(Flashback)
"Eleanora, don't go too far. Concordia, look after your sister." a young woman called out to her daughters. The two little girls looked at their mother in confirmation and ran past the gateway of Aromavale. At this time, Eleanora was four years old, while Concordia was six. The sisters kept pace with each other as they reached the small tree trunk. It barely bloomed with blossoms and the sisters usually played around it. It was midday when they reached it, the sun shining bright upon the blooming Vale.
Eleanora fell upon the grass, tickled by the sensation and laughing so much. Concordia looked upon her sister's antics and laughed alongside her. The fact that she was having so much fun already was enough to brighten her mood. Concordia had just discovered her telepathic powers when she accidentally read her father's thoughts. Their parents weren't mad at her, but they remained surprised, nonetheless, figuring out that she was now a witch. Eleanora became a bit jealous and hoped for a power of her own one day. But, anyhow, she just wanted to have fun. Until, something caught her ear. Something that started her own path.
Looking up to see her sister preoccupied with the blossoms on the ground, Eleanora started walking towards an anonymous sound. It took her to the edge of the forest, just thirty feet away from the blossom tree. There, she saw another child on the ground, sitting underneath a fully grown evergreen tree. He looked like he was crying, his golden hair browned by dirt and his clothes all ragged and worn out. He wore simple clothing, brown pants and a blue tunic. He looked like he was running, through the forest. Her yellow dress flapped in the wind as she made her way closer to the boy.
"Hello." she said, placing her hands on her thighs as she bent forward, her two ponytails coming to the front of her shoulders. The boy looked up, his face red from crying, and saw the girl before him. She looked at him in mild confusion. "Are you alright?" she continued. The boy rubbed at his eyes, blinking away all the tears.
"Y-yes. I am alright." he sniffled, his English accent getting her full attention. Eleanora didn't believe him, so she walked closer until she was right in front of him. The blonde extended a hand out to him. He looked at it in confusion until he saw her eyes. They were full of worry. Taking the hand, he was brought to his feet. "T-thank you." he said. The young girl smiled.
"Why are you out here, all by yourself? Were you running through the forest?" she asked. He looked at the ground in shame.
"Yes, I was." he answered.
"Why?"
"I wanted to get away from my stepfather."
She looked at him in mild confusion. The blonde didn't know what had happened between this boy and his, apparently, stepfather.
"I just got away from a beating." he said. That's when she noticed a patch of red under his neck. It stained his skin with a bit of dark brown covering it. Eleanora knew that was blood, and she gasped.
"He beat you? Why would he do that?" she asked. Eleanora didn't mean to be prying, but she wanted to help. He sniffled again.
"He's been beating me for two months, now. Ever since my mother remarried when my birth father died in a boating accident. And that was two years ago. The only reason he beats me is because of my eyes, the final reminder of my birth father. And my mother does nothing, not because she doesn't, but because she would be beaten if she did, which is something that I don't want to see." he explained.
The fact that this boy has gone through so much physical and mental pain was enough to bring Eleanora to tears. Unexpectedly to both of them, the blonde girl closed the remaining distance between them and embraced the boy. He looked surprised, more like shocked, at this girl's antics. He had no idea who she was, but she was kind enough to listen to his story. 'Why can't everyone be as kind as this girl is?' he thought.
"I'm so sorry. That must've been horrible to deal with." she whispered into his shoulder. He just kept looking at her. The fact that she stayed with him this long, it was unbelievable in his eyes. The blonde girl removed herself from the embrace and looked back into his eyes. "How old are you?" she asked.
"Six and a half."
"A few months older than my sister."
Speaking of Concordia, Eleanora could feel her sister's presence from at the top of the hill, watching her and this boy. She couldn't explain the feeling, but she knew that is what was going on. The boy didn't question her.
"Where do you live?" she continued asking. The boy stopped releasing tears at this time.
"I live in Aromavale." he answered. A light gasp emanated from the girl. Suddenly, she smiled.
"What a big coincidence. I live in that Vale, too. But, it's funny, I've never seen you around there before." she replied. This time, it was the boy's turn to smile.
"That's because I live on the shores. I've seen you, and your sister, frequently, whenever my mother and I go to the markets. You live in the flower shop." he stated. Eleanora's eyes widened. How could she have missed noticing this boy? She continued smiling.
"Guess I must've been very oblivious if I didn't notice you." she replied with embarrassment running through her system.
"Yes, yes you were." the boy flatly stated. The girl flushed with red across her face. But, she soon started to giggle which turned into a friendly laugh. The boy laughed along with her. Never feeling this happy, he continued to gaze at the girl that brought a smile to his face. Then, he realized something. "Oh, where are my manners? I never asked for your name." he continued. She stopped laughing and looked at him.
"Oh. Well, my name is Eleanora Dox. I'm one of the two daughters to Bennett and Lynette Dox." she proudly said. He couldn't stop smiling anymore when he began.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Eleanora. I am Humbert von Greenberg. I am the only son of Richard and Analuisa von Greenberg." the golden-haired told her. He raised a hand in front of them. She gladly accepted and they shaked. Concordia looked down at her sister in happiness. Happy that she made a new friend from their Vale.
The years went by fast and time was catching up with everyone in Aromavale. Eleanora started making her way down to the shoreside to visit Humbert every so often she got the chance. They would sit just outside Humbert's cottage, which stood on a field of grass with an edge that led to the sands of the shoreside. They had been introduced to each other's families, and Eleanora understood why Humbert didn't favor his stepfather. He always favored a drink instead of the family he married into. The only reason, Humbert believed, he married into this family was because he didn't know that Analuisa had a son. Everyone in Aromavale knew the man, and they also knew he hated children with a passion. Eleanora never stood foot inside Humbert's cottage while that vile man was there. In his mother's eyes, Humbert was happy that he had a friend who kept by his side. Getting a chance to see them together, Analuisa believed that this girl could change her son's life forever. A life of promised happiness that she wanted for him like she had before Damian (the vile man) set foot in theirs. One day, though, a change impacted on their lives.
Since Eleanora's sister had become a witch, they were told of the dangerous creatures that lurked around their world. The creatures known as the Sinned. With further information, Concordia started preparing herself, both physically and mentally, in the ways of witchcraft, so she could protect what mattered most to her, especially her sister. As she advanced in her training, she discovered that she could move things with her mind, along with the power to heal. But, she wouldn't be alone for long.
A month later, after Eleanora turned twelve, she and the rest of her family walked towards the shoreside for a stroll. The blonde had insisted that they invite Humbert and his mother while Damian was away in the ocean. Bennett knew the man a little too well, considering their past. Lynette held her husband's arm as they continued walking, their daughters linking arms as they walked in front of them. Soon, Concordia picked up on screaming coming close by the cottage. When Eleanora heard it too, she rushed towards the front door. Fumbling with the doorknob, she discovered it was bolted. Concordia came up beside her sister while their parents stood behind them. Since Concordia became a witch, Bennett and Lynette didn't need to worry about protecting their children. But, they were prepared to protect them just in case. With a wave of her hand, Concordia used her power to launch the door open and off its hinges, not in complete control of her powers, yet.
The sight before them was ghastly. The Dox family saw Damian standing in the middle of the room with a dagger in his hand. He was stopped in mid-attack when the door flew off its hinges. Looking past him, Eleanora saw Analuisa holding her son's bloodied body in her arms. She looked at them with shock, until Damian started making his way towards the family, looking ready to kill them for interfering. Apparently, he had way too much to drink, so he revealed his inner ambitions. Concordia was in front of her family, mostly her sister.
With another wave of her hand, she sent Damian flying into the farthest wall. With him taken care of, Eleanora rushed past her sister and towards the two assaulted victims. Stumbling from the impact, the man saw the girl, the wretch in his mind, making her way towards his "property." Concordia called out to her sister. Eleanora stopped midway to see the man throw the dagger at her. Her parents screamed as her life flashed before her eyes. Bringing her hands up in defense, and closing her eyes, she prepared to face Death. But, the pain never came.
Panting heavily, she opened her eyes to see the dagger three feet in the air in front of her. It was frozen in midair. She looked at it in shock, and then to her hands. She saw the man who was about to kill her also frozen in position with a blue glow surrounding him, twisted around with pitch-black dust. Apparently, everything was frozen and surrounded by a light blue glow. Actually, not everything.
A voice called out to her. She looked to her left and saw Concordia moving. Her sister was the only other thing, besides herself, that was moving. Concordia assumed it was because she was a witch. Which now, in fact, made Eleanora a witch too, if she was capable of freezing things. Pacing towards her sister, Concordia snatched the dagger from midair and tossed it to the ground. Anger boiling in her blood, she sent the man, who was about to murder her sister, flying out the window, with a red glowing cloud making its way towards him, and onto the sands to await further judgement. Left behind in his place was a pitch-black figure that stood on four legs and had the body of a lion. But, this thing looked vicious with claws and fangs sharp enough to slice through anything including them. Concordia recognized it as a Sinned, a Scar to be exact. In her thoughts, a Scar was the embodiment to the Deadly Sin of Greed, but she didn't understand why would Damian be full of Greed. Not bothering to answer the question, she grabbed her sister's hand and softly chanted a vanquishing spell that worked only for Scars. The "thing" exploded into black dust and disappeared from this world. Suddenly, everything within the sisters' vicinity unfroze.
Making her way back towards Humbert, Eleanora put his hand in hers as she called Concordia over, knowing she had the power to heal his wounds. Concordia knelt to the floor and left her hands hovering over him. Lynette made her way over to softly embrace Analuisa while Bennett went outside to tie up Damian to "await further judgement," as his daughter put it. A soft golden glow emanated from Concordia's hands, a glow that Eleanora saw that she never did when her sister was healing someone, as she carefully moved them around his body and onto the fresh, open wounds. He was the victim of a vicious attack, something that would "Scar" his life.
Slowly opening his eyes, Humbert saw the faces of the Dox sisters, especially Eleanora. Sighing in relief, Eleanora wrapped her arms around his body as the rest of his wounds vanished in plain sight. Softly removing her from the embrace, Humbert couldn't look her in the eyes and settled for the sight of the floor. The blonde looked confused. She saw, in his eyes, that he was terrified from what had happened. Soothing him, she turned his face towards hers so they look into each other's eyes once again. Another soft glow, this time being light pink, made its way from Eleanora's head towards Humbert's. As witches, Concordia was the only one who saw the glow, which meant her sister could see these strange colored glows as well, another sign of their powers. The eldest sister also knew that her telekinesis had a red glow when she waved her hands or any other actions that conveyed her power. Her telepathy didn't have a glow since it was a Passive power. It must be only with Active powers.
When Humbert looked into Eleanora's eyes once again, he was grateful that she was here. Confused from what happened, she dismissed it and embraced him one more time. Both mothers were happy that he was alive, one of them crying into the other's shoulders (I'm sure you can guess which). Concordia looked on with the same smile she gave her sister when she first met Humbert under that evergreen tree.
The day after held Damian's trial for attempting to murder his former family. He was sentenced to life in the dungeon of the Kingdom of the Vale. Passing the Dox family, he glared at the two sisters who prevented the murder. They didn't bother reacting as they glared back at him for having attempted such a cruel and vicious act. Aromavale knew about the sisters being witches now, since they had to explain everything about what happened, and the sisters didn't want to lie. But, no one condemned them for that, since they knew there were good witches and wizards in the world.
Concordia conceded with her sister about her powers. Knowing she came into them pretty quickly, she had to be taught the ways of witchcraft too, so as to not hurt anyone without a true purpose. Humbert also listened to what they were saying and made it a goal of his to help Eleanora with her practices, along with a secret desire to pursue her. That desire was one Concordia knew about for a long time, which she didn't mind at all. In fact, she was happy. If only Eleanora had her power too, then she would realize how Humbert felt for her.
As Eleanora came into control of her powers, she soon discovered that she had the power of Empathy, the ability to feel the emotions of others. Although, unknowingly to both sisters, she's had it ever since that day of the attack.
As another year passed on, she started getting romantic with Humbert, a feat to which he humbly accepted with happiness and excitement flowing through his veins. Finally getting the chance to court Eleanora, Humbert made it his personal goal that she be happy in his presence. Although, sometimes he did go a bit overboard with mostly letters and chocolates. And, also, the fact that he would make up a story about needing flowers for different events. He never got anything past Eleanora, due to her empathic gift.
But, they didn't stay that way for long. Because of the proclamation of war that settled over their land.
Author's Note: Hi, everyone. I hope you're liking the story from this point. This time, I took a page from the TV show called "Charmed." Basically, the sisters' powers. Spoiler, this is the only part of Eleanora's past that she'll mention, because she doesn't want to go into further detail. I'll be mentioning that in the next chapter. Hope this turned out well.
