Chapter 1

Its age surpassing the deepest recesses of human thought and dreams, a struggle for domination erupted long ago between celestial entities known as Zodiacs. Consequently, immense damage was wreaked and, realising that the continuation of their battles would result in the death of their galaxy, the Zodiacs agreed to a pact of necessity.

The Zodiacs' power lay in their magical abilities. Reasoning that the sacrifice of their magic would end their perpetual disputes for good, the Zodiacs descended on the barren planet Earth and began to withdraw themselves from their magic.

It was only as they murmured the seals that heralded the renunciation of their magic that the Zodiacs fully understood the implications of their actions- they were effectively trapping themselves in stasis.

The planet Earth drifted from eternal night to life as some of the trapped magic seeped into its soil. Slowly, the formerly barren planet blossomed and many life forms came to dwell on Earth. Many centuries of light, blood, tears, and spring came to pass before that fated race, mankind, stumbled into the presence of the long forgotten entities. It was inevitable, then, that at the incessant prodding of mankind's curiosity, the entities would slowly be brought back to consciousness.

~~

Hi. I'm Fay Cheng, sixteen going on seventeen. It is the year 'two oh oh six' and the world is not quite facing impending doom.

I scowled, then slowly ripped the once unblemished rice paper apart. I couldn't really envision myself as some successful journalist, but I'd promised my mother to "give it a shot". Her words, not mine. I imagine she wanted me to be one of those girls who screamed, "Hi mum!" at the camera while flashing perfectly bleached smiles. Just between us, though, I'd sooner shave off all my hair and get a nose piercing. Sighing, I drummed my fingers on the large, white desk and tried again:

It's 8.45am, Monday morning.

Hey...that rang a bell. Monday morning? 8.45am? I was suddenly hit by images of a certain, grumpy man shaking his certain, grumpy disapproval at me. Shit, I thought. Old Dennis isn't gonna be too happy about my tardiness. The annoying geezer and his "I believe in the beauty of truth" crap! I wasn't as sure as the principal that Dennis' ideals being entirely aligned to the school's was to be seen as "positive encouragement for the rest of the school". As you can see, I love my school as much as I would a moth in my closet. No offence meant to the moth.

Not bothering to grab any of my schoolbooks, I hurriedly dumped my schoolbag underneath my locker and sauntered into the classroom. Excuse me. Attempted to. Everyone likes a cool chick, no?

That is, until I realised that I'd bumped into dark haired, grey-eyed Chris. My naturally cheerful disposition, when combined with the freezing cold, still hadn't been enough to jog me into waking mood. So sue me.

"Oof! Sorry pal," I muttered, trying my hardest to appear cheerful. Chris was one of my best friends, and had been so since year 9 when I mistook him for a certain female and punched him in the stomach- hard. To cut a long story short, I had hurt my fist and he kindly offered to take me to the nurse, all the while dismissing my innumerable apologies. It was only natural for us to become fast friends.

He studied me for a moment, then said "No problem, Fay. It's nice to know people love me." He attempted a pathetic come-on-I'm-sweet look, then grinned broadly as I dramatically wrinkled my nose and squinted at him. I would've responded with some witty comeback, but A) normal people don't catty-remark their good friends and B) I'd just heard that boring looking woman call my name.

"Fay?" She repeated, pushing her too-round-too-gold glasses even higher on her nose as a slight wrinkle creased her forehead.

I coughed embarrassedly as I slid into my seat, careful not to wrinkle my long skirt. "I'm here, miss." I pretended not to notice that the class was watching me. Maybe I shouldn't have dressed up for school after all? Chris must've caught my expression because he kindly flashed me a reassuring thumbs up. I rolled my eyes. Smooth one, pal. So much for sauntering.

Giving me a brief smile, the relief teacher ticked me off the list she'd been peering closely at. Gee, since when was the roll such a chore? Not that I was complaining or anything- at least Dennis wasn't here to give me a detention. Finishing the roll call after an eternity, the teacher clapped her hands for silence.

"Good morning class," She smiled at us. Ugh! Dullness and boringness galore. Someone should ban those glasses.

"Good morning, miss," I found myself answering, briefly severing myself from my designer clothes. Oops. What a pity. I could almost hear my mother's loud voice in my head: Proper girls like yourself shouldn't even have heard of the opposite gender until they're in university. Well I'd been in university for nearly three months. Surely I'd have stopped thinking like a darn high-schooler by then?

"Well, now. Some of you were late but as it is the first day of school, I shall be very kind and pretend I didn't notice. This time." Whoa. So much for miss boring-but-nice. "I'm Miss McPherson, and will relief Mr. Dennis of his teaching position this year. As I'm sure you'll all have heard, he's currently undergoing radiation therapy for a most unfortunate cancer."

The girls all started making sympathetic noises. Okay, so I've never liked Dennis very much- the guy's a grump. Even so, though, I felt kinda guilty for not being nicer to him... that is, taking into account his current situation and whatnot.

Ah, and by the way, I did not fail to note the beautiful disparity between my reaction and that of the preps. I wasn't very good at 'being at one with my emotions'. I promise to beat the daylights out of them once they've given up hiding from me, though. My emotions, that is. Not the preps.

House tute isn't really a class- it's more of a gossip session really, since we never have any announcements to make. Glancing around, I saw chestnut haired Sophia chatting with Chris. I waved at her and in no time, she came bounding over to my seat.

"Man, you look great! Who're you crushing on?" She asked suspiciously, green eyes sparkling. Mind you, it's not as though Sophia doesn't have her own fan club of drooling gentlemen.

I groaned. "Why can't people leave me be in this ivory tower of singledom?" I asked dramatically. "Oh and hi to you too, Sophia. For your information, I decided not to let my wardrobe get eaten by silverfish after all." I declared in a wounded tone. She laughed, then hugged me. Ouch? I winced as I attempted to return the favour.

"Hey," came Chris' voice from behind me. Sophia clapped her hands delightedly. "Good. Now you have company, I shan't feel guilty about deserting you to chat up a certain someone," she declared, then was off before I dryly muttered, "as if you ever have any qualms with that."

Chris watched her curiously but gave up when she disappeared into a body of pretty girls. "I'm guessing he knows his way with girls?" He asked very casually. Too casually, but I didn't notice it then.

Uh, understatement of the year. "Vincent Thomas." I muttered. I'd heard enough girls squeal it to know the name of a certain, very hot individual. "And before you can ask," I continued loudly, "I've already checked him out." As I said this, I turned and glared at two guys leaning against tables a couple of metres away. They were failing miserably at an attempt to appear inconspicuous. I smiled in satisfaction as they hastily tore their gazes from me. I hated being second best- equal first, I suppose, being the girls flocking adoringly to Vincent's crowded arms.

Chris shuddered dramatically. "Eww. I don't want to know." I think a side note would be appropriate- Chris, under the tragic influence of Sophia and I, seemed to think that imitating our feminine gestures and comments was humorous. Hey, tis not right to shoot the messenger.

I patted his shoulder gallantly. "Well come on then. Proper classes await."

~~

I'd attended Perth Private University for a grand total of two weeks so far, and Miss McPherson had stuck right to her word- she wasn't having any tardiness after the first day of school. I winced as I recalled the two detentions I'd been given already.

Chris and Sophia had accompanied me through five hundred lines of "I shall never again be late to class", their conversational skills saving me from sure death of boredom. I wasn't ever late to house tute after the first detention, oh no. It just happened that Miss McPherson was relieving my Physical Education class -a compulsory waste of time- and Sophia and I can never resist being late to the teaching of barbaric manoeuvres and certified ways of thrashing an opponent.

Somehow she'd managed to interpret the entire course as theory-based. Sophia had whispered "Ew, please. The dreaded Square in a tracksuit? Have mercy on my innocent soul!" and I'd burst out laughing. I guessed my amusement must have been pretty obvious because the whole class was staring at us. Sophia and I exchanged an oops. After all, we were supposed to be sneaking in undetected.

Miss McPherson had turned an interesting shade of mauve, I'd gotten a detention ("For causing offence to a teacher and for tardiness," Miss McPherson had declared in her high pitched voice) and Sophia a warning letter.

All thoughts of her mother ever finding out about the warning letter now erased from her list of worries, Sophia chatted happily, saying "Thank goodness for backpacks, huh, Fay? I could never manage to hold all those files under one arm and still look effortless. I think that's the plus side of university. . ."

I wasn't paying attention to a word Sophia was saying. Above us, the sky had darkened visibly and thick grey clouds seemed to close in from all directions. Clouds don't darken so quickly, I thought, a strange paralysing fear seeping into my veins. Then something else occurred to me- clouds don't even darken in the middle of March! The paralysing fear now coursed through my arteries.

They're not gathering above us, I realised, as the sky directly overhead began to thicken too. These clouds were circulating a little further East of us- right above those cliffs that I normally walked past on my way to the shops. I glanced around in a swift bout of panic, wondering why nobody else seemed to notice that we were practically surrounded by darkness.

For a split second- as the black night finally conquered the sun- every shred, every pencil of light was snuffed out and just as quickly replaced by the glowing of red eyes at me. I stiffened, pressing my back against the wall and slowly sliding down as I attempted to avoid the attention of the nearest pair of eyes- Sophia's.

Fay, a melodious voice called in my thoughts. I shivered unwillingly against the cold brick wall. Sophia's red eyes hovered over where I'd been standing only a moment ago, and I relaxed fractionally as she turned back towards the library where we'd been headed. I could practically still feel the fire in her eyes.

Your destiny is beautiful. Come, child, let me look at my daughter. That voice again! Before I could open my mouth to reply, however, I felt myself being shaken none too gently.

"Get up, girl," a rough voice said. Up? No, I didn't want up. I was snug and comfortable right here against the wall. I wasn't going anywhere. This abyss was warm and fuzzy, not cold like that mean brick wall. I wanted to sink in further, to delve into this abyss and let the warm blur engulf me. I'm in Lala land, I thought happily. For the first time in years, I was content.

"For the sake of our world, girl, get up!" the voice said urgently, only it was much louder this time. Agitation tinged the deep voice. I frowned. That wasn't good. I didn't like agitation.

As I opened my mouth and whispered, "Shhhh...the fairies are dancing," I was yanked unceremoniously up onto my feet. The world spun around me and I dazedly realised that I must've somehow managed to faint. All hopes of the red eyes being a dream fled me when I saw that they were still around, glowing eerily in the darkness.

I immediately shrank back in fright as I clutched the silver pendant at my neck. I could feel the speaker's hands pulling me up, but his eyes were not visible to me. "They can't see or hear you," the man told me, his hands still holding my shoulders firmly.

Please, I thought. I'll never be mean to my sister again if I live through this. I won't fail any more music exams just to spite my teacher.

I'll be waiting for you, Fay...come and your destiny shall be unravelled. The voice was very compelling but the man's strong grip tightened painfully and stopped me from returning to Lala land.

Where? I wanted to ask the voice, but just as quickly as the darkness had arrived, light came flooding back and I was startled to note that the dark clouds outside had suddenly dissipated into thin air. As I turned to demand the identity of my supposed saviour, he too disappeared. Violet eyes met my own black gaze for a brief moment, then his trench coat swept him soundlessly around a corner.

The red gazes that had frightened me senseless flickered briefly before my schoolmates returned to normal. It seemed as if time had stopped for them and everybody was suddenly teleported a number of steps into the future. I looked around but there was no evidence that anybody had even seen the stormy clouds. The air itself had resumed its dry anticipation of Autumn's chilling winds.

"Autumn is late again this year," Andrea McMarton, the weather woman had said, almost sweating visibly on television. Recalling the mini-nightmare just seconds ago, I wasn't too sure of her "prediction". Heck, I wasn't too sure if I was even sane anymore. Sophia paused at the entrance to the library, then waved me over.

"Hurry up, Fay!" she called. "Why are you standing there gaping at a pillar?" Blinking, I realised that I'd been peering at little brown creeks running across the once-white pillar. I hurriedly jogged to where she was. Destiny? My mind echoed, still reeling from the loveliness of that voice. I didn't even believe in the whole fate concept, and destiny was no different. It was just another fancy synonym to me.

We'd barely gone two metres into the library when Sophia let out a mini shriek and bounded off to where Vincent Thomas and a couple of his friends were sitting. I followed her dutifully- as her friend I'd promised to kickher under the table whenever she was beginning to make an ass out of herself in front of the guys. Mind you, Sophia is one of those innocently gorgeous people. She normally seems like a ditz to people but I guarantee there's a sensitive brain under all those layers of fluff. Really.

I was nonetheless surprised when Sophia threw her arms around one of Vincent's friends, and was returned with an affectionate kiss. She'd already dumped Vincent and gotten a new boyfriend? Vincent, not appearing to mind this exchange in the least, extended a hand to me.

"Vincent Thomas. You're Fay Cheng- I've heard Chris speak of you." I nodded dumbly, wondering how all these friendships had been forged right under my nose.

"I know who you are too," I clarified childishly, pettily feeling as though he'd somehow gotten the upper hand. Vincent's clear blue eyes were amused and as I watched his blonde hair dance, I realised that he was laughing. At me! I detested being humiliated. Especially by someone who was so clearly intellectually deprived. By the way, I conveniently forgot which course he'd managed to get into, courtesy of it requiring the highest tertiary entrance score of 99.4.

"That's nice," Vincent said, trying to placate my sudden bout of animosity. I nodded curtly, then turned to his two friends, who were suddenly very, very sombre. The shorter one had half a head on me. He looked a little like Vincent, I found myself thinking, except his hair was brown instead of blonde. This was Sophia's new catch.

He smiled at me. "Richard Waterhouse, computer sciences." He said by means of an introduction. Computer sciences? I thought Sophia only liked Law students like Vincent. "You're Fay Cheng. Journalism," He supplied as I continued to stare at him. I noted the protective look Sophia had thrown me and reluctantly ignored the little Richard-induced "Déjà vu".

I nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Richard," I said formerly, managing to keep any hostility out of my voice despite still being deliberately angry with Vincent. I blushed when Richard nodded his acquiescence at me. Sophia noticed and raised a dark, immaculately shaped eyebrow, causing me to blush even harder.

I swear these traitorous cheeks of mine have gotten me into trouble more often than not. Oh, I didn't feel any attraction towards Richard, contrary to Sophia's protective instincts. It's just... well, it wasn't any fault of mine that I was so self-conscious and easily embarrassed!

Hastily I turned to the last member of the group. Sophia couldn't possibly have introduced us and hence saved me from appearing this brazen, could she? Ignoring my volcanic cheeks (this is why I don't wear blush) and mentally cursing Vincent for starting it all, I froze mid-smile as the pre-packaged 'Hi, I'm Fay Cheng, pleased-to-meet-you' died instantly on my lips.