Astral Odyssey Dying Ember

"You still aren't performing well enough for a member of this family. Is this really your best?"

This was the umpteenth time Luna had heard this sentence in her life, and the fourth time for the day.

Luna shrugged. Even if she said that it was her best, it would not change a thing. So, what did her opinion matter?

"That's it.” The tutor said with a drawn-out sigh. “We'll go through the rest the next time I come."

It was another normal Sunday at home for Luna. Back to back tuitions for different subjects. Now that she was 18 years old, this was something she had long grown used. Her parents believed that she would one day find her talent as long as they kept trying. Once they found her talent, they could hone it without neglecting her other skills. It was exactly what her siblings went through, only that their talents showed themselves from much earlier as compared to her.

Her older brother, Desmond, was smart but his strength laid in his physical abilities. He was well-built and strong, but also agile and flexible. He basically took after their father.

Her younger sister, Erica, was overall intelligent and began excelling in subjects related to business, finance, and economics. She basically took after their mother.

As such, their end goals were to end up where their parents were now working at. Her father was the Sergeant Major of the army and her mother was the finance director of a big company. They did not hold the most powerful positions, but they were still in significant positions of power.

After the tutor left the room, Luna cleared her black study table and put things back where they belonged. She then headed out to the kitchen to join their cook in making dinner. It was yet another way of trying to discover her talent.

On her way down the stairs, she could hear the tutor talking to her parents by the main door. "She's still performing the same as any average person out on the streets. Is it still the same in other areas?"

Luna could already guess that her parents nodded. She knew her own results.

"Perhaps she's the type to do better with less work? You know, work smart, not hard?" Her mother sounded concerned.

"We're already trying that. Any lesser work and you might as well stop calling me over." The tutor said. "I don't mean to sound offensive but perhaps you should really start considering how she may be the dud in your family. She has completely no talent."

"Excuse you. Even if she has no talent at all, she's never a dud. You don't have to return any longer. Perhaps the issue is your expectations of her." Her mother was definitely ticked off.

She heard the door open and close, signaling the departure of the tutor.

"Should we give her a break from everything?"

"We could try. It's all trial and error now, my love."

Luna looked at the mirror installed on the wall near her. Her expression was as flat as ever. She only felt sorry for her parents and for letting them down, nothing else. She understood her parents' purpose of pushing them. Why they wanted her siblings and her to do well and above the others in at least one area of their life. However, she was anything but impressive. Even her looks were mediocre with her thin wispy black hair, grey round eyes, button nose, downward-turned lips, slightly chubby round face, and short stature. Nobody would give a girl like her a glance, not to mention a second glance.

She waited for a while before she went down and walked past the living room to reach the kitchen. She did not want her parents to feel guilty for having her overhear what the tutor had to say about her.

At the dining table, the results of Luna's research, planning, and cooking was laid bare for everyone to see. The food definitely looked appetising enough, but the taste was… Ordinary. Sometimes, it would be the other way around.

Nonetheless, everyone showed joyful and proud expressions, praising her for the effort she had put into the dishes. Luna received it all with a polite smile and asked for critiques and suggestions. Her attitude then earned her even more praises from her parents and admiration from her siblings.

After they were done with the small discussion, their talk carried on to more casual topics. Luna was not much of a conversationalist, so she spent more time listening and staring than taking part in the conversation.

Occasionally, she would see herself and the people around her from another person's point of view. It was during those moments that feelings of being the odd one out of the family were the strongest.

Her entire family was made of attractive people by society's standards.

Her father has rich and bountiful black hair, big grey eyes that carried a sharp gaze, thin lips, strong features, and a well-toned muscular body.

Her mother has long wavy black hair, hazel phoenix eyes, a dainty nose, perfectly bow-shaped lips, a sharp chin, and a tall and slender figure.

Her siblings received the best features of their parents, thus looked equally good. Luna was somehow the only one to inherit the plainer features of their bloodline and only that.

The next morning, the siblings headed out to the driveway in front of their four-level terrace house where their chauffeur was waiting to drive them to school. After everyone hopped in, the chauffeur continued to hold the door open.

"What's wrong?" Erica asked.

"Is Miss Lu-" The chauffeur's voice got stuck in his throat as he caught sight of how Luna was already in the car. "My apologies." He closed the door right after.

Erica could guess what had happened and she looked very displeased.