Blessed By Shadows [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 1

  Cold and lifeless. That's what she referred to her home town. There's hardly anything lively happening.

  People usually kept to themselves. Children would be kept at home while the adults would went by everyday, bringing food to the table. Not even bothering to converse with others. Which made the streets quiet, safe for the few sounds of footsteps.

  She likes to change that.

  "Thief!" The baker cried as she ran out of his store. She ran out from the open and into one of the dark alleys of the town. Hiding inside a small crack in a wall that her small body had given access to. She waited.

  From the wall, she saw two guards walked pass. Probably looking for her, hearing their soft whispers about 'street rats' and 'undisciplined children'. When the guards had finally walked passed, the girl crawled out of the hole. She got up and began to walk to another direction. Munching happily on the piece of bread she had managed to steal.

   Her clothes are ragged. A thin cloak helps her kept warm, even if it doesn't completely block out the cold. Her pale skin is covered with bruises due to the beatings she'll get when she failed to steal something.

Living in the streets does not bother her anymore. Well, if she's not hungry that is.

  The girl was born in a poor family. Her father had died due to a disease when she was still an infant. Her mother had to work hard for her and herself. Reaching the age of eight, her mother caught the same disease as her father and died not long after.

  After that, the streets became her new home. Not that it was bad. Two years of exploring the many alleyways of the town had made her memorised the routes. She even found some spots she claimed as home. Which includes holes in walls and rooftops. And also many other hiding spots she used to get away from guards.

Wiping bread crumbs off her face, she reached into her haversack and took out a bottle of water. Opening the cap, she gulped down half of the bottle's contents. Seeing it, she sighed warily.

'Looks like I have to take a trip to the river...' She thought, putting it back in her haversack.

  Then, she felt something rubbed against her legs. She jumped and instantly looked down. A black cat is looking at her with his blue eyes. She instantly relaxed.

  She giggled softly. "Hello, Styx. Where have you been all day?" She said picking up the cat. He look at her with a tame face.

  "Do you want to come with me to the river?" The girl asked. The cat mewed which she took as a yes. Lowering him down to the ground, she began to walk. Making her way to the river like she had done daily.

  Styx followed her all the along the way. Sometimes stopping to look at the small cracks that could possibly had mice in it. But he would instantly catch up with his owner if he sees that she's getting too far from his sight.

  When they arrived, the girl filled up her bottle with the water. Also taking the chance to wash her face and hands from the dust that had stick on her.

  The river is not that far away from the town. Taking only about ten minutes of walking to get there. However, that does not mean she enjoyed it what so ever. Mainly because of the thorn bushes and overgrown vines that sometimes caught her skin. It is both painful and annoying.

After looking at her reflection in the river to make sure her face is clean, she turned around to find Styx sitting on the grass patiently. She smiled, looking at him like a proud mother.

The dark haired girl rummage through her haversack. Pulling out a small bag from inside. She poured the bag's contents on the ground. Two small slices of meat fell out.

Seeing it, Styx instantly raced over. Eating it greedily. The girl lifted her hand to comb the cat's head. Suddenly, she saw something shining in the corner of her eye.

She stared back at the river. There was something shining on the river bank. Curiosity filled her as she got up to take a closer look at the item.

Rubbing off the sticking mud on the item, she could now clearly see that the item is a locket. The locket's shell is littered with precious gemstones and the chain is made out of silver. Selling it would get her enough money to last her for years.

The girl picked up the locket. Inspecting it closer. She tried to wear it around her neck. It felt as if it weigh her down a bit but after a while it is barely noticeable. However, she felt a wave of uneasiness while wearing it. It felt as if she had no right to do so. She quickly took it off.

Inspecting the locket again, she opened it up. There she saw a perfectly sketched person inside. The person in the sketch is a young teen from what she could tell. Her hair is shoulder long and there was weird markings on her skin. But the most absurd feature of the person is that she had bat ears.

Shocked, she sat there, thinking about its bewilderment. She almost jump out her hide when something walked to sit next to her. She almost screamed but quickly caught herself when she sees that it was only Styx. The cat just looked curiously at her before proceeding to drink from the river.

'That cat is going to be the death of me' she whispered to herself.

Putting the locket into her haversack, she waited until Styx had finished drinking before making her way back town. The sun halfway from setting. Walking a bit faster knowing that if she were a bit late, the guards would have closed the town's gate. Which means staying a night out in the woods. Which is terrifying.

Luckily, she managed to return just in time. Just before the guard in duty was about to close the gate.

She returned back to her 'home'. Which is basically a crack in the wall. It takes time before she fell asleep in exhaustion from today's events. Sleeping contently with Styx snuggling beside her.

Unaware that someone had followed her from the river.