Hey everyone.

This story is very much a work in progress. The only reason I'm even posting this now is so I can constantly remind myself to work on it. Updates won't be very predictable, but I'll be working on this as much as I can. I hope you like it!

Prologue: The Day She Left

I can see them. The man's tall, black figure stands prominently against the forest behind him. He's watching her. I can see the hostility shining out of his eyes like fire. She holds her ground, watching him from the other end of the forest. She holds her sword behind her; not on the defense but not pushing an attack either. They continue their stare down for another ten seconds. Then the man acts. He lunges forward and makes a quick thrust with his sword. The girl brings her sword up quickly, deflecting most of the attack, though it still throws her off balance a little. That small bit of delay gives the man an opening though. He twists his sword and cuts a wide arc in front of the girl, as if drawing a curved line in sand. The girl, already at a disadvantage, uses all the force she can muster to intercept his blade with hers. She barely makes it, and the force of the blow knocks her to the ground. The man raises up his weapon for one last strike. . .

But he doesn't make it. I don't let him. I raise up my wooden sword and charge straight at him. As his strike comes down on the girl, I blast my sword into his chest, the impact knocking him back a little.

His attack doesn't stop though. I've left myself wide open with my charge, and his sword slices into my defenseless back. My vision greys instantly and I'm sent rolling to the side. I hear another sickening sound, one of metal tearing into flesh. Some words are exchanged, but I'm not listening. Some time passes before I hear something that catches my attention.

"Hey. Nice job back there."

It's the girl. I raise my head and look at her. She's as perfect as ever; neat red hair falling nicely over her shoulders, a body which any girl wound envy, strength I could never hope to match, and a smile which would make anyone forget any troubles they ever had.

"Sis. . ." I say, surprised at how tired and raspy my voice sounds.

"Come on," she says, lifting me up and supporting me with her shoulder. "Let's go get you patched up."

My name is Elsword. I've been living with my sister for as long as I can remember. I'm not quite sure what happened to either of my parents, but I don't end up thinking about it much. My sister means almost everything to me. It's because of her that I want to be a swordsman. I remember she used to be against me learning it, but once she saw I was determined, she started taking me out every day to train. Today was different. I was feeling a little hungrier than normal at breakfast, so she went out before me. When I finished up, I walked to our normal training grounds only to find her battling with that man.

"Sis," I ask as we walk. "Who was he?"

"He said his name is Scar," she answers. "He was looking for our father."

"Well he won't come back again, right? He wouldn't after being beaten so badly by you, right?"

She smiles at me. "Yeah," she says. "He's not coming back here."

Content with this answer, we finish our walk back.

Our home is pretty ordinary. It's a lone, two story cabin in the woods, with a small village nearby. My sister walks into the kitchen to find the lunch she prepared for us while I go upstairs to change my clothes. My cut stings whenever I move it, but I try and tough it out. It's my first real injury I've gotten from a fight, and I'm proud of it. After changing, I walk back downstairs. My sister's sitting at the table with the food in front of her. She's chewing on a piece of her hair, meaning she's thinking hard about something.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing, really," she answers.

"What are you thinking about?"

She ignores my question.

"Hey Els," she asks, slowly. "Do you remember how to lock the house if I'm not home?"

"Yeah," I answer, not sure why she's asking. "Front and back door, and all the first floor windows."

"Right," she says. "And you remember the way to Ruben village?"

"It's in the direction of the first tree we pass when we head out the front door."

She nods.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Well. . . I guess that man showing up this morning worried me. Now what do you do when someone you don't know shows up at the door?"

"You don't open it. Sis, I know all this stuff already!"

"I know, I'm just making sure you haven't forgotten. And for the last time, eat your vegetables! You'll stay short forever if you don't!"

"That's not true!" I yell, taking a big bite into the leg of mutton in front of me. "Meat makes you stronger!"

She sighs. "Just make sure you eat some green things every now and then, okay?"

I sigh back. "Fine."

Night comes quickly. After washing up, I get into my pajamas and hop into bed. I can still hear Sis rummaging around downstairs. She's probably making our lunch for tomorrow. I think about what we're going to do tomorrow. I hope it involves swords. Recently, we've been focusing on nothing but dodging. Elesis (that's my sister's actual name, in case you didn't know.) has been trying to teach me how to close in on someone while avoiding their attacks at the same time. She can do it by crouching and sliding, and she's gotten to where she can move a really long way while doing it. I always mess it up though. Every time I try and slide like her, I end up tripping over my feet and falling. She says it wouldn't hurt as bad if I tried to roll every time I tripped, so I guess I'll try doing that in the future.

Suddenly, I hear a clatter in the next room over. I must've fallen asleep, because it's totally dark outside. I get out of my bed and walk to my sister's room. I slowly open the door without knocking.

"Sis?" I ask, walking in.

She turns her head towards me, and gives me a look I can't quite figure out. Both upset and happy at the same time. On the ground next to her is her sword and sheath, the cause of the noise.

Suddenly, she steps towards me and wraps her arms around my head. "Hey Els. I love you. No matter what happens, always remember that. All right?"

I don't really understand what's happening, but I nod. "Yeah. I know."

"Good," she whispers before finally letting me go. Now get some more sleep, okay? It's late, you'll be tired tomorrow."

I nod and walk back to my room. Had I known how significant an action that was, I never would have left her side.

Well, if you're reading this, I guess you at least somewhat enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think, any extra motivation to work on this is always appreciated. It could be a while before the next one, but I'll be trying my best!