Alyss was a ward in Araluen, in the fief of Redmont. She was there because her father, who had been a cavalry lieutenant, had died the battle of Hackham Heath, when Morgarath's wargals had attacked. Alyss's mother, who was weak because she had recently given birth to Alyss, died a few weeks after receiving the news due to an infection. One night after Alyss had only been there for a year a child was dropped off on the front steps of the ward building, wrapped in a blanket and sleeping in a basket with a note that said "His mother died in child birth. His father died a hero. Please care for him. His name is Will."
For as long as Alyss could remember Baron Arald always tried to be kind to everyone, and, when he could, he would stop by the ward to talk to Alyss and make sure that she, and the rest of the wards were well, in part because her father and the Baron had been good friends. While Alyss did get to see the village girls sometimes, she still felt lonely, so her main request to Baron Arald was for a ward mate. When the child was left at the ward building the Baron took him in immediately, both because Alyss wanted a ward mate, and because there was plenty of room. He also presumed that "His father died a hero" meant that his father had died somehow serving his country, which made the Baron feel honor bound to take him in.
Will and Alyss had become good friends, because they had grown up together for a few years without any other ward mates, but to Alyss Will had always acted like he didn't really think he belonged. Eventually they were joined by more ward mates, including Jenny, a nice girl with a good sense of humor. After Jenny came George, who while he could be nice, was more often than not just annoying. He talked out loud a lot, and was constantly debating various subjects, usually with himself. The good thing was that if it was getting extremely annoying he wasn't bothered if you asked him to be quiet, or if you just walked away and left him to his thoughts. The last ward mate to join was Horace, who was a big, sturdy, muscular boy who didn't always think what he said through. Horace probably would have been ok, except for that him and Will always seemed to get into fights over one things or another. Alyss disliked all the fighting, but she didn't really mind Horace.
Overall, they got along pretty well, with the exception of Will and Horace, but that didn't bother the rest, and there was always someone that they could go to if they were truly unhappy.
AN- Hey everyone! I'm taking a random stab in the dark posting this one. I hope you like it, but no guarantees. It is my 2011 NaNoWriMo, and I still haven't finished writing it, but I thought I'd post it and see if I feel like continuing it after posting what I have so far. Thanks and enjoy?!
