The Girl With Silvered Water

Chapter 1

Hello, everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read this first chapter of my novel, The Girl With Silvered Water. This book has been a long time in the making and gone through at least four major revisions. I know it's not perfect (is any book really?) but I hope you enjoy the story and especially the main character, Kalara. She grows so much throughout the story and I hope you accompany her through all the ups and downs, laugh with her and cry with her. Now, without further ado, here's chapter one!

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Sunlight danced off the girl's hair making it shine bright like a newly minted penny as the wind danced across the fields. The girl stood before the looming, ancient sentries of the forest. All the trees were tall and their trunks thick and solid. The shadows they cast made the dense foliage on the forest floor look more like a forbidden garden the young woman was not supposed to enter. Considering Elswich Forest was the boundary between the human kingdom of Reislan and the elven kingdom of Effleheim, as a human, the girl was not supposed to enter the forest.

A shiver crawled up the girl's spine. It was not from the trepidation of illegally crossing the border but from a sinister aura emanating from her own nation. The girl glanced back, her sea-green eyes searching the open field behind her. Nothing. She bit her lip and shook herself. Nobody was there, she was just being paranoid. No other human would get within fifteen feet of Elswich Forest, she was safe there.

She sucked in a breath and plunged into the shadows, getting swept up into the protective foliage of the forest. The girl breathed in deeply as if greeting an old friend. The sharp smell of the pines tingled her nose and invited her in with a laugh. Patches of sunlight slipped through the sparse greenery of early spring and twinkled across her hair which swished rhythmically against her waist in greeting. The small brooks that emptied into the Ransford River gurgled a warm reply and the rustling of the baby leaves of the ferns and trees beckoned her to make herself at home.

Slowly she picked her way along her usual route. Her shoulders dropped down and her lips pulled up in a small smile, her fear dissipating. All the other humans thought Elswich Forest was a dreary, forsaken place rife with vicious elves, but they were mistaken. Elswich Forest was the friendliest place on earth and it was hers, Kalara's, friend.

Being elven land, Reislanders considered entering the forest a death sentence. Children were told from a young age if they entered the forest the elves would take them and eat them; adults saw it as suicide. When she was young, Kalara had believed such stories too until the day a group of bullies from school chased her into Elswich Forest. Initially, she was terrified of the forest but when nothing happened to her and she realized her classmates wouldn't follow her in, the forest turned into her refuge. Now, all the frightful legends about the elves and Elswich Forest worked in her favor because the villagers wouldn't follow her into the forest and she could find some relief from their scornful eyes and mocking mouths.

At least, that was supposed to be the case but today something was wrong. The hairs on the back of Kalara's neck tickled her skin, rising stiff and straight. Trying to look careless, she glanced over her shoulder.

Nobody was there. Only the spruces and pines stared back at her. "All the silly human superstitions must be getting to me," she thought. Never before had she met another soul, human or elf, in the past sixteen years she'd been coming to the edge of the forest. Elven patrols rarely came to the edge and, when they did, she normally heard about it from her father, a retired general who stayed up to date on all developing military matters.

Kalara sized up the trees one last time before continuing to the little clearing on the edge of a small brook, her usual spot. The moss and grass sunk under her weight and enveloped her feet like a thick, plush carpet. Kalara paused and narrowed her eyes as she stared at all the shadows hiding behind the trees like they were just waiting to jump out to try to scare her. There was nothing there, but she was covered in goose bumps and her stomach was in knots.