Reaper

Chapter 1

"Morgana!" my mother called out.

"Yes, Mother?" I walked out onto the porch. Mother was sitting in a rocking chair that had been made by her father. A smile graced her lips as she looked up at me.

"Your father was looking for you. He's by the creek."

I thanked her and started to walk towards the creek while she went inside the cottage. As I neared the creek, I saw Father standing on the small bridge that he'd built over the water.

"Good morning, Father." He turned to look at me, dark blue eyes seeming to smile at me. Father was neither old nor young, but rather somewhere in the middle. His dark blue eyes still shone with a light that rivaled that of the sun, yet his dark brown hair and beard was speckled with grey hairs in spots.

"Good morning, Morgana." He hugged me briefly. "How is my favorite daughter this fine morning?"

"Father, I'm your only daughter." I giggled.

He smiled. "I am grateful that you are my daughter." He looked around. "It is a very fine morning though. I wish every day were like this."

"As do I." It truly was a beautiful morning; there were few clouds in the sky and the sun was shining brightly, casting its rays of bright, life-giving light everywhere.

"Your birthday will be here soon." he said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over us.

"Yes, it is." I was going to be turning sixteen and I was excited, to say the least. Turning sixteen was a very excitable event to me; I wasn't quite sure as to why, but I was still excited about it nonetheless.

"Perhaps you should-" he started to say but I already knew what he was going to say. Mother and Father had been talking about marrying me to someone for a couple of weeks but I didn't want to marry. Not yet, at least.

"Father, I'm not leaving you and Mother anytime soon." I said quietly.

"Many young ladies your age are getting married, Morgana."

"That doesn't mean that I want  to. I want to be married when I am ready and I don't feel quite ready just yet."

Father's smile grew slightly. "At least I don't have to worry about you leaving us for a while."

He looked back out to the forest as silence fell over us once more. I followed his gaze and noticed a young girl standing at the edge of the forest. She didn't look much older than thirteen or fourteen. Dark brown hair fell in long, gentle waves down her back and her hands hung by her side, skimming the skirt of her dark blue dress. A thin blue line surrounded her. Her aura is very calm, I noted.

Her eyes, however, seemed to haunt me. They were colorless, except for the black iris in the middle of her eyes.

"Danger," she whispered.

How was I able to hear her? She's so far away that it shouldn't be even a little bit possible. I shook off the possibility that I had heard her and told myself that I had just managed to read her lips, even though I knew that would have been hard to do as well, seeing as she was standing at least forty feet away from me.

"F-Father?" I said quietly. If he heard me, he gave no indication.

"Thomas." the girl whispered. "Will. Danger."

Who are Thomas and Will? What do I have to do with them?

"Father?" I looked up at him and he looked down at me. "Do you see the girl standing over there?" He glanced over to where I was pointing, then turned his gaze back to me.