I know that it's not very long, but it doesn't really need to be.
Do me a favor, and don't hate me for a certain (very obvious) bit of this chapter. I needed a reasonable explination for everything, and the pen just moved itself, and the keyboard refused to change it. I apologize if anyone's offended.
Make my day, please. If you read this, review it! I need to know how to improve, and I could certainly use the motivation.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the bits I made up. And that depresses me.
Chapter 1:
Murder City
In Terim, a boy sat in front of his home, across the mostly empty road from a mostly empty tavern. He had long, dark hair down to his shoulders. It was parted, as best as he could make it, about his left eye, which was green. He glared, straight as his hair, across the road at the taver, or, more accurately, two men in front of it. They were boisterous, obnoxious, and a little too handsy with the passing women. One was bald, and the other had short, curly blond hair, and both were in desperate need of bathing. They had been kicked out of the tavern an hour ago. Their manners were as hidden as the boy's right eye. In this part of teirm, rude drunken ruffians were expected, and, unless they went to far, sometimes accepted.
The boy's name was Jacen. He was sensitive about his heritidge, as both mother and father were dead. He had been raised by a kind old traveler who had been seeking a reason to settle down. The traveler-turned-guardian had died a year ago. jacen hadn't grieved a parent, or a friend, only a well-known stranger. Their relationship had been comparable to many relationships between old men and boys. One providing guidance and teaching, the other providing company and a strong back. His only actual grieving was for the benefit of his one close friend, Susan.
Susan was the daughter of a merchant who deeply dissapproved of her and Jacen's friendship, saying that associating with "common street trash will get you rovved, or worse." In firm defiance of both her father and her now former friends, Susan became extremely close friends with Jacen.
Tonight, Susan was on her way to meet Jacen at his home, and they were to have a night on the town, which would most likely infuriate her father, and excite the local gossips, but they ignored that. Jacen secretly enjoyed being gossiped about, much like how he enjoyed looking several years younger than he really was, becaue it meant he could pass for a boy if noone asked his aged, and could choose to be seen as a man whenever it suits him. Jacen was sitting in a chair he brought from inside his house. He saw Susan approaching, and motioned for her to join him inside. He took the chair in, and waited for her to enter. She didn't. After several minutes, he heard a scream.
Oh, shit. That's...no. It can't be. But who else could it be?, he thought. He rushed outside, seizing his knife on the way. Susan was not imediately visible, but he could see one of the two druken ruffians from across the street slink into the alley to the right of the taver with a drunken smirk. Jacen made his way over quickly. He saw Susan laying on the dirty ground, being held down by the bald one, with the blonde one on top of her, ripping open her boadice.
Jacen was instnatly overcome with anger. Pure, unadulterated fire burning away all other emotion and thought except that which was driven by the anger itself. He pounced upon the boadice-ripper, stabbing him four times in the back before throwing his corpse to the side. He would've been sickened by the smell of blood if he had stopped to notice it. Instead, he attacked the bald man. The bald man, having had more of a warning that his curly-headed counterpart, was more prepared. He had a knife of his own, and responded to Jacen's initial lunge with a sidestep and horizontal slash, aimed at Jacen's arm. Jacen didn't even notice his wound, as he was far to intent on wounding his opponent. He slashed and stabbed furiously, completely blinded by his overwhelming, and rightous rage. After a mere seconds, the bald man fell on his partner, dead.
Jacen managed to calm down enough to realize what had just happened. He stared at the two bodies and the blood on his knife. He dropped the red blade, and looked at Susan. He refused to cry, though she was. I have to stay strong for her. Someone has to, he thought. He moved to comfort her. She backed away.
"M-M-MURDER!" she half sobbed, half screamed as she attempted to hold her torn clothes on.
It took Jacen a moment to realize that she meant him. "But I...We...They...You...tearing...screaming..." He was having difficulty forming a coherent sentance. He didn't notice the two guards that grabbed him. He realized what was happening. His best friend, his only friend, was abondoning him for rescuing her.
He shook his way free and ran, not bothering to hide his tears.
