Soleil, Girl of Light

Chapter 1

"YAAAH!", yelled Artemis as he brought down his dagger on the creature. The beast blocked the blow with its horrifying teeth, its cold cobalt eyes unmerciful. Artemis attempted to attack it again, but it flew into the air and dived towards him, its beak wide open revealing sharp, jagged teeth. He rolled out of the way, almost penetrated by its teeth, quickly slashing a part of the beak. It screeched in rage and tried to grasp Artemis in its talons, but he once again rolled out of its grasp. Meanwhile, a young girl, looking very much like Artemis, watched the battle from afar.

She watched as her brother tried to defend her, dodging and slashing the beast, but her eyes were on the necklace around the bird-like creature. Almost unconsciously, she touched the similar one hanging around her neck. Soleil was the name of this sixteen year old. Her sky blue eyes were a mixture of pity, sorrow, and fear. A single tear fell down her cheek as she remembered the time when none of this ever happened...

~0~O~0~

It was mid-afternoon when eight-year old Soleil came running out of the hut, three necklaces in her hand. She ran through the field of grass, heading towards where her twin brother and Caretaker were sitting underneath their favorite apple tree. She smiled, her blue eyes shining brightly in contrast to the gray skies of the Mountain. Soleil stopped and stood over a hill that sloped down to where her brother and Caretaker were sitting, her blonde hair swaying in the wind.

"Big brother! Caretaker!",she yelled, waving the necklaces in the air. "Look what I made for the three of us!" The two of them stopped talking and looked up to see the young blonde waving the necklaces in the air.

Her twin brother, Artemis, smiled and ran up the slope to meet his sister.

"So this is what you were hiding from us!", exclaimed Artemis, grabbing one of the necklaces.

Soleil nodded excitedly. "Yeah and I made the string all by myself!"

Artemis inspected it a bit more, noticing an arrowhead acting as a pendent.

"Hey, where did you find the arrowheads?",Artemis asked, putting it around his neck.

Soleil smiled mischievously."It's a secret."

"But you can tell me! I'm you're brother after all!"

By now, Caretaker had climbed up the slope to meet them, his cobalt blue eyes swirling with humor.

"C'mon you two, don't get into a fight.", Caretaker said, smiling in thanks as Soleil gave him his necklace. He tied it around his neck and bent down for the twins to get a better look at it.

"So, how do I look?",he questioned, grinning at them.

"You look like our Caretaker!",Soleil said matter of factly.

Artemis rolled his eyes and flicked his sister's forehead. "He didn't mean that dummy! He meant how did the necklace look on him!"

Soleil was now rubbing the little spot where her brother flicked her, giving her twin a pouty look.

"But he does looks like Caretaker...", she said defiantly, crossing her arms.

Caretaker laughed and unwrapped her arms.

"It's okay Soleil, your brother was just trying to help you.",he said warmly, cupping the young girl's small hands.

Artemis put on a triumphant look, a small smirk on his face. Soleil's mouth frowned even further as she puffed out her cheeks. Caretaker laughed once more and stood up, squinting up at the sky.

"Hmm, looks like it's going to rain.", he muttered to himself before looking down at the twins.

"C'mon guys, let's go back to the hut. I doubt you want to get soak."

The two nodded their heads and followed Caretaker up the slope, more gray clouds forming in the sky. As they made their way back to the hut, a single white bird flew over them, its wings flapping in the wind. Soleil stopped and looked at it, her eyes filled with wonder. Artemis stopped and looked at her, confusion filling his face.

"Hey, what are you looking at?", he asked, walking back to where she stood. Her face was illuminated from the last of the sun's rays, making her eyes sparkle.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly?", she asked suddenly. Artemis' eyes widened.

"Why do you ask?", he questioned, following her gaze to see the white bird. She turned to face him, her lips curved secretly.

"Oh, no reason."