The brand of the nameless
Chapter 1
Like sodium headlights, light reverberated off the walls. The curtains vigorously flew through the air, as the harsh wind argued with the vicious storm.
The ferocious wind screamed against the panes of the glass of the dorm room that Celaena has been staying in for only a few weeks now. Although it rattled harshly sending thunderbolts of sound seeping through the slight shutter gap, she slept undisturbed; infant like, dreaming of a world that only someone who has seen all the terrors can dream.
Shadows tower over every light that enters that almost deserted place. Huge rooms dotted around this derelict building containing their rooms. The dorms are small and plain, with the opportunity to decorate to your own tastes, if you could afford it. Which Celaena certainly couldn't.
She had bright blonde hair that hugged her face and touched her bum with the complementing cerulean eyes. She has very little imperfections, that some could say she was flawless. But, everyone has a flaw. Everyone has a tiny little detail that wish they were never born with. And her flaw? Her flaw was her mind. Her intelligence. She had the mind that someone her age shouldn't have. She had the mind that could destroy and build a country. She had the mind that could isolate everyone and everything that she loved. Her skills and her mind are so advance that she is punished for it. By professors, by tutors, by kids and by herself. Her body, her sixteen-year-old body, is covered in scars. She has collected scars like librarians collect books. Some are visible, and some are mental. Some are still scabbing over, and some have been there for as long as she can remember. But the pain never goes away.
Celaena knows every single bit of this place. She knows where to hide when the professors get the look of lust in their eyes. She knows all the shortcuts to the dinner hall to get as much food as possible, not that the food is even edible. She knows how to be invisible. How to get places unnoticed, how to be alone. How detach herself from the world she once loved so no one could tear her apart anymore. She knows whats it like to once have hope only for it to be sniffled out again.
Hope is futile. Pointless, and never works out. There is no such thing as hope, only pain. Pain is the only thing that never lets you down. The only thing you can guarantee will always be there, like a silent shadow lurking behind you, waiting… watching… wondering if you will ever overcome the fear and agony of being alone. Pain will be the friend you can trust and define in, because hope? Hope is gone. And always will be.
Ever since she was eight she had been trained. Moulded into a weapon that can wreck cities, families, people. Instead of playing with dolls, she had been playing with knives. Instead of learning the alphabet and counting to ten, she had learned how decode codes and messaged from hidden enemies. Instead of learning friendship, she had learned how to dispatch an enemy in under five seconds. She knows more languages than you can even begin to imagine. She can notice things that other people don't tend to see. She has learned to depend on steel and weapons instead of friends and family. She can use daggers, swords and other various weapons better than she can write. Her skills are unlimited and beyond what a sixteen-year-old girl should ever be.
Celaena has witnessed things that other people, thrice her age, hasn't. she has killed more people than imaginable, and she has had to live with the burden of her mind and her brand for as long as she can remember. She has had to live with the brand of the nameless mark, the make that not only strikes fear into others but fear into yourself. For the nameless mark only appears on those who will do great and grave things, will save the world and never being recognised for it once their gone.
She lied in her bed, acing the ceiling, tears welling in her eyes as the memories project into her mind like a movie.
"Faster!" he screamed, cocking he fist back only to release it so it connected with her stomach.
"You need to try harder. Faster. Quicker if you ever want to succeed." he screamed again. Celeana had been training for three weeks straight with little rest and energy, preparing herself for the trial in front of the head professors tomorrow.
Every time she cried, or yelped pain. Every time she wished death upon herself she said one sentence that always made her stand.
'My name is Celaena Sardothien , and I will not be afraid'
Celaena woke; the same time she always wakes up as if she were a jack-in-the-box waiting to pounce at exactly the right moment, sweat dripping down her body, soaked sheets and her bed in a heap of mess. Memories corrupt people in the worst way possible, they break you, forcing you to re-live a moment in your life that you try so hard to forget. They force you to watch endlessly what you did, what you regret.
Like clockwork she sprung up, changed the black sheets throwing the old ones in a basin, and turned on the single shower to uncoil the stiff muscles that have entangled themselves in on each other and decided it was ready to get to the guild.
Celeana had left The Keep only two months ago, she was offered a place at 'The Elite Education Society' (EES for short) which she took in a heartbeat. Very few people get a chance to leave The Keep and end up stuck there but she was offered a way out and she wasn't going to pass that down, even if it means being alone.
'The Elite Education Society' was a school where students with talents, gifts and unique skills advance them even more. It helps student climb the world in their speciality and grow into better, healthier people. It has 250 different blocks all with a three side exits parallel to the main entrance. In each block has 30 rooms and 2 levels. The main hall, dinner and library is in the centre of the campus and the fields, stadiums, gyms and sports halls are dotted around the edges. The main entrance of the campus is on south east side. She had spent hours as soon as she got, silently assessing all the possible places for attacks, escapes and possible place to hide things you don't want found.
She dressed in her signature colour… black. Black fishnets covered her arms and legs and a black t-shirt with an unknown band on it draped over top. She had ripped black jeans and chunky, black doc martins.
Celeana grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, but before she could make more than two steps out of her dorm she ran into a wall or as least a solid object the size of a wall. She cranes her head back to peer into electric blue eyes. She takes a step back, over whelmed by the sparks floating in the eyes still peering down at her. His sandy brown hair flopped down over his forehead. The smell of pine and snow invaded her nostrils as she stared at his face. Stubble dotted his chin and sharp jaw line, with white almost silver hair and tattoos etching down his face he was fit, she wasn't going to lie. But all her thoughts flew from her head as he spoke,
"Woah, woah, woah, I'm not letting you get away that quickly. Whats your name?" he asked with an arrogant glint in his eyes and lazy smile plastered to his face. She already disliked him with that look alone. She looked down at the hand still gripping her arm and smiled sweetly, before grabbing the hand and twisting it backwards so his face winced in pain.
"Don't touch me again or ill bend your hand a little further… until it breaks." And with that dropped the hand and stormed away.
The thing she hated most in the world were arrogant pompous jerks who looks at girls like their meat and worth nothing. His face may have been nice to look at his personality was a let-down.
Celaena pushed her way through the bustling hallway like an asp. She moved with defined ease and made her way into her first class, art. Because of her training at the keep, throwing knives, or archery had given her a steady hand, allowing her to draw and paint with extreme ease. Letting her to master even the most complicated of pieces. She had been engulfed by the beauty and majestic form of art that allowed her to escape from the world that turned its back on her.
People piled into the class room taking their seats. She took the only unoccupied space before she turned to the door to see arrogant, stuffed-shirt jerk that walked into her this morning swaggering through the desks chatting with two other companions; one that had immaculate clothing, a button down shirt and cleanly shave face. he had dark curly hair and piercing blue eyes. He was well put together and but walked with little discomfort. Clearly happy with the fact that change had occurred. Change in the way that a new pupil was now attending their class.
Next to him was average height, relatively pretty young girl. She had the deepest, forest green eyes ever seen. Dark hair cascaded in waves down her back as she walked, her shoulders were ack in a confident stance, with her arms down her sides. She was dressed in a deep green summer dress with a cardigan to pull of the look.
The tables in the room were dotted around classroom in a U shape, leaving an open space in the middle of the classroom. There were four to a table, which were decorated in a paint and marks on the desk giving it an old, retro look. To her surprise the three pupils who she presumed were all friends stopped right in front of her. Looking at her as if she had three heads. She looked up from her book to come face to face with swaggering jerk, he grinned at her winking in the most annoying way.
"Yes?" she asked adding a small shake of her head for emphasis. Why on earth would they stop in front of her if they didn't want anything.
"You mind if we sit with you? We seemed to notice your alone." He asked his smile not faltering one bit. Her spoke with ease, the words rolling of his tongue, as he stuffed his hand into his jean pockets. Causing his t-shirt to stretch against his broad chest.
"I don't particularly care" she sneered, before looking down at her book again. Reading was one of the other things she absolutely loved to do. It took her into a world that wasn't her own, into a world where anything can happen.
He shrugged to his friends before they sat down and continued their conversations, waiting for the teacher to come in. which wasn't very long.
The teacher ran in there her lanyard bobbing against her chest. She was dressed from head to toe in floral prints, tassels, colours of all sorts and head band round her forehead containing her auburn hair. Her excellent hazel eyes shone as she looked at Celaena, delighted to have new student in her class.
The class went quiet when she walked in, and after taking the register and apologising profusely for being late she began her class. But not before she felt the need to introduce Elentiya to the class.
"Class, today we have new student. Celaena Sardothien. She is from…." She trailed of trying to remember the details about her. Before finishing. "Oh, I can't , do you want to tell the class anything about youself?" she asked, her eyes filled with happiness. Clearly never had to deal with anything traumatic.
Celeana looked around the class. Her eyes falling on the jerk in front of her, he had that insufferable lazy grin on his face.
"Not really." She replied in a clam, subdued tone. The teachers smile faltered before beginning her class.
Not long after the bell sounded signing ling the student it was time to leave. But just as she was about to get up the three people, who sat at her table, all looked at her as if expecting her to say something. She lifted her eyebrows a shook her head waiting them to repeat what they said.
it was the girl who spoke up this time.
"We were wondering if you wanted to come has lunch with us." She was about to say no before the pompous jerk spoke up and answered for her. he came up and put his hand on her waist and stood next me.
"Don't bother the little he said flashing her a grin before looking at back at his friends. Before she could reply, once again, she was interrupted by his clone;
"Oh, don't flatter yourself, your ego is enough to smother all of us." He packed up his book, busying himself to do something with is awkward hands.
"Your just jealous, because girls can't resist my looks." He said flicking his head to get his hair out his eyes. the two-brother stared at each other, blinking once or twice for the clone spoke again.
"Rowan, hate to break it to you but there are no girls lining up to get your attention. Mainly because their too scared of you. your just being nice now because you have a thing for Celaena." Celaena tensed as he said this while the brunette was laughing hysterically as Noah placed a mocking look of pain before replying.
"You wound me Christopher." He said putting his hand to his heart.
"Oh, pack it in you two, it up to Celaena, if she wants to come with us." The brunet spoke, turning to her with raised eyebrows. If she was honest, she really didn't want to but, something was different with them. they were intriguing, and the whole reason she was here was to recruit people to the keep, and for that she was supposed to get close to people.
They asked her questions about where she was from, what she used to do. Why the school had wanted her to come and what her skills were. For obvious reason she didn't tell them the entire truth. What would do if they found out she was a notorious assassin, trained in the home of the professors of Belhaven, a town of the outskirts of the city. What would they do if they found out she could probably kill them right here if they did anything that would annoy her. What would they do if they found out the kind of mind she possessed.
So she lied. Said she was from the city, said she was her training for art, lying to avoid the truth.