The Beginning

*Beep**Beep**Beep*

"Uggghhh. Shut up already!" I cried as I slapped snooze on my alarm.

"Good morning sunshine," Erik laughed. "I made pancakes. Hurry and get your butt up before they get cold!"

I pulled on my fuzzy slippers, trudged out of my room, and flopped into my seat at the small island we had in the middle of the kitchen. Erik set a plate of hot, syrupy pancakes in front of me. I jabbed my fork into one and crammed it in my mouth.

"Hangry much?" Erik chuckled.

"Uh huh. Didn't get much sleep, because of your loud snoring." I tried to grumble around a mouth full of chocolate chip pancakes. Erik just laughed his deep, cheery laugh which always made me smile. He heaped some pancakes on a plate and poured syrup on them, then grabbed a fork and sat down next to me.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

I swallowed and replied, "Not really. I keep hearing that voice. It keeps telling me 'Go to the clearest place you can see, and come to find me'. It's really creepy, and I don't know what it means."

"Maybe we could ask someone if they know?"

"No. We can't tell anyone. If someone else figures out this riddle, and goes to the place it's talking about, and gets hurt or killed, then it's all on me."

"You have a point. Well, we should probably start getting ready. Dawn practice starts in an hour."

We both wolfed down the last of our breakfast, and went to our rooms to get ready. I pulled a black, full body suit out of my wardrobe, and slipped it on. It hugged my curves, and defined the muscles underneath, proof of years of intense training. I braided my long, straight brown hair down my back, and grabbed my scabbard, and strapped it to my back, sliding my twin blades into it, and tightening the straps. I clipped a thin, nearly weightless, black leather belt to my waist, and and put a short sword, and a dagger into one of the belt's various sheaths. The blades, and daggers I took were carefully made by my parents before they were murdered. Both were extremely skilled blacksmiths, and were envied across the world for their skill. No blade was thinner, nor sharper. No handle smoother, or dagger lighter. Each was custom made to fit the needs of every client, hand sharpened, and carved, hand painted and smoothed, always with their emblem of two flying crows hidden within the designs. I had 30 daggers, 10 I got from my parents as a birthday gift when I was little, the rest made here, at the Academy. I only used Mom and Dad's blades on special occasions, and I never forgot to sharpen them after every use, just like my parents taught me. Shaking my head to do away with my thoughts, I stepped into my bathroom. I loved the apartment Erik and I were given. My bedroom was the size of a master, with six cream colored walls instead of the traditional four, had a stunning view of the mountain range, a perfect view of the sun and moon rise, and of the sun and moon setting over the peaks. A large dark oak, four-poster bed, with a transparent white drape across the posts. A matching set of nightstands on either side, and all three went perfectly with my wardrobe, where I kept my clothes and shorter knives. A beautiful portrait of my mother and father hung up on one wall, while the other held a rack carrying my katanas, a place for my twin blades, and throwing stars, my longer swords, and long knives. On either side of the rack was where my bow and quiver of arrows were hung. I had a beautifully crafted fan in the center of my ceiling. My bathroom was huge with a deep inset tub, and a large glass enclosed shower. A wall to wall mirror with a gorgeous quartz countertop running along it. A large, modern sink sat in the center of the counter. I had lots hair products, makeup items, and various other items along the countertop. I selected my Dawn Black Mascara and Eyeliner and applied a deep red lipstick. I walked out of my bedroom, my feet silent, thanks to the padded soles of my suit. The suit, along with the built in padded soles, had armor plates sewn into the fabric around my most vital areas, along with hidden pockets in various sizes for anything I needed to carry along discreetly. As I crept along the wooden floors, I grabbed an apple, and sat down to wait for Erik. He stalked out the door in an outfit twin to mine. Without turning I shot the apple at his head, and he brought his hand up and caught it, faster than should have been humanly possible.

"Getting slower Erik. I nearly got you that time." I said, grinning like a cat.

"Sure you did," Erik chuckled, "Let's get going, we don't want Master Ginsing to get upset at us being late."

The two of us stepped out of our apartment, and into the cool, crisp winter air and started the trek down to the Centre Square where our Dawn Training would begin.