As legend would tell, eons ago lived the God of Sun and Goddess of Moon. The two lived together harmoniously and soon fell deeply in love. From them was born the Earth and their children, to whom they named human.

The affection was short lived, however, as the God of Sun became reclusive to the Goddess of Moon. In her intense grief, her very soul divided. The result was catastrophic to some human children, and they devoured her pain and quenched their thirst with the blood of the innocent.

Disgusted by what his former lover had done, the God of Sun erupted and banished the bloodthirsty creatures to the darkness; forcing them into the night as a constant reminder of what the Goddess had created. In an effort to save the innocent humans, he offered forth a ray of his light and granted them the ability of transformation to the animal wolf. With this, they carried a bite fatal to the blood drinkers.

However, his heart, too, was broken, and the gift he gave came at a price; those who transformed would forever crave the taste of the moon and cry out to her.

The Earth witnessed the atrocities created by the God and Goddess, and as well born his own species; exemplary individuals with the strength of body and mind to defend the truly innocent from the demons before them. And for them, Earth also granted a gift; the flower named Ambrosia, deadly to both former species.

In the end, the three creations were given name. For the Goddess, they were called vampire. For the God, they were named lycan. And for the Earth, they were deemed slayer.

Soon after creation, a peace treaty was drawn between the three species. For hundreds of years, they lived respectfully among each other. This new found peace led to the decline of the birth of slayers, as they were no longer necessary for survival.

Some one hundred years ago, the peace treaty was violently broken and a great war began. Suddenly, the birth of slayers regenerated. In an attempt to close the racial divide, the slayers offered forth yet another offer of peace, to which only the lycans agreed. For the next coming years, the lycans worked alongside the slayers, fighting for peace. And the slayers trained as children, dedicating their lives to protecting the innocent.

Or that was for which they were created.

"That is the biggest load of crap I've ever read," Bella said, snapping her book closed and stuffing it inside her bag.

Alice wrinkled her nose, "I think it's beautiful."

"Of course you do," Bella said with a gentle smile. "That's exactly in your nature."

"I'll never understand your distaste in romance and love," Alice sighed.

"Firstly, that story is hardly romantic, and definitely unrealistic. Why it's in our history books is beyond me. But for your information, I don't find love and romance distasteful. . . I just have other priorities at the moment," Bella stated, pulling from her bag a slender, polished dagger.

Alice eyed the weapon momentarily before shaking her head, "One of these days, Bella, someone is going to crash into you so quickly you won't even remember you have a weapon."

Bella grinned and held the dagger up to her face to closely inspect before twirling it between her fingers expertly.

"I doubt it," She said, shrugging. "At least not any time soon. All I'm focused on right now is passing our exams and beginning an apprenticeship."

"God, you're so serious, Bella," Alice scoffed, as they fell in step next to each other. "Not everything is about killing vampires!"

Bella's face grew dark, but only for a moment. Though she knew Alice was only joking, it wasn't a subject Bella took very lightly. She glanced down quickly at the scar on her wrist; an ugly bite mark that served as a constant reminder of exactly why she hated vampires.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Alice said, stopping in the hallway to speak. "I didn't mean it like it that. It's just that you focus so much of your time on training I wonder if you're even enjoying life at all?"

Bella shifted the bag on her shoulder uncomfortably and then yanked her sleeve down to cover her scar, "I'll enjoy life when I'm apprenticing and killing vampires."

A bell chimed and echoed through the halls, and Alice's eyes grew wide, "We're late again. Laurent won't be happy."

Bella sighed as the two of them quickened their pace through the corridor, "I was going to stay late to train tonight anyway."

"As if you need the extra training," Alice commented, rolling her eyes.

It was a long walk to their training area, halfway across the castle grounds. They were almost always late as their class prior to training was conveniently far away. Unfortunately for the two, tardiness was unacceptable to their instructor, Laurent. When finally they rushed into the training area, the freezing rain outside had soaked to their bones and they shivered as they dropped their belongings by the door.

"So we've finally decided to show up, have we?" Laurent asked from across the room, his back to them.

Alice and Bella shared slightly nervous glances before Bella finally found the courage to speak up, "Sir, History is across the grounds and-"

Laurent held a hand up, silencing her, "I didn't ask for you excuses, Isabella. I asked you to be on time, for once. For the first hour, you two can do stair sprints. And don't even consider stopping until I tell you to."

The training portion of the castle was large, dark, and much older than anywhere else. The stone floor and walls, colored a rich red, were cracked in varying places. To the back of the room was a grand staircase that led to a seating area high within. At the end of the year, during exams, professors would sit in this area and grade the fights below. . . Now, the grand staircase would serve as exhaustive exercise.

"I said don't stop!" Laurent yelled after what seemed like hours had passed.

The chill of the rain had evaporated quickly and sweat now fell from Bella's face. She wiped her forehead, breathing heavily, and continued up and down the stairs though her muscles were screaming in pain.

"This," Alice began between breaths. "Is torture!"

Bella's face twisted and she pushed herself further. It was agony to her lungs and legs, sure, but she knew that everything Laurent did made them stronger. Even punishment.

"Enough," Laurent called finally.

Alice collapsed on the stairs next to Bella, who leaned on the stone side and pressed her fist roughly into her ribs as her legs trembled slightly. Below them, class had now gathered and around the room young slayers in training were practicing with weapons, fighting, and strength training. Bella noticed their roommate, Jessica, down in the pit fighting. Of course Jessica had been on time, her previous class was practically next door. Bella tossed aside jealousy of her friend and descended down the stairs with Alice trailing slowly behind.

"That was just the warm up," Laurent said when finally the two reached him. "You'd think you two would be used to this by now, but don't think because you're already tired that I'll make this session any easier for you. Retrieve your weapons and return to me."

Bella and Alice, still breathing heavy, ignored the curious glances from their class and made their way across the room to the wall of weapons. On it lay an extraordinary array of weaponry ranging from crossbows and swords to makeshift grenades and traps. Alice reached for her specialty; a pair of whips. They were navy blue with sharp silver lines twirling from the handle to the tip. She took a few steps back and twirled the whips, one in each hand, cracking the air around her. Alice was absolutely deadly with her whips, and once they were infused with the oil of Ambrosia, no vampire alive would be smart to come near her.

Bella preferred a less flashy yet equally lethal weapon: blades. The small blades she pulled from the wall had been a gift from Laurent for her dedication to training. These weapons were jet black and glossy and were adorned with her initials in gold. They were made from the most expensive steel known to slayers, sharper than any blade she had ever held before.

"Practice with the targets on the wall," Laurent commanded.

"Targets?" Bella asked, slightly offended as she was now accustomed to training with people.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Laurent asked, his eyes growing dark.

Bella set her jaw but shook her head, "No, sir. Not at all."

As she had a tendency to do in training, Bella poured herself into her work. She threw blade after blade at the targets, hitting in the chest every time. She trained until her arms and shoulders ached. It was only when she gave herself a break and wiped the sweat from her face with trembling fingers did she look around the room and realize she was the only one left.

"What time is it?" She asked, breathing heavy.

"Training ended an hour and a half ago," Laurent stated, perched on the stairs watching her carefully.

Bella nodded, retrieving her blades from the target and making her way over to Laurent. She sat next to him on the stairs, extending her legs and stretching deeply. Her muscles were tender but her body felt alive. The adrenaline was beginning to settle, however, and she was losing energy.

"Clean your blades, bandage your hands, and I'll get you something to eat when you're done," Laurent said, patting her shoulder kindly.

Bella studied her hands; they were scarred from blade cuts throughout a lifetime of training, and now there were small nicks and dried blood from today's session.

"You have a ferocity about you, Isabella," Laurent began. "I've always admired it. You're one of my best students."

She glanced up at him while her fingers deftly cleaned her weapons, "I have to. Some day I'll-"

"Avenge your parents death, yes," Laurent said. "I commend your dedication to finding your parents killer, however, I hope you are aware that he may be long dead by now. A war rages outside these castle walls. Slayers, lycans, and vampires bloodletting each other at every opportunity. It's likely the killer has already been taken."

"He's alive," She stated certainly, tracing the scar with her fingertip. "I know he is. I can feel it. I'll never forget his face or the sound of his voice. Next time we meet, I won't be a child. I'll be stronger than him and I'll be prepared. And he will bleed for the crimes against my parents, and myself."

It was still raining when Bella finally left the training grounds. It was late Friday night, but she wasn't sure of the exact time. She crossed the grounds in a hurry, blinded by the wind whipping the rain in her face. She shivered as she made her way up the staircase to her dormitory, wringing water out of her hair and shoes squishing with each step. She could hear Alice and Jessica's voices from the hallway. They seemed to be arguing about something. She slipped in quickly, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm almost certain curfew is up and you two are being loud enough that every instructor on the grounds could hear you!" She hissed.

"Jessica is leaving," Alice stated, putting her hands on her hips.

"Again?" Bella whispered, whipping to face Jessica. "You've been sneaking out for weeks, you're going to get caught!"

"Listen," Jessica started, raising a hand up to quiet them. "I get that you two are prudes, but I'm not. I need fun every now and then. I'll be back by morning, just like always."

Knowing that arguing was useless, Bella reached for a different tactic, "At least tell us who you're going with, or where!"

"No," Jessica said sternly. "It's none of your business, Bella. I trust you not to tell our instructors that I sneak out, but I don't trust you with much more. No offense, you're just closer to them, especially Laurent, than the rest of us."

"Jessica, there is a war out there. It's dangerous. Not to mention, if you get caught then we're all in trouble, not just you. We could be expelled and our future license denied. And for what?" Bella was shouting now, her anger peaking.

Jessica glared, "I'm not telling you anything to protect you, Bella. If I ever get caught, which I won't, you won't have to lie when you say you don't know where I went. Just lie and say you didn't know I was gone. If I can make it off the grounds without being noticed, I'm pretty sure I can make it out of this room without you two finding out."

Jessica, dressed in a too short black dress gathered her high heels and stuffed them in a bag which she slung on her shoulder. She paused by the window and before pushing it open and slipping out, she turned to say one last thing.

"When was the last time you were outside these grounds, Bella, besides to visit Jake? Have you ever considered that life out there isn't what it's made out to be?"