Chapter 0 - Prologue

"Promises mean everything. But after they are broken, they mean nothing."

The mind of a mere child is hard to replicate. It sees the word through a white veil, one with happiness and sunflowers and smiles. Over the years, the veils slowly melt away with maturity and age, to reveal the true extent of the world. But some have the veils ripped away before the time, and when they are, it's like ripping off a half healed scab.

It leaves a permanent scar.

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, lived a little girl named Halcyon Cytus Kurainazo Chevanelle. She had a strange lineage, Japanese-Chinese on her mother's side, and French on her father's side. According to her father, she had inherited the delicate features and large doe eyes of her mother, although while her mother's eyes were deep brown, hers were sharp violet with flecks of silver and gold in them. She looked nothing like her father, something that she had found strange since a young age, but she hadn't commented on it. When you're 4, things like matching your looks with your parents didn't matter much.

Captain Chatogh Chevanelle was an army general, a Special Division Black Hawk and an Air Force pilot. He had a Black Hawks snapback that he liked to wear and his dog tags were always around his neck. Her father was a loyal man, through and through. He'd even started to teach her, a 3 year old girl, survival skills, how to travel light, basic first aid, and capoeira, a Brazilian Jiujutsu style which main focus was to keep moving, and catch out the opponent. He'd also taught her the piano and violin, and she'd soaked up her newfound knowledge like a sponge.

Her mother had laughed, before teaching her ninjutsu (their great-great grandfather was a legendary ninja Grandmaster), how to cook, sew and read. She'd really enjoyed playing poker and reading. Her favourite series were the Paladin's Prophecy. Halcyon had learnt a lot, and they were a happy family. Then a new baby brother had been born, a beautiful boy.

But that day came.

One day, when Halcyon was six, Captain Chatogh Chevanelle came home looking exhausted. Halcyon had noticed, standing behind the piano room door, as her father took her mother's hand and said, "I'll be going off to fight in Iraq. This is...a dangerous mission. I don't know when I'll be back." They'd had another intense conversation in hushed whispers and muted voices.

Her mother had cried, but nodded. Then she'd climbed the steps to her bedroom to weep in peace, clutching her son, Elliot Chevanelle to her chest. Her father had looked for her, and when he'd finally found her hiding in her room, he'd talked to her in private.

"Sweetie, this is a big war, I truly do not know when I'll be back." Her father had started, then sighed, before continuing. "But I want you to know that I'll always love you. Always and Forever." This was a set of words that they'd always exchanged, but today it seemed more… important. But Halcyon had nodded all the same, and her father had drawn out five objects. Two were a pair of dog tags. One had the inscription : Captain Chatogh Chevanelle, 2nd Lieutenant Black Hawks Special Operations Team. On the other side were the simple words : Honour. Courage. Sacrifice. The other dog tag was the same except it was from the Air Force, and the words inscribed on the back were just Survive. 生存。He passed them to her.

The third object was a Swiss Army Knife, with a well polished mahogany handle, and the knife was well honed. This one was a larger one, about the size of a normal knife.

"This will protect you." Her father had promised.

The last was a old book, the inside filled with several quotes. She remembered that her father's side of the family had passed this book down for centuries, filling quotes that they liked. Her father's last entry was :

"You're mad."

"Thank goodness for that 'cause if I wasn't this would probably never work."

~Captain Jack Sparrow to Lord Cutler Beckett

(Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End)

Then he'd told her, "Take care of your mother for me, will you?" And Halcyon had nodded.

The next day, Captain Chatogh had left for the army. He'd hugged and embraced her mother, and knelt down next to Halcyon, who'd kissed him on the nose, and he'd laughed.

He said, "My sweet, one day you'll understand this moment. Remember, for what we want most, there is a price to be paid in the end. Be strong. I will come back for you. I promise. You are a protector. Remember that."

Then he'd left.

The next few days were alright. Halcyon and her mother checked the news constantly for any sign of Chatogh. Nothing came out, but Halcyon simply assumed that it was difficult to get news in a war. But then something happened.

Knock knock.

"Hello, may I speak to Mrs Chevanelle?" A weatherbeaten man dressed in old army fatigues was standing outside the door. She didn't recognise it then, but there was sorrow all over his face.

Halcyon nodded and stood aside. She recognised the man. This man had come over constantly to visit her father and sang bawdy pub songs. He'd clearly had had enough practice at drunken singing to become rather good at it when sober. 1st Lieutenant Lawrence Daniel Rhodes had also been the first person to sneak her a taste of the finest malt whiskey she'd ever tried when she was 5. All in all, she liked him and treated him like her uncle.

"Mama! Uncle Lawrence wants to see you!" Halcyon called up the staircase.

Her mother literally tore down the staircase with Elliot in her arms. She approached Lawrence urgently.

"How is Chatogh? How is my husband?"

Halcyon absentmindedly toyed with the dog tags she now wore constantly around her neck (as her father always had) while waiting for Uncle Lawrence to tell her everything, that her father was coming home soon, and that he was fine. But the next words made her stop cold.

"He's dead, Takeko."

Dimly, she heard her mother gasp. "No. No. He can't be."

"He is. I'm so sorry, Takeko. I tried, I really did, but we were overrun and he decided to make a final stand. He saved all of us. We wouldn't have been able to make it out of that dogfight without him."

"Papa's dead? But he promised he'd come back." Halcyon's small, tremulous voice rose up.

The two adults' heads snapped towards her. Takeko looked at her in mixture of shock and agony, as her daughter's mind slowly started to figure out that her father had left them. Forever.

Lawrence just looked at her sympathetically and passed her a slightly singed Black Hawks snapback. In the inseam was embroidered Chatogh Chevanelle.

Halcyon's small fist clenched violently around the dog tags, and as if by mocking coincidence, the carving Survive flashed.

Only one thought formed in Halcyon's mind. It changed her forever. Changed her life. Changed her heart. That day forced her to grow up, too fast, too early, too hard.

You promised.