Chapter One, Part One
Aralyn leaned against the old oak tree whose gnarled trunk protected her from the icy autumn wind. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply the scent of the forest around her. She could smell the dusty aroma of dried leaves that had fallen to the ground and the fresh threat of rain on the darkening horizon. Opening her eyes once more, robust colors of orange and scarlet filled her vision, for every tree was still alive with many leaves that had yet to fall. The dusk colored forest welcomed Aralyn with a sense of security. She felt safe in the woods, with no worries about the world beyond the edge of the oaks and evergreens. Aralyn could relax here, she could lie still forever, listening to the birds sing their gleeful melodies with no cares whatsoever.
But just like that, everything can change in one instance.
Aralyn tensed as her ears caught the telltale rustle of wild game making it's way through the trees. Moving her hand ever so slightly to wrap her slender fingers around her bow, Aralyn watched the area around her. Some feet away she spied a small doe, perhaps three feet tall, heading eastward away from her. Already Aralyn felt a little sick to her stomach. She disliked having to watch animals die by her hands. Then again, it was the natural way of the world, the larger creatures hunt, kill, and eat the smaller ones.
Pushing the feeling of nausea aside she stood silently, aiming her bow and lining the arrow up with the doe's neck. A moment before Aralyn released the arrow, the doe glanced up and bolted away as fast as it could. Aralyn gritted her teeth in anger for being too sudden.
“The race is on!” she cried as she began after the deer.
She sped through the forest, hot on the doe's trail. Aralyn could see the creature sprinting through the trees at an alarming rate. She pushed herself to move faster. Soon, she could feel the adrenaline of the chase and the wind in her eyes as she dodged tree trunks. She felt the same way she did whenever she saw the mountains in the distance, like she was meant to move.
Skidding to a stop when she and the deer were a mere five feet apart, Aralyn raised her bow and released a second arrow into the evening. She heard nothing for a split second, then the thump of a body falling to the ground met her ears. Aralyn made her way towards where the doe had fallen and now lay twitching on the forest floor. The arrow stuck out of its stomach, scarlet blood flowing rapidly onto the leaf-strewn dirt. The doe's breathing was labored and its eyes darted around, never straying too long in one place. Aralyn bit her lip as she realized in horror that the deer was still alive. She kneeled beside the creature and lay her hand on it's neck.
“I'm so sorry,” Aralyn whispered as she removed her pearl-handled dagger from its sheath on her belt. It was an ancient weapon, yet the handle was still as silver as it was the day it had been created.
“Honor be with you my friend, as Lemai frees your soul. Die in peace,” She prayed as she took the dagger and slit the deers throat to end it's pain.
A tear escaped Aralyn's eye as she looked at the deers face and saw it's pained and fearful expression slowly fade to a glazed over nothingness. Aralyn shut the deers eyelids to honor its sacrifice to her. The sacrifice of its life. Its soul was now with Lemai in the kingdom above.
Aralyn stood, her long legs shaking and dirty from kneeling on the forest floor. Bending over, she lifted the deers small body. Once situated with the deer on her shoulders and her bow in her hand, Aralyn headed back towards her village.
It was a fairly small place, spanning a quarter mile. Most of the buildings were composed of wooden logs and several roads crisscrossed throughout the village. Between the houses lay untrodden pathways. A main road ran the length of the village, and ended at a large courtyard. In the center of the courtyard stood a red stone fountain that rose higher even than the church spire. Around the fountain sat the school, the blacksmiths, the butchers shop and the chiefs house. On the Northern outskirts of the village ran the Winthore River where the mill was. On the Southern outskirts of the village, a large meadow spanned the ground. Opposite the village and past the meadow stood a line of trees with several paths through it to the small washing pool.
Aralyn crept through the houses, making sure nobody was out on the streets before she ran across them with the doe on her back. She had begun to sweat heavily due to the weight. Aralyn wished that she could hunt in the light of day. But of course, women were not allowed to hunt. Only men. The whole idea of women being confined to their homes and children seemed ridiculous to Aralyn. She wanted to travel and hunt and go out into the world when she became a woman, but no, only men got to see the world, she thought bitterly. Like her brother, Casimir. He got to travel with Father last year in the traders caravan, but Aralyn had not ever been allowed to leave the village. She was expected to help Mother with Nella and Hui, her siblings, and with cleaning the house and tending to their garden.
Their garden was fairly small, and only has peas and carrots and cabbage growing in it. Even then, there was hardly enough food to go around the table. Especially in the winter. As it happened, last year Nella almost died when she broke her leg and became malnourished. And with Aralyn's brother, Hui, being born earlier in the year, this winter was going to be a harsh one as well.
Thats not even taking in to account how her fathers shoe repair business brings in almost no coins whatsoever for the family to use. And her mothers illness has been getting worse. She has more headaches, joint pains, and strange fits of forgetfulness nowadays. The worse the illness gets, the more time Aralyn must spend inside the house working than being outside.
Aralyns mother hasn't laughed since Hui was born five months ago. Aralyn misses her mothers laugh so much. Sometimes Aralyn recalls how her mother used to laugh at the littlest things, and how the family used to be so closely knit together.
Aralyn sighed as she reached the door to the chiefs house. She lay the doe on the ground and smiled. One night a week, Aralyn goes out into the forest and catches a deer and in order to lay it before the chief. He is the one who does not allow women to hunt. He is the source of Aralyn's anger. A lot of it, anyways. Aralyn only wishes to show him that she does not agree with his rule, and to frustrate him as well. She likes to imagine him waking up in the morning to find a deer corpse smiling up at him when he opens his door.
The night was silent, the only noise that pierced Aralyn's ears was the running water from the scarlet fountain. She walked over slowly to the tall structure of reddish stone. The statue of an eagle was poised on the top of the fountain, its wings tucked to its side. The eagles face was poised due North. Crystalline water, clear as a childs tear with a blue haze surrounding it, flowed from the eagle's mouth down to a small pool underneath it. From that small pool it fell and broke the surface of the large pool beneath, creating the sound of tiny bells calling into the dark night. It smelled of rain; soft, soothing rain. Aralyn sat on the edge of the stone and twirled her hand in the water, the coolness enveloping her pale fingers. On days when the weather permitted, Aralyn loved to climb the fountain and sit on the eagles head, feeling the wind intersperse with her thick locks of black hair.
She closed her eyes and once more listened to the earth and what it had to say. The wind called out to her, the dirt beckoned her to rise and walk towards the forest and never stop walking as long as she herself lived. She wanted to leave this place, having been couped up here her whole life. But how could she leave when her mother and siblings needed her so badly? Granted, her father would be just fine with her leaving. Aralyn opened her eyes and felt a tear escape down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, not fully understanding why she cried. It was her duty to become a mother and a wife. Thats what had been pounded into the very fiber of her being since the day she could talk. Aralyn rose to her feet and quickly made her way home, confused by the questions suddenly raised in her mind.
The house Aralyn and her parents and siblings lived in was quite small for the six of them. It was made of wooden logs and the chimney had a thin line of black smoke trailing from it. The door into the two room house was wood covered in deer skin to keep the warmth in. Aralyn made her way into the main room and was greeted by her sleeping family. Her mother and father lay on a large bed on the wall to the far right, with Hui squished between them. Nella, Casimir and Aralyn slept on three uncomfortable cots on the left side of the room. A run down fireplace at the end of the room held still steaming coals from the extinguished fire. A table with five chairs placed around it sat in the center of the room. To the right of the door stood a tall bookshelf and to the left stood a small kitchen, with an iron sink and small cabinets with some food and plates and herbs in them.
Aralyn lay her bow underneath her cot and changed into her night gown, then climbed into her freezing bed. The single sheet she owned she pulled up to her chin. Closing her eyes, she allowed sleep to envelope her.
“Tell me you weren't hunting, Aralyn,” a whisper came from above her.
Aralyn woke with a start and sat up, afraid for a moment before she realized it was only Casimir speaking.
“What does it matter?” Aralyn spat back, angry at being awoken. She wanted to sleep.
“Because I was there when the chief said that if you hunted, you would be banished.”
“Its not fair though!” she whined in a hushed voice.
“So you were hunting.”
“Yes, and-”
“If chief finds out-”
“Casimir, just leave me be. I understood his words just fine. But just because he threatens me doesn't mean I'm going to submit to his stupid rules.”
“Please, Aralyn, be careful. Make the right choices. I have never known you to make bad ones, but now, I'm not so sure,” he sighed heavily.
She licked her lips. “Goodnight, Casimir.”
Silence met Aralyn's ears as she drifted into the land of dreamless slumber.
Aralyn ducked behind a thin tree the next day as a short, brown haired boy sailed past without even so much as glancing her way. Her face was dripping with beads of sweat, and her heart raced. She attempted to slow her breathing as she peeked out from behind the tree. Beyond the tree line sat the village, bathed in golden afternoon sun. To Aralyn's left there came the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs. Swiveling her head to inspect, she saw nothing. Keeping her eyes peeled on the forest, she jumped when someone burst out from behind a bush. Aralyn had no time to react or see clearly who it was before they barreled into her and the two of them collided with the ground. They were a mess of tangled limbs, and it was several seconds until Aralyn came to her senses and tried to push the other person away from her.
“Get off!” Aralyn spat.
Long brown hair and pudgy rosy cheeks met her vision. A pair of baby blue eyes seemed to laugh at Aralyn. She sighed. It was Nella, her seven year old sister who annoyed Aralyn day after day. Aralyn stood and helped Nella up. Nella smiled at Aralyn, one of her please-will-you-do-something-for me-that-I-know-you-don't-want-to-do smiles. Aralyn glared down at her sister.
“Nella, I've been playing tag with you and your friends for two hours now. I'm not playing any more.”
Nella widened her eyes and stuck out her bottom lip. Aralyn smiled and shook her head.
“That puppy dog look doesn't work any more, Nella. I'm too used to it.”
“Please, sissy? Please will you play more?” Nella begged Aralyn.
“I have to meet Iarran, okay?” Aralyn told her.
“Iarran? Again? Do you like him or something?” Nella wondered.
“What? No! He is teaching me hand-to-hand combat skills,” Aralyn scoffed.
“Oh, like I believe that. Bye!” Nella waved goodbye and ran off into the woods.
Aralyn watched her sister disappear into the woods, then she turned and made her way into the village. Once there, she ran down the main road and headed straight for the scarlet fountain. Of course, she could not see the fountain, for it was obscured behind the waves of traders visited once every year from the surrounding forest villages. And when they left, men from this village would join them to sell their goods, and return home before winter arrived.
Aralyn could smell caramel corn and scented apples and honey buns. The sounds of fiddles and bass drums met her ears. Above the courtyard hung orange and red banners that swayed in the light wind. They contrasted the iridescent blue sky beyond in which lay the sun. The people in the courtyard came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There were short, stout, and muscular men alongside few tall women. Women from other villages that were lucky enough to travel with the traders. Rich people and poor were mottled within the crowd.
A young boy stood on the edge of the scarlet fountain and began to sing, his voice ringing out among the crowd. Wooden stalls of sweet candies and cloth and trinkets from afar spanned the courtyard, manned by their creators. Draped over every booth was bright orange cloth, complete with tiny golden beads hanging from the perimeter. Children ran around the crowd, laughing with their friends and despite their fairly tattered clothing, their eyes shone brightly. Aralyn veered left and made her way through the crowd. She abruptly stopped as a man on stilts wobbled in front of her, then began again.
Once beyond the exited mayhem, Aralyn walked down a side road towards the river and the mill. She traveled in silence until she reached the small clearing a little ways into the woods. The river was on one side and the mill was on the other. The ground was a light tan color and a richer brown nearer to the water. Aralyn cocked her head as she glanced at the river, its gleaming silvery blue surface only thirteen meters across. It wasn't really a river, yet it wasn't really a creek. If Aralyn walked alongside it for a ways, it would widen and narrow in several different places. But for ease, everyone in the village simply called it a river.
The sound of falling water flitted in and out of Aralyn's ears. It emanated from the wheel by the mill rotating moderately fast as well as the small waterfall a short ways down the river. Aralyn felt a tap on her shoulder. Glancing behind her, she saw Iarran with a smile plastered on his face. She smiled back and turned to face him.
He was a tall guy, with light green eyes and shaggy blond hair. His limbs were long and thin, and he wore a plain gray tunic with tall black boots. His skin was a soft peach color. Handsome, but not drop-dead gorgeous.
“Every time I see your eyes they just get more and more beautiful,” Iarran complimented Aralyn in his usual voice that was thick with authority.
“Don't flatter me, Iarran. I hate it when guys do that,” Aralyn lied as she averted her face so he could not see her blush.
“No really. It is not every day that I see someone with dark violet eyes. An elf, no less,” Iarran argued.
“Do you have to remind me?” Aralyn moaned.
“Remind you of your eye color, or of your race?”
“Both.”
“I see no shame in either,” he said.
“Whatever. Let us begin,” Aralyn replied, gently touching the pointed tip of her three inch long ear. She sighed and moved away from Iarran.
“Okay, you remember the slanting attack I taught you?”
Aralyn gave him one nod.
“Show me how you avoid it.”
He stepped forward with his right foot and threw his fist at the left side of Aralyn's head. Aralyn moved to the outside of Iarran's advancing foot, turned to the right, and struck down on his arm so that it missed its target. Then, she countered with an uppercut and a throat grab. Throwing Iarran off balance with this move, a hit to his right ear was opened up. Aralyn dared not take the hit. Iarran grinned.
“You practiced. Now counter my thrust punch.”
Iarran stepped and advanced with his left foot while striking with his left fist. Aralyn stepped away and counterattacked with a hit to his ribs. Then Aralyn used a rear choke technique, where she slid her arm under Iarran's neck and grabbed hold of the bicep on her opposite arm. He coughed and let out a laugh as Aralyn released him. If she had kept the pressure on his neck for long enough, he would have fallen unconscious.
“You are already much better than me. I fear there is no more I can teach you,” Iarran said regretfully while he rubbed his neck.
Aralyn radiated pride in her fighting skills. Although she knew there was much else to learn, there was no more of it that she could learn here in this village. Iarran and her stood in silence. Not awkward silence, just silence. Aralyn wondered what her father would do if he knew she had learned combat skills from the village chief's son. He would take it very badly, she assumed, for he is a man that thinks women should be housewives and nothing else.
“I feel great excitement for your approaching birthday. Seventeen is it?” Iarran wondered.
Aralyn glanced away from him to the river water.
“Yes, seventeen. Why are you exited for it?” she answered in a hushed voice. She didn't want to be seventeen. She didn't want to become a woman and have to stay in this village for the rest of her life. She just couldn't do that.
“You shall see,” he said.
“Iarran, just tell me.”
“Your birthday is just three days away. You can wait,” Iarran walked forwards and softly touched Aralyn on the cheek. She looked away, feeling overcome by the closeness of Iarran's body. He slipped a strand of her black hair behind her ear. Then he kissed her gently on the head and walked away. Aralyn was left, struck with confusion and anger. What right had he to kiss her? And yet how good did it feel to have a man so close to her. No man had been that close to her since the days her father hugged her, which he never did any more. Not even Casimir got that close to her.
Aralyn was confused and felt like her chest was going to explode. She needed time alone to think and deal with her overwhelming emotions. But first she had to check up on her mother and baby brother.
can i just say, i love the originality of your story! its very different to a lot of the stuff I've read and I love the main character's unusual name! I also like her feistiness - her inability to accept her place in society. I always like a rebellios character! 
