Ten years later

Haelyn's POV

The blood never stopped and this time, it rose until I was sure that it was going to drown me. Then that was when I woke up and realized it was just one of my numerous nightmares.

It was night, and the moon was in the sky. I didn't notice how bright it was because I was sleeping on a table under a merchant stall. I was already tired of sleeping in stables with the horses.

Once or twice, I had missed their strong hooves and was lucky to get away alive.

I lay back and pulled my blanket over me. But the cold sweat on my body made me pull it away. I was already used to the bad smell anyway.

Ten years already and my life was worse than I remembered.

I was no more that little girl with the pet name, moonbeam. I had grown taller and more lean. Tough life had hardened me that one could even mistake me for a young man.

Well, I didn't really care about how I looked. It was what brewed inside of me that even kept me going.

I forced myself to sleep and tried to forget about the blood that never seemed to stop.

***

I woke up the next morning before the merchants arrived and took my things with me. I never carried much because I didn't have plenty. Just my weapon, and a sack that hid most of my clothes.

The place where I was, some village market, was on the outskirts of Silver Pack. No one knew me there, so I felt it was a good place to get some food.

I went to the river and washed my blanket. Kept it out to dry and waited. By the time it was parched, I folded it and went back into the village.

I went to one of the merchants that sold fruits. "How much for an apple?" I asked him.

"A coin," he said and looked at me.

"It is more cheaper here than where I came from," I said, just to get his attention.

"And where is that ?" he asked, and I could see the greed in his eyes.

"In Crystal Pack," I told him.

"Then maybe I should sell for you at a higher price," he said.

"You don't even know the price. I brought the information to you, so selling it cheap is the least you can do for me."

He seemed to agree with me on that. "All right."

I pointed. "How much are your bananas?"

He turned to look at them and I snatched two apples and hid them under my coat. No one saw me because no one shouted.

"A coin for a bunch," he said.

"Really?"

"Still cheap?" he complained.

I didn't have any money. I just wanted to steal my breakfast. It was how I survived.

"Yes. I'll be right back."

I left and took another road. Sometimes I hunted for meat, other times I stole because I was too weak to kill game.

I passed people without them noticing me, or who I really was. It was freedom for me but I was never really free. Not until I had my revenge. The fire still burned inside of me.

I took my apples to a place where the Silver Pack warriors usually came out to train, and watched them. Had been doing so for some months and I knew I was almost as good as they were.

But that wasn't the only reason why I watched them. The men liked to talk, and usually passed information at the top of their voices. It made me understand what was really happening inside the castle grounds.

"Swords!" their leader shouted.

I touched mine and bit into my apple. Watched them sweat it out. When they were finally done, they washed their upper bodies with water.

"Finally, our benign Alpha Roy has chosen to reward us, men. Heard about the Alpha trials?"

"No."

"Well, there are going to be contenders. And the last man standing will become Alpha."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Why is Alpha Roy giving the position out?" someone asked.

"You don't need to ask, Marcell. He is without child. And I really don't care because now I have a chance to become Alpha."

"Over my dead body, Pete!" the leader flared.

"We'll see about that on the battlegrounds!"

By the time they all dispersed, I had already made up my mind that I was going or get in one way or the other.

It was the opportunity that I had been waiting my whole miserable life for. If I could only get myself to look exactly like a man, then I could compete as well.

The only thing I had to do was to change my name. I picked one without even thinking. Not that I had any connection to it.

Bernard.

I picked up my things and waited for night to fall. It was imperative that I get into Silver Pack that night. And it was a good thing that I had been where I was when I heard about the Alpha Trials.

What a name for a contest.

If there was anything I had learned from being a thief and living from hand to mouth each day, then it was that nothing was as good as it seemed.

There was already a favored warrior that was going to take over from Alpha Roy, I knew that. But it would not stop me from putting whoever it was down just to get to Alpha Roy and Freya.

Night finally fell again, and it was time for me to return home. I packed up and followed a road I still remembered as a child.

I used to run all over the place then, and I still remembered the loopholes that took me out of the castle. My only prayer was that, after ten years, it would still be there.

But if it wasn't then I would just have to walk in through the front door as Bernard, the boy warrior.