Part 1

The Foundation

Chapter 1

Victoria- How We Met

Victoria Winters gritted her teeth as Matron Jamine of Seven Swords Orphanage pulled her along by her ear. Her bottom lip was already bleeding, and her arm hurt from where one of the other two children had bitten her and she hoped the bitch who did it lost all her back teeth and had to eat mush for the rest of her life. She would have gone willingly with Matron Jamine if she had asked, or even told her to, but she had asked no questions when she had walked out to the courtyard.

Victoria understood the matron's anger. Who wouldn't be angry if they walked outside to find a group of bloody kids beating on each other? Of course, without even being asked, all of the kids pointed at her, they were half right. She did throw the first punch, but those girls had provoked her. 

Victoria had one rule, dont fuck up her books. One of them had snatched her book away, a beautiful tale about a hero and his party defeating a dragon, filled with action drama and blood, and a very cute couple falling in love. And just as she was about to get to the point where she thought they would kiss, the bullies just tossed it into the mud. It had happened at the schoolhouse, and Victoria liked school, so when Victoria saw them again, right in front of the orphanage after classes, it was on site!  That was a library book Luna damn it all. The Librarians will be having her clean light crystals for weeks!

When they got to the matron's office, Victoria was forced into a seat in the back of the room. "Don't you go anywhere, ya little shit. Let me go find the first aid kit." the matron scolded her. Gumbing about hard heads making soft asses. 

Victoria pouted but stuck her tongue out at the woman as soon as she was out of the room. A small giggle came from the opposite corner. A girl with lovely brown skin, auburn curls that came just to her ears, and red eyes that marked her as a demihuman that sparkled with delight, sat there in a too-big blue shirt, grinning at her. Her smile was contagious, and soon Victoria was smiling too, forgetting all about why she was here.

She looked like the pretty girls she saw on the cover of her books, like the princess in a fairy tale. Maybe that was why she uncharacteristically said,  "I like your smile." Victoria quickly looked away when that smile got brighter and a smile giggle escaped that other girl. She never spoke to anyone first. She was told she was quiet, she had no friends and preferred books to the realness of the harsh world. But there was something pulling her to this girl. 

"I like yours too." Victoria’s head shot up to meet crimson eyes, her heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to leap up and run in a circle, confused by this feeling, she tried to save it to analyze for later, but the sadness buried in the other child's eyes stopped the new feeling cold. 

Victoria looked at the girl's state of dress one more time. She was a shifter, like Victoria, a thick bandage was wrapped around her upper arm to her collarbone. The oversized shirt was one she had seen Matron Jamine wear often, and again, she spoke to this girl with an ease she never had with anyone. “Are you going to be living here?"

The girl's smile vanished for a split moment and was replaced with a fake smile that would have fooled most. "Yeah, but it's okay,"

Heartbroken for the other child in the room, Victoria held her head down. Victoria had watched many children come to the orphanage, only the shifter children ever stayed. While all the orphans attend the same school, only the demihumans were housed separately. Victoria had been here since she was a baby, she watched many children from all of the other races get picked up, and realized a long time ago that Shifter children never got picked, not even the babies that usually never stayed more than a month. Victoria never had a family, some Adventures had brought her to the city. They had dropped her off, only telling the Matrons that she was the only survivor of a demon attack. The village they found her in was completely destroyed, There was no family for her in the world.  "I'm sorry."

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With a look of pure curiosity, the girl scooted closer in her chair. "Why?" 

Victoria took a moment to think. "I don't know...maybe because we have to start out with the short end of the stick." The girl nodded, her head fell down a bit. She didn't speak again, and Victoria wished she had not mentioned it at all.

"I'm Sophia," the girl finally said in a smaller voice, her cute smile gone and Victoria already missed it. "What's your name?"

she tried not to smile at how grateful she was that Sophia had spoken again. "Victoria," To hide her glee, she started rubbing her sore ear. "Sophia is a pretty name."

"Thank you." Sophia's smile returned, and Victoria was glad she said it. Even more, she was happy to have Sophia's full smile back. "Nice to meet you, Victoria. What happened to your lip?"

Victoria shrugged. "Got into it with some of the other pups."

Sophia nodded sympathetically. "Kids can be as mean as snakes, but I bet that ear hurts. It looks red."

"Yeah." Victoria smiled gratefully. 

As they chatted, Matron Jamine returned with the first aid kit and tended to Victoria's injuries. She was a big woman. A Lion shifter with light brown and golden locs that stayed tied up in a neat bun on top of her head. Golden eyes that were slit like all cats. She was covered in muscles that were covered in scars. Scars that if you asked about, only got you a gently sad smile. She was handsome, but always looked tired. She was gentle as she fixed her up, all the while humming a tune Victoria dubbed the Healing song, as when she was hurt was the only time she hummed it.

When she was done, she gave Victoria a stern lecture about fighting and the importance of getting along with the other children. Victoria listened politely, but inwardly she was rolling her eyes. She had heard it all before. She didn't get to say a word or even explain herself. She headed off to her room for a nap before dinner, almost forgetting about Sophia.

She stirred just before dinnertime, feeling a familiar pang of hunger and a hint of irritation. Making her way towards the cafeteria, Victoria barely registered the matron's voice introducing a new girl to the entire orphanage. Sophia stood there, fear etched on her face as she scanned the room, looking for a friendly face. The pair stood on a raised platform next to the matron's table, facing almost a hundred curious faces. The idea of standing up there herself made Victoria growl at the thought of how nervous it would make her.

Ignoring the matron's empty speech about family and love, Victoria focused on her food. It was only when a small voice asked, "Can I sit here?" that she looked up and saw Sophia smiling down at her.

"Yeah," she replied. As she took her seat, dropping her plate down slowly like she was in a lot of pain. Victoria looked for a question to ask to be distracted from the memory of the girls' bandages. “What kind of shifter are you?”

Sophia looked at Victoria in surprise. “Im a southern wolf, you?”

“North or Northwestern wolf. I won't really ever know.”

With a nod, those auburn curls bounced on her head. “If you get really big, you are most likely a Northwestern Wolf. They are the biggest. My brother's husband…” the girl cut herself off, and from the look of fear and pain in her eyes, Victoria didn't want to speak. 

They ate their dinner in silence. At first it was an awkward one, but that didnt last long as looked to her side and smiled with devilish intent. Victoria turn to see what she was smiling about, only to see the girls that destroyed her book. Sophia's grin widened. "You beat up all those girls?" she asked, pointing at three patched-up girls who had been bullying her. They were glaring back at Victoria.

"I’m not like them. They think I'm weird" Victoria growled in response, her eyes still on the bullies. Slowly she flashed her teeth in threat even though she didn't have any fangs yet. 

Sophia looked Victoria up and down before saying, "Well, Vic, next time they fuck with you, you call me."

Victoria scrunched up her face. "How old are you?"

"Seven, you?"

"Seven. You should probably not be cussing."

Sophia's laughter filled the cafeteria, and it was contagious. Victoria couldn't help but smile, feeling a sense of warmth spreading through her chest. They ate and talked easily, their banter surprising even Victoria with its effortlessness. After finishing their meal, they asked one of the matrons if Sophia could room with Victoria, and the request was granted.

Lying in bed that night, Victoria listened to the soft snores coming from the other side of the room. It was a sound that, oddly enough, brought her comfort. She felt something in her beginning to heal, a sense of something starting up, a feeling of something ending. It was nice.