11 CHAPTER 10

The past…

It feels like just yesterday I discovered the arrival of my mark and had tried my best to hide it from my granny and the tribe.

Gazing out the window of the golden carriage speeding down the rather bumpy, dusty road I can't help but wonder why the hell the Keeper decided the best place to train the next generations of hunters and guardians would be in a Kingdom surrounded by the blazing desert.

The heat is extremely unbearable, now pair that with the godawful, full-length pink dress I'd been forced to wear for propriety sake, and you can pretty much imagine the bucket of sweat licking off my body.

Lifting the pale pink hankie in my hand, I tried to wipe off the coat of perspiration now blinding my eyes but realize the thin clothing is completely soaked.

Sighing, I lean my head against the door of the carriage and can't help but miss the chilly weather of the Listo Kingdom where our cities are bordered and protected by icy mountains and constant snowfall.

Though our little island stood close to the edge of the border of the Kingdom, the snow was also a constant in our small village.

Most of all, what I'll miss apart from the weather would be my best friend who's unfortunately back at my village preparing for her coming of age ceremony. A ceremony we should have had together.

Flashback:

"This isn't some kind of prank is it?" Amelia Gerald, my best and an only friend asked sceptically as she stared at me while sitting on the edge of my bed.

I stood in front of her with a knitted scarf around my neck as I tried my best to cover the tattoo covering my neck. "Of course not," I snapped in irritation, glaring down at her. "Why the hell will I prank you, for what…. attention? Unlike you, I don't like to participate in such useless habits and you know it. When I woke up this bloody thing was on my neck!"

Amelia raised her hands in surrender, a hurt frown settling on her face. I know I shouldn't have said that but right now all I can feel is my slow growth into insanity, and hearing that tone of disbelief and scepticism in her voice was not helpful.

I know the only reason why she even participates in such a desperate act is that it gets her noticed by her cold-blooded parents, which only festers her insecurity.

Her parents don't believe anything outside of their jobs as advisors to the Head Chief deserves their attention, even their 20-year-old daughter. While unlike me, I have an overbearing granny who keeps a leash around my neck in her tight grip.

"Fine, sorry for asking." Pulling closer her fur jacket she rose to leave and I let out a tired sigh, grabbing her shoulders to halt her movements.

"Look, Amelia, I'm sorry, please don't go?"

Letting go of her anger easily, she turns to me with a smile and comes to stand behind me. Holding up my hair and tilting my scarf down slightly she stares at the tattoo imprinted on my skin in silence, her face holding a look of surprise as she stared at the irritated skin.

She turns her gaze to me with a questioning look, but I ignored her. It didn't matter that my skin is now red, sore, and possibly irritated thanks to all the hard scrubbing I'd done in my failed attempts to wash it off.

Letting out a groan, I walked over to my bed and fall face down on it. "Granny is so going to lose her shit."

"Maybe we can cover it with some makeup, I mean the tattoo is not so big and it might work."

Sitting upright, I ask hopefully. "You think so?"

"Well, we can't know until we try."

End of flashback:

As you can guess, the makeup didn't work. I only ended up becoming the source of amusement for my granny and the mark provided a great opportunity for Amora San to kick me out of the village.

Saying goodbye had been hard, especially when thoughts of my granny came to mind, but I was happy about one thing in all of this. The village will forever be protected from the shadows and we're so isolated from the mainland's that our little island is often forgotten.

I wouldn't have to worry about Amelia being drafted for the roll of yearly selections of consorts, granny wouldn't get pulled into any regional council nonsense, and everyone will be safe from the plague of shadows because those pathetic creatures hate water.

The sudden rocking of the carriage pulled me from my thoughts and I glanced out the window to see the carriage approaching an arc stone bridge leading into a shimmering barrier, which is just the protective barrier surrounding the legendary market square called Fairway Market.