Years Later

We were all the same here. We were all discovered in some way. We were all given the same dilemma and we all made the same choice. We were the Seven.

Shortly after I met Queen Ira, I was given the choice to live a life of grandeur, to be here in the castle, surrounded by battalions of guards. The only payment I'd have to give was to be part of a team and serve our queen. That's all I was allowed to know at the time. But now I know. Experience comes with age and I am a lot older than I may look. Regenerating my aging cells has allowed me to keep my youthful appearance. The team I work with believes I simply age slower, they think I'm at a young age of eighteen. How deceiving looks can be, the truth is I am older than most of the vermin in the room let alone the city.

Only three members I have bothered to get to know, only two I've grown interest in. Only one I've become accustomed to.

The three members I've learned are all men, or so I think.

Beast is his code-name, the one I knew least about and regret gathering the attention of. Just as his name implies, he's an animal. Sharp cut ears, a dry heaving breath accompanied by a drooling jaw, he's an isolated member and prefers to keep it that way. A horrific man with animalistic tendencies and a feral attitude. The reality was that he was nothing more than a test subject of a mad man. He can be both man and wolf-beast if he ever needed to. This one was the biggest problem of the team, he was a loudmouth with attitude and constantly pushed the queen's temper.

Then there was Precision, I don't know much about where he came from. What I do know is that he is a perfectionist with firearms. From what I've gathered, he can't remember or chooses to keep his true identity hidden. He instead prefers to go by his self-chosen name: Price. An odd name in comparison, maybe it's something personal. We have grown accustomed to one another, he is the only one I can actually converse with.

And finally, there was Blade. I know nothing about him or her. She or he joined and, with no work required, they managed to outrank everyone on the team. They only needed to join to become Second in Command. Just as their code-name showcased, they were an excellent swordsmen. They were never without their blade: a beautiful ivory and golden sheath they kept shrouded under dark cloth. The handle of the straight-katana was a leathery white that they chose to cover with a crimson ribbon. I've never seen them draw the blade but if it matched the sheath then I would only be able to gawk at such beauty.

There were many oddities about Blade. One of the most obvious was their attire: tight, slim leather armor accompanied by a tattered cape that wrapped around their neck and acted as both a hood and a face mask; Blade's eyes were the only visible piece of skin on their body. And their eyes themselves were strange: they were a brilliantly bright azure, occasionally they would turn a luminescent crimson, the bright color seemed to hold a mysterious and malevolent darkness to them.

Within Blade's very soul I discovered something bizarre: another entity surrounded and swallowed their humanity. As if they weren't alone. But that was an impossibility. Two souls cannot occupy a single vessel, this made the scene even more peculiar. The darkness that suffocated Blade was not a soul. I couldn't tell what it was. The queen even tasked me to find out what I could discover about Blade, but when I got close, an overwhelming sense of darkness shrouded my mind. An evil laugh was hidden within the cloud, bellowing as images flashed in my very sight; images of death and destruction filled my eyes and replaced my fear. But within that darkness, I saw sadness. My interest in Blade has only grown since. However, I've refused to pry into their life after that encounter.

Even Blade's attitude was queer. It wasn't unusual for everyone in the Special Forces to be distant, but Blade was a different distant. They shut themselves away from everyone besides one person: an officer of some kind. Occasionally I would see a man wearing all black, much as Blade, walking the castle grounds with Blade.

Now thinking about it, even Blade's age was a mystery. The look in their bright blue eyes told me they were young but that's only upon first glance. Looking further in, they seemed hundreds of years older than even me. If they weren't then they've seen centuries worth of darkness to add the anguish to their gaze.

As for me? My code-name was Willow.

Willow was an old tree. Upon creation of Arinfel, it was said to have given life and strength to the earliest rulers, allowing them to defeat their enemies in both battle and wit. But the people became corrupt and greedy. Once the first rulers had their first child, Willow sent forth a horrendous darkness. A cleansing over the city; it stole the souls of the impure, turning them to the ghoulish corpses I had turned my attacker into. Willow left few alive, the king and queen were not amongst these few, the child however, was left unscathed. That child was said to have been Queen Ira's grandmother. A tale the queen loathed. She hated the thought of a tainted bloodline. As for Willow? Never seen again.

But that story was nothing more than a myth, a legend.

The reality was that this was now my life; I am a lap dog for the queen. I do as she says. In return, I'll be able to stay off the streets and in a fortified castle. As long as I follow orders.