Trial of The Wolf

Chapter 1: Tonight He would be Free

The sun was just starting to rise over the countryside. There was a small farm on the side of a hill, overlooking a field. Next to the field there was a village, and beyond that a castle, separated by a small stretch of a forest. Even from this far away, if you climbed up a tree you could see the lights of this city while it was still dark. A young boy was already out in the field, an empty sack over his shoulder as he made his way to the end of the line. A slight breeze pushed his dark hair into his bright green eyes. He could see the rest of his family start on their daily chores as well, his brother-in-law Theon was milking the cows, and his sister Madelyn was watching over the young kids. The small farm was home to a large family, as most farms tended to be in the kingdom of Anlios. It was hard living, but they managed better than most families, and they were grateful for that.

He had a ten-person family, with four of them being too young to work. It was hectic almost all the time, and the only time that he really got peace was during the nighttime. Chase would climb out of his window and go onto the roof, looking at the stars as he dreamed about a different life. He had started doing this when he was only a child, around seven years old, and the habit had stuck with him. These acts had made him much better at sneaking around without being caught, of course he still had careless nights, when he got too confident. Those happened too often for his liking in all honesty.

The young boy had strayed a bit from the farm, climbing halfway up a tall tree. He stood on a sturdy branch, looking past the forest to the village in the distance, then turned his gaze to the castle, barely able to make out the closest tower in the uneven light of the early morning. Even though they had lived here his entire life, he had never actually been to the castle, and he yearned to leave this small plot of land and see it, but his family never let him go. His father and oldest brother would go into the village once a week to get food, but Chase was never allowed to go. He had asked his father once about going to the castle, but he had been quickly shut down.

"The castle is a place for knights and royalty Chase," he had told him, that thin smile that he always got when Chase asked one too many questions, "It's not a place where common folk like us are welcome in."

He had always been jealous of the knights, living such meaningful and eventful lives. They never had to go days without food or spend the night keeping crops safe from small animals. Chase wanted to live a life like that, where he was respected, maybe even admired. He could see himself, sitting on a sleek black battle horse, his chainmail armor glittering in the sunlight. He could hear the deafening sounds of a crowd cheering for him, chanting his name repeatedly, people looking up at him in awe. He could see his father, having dropped the idea of his son spending his life on the farm, proud of what he had done and who he had become.

"Chase!" His father yelled from behind him, causing the young boy to snap out of his daydream, turning and facing him, "Get back to work! We have a lot to do today!" His father prompted him, gesturing to the bag that he had dropped, now half full of vegetables.

"There's a lot to do every day! Why can't I go out with Ambrose!" He argued, gesturing behind him dramatically as he did so, his oldest brother disappearing into the forest with the vegetables to sell for that day.

They had this argument every day, and every day he got the same answer. Chase was never allowed to leave. His place was on the farm. His father was already back to work, not bothering to argue with his son once again. Chase had always been an adventurous boy, he spent his limited free time at the edge of the forest, dreaming about what life was like in the village. Of course, he'd heard stories from his sister, she had told him how much bigger the village was up close, and all the people who bustled about. Still, stories weren't enough for him. He had always wanted to be a knight, leave the farm, and explore the world. He knew he could do it eventually, he simply had to wait until he had an opportunity. His father didn't approve of these dreams, he wanted Chase to stay at the farm and help out the family.

It's not that Chase didn't love his family, he really did, but he was a dreamer! He couldn't just stay on this small plot of land for the rest of his life! He didn't understand how they managed this; the rest of his family seemed content with this life. He was too scared to speak up too often, and whenever he did, he was at once shut down. His attempts to convince his family to let him leave were dwindling as he realized how futile they were.

Chase sighed, going back to his chores. It was hours of work, without even a break for lunch, before darkness finally fell and the family retired for the day. Chase's grandmother had made them dinner like usual, which Chase ate quickly before excusing himself. Tonight, was the night, he told himself, he wanted to go out and see the village, see the castle. His parents had kept him on this small plot of land for his whole life! He was ready to see the world! Well... at least the village. Of course, this wasn't the first time that Chase had told himself he would sneak out, but he was determined this time, he had to see what was out there!

So, he kept his shoes next to his bed, pulling his thin blanket up to hide the fact that he was still in his normal clothes. He was sure that his little brother, Gill, could hear his heart beating from across the room, but he would not allow himself to check. He waited another hour after he heard Gill's breath evened out, before slowly sitting up. He took a slow, deep breath, slipping his shoes on silently. He looked up, but saw that his brother was still asleep, his confidence growing, along with his excitement. He stood making his way out of the room and down the ladder. His room was in the attic, connected to the rest of the house by a wooden ladder.

He heard one of the prongs creaks beneath his weight and froze, holding his breath. He glanced towards his parents' room, he heard someone shifting around, and quiet talking. Chase didn't dare to move; he wasn't sure if he would be able to if he wanted to. After a few minutes, the voices died down, but nobody left the room. They must have decided that it was just the wind Chase reasoned. He waited a few minutes longer, allowing his breathing to return to normal before going ahead.

After that near catch he went much slower, his arms started to ache from the exertion of holding himself up on the ladder, but he still didn't allow himself to rush. After ten minutes or so he had finally reached the ground, letting out a quiet breath of relief. He knew that he wasn't done yet. He looked over at his parent's door, straining to hear any movement, but all was quiet. He started walking slowly, testing the floor to make sure that it wouldn't creak under his weight. It was slow going, but eventually he got to the back window, which he had left open that afternoon.

Slowly, Chase opened the window the rest of the way, he waited again, even though he knew that he hadn't made any noise, it was still nerve racking to be sneaking around like this. Sneaking out of the house was nothing like climbing out of his own window to sit on the roof. Still, he pushed on. He pulled himself up through the window, his years of working on the farm had trained his muscles well, and he had no problems pulling himself up. He gently dropped down, feeling his boots touch the soft ground.

The night breeze blew his black hair into his face, rustling the long grass. He would have to remember to let the animals out here to graze, he thought to himself idly, that usually did the job. He turned to the window, which was up to around his chest, and closed it. This was it. Tonight he would be free.

Hello all! I hope you enjoy the first real chapter of this book! I'm so shocked at how many of you read the first part (7!!) I know it's not a big number but it means so much for me. Trial of The Wolf is a book that has been in progress for three years, but I've been building this world for five. It means so much to me and I really hope some of you like it as well! 

This is not proofread at all, so feel free to comment any mistakes you see! (Shoutout to the person who did on the prolouge!) 

-Ranger