The Castelli family was a masterpiece. A piece of art held at the highest standards, while everyone stood around admiring them. In every detail, they were the ideal. Every stitch, every shot, every stroke of their brush was all done with such craft that it was nothing less than a picture of perfection.Their reputation was one of the best, with not a single scratch to ruin their image. It was pristine, and it was something they all made sure of.Elara Castelli was the queen. A ruler who wore her heart on her sleeve- a sleeve that contained a dagger. With a strong mind and loving heart, Elara had a perfect balance between kindness and cruelty. She was an angel whose wings were made of hellfire. They sparked, and she would watch as they fall, turning those around into ash. And if you were lucky, if you were kind, she would do you the honors of helping you rise from the ashes and become better. She was gracious, understanding, caring, and a killer. And as much respect as she was given, s

Blood is thicker than water.It was a very popular saying, conveying the message that those who you share blood with are your family. And to most, that was the truth. DNA is what links you to love- a familial love you can only find in one place. And that's those you're related to. Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents. That's your one and only family.It's the black and white way of thinking, the thought being that the ones you're born with are the only ones who will love you all the way to death. The ones you share the same blood with are the ones who brought you into the world and the ones who will be there for you when you leave it. They're the only ones you can count on, to love you, to comfort you, to see you through thick and thin.To those who share that thinking, they believe that family is only blood. You can have friends, spouses, strangers you look up to from a far. You can know them your entire life, you can love them with your entire being, and you ca

When Liviana was a child, she had this dream. It was common, she believed, as she thought it was something everyone would have dreamt of at least once in their lifetime. It wasn't typical, as in it wasn't for the job people would dream of or for fame and money, nor was it a dream for a love so great, it would go down in history as a tale for romantics to fawn over for eternity- letting their love live on and on and on. Instead, it was much simpler than that. Liviana's dream was for the perfect life. Everyone's definition of perfect was different, and for Liviana, it simply meant balance. She didn't need everything to be perfect all the time- she knew that in this world, constant perfection was near impossible in this world, right next to flying with your bare arms and the idea of true immortality. She didn't need to be a millionaire or a genius or to be considered beautiful. Mansions, money, cars, jewelry, reputation, fame- in her eyes, it was all as overrated as it was shallow. And

Liviana Castelli has always been known as an old soul, of sorts.When she was a child, she was the one everybody would call mature for her age. Not because she didn’t act childish at times or because she had the same knowledge or skills that an adult did. That wasn’t it at all. She had moments where she was the wild child, running, screaming, making a mess of herself and everything around her. She could cry, throw tantrums, and say the most immature things when she wanted. So, she wasn’t exactly mature. Yet, she wasn’t immature either.She was the kid who stayed back to help teachers clean after an activity. She was the mom friend in a group of reckless teens, and even before that, when she was a child, she was the friend who was more aware. The one who made sure the other kids didn’t go too far and hurt themselves. She was the one who told kids to slow down when they were running too fast, worried they would trip and fall. And when she was older, she was the one to make sure everyon

Liviana Santora has never been one to appreciate the taste of danger. In fact, she was one to do everything she could to avoid a simple smell of it.She was the one to walk side by side, hand in hand with safety. She would stay put, glancing over at the ones that laughed and screamed with joy, soaring as adrenaline rushed through their veins. And she would watch from the sidelines, hiding in safety's warm embrace while she stuck to her side of the fine line that separated life and living."Come on, Livi. Live a little!" They would tell her. "Take a little walk on the wild side.""I can't." She would deny, standing firmly as she planted her feet in the sand, arms crossed as she stubbornly refused to venture out into the wild side that they all encouraged her to try. "It's too dangerous.""It's not dangerous, Liviana. It's fun." The other girl had argued. "Don't you want to know the difference between simply living and being alive? Truly alive?""Not if it's going to get me into trouble