Chapter 1

Characters 1)Neessa the Mage 2)Jamendithas the Warrior 3)Lee - Reesa's little brother These are the character's introduced in this chapter...

Chapter 1

Mother once told me, 'To be a women, you must have strength in yourself.' I always loved the way that sounded but father always said that a women had no place speaking her mind and believing in herslef. My father was a very strick man and  everything he said he meant. He believed most in family honor and he had alot of pride, but i loved him anyway. I had to. I always did what i was told and never caused my father to look down on me. When my mother became ill two summers ago, it tore our family limb from limb. My father never laughed or spoke and always ignored  my baby brother and i. I practically raised my brothe, Lee. He was 8 years old when my mother died and i was 15. Lee will be 11 in 3 weeks. I just hope i can get home in time to see him again, even if its just one last time.

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I let the wind grab at my hair as i let it out of it's usual bun ontop of my head. It fluttered around me brushing past my closed eyes and falling agaisnt my cheeks. I loved the wind. It made me feel like a bird. Like i could do anything. I wanted to do anything. I wantd to feel the strenght i had left in me that my mother always said i posessed. She was always there for me, she still was, i could feel her hugging me close in the wind that passed around me. i smiled slightly then opened my eyes and sighed. Turning around i smiled at Jamendithas. He had been here for me all the way from Wildfax. He smiled back and turned his horse toward the east.Toward middle earth. Toward our home towns. Toward our families.

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My journey began two months after my mother died. I had never felt so alone and lost. My father hadn't said a word since it happened and he stayed locked up in his workshop all day long. My father is a blacksmith. The most well known blacksmith in all of Wildfax. All the kings from all around wanted HIS swords for their armies. HIS brestplates for their warriors. They all respected him and that's all that mattered to him. His pride was too much to stand. I remember the day perfectly. I was picking Lee up from his freind Rutes house. Walking through the town square, Lee tugged at my hand, "Nee, please, i want some cooked lamb. Please."

"Lee, im sorry but father only wanted me to pick you up AND i dont have any money for that right now."

"Please?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled down at him. His eyes were shining up at me. I couldn't resist.

"Okay," i said kneeling down beside him, "one peice only. That's all i have money for."

His smile lit up his face. "Really truly Neessa?"

"Really truly," i smiled back. I handed him a few shillings and watched as he ran across the square to a cart that had cooked lamb hanging from all over it. Lee loved that stuff. I smiled and chuckled, shaking my head slightly.

"What would you be laughing at?" an english accented voice startled me and i jumped.

"Sorry?" i asked as i turned to see who was talking to me.

"You laughed at something. I was just asking what."

"Oh," i smiled at the boy in front of me. He looked to be on the verge of manhood. His hair was long, raggedly cut, and black. Jet black. His eyes smiled when his mouth did and they were a calm, beautiful, light, olive green. "My brother, Lee, he just... he makes me laugh alot."

"Ah, i see. Um... are you by any chance the daughter of the blacksmith here in Wildfax?"

"I... yes i am. But..."

His face all of a sudden went serious and less kind. He grabbed my elbow lightly, "you need to come with me." When i resisted, his grip tightened slightly, "now."

"What? No. I'm not going with you. My brother and i need to get home. And i have no idea who you are. How do you know me?"

"I can't explain now. You have to come with me. Please."

I squinted at him, then when i saw the desperation in his eyes i knew i had to go with him. I knew that it was wrong to go with someone i didn't know i was only 15. Let alone the fatc it was a MAN. Maybe he wasn't a man YET, but he was still a male being. What would afther think? At the moment it didn't matter what father thought. This boy needed my help for something and i was going to find out why. I nodded my head and turned to go talk to Lee.

I came up behind Lee. "Lee, sweety," I smiled when i saw his full mouth, "you know the way home right?" He nodded trying to chew the lamb in his mouth. "Do you think you can get home by yourself?" He nodded, mouth still full. "I need you to go home. Right now. Okay? Don't stop to talk to anyone, just go straight home. Tell father that i was caught up with something. I'll be home as soon as i can." He nodded again and turned around to run home. I got up off me knees and the boy was behind me. 

"We have to go. Now!" he grabbed my arm again and took me down the nearest alley.