Chapter 1

A Chapter by Mary

"Mama!" My stubby little feet thump across the hardwood floors as I'm rushing down the empty corridors. The irresistible scent of banana bread dispersed throughout the large house and I knew I had to come down quickly or else I'd never get a taste. "Mama," I call again as I finally make it to the kitchen. Mama is standing over the counter with a steaming baking pan in her protected hands, her blonde hair pulled in a neat ponytail that reaches her mid-back."I want some, Mama!"

Mama isn't surprised to see me. In fact she's already expected me since a plate is set beside her, awaiting me. She smiles sweetly and creases form near her soft brown eyes. "Wash your hands, Casca."

"I already did," I say and spread out my fingers as if that would prove it. She gives me a doubtful eye and I grin.

"Casca..."

"Okay," I sigh and rush over to the sink where Mama wraps her arms around my waist to carry me over the counter as I wash my unclean hands. I finish quickly where I'm left to hang over the counter on my belly. "Mama...help," I croak before I hear her soft giggle and I'm gently carried to the ground. I dry my hands hastily on my blue shorts as I'm presented with a plate of banana bread. I moan in delight at the first bite, walnuts crunching between my teeth. "Delicious," I mumble and her smile gleams a little brighter.

"That's good you like it. Now go tell Daddy and John that they can come grab a slice."

"Okay," I say and rush up the carpeted staircase to my older brother's large room. "John!" I call as I rush through the door. He's on lying on his bed throwing a toy ball against the wall and catching it. He's surprised at my sudden appearance and hesitates, the bouncy ball missing his hands and hits him right in the face. I gasp as he rolls over and falls off the bed. "John, are you oka-"

"Casca! What did I say about coming into my room without knocking?" He rubs at his cheeks and I see the tears glitter around in his angry eyes.

"M-Mama told me to get you. The banana bread is finished..."

His eyebrows furrow together and he jumps to his feet before grabbing the ball from his bed. He draws his arm back and I gasp before running off on quick feet. "Casca!" He shouts menacingly, his heavy feet quick on my tail.

"Daddy!" My voice is shrill as I burst into Daddy's office and run to his desk where he's scribbling on some papers. "Daddy help me!" I hide behind his swivel chair before John comes in, his face flushed with anger or because he's out of breath, I cannot tell. We weren't nobles, but Daddy's works so hard that we're living like them with this large house, fancy furniture, and loads and loads of clothes. We were living the dream of every commoner in Midland.

"John what'd I say about chasing your sister around the house?" Daddy's deep voice sounds disappointed.

"She came into my room without knocking," he shouts frustratedly.

"Casca," Daddy calls me but I don't move or answer. "Casca," he calls again and I drag my feet from behind him. I hesitatingly glance up in his eyes and don't expect the kindness and humor that's gleaming in them. He tucks his hands underneath my arms and brings me to his knee. "What did we say about knocking, honey?"

"I should always knock before entering someone else's room..." I mumble.

"That's right," he says and places a light kiss on my cheek.

"But Daddy," I say as I turn around in his lap to face him. "Mama told me to get you and John because she finished the banana bread!"

His eyes widen and he places me down and stands up, "why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go grab some!" He rushes out of the room, pulling John and me with him and I giggle as we rush downstairs. "Sorry to interrupt, but a little birdy informed us that some banana bread was awaiting us?"

Mama smiles, "what a smart bird that is," she meets my eyes for a second to wink. "Would you like some too John?" I peek out from behind Daddy for just a second to watch the two of them. John has Mama's fine blonde hair and fair white skin.Compared to me, John and Mama don't even look like they could be my cousins.

"Yeah!" He says and rushes towards Mama to receive his plate. I cast my jealous eyes away to glance down at my much darker palms. It wasn't the type of color that was loved by the sun a little too much, it was deeper than that. This color ran through my blood, just like Daddy. We shared the same black coarse hair and tinted skin. And I don't mean to sound bold, but I'm pretty sure he favored me over John because of that.

"Casca, come," Daddy calls me over to him and I don't hesitate before climbing into his open lap. He cradles my small body to his large chest with one arm while he uses the other to eat. "Tell me Casca, what do you want to do in the future?"

I've never thought about my future but considering that I'm only 8 years old, I'm not to blame. "I want to be like you Daddy."

He chuckles and I smile. I love making him laugh. "And what's Daddy like?"

I purse my lips in thought, "strong but kind. And I want to make a lot of money like you do!"

"How about you John?" Daddy asks as John takes a seat on the floor near us.

"Me? I'm going to be a mercenary!" John declares confidently.

I furrow my eyebrows, "that's bad! Why would you want to hurt other people?"

He rolls his eyes, "you wouldn't understand, you're a girl." Before I can come up with some non-witty response, Daddy speaks instead.

"Why not be a knight for the King of Midland? You can easily do it considering our status."

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life obliged to obey one helpless man. I don't belong to anyone other than myself."

I shiver at John's bold words. If he had said this anywhere where others could hear, he would be arrested and executed for denying the King. This is no exaggeration. It's happened before.

John and Daddy kept talking for a few more minutes before Mama called me to the kitchen. I was thankful to leave. I hated it when the two of them talked that way; the thought of John wielding a sword and taking the life of another man make me squeamish. Maybe he was right and it was only a boy thing...

"Yes Mama?" I ask as she packs something.

"Take this to Gambino next door." I take the container from her hands and nod.

I slip out the front door and tread over to the much smaller house beside ours. I give quick but light knocks on the door. It's dead silent on the other side of the door and just as I'm contemplating leaving the container at the front door, I hear heavy breathing coming from the inside. "Hello?" I call out.

"Go away," the shaky voice of a boy my own age answers me.

I know him, in fact, everyone in Midland knows him. He is the boy born from his mother's dead body and somehow survived. He's cursed, the child of the devil himself. Shisu, Gambino's wife, found him and took him in as her own. It's no surprise that she died only a few years ago of a plague that no doctor has ever seen. Then, right after, Gambino lost his leg in a war and will never be able to fight, or even walk, again.

"My mom sent me," I say shakily. I wanted to leave as much as he wanted me to, but I couldn't. Not until I finish what I was told to.

"Why?"

"She made banana bread for Gambino." There's no answer for a few solid minutes. "Hello?"

The lock on the door clicks open, and slowly, the door swings open. The faint light coming from inside his house makes his small figure look like a living shadow against the darkness of the night. He says nothing as he takes the box from my hands, his fingers brushing over my hands. I jerk away from his touch but before I can apologize the door swings back shut. I tread back home with silent thoughts. As soon as I step into the front door, I glance at my hands and gasp in complete horror. Red fingerprints are smudged over my brown skin. I try wiping away at it but it just smudges more and I race to the bathroom.

"Casca?" Mama calls me as I run, feeling as if I'm possessed by some demon. The water running down my hands is tinted orange and I don't stop scrubbing until my hands ache. I don't know what that was on my hands or why his hands were soaked in it, but frankly I'd prefer to stay ignorant.

"Casca." Mama stands in the doorway with a questioning look. "Everything okay? Did you do what I had asked?"

I nod with a shiver, "y-yes. Gambino didn't get the door, the boy did, so I gave it to him."

"That's fine," Mama says. "It's late so wash up and get ready to bed. I'll be there to tuck you in."

"Okay," I mutter and she leaves without another word. I glance towards my spotless hands but they still feel dirty. Maybe I should've told Mama about it... I shake the thoughts from my mind and climb upstairs to my bedroom.

After changing into my nightgown, I climb into my comfy bed and close my eyes, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep.
----

"Casca! Casca!"

I open my weary eyes with a groan. "Mama?" Mama's brown eyes are alert and I'm jolted upright. "Mama what's wrong?"

"Casca," she ushers me out of bed hastily, "I need you to go out to the stables and take a horse as far away from here as you can."

"A horse?" I grumble, confused and most of all tired. "What's going on, Mama? I want to sleep."

"No, honey," she whispers and sits me down to dress my feet in my riding boots. "You need to go."

"Go where?"

"Anywhere but here, Casca. Now you need to hurry."

"What about John and Daddy?" I see it then, the hesitation in Mama's eyes held all the sorrow in the world before it quickly disappeared.

"We'll all meet with you later. But now, you need to go."

I was too tired to understand anything and so I just nodded my head. As I was shrugging on my thin sweater the sound of something breaking against the hardwood floors downstairs makes me jump. And I guess it wasn't just me because devastation takes over Mama's features and it's the first time I have ever seen her so scared.

"Casca, now! You'll have to climb through the window!" She's not whispering anymore and practically carries me to the window.

"Mama, I'm scared..." I say shakily as I swing one foot out the window. She grabs my small satchel and slips it over my head.

"I know you are," she says with a quick kiss to my forehead. "Be strong."

I nod and don't say anything else, giving all my focus to my footing. It's pitch black outside, the fullness of the moon my only source of light. Somehow, I make it to the grassy ground in a matter of minutes and race to the stables. As if expecting me, my horse is wide awake and awaiting me. She was as black as the night, perfect for someone like me. So much that I had named her after myself.

"Come on, Casca," I lead her out of the stables silently. In fact, it's odd how silent the night is today. Help... maybe I should scream for help... "Casca, stay here." I rush on feet as light as feathers to my neighbors. I knock in a haste manner and at almost the top of my lungs I shout, "hello? Help us! Help!"

The longest moments seem to pass without a sound and I feel my stomach drop. Where's Gambino? I rush back to my house where Casca is still waiting for me and I swing my feet to the saddle to mount her. In the blur of a second, I'm knocked down and out of breath. I gasp in surprise as the cold muddy earth soaks through my sweater and drenches my gown. I don't know what happened but as I try to sit up again, I'm shoved back down.

"There you are," a man's voice hisses above my head. My eyes wildly search the empty blackness around me but I can't make out anything. "You little brat, how'd you make it out here?"

"Get off me!" I scream and thrash my arms against his grip but he doesn't budge. In a flash, his palm muffles the rest of my screams.

"I swear you say one more word and I will kill your entire family and force you to watch."

I stop struggling and freeze, my muscles becoming limp and weak. Assassins have come to kill me and my family? Why? Tears prick my eyes.

"Perfect," he hisses with a smirk. "But I do have to apologize. I'm still going to have to take your life." I gasp as a long glittering sword is unsheathed and is aimed directly towards my neck. The moonlight glints against the metal and a calmness sets over me, accepting defeat. A moment too long goes by and I open my eyes to see two white eyes staring right back into mine with fascination. "Wait a minute," he says and I can finally make out the shape of his figure against the dark sky. His teeth glitter in a mischievous grin, "you're a girl?"

My heart stutters in my chest and my eyes slowly widen in realization. "No!" I try to shout but his palm over my mouth makes it impossible for anything but a muffle to be heard.

"It's like I can already taste all the riches I'd buy after selling you," he pauses to grin. "You'd be a w***e, of course." With one hand he begins to fumble with his clothes, the sound of armor trying to be loosened is all I can hear. "You don't think they'll mind if I tested you out first, do you?"

I gasp and feel my heart climb up my throat. I need to break out of his grip. With all my might, I kick and thrash my pinned down arms. A sudden ache blooms in my pulsing fist and I realize I hit him.

"You b***h!" He hisses and I manage to scramble a few inches away.

I glance towards Casca who's standing idly, awaiting me. "Casca..." I call for her just as I'm about to give up all hope of surviving this. Suddenly, like lightning piercing through the dark sky, a glinting knife lands a few inches deep in the wet mud beside my outstretched hand. I stare at it in complete shock, the hilt only centimeters from my grip.

"Where do you think you're going?" The assassin speaks from behind me and with the fluttering fear in my chest, I grab the knife and blindly swing my arm back. The unforgettable sound of the knife burying itself in his flesh is haunting and I hear him choke on his own blood for a few minutes before his struggles cease.

"You..."

I jump and turn around, the shadow of a boy on a large horse is all I can make out. "P-Please... Don't kill me."

"The assassins are still inside your house. Get on your horse and escape while you can." He pulls the reins on his horse and prepares to desert me.

"Wait! What about my family?"

He hesitates, "they're already gone."

My heart beats like a drum without a rhythm, not able to cope with this sudden information. "Were you the one who gave me the knife?"

"They're coming." Is the last thing he mutters before galloping away. On cue, I hear rustling coming from inside my house and with a throbbing ache in my chest, I hurry to my horse and kick my heels against her sides. She cries in surprise for only a moment before obeying my command and goes rushing down the muddy path and into the darkness.

For the first time in my life I've been left to wander the earth and battle all its evils with nothing but myself, Casca, and the bloody knife jostling in my satchel awaiting it's next kill.