Léon

I was 15 years old when my parents were murdered. I guess you could say having a last name that's tied to good fortune tends to have its drawbacks. Assassins breaking into your home in the middle of the night being one of the many, many drawbacks. When your father runs the city you get a pretty big  target on your back. But despite all of that, we managed to come out on top every time, to be as strong a family as we were, here they were, Harvey and Annabelle Léon, bled out on their four thousand dollar faux white lion fur rug.

My father, being the gracious man he is hid me in our panic room and told me to call the police, he said something about "dangerous men coming to hurt him," he had this look on his face of worry mixed with immense fear, it concerned me fore my father wasn't one to be worried, he was known for his tenacity and confidence,  I didn't even bother to question why he was talking to me like an infant, I just did as I was told. I waited in the panic room for 45 minutes after calling the police, the sounds of glass shattering and wooden furniture breaking had subsided and I deemed it safe to exit the room. The house was eerily quiet, not it's usual four story, fifteen bedroom, twenty bath quiet, it was an empty, frigid silence.

I continued down the corridor to the main hall where the noise had come from, the broken glass from the many windows lining the hallway digging into my feet were nothing compared to the gut wrenching feeling I had in my stomach. The harmonious sound of the heavy rain was met with deafening  booms of thunder and random flashes of lightning, as if nature itself was composing a symphony to match the horrible scene I happened upon entering the main hall. There, at the bottom of the stairs, lay my parents, face down in a unified pool of blood, hand in hand.

Darting down the stairs in a flurry of shock and sadness, a single tear let itself loose from my eye, giving release to the many I was holding back, I embraced my parents bloody bodies  letting out wails of anguish when I managed to find the breath to do so.

Twenty minutes later the authorities arrived, too little too late. The snap of our front door being broken down made me jump to my feet.

Five men came rushing into our home with bright flashlights and the sound of magazines clicking in automatic weapons, the emblem embroidered on their right shoulders signified they were the Léon task force. This was no longer a home, it was a crime scene. One of the men approached me, he was incredibly tall, he stood at a height that rivaled my fathers, I traced his torso with my eyes all the way up to his face and was met with kind eyes and a soothing voice.

"Are you alright Miss Léon?" I opened my mouth to speak, but only a barely audible whimper could escape my mouth. My eyes fell to the floor and soon the rest of me went with them. The tears came rushing back to the front of my eyes as I recounted the events of the night in my mind. Moments later our family's butler, Benjamin, came through the front door, a sullen look growing on his face as he took in the scene. "It appears I was too late," sighed Benjamin.  "Wheres Cassandra?" The  kind officer stood to the side revealing the crying girl collapsed behind him. "Oh thank god you're alright, I'd have gone mad if they got you too," said Benjamin rushing over to me.

Benjamin had carried me off to my room and told me to get some rest, but how could I? My parents were dead, the only family I've ever known, well besides Benjamin, he's been with my family since before I was born. He and my father had always been close. He seemed so calm about everything, as if he was expecting this cruel fate to befall my parents. I needed answers.

I looked out my window and saw that the lights from the armored vehicle outside were still flashing their orange and white colors. I lept out of bed and headed back out into the long, dark hallway.

The faint sound of voices echoing in this house, that was now starting to seem excessively large led me to my father's study. I recognized one of the voices belonging to Benjamin, but the other was unfamiliar. It was stern, but passive. I placed my ear against the door and began to listen. "I warned him of this, I knew the man was arrogant but I hadn't expected him to be a careless idiot." Benjamin remained silent for a brief period, as if to shake off the insults pointed at his dead friend. "Harvey called me just before the incident and told me to bring the last lion soul, if I had just been faster-" He was interrupted by the voice. "Well if what you say is true, we have to do everything in our power to protect Cassandra, we can't afford to lose the last of the Léon family, especially with Ragnarok on the rise. You'll have to train her, she'll have to become the bearer of the last lion soul it's the only thing that can stop him," replied the voice. "Train her?" questioned an astonished Ben. "She's only a little girl, her parents murdered in cold blood only a few hours ago and you expect me to train her? She is a child, we can't just drop something as severe as this on her so suddenly-" I burst through the door to my father's study. Everyone's heads turned to meet me at the entrance of the room.

"Oh why hello Cassandra, shouldn't you be resting" said Ben in a cheerful tone. "Who's Ragnarok?" I questioned. I was met with silence. "Who is Ragna-" I started again but was interrupted by the strange man. "A very powerful entity from the old world. The reason why we live in the sky today. He's the one who killed your parents, well one of his assassins at least." "Charles!" Interrupted Ben. "You will refer to me as Commander Gryphon when in the presence of a Léon, Butler." Retorted Gryphon.  "She has the right to know Benjamin" said Gryphon in a softer tone. He turned back to me. "Your Uncle Benjamin is going to help you become strong enough to fight him. You want to avenge your parents don't you?" The idea sounded twisted, but the thought of finding who tore my family apart sounded too good to pass up. "I'll do it." Answered Cassandra, her voice unwavering. "Are you certain that this is what you want?" Ben Inquired. "The only certainty I have is in the fact that my parents are dead, if there's something out there capable of such evil I want to be ready for them. Clearly this isn't just going to stop here. You've been trying to keep this from me but I've known there's something out there all along." Said Cassandra. "Fathers' reasons for why members of his family aren't around always seemed odd, and I stumbled upon the name Ragnarok in a few of his emails." Ben's face grew dark, he seemed upset at her response. "Well there you have it Benny old boy" Commander Gryphon interjected, a smile on his face. "Now that this matter has been settled I think it's time I do take my leave, the wife must think I'm out with my secretary again." He said with a laugh. "You should run off to bed young lady, you've been through a lot tonight, you need to rest." I accepted his advice and headed back up to my room, fearful of what I had just agreed to. "Gryphon." Uttered Benjamin just as Commander Gryphon and the task force were about to leave. "I'll train Cassandra." He added. "I thought this is what we had just agreed to-" but he was interrupted by a stern voiced Benjamin. "But I'm not giving her the last lion soul until she is of legal age to accept it herself, I want it to be her choice. I will not force this upon her so young." He said, a stoic expression on his face. "Fine." Said Commander Gryphon, and he left Léon Manor, leaving a loud slam from the front door to echo throughout the home.