Chapter 2

NOT FINISHED

Leona walked slowly through the freezing rain, delirious as she crept along an icy path. Her black dress billowed behind her as she walked, and she was a true picture of loss. Her tears fell lightly to the ground before her, and her tired eyes showed her torture. "I was up all night trying to find the right spell." She told Ishmee under her breath. "I'm so glad Grandma left me that book of spells. I'd never have figured this one out on my own." Ishmee only acknowledged her by rubbing his soaked body against her cheek. She knew he was feeling her pain. Their hearts were linked, and they shared everything. "I just wish that I didn't need it in the first place." She trailed off as she climbed a slippery hill.

            Whenever she reach the top, she gasped at what she saw. There were so many people, all staring up at her as she walked along the center of them all. "My father had many friends." She said staring at a group of women all huddled together crying. "Who knows how many secrets he had." Her bitterness shown through clearly.

            As the preacher read from his little book and the tears continued to dribble down thousands of cold cheeks Leona's eyes picked through the crowd. Many different people were among them. Young and old, rich and poor, skinny and fat, beautiful and ugly. There were so many. Her gaze rested upon one man in particular. His cloak was a dark gray, rather than the solid black that the others wore. His hair had been tied back, so that you couldn't see the color, and a hood was pulled over past his forehead, so that his eyes were completely consumed by darkness. She didn't know why, but her heart sped at the sight of him, as though she were afraid or nervous.

            He seemed to steal her complete attention and, within a few minutes, she found herself walking forward to greet him. It was like he was a magnet, pulling her toward him. Step after step she slowly walked accross the cold grass. She saw a smile glint from beneath. It was a very beautiful smile, and it almost made her stop short, just to marvel at it.

            She was only three feet away now, and her heart continued to race as though it were fighting to live. She opened her mouth to say hello whenever his smile turned to a snarl and he gritted his teeth, taking away the smile that had just captivated her so deeply. His gaze looked up, staring past her, fury in what could be seen of his face.

            She became confused, before a strong hand grabbed her arm from behind. Startled, she jerked back and turned away from the man in the gray cloak. Before her was a man who stood out among everyone there, and she was absolutely sure that he hadn't been there when she skimmed the crowd earlier.

            He was clothed in colors symbolizing purity, though she doubted he was pure at all. Even his armor and cloak was solid white and bright silver, not a color out of place. He carried a large sword on his side, and the scars that wer visible along his body prooved that he had used that sword many times before, and he had won each time. She wondered how many lives that the blade before her had taken since it was hilted.

Author's Note

NOT FINISHED