Broken Souls

Chapter 2 ~ Events Of My Past Cnt - Day To Day

Eeeeek! My first comment!!! (Excluding that of my friends using my comments page to talk to each other XD) Anyway Whooooooo!!!! My first REAL comment for my book!!! I want to thank you sooo much, the reason my update has been posted so fast is because of you! So for that I want to dedicate this chapter to that of..... AoiMisuki!!!! Thanks again!!! :D

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{sorry for any grammar mistakes, misspellings etc}

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~Ally's POV~

*Flashback cnt.*

I finally made it to the main doors after traipsing through the pack house and reading through my duties, which were now contained over two lists. After skimming my eyes over both, I deemed the majority of my work to be outside in the courtyard and a few other bits further into the grounds and around the house. I went to push open the large, sold, oak door, but a cold breeze rushed in and I quickly let it close again, instantly pulling my coat around me and grabbing a spare scarf and hat from the stand by the door before slipping my gloves on as I grabbed them from my pocket. My body temperature may run higher than that of a human, but it would never be enough to beat the full force of the winter chill unless I had my fur around me, and well we all know you cannot do gardening when you have paws instead of hands. So with that established I pushed back open the door and braced myself for the cold as I strived to get on with my work.

I moved quickly over the gravel courtyard and made my way to the trees lining the drive. It was my first job to make sure each one was presented to perfection and every stray leaf was swept up. I looked up into the branches above me and took note of the yellowing leaves and those that had already turned to join the colours of autumn. Fall was upon us now, its distinct features being shown everywhere the eye catches. Not to mention the cool breeze that still rattled through the leaves, making my job ever the harder as I knew they would continued to blow down as I worked.

I returned my gaze back to the ground as I pulled myself from my thoughts and started to walk back the way I came, before veering off round the side of the house towards that of the shed which held all the tools I would require. The shed and I had become well known acquaintances over the years; many a time I would leave my father's house to come sit in here. It was almost like a second home in a sense, seeing as I would often spend my afternoons just sitting on the old dust covered couch as I contemplated life, that of my mother's death, my actions and that of my fathers.

But most times it would be spent dreaming of a better life that I wished to strive for, a time when my life would have a sense of purpose and a time when I could live without fear of those around me. It was very much an ideal location to stay when you wanted to be alone and have time to think, little pack mates would willingly venture in to gather tools when they did not have to, and so this reason alone made it a perfect retreat for me and my thoughts, and sometimes even Harietta as she would often join me when we were much smaller and could both fit in at one time.

I pushed on the stiff rusting latch to left, before pulling open the panelled wooden door, tainted with age despite its little use. I was greeted by the unappealing, yet homely scent of gardening tools, small machinery and dust. I took a moment to remember some of my best kept memories that I had in here, yet with it came that of my darker ones in the times where I used to run here for safety, battered and bruised.

I closed my eyes briefly to shut out the images; my life was different now thanks to my mate, my father never did lay another hand on me after he found out who he was. Although he did many a time still threaten me verbally and through rough actions, but never with enough force to be noticeable. But even with that I believed my life to be almost happy in a sense, and defiantly more of the life I had dreamed of. However my thoughts were cut short as a loud crash echoed through the still air, I jumped back in fright only to realise that it was simply a garden tool that had been knocked from its precarious placement on the shelf as the wind blew in. I let out a relieved sigh before picking it up along with a few others and making sure to re-latch the door before walking back to my position on the driveway.

The rest of my day was spent doing just what was listed; the tidying of the drive, the pruning of plants round the house, the replanting of bushes in the courtyard, the re-potting of plants in the gardens, the tidying of the foyer and the list goes on. My only breaks being that of the five minutes between my various activities and that of a twenty minute lunch break followed by a quick snack in the afternoon which was to be classified as my dinner.

By the time I was done it was probably around 8 o'clock and I hadn't seen one glimpse of my mate Tristan all day. From this I knew my father would have purposely been keeping him busy so that he didn't come out here to help me, it was just one of the things I knew my father would do as he still proved to try and control elements of my life. I took a deep breath and cast my gaze to the dimming sky; the sun was technically still out, just considerably lower against the horizon. However the courtyard was still lit with the various light sources we had installed. I had only one job left to do and then a simple task for later, the only two obstacles that stood in my way of an early night, nice comfy bed and the safety of my mate's arms. I scanned my remaining list and stopped on the second to last bullet point; 'to clean the water feature situated in the courtyard.' I truly had saved the worst job for last. I dragged my now slightly sore body back to the shed where I deposited my prior gardening tools and exchanged them for that of cleaning chemicals and a bucket and sponge.

I filled my bucket from the side tap, before adding the thick creamy liquid to the cool water as required to clean off the actual dirt from the feature and give it an overall shine. I carried my bucket with two hands so as not to drop it, and placed it down beside me as I stood and cast my hesitant gaze over the huge marbled water feature in front of me. It wasn't a secret that this pack was one of the wealthier ones around, and just to prove it the alpha had ordered several elaborate displays to be placed throughout his grounds so visitors would see that of his wealth and power. Unfortunately for me though, I was usually the one to have to clean these several lavish offerings.

I sighed yet again, but continued nevertheless as I perched myself on the rim of the feature, before leaning forwards slightly to place my free hand on the centre piece so as to balance myself as I started to scrub away at the pieces closest to me, leading from the main column. I took my time in polishing all the extra carvings featured on it, along with that of the wolves that ran around its base. I had learnt the hard way that if it wasn't up to scratch then I would just have to do it again, and with this being such a big event I knew anything less than perfect would not be tolerated.

After a good two hours I was close to finishing; only having the very central bit left to reach. I had pulled back to admire that of my work, and what I had done was actually looking quite good, if I do say so myself. However as I leant back in to reach the very last bit I felt a firm hand smash into my lower back, making me lose my precarious foothold, along with that of any other grip I had. My body went plummeting towards the ice cold water as laughter filtered its way into my now water logged ears...

*Flashback continues in the next chapter....*