- - - -Flashback- - - -

Kyte chased Duo down the halls of the knight's academy, laughing as she ran past the other astonished boys. They all watched her with open mouths at the girl's speed and energy. She soon caught up to the braided boy and tackled him, pulling him down with her. She flipped up and off of him, taking a fighting stance and smirking. She knew that he'd never learned the martial arts, and it would be interesting to see him try to match her moves.

"Get up," she said to him.

"I'm trying," Duo answered.

"No, you're not." She reached down and pulled him up before taking her stance again. She was tackled out of nowhere by Zachary, another knight-in-training. He laughed as he tried to pin the girl to the ground in vain. He was pulled off of her by a full knight with almost silver hair and was held in the air by his tunic.

"Hey! Leggo of me," Zachary yelled. "We were just fooling around!"

"Well," the knight said. "It's time to stop. Kyte's parents are here." Kyte stood up and the knight put down Zach. "I will accompany you."

"Why are they here?"

"They're here to take me back to what was once my home," Kyte said before putting on her cape and following the knight. "I'll return." She disappeared down the hall as a shadow. Kyte stepped into the grand hall of the castle to come face to face with her parents. "You called for me?"

"It is time to come home," her father said. "I think that you have spent enough time here with these rough boys surrounding you."

"I refuse." She turned and started to walk back to the halls of the castle. Her father grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"You are coming!" He tried to pull her out of the castle, but four young boys came running out of the hall. She pulled away from her father and ran into the arms of the four.

"What are you doing here!?"

"Zach told us that they were here to take you," Quatre said, holding her back from her parents. He stepped forward. "In the name of the Winner family, I - Quatre Raberba Winner - forbid you from taking your daughter back to your home, wherever it may be."

"Quatre. You can't do that. They're my parents." Kyte's mother stepped through the crowd of nine year olds and embraced her daughter.

"Kyte," she whispered. "My only daughter. You don't have to come, but may visit me anytime you wish. Simply send message by Fang. He'll come to me. Don't let these boys hurt you." She stood up and walked out of the castle with Kyte's father. Kyte simply watched them leave, a feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her that she wouldn't see her mother again.

****

Fang, the gray wolf, leader of his pack ran through the thunderstorm with a letter from Kyte's mother. The academy castle doors flew open as Kyte ran out of them and greeted Fang. The wolf was in a frenzy as Kyte pulled the message from his sack. As she read the words on the parchment, a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky. She ran to the stables and mounted her horse before taking off into the night. Fang ran alongside of the horse, barking wildly into the night. Kyte looked up into the sky to see a raven flying when the lightning crashed. She kicked the horse's flanks for it to move faster.

"No," she whispered. As she saw her parent's castle come into view, the random lightning crackled in front of her, hitting a tree branch and causing a fire. Her horse reared up and flung her off. As she fell to the ground, the raven above made its cry, making her start. She screamed for her horse through the noise of the storm, but was unsuccessful, seeing as how the horse had run away. She stood up and ran away from the scene and the fire. As she ran through the forest, Fang still ran along with her until they reached the castle that she once lived in. She ran through the gate and looked up to see the raven circling overhead. She ran up the front stairs and made it up five before slipping and skinning her knee on the wet stone. "MOTHER!" She pulled herself up, ignoring the excruciating pain and ran inside. She ran up the stairs and into her parent's bedroom to see her mother, pale and sickly looking. The doctor pulled away from her mother with a sad look on his face. "Mother."

The raven landed on the window sill as her father forbade her from ever returning to the castle again.

"Either you will not return to them, or you will not return here," he said. "It is your choice."

"I will not return here." She turned and ventured back into the calming storm, cape billowing behind her.

****

The three fourteen year olds sat with the five seventeen year olds around the tavern, laughing and arm wrestling. Kyte had beaten Duo, Zach, Quatre and was currently trying to beat Jarrett, but they were dead-locked.

"Give up," he said, straining against her.

"Never," she hissed, fighting back. The two would never let up against each other and were always competing. "You will never defeat me."

"Shorty." He reached over to her and moved some hair out of her face, making the fourteen year old girl frown, lose her concentration and lose to him. She glared at him just as a messenger came in. He kneeled in front of Jarrett, holding a letter forward.

"Sir," the messenger knight said, expecting a response.

"You may rise."

"This is a message from your father, sir." He handed him the letter and as Jarrett read it, his eyes widened.

"Tell him that I come within the night."

"Yes, sir!" The messenger turned and left, bring a question from his friends.

"Who was that," they all asked, raising eyebrows.

"That was a messenger of the family," he answered, standing and tying on his cape.

"And where do you think you're going," Kyte asked, looking up at him from the table.

"To my father. He requests me for his trip to the Far East. I may not return." She frowned.

"You had better return. If you don't I will track you down myself."

"I will track you down and we will meet again in five years at a waterfall with a lagoon." He saluted to her. "In the name of France, I promise you."

"Fine. In the name of France." She did not salute. He could tell the future better than she, but it had come out wrong on occasion.

"Fret not. You will see me again some day."

"Some day does not help me." She frowned as he left the tavern.