Warrior's Heart (Legendary Defenders fanfiction)

Wolfsbane

The morning was like any other morning. Grace had woken up early before her combat training so she could see the sun rise. She was 11 years old and she spent most of her time with her grandfather who had raised her. Her parents had died in a battle, though she didn't know who they fought. All she knew about them was the stories her grandfather told her. She had no memories or when she thought she could remember traces of her mother's smile, or the laughter of her father, the memory would vanish. Just out of reach.

Grace was sitting in a field of flowers, her long brown hair braided to the side. She was in her training clothes, her feet bare, and her black wolf ears moved at the slightest sounds. You wouldn't know that this girl was special. Not until you saw her eyes. Her right eye was silver while her left eye was a startling blue. And when the girl was training, she moved faster than any other warrior. She had the strength par to an adult Wolfsbanian and how agile she was left people shocked.

When she was born, her grandfather tried so hard for her to have a normal childhood. To make as many friends as she could and to enjoy her life. He didn't want her to feel the weight of the universe on her shoulders. But, when she turned 7, the High Council ordered him to put her in training with their fiercest warrior, Caleb of the West Wind.

The man was in his thirties, smoky gray wolf ears, green and gold eyes, tall, muscular, and he had a claw mark over his right eye. No one is sure how he got the wound, but it made him look even more intimidating. He was like Grace, and so they thought that this would be good for the young girl.

On the first day of her training, Grace was terrified. She wasn't sure what to expect from the man that was dubbed Wolfsbane fiercest warrior. She had waited patiently for him to enter the training room and when he did, Grace's heart stopped. She was scared that she would mess something up, or that she would do something embarrassing. Caleb knelt down to her eye level and seemed to examine the girl. For a few moments, he just stared and studied her. When he finally spoke, his words shocked the girl.

"You look just like your mother." He tells her, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.

Her mouth was agape before she finally stuttered something. "Y-you knew my mother?" Grace asks suprised.

He nodded sadly. "Your mother and father were my best friends. It broke me when I found out they died and how they wouldn't be able to see you grow up. You were only a baby when they died and I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to meet them. I promise you, that I will train you and help you become what your meant to be."

His speech brought the girl to tears, feeling her own anguish of never meeting her parents. Caleb then hugged the little girl tightly, letting her get her cries out. When the girls crying subsided, he pulled away and squeezed her shoulders.

"Ready to get started?" He asks, waiting for Grace's reply.

Grace nodded confidently, wanting to be like her parents.

So from that day forward, Grace trained with Caleb, feeling stronger everyday. But when she turned 9 years old, tragedy struck. Her grandfather had died from a sickness. She had taken a few days off from training, at her teachers request, to try and nurse back to health. Sadly, he didn't get better and when his death came around, he gave her a locket that was shaped in a circle, sort of like a watch, and it had her name engraved in it. It was on a chain that hung around her neck. On the inside, was a picture of her mother and father together on one side, and the other side was empty.

As her grandfather took his last breath, Grace held his hand and tried to soothe him. Then, his hand went limp, and his eyes took on a glassy look. Grace closed them, and cried silenty. The day her grandfather was buried, Caleb comforted her and as she tried to hold in her tears, he told her it was alright to cry.

He promised that he would take care of her and that he would always protect her. And he did.

A year later, she was sitting in the field near Caleb's house and when the sun was fully up, she went back to the house and ate breakfast. Caleb had done whatever he could to make her smile and laugh. He encouraged her to make friends like her grandfather did. He was like a father figure, besides her grandfather.

She was happy and she didn't want anything to change. But, she had no idea that a great enemy was making his way to her.