ℂhapter 1 - The girl in the forest

Chapter 1 - The girl in the forest

“Every rose has its thorns, every light its dark shadow…”

That was what my parents used to say, but I always had a hard time understanding their riddles. I had asked them several times what it meant, but they just smiled as if someday I’d know. The words played through my head as I stared at their lifeless bodies. “Mom… Dad…” I muttered, but they didn’t answer. They wouldn’t answer me ever again.

 

They had both been suffering from some tropical disease that had no cure. The other traders had left us behind in the forest when they found out. They left me as well, because they were afraid I was also infected. However, I hadn’t shown any symptoms and was still in perfect health. I pulled myself together and tried to focus on more practical things. Both my parents were traders who used to travel around the world. I had been traveling with them for as long as I could remember, and they had taught me the art of trading along the way. I still had some of the trading goods with me, so I decided to continue their work.

 

That’s how I started working as a traveling trader, like my parents before me. Several years went by, until one day I met Rafiela. It was a hot summer day, and I was traveling through the forest on my way to Zeltica, the town on the other side.

 

I traveled through the forest by foot while my horse walked behind me, carrying the trading goods. After walking for several hours, something suddenly fell from a nearby tree. I was not sure what it was, so I drew my sword and cautiously moved closer. In the shadow below the tree I discovered a little girl, covered in thorns.

 

“What in the world…” I said, confused by the unusual sight in front of me. The girl regained her consciousness and slowly opened her eyes. I could tell she was surprised as well. She stared at me with her big eyes while she tried to decide whether I was a friend or foe. I gave her a friendly smile and lowered my sword in an attempt to look less intimidating. Then I crouched beside her. “Are you okay? And what were you doing in that tree?” I asked.

 

The girl seemed to calm down and smiled back at me. “I’m fine, I guess. I was just trying to catch some birds when I lost my balance.” She paused for a moment. ”Umm… Could you help me remove these thorns from my body?” she asked.

 

At first I thought she had landed in a thorny bush, but it seemed like the thorns came right out of her skin. Upon closer inspection I recognized them as rose thorns, which was weird, because as this was a tropical forest, there were no roses around here. I carefully started cutting the thorns away with my sword, as close to the skin as I could without cutting her. Whenever I severed a branch, the remainder shriveled up and sank back into her skin without leaving a trace.

 

After a few minutes all the thorns were gone. I got up and gathered my belongings, preparing to continue my journey. I looked over my shoulder before leaving, and saw the girl was still sitting in the same spot, staring at me.

 

“Umm… I don’t know who you are and what you’re doing here, but the forest is not safe for a little girl on her own. There are snakes and other animals that might attack you, and a man in the tavern told me he saw a group of bandits roaming around,” I said.

 

She didn’t move and continued to stare at me. I wasn’t even sure she’d heard me.

 

I sighed and started walking away. Why would a little girl like her be in a forest all by herself? And covered in those weird thorns no less...

Maybe she was just like me. The thought hit me like a brick. Maybe she was abandoned, left to survive on her own. Or maybe she got lost in the forest while she was traveling with her family. Either way, as much as it pained me, I’d better stay away from this. Being a traveling trader was hard and dangerous work, and having a young girl with me would only slow me down. And if I run into bandits, she would be completely defenseless. I rubbed some dried blood from the hilt of my sword. I did seem to run into bandits quite a lot recently. Although my conscience was heavily protesting, I decided to leave the girl in the hands of fate.

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Kreative Kana]

This is a great story! I agree with Joshua. I think if I were the main character, I would be more surprised at seeing thorns coming out of the girls skin. I am excited at reading the rest of this book! :) Keep it up!

[Joshua]

Good story, I like it.
The Rafiela character seems interesting and certainly makes me want to read on.
Only a couple of nit picks.
Grammar is a bit rough in some places like in the third paragraph. I assume you meant "I met Rafiela" rather than "I mean Rafiela".
Another is the protagonists reaction to a girl with thorns growing out of her. Based on this chapter alone I have no idea what kind of world this is set in so this may be explained later on but I'd imagine a more shocked reaction to a girl covered in thorns, unless thats just a part of the character's personality.
Aside from that this is a good first chapter and I look forward to reading the rest. Keep it up.