Disclaimer: Any of the characters/places/things you recognize from the Tamora Pierce books belong to Tamora Pierce. Anything you don't recognize belong to me though I swear on my mother's honor I'm not getting any richer from writing this. I hope you enjoy this non-profit fic since it's my first fic

Ten thousand years ago, winged people - also called fairies - inhabited parts of the lands now known as Scanra, Maren, Tusaine, Galla, Tyra, and Tortall. They were a generally peaceful people, though they would fight if they had to. But, the humans who shared these lands with the fairies attacked them. No one is sure quite sure why. It could have been any one of a number of reasons. But they did and they did it brutally. The fairies were forced to flee. They went west, far to the west of Tortall, far to the west of the Copper and Yamani Isles, across the Emerald Ocean. They finally settled in a lush land that was completely uninhabited. They named it Ralia. However, shortly after they settled there, a prophecy was made

Many years from now a female sprite (fairy with magic) will be born. Cast out by her people, she will return to the land we once called home and will find a new family there. Ignorant of her true heritage, she will become a great woman in her new home. But beware- (the rest of the prophecy is now forgotten)

Ten thousand years later:

King Peter the VI of Ralia was standing next to his wife, Marina. She had just given birth to their first child. Unfortunately, the newborn was a girl. Ever since the fall of Queen Margaret the Tyrant, girls had been forbidden to take the Ralian throne.

Peter sighed. He would have to wait a little while longer before she gave him the male heir he wanted. He picked up his daughter. And nearly dropped her in surprise, for an aura of magic had appeared around her. As soon as it had appeared, the aura vanished. Peter put a sleeping spell on the child, wrapped her up in a blanket, and then called for one of his servants.

"You!" he said, "take this and kill it."

"Kill the princess?" said the servant in surprise.

"Don't!" Marina pleaded.

"Do it." Said Peter, firmly.

"NO!" Marina pleaded again, crying. Peter slapped her.

"You know as well as I do what this girl is. Don't you realize that she could be a danger to us?!" he shouted. He turned to the servant.

"Yes, your Majesty?" the servant asked.

"You heard my orders. Now carry them out."

The servant, whose name was Jeremiah, was puzzled over the king's orders. Why would he want his own daughter killed? He sighed. There was no point in trying to understand royalty. They always had to make the things they did confusing. He sighed again.

Now, what to do with this poor child, Jeremiah wondered. He didn't like having to kill a poor, defenseless infant. Finally, he decided on what to do. He put her in a basket, hired a boat, and then dumped her in the ocean. Then, he went back to the palace.

For while, the basket drifted with the current out to sea. Then suddenly, a great wind came up and blew the basket farther and farther away from Ralia. It carried it at a speed even the fastest of ships couldn't obtain. After a few hours, it passed the Copper Isles. The shores of Tortall came into view. In a few hours the basket had gone a distance that would have taken a normal boat many months to travel. The wind died down as the basket drifted towards shore.

Lord Timothy and Lady Nora of Ciran were out fishing by the docks. This was an uncommon pastime for nobles, but since they didn't have much money, they needed everything they could get.

"What's that, in the ocean?" Nora cried, suddenly. Timothy looked to where she was pointing.

"I don't know," he said. The object in question slowly floated towards them. Finally, it got close enough for Timothy to reach out and grab it. It was a basket. They looked inside.

"It's a baby girl!" Nora exclaimed. "Poor thing must be an orphan. Let's keep her."

"Very well," said Timothy, "what shall we name her?"

"How about 'Arita'?" Nora suggested.

"Alright," he replied, and with that, the couple and their newly adopted daughter walked back into the manor.

Hope you liked the first chapter. Feel free to R&R (no flames please) though I've got the basic plot loosely planned out. The next chapter may not appear for a while since a) I won't have a lot of time to write this due school and b) I'm a slow/lazy writer;-)