Prologue
**5 Years Earlier**
"Mom, I don't get why I have to learn all these fighting techniques and skills, it isn't like I am ever going to use them. I am going to be an artist, the only wars I will be fighting, are colour matching!" I say as I dip and roll out of the way of my mothers strikes, while trying to plan my next move. If I don't get a few good hits in soon, I will have to do laps around town again!
"Arabella, you are only 15, I don't expect you to understand but I do expect you to respect me enough to actually try while you whine" my mother chuckles.
I roll my eyes and groan. She never explains herself, I know she is an assasin but I am not interested in following in her footprints. I appreciate that her job brings in money for us to be able to eat and afford my art supplies, but why does it have to come with a spar session and intense work out?
I drop to the ground and swing my leg out to sweep her feet out from underneath her, but sensing she is about to dodge, I shift my center of gravity and uppercut where she will try to land to avoid me. I land the hit and send her stumbling back but as she falls, she instinctivly grabs my wrist and sends me flying behind her. I swing my body into a back hand spring to catch myself. Ugh, no matter how quickly I switch and try to predict her next move, I am always half a step behind.
"Woah! Now that was a great switch and recovery! This is going to sting for a while! How about we take a small break? I need to go prep some food for my next job and I believe Alaric is at the market today, so if you need new paint than you beter run over now" mom says while rubbing her jaw where I hit her.
I grin and immediately run off, there is no way I am passing up an opportunity to get paint! Alaric always gets the prettiest colours in, he travels to different packs around the kingdom and to the Kingdoms Center City. Last month he had the most amazing metalic blue, it shifted to a purple and green depending on the lighting!
As I get back to the house from our training spot in the woods, I find that the back door slightly ajar. The door never likes to shut properly but I swore I double checked this time! I know not closing it properly means extra training sessons, atleast I beat mom back to the house, she never needs to know! I run upstairs and change into clean clothes and grab my messenger bag. No time to bathe, the markets finishes in an hour. I double check the doors and run down town, excited about what new paints Alaric has brought back this time.
~45 minutes later~
I got an amazing haul! Alaric had gotten an emerald green from Amaldrin, the Kingdoms Central City, a gorgeous seaside blue from Talveth, and a purple from Zorvyn, two of the ocean packs. One day, I hope to fill a gallery in Amaldrin and have cabins in every packs tourist neighbourhood! To be able to explore the kingdom and enjoy to scenery of each packs unique enviroment in my down time!
As I daydream of all the amazing creatures and plants I would come across and would paint, I start to cough. Smoke? I look ahead and see roaring flames rising about the rooftops, it looks like my neighbourhood I think as I begin to jog in that direction. No. It is my house! I breakout into a run, faster than I have before. I may not have my wolf yet but I am a fast runner. A few of the neighbours try to stop me but I put my training to use and I dodge their advances, I am a big girl, seeing my house on fire won't break me. My Mom is an assasin, of course she is ok, she is the one who taught me to not let attachments to material things break me, but why is everyone crying? I keep running until I get to my house... or atleast the plot that used to be my house... there is nothing but black ashes left. I spin around in circles frantically looking for my mom, maybe she came looking for me, I did get distracted by Marilyn's flower cart, but my gut is twisting. What is that smell? Why is this smell worse than most house fires? I run over to bush and throw up.
As I regain myself, my neighbour Natalie comes over to me softly... too softly. Natalie hates my mother and I, she is constantly complaining that we wake up too early. She is the reason we train in the woods now, our grunting and sweating was 'negatively impacting the neighbourhood'.
"Hey Arabella, why don't you come over to my house for a while we get things sorted out for you?" Natalie said gently, as if I was about to break. I just threw up because of how retched that smell is, it isn't that big of a deal.
"Uh... I am fine, I just need to find my mom, she probably went to the market to look for me so I am going to head back..." Natalie looked like she was about to cry, opening and closing her mouth as if struggling to get the words out, to interupt me. What the hell caused this fire for her to act like this? Did her flowers get singed? I look over at her house trying to figure it out as I continue "... there and find her. She probably saw the smoke and fire and is already almost here, so no worries about me."
Natalie closes her eye, composing herself before she says the worst thing she could ever say to me "Arrie sweety, your mom was trapped inside the house. We tried everything we could to get her out, to save her but there was some sort of spell warding us from touching the house, and the fire was quicker than anyone could despell it. Is your father another city or town? Maybe we can write him a letter or the beta can send you there in a carraige!"
"No... no, no, no, I... have no one else..." I collapse to the ground in sobs shaking my head in disbelief. I never knew my father, my grandparents past away when I was little. I didn't care about the house or my belongings, all I need... needed in life is... was my mom... now I am alone and have nothing. This isn't what was supposed to happen. She was an assasin! She can detect the most subtle of attacks, see the abnormalies in what should be... THE DOOR! I covered up the evidence of an thinking I was the one who left it ajar, to avoid extra training... I got my mom killed.
