Chapter One
I pull my long, black hair into a tight ponytail, then grab my extremely thick shirt and pull it over my head. I pluck at it till it hangs baggily around my body. I stuff my ponytail under the hat and checked the crude mirror I had.
It showed a slightly feminine woman dressed as a man. I reached down and picked up some dirt from the ground, and rubbed over my face to conceal how thin and dark my eyebrows were and how high my cheekbones were. I looked back in the mirror and I'm actually impressed with my appearance. I pull the rim of the hat a little lower and push the flap back from my tent.
I gruffly march down the dirt road until I come upon the not-quite finished stables. My beautiful new stallion, Jorell, awaits me. I had gotten him just yesterday and his name had arisen from deep in my mind. I myself thought it was an unusual name and I was the one who named him it!
I scramble upon his already saddled back and nudge him into a fast trot. I go along like this for awhile before I come to a small little farm with one large main building in the middle. I drop the reins as soon as I've dismounted, and leave them hanging knowing there's no reason to tie him down.
I quietly walk up the path to the front door and knock soundly on it. "What do you want?" says a rough and slightly annoyed voice from the other side. "For an interview for the army, sir!" I bark. He opens the door. He's a stout man, with a small dagger on his belt and a sword on the table behind him.
After he looks me up and down he mutters, "Not bad...", then gestures for me to come inside. I stride in sort of timidly and he again gestures toward two chairs and a table. I sit down at one, and wait for him to join me. He slams the door, making me wince, and falls down into the chair opposite from me.
After asking me the usual, uniform questions, he sits back quietly smoking his pipe, which he had pulled out during our interview. When ten minutes has passed since he asked me the first question, I ask, "Sir, do you think there is a chance for me to join?" He looks at me, a secret held in them,"Lad, do you want really want to know what I think?" I nod. "I think you aren't a lad at all and that you think I'm as thickheaded as a pig!" he yells and I scramble from my seat. "What are you doing here, woman?"
He makes a move toward me and I jump away and run for the door, my heart pounding when I hear his heavy footfalls behind me. I burst through the door and full out sprint for my stallion. I hear a whistle behind me and I swerve just in time, for his dagger sinks into the ground where I had just been.
I hear him running on the wooden porch again and I know he is getting the sword from his table. I jump the short wooden fence and crash into Jorell, panting. I barely have the strength now, but I haul myself up onto him and I don't even have to touch him and he begins a gallop. I hear shouting behind me and I know I have to get out of this town. The only problem is that I left my only necklace at my tent. \
I pull Jorell to a stop and with a moment's hesitation, I ride off toward my campsite. I pass multiple people, each exclaiming a little each time I rode by.
After a few minutes I reach my tent and struggle to untie the knot that I tied before. It's a few more agonizing minutes before I can get it undone and when it is done I burst into my tent.
I first grab my silver and sapphire necklace that sits on top of my bags and press it to my cheek. Like always, it is flaming hot, but it seems to be the comforting part of it.
I look around my tent one last time, knowing I that I've wasted more than enough time. I again push past the flaps of my tent and straddle Jorell. He again gallops off without a signal. He always been so brave and prompt. Woah. Where that came from I don't know.
I bring my attention back to the trail I'm riding and I hear a quarrel start behind me. I look back to the town to see a cloud of dust obscuring the front of it. In a moment I hear hoof beats, aside from my own and five men upon horses glide out of the dust.
