Sparta's Angel

Chapter 1

     I look at my surroundings; stones, mortar of some type. Green grass underneath my feet as I walk, trees looming over me as I sneak away from the hectic castle nights. As I scan upon the thick trees - a smell of pine and sap wafting my way, calming my crazed emotions - the clearing I have come across many times, my newly-found haven, makes itself known. The shiny, clean, crystal blue lake, trickling waterfall, water lilies and tiny fish, all coming together as one and protruding a new kind of ecosystem in the world of humans and buildings.

     Folding my now shed clothes and putting them into a pile, I gently insert myself into the cooling water. Getting the oils, I lather them in my hands and run my fingers through my hair and massage, letting my mind wonder.

    Drying off with the rag that I brought along, the wind whirs, carrying a sound of battle cries and swords being drawn out of their sheaths with it.

    Knowing that the far-off sounds came from my town, I hurriedly put my clothes on and ran back, nearly tripping over my own two feet as images of what could be happening cloud my mind.

    As I stumble across the field about three-fourths of a mile from the castle, orange from the setting sun, I look upon the battle-ridden grasses. Blood covering small parts, man fighting against man, my heart aches. It aches for all of the loss that has happened, for all of the loved ones who flow behind them, wondering if the man they know will come back to them. All of the families that will mourn day after day. And then, the unthinkable happens.

    I scream. I scream so loud, that I'm sure the finest China broke into tiny pieces, that everyone heard me across all of the seven seas.

    Then, I hear nothing. No sounds of strangled cries as throats are slit, hearts are stabbed, and stomachs punctured. At this point, even the birds had stopped chirping and were resting on the tree limbs, wondering what would happen next.

    I feel a pair of eyes on me. Then two. Then twenty. Then a thousand.

    I hear my father's voice as he commands his horse to come to me, and another set of hooves following my father's. I look up when I feel the warmth of a horse's breath on my face, and see a man, a man that looked so dangerous, even the Bears would be cowering away in retaliation to what they think they could do to him.

    The man, whose name I have yet to find out, is utterly gorgeous. I know, a man, gorgeous? Well there is no other word to describe his handsome and alluring features.

    Hair as black as night, eyes as blue as the sky, sharp, angular jaw, a tall figure that makes me think the man is only a mere 6'8, and muscles that make you stare a little longer than necessary, this man, was the utter definition, of perfection.

    A cough from behind me revokes me of my trance that I was apparently in. Looking up to see my father staring at me with a look of hope and determination, he speaks.

    "Gwendolen, darling, this is Collen, the man who has declared war on us."

    My face turned to stone as I stated at the beautiful man, who I thought was the epitome of perfect, but my first impression was the opposite of what he truly is. A monster, declaring war on our innocent town.

    "How could a man as beautiful as you, be so.. so.. violent and cruel! A monster!" I had no control over my body as my hand made contact with his defined jaw, his head barely moving, almost like he was expecting it to happen.

    "Gwen, he has asked your hand in marriage, and if you accept, he will not destroy our humble town."