Hello again. Yep its me, Bob. Didn't expect to see me so soon? Well maybe you did. I do try to be a little "consistent". It's amazing isn't it? She had such a tragic life up until that point. Well....I'm sorry to say...it doesn't really get better. Well for the people around her anyway. Fate isn't kind to the those who don't obey her... Well... More like them. You see Fate works kind of like Death and people can "change their Fate". However its kind of like cheating. And that is also one of the ways that you can cheat death. Yeah I know I like using clichés but hey its chill right? Anyway back to Senna.

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One year before Death

Gerun, what a large city. Had it really been thirteen years since she had been here? Why had she made her way back to this city? It was still in the distance, still enough time to turn around. That seemed a foolish thought now though. She had come to far to turn back now. She hadn't seen or heard anything relating to the assassins in over eight years. Also there was her birthright. She still had the signet ring that Tollen had given her shortly after her parents death. It was the only item she still had from that time in her life. Her only memento of her parents. But it also proved her origins. She always kept it hidden in her boot. But today she would wear it. As she approached the city she realized she was coming in from the west. Past the place where her troubles had began.

The road she was on was made of poured stone. Something she hadn't seen anywhere else she had traveled. Though she hadn't been to any of the larger cities since Tollen had started taking care of her. They had avoided any place that was big enough for her to get separated from him. It was crowded here. Even as far as she was from the edge of the city. There seemed to be some order in the way people walked to and from the city, people on horses, carriiages and gaurds traveled the center of the road while everyone else walked on the edges. The people on the heading towards the city on one side and the people heading away on the other side. She of course was on the edge of the road. The city sprawled in front of her, the poor districts easily seen from the road. The path to the center was clear of buildings though and you could see all the way through the city. It almost seemed as if the city had been built around the road rather than the road being placed through the city.

As she got closer she noticed the spires. They were small at first but as she got closer she realized they must have been at least twelve feet tall. At the top of them were banners. The two nearest the road held the kings sigil, her father's sigil. The ones next to them were the sigil of he mother's family. Remembering something Tollen had told her she realized these were the rankings of the families in the city from highest to lowest. It seems her parents families had fared well despite the death of her parents. As she was observing the banners the plan she started to feel more confident about her plan. If her relatives were still in control of the city she should be able to claim her inheritance with ease.

Upon passing the first row of shacks new smells began to rise up and infect the air. She hadn't remembered there ever being a smell that foul when she lived in the city. Looking around her she noticed a large quantity of the people raising small squares of cloth to their noses. It seemed that this smell was expected on the way in. In the shadows of the buildings she saw people moving. Most wearing nothing more than rags. All of them covered in what looked like dirt. Not wanting to be in that section of town much longer she hurried forward towards the gate. As she neared the gate the buildings began to look more like buildings, and the smell began to abate some. Food stands began to appear as well, helping to cover what was left of the odor.

The west gate quickly rose up in front of her. Looking around she tried to see if there was anything left of the damage the explosion had caused. But thirteen years is a long time and things need to be maintained. There was nothing, not even a memorial to mark the passing of a king. As for the gate itself, it was a set of giant wooden doors rounded at the top. They were surrounded by large gray stones forming an arch above the gate. They continued into the wall which surrounded the center portion of the city. Guards shouted out orders to the masses desiring to pass through the gate, ordering them to form lines and await inspection.

A guard a few feet in front of her shouted. "Have your papers ready if you intend to pass through the gate. The price of entry is one silver piece per person, five silver pieces per horse, one gold piece per carriage, and twice that if you are passing through." Senna hadn't realized she needed identification to pass the gate. When she neared the guard who had shouted she tapped his shoulder. When he turned to her she asked. "I am from a small town far from here and I was wondering what are the papers that you spoke of?" The guard smiled at Senna and said. "Just stay in this line and when you get to the guard tell him you need to apply for papers he will take you aside and get you sorted out. It costs two gold coins for the papers though so if you don't have the money please step aside for others to pass." Turning away from her he shouted again repeating the same phrase.

Checking her coin purse she was relieved to see that she still had enough to get the papers and pass the gate. The line continued moving forward until she reached the guards. The guard looked at her and said. "Papers please." Looking at the guard Senna replied. 'I talked to the guard back there he told me that you could take me to get papers.?" The guard nodded and waved for Senna to follow him. Another guard immediately took his spot. Following the guard the moved off to the left of the gate towards a rather large building with many open doors. Walking through one of the doors they walked towards an open table with a few chairs around it. "Please have a seat while I get the paperwork." Senna didn't have to wait long as this seemed to be a common occurrence, judging by the number of people at tables in the building.

When the guard returned to the table he began to speak. "The paperwork is going to cost you two gold coins plus the one silver for passing the gate. Please present the coins for verification." Senna reached into her coin purse and pulled out the appropriate coins. Placing them on the table she asked. "How long will it take to get the papers?" While grabbing the coins the guard said. "It takes about an hour to file the papers. What is your name?" Deciding not to lie or hide her identity she said "My name is Senna Daxen" At the mention of the surname Daxen the guards' head bolted up from where he was beginning to write. "You are not to lie about your name. Lying will result in imprisonment and potentially death. If you claim that last name you will need proof of your claim." Senna shook a bit at the guards expression when he said that as it went from a smile straight to a glare. Despite this she managed to remain calm and started pulling off her boot. To the guards credit he didn't laugh as she unbalanced and fell from her chair.

Embarrassed, and in a slight amount of pain Senna finally got her boot off and pulled out the signet ring. After putting her boot back on she got up and sat back in the chair while presenting the ring for inspection. Eyeing the ring the guard paused. Then he waved to a man behind one of the desks. Turning to Senna he said. "Where did you get this ring?" This isn't what she had expected when she pulled the ring out. "I got it from Tollen. He was my caretaker when i was young. He told me it was my fathers. Please don't take it." She was beginning to cry at the thought of the ring being taken from her. The guard replied. "We are not going to take it from you but we are going to verify it's authenticity. This has the former kings sigil on it. But you already know that don't you.

The man that the guard had waved over arrived at the table. "Is there a problem Wec?" The guard, Wec, turned to the newcomer and said. "She claims to be Senna Daxen, she intended to verify her claim with this ring sir." Handing the ring to the officer. The officer looked at the ring and spoke a few words. The ring glowed with a bright blue light. Turning to Senna he said. "Put the ring on. It is real as the protection spell activated when I spoke the key words. If your claim is real you won't die when you put this on." Sweating a little Senna took the ring a put it on her ring finger on the right hand. (Hehe...Bob here. I know haven't talked since like...the beginning of the chapter. I don't like leaving cliffhangers...but this is too good. Till next time.)

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Thank you for reading.