Female Alpha

She was born to blow your mind

With a defeated sigh, Leyla let herself sink down on the dry moss in the garden. The rare plants that were able to grow on the barren soil Ravaryn was known for had changed their colours, transforming from pale green to beautiful dark red and orange tones, the colours of Greenwilt, but the young woman only had eyes for the slightly crumpled document she held in her hands.

She had even sent her personal guard away, asking him for a moment alone. No one was supposed to see her in this state. Even though the Iskandar estate was located near the busiest streets of Ishgard, with all the hustle and bustle and noise of a capital city, it still felt like an untouchable fortress, standing high above the others. In that mental comfort, and now the last pair of prying eyes had walked away, Leyla started to read the paper again.

It were rules and regulations her father had composed in that characteristic handwriting of his, the next steps to be taken after his passing. While Leyla would rather not think of what to do in that exact situation, she knew – or even felt – it was going to happen more sooner than later.

Her father had started to walk with a cane – with a head of dark green emerald, sharpened to resemble a snake’s head. It even suited him in a way, weirdly enough – the accessory added an air of elegance to her father, who normally wasn’t too keen on dressing up like someone of his calibre. Aslan Iskandar had told everyone around him his newest accessory was a result of a sprained ankle, but their close family knew better. It was that day that he had given her the piece of parchment now folded in her hands, and again had urged her to stay quiet about everything – because their clients and enemies and everyone who would find out about his illness would come and pick on their money and belongings like vultures and ravens, until only the carcass of the once so influential Iskandar family would remain.

Leyla had memorised her father’s words and vowed to memorise all of the sentences on the paper before the time would come, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to it. Again, she inhaled sharply, throwing the document on the crimson-coloured patch of moss next to her before burying her face in her hands.

No, this was hopeless, absolutely hopeless. The brunette fought back the tears welling up in her eyes, curling her hands into fists upon her black and silver dress. Her father would die soon and the savage ravens would smell blood and arrive and find a family in absolute shambles, ready to be picked apart. And Leyla would be the one to blame for it.

@Amal Iskandar

what do they know of darkness?

Her family had always been a mystery to Amal, but a constant force in the back of her mind that kept her going when all seemed lost. She was raised by many, in forever changing homes and sceneries, never in one place for long. Feeling loved by a family had not ever been something she thought she would get to experience in her lifetime. Until she found a strand of her apparently long family history. The one thing the lass had always carried with her, was her last name, not knowing it would someday lead her to her roots. That tiny piece of valuable information had brought her to the Kingdom of Ravaryn – more specifically, to Ishgard.

The day had started off bleak and dull, but as the sun climbed higher up the horizon and the clouds began the vanish, the promise of a colorful Greenwilt day was still up in the air. Leaves had begun to fall off of the many trees along both sides of the streets of Ishgard. Hints of orange, yellow and red painted the street scene, complimenting the houses and buildings.
Amal maneuvered the ebony mare through the crowd – she hated it when it was this busy. The girl had always preferred the solitude and peace of nature over cities and its people. She only entered the world of the living when she had actual business to attend to that required socializing with her kind. Finding her long lost cousin required this specifically.

The black-haired bounty hunter had almost reached her destination, the Iskandar estate. It stood amidst the city center of Ishgard, but was still surrounded by a pleasant silence, one that welcomed the mountain girl with open arms. The estate’s heavy gates were closed, though. One of the guards standing in front of the entrance glanced her with a mistrustful eye. Amal hopped off her horse and watched the man equally mistrusting. “I am Amal Iskandar, daughter of Dagon Iskandar and niece of the lord of this estate. I demand a meeting with one of my family members.” The lass spoke, a tad unsure about her tone of voice. She did not mean to come across as bossy or demanding in any way, but she had no experience with this high-society stuff at all. One of the two guards nodded at her in silence and disappeared inside the mansion, hopefully to get a member of her long-lost family. They probably had never heard of her existence. She prayed they did, though.

(C) ROSS