep." Was his only reply. Apparently that book was just too good to pass.

So I was stuck in the silence once more. I was starting to get really sick of it, so I told Peter, "I'm going out. Tell Charlotte to look after the guy and we'll split the tip."

"Will do. Have fun." He said with a little wave, not even looking at me as I left.

I then pushed my book over to him and he finally looked up, first at the book then at me. "I'm giving you special permission to touch it. But only under necessary conditions. Just remember…"

"People touch, people die. Got it." He finished for me.

"Thanks. And I'll be back in around fifteen minutes."

"Take all the time you need."

And so I was out the door, into the cleaner air of the street. I started to do some window shopping around the place because there were plenty of clothing stores around. Why did I not go actual shopping? I left all my money back at the café. Just when I was starting to head back to work, I heard a shrill scream. I turned to look for whoever was screaming and what they were screaming at, and I instantly regretted it.

All I noticed about the screamer was that it was a woman. All I could really saw was the thing that she was screaming at, and I couldn't blame her for it. It was a floating orb that looked like it was constructed from steel. A mask was on it and it had one of the most horrifying expressions on it I've ever seen. It's mouth was open wide and it had a very pained expression.

Then, it turned to me. I froze up instantly and felt all of my limbs shaking. This is probably what prey feels like when it comes face to face with its predator. I could feel my breathing stop and my heart speed up. It started to move closer to me, and when it got dangerously close, I fell back onto my butt and my hands. I tried to get away, but I couldn't feel my limbs moving, even though there was shouting in my head telling me that I HAD to get out of here.

It was then that I saw a person stand in between myself and the monster. My vision blacked out for a second and all I could hear was the hurried thumbing of my heart. When my vision finally came back, the person turned around. When I saw their face, I used my first inhale in the last few seconds (yet it seemed like hours) to yell, "You were the guy at work!"

At the same time, the older man said, "You're the girl from the café." It was a lot quieter than my statement and it sounded like it was more to himself. Before I knew it, I saw his hand in front of me and I graciously took it and stood myself up with his help. "I bet you would like to know what just happened?" he asked in his polite, yet carefree voice. All I could do was nod my head as my breath and heart rates went back to normal. He gently pulled me through the crowd who wanted to see what just happened, and I saw that we were back at work.

When we walked through the door, I saw Peter walk up to me with my book in his hand. When he moved to give it to me, I held out my hand to stop him and told him in a shaky voice, "Keep it for a little while longer."

I noticed a concerned look come across his face and his eyes flickered over to the older man, "Is everything alright, Lianna? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I probably looked like a ghost. I started walking towards the man again as I waved back at Peter and replied, "I'm fine." I then turned towards the older man and asked him, "Do you want something to drink?"

He smiled gently at me as he answered, "No, thank you."

I then turned towards a woman who was in her late twenties, "Charlotte? Can you get me a glass of water?" I just saw her nod her head before I went to sit down with the man in a far corner booth where it was unlikely that someone would here us. Whatever he had to say was obviously a secret. Not even a minute later, Charlotte came up next to me and handed me a glass of water. I thanked her and she walked off, a worried look was on her face as well. I took a sip of the ice cold water and found out that I was still shaking. I steadied the glass back on the table before I said, "First of all, who are you?"

"I'm Froi Tiedoll." He replied with the smile still on his face. He stuck out his hand.

I grabbed his hand and shook it as I introduced myself, "Lianna Reed." We let go and I took another sip of the water. I was beginning to calm down as I asked him, "What was that?"

"That was an akuma." He replied. He then started talking about the akuma and who made them, the Earl (It's too long and it's four-thirty in the morning over here). "They live for two things: Kill humans and evolve, and to gather Innocence for the Earl."

"Wait, what's Innocence now?"

He then began explaining Innocence (again, it's four-thirty) then said, "It's the only thing that's in the way of the Earl doing what he wants, which is destroying the world. So, he's out to destroy it before it destroys him."

"Then why did the akuma come after me?" I asked as I picked up my glass again.

"I believe that you have Innocence."

Unfortunately, as he said that, I was taking a sip of water, during which I inhaled. Which ended up in a coughing fit on my part.

"Are you alright?" he asks as he stood up and started patting my back firmly, but not hard enough to hurt.

"Yeah." I replied when it was coming close to an end, "I choke on water all the time." I took a moment to ease my breathing before talking to Mr. Tiedoll, who was starting to sit down, "You think I have Innocence?"

"Is there anything different about you that you've noticed or someone else?"

I thought for a moment, "The only thing I can think of is that I heal a lot faster than all the people I know." I saw his eyes perk up in interest, "Yeah, there was this one time where I broke my leg. I went to see the doctor and he told me that I had to wear a cast for six weeks. I had it off in two and I was walking and running and jumping perfectly fine. Like it never even happened."

After a few minutes of silence, and me sipping at my water and finishing it off, he said something that changed my life forever, "I think you should come with me."

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(1) Believe it or not: I really wanted to use either The Hobbit (aka There and Back Again) or one of The Chronicles of Narnia (Mostly The Hobbit). But I couldn't. Why? Because The Hobbit wasn't published until 1937 and the series The Chronicles of Narnia were all published in the 1950's. I was kind of mad at that, but once I did some research for the plots of Lianna's missions, I found this, so it made me all happy again. So, now you know, all of her missions will be related to fairy tales. The first one is coming up in chapter 3 and let's see if you can guess what tale I used.

AN: Just so you know, you're going to start seeing this little BION in some of the chapters next to some numbers. They are just going to be some insight into my thoughts as well as my original thoughts for a certain thing but ended up doing something else (either because of research or I just didn't feel like doing what I originally thought) like the case is up there. You don't have to read them, just look for the BION if you don't.

And just so everyone knows: the way you pronounce Lianna's name is Lee-ah-nah. Just to clear anything up. I seem to like to give my characters weird pronunciations for their names.

Thanks for reading and please review, I worked on this all day. Please don't make my hard work go down the drain.