My stomach growled loudly as I tried to stifle my hunger; I had not eaten all day. I watched the hands of the clock tower in the middle of the city square – it was almost time to go to the baker's to carry in his flour supply for the week. I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall of the deserted alley. I missed my parents. I missed my warm bed and my mother's cooking. I missed my father twirling me in the air every time he returned from the borders. My father had been a Kouka soldier; he was often away tending to the borders surrounding our country. He would often train me whenever he could and I enjoyed every minute of it. Unfortunately, they had perished in a fire almost a year ago and had left me to fend for myself. Having no living relatives to take me in, I was forced to the streets. Being my father's daughter, I was too prideful to beg for money or food unlike the other street orphans. Instead, I worked various labor jobs a day in return for food - scrubbing floors, ploughing the fields, washing dishes, carrying supplies and the like.

As I made my way along the street, I saw some teenage boys gathered in a circle, yelling and throwing pebbles at something. There was something small and brown lying in the middle of the circle; to my horror I realized it was a small boy with brown hair. I had seen these boys before; they were notorious for picking on street kids. Just because they were sons of noble or well to do families didn't mean they had the right to treat others like this. I had seen enough; there was no way I'm backing down from this fight…

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!"

They turned to look at me, then burst into laughter.

"But you're a girllllll", they taunted.

I put myself between them and their victim. I tried to shelter as much of the small body behind me as I could.

"Just because your mummy and daddy are rich doesn't make you above us. Nobody has the right to treat people like slaves" I said, with my head held high.

I heard a whimper as a stone whizzed past me and hit the boy, causing blood to stream out from the gash on his cheek.

"That was a warning, girlie. Get out of the way or we'll hit you too!"

They are so gonna pay for that… I thought as my eyes darkened.


"Stop"

The boy that was holding me by the collar dropped me abruptly before cowering on his knees. As I picked myself up, I realized it had become silent as a grave and all the villagers were on their knees, face bowed to the ground. I looked up to see King Il smiling kindly down at me from his carriage. Besides the 4 men carrying his carriage on their shoulders, there was a small troop of armed men on horses behind him and a much smaller carriage.

"What is your name, little one?" he asked.

"Sora, heika (your majesty)" I answered.

"Sora… What a pretty name. And who is this? Your brother?" the king asked, looking at the brown-haired boy from before.

"A relative? Or a friend, perhaps?" he ventured, when I shook my head.

"No, heika. I do not know him" I replied.

"My my, you sure are a brave little one, standing up for someone you don't even know. Hmm… Where are your parents?"

"I see…" the king said gently when I averted my eyes without answering.

"Well then, how would you like to come with me to the palace"

The king did not wait for my reply as he gestured to the man closest to him. The man was dressed a little differently from the other soldiers; I assumed he was a higher ranking officer or a general or something of the sort. He picked me up onto his horse like I was a sack of flour and plopped me down in front of him.

With one last warning look at the bullies, we rode toward the palace.


As General Yu-Hon rode back towards the palace, he stole a glance at the dark-haired girl seated in front of him. She had kept her silence ever since they left the village. He was one of the most successful generals known to Kouka Kingdom and he had seen his fair share of excellent fighters and prodigies. But even he was impressed by what he had seen just moments ago – this young girl; she looked barely 10 and yet even when the boys had surrounded her earlier, she hadn't backed down. She had fast reflexes and was quick on her feet. But what had captured Yu-Hon's attention was the fire that burned behind her amber eyes.