The Dance of The Marked (On Hold)

• Daggers •

"Calista! Get your ass out of bed!" Audelia shouted as she walked into the cold house. A thump indicated the freshly awoken Calista. A small smirk appeared on her face as she heard that. "Idiot" she murmured under her breath. A petite figure of her younger sister appeared from around the corner. "Oh good you're awake. I'm going into the village to pick up some things, will you be fine here?" Audelia asked. Calista grunted in response, glaring at her for waking her up so early.

The ride to the village was quick. The early morning light filtered through the trees, dappling the road ahead. Audelia doesn't usually go to the village. The pitied looks from people made her uneasy. It wasn't always like this. Before her parents died they would always go into the village. People had loved her parents and while they would talk, Audelia and Calista would play with the other kids. Not anymore though. Shaking the thought from her head she walked into the village.

It may have been early morning yet the streets were full of life. Little children ran around, mothers keeping a watchful eye. As soon as people saw her the empathetic gazes started. She hated this. People pretend that they care about her and that they pity her loss but they couldn't relate to what she had gone through. Audelia kept her gaze forward, not meeting anyones eyes. People were quiet as she walked by, the only noise were the happy screams of the children playing chasey.

A bell dinged as she opened the door. A wave of cool air enveloped her. She breathed in the musty smell before wandering down to the back desk. "Miss Audelia, how nice to see you here. How have you been?" The owner greeted her in a warm voice. "Hello Mr Stallard, I am well thank you. I am here to pick up my package?" Audelia responded back warmly. She may not like people but she had a soft spot for Mr Stallard. "Ahh yes, I have it out the back. Let me go get it." He said with a smile. What she didn't notice was the dark figure that had been following and watching her all morning.

As she looked around the small shop, she felt an uneasy feeling wash over her. Audelia looked up and scanned the shop with her eyes. A shadow quickly moved out of the way. Confused and suspicious, she slowly started to walk over to where the shadow disappeared to. "Miss Audelia, here is your package!" Mr Stallard called coming out of the backroom. Audelia stared at the area for a bit before starting back to the desk. Mr Stallard carefully unwrapped the package, showing five stunning throwing knives.

Audelia gasped as she saw the metal blades glint slightly in the sun. "Wow" she breathed. Completely forgetting about the mysterious shadow she gently picked up one of the knives, turning it over in her hands, feeling the perfectly weighted object. "Thank you," Audelia murmured. With a small smile, she left the store and mounted her horse. The trip home started.