"Raven and Lucia Carlen were two very different girls."
"Raven Isabella Carlen was a bright, happy kid, always smiling, but mischievous from the day she was born. She didn't much care for academics, but wasn't rude the way some other children were to their teachers. Her raven-black hairs were what she was named for, a name that became especially fitting after the first time she tried to "take flight", by nearly jumping off the high kitchen counter. Her eyes were a curious shade of cobalt, which looked nearly black when they were looked at the right way."
"Lucia Amethyst Carlin was the kind of girl to stand on the sidelines, to not get involved. She could often be seen at the edge of the playground, inhaling a book. She did well in all her grades, in most subjects the top of her class. She had the same striking blue eyes as her sister, but didn't have that black glint to them; hers had a rather more light-blue tint, and with her platinum blonde hair, she was often called a little angel during her younger years. Nobody really associated with her, partially due to the fact that Lucia wasn't responsive half of the time, due to her head being incredibly far inside a book."
"Yes, these two girls were different."
"But they had one common trait; if it was quality or a curse, no one yet knew."
"They had-"
"The Blood. Don't say any more than that, boy; what happened with Maya was the least of what will happen to you if you tell."
"Oh… you were televising, weren't you? Well, to all the viewers out there… pretend you never saw this. Or we'll come for you. And you can't run fast enough, or hide well enough to escape us."
"Act as if you never heard the name Raven Isabella Carlen, or everything you love will die in an inferno of ice."
_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\/\
Five Years Before Bold Voice (BBV)
"Amy, I swear, if you don't get your nose out of whatever book it's in today, and come down here right this minute, Izzy gets your dessert for the next month!" Monica yelled. We were supposed to call her Mother Dearest, but I found Monica less of a mouthful. I hid my book under my mattress to save it from tonight's book sweeps. I hated how opposed Monica and Jerry were to my books. They kept on insisting that I Get Out And Play With The Other Kids, in all caps because apparently there is a million-to-the-billionth-power ways to say "hey kid, we have one perfect child, and we don't want to look bad with your antisocial ways, so get out there and become friends with everyone!" Yeah. Parents can be totally naïve. And they usually have ulterior motives behind everything. But apparently they're doing "The Right Thing" by limiting my time for reading at home to half an hour, forty-five tops. But I'm lucky that I have the teacher I do, because she requires at least half-an-hour of reading after class. And my parents wouldn't want me messing up my grades because of an age-old grudge. More on that later.
I was contemplating coming down, not because of the possibility of losing my dessert, but the fact that Izzy might eat it, and she was hyper enough with only her share.
Shuddering at the thought of a doubly hyperactive Rave, I flew down the stairs, hoping that there was a bit of toast left.