*All characters except the servants and family of Highridge are sole
property of Tamora Pierce, and the author of this story makes no attempt to
claim them as her own.*
The sun was setting behind the mountains of the Barony of Highridge, making the young girl's eyes sparkle. She couldn't believe she would be leaving all beauty this for some dark, musty convent. Her parents were so cruel. She hugged her horse, Sir Prize, tightly around the neck and buried her nose into his mane, memorizing his scent. It nearly broke her heart when she heard she would be unable to take him with her when she left. The knowledge he would be sent later was small consolation.
"What if he forgets me?" she thought, bringing tears to her eyes. And it wasn't just leaving Sir Prize; it was leaving her sisters and the barony itself. She wouldn't be able to gaze out her window for hours at a time as the peasants in the fields picked her family's grapes – Highridge grew the finest wines in all of Tortall and was a wealthy barony because of it.
"Joooocelyn!" a voice shattered her thoughts. "Jocelyn, where are you?"
The girl turned, her raven colored ringlets bouncing with the motion, and looked for the source of the noise.
"Jocelyn! You'd best not be hiding from me!" Jocelyn cringed, realizing it was her eldest brother Alexander's wife, Bianca. That woman had a temper and unleashed it on Jocelyn quite frequently. Bianca was one thing she would not miss about Highridge. She decided she'd better go to her before she got truly angry.
"Well, Sir, come on," Jocelyn said, taking up her horse's reins and slowly walking down the twisted path that led to the peak of the highest hill in all of the barony. She could see Bianca's small figure down at the bottom and sighed.
"Well, I guess this is good-bye," she thought, taking one last look at the vineyards and mountains. She wiped a tear from her cheek and called to Bianca…
The sun was setting behind the mountains of the Barony of Highridge, making the young girl's eyes sparkle. She couldn't believe she would be leaving all beauty this for some dark, musty convent. Her parents were so cruel. She hugged her horse, Sir Prize, tightly around the neck and buried her nose into his mane, memorizing his scent. It nearly broke her heart when she heard she would be unable to take him with her when she left. The knowledge he would be sent later was small consolation.
"What if he forgets me?" she thought, bringing tears to her eyes. And it wasn't just leaving Sir Prize; it was leaving her sisters and the barony itself. She wouldn't be able to gaze out her window for hours at a time as the peasants in the fields picked her family's grapes – Highridge grew the finest wines in all of Tortall and was a wealthy barony because of it.
"Joooocelyn!" a voice shattered her thoughts. "Jocelyn, where are you?"
The girl turned, her raven colored ringlets bouncing with the motion, and looked for the source of the noise.
"Jocelyn! You'd best not be hiding from me!" Jocelyn cringed, realizing it was her eldest brother Alexander's wife, Bianca. That woman had a temper and unleashed it on Jocelyn quite frequently. Bianca was one thing she would not miss about Highridge. She decided she'd better go to her before she got truly angry.
"Well, Sir, come on," Jocelyn said, taking up her horse's reins and slowly walking down the twisted path that led to the peak of the highest hill in all of the barony. She could see Bianca's small figure down at the bottom and sighed.
"Well, I guess this is good-bye," she thought, taking one last look at the vineyards and mountains. She wiped a tear from her cheek and called to Bianca…