Chapter Eight

At the gate to the city, I prepare to jump off of the horse, but Beatrice says "No, no! Stay on and keep her. I'm getting off here to walk the rest of the way. I won't need her in the city. Keep her as a gift to you for helping me."

I nod and jump down to give her a hug. She kisses me on the cheek, picks up her rucksack, and walks away at the speed I wouldn't have guessed possible for her. "Why didn't she get her horse?" Dad asks gruffly.

"She gave it to me for helping her. I'll take care of her by myself, don't worry." I say as we stop at the checkpoint. There sits a bored looking guard with a graying beard.

"What is your business in the city?" He asks in a deep baritone voice. Dad answers him for us, leaving me with my mouth open for a smart-aleck comment.

"I'm here to trade and sell vegetables, and get these two registered in the records for Fate Chosen." He says, looking anxious to move on. 

The guard looks interested now. "Names?" He readies his pen and paper. Master Solbek glares at the guard as he lists our names.

"Master Solbek? I thought you went and retired from this stuff. Go on in, but I gotta warn you, they want full training when you register now. They'll check your training and other stuff." He waves us on, Master Solbek looking nervous.

"Do you guys know the physical part of Explorer and Assassin Hood? 'Cause if you don't, we'll have to come back after you do." Master Solbek says, looking glum.

"We know most of it. We should find an alley to practice and polish our physical skills. Then Master Solbek could judge on whether or not we should register," Dakota says, and, at Master Solbeks agreement, we veer towards a large alley. We tie the horses to a bar, attached to the brick walls. We clear an area of rubbish and trash, then we get into position.

"Go!" Yells Master Solbek, and we fly into action, matching each other in speed and in skill. I get a good, solid punch to his jaw and he goes spinning into a pile of bottles, making lots of noise. A few people looked into the alley to see what it was. What they see is Dakota flying at me with a simple roundhouse kick. I dodge and take advantage of his off-balance moment.

I sweep his legs out from under him and pin him to the ground in a body lock. "Good, that'll do, Gene. Very good! Now let's get going before the registration office closes." Master Solbek says as we untangle ourselves and the crowd disperses, the excitement is now over.

"Can't think of a reason why that is 'most of it' in your mind, cause that's more than enough to qualify you for registration." He grumbles as we navigate the wagon and horses into the horse lane. "I suppose you're already proficient at traveling in the trees, aren't ya'?"

Dakota and I hide our smirks as I reply. "Yes, we are, Master Solbek. We grew up around trees." I say, telling a truth, but not the how of it. He grunts and grumbles all the way to the office. We tie up the horses to the post and he walks up to the door.

"I have to leave you here, you have to do this. I have to go sell produce, and I'm supposed to leave you to do this and not see you again, but you could see me as my daughter, not my apprentice." Dad hugs me, with tears in our eyes, then shakes Dakota's hand. "Farewell, Fate Chosen, and follow your Fate well." He salutes and walks away to unhitch his horses.

We walk in and get in the short line. "We have one horse, so we'll have to get another, unless you want to ride behind me," I whisper with a smirk.

"Well, it would save money, and I could keep my pack on my back. So we can keep your stuff and the food in the saddle bags.," He whispers back after a moment.

"I'll think about it," I say as we walk forward. A lady is behind a counter with a pad of paper and a pen.

"Names and Fates?" She asks in a bored tone, but her eyes, a clear blue, are alive and watching us.

"I'm Genevieve Maluna Potter, Assassin and Explorer Hood." I say quietly, wishing we had privacy and not close to twenty pairs of ears listening. The woman raises her eyebrows.

"Two, you say? Show me your wrist." I unwrap it from the cloth I put on it to hide the mark. I stick it out for her to see. "Definitely two, and Master Solbek's Mark also, interesting. Go sit and wait for your name to be called, Genevieve Potter." I glance at Dakota as I walk away, but his face is a mask of calm, devoid of emotion. I try to take that as a good thing while I find a seat among the young people all waiting. I study the many doors on the wall, all evenly spaced, about thirty feet apart from each other. The boy next to me, clad in Fate Chosen linens, notices me studying the doors.

"Those are the testing rooms. Just hope we don't get Madam Lucrieta. She's the hardest on her testees. I'm John, John Winthrop, Assassin Hood." He sticks out his hand.

I take it and shake, saying "Genevieve Potter, Assassin and Explorer Hood." I do my best to hide the smirk when his eyes widen.

"Two? Wow, that uber-rare. Who trained you? I was trained by Master Arkel." He says proudly. Though I have no clue who he is.

"I was trained partly by Master Solbek, for the mental stuff, and By Charles De La Croix for the physical stuff." I say, wincing when his expression turns to disbelief.

"How did you get the two best trainers, both retired, to train you?" He asks as I spy Dakota walking this way.

"Master Solbek is my Dad, and I'm friends with Charles's children." I say as Dakota sits next to me. Dakota opens his mouth to speak, but a loud voice sounds over some hidden speaker, cutting him off.

"John Lee Winthrop and Genevieve Maluna Potter in room seven, with Madam Lucrieta. Dakota Star Wolfe and Maddelynn Spice Wolfe in room eighteen, with Master Yewbeam." The voice lists a few other name pairs while John and I walk to our designated door, with a giant seven on it. I open the door and walk in.

The room mirrors Charles's training room. Mats on the floor, bars of different sizes on the high ceiling, mirrors on the walls. A lady, barefoot and in Fate Chosen linens, sits on a stool in the corner. She is Madam Lucrieta, with an icy blue gaze and brown hair.

"Shoes off and by ze door." She demands with a french accent and a soprano voice. We do as she says, then stand facing her. "Get to ze bars, zis is your first test." I look around, no ladder. Then I look up and judge the distance, about 15 feet above my stretched out hands. "You can use anyzing you have on you." She says. I grip my blessing and back up to a wall, preparing my muscles for the trickiest thing I have accomplished. I let go of the blessing as I gathered my aura to my feet. Running up walls as I focus my aura to my feet is something Sharp Claw taught me. I push all my strength to my feet and legs as I go from still to full speed. I hit the mirror and my foot bends up slightly so I can get attached to the wall, then I continue my run and jump to the first bar I can reach. I swing up and look down to see dumbfound expressions. John breaks out of his first and uses the corner to reach the lowest bar on that side. I climb and jump with ease, bar to bar, until Madam Lucrieta instructs us to jump down for the third test, the agility on the bars being the second one. I make my way down to the lowest bar and drop feet first. I bend my knees to avoid wobbling and breaking something. John lands with a lot of wobbling and almost tumbles to the floor.

"Good, now get ready to spar. Three rounds, no rules. Ready, set, go!" She says, and I fling into action while John stills at the command. I try to take a sweep at his legs, but he's not there when I'm supposed to hit his ankles or legs. He's behind me and getting me in a headlock. He knocks me to the floor and we get back into position. Now I truly study him, this is what he's best at. This is his element.

He's lean and quick and he does sneak attacks like a pro, so I've got to keep my eyes on him. "Go!" is the command she speaks and we fight. I get him with a straight jab to the nose and quickly follow up with a tight right hook to his jaw. He stumbles back and tries to get behind me, but I'm onto him, and I turn with him. I ran at him and tried a move I made while I was bored.

I get to his side and slam my arms across his muscled chest, and when he stumbles back, my leg is right at the bend in his knees. I slam him to the ground with my arms as he trips. I glance at Madam Lucrieta and her face is blank, but her eyes are following my movements with interest.

"Go!" and we fly at each other without hesitation, now that we are familiar with the other's fighting style. He's quicker and quieter, but I have better eyes and am stronger, so when I hit, it means something. We go on for a full ten minutes before I finally get John to the ground, mostly because he got tired.

"Stand and face me." Madam Lucrieta demands, and we do, with some soreness and bruising from the fight.

"I score out of six points, two for each test. You must have four of six points to be accepted into your Hoods. It is nearly impossible to get a five with me, and impossible to get a six. Winthrop, you got a five, congratulations. Wait outside for a moment while I talk with Potter." He shuts the door, looking happy and proud of himself.

"I don't know how you did this," She says, a smile unfreezing her icy face, "But you passed each of the tests with 6 points. Good job. Now, I have a message from Silver Raven, my boss. 'Trust your Fate, it will show you the way.' Now, you will be grouped with the kids in room eighteen. Don't forget your shoes. Go to the job desk for your first mission tomorrow at ten." She dismisses me and I leave her with a smile on her face. I grab John's boots too.

"So, what did you get?" John asks as we head to room eighteen. I told him the instructions she told me. 

"Uh, I got a six, and a smile. So I'm impossible, apparently." I say, giving him a smile, and am rewarded with a blush. "There! That's them!" I say as I see them leave. They both look sore and happy. I run at full speed, despite my soreness, and jump into his arms a second after he notices me.

"H-hello, Gene. I see you're happy to see me. I got a five out of six because I stumbled a bit when I l-landed." He says, holding me up partly, my legs wrapped around his waist. His face is red and he looks slightly sweaty, but he wasn't before.

"Well, I got a tough lady, the toughest according to John, and I got a six out of six and a smile. You two are paired with John and me. We get our assignment tomorrow at noon. John, meet Dakota Wolfe. Dakota, meet John Winthrop." I say as I clamber off Dakota and to the ground.

Then I notice the shy looking girl with straw colored hair and pleasant features. She's studying her feet like they hold the secrets to the universe. Probably feeling the weight of my stare, she glances up, her eyes a pretty hazel. "I'm Maddelynn Wolfe, Explorer Hood. We're supposed to get our paperwork tomorrow also-Ouch!" She holds her wrist, while I feel the burn on mine, the one with the mark. I unwrap it and my mark is a map run through with a sword.

"Cool, I'm gonna check on Black Beauty. I'll be back." I say as I race outside when I remember my horse; and our stuff in it. I notice Black Beauty instantly.

I rub her nose then give her an apple. "She's a beauty," a voice says while I give her reassuring pets. I spin around and John's there, probably having followed me out.

"Yes, she's my Black Beauty, alright." I reply, rebuckling the straps on the saddlebags. "So, what do we call this special force of nobody's?" I ask, glancing at him.

"I was thinking insurgent, but that's a tad bit long, and rebels are already taken…What about Renegades?" He asks as Dakota and Maddelynn come outside, laughing. Watching them makes my heart twist for no reason.

"I like it, " I say, still watching Dakota and her talk and smile.

"Oh, you're talking about group names? Reb is a word that is used to refer to rebels, but it's no longer in use. We could be the Reb Renegades." Maddelynn suggests, forgetting her normal shyness. In the silence that follows, she seems to grow her shyness back, and stares at her feet with red cheeks.

"I like it, Maddie." Dakota says, agreeing with her. He looks around at me for the solidification of the name. I sigh, then nod, feeling a little bit like a nanny. I hoist myself up and get settled, then Dakota gets up and wraps his arms around my waist, sending flutters through me at the sudden closeness, even though I knew it was coming. Dakota must have felt me stiffin, or take a sharp breath, or possibly both, because he asks " You sure about this? I can walk, or find my own horse."

 With my sharpened senses, I can smell his sweat, I can hear his fast, worried breathing, I can sense the dread that I'll say to get off, and the tiny glimmer of hope that I'll say he can stay, swimming in a sea of black dread. I can feel the slight tension in his muscles, preparing for a possible dismount.

"You can stay." I decide, and the dread fades, replaced by something hot and red, a hunger I can't, won't, think about. I turn my attention to the horse, mostly to ignore the burning feeling I don't want to acknowledge from the boy behind me. The tension melts away, but a little comes back when our group members join us.

"Where do we stay until tomorrow?" John asks, pulling on the reins of his gray horse spotted with black. The shy girl rides a large horse, brown with a white stripe on its nose.

"There's an inn, with a stable, just around the corner for this purpose." I say, pointing Black Beauty in the direction of the corner. I sense them staring at me before I can hear their horses to follow me. I follow the main road until I spot the corner.

The Inn looks like a Victorian era house, but at least four times bigger. It's painted a light sky blue and the trim is yellow, with white window shutters. There is a sign in front proclaiming it to be 'The FC Bed and Breakfast'. I spot the double doors, painted white with an oval window on each and long handles, like the ones on stores. I notice a sign "Stables" pointing towards the stable looking building. I follow it and only hear a moment pause before my followers continue after me.

A boy, about seventeen, rushes out. A stable hand, I think when I glance at his clothes. He is wearing brown linen pants that are thread bare at the knees and held up by suspenders. A simple white linen long-sleeve shirt adorns his lean upper body. I led Black Beauty into the open door that the boy moved over, like a barn door. The others follow me and Dakota, his arms still around me.

I hand the reins to the boy and toss the saddlebags on my shoulder. He gets John and Maddie's horses into their own small stable. I give the stable hand a copper and smile before we walk around to the front doors. They are open, and since it's an inn, I walk right in, the saddlebags still over my shoulder. Inside there is a big reception desk right in front. A young woman is seated behind the desk on a high stool. She smiles at the four of us and holds up a finger. She's on the phone.

"Yessir. A reservation for the fifth of March, party of five, one suit, add four cots or fold out beds, with meals for three nights? That all correct?...Okay, sir. Pay when you arrive, and that'll be six silvers for the room, two coppers per cot, and for two meals a day for five will be one gold. The total is one gold, six silvers, and eight coppers. Thank you, see you then. Bye-bye!" She gently set the phone in the receiver.

She smiles and says "Now, how may I help y'all?" I take initiative and step up.

"We would like two single rooms with an extra cot in each, plus a dinner and breakfast meal. We are staying just tonight with three horses in the stable." I say, just noticing that Dakota has taken up Maddie's saddlebags.

"Okay, four coppers for the rooms, two per cot, eight silvers for the meals, and a copper for each horse stabled. That would be a total of nine silvers and a copper. Split between four, that would be two silvers, a copper, and three bronze per person." She says, smiling as she calculates it in her head.

I dig out the right amount of coins from my carry purse. I put them on the counter and wait for everybody else to put forth their coins. We got coins from our master, and our High Parents before we left from their care. I have a lot of coins, mostly hidden away in the saddlebags over my shoulder.

"Okay, here are your keys, the cots will be there soon, so be watching. Dinner at five and breakfast at ten-thirty in the morning. Enjoy your stay." She hands over two keys with numbers on them and smiles us away. I look at the room numbers, then hand room number fifteen to John and keep room eight for Maddie and me. I take her saddle bag also, adjusting the weight. We follow the signs to our room and we enter. I frown at the contents.

There are two beds, two nightstands, a chest of drawers with a…what looks like a TV on top of it. Maddie instantly starts flipping through the TV channels on the TV. "I have eight years of TV to catch up on. I lived in the city until I was eight, then we moved and I had to be sent away. I was the fourth child of six, from the northwestern camp." She says, glancing at me before she continues.

"I am from a set of twins, and both of us sent because we couldn't tell who was born first. We are the third and fourth kids. My sister is Luna Wolfe, and we were in the Wolf Clan, spiritual people who can talk to animals, wolves especially. I don't believe in any of that. It's all bogus. We lived in the city to avoid animals at all costs." She turns off the TV. I start talking, not able to stop what comes out.

"I have a twin also, but he was first, so I was sent to the orphanage on the west side. I have a younger sister somewhere, the fourth child, and a dead brother, the third. My father is Master Solbek. No idea where my younger sister is." I say, feeling weirdly obligated to talk.

"Cool dad, want to go exploring? I know this place well, and you need to get a little experience of the real world. So, grab a few more coins and let's go. Maddie jumps up and prances by the door. I stuffed a few more golds and silvers into my carry coin purse before joining Maddie. We turn the corner and go out the front doors.

"Where to first? Oh, the market is a good stop first then the clothing store. You are in dire need of a wardrobe change." Maddie rambles on as I check my watch, nearly one o'clock and I haven't had my mid-day meal yet. My stomach grumbles in agreement, the little bit of hard travel bread not enough to hold me over until dinner.

Maddie drags me down the paved street to an open market. We pass stalls and stalls of food. I finally make her stop at a stall selling something golden on a stick, something that smells heavenly.

"I'll take two please." I say, drawing on the classes at the orphanage we had to take so we could know what to do in most of the real world. The man behind the stand raises an eyebrow at Maddie, but she shakes her head. 

"That'll be two coppers, ma'am." He adds the formal word as he notices what I'm dressed in. The clothes that mark me as Fate Chosen. He hands them over and we walk on, me eating my food. It's a breaded stick of meat, and they are delicious.

"Now, tell me why I need a new wardrobe. I have clothes. I don't need more." I complain as she drags me to the mall, a big shopping place.

"Well, so you aren't as noticeable and don't draw attention to yourself. I changed before we left. So that I didn't get unnecessary attention drawn to me." She shoves me towards a rack of clothes inside the shop we entered. I study what she is wearing. A leather jacket, black, with a white shirt that ends above her belly button, and tight black jeans. Then I study the clothes on the racks. They seem to follow the same trend. Short shirts, tight pants, and leather jackets. I spot a pair of boots, black leather, that look like combat boots.

I see more modest clothes on other racks and start flicking through the dresses and clothes that cover more skin. When Maddie finds me, clothes draped over her arm, I'm holding up a pretty white dress to myself. "Oh no! That will not do. We might have only been exposed to people who wear stuff like that, but we ourselves don't have to. Here, try these on in the changing rooms over there. I'll keep looking." She shoves the clothes in my arms and I follow the signs to the changing rooms.

I change into the first outfit, already cringing at how much skin it shows. I step out and into the open, a cold air drifting over my tones and exposed belly. I wear a red crop-tank, with a short black skirt that shows my legs and just how long they are, then I'm not even wearing a jacket over it at all.

Maddie looks over and her jaw drops. I watch as she takes in my purely muscled arms and legs, then stares a bit too long at my exposed belly. I guessed it's natural, since it's strange for a young lady to be this muscular. "Y-you look good in black. Try on the o-other things too, but get this one." She stutters after clearing her throat. I go back in to put on the jeans, black, and a white tank-top. I slip on the artfully faded jacket and step out. 

"N-nice, get that too, if y-you want. Get changed and we can head back to the inn." Maddie says, sounding a bit distant, her cheeks growing really pink suddenly. I shrug and go to change. I pay for my stuff and we leave at a brisk pace after I glance at my watch. We get back and rush to our room. I go to the bathroom to freshen up and change.

I hesitate on what to wear. In the end, I wear the skirt and the cropped shirt with the leather jacket. I wear my worn out boots and unbraid my hair. I run a comb through it until it's untangled and wavy. I come out and Maddie is waiting by the door again. She glances at me, then to my waist length hair. Her cheeks get pink again. "N-nice, now let's go." Her eyes flicker to my ivory pendant that I freely wear on my chest, then down my body, like she's assessing something. "Yep, you definitely look good in red. It makes your eyes pop." She says, opening the door.

I sense the same feeling I can't place a name on from her as I did on Dakota earlier. I shrug it off for now and head to the dining room. Dakota and John have a table already, and they both have a hand raised in greeting and a smile on their faces. All of that freezes when they notice what I'm wearing. Then I feel everybody's eyes on me. I get a lot of that feeling I can't place from most of the boys in the room. I duck my head and hurry to the table the rest of our group is at.

The boys shift uncomfortably in their seats as I sit down. John clears his throat and says, face red, "Nice skirt, is that new?" I nod and start to speak, but Dakota cuts me off.

"I see my little sister got to you. I'm guessing that's what she was doing this whole time. Surprised she didn't drag you off at first sight." He says, making me reassess the situation.

"She's your sister?" I ask, looking back and forth. They both have the same hazel eyes and young features, the same shaped nose and mouth.

"Half-sister, and you can obviously tell who got the looks. We have the same dad." He says, studying the menu intently. I notice that Maddie does the same.

"How can you both be sixteen?" I ask, completely confused.

"Ever heard of an affair? Spouse cheating on spouse? Dad had two women begging at his heels for him. He knew what would happen if that was found out, so, he sent the twins to live with their mother in a nearby city, and took me, the second child of his lover, to the other side of the city to hide me. Wonderful story, right?" Dakota says, bitterness seeping into his voice. I sigh in relief when the waitress comes.

We eat as fast as we can, to escape the tension and silence of the room. When both Maddie and I are done eating, we stand and leave, saying a quiet good night. The tension and silence in the room is so heavy and thick it's like a tangled spider web. We hear a commotion in the front room, and we decide to investigate. I do not expect to find what I see there.

Arguing with the lady at the front desk, is a copy of Maddie. A more wild version with brown hair, but still a spitting image of the girl right next to me. The girl isn't the most surprising part of it though. A giant wolf, waist high to the girl, the color of the woods, stands next to her.

The girl takes notice of us then. She says in a clear and high voice, "I am Luna Adeline Wolfe, Maddelynn's sister." She adds unnecessarily. "I was trying to get in contact with you because the animals have been saying it is time to come together again. Brother Wolf directed me here. I have come to be part of your group, the Reb Renegades." She turns her ear to the wolf, like she's listening to it or something. She nods and turns back to us, waiting for an answer.

She's wearing the normal Fate Chosen linens, but they are earth brown, instead of the normal black or white. Maddie looks at me, a signal saying that it's up to me. I look at the unlucky lady cowering behind the counter and toss two coppers on the counter. I say "Add a cot to room eight, it's for brother wolf."

Dakota walks in and I tell him that she's joining our group, and I expect a protest. But he just grunts and mumbles "That's what the crazy High Priest meant." He walks away with a nod of agreement. We lead Luna, and the wolf, to our room. Two cots lean against the door. I pick them up and go into the room. 

"You two can take the beds, I'll sleep on the cot," Luna says, then adds "It's going to feel like sleeping on straight ground, which I'm used to." She unfolds the cots and Brother Wolf hops on one, while Luna settles on the other. "I go to sleep early so I can get up early. Good night." She says, and almost immediately she starts a soft snore and her body relaxes into sleep.

I turn and look at Maddie, but she just shrugs. "She's always gone to sleep promptly at five-forty-five pm. Always has. I'm gonna turn in, and I suggest you do the same. We have a long day tomorrow, and we will need the rest." She gets in bed and, with the same quickness as her sister, falls asleep with a soft snore. I grin as I climb into my own bed and feel creaky springs. I lay down and fall asleep, thinking of the crazy day I had.