𝕽𝖊𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖘||𝕺𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝕬𝖕𝖕𝖑𝖞𝖋𝖎𝖈||

Prologue

*2008*

7-year-old Amylia Kane sat on the ground in front of her mother. Mrs. Kane was in a high-neck, peach colored dress that fell to the floor. She sat in a rocking chair- next to the chair was a pair of skinny, black boots that Mrs. Kane had taken off. She had taken off her lace gloves to continue her quilt. Amylia was in an ivory colored, high-neck dress with elaborate embroidery around the hem. She, too, had taken off her black buckle shoes. Her gloves lay forgotten on the ground. She was hunched over a drawing of a knight- they had learned about them in school earlier that day. Amylia was feeling quite grown-up and she had the courage to ask her mother a question that had been on her mind for a long time.

"Mother, what is a chaser?"

Mrs. Kane seemed shocked. "Why would such a question cross your mind, dearest?"

"Ivan said he wanted to be a chaser when he grew up. And Miss Halei said that if I didn't do my homework then Chasers would come after me." Miss Halei was Amylia's Year Two teacher. Amylia didn't like Miss Halei.

"Well, for one, a Chaser will not come after you if you don't do your homework. " Mrs. Kane said with slight exasperation- as a well known, well respected family, Amylia's head could not be filled with such lies. Amylia let out a relieved sigh. "And second, a Chaser is a job where you make sure bad people stay off the streets. They catch people who run away, steal, murder, or break any of our laws."

"And why do we have such laws, Mother?" Amylia had looked up from her knight in shining armor- for a first grader, she was a good artist.

"Amylia, don't be silly." Mrs. Kane said, setting her quilt in her lap. "You should never murder, it is against Fate's will. And when you love another woman or another man, you can not have children- it is unnatural, my love, and so is dressing as something you are not." Mrs. Kane gave her daughter a firm look. "Promise me you will never break these laws."

"I promise, Mother." Amylia looked solemn.

"Thank you, my dear. Best put it out of your mind, now."

*2011*

"Amylia, your dress!" Mrs. Kane exclaimed. The dress in question was a cream color and was inlaid with pearls that reflected light. It would've been beautiful and elegant, had it not been covered in mud down the front.

"Sorry, Mother." Amylia said, looking at her feet.

With Amylia's luck, her father decided to come in at that moment. "Amylia, lass, what happened? Did someone push you?"

"No, Father!" Amylia said quickly. "Razia and I were playing on the brick wall with Willa." The brick wall was part of the Kanes' overly large backyard. Willa and Razia were her neighbors, as were three boys Daniel (Willa's older brother), Rafe, and Ivan. "Daniel, Rafe, and Ivan ran off and left us alone so we were walking on the wall like a tightrope and Razia dropped her doll. We couldn't jump down because of the hill on the other side, so we decided to climb under the gate because the top had barbed wire. But Willa and Razia didn't want to get dirty, so I climbed under it to get her doll." Amylia looked proud of herself and didn't notice the glance exchanged between her parents.

"OK, Amylia. Go change." Her father said. She nodded and flew up the stairs to change her dress.

Later that night, after Mrs. Kane had braided Amylia's hair for the night, Mr. Kane walked into the room to kiss her good night, but also to tell her something.

"Amylia, what are the key things of being a lady?" He asked her. Immediately she answered, having it drilled into her head since she could walk.