Beginnings

The heroine of our story is taking a stroll in the woods, when she comes upon a mouse who desperately needs her help. Deciding to assist him, she begins to take the steps that lead to her journey.

Once upon a time...

In a faraway land, there lived a girl. Normally, this girl wouldn't have a name, but today, we'll give her one. This girl's name was Rochelle. Rochelle had soft hair the color of russet, and eyes that mimicked the forest in their soft shades of green and brown and gold, enchanting any who came near. She was a sweet, kind-hearted person, selfless and charming. She also was not being courted, which might not seem relevant to this story but is actually, very, very important.

But we'll get to that later. Rochelle lived a busy life in a quiet little village in the land of humans, raising her younger sister and taking care of her step-father, who, due to a "bad leg" moped around the household all day and didn't do much of anything. Rochelle's mother worked the fields all day, leaving Rochelle on her own to run the house and be a mother to her younger sibling in their true mother's absence. It was a hectic life, and frequently Rochelle liked to get away from it all by going for a stroll in the woods, picking herbs to dry and store for when she needed them. The forest was a very old, mysterious place, and the villagers whispered that fairies and other magical creatures lived at the heart of it. Rochelle, being a sensible, level-headed girl, took no stock in these tales, and wandered the forest for as long as she could before returning to her home for the night.

One day, Rochelle was wandering around the forest, enjoying the last of the afternoon sunlight on her shoulders as she picked herbs from all of her favorite haunting spots. Hearing a rustling in the bushes in front of her, Rochelle brightened, hoping that she might be able to bring home a rabbit or a squirrel for supper that night.

Heading in the direction the noise had come from, Rochelle followed the sound deeper into the forest than she had ever been. Eventually, she lost the trail, and realized that in her tracking, she had lost her way back to the village.

Dark was falling, and Rochelle became worried about her sister, at home by herself as night came. She kept a level head, and tried to find her way home, but to no avail. Getting more frustrated by the moment, Rochelle eventually flopped down at the base of a tree and tried to make herself comfortable for the night ahead. Her family could survive without her for a night, she reasoned, and in the morning, surely she would be able to find her way out of the woods with daylight as her guide.

In the bushes, there came a sudden snapping sound. Rochelle, fearing the creatures that hunted in the night, took up a small paring knife she kept with her and stood slowly, ready to defend herself if needed. The snapping got louder and more violent, until the source of the noise hopped out of the bushes in front of her.

It was a small mouse, sniffing around her feet. Laughing, Rochelle bent down and offered a hand to the creature.

"Hello, little mouse," she said to it. "Are you lost as well?"

The mouse sniffed Rochelle's fingers and stretched up on its back legs, scrutinizing her. "Miss Rochelle, I have coem to ask for help," it said.

Rochelle gasped with fright and stepped back from the creature. "A talking mouse!" she exclaimed. "And it knows my name! Surely this isn't possible! Are you some sort of fairy, or a witch disguised as a rodent?"

"Neither of those," the mouse replied. "Miss Rochelle, I have come to tell you that I can show you the way home, but I must ask a favor of you in return."

"What sort of favor is that?" Rochelle asked tentatively.

"I have a friend who is injured and is in need of great help. If you could tend to his wounds, I would be ever so grateful to you, and in return, lead you back to your village."

Rochelle considered this offer. "Very well," she said at last. "I will attempt to aid your friend, but I must get home as quickly as possible afterward."

The mosue nodded. "It will be done. Follow me, and I will take you to him."

Rochelle followed the mouse deeper into the woods, into a part that she had never been. Here, the trees were ancient and radiated a kind of power she had never felt before. It made goosebumps appear on her skin, and the hair on the back of her neck prickle. When she was a child, Rochelle's mother had told her stories of children wandering away into the forest and being snatched up by fairies and demons, never to be seen again. As she grew older, Rochelle believed that these tales were simply used to keep her from disobeying her parents, but now, she began to wonder otherwise. After all, if talking mice could exist, then surely all the other creatures of myth and fantasy could, as well?

The mouse reached a thicker clump of bushes and disappeared under them. Struggling to fight her way through them, Rochelle realized that they opened up into a small clearing surrounded on all sides by tall trees and undergrowth. The moon was nearly full that night, and it shone down brightly through the gaps in the trees, reflecting off of the water in a pool on the opposite side of the clearing. As she looked closer, Rochelle realized that a figure was lying next to the water, breathing slowly, as if asleep.

Rochelle moved and knelt down next to the figure. She quickly saw that it was a boy, and that his arm had been injured in some way. There was a clumsy bandage on it, as if he had tried to bind the wound himself. Rochelle gently lifted the boy's arm and began to unwind the bandage. As she did so, the boy winced in his sleep, turning his face toward hers.

He wasn't much older than she was, Rochelle realized. In fact, he looked to be a bit younger, though his life had not been full of luxury, if the state of his clothes and the premature lines on his face were anything to go by. She wondered who he was, as she had never seen him in the village before, and she knew she would remember a boy like him.

"What happened to him?" Rochelle asked, carefully cleaning the wound. It wasn't very deep, but it had become infected quickly, and the disease had already begun to spread up his arm. Aware that this was not the kind of wound that could be healed with fresh dressings and medicinal pastes, Rochelle rebound the wound with a kind of heaviness in her heart, hoping that the boy would pulll through the infection and be able to keep his arm.

"He was attacked by a dark unicorn," the mouse said, hopping over and examining Rochelle's handiwork. She frowned at the small rodent.

"What's a dark unicorn?"

"A dark unicorn is a unicorn that has been twisted to do evil and malicious things," the mouse told her. "Because a unicorn is normally a creature of purity, for it to do something cruel, it must be in extreme, torturous misery. Their horns become a weapon of destruction instead of an instrument for healing. My friend got himself hurt by one. He has perhaps four days to live."

"Then why did you bring me here?" Rochelle said in confusion. There was a shifting beside her.

"Do not tell her," a new voice said. The boy was struggling to sit up, his arms shaking with the effort. He was much weaker than Rochelle had first thought, but he made it into a sitting position without her assistance. "I told you not to bring her here, Brody."

The mouse, Brody, made a huffing sound. "You're going to die without help," he said. "And if anyone can save you, it is her."

"I will not let her die for someone as insignificant as I," the boy responded firmly.

"No one is insignificant!" Rochelle chimed in, surprised at the boy's words. "And no one certainly deserves to die in as lonely a place as this. HAve you anywhere to stay tonight?"

The boy hesitated, but shook his head. Rochelle stood briskly, brushing her hands off. "Well, then," she said. "You may stay in my home."

"But there is no way-" the boy began to protest, until Rochelle cut him off.

"I will have no disagreements," she told him firmly. "You are welcome in my home tonight."

The boy still looked reluctant, but he nodded, and Rochelle helped him into a standing position. Brody the mouse led the way through the forest, with the boy leaning heavily on Rochelle for support.

It was nearing dawn when they at last made it back to the village. Rochelle never thought she would be so relieved to see her shabby little cottage before. She gave the boy a soft pallet on the floor in front of the fire, then set about tidying up the mess left by her family as they went to sleep that night. She offered the boy some food, but he declined with a small shake of the head. This worried her, because she knew that he would need to keep his strength up by eating so he could fight off the infection in his arm. She wondered how long he had been sitting out there in the woods, alone but with no one but a small mouse to keep him company, refusing treatment because he wanted no one else to be put in danger by his mistakes. His chivalry touched her heart, and she impulsively decided that she would find the cure for the boy herself.

It was a crazy thought, she knew, and one filled with danger. Still, she felt she owed it, somehow, to this sad, lonely boy who thought himself unimportant enough to let no one try to save him.

Rochelle waited until he had dropped off to sleep, then set about preparing for her journey. She packed a rucksack full of food and a spare set of clothes, and left two notes: one for her mother and one for the boy, whose name was Alyx, according to Brody. The notes explained her disappearance and reassured them that she would take the utmore care to return to them quickly, and with an antidote for Alyx. She left them sitting next to their two recipiants, and then, with Brody on her shoulder, she left quietly and shut the door behind her.

"Where am I meant to go?" she asked Brody, while walking to the forest.

"Deep in the forest, so deep that few humans have ever been there, lives a man, an old healer," said the mouse. "He knows the antidote to the dark unicorn's poison, but reaching him is difficult and fraught with danger. This is why Alyx did not want you to go."

"Why is he so concerned for me?" Rochelle asked in puzzlement. "He has never met me before, yet he speaks as though he would be greatly upset if I were hurt."

At this, Brody looked almost embarassed, twitching his whiskers and swiping his paws over them a few times. "Alyx knows you, but you do not know him," he said at last.

"How is this possible? I have never seen him."

"When you go for walks in the forest, Alyx and I will sometimes see you," Brody answered. "He has taken a liking to you, though he would never admit it to me."

Rochelle was strangely pleased at these words, though she was unsure why. He was a rather attractive boy, she supposed, but she had no time for courting and fun like the other girls of the village did. She had too much work to do for that.

"I see," was all she responded with. "What kinds of dangers are there on the way to this healer's house?"

"There are three major obstacles," Brody said. "The first is the Bridge of the Stone Trolls, the second is the Mermaid's Sea, and the third is the Elder Forest, the deepest, oldest part of this forest. I can show you the way to the bridge to begin your journey, but from there I cannot follow. I do not want to leave Alyx on his own for too long, despite the hospitality you have shown him." Rochelle accepted this, and on they walked through the woods. The trees became larger and more widely spread, and the undergrowth became less difficult to navigate. After a time, the mouse called for a halt, and jumped down onto the ground.

"Just ahead lies the Bridge of the Stone Trolls," Brody said. "The Trolls will not attack you when you approach. Instead, they will ask you to play a game. They enjoy riddles, and they will ask you to give them a riddle that they cannot solve. If you are able to do this, they will let you pass."

Rochelle nodded, her mind already searching for ideas. "Thank you, Brody," she said to the small creature. "You are a very brave mouse, and I hope to be able to return to you with the antidote as quickly as possible."

She gave Brody a piece of bread in thanks, and decided that it was high time for lunch herself. After all, one did not want to go facing Stone Trolls on an empty stomach.

Rochelle took her time about the meal, savoring every bite. When she finished, the packed up her bag, stood up, and braced herself for the trial ahead of her.

Author's Note

First portion. Next, "The Bridge of the Stone Trolls" awaits.

Reviews

[HermitsUnited]

"Heading in the direction the noise had come from, Rochelle followed the sound deeper into the forest than she had ever been."

"Rochelle followed the mouse deeper into the woods, into a part that she had never been."

You've already stated that she's never been in that part of the woods. It's repetative and isn't needed.
Many words are also misspelled and you should definitely go fix them.

I've never actually been able to say anything about your writing aside from it's amazing or really good! Whoa. By the way, this is really good so far. Hee hee!