Secrets

Prologue

Prologue

She is a 14 year old pale skinned, black haired, blue eyed girl. She has scars she is not afraid of showing. Her secrets are closely guarded and jealously protected.

Of course she has secrets. Everybody does.

Jacqueline Azzará, orphaned at the age of seven, is a Fighter. Part of the great community of the Fighters established by Lord Hemmingway in 142 BC, Jackie was trained from her childhood to honour the traditions and secrets of this tightly knit group.

Her mentor, Kyle is the youngest Live to have become a Mentor. A record she plans on breaking.

She has fought many battles, has won most of them, and defeat is something which she has not tasted often. Kyle, a Live of twenty five years, is considered to be the most prominent warriors on both sides of the Border.

Their community of Fighters is the biggest guild, consisting of one academy and huge sprawling towns and cities under their protection. The Academy was huge and has separate towers for each Skill. Living quarters are merged.

She has no friends. She has no family. She trusts no one.

Her life, up till now, was one big lie. Pretending, untruths, white lies and secrets.

It hurt being able to trust no one. But ever since her parents gruesome murder and the traitor; her life had been one big fake smile after another. Eventually, she had given up.

Now, Jackie had no one's expectations to live up to save hers - and her expectations for herself were high.

She wished to become the First Female Mentor. Several other females had tried, yet none had succeeded.

It was whispered that this was because the Council refused to even consider women. To them, females were weaklings who deserved only to sit at home and gossip; for which they should be grateful.

As old as the Fighters were, their old-fashioned traditions and ideals were older still. Reportedly, they came from The First - the first Lives ever on this world.

In this world, Knave is the lowest position of fighting, Fighter being next, then Mentor and the most powerful of all - Master.

Jackie had been a Knave for two years, running around for her Mentor then until the incident. On a whim, she had left The Academy, her only home, to go to the Woods. Unknowingly, she had passed the Border.

Attacked by monsters of the night, she had fled, taking refuge in a house. She had survived the night. Returning the next morning, she was greeted with surprised Mentors who were not expecting her to survive.

She had proved her strength. She had become a Fighter and was assigned to Mentor Kyle.

There were only five other girls in her year, and all of them were older than her. You would think that since all of them were Fighters, they would have something in common. Nope, nada.

She was shunned by them until she realised she didn't care anymore. One day, their taunting pushed her over the edge, and she snapped. She punched one in the face and took down another, before reinforcements came and managed to hold her down.

She was in Detention and under suspension. Her behaviour would be scrutinised, her every move calculated and weighed, her every thought broken down.

Kyle had been disappointed in her, but had stood firm. Jackie was the perfect Fighter, save for her hot-temper and lack of socialising.

So here she was, waiting for her verdict. In the Dungeons. The Seven Council Members glanced at each other.

What? She internally screamed. What are you not telling me?

Externally, she kept her composure, her face impassive. For the world, she was a statue, and she refused to care about their opinions. The Verdict would be of no consequence. Her life would remain the same.

But it wouldn't...

Everything would change. And she didn't think she could handle that all over again.