Valerie felt in pain rock through her jaw before she fully understood what was happening. The last thing she remembered seeing was her little sister cowering in front of the local royalty, known as the Killian house, and the landowners of the little village that they lived in. Valerie resisted the urge to touch her jaw and glares at the man she couldn't defy. The two stare at each other for a long time before a soft tug at the back of her shirt.

“Val…” her sister cries.

She turns to face her sister

“shh.” she says wiping away the tears rolling down her sister's cheek.

“Val you face…”

“I’m ok Mae.”

She turns back to face the man once again but by then a sizable crowd has formed glancing at Valerie’s face and pointing at the man. The man seems clearly uncomfortable as more people join the crowd.

“She is just a child, what did she do that could be so wrong that you would attempt to strike her?” Valerie says angrily.

“My actions don’t need to be justified.” he says coldly before turning away and walking off as the crowd parts.

Other members of the family start dispersing the crowd.

“Get lost.” one of the men shouts gruffly.

Valerie didn't need to be asked twice, but she knew that her actions wouldn't go unpunished as unfair as it seems. She takes Mae’s hand and pulls her back to the hideout.

“I’m sorry Val.” Mae says again as she wipes away her tear with her free hand.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Valerie? Come and help out!” her aunt yells as she pop her head out the back door of the hideout. “Oh my! What happened to your face?” she says rushing to inspect her face.

“It’s fine.”

“You really need to stop butting heads with them!”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Do you want a seed for the pain?”

“It’s fine, I don't need one.”

Her aunt still hands her a single blue oval shaped seed wrapped in some clear material.

Valerie shoves the seed into her pocket as she shakes her head. Her aunt has given one of the best seeds that they had. Seeds can do anything once they are in contact with human skin. There are different seed for different needs. Her blue one used for treating certain diseases. Because of the desirable qualities, seeds are expensive and only the rich can afford seeds. The lower classes have managed to replicate the powers of the seed pretty well, but of course, it wasn't perfect. Black market ones were often taken with bad consequences, but often people were so desperate that they didn't care. Valerie’s aunt is one of the only official d