[Gabriel(le) Quinn Honey-Sinclair]
She sat there silently, next to her grandfather in the car. Her small body was tense, hands balled into little fists on her lap while the silence persistedâit was an uncomfortable sort of quiet. Awkward and uncertain. ButâŠbetween him and I, thatâs how it always is. Gabriel reminded herself, her lavender eyes flickering over to the elderly manâs stern face, holding their gaze there for a moment before the manâs own eyes turned to her. A soft yelp came from her throat at this, her muscles tensing up as she looked away from him, and down to her feet. Face going red with embarrassment and shame, the girl resorting to chewing on the inside of her cheek while awaiting whatever orders and words her grandfather had for her before she stepped out of the car, and took her first steps into her new life at the Goruden Mansion.
âHavenât I told you before that it is not your place to be timid?â he spoke, his voice terse.
The elderly psychicâs authoritative voice sent a jolt through Gabrielâs body and she found herself inwardly flinching at his words, before opening her mouth up and forcing a response from her throat. âY-Yes sir!â
Maxwell Sinclairâs head turned, slowly, and he fully looked upon his illegitimate granddaughter, his own eyes showing no sadness that she was about to be gone from his life for the months to come. âThen Gabrielle, act with the pride your surname allows, do not shy away from the harshness you are certain to face in the coming daysâyou are the child of the Sinclair family. Even if you only possess diluted blood, you have in you the essence of our proud clan. Do not shame that.â
A soft sigh happened from the girlâs lips as she relaxed a bit, her head drooping as she heard his words, âdiluted bloodâ sticking with her the most. âI am sorry grandfather; I will do my best to act as you wish me to.â
His head turned away from her, âAs I expect. Remember, here, you are to act the part of your name. The last heir of our line, the prideful son of the late Aldric Sinclair. Though your blood is not pure, you are strong and worthy of your name. Do not ever dare let anyone think otherwise by how you proceed.â
âYes grandfather,â Gabriel tucked a bit of her short hair behind her ear, her words coming out softly. âI know what my place is here. I am Gabriel, the grandson of Maxwell Sinclair. Despite my tainted blood, I am a strong psychic, I am a boy who is gifted in many ways. And, I am to never let anyone know of my weaknesses, nor shall I allow anyone to know the shame I inflict upon our name by having been born a girl.â
âVery goodâŠnow, it is time you leave.â
At his words, Gabriel turned her head and looked to her grandfather one more time, opening her mouth to say something to him before sighing a bit and simply electing to remain quiet. The last thing she wanted to do now was to enrage the man before leavingâŠshe and him already didnât get along as things were, and the last thing Gabriel felt like doing was upsetting him. I should just go. she thought, reaching out and setting her small hand on the door handle. She sat where she was for a moment though, turning and looking out the tinted windows of her grandfatherâs limo. A glint of melancholy ran through her eyes as she thought about what lay ahead of her, what her life was going to be, how she was going to be living. Mindful, secretive, always having to be on guard of the fact that she was female....
She couldnât act like a normal enough girl, hell, she couldnât even dress like one. . . . Her hair was now short, and she herself was wearing clothes that barely stayed on her they were so baggy, a black shirt thatâs neck hole hung off one of her shoulders, only to be covered by a white hoodie she could almost swim in. Along with a pair of black capri things that were barely staying on her by means of a beltâfrankly, Gabriel looked like she was nothing more than a misanthropic little boy who didnât know how to size his clothing. The only thing that did fit her were her black Converse . . . that was it though.
Things were going to be hard for her, very hardâŠbut this was the way she had to live, right? Her grandfather was ashamed of her and the fact that she could not at all do anything worthwhile with her powers, so, it made sense that he didnât want to put up with her anymore. Sending her away to âtrainâ seemed the best excuse to be rid of her. Havenât I already come to terms with this? I know he wants next to nothing to do with me, only to make sure I donât shame our family name. As soon as Iâm away from him, I can just act like myself so long as I donât spill my secret....
Eliciting a soft sigh from her lips, Gabriel finally pulled on the door handle and popped the thing open before setting a foot onto the pavement below. Quickly she swung herself up and out of the back of the limo with a rather forlorn look on her face, she turned around and bent back into the car, grabbing onto her suitcase before looking at her grandfather again. Swallowing she turned her gaze away from him and spoke one last time, âFarewell grandfather, I-I wish you the best.â
To this, the elderly man merely nodded as his granddaughter backed out of the car and proceeded to shut the door herself. Gabriel stood there, at the entranceway to the train station which would take her to the Goruden Mansion, watching the black limo pull away slowly, her shoulders drooping. It was time for her to face her new life as a boy head on, wasnât it? YesâŠit was, unfortunately.
Things were definitely not going to be easy from his point on, though it really wasnât as if theyâd been otherwise. Her mother had rejected her and her father upon finding out of the fact that they were both psychic, she went missing, thenâŠher father had been murdered in what seemed to be a mugging. Sheâd been taken in by her grandfather shortly after when the search for her mother failed to turn up anything, right about as soon as she was about to be deposited into the care of the state.... Even then, the elderly man really hadnât wanted much of anything to do with her, only taking her in for the fact that she shared a bit of his blood and his last name, even if it were hyphened with her motherâs maiden name, and as soon as he deemed her to be an annoyance, he shipped her away in order for her to apparently hone her powers, or whatever. My uncontrollable ability to suddenly wind up twenty feet in the air when Iâm not paying attention.
Gabriel took in a very deep breath, raising her head upward as she shut her eyes, letting the sunâs light wash over her for a moment as she composed herself and her thoughts as best she could. No matter the situation life had left her in, or Fate, or whatever deemed how it was someoneâs life turned out, things were as they were, and there was no changing that. Her mother was missing and her father was deceased, her grandfather was a prideful old man who couldnât deal with the fact that she was born between his son and an otherwise normal woman.... There was no changing that. âItâs not like I have control over whatâs happened and what he thinks of me, the only thing I can do is to make sure that I donât upset him anymore than he already is.â
Heâd done enough, Maxwell had paid someone to forge documents on her, changing all records of her that there were to have her listed as maleâeven going so far as to have her name changed from Gabrielle to Gabriel.... Before theyâd left their home so that she could be left to the care of the Goruden Mansion, heâd even applied some weird sort of âpsychic blockâ to her using his powers so that no one would be able to peep in on her thoughts, whether on purpose or by accident, so far did the block extend that her emotions and feelings would remain her business. Maxwell wanted to everything he could to keep the world from finding out that the last remaining bit of his blood had been born a girl, an illegitimate one at that.
Letting out a sigh, the girl shrugged to herselfâŠand went on her way, heading up toward the train station so that she could finally reach the place which was about to become her new home.
So, she wasnât quite sure how much time had passed or how long it took for the train to actually go between the station to the Mansion considering she managed to doze off on the way there, waking up literally fifteen seconds before the train was due to go back from its stop near the school. Only thanks to the fact that her powers had decided to spontaneously work while sheâd been out, causing her to bump her head on the ceiling of her train car.... She had to rush off the thing so quickly, that she about got stuck in the doors to the car she was vacating as they closed. After a short run from the station, Gabriel finally found herself arriving at the Goruden Mansion. The chat between herself and her grandfather in his limo before sheâd boarded the train had otherwise been left to the back of her mind.
The negative thoughts and sentimentâs left in its wake had all but evacuated her mind, leaving it open and emptyâthough quickly filling to the brim with curiosity. It was busy, there were many people scattered about the grounds it appearedâŠhow many of them were students or were residents, she didnât know. Hauling her suitcase up from the ground with a slight groan, she began her trek forward onto the campus grounds. All around her were people her age, a montage of teenagers whose heritages Gabriel could only imagine.
âI guess...getting to my dorm room would be the best course of action to take first.â She mumbled to herself, stopping in place for a moment. A slight breeze blew through the campus, rousing Gabriel from her thoughts as it caught some of her too short hair. Sighing before shaking her cranium, Gabriel nodded to herself, âYes, dorm first, other things come later.â A placid look upon her face, she adjusted the heavy suitcase in her hand before taking off in a rather hasty walk, walking toward the Mansion. Luckily for her, Gabriel had already gotten over the whole thought pattern of how awkward the living conditions might be for her as the living quarters were co-ed it was possible sheâd be living in the vicinity of both guys and girls around her age, as well as probably sharing a room with a boy. While it would indeed be uncomfortable for her if that were so, it probably wouldnât seem as much for whoever she lived with, as far as said person would know, she would be a he.
Walking through the halls of the building, Gabriel mentally recited her dorm number to herself as she passed by every room that was not hers...when she finally did come across good old number 5, she stopped in place and looked at the door for a moment before actually moving toward it. Turning the doorknob, Gabriel stepped inside what was now her new home, her head down. She wasnât even sure if she had a roommate...Maxwell had only told her, her room number before heâd sent her off, not whether or not sheâd be rooming alone. So, Gabriel wasnât sure what to expect upon taking her first steps into the room.
The room was quietâŠbut it didnât exactly take too long for her to realize that she was indeed not alone. Hand still on the doorknob, and still holding onto her heavy suitcase with her other hand, Gabriel stood in the doorway of the room, drawing her head up with a questioning expression upon her features as her grandfatherâs expectations rang back through her memory to mind herself and her secret. Standing there, in front of one of the beds was whom she presumed to be her roommate. Of course, it was a guy, things always seemed to work out that way. You canât control some things, just roll with it best you can....
After a moment of staring, and of silence as she tried to figure out what to make of her evidential roomie, Gabriel realized that she was probably coming off as rude. WellâŠheâs tall, kinda looks dark.... But then, I look like Iâm a thirteen year old boy, so looks definitely are deceiving. she thought before blinking a few times, shaking her head while cracking something of a nervous smile. Gabriel let go of the doorknob, and raised her hand up in an effort to gesture hi. âUmmm, sorry about the random silence from me, and the staring, Iâm Gabriel Honey-SinclairâŠI guess that Iâm gonna be your roomie for the year.â