A baby girl with beautiful black hair and deep brown eyes…
The baby's bleeding mother was cradling the crying girl hard against her chest as she watched her husband die before her very eyes. 'Mai…' The woman ran over to her dying husband with tears streaming down her perfect face and tainting her beautiful happiness... 'Take this…' With shaky, bloodstained hands, he handed her a necklace with a gold incasing and a clear stone on the inside.
'Put this around her neck… and continue to… Iga… She must be handed to her new… guardian.' He paused as he spit up more blood, which caused the woman to cry even more. 'But If anything were to happen to her body… her soul will be casted into this… I lov-' The woman let out a loud sob as her husband wasn't even able to finish his last words to her before taking his last breath.
Not caring about her fatal injury, the woman stood up, slipped the necklace around the frightened newborn, and ran as fast as she could through the forest while clutching her side as she bleed out. Only for a couple minutes of running, the woman could see the beautiful village of Iga just over the hill… 'We are close… We are going to be okay.' The mother said to the beautiful girl; however, her eyes would fool anyone.
Almost there…
'Hehe, apparently our first assault didn't work on you. Hand over the child, and maybe we will think about putting you out of your misery.' The man in blue sneered and laughed menacingly at the pained woman.
'You will never have her!' The woman mustered up what was left of her ninja skills and sped off with her daughter, who was still clutched to her mother's chest by one arm. As the woman came up to the gates of Iga, her hopes of living rose deep in her heart; however, that hope soon faded as an arrow pierced completely through her… and the child.
'No!' The women yelled out as blood splurged from her mouth while her baby let out a pained cry. The men in blue disappeared back into the forest as the elder of Iga, along with who seemed to be his young son around 15 years-old with the same navy hair, came running to the gates to help the dying nobility. The older man and his young son gasped at the horrible heart-wrenching site.
The woman kissed her daughter's forehead as she felt her baby's life leave her little body forever before looking up to the village elder as she pulled the necklace off her daughter's neck and tried to give it to him. 'Take the necklace, Give it to her new guardian to put on an unharmed body… This is the key to everything… It harnesses her soul... ' With that, the woman fell limp while embracing her dead daughter in her arms with the necklace still in her hand, and as the elder picked up the necklace, the stone had completely faded to turquoise.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Charlie jolted from her sleep with a loud gasp while clutching her chest as if she was in an immense amount of pain. "For once, I'm actually thankful my alarm went off…" The young woman said in a soft, British accent as she tried to free herself from the entangled mess of blankets. "I swear… that bloody dream is becoming more realistic every night…" She tried shaking the horrendous scene of the dead mother and child before pushing off her large bed and heading to her bathroom to turn on the shower. "I will have to talk to Grandfather about this when I see him at breakfast…"
The young woman patted away from the shower to the mirror, but only to jump in fright as she gazed at her reflection; her already pale, olive-tinted skin, was even more pale, her long light-brown hair was plastered to her head with sweat, and her gray fitted tank top was a shade darker down her spine. Charlie shook off her nightmarish looks as she took off her clothes before turning on the shower and stepping in to let the warm water engulf her petite body like a comforting fire.
After washing her hair with rose scented shampoo and conditioner and washing her body with the matching body wash, she turned to look in the mirror again while dropping her towel. "It probably wouldn't hurt me to gain some weight…" Charlie said aloud as she lifted her right arm above her head to make the already barely visible rib cage even more visible, and in the process, she traced the secret tattoo of a flock of birds in white ink that stretched across the side of her rib cage and slightly up her back. 'Grandfather would be so pissed if he knew about this…' Charlie giggled mischievously to herself as she thought about what her overprotective Grandfather's reaction would be. As the girl ran a towel through her long hair, her mind wondered back to her nightmare, 'Why do I keep having this dream… Am I that baby girl?'
"No, that can't be! I look nothing like her!" The girl took her blow drier and started drying her hair. After she was done, she lightly curled the ends of her thick hair that hit right at her belly button before pulling it into a pretty ponytail and then, putting on a little mascara to help make her large turquoise eyes stand out even more. Charlie never wore face make-up because she never needed it; her complexion was perfect and the envy of pretty much every woman in London.
Once she was done, she made her way to her closet and pulled out a thick oversized grey sweater that was a little below mid-thigh to go over her leotard. She went over to her dresser to grab what she needed for ballet. She put on nude ballet tights, a white leotard with a swoop neck and long sleeves, and black over the knee socks to wear as she walked to the ballet studio. Before leaving she picked up her dance bag and gave herself a once over in the full-length mirror. Despite her personality being slightly awkward in front of mostly everyone, besides her grandfather and best friend, she is rather confident with who she is and the way she looks... The beautiful girl smiled to herself at her entire ensemble before walking out the door.
….
"Today's the day… I can just feel it." The old Japanese man said aloud before being brought to reality by his granddaughter coming down the stairs of their cute London home.
"What's happening today, Poppy?" The old man was asked then greeted by a warm hug.
"Oh nothing… Just the day I get my package in from Japan… Say, do you have sword training today or ballet? I just can't remember…" The old man laughed while scratching the back of his head out of slight nervousness. Charlie dismissed how funny her Grandfather's reply sounded and his secretive body language.
"I have ballet today. Speaking of, Maya might be coming over afterwards and practice some more with me." She smiled and sat down at the table that had a bowl of delicious and homemade Japanese influenced porridge waiting for her. The young woman couldn't help but think back to how she doesn't look Japanese at all even though her mother was Japanese and her father was English. 'I guess I just inherited my father's genes… I should really stop thinking so hard on that.'
"Poppy… I had that nightmare again. But this time, it seemed more real than ever. As if, I could feel the pain of that arrow pierce through me like it did that mother and baby. I have a slight feeling that this nightmare is significant to my parents…" Her Grandfather just waved his hand in the air as if to brush it off.
"I'm sure it means nothing... But, you and Maya sure do love ballet! Maybe you two should take a break for once! The both of you work so hard, especially you, little princess." Charlie smiled at her nickname that she has been called for the past 19 years; this made her forget the vague reply from her grandfather as her fears instantly faded away at this comfortable nostalgia.
"Well, The Nutcracker is coming up soon, and I am the 'Sugar Plum Princess' and Maya is the lead in the 'Waltz of the Flowers' as well as my understudy, so, it doesn't hurt to have extra practice…" The young woman looked at her grandfather with an apologetic smile that made the frail man shake his head in amusement; if he was right about something, it was her undying love for ballet. Charlie finally started to eat her porridge and completely missed the worried look that ran across her Grandfather's face as he thought about how she would react when she finds out the truth.
After about 10 minutes or so, Charlie stood up with her empty bowl, washed it off, put it in the dishwasher, and came back over to her Grandfather and kissed his balding head. "I guess we will go by the coffeeshop to relax a bit before coming back here. See you later!" She hugged her grandfather then went to the door, slung her dance bag over her shoulder, slipped on her black ankle boots, and left.
As she headed down the stairs from the front door she looked back to the window to see that her grandfather was slowly pacing back and forth, "I wonder what has been on his mind… It's not like him to be like this." Charlie tried to convince herself that it wasn't anything too serious and continued walking down the street to the professional ballet studio.
….
"Hanzo, are we almost ready?" Hanzo turned to a ninja with bright red hair who stood with his arms crossed with a slightly arrogant smile.
"Goemon… you know we are just waiting for the others."
"Not anymore you're not!" A big man with orange hair and a claw like scar on his left cheek, bounded in with a large smile plastered across his face.
"I apologize, Master Hanzo, but as you know, Sasuke here is still just a boy."
"I am not a boy, Saizo! I'm more of a man than you!" Sasuke shouted as Saizo just shook his head in annoyance.
"I believe we should focus back on the mission." A quiet man with white hair appeared out of nowhere inside the room.
"Kotaro is right, it's time we retrieve the princess. Priest, when you're ready, start the incantation." The older man nodded his head at Hanzo's words as he pulled out the now empty gold necklace and laid it on the floor.
….
"Finally…" The old man stopped pacing and made his way to his study as he heard the stone rattle violently in the tightly sealed drawer he kept it hidden in. As he came up to the drawer, he pulled out the key that keeps the stone locked away, opened it, grabbed the now clear stone, placed it in the open space of the sitting room, and watched as the stone flashed a bright blinding light then faded where he could see 5 ninjas sprawled on the floor.
….Time Skip….
"Fay! Pull your head from your bum and focus!" Charlie cringed as her ballet instructor yelled her last name to gain her attention from spacing out in the middle of her variation.
"My apologies, Miss Catherine. I promise it won't happen again." The small girl faced her teacher in first position while looking down at her warn pointe shoes.
"Go home and practice. We are done for the day anyway." The tall ballet instructor said with an irritated tone as she dismissed the class but only after she gave Charlie a sad look. Charlie sighed as soon as her teacher shut the door of her office.
"Char, are you alright? You've been wonky for the past five hours, and not just in your dancing." Maya asked in her slight cockney accent as she gracefully walked over to her best friend with a concerned look plastered across her tan face. Maya was tall, slender, and beautiful with a curly mass of long chocolate brown hair. She had a natural brown tan, due to her father being from India, and large almond shaped hazel/green eyes. The two friends complimented each other beautifully in looks and personality.
"I don't know… I just feel like Poppy is keeping something from me." Charlie started to dress back in her grey sweater and then sat down to un-lace her pointe shoes before slipping on her black socks and boots.
"Do you think it might have something to do with your nightmare?" Charlie looked up at her friend, who had on a similar outfit except the sweater was navy and she had slipped on grey dance shorts over her tights, and nodded her head. "Well, let's try and forget for a bit. It's just after 2, and didn't you tell Poppy that we were going to go to the coffeeshop?" Maya exclaimed at her best friend with a pearly smile. Charlie just looked up at her tall friend, smiled, and nodded her head yes "Well, what are we waiting for? The fitties aren't going to be there forever!" Charlie rolled her eyes at her boy crazy friend and followed her out the door with her dance bag in tow. However, she couldn't forget; she still couldn't shake the memory of her grandfather pacing back in forth through the window of the front room. 'It's unlike him to be anxious like that…'
….
"So, the girl isn't Japanese?" Saizo asked the frail old man. The elder looked at Saizo and shook his head.
"I thought you were going to choose a girl who looked like the baby princess." Hanzo stated rather than asked.
"Well, she looked like her when she was a baby, but her looks changed as she got older, which was not something I was expecting…" The old man trailed off as he saw Hanzo walk over to the mantle of the fireplace where a picture of a young girl of 16 was placed. Her light-brown hair was pulled into a thick ballet bun; she wore a beautiful cream-colored beaded tutu piece and was posed in an Attitude position while en pointe. Hanzo couldn't help but be mesmerized at the young girl's smile. The navy haired man turned to see Goemon and Sasuke on either side of him.
"Is this the girl?" Goemon turned to the old man. He smiled and nodded at the red haired ninja.
"Yes, that is Charlie when she was 16. She's 19 now..."
"Charlie? You didn't keep her real-" Saizo was cut off by the sound of the front door opening. All seven men turned their attention to where they heard the door open; however, they couldn't see the smiling girl since the sitting room was slightly blocked by a wall from the front door.
"Poppy? I'm back. Maya had to run home for a bit, but she should still be coming over later… I'm going upstairs to practice now. I'll try not to bother you with the music." Charlie took off her shoes and walked around the corner to the sitting room, but instantly stopped as 5 men she has never seen before greeted her with a shocked look; however, one of the 5 looked strangely like the young boy from her nightmares. The old man pulled his granddaughter into the room.
Charlie suddenly became self-conscious by the length of her grey sweater; she was able to sneak in a few pulls before standing completely in front of the attractive men. She couldn't help but notice a few smirks pull across the lips of a man with red hair and another man with black/purple hair as she did. "Friends, I would like you to meet my granddaughter, Charlie." The gorgeous girl smiled, which caused every man in front of her to lightly blush because of the unexpected beauty that radiated from the stunning woman. Charlie noticed their blushes as she tried not to do, or say, anything awkward, which, ultimately, always fails…
"Wow! Aren't you pretty!" The big man with orange hair said as he leaped over to stand in front of the small girl who quickly jumped back as fast as he leapt to her. "And so tiny, too! You are a cutie! I'm Sasuke." He smiled warmly and picked up the frightened girl into a hug then set her back down on her feet.
"Sasuke, do you not have any manners? I'm Saizo. Sasuke and I are both from Koga." The dark haired man with a feather hanging down said as he crossed over to Charlie. The girl couldn't help but look at him with a confused expression, 'Koga?'
"I'm Kotaro of the Fuma clan." The quiet man with snow-white hair said as he bowed to the still dazed girl.
"And I'm Goemon of Iga…" 'Iga…' The man with red hair came over to Charlie with a smirk while almost draping his arm around her shoulder. Charlie quickly ducked under his arm and ran into Sasuke who tried to pick her up again, but she quickly dodged him in a flash and in a blink of an eye the girl was on the other side of the room by her grandfather once more with his arm securely around her shoulders; this left all five ninjas completely amazed by her speed and agility.
"I see you are already on your way to becoming an amazing Ninja Princess, Charlie… I'm Hanzo of Iga." 'Was he the young boy… Iga… He has to be!' The man bowed and then looked up and made eye contact with the confused girl; that's when Charlie knew that he was that 15 year-old boy from her dreams; this is also when she noticed the new arrivals attire… 'They are ninjas… Wait, Hanzo called me a ninja princess… This doesn't make any sense… What the bloody hell is going on…'
Charlie didn't know what to do next and on top of that, she started to feel strange as the 5 handsome men stared at her with curious looks and as she pondered everything she just heard, or realized. So, Charlie did what Charlie does best, and that is to ramble away from any situation…
"It's so nice to meet all of you," the petite girl said as she skillfully ducked out from under her grandfather's arm, who knew exactly what she was doing."We can chat later," she twirled away as her grandfather tried to grab her again, "but I must be practicing now, 'kay, bye!" Charlie quickly grabbed her bag and took off running up the stairs to her room while slamming the door shut.
Hanzo looked over at the elderly man with a slight entertained look in his eye due to Charlie's tactics, "What is she practicing?" The old man sighed and let out an amused chuckle.
"Ballet, but at this moment, nothing since she skipped the above practice floor and went straight for her room. We can watch her practice later I suppose, but for now, I will fill you in on this new world. So, please take a seat and make yourselves comf-"
"Did anyone notice her eyes?" Kotaro asked as everyone looked over at the quiet ninja.
"Yes… They were turquoise. Just like that stone used to be…" Hanzo sighed and turned away as he remembered being a 15 year-old boy looking upon the death of a mother and daughter as he watched the stone inside the necklace turn from clear to turquoise as the soul and bloodline of the ninja princess flowed into it.