Two Years Later

Sixteen-year-old Sakura felt her mind swarming as she continued to toss her possessions in the bag. Once she was finally done, she pulled the drawstrings with all her might, bracing her foot against the bed to keep her steady as she leaned back.

"Sakura! Why are you doing this?! Why are you leaving us?!" her mom yelled from the living room.

Sakura shook her head, sighing. "I already explained all of it to you and Dad last night. I'm not explaining it again," Sakura bit back. She ignored the sound of her mom's sniffling as she slung the bag over her shoulder and tied up her boots.

"Where will you even go?" her father's stern tone said as he stood in her bedroom doorway, looking down at her.

Sakura chuckled, glancing up at him as she continued to lace the thigh-length boots. "Does it matter? I'll go anywhere they'll let me. That's not much places in this God-forsaken kingdom. Really narrows the options."

He glared at her. "You're being completely irrational about this. What could you possibly do to change Grumor?"

She chuckled again, standing to her feet. She looked him directly in the eyes, wondering to herself how it was possible she could be the daughter of such a pushover. "Guess we're about to find out, huh?" she said snidely. She quickly walked by him, knocking his shoulder boldly.

"Sakura! If you leave now, you may never be allowed to come back!" He yelled after her as she neared the door, her mom letting out a loud sob.

She kicked the door open roughly, laughing as she did. "Good knowing you guys then!" she yelled back as she yanked her coat off the coat tree.

"Don't you love or care about us at all?!" her mother pleaded.

Sakura froze in her steps, stopping right outside the doorway. She studied the ground a moment, glancing back at her parents. "Of course. That's why I'm doing this."

Her father continued to glare at her as her mother let out another loud, painful sob. Feeling the pain in her mother's cries starting to get to her resolve, she slammed the door shut, muffling the sounds.

Without looking back, she quickly strode away from the small, peasant home, heading into the small village they lived in.

Her first step in her mission for independence and later revolution, was to get a job at the village blacksmith and work herself up until she was working in the larger blacksmiths in Daemarrel, making weapons for the troops and gaining respect from the royals.

For now, her sights were focused on the small blacksmith. She threw the weaponry door open, ignoring the looks she was getting from men two or even three times her size. She sauntered up to the counter where her friend and owner of the blacksmith, John stood. He looked like your typical smith. Big, bulky man with dragon tattoos. She had matching dragon tattoos from when he had offered to get her some from the person he went to. Where his were on his arms, hers were all down her back.

Once she reached the counter, she leaned on it, grinning at him. "Hey Johnny boy," she crooned.

He gave her a wary look as his gargoyle in the back corner, perked up a little at the sight of her. "What'd I tell you about coming in here by yourself? Have you been going to the bar by yourself too? You're too young and..." he paused, blushing a little, "pretty for that."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm not ignorant, I know 50-60-70-year-old men stare at me. I can protect myself the few times they actually act on those thoughts. Besides, I'm here on business."

John chuckled, leaning back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "Aren't you always going to places on business? I don't think you ever go anywhere to JUST go somewhere. There's always an ulterior motive."

Sakura grinned slyly. "What can I say? I'm a girl on a mission. And my mission today is independence."

John frowned, quirking one brow. "That so?" he paused, his eyes straying to the bag on her shoulder. He groaned. "Sakura, you left home!!??"

She laughed at his frustrated tone. "I did! I told you I would be."

He rolled his eyes, grunting. "Well, yeah. Most teens go on about that stuff. I just didn't figure you would ACTUALLY do that! What are you going to do now?! Where are you going to stay?!"

Sakura frowned back at him. "You really don't think I had this shit planned out?"

He glared at her. "Language. And what's your plan? Let's hear it, Psycho."

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Sakura grinned once again at his nickname for her. Psycho Sakura. She liked it. "I'm going to stay with Jaxyn at the inn his parents run."

John's frown deepened. "That's wrong, Psych. You know he has a thing for you. Don't use him like that."

She rolled her eyes. "I have a thing for him too. So, it's not using him."

"It's still very much using him. He's going to feel obligated to help you do the wrong thing."

She huffed, averting her gaze. "Blah, blah, blah. I did not come here to be lectured by you. Can I have a job or not?"

John's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets and leave the smith. "A JOB?! HERE?! Are you out of your mind?"

Sakura shook her head, crossing her own arms. "Oh, please. Don't be so dramatic. You know I can weld and smith just as well as you can."

"Well, yeah! Maybe for a hobby! But you don't have anywhere near enough stamina or skill to do it full-time as a job! That's hours of hard labor!"

She glared at him. Always had to be an argument with this guy. "Ever heard of training, Johnnie boy? I'm only sixteen. Plenty of time to get some amateur experience under my belt. Come on, just take me on. You know you won't regret it."

He glared at her. "No, Psych. I very much do think I'll regret it."

She grinned, unmoved by the seeming rejection. She reached back, pulling out the steel machete she had crafted yesterday. She laid it on the counter and held back her smugness as he admired it openly, his eyes widening. She had worked for hours upon hours on it, forging it, crafting it and sharpening it with utmost precision and focus. It was her most prized work to date.

"You know you could use my help is all I'm saying, Johnnie. Just ponder on it a little. You know where to find me WHEN you change your mind," she said confidently, before turning on her heel and walking out. Her next visit was the inn.

The inn was a couple blocks down, small and cozy looking. When she opened the door, the bell rang, and the scent of coffee and pancakes invaded her senses. She caught Jaxyn's eyes from where he stood in the café behind the counter. He smiled at her as he handed a woman a coffee.

Sakura walked up to the counter, smiling back at him. "Hey, Jaxyn," she said.

He crossed his arms, appraising her. "Hey Sakura. What brings you here today? Just visiting?"

Sakura shrugged, chuckling. "Just moving in." He laughed but Sakura only continued to look at him, grinning.

He looked at her, still chuckling. "For real, why are you here? Can I help you or something?" he said, grinning at her.

She rose one brow. "For real, I want to move in."

His grin slowly disappeared as he saw the earnestness in her eyes. "Psych—" he paused, looking over his shoulder, calling to his coworker, "hey, will you man the counter a second? Need to have a talk with Sakura."

The coworker grunted in agreement as Jaxyn grabbed her wrist, pulling her out the front door and to the side of the building.

"What happened with your parents? What's going on? Is everything ok?" he asked with a panic.

She laughed, shaking her head. "My parents are fine. I just want to move out. I'm sixteen, I want some independence. I've already applied for a job at the blacksmith and now I plan on asking your parents if I can move in here and help out at night as payment."

He frowned. "You're being serious, Psych? You really just left them like that?"

She nodded, wondering why it was such a big deal to him and John. She had told them in advance she would. Why were they so surprised?

"Yes, I'm dead serious, Jaxyn. Do you have a problem with that?" Sakura stepped closer, softening her tone, gazing up at him sweetly with her bright blue eyes. She slowly laid her hand on his arm, smiling as his muscles twitched at her touch. "I thought you would like having me around. Would you not?" she asked flirtatiously.

He glared at her, removing her hand from his arm. "I'm not an idiot, Sakura. I know exactly what you're doing, and I don't appreciate you manipulating me like that. Of course, I like having you around, but in no way do I approve of you leaving like you did."

Sakura glared back at him, stepping back, crossing her arms over her chest. "You know I have my reasons for moving out. And you know I'm perfectly capable of living on my own. Besides, I wouldn't even be living on my own if I lived here!"

Jaxyn threw his head back, letting out an exasperated huff. "Sakura, you're only sixteen! Not to mention, you probably just really hurt both your parents' feelings and your relationship with them! Did you even hug them goodbye?!"

Sakura started to form the word "yes" but stopped when she remembered what had really happened when she left. She frowned. "Okay, so, no. Maybe I didn't leave in the best fashion. But it's not like I'm completely leaving their life. I'll still visit them—Except, Dad told me I could never come back," Sakura's frown deepened, and she lowered her gaze.

Jaxyn's eyes widened. "Psycho!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, looking up at him. "I'm sure I can come visit if I want. You know parents say stuff they don't mean all the time."

He crossed his arms, raising one brow. "And if you can't? You really ready to break off all connection with your only known family?"

For a split second, his words got to her. As soon as that second came though, she banished the feeling. She hardened her gaze, clenching her teeth. "Jaxyn, my mission is far too important. It's worth breaking off connections, if that's what it comes to. In the end, I'm doing this for you guys."

His brows furrowed. "What mission?" he asked, wariness filling his tone.

Sakura wasn't about to answer that, so she was relieved when she heard loud footsteps coming towards the inn, distracting them. She turned to see the footsteps belonged to two horses, with Jaxyn's parents saddled upon them. Amelia White and Thomason White. She grinned widely. Just who she wanted to see.

"Look, Jaxyn, thank you for the AWESOME pep talk, but I have some business to get done," Sakura said without turning to him. She heard him groan behind her as she left him, following his parents. She called out to them and smiled as sweetly as she could as she greeted them.

Mrs. White smiled back at her as she dismounted her horse. "Hello, Miss Sakura. Nice of you to drop by. How are things? How are your parents?"

Sakura's grin grew ever so slightly. "About them, I actually had quite the eventful morning. I could actually use your help with something."

Mr. White regarded her with interest as he too dismounted his horse. "That so? How can we assist you?" he asked kindly.

"Any chance you've got some vacancy in your inn?" Sakura asked, mustering all the charm she could possibly muster.

Jaxyn groaned yet again as he arrived at her side. "Here we go—" he said quietly.