Falling Feathers Book I - Rogue Without Fear

Prologue

>>>Autumn Rose<<<
I stumbled blindly in the woods, lost. I was tired and so unsure of where I was, or where I was going. It had been days since I fled our village, burned to the ground.  I remembered it well. Villagers were running and screaming frantically, fleeing as they were slaughtered from the front and behind.  The looks of fear and surprise as their bodies fell to the ground... I watched from a distance, but still felt lost in the chaos. The raiders rushing about on horseback, or on foot, and the wolves they had tamed! Houses burning, children screaming, corpses littering the ground ...

I wouldn't remember. I couldn't remember.

My parents, in our cabin, made of wood... Burning, trapped inside ... Ashes falling and smoke everywhere.  I urged myself to run away, to look away, but I couldn't. I stood helplessly and watched my parents burning, my mother screaming frantically. There was one raider, the raider mounted on horseback, who had the howling wolf tattoo on his arm, just as the rest of the Raiders. He watched as my parents burned, cackling to himself.  I wanted to run and fight, but I couldn't. It was no use, they were already dead.

I touched my mother's silver dragon necklace. I took it from her, after she died. Struggling to fight back tears, I tripped over a tree root, and fell to the ground. I was lost, and hopelessly so.

>>>Soren Hawethorne <<<
Trotting gently through the woods, Autumn leaves were crunching under my horse's hooves as we went. It was late, and it was hard to see. My only light was a lantern. It was only a stupid chicken, he lost... Why did I have to go find it? I cursed Antony, the farmer, under my breath. Stupid farmers, counting every animal. He wouldn't have noticed. He shouldn't have noticed! I stopped my horse for a moment, hearing the sound of crunching leaves as someone was walking. The footsteps were too heavy to be those of an animal, let alone a chicken, but they were also light, undoubtedly those of a girl. But.. What was a girl doing in these woods, on foot, this late? My horse snorted disapprovingly. Gently, I urged him on. We found her shortly after, stumbling in the dark, tripping over her own feet. She is definitely lost. How long has she been here? I wondered.

We followed her, for a while.  Eventually she rested against a tree. I dismounted silently, and tied my horse to one of the branches of a nearby tree.  I looked at the girl from a distance for a few moments.  Her hair was long, but it was hard to tell what shade it was.  It looked black or brown, but anything in the dark would look black or brown, I figured. When I was sure she was asleep, I approached her silently. She was skinny, and her face was hard to see too. I saw a little glimmer around her neck. Careful not to touch the girl or wake her up, I lifted the glimmer so I could see it better. As soon as I touched it, my fingers grew warm with heat like a fire. It was a silver dragon pendant, with ruby red eyes.  I knew it was valuable, someone would pay good money for such a gorgeous little trinket. I wonder how much it would sell for... I pondered the price of her trinket, and where this lonely traveler got it. Then, careful to still be gentle, I took it off her neck, and placed it in my pocket. I lifted her body, and slowly heaved it up and onto my horse. I'll tell Antony I didn't find the chicken. It was a lost cause anyway.  It's probably gotten very far from here by now.

On my horse, cradling the girl, we trotted through the woods, back home. The horse's hooves tapped gently on the stone bridge, the river underneath babbling quietly.  We're almost there, I thought.  When we got to Shepherd's Rest at last, the gates were open.  A large wooden wall surrounded the town, for minor protection purposes.  The wooden gates were often left open, since the folks didn't really ever have reason to close them.
Shepherd's Rest was a small town, relatively new.  We had a small population, of maybe one hundred people.  I worked at the town's inn, called the Lumbering Bear.  Occasionally travelers would pass through.  They were my only source of income, which meant money was slow.  My father was one of the men who helped build the town.  He was the one who constructed the Inn.  When I was a younger boy, he taught me how to run it properly.
"One day I will be too old to take care of you or this inn, and you'll need to know how to make money."  But my father has disappeared, I reminded myself sadly.  And my mother is dead.  And now it's my duty to maintain the inn alone.

I tied my horse to one of the posts outside the Lumbering Bear. I slowly heaved the girl down from the horse, careful to avoid disturbing her as much as I could. Once inside the Inn I walked up the stairs. After finding an empty room, I lay her delicate body down on the bed. I looked her over for a moment, sleeping peacefully. Rather impressed with the fact that she didn't wake up, I smiled to myself and went back down the stairs.
    The Inn's downstairs floor was a big, open space. The stairs were on the left side of the room, if you were standing in the door way. Plenty of windows kept the area well lit. To the left of the stairs was a supply closet, full of mops and brooms, rags to clean with, and stuff of that type. There were a few chairs around the room, but not many. To the right of the stairs, a little way back from them, was a counter. Behind the counter were a few shelves, some books, which were filled with customer information. Their names, which room they occupied, what town they were from, how long they would be staying. I looked around, then went and sat down at the stool behind the counter. When she wakes up, how do I explain everything to her?  I thought. What am I going to do with her? I can give her shelter, and a job at my inn, but what if she doesn't want it?  And I don't even know her name.

I worried for the girl, and how she would move on.  She probably had family, what happened to them?  Does she have any money?  She wasn't carrying bags with her.  The lack of bags could mean that she had nothing to bring, or that she didn't have time to pack. Either way, it wasn't a good sign.  For a little while, I thought of different scenarios of what forced her into the woods. I'll just wait until she wakes up. When that happens, it'll be up to her how she carries on. I stood up and looked behind me at the books, then I gazed lazily out the window. I don't think Shepherd's Rest is a good place for her, I thought as I frowned to myself. It might be too dangerous for her. A name crossed my mind, but I dismissed it quickly. No matter. The choice would ultimately be hers, after all. I'll just have to wait until she wakes up...