Lireal's Tale
**NOTE** as you may have already figured out, no I do not own all of these characters, though I did make up a lot of them and some places, but never the less, the magnificent goddess of a writer Tamora Pierce owns them all [Goddess bless her]. This story takes place in Summersea around the time of Magic Steps. I imagine this story should be about 8 chapters or more.
Chapter 1
Lireal innocently peered at the great works of art in the museum, memorizing the strokes, color, size, and everything else about them. It didn't take her long, maybe 20 minutes for each painting. She could do it in a shorter amount of time, but then she might miss a tiny detail making her work a complete waste of time. Besides, it mattered little, since the art-lovers surrounding her on every side admired the paintings in the same way she appeared to be, many for longer than she did.
She was almost done in the section she was in-- the paintings that were shipped to art museums all over the world, in this art museum for only a few days-- when a rude boy jossled her from behind. Turning around she almost forgot her surroundings, for a moment she was a fierce protestor, but as she saw the face of the boy she shrank back.
"Come on," he hissed, his eyes piercing into her own. "You're taking too long! The boss wants the job done in two days."
Lireal sighed and they calmly walked outside. They soon melted into the large crowd and inconspicuously made their way to the student dorms at the art school. They showed the guards their identification: a magical painting of the owner that could never be lost or duplicated. They were given to all the art students after their first year of study.
"Jaquel, do we have to work on it today?" Lireal whined, "I still have to finish my research paper on the affect of Harmo's philosophy on modern art."
"If we want to get these done on time, we do," replied Jaquel, "You can do it in the morning, besides, you know boss gives bonuses when they are early. You can pay someone to do it for you."
"Fine, then stop complaining," Jaquel snapped, impatiently. "Just get the job done, and then you can finish your precious research paper."
Lireal quietly followed him up the stairs; she didn't dare talk back to Jaquel. He was right hand of the most powerful man in Summersea, besides the Duke, and to cross him was as dangerous as disrespecting the Gods. Thinking of the rumors she had heard, she shuddered and made the god's circle.
Jaquel opened the door for her, and left her alone to go to his room for supplies. Lireal looked around and sighed. Working with Jaquel made her nervous, sometimes she wished she had never agreed to help him with his self-portrait a month before. It was that simple act of kindness that had trapped her like a bug. "No," she thought shaking her head, "Jaquel is my friend, I know that. He said I wouldn't have to do this again for at least another 4 weeks. The boss should be satisfied until then. I just wish I had the courage to say no, and to stand up for myself." Looking out the window she saw a group of students painting on the cliff. "I wish I could just paint, but I guess its like my father told me time after time. Nothing is ever that simple, especially when you wish It were so."
Jaquel cam in the door quietly, and put down the packages. "You better get started."
OOOOOOOOOOOOH! What shall happen in the next chapter?? Will Lireal grow a spine? Or will she sell her painting talent to the mysterious "Boss"?
**Please review! I could use a beta tester, and if there is something wrong with this story ( for example: typos) please tell me!! This is my first post here and I want to have a good start. If you like it, then I may write faster! Though it might be a little while because I have two high school level exams, and some major cramming to do for a trip to Italy coming up.**