A/N: because of a high volume of wanting a sample of my book, here is the prologue and the first few chapters.
Prologue
The castle stood eminent and powerful against the blood red sky,
and it seemed to dare anyone to try and conquer it. The moat around
the castle was dark and murky, with the slightest twitch of a ripple
to indicate that there was something lurking beneath the top of the
water. Suddenly, a carriage pulled up to the castle, and a tall, stringy
figure climbed out. As the manservant looked about, he gestured,
and another figure emerged from the carriage. This one was tall also,
and had black, dingy hair and an ominous smile.
He followed his manservant into the castle's gatehouse, and
looked up at the two massive round towers that loomed above him,
and seemed to slice the sky in half like a rusty old butcher knife. As
they made their way inside, the man looked into the faces of the
soldiers that stood guard over the battlement's ground level. He
stopped and took one last look behind him. He saw the land beyond,
dismal and sullen. In the distance he could make out peasants
attempting to revive their crop that he had killed out of spite. The
people had refused him shelter, thus bringing his wrath upon them.
He looked towards the sky and a small smirk crept onto his face.
This is going to be a great year, he thought as they made their way
further into the castle. When they reached the entrance hall past the
gatehouse, the man dismissed his manservant with a quick snap of
his fingers. The servant hurried back outside, and went to retrieve the
bags.
"Ah, good evening sir," said a servant approaching the King.
"Shin'ero, go and get me the General in charge," the King said.
The servant bowed, "As you wish."
A few minutes later, the manservant returned with the General.
The General was tall, broad shouldered, and had a mass of red hair
on his head. As he walked into the room, it gained a respectable
silence that seemed to hover around him like fairies around a flower.
He stopped before the king and bowed.
"Your Highness," the General said in his scruffy voice.
The King nodded. "Tell me, General, how is the 'Purification'
going?"
"Ah, very well, sir. As we speak my boys are getting rid of the
Elven City."
"Good," the King smiled, "Make sure there are no survivors. If
even a baby gets away, and escapes the execution, your head will
be on my wall."
The General looked down, than back up at the king. He studied
his face, hoping to see some sign of sarcastic attitude but there was
nothing on the king's face to put the General at ease. He nodded, and
left with the threat still fresh in his mind.
* * *
Her heart pounded in her chest. Her feet pressed against the
ground as she ran, and made her way to the city where her family and
friends were. She was terrified of what she learned; she only hoped
she could get there in time. The creatures were closing in on her, but
it only made her run faster. She gracefully darted between trees, and
missed the branches on the ground that would have made the
slightest noise.
Her heart started pounding harder as she turned down the road
that led up to the city. She smelled smoke and ashes in the air. When
she reached the hilltop, her worries turned to reality. A scream
erupted from her lips as she ran down the hill to her city, which was
enflamed, with the flames licking the sky. She felt no need to check
the houses because she felt that everyone was dead.
All of a sudden, hope cried from one of the houses, and the
woman ran into her sister's house. She followed the cry up the stairs,
and into her baby niece's room. A small smile spread across the
woman's lips when she saw her sister's new born, alive, well, and
crying in the crib, which was tipped over. She grabbed the bundle
of blankets, gently, and held the child close to her. She looked at the
baby, and saw no marks, only her cute little nose, mouth, and her
ears, which were not yet pointed in the usual elven way.
Suddenly, there was a big crash downstairs, and the woman
heard the grunts of the creatures, searching for her, using her scent.
Her first idea was to go downstairs, and sneak past them, but worry
flooded through her mind when she looked at the baby. There was
only one thing she could do. She had to get out of there, safely. She
hugged the baby to her chest, and opened the window. The house
began creaking as she climbed outside of the house, through the
window. Soon she was running across the roof, looking for a way
to get onto the ground without hurting the baby or herself. Suddenly,
she saw a way that she could jump off of the building, and land
without hurting the baby.
The only thing wrong about it was that if she did jump, she would
need to land on her back, to shield the baby from harm. It could
break a couple of ribs,
even though she would land in the wagon of bags, containing old
clothing for the dwarves. Suddenly the creatures were upstairs in the
baby's room. She could tell by their excited weird speech, that they
could smell the baby. She panicked and did the one thing that she
could do. She jumped.
* * *
Sebastian had been standing on the porch when the woman had
come into view. Her clothes were torn in certain spots, and she was
carrying a bundle of blankets. All Sebastian could think was the fact
that she looked terrified. He frowned, and ran up to her, trying to see
if she was okay.
"Sweetie, where are you going?" his wife, Sonya, called.
"Just over to that woman to see if she's all right," he called over
his shoulder, finally reaching the woman.
The first thing that came to his mind when he was close to her was
that she smelled like some sort of herb. Then he caught a whiff of
smoke and ash. The bottom of her dress was scorched, and she
looked as if she was in pain when she walked. When the woman saw
Sebastian, she paled, and looked like she was going to faint.
"Oie bisentio oya!" she called, while she held the bundle closer.
Her voice sounded like music when she spoke.
"Listen, I don't know what you said, but I swear on the life of the
king that I will not hurt you, okay?" Sebastian said, taking a step
closer.
"Doi'uh awi'on dio oya!" She yelled at him, in the same, musical
voice, with a hint of fear in it.
Sebastian put his hands on the woman's shoulders, and held her
there as she tried to break free. She looked up at him with the
greenest eyes that he had ever looked into. Relief flooded into her
eyes as they stared at each other. Than she put the bundle into his
arms. When she drew her hands away, he felt something move within
the blanket.
"Roti'cie kel mod'encieut," she said, backing away.
Sebastian looked down at the bundle, and saw that it wasn't a
bundle of blankets, but a baby. He frowned and looked up, trying
to figure out why she gave him her baby. He sucked in a breath, when
he saw her, she had fallen to the ground. She was laying there with
her hair off of one pointed ear. She was an elf.
No wonder I couldn't understand her, he thought. "Ma'am?
Are you all right?"
When she didn't move, Sebastian got worried. He thought elves
were supposed to be happy and alive, but this one was terrified, and
hurt. He didn't know what was wrong.
Suddenly, there was a shout from the way the elf had come. It
cried, "She went this way!"
Sebastian did not have time to react. He looked down at the elf,
and saw that she was looking at him.
"Roti'cie kel mod'encieut. Doniut ' iy keloind sind'ue hui'ok te'i
feria. Oiun'ce!" The elf said, desperately.
"I don't know what you are saying!" Sebastian said as he kneeled
next to her.
Unexpectedly, she grabbed his arm, and all went black. Then he
could see again. Only it was somewhere he had never been. It was
a wondrous city, made of copper and silver. There were many of the
elf's people there. Soon the vision shifted to see an elf that stood out
amongst the crowded street. She was tall, brown-haired, and had
hazel eyes with a touch of green on the outside. In her arms was a
baby.
Then that picture disappeared, and in its place was the same city,
only it was burning, and no one was about. His vision started moving,
heading for a specific house that be on fire. Somehow, before they
entered, both he and the elf knew that the occupants were dead.
Suddenly, he heard crying. A baby was crying. Then everything went
black again. When he came to, the elf was lying down still, and he
was still in the yard in front of his home. The elf's hand fell away, and
he knew that she was gone. He sat up, and held the baby close to
himself. He moved the top blanket, and looked at a face that made
his heart stop. The baby was no more than a few weeks old, but it
did not have the distinctive ears that an elf was suppose to have. But
he knew, regardless of that one fact, that this child was indeed an elf.
He turned from the elf and made his way back to the porch where
his wife was waiting. He recalled the many tales that he had heard
about elves, and how they had a reputation for either bring good luck
to the family, or bad luck. To him, this was bad luck. It presented
another mouth to feed, and more money to spend. It was the exact
opposite to his wife. She couldn't have children, so she would see
it as a dream that had come true.
"Hey, you! Stop!" said a call from behind Sebastian.
He turned to see three of the king's guards leaving the group that
was surrounding the elf, and coming towards him. "May I be of some
service, gentlemen?"
"You may. What is that you are holding?"
"What? Oh, a baby."
"Whose baby?" said the smallest officer, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Ours," said someone from behind Sebastian.
Sebastian turned to see his wife standing there. "Yes, this is our
child," he said.
"Are you sure about that? I could have sworn that you had been
given that bundle," said the tallest guard, pointing to the baby, then
pointing over his shoulder, concluding, "by that woman-creature."
"No, I gave birth to her not too long ago," said Sonya, taking the
baby from Sebastian.
"All right then. If you see anything odd, please contact us, all
right?" said the guard, still almost unconvinced.
"Yes, sir," said Sonya.
Later that night, Sonya and Sebastian sat at the kitchen table,
looking at the baby sleeping peacefully in a small makeshift crib. It
looked so beautiful laying there, dreaming dreams that will soon be
forgotten. Sebastian looked at his wife and sighed.
"Sonya, we cannot keep the child," he said, his eyes filled with
repentance, "We have no idea where he came from really, and
whether or not he really belonged to that elf. For all we know, she
could have taken him from a loving family as an omen on their crops
or their future families."
Sonya looked at him. "It's a 'she' not a 'he'."
"Who cares? We are not keeping him, or her, or whatever it is!"
"And why not?"
"It's another mouth to feed," Sebastian said, counting them off on
his fingers, "it could be a bad omen for us, and if this child is an elf,
then we could be arrested for having her under our roof. You know
that the king hates the elves!"
"We don't even know if she is an elf, Sebastian! What if she isn't?
Are we still going to cast her out into the world? You wouldn't be
acting like this if a human woman had given you this baby, instead of
an elf!"
"We do not need another mouth to feed!"
"You know the tales! If an elf gives a gift to your family, it's
supposed to bring good fortune to you. Why just the other day I
heard-"
"It could not only be good fortune! It could also be a bad omen!"
Sebastian said, cutting her off.
Sebastian looked at her face, and saw that his words had hurt her.
He could tell that she really wanted this baby. He looked away from
her, and looked down at the sleeping baby. The natural beauty of the
baby almost brought a smile to his lips, but he quickly turned away
to hinder such an action. Finally, he laid his eyes back on his wife.
"All right, we can give it a few years. If nothing bad happens, then
we'll keep her," Sebastian said to his hopeful wife's face. Then he
added sternly, "But the first sign of any bad luck what so ever, she's
gone. I don't care if it was one bad harvest or one of us getting hurt.
Do you understand?"
"Yes!" aid Sonya, pulling him into her arms.
"Okay, but she's your responsibility. I want no part in the matter."
"Don't you worry! She is my responsibility. Oh, I've always
wanted to be a mother!"
Sebastian watched her walk over to where the baby was resting.
She scooped the child up into her arms, and walked down the hall,
softly singing to her new daughter. Sebastian smiled in spite of
himself, and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. He knew that
this would bring major change to the household, and that all of their
profits would be dried up from having such a young mouth to feed.
He knew they would keep the child, even if she were an elf. His wife
would get attached and beg and plead.
He stood up from the table, and made his way to the counter,
where his wife had sat the freshly brewed tea. He poured himself a
cupful, and shook his head. He would need to clean out the storage
room down the hall to create a room for the child. He smiled to
himself thinking about it.
* * *
"Sir, the entire village has been terminated," said a messenger, as
he handed the report to the king.
The King looked it over, and nodded. "Good. Are you sure that
not a single elven soul has survived?"
"The General gave me his word. He should be here shortly."
Outside, the King heard horses ride up, and he heard the
General's muffled, "Ho!" as the horses came to a stop. The
messenger looked at the King, wondering if he was excused. The
King dismissed the messenger, and soon he was alone. He looked
over to his desk, and saw the pendulum that the witch had given him.
She had claimed that the pendulum could tell if a certain people, or
species, was still in existence. All he had to do was think of the race
as he spun it. If it spun fast, then stopped, the people were all dead.
If it managed to restart, even just the faintest back and forth swing,
than one had survived. The King thought of elves, and tapped the
weight of the pendulum. The pendulum began to swing back and
forth. The air in the room was chilly, and had a feeling of loss to it.
The King frowned as it began to swing faster. Soon it slowed and
came to a complete stop. The King smiled, because he believed that
no elf had survived. Then it gave a small swing, just big enough to
symbolize the heartbeat of a small child, or baby. When the King saw
this, he roared in rage, threw the pendulum against the wall, and went
charging out the door, calling for the General.