The next day, Blaise was stuck at the office doing paperwork. It wasn't exactly fun, but at least it was easy. So easy that her mind began to wander to the night before.
Right before she tucked Bella in, she had asked her if she wanted to go to the park on Saturday. Remembering how the little girl's face had lit up at the idea made Blaise feel as though all of the struggles that she had gone to keep the two of them together were all worth it.
Blaise and Bella were orphans. Their parents had died in a car accident three years ago. After that, their mother's relatives had refused to take them in because they were half-white. Their mother had been Cherokee and her family had disowned her when she chose to marry a white man instead of a man who was at least from another tribe. Their father had no relatives.
When Social Services realized that it was just the two of them, they had wanted to separate Blaise and Bella so that they could have Blaise placed in an orphanage and Bella adopted by another family.
Blaise would have allowed them to do so if not for the fact that Bella had begged her not to. She had found out at their parents' funeral, and when she realized that she wouldn't see her big sister anymore, she had screamed and cried that she wanted to stay together.
Those words had caused Blaise to drop out of high school in order to work. While everyone around her had doubted that a fourteen-year-old could raise a two-year-old on her own, she had refused to back down. She hadn't wanted to be separated from Bella either and when she saw her sister crying, she lost the will to let go of her.
Luckily for her, Blaise's father had been a self-defense instructor. He had taught her several different forms of martial arts, including kendo, iaido, karate, boxing and judo. On top of that, he had taught her how to use knives and swords, though he had been hesitant at first, after seeing how eager his eldest daughter was to learn, he taught her everything that he knew, and even had a friend of his show her how to use a gun. At the time, he had said that it was for the sake of her own protection, but after his death, she found another use for these skills.
Blaise became a bodyguard.
Her company had been skeptical at first, but had quickly learned that she was well-trained and desperate enough to take on just about any job. On top of that, her young age made her an ideal bodyguard for those who didn't want anyone to know that they needed a bodyguard. Instead, they were able to say that she was their cousin or niece visiting for a short time.
It wasn't easy, but the two sisters had managed to create a comfortable life together, and Blaise had never regretted her choice, even when people tried to get in the way of that peaceful life.
Like her boss right now, who had just asked her to take a job on Saturday night when he had assured her that she would have the day to herself. Upon hearing her immediate refusal, he knew that bribery would work better than cajoling.
"C'mon Blaise, it's just one night. You can take the brat out for the day and when it gets dark head out. I'll pay you triple if you do this job."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Blaise hesitated. That was a lot of money, and she had been meaning to set up a savings account of some kind so that if anything happened on one of her jobs, Bella would be able to support herself for a little while.
"Fine, but you owe me. And I get next weekend off, with pay."
Her boss was quick to agree.
The next day, as Blaise and Bella were getting ready to go to the park, she began to wonder just who her client was. Her boss had always been a penny-pincher and now here he was, giving her money like it was going out of style. The client had to be important.
With this thought, Blaise knew that she would have to take her tools with her to the park. She wouldn't have time to stop at home, so while Bella got herself dressed, Blaise packed a bag with knives, sharpening tools and a set of Japanese swords.
The items were strange for a bodyguard, but Blaise liked to be prepared and many of her clients disliked it when she used guns. They had hired her so that no one would know that she was a bodyguard and guns were harder to conceal than knives or a sword, and louder.
Of course, she packed a gun and several boxes of bullets as well, but she knew that she likely wouldn't be given the opportunity to use them. The bag was heavy, but Blaise was used to it.
She didn't know that those supplies would soon save her life.
