Tests of the Apache

I

Diamonds seem to light up the sky as the twinkling faces of the thousands of stars look down upon the small children relaxing in the field. The forest of grass whispers to them as it bends in the gentle wind that caresses their faces. High pitched giggles float on the wind as the blinking bugs rise out of water like grass. Mother Moon looks down on them with her sweet and smiling face as the trio rises out of the grass and wades through it on their way to the village. As they reach the village they are embraced in the warm comfort of home. As they dash between primitive buildings, others begin to join their game of cat and mouse.

With a grunt, the child falls backwards on to the ground. Her eyes travel up the leith catlike body of the woman in front of her, widening with fear as they reach the various weapons hanging from her belt. She quickly shuffles to her feet and takes a few quick steps backwards, her mouth agape. Her eyes leave the glinting weapons and and snap up to the woman's face. She is startled by the cool reserved features of the warrior, unaccustomed to seeing a woman with such an appearance. Her head whips around at the sound of running feet coming closer. Her blue eyes meet the green orbs of her best friend before she is lifted off the ground and carried into the hut she was forbidden to enter. The small door closes behind her, cutting off her access to the outside and known world. She is gently set on the ground and her eyes begin to wander around the room. Three men she had rarely seen in the village, sit around a table with three seats that have yet to be filled. The woman that had carried her into the room takes her place in one of the chairs, directly across from the most powerful man in the village.

The door opens behind her, allowing the cool night air to kiss the back of her neck. She turns to see the newest arrival and her face light up.

"Momma!" She shouts, rushing to her mother and leaping in to her awaiting arms. "What's going on?" She asks, wrapping her small arms around her mother's neck. In reply her mother shushes her and carries her to the table where she takes a seat next to the strange woman. She sets the child in her lap as one more person enters the building. The woman beside them stands and bows as the elderly woman makes her entrance. The woman carries the same hard, reserved look the other had on her face, making the wrinkles of her wise face seem full of experience and wisdom.

"Welcome Electrix Drena and Dexteram Corona," The Head Elders says "to our humble village of Morna." He says, spreading his hands in welcome. The older woman nods in reply before giving a small flick of her finger. The younger of the two opens her mouth to speak.

"Thank you Elder Doran." The young, who the girl assumed was Drena, says. "We have come to recruit possible future Bellators. When examining your young, we failed to find a suitable girl. That is, until I managed to encounter the child before you." She says, nodding to the child in her mother's lap. She turns to the child's mother.

The older woman takes over. "Healer Kena, we request that your daughter accompany us Domus Castle and train to become a Bellatrix and hopefully the future Electrix." Corona says in a smooth and melodic voice. Kenna's eyes widen in surprise and opens her mouth to speak but discovers herself unable to do so.

The child in her lap speaks up instead. "You want me to come with you?" She says in a small voice, her eyes wide with fear and excitement.

The Dexteram nods slowly. "Yes, little one. We could only choose one special girl to take with us and we have chosen you." She says with a small smile and kind eyes to the child. The girl's eyes light up and a grin grows on her face.

"Really?" She says, bouncing on her mother's lap. He mother puts a soft hand on her daughter's leg and the child looks up. The smile falls from her face at the sight of her mother's expression. She gazes at the worried and scared face of her mother. "Momma, what's wrong?" She says, now worried herself. The woman simply shakes her head and smiles sadly.

"She may go." Kena says sadly. The two women nod their thanks before turning to the three elders.

"We leave in two days with the child." Drena says before standing. Corona stands with her and they walk out side by side. The child slides off her mother's lap but is quickly snatched back up by her mother.

"To bed with you child." She says sternly. The child groans but allows her mother to carry her out the door and though the maze of houses and in to the small hut they called home. As the woman sets the child down on the bed the child whines in protest. "Enough of that darling. You've got a long journey ahead of you and you need to rest." She woman says sadly, her eyes full of sorrow. She lays down beside the girl and wraps her arms around her only child. "I love you." She says as the child curls up in the curve of her mother's body and slips into the sweet depths of sleep.

"Sleep my child
And remember your home

Sweet daughter undefiled
A child of the warrior Rose
One morn, you will rise
To meet that challenge
With your sisters cries
Drowning out the worldly lies

Sleep my child
Let not the world trouble your heart."

She sings the soft song to her child's remembering the words from a song sung many decades before. She watches as a smile spreads across the small innocent face of the girl in her arms and a small tear of pride and sorrow falls on her gentle face.

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Thank you all for giving this book a chance. So far I think it's the best I've ever written. Tell me what you think in the comments!! Please read on and enjoy!!
-K