Taria8964 copyright protection689PENANArpierCFmA3 維尼
A warm summer breeze blew through the Eastern Valley. The sun was slipping behind the tall White Mountains where it would sleep until the morrow. The golden trees turned brown and the green grass turned black. The moon’s light not bright enough to show the glow of the world beneath it.8964 copyright protection689PENANA9wVvnukEeP 維尼
It was the same every time of the year. We didn’t experience the seasons like in the city. Pa said it was because the White Mountains surrounded us. They blocked us from the cold and bitter winters, and the wet and dying autumns. Spring did appear occasionally when the wild flowers that filled the valley would bloom anew. However, the Eastern Valley was common know for its hot days and humid evenings. Our land wasn’t good for farming on for we didn’t get enough rain, but it was healthy enough to raise herds of sheep and cattle. During the middle of the year when the cows were fat and the sheep were overgrown will wool, the farms of the Eastern Valley would send their herds to the capital where the cattle were slaughtered and the sheep were shorn. The time of year was upon us and it had been busy.8964 copyright protection689PENANAH6chKWQ1pG 維尼
For the first time in weeks I finally had been given a day to have fun. Being the eldest of my parent’s children, I had to be the responsible one. My younger brother, Gean, had to go where I went since Ma and Pa couldn’t watch over him while they worked. Gean was seven and didn’t like to do much other than read books. He liked to stay inside and hide under the blankets. When he emerged from his room to eat his pale skin almost reflected off the rest of our families golden brown skin. So when Ma told me to keep him entertained for the day, I grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him out into the wood that ran along the edge of our family’s fields. I spent the day trying to get him to play games or teach him to hunt but he wasn’t interested.8964 copyright protection689PENANAQ1uH1Sd9rW 維尼
The rustling of the wind through the trees made me spin on the spot. I thought it was a rabbit, but no luck. My brother had no doubt scared them away and now I wouldn’t return home with anything. I left out a huff and turned to glare at my brother. Gean sat on the stump of an old tree, a bored look on his face. He looked up to see me looking at me. “Can we go now?” he said.8964 copyright protection689PENANAb9SabLZT5a 維尼
I rolled my eyes. Why did I have to bring him? All he did was annoy me. “If you hadn’t scared all the animals away we could have left hours ago.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAPzmmplj7Oq 維尼
Gean groaned and lay down on the stump. “It’s not my fault you suck at hunting.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAiAS4ItJ9j3 維尼
I really wanted to punch him, but there was no way Ma would allow me to get away with it. Gean would no doubt run to Ma or Pa crying, saying that I beat him up for no reason. Even though Pa knew my brother was a lying little brat, he would side with Ma.8964 copyright protection689PENANAtlgmSSpjRz 維尼
No matter how hard I tried to relate to Gean it didn’t work. He liked to think himself as the adopted son. He would tell me often how since he was adopted that Ma and Pa chose him as their child. They wanted him where as with me I was what they got given and they couldn’t change that. Ma had assured Gean many times that he was her son but he refused to give up on the charade.8964 copyright protection689PENANAcZYL8uQfEw 維尼
What Gean didn’t know was that I was the child who had been adopted. Ma had told me after I continued to ask her why my hair was red and the rest of them had brown hair. Some with my eyes. They were grey while they all had brown eyes. Ma told me that she had found me on their doorstep one morning and that she knew nothing else.8964 copyright protection689PENANA1h0y6KwYJD 維尼
“Taria! Can we go?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAhVSrppXAB8 維尼
I threw the makeshift arrow onto the ground. “Yeah, let’s go.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAvoMd2DBtyX 維尼
“Yes!” Gean jumped up off the log and ran ahead.8964 copyright protection689PENANAv4WUaLdaRo 維尼
“Hey, wait for me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAzB5WNm2Ohq 維尼
The forest that surrounded my family’s farm wasn’t thick but it was on a steep hill. I had fallen over plenty of times and rolled down the hill and so had Gean, but that didn’t stop him from running down it. I didn’t bother running after him. If he fell, he fell. He could deal with the consequences.8964 copyright protection689PENANABlgUojH2ll 維尼
Stepping out of treeline I spotted Ma standing near the bottom. Every time I went into the woods she would be waiting for me. I had asked her many times why she waited and every time she would just shrug her shoulders. She never gave me an answer. I always thought it was because she was worried that one day I wouldn’t come home. But that would never happen. I would always go back to my family.8964 copyright protection689PENANA0n3tDkUwmg 維尼
As I reached the bottom of the hill Gean was complaining.8964 copyright protection689PENANA3O0PHPAnow 維尼
“...she tried to make me hunt rabbits Ma. I don’t like rabbits.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAyyd2ODU9Ko 維尼
Ma laughed. “You have never even touched a rabbit.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAPgiZhrM2Vz 維尼
“Yeah, but just look at them.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA8By9hwDPyk 維尼
I rolled my eyes. He was so weird.8964 copyright protection689PENANAHUdCl3HIqU 維尼
“Did you have fun?” Ma asked me.8964 copyright protection689PENANAUqxDJ7wYVr 維尼
“I would have. If someone didn’t scare all the animals off.”8964 copyright protection689PENANADZF3JRBIbQ 維尼
Gean glared at me. “Sorry, that I don’t enjoy hunting animals.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAfd74E56YVE 維尼
“Okay, you two. Let’s go home.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAcmR5FPsxKx 維尼
Gean ran off ahead and Ma wrapped her arm around my shoulders. I leant my head against her shoulder as we walked.8964 copyright protection689PENANA50rXXxBJrR 維尼
“Why must I be responsible for him?” I said.8964 copyright protection689PENANAljiHjaBGvQ 維尼
Ma sighed. “Because you are my mature and responsible daughter and I know that you will take care of him. If he stays inside for the rest of his life he will die old and alone.”8964 copyright protection689PENANALXr0pHCLL9 維尼
“And surrounded by books.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAeJg2PV6pyj 維尼
Mum nodded and laughed. “Yes, and surrounded by books.” She squeezed my arm. “He’s your brother. He is meant to drive you crazy.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAq1Vh2sk9gL 維尼
“I know.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAjBb5RvaBzV 維尼
Pa was sitting at the table cleaning one of his rifles as Ma and I walked inside. Gean had already made his way upstairs and into his room. There was no doubt that his face was buried into a book.8964 copyright protection689PENANAVdtoVHsnNt 維尼
“Hello sweetheart,” said Pa.8964 copyright protection689PENANAZtRRoZRfJr 維尼
“Hi,” I said.8964 copyright protection689PENANAsI8xf6LerE 維尼
“Have fun, did we?” he asked.8964 copyright protection689PENANAEikBTljxrr 維尼
I frowned. “Yeah. It was great.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAMvW29jhmFh 維尼
Pa laughed.8964 copyright protection689PENANA4RANbpRfkJ 維尼
“Who’s hungry?”8964 copyright protection689PENANApJKWh5NA02 維尼
Pa and I nodded.8964 copyright protection689PENANAetTj32tbqP 維尼
“Okay, I’ll get cooking.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAnElsRe5c4d 維尼
My parents were so different in was a wonder that they got along so well. Pa was certainly hard working but he was stubborn and quiet. He often would stay silent in arguments or conversation to avoid an argument that would happen when he stated his opinion. Ma, however, was bold and loud. She could be stern but only when she had to be. She also loved to tell everyone how it was. Ma knew everything, or it seemed like she did.8964 copyright protection689PENANAXs3XrKwMeM 維尼
As we sat around the dinner table, Ma mentioned our chores for the next day. The trucks would arrive in three days to collect our cattle and some still needed to be brought in from the south paddock. There was also smaller things like collecting the eggs from the chickens and feeding them; cleaning out the barn and the stables. It was the same thing every day but it never got boring.8964 copyright protection689PENANAMUXtBjJek1 維尼
After a bath I sat on my bed as Ma brushed my hair. Ever since I was a child she loved to comb my long hair and no matter how much it annoyed me she never let me cut it. It was too precious to her. I never understood why. Even as I got older, like now – I’m almost an adult – and she still brushes my hair every night.8964 copyright protection689PENANAZrKMT0UAoo 維尼
Ma hummed a song as she ran the old brush through the thin strains.8964 copyright protection689PENANAFzLpUm6Ps3 維尼
“What song is that?” I said.8964 copyright protection689PENANAHtcn75azxx 維尼
Ma stopped humming. “Just an old lullaby that my ma sung to me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAWrxw5yj58Z 維尼
“Did you ever sing it to us?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAwfnwNiijIA 維尼
She sighed. “No. You didn’t like my singing, made you cry in fact.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA1xpufJOIID 維尼
I laughed.8964 copyright protection689PENANAqbGdntxgh6 維尼
“And Gean was a good sleeper so he didn’t really need singing to sleep.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAGSgBnSdsGi 維尼
“It’s beautiful.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAWLZQBcmL9e 維尼
Ma nodded. “Yes, it is.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAuTnC3NHVe2 維尼
Ma finished my hair and left the room. Wishing me a good night. I pulled back the sheets and slipped into them. The sheets scratched at my bare legs, they needed to be washed, and my pillow held no comfort, it needed to be restuffed. Everything in our family home was old. Even as a farmer times were hard. The sheriff had been sent around to collect more taxes. Pa had barely had enough to give him from our savings. The family farm hadn’t fallen into ruin, at least, not yet. If the capital continued to raise our taxes then soon we would have nothing left.8964 copyright protection689PENANAU7Nk1RBke9 維尼
I tried to find comfort in the fact that we were okay. We all were. Gean had his books. Ma was still humming. And Pa was Pa, nothing had changed. But I couldn’t seem to drift off.8964 copyright protection689PENANAfKbQAoZLs7 維尼
By the time my eyes began to drop I heard a screech. It wasn’t a bird screech it was more of a scream, but it didn’t sound human. Sounded like an echo. I laid there listening and for a moment nothing. But then it came again. A little bit louder. I stood from my bed and walked over to the window.8964 copyright protection689PENANAy5zIc9wJHj 維尼
My window looked up on the North Hill, where the edge of the White Wood began. Through the dark of the trees I saw the flashing of a red light. Poachers! There had been rumours of poachers hunting in the surrounding woods; I didn’t think they would get this close though.8964 copyright protection689PENANAj8oAN01bbJ 維尼
Poachers lived in the woods. Many of them were men and woman who had lost everything, been kicked out by their families or they had been orphans who had run away. They hunted animals in the cruellest of ways. Using cages and metal nets. At least when I caught a rabbit I gave it a quick death. No, poachers liked to make their animals suffer.8964 copyright protection689PENANAWD5h2r4FNH 維尼
The flashing red light was a poacher’s cage that had been activated. Pa had told me that when a cage is trigger it flashes red so that the poachers can see it in the dark and it makes a horrible noise almost like an alarm. It scares off everything else and lets the poachers know.8964 copyright protection689PENANAM0g6133aNj 維尼
I turned and grabbed my breeches from the floor. I needed to save that animal. I quickly dressed and grabbed a knife from the kitchen and my bow and quill that sat near the front door.8964 copyright protection689PENANAXxENdNphNp 維尼
Running up the North Hill was hard. My legs burned and I almost slipped a couple of times. I got into the treeline and listened. I could see the flashing red light but I didn’t want the poachers to spot me.8964 copyright protection689PENANAGGZRCh2Nix 維尼
Poachers had the nasty of habit of killing anyone else tried to take their hunt. Men and woman’s bodies had been found brutally beaten and torn. I had never seen a dead body before but the way Pa had described it made me want to be sick.8964 copyright protection689PENANAEJ1uD7iOq9 維尼
The woods were silent from the occasionally shriek of the cage, and the closer I got, the quieter the noise became. It was strange. Pa had never mentioned anything like this.8964 copyright protection689PENANAOn3gfWLUxL 維尼
I found the cage buried hidden under a fallen over tree. One tree had fallen and hit another and at the base of the second tree was a hole, a hole big enough for a cage. I walked over to the cage and dropped to me knees. What had they caught?8964 copyright protection689PENANArbwfcjK9cO 維尼
I tried to peer into the cage but the lack of lighting didn’t help. I pulled the knife from my pocket and moved it to the opening of the gate. Hopefully it would break. As I slipped the knife through the hole the animal inside hit the front of the cage and scared me. It growled and spoke. “What are you doing?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAEdsnPhwIHo 維尼
I sat their speechless. It can talk! The animal can talk.8964 copyright protection689PENANAMZwV7Od35P 維尼
“You can talk.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAaPgldJPvnt 維尼
The animal growled.8964 copyright protection689PENANAEMIqnmO3zS 維尼
“You can understand me?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAhn2yR6KdEf 維尼
I nodded. “Yes.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAY1qmxwrr3F 維尼
“That means you are...”8964 copyright protection689PENANApyWXem9lp8 維尼
“That I’m what?”8964 copyright protection689PENANARFozjOEAPB 維尼
“It doesn’t matter. Can you get me out?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAjwgvcWnTer 維尼
“If you explain why you can talk.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAb8OjMaa21L 維尼
“After. Hurry, before the poachers finally show up.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAzzD5kKsgYS 維尼
I gripped the knife and pushed. I begged the lock to break. The animal growled impatiently and hit its paws on the door. The door swung open and the shriek of the cage grew louder. I covered my ears and gasped. The animals jumped from the cage.8964 copyright protection689PENANASqJcPoo43n 維尼
“Come on, let’s go. Quickly.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA7X9b5YEI5e 維尼
I grabbed the knife and chased after the animal. We moved out of the tree line and I saw that the animal was a large black cat. A panther. It was long and moving quickly.8964 copyright protection689PENANA4DSSH2qh9s 維尼
“Wait for me,” I said.8964 copyright protection689PENANABfo89dLpUS 維尼
The panther stopped at the bottom of the hill and waited as I slipped down. Standing at the base the panther said, “We need to hide.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAPqgAZgX6SJ 維尼
“Follow me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANArp3Y6iWUhW 維尼
I headed towards the barn. The panther was right behind me. I jumped over the fence that ran along the edge of our property and waited as the panther slipped under. We ran through the long field towards the large brown barn. I gripped the large handle and pulled at it. The door creaked and slid open. The panther slipped inside. I followed and pushed the door shut.8964 copyright protection689PENANAxLBijBqdbm 維尼
The barn was cloaked in darkness and it was cold. The moonlight did little to show anything. I dropped onto the hay covered ground; I was out of breath and ready to fall asleep, but I needed answers.8964 copyright protection689PENANAE2iUJfslqr 維尼
The panther stood not far from me, looking around. “Does this belong to your family?” it said.8964 copyright protection689PENANA9cIU40Mq9P 維尼
I nodded. “Yes.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA4tyUy7LIZX 維尼
“It will do for the night.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAA8TgIgkaT0 維尼
“You will need to leave by morning, before my father gets up. If he finds you in here, he won’t hesitate to shoot you.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAZKzMHUI9Vm 維尼
The panther furrowed its face. “What a polite family you have.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA38KYcUZLP2 維尼
“Well, we aren’t really used to talking animals.” I was amazed that it was even happening. If anyone heard about this I would be called a witch. No one in this town liked the idea of magic. Anyone who was suspected of anything was reported to the sheriff and his guard. I had seen many people in my life dragged through the town square. I didn’t want it to happen to me.8964 copyright protection689PENANAqRfKMsCMJu 維尼
“They wouldn’t understand me anyway,” said the panther.8964 copyright protection689PENANAIYGomBFuDa 維尼
“What do you mean?” I said.8964 copyright protection689PENANATdIS5e6geA 維尼
“I mean what I said. They wouldn’t be able to understand me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAFO4cja77Ln 維尼
“But I can.”8964 copyright protection689PENANADjZOzRq9Ue 維尼
“Yes, you can.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAkHGc5o99I7 維尼
“But they can’t.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAXgFMP8FLhA 維尼
“Yes.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA7sWJrTsEfI 維尼
“How is that possible? How can I understand but they can’t.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAxf0pf2ixYV 維尼
“It’s complicated.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA6PdZys1bk2 維尼
Very complicated apparently. But I needed to know. “Well make it uncomplicated.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA2cn2pcMOtw 維尼
“Even if I explain it you won’t believe me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAb4JGsURjRd 維尼
“Try me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAVnaTehaEwy 維尼
“Fine.” The panther turned and paced for a moment. Was it that hard to explain it to me. “I am your familiar.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAd4ZdjTMV46 維尼
“My what?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAQok0mW4AQG 維尼
“Familiar. I am your protector or sorts. Your guide.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAM1AvCmgOxW 維尼
I laughed. “My protector. I’m the one who just saved you.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAyMW9QU8166 維尼
“Yes, for which I am thankful. As your familiar I am meant to protect you and guide you through your life. You are also meant to look after me. Keep me safe. It’s a two way relationship.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAB3vF9lh0Ly 維尼
“Okay. Does everyone have a familiar?”8964 copyright protection689PENANALNR1sFdCWo 維尼
“No.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAxL43ObMpUU 維尼
“What is so special about me?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAClhSCDqaow 維尼
“I don’t know. There are many different reasons for someone to have a bond with a familiar.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAzODYAEhlVG 維尼
“And they are?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAFZPfrqTtfO 維尼
“Well, the most common is generally someone who has magic of some sort, witches and warlocks; or it can be because of your family, if your family is a part of a special bloodline then you can end up with a familiar.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAdFsWOIoXkH 維尼
“Well as far as I know no one in my family is magical and no one else has a familiar. I have never even heard of your kind.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAqLDXbyMXSN 維尼
“These days we are rare, thanks to the queen.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAnUC6j2HlIV 維尼
“What has the queen done?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAvJvY8vnZDm 維尼
“Besides bringing this kingdom to itself downfall, she has murdered many of innocence’s and their familiars. She has hunted us down for over thirty years hoping that she would wipe us all out.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAKwKbyr9rYp 維尼
“Seems to me she hasn’t succeeded.”8964 copyright protection689PENANADXHaiZimiX 維尼
“Well, she is close. If the queen had never started her hunt then you would know what a familiar is. You would seem them everywhere but now familiars and their humans are forced to hide and live in fear. If they queen were to find any of us we would all be slaughtered.”8964 copyright protection689PENANADKLPClvzWW 維尼
“Why does she hate familiars so much?”8964 copyright protection689PENANAcYHTG70VCk 維尼
“When I find out, I will let you know.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAodEmAjSLJn 維尼
I had a feeling that the panther wasn’t telling me everything. It seemed to know a lot. But it was late and I knew that if I had to get up with the sun then I would need to get some sleep.8964 copyright protection689PENANA5IUqt2mCK4 維尼
“Is it alright if I sleep here tonight?” the panther said.8964 copyright protection689PENANAfcE1bEvMV3 維尼
I nodded. “Yes, just don’t get caught by my Pa.”8964 copyright protection689PENANACt7SbjdRGu 維尼
“Don’t worry; it is hard to catch me.”8964 copyright protection689PENANA0r4M0N2awC 維尼
“The poachers didn’t have any problems.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAMk18XafDK2 維尼
“Well, they are poachers not farmers.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAQEnl6XiEJJ 維尼
“I’m Taria, by the way.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAtnb6Gq2Ke6 維尼
“Goodnight, Taria.”8964 copyright protection689PENANAlqpSVvUDXw 維尼
“Goodnight.”8964 copyright protection689PENANADzhy3cWND8 維尼
I locked the barn door behind me. I would need to make sure I bet my Pa to the barn the next morning.693Please respect copyright.PENANAfTCrG0F0sc
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