Chapter 1: The Earlier Days

The wind was cool, the distant talking of other people followed behind me as I walked. I giggled, lightly swinging my wooden sword side to side. The dew that clung to the grass fell onto my bare feet as I stopped to lean my back against the warm wood of an oak tree. I looked to my right, paused, and listened.

"Ha!" a voice crashed out of the blue, my head turning to my left as my friend came around the tree. He held his gray painted wooden sword pointed towards me, smirking as I pulled mine forward, holding it straight in front of me.

He stopped, his sword angled underneath my sword. He smiled before he pulled his sword into his sheath on his left side. I looked at him, tilting my head as I lowered mine.

"What?" I asked.

He smiled as he closed the distance between us. He was a couple inches taller than me. He moved behind me as I leaned my head back to still look at him.

"Can I show you how to hold it better?" He asked, his smile about to burst from his cheeks.

I vigorously nodded before he walked to my right, pulling his sword out and holding it forward, his right foot ahead of his left in line with his shoulders, his body turned towards the same direction. He held his arm bent, and I followed suit, mimicking his stance.

"If you do this it'll help balance it out too." He smiled, "Lord Zvahl showed me that last year." He said lightly.

I nodded softly, pushing the sword back into my sheath before I giggled. "That makes sense." I said.

He nodded, "And if you do this," he said as he put his sword back in the sheath and repulled it out, but with his palm facing outward, "It's a cleaner pull so when you draw, it won't run into anything around you and you can start your fencing a lot quicker."

My eyes were wide with curiosity, a smile growing on my face before I shrugged, "I still like my bow better."

He rolled his eyes with a laugh as he bumped my shoulder with his. I giggled, shoving him back before he fell over, laughing.

I giggled, jumping on top of him, him gasping in surprise as I pulled the sword out the way he had shown me, holding it by his throat.

"How's that, Garroth?" I asked with a smile, him looking up at me as he gulped.

"Well," He stuttered, "Better? Hard to think when you got a sword to your neck." He said with a sheepish laugh.

I giggled softly again as I pulled it away, starting to get off. He smirked before he grabbed my arms and rolled over, pushing my back against the grass and holding my own sword to my neck.

"HEY-"

"Never give until they yield." He chuckled, holding his head directly above mine.

I glared at him and squirmed. He held the sword in place as we looked at each other, his amused smile clashed against my irritated frown.

"Can you move!?" I said, unable to move my arms.

"Not until you yield." He leaned closer to my face as the blunt edge of the sword touched my neck. I held my breath for a moment.

"Never." I said with a frown.

"Never?" He laughed. "Oh really?"

I stopped, looking at his face. His blue eyes watched me as I refused to say that word. I smirked, forcing my body upward and licked his face.

He instantly made a disgusted look, jumping off me and walking around. He spit and rubbed his mouth in a fast motion.

"Ha!" I got up on my feet, running over and jumping on his back. "I got you!"

"Not funny, Alaina! That's gross!" He said, grabbing my legs so I wouldn't fall off. He started walking as I just smiled victoriously.

"Surprises work better than yields." I taunted, holding onto his pleated vest.

"You know what? Maybe the next time I'll do it back and see how that works out for you." He muttered, walking back onto the path.

I giggled, holding on, my chin resting on top of his head. "Sure, you will. Jerk."

"Punk." He chuckled back before he looked out of a clearing in the treetops. He smiled softly.

"I think the fireworks are about to start." He said, "Hold on."

I giggled before wrapping my arms around the front of his shoulders, holding on as he started to jog, picking up into a run as we headed back to O'Khasis.

My hair flicked behind me as his shaggy hair flicked up and down in my face. He gripped onto my legs tighter as he picked up speed. I laughed, holding on as we burst past the gate before he let go. I hit the ground and ran after him.

I grabbed his hand as we both sprinted through the village court area, jumping past carts and other pedestrians, ducking into alleyways to get to the park. He stopped at the edge of the grass clearing and I looked back at him, letting go for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at him, "don't you want to see the fireworks?"

He looked to his right and then his left before he smiled. He took in a big breath. "I've got an idea. I know a place where we can watch without jumping over shoulders."

I tilted my head before smiling, "Okay? Where at?"

"Follow me." He said before he started to walk down the path again.

He led me towards a thicket, pulling branches out of the way for me. I leaned down to avoid getting stuck and followed close to him as we got to a large dark oak tree. He motioned to the tree branches to his right.

I bit my lip, shaking my head softly.

"I don't like heights, Garroth..."

He smiled before he gently took my hand and pulled me in front of him.

"I won't let you fall, promise." He said as I climbed up onto the first thick branch.

He smiled before stepping up. He stayed behind me as he pointed to supportable branches, pushing me up to get steady as he would come up right behind.

My heart beat in my ears as I did not dare to look down.

"Go to that one. Then the branches get thick enough like a nest and we can just walk." He said with a smile.

I nodded. I drew in a deep breath to calm my pounding heart as I grabbed the next branch, pulling myself up and standing up onto the weaves of branches and leaves at the top of the oak. He followed behind before his arm linked with mine as we reached the top.

I giggled before seeing the view below. The entirety of O'Khasis fell under the gaze of the mighty oak. The west gates looked like a row of birch saplings barely poking from the buds, the Northern set sea with the merchant ships floated as if toys in a tub underneath us, and the O'Khasis castle was all that towered above.

I smiled, looking out. "It's amazing..."

"Right?" He said before he sat down on one of the outlying branches at the top.

"We could rule the world from this height!" I said, sitting down on the branch beside him.

"I know, right? There is a reason most will build castles and sea faring ships out of the Dark Oak Forests. They are the sturdiest trees of all the forests in the known world! It's amazing." He said as he smiled at me.

I giggled lightly, looking up at the sky above us.

"This would be an amazing place to go stargazing at too..." I sighed before looking at him, "Do you like to stargaze?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Other than the festivals, I'm normally inside the castle after dark... But I have seen the harvest moon before. The big blue one in the middle of fall." He said.

I giggled softly. "There's a blood moon too, and when the moon is full right at dusk, it looks yellow and orange!" I said.

"No way, Alaina. There's no way the moon changes colors!" He laughed.

"Yeah huh, Garroth! It is possible! It's cool when it does!"

He opened his mouth to say another rebuttal before we heard the launch of the fire rockets. I looked back out as the first fire rocket burst across the cloudless violet sky.

"It's starting!"

We stared as the rockets hit the sky, almost as if they bounced off the top and came back to us. He smiled before he hugged my side, blowing a raspberry in my ear.

I screamed with a laugh, trying to move away, "Ew!"

He laughed. "Told ya so!" he said before letting go.

I playfully glared at him, smiling before bumping him with my hip.

He chuckled before he stopped, "Oh shoot. I forgot!"

He turned the other way, messing with a pocket in the side of his vest.

I giggled, pulling my knees up to my chest, "What did you forget again?" I asked, watching him fumble around for a minute.

"Well, I wanted to give you something since you were going to leave in a couple days and I'd miss your birthday this year." He said as he finally got the button to undo. He pulled out a silver chain and a pendant sat in his hand.

I looked at it before up at him with a curious look, "What's that?"

"It's a necklace, dumb-dumb." He said, staring at me.

I narrowed my eyes, "I know it's a necklace." I sarcastically said, "What is it of?"

"Well, look for yourself." He said before he dropped the pendant into my hand. I made a face at him before looking at it.

The pendant hung on a thin silver chain, the marbled colors of blue and gold intermixed with one another as they met in the middle around a blacked-out moon. I giggled softly, looking at him.

"It looks nice. And expensive." I smirked, narrowing my eyes at him.

He groaned as he slumped at me, "Good Irene, Alaina; I thought it was nice!" He spoke, looking at me as if I were the weird one.

I laughed softly, "It is nice!" I said, looking at him, "Can I put it on?"

"Duh. Do you want help?" He asked, turning his body to me.

I gently put the necklace in his hand.

"Please?" I asked, turning into the sweet little brat I could be to him.

He let out an exasperated sigh as he started to chuckle.

"Turn around then." He said.

I scooted to face away from him, pulling my hair over my shoulder, pulling it away from my neck. He unclipped the connection, pulling the necklace around and securing it around my neck.

I turned around, putting my hair onto my back, looking at him with a smile.

"Sooo~?" I asked, looking at him.

He smiled lightly, "It suits you. You should wear jewelry more often." He commented.

I laughed softly, pinching his arm. "The day I wear anything other than this is the day you start wearing a helmet." I said.

He smiled. "So, if I wear the helmet-"

"No!"

He bursted out laughing, my laugh following behind his.

"I'm gonna miss you, Alaina." He said softly.

I gently smiled as I leaned against him, the two of us looking out at the fire rockets.

"It's just one year, not forever..." I said softly, "That's all I could stand."