Chapter 1

That feeling you get before a one to one fight is far more different than when you are caught off guard by surprise. The worst part of the fight is always the run up to it. What is the opponent like? How skilled are they? What if I expose my weaknesses? ….. Will my opponent show mercy if I lose?

All of these thoughts dart around 10 year old Yasmine's mind when she waits in line with her mother and brother at the entrance to the leisure centre. Today is the last Saturday in October, the day of Wood Oak's regional Fencing heats. This day only comes around once a year so this little girl is starting to feel the pressure of living up to everyone's expectations.

As the family reach the front of the queue, they are greeted by two of the leisure centre's managers who sit behind regular school tables that are now temporarily being used as desks.

"I'd like to register my daughter for today's heats please". Yvonne Williams' voice is friendly but direct at the same time.

"How old is your daughter Ma'am?"

"She's 10" the fair haired lady smiles.

"I'm sorry but the minimum age to enter today's competition is 14, she is too young so we are going to have to decline your request".

"Please Sir!... I know she's young but she is a fantastic fencer and a future world champion. She trains hard everyday and….."

"I'm sorry Ma'am, I'm sure your daughter is wonderful but we would be breaking the law and our club's code by allowing a ten year old to compete. Please come back in four years' time…"

The woman with bobbed silver hair dressed in a smart yellow coat and knee high boots eventually swallows her pride. As she escorts her two children towards the exit, she turns back then hatefully replies, "You'll regret this, I promise!"

"Mom! Why don't we just go in there anyway? We've been queuing up in this stupid line for almost an hour!" Her son who stands next to his twin sister looks as if he is about to have a tantrum. Nothing frustrates the boy more than having to wait patiently for something, only to have his precious time wasted in the end.

Yvone immediately pulls him to one side by the elbow then kneels down in front of him to tell him off. "You listen to me Yonah! Unlike your sister here, you talk too much." She continues to stare at him intensely in the eye. "Don't you ever again, and I mean E-V-E-R, shout out your thoughts and intentions in front of everyone to hear. That is a weakness, do you understand?"

"I understand mother" he gulps.

"Mom, what are we going to do now? I can't compete, you heard them!" Yasmine looks up at her deflated.

"These people have no idea who we are. Give it ten minutes and they'll change their mind" she smiles candidly at her daughter before flipping open her Motorola cell phone.

"My love, we have a problem…"

Within ten minutes, a black car speedily pulls up in front of the leisure centre. The driver purposely parks by the restricted entrance before stepping out of the car. He then opens the back door, allowing Mr X to step outside. As always, the syndicate leader is dressed in smart attire and today he is wearing his signature gray suit and tie. He confidently enters the building with two security guards behind him. As he passes his family by the door, he gives them that familiar nod of reassurance - 'I'm here, and everything is going to be fixed'. Anything his family wants, they will have. No questions about it.

"Sir? It's a pleasure to see you again, thank you for coming". The two men at the front desk immediately stand to their feet as he charges forward to the front of the queue.

Mr X gives his security guard one sharp glance before he drags one of the members of staff over the table by his collar. In front of everybody standing in line, the thug pins the man down with his head pressed against the table, holding a knife to his throat.

"What can we do for you Sir?" They quake with fear.

"Let me tell you something Edward. For years you have run this leisure club and my company has happily funded you. So today is no day to disrespect me!"

"I don't understand Sir," he replies with fear at the sight of his colleague's life being threatened in front of his eyes.

"It's not very difficult to make me happy. In fact, I'm content when my wife and children are happy. But thanks to you and your club rules, my daughter was outside in tears after working her ass off to enter this heat!"

"That was your daughter?! I'm sorry Sir… I didn't realize!"

"Well now you know!" Mr X's facial expression switches from anger to amusement as he stares down at the man with a sinister grin.

"Please accept my apologies, I didn't mean to upset your daughter" the man pleads.

"I'm sure we can clear up this mess right now can't we? I get it, the twins were blessed with their mothers looks, of course you didn't realize!" He laughs. "Let him go!" Mr X orders. The member of staff over the table is then immediately released and pushed off out of their way.

"I'm sure your club can make a special exception for my daughter…" Mr X says as he places one arm around the owners' shoulder.

"Of course, she can enter today's heat!" Edward frantically nods.

"Good. I mean, you understand where I'm coming from don't you? Your daughter Margaret is 16 now right? I've had my eye on her for a while, she's a feisty one and would be a great worker for us."

"Please Sir, leave my family out of this. I'll make sure this mistake never happens again!"

Mr X taps him over the shoulder then nods in agreement.

Half an hour later and the family are a lot more relaxed when Mr X, his wife and son enjoy front row VIP seats of the competition.

"I thought you had business to attend to dear?" Yvonne queries.

"I cancelled it. It's our daughter's first major competition, I couldn't miss it" he smiles. They cheer with excitement when Yasmine enters the sports hall, kitted out in her white fencing suit with her white mask in one hand and sword in the other. Her opponent is a tall 15 year old boy, almost double her size. As soon as she sees him, her heart begins to pound nervously. He, on the other hand, smirks at her with arrogance on his face expecting this to be a quick victory.

As soon as their fight begins, Yasmine is forced to enter defence mode. She is shocked by his fast attacks, where she even loses points after being forced off the mat. It is only towards the fight that she begins to gain confidence and become more aggressive in her approach. Her one memorable moment of glory is when she holds her blade up, pointing it to the ceiling before charging forward towards the diagonal with full speed and attack. This causes her opponent to unexpectedly fall down to the point where his protective mask rolls off. The little girl can't help but smirk down at him for trying to embarrass her. With her sword, she draws out an 'X' over his face with the blade just a millimetre from cutting the boy's skin. Luckily for him, the timer for the fight runs out and the result is left to the judging panel as the crowd applauds.

The two competitors stand side by side in front of the judges as they wait to find out who is through to the next round. Due to her late blossoming in the fight, Yasmine's opponent ends up as the victor with more points in comparison.

"Too bad little girl. Next time, stick to playing with your barbie dolls!"

His comment infuriates her as she tries to hold it together in front of the audience.

It is a relief as soon as she is backstage. The ten year old annoyingly throws down her sword and mask then sits against the wall clenching her fists. Yes this is her first fight but it is incredibly difficult for her to accept the defeat, especially from the most obnoxious opponent.

"Sis, you did good for your first fight!" Her twin steps forward.

"I hate him brother! I hate him so much!" She replies with anger, gritting her teeth.

"We can always fix that..." he grins then pulls out a small English pistol from his backpack.

"Yonah, where the hell did you get that?!" She jumps to standing, feeling alarmed by the loaded gun.

"It's ok, dad knows. It's my job to protect us when he's away. If that boy has pissed you off, we'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

Two weeks later and the local newspaper headlines print

'Schoolboy, 15 suffers after his hand is shot off.

It is thought that this tragic accident occurred after he admitted to playing with a gun…"

That day, the twins understood that there are those in society who are destined to struggle and there are those who can simply take whatever they want. Money and power is what makes all the difference. The first part of their life has been one of privilege and superiority thanks to their father. They have enjoyed the luxury of a large estate to live in, holidays every month, private tuition, their own security and even their own chef. They would soon learn however, the hardest lesson of all - losing their mother and losing their normality.