Chapter 4: The Dark Master ***Alicia's P.O.V.*** When people are nervous, they say that they have butterflies in their stomachs. But as I walked through the forest, caught up in my thoughts, I swear, I felt the whole goddamn zoo. Now, there was a possibility that I wouldn't have to be Dark. I could be Light. It was the first proper choice I have ever had to take - my fate might be inevitable, but couldn't I make it worth it? Maybe I could actually do something to help somebody, maybe for the 236 days left until I turn 16 I could make a difference - make my own choices, decisions, just for me, no one else. Reaching the clearing, I saw that Jamie had already arrived. He was sitting on the forest floor, back propped up against a tree. "Hey," he said, smiling broadly,"You ready for your first lesson?" "I don't think I ever will be, so now's as good a time as any other," I said nervously. He laughed,"Well, let's get started then." He stood up and approached me, movements both elegant and deadly - just like a panther. What's he doing? He splayed his fingers, and a wave of almost clear blue energy raced towards me. Before I knew what I was doing, my dark red shield automatically appeared to protect me. He's testing me, I thought, well, if this is how it's going to be... You're up for a challenge. Concentrating, I reached deep down my body for my power. Shaping the power, I threw it at Jamie, but his shield protected him. Suddenly, my vision blurred - but not like I was going to faint or anything. It was the strangest experience. It was like I had left my body, but I was still aware of it, and I could feel myself drifting through the air but I could still feel my body. I looked over at Jamie, and I could see an orb of power inside him. It was beautiful, all blues and silvers - the colours of the Light. Instinctively, I reached out to touch it, and then I could feel his body too. I could hear his every thought, feel his every movement. I reached deep down into his power and then, I don't know what I was doing, I just drained some of it, transferring it to my own. I could feel his body go rigid, he wasn't sure what was happening. And then I withdrew. "What was that?" Jamie stared at me with wide eyes, but I could see that he was tired, leaning against the tree for support. "I... I don't know," I stuttered, uncertain."It felt a bit like, I'm not really sure how to describe this, but it felt like I had two bodies at once and I was taking some of the energy into my own." "Have you ever done anything like that before?" He asked, after some thought. "I don't think so, no. Well, apart from the typical Dark stuff." "What d'you mean,'typical Dark stuff'?" There was a curious look on his face. "Y'know, taking physical energy and storing it as magical energy," I said. He sucked in a breath,"the only one we know of in the Dark who is able to do that, that's the Dark master. And, also, from what we've heard, he has to teach it in person." "Yeah... But what's so important about that?" I asked, a bit confused. "That means you know where the most evil man in the world resides. The man that has killed thousands of innocent people. And you know where he is," he let out a short laugh, but it wasn't at anything funny. He continued, a sly smile on his face, "Just tell me where he is. I'll let the rest of the Light know and we'll find him, and... Well, let's just say it won't be very pleasant." I couldn't help it, I blurted, "No!" "What d'you mean, 'no'?" I didn't want to say it, but even though I knew the Dark master had done terrible things, I didn't want him to be killed. He had practically raised me, harshly, I know, but still. It is hard to hate the person who raised you, or at least, was the most steady thing in my childhood of many different trainers coming and going, the nameless people that taught me to become who I am. "I just... Just can't," I explained lamely, "I've known him since the Dark came for me. I know he's done bad things, but... I haven't known anybody except him for more than a few weeks. Well, since I was captured. I've never known any of my trainers names, never known their backgrounds, never known anything about them," I finished stronger than before. "Do you know how many deaths he's responsible for? How many families ruined because of him?" Jamie sounded a bit angry, but mostly exasperated. "Yeah. Actually, yeah, I do. My sister. Both my parents. He killed my mum and my dad, and my sister was so scared of being caught that she committed suicide. I'm the only one left out of my family." I could feel the tears coming on, but I blinked them back. I couldn't cry in front of Jamie. I couldn't. He saw my eyes glistening though, and came closer, wrapping his strong arms around me. He didn't say anything, just held me. I started crying then, tears pouring out of my eyes, wetting Jamie's clean school shirt. He didn't tell me it was okay like most people would, because I knew it wasn't. Nothing has ever been 'okay' for me, so I hated when people said it was, when they said things were going to get better. It was like he had experienced death before. I wondered, if he had, who was it that he lost? We stayed like that for a while, even when I eventually stopped crying and my body stopped shaking. I hadn't cried like that in years, never lost control of myself like that, but it felt good to have someone hold me in their arms, someone who cared enough about me to do that. ***Jamie's P.O.V.*** I couldn't help but stare at her for a minute. She was so intelligent, and such a good fighter, and seeing her like that, unable to stop crying, her body collapsed into mine, relying on me for support, was so strange. I could feel her tears soak through my shirt, and I thought about how hard her #life was, how horrible it must have been to not truly know anyone, and to be trained to do something she never wanted to do, but to know that her fate was inevitable. It paled even in comparison to my upbringing. My mother was very young when she had me - only 16. My father was younger than her, and the day after his 16th birthday, the Dark master came. Nobody could stop him - he was exceptionally gifted when he was training with the Light, but after he turned Dark his power tripled, and he became the most powerful person in the world. He killed my parents with magic that was unique to only him - draining magic. People always told me it was quick, that there was no pain. Their bodies were never found, but neighbours had heard signs of a struggle. I can't remember my parents, but I wish that they had raised me: instead the Light community brought me up, and I was treated a bit like a pet - young, helpless and ignorant. Nevertheless, I was trained well, and for years all I concentrated on was my skills. I had no friends to spend time with, and no parents to do work for, so I just trained and trained as hard as hell. I split my knuckles, broke ribs and limbs countless times, but it was worth it. I am the youngest Light to be trusted with the task of finding her - Alicia - even though I've only been a full member of the Light for the past month or so. Thinking back to Alicia's protest to killing the Dark master, I tried to see it from her point her view. In a way, I understood - he was the most steady thing I'm her #life, and evil or not, he had been there since the start. He was her father in a way, albeit a cruel, abusive father. When we eventually pulled apart, we stood there for a minute, staring at each other. I could see the stains her tears left on her cheeks, the mascara smudged under her eyes, reddened from crying. I could see all her flaws, but I could also see her beauty. The shape of her large eyes complimented her defined cheekbones and their colour - a brown so warm it was almost topaz - stood out against her ivory skin and hair as dark as the night. A blush crept up her cheeks, and she stepped away. "Sorry, I just... I haven't cried in so long, I guess I just... Let it all lose." ***Alicia's P.O.V.*** Jamie still stood there, a faint smile on his face. "Anytime," he said. He reached across the distance between us and laced his fingers through mine. I felt a pulse of electricity run through my body at his touch. He pulled me close again, and whispered into my hair,"I'm always here for you, never forget that." He wrapped his arm around my waist and took his face out of my hair to look at me. We were so close, our noses almost touching. And then he kissed me. It was the faintest whisper of a kiss, but something about the tentativeness of it made me feel beautiful, and protected. I felt warmth spread through my body, and I smiled through the kiss. He pulled away, but he still kept his arms wrapped around me. "You're beautiful, you know that?" He smiled, and I really did feel beautiful when he said that. Then he pressed his lips to mine for a second time and it felt like it was just us in the forest. I forgot about all my problems, all the horrible things that had happened. Because I was soaring. I was flying, high up in the clouds. And even when we broke apart, breathless, my heart remained up there, flying and dancing in the stars. He took my hand again, and we walked to the edge of the forest, stopping frequently just to share a kiss. When we reached the path out of the woods, we turned to face each other again. "Tomorrow... I was wondering, maybe you'd like to see the Light? We could sneak you in, even just for a few hours. I want to give you something." "Sure," I said and hugged him, pressing myself against his chest. I could feel hard muscles under his shirt. "Hey," he said gently, pulling down the collar of my blouse, revealing a small tattoo of three birds in flight on my collarbone,"what's that?" "They're birds," I said,"one for each member of my family." "I've got one too," he said, "on my back." "Can I see?" I asked. "Are you asking me to strip?" His old smirk was back. I blushed, "No, no, I honestly was just curious." He unbuttoned his shirt and turned with his back to me. There, on his shoulder blade, was the symbol of the light - a flame. I reached out and traced my fingers along it. He turned and tilted my chin up towards him. "As much, as I'd like to stay here with you all day, I had better go, otherwise the Light will begin to suspect something." "Well, I'll see you tomorrow? Outside the school gates during lunch?" "Earlier," he said,"Before school starts." "Okay, but whatever you're going to show me had better be worth it." He kissed my forehead. "I promise, it will." "Well, see you then, I guess." He hugged me tight, and pressed his lips to mine,"Okay, tomorrow." We broke apart, and I turned to the road that led to the mansion. "Bye," I said, and walked home slowly, remembering all the moments we had shared in that hour.

Chapter 3: My Power When I got back to the Dark mansion I stopped to catch my breath. I didn't think Jamie suspected me of anything - other than being an unusually gifted fighter, I'm pretty sure I passed as an ordinary girl. Looking up at the mansion, I wondered how many people were in the Dark and - I thought with a shudder - how many had been killed by Jamie. How many lives had been ended because of him? I knew that I was going to be the death of several billion people, but... that was never my choice. Jamie had killed a man - and he didn't even look upset about it. I had always thought that the Light were good... But after what I had just seen - maybe not. I knew, of course, that I should have reported everything I had found to the Dark master, but he would probably have taken me out of the school and moved me to a safer location if he knew that the Light were looking for me - and looking pretty hard, I guessed, because Jamie had hinted that it was the entire organisation on the hunt for me, not just himself. Also, Jamie would probably suspect something if I had only attended the new school for a day. Weighing the odds, I decided it was better to bite my tongue for the moment, but tell if anything else happened. Entering through the main door of the mansion, I saw the same hooded figure I had talked to this morning - the Dark master. He didn't seem to be waiting for me, so I ran up the stairs as silently as I could, trying not to disturb him. First, I went to the weapons room and unbuckled the sheaths on the outside of my thighs and the ones that had been covered by my elbow length, fingerless leather gloves. Then, I took the throwing knives out of the leather sheaths that were sewn into the skirt. Last of all, I took the gun out. I hung the weapons up on the wall and left the room, heading towards my own. I sat down on the bed and thought about my day. It had gone well, I suppose, but all I wanted to do was return to my real self, free of the goth facade. One by one, I removed my chains and my chokers, took down my hair and washed the makeup off my face. I removed my blouse first and then my skirt. I stood in front of the mirror, in just my underwear. I could see the scars that lined my body - white, pink and red stripes decorating my legs, my arms, my waist. If anyone saw me now - I looked so helpless. The clothes, the attitude - they hid the thin figure, the ladder of ribs and the protruding hip bones of the girl in the mirror. Turning away from the stranger that was reflected to me, I walked to my bathroom and took a shower, slowly washing the staleness away. Standing under the hot water, I thought about the mirror. Maybe that was who I truly was, underneath the makeup and the attitude. A small, helpless girl who didn't have a clue what she was doing. Scared, frightened of the terrible things she had seen in her #life, of what she was capable of doing. I found myself thinking about Jamie again - he was the complete opposite. He wasn't appalled at what he had done, and he seemed happy enough - not that I could judge, , after all, I had only known him for a day. But there was a certain confidence with the way he walked, like wasn't scared of anything in the world, like there was nothing he couldn't face. I realised I was jealous - I wished I could be like that, wished I could have that confidence - for real, not just thrown up as a shield to keep others away. I wish my attitude was real - that I wasn't so helpless. Even though I was black belt in over 10 different martial art forms, at heart I was a slight girl with Dark magic and a horrible fate. ******************************************************************************************** The next morning, after I had done my first training session of the day and gotten changed into an outfit the same style as yesterday's, I headed out the door to the school. When I got there, I tried to avoid Jamie. I didn't want to see him, not after what he'd done. I took as long as I could to get to my first class without being late - I didn't want to wait outside the door and risk him talking me. However, when classes started, I discovered that were hadn't been much point in avoiding him - because he hadn't turned up for school. I breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to concentrate on my work. Throughout the day, I found that I just could not pay attention to the teachers. I kept thinking that he, meaning Jamie, would just appear from around the corner. Eventually, I just ditched my last few classes, desperately hoping that the teachers wouldn't notice my absence - it wasn't as if they had paid much attention to me yesterday - I had always been the type of person who blended into the background. When I had left the school grounds, I walked up the steep path that led to the forest. Seeing a fallen tree, I covered part of the trunk with my jacket and sat down, placing my head in my hands. Jesus, I just couldn't do it any more. I was sick of being told exactly what I was going to do, tired of having to train every morning for something I didn't want to do. I felt rage bubble up inside of me like an inferno, rage at having no choice, rage at my mother and my sister for leaving me to fight this on my own. I felt the magic I had never used before at my fingertips and, not realising what I was doing, I threw the power at the tree in front of me. It formed as a trail of shadows - deadly sharp shadows. They cut through the trunk like it was butter, softer even. Like it was water. The tree started to topple, but I didn't move. I let my instincts take over, and a shield of red appeared over me. I started laughing. This was what it was like to use my powers. After years of being told to store it all, instead I just let it go. I could feel the magic coursing through my veins, and it made me feel alive. I knew, that if I wanted to, I could cut the world in half. That thought - that I could even think of ending the world - that cut me short. My knees buckled, and I fell to the ground. I could feel tears trickling down my face - I was sick, twisted and horrible. I couldn't believe that I had even considered using my power like that, and it just made me cry harder. My fate had always seemed so far away, and now it felt like it was reaching out to touch me. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, I heard a familiar voice. "Alicia. Hey, Alicia," a hand shook my shoulder,"what's wrong?" I flinched away from the touch. Looking up through my tears, I saw Jamie standing over me. "Don't t-touch m-me," I said harshly, even though I was still trying not to trip up over my tears. An expression of hurt flashed across his face, but he grabbed my unwilling hand and pulled me up off the ground. I turned to run, but I couldn't balance properly and he caught me, pinning me against a tree. I fought uselessly, but he slapped my hands away and pressed me harder to the tree. When I gave up struggling, he loosened his hold and said in a soft voice, "Alicia, it's okay. I wouldn't hurt you. Just please, tell me what's wrong." Before I realised what I was saying, I whispered, "I-I don't want to b-be like you." "What? What do you mean? Alicia, come on, I won't hurt you." "I d-don't want to h-hurt anybody," I stuttered. Why was I telling him this? I couldn't let him know that I was the girl he was looking for, that I was one of the Dark. "Alicia, I really don't know what you're talking about," he said. But then he looked around, and his eyes landed on the tree that had been cleanly cut in two, unnaturally straight. "Oh.... Oh no... You can't be...her. Oh shit, I have to do something." It was the first time I had ever seen him lost for words. He let go of me, and slumped to the ground, eyes closed. I should've seized the opportunity to run, but I didn't move. I couldn't. ***Jamie's P.O.V.*** It all made so much sense now. Why she never tried to fit in. How she almost beat me in a fight. And when that knife fell out of her skirt when she flipped over me, I can't believe I didn't question it. I just hid it in the sheath I had in my sleeve. God, it was so obvious, but I still didn't realise. I have to kill her, I thought suddenly, she's going to destroy the world. But when I tried to move my body, I couldn't. She seems so innocent, so scared. She really doesn't know what she's doing, I thought to myself. She basically told me what she was. She didn't hide it. Opening my eyes, I realised she was still standing there, when she could've killed me and ran. "I'm so sorry. Really. But I can't help what I am. I can't control my fate. I'm going to kill the world, and I don't want to, but I can't do anything else. I'm the girl in the mirror, but I'm still going to kill every last thing on this planet. Except me. Because, in case you didn't know, I can't die. And I found that out the hard way. My sister had it easy. She killed herself. But no matter how many times I try, I just can't. I can't die. And you don't know how much I wish I could," she said, trying to sound brave, but there were tears rolling down her cheeks. And then she walked away. I could almost taste her desperation in the air. "Wait! Wait!," I called out, but she didn't turn. "My #life couldn't get any worse than it already is, so why couldn't you just leave me alone? It'd make it easier, without you turning up and confusing me even more. So please. Please, just leave me alone," her face was pained as she said this, and every word, every syllable was like a knife in my side. "Alicia? What... What if I said I could teach you Light magic? It wouldn't change the future but... You could be Light, not Dark. We're all born with the two types, it's just that in you, the Dark is more powerful. It's been attempted before, and the person died - but you can't die, so it might just work. We can try, right?" She smiled, the first time I had ever seen her genuinely smile. It was heartwarming, transforming her face. I realised, for the first time, that she was actually beautiful. "You'd really do that for me?" "Sure," I replied,"My boss told me to find a Dark girl and bring her back - but if this works, you'll be Light, so I won't even be breaking my orders." I gave her a little smile in return. "Spose not," she said, nervously shooting me the smallest of smiles. "So, tomorrow, same time, same place? The teachers won't even notice we're gone - mortal minds automatically reject the magic, so they won't notice we're gone." "Sure," she said, and turned back around, "I'd better go now, the Dark master will suspect something if I don't get back soon." I sat down on the ground and watched her slight figure get lost behind the trees, until she completely disappeared into the distance.

Chapter 2: My Chance Turning the corner, I saw the public school that I would be attending and a small smile raised the corners of my mouth. It was not the poshest of schools, but it was my only chance to having some freedom. Walking through the front gates, I felt a little thrill of exhilaration. I headed to the main office to register with the secretary. "Excuse me?," I said, "my name is Alicia Jackson, I'm new here." "Of course," the secretary said, looking up from her work, "here's your time table, and here's a map of the school." I nodded and thanked her, walking towards my first class, World History. Lining up with the other students outside the classroom, I noted the groups of people, how they carried themselves, were there any fighters? A few people gave me a once over look, and then ignored me - just as planned, I didn't want to get too close to anybody here. Standing in a corner, against the wall was a guy my age, who didn't really seem to fit in either. A few people had made attempts to talk to him but he just brushed them off. He looked the type to be popular, with messy blonde hair and green eyes. He was tall and muscular, easily one of the best looking guys I'd ever seen - not that I'd seen many guys that weren't in the Dark. Maybe he was new too? But I would've thought that he'd make more of an effort to fit in, if he was. Just then, the teacher came past and interrupted my train of thought. She opened the door and let us all in. While the rest of the class sat down, I went up to the teachers desk and I introduced myself. She told me that her name was Ms. Matthews and sent me to a seat at the back of the class, but didn't make make me stand up at the front of the class, which I had been prepared for. I scanned the classroom, checking for escape routes and things that could be used as weapons, just like I had been trained. I caught the blonde guy looking at me from his seat at the front, and as much as I wanted to just give him an icy stare in return, I found I couldn't. I felt my cheeks heating up, and realised that I was blushing, so I looked away quickly. God, he's just an annoying pervert, don't let him bother you, I thought to myself. " Now, as it is the first day back after a long summer break, I want to see how much you have remembered from last year. This is a test, and while it will not go toward your winter grade, I expect you all to try your best." The class let out a unified sigh. "Alicia, seeing as it's your first day in the school, you have the option of not taking the test." I wanted to see the difficulty of the things we were learning, so I shook my head and said, "no, it's fine, I'll do the test." Ms. Matthews started handing out the papers, and when I received mine I looked over it and saw, to my relief, that my tutor had already done all of it with me. I smiled, and started to write. ******************************************************************************************** The classes of the day had gone well, and I didn't find anything in particular that I needed to study more for. I looked down at my timetable, and my heart skipped. P.E. Now I had a chance to show off a bit - nothing amazing, but beat the boys at least. I entered the hall, and went through the smaller door into the girls changing room. Shit. It was an open changing room - I'd have to change in front of everybody else, and they'd see my scars. I decided, that because only a few girls had arrived, I'd go into the darkest corner and change as quickly as I could. I had purposely chosen my long-sleeves and full length leggings that fit to my body well to allow easy movement. None of the other girls noticed me, and I was done before the changing rooms filled up. I emerged out to the gym and looked around in disdain. I was so used to the high-tech gym at the Dark Mansion that I hadn't realised what it would be like here. Slowly, the other students came out if the changing rooms, in groups, and sat at the edge of the room. I sat awkwardly by myself, having no friends to talk to. Again, I saw the blonde guy at the other end of the line of laughing teenagers, sitting by himself. I noticed though, how they treated him - they weren't excluding him like they were me, they were treating him with a sort of respect. They seemed a bit nervous of him, I wondered why. The coach came out and declared that she would be separating us into pairs to practice defence skills. I smiled. Time to beat the crap out of a boy. The coach started calling out people to pair up. "Alicia Jackson and Jamie Forrester." I glanced around and saw the blonde guy stand up and walk towards me. "Guess we're partners then," he said, smirking. So that was his name. Jamie Forrester. "Guess we are. Just so you know, I'm gonna beat the crap outa you," I said, smirking right back at him. "You're sounding confident," he said, like he actually stood a chance against me. "That's cause I am confident," I winked. "Right, just to let you know, I haven't been beaten by anyone in this school before," he replied to my wink. "That's just cause you've never fought me before," I smirked again. Just then, the coach came over to us, interrupting our smirk-filled conversation. "Right, Alicia, you don't have to do this if you've never had any experience - you can just watch." "Naw, coach, I'm fine, I've done loads of this kinda stuff before," I said dismissively. "Well, Jamie, go easy on her, give her a chance," the coach said to Jamie, shooting him a look. "Sure, coach," he said, suppressing a laugh. "Well, go ahead, I'd like to see how you move Alicia," the coach said, "so I'll supervise you two." Jamie and I walked over to a free space in the hall, the coach following us. I stood still, concentrating on him, watching for the tell-tale signs that he was about to move. I saw, the tension in his right arm just a second before he moved to punch. Twisting out of the way, I flipped up into the air and landed a few feet behind him. He spun around and his eyes narrowed. He seemed to consider me as a proper opponent now. I kicked towards him, but he caught my ankle and spun me around, but I managed to regain my balance just in time to avoid his fist coming toward me at lightening speed. God, he's fast! How did he learn all this? I flipped again to land on his other side, but he caught me in mid-air and I was sent crashing to the ground. I caught his ankle with mine though, and he fell over too. Rolling to avoid him, I climbed to my feet again, breathing hard. He stood up too, sweat rolling down his face. I thought I saw something metallic glint in his hand, but it disappeared and I dismissed it as my imagination. "Draw?" He said, green eyes glinting. "Fine," I said, "but just remember, you just about got your ass kicked of by a girl." "Sure, sure, but it won't happen again," he winked. Just then, I realised that the hall had fallen silent. They were watching to two of us with awe. I could tell that they had never seen such a good fight, except maybe in the movies. I felt my face heat up, and a faint blush creeped up my cheeks. Even the coach was staring at us, jaw-dropped unattractively open. "Well, Alicia, you certainly can fight." "I did tell you I had experience in this kind of thing before, didn't I?" "I suppose, you did yes. Well, you can all go back to the changing rooms now," she told the class. As I walked to the changing rooms, the other girls surrounded me but I just ignored them - I wanted to make friends, but I could not run the risk of having them find our my secret. So I changed in the dark corner again, trying to avoid the stares of the other girls. Just as I finished reapplying my makeup, the home bell went. I breathed a sigh of relief. My first day at high school had been a success, and no one suspected a thing. As I headed down the road back to the mansion I heard something behind me. Down an alley-way, I saw Jamie with his back turned. He was talking to two men in suits. Suddenly, one of the men launched a kick at him, but Jamie caught his foot and the man toppled to the ground. He pulled out a knife and threw it at the other man in the suit, skimming his hip. The first man rose up behind him but a strange shimmering in the air threw him back. He landed unconscious on the concrete. Jamie, no, he's not magic, he can't be. He can't. Drawing out another knife, he pressed it to the second guys neck. "I will find her. I will find her before she turns sixteen. No matter how many men the Dark send after me, I will kill them. Count yourself lucky I didn't kill you. Now run back to your master, and tell him what I said." He let the suited guy go, and the man ran down the alley, tie flapping behind him. Jamie walked up to the unconscious guy. And then he buried his knife in the mans chest. I screamed. I screamed and I screamed. I had never killed anybody before, and it made me sick - because that was what I was going to do to the world. Every last person. I was going to kill them all. Jamie ran up to me, and covered my mouth with his hand, dragging me further down the alley so that we couldn't be seen from the main street. I didn't fight back, I was too shocked. "Alicia. Alicia, just listen to me. Those guys would've killed me. I had to fight back. And if I hadn't killed that guy, they would've just sent more after me." I took in a breath. "But what was that...that thing that made him fall?" I knew it was magic, but I didn't want him to suspect me of anything except being an unusually skilled fighter. "Oh, you saw that then, did you?"he sounded worried,"it was, I don't know how to say this... It was magic." I stood there, pretending to be shocked. "I'm one of the Light. We're a secret group dedicated to protecting the world. At the moment, we're looking for this girl, the Dark girl who's destined to destroy the world." I processed this information. The Light were looking for me. Oh shit. This could't get any worse. "Say... Say you found that girl... What would you do to her?" I said, pretending to be struggling to breath. "Well, I'd bring her to my bosses... And then... I suppose they'd most likely kill her." I breathed in sharply. "Wh..w...why?," I stuttered. "She's the biggest threat to the world at the moment. We'd have to eliminate her." "O..oh." "You can go home now. I've already told you too much. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone else." Those green eyes were pleading me. "Kay," I whispered, and fled back down the alley. When I turned the corner I glanced back and saw him still watching me, his blonde hair catching in the wind.

Chapter 1: The Dark When my mother was just a few years older than me, she underwent rigorous training, both magically and physically, to be able to join the Light. The Light are the secret organisation dedicated to protecting the world, and keeping the secret of magic from civilians. But my mother did not know, and had no way of knowing, that she was a descendant of the most powerful of the Dark. And so, she had to pay a price - her first two children would be cursed to turn completely and fully evil on their sixteenth birthday. My elder sister took the easy way out - suicide. But there was another catch - her second daughter - me - would not be able to die. And this is why I am so certain as to my fate. What, I wonder, defines the word 'evil'? The dictionary would conclude that it is "very immoral, cruel, and wicked," but then, what is "immoral?" Most would assume that "evil" has to do with killing and torture, but isn't that just a socially constructed idea of the word? How, may I ask, do we know that dying is a terrible thing? It devastates the living, but isn't it just the natural course of #life? And, why is it considered to be worse when a young person dies? Young or old, healthy or sick - death is death, and while you may say, "they died before their time," wasn't it fate? How is it that certain things happen at certain times to cause a certain persons death? I personally think, that these thoughts - they are my hopes. I try to reassure myself that in no way am I to blame for what I, sometime in my #life, am going to do to this world. Of course, these are just my idle thoughts, and it doesn't make the inevitable right, but it comforts me - only slightly, but even so, I'll take any comfort I can get. And so, the Dark - the group that opposes the Light, that wishes for the end of the world and practices Blood magic, an evil form of magic that all Dark children are born with - including me -they set out to find my sister and I, and to raise us to their wishes. But they found us too late. We had been kept in a safehouse for months on end by the Light, and when she heard the Dark coming, my sister killed herself. They found me, hidden in a cupboard in the kitchen, shivering from a combination of horror, from what my sister had just done, and fright, scared of what the Dark were going to do to me. As of last week, I have been in their custody for nine years of my #life. They have trained me well, I must admit. I am black belt in over ten different martial art forms, and I am fluent in the fifteen most common languages. But I have never gotten to know any of my trainers, not even their names. They have made sure that if I turn against them, I have nothing to tell anybody, no evidence to give. But now I have a chance - a chance to some freedom. I have a chance to attend a regular high school, something I have dreamed of since I was captured by the Dark. I have been trained how to blend in, how to react in certain circumstances, and I was confident that I would be able to pull this off. And I better had, because my first day was tomorrow Thoughts of the school I was going to attend in the morning were racing through my brain the entire day, and when I finally went to bed, I lay there for what felt like hours before I got any rest. ******************************************************************************************** That morning, I woke up at dawn, when the first ray of sun filtered through the dusty windows. A feeling of exhilaration swept through me, and I jumped from my bed. Changing into tight leggings and a sports top, I opened a hidden door behind my bed, and headed down a small staircase - what used to be the servants entrance to the bedroom. Stepping as quietly as a could, I descended into a top class gym. My trainer was waiting for me. As soon as she saw me, she snapped, "unacceptable! I could've heard you come down those stairs from a mile away!" I winced. I knew I had been loud, but I was so excited I guess I didn't think about the noise I had been making. "I'm sorry Trainer X." I hung my head. "Don't delay me! Start your morning exercises!" I sighed and walked over to a set of what were similar to monkey bars, but were three metres high and widely spaced out. Launching myself into a backwards aerial flip, I caught onto the first bar by the back of my knees, then swung myself upwards, catching on one of the steel ceiling supports. Using my arms to pull myself into position, I jumped, flipping and twirling as I fell. I rolled when I hit the ground, came up on one knee and pulled out my two daggers. Trainer X came up behind me, and I tried to flip, but she caught my foot and I was sent crashing to the ground. She stood over me, but I snaked my ankle behind hers, and she lost her balance. I seized the opportunity to jump back to my feet. She was fast though, and pulled out her single knife. She kicked towards me, but I knew it was just a ruse, so I followed my instincts and twisted out of the way of her oncoming knife. The trainer launched a punch at me and I blocked it, grabbing her fist. Using her own momentum against her, I flipped her, placing my knee against her chest and pressing my dagger to her throat. "Checkmate," I smiled, proud of myself, because it was rare that I ever bested my any of my trainers. "Congratulations, you are an exceptional fighter. Few would be able to best me like that." I nodded, my trainers were the best that the Dark could find, and they were incredibly skilled. "Now, I think you deserve a break," Trainer X said, "and prepare for your new school." I thanked her, and used a light step to leap up the stairs three at a time. There was no uniform in my new school, and I figured that the best way to blend in was to stand out. Changing out of my sweaty training gear, I walked to the bathroom and took a warm shower. I stood there, under the hot water for a few minutes, just thinking about how this was a once in a #lifetime chance, and how I'd better not mess up. Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped myself in a fluffy white towel and emerged into my bedroom. Now, for my outfit: I was going for I gothic look, with a red and black tartan mini skirt, layered with net to make it stick out. Decorating the edges of the skirt were crosses and spikes. Around my waist were several belts, each decorated with studs, spikes and metallic crosses dangling from the hoops. I wore a black cropped blouse, with studs and spikes covering the cuffs. Under the collar, I had a short red tie, loose and decorated with slim chains and a spider web pattern. Leather fingerless gloves extended up to my elbow and were laced together with a red string. I wore studded leather bands around my arms, spiked chokers and crosses dangling from slim chains around my neck. Picking up a few pairs of earrings, I put them through the holes that went all the way up my ears, and added my stomach piercing. I then donned a pair of fishnet tights and kneehigh Converse. I checked my reflection in the full-length mirror. The gloves and tights covered most of my scars - scars from a mixture of self-harm, blood magic and combat - but the cropped blouse revealed stripes of white, and the more recent stripes of pink and red. Just to be safe, I dabbed a bit of concealer on the scars, and set it with a pressed powder my exact skin tone. For the next few minutes, I worked on my makeup - dark eyeshadow, plenty of eyeliner and mascara to make my eyes stand out. I applied fake nails in a blood red colour, and waited for them to dry. I took a peek in the mirror again. Staring back at me was a girl whos long black hair tumbled down her back, and pale skin emphasised her beautiful large eyes framed by thick black lashes. She had a petite figure, but most of her skin was covered by her many chains and studded collars. I blinked again, and now what I saw was a girl hiding her insecurities behind a tough exterior. Perfect. Mysterious, but in a way that people would never get close enough to me to guess the real secret. Just before I left, I picked up a knife and pulled up the hem of the blouse, drawing a line of red just below my ribs - high enough that no one would see. Pressing my hand to the wound, I exerted my senses and drew the power from deep inside me, adding it to the store I had been building up since the day I discovered my blood magic. Unlike most of the Dark, I have never used my blood magic on another human, it has never held the appeal for me that it did others in the organisation. Storing the dagger in a sheath hidden in my boot, I made my way to the weapons room to pick a few extra things up. Walking up and down the room, a few almost dainty looking throwing knives caught my eye - knives were my speciality, I have always been talented with them. Then, just for extra protection, I took a small handgun with me. I stored this new weaponry in the folds of my skirt and other small sheaths hidden in my elbow length leather gloves and boots. Now, I was ready to leave. I silently made my way down the corridor, and down the main staircase. A hooded figure was waiting for me there. I stopped in front of him, and gave the customary bow. "This is your chance," came a male voice from under the hood,"and you had better not ruin it." This was the mysterious master of the Dark! I had only ever seen him twice before, once when I was first captured, and the other when my blood magic went out of control. I felt a thrill of nerves, and I knew that I needed to impress him. "Yes, master," I said respectfully. "If you try to escape, we will find you, and we won't give you another chance. You will be kept inside until you are a full member of the Dark." In other words, my sixteenth birthday. "I understand," I replied. And I did understand. This is the only chance I'm going to get, and if I mess up it will be my fault entirely. "You may leave," he said curtly. I nodded respectfully. I walked out the main door, and took a breath of fresh air. This was the first time I was allowed without someone accompanying me in years, and it felt good to be free. Without a backwards glance I walked out the gates at the front of the old mansion, and continued on towards the school that was only ten minutes down the road.

Prologue: Like A Rose I stared at the knife on the table in front of me, the knife that had ended my sister's #life. Slowly, I reached for it, and I picked it up by its diamond encrusted hilt. I raised it over my arm, and set the cold blade against my skin. This is how it felt, I thought, this is how it felt to raise a dagger to your own skin, to hate yourself so much, to hate what you are so much that you would slice open your own wrists, and watch your own blood blossom from the cuts like a rose, so beautiful, but so deadly. I drew the blade over my hip, and felt the pain from the cut - but it was a good feeling, in hurting yourself, you focused on only the physical pain, and it numbed the sting of the misery you felt inside. I finally understood why people did this, this constant cycle of drawing blood, and the pain numbing the real pain, the pain inside of you. And so I drew. I drew patterns, stripes of red - my pencil, a knife. I drew until I could no more, when my legs, my arms, my stomach were decorated. It had its own beauty, I thought, it showed me for who I was - broken. And indeed, I was broken. My fate was unlike any other, it was a twisted certainty. My future was set in stone and I was an inevitable tool for destruction from the minute I was born. The #life I lead is a never ending curse - because it is my destiny to bring about the end of civilisation.