Mother of Monsters (Camp NaNoWriMo 2015)

Chapter I

The one thing I hated about magic is that there are too many rules. Some of them are stupid, like, one must never use magic to make a potato as big as a watermelon and as yellow as the sun.

But there's this one rule that is absolute, and must not be broken under any circumstance.

One must never preform any act of necromancy.

Only one person broke that rule in all of Stragonian history, and that person is my father. And he broke the most definite rule in magic to resurrect his dead daughter.

I was a stillborn baby. My dad never told me who my mom was. (I think it's because he killed her to bring me back.) And directly after that, our queen stripped him of all titles and forced him and I to live our days on the outskirts of town. I think she also ordered him to kill me, but that would have been a huge waste of time, resources, and lives.

Because of what he did all those years ago, neither of us can get a job or move up in social status. To eat we just grow potatoes and carrots and hope they don't die. Sometimes we sell some of them so we can get more things like bread. If we sell enough, we can get some fish.

Because of my family's past, I have to follow a strict schedule. I have to be up before the sun rises so I can go get some water from the river. Then I cook myself and my father breakfast. Potato and carrot soup. After that I go to the market. Not to buy anything, but to meet up with my friends Elios and Milea. We usually hang out until sun down, then I go back home to cook dinner. After dinner, my dad gives me a short magic lesson. Once that's done, I go to bed.

Today was a new day, so I got up before dawn as usual. I twist my shawl and throw it over my shoulders, then I extend the middle part so it could act like a hood, then I take the part of the shawl on my right shoulder, and toss it across my body to meet my left shoulder. I adjust the hood so anybody looking at me won't know who I am. I put on my sandals and grab my bucket and I'm ready to leave for the river.

I always liked the night better than the day. I always thought the night was when Earth was at its prettiest. I look to the west to see the moon slowly setting. Yesterday was a full moon, so that must mean there was a festival at the market last night. I'm not allowed to go to festivals. It's too dangerous for me. Milea probably went though. I'll have to ask her about it later.

Something's different about the river today. There are other people here. There are never people at here at the river this early. There are about four people, all swimming in the river, their clothes all strewn about the bank. They were yelling and laughing and making me nervous.

I decided I would just get my water far, far away from them and then run home. It was the best way to avoid getting hurt.

I walk to my planned spot, but I was noticed. "Aw shit, is it morning already? Ey you! C'me 'ere" One of the swimmers shouts at me.

I slowly turn around to face them, gripping my bucket in one hand and my shawl in my other. I took few steps forward, but I didn't dare to actually approach the water. "What is it?" My voice was very soft. The swimmers must have not heard me.

"Wait a minute." Another swimmer gets out of the water. She walks up towards me and yanks the shawl of my shoulders. I scream and drop my bucket to the ground. "In'it that kid who broke the law or somethin'?" She looks back to her friends still in the river.

Soon enough, one by one, they all leave the river and surround me. "No it was her dad, wasn't it? He brought her back from the dead." The first swimmer corrects his friend.

The aura around the group quickly turned into a malicious one. They all looked at me as if I was a piece of freshly cut beef, and they were a pack of wolves. Suddenly, one pulls at my hair, making me yelp. "Say, what would the queen do if we were to bring this curse t' 'er. Would she give us money?"