And so the Quest Begins
The sound of tearing flesh filled the room, accompanying the screams of Ghander, a man with the claws of a wolf. The floor was concealed under a blanket of scarlet blood. Nicolette forced the sheath deeper into Ghander’s chest, causing his body to go limp and additional blood to spurt out. His eyes glassed over; It was finished. Yet another mission had been completed. In a swift motion, the great warrior retrieved a damp cloth from her back pocket and gutted the sheath. It was quiet in what was once Ghander’s monstrous cave, a beam of light shining down from above. Suddenly, there was an abrupt buzz from Nicolette’s mobile, located in her bag. A sigh escaped the warrior’s lips as she hesitantly reached into the dark sack, glancing at the lit up screen. This was how the heroine received her missions; She would get a message from the same anonymous sender, wishing her a job well done every time. Nicolette had no idea as to who sent her the messages, nor did she care. A mission was a mission to her. After all, these messages had started when she was 13, and the sender never failed to inform her of the new quest a split second after the last was completed. It was a strange situation to any normal human, but not to Nicolette. “What do we have this time?” Nicolette muttered to herself. Job well done, great warrior. New destination: Mendip Hills. Search for: Queen Raamiah Roserun, a shapeshifter.  At the moment, Nicolette was located in Sheffield, north England; It would be at least a 3 hour drive until Nicolette would reach the location. She exhaled loudly, returning the device to the bag, swinging it over her shoulder. “It’s now or never.”
The Journey
It had come to the warrior’s attention that she needed to brush up on the history of Queen Raamiah; What is her story? Nicolette pondered to herself as she flew down the streets of England. The fighter reached into her leather bag, pulling out her device. “Background check on Queen Raamiah. Stat.” Nicolette spoke into the phone. “Running background check on Queen Raamiah.” The phone stated aloud. “Legend has it Queen Raamiah lives in the largest mountain at Mendip Hills. Queen Raamiah preys on hikers and lost humans roaming the paths of the hills. She is known for her shapeshifting abilities. From the outside, she appears as a woman in her mid-years. Queen Raamiah practices her magic on her few servants, some of which are hikers she has hypnotized. Any pure weapon may wound her, however, in order to murder Queen Raamiah, one must stab a weapon through her beating heart. No recent records of a ‘Queen Raamiah’ exist.” This doesn’t tell me anything about her and why she does what she does, Nicolette told herself mentally. They always have a story; Most of the supernatural beings do what they do due to resentment or spite; hence this may be the case of the current situation, but something seems peculiar. Maybe I am just getting ahead of myself;  I am constantly running from place to place, keeping my identity a secret. Why must it be this way? Why me? Soon enough, the tops of the Mendip Hills came into view.
It Only Goes Up From Here
It was a lengthy walk from the car to the beginning of the trail that led into the dark obscurity between the mountains. The brave warrior hiked the carrier up higher on her shoulders, sauntering beside the path; It wasn’t too long before Nicolette began seeing faces in between the trees. She rubbed her eyes, making sure it was not just her imagination playing tricks on her. Eventually, one of the faces appeared before her. It was Nicolette’s father. “Don’t be fooled by her, brave hearted. For Queen Raamiah will play tricks on you until you think you are mad. You must trust yourself; Do what you feel is right. The chosen time approaches.” With that, the face vaporized into thin air. This scene set Nicolette speechless, forgetting why she should have come here in the first place; The heroine snapped herself out of the trance, walking faster as the sun started to set. Once Nicolette assumed she had reached the right mountain, she gazed upwards. Suddenly, the daughter of Rufus became exhausted, her legs acting as two heavy weights. Before the warrior stood a girl, no older than Nicolette, but not a day younger. A sinister smile crept up on the girl’s face as their eyes met. “Who dares go there?” Nicolette spoke, clearing her throat. The girl tilted her head to the side in return, still grinning. “I have heard so much about you, puny human,” barked the girl. “You are no match for me.” Just then, the girl disappeared and a wind began to stir in the trees. A pain exploded in Nicolette’s right thy and she let out a cry. As the warrior brought her hand to her thy and pulled back, she noticed her hand was stained with crimson red blood; Nicolette’s head never failed to warn at her. Get out of here. Now.

Shall We Play A Game?
“You should not have come, stupid girl. You leave me with no choice but to kill you now.” The trees surrounding the warrior whispered. “Not unless I kill you first,” Nicolette retorted. It’s just a little scratch, she told herself. She can’t hurt me. The heroine unraveled her sheath, holding it in front of her body. “Over here.” The girl giggled from one of the tree branches, now at least 10 years older. That’s when the realization hit her; this is Queen Raamiah. Nicolette thrust her dagger at the tree, almost nailing Queen Raamiah in the side before she vanished again. Another pain seared Nicolette’s skin, this time in her left leg. The warrior dropped to the ground out of shock, this cut deeper than the first; Battle-sweat began to trickle down her leg, streaking Nicolette’s pants. Beads of sweat began to form on the heroine’s forehead as she suddenly dropped to the ground, dodging another swipe from Queen Raamiah. “You call this an equal fight? You are simply too afraid to show yourself and fight like a true warrior in an honorary battle; fist to fist, head against head. You call yourself a Queen, but you have yet to show me you are more than just a peasant on the street,” Nicolette growled gravely through gritted teeth, gnawing at Queen Raamiah. A snarl escaped Queen Raamiah’s lips as she stood in front of the heroine, who was squatting down; Everything moved quickly from there. Swish! Swish! Swipe! Slash! Noises filled the air as Nicolette directed the sheath here and there, occasionally slipping across the flawless complexion of Queen Raamiah, who was fuming. The heroine traveled to and fro, blocking and dodging as she cornered Queen Raamiah against the side of the mountain. Then, everything came to a halt as Queen Raamiah was nowhere to be seen; The only audible sound was the beating of Nicolette’s own heart, echoing through the forest. The blood burst through the brave girl’s veins, boiling throughout her body. “Stop acting like a coward and fight like a man!” Nicolette yelled between heavy breaths. “Come and get me,” Queen Raamiah spoke in a hushed tone. The warrior could see a trail traveling up the mountain, signaling Queen Raamiah was waiting for her at the top. It’s now or never. I must feed the eagle. Nicolette stated to herself, snubbing the stinging pain shared throughout her stature.