121A/N: Hello all! Yes, I am still alive and kicking. As you can see, I've decided to revise the story "Trust me." I'm sorry to those who reviewed my other version. I was reading through it last week and I nearly died from my horrible writing. It just wasn't working the way I wanted it to work so I decided to snip a bit there and add a bit here. (some bits stay the same) Hopefully, it turned out better than my original attempt. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if you would all kindly review this new version. Please?
As for those who haven't read the other version, just sit back and enjoy. And don't forget to review!
Also, I'd just like to mention that my updates might be slow, but I promise that I WILL finish this story. I don't care if it takes me 40 years (hopefully it won't take that long and I'll finish by the end of this year or beginning of next year). I've got major exams this year and I can't promise that I will update quick enough for some people. Sorry! But if you're willing to put up with me, I'll try to make it all worthwhile. Keyword here is "try". I know, low self esteem...
Ok, enough babbling and on with the story!
Harnamland was once comprised of many countries. Because of the sheer number of countries, the land they occupied was small and people yearned for a bigger homeland. The "Great War of Harnamland" broke out as countries invaded each other to gain space and when the war finally stopped, Harnamland was completely transformed. The continent was now divided into 9 nations. The most powerful country is Xenon. Even though they are only second biggest, they have the best army which defended against all attack and invasion of their lands.
Their power is closely followed by Wylsoc and Ytalc...
"This is so boring! How am I supposed to remember all this?" In a show of frustration, Kayla flung her history scroll across the well furnished room and smiled in satisfaction as it hit the opposite wall. She didn't want to learn the history of her homeland. In fact, she absolutely loathed history, but she had to study it if she wanted to pass the entrance exams for the "Brigade."
The "Brigade" is the most prestigious group of fighters in the country and often assigned the most important political tasks and did other random important things for the royal family. Entry into this exclusive army was extremely hard and only the best of the best of fighters joined.
"Kayla! How many times have I told you to try restraining that temper of yours? One day, someone in this household is going to get hurt by objects thrown by you." Kayla grinned sheepishly as her father stood in my doorway. He did not look too pleased.
"Sorry."
"I came here to ask you if you'd like to come with me to the castle tomorrow but now that I was nearly killed by your temper tantrum, I think I'll reconsider my offer."
"No!" Kayla shouted. "You are the best father a girl could wish for. You know I've been waiting for this chance for ages and wouldn't deprive me from it would you?" She quickly sidled up to her father and gave her best attempt at a wounded look, which was still quite pathetic really. If there was one thing Kayla was good at, it was flattering her father with words. As a child, she seemed to get herself into the worst of troubles and the skill proved invaluable over the past years.
Most ordinary people were banned from even going within the castle gates. After all, it would be expected that the King had the best security in the whole kingdom. Fortunately for Kayla, her situation was different. Her father just happened to be General Davies, the highest ranked military officer of Wylsoc. The crown King often invited her father to visit the castle and discuss military strategies but it still wasn't often enough for Kayla.
Why? Simply because he was there. Jonathon. Her knight in shining armour. Her future husband. The cutest guy that was ever placed on Harnamland.
He was also part of the reason why Kayla was so determined to join the "Brigades." He managed to pass the exams last year and ever since then, he was required at the castle nearly everyday to train. If Kayla could make it into the squad, she'd have an excuse to be with him nearly everyday!
If people knew that Kayla was thinking "romantic" thoughts, they would laugh. Thinking about the opposite sex is just not what people expected her to do. On first impressions, Kayla looked like any other meek eighteen year old female. She had long auburn hair, bright blue eyes and a slight body frame. But people who've had contact with her, all know that she's more than she appears to be. As the daughter of the General, her military fighting skills were non-surpassed and her temper was renowned all over the city. As a child of 10, she gained the reputation of "boybasher" and all the boys who thought she had looked cute immediately changed their views towards her. But it didn't matter to Kayla because they were all ugly anyway. She only had eyes for Jonathon.
Kayla sighed as she daydreamed on. General Davies looked at his daughter strangely.
"Oh, I was just uh...thinking about history!" Kayla supplied quickly. She didn't want her father to know about Jonathon, but had a sneaking suspicion he knew already. There were few things her father didn't know about her.
Davies chuckled. "You always want to do things the hard way don't you?"
"Dad! You know it'll do me no good if you just sign me into the Brigade. People will just snicker behind my back and besides, I have to know I can do this." Davies cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Maybe it's because of some other reason."
Kayla blushed and quickly tried to shove her father out of her room. "Dad! I have to study now."
Luckily, her father didn't push it. "Ok then. Tomorrow, castle, me and you."
"Ok." After her father left her room, she was once again free to think about Jonathon. She'd always been fond of him but it wasn't until a few months ago that her fondness turned into something more.
FLASHBACK
"Help!" A little girl with screamed. She was being chased by a gang of street bullies and she'd never been so scared in her life. Her little heart thumped as adrenaline poured through her veins. She didn't know why they would want to chase her. After all, she'd only managed to kick their leader's shin. No big deal she had thought, but apparently, their leader DID think it was a big deal. As soon as she'd kicked him, he'd screamed bloody murder and sent his whole gang running after her.
She looked back and saw that they were gaining on her. What were they going to do once they caught her? Fear flooded through her and she tried running faster. Suddenly, she tripped over a misplaced crate and tumbled to the floor. "Well, well, well. Would you just look at the midget."
"Please don't hurt me," she pleaded, "I didn't mean to kick him so hard."
"Well it's too late for apologies! I'm gonna make you wish you never were born." With that said, the gang closed in on her.
"Stop picking on her Jay!" a loud voice boomed. It came from a boy as he appeared from behind a tall crate.
"Look guys. It's that brat Jonathon again. You may have beaten the crap out of me the last time, but this time, I have my whole gang here."
"I can beat the crap out of you even if your whole gang is here." The boy that was supposedly named Jonathon smirked.
"Why you..." Jay lunged toward Jonathon but was pulled back by his gang members.
"Hey what's the big idea?" he asked.
"What do you think you're doing? Jonathon is the son of a Lord and if he's hurt, his father is gonna make us all pay!"
"Who cares? My father is a Lord as well and he'll stick up for us," retorted Jay.
His gang members didn't seem convinced. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to get involved in this. My mum would kill me if she had to pay for Jonathon's medical bills." This comment brought out a murmur of agreement among the gang.
"What? Are you all chickens?" Jonathon's voice pierced through their heated conversation. "Don't go easy on me just because of my father."
Jay might have been a strong boy for his age, but Jonathon wasn't exactly a weakling either and without the support of his gang, Jay decided to leave it. "Fine, you win this time." With a growl, Jay waved his hand and his gang soon disappeared to leave Jonathon alone with the girl. She was crying by now and her knees were bleeding from the fall. "Hey, you alright?" Jonathon asked the girl.
She stopped sniffling and looked up at the older boy. He had brown hair that tumbled around his face making him absolutely adorable. His hazel eyes shone with mirth as he looked at her and at that instant, the little girl had made up her mind that her hero was the bestest person in the universe.
END FLASHBACK
Sighing, Kayla decided to take a walk through town to get her mind off Jonathon. At this rate, she'll never learn her history. The city streets were filled with peddlers and merchants shouting and trying to attract customers. Kayla made her way through the crowded streets, her mind finally off Jonathon.
"Kayla!" The voice came from one of the stalls. Kayla's best friend was waving for her to come over. Melanie Duvall was the daughter of a very wealthy merchant and it was during one of Kayla's roaming days in the markets that she had met her. Kayla loved the wares at the stall and Melanie had given her one of the trinkets for free. They'd been friends ever since. Kayla walked up to her stall and grinned. "Hello Mel. How's business?"
"Fine. It hasn't been as busy this time of the year, but we'll live." Their conversation was rudely interrupted as a handsome male leaned across the stall. He had a cool disposition as he lazily looked at the wares for sale. Finally he looked up.
"Hey there darling. Are you one of the goods for sale?" Kayla shut her eyes and took deep breaths to calm her nerves. That was a very trying remark and only one person said corny things like that. Jay, leader of the "Street Sharks". In Kayla's opinion, even his gang name sounded unoriginal. It's curious as to how the son of a wealthy lord became the leader of a street gang, but his father probably just didn't discipline him enough.
"Leave me alone," said Melanie. "I've told you many times before that I'm not interested." Jay just cocked an eyebrow and smirked.
"Are you sure? I'm very rich. Not to mention very handsome as well. If you agree to my proposal, you'll never have to sell silly trinkets again."
"They're not silly trinkets! And yes I'm sure. Just leave me alone."
"Oh come on! Why don't you just spend one day with me...we can romp around in the bushes..." He reached over to stroke 'soft brown hair and the shocked expression on Melanie's face triggered Kayla to cut in.
"Hey. She told you she's not interested so why don't you do find some other poor girl to bother," she snapped.
"What? Hoping I'd come bother you? Sorry, but even I'm not that desperate," retorted Jay.
Kayla was easily angered but Jay was the only person who got her extremely angry. "Well I'm not that desperate to crave your attention either," she shouted. A few people stopped in their activities to watch the scene, but one murderous look from Kayla made them all look away again.
Jay laughed. "She's your friend right?" he asked. The question shocked Kayla out of her anger. Everyone knew that Mel and her were best friends. After all, Kayla came to visit her store nearly everyday and the pair could be seen all over town laughing together.
"What's it to you?"
"Oh nothing really...It's just that...Nah, forget it." He turned his attention back to Melanie who now had a pale look on her face. "Anyway, I'll be here to see you tomorrow. Just look like your normal beautiful self and," he eyed Kayla, "not some male equivalent."
Needless to say, Kayla was ready to pound his head if it wasn't for Melanie restraining her. After Jay left, Kayla immediately spun on Melanie. "Why didn't you let me hit him? You know he deserves it?"
"Don't get worked up over him Kay. You know he's just being the jerk he is." Melanie still had a pale look on her face and Kayla stopped in her tirade to examine her friend. "You okay Mel? You look sick."
"Oh no," Melanie immediately brushed the comment away. "So, you doing anything interesting tomorrow?"
"Yeah!" Kayla instantly replied. "I'm going to the castle with my father and hopefully I'll get to see Jonathon again."
"Oh, I see. Have fun." Melanie smiled but her eyes didn't twinkle like it usually did.
"Anyway, I can't stay long. I have to go back to study for history."
"Bye then," Mel replied distractedly. The pale colour was still apparent on her face. Kayla frowned. Maybe Jay overdid it this time.
"Listen, if Jay comes to court you again, just tell me and I'll go have a nice long talk with him okay?"
Melanie looked surprised at Kayla's suggestion. "No-no. It's no problem. Thank you anyway." Her beautiful face had gone a shade paler than earlier. Kayla looked at her friend worriedly. "Mel, are you sure you're not sick?"
"Yes, now go. I wouldn't want to keep you from your history."
With one last worried look at her best friend, Kayla left the stall. But instead of going home like she said she would, she headed through an alley. At the end of the alley, there was a rusty door and Kayla knocked on it twice before stepping back to wait impatiently.
The door opened and a tall bulky male appeared. When he first saw Kayla, his eyes lit up with a mischievous glint but as soon as he realised that it was Kayla, his face fell. "What'd you want?" he snarled.
"Tell Jay that this male equivalent wants to "talk" to him."
The male snorted. "Our leader has better things to do than..."
"It's okay Marcus. I can deal with her." Jay stepped from behind Marcus to face Kayla. He was nearly a whole head taller but it didn't faze Kayla one bit. "What can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to tell you to stop bothering Melanie. She's got more important things to do than deal with scum like you." Jay looked unperturbed by my threat. "Why are you helping her? It's not like she does the same for you."
"What're you talking about?" asked Kayla, thoroughly annoyed at Jay's antics. Jay gasped in a melodramatic way. "You mean you don't know?" he asked incredulously.
"No," Kayla replied irritably. "And I don't want to. I just came here to tell you..."
"Oh, but I think it'd be very beneficial for you if you found out." He smirked again. "Just ah...just go to the port and you'll see."
Kayla looked at him doubtfully. Could she trust him? Did she really want to know? Eventually, her curiosity as to what tricks Jay was up to this time won and she sighed. "There'd better be no tricks."
Jay smiled innocently. "Me? No way."
Kayla arrived at the port and scanned for any signs of activity which Jay could've been talking about. That's when her gaze settled upon them.
Melanie and Jonathon. Walking together hand in hand.
Her heart leapt up, but Kayla ordered it to calm down. There could be a perfect explanation for this and Kayla was not one to jump to conclusions so quickly. She crept up to where they were, hiding behind the massive crates that were being unloaded and loaded onto the ships. Her effort didn't seem necessary though. The two seemed too engrossed in each other to notice their surroundings.
As Kayla neared the couple, a part of her screamed for her to go back - that it was wrong for her to intrude on other's privacy, that nothing good could come out of this. But now that she saw the two together, she'd never forgive herself if she didn't get to the bottom of this. She crept closer and finally was at a distance where she could overhear their conversation. She hoped against hope that they were just having an innocent conversation, but what were the chances of that?
"Who cares about Kayla?" Jonathon was saying, "What does she have to do with us?"
"Don't you understand? I'm meeting you behind her back! She loves you and still under the impression that you will like her someday." Jonathon laughed and it was the first time that his laugh did not bring a flutter to Kayla's heart.
"Kayla? She's not capable of love. Just look at her! She runs around chasing boys to beat up. She's not a proper lady...unlike you." He reached out to touch Melanie's cheek and she didn't stop him.
"I-I like you a lot Jonathon but I feel guilty about us. I think I should go tell Kayla. At least then..." Jonathon laughed again.
"Tell her? Why? What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He paused. "You want to hurt her?"
"No!" Melanie shouted. "I just – I just..." her stuttering was silenced by Jonathon's finger.
"Shh."
Any smart person would've heard as much information they needed already and left silently. But Kayla didn't move from her spot. Even if she wanted to, she physically couldn't move. Tears were threatening to spill, but she forced them down. She was not going to cry for him. Never.
Even in her tear clouded vision, she saw Jonathon lean down to place a kiss on Melanie's lips. "I guess I don't really have to tell her," she consented between his soft kisses. If there was any doubt of their relationship, the kiss proved it. They were lovers.
Run! Kayla's mind screamed. Get away before they discover that you know their secret! But so what if they knew? Kayla was beyond caring anymore. She had always stuck up for her best friend and now it was finally revealed to her that Melanie was betraying her. How could she have been so stupid? She had noticed that every time she talked about Jonathon, Melanie would go pale, but never in her life would she have made this connection.
She could still hear Melanie's giggles, hear them kissing and each time she heard them, her heart would shatter some more. There weren't many people who accepted her for who she was and Melanie was one of the few. How could she do this?
Kayla couldn't stand it anymore. She emerged from behind the crate and just stood there, waiting for them to notice her. They finally did after a while. The look on their faces was one of extreme shock and Kayla almost smiled at their expressions. Almost. The hate and hurt they caused was still embedded deep inside her.
"I hate you Mel. I can't believe you did this to me," she spat.
"Wait! It's not what you think it is." Melanie ran over to where Kayla was standing and grabbed onto her arm.
"Not what I think?" Kayla snapped, "I think it's exactly what I think."
"I can explain," shouted Melanie, "Please." Kayla untangled herself from Mel's touch. Just the thought of being near Mel was repulsive, but she wanted to hear what Melanie had to say. Even though the evidence was overwhelming, some part of her hoped that Melanie had some plausible explanation. "Go on then. Explain."
"I-I didn't mean to be with him. He came to me first and he was so cute and I couldn't refuse and oh I'm so sorry! Will you forgive me?" That last shred of hope shattered.
"No," she replied flatly. "I don't think I'll forgive you for as long as I live."
Mel gasped in shock. "You can't mean it! I mean, we're best friends right?"
"Best friends don't do what you just did to me. You knew how much I liked him and you still...I don't ever want to see his or your face again." Kayla spun around to leave.
Melanie began to cry but Kayla didn't care. She was hurting 1000 times more than Melanie but she had the control to keep her lake of tears in. She turned around one last time before she left. "Just tell me one thing Mel. How long has this been going on behind my back?"
Melanie shuffled uncomfortably before answering. "Just over a year..." Kayla nodded before turning to leave again. Melanie didn't try to stop her this time. She knew that it was over. There was no more to say.
As Kayla left, she couldn't resist one more look at her ex-best friend. She was embraced in Jonathon's arms sobbing – the image of the couple would stay embedded in her mind forever.
"Hey, so you saw them eh? I still can't believe you didn't know though. They've been meeting at the port for ages."
"Go away Jay, just leave me alone." The fact that even Jay knew before her served to stick another sharp knife in Kayla's being. She began walking home, but Jay followed.
"Oh, it's okay. Really, it was bound to happen. I mean, Melanie's so beautiful. Who wouldn't want her?"
That comment would've normally stirred a violent response from Kayla but all it did this time, was remind her of the painful past. Kayla blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill again. "Please, just leave me alone."
Jay stood in shock as Kayla brushed past him. Were there tears in her eyes? Jay shook his head in disbelief. This was Kayla. She was the 'boy basher" right? She had no real feelings. And besides, she had the right to know and he was just trying to help, not hurt. But as he watched Kayla's retreating form, he couldn't help but feel regret at what he had done.
Kayla stalked into her home still in a blend of fury and depression. The servants seemed to sense her mood and were smart enough to steer clear of her. They heard the door slam and the house was once again quiet.
"Kayla." She ignored her father. She didn't even feel like dealing with him at the moment. At that moment, she felt lifeless. Kayla felt him sit down beside her on the bed and buried her head under the covers to hide her tears. "Is there something wrong?" Silence greeted him. "You can always tell me. I am your father after all."
Kayla sighed in defeat. There was just something about her father that made it impossible for her to ignore. "Do you think I'm- Do you the Gods made a mistake when they made me a female?" She could see his surprise at the question.
"Whatever made you ask that? Of course not!"
"You're lying," she stated bluntly. "You're just saying so because you're my father.
"Just because you're adept at sword skills, can't sew, can't dance, not dainty at all…"
"Dad!"
"I still love you just the way you are and even if some people might not, I think your masculinity has some charm."
"You make it sound like a good thing!"
"It is a good thing. I've told you many times before. People like you are able to protect themselves and I don't regret making that decision for you many years ago. You could've been seriously hurt by that Jay and I don't want you ever in a situation like that again."
"But don't you sometimes wish that -"
"No. Never. You'll always be my little girl."
"You're not going to the castle with me anymore?" Davies asked incredulously. "But I thought you loved visiting the castle!"
"Yeah, well it's just not worth it anymore," Kayla replied bitterly. Davies gave a knowing smile but kept quiet. "I'll be back soon." As he left, a white piece of parchment caught Kayla's eye. It was the history scroll. Without a second thought, she threw it in the bin.
Trust. Such a delicate thing. You can spend your whole life gaining trust and it could all crash down on you in a few seconds. It doesn't matter how close two people are – as soon as one does something to break the other's trust, the bond will never be the same again.
Kayla grabbed her sword and decided to do some training. After all, it was the only thing she was good at so why not improve on it? She had now perfected the skills of the sword, lance, bow, rapiers and was now perfecting her dagger throwing. Davies had always encouraged his daughter to be as versatile as possible with weapons. You never know when it might come handy he had said.
As Kayla finished throwing her last dagger into the target, she was greeted by the sound of applause. Speak of the man. Here he was now. She jogged over to where he was standing. "Excellent Kayla. I can see you're improving." She nodded to accept his praise. Immediately his face of mirth turned solemn. "I want to have a talk with you. Freshen up and I'll meet you in my study."
Kayla didn't even think about what he was going to talk to her about. What's the point if she was going to find out later anyway? She quickly freshened up and entered his study. He was sitting at his desk, frowning as he examined various documents. As she entered, he looked up and gestured for Kayla to have a seat.
"I have a proposition to make to you. You don't have to have an answer by today but the sooner I get an answer the better." He paused before continuing. "As you know, I went to the castle today...to see the King. And certain implications have turned up. The only way to resolve these problems is if we send an assassin into Xenon to get rid of their General."
"And you want to send me." Kayla didn't miss a single beat.
My father sighed again. "Yes. Will you accept?" Kayla hesitated. Sure, she went around beating people up for angering her but she'd never really killed anyone before. She limited herself to harmless physical damage.
Davies seemed to sense her insecurities for he said. "It's okay if you're not up for it. It's just better if we send a female over. It'll be less suspicious and the only female that I think capable of this type of job is you."
"So if I accept, all I have to do is to kill the General there."
"Yes."
Kayla didn't want to leave the safety of Wylsoc to enter dangerous territory but then again, what else was here? Nothing but pain and memories. She looked up at her father, but his face was neutral. He gave no indication of expectancy and she was glad for that.
"I don't think I can kill an innocent man," she finally admitted. Davies's face remained a mask before he motioned for her to come closer. As she came close enough, he lifted his sleeves to reveal deep scars. Even though she had seen them before, Kayla still flinched.
"I assure you that General Castel is no innocent man."
"But, I thought..." He had told her that those scars were from the war, but now she realised how he really got them.
"I was captured and tortured by him to reveal information about our battle plans." As he told her, Davies saw the resolve in his daughter's eyes.
"I accept." This mission would plunge her into enemy territory but that didn't faze her. If she died, so be it. But if she somehow succeeded, she'd be back in her glory once again.
Davies nodded at Kayla's decision. "I'll tell the King of your acceptance."
"Trust me father. I will succeed and make you proud." I'll show Melanie and Jonathon that I can get along fine without them.
A/N: And so Kayla will start her journey in the next chapter! Please tell me what you think. Your opinions mean a lot.