The Silver Warrior

Chapter 1

It was a normal sunday night, the sunset painted the sky in the most magical pinks, yellows and oranges. Spring was just around the corner and nature was ready to come out of the warm embrace of winter, to show the magic of rebirth to the world.

It was mostly quiet in the forest, the only sounds coming from birds in the distance announcing the start of a new season. Aveli walked in small steps, old leaves from autumn scrunching under her feet. She looked for any sign, hoping to find something that might point to a wild animal.

The end of winter was difficult for the village. It was still not possible to grow anything outside and the winter supplies were running low. But the tiny village of Astarn stuck together, taking care of everyone and contributing to the village life as one.

Aveli was a huntress for the village. She was an amazing tracker and knew these forests better than most of the people living in Astarn. She used to go hunting with her father since she was a small child. He was the one who taught her almost everything she knew.

A branch broke to her left. Aveli turned her head toward the noise and there it was, a beautiful deer scraping leaves from under the snow. She looked at the beauty that was the deer and put her hand on her hip. There was a belt around her hips full of knives of different shapes and sizes.

She took her fathers dagger in her hand, it was decorated with different motives and lines. The dagger was so sharp that a single prick could have you bleeding for awhile.

"Psst," Aveli whispered once she was closer to the deer. It raised it's head, desperately trying to locate the sound. But before it could even notice Aveli, a knife was already flying towards it.

The deer fell dead on spot. Aveli walked up to it and asked for forgiveness before pulling the dagger out of its scalp.

***

Once she arrived in the village, the deer being dragged behind her, the village men ran up to her, voicing their gratitude. People were thankful for the hunters, they brought in majority of the food during the winter. But Aveli knew that this one deer wouldn't change anything. Her only wish was to get a chunk of meat for her family.

"Good, you're finally back," Aveli's mother, Esther, said from the kitchen once Aveli made it home. She didn't answer her.
"Aveli," Esther came out of the kitchen, "did you get anything?" Aveli nodded and handed the bag with the meat to her mother. Esther nodded back and retrieved to the kitchen.

The door to her fathers room was open and he was sat in an armchair before the fireplace. The atmosphere in this house was full of tension.

Aveli walked up to his dad to pull the fallen blanket on him and kissed his temple.
"I'm back," she stated, "I got a deer. Mother will make something good for us. Please eat," she whispered the last part and sighed.

Ahren, Aveli's father, used to be a man full of life. Until last year when the carpet was pulled under the Stawarski family's feet. Ahren fell sick, he started to lose weight fast and eventually stopped talking. People even came to say their goodbyes to him, but here he still was. Aveli was convinced Ahren would one day answer her. She was sure, that she'd sill go hunting with her father and sharpen knives together like they used to. But the man sitting on the chair was just a shell of a man he used to be.

Aveli walked out of the room but was stopped by her mother calling her. Layton, her brother, passed her on the way to the kitchen, "you're so dead," he laughed. Aveli was confused, what had she done?

Layton and Aveli had never been close. Ever since Layton was born, Esther left Aveli on her own. She had always wanted a son and the day she got one, her daughter didn't matter anymore. Aveli was left with only one parent and now she was robbed from even the one.