|
Needs Editing...
Chapter 1
The Mission
Diana awoke to the strangest sound that she could ever imagine. She then saw her adopted older brother's son, Bryan, playing horribly on a strange flute. He grinned up at her. "Father bought if for me while he was among the Werecats! He says they call it a Katzoo. It makes a different noise almost every time you blow it. It's meant to attract butterflies. Its annoying to us, beautiful to them."
"This makes no sense to me dear nephew, but I suppose it has its uses."
"Can you think of anything else I could use it for?"
Diana smiled a bit evily. Tara had stolen her favorite dagger yesterday to win a dagger throwing contest. She won, but she still took it without asking. Diana thought, Payback time little sister. "Yes. Blow it as loud as you can in Tara's ear tomorrow morning while she's asleep."
He laughed. "She's asleep now!"
Diana laughed. "Go! Do it now then!" He ran off. Bryan wasn't very tall yet but he was only ten years old. He had light brown hair and cute blue eyes. He had baby soft skin, it was clear and still held a childish color. Light and barely tanned. He was the picture of innocence when he was asleep. The portrait of starting trouble while he was awake, in his knee-length baggy black shorts and his sleeveless white shirt. Diana loved Bryan and his sillyness dearly.
Diana pulled herself from her bed and dressed. She donned a black top with short sleeves and long dark denim trousers. She pulled on her black boots and laughed hard when she heard a loud thump and Tara's shriek voice yelling at Bryan,
"BRAYN! Your dog food you little twerp!!!" Diana rolled off the foot of her bed, howling with heavy laughter. Tara came in and glared at her.
"You told him to do that didn't you!"
Diana just laughed harder at this. Between laughs she said, "You stole me dagger!" She had to pause to breathe. "So you deserved it!"
"I borrowed it!!"
"Do I look like," Breath, "I care?" Tara stormed out. She would be mad at Diana for a couple hours but she would get over it. It was her own fault in the first place. Bryan came in and saw Diana on the ground clutching her side, crying from laughter.
"Uncle Rose! Uncle David! Diana is crying!" He thought she was hurt.
She stopped him, "I'm laughing so hard my tear ducts are acting up."
"Oooh....okay." He started to laugh. Laughter was very contagious among this family.
Diana was going down stairs, Bryan holding her hand telling her about his lessons from the previous day. She listened to him and laughed when he talked, going in circles around the same point without realizing it. She let him go off into the kitchen to get his breakfast, barefooted. She was fastening her sword to her waist and sticking her dagger in her boot when Rose, her step-mother, came into the room.
The room had a teal shade color on the walls. There was a wide slightly lighter teal stripe going all the way around the middle of the walls in the room. The floors were painted the same as the base color of the walls, with a large dark blue rug in the center of the room. The couch was a dark tealish blue, in the middle of the large rug, a oak wood coffe table in front of it. There was an endtable on the left side of the couch with an oil lamp on it. There was a sword rackm, which held, 4 swords, and two shelves, to the right of the front door. One held David's daggers, all 42, and the second held everyone else's. To the left of the door was a shoe rack, right below the window. It was Tara's favorite room in the house. Diana didn't mind how the front room looked but, she would have prefered different colors.
Diana turned to her. Rose then asked, "Are you going to be at the Training Field all day?"
Diana nodded. "I have to be. Master Gai would be furious if I skipped. Besides, I want to make TA. You know that." T.A, Training Assistant, she would get to help Master Gai or another Master train new cadets. Two T.A's were assigned to each Master.
"I know but I was hoping you could watch Bryan today. Your brother and Mary are still on their third honeymoon. Tara has plans with Sean." Sean was Tara's boyfriend. She had been seeing him for months. Sean was Scott's, Karen's son, cousin. Rose was a lean woman with short dirty blonde hair with bright green eyes. She was beautiful and kind. She never raised her voice. Her skin was clear and her face showing generousity and caring.
Diana smiled. "Sure. I'll watch him."
"Bryan will be hanging with his buddies today so-"
"I can handle a couple of preteens." Diana was grabbing her coat when Sean and Scott came to the door. Sean had dark brown hair and eyes like his father, brown. He was the spitting image of his father. He was lean and masculine for their young ages. He wore a light shirt and dark trousers. He wore his black boots, sword as his hip. He had a scar just below his jaw line, his first time shaving had not been a clean day. Other than that, he had completely clear skin. His hair was messy and neat and his smile was shiny and straight. Just like Scott's.
Scott was a tad taller than his cousin. He was a bit more tanned, and masculine but Scott was a few years older than Sean. Scott had, as Diana thought of them, sexy blue eyes, a boyish and yet manly, shiny, straight toothed, smile. He also had clear skin but had no shaving scars. He had a skilled and careful touch to everything he did. He was lean as well. He had naturally black spiky hair. He had a battle scar, he was the only one of them who had seen war, that stretched from right below his right eye, diagonally to just below his ear. Diana thought it made him look devilishy handsome.
"You two are early." Diana said letting them in.
"Sorry about that, we had stuff to do and since we finished and got bored, came here." Scott explained.
Diana put up her finger to indicate they wait. She ran upstairs and got Tara then she went into her room. She looked in the mirror and pulled her long thick extremely dark brown hair into a tight and neat ponytail. She then washed her face. Her dark green eyes were striking. Her skin was clear and unlike the boys, scar free. Her scars were on her arms, belly, legs, and multiple other places where her father beat her. She sighed and went back down stairs. The boys were talking about something. Scott stopped looking at Sean and looked at her the second she was in sight.
"Ready?"
"Aye, we just need to get Tara's lazy bum down here." Sean grinned and went up after Tara. He would get her.
Diana sat down beside Scott and put her hands in her lap, waiting for Tara and Sean. Scott then said, "You look nice."
Diana glanced down at herself and said, "Thank you." Silence.
Diana wasn't looking at him, so she didn't notice that Scott was staring at her. He was admiring her beauty. Soon, Tara and Sean came back. They all headed out.
At the field, Scott watched Diana train. Of course, he had to, they were sparring. Her movements were fluid and direct. She didn't play games. Suddenly, she stopped and looked out over to a man coming over with a letter in his hands. He handed it to Scott and said, "You, Sean, Tara, and Diana are wanted in your father's office immediately." They went without a word.
"You are all to go to the East and meet up with the famous pirate captain, Captain Indi. You are to aid him to find his daugher for she knows far too much to be lost. Only you four will be sent."
"Father," Scott said. "We cannot simply leave."
"You can, and you will. You made that commitment to me when I let you go to war with me those years ago, Michael." Michael was Scott's first name, while Scott was his middle name. He liked Scott better so everyone called him that.
Scott rolled his eyes and said, "But father, sending Sean, Tara, and Diana would mean they would see real death, blood, and gore."
Nick didn't falter. He looked like an older, rugged Scott. "I can't help that. Sean is well old enough."
"What about the girls? Would you send them into that?"
Tara, being her niave self and not understanding why Scott argued against their going said, "Just because we're girls doesn-"
Diana shut her up, "Silence Tara. Pirates are much less forgiving then even the King's men. They will strike you down for the pure rush of it. They are much more dangerous than you have any idea of."
"How do you know that Diana?" Tara demanded.
"Because Tara," Scott said, "Diana studies at my level despite the five year age difference while you and Sean are two years behind us. Now, please, shut your mouth. You have no idea what you're talking about." Normally. Scott wouldn't have said that. It implies that because shes a girl, shes ignorant. Tara knew well this was not his belief but still opened her mouth.
"Typical men."
Diana wanted to smack her. Scott was right. She didn't know what she was talking about. Diana excused them and pulled Tara by the hair out of the room.
"Ow! Ow! Let go!"
"Shut up! Just shut up! Scott is right, you have no idea what kind of mortal danger we would be in! Scott is not being a typical man, he's trying to protect us. His father might very well send us to our deaths."
"You can't-"
"SHUT UP TARA!" Diana boomed. She never yelled at Tara unless she was being particuraly hard headed or unless Diana was really mad. Tara looked like a frightened sheep. She knew she had crossed a line just now.
"Shut up, Tara, you have NO IDEA, what you are saying, what you're talking about SO SHUT THE HELL UP! I'm going to smack you the next time you open your mouth. As much as I hate it, the phrase "A woman must know where she stands." Is true in some cases. In this case, we should stand in silence. You know naught of what you speak." Tara nodded, ashamed.
Diana softened. "Sister, just please, this once, hold your tongue." Tara nodded and hugged her sister. Diana let her and then they went back inside.
"It's settled then. You all go." Scott looked very upset.
Later, while they were walking home to pack, Diana fell back to talk to Scott. She rarely did, unless she wanted his attention, but she took his hand and asked, "What's wrong?"
Scott stared at her in surprise and calm anger. He wasn't mad at her, he just couldn't shake the anger he already felt. She squeezed his hand and asked again. Scott squeezed back and said, "Nothing, its nothing." She stepped in front of him, so he couldnt get past her.
Her eyes filled with concern she said softly, "Please, tell me."
Scott hugged her tight, making her eyes go wide in surprise. "My father has just put you and Tara in great danger. I'm just mad at him right now." He held her by the shoulders and gently pushed away just enough so he could see her eyes. "I'll be fine soon. I promise."
"What was the hug for?" Diana asked bearly audiable.
"I'm not sure. I felt like I needed one." He said grinning.
She smiled and hugged him again. "You look like you need one."
|
