The Huntress

Chapter Two

I think I screamed, but I'm not sure. I couldn't tell over the roaring in my ears. I wanted one thing and one thing only and that was to kill the man. He needed to die. I wanted to watch his blood flow red as it spilled out of him. I wanted to watch it stain my blade and clothing. I wanted it more than I had wanted anything.

But I knew that I had to wait. I would get my revenge, but I would have to wait.

I really wished that patience was something I had more of...

The man stepped away from Phyre, his cloak hood moving just enough to reveal the disgusted twist of his lips and a glint of the eyes I had made contact with earlier.

"The ceremony is over. I hope that future ones do not occur the same way this one. And I hope that people aren't stupid enough to follow in Mr. Phyre Alexander's footsteps. I do not lose and I do not take kindly to disobedience," the man said, turning to leave.

I bit my lip, waiting for him to look at me and then to resume the ceremony, but it didn't happen.

"Pick up the fool's body. It's unseemly," he spoke. And then, on that happy note, he left. I let out a breath of relief and then looked at Phyre's body and realized with a start that he had done it for me. He had pulled the stupid stunt and distraction so that I wouldn't have to say the oaths. He knew my secret.

I smiled slightly and then stopped. If he knew, then other people probably knew because two could keep a secret only if one of them was dead.

As people filed out slowly and deliberately, murmuring softly, I remained seated. I had been afraid of my sixteenth birthday for eight years and now it was over. It was a shock to my system. Now I really did have nothing to fear.

All because of Phyre...

I stared off into space for a long time. I felt like He would come back and demand me to take the oaths, but he didn't. Every time I heard footsteps of any shape or kind, I tensed, praying that I had a weapon or something to defend myself with.

"Hey, girl, you need to leave," a gruff voice spoke. I tensed and turned to face the speaker to find a kind faced old man. He was probably a cleaner of sorts and I stood up slowly, murmuring a soft apology as I left. My legs were shaking slightly and my heart was beating irregularly from all the adrenaline that had been pumped through my system.

The walk to my house was slow and cautious and it took me two hours to complete a walk that was normally one.

When I got home, I shed the dress and pulled on my fighting gear. I adjusted the mask that covered half of my face and then pulled my silvery blond hair into a braid once more after coloring it so that it looked more like straw blond. I put bright red coloring on my lips and darkened my eyes with black making them appear more silver than they really were.

"Show time," I murmured to my reflection as I strapped my bow and quiver to my back and sheathed my sword and dagger.

I turned and left, careful to keep to the shadows. The ceremony had taken a long time, or maybe I had just sat there for a long time. Either way, it was night out and guards were patrolling around. They didn't do a very good job, though, as half of them were drunk. Not that I was complaining. It made things a lot easier.

Once I was sure that no one was following me, I headed deep into the forest, my footsteps completely silent. I avoided every dead leaf and twig as if they weren't there.

Finally, I stopped at a cave. No one else would've noticed it, it was so obscure. It was covered by trees and branches and you had to crawl a bit to get in. The cave would, to most people, look like a little fox den.