The Deyja

Chapter 1

"Come downstairs! Let me see your outfit!" I hear my mother yell from the kitchen. It was time for the annual Gathering. People from our town and nearby towns would gather. There would be games and many other events to join in. It would be all great fun, until the Deyja come on the last day. They serve no purpose being here. They just wander around there dragons in plain sight.

Nobody likes them. They're just a nuisance, they stoop so low as to befriend the dragons. Dumb creatures less smart than horses. Ugly and gnarled looking, they strip the farmers of their stock. Although my parents say this constantly, I can't shake the feeling that Deyja are people too.

I think about this as I tighten the bow on the side of my dress. It is simple and white. My brown hair is put up in a ponytail and my bangs frame my face. Ever since I was born I've had extremely straight here. It always annoyed my mother whose hair is beautiful and wavy. I walk down the stairs slowly into the kitchen, a large room with table in it. Everything used for cooking surrounds the table. It isn't often we have company, but when we do, we sit in the other room. I don't get to see it except those occasions. It has a long dark wood table with beautiful walls of red and gold surrounding it.

"My, my. You are beautiful my daughter. It won't be hard to find someone to court you when you are old enough. There's nothing you could do to dishonor your family, be good today. Enjoy and have fun, but I beg of you, remember your manners." She says kindly with her radiant, smile interrupting my thoughts.

"Of course I will mother, I promise. Alex and Jacob are waiting for me. May I be excused?" I ask in the most proper voice manageable.

I stand to leave and only make it to the door when I thought pops into my mind. "Will you attend the festivities later?" My hand stops the door from closing.

"I shall, but only for the last two days. I'm, sadly, too old for playing." She pauses thinking, "Run along. Goodbye."

I nod and walk out to meet my friends. For once, they aren't late. I'm welcome to by a raven haired girl wearing an ivory dress. It makes her look more pale and short than she already does. The person next to her is dressed in his best. The opposite of her, being tall and having a long, light, brown hair, that covers his ears and waves.

"Alex, Jacob, how are you?" I asked letting my proper voice falter into a more relaxed once. Jacobs face looks miserable as he tugs on his shirt.

"Well, I'm not sure, seeing as how I can barely move in these clothes." He says in a good-natured tone and cracks a smile. "But, I suppose I'll live."

"Well, if you ask me, I think you happen to actually look like a gentleman for once. I, however, am wonderful. This week will be fun!" Alex, the raven haired girl, says. With a mysterious look she runs off, "Let's go!"

I follow, after grumbling about running in uncomfortable clothes, so does Jacob. It doesn't take this long to get to the middle of town, seeing as how Canvor is a very small town. We spend the whole day playing games and eating delicious food, each one from a different part of Kaderoy, our country.

At the end of the day we walk to the town Stables. Two large brown buildings that hold Travelers horses. Currently most of the horses belong to soldiers from our capital, Icbane. I walk along the Stalls, Alex and Jacob close behind commenting on color and build of the horses. I stop when I see a familiar figure. A speckled gray face turns to look at me, revealing a short Mane and long tail that Fades from black to bronze-orange in color.

"Hello Calli. How is our favorite mare?" Alex and Jacob walk up behind me and join me in petting her. We all talked to her for a while. Calli is a mare I met when I was four. Her rider was a soldier who came to the festival every year. He always let me pet her and talk to her, and soon we became great friends.