Author's note: Hey Guys :) I'd like to thank you for taking the time out of your BUSY day to read my story. This is my first time posting something online, however I'm not asking you to go easy on me. Quite the opposite actually, I want to know what is wrong with this chapter so I'll know how I should fix it. I'm a big girl, I can handle it :) so thanks again and enjoy the story :D

I was running as fast as I could. The tall trees rushing past me as the soft forest floor cushioning my every step. I knew it was hopeless to run, that eventually it would catch up to me, but I had to try. The whole village depended on me. That's when I heard my pursuer. Each muted step was twice as fast as mine, and I knew I was as good as dead. But through the trees I saw a ray of hope. A giant wooden gate, big and imposing, was the safety I was looking for. I pushed myself to run faster. The gate grew closer and closer, and I found myself believing I was going to make it. Then I was knocked to the ground. I glanced over my shoulder, stared into the most hideous face I have ever seen and screamed at the top of my lungs...

I woke up gasping for air, my chest heaving as I looked blindly around the room. Only the sound of 6 other sleeping bodies calmed me down. As far as I knew, I was safe.

I sighed and flopped down onto my bed. As my breathing slowed I was able to start thinking clearly.

"It was only a dream, it was only a dream," I kept repeating to myself, but I still couldn't stop shaking. No matter how much I tried, and believe me I've tried, I couldn't seem to fool myself. I knew it wasn't just a dream...

"Oh for the love of Avo," I said while getting up. I was hoping a walk would get the adrenaline out of my system. As I walked through one of the arches, I had to stop and take in this strange place- I mean my new home.

It was almost more beautiful at night, the moon casting an eerie but romantic glow on the stone buildings and the trees. I glanced to the main building and found myself shaking me head. I still couldn't believe that i was staying at the Guild of Heroes. Yes, the Guild of Heroes. However, my being there had nothing to do with heroism. Starting the next day I would be one of the farthest things from a hero. Had it only been one day since I arrived? My mind told me it was, but my heart said it had been much longer.

I sighed and looked over a small stone wall that bordered the river. I didn't recognize the girl staring back at me. Yes, she had the same leather sandals, the same light purple skirt and the same belt that crossed into an X in the front. She had the same dark purple shirt, the same 2 ponytails on either side of her head and the exact necklace my mother had given to me, but her face was not mine.

Her hair was a dulled black color, whereas mine used to be a glossy black. My face had always had a smile, her face was too serious. My eyes were bright and full of life, that's why my dad had called me "bright eyes", her eyes were glazed over and unnerving, as if she had seen Skorm himself.

I found myself reaching for the girl in the river. I wanted to be sure whether she was me, or if she was a different person altogether. I leaned closer to her, and she did the same. We kept reaching until our fingers almost touched. That's when I almost fell into the water.

If it wasn't for the strong arms that wrapped around me and pulled me to safety, I would have fallen face first into the river. However I think he over estimated my weight, because we found ourselves on the cobble stone path.

"What in Avo's name where you doing?" He yelled as he pulled himself off the ground.

I was about to tell him to mind his own business, but the words got stuck in my throat as I looked at him for the first time. He looked to be no older then 13, the same age as me. He wore a white shirt with a brown cloth patch on his left sleeve, his red shorts hit just below his knees, the sandals on his feet were almost too small, and the leather gloves on his hands were too big. His brown hair stuck out in any and all directions, and his eyes! The color of ice itself! But instead of freezing, they were burning. I didn't know why until I remembered that he was yelling at me.

"Nothing you need to know!" I yelled. I watched as his eyes went from a muted heat to an open flame. I tried to pretend that it didn't intimidate me, but I was never good at acting.

"So that's the thanks I get for saving you?"

"I never asked to be saved!"

"Oh, so you'd rather be in the river right now, probably unconscious, floating to Avo knows where?"

"Right now it's looking perferable."

He threw his hands up in frustration. "Fine! Go ahead and jump into the river if you want, just don't expect me to save you a second time!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" He said while walking away. I glared at his back before I tried to stand. A shock of pain caused me to gasp and crumple to the ground.

"Hey," he said while turning back to me. I noticed that his voice was considerably softer. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Obviously," I replied through gritted teeth. It wasn't because I was mad at him, although he was irritating me. It was because if I opened my mouth I knew I would have started to sob, and crying in front of strangers was not on the top of my to-do list.

He smiled at my sarcasm, and if I wasn't in pain I might have thought his smile was nice, but I was in pain so I didn't think about it... much.

"Sorry for asking the obvious," he started. "Where does it hurt?"

I pointed to my ankle. He knelt down and to my complete shock, he started lifting my skirt up! I was about to slap him when he stopped and looked at my ankle, comparing it to my other ankle. It was already red and swollen. He put his hand on my leg and gently squeezed, working his way down to my ankle. When he got to a certain spot a sob of pain escaped my lips and he looked at me with apologetic eyes.

"Sorry. Do you think you can wiggle your toes?"

I did as he asked. When he saw I could do it, he got back up and held out his hand to help me. I hesitated only a second before putting my hand in his. When I was standing, he took my arm and put it around his shoulders, and he slipped his arm around my waist.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked as I tried to pull away from him. This only made his grip tighter.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking you to the Guild Master so he can heal your leg." He tried to move my forward, but I stayed in place, shaking my head.

"It's the middle of the night. I don't want to wake him up for something so unimportant."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "If you can't even walk on that foot, how do you expect to keep up with training tomorrow?"

I gave him the same look he gave me. "Training? As in hero training? No, I'm not here to become a hero."

He frowned in confusion. "Then why are you here?"

I motioned to the arches behind me, also known as the servant's quarters. "I'm a servant here."

He laughed like I just told him the funniest joke in all of Albion, but my cold stare caused him to stop. We just stood there in silence, arms awkwardly around each other until he cleared his throat.

"So...umm...you weren't joking?"

I groaned in frustration while I pushed him away in disgust. The nerve of him bad mouthing my position! And I didn't even choose this position! I stomped, or rather, hopped away from him although it also meant going away from the quarters. I had made it all the way to the archery range, before I realized he was following me. I stopped and turned to him.

"What do you want now?" I asked in a cold voice. He flinched slightly at my tone and I smirked to myself.

"A chance to apologize... I know what I said must have sounded bad."

I rolled my eyes. He sure knew how to point out the obvious. He ignored my response and kept going.

"What I meant to say was that I find it hard to believe that you're a servent. I mean, as far as I know, the guild doesn't hire kids our age to be servants here..."

I crossed my arms and leaned on the wall behind me. "I guess I'm an exception."

He frowned at my lack of reponse. "You know, I'm honestly trying to figure you out. Do you think you could help me out a little bit?"

I scoffed. I mean really, who did he think he was? "Good luck with that. I tend to not trust people I don't know."

He threw his hands up again, but this time in mock anger. I knew this because he smiled when he said, "You could have told me that before!"

Instaed of shaking my hand, like most people would do, he stuck a pose that I guess was suppose to be heroic. "I am Chris! Hero in training at the Guild of Heroes!"

He held the pose for a little longer and I just stared at him. When I didn't say anything, he stopped posing and looked at me expectantly. I sighed but didn't give in...that much.

"I'm a servant at the Guild of Heroes,"I started, shrugging my shoulders. "And apparently that's enough for you to judge me, so that's all you need to know."

He shot me a crooked smile that made my stomache flip, even though I told it not to.

"You know," he started. "You not telling me your name really makes me deturmined to find out what it is."

"And you, being more deturmined, makes me more sure that I shouldn't tell you."

His crooked smile became a full on grin that made my heart pound, it seemed that that wasn't listening to me either.

"I guess only time will tell the winner of this battle."

I honestly didn't want to smile at him, after all he did basicly bad mouth me about being a servant. However I couldn't stop my lips from turning up as I said, "You heroes are all the same. Always looking for a battle of somekind."

He shrugged. "Can't argue with that. So getting back to the original problem, if you're not going to see the Guild Master tonight, can I at least take you back to the servant's quarters? I'd be a lousy hero if I made an injured girl walk to where ever she was going."

Again, I hesitated for only a moment, then said, "Sure..." When we got to the arches, I truned to him.

"Look," I said, dropping my arm form his shoulders, he dropped his from my waist. "I didn't ask you for saving me... however that doesn't change the fact that you did...so...I'd like to say..."

"Yeah..." he proded.

I sighed before continuing. "Thank you."

He laughed. "You see? Was that so hard?"

"Excruciating," I mummbled. This caused him to laugh more, and I found myself smiling again. Twice in one night, a new record. Then the awkward silence settled in until I cleared my throat. "You can go now..."

"Right," he said, backing away. "I'll see you tomorrow Sarah."

"Who?" I asked in confusion.

"Shoot! I thought your name would be Sarah."

I shook my head. "Nope, not even close. You're never going to guess it you know."

"We'll see about that," he said while jogging away. Over his shoulder he shouted, "Bye Tina!"

I shook my head again, before heading back to inside. I flopped onto my bed, suddenly feeling tired. My feelings were all mixed up, and for the same reason; I was going to have to see Chris again tomorrow. On one hand, I liked him. He was fun to be around, and he was one of the only heroes that talked to me. On the other hand, I didn't know what'd I'd do if he ever found out my name. It was pretty common after all.

"Relax," I told myself while yawning. "It's only a name. Even if he get's it right someday, that doesn't mean I have to tell him everything that happened..."

I fell asleep holding onto that thought.