Chapter Two

*Flash back*

Cassandra closed her eyes and tucked back some strands of red hair. She was accepting the silence but actually testing her ears. She could hear the horse make some movements, some birds chirping on trees in the forest, the soft wind that blew her purple dress lightly and she could feel her father walk towards her.

She smirked "You are walking towards me"

"You need to be at peace with the silence, so it can tell you secrets. You can feel the ground, footsteps", his voice , deep. He walked behind her

"So when someone wants to attack you"

He said as he punched towards her, cassandra dodged immediately.

"... You will know. You may open your eyes"

Edgar tossed a sword to the ground "Take this!"

Cassandra frowned seeing it hit the ground

"I want to know how you'd hold it" he chuckled lightly

Cassandra grabbed it with her two hands "It's a bit heavy" she cried

Her father slowly walked behind her. She moved immediately, swinging her sword at him.

He laughed "Calm down daughter, I want to show you something"

She stayed still while he leaned closer to he ears

"The best way to hold a sword is to have your right hand at the top end of the bottom of the grip, closer to the pommel" Edgar said guiding her hands to his instructions "This will allow for much wider range of arm movements with the sword"

Edgar finally let her hands go and he stood in front of her.

"You will also have much firmer hold on the sword by gripping it this way, making it more difficult for your opponent to knock it out of your hand"

She nodded, twirled around and attacked a tree. The sword cutting through it's bark, left a mark on the trunk

"Father, fight me!"

"Hey! Keep your elbows bent and close to your body" he pointed out immediately when he saw she was holding the sword, the wrong way.

Cassandra turned around and corrected herself. Her blue eyes glowed with excitement "I'm ready!" She exclaimed

Edgar brought out his long sky metal sword, having a two edged blade, it was hidden in his dark blue cloak and he used it to hit her right foot gently. "Open up your legs and keep your left foot ahead of your right"

She did as he said. Suddenly the neigh of the horse distracted her.

"Your eyes Cassandra! Look at me! " said Edgar using his two fingers to point at his piercing blue eyes "Your face and body should be focused carefully on me. You should not be distracted in a fight, or else you'd let your guard down. And you know the consequences. Your opponent might strick you down"

She groaned. Her little hands getting weak from the weight of the sword

"For the thousandth time, I'm ready!"

Edgar kept one knee down in front of his daughter. He placed her hands down, removed the sword and held her.

"Why the rush? You'd always have me here and I will practice with you any time you want. Patience, you should have that too so you would become a warrior like me "

*Flash back over*

Cassandra heaved a deep sigh and opened her eyes. She was thinking about her father again. Thinking of everything he told her. He was wrong because, after some months he died and Cassandra never saw him again. Now, cassandra was big enough to be 5 feet 8 inches. She stood in front of the full length mirror in her dark room.

Her red hair was very scattered and she used a wooden comb to straighten her hair gently. When she was done there was not much difference. It has been ten years since she found the book, ten years since she found a voice in her head. Her forest eyes twinkled as she studied herself in the mirror.

Cassandra had become skinny like she was ill. Her red hair was always messy and her dresses not clean.

"Am I beautiful?" She asked the voice in her head.

It came like her conscience, a voice similar to hers "Very!"

Her cherry pink lips curled into a smile

"How beautiful am I?"

"Beautiful enough to be with the Prince"

Cassandra frowned In disgust "The Prince? You know I hate those people! I hope they rot"

She stretched to dropped her hair comb on the bed. Her reflection did not move but it smiled, unknown to her. She walked over to the window, pulling up the patched brown curtains away. Her reflection left the mirror like cool breeze.

Cassandra gazed at the streets of Tiwan . She could feel the cool weather which made her shiver. She stared fully at the houses of the town, all made with red and brown bricks and a wooden roof. The dirty streets were filled with youngsters dancing and playing tag. That was the only thing that made her smile with relief that at least there was a little bit of joy in the city being ruled by a selfish king.

Cassandra dropped the dirty curtain and it responded by releasing dust to her face. She liked the fact that light couldn't penetrate into her room. She spun around dancing, she loved the darkness. Closing her eyes, She started humming her favorite song as she spun.

After some minutes, she began to feel dizzy and so she collapsed on the ground. Laughing at her own carelessness. She grabbed her hair comb and continued brushing her tousled hair.

The door creaked open to reveal a woman about her late 40's, in a shabby cream dress.

"I have prepared your meal" .

Cassandra stopped combing her hair and turned to her mother. she rolled her almond shaped eyes, "What if I don't want to eat"

The woman came closer already perceiving a foul spell emanating from cassandra.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed "You need to get cleaned up"

"Mother , I want to be alone" Cassandra said. Her mother then grabbed her hand aggressively and made her bathe as she screamed in agony.

In the evening. When Cassandra's mother Melissa sat down on rocking chair singing lyrics to her daughter who twirled around every six seconds. It became a routine eversince the bread winner of the family had been killed by the king.

Melissa had been lonely, weak and drained. Cassandra made matters worse, she didn't know why her nineteen year old daughter was acting like a child.

Edgar would have helped to train her well, cassandra only listened to him. She would have turned out a fine loving girl if not for the king that slaughtered her father for a crime he did not commit. After being one of the best loyal warriors, he died a shamefull death.

Melissa tried so hard to hold her tears from dropping from her deep set of eyes, as she sang. Her hair was also red like Cassandra's. Her eyes, almost burried in it's suckets. Melissa had dark lines underneath her eyes which made her look older than her age. She looked like her daughter, but the older version.

Melissa looked at cassandra who just stood there in her blue Cotton dress, staring at her mother.

"Cassandra, what's wrong?" Melissa asked gulping down her fear.

Cassandra's head tilted to her right and she smiled

"You worry too much" she said and continued dancing.

Melissa nodded and kept quiet watching her daughter dance with no song.