Lena Kidd

Life and Death and Love and Birth
Lena was born in a small village called Riverwood in the town of Brookston, to her parents, Marina Beauvallet (bow-vuh-lay) and Jacob Augustine. Unwilling to raise a child at how young of an age he was, Jacob had disappeared as soon as he heard about Marina's pregnancy. Marina found him and reprimanded him for being immature and not taking responsibility for his actions, but that didn't stop him from abandoning her. He had dreams and things to accomplish, and he couldn't let her and the kid hinder him. The sixteen-year-old mother had to raise her child on her own.

She grew bitter against Jacob for leaving her during her desperate time of leave, but it forced her to swallow her pride and to get help from her parents to raise Lena while they were alive. Marina took Lena and moved into her parents' large house in a more aristocratic, distant city.

Unfortunately, by the time Lena was four and a half, both of her grandparents died within the same week-- and not coincidentally. Her grandfather was targeted. No one knew who by, but they could think of a few reasons of why he would be targeted in the first place. Many clues that they had realized quickly led them to believe this. The day they began to feel suspicious that something was wrong was the day before he died. Then, it happened. It looked like an accident. They knew it wasn't. Lena's grandmother hired an investigator, heartbroken and desperate to find the truth. Just a few days later, both the investigator and the widow were dead. This led Marina to stay away from all of her parents' affairs and refused to take the money that she was supposed to inherit. She didn't want to be targeted and leave Lena alone in the world with no family. She moved back to Riverwood, back into her old, small house that she lived in before her pregnancy with Lena, and lived a simple life.

Fire Melts Ice (And Your Parents)
For the first six years of Lena's life, she had grown very close to her mother. She had taught her many things, including water magic. One day in late springtime, when she and her mother were at Aquarine Springs, ( a spring and waterfall in a rain forest area half a mile north-west of their village, where they would go to play and relax ) Marina was continuing her mentoring with Lena in water magic. Lena had finally learned how to levitate a few drops from the flowing water. As a reward, Marina gave Lena a silver heart-shaped locket with blue gemstones imbedded on the front. Inside was a small mirror and the name "Lena" engraved into the silver. The small child squealed in delight and hugged her mother. They later went back to their home in the village, where they met up with Lena's step-father.

Lena wanted to go buy some flowers at the marketplace for an empty vase in their house. Marina gave her some gold coins to put in her wallet-pouch, and sent her off to the flower salesman in the town square. When Lena paid the man and was putting the flowers in her satchel, she jumped at a loud explosion followed by a crackling noise and turned around. A fire was spreading among the village!

She immediately ran her way back home to warn her mother and step-father, but the fire was too fast, and beat her to the home. Inside was her parents, soon to burn alive. She jumped into the fiery house through a broken window to find them. When she made her way into the living room, she found her step-father on the floor. He was gone. Her heart dropped, but she forced herself to continue and try to find her mother if she had not already been taken. Making her way into the kitchen, coughing smoke and avoiding the major fire spots, she found her mother, leaning up against a cabinet on the floor. The fire was growing larger. There wasn't much time left for Lena to stay inside before the whole house collapsed.

Lena begged her mother to get up but she was too weak to move. Lena attempted to grab her arm and drag her out but Marina didn't allow her to. After giving Lena some words of wisdom and encouragement, she sent her away. Lena ran back into the living room, and at the last minute grabbing her music box, shoving it into her satchel. Her original entry to the house was blocked, so she frantically looked for another way out. After almost losing hope, she ran towards a small part of the house that had an opening. Getting a small burn on her arm, she slid out. Quickly putting out the fire beginning on her dress, she looked around. Nearly the whole forest was ablaze. Jumping over burning objects and dodging falling branches, she eventually made her way out of the inferno, and over to a safe place, away from flammable entity.

She sobbed, the ultimate realization hitting her that the two people that she loved the most, and vice versa, were sent into a fiery death.

Sparks Fly (haha..ha.....ha...............too soon?)
The next day, when she was at the shelter with other survivors of the fire, two men came and took she and a couple other children to an orphanage. Inside was a hallway. At the end of the hallway was a set of stairs. She was led upstairs and shown her bed. She would get the bottom bunk of the bed. She sat down on it and pulled off her small satchel, setting it down and opened it, looking at the flowers she had bought the day before, right as the fire had started. Frowning, she closed the satchel back up and sighed, letting herself fall backwards into a laying position, careful to not hit her head on the top bunk. Suddenly a face popped up in front of her. Lena flinched. It was a small boy, seemingly about her age, with light brown hair and green eyes, and a star pin clipped to his shirt. He must have owned the top bunk.

"Hey there! You seem new. What's your name?" he spoke. Lena replied with her name. "Uh-um, I-I'm Lena.. Lena Beauvallet..." The boy smiled and introduced himself cheerfully. "Well hello there, Lena Beau-ballet! I'm Zakary Kadir Luck! You can call me Zak. Nice to meet you!"

Lena nodded in acknowledgement. “Um, yeah, nice to… nice to meet you too.”

There was a short silence before Lena burst into tears. She had managed to get this far because of the shock of the whole matter.

This took Zak by surprise for a moment. “H-hey! Don't cry!” He climbed down the bunk and sat next to her. “Uh.. I'm sorry that you have to be here… but things are gonna be okay, alright?”

The two had became quick friends. Zak had been at this orphanage for a little less than year. He would switch orphanages every once in a while, because he was very ornery and trouble to the foster parents. With the past nine months, he had learned the insides and outs of the large house. At night, they would go onto the roof and watch the stars. Sometimes they would play pranks on the foster mother.

Escape
It had only been three months, but Lena decided that enough was enough. She couldn't just sit around in the orphanage, waiting to grow up; she had to do something. It was late in the night. She grabbed her satchel and shoved a pair of her clothes inside. She wondered if she could sneak into the kitchen to grab food for the trip. She thought about it for a bit and decided against it, since she didn't want to risk being caught. She put on her shoes and her jacket, and stepped up to the top bunk of her bed, where Zak was sleeping. She tapped his shoulder softly to wake up.

"Lena?" he spoke softly, blinking his eyes to see her. He looked at her, as she was all dressed and with her satchel. "Where are you going?" he asked, confusion clear on his face.

"I'm going to leave this place. I can't stand being here and doing nothing for the rest of my life. I need to leave. Anything is better than this. I wanted to tell you before I left."

He looked hurt. "What?! But... but I thought you were happy here... with me..."

"I tried to be, but I can't. I know what will happen here if I stay. You're the only good thing about this place, so thank you for being so kind to me. It's time for me to leave now."

He leaned against the wall, his legs wrapped in his arms, chin resting on his knees. He started murmuring, mostly to himself. "Fine, then. I knew this day would come, anyways." He sunk deeper into his knees. "You're gonna leave, just like... just like everyone else. Like Alex, like Mom, Dad... Then I'm gonna be alone again."

Lena was silent for a moment, thinking. She looked down, then back up to Zak.

"Then, come with me!" she blurted out.

"W-what..? I can't... I can't do that."

"Yes, you can!" She softly stepped down onto the floor, then walked over to the large window nearby their bunk bed. "Go get your things and come with me!"

Zak thought for a moment, concern locked on his face. He shuffled off his bed sheets, then going down the ladder. He walked in Lena's direction. "But what if... what if you get tired of me and want to leave me?"

Lena turned to Zak and walked over to him. "I will never leave you."

"Do you promise?"

She raised her pinkie finger for a pinkie promise.

"I promise."

The two had left the orphanage undetected. They escaped far and hid inside of a hollow tree to sleep. In order to find food, they traveled to different towns and snuck into different houses or bakeries. This seemed to work out well for them. They walked for a couple hours to a new town, stole some food, then found a makeshift place to stay the night. They convinced themselves that doing what they were doing (stealing) wasn't wrong because it was because they were in need of food, and it was for a good cause. This routine continued for a whole week.

Eight days after the escape, they got cocky and tried to steal from a ship during the night, when they figured the owners would be out, either sleeping or at a local bar. Perhaps they could steal some gold coins and "use that to buy food." They waited until the whole ship seemed to be clear, and made their way to find the storage place of all the things the owners of the ship possessed. They found it, and took as much as they could carry without looking too suspicious. Right as they were about to fulfill their mission, they got caught by the captain of the ship. Frightened out of their mind, they tried to run, but the first mate stopped them. After they frantically tried to explain their situation and send their apologies, the captain showed them mercy, and offered to take them in. Relieved that they wouldn't be punished, and thankful for the offer, they accepted; considering they had no place else to go, and they were pretty sure that the whole stealing-and-running thing wouldn't work out for all too long.

They decided they would settle down here. They stayed and worked on the ship, sailing the seas and exploring for the next few years, growing up in the pirate way. Lena was given a new last name to officiate her adoption into the crew; she would be known as Lena Kidd. Zak remained as Zak Luck. He said it made him feel strong, so the captain allowed the name to stay. The two kids grew up together, very close. They became the best of friends.

Growth
At age thirteen, Lena had a developing personality. She was more audacious and impudent. She was friendly, but mostly to Zakary, her best friend. At this age, she was quite impressionable. One of her crew members, Señorita Aveline, was acting as a mother figure for Lena for a few years, now. Lena loved sailing the seas with her. To Lena’s interest, Aveline would teach her words or phrases in Spanish.

Fourteen, she studied more and wrote in her journal more often. Every now and then she would talk about her best friend. "Zak is the best. I love being around him. He understands me and has always been there for me. I appreciate his company! :)” Some crew-mates, especially Madame Aveline, would tease her about liking him, though she would be quick to deny it. "I don't understand why you think I'd like him like that! He's my best friend!"

Four Dimensional
It was the day after Lena turned fifteen. She needed to speak with the Captain for matters regarding her birthday and the events that occurred, so she went into his quarters. He was busy with writing up an important document, so while Lena waited to talk to him, she opened up a chest and looked through the random things inside. Seeing a strange, intricately designed box, she grabbed it and started fiddling with it.

"Yes, Lena? What did you nee-" he stopped. "Lena! D-Don't touch that!" "Huh? What do you mean? It's just a box! Hm. A very detailed one at that. What's your problem?" she replied, rolling her eyes. She opened it up and saw a bunch of wires, an integrated circuit, two microchips and a button. Curious, she pressed it. "See? Nothing happ-" With a fwoop and a puff of purple void, she disappeared. - Reappearing, but in a different location, she stood up, confused. The box was gone.

"-pens...... What..? Where... where am I?!"

She looked around. Did she dun goof? She was in the lawn of a large building. She held onto the strap of her satchel. What was this place? She jumped as a voice beside her came out of no where.

"Excuse me!"

Lena then looked behind her and saw a young boy with black hair and brown eyes staring at her with a confused expression.

"You look lost. Are you okay, miss?" he spoke out in concern.

Lena looked around in confusion before turning to the boy and asked in panic, "Where am I?! I-I, uh, who are you?"

The boy scratched the side of his head with his finger as he tilted his head and replied in an unsure tone, "You are at the courtyard of my school; specifically Luminous Arc, an elite Academy of Swords and Magic (though other weapons like axes are used as well...)." He then smiled in an endearingly awkward way at Lena as he pointed at himself with his one hand while his other was in his pocket and said, "Also, my name's Zesty! Im a first year student in this school! And you?"

"O-oh.. um.. wow.. this sure is different..." she muttered. "Oh. I'm Lena. I uh..."

She didn't know what to say. What would he think if a random person was at the courtyard of his school because of some kind of crazy magic teleportation box? He'd think she was crazy! She had to make a cover up story.

"I'm transferring here! I was-- uh, just making sure I was in the right place, haha.." she quickly gave a smile.

Zesty simply stared blankly at her for a moment until he smiled. "Well, technically you're not in the right place, actually," he started to say as Lena widened her eyes in shock. "The right place to sign in is at the headmaster's office at the top floor of the tower over there." He doesn't seem to notice Lena's sigh of relief as he pointed at the large tower near the courtyard. He continued with a grin, "Anyways, want me to show you the way around the Academy?"

"Uh, yeah! Sure! That would be great, thanks."

He toured her around the school and afterward showed her to a hotel room and gave her some money so she could stay there. Thanking him, she stayed in the hotel and inspected all of the weird stuff inside of her room. There was something called an "elevator", and at the push of a button, you would teleport to the next floor! Lena was intrigued. There was also a large box in her room, and it had many buttons. She pressed one of them, and the box lit up! She jumped away from it in surprise. It had moving colors that would be in the shapes of pictures. She smiled and continued to mess with it. It made sounds too. This place had very strange magic, nothing like the type she was familiar with!

The next day she walked to the school, wearing the same clothes as the day before. She looked around at the other people walking towards the building. They were all wearing the same thing. The ladies would wear a white polo shirt with a navy blue tie and a navy blue skirt, with stockings and black high heels. The gentlemen would wear similar clothing, but with khakis and black dress shoes. Confused and feeling out of place, she hurried to the school. Making her way in, she looked around, trying to find the person in charge. When she finally made her way to the principal's office, the assistant asked her where her uniform was, and why she wasn't wearing it. Lena replied, saying she didn't have one, and the assistant gave her the outfit. She went into the restroom to change. Afterwards, she ran into Zesty and his group of friends. He invited her to join them, so she did, since she had no idea what she was doing, or who anyone else was. The group went to all of their different classes together.

After a while, Zest invited Lena to stay with them in their hide-y hole. Lena accepted. She had made friends with most of the people in the group, but she mostly kept to herself. She needed to figure out how to get home. Since that wasn't apparently going to happen anytime soon, she had to accept her current fate.

Ooaps I goyt drudnkk
Many months later, taking her everyday evening walk down the streets, she ran into somebody she knew from school; James Alves, and some of his friends. He invited her to stay with them, and having nothing else to do, she went with them to wherever they were going. Curious, she asked. They said they were going "somewhere special". Intrigued and confused, she continued with them until they reached a night club. James handed her a fake I.D.

"Uh... I don't think this is a good idea.. You should just go back and find something else to do." Lena suggested. "Or if you all don't mind, I think I'd like to leave."

"Are you...chicken?" one of James's friend's inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"W-what!? No! Of course not! I just don't think this is, you know, gonna be fun or anything! Surely there's something more entertaining and you know, LEGAL, that we can... do..?" There was a pause. "...I'm not chicken!"

"Get in line and prove it to us, then. We know we won't get caught."

Lena sighed and walked into the line, holding the fake I.D. in her hand.

"Come on! Be more excited! Just go in and have fun!" another friend told her.

What if they got in trouble for this? They said they wouldn't but they were probably gonna end up doing something dumb because they were teenagers! Teenagers are known for doing stupid stuff! She walked forward down the line slowly and when it came her turn, reluctantly gave the bouncer her ID. Biting her lip with anticipation she waited until the bouncer gave her the OK to go in. She felt a small pang of disappointment that it had actually worked and looked at the picture of her in the ID. She didn't know if it was some kind of magic or not, but she found it unusually strange that her picture had already been taken and put in the card. Almost as if it were planned... She shook the thought from her mind. "Don't worry about it..... just go in and have fun... or at least try to stick it out until you can sneak away while no one's looking."

Inside were what seemed like hundreds of flashing lights, with music blaring at full volume. "Wow. Sure is loud in here. Hope I don't need hearing therapy after this," she grumbled to herself, raising her hands up to her ears as somebody grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the bar.

"Huh!?"

Sarah, one of the people in James's group, was sitting Lena down at the bar.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked frantically.

"Ordering some drinks!" Sarah exclaimed, passing some money to the bartender. "A round of margaritas, please!"

"Uh, thanks but no thanks, I don't.. erm, drink."

"You do now!" James quipped at her.

Lena groaned. "Let me rephrase that. I won't drink. I'm only here to hang out for a bit, then go home. I don't need to add getting tipsy and throwing up to my agenda tonight. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be having very much fun here. I should just go home.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Well, that's why you have to drink first! Things will all become clearer once you do. Or not, if you get what I mean," she giggled with a wink.

“..Wha..? The frick frack are you talking about?”

"Come on, prove you're not gonna be a downer! Just try one drink, and if you absolutely hate it, I won't bug you about it anymore." She pulled a black strand of her hair back behind her ear and stared into Lena's eyes expectantly.

Lena stared back and sighed. "I don't understand how my consumption of alcohol will really effect what fun you'll all be having but whatever. Fine. But only one drink," she conceded, holding up her index finger for emphasis.

James smiled and grabbed a couple of drinks from around the table, then raised one glass beverage up to her eagerly. She got off of her chair and took it from him, and then took a couple of sips, grimacing at the strange drink. She attempted to go away from the two to get someone else to drink it for her so that she wouldn't have to, but of course James had kept his eye on her and didn't let her. Groaning and giving up she downed the drink herself.

"You know, for someone so popular with the ladies you sure aren't the gentleman I imagined," she spat at him.

"Ah, so you're one of the feisty ones..." James grinned and added with a wink, "You know, I think I like it."

Lena growled back, "Ugh. Pipe down, Casanova."

One drink had been quickly forced into two, two drinks more easily slipped into four, four drinks turned into what felt like more than five, and with no doubt she was on her way to getting drunk. That is, if she wasn't there already. Things had been moving so fast she could barely grasp what was going on. One moment she was being pushed onto the dance floor, and the next she was in a room she couldn't recognize, held against the wall, staring into brown eyes which belonged to none other than James himself.

"James..? Why are... we in here?" she asked. Everything around her was spinning.

"Shhh... Don't say anything," he said, getting closer.

"N-no! Get... get off of me!" She began to struggle out of his grasp. It was hard since it seemed like the floor was moving like large waves in the ocean. She broke her arm free and tried her best to focus on the circular shape of the head in front of her. She held her breath. Then she swung her arm with as much force as she could gather.

 

Sarah looked around. She saw someone she recognized and walked toward him. "Hey, Alec. Have you seen Lena anywhere around here?"

The ginger-haired boy looked up at her and replied, "Yeah, I just saw her. She was with James going into that room over there." He pointed to a door that led into a hallway, titled with the word 'PRIVATE' above it. "I don't think I've seen them come out of there."

Sarah breath hitched. "...How... how long ago was that?"

"No more than two minutes ago, I'd say."

She cursed under her breath. "Thanks, Alec.."

She walked away. She needed to find Lena, quick. ''“Rumors.. Please don't be true…”''

--

Lena slowly opened her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit room, just outside of a bathroom, trying to gather her thoughts together. As she tried to remember what happened the night before, a sudden throb felt from the inside of her head. She grabbed the sides of her head in pain and hissed. What had happened that made her head ache so much? She felt... wrong, entirely. Mainly her stomach-- and her head. Trying to regather her memories again, she crawled to the toilet with a sharp pain in her stomach and vomited. "Oh gosh. Was it something I ate?...No, I... I was.. We were at the night club.. and then we were inside.. with all the flashing lights and the music and... and that's all I can remember..."

Lena shuffled to sit upright and felt a strange pain in her knuckles. They looked dark purple and red, like they were bruised. Another sudden pain struck her head and she grunted, pressing down on her forehead. This was not a feeling she enjoyed. What word could be used to describe it? Sick? Upset?

Hungover.

"Oh! You're awake! Okay, uh, good," a soft voice had called semi-quietly behind her. Lena's breathing slowed and she turned her head and looked up to see who it was. She examined the girl that was towering above her. She had black hair... green eyes... Sarah?

“Sarah? What... what happened last night? Where am I? Why am I here?!" She had so many questions.

Sarah sighed. "Lena, I am SO, SO sorry that I pressured you into drinking with us.. it was stupid and I feel.. horrible."

"Just tell me what happened, please," Lena begged, her hands massaging her temples. "I am not... well."

"Okay, um... well, first, James..."

James. Right. She remembered James. But why?

Sarah continued. "James got you drunk. He tried taking advantage of you while you were in that vulnerable state and he took you into a private room. I heard where he went and I went to find you two, because I was worried, but when I walked into the room..."

Lena's stomach dropped. What did James do to her?

"He was yelling, his hands on his face. I think you managed to break it somehow, because it was bleeding and it looked off."

"...What?" Lena asked. I broke his nose?

"Right when I walked in, you ran out of the door and all the way to the exit. I followed you and you passed out at the main hallway. Then I took you here. I'm so sorry for not trying to stop him sooner."

Well, that all explains the hangover and the bruised knuckles.

"I... um... thank you, I guess."

Sarah gave a slight smile. "It was no trouble. I'm just glad that you're safe."

Downfall lets fix this
It was a rough few months for Lena. Being bullied by no other than Marilyn Crystal herself didn't help, either. She had it out for her. Lena didn't know what she did but, my goodness could that girl hate. Lena had struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts and other issues for months. She hid it well, acting bubbly and confident with herself. Yet she got careless about her work. Rebelling against teachers, specifically ones that go by the name of Leviathon. No one could call her parents 'cause she didn't have 'em!

Eventually, Lena had learned that the reason Mari Crystal hated her so much was because there were little rumors spreading around that Lena had slept with Mari’s ex-boyfriend, James. Mari was not happy to hear this. (Though this was not exclusive, because anyone that had any kind of relation with him, she would hate or attack.) Lena had hated James with all of her heart and this assumption that she liked him made her furious. Although she had tried to reason with Mari that, Mari had ignorantly decided that her anger with James was a cover-up. She was a very stubborn girl. Lena decided she wasn't worth her time, so she tried her best to ignore her.

Lena had usually enjoyed the more action-based or what she would call actually useful-in-life classes that the school offered, like Weapon and Armor-smithing and Monster Taming/Slaying, or Magic and Alchemy. And as she wasn't fond of History or Language Arts, she was okay with Mathematics and Science. In her spare time she would practice combat training. She had found that she really liked working with knives, so she practiced with them most of her time. With extra help from the school, she became more skilled and precise.

Time had passed since she had departed from her friends at the Academy of Luminous Arc. About two years, actually. Somehow, ((which will probably be explained when I find out HOW to explain it)) she (and others) had gotten a way back to Ruxomar, but things were different than before in Xommigar. It was strange to downgrade in technology and magic. It would take a bit of time to adjust, but they would all adjust nonetheless.

In Which Everything Goes Up For a Bit and Then Straight to the Gutter lets fix this too pl0x
Meanwhile, Lena (nearly seventeen, now) had been searching to get back to her adoptive family, the pirates. She needed to know they were all okay before she could ever move on. Determined, after two months she had managed to track them down. They were at a popular place for trade and marketing. Lena had spent nearly half of her money for transportation to get to the town before they had left.

It was nearly sundown, and the pirates were loading up the ship to leave. She began running down the docks. "Oh no! Did I miss them? Are they gone already?!" she thought to herself in a panic. Relief quickly hit her as she noticed the ship she had been so desperately looking for at the end of the harbor. At first she felt nervous but she had no hesitation as she ran, looking for someone she recognized up on the ship. Unfortunately, she hadn't been looking exactly where she was going, but rather up, and she rammed right into someone who was focusing on closing up crates, knocking them over. She felt blood rush up to her face in embarrassment as she pulled herself up from on the person into a rather suggestive position. Her mind whirling from when she fell, she hadn't gotten a good look at the face of the person.

"Eek! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and--"

"...Lena?" a masculine voice whispered below her, his face full of disbelief.

“Huh..? How do you know my......name..." she questioned. Her breathing stopped and her eyes widened as she realized who she was talking to. "ZAK!" She dropped down into a hug and held him tight, her smile beaming. "Well puberty definitely hit you like a sack of bricks. I didn't even recognize ya' at first!"

"Haha, look who's talking!" he jabbed back.

"I missed you," she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zak held her close. "I can't believe it's you! It's... it's been nearly two years, and nobody knew where you went. I thought.. I thought you had--"

"Ahem," a third voice had sounded.

The two looked up, and saw the unmistakable freckled girl with black hair and deep blue eyes. It's fascinating how quickly a great smile can be easily turned into a frown. ''"Just my luck!" Lena hissed to herself silently. ''

Zak looked back at Lena as she climbed off of him. "Oh, um, Lena, this is my.. girlfriend, M--"

"Marilyn," she growled.

"I see you may know her already.."

"Lena? What are you doing here!?" Mari hissed in return.

"I should ask you the same thing!" Lena put her hands on her hips.

"Zak, please, explain to me why you chose this specimen? Of all people! As a girlfriend!"

Mari scoffed, "Jealous much?"

"Me, jealous? What made you think that? No way."

"Right."

Lena sighed. "Why do you always ruin everything?"

"You're just mad I met him first! What’s with you and trying to steal my man all the time?!"

"First of all, I WASN’T TRYING TO STEAL JAMES. AT ALL. Second of all, what are you even talking about, here? I'm from way before your time, hon! Don't think for a second that you beat me to anything!"

Zak watched in confusion. How did they know each other and why do they hate each other so much? "O-K! Let's calm down, shall we! What is going on?"

Lena rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I'm over it, okay?" "Or I was." she thought to herself. "I'm gonna go see Cap."

Annoyed, she walked up onto the ship to go find her adoptive father; she had better things to do with her time.

"Lena, wait!" Zak called for her. But nobody came.

The next day, Lena had gone to try to speak with Zak again. She had a few things on her mind. She walked down to his quarters and knocked on the door.

"Zak? It's me, Lena. Can I.. can I talk to you for a sec?"

The door opened to reveal a somewhat tidy room. Inside, you could see an open book and a pen and quill at the wooden desk, right next to a candle that was keeping the book lit up enough to see. On his bed there were a couple maps spread out and a leather satchel, which you could not see the contents of from the angle Lena observed the room.

Zak looked delighted to see Lena at his door. "Hey, look at you; you're talking to me. Not pissed. Although I'm not sure why you would be. Wanna explain what happened yesterday?" he said, his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, but his eyes and smile still gentle. "And, you know, where you've been for the last couple of years... Thanks for the explanation, Lena." he added to himself silently.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. It's just... Mari and I.. we have a history. And by history I mean I've been trying to avoid her for over a long time because of some stupid thing with her ex at a school... It's a long story. But, look. I know you and she have a thing or whatever, but..." Lena tried to look for the right words. "I-, she.. the... ugh. You know what? I won't beat around the bush. Mari's an ass. Why are you dating her!?"

"Well that was...kind of expected, actually. She’s got.. quite the uh, personality but that's not.. why I'm dating her.. It's uh.. but, it's... you know, complicated," he replied, red-faced. It was kinda awkward to talk about that with Lena, he noted.

"..She's your...I… *ahem* I understand." she shook her head to rid of the blush creeping up on her face and raised her hands in surrender. "Whatever- your life, not mine. But you should know that she's a real wild card." Lena narrowed her eyes. "So don't do something.. dumb. Or anything I wouldn't do...okay?" She playfully punched his arm. She couldn't be annoyed at Zak. They had too strong of a relationship to have it be ruined by something so dumb as a problem with Mari. Lena didn't like her, not a bit, but she would just have to wait it out until she got out of her life.

"Pfft, yeah, like that's something anyone would know: what you wouldn't do? You always were quite the little daredevil. And, I… know what I'm doing." He smiled, and there was a pause. "..You know, it's nice to have you back, Len."

Lena's smile fell, and she bit her bottom lip, staring at the floor with her hand on the back of her neck. "It's nice to be back... but, uh.. about that.. I'm.. I'm not going to be staying. Here, with you guys. Not for long, at least."

"What? Why?"

Lena took a deep breath and looked back up at him. “I've decided that I've only come here to check on everyone; you know, to make sure you were all alive and well and stuff. Plus, after doing all this adventuring and traveling that I did to get here, I've realized that I don't want to be sailing the seas for the rest of my life. I want to see the world, Zak! And I don't want to just travel around it, seeing some big, cool landmarks occasionally. I want to explore through it! I love the ocean, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to miss out from what's right in front of me. Especially after everything that's happened with me so far. Life is too short. And I... I wanna make the most of it.”((heheh get that ref? no? ok.))

"Oh. I... I see." The disappointment was clear on his face.

"..I....Zak..Look… I um..Meet me at the Great Oak on the outskirts of town, past Blooming Road tomorrow, at midnight if... if you want to come with me. You're my best friend, and there's no way I would rather go without you. I know you might like it here, and... there's Mari and the rest of the crew.. but then there's me. I mustn't stay long; I need to prepare my stuff...but.." Lena started backing away towards the stairs backwards. "Just.. think about it, aight?"

"Okay."

With a smile, she turned and disappeared up the stairs.

The next day, in the late evening, Zak was packing up of his stuff, preparing to leave, when Mari walked into his room, wearing some short and somewhat skimpy nightgown. "Where do you think you're going?"

“Away.”

“Aw… But I had plans for us tonight!”

“Not the time, Mari. We need to stop this thing that's been going on recently, whatever it is.”

“You… You want to break up?” she asked with gritted teeth.

“Ah, yes, that would be what some people call it. Break up. I like the sound of that.”

“…No.”

“No? What do you mean, ‘No’?”

Mari grabbed the key to the bedroom door.

“I said no, as in ‘no, we’re not breaking up.’ I knew that Lena girl was trouble! She's been nothing but trouble for me for years. Now she's tearing us apart!” she told him, clearly angry. “I know you're about to leave to go with her, but I'm not going to let you. You belong here, with me! With this crew! You're about to make a giant mistake and I'm going to prevent it!”

“What the hell, Mari!? And how did you know I was going with-”

“I heard your entire conversation yesterday, Zakary! I don't care how you actually feel about me, you belong to me! And I command you to stay!”

“I am not an object for you to control and decide what happens to, Marilyn! I am a person, and I will make my own decisions for myself,” Zak rebuked her. “I knew you were a pretty shitty person, but this is worse than I could have ever possibly thought! You've really outdone yourself. Get out.”

Mari was not amused.

“Hmph! Maybe you just need some time to think about your decisions, here. I'll leave you to it,” she growled. “Stay here all night long! In fact, I think that's what you'll do. Nighty!”

She shut the door and locked it from the outside with the room key.

Zak's eyes widened as he ran up to the door and pounded on it. “WHAT DID YOU DO? LET ME OUT! MARI!” But to his dismay, no one came. ---

tfw u try to do the good thing LETS FIXTHIS PLZZZ
May 7th. Three months after Lena had gone to explore the lands of Ruxomar. It hadn't even been that long, but in the sixty days that she spent, she saw and studied more than she thought she would. Every day was a new adventure! New things and new people, new towns and villages! She felt like running through the forests, singing at the top of her lungs. (Although she would never do that around anyone else. She has her pride.) No one could stop her now! Maybe being alone wasn't too bad of a thing. Lena would spend a day or two in each place, sometimes finding a job or two to take on for some extra money.

One day, she noticed something...odd. She was in the marketplace of a town called Windermere when a strange hooded man had been looking around and bumped into a middle aged lady. Lena's eyes lowered as she saw his hand reach down and grab the something out of the lady's satchel. Was it jewelry? It happened too fast for her to know. Now, she knew it was none of her business, but since she could do something...

"Hey, you! Come back here!" she called for the thief as he speedily ran through the thick crowds of people.

She chased him, and he ran to the woods. But then she stopped in her tracks. He disappeared.

"Where did he-" her mumbling cut off as somebody grabbed her from behind, holding her mouth shut with their hand. Her shriek muffled into the hand when she felt a cold blade against her neck.

"You say one thing about what you saw and I'll see to it that I slit your throat, got it?" a masculine voice threatened as the hand drew away.

"Whoa there! Okie-dokie, I won't tell anyone! You have my word, just keep me and my neck out of it, please!" she stammered.

"Good."

Once he drew his knife away, she took this chance to turn as fast as she could and jab the man in the gut with her elbow. Once he was caught off-guard, she unsheathed her dagger and struck him in the face, leaving a nice cut before she ran away.

"HAH! Can't stop me now, asshole!"

She ran and ran until she was sure he couldn't have followed her that far. At this point, she was in a completely different town. It was still nearby Windermere, but it would do. She'd grab a horse and leave the area in the morning.

"Man, the thieves around here are weaaak," she mused to herself after she rented a room in the local inn. "''Probably why they have to threaten with knives to the face to get what they want, ha." ''

The next day, she went to the town's marketplace to grab some food for her travels. As she paid for her purchase, she felt something was off. Like something, or some/one/ was watching her. She thanked the salesman and stuck the apple she bought in her satchel. She looked around, but nothing out of the ordinary was there. Maybe she was feeling paranoid since what happened yesterday. Just in case, she made her way out of the market and got out of the regular sight of the town. She stepped into the trees of the forest and man a few loops, trying to lose whoever could be watching and/or following her. Unable to get rid of her uneasy feeling, she climbed up a tree to get a better view, but even from such heights, she couldn't see anything. Too many leaves.

She slid down, reassuring herself that she was being irrational when she felt the whiff of air that a flying knife brought her skin as it stuck into the bark of a tree behind her. "Shoot."

"I knew someone was following me... Nice to see you again, Mr. Pickpocket," she greeted the man as he walked slowly to her, where in turn she slowly backed away.

"Huh, didn't know we were giving each other pet names. Now, where did you think you were going, hotshot? Especially after our little dispute yesterday... tsk tsk tsk. Didn't think I would find ya'?"

"Nope, but I wasn't exactly scared. You were pretty easy to catch off guard,” she scoffed. Then she looked up at his face. “I see you still have the little present I left you. Looks nice on you! Gives you a more matured look. You could pretend you got it in some kind of *big war* and that scar means honor to you or something. You know, instead of it meaning you're inexperienced and incompetent.”

"Inexperienced and incompetent?” He raised his dagger. "You realize I could kill you right now, right? You better watch your mouth."

"Ooh, struck a nerve, did I? Sorry bout that, but it's the truth. Don't take someone on unless you know you can win, hon!” she smiled cheekily. “Tell me, why haven't you killed me yet, then?”

"Well, you're no use to me dead, now are you?"

"I don't know, maybe you're not being creative enough."

"Do you want me to find out?"

"I'd like to see you try," she spat as she pulled out her own dagger.

He attacked first. She quickly blocked his blow and made hers. It was obvious both were trained in the same area, although Lena's skill had taken her opponent by surprise. She got in a few hits, but then so did he. Their duel lasted longer than anticipated, but someone had to mess up. Unfortunately, Lena had tripped over a tree root that had been hidden by leaves, and the thief had gotten the upper hand. ((Congratulations, you played yourself.)) LETS FIX IT ALL

"You were saying?" he sneered as she lay on the floor, her blade a couple feet out of arm's reach.

"That's not fair!" she complained. "It was hidden under some leaves!"

"All's fair in love and war, sweetheart."

He climbed on top of her, holding her down and tied her hands together with rope he retrieved from his satchel.

"Heh, kinky." Lena couldn't help herself.

"..Shut up."

"Where did you even get that? Do you just keep a stash of rope on you at all times? What kind of-- ow! Not so tight!"

He had taken her prisoner and brought her to a more hilly and tree-thick area of the forest. In that time, she had gotten a better look on his appearance. Her captor had short black hair and brown eyes, and now, a scar on his cheek. He seemed quite young. No older than nineteen, for sure. Soon enough, they arrived in a much more secluded area.

“So uh, what's here?” she asked, puzzled as to why he brought her to a tree-thick clearing with nothing in it. No tent, no fire. What was here?

As she was about to add to her question, he pulled on some sort of branch on the stone wall in the side of the clearing, and something on the stone wall beside her  glittered. "Huh..?" she mumbled. He had opened some kind of barrier. Then they walked through it, into a cave. "A cloaking spell..? I guess I would see why you'd do that in a cave if you lived in it but still, seems a bit unnecessary--" her thought trailed off. This wasn't just a cave her captor lived in.

The tunnels opened up into a much larger cavern that was lit up more and had people in it. She assumed they were all thieves and/or bandits, based off of what she was told by some locals. This was a base. For thieves. He was bringing her to a thieves guild! Now she started feeling a bit uncomfortable. What was he gonna do with her? She didn't think that they'd do anything like kill her, since her capturer took her prisoner instead of taking her life right then and there when he had the perfect opportunity. She still was concerned, and rightfully so. "Oh well. Maybe I'll learn some kind of life lesson here?"

He had taken her to the room in the corner of the main room of the guild. Inside, they were greeted by a woman with vibrant red hair and brown eyes and a scar on her lip who was sitting at a desk in front of them. She appeared to be a woman in power.

“Ah, so you did manage to catch her?” the lady observed, impressed. “Good job, Jesse.”

Lena was confused. “Huh? What do you mean? Why do you want me?”

The red-haired lady stood up from her chair and sat down on the front of the desk.

“You see, my dear, I've been recruiting young ones like you recently-- young ones that show great potential. Ol’ Jesse here is one of our best, and once he came back with a big slice on his face that was given to him by someone as young as he said you looked, I just had to have ya’!” She went on. “And by the looks of the scratches you both have, I was right to think that you didn't just get lucky that time.”

“...This guy is one of your best? Huh, now I understand why you're recruiting more people," Lena noted.

“Haha... you're quite cute. Tell me, what's your name?”

Lena drew a blank. She didn't want them to know who she was, or possibly make connections to people she knew. But, a middle name was safe right? They couldn't possibly figure out her identity with just a middle name.

“..Call me Echo.”

“Echo? I like the sound of that. It has a nice ring to it. Well, Echo, how about joining us?”

“Erm...do I even have a choice?” she asked reluctantly, noting the knife that was being held to her side by Jesse, the thief that brought her there.

The lady smiled. “No, not really.”

Lena, or now called Echo, let out a long sigh. “Fine… I guess it is my fault for getting involved.”

“That's the spirit! Welcome to the guild, Echo. I'm sure your time working here will be absolutely wonderful,” the lady smiled and let out a somewhat sinister laugh. “My name is Hazel, but you can call me Boss.”

“Cool cool. So uh, when can I get this rope off my wrists? I think I'm starting to get like, rope burn,” she asked, wriggling her hands around.

“Jesse, take off the rope, jeez! She's going to be one of us. But, hotshot,” the lady moved close to Lena’s face and narrowed her eyes. “if you try to escape from us or leave, then I'll be sure to tear you limb from limb because you decided to misbehave. Got it?”

Lena’s eyes widened and she nodded.

“Good. It's time for you to go into the initiation process.”

Lena felt her wrists loosen. “Uh… ‘Initiation process’? What does that… What does that uh, entail?” she asked, getting a little nervous.

“You'll see.”

What the initiation process was, was that the person joining would have to take an oath, and be sworn into allegiance to the guild. Then, they would have to steal something worth a diamond. After that, they were tattooed with a circular tattoo that would wrap around one of their wrists. At that point, they would officially have joined the guild. The tattoo was so other guild members could recognize each other and work together without acting suspicious in some kind of way.

This was the process that Lena had to complete. And she did. Well, she had to, because her life was being threatened if she tried to leave or sneak away from the guild. The Boss had eyes everywhere. This was gonna be her life for a while.

---

(wip)