Masks Of False Immortality

Despite the many negative assumptions due to the first part of the day, Marina was able to concentrate on her projects until late in the evening without being disturbed. Ien's daughter ended up focusing solely on her computer and collapsed on her bed without even changing her clothes. Usually her dreams were filled with nightmares, a sign of the nefarious influence of the occult goddess in collaboration with Tefine, the goddess of sleep, however that night she managed to sleep like a log. Her rest was interrupted the following morning by a sweet voice with fairly high tones.

"Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up," one of her stepsisters called.

Marina slowly opened her eyes to avoid being blinded by the sunlight, in front of her a demigoddess smiled sweetly, "You did it! I thought Tefine had you imprisoned."

Michela wore her fourteen years charmingly, Marina thought. Her green eyes sparkled like hidden gems in a lush forest, conveying a sense of curiosity and liveliness. Her wavy brown hair framed her face gracefully, swaying like the gentle waves of the sea, and gave her a spontaneous look. She wore casual clothing, with classic jeans that hugged her legs and a gray shirt, adorned with a print of the number seven in elegant Roman characters. Blue headphones rested on her collarbones and encircled her neck, a sign that she had been awake for some time. Finally, on the tip of her nose were a pair of steel-framed glasses, which contributed to making her a typical daughter of Ien. It also added a touch of maturity to her young face.

"No nightmares this time, can you close the curtains?"

The girl raised her eyebrows, "Of course!" She replied as she was already heading towards the windows, "Sorry, I didn't mean to blind you."

"Don't worry," said Marina, getting up, "Rather, why did you wake me up?"

Her roommate walked to the bedroom door and slammed it open. In the doorway stood a smiling demigoddess that Marina had come to know very well.

The intense gaze was the thing that most distinguished her. Her brown eyes, as deep as the earth, reflected great determination, revealing her very courageous soul. Her long, straight black hair fell down her back like a cloak, framing her lean face. She was also wearing tight jeans and a dark orange shirt, printed with an eleven in Roman numerals. A leather jacket, with some fake metal spikes, was draped over her shoulders as if it were a cape. Worn by her, more than an item of clothing, it seemed like armor to be proudly displayed. Her face was contorted into a disappointed expression. Having turned sixteen, she had been allowed to attend the Daffodil Academy for a year as an 'overseas' experience. The period had undoubtedly enriched her knowledge, also giving her a broader perspective on the mortal world, however Lilia had not felt very comfortable. The daughter of Torari, goddess of revenge, had immediately requested permission to return to the Lilies Park.

"Come on, I've been gone for two months and you already forget about me?" She teased, brushing away her pitch-colored hair with her hand.

Marina's eyes lit up and the girl quickly ran to hug her friend, "Lily!"

The two demigods held each other and jumped for several minutes. After they broke away, Marina smiled and looked at her friend. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

"The Lilies Park and Lilia Rossini. Lilia Rossini, the Lilies Park. We are two indivisible things." The brunette said, "Listen, let's do this, breakfast-picnic and I'll tell you everything?"

Ien's two daughters nodded.

"Perfect! So hurry up and get dressed Marina, we'll be waiting for you," concluded Lilia.

After giving the demigoddess some time to prepare properly, which in her case consisted only of rinsing her face and putting on the classic clothes of her house, the three friends headed towards the woods. Ien's daughter didn't usually go to the clearing because it reminded her of her old childhood home, but she suppressed those memories and decided to follow the two. Leaving the seventh house, the girls headed in the direction of the beach, whose path ran exactly through the forest. They walked for approximately ten minutes before locating a small hill where they could stop.

Michela took off her headphones and sat down on the floor, "Oh finally! I couldn't walk anymore!" After which she took a small notebook from her pocket to scribble on.

Marina lay down on the grass and calmly closed her eyes, her stepsister took advantage of the moment and began to sketch her face in the notebook.

Lilia spread out a cloth so as not to get dirty and leaned on it, "So Marina... tell me a little."

The blonde opened her eyes again, "What?"

"Mimì told me that yesterday you spent the whole day with a demigod," the girl smiled mischievously, "And not just any one, introduced by Mr. D'Agostini himself."

"I wanted to be discreet for once..." underlined Ien's young daughter before going back to drawing in her notebook.

Marina rolled her eyes, "Look, I was just showing him around, it's not what you think."

"What do you mean...?"

Michela glanced at her "Don't think I didn't see how you looked at him yesterday at the canteen, you also sat at his table."

"Mimì!" Ien's daughter blushed, "Don't get involved too!"

"Okay, this got more interesting," Torari's daughter smiled, "So, whose son is he?"

"Please Lily, Dalia also told me I would make a wonderful sister-in-law!"

The two friends burst out laughing while the blonde simply hid her face behind her hands. That's what she liked about them, when they were together they seemed to be normal teenagers. Marina had purposely ignored the last question. Talking about Shirei was rather strange to her, especially given the role that had been assigned to her by the divine Aena.

"Ok ok, sorry Mari. Lilia, how about we start talking about you instead?" Michela asked, diverting her attention from Cragar's son.

"Right away!" Replied the brunette, "So, the Daffodil Academy is really terrible!"

Marina frowned "What do you mean?"

"They forced me to behave like a 'female', let's say, they prevented me from getting dirty, I couldn't play football, I had to learn to cook and..." she inhaled deeply as if to load a breath of fire, before letting out a simple exclamation: "Gods, that's disgusting!"

"Are there really still people like that?"

"And out of spite I used to do the complete opposite, now I'm obsessed with Formula 1 racing!"

"Usual sexist stereotypes, I hope some deity cuts off their...", Michela looked up at the girls after a few seconds of silence, "Oops, excuse me."

"Don't worry, words escape every now and then," Marina reassured her before looking back at Lilia, "I could imagine what it was like to be relieved from those terrible constraints."

"The most worrying thing is that I was almost getting used to it, oh well, thank goodness I'm back" Lilia noted, dismissing the problem.

"You don't wish for death, but they're certainly not that good people."

Marina decided to get up again, "So they didn't let you fight?"

"Yes, but they were obsessed with grace and prettiness, 'a warrior must be like a deadly butterfly' and other things like that."

"Thank goodness you're back," concluded Ien's two daughters in unison.