I released one arrow, hitting the edge of the target. I pulled back another and shot again, getting closer to the bull's eye, but not by much.

"Relax. You're to tight. Stand upright and focus on your target." Celeste instructed.

I didn't respond but did what she told me. I drew another arrow and let it fly. It hit right next to the middle of the target. My aim was much more accurate now. I shot again and hit the middle of the target I turned to see Celeste with a smug smile on her face.

"See, I told you."
I growled and gritted my teeth. She rolled her eyes.

"Ok. Well now you have an idea of what level you're on. It's late, why don't you go run home. I will tell Hunter about today's events so that he can pick up where we left off tomorrow."
And with that, she walked away, leaving me on the field as the sun sunk ever lower. I sighed and put up the weapons, save a dagger that I took with me.

I hesitantly entered Hunter's house. I was not wanting to talk to him much but he looked up from his book as soon as he heard me enter. He stood up and walked over. I flinched, his hight over me making him intimidating. He reached a hand up to his neck and turned his head to the side.

"Look. Umm. Im- uh- sorry about earlier. I realized I over-reacted. It's just that Celeste and I have been friends since childhood. She had always been there for me and I guess it just made me upset to hear someone talk down about her."

"D-don't be sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn't have spoken so poorly of anyone" I silently cursed my words as they came out of my mouth.
"B-but I do have a question."

"What is it?" He asked.
I hesitated.

"Are you and Celeste a...thing?"
He raised a brow, confused for a second before understanding what I had asked. He chuckled and shook his head.

"No no, we are not together. We are simply good friends. Where would you get an idea like that?"

My palms became sweaty. Should I tell him? I didn't want to and didn't want to make anything awkward between them, but shouldn't he know that Celeste is falsely claiming him as her own? Seeing my struggle, he smiled.

"Nevermind it. It's getting late, you should head to bed. You've probably had a long day of training with Celeste and tomorrow she will train you again. I have an unplanned shift at the gates tomorrow due to....unfortunate events."

My heart sunk. Another day with that girl? No, I couldn't stand it. But maybe she would get nicer? I simply nodded in return and headed off to bed.

"Good night Irene" Hunter said quietly from behind me.

"Night Hunter." I responded before closing the door to my room.

I stared at the ceiling of my room for quite some time. Although I was exhausted, I couldn't fall asleep. To many things raced through my mind. What would my next kill be? Would it be here? I had already heart Hunter and his sister as well as Cabe just by killing one guard. What more harm would I cause? And what would happen if I didn't make a kill? Would what happened at the festival happen again? Would it be more severe?

I shook my head and flipped over onto my side and looked out the window, wishing to clear my mind. I remember the necklace that I had taken from Rose's house. She hadn't said anything about it missing. Does she know I have it? Would she mention anything if I started wearing it?

I took it out of the drawer where I had it stored and held it up, the moonlight from the window glinting off of it almost magically. What was it? It felt so foreign yet, so familiar. I clutched the necklace as I drifted off to sleep. I could've sword it grew warmer as I blacked out, but I passed out before I  could give anymore thought to it.

The next day I woke up to birds chirping and the sun shining in through the window onto my face. It was relaxing as the sun rippled across my face, shining through the tree's leaves. I closed my eyes again and was actually able to relax for a few minutes before my bedroom door opened. Before even opening my eyes I knew it was Hunter.

"Morning beautiful" he cooed.
I smiled.

"Good morning to you too." I mumbled.

"Well, Irene, there is somethings we need to discuss." He said gently.
I sat up tiredly.

"O-okay. What is it?"

"Well, first off, it has been brought to my attention that it is hardly appropriate for me to have a woman in my household when there is no genetic ties or any relationships going on. So I was wondering if you were wanting to stay here in a home of your own." He paused "Or, if you were planning to leave soon, we should get you a room at the inn in town."
I was awestruck. A house of my own? It would be nice to have the room but...

"Why can't I stay here?" I asked.
Hunter turned towards me.

"I mean, I am planning to stay, I think, but I honestly much rather stay here" i said, cringing at my words. Hunter stood in silence for a few minutes before responding.

"I really must insist that you find another place to stay. As I said, its hardly appropriate for you to be here."

"And I must insist that I stay here. As I said, I much rather stay here than go anywhere else"
I snapped back, using his words against him. He stood in silence before finally giving in and casting a smile.

"Well, if that is how you feel, they I'll let you stay I suppose. Ummm, next topic, Celeste told me of your level in combat. You are quite talented, i must say, for not attending any type of guard school. But based off of what she said, you still need some training. Until we get a replacement for...for Jeffery I will be busy Tuesdays, Wednesday nights and Fridays to cover in some shifts. On those days, I will have Celeste train y-"

"Please not her" I blurted.
Hunter turned to me again.
"Sorry its just" i struggled for words
"She and I don't get along. Couldn't Rose teach me or something?"

"Im afraid Rose is busy most days. And I would suggest Adam but he has a busy schedule as head of the Shadow Hunters quadrant and part of the crown."
I nodded grimly.

"But I will see what I can do." Hunter added.

"T-thank you." I realized just how much I was asking of him.
"Y-you really don't have to do all this." I said. Hunter smiled.

"No, no I don't. But I want to."
Those words made me feel warm as butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
"Well, I must be going. Have a good day at training." He called as he left the room.

"Bye!" I hollered back.

So. I may or may not be stuck with Celeste. Nevertheless, I would try to get along with her today. Try to not get fired up as much. I quickly got ready then headed to the training fields where Celeste was training. She saw me and tolled her eyes before walking over.

"You're late" she scolded.

"Sorry Celeste. I wasn't aware that we were on a schedule. She shrugged.

"I suppose I didn't inform you, so I'll let it slide. But let this be your heads up."
I nodded.

"When are we starting?"
She tossed me a dagger, which I caught.

"Now" was all she said as she came at me. I dodged swiftly. She smiled at me. A genuine smile, not some smirk. I smiled back and struck at her.

Hours later, I was exhausted. A single shallow cut dried up on my arm. We both laid in the grass, panting, our weapons scattered aside.

"Well" she heaved "I believe that is"
she coughed again "what we call a draw"

I nodded in agreement as my chest rose up and down as the sun shone, somewhere between midday and evening. A face appeared in my upside-down vision. I flipped over and sat up to see Hunter gazing down at Celeste and I. Celeste saw him too and stood up, still recovering from our duel.

"Well," Hunter chuckled "looks like you two have been hard at work!"
Celeste nodded and flashed a smile.

"We have. Already Irene has improved greatly. It is interesting to finally have a trainee that's a challenge to keep up with. Good luck training her, tomorrow is your turn!"
Hunter turned to me and raised a brow.

I shrugged. I didn't really remember learning to fight. I just remembered that at a very young age, no older than five or six, I had been able to defend myself an land kills on animals.

"Well want to call it quits or do you want to work on you aim, which I must say, is really quite accurate. You won't need much training. A few more weeks at most." Celeste offered.

Celeste really hadn't been all that bad today. She had been a little cold but she kept throwing me complements and didn't even mention anything about yesterday.

"Let's stop. It looks like we could both use a breather" I pointed out.
She nodded.

"Well then, Im going to head to get something to eat. Either of you care to join me?" She asked, staring straight as Hunter the whole time, as if daring him to say no.

"I don't see why not. Irene?" He questioned.

"Umm. I think I'm good!" I admitted.

Hunter cocked his head before Celeste grabbed his arm and started pulling him away. I waver to them and started heading back to Hunter's house. As I walked, the sun set behind the forests. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned to my left to see a black cloaked figure. He wore dark clothing and had his head tilted downward.

He looked up at me. All I could see was his red eyes. Red eyes? A shadow!?! In the village? Why hadn't he changed his eye color yet? I took a step towards him. As soon as I did he took off running.

"Wait!" I called as I started chasing after him. He took a sharp turn right, and I barreled around the corner as well, only to come to a blank ally. Where had he gone? After standing there for a few long moments, I turned around slowly and left.

Once I was inside Hunter's house I walked my to my room. The necklace lay on the bed. It must've gotten left there that morning. I picked it up, it shining in the light. I played around with the clasp for a minute before figuring out how to open it. I put on the necklace. A warmth generated from it. I felt a sudden fatigue. Before anything could cross my mind, I collapsed on the floor.

Fire. All I could see was fire. I could feel the harsh heat from the flames as I raised above them. A view of the village was now in sight. The village was destroyed, buildings were collapsed and on fire, dead bodies were everywhere. A swarm of black creatures and animals fought against what's few people remained. One fighter stood out as he tore through the ranks of the creatures. Hunter. I tried to call out to him but nothing happened. I landed behind him and he turned around as he finished another kill. I looked down at a knife in my hand. I started approaching him.
"Irene?" He questioned.
Dispute how hard I tried not to and pleaded for this to stop, whatever this was made me lift the dagger before bringing it down on him. He fell to the ground life-less.

I sat up quickly, sweaty and tears streaming. I took off the necklace and threw it across the room, as if it was the reason for the horrid nightmare. Thinking about it....was it the reason?
I wiped my tears away and stood up shakily. I walked out to the main room. I drunk some water. I knew that vision was only a dream but.....something about it irked me.

I noticed that the door to Hunter's room was open. I hadn't been in there before, simply because there was no reason to. But tonight was different. I snuck in, barely opening the door anymore then it had been. Hunter was still out with Celeste I assumed. As I creeped inside, light shines on a photo.

A very old one that was framed and sitting on his nightstand. I picked it up. A brown haired and brown eyed boy and a blonde haired and green eyed girl stood next to each other smiling. The two adults in the picture had light colored hair. The woman had stunning blue eyes and the man had green eyes that glinted like emeralds.

As I thought about the photo, I didn't notice the door open. A shadow cast over the picture in my hands. I look up and see Hunter in the doorway, a grim look on his face. His eyes seemed glazed over as he approached in silence. He brushed over the glass covering the photo.

"Our family. Kenya, me and our parents. We lived happily for many years. Then our mother fell violently ill after surviving an attack from a shadow. She eventually passed away. Our dad, he was heartbroken. He left to get vengeance but never returned."
It was my turn to sit in silence.

"I-I'm sorry that happened to you." I mumbled. I remember the faces of those I killed, and this woman was not one of them. But I still felt the sickness of guilt inside.

Hunter sat down next to me. He gazed at the ground, no doubt remembering when his mother died. I placed a hand on his knee, unsure of how to help. He looked up at me and smiled gently.

"You should get some rest" he said quietly.

"Are you going to be okay if I leave?"
He nodded. I smiled.

"Goodnight Hunter"

"Goodnight Irene" He responded as I got up and closed the door.
I sighed before entering my room. As I laid in bed that night, the eyes of that shadow from earlier filled my head. Those blood-red eyes. He definitely seemed old enough, lethal enough. Could he had been the one to take the life of Hunter's mother? I decidedly then and there, that it would be my mission to find out.