Chapter One

A Chapter by Caleb

Gives you a layout of the scenery

The forest was quiet, serene. The birds sang their songs out in the distance; the insects buzzed around causing a slight annoyance when coming too close. Walking out onto the open field, our target came into view. Her beauty stunned; however temporary, it still allowed enough time to be astonished by the strength, the power in which she possessed.

After my slight distraction passed, I gathered my thought to one single purpose. I nodded to friend. He was about about twenty feet to my left, but I could not entirely see him. I only knew he was there because he set out his position earlier; honestly, I do not even know if he was there at all. For all I know, I could be nodding at an empty bush, while he was off somewhere else laughing at the idea of me waiting out in the forest all alone, but I trust him enough to not do that to me.

I readied my arrow and pulled back; I never liked this part. In one moment, I am taken

back by this amazing creature and the next, I am determined to cause suffering and pain. Pushing back these thoughts, I again focus on my goal. I waited for the deer to bend her head down to graze on the grass, a last meal in some sense.

In this instance, I let loose my arrow, praying for an ideal hit. I believed in my skills, but there was always that voice in the back of my mind that gave doubt; I liked this voice at some times, but occasionally he was mean. I heard a slight moan in the distance. The birds ceased their songs and quickly flew away as there was a slight thud that rang through the forest.

Immediately after my shot reached her mark, my friend leaped from his position knife in hand. The deer was still moving, although on the ground with an arrow protruding from the base of her skull. Only her head was moving. As we reached our target, she looked right at me communicating all the fear with a single glance. My attention was drawn back to reality when he swiftly ran his blade across her throat, letting loose all the blood; all her power, all her grace draining away.

Before long, we nodded at each other and quickly grabbed the creature and began the journey back home. Taking turns, we both shared in the hardships transporting the large beast. The trip back was not too far nor was it difficult, but things were complicated when lugging our next meal behind us.

When one was dragging the other replenished his strength; however, this does not mean we could completely take a break. We always had to be on alert. The easiest part was catching our food, the real struggle was to insure it was not stolen by any of the predators lurking in the shadows or another hunting party wishing to claim the prize.

We reached the village without any setbacks and delivered the carcass to the butcher. He gave us what was owed and a promise to be the first to select our cut later that night. We passed by the the rest of the houses; the girls were already hard at work preparing tonight’s feast. Brushing pots and sharpening knives, there was not an idle hand in the whole village, with the exception of us.

Everyone pulled their weight. Those who refused to assist in the daily tasks were dealt with swiftly and with little mercy. First was a cut of rations and a night in the cage. If they were stubborn as I was, then they were tied to a poll and whipped; the count depends on who was wielding the whip.

We were a simply people. We had simple rules, simple rewards, and simple punishments; although some tend to be creative when it comes to the third. The more satanic of us, like Rolland, tend to use their talents to ensure the others listen with the promise of pain if not followed. It always irritates me when everyone around was always filled with fear when he enters the room. His looks were not impressive, nor was his strength, but his luck streamed forth like a rushing river. The placement in which he secured was handed to him on the account of him being the brother of the chief. If he did not have this connection, he would have been thrown away like the trash he is a long time ago.

Passing by the chieftain's hut, we could hear an argument breaking out. Rolland’s voice was always easily distinguished from the others; it always rose above everyone else and had the accent of a spoiled brat. He was fighting with Radost, one of the leading woman in the village.

Her wit was above average to the others and it was always enjoyable to simply have a conversation with her. She always made fun of the others, especially Rolland, but most of the time the insults were either ignored or simply not understood; I guess that is what draws me to her, I always picked up on her insults, even when directed towards me.

Being nosy as usual, I entered the hut without much of any announcement. Rolland was

red with anger and Radost had a small smirk growing as she saw me enter.

“Then what do you expect of me, I am only one person and not to mention the chieftain’s brother?” He always had that response when he was trying to get out of any manual labor.

“You need to pull your weight around here, the lumber outside needs to be cut and you are the only one around her not already occupied with the preparation for the feast,” said Radost.

“Come now, you need to build up those muscles of your. You can’t allow the women outside to have bigger arms than you, though they are coming close to passing you up.” WIth that comment my presence was officially announced. Rolland have me an scowl, it was always hard to look at him with that face. He was not very attractive to begin with, but he always found ways to further his repulsive features. Radost no longer hid her smile when I spoke and started to say something when Rolland cut her off.

“Where you invited, where you called, did I ask for your opinion on the subject, does anyone ask for your opinion around here?” WIth each new question he asked, his voice was further heightened, it was fairly amusing and it was difficult to keep a straight face.

Rushing to my defence, Radost countered, “Stop trying to avoid the tasks that were assigned to you. Everyone else has already started on theirs and you have yet to begin yours.”

“Fine! If it will shut you up for one second. Besides, I need the fresh air anyways.”

WIth that, he pushed past me and exited the tent. There was both a sign of annoyance, but mainly relief in Radost’s eyes. “I could not describe to you the pain that fills my head when talking to him. It’s as though I am talking to a child whose mother always told him he was special and deserved more from society than the rest of us.”

A small smile filled both of our faces. “Some children truly are special; he’s just one of the less desirable ones.”

“I need to gather more supplies, would you like to accompany me?” She said as she started to walk towards the door. WIth nothing else to do, I agreed and followed out behind her. She continued, “Where’s your friend? Where you not both sent out?”

“Honestly, I have no idea where he ran off to. He doesn’t like to confront Rolland, even before the incident between them.”

“It’s a shame, he used to be so full of life and you couldn't keep him quiet. I threatened to sew his mouth closed if he wouldn’t shut up. He just smiled and kept on mouthing off words without actually saying anything, he did stay quiet though.”

“I know, now both his tongue and his personality have been cut out from him. Although

some of his past traits have surfaced when it was just the two of us; he is getting better, but I doubt he will fully come back to us.”

Passing by the local markets, we stopped at the tailor. She was not the best, but she had to learn quickly, hell we all had to learn after the departure. Most of us fared better than others and the ones who could not find any particular skills were forced to endure hard labour. Those who could not take these simple tasks either had to find anyone willing to take them in or were forced out of the village to fend for themselves out in the wilds.

She was hard at work attempting to patch a shirt. Radost attempted to break her concentration and, with a couple attempts, was finally successful. “Have you finished fixing my dress? I need it for tonight.”

Looking up from her hands, she replied, “I need a few more hours, Rolland came in and said he needed his shirt patched up before he came back.” She always had a slight studder, but it was a little worse than usual today, and her hands were shaking. Her emotional state was already fragile and Rolland never helps in any situation.

“It’s okay, just try to finish. I’ll be back in before the sun hits the horizon. WIll you be finished by then?”

“I’ll do my best.” She quickly turned her attention back to her work and never even looked back up to ensure we left.

“She’s definitely an odd one, there’s no denying that.” I said after we walked a good distance away from her work area.

“She keeps busy and at least she attempts to help out around here unlike some people. I swear, the only thing saving Rolland is his connection to his brother. I understand that he’s family, but the chief needs to see him for who he really is.”

“I don’t argue with you on that note, but some things should be left unsaid or at least expressed in more private quarters,” I said while looking around, “You never know who’s within earshot of us, including those we deem our friends.” Sadly the truth is that there is hardly any loyalty around here. Only fear seems to bring most of them together. Slightly agitated, she agreed and we carried on without speaking again on that subject.

Some time passed before one of us spoke again, but by the time we gathered our thoughts, we reached our destination. Tolfdir was surely a sight for sore eyes; his face always lit up when he spotted us. Not only was he useful for lifting our spirits, he had a knack for cooking and always seemed to set right anyone’s day with one of his dishes.

He greeted me with a stern embrace and her with a soft kiss on the hand. He removed his apron and invited us inside. Before I could enter, Radost interrupted, “I apologize, but we can’t stay long. There is still much to be done before tonight and I need to ensure you had everything you needed.”

There was a visible change in his appearance on hearing that, but he quickly set that aside and reverted back to his jolly self. He always enjoyed our company, but he understood that today was special and that we were on a tight schedule. “Of course,” he replied “I have everything I need and I should be finished with the meats a little early. So, if you would like stop by later on today, I would enjoy that very much.”

“You know that on any other day we would love to take you up on that offer, but today is an exception to that and we must be off to ensure the rest of the village is not ablaze with panic in the presence of the coming ceremony.” There was regret when she said this, but she could always set aside certain emotions when pressing times called for such a thing.

Tolfdir responded, “Of course, of course, tomorrow then. I’ve been experimenting with some of these spices and I would like your opinion on my new recipe.”

“We would love to,” looking at me while she said this, “Wouldn’t we?”

“I can try but I think…” she gave me that look when she was pissed, “Actually I think I’m free.”

“Excellent, I will expect you to come in some time tomorrow, just come on in when you’re able and I’ll welcome you in at any time.” With that he adorned his apron and waved us off.

“Why do you always put me up to that, you know I don’t like it when you do that to me?”

She smiled, “I like to watch you panic sometimes, to see what happens when I set you up to do something that is not to your liking.” We both walked away with a smile after that encounter.

Nearing our journey, we both took our separate ways. I watched her walk away slowly into the distance and entered my tent and layed down on the floor. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why do never allow yourself some comfort? Why do you always keep finding excusses to not tell her.” Like I said, the voice in the back of my mind could be mean sometimes.

“Yes, I know that I’m a coward. I know that I can never find the right words when I’m around her. I’m sorry,” I responded. Sometimes I wish he would just go away, but he is my faviout.

“Why don’t you just f**k the b***h already?” Said a second vioce. I knew it was only a matter of time before he chimed in with his sarcasm. “Oh, It’s not sarcasm my friend, it’s just a question.” I forget he could listen in.

“Why must you pester me with in every aspect of my life? Could we not instead focus on the fact that I brought down a deer with a single shot?”

A third voice responded, she was always my friend, “ Yes, eventuelly he will fin the right words to tell her, but for now, we should focus on what those write words are.”

The second voice came back, “Who needs words when all you need to do is go to her when she is sleeping, pin her down, and-”

“You’re not hepling, you already sugested that and I really don’t want to hear the details of your plan agian.”

“Really? I really enjoyed myself when coming up with that, especially the part when you shove your undergarements down her throat and-”

“Please, just shut up. I would like a few hours of rest before tonight and you’re not helping at all. So may I ask you all, to please grant me some time to sleep” The silence was helpful, but I always felt lonely when they left.

“But you’re never alone,” teased the second voice.

“Did I not say to leave me alone?” Again, silence filled the room. I closed my eyes; my last thought were of Radost and the possible future that we could spend together if i just get passed my fears.