The secret of the Orphanage

"Wake up kids!",shouted the lady. It was morning and Zane bolted up on his bed. He wasn't used to being woken up so early in the morning.

"What's the matter?",he asked the lady.

"Nothing",she replied."You need to wake up!"

"But why so early?",asked Zane.

The lady rolled her eyes in reply and walked away muttering.

Almost all the kids were up and dressed.

Zane got up, brushed his teeth, took a bath and changed his clothes thinking that maybe life in the streets wasn't so bad after all but immediately dismissing the thought when he saw the food. It smelled so good that he could hardly control himself. The other nine kids had gathered around the table only Zane was left to take his seat. The girl, Natalie, from yesterday, had seated herself beside him. She smiled at him as he approached.

The big table with all the food on it almost reminded him of his own home. In Byrandan. He, his father, his mother, and their other relatives used to sit exactly like that and eat in their big palace. Now it was all gone. Zane served himself and began eating. Something wasn't right. Zane had never been to an adoption centre before but he was pretty sure that it wasn't that good. They had places like that in Byrandan too, for werewolf kids who had lost their parents and the facility was not as good as here. Zane could see that they were being treated too lavishly and royally though he didn't object.

When they were done, The lady asked them all to come with her. All of the ten kids followed the lady, she opened a door that was hidden on the floor and asked them all to climb down and wait for her.

Zane thought it was some crazy exercise she was making them do. As Zane was climbing down, his steps faltered. He smelled fear, anxiety and nervousness in the air. It all was directed from Natalie. She was shaking and Zane did not know why.

Zane wanted to comfort her but she seemed like she wanted to be left all alone. The lady came down after a few moments and cleared her throat,"So children, just gather around. I have an announcement to make!"

Some were excited,some were nervous and some were really scared, like Natalie. Zane could smell everything.

The room didn't look bad. It was really big. The light was dim and bookshelves were all around them. Ten chairs were placed in the middle of the room, of ten different colours. A big chair was there infront of all of them . And lots of chairs and tables were stacked in the corner.

"What is this place?",asked a boy

"Just hold on to your curiousity for a little while children, I just need to find the paper",said the lady fumbling with a bunch of old papers, finally she looked like she found the one she was looking for.

"Alright kiddos, look here!",said the lady.

'We are looking...",said a girl in a bored voice.

"Good morning youngsters, I am your guide to helping you achieve your hidden talents.",read the lady."My name is Eva and I work for Queen Isabella. You all are here because you have special powers, powers that others don't have and we will help you discover it. Humans, have lived on for thousands of years, and they have powers none know about. Sometimes they go unnoticed but other times, you aura is strong and you get attracted to this place. It attracta supernaturals. Children like you, so all we want to do is help. In the end, one of you are going to get out of here and go to the palace to work for the queen. You have one year to train, pass the monthly tests every month and finally win the competition. Good luck!"

She finally looked up with a glimmer of pride in her eyes.

"Any questions kids?",she asked

'We are not working for anyone!",shouted a boy, and some others muttered in agreement.

The lady, Eva, smiled her sweetest smile and said,"You don't have much of a choice honey and by working I don't mean like a servant, it is more like you'd be the happiest person alive, you would have all the things you wish for but, you will be fighting for the queen, completing quests for her, dangerous ones of course"

The creepiness in her voice was enough to shut them up.

Zane had no idea what she was talking about. But he got the idea that she meant that none of them were normal there. They were probably like him or better.

For a second Zane felt relieved that he wasn't the odd one out there. But, he remembered what she had said about the queen and the dangerous quests, even if he made out of the orphanage, he wasn't going to be safe, he would have to go to some queen and serve here, but the words of Eva rang in his ears, she had said that they could have anything they wished for , to the queen. What if Zane wished for his family,his planet. Zane made up his mind that he was going to compete and then win. He had nothing to lose but if he won then there was chance that he could see his beloved ones again.

Zane raised his hand and said,"What's the competition?"

Eva beamed at him and said,"I like this one....well, you are Zane, I can't disclose that but I can tell you that it won't be easy"

Another boy raised his hand and said,"How did you manage to find all the children with abilities? None of us even know we have supernatural abilities but you do somehow"

The lady smiled and said,"Well Bennett , so you see, all of you are orphans. This orphanage is a supernatural place that attracts the supernatural orphans. I don't need to do any work, I just find you all in my doorstep. You all are 'supernaturally' attracted to this place. I was waiting for five girls and five boys and now that we have all, I think we should get started and train"

"But we don't even know what our powers are! And I am pretty sure it is not real! How can someone have magic powers?",asked a girl

The lady snapped her fingers and disappeared, everybody including Zane, gasped. The lady appeared back and asked,"Now, does that look not real to you? I said all of you have powers, some or the other thing. You may not know what they are now, but that's what I am here for, I'll help you discover them"

The children listened in silence. It was too much for them to take in. Everybody looked shocked and surprised, none of them knew what they were or what powers they had except Zane, he knew what he was and he glanced at Natalie, she still looked uneasy. And Zane had the perfect impression that she knew who she was and she did not want to disclose it.