Elsie

There is no honor among thieves.

A final silver drop of moonlight graced the horizon before the inevitable passage of dawn. The cracked stone walls of the castle slowly revealed their opaque silver buff as the morning sun polished the horizon. In the distance, the white sun slowly made its way from the Badlands of the North East, over the distant farm villages, and finally to the royal city of Dellhaven. Her shift was over. She could finally go home and get some sleep.

With a quick bow of departure to the head guardsman of her shift, Elsie began her decent down from the North West tower of the castle and walked through the still-deserted courtyard. Her lady was sleeping and did not wish to be guarded so closely in the nighttime hours, so Elsie aided the night watch on many nights. She really wasn't much of a sleeper, herself and the story telling of her fellow guardsmen kept her quite entertained throughout the night. They appreciated the help; night was the time when most pillagers and spies made their rounds to the castle. The Castle Guard was the one thing that kept the Queen, Amara, and her daughter, Sabine, safe at night.

The Queen will need me by noon, though. She thought. Her Highness does not take visitors before then, so there is little need for her personal guard at that time.

Elsie had been the Queen's personal guard since the day she turned seventeen. She was tall, lean, and strong, with perpetually sun burnt skin and long, wild hair of a natural scarlet hue. She wore thick black eyeliner around her cyan eyes that gave her the appearance of a shark; a beautiful, Amazonian maiden with the eyes of a predator and the dignity of a warrior.

She walked into the barracks and to the third floor. She shared the fourth room on the right with a young swordsman named Karen who worked from dawn until mid afternoon. In other words, Elsie rarely ever saw her. In fact, Elsie best knew Karen through her possessions that were scattered throughout the room. Several books on swordsmanship, some pamphlets on unique teas blends, and a few sketches of her family back home she had drawn since coming to Dellhaven. The one window in the room had its shudders closed and Elsie pushed it open, letting in the grey light of the fall morning. She placed her silver colored longbow in the corner of the room along with her quiver.
This place is a mess. Thank God they do not inspect our barracks like they do for the soldiers…

Elsie's side of the room composed of a large box of clothes and a coffee table with piles of books on it. There were more books on her bed. She pushed the books to the floor and collapsed on the twin sized bed which was pathetically small in comparison to her height. She curled into a ball and was soon fast asleep.

…

She awoke at ten thirty and pulled off her uniform she had slept in. She threw it on top of the pile of books and dug around in the box of clothes for a clean uniform. She finally found her second pair of black trousers and silver short sleeved shirt and placed them on her bed. Elsie walked down the hall in her underwear and bra (for it was an all-female floor) and entered the shower area past rooms 6A and 6B. She showered in scorching hot water and wrapped herself in one of the towels that were supplied there. She marched down the hall back towards her room. People were beginning to awaken as they prepared for their afternoon shifts as well.

She entered the room, pulled on fresh underthings as well as her uniform. Then, she picked up her black and silver chest-plate-and-shoulder-guards as well as her bow and quiver. Elsie tosseled her red hair on the way out the door and locked the room on her way out. She was immediately greeted by a familiar face.

"Mornin'…" stated an equally tall girl with black hair and bushy bangs. Her eyeliner easily rivaled Elsie's. "Headin' to work already… hehe?"

"Yeah, Amelia," Elsie replied. "Just got off?"

"Sure did. No pipsqueak thieves or mighty armies get past this archer," She gloated, pointer to herself with her thumb. Her signature sly smile found its way onto her young, but hoary face. She waved with the back of her hand as she headed back to room 5B, her short bow glistening in her right hand.

I love that Amelia, she's so damn mysterious…

Elsie left the building. The snow white sun was now far overhead, but she still had some time before her shift began. She lifted her chest plate over her head and settled it on her shoulders. It gave her a polished, powerful look that was still elegant and beautiful. The edge of the city she had to walk through was the less pleasant part of town. The dubious shops that crowded the streets were said to house every sort of reprobate from murderers to robbers to smugglers. Elsie walked towards the castle on that rather warm morning and was immediately stopped by the sight of something typical, but still caught her eye every time she saw it.

Well, it was not an "it", persay. His name was Eden Miller and he was not among the individuals a member of the Elite Guard should be associated with. He was tall and distinctly handsome with bright green eyes and blonde hair that covered much of his face. He was lean and quick, which was one of the reasons he was so gifted at his supposed occupation. They said he was a member of the theive's gang that roamed the city, but there had been no definitive proof of this, so he continued to journey the streets, free. He had a bandage over the eye on the side of his face that his hair covered. Eden was speaking to a shady man outside a druggist's shop. He pulled his black coat closer to his body as he saw Elsie pass and as she paused, she could have sworn he winked at her.

The nerve. How dare he look at me in such a manner? Why, he is a suspected criminal. He cannot charm his way into smuggling and stealing, or out of the law's justice, for that matter. I have never held such personal disdain for a human being in all my life.

But she couldn't help but blush. He was, after all, quite amazing at look at.

…

Little did she know that treason, revenge, and ultimately fate would bring these opposing individuals to a common cause. One of honor and survival; one no one would have ever suspected. The city will fall and chaos will rule the land, for the age of harmony was at an end.