Don't Trust Strange Visitors

A group of 3 friends live a normal life. One day they're met by another who may not be what she seems. Their lives are changed when they realize what the world holds underneath it's peaceful surface.

PROLOGUE…


"Soon..." The seemingly-young woman breathed. Her long, night black hair fell across her face.


"What is soon?" Asked another young woman, intensely coloured eyes looking up at the Queen.


"Soon everything will be in place. We have to take back the power that was once ours. The power of being shape-shifters...it use to be ours. There use to be hundreds of them...Now only two exist. One is in the possession of our own allies, the other is amongst humans. If humans and shape-shifters mix...there will be trouble. We have to reclaim what was ours."


The younger one's eyes grew hard, burning with determination.
"I know. We'll take it back for sure." She assured the Queen.


The Queen nodded faintly, her dark purple eyes glinting in the light of the dying sun.
"See that we do...I will be there."


"I know. The two will go there and gather the information we need."



CHAPTER 1: Don't Trust Strange Visitors


My name is Corah Leisel. I am seventeen years old and I live with my best friends Livia and Jordan in the trading city of Seaminster. We never expected our peaceful, normal lives to be turned right upside-down. Then it did.


It all started in the morning, at 6:52 in the morning on a Saturday. As I lay in bed sketching out a portrait of my best friend Jordan- surprisingly accurate, with auburn hair, green eyes and a slender frame- I heard a bang outside the window, quickly followed by a high-pitched shriek. I dropped the pencil in sunrise, it landed with a clicking sound on the wooden clipboard. I almost flew to my window, staring out and into the now-busy street. My eyes widened at what I saw. She was beautiful. She was TOO beautiful. She couldn't be a normal person... Her hair was bright red, her wide, beautiful eyes a brilliant blue-green colour, fair skin, slender and lithe...she was perfect. She wore a pair of tight-fitting jeans with brilliant diamonds along the sides. Whether they were real or not I couldn't tell. She wore a loose white tank-top and a small silver necklace with a small leaf charm. She was indeed beautiful. She was out in the street, surrounded by civilians. As I watched, a man assault her, lunging forward and grabbing her wrist, roughly yanking her off her feet.


I narrowed my eyes and threw on a long black jacket, rushing outside to meet the attackers. "Hey!" I yelled. "What're you doing? Let go of the poor girl at once."

The man turned towards me.
"Heh. You can't order us around." He laughed as if I'd made a joke.

"Who're you exactly? What's going on here?" I demanded.

"I'm Drevon Vorander and that's none of your business, runt." He snapped.

I crossed my arms.
"My name is not runt. My name is Corah Leisel and I'm a civilian here, so it IS my business!"

The girl glanced at me, shaking her head.
"No...don't try to fight him!" She begged, her voice quiet and smooth. "It's a useless battle." It would seem that she already knew the assaulter.


It was the girl herself who tried to free herself. She gave a sharp elbow to the ribcage and tried to pull away. It would've worked if the space hadn't been closed off by so many people gathering around wondering what was going on. From the annoyed, irritated look in her eyes, I guessed that this was something she'd put up with for a while and had finally gotten use to. Even so, she glared pointedly at the man when she realized she couldn't free herself. I stepped in when he was distracted by another elbow to his ribs, grabbing his collar from behind and yanking him back. In his surprise, his grip loosened and the girl was able to slither out of his grasp. I released the man, Drevon, who was breathing heavily. He glared at me with just a slight trace of nervousness in his gaze, then turned and ran off.


I approached the young girl, crouching at her side.
"Are you alright?" I asked. "What's your name? I'm Corah."

"Tiffany. Tiffany Summerkoyal. I...will be fine. Just...out of breath. Thanks for he-helping me back there..." She said, offering a small smile.

I shook my head.
"No, don't worry."


She brushed back her mop of wavy reddish hair. Something about her was DEFINITELY off and giving me a bad vibe. I didn't understand it, I didn't like it, but for her sake I had to pretend like it wasn't there. She'd so far done nothing to me, she was human, just like me. She would have her faults, just as I had mine. Her only current fault seemed to be that...there was nothing wrong with her. I would be on my guard though. I didn't trust this one.


THE NEXT DAY…


She'd been spotted walking around town recently. Funny. I had never seen her around before, maybe I hadn't noticed her, but it wasn't like she could hide amongst a regular crowd with such bright hair and features. She was one-of-a-kind.


"Corah! Hi!" She called, waving when she saw me in my window.

"Hi Tiffany! How're you?" I asked from where I stood.

She waved for me to come outside.
"I'm doing great!" She added.

I joined her outside a moment later, shivering against the spring's chill.
"Is something up?" I asked.

She shook her head.
"Just wanted to know if...you'd want to be friends one day?"

I hesitated. Would I want to be friends? She was interesting, I'd like to know her better.
"Yes." I agreed. "We should learn a bit about each other. What's your dream job, for one?"

She leaned against a tree.
"Ah, my dream job...I never thought about it really, but what I seem to be fit for at this point...what my heart is calling for...I think I would eventually become a gardener, loving plants and flowers and herbs and all that kind of stuff. What about you?"

I had an answer. I'd had the same answer since I was nine.
"I want to become a swordsman one day...the greatest. I want to do fencing, to fight for my home and my family. I want to feel the thrill of a real battle and to serve the ones I love. I've heard of strange happenings around here, I want to be the person who has to experience them and report them...I'll be a true swordsman one day."


She smiled in a way that was kind of cute. I pushed the thought away when she answered. "Hmmm...you speak with a confidence I've never...I've never heard before." She noticed.

"Is that so?" I asked, buttoning my jacket against the icy wind. "By the way...you're not from around here, are you? I'd not seen you before yesterday."

"I was born in the country, in the village of Skymore. I left a month ago and found a place here. Skymore's a small town with so few people...I wanted to meet more people. To do that, Seaminster was the place, so many people, so much to do..." She sighed happily.

"So...you like it here?" I asked.

"Quite. I've been here for a very short time, but I do love it already." She decided.


I dragged my pale blue gaze away from her and turned it to the sky, where thin white clouds covered the blueness of the sky. Even so, the sun shone through. It would look as if warm, but still the icy wind blew, signifying that it had not been long since winter had departed, giving way to the warmer seasons to come. I sighed in a sudden, welcomed contentment. It had been forever since I'd felt able to relax, yet while I'd mentally relaxed, I noticed that my body was still as tense as always. The way Tiffany's eyes bored straight into my soul, the way she talked so confidently, like she could control everything around her...she has no fear...of anyone or anything. It's terrifying. My mental gears began to spin, trying to unveil whatever it was the girl must've been hiding. Something still wasn't right. I had agreed to become her friend eventually...but it didn't mean I would trust her. Not until I had solid proof that she was worthy of that trust.


LATER…


"Hey, Co- who's that?" My best friend Jordan asked, skidding to a stop, his hair falling across his delicate face.


I turned to see him and a taller girl with blackish brown hair tied back in a ponytail, olive skin and green eyes come running up to us. The girl frowned when she saw Tiffany, seeming almost as if she were worried about something. Was she immediately distrustful of Tiffany, just as I had been? I half hoped she hasn't, it would mean that something's off with me, rather than with Tiffany herself...on the other hand, I hoped the girl HAD picked up on something, for then it would confirm for me that there was something to be suspicious of with my newly supposed 'friend' like I suspected. The black haired girl's sense of intuition had never been wrong to my own knowledge, and I had known her for many years. She'd always been able to identify when there was a problem person. She said nothing, but the look in her pale eyes told me that she could sense something was off.


"Jordan! Livia! This is Tiffany, she's new in town. Tiffany, this is my best friend Jordan Dom and our other childhood friend, Livia Panya." I made the introductions.

Jordan shook her hand.
"N-Nice to meet you!" He exclaimed. He was reserved and not the most outgoing, but he was plenty friendly.

Livia eyed her.
"Hi...yeah...what Jordan said." She agreed.

Tiffany met her eyes.
"You seem…cold." She decided. "Is something the matter?"

I winced. Livia was the most honest person I knew. If prompted, she spoke her mind unless she saw danger. "Yes. I just...I saw you and something went off in my mind. I don't trust you now...don't show me I'm right. For the first time in my life, I hope I'm wrong, because at this point...it seems you'll eventually become one of the gang."

Tiffany folded her hands in her lap.
"Yes...I was hoping it may happen." She confessed. "Don't worry, you have nothing to stress yourself over. I'm safe."

"That makes me all the more suspicious." Livia muttered, then turned towards me. "Do you trust this one?" She asked.

I hesitated, not wanting to say no while Tiffany was there but also not wanting to lie. Livia would be able to tell. "Well...at this point, no...I don't know enough about her to outright say that I trust her, but I also don't know enough to say that I DON'T trust her, but I'm on my guard."

Livia gave a nod.
"That's fair enough." She took my arm. "Come on...we should head inside."

I glanced at Tiffany.
"Well...it was Livia who suggested it. As a friend, you'll be one of the gang soon...so you may as well come alone and get use to us, Tiffany." I invited.


It'll be good to have her in the gang. I can both have a chance to befriend her and also the chance I need for the safety of everyone to study her and watch her movements, prove who and what she really is once and for all and most of all, most importantly, I'll learn if she can be trusted.

Author's Note

Let me know what you think! I've been writing for a while and thought I'd make something public. It's an idea my sis and I toyed around with for a few months, but if people like it, I'm willing to put in the work and time it takes to get this published.