A/N: So here is a new story for you guys. I hope you all enjoy it. Just so all of you know I will be posting a chapter every week on Sunday. So please don't ask for me to post sooner because I won't. Oh and thank you to Susan for editing this story for me. You did a wonderful job.
Prologue
(18 years earlier)
"Maria hurry up already, we don't have all night."
"Sorry father." I hurried after my father, which wasn't an easy task since I was carrying two heavy bags of coins.
I didn't like to steal from people like my father did, but what was I suppose to do. I can't get a job and live on my own; I was only a woman and women aren't allowed to hold jobs. Unless you are a member of the Trügál and then it didn't matter if you were a man or a woman. But since I live in the land of Grália, I am stuck with my father. So that means I have to do what he says or he could kick me out of his home and I would eventually die of starvation.
Her father turned around and he must have seen that I still was too far behind him, "I said hurry up. We don't want to be caught with this money."
I was looking down when I rolled my eyes so that he wouldn't see me do it. I knew that we needed to hurry, I didn't want to be discovered either but it was still difficult. Even though all of my attention was focused on walking faster, I still happened to hear a baby cry. I knew it was a baby crying because I have had to take care of many of them in my lifetime to help bring some money home.
I stopped in my tracks to hear better and once the clinking of the coin stopped I could hear that the cry of the baby was only a few feet from where I was standing.
"Father, do you hear that? Do you hear the baby crying?" I set down the bags of coins and walk over to the side of the road.
"What are you doing now Maria?" I could hear the frustration in his voice but I was too busy trying to find out where the baby was.
I walked further in the field next to the road, following the sound of the crying. Finally I saw I bundle of gold cloth and it was wiggling around. Rushing forward I snatched up the baby in my arms trying to calm it down, "Oh its okay baby, I promise to help you out."
The baby instantly quieted down, almost like it understood what I had just said.
Slowly I made my way back to the road, trying not to upset the baby.
"Maria what are you doing and what are you holding?"
"I found a baby just lying in the field. We need to find its parents."
Her father let out a heavy, frustrated sigh, "No we don't. What we need to do is get this money back to the house before anyone finds us."
I started to feel the normal feeling of fear I usually got when my father talked to me like that but I also couldn't just leave the baby here. It went against every instinct that I have, plus I have a soft spot for babies. So maybe it was time to finally stand up for myself.
"No dad, what I am going to do is take this baby to the orphanage so that they might start the process of finding this baby's parents." With that said I turned back around and started walking toward the nearby village. I knew that they had an orphanage there that will do all that they can to find the baby's parents.
/
Chapter 1
(Present day)
As I was bending over to place the new saddle with all the other saddles the muscles in my back twinge in protest. I had been aching all week and I wasn't sure why it was happening. It's not like I wasn't use to working harder than I normally did, so it must be something else. I also know that it's not because I am getting old because… well… I am only turning 18 tomorrow, so that's not it either.
As I was thinking of different possibilities I started to stretch my muscles hoping that it would relieve some of the ache but it didn't work. So I just shrugged it off and finished my work.
Being a stable boy isn't as bad of a job as I have had in the past. I get to work with horses, even though I don't ride them, and I make quite a bit of money doing it. My boss Gordon was also a really good guy who, in fact, let me have tomorrow off for my birthday. I grinned as I thought about some of the things I can possibly do tomorrow but then my grin faded when I remembered that I don't have any real friends or family to celebrate it with.
Growing up in an orphanage was all that I remembered, I don't even remember my parents and why would I since they just abandoned me on the side of the road. I slammed the stable door shut in frustration but then winced when the action caused my muscles to whine in protest.
As much as I would like to be angry at the fact that I was abandoned as a baby I couldn't get over the aching in my body. It seemed to be getting worse as the day went on. I figured that a good night's sleep would help me out a lot.
So I continued to finish up my work, ignoring the pain so that I could get some sleep. The time seemed to go by slowly but I finally finished all that I had to do. I was closing up the barn doors when suddenly the pain intensified by ten, sending me to the ground. All the muscles in my body clenched in pain and I couldn't move.
And when I didn't think that the pain couldn't get any worse it did, but it felt different. Like my body was on fire from the inside, starting from my heart and spreading throughout my body. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even scream, as much as I wanted to I couldn't.
I don't know how long I was in pain but I was sure that I was going to die. So when I started to black out I was silently relieved but I was also sad because in just a few minutes it's going to be mid-night. I guess I will never reach the age of 18, never get to reach the age of manhood. As my vision was getting darker I swore I felt some kind of "door" open in my mind and I could feel a presence. But that was all I felt before everything finally went dark.
**To be continued**
Pronunciations:
Trügál: True-gahl
Aurelia: Ah-ray-lee-ah
Grália: Gray-lee-ah
