Surprise

Chapter 1

I sighed as the wind blew my hair into my face, getting the strands stuck in my lip gloss. I just got to Hidden Valley, home to the Crooked Sin Guild. They were the strongest guild on this side of the world. They also didn't have the best reputation when it came to being friendly. Their strength though was immeasurable and they didn't let just anyone join. However, despite their strength no one was a Diamond Class magic user.

Diamond Class is part of the magic users ranking system that the government uses. It allows them to know just what kind of force maybe needed in order to apprehend an individual if they were to break the law. If the law breaker is a Diamond Class, then it would be suicide to go after them. Diamond Class users are also rare because not only have they had to train and work for years, you also need to be born with an insane amount of magic.

How you can tell someone is a Diamond Class is that once their magic has reached its peak, a black Diamond will magically appear on the user's forehead like a tattoo. Of course it is able to easily be covered by make up so the government also includes your ranking status on your ID that you're able to present to any guild masters you wish to speak with when asking to join their guild.

Under Diamond is the S class. S also stands for Supreme. They are also rare but not as rare as Diamond. They're still a force you do not want to face. The Crooked Sins guild has a total of seven S Class users. I only know that because I saw their article in Magic Weekly last month when the guild announced one of its members advancing in class.

Most magic users in guilds were A or B class. They're both great classes to be in but they like trying to work their way up to S class. After B is C, D, and E. E is the most common of classes. E is for Everyone Else because everyone has some type of magic they can use but it's usually weak in power and they can't do much with it.

Today I was meeting with the Guild Master of the Crooked Sins to try and get into his guild. His name was Marous Neval. He was one of the scariest men I have ever seen, and so I wasn't too eager to meet him, but if I wanted to make my dreams reality I had to do this.

I found the Cloister Cafe easily enough and went inside. He was sitting at the back of it alone, arms crossed. I walked over to the table. He raised an eyebrow at me, "You're the lass that wants to join?" His tone was filled with disbelief. "I am," I said with confidence despite his incredibly judgmental look. "What's your magic style," he asked me. "Copy Cat Magic," I told him. He chuckled softly and shook his head, "You can't be serious. What does it do? Let you turn into a cat?" He was laughing until I reached over and poked his arm. I then sat back and lifted my hand, black flames came to life.

"It allows me to copy another person's magic. I only need to copy a person's magic once to be able to use it anytime I please," I explained. By now he was no longer laughing, and seemed to be intrigued. I then held out my ID after extinguishing the flames. He took it and his eyes widened. "This has to be a fake," he said, trying to use his flames to burn it. It was a common test. If it was real, then no kind of magic can destroy it. There was very little that his flames couldn't melt.

When it showed no signs of damage he studied me once more. "Why do you want to join my guild," he asked suspiciously. "A couple of reasons," I said. "The biggest is out of spite. My father said I would be just like my mother and be nothing but an E Class magic user who will never amount to anything. I don't brag about my class, wanting to keep it secret till the right moment." "So what," he asked. "You want me to tell the guild you're an A class?" "You took one look at me and underestimated me," I pointed out to him. "Plus you don't have to tell them my rank. You can let them think what they want."

"Okay lass," he said after a moment. "You've got my attention. The guild won't like you." "I'm not joining to be liked," I told him. "We're a family at Crooked Sin," he told me. "May not look like it when they fight all the time, but we come together when it matters. We're not to be used for your own agenda." "I'm aware. I did say I wanted to join for a few reasons," I told him. "I have always wanted to be part of a guild. Granted Crooked Sin doesn't have the friendliest reputation, I'm sure what is seen in the media is different than what is happening behind Guild Hall doors. Family may not always like each other but they do care and that's what matters."

He continued to study me for a few tense seconds and I began to have doubts. He then nodded as he looked down at my ID. "Okay Lilly, welcome to Crooken Sin," he said and I wanted to jump for joy. He handed me the ID and I stuck it in my bag. "Most of our members live in the dorms, there are several in the girls' dorm that are available that you can take. I don't charge rent since ten percent of your earnings from jobs will go to the guild. It's to help us pay for any damages in any of the towns the members cause." I nodded, "That sounds perfect."

He stood and lead me out of the cafe. He summoned his broom and I summoned mine as well. He stepped on to his while I sat side saddle since I was wearing a dress. We flew to the massive guild hall that was on a hill, overlooking the city. I stood before the building and could hear a fight going on inside. Master Marous sighed softly, "Get used to this quickly." I nodded as he opened the large door.

We stepped in and saw the massive hang out room was in disarray. A large brawl had started between the men. A couple of the women sat on brooms, overlooking the large fight laughing. "Enough," Master Marous said, using his magic to magnify his voice. Everyone froze hid fight. Their eyes snapped to us. They all released each other and the women landed. "I want you all to meet our newest member, Lilly Straun. Give her a Crooked Sin welcome." One of the guys broke the silence and laughed, "You've got to be kidding right?" Master Marous grabbed my right arm where it meets my shoulder, his palm burning the skin. It was bad, just a slight sting. When he removed his hand, a pink skull that's laughing with grey smoke coming out of it's mouth was there. My Guild mark.

Guild marks varied in color depending what colors the master thinks suits you best. Most times you get to choose where it goes. I didn't mind mine being where it is. I actually liked it there to be honest.

"She is a member," he said again. "So treat her like one." He then looked at a woman who had long silver hair, amber eyes, and a nose piercing. "Toya, show her to one of the available rooms in the girls' dorms."

She nodded, "Come on newbie." I followed after her as many began to complain to the Master. "Ignore them," she said once we were in a different part of the castle, away from them. "You look innocent, and we usually stay away from your kind. However, if the guild Master let you join, you must have impressed him, and that's not easy to do." She opened a door to our right, "It's not fancy, but at least it's comfortable." I nodded, "Thank you Toya." "Here's some advice," she told me. "Don't let them push you around. We don't like pushovers. Show you've got some spine and you'll be accepted in no time." "Thank you," I told her and she then made a paper appear. "Here is a map of the guild," she said. I took it, from her and she walked away. I turned to my new room and saw it had a full sized bed, a single dresser and night stand. It also had a half bath. I opened the map and saw there was a shower and bath area for the women. I used my magic to ensure the map was legit and the places weren't switched. Thankfully, the map was legit.

I placed it on my nightstand and summoned the infinite suitcase that housed my belongings. An infinite suitcase held everything, never running out of space. Once it was empty it collapsed to be as thin as a sheet of paper.

I began to pull out my bedding stuff and put it on my bed, the sheets magically adjusting to fit the bed. I then hung up my twinkling lights on the wall around my room. I put all of my clothes and other personal items away then stored my suitcase.

It was sundown by the time I finished. There was a harsh knock on my door and I opened it, finding a woman with curly black hair that was short. She had a lip piercing on the bottom lip on the left side. She wore a black cropped long sleeve top and red and black plaid pants and combat boots. "You're my partner," she told me coldly. "Master wants us doing jobs together until you get comfortable. If you can't do shit on your own, then I don't think you need to be here but its whatever. I'm Mandy Meril." "It's nice to meet you Mandy," I said with a smile. She glared, her silver eyes so cold, "I wish I could say the same. We leave for our first job tomorrow morning. Be ready by ten or I will leave you behind."

She then turned on her heel and walked away. She seemed friendly. I could only imagine how friendly the rest of the guild was going to be.