Chapter One

Six years later…

The day was warm in Rutak, a perfectly cool breeze playing with the trees and rocking the many splendid ships that were docked in the harbor. The sounds of sailors’ bellows could be heard across the wind as birds darted ubiquitously about in the busy marketplace nearby, their bright colors of yellow, blue and green playfully flashing in and out of the bustling feet and clouds of disrupted sand. The marketplace was full today, all the town's inhabitants apparently outside enjoying the lovely weather. Not much could be heard over the ruckus of yelling sailors, vendors shouting out their products to passersby, or loud chatters of gossiping acquaintances that insisted on informing petty nonsense’s to each other. In such havoc, no one detected the slight frame of a malnourished, though pretty, young woman nearing a brightly arranged fruit stand, intentions not the least bit honest. Supposing one did, however, they would just perceive that young woman, if a bit curious at best, raising a bright lemon to her gaze for inspection. They wouldn’t notice at all, however, the dull looking orange sitting at the edge of the stand swiftly disappearing into her pocket. To one whom was watching, the lemon was simply replaced, the young woman moving into the crowd with disinterest and swiftly disappearing among the many bodies.

Severna made her way through the multitude of people, fingering the piece of fruit in her pocket with satisfaction. It was so easy taking food from the vendors, especially on busy days like today. Of course she felt slightly guilty for taking what wasn’t hers, but she figured the orange was going to rot soon enough anyways, and no one would want to buy it. Then that would be a rotting orange lost to the birds when it could have been a perfectly fine orange in her stomach. Severna took the fruit from her pocket, peeling away the outer layer as she walked. She had finally made it out of the throng of people in the marketplace and now she was winding her way through the maze of buildings and houses, all crammed together tightly. To a newcomer in this city, finding their way through the winding streets would be a nightmare, but Severna knew the twisting paths like the back of her hand. She had made it a goal to explore the whole city when she first arrived a few years ago, and now it was permanently etched into her mind. Just a few more turns now and she would come to The Cove, a tavern meant for seamen and travelers.

The Cove was a friendly pub, run by a sharp, pretty woman named Tess. Tess’s husband had originally owned it himself for many years, but had died the summer before from sickness, leaving it to her. Severna actually thought Tess ran it better by herself with her husband now gone, and apparently so did her customers since the tavern was more full almost every day.

Severna pushed open the door, entering the large common area, and took a bite of her fruity morsel. It was just as loud as usual, the laughter and talking seeming to be almost just as loud as that of the marketplace. Tess was behind the counter, talking to her customers in her usual friendly but brusque way. Her long, light brown hair was pulled back into a braid, a few wisps escaping to frame her firm, but friendly, face. Her eyes caught Severna’s, a smile instantly lighting them up as soon as she saw the girl.

“Severna!” she called, and beckoned her over with a wave.

“Hullo, Tess,” the young woman said, reaching the counter and propping herself up on one of the stools. “You seem very busy today, as usual.”

“Aye, indeed,” she replied, waving the knife in her hand dismissively, “but who cares about that. I have more exciting news.” She leaned in, voice hushed. “See that group of three sitting in the corner over there?”

Severna turned to look in the direction that Tess was inconspicuously pointing to with the tip of her knife. Around a table in the back corner hovered two young men and a woman, all looking over something that looked like a map. One of the men, a fellow with messy, dark auburn hair and firm jaw line, glanced her way for a second, catching her eye. He was sitting lazily in his chair, one arm resting on the table to prop up his head, legs stretched out beside him. His expression was somewhat monotonous, as if what the group was discussing had no application to him at all, so therefore, he didn’t need to make any effort to participate. Severna thought she caught something dark and even somewhat sad in that gaze, but was cut off from her exploration as soon as those eyes turned away. His companion had caught his attention, causing his brows to furrow.

The young man who was talking was leaning over the table, pointing to something on the map. He closely resembled that of the auburn haired youth, blond hair having a reddish tint to it as well. Severna thought the two might even be twins, their facial features were so much alike. He was saying something, as if to argue a point, and Severna knew this man to be a very good negotiator by the way the others head’s nodded in agreement.

The third, the woman, clearly held some type of authority over the other two. The way she stood with her arms crossed and legs spread out clearly told Severna she was the leader. She had a sort of wild edge to her features, her red hair reaching down to her waist in untamed, wavy swoops, and her expression hiding a fierce edge. The sword at her belt told of her position as well, the red gem in the hilt overpowering those of the men's less elegant weapons. She even looked slightly related to the twins as well, the way her mouth curved when she talked indicating so. Obviously, she had to be the oldest of the three.

“Who are they?” Severna asked, turning back to Tess with mild curiosity.

“Some say they’re pirates,” Tess said with enthusiasm, still wiping down her knife, “but they claim they are just sailors come from Belaros for trading.” She cast a quick glance over to their table, turning back to Severna and continuing with a knowing voice, “But with those elegant clothes and the gem that girly has in her sword, I wouldn’t doubt they’re straight out lying.”

Severna nodded, curiosity now peeked. Pirates on Rutak was risky business. If King Maddox knew there were such people on his land, there was no doubt they would be hunted after and sent to the gallows to hang. Severna instantly grimaced at the thought of the king, her juicy fruit now going bitter in her mouth. Ever since his brutal take-over six years ago, she’d felt nothing but hate towards him. That night so long ago tried to pry it’s way into her head again, but she instantly pushed it aside, turning to Tess for a distraction.

“What are they doing over there?” she asked, remembering the paper before them.

Tess shrugged. “Who knows,” she said. “I say you just be wary of them folk. They’ll get you in trouble if you’re not careful.”

Nodding with finality, Tess left Severna alone to her thoughts and her food, a new customer claiming her attention.

The girl turned her gaze subtly to the group again. They really did seem like pirates, what with their whole attire of fine fabric and gold jewelry adorning their tanned frames. The woman even had a diamond stud in one of her ears, the stone a fairly good size.

Severna shrugged it off dismissively, hopping down from the stool and making her way out of the large tavern. If they were pirates, she was just going to follow Tess’s advice and steer clear of the lot of them. The last thing she needed was to be thrown into jail for “conspiracy” to the king, even if all she had done was just look at the group.

No, the best thing to do was forget about them, which is exactly what she planned on doing.

Author's Note:

Okay, so here's the second chapter! A slight bit short, I know, but hopefully future chapters will be longer when there's more action to write about. This is still in edit form, so I might be changing this sucker in the months to come, probably adding more detail and such. But, in the process, please bare with me! I promise it'll be better. ;)

Also, Maddox's name is tentative... I'm trying to find a name I might like better for him, so if it changes, don't be confused, it's still the same guy. :)

From the Reader:

Rockstar with a Vendetta - Thank you tons for your awesome review! I'm glad you like her name... and I definitely know what you mean when readers try to make the names more complex to make their story seem more "fantasy oriented" and such. With this story, I'm just planning on everything having a sort of rough simplicity to it, though quite possibly a few longer names thrown in there. :P

As far as grammatical errors, sorry about that.. I'm not horrible with grammar, but I'm not great either. I pretty much suck at apostrophe's, though, and probably always will, so you're going to have to bare with me there... ha. Also, about the detail, I'll try and get more in there progressively.. I don't really want to be like, BAM, this is what she looks like, but kind of spread it out more through the chapters, if you know what I mean. But what kind of details exactly are you thinking of?

But thanks again for your review, I really appreciate it. :)

Questions for You:

How was the pace?

Too boring?

Was there enough description?

Do you have any suggestions as far as details go?