Prologue:
Too often was it that Rene regret her actions. Try as she might to make her mother proud, she was always falling short. Her mother wanted nothing more than to have her only daughter grow into a civilized lady, marry a nice man, and settle down peacefully in their small town, Yazuac. She would have been all to happy to send Rene all the way to Daret, a full day's ride away, had there been no suitable bachelors nearby. But as for Rene, while she wished to please her mother, she was unable to squeeze herself into the correct mold.
She would spend entire evenings running barefoot, wild, through the grasslands. She played too often with the boys and had the mouth of a sailor to prove it. She could fight like a man, hunt like a man, and was able to boast the ability to hold her liquor one hundred times better than all the village's male population put together. But inside Rene knew that these were not things her mother would be proud of. So she tried to learn the basics of being a good wife. At the age of nineteen she could cook and clean and keep house as well as the next woman.
She would sit quietly as her mother attempted to teach her the rudiments of sewing and other household chores all the while her mind was secretly occupied. She thought of adventures that well surpassed any she had ever known, even that day three years ago when Netig, the blacksmith's son, was nearly mauled by a bear. He escaped by less than the blink of an eye and shear dumb luck. If he hadn't run straight past the hunter's trap Markus had set out that very morning the beast would have surely eaten a fine meal that night. No, the dreams floating through Rene's head were much grander indeed. There were knights, dwarves, elves, even the dreaded Ra'zak took up residence for however short of time before she single-handedly conquered them.
Of course, Rene still thought of her mother's wishes as well but for some reason could not compel herself to abide by them. She knew that with each subsequent romp through the forest, each midnight skinny dip, she was drifting further and further away from her mother's ideal image, breaking her heart one shard at a time and for that she felt guilty, even if it was in a half-hearted sense. Without even digging too deeply, Rene knew she had loved every scandalous minute of her wild, unpredictable side.
"Why can't you just settle down?" her mother would ask. "Find a nice man who can shake out the nonsense you've stored up inside that pretty little head of yours!"
Her mother would then continue on naming all twenty-seven young men in town that were approximately her age and not yet betrothed.
"There's Darcy, the butcher's son…" She always began, "Then there's Frances, Bale, and Blake, the innkeeper's boys… Oh! And the carpenter's twins, Doran and Aolan…"
Her voice quickly faded off as Rene was pulled deep into her fantasy world. If she had to be married, why couldn't she be whisked away by some distant warrior? She could picture him now: tall, dark hair, blue eyes, armor that glistened brilliantly in the sun. They would run away to his homeland, fighting murderers and thieves, slaying vicious urgals along the way. Perhaps he was the king in his land. She would be his powerful queen who rode into battle by his side. No one would question her, no one would dare oppose a woman in such a position.
If only, if only.. She thought, Maybe someday my dreams will come true.
Then, with a sigh of resignation, she would return her attention to her mother's lectures on button holes and the correct angle to hold the broom while sweeping.
A/N: I realize this is quite short and may seem pointless to even bother reading. Eventually the story will get longer. I anticipate having the next chapter up by tomorrow (12/26), and will continue to produce new ones each friday by 10:00 P.M. Pacific Time. Until then, keep your pencils moving, fingers typing, and eyes forever reading. -TVM