Mark of the Wolf

Chapter One

Chapter One

     "Celeste? Woohoo?" Fallon waved her hand in front of my face, "Is there a reason you shouted at the window?" 


I looked at the forest one more time, then back at my best friend Fallon. Shaking my head, I began to come out of a daze and surprised myself by stuttering.

      "T-t-there was a guy staring at me in the woods..." 

 
Fallon scanned out the window with her mysterious ebony eyes and sighed heavily replying, "Hun there is nothing out there. You’re seeing things from stress. Come on, why don’t we slip outside and practice our swords?"

 We walked outside toward the hidden pavilion in the trees where we normally practiced, though I was still disoriented and my head was in the clouds. Fallon tossed me a wooden sword.

     "You seem to be really out of it. You aren't really hallucinating are you? I'd be happy to call someone to take you away- then I could have the mansion all to myself!" A dramatic cackling ensued from the girl, enjoying the prospect of putting on a show.

      "Yet Fallon, I am the one who always wins against your feeble strength!" I smirked and retorted proudly, while she laughed and tested out her sword. I continued, bringing up a topic I would’ve liked to ignore.

     "What are we going to use as an excuse today Fallon? I'm tired of my brother trying to find out what we are up to. If he finds out, it will be to the stocks with us!"

 Fallon looked at me with curiosity.

     "Hasn't he been busy with his work for the university?" 

I answered while lunging and swinging my sword at her with considerable speed.

     "Yes, he has. But I wonder how you are so informed, dear Fallon. I happened to hear from Mrs. May how you have been observing him with utmost wonder." I purposely made my voice a teasing tone, but it had certainly gotten the desired effect out of Fallon.

With a giggle I thrust my sword forward and a pronounced “thunk” erupted from our swords as we battled our silly, girlish quarrels. 

     "Who says I have been observing him? If you ask me, it's the other way around!" Fallon swung her sword in annoyance. "And what of you? You have to pick a suitor soon or you risk incurring the wrath of your father!" She laughed, even though we both knew that we would be arranged to a man if we did not choose soon.

For a while after, there was silence of our chatter, the only sound being wooden swords striking each other. 


Finally I gave a big sigh, tired of the silence.

     "I have not found any potential suitors to accompany me. All of these men want me for is my family name and never even make an effort to see me for who I am. It bothers me, but father cannot fathom the idea of finding true love. He only says; "Daughter you are beautiful. I have been blessed and you shall help us become wealthy, and powerful.” I mocked him as I tightened my hand around the sword.

     "I want love not power." 

The wooden sword tumbled to the ground as I stiffened in vexation and ran my hands over my dress to get rid of the wrinkles.

Plopping down on the dirt and peering at Fallon, I thought about our connections as best friends. 

 It was nearly unbelievable that we both understood exactly how the other felt. The two of us had been together since we were small children, growing up as sisters. My father had told us Fallon was found near the woods and was kept at the mansion in order keep me company.

Since my mother and father were routinely out of the house, they thought it was acceptable to replace themselves with the girl as a substitute for their company. 

It had worked out however, as we were now inseparable.



Though I was their real daughter, everyone noticed how I did not look like my parents in the slightest. I had dark, chocolate brown hair that flowed down to my lower back, coupled with my decidedly fierce looking violet eyes.

Personally, I thought my physical aspects did match my personality as an untamable girl who simply strived to be independent. At least, that’s what I wanted to be thought of as.

People had often said there was something off about me, but it was mostly because of my eyes that strangers would avert their eyes. 

I looked at Fallon, who always wondered where she had come from. Her dirty blond hair placed neatly into a braid was a bit shorter than her own, reaching just past her chest. There was a faraway look in her eyes as usual, her near black eyes appeared to hold mysteries that even the closest to her could not figure out. 

Fallon, I thought, loves my brother, doesn’t she? He is indeed handsome with his bright, grassy green eyes, but he is to busy being my protective older brother to notice. 

Giving a slight smile, I grabbed Fallon’s wrist, "Let’s go back in before we are caught frolicking about."

     "It’s not "frolicking," it is simply taking a walk through the woods. With a few swords. For safety reasons of course," Fallon chuckled lightly. She began to re-braid her hair, staring off into the distance thoughtfully.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought a shadow moved in the brush, and though my eyes searched, I finally attributed it to a small animal such as a rabbit or a fox. I noticed Fallon staring off into forest as well, and I wondered if she had seen it too. 

After seeing nothing more, her eyes roamed to the sky. I was reminded of when Fallon had once told me she was more than lucky to have been found by my parents and she wouldn't trade knowing me for the world. 

     "Why do you think we’ve been given this life Fallon?” I asked, curious for her answer.

      “Everyone has their own problems and their own circumstances. You and I both don’t want to be betrothed, but maybe sometimes... There’s just nothing we can do.”

     “But it’s always seemed like there was more to life, that there was more to discover than being chained by marriage to a man I barely know.” 

 In response, Fallon look off in the distance with that knowing face again. Fallon was a deep thinker, though I was often more inclined to jump into a situation without looking to see the circumstance of it. We both shared the same thirst for adventure and desire to be able to determine our own fates.

Continuing on with our stroll through the woods, we took as much time as possible in walking back to the house. Neither of us was looking forward to being confined inside again, expected to be ladylike at all times.

 We enjoyed a few more minutes of the fresh air before hesitantly going back inside through the back door, giggling softly as our dresses were a mess and the fact that we were breaking nearly all the rules that had been set all their lives gave us a feeling of freedom.

It was all that we could do in our efforts to break free from the chains, fully knowing that women were not allowed to handle weapons. It was considered barbaric and woefully frowned upon for women to even pick up such a thing, much less wield it skillfully.

The sword was a man’s tool, but Fallon and I could not fathom the thought of not getting dirty from a fight, or the rush that comes with sparring with an opponent. 

 We quietly ran upstairs and as my skirt caused me to stumble, I tripped Fallon and the two of us nearly fell back down the stairs. 

      “Fallon you’re such a fanny!” I laughed and ran ahead to our room flinging the door open. I threw myself into the bed covered in purple and blue designs as Fallon huffed after me with rosy cheeks. I flung the pillow right at her flushed face, now laughing so hard tears streamed from her eyes. 

      “You dare to challenge me with the fluffiest of pillows? This is an insult to my honor!”

She grabbed another pillow as her ammunition and fired, using her strong arm she practiced swordplay with. It flew directly back at me, my own laughing mouth was suddenly stuffed with down feathers from where the stitching had split in the pillow.

We only stared at each other before bursting into more chuckles, at least until a booming voice caused us to both go stiff.