Born To Fly - The Copper Tree Series (book #1)

7| Lord Rochan

Five years later:

It was her birthday. Secretly, she hoped her father would notice, and give her some sort of special treatment, like say hello to her or something.

But she knew it wouldn't happen. He would only say something to her if he had company, or if she had done something wrong - and she was used to it now. She had learned to be independent, and the law insisted that a portion of the taxes that Lord Kiton received would be given to his prosperity, so she had money that she could use to entertain herself, which she did often to avoid the boredom that her home presented to her.

That didn't mean that she neglected her duties though, she still kept her room nicely furnished and she had a good education, and she did her mother's duty in the town - visiting and creating cheer. The town loved her. 

Surprisingly, she still found time for herself. And she spent that time sneaking off into the mountain forests and practicing archery. Most of the town know if it, and they pitied her enough not to tell and anger her father - for they all knew that her mother Vanya was a wood elf, and that same blood ran through Fawntonya's veins. They could all see that she was a wood elf at heart, because of her great love of the trees and forests that covered the mountains, and of her bow. And for her sake they all wished that Vanya had chosen a different spouse, so as to give Fawntonya an upbringing of a more suitable life for such a pretty fifteen year old in the forests with the rest of her kin.

She grabbed her cloak, and wrapped her bow and sheath filled with arrows up in it. She glanced down the hall to see if anyone noticed what she had done. No one had seen her. She headed down the stairs; trying to not be seen by Estel, her father's Secretary and the head of the staff, set aside by her father to see that she did not go out without an escort. She peered over the banister, trying to spot Estel in the huge Foederis room, where she normally was hunched up over her desk keeping record of all the many people who brought their problems to Lord Kiton, in hope of their problem being solved quickly - which it normally was. If Fawntonya and her father had a normal relationship, she would have been very proud of him, and he of her. 

But that was not the way it was, and he was sitting there, wishing she did not exist, and she was trying to sneak past him without being spotted. she slowly took another step down the stairs, knowing she was dead if she was caught leaving the house with her archery equipment and without an escort.

She jumped as she heard the door slam, and a runner came rushing in. She started to run back up the stairs, but when she heard what the runner had to say, she stopped in her tracks.

"Lord Kiton, Lord Rochan and all of his family have been murdered!!" He cried out as soon as he reached the table where Lord Kiton sat.

He straitened. "Do you know who did it?"

"We think it was Ardon Sword. Or at least one of his killers."

Fawntonya adjusted her position to get a good look at her fathers face. It was pale as death.

"Have they been sighted?"

"Yes, just outside of town half of an hour ago."

Lord Kiton looked at Estel and told her to be certain that Fawntonya did not leave the mansion, his face covered with false concern. 

Fawntonya knew he was only saying it because the messenger was still there. It was for his public appearance.

Knowing now that she would not be able to slip past her father and Estel, and thinking that she could protect herself just fine, she walked back to the hall, opened a window, jumped out, and flew towards the mountains to practice her archery.

Down on the ground, right outside the fence, two pairs of eyes made contact. The first person smiled, nodded to his companion, and began to follow the girl with wings, sheathing his dagger that had just tasted of Lord Rochan's blood two hours earlier.

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