The Beginning

Maybe to some, the birth of a child from a family who's been waiting for one, was a miracle. The first category fell on Richard and Meredith Farley, the infamous couple residing in Manchester. The duo were known to be the co-owners of Unruly Eve Corps-- a well-known business corporation that hailed from its first branch in Paris. But underneath the layers of two businessmen, were two light Instar Diviners from the local coven. The couple had been waiting for the sign of a baby being conceived for years long. Until 5th March in the year of 1932 came, and made itself known as an auspicious day for them. The birth of Irene was celebrated by their family and relatives alike, but some did not take it as something that should be parading about.

Growing up, Irene had it all. The amount of love a child should have, checked. Spoiled and doted upon? Checked. Her parents loved her dearly and no one was able to convince them otherwise. As a child, Irene was untouchable in so many ways. Despite being cherished by both parents, she did not grew up with friends by her side. The only company she's ever had was her governess, and her personal maid's daughter, Mira. She was restricted to any outside affiliations and involvement. No one knew why the couple chose to keep Irene hid away from civilization of the outside world. When asked, Meredith would respond with a quick and firm answer; she wasn't ready.

It was an answer that left everyone clueless to what she truly meant. In time, they forgot about it altogether, leaving the adolescent child to continue in mild advancements in her own home. Richard and Meredith had her moved out when she reached 8 years old, they located her at their family vacation manor in the south side. The only two people that followed her there were her maid and the daughter. Her parents only ever visited her once every two to three months due to their hectic schedule. But the visits gradually started getting lesser as each year passes. At some point, they even forgot how she looked like.

One day, the local coven decided to pay the two most contributed members’ a visit so they were able to discuss more about the potential apprenticeship for the younger diviners. It didn't take them long to even remember a whole Irene Farley existed in the first place and how she is still very much residing in the house they were visiting. They even mistook her to be the maid's daughter and called her Mira countless times. It wasn't as if Richard nor Meredith even remembered how their only daughter looked like.

Mira, much like Irene, was the same age and height. They were practically identical, both possessed the same auburn hair and blue optics. The two of them were artsy raw age of 14. Against Mira's complaints and protests, for the next following months, Irene impersonated her once again. One turned to two, and it eventually turned to a dozen times or so. Neither Mira nor her mother knew why she kept doing that. Her reasons were unknown to everyone but herself. Throughout the period, the couple thought Irene was Mira and Mira, Irene.

That was when the visits started occurring weekly. Meredith started coming a lot often individually without Richard, per Irene's request. She still knew her own daughter as Mira, surprisingly. Every time her mother came visiting her, she would ask the others to get out of the manor and leave them alone for a moment of privacy. No one thought much about it. And so, every time her parents came to visit her and stayed the night, she spent her time with them as Mira.

Somehow, Irene managed to convince Mira to stay in her room and asked her to keep up the act so she would be able to spend time with her parents genuinely without having to carry the burden of being a firstborn and only next generation Farley. Feeling sorry for her friend, Mira agreed. This went on for 4 years, still with others mistaking Irene to be Mira. But when it was only a few weeks before Irene's 18th birthday, Mira decided to put a stop to this act once and for all because of how manipulative her friend has gotten over the years. Mira, much like Irene, was also a diviner and was claimed as light a few months prior to Irene. She saw how tenacious her mistress was becoming and did not wish for her to go down the dark path. But her efforts were futile. Nothing changed the twisted mindset of the female Farley.

She was adamant into getting what she wanted, which was the love and adoration her parents had for her, regardless of her identity. Mira concluded that due to the tears of abandonment by her parents, Irene has grown increasingly violent and cold, so much that she craved affection from them and when the time came for them to come back, it was already too late to change her perception. Her behavior changed drastically over the years. The once bubbly and naive child that she was when she was first sent away, blossomed into a devious and manipulative person that was willing to do anything to get what she wants. There were no measures that she wasn't willing to take and it scared Mira.

A few days before her birthday, her maid and Mira started to notice the differences occurring in her. The two started to plan together on how to sway their young mistress to the light, as they knew fully well exactly what would happen if she was to be claimed by the dark. Mira managed to spy on Irene while Meredith came visiting. Whenever Irene spoke, Meredith seemed to nod to everything she says, like someone entrapped in a spell. That was when she realized that Irene only posed herself to be helpless but has been studying magic from the books left in the victorian manor. Once Mira informed her mother, they started to stop Meredith and Richard from visiting. It was not doubted by them that she was indeed an attentive child but never thought this would escape their notice. It worked, for a while.

It was until the day of her birthday came, that Irene noticed her parents was not present to celebrate with her. This was the day that she was supposed to tell them of her identity. However, they did arrive, a little late but was there nonetheless. The moment of truth came by and Irene told both of them of who she really was. After a few laughter here and there, they still would not take her seriously despite her incessant efforts to make them believe her. The name Mira began to rung in her ears, and she felt as if the name alone was dissing her. It was no surprise to see her being claimed by the dark.

That night, she argued with her parents, still insisting that she was who she said she was. The moment her mother called Mira forward and told her that she was Irene, and how it was fine that they loved her more than their own child, the firstborn Farley grew furious. Her lividness went over the roof, because of the confession being made. All she's ever wanted for her parents to notice her and love her but things didn't go quite the way she thought it would. On that same night while everyone else was asleep, Irene snuck outside and sat by the clearing not far from her home. Mira joined her afterwards, and the two consoled one another. Mira offered a shoulder for Irene to cry on, while assuring her that one day, her parents would open their eyes and see it through.

What Happened After

Mira left to get Irene her favorite flowers at the small hut they made when they were kids, where they grew their flowers at. But when she came back, all she saw was the house in flames. There was no sign of Irene anywhere, and when she tried to get closer, the fire only burned brighter. Once again, no one knew exactly what happened but the death of her mother made her bitter and chose to blame Irene for everything.

But that wasn't the full story, no. It was far from it. When Irene decided to take a walk outside the premise that night, she was trying to forget about the humiliation she suffered at the hands of her parents; her own flesh and blood, the people who birthed her into this world. When her bare feet hit the dirty ground, she wasn't sure which part was more painful; the fact that her parents couldn't recognize their only daughter that they've sheltered for the past 18 years or how stupid she was to think that anything would ever change. She couldn't manipulate their memories, she couldn't make them remember her existence if they had no recollection of her own identity. Irene realized that night, that being forgotten was the most painful thing she has ever suffered from. And she didn't want to feel it again.

So when Mira left to go get her some flowers to cheer the redhead up, she stared at the house in front of her, it was big and gaunt, too big for her alone. She didn't realize how spacious it had been for her, not until that night. Closing her eyes shut while wrapping her arms around her knees, all she could think about was how much she wanted to forget about everything. In her mind, she saw herself staring at the memories she has made in the mansion that housed her from the day she was born. They were taunting her. Irene found herself covering her ears and tried to push it away, or rather set it on fire. To burn them away. Seeing the flames engulfing the entire place made her feel secure, like everything that had happened was just a nightmare. The blonde stretched out her arm to touch the fire and quickly retracted them when it burned her. It was real.

Due to her emotional state, Irene didn't realize that she had really set the house on fire. It was meant to be an illusion in her own head but perhaps she had pictured it so clearly that it happened to the real thing. It was the first time she lost control over her own abilities and it scared her. By the time she realized what she had done, the fire had already spread and there was no way she could put it out in time. So she tried an alternative, she called out for help, alerting the people inside and outside there was a fire. Her yells were drowned by the fire licking every single spot on the surface. Either they were struggling themselves or they were deep sleepers because nobody answered her. Not her father, not her mother and certainly not her maid. She scampered away in fear, the sight of the burning house was forever etched in her memory and she ran away. Instead of sticking around to help, and she totally forgot about Mira. No wonder she thought the worst of her.

No proof was gathered, surprisingly so. No one believed it was Irene who did it, except for Mira. Irene left England and went to pursue her career as the sole heir to Unruly Eve Corps in their base in Paris. The mystery that surrounded the tragic death of her parents never truly left the news, but she has never let her real emotions show, so there wasn't anything to pin her at.

She thought about confessing. She really did. It was an accident, albeit a morbid one but nonetheless, still an accident. Irene didn't mean to cause it but she panicked and after seeing the horror of her own doing, she couldn't stay. It was easier said than done, as expected. She realized she couldn't say a word because they were two paths that will lead her to the same dead end. If she had told the authorities that she caused the fire accidentally using magic, she would've ousted herself as a supernatural. Revealing their identity was frowned upon and it would've caused more trouble than good. She couldn't risk her identity being revealed. And if she told them she caused it accidentally without the whole part about magic, she would still be charged with murder because she would've been conscious when she 'set the house on fire'. She was 18, she didn't want to go to jail. That's when she knew the past will haunt her forever but it was something to keep her tight tipped.

The death of her parents and her maid will forever be her secret alone. She grew to be a successful CEO of her family's company and carried on their legacy. Irene changed everything about her, she cut her hair and styled it blonde, which was a direct contrast to her natural appearance before. When she heard about Evermore, she was fascinated with the idea of it so it didn't take her long to come venturing. Her past was the past, and she intends to only focus on her future, even when she knows Mira was just around the corners to strike her down.