Hey guys, guess what? I found an old flash drive from a couple of years ago with this on it and decided to see if you guys like it! I didn't edit this, since I didn't really want to disrupt the style of writing I had back then, but if you really like it, then I may see if I can come up with somewhere for this to go! :D Thank you!

I don't need a disclaimer on this because no one other than my characters has been mentioned so far, and I have a general one on my page. :)

I tried to sharpen my senses as I sprinted down the dark alleyway. I heard almost silent footsteps following me close behind. The sound of wind reached my ears as someone landed behind me, and I quickly turned around and kicked behind me before sprinting off in the other direction again. I thought back to the evenings earlier events, trying to figure out why in the world these people were chasing me.

Yes, I was running away from and fighting people I didn't know and I had no idea why. I just had the strong feeling that I needed to get away from them.

'Why? Why are they after me?'

I focused on the details of the night.

-Flashback-

I had spent the last two hours going through endless torture.

Tonight was a banquet for the owners and representatives of many small but prosperous companies and their families hosted by a few larger companies hoping to expand their horizons by convincing the owners previously mentioned to accept an offer to sell into the larger companies. I was the daughter of one of those representatives. We were only going because we had to as a formality. It would be rude to directly deny an offer for an event like this, and everyone wanted to stay on good terms with those hosting the banquet.

So, as I said before, I had spent the last two hours suffering through endless torture. 'Endless torture' meaning being forced to sit still while my mother's maids applied and reapplied makeup to go with the dozens of different ball gowns they made me try on. This was extreme torture for me because I am a major tomboy and house a deep loathing for all makeup and dresses. I was also being forced to wear high heels. Now, most girls would consider beautiful dresses and high heels a rare luxury. I consider them a handicap.

I've lived my whole life trying to escape the maids and guards and escorts. The only way to do that was to prove that I could take care of myself. I took self-defense classes and trained my stamina and strength. Then, I proved to my parents that I could take care of myself by capturing a thief when he broke into our house. Since then, I hadn't had guards or escorts when going to everyday places.

However, I still had to have them when I went to events like this because I can't do crap in a dress and heels. Shoot, I can barely walk in heels. Naturally, I brought a change of clothes and shoes, but I still had to wear the ridiculous outfit until dinner was over.

This brings me to where I was now, sitting at a huge dinner table surrounded by people in fancy clothing and women with over-done makeup looking all prim and proper, waiting for the glorious moment I would be able to go change out of the ridiculously tall heels and constricting dress and into stretchy slacks, a nice shirt, and nice flats until I could get home and change into something more casual. The bell for the end of dinner and the start of the meeting for the owners and high ranking representatives. I quickly walked to the bathroom to change, barely managing to make it without tripping. I changed quickly and slowly began my journey back up the dimly lit hall to the ballroom where I would continue to suffer until allowed to leave.

Thump!

I whirled around, searching for the source of the noise.

"Who's there?" I asked semi-quietly. I didn't want anyone in the ballroom to hear me.

Whoosh!

I heard the sound of air catching in cloth as someone jumped down from somewhere above me, probably the second story balcony. But a normal person would be injured jumping from that high. I narrowed my eyes and studied the area around me.

"Whoever you are, I demand you show yourself this instant!" I raised my voice a little and made it sound as authoritive as possible. I heard a soft chuckle right behind me and felt breath on my ear.

"Who the heck are you, you creeper!" I said a little too loudly as I jumped away. I turned around to see... no one.

"Holy crap. I'm going insane." I muttered, shaking my head before walking back towards the ballroom, still tense and itching to sprint instead of calmly walking. As I came close to the ballroom doorway, and hand grabbed my arm and threw me backwards. I clamped my mouth shut as I tried to control my flight and see who was there. After landing, I quickly swept the large hallway with my eyes. Nothing.

"Who's there?" I half-yelled. A hooded figure suddenly appeared several feet in front of me accompanied by the sound of air rushing past fabric. This was the person from before.

"Who the heck are you?" I asked angrily.

A soft chuckle came from the figure.

"I am afraid I'm not obliged to tell you. Would you be Raslinta Havernia?" The hooded figure tilted their head a bit as they asked the question. I twitched as the figure said my real name. I hated it.

"No. I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong person." I lied.

The figure's hood twitched as though they were smiling.

"Oh? You look exactly like the girl in the photos of her. I believe you also reacted to her full name, as though you didn't like it, which according to our files she doesn't. It's also blatantly obvious that you are her, as you are a terrible liar."

I glared at the figure. Files on me? Why in the world would they have files on me? What could they possibly want with me? 'Access to my father.' I thought. I gave up on pretending to be someone else and said, "If you're kidnapping me for ransom from my father, you can forget about it. He could care less about what happens to me." This was a complete lie, but I was trying to work the situation to my advantage. The figure chuckled again. By now I was pretty sure it was a dude.

"We do not want anything from your father. We only want you."

I was now completely stumped. I, of course, asked the obvious question of, "Why?"

Being the annoying mystery man that he was, the figure once again replied, "I am afraid I'm not obliged to tell you that."

Now I was annoyed. I ran at the person preparing to punch their lights out, but the man held up his hand and easily deflected my blow. 'Holy crap,' I thought to myself, 'no one's ever deflected one of my punches that easily.' I turned around to face the figure, but there was no one there. 'Dadgummit...' Suddenly I felt someone behind me and started to turn around, only to be thrown across the room by the man from earlier. 'Dang it, he's gonna kick my butt at this rate!' I turned around again, but this time the figure was still there. I scowled.

"Why are you after me? It's not like I'd be any use to you. What could you possible want me for?"

The man appeared to be smirking. "I've already said I'm not obliged to tell you." Then, he sprinted towards me, slamming me into the wall. I groaned and slid down the wall, pretending to be nearly unconscious. The man started slowly walking towards me saying, "Weakling. I thought you'd gone through stamina training." As he came closer, I jumped up and sprinted towards the window, hurling myself through it and sprinting into the city streets. I could hear the man close behind and I sensed others as I turned sharply into an alley, trying to lose my pursuers in the city streets I knew so well.

-End of flashback-

'Why could they possibly want me?' I asked myself yet again as I rounded another corner. 'What could I possibly give them?' I heard someone land right in front of me and jumped back, only to crash straight into another person. Strong arms wrapped around me as other figures came out and surrounded me. I writhed and kicked at the person, my arms pinned to my side. "What do you want with me?" I screamed at them. Someone laughed at me, and I growled. One figure stepped forward and everyone else fell silent.

"Raslinta Havernia, you are going to come with us. You can either come willingly or we can knock you out and tie you up. Which will it be?"

I snarled at the figure and managed to kick to person behind me, making them release me. I glared at the people around me, my body tense and ready to fight. Suddenly, the person who had stepped forward disappeared. I focused on my peripheral vision, trying to find the figure I supposed was the leader of the group. I suddenly felt someone behind me, and before I could even turn around something hit the back of my head and I blacked out.