"So Mr. Treyburn, how is that little girl of yours doing?" Mrs. Knightly asked, not looking up from her cup of tea, "Ashley was it?"
Jacob Treyburn sighed and set his own cup down, "Amber is doing just fine, thank you for asking,"
Mrs. Knightly took a sip, "I assume she's still quite shy?"
He nodded, "Aye, but she's better than she was. Still doesn't like people much though and prefers to spend all her time in the forest,"
"I may have a solution,"
Jacob raised an eyebrow, "What do you have in mind?"
"Enroll her in the academy I teach at," She said confidently. Jacob was extremely skeptical, but let her continue, "It would be good for the girl to get out in the world and meet new people,"
Jacob rubbed his chin, "I don't know..."
"The new semester starts in two weeks," She said, as if trying to seal the deal.
"Alright Tabitha, you win," He said, shaking her hand, "This could be good for Amber,"
Tabitha Knightly smiled triumphantly, showing of her slightly pointed canines, "Excellent, I'll bring over the proper paperwork tomorrow,"
…
To say Amber was angry about her father sending her away to boarding school without consulting her was an understatement. She was furious.
"How could you just send me away without warning?!" She exclaimed, as she really never screamed.
"I thought it would be a good experience for you. You know, see new places, meet new people," Jacob said cooly, not looking up from the papers on his cluttered desk.
Amber stared down at her father. Well more like glared. She didn't even bother to brush a stray lock of her amber red hair out of her face, being too angry to notice or care. Her blue-green eyes were filled with fire but, even when her face was twisted with anger, she was still very pretty. On this particular autumn day she had decided to wear a knee-length, dark green dress made of sturdy cotton. A brown sash held the dress around her waist and two small silver bobby-pins held half of her hair out of her face. She was barefoot, like always, and her skin was pale and soft despite years of being outside. The last thing was a small silver star pendant with intricate designs hanging around her neck.
"Look," Jacob said when his daughter's glares didn't cease, "You are already enrolled and are leaving in three days. End of discussion,"
Without another word, Amber was gone, running out of her father's office, then out of the house. She kept running, tears stinging at her eyes, all the way to her secret hideout.
Her, "secret hideout," was in fact just a huge tree, hundreds of feet tall and who-knows-how many hundreds of years old. The old tree's roots twisted and overlaped one another, but there was one spot where a perfect hidden doorway could be found. Under the great tree, the dirt had eroded away to construct a large room. This is where Amber spent most of her time, either studying her father's sorcery tomes or just working on her sketches. The room was really quite cluttered with papers and books and things of that sort, not to mention who-knows-what else.
As she entered through the roots today, she was greeted by the hooting by the hooting of an owl. She stormed right passed the young great horned owl by the name of Ranger, sat down at her cluttered desk, and began violently looking through the papers.
Ranger cocked his head at his owners strange behavior. Normally she would greet him enthusiastically. He flew over and perched himself on the table lamp, hooting softly.
Amber looked up from a rather messy sketch of what looked like an explosion and looked at eh owl. The anger drained from her veins(mostly) and she smiled softly at her pet, "Oh, hello Ray," She looked back at the drawing, then almost immediately dropped her head to the table with a loud, "chunk!"
"Dammit! I can't even draw a simple flower when i'm angry!" She whined, crushing the paper into a ball and throwing it with perfect aim into the wastebasket. She looked at Ranger again and couldn't help but smile a little and pet his head gently. As the little owl nuzzled against her finger, she noticed a small scroll tied to his leg.
"Oh no," She thought as she undid the string around the scroll. She didn't usually get messages from them unless something was wrong. Ranger cocked his head at his owner as she opened the scroll and read,
Attention Sisters,
The Order of the Starlight Sisters may be in danger. It seems an old evil, The Brothers of Death, have arose again and are seeking revenge on us for banishing them. They have already launched several small attacks, but please rest assured that you are all safe. You are in constant watch by your assigned animal guardian...
Amber glanced up at Ranger, then back down.
...who will keep us informed and keep you safe. Even if you do not see him, he is there. Please, stay calm and do not worry. This threat will be eliminated. We swear it.
It was signed with a simple star symbol. The symbol was an exact match to the pendant she wore around her neck. This was the same pendant that all members of the order wore at all times.
Amber touched the pendant lightly, wondering how safe they really could be.