East Village is a small peaceful place, home to only 20 or so houses, various small shops, and The Old Haunt Inn. It is surrounded by outlying farms which provide for the village and the city of Tribeca in the kingdom of Manhattan. The village square is home to the small well that supplies most of the village with it's water.
The mill just east of the village outskirts has a waterwheel that draws water from the East River that turns the gears to drive the grindstone in order to mill the wheat into flour so the local baker can make the bread for the village.
The Old Haunt Inn has it's own water well out back in the stabling yards, as it requires much more water than the rest of the village. Weary travelers stop off here on their way north and can stable their horses or get a hot meal, a room for the night, and even a warm bath. In fact most of the villagers also take a bath here as if is much preferred to hauling water from the village and waiting for it to heat.
Just across the village square from The Old Haunt is the guardhouse, with an alarm bell on the wall out front. In the event of a raid the alarm bell would be rung and the villagers would all disappear into hidden basements and the local guards and other men fit enough to fight would come out to meet the threat.
There is a butcher and baker next to each other and a general wares store right next to the guardhouse. A small blacksmith is situated behind The Old Haunt and caters to all the villagers and traveler's who stay at the inn although most of their work usually consists of re-shoeing horses or repairing pots and pans for the villagers.
A mile to the north of the village lies a great forest, known locally as central park although no-one knows why, it's just what it has always been known as. Maybe it's because it's right in the center of the kingdom. It's home to all manner of thieves and other brigands and most people only venture inside if they have to pass through in large numbers with mercenary guards. On the other side of the forest is the small city of Morningside Heights, ruled by Lord William Bracken.
To the south of East Village lies the great city of Tribeca, with it's towering walls and great towers. Ruled by Robert(Bob to his friends)Wheldon, benevolent King of the island of Manhattan. It is here that most of the wares from the farmers of East Village are sold, and the local guardsmen originally hail from, although most have long since settled in the village after marrying local women.
Out back of one of the small houses in the village a young woman trains with sword against a dummy that has seen many hard hits over the years. Sweat glistens on her brow and neckline, testament to how hard has trained in the last 2 hours. Katherine is only 22 years of age but has trained hard for the last 15 years in order to better protect herself in the event of a raid on the village.
As she trains she remembers the raid on the village 15 years ago that took her parents from her…
15 years ago…
Katherine was playing with her best friend Alexis just outside of the barn of her family's modest farm with the newest batch of pups from the family dog. The collie pups were jumping all over 7 year old Katherine and 5 year old Alexis, and the girls were giggling and squealing with delight whenever the young dogs noses or tongues met their skin.
Johanna, Katherine's mother smiled softly as she watched on out of the kitchen window, her young daughter was such a delight to her and as she was an only child was all the more precious. Johanna always wished that she could have had more children but after a difficult labor with Katherine was told it was unlikely she would ever be able to have more children.
Glancing over towards the paddock with the sheep inside Johanna saw her husband, Jim, looking intently out toward the great East River on the other side of the fields from the barn and was startled when he started running toward the girls shouting "Raiders, raiders are coming, get to the inn!"
Johanna flew out the door towards the girls calling for them, "Katie! Alexis! Get to the village, you must warn Captain Montgomery at the guardhouse!" Katherine and Alexis ran to the barn where her father had saddled their only horse and was dragging it outside. When the girls got to Jim he said "Katie, ride to the village as fast as you can, warn the captain and tell him there are raiders coming down the river in boats and he needs to sound the alarm bell to warn everyone, then get inside the inn and head straight to the basement and hide in the passageway behind the barrels" "What about you and mommy? you need to come too!" said young Katherine.
"Mommy and I will be there as soon as we can, we will come into the village from the other side so we aren't seen by the raiders. You and Alexis must go quickly, there is no time to waste on idle now, warn the village and the guardsmen."
Katherine was afraid but she did as she we was bid by her father. Just as Alexis was lifted on to the horse behind Katherine, Johanna arrived carrying a small pack for herself and her husband so they could leave as soon as the girls were on their way. Katherine was afraid for her parents, she had never been sent into the village on her before and had tears in her eyes as she said "I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy! Please hurry!"
Johanna and Jim gave their daughter a quick kiss on the head and slapped the horse on it's flank, making it startle and break into a run towards the village. Katherine looked back towards her parents as the horse galloped, her parents were still standing there, facing where the girls went on the horse, but it was what was beyond her parents that had the tears falling from her eyes in earnest… 4 raiders armed with axes, swords and bows were crossing the fields towards the house on horseback and her parents hadn't seen them. "Mommy… Daddy… no…" she whispered, then unable to look back any longer, not wanting to see what came next, she turned her head and urged the horse on faster towards the village.
Arriving in the village square shouting Raiders at the top of their voices, Katherine and Alexis all but fall of their horse as Captain Montgomery and his son Robert come running out of the guardhouse to find out what all the shouting is about. Upon hearing the girls panicked voices Robert runs and starts ringing the alarm bell on the wall beside the guardhouse door and shouting "Raiders! Raiders! Women and children to the inn, men to arms! To arms!"
"Where are your parents Katie?" asks Captain Montgomery as people start to burst from their homes and businesses, heading towards the inn or the guardhouse. "Th…they we…were still at home, getting r…re…ready to l…leave after s…s…sending us on the horse to war…warn every…one" she replies, her voice quivering and tears welling up in her eyes, "But when I look…looked b…b…back there were men on ho…horses coming towards them with swords and axes and b…bows. Mommy and Da…Daddy didn't see th…them."
"Head inside the inn, and get into hiding with the rest of the women and children, my men and I will turn away the raiders and I'll send a couple of the men out to your farm and look for your parents" Montgomery replied gently. "My son's wife Sarah will look after you in the mean 't worry honey, I'm sure they'll be just fine."
After heading inside The Old Haunt and running down into the basement with Sarah, the short, blond haired wife of Captain Montgomery's son, the girls are urged through a hidden door behind some large barrels, down some rough hewn steps into a cavernous space lined with makeshift cots and baskets of food, wine and water.
The next morning after Montgomery's son Robert came down into the cavern and gave the all clear, Katherine flew up the steps, through the door and straight towards Captain Montgomery.
Seeing Katherine running towards him, Captain Montgomery gets a sad helpless look in his eyes and kneels down to be level with her, "I'm sorry Katie… there was nothing we could do, your mommy and daddy were both already gone when my men got there."
"No… no… they're not gone. THEY'RE NOT GONE!" Katherine screams at him and starts running for the farm, tears streaming down her face.
She could see the smoke even before she could see the farm, big black billowing clouds of it, rising high into the sky. When she got there, there was nothing left but a few smoldering ruins that used to be the house and barn. The livestock had all been slaughtered and the fields set on fire.
Outside the barn she saw two mounds of raised earth with markers at one end, James and Johanna Beckett scribed into the cross sections.
It was true, her parents were gone.
A/N: Ok, so this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfic, or anything for that matter, so please let me know what you think. constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks.