To Steel

(Chapter One)

Valerie had changed since that day. She had short brown hair that fell over her orange-blue eyes. She had a clear, tan face and long heavy eyelashes. She was dressed in a black, hooded cloak with faded, dark green pants. She kept her head down as she walked to the graveyard. It was midnight, and there were guards everywhere. She quietly ran across the street and slammed back-first into a building, nothing more than a shadow. She slid against the building until she saw the church, two massive guards perched at their stations.

Damn it! she thought. A robbery had happened last week and the priest had been stabbed. Everything had been on high security since then. Valerie observed the area, looking for a way around them. She quickly gave up and followed her instinct. She dashed across the street and around the corner, one of the guards seeing her out of the corner of his eye. She nudged his partner and their armor clattered.

"You see that?" he said in a low, raspy voice. His partner shook his head and they looked in the direction that Valerie had ran past, seeing her running in the distance. They ran after her, their armor clattering noisily away from the heavy oak doors of the church. Valerie came to a tower of another church and ran up to a latter. She looked back to see the two guards chasing after her, gaining distance quickly even with their heavy armor weighing them down. She climbed up the latter quickly as the guards clattered behind her. She reached the top and caught a glimpse of a boy sleeping up against the cross with tattered clothes and a thin quilt. Valerie ignored him and ran to the edge, looking back just as a guard was helping his friend up to the roof. I looked down the sickening drop and looked back as the guards unsheathed their swords. The homeless boy awoke at the sound of a deafening screech that came from the swords as they were slipped from their covers. I backed away and the heel of my foot hung off the edge. The men looked at her intently, creeping closer inch by inch. She took a deep breath and jumped backwards, falling off the edge. The guards ran to the edge and looked over as Valerie landed on the soft, wet ground and began to run as fast as she could without overwhelming herself to transforming.

She ran to the graveyard without slowing, the men chasing after her huffing and puffing behind her. Valerie suddenly disappeared from the guards' sight and they slowed down, bending over and panting like dogs. They finally got themselves together and looked behind each gravestone for her with no luck. There was one gravestone left. They circled it and found no look once again. One of the guards suggested that Valerie had run over the hill and into a farm. They were off searching for something that wasn't there, cursing to themselves that they had been so foolish as to not have thought of it before. After the guards were out of sight, Valerie dropped off of a thirteen foot gravestone.

"Very impressive," said an unknown voice sarcastically. Valerie turned to see a man covered in shadow. The only part of the man you could see was the rim of his hat and the tip of his shoes.

"Oh, it's just you," Valerie said. The man stepped out of the shadows just enough for her to see his eerily glowing green eyes, and a shining white smile.

"What's my next figure?" she asked.

"An archer. Twenty years of age. You know the rest," the man said.

"And the clothes?" she asked. The man tossed her the clothes in a blur and she caught it effortlessly with one hand. Valerie closed her eyes and took on her new figure. Her hair changed a silky black color and grew until it reached her lower back. She opened her eyes, now mixed shades of brown and blue. She pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, removing her cloak and putting on the armor she was given, making it screech and clang against her solid form. Valerie walked up to the man and removed her belt, handing it to him and in return getting a quiver of arrows, a bow, and some throwing knives." Will it do?" she asked the man. He reached out and held her face, turning it from side to side and observing her new features.

"It will," he said. He stared into her eyes." You were always unique with the eyes," he admired. She backed away from his grasp and sighed, fastening her artillery behind her and sliding a dagger in her boot. She looked up to find the man was gone and turned, running back to the town. She skid to a stop suddenly and turned, finding no one there.

"I'll meet you at the diner in the next town," a voice whispered, draping a cloak over her shoulders. She turned to look at him, but he had disappeared. She wasted no time running back to the church, climbing the latter and standing on the edge of the roof, holding the cross to steady herself. The next town was a good five miles away.

"Who are you?" She turned in the blink of an eye to see the boy from before, cradling his thin quilt around himself.

"It doesn't matter," Valerie said plainly." I'm leaving anyway." She walked towards the latter and the boy stood in front of her. She moved to the side and the boy caught her arm with a firm grip.

"Wait," he called. She gasped and pried his hand away from her arm.

"Don't you have a family?" Valerie asked, covering her arm with her cloak.

"No. My father died when I was young and my two sisters were killed by my mother. I don't have any family," he said. At the sound of the boys story, Valerie flinched and swallowed hard.

"Well, I'm sorry about that," she said. She moved to leave again and the boy blocked her way.

"Did I do anything, to your arm?" he asked, lifting up her cloak to look at her arm. She quickly jerked it down." I suggest you move before one of us gets hurt," she said politely. She sighed. She ran to the side and jumped off the ledge, landing gracefully on the cobblestone street with the boy looking after her. She ran into the woods and looked behind her. The boy no longer was looking after her. Maybe he had given up? she thought.

She ran until sundown and decided to make camp. She gathered wood and struck a rock against her blade, a shower of sparks covering the wood and making it glow. She blew on the pile and it set ablaze. She heard a rustle of leaves behind her and breaking branches and turned quickly, retrieving an arrow from behind her and pulling the bowstring back. She slowly made her way towards the sound and she saw a cowering figure in the shadows. She lowered her bow and set it down on the ground.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," Valerie assured to the animal. She reached out and touched the animal gently... but what she touched wasn't fur. It was clothing. She grasped the cloth and pulled the silhouette into the light of the fire." You..."

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Sorry it took so long to update. I've been caught up in my other stories and this one was left on the side. I want to thank you all for waiting and hope you like it. Love you guys! <333