"Catch me Eli! Catch me!"

    I whirled around unexpectedly and threw my arms out on instinct. The next thing I knew, a squealing, wriggling mass fell hard against my chest, sending us both crashing to the ground in a bout of laughter. Aldyth tried to wrestle me to the dirt, but her laughter stole away her focus as well as her strength, allowing me to grasp the upper hand once again. I pinned her shoulders to the grass with an easy grin and hovered to catch my breath.

    We both panted like dogs under the shade of the golden Dythr tree. It was an unusually warm midday in the late autumn of my fifteenth year, and all was well. Though I should have been out hunting for my family, and Aldyth tending the Ferndale horses, we both got a little enchanted by the fair weather and decided to take a leave from responsibility, just for the day.

     Aldyth's eyes sparkled as she rested a hand on my chest before giving a mighty shove that forced me to the ground. The smile never left her lips as she leaned over me in turn. "Eli! I have to get back to the horses," she laughed.

     "I thought we said that we weren't going to work today," I pouted, leaning my head back against the soft grass. A noiseless breeze floated through the leaves of the Dythr tree, carrying the sweet smell of rain in from the north. My lungs expanded with the fresh air and I directed my outward breath to blow a lock of Aldyth's dark hair out of my face. I was unsure what I would not have given to lay like that forever: just the wind through the trees, the grass, the forest, the company.

    "Your family can live without for a day; you have bread, you'll survive. There's a rather long list of people who'll not approve if I don't make it to the stables soon," she laughed lightly and pulled me to my feet by the wrists. I groaned but eventually allowed myself be dragged from my comfortable bed. Her dark curls fluttered against my face as she tossed her head around to find the path back to the village. "Come now, we can still be out."

    "How?" I laughed as we ran in and out of the trees. Though it was warm for a day this late in the autumn, one could still feel the chill on the air as we kicked our feet through the colorful leaves.

    She only grinned over her shoulder and proceeded to run faster. My hand fell back to side as she lifted her skirts up from the ground and ran so hard through the woods that every few minutes, I became certain  that she had disappeared. I would pause in wonder with each disappearance, only to continue at the sound of a mysterious laughter that openly mocked my lack of hustle, or the flash of a sparkling eye that seemed to vanish mischievously whenever I shifted my gaze.

    I chased her for a time; trees sped past in a blur until she finally came to a stop at the edge of the forest. I was so tired that I didn't say anything and simply slumped down onto the roots of a tree. Aldyth waited a moment or two for me to catch my breath before saying, "Go get your fishing things, then come meet me at the Ferndale's stable. We'll both get our work done today."

    "I'm sorry?" I panted. My throat was sore from running and it was a bit difficult to breathe.

    She kicked my leg lightly with her shoe and rolled her eyes. "Go on. No need to waste the day with hopeless dawdling."

   We were at the edge of forest overlooking a pasture of deep green. On the other side was the village-town of Gris, our home, a quiet place resting in a hollow amongst the most southern of the Káscad mountains. The place was virtually unknown to the world and the town's people preferred it that way. Most of us have never been more than fifty leagues from the village and we got most of our news from the occasional trip to Alyvanter -- the pride of all human cities. My family lived in a small hutch that was part of a cluster of small hutches at the edge of the town.

    I forced myself to my feet. "Are you sure?"

     Aldyth frowned. "Why wouldn't I be sure? Go, I'll be at the stables." She ran off without another word.

     I muttered a series of choice words than involved silent curses and disbelief on how she could possibly run around so much. The girl can run like she was born with freedom in her veins instead of blood. It could get annoying to say the least, but I've had to put up with it for as long as I could remember, so I only complained about once every other day.

     The run back to my house was a short, but not at all enjoyable courtesy of the entire morning's forest tag. I grabbed my lines and sinkers from my room and narrowly avoided a close encounter with my little sister, Ismay. She would have surely told mother that I had stopped by, which then would have led to a rather unpleasant conversation over dinner about my ethics, and family values. Fortunately, Ismay turned away and I was able to slip out without too much of a disturbance.

    Unfortunately, on my way out I ran smack into Barric, my younger brother. He was instantly suspicious, and history gave him every right to be. He wasn't that much younger than me, his birth following mine by only two winters, so he knew better than to tattle to our parents -- even if it were for his sake alone. There wasn't a soul in town that wanted to eat thin broth while sitting through a lecture. "Don't forget to finish your chores," I reminded him hastily.

     "Of course," he seemed rather amused by the obvious irony. "At least bring back some fish if you aren't going to hunt. Father is supposed to be back from Alyvanter tonight."

     "I will, with hope...." I replied skeptically. I had completely forgotten that father was due back this evening. My stomach twisted nervously.

     Aldyth was waiting outside the stables with two saddled horses who were skittering about in anticipation. I gave her a look of surprise; she only shrugged in response before hooking one foot into the stirrup and heaving herself up onto a chestnut mare with a white star under its forelock. "The horses need to be exercised, you need meat for your family. We'll ride to the river so you can fish and I can have company."

    "Well it's not red meat," I reached up to place the lines in one of the saddle bags before hoisting myself up onto the dusty grey stallion. The horse bucked excitedly under me. I patted his neck with a smile. "But I suppose it's better than nothing."

     "Then we go!" Aldyth squealed and urged her horse into a light trot. "After we get them warmed up, you'll be eating my dust, Eli."

     My stallion and I shared a look of understanding. His expression was clear, almost as if he could understand every word that Aldyth had said; he was going to run, run hard, and he wasn't going to lose. I returned her mischievous smile. "The horse says that's not going to happen. And you know how it is, Aldyth. When a horse is right, it's right."

    "Yes, Eli," she laughed. "Bethor will stampede into the heavens and leave me seeing stars." And like that, she was off.

    Bethor was the name of the horse I rode upon. He pawed the dirt excitedly then took off like a hawk, leaving me just short of stunned and surprised. After a short distance, I became positive that Aldyth had purposely stuck me with an untrained, hateful animal so that she could make it to the river first -- heavens knows this wouldn't be the first time. But truthfully, the horse seemed to take some humor in doing the exact opposite of whatever I asked of him. When I wanted to gallop, he trotted, when I wanted to walk, he would start running like a dog after a squirrel. My father used to tell these ridiculous stories to me and my siblings; they would always make us laugh so much that by the end of the tale, we'd go to bed without complaining. In one of the stories, there was a man and a horse, and what always got us, is how much the horse hated the man -- so much so that horse could knock off his rider by running under low hanging branches.

     I never thought that things like that could happen in real life. And I never thought that it would hurt so much.

     On the second of such happenings, Aldyth looked back and noticed that I wasn't at her heels. She found me sprawled out on the ground with Bethor grazing innocently several strides away. "What happened here, Eli!?" She exclaimed, already half dismounted before her horse came to a stop.

     I brought my hand to the spot where my face had violently collided with the branch. The whole right side of my face was starting to feel hot. "Bethor doesn't appear to like me," I replied and shot a haughty glare toward the grey stallion.

     Aldyth knelt down next to where I was still sitting, sprawled out on the ground. Her brown eyes glowed with concern that could be really mistaken for sarcasm. "Are you sure?"

     "Why wouldn't I be sure!?" I exclaimed. "He has been countering everything I ask of him, ever since we left. This is the second time he's run me into a branch in the last five minutes." Bethor whinnied lightly from where he grazed, almost as if he were laughing at me.

     She grimaced before helping me to my feet. "In all honesty, Eli, I gave you Bethor because he's the gentlest horse the Ferndale's have. They buy their animals for appearance and breeding, and they care very little for niceties -- I've had to retrain a half dozen of them because they were raised to respond to a hard bit. Bethor is the only one who doesn't go around flaunting his egotistic supremacy, in fact he's one of the most gentle, loving animals I've ever worked with."

     "Well, then he hates me," I replied simply.

     Aldyth patted my arm then went over to take ahold of Bethor's reins, he lifted his head and whinnied into her palm like he had not another care in the world. "I don't know what you did to agitate him," she chuckled as she stroked his snout. "But I suppose if you want to  trade, I'll ride Bethor and you can try your luck with Ashless over there." I gave Bethor a look that said, this isn't over, then nodded to Aldyth.

     Ashless, the chestnut mare, wasn't the easiest horse I ever rode, and maybe that was because I was still waiting to see if she was conspiring against me. But aside from a few indignant head tosses, we got along quite well. The rest of the ride flew by like riding at full gallop through a densely packed forest, only could. What would have used to be a quarter day's walk was turned to a simple half hour sprint under the hooves of the horses, and the river soon made it's appearance known.

     The four of us followed the sound of rushing water until we came to the bank. We had arrived at one of the shallowest parts of the deep stream, a place where the water only came about to the horses' knees. We both dismounted and left the horses to graze and drink at will.

     I fetched my hooks and sinkers from the saddlebags and after baiting them, laid them down methodically along the bank. I cursed silently for leaving my bells at home, but there was nothing that could help that now; I would just have to watch carefully.

     Aldyth and I each took a seat down on the shore and chatted about random things. She spoke of horse training and her distaste for the Ferndales as a people. I mused on about my family and how my father was coming back from Alyvanter this evening if all was according to plan.

     "Do you think he'll bring any interesting news of the Confederacy?" Aldyth asked as she rolled the stem of a wild flower between her fingers.

     "I hope not," I stared pointedly at my lines. There were whispers on the wind that a great turmoil rumbled outside of the Káscad mountains. There had been none to confirm nor deny the growing fears of our people, and few of us dared stray from the town place to go find out. In fact, my father would be the first to leave Gris since the whispers had started. Many people waited in anticipation for his return, along with the news he brought from the great city.

     Aldyth looked troubled by my answer. "You don't think anything could actually be wrong? Do you?"

     I didn't know what to say to that. They say that peace can only last so long, and the peace of the United Confederation of Cities as well the four Cardinal Nations that surrounded us, had been standing for longer than even the oldest minds could remember. "Nothing can last forever..."

     We sat in silence for the longest time; the only sounds were an occasional splash from the stream and the wind whispering among the trees. Suddenly one of my lines grew taunt, signalling that a fish had taken the bait. I quickly lept to my feet, gloves at the ready and grabbed the line. The fish wrestled for a minute or so before I was able to haul it in. The fish flopped on the ground and spattered water in my face as I removed the hook from the corner of it's mouth. I slid my fingers under the gills and estimated it's weight to be about three pounds. Not horrible for the first catch of the day, especially for line and sinkers.

     I was just about to turn around and show Aldyth when she let out a loud scream that stopped by heart. I was about to demand reasoning when she suddenly rushed forward and pushed me down from behind. My weight fell on top of the fish and I could feel it's fragile bones crush beneath my hip. That's when I saw the quivering arrow speared to the ground barely an inch from my face. Suddenly the voice filled out heads, loud, and so crude that it could not possibly be human.

     FIND EVERY STRAGGLER AND KILL THEM! EACH ONE YOU FIND, WILL BE YOUR MEAT TONIGHT.

A/N

6.22.16
10.2.16

I combined chapters One and Two to make one single chapter. Edited.

So what do you think? How was that for an opening chapter.