The girl they couldn't erase

CHAPTER ONE — Kaelen's pov It started as a gentle whisper against my skin, but terror forced my eyes wide open to a shadow hovering over me, only to realize it was my mom, standing silent beside my mattress. She said to me with a calm and secretive voice, “pack your things, we are leaving this house.” Still half awake and half asleep, I rubbed my eyes and asked her why. Why again? What did we do wrong this time? Did we miss rent? Yet she refused to answer, she just looked at me and left my room without saying a word, leaving me furious. Frustration boiled in me, my vision blurred with heat and my hands squeezed into a tight fist like I was about to fight. I was so exhausted from living like a stray dog, always running, never knowing what we were hiding from, I followed her and yelled saying “This is the seventh house we are leaving in just a month. What exactly is going on?” As I glared at her, my breathing faster as I was eager to get an explanation, an apology, yet she just looked at me, unable to bear the silence, I turned on my heel and left for my room in anger. She came back after seven minutes, her expression still unreadable. She said to me quietly in a calm voice: “I am giving you five minutes to wrap up and meet me downstairs. I'll be waiting in the car”. I couldn't say goodbye to my friends because we left in silence. The morning sun met us on our way to the new house as we made it through the dusty streets. On getting there my heart sank, it was an old, cramped small building even smaller and broken than our last house. Panicked and exhausted, I turned to her and said in a harsh voice, “Mom, what the hell is this place? So you seriously want me to start living in this ancient house? Why do we keep downgrading like this?” My mother gave no explanation, but for the first time she looked deeply emotional, her eyes glossy with a hidden sorrow. I could see tears in her eyes, but she tried not to let them drop. Why is she crying? Are we really this poor? Are we in debt to bad people? Those thoughts started running through my mind. She turned and left me in the narrow corridor. Things became really worse due to our constant moving. My academics suffered terribly, from being the top best to gradually becoming the dullest, from winning quizzes to gradually becoming someone that had problems with basic lessons, I couldn't focus on school when my whole life felt like it was crumbling. At my new school, which is just four buildings away from my house, the kids saw how weak I am and took advantage of it. I immediately turned to “the dull girl”, it was so easy to be bullied, I couldn't fight back because I wasn't trained to and I am going through a lot of emotional damages due to constant moving without an explanation.I was cornered in empty hallways, shoved against rusted metal lockers, mocked for my poor grades and shabby uniform, forced to clean their shoes, they even take my lunch.I felt completely shaken, but I didn't have a single person to turn to. Day after day, I'd walk back home covered in fresh scrapes and dark, heavy bruises across my arms and legs. I kept it all from my mom,I could already see how much she was carrying, and I just couldn't bring myself to pile my own pain onto her shoulders. I hid every injury with sleeves and kept my mouth shut. One Tuesday afternoon, I was sitting outside my compound nursing fresh bruises on my forearm, wondering how I’d even face school the next day, when a sudden scream pierced the silence. I looked up into the clear sky, and my jaw dropped. Soaring through the air was a young girl in a stunning, classic witch outfit,a long, midnight-black velvet robe that billowed out in the wind, paired with a pointed hat resting over her dark hair. She was riding high on a broom made of smooth, dark polished wood that caught the sunlight, tipped with a thick, straw-yellow bundle of twigs bound up in worn twine, just like something straight out of a fairytale. But as she glided past, a crackle of vibrant blue energy hummed right through the wood, leaving a sparkling trail of sparks across the sky. She leaned forward with absolute grace, steering the traditional broom as if she had flown it since birth. But suddenly, a violent blue spark shot through the wooden handle. ​A loud, sickening c***k split the air. The spell bound to the broom sputtered and died. Thick, shimmering slime burst out from between the woven straw bristles, and the magic vanished completely.The girl's calm expression shattered into sheer terror. The broom's tip suddenly pitched downward. In a sudden, violent second, she was flipped upside down. Her scream cut sharply through the air while the wind tore at her velvet robe, sending her spinning helplessly into a terrifying free-fall. She slammed into the mud across my house with a deafening crash, blasting dust, red dirt, splintered broom pieces, and glowing slime in every direction.” Hey,” I gasped as I stood up from the stool and walked across the dirty road. I rushed to where she was lying, she was lying flat on her back, groaning in pain. The wooden broom lay snapped in half beside her, leaking a thick, cold, shimmering gel that coated her dark witch robes, the messy straw bristles, and the surrounding grass.​"Don't move, let me help you," I said, dropping to my knees beside her. ​I reached down, my hands sinking into the cold, slippery slime as I moved the heavy handle of the broken broom off her chest. The fluid felt odd against my skin, buzzing with a soft, static electric charge. I quickly wiped the mud and slime away from her face so she could breathe. Her eyes snapped open. She had striking, glowing eyes that looked directly onto my face with absolute shock.with trembling hands she reached up and grabbed my wrist tight, squeezing the exact spot where my bruises from school were hidden​." It's you," she whispered, her voice raspy and breathless. "The face, those eyes. I've been searching everywhere for you”.​" What are you talking about? I don't even know you," I tried to pull back, but her grip was surprisingly strong. Who is she? Why is she saying she searched for me? She glanced frantically toward my small, ancient compound. "Your mother didn't move you seven times to hide from normal problems," she gasped, trying to sit up. "She’s hiding you from the high council of witches from my family. You're the lost heiress to the realm's greatest fortune”. My mind completely stalled. Heiress? Witches? Fortune? She's out of her mind. We can barely afford bread. Before I could process her words, heavy black luxury carriages screeched to a halt around us, blocking off both sides of the road. Figures in spell-robes stepped out into the dirty street. My heart dropped into my stomach, fear gripped me, not because of magic, but because rich, terrifying people were surrounding us. I tried to pull away to run back into my house, but the witch girl held my hand so tight, pressing a glowing silver crest into my slime-covered palm. The lead figure in the robe walked right up to the edge of the lot, holding up a glowing crystal orb. As the magical red light swept over my face, the crystal rang out with a sharp chime, echoing a cold voice: "Target DNA Confirmed. The Lost Heiress Found. Secure Her Now”.