Prologue

The pain went shooting over my body, inching through my nerves, causing me to lurch forward. It happened again and again, and eventually I got numb to the feeling, like every time I endured this. The cold floor was made out of stone, and so were the walls that circled around us. There were few people in the room, spectators or healers, and there was also the one behind me with the blade. "She's doing exceptionally well now, no tears this time, and the wounds are closing faster than they usual-" I heard them talking behind me, I just let them drone on and fade into the background, as their conversations weren't important to me, until I felt the blade cut across my shoulder again, a defined red line of blood welling up on my skin, and I could feel the drops of deep crimson heat roll down my back and sink into my tattered shirt as the man said "That's it for today, someone get the miss to her quarters" Someone sighed in relief, running to my side and pulling me onto my feet, and I looked up to see a familiar face "Cadenst..."

Suddenly a drop of water landed on my cheek, waking me up from that surprisingly realistic, but horrid dream. "What?.."  Startled, I realize I'm sitting in the rain on a crowded street, leaning against a wall. "Oh.. Right.." 'I'm not there anymore' I think to myself, pulling my knees to my chest and hugging them, clinging to my own body heat. As I try to ignore my dream, I look around, watching the people walk on the cracked cobblestone streets, holding their coats or wool vests over their heads and running into buildings as the rain pattered on the now drenched streets. Some of them giving me sympathetic looks as they passed, some of them whispering to each other as they walked by, probably talking about me, which I found strangely annoying, because why cant they mind their own business? Or why can't they just talk normally, I don't understand what they could be saying that I couldn't hear, adults are strange like that I suppose, I never understood them.

While I was watching the commoners run around like mice looking for shelter, I heard footsteps approaching me, I tensed and pulled my hood further over my face, tucking my hair back, afraid it would make me recognizable. I looked in the direction of the footsteps and saw ruff black boots paired with a loose pair of black trousers, and I could see a the bottom half of a black sheath trimmed in red. This wasn't exactly what I wanted to see approaching considering who I was, and I moved, preparing for an attack. My and crept over my abdomen to reach the hilt on my hip, but froze when the stranger said something to me. "Hey, what are you doing all alone out here kid?"

Looking up I saw this cracked mask, it was white and surrounded by waves of glossy black hair, leading down to a tan defined jawline, the mask only went to his cheekbones and down his nose, dragging into a pointed beak.

Behind the mask I could just barely make out his silver eyes, staring down at me, a flash of curiosity behind their depths."Who are you?" I hissed, my body twisting away, neck craning to studying him. I could now see that he had a plain grey shirt on under a black cloak that fell to his knees, laced in the front with a rose pendant, securing it around his shoulders.

"Ishido." He offered no other words, waiting for my own. I waited as well, moments of silence hanging over us, as heavy as the rain soaking our clothes. His eyes never left my own, perhaps expecting an answer, that I wouldn't give, not yet.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you miss, I jus-" "Sivandie." I said, interrupting him. "Is that your name?" When I didn't answer he asked, "Do you have anywhere to stay?.." I paused, wondering what purpose he might have in asking, then shook my head, my snow white hair falling from behind my ear, one silvery lock falling over my eye, but he seemed not to notice. "I might have a place for you, of course you'd have to work a little to keep rent.." he kneeled down in front of me offering his rough, calloused hand, the hand of a working man, his black boots grinding the dirt underneath him as he shifted to keep his balance. Looking at him then, I never knew how my life would have changed from just one man, one adult, one stranger, lending me a hand when I needed it, I didn't know what I was getting into when I nodded and accepted his offer, changing the way I saw the world.

avataravatar